2 Prologue

It was the 57th day on the ship. Jasper had counted them all, right from the moment he stepped on this ship. He had been so excited, so sure that he would have a great adventure. There was no adventure, he thought bitterly. Only the hot sun that shone down on him and his crew mates all day, making the hard work only heavier and less pleasant.

Oh how he regretted not listening to his mother now. It would have been an embarrassment to carry his mother's suncream with him but it would have been better than to have red burned skin for weeks. He even could sell some and get quiet a lot of money. Through he doubted the captain would allow him to sell anything without him getting something.

Jesper decided that when he came back he would marry, some sweet village girl. But he needed money first and the only way to get that fast was by becoming a sailor.

Sailors on this ship get payed very much due the high risk they were taking. Traveling through mer territory was risky but it was no pairing time and they only traveled through the most deserted areas. Jasper, full of young and foolish courage, wasn't afraid of mermaids. Surely he could handle some fish-women with pretty voices.

At the start he had been slightly scared but now, after so many days, he was not even nervous anymore.

It had been 57 days of working from dusk till dawn. Jasper who was new to the ship was not allowed to do more than clean the ship, scrubbing the floors, washing clothes and sometimes helping the chef in the ships kitchen. He felt more like a maid than like a sailor but he wasn't complaining the slightest. 

When he looked at some of the other crew members who spend the whole day on the deck, when he saw how their skin was red from the sun and they hadn't even the puff to talk before falling in their hammock and sleep.

Yes, Jasper was very happy with his chores. Not only could he sometimes grab some extra food, he also would get paid more than he had ever when they arrived at their destination. There he would either sail back with the same ship or look for another ship who had a better deal for him, or he would might live in the over sea city for a few months. He hadn't a family to look after, he was free to stand where he wanted.

The only attachment he had, other than his mother, was his sister, but she was married and had children of her own. She didn't need her younger brother to look after her, not only that, she was annoyed he always watched her. Her annoyance and pushing him to get a wife was what him brought to sailing with this ship. He was not ready to get married yet. He was only 19 after all, he had his whole life ahead of him.

"Back to work!"

The shout of the second in command brought Jasper back to the present. He groaned and pushed himself up from the ground he had been sitting on. The break was over, he needed to go back to the scrubbing. He still had to scrub a part of the deck. He had been avoiding it all day because it was particular hot that day and he would rather not be burned alive, but it seemed like he didn't have a change.

He grabbed his bucket and dragged himself to the deck, one hand grubbing in the amulet around his neck. It was a the holy cross, a gift from his mother. Some of the crew had teased him about it, calling it a necklace but he stubbornly argued that it was a amulet.

Dropping down on his knees he started scrubbing the deck. It wasn't long until he started noticing some strange things. He had been on the deck more often, but never had been seen the crew so tense, neither had the ship been so shaky. There was something wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Maybe it was just s bad feeling. He shrugged it off, returning to scrub the hard wood. Until he heard the voice. It was so angelic he dropped everything in his hands in shock. Everyone else stopped too.

Jasper couldn't help himself, he needed to go to that sound. He, together with many others, walked to the railing. There he saw the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. On a rock they sat, a group of around 10 woman, all so beautiful his breath stopped.

One of them was singing something he didn't understand yet was so enchanting. He wanted, no he needed, to hear more. He needed to go to them.

Vaguely he heard how the captain screamed at him and the others to cover their ears. He didn't care, he just had to embrace one of those lovely creatures.

Together with some others he let a pinnace in the water. They row to the woman, Jasper's gaze fixed on one with the bluest eyes he had ever seen. She had long hair, dark red that fell around her perfectly shaped face, plump red lips and a sweet smile as she opened her arms for him.

Finally there was someone who accepted him. Who truly wanted him. She was his everything. He would destroy the world for her.

He was so focused on her he didn't even notice how his ship disappeared behind him, or how the woman seemed to be half fish. He just wanted to be with her.

"What is your name." He asked when he was almost there. She was all he saw, just like his mates only saw the other woman.

She gave him a smile, her hand finally touching his. "Nahla." She whispered, her voice sweeter than anything he had ever heard.

"I'm Jasper." She smiled again. He believed his heart stopped beating. Her small hand wrapped around his and she slowly sank off the rock, in the deep blue ocean. Her hands held his as she looked up at him from just above the surface. "What a beautiful name." She whispered and if Jasper didn't already love her, he would now.

Then she pulled him in the cold water, not even the water brought him out his daze. "It's dinner time." He frowned at her strange words.

He hadn't even a change to scream when her fingers, now ugly claws, sank deep in his neck, only a few seconds later followed by her razor sharp teeth.

An amulet from the holy cross slowly sunk down in the blood red water

It would never be seen by any human again.

Neither would it's owner