Chapter 12 - Salty Encounter

Chapter 12

Salty Encounter

Underneath a pier somewhere near a fishing post, the girls hid their belongings where no one could see them. They began undressing to where they only had a bra or the top of their bikinis on. They crouched to the further side of the pier not getting into contact with the wet sand just yet. While there, they discussed their strategy on how to locate the woman and get back on land before the agreed time Hank set for the girls to be back by.

"This is so humiliating – having our bare asses out like this. So how are we going to track this lady down, Mia?" Lynae complained.

"Well, not sure yet. Maybe if I can sense the future, maybe I can concentrate on the whereabouts of this woman,"

"Well, I just thought of this, she's actually a mermaid – just like us," Meredith pointed out.

"We're not mermaids, we are cursed. We're going to find that woman and make her change us back," Lynae said with determination.

"Either way, we're burning daylight, are you ready?" Amelia asked.

Both Lynae and Meredith nodded. They inched their way over to the wet sand and started to go deeper in the water enough to cover knee length. However, it was no longer knee length once they transformed into their tails. The girls had a hard time maneuvering the tails to swim deeper into the ocean, but instinctively, they managed to swim without any more struggle with their tails.

After the girls got deep enough, they tried holding their breath underwater, but something felt breezy through their jawline underneath their ear lobes. Amelia stopped holding her breath all of a sudden and began speaking.

"You can stop holding your breath now. It's okay. That breeze you're feeling I'm assuming is our gills. Breath out," Amelia instructed them.

Each girl released extra air from their mouths creating a wave of bubbles.

"How are you speaking?" Meredith asked.

"Not sure, whatever it is, the gills are acting like a converter to be water friendly and making us speak without spilling bubbles into out mouths,"

"Can you pinpoint her, Mia?" Lynae asked impatiently.

"I can try, let's swim while I'm doing that," Amelia suggested.

While agreeing to get use to moving around with their tails, Meredith didn't hesitate to jolt forward and swim with all her might. She looked like she was on a roller coaster doing twirls and flips in the water so freely. Both Lynae and Amelia were amazed on her nimbleness and flexibility she had doing those tricks in the water.

"How did you do all that?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know, but the rush of this water makes me want to do so many things that my regular body couldn't do before! It feels so exhilarating!"

"Get back here before you run into something," Lynae said asking her to come back.

Suddenly, Meredith stopped dead in her tracks looking at one direction. She then darted into that direction leaving the girls confused on why she was dashing like that. Lynae and Amelia followed her trying to get her to come back. However, what they discovered when they found Meredith changed their mindset.

A young merlad around Meredith's age was pinned down looking helpless. A few stronger merlads were picking on the younger one bullying him for something.

"You know what must happen when you steal something that is ours,"

"Please, it was the only food I could find for myself, there's nothing else left beyond the abyss," the young merlad pleaded.

Then Meredith stepped in boldly.

"What's going on here?"

"Stay out of this, mermaiden. This lad ate a mackeral which was supposed to be ours before his," Another merman snapped.

"What makes you have right over the fish? Did you try hunting it yourself?" Meredith questioned more.

"Are you kidding? The pipsqueak here and other merfolk residing here are responsible to hunt our food for us. In exchange, we let them live another day,"

"So, you decide to kill and bully like the ones you are doing to this lad right here all because of a stupid fish? Such cowardice and languor," Meredith snapped back in a bold tone.

"Watch it, missy; I don't know where you come from, but around here, we're in charge of these waters,"

"Wow, really? Pretty pathetic for this region to have spineless snakes like yourself ruling here,"

He gestured his other men to go after Meredith in attempt to kill her.

"Mere, what have you done?" Amelia cried out.

"Something I'm going to do to help these folks out," Meredith began positioning herself.

Meredith looked around as she saw the men having weapons on them. She knew then that she was at a disadvantage. She decided to look over her surroundings to find something to use on them to perhaps disarm one of the men. She began concentrating all of her strength by having one hand on a huge rock and lunging it at them.

She knew that they would dodge, but it did make them lose their balance. This didn't change the fact that they were still determined to get her and the others. On the corner of her eye, she saw a squid coming her way. She reached for it and made it squirt ink in the men's direction blinding them. This also was her way of creating a vanishing act on them while getting the lad to safety.

While grabbing the boy, Mere tried going further to lose them, but they were catching up to her. Then, Amelia joined in the fight as she used her telepathy powers and started throwing rocks and even sea urchins at them causing injury to one of the men's tails. Lynae froze them in place while they made their escape.

They reached to a cave a few miles out trying to hide out and look over the boy's injuries to see if he was badly hurt.

"You okay, man?" Meredith asked while catching her breath.

"Why did you save me?" the merlad asked.

"You were getting killed over a stupid thing. Why wouldn't I try to save you?"

"B-but my life is meaningless,"

"Don't be absurd, everyone's life has meaning. You worked to get that fish, and you should by all means have it – not those entitled pricks out there," Lynae said while checking the boy's body.

"You don't understand, they rule this region,"

"And who decided that?" Lynae asked.

"They did, once they destroyed the village and nearly everyone in it. Those who stayed behind had to do anything they said, or they meet their fate just like the rest of the villagers,"

"That's terrible! That's no way of ruling a place like that!" Meredith protested.

"I guess, I don't know, it's been this way since I could barely remember,"

"What's your name?" Amelia asked.

"Rimulus, and yours?"

"My name is Amelia, the brunette over there is Lynae, and the one that did that daring rescue was Meredith,"

"I can't thank you girls enough for saving me. How can I repay you?" Rimulus asked.

"Um, there's no need for that, we were just helping out," Amelia said.

"Yeah, you don't owe us anything, but I'd suggest to watch out from now on," Meredith tried reassuring him.

"But there must be something, I can't go back out there alone. They will surely kill me after the stunt you did,"

"He's got a point, Amelia. After all, if what he is saying is true, we did sign for his death wish and placed a big target on his back," Lynae said.

"Right, how long have you been a merman, Rimulus?"

"All my life, why? Wait, you girls aren't truly mermaids?" Rimulus asked, puzzled from their question.

"Well, what we're actually here for is to find the woman who turned us into mermaids and change us back. It's like she did a curse on us," Amelia explained.

"There's no known curse that I know of. However, it is possible for one who has the mere gene to turn into a mermaid by another..."

"That's what happened to us. A mermaid with black hair and a silky pearl tail did this incantation and then boom! We have tails," Lynae explained.

"Then that's no curse. And once you've changed, you have it permanently," Rimulus explained.

"What?! Why can't it be undone," Meredith asked frantically.

"Because there's nothing to be undone about it. All the merpeople do is release that part of the dormant gene if anyone has it. Full humans cannot turn into a merperson,"

Meredith began panicking again and the cave was shaking. The cave was about to collapse but everyone got out in time before the entryway was sealed by falling rocks. She then calmed down knowing what she had done.

Rimulus looked stunned at Meredith. The girls were a bit nervous on his input on Meredith's ability. Then one of them spoke up.

"Are you okay?" Lynae asked.

"How did you? How did you..." Rimulus stuttered at that question.

"I... had this since transforming, is that bad?"

"N-no, it's not that, I'm shocked that you have such a power. I know only one person who had that ability, and that was over a thousand years ago," Rimulus exclaimed.

"A thousand years ago? You mean merpeople had this kind of power?" Amelia asked.

"Not like this, no. A typical merperson can sing to heal and move the waters, but this individual didn't have to sing for this power. In fact, there's a legend that everyone in the oceans know about. Long ago, there was a ruler and his queen regalia. They had five talented children. Cirra, Lachlan, Scirocco, Eira, and Ember. When the children grew, they ruled the realm in peace. However, that peace wouldn't last long when the eldest child had trouble controlling her power. The priests and priestesses warned her that if she were to be consumed by the evil around her, then she would be feared and lose the trust and companionship of her subjects. However, if she were to dismiss evil and try everything to get rid of it, then all that is evil around her will be her demise. However, one fateful evening, Cirra was consumed with her power and because of that, she unleashed this beast with all of her power to create havoc. That beast was the Magna Dracona Aquia – also known as the Great Water Beast."

"What happened next?" Meredith asked.

While Rimulus was continuing on, Amelia saw a vision of the story and saw what had happened. A prince slayed the dragon, however, Cirra was found dead later on. After the beast was slain and the prince was barely alive, the merfolk gathered to round up the royal family to execute them for causing this to happen. Amelia irked a little while seeing the visions from the past. Then she snapped out of it when Lynae called her name.

"Mia, you alright?" Lynae asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"What is it? Are you tired?" Rimulus asked.

"No, I'm fine, I just had a little headache,"

"Was it another one of those..." Meredith was cut off by Lynae elbowing her.

"Another one of what? You can tell me, it's not like I have anyone to tell it to anyway," Rimulus asked curiously.

Amelia read his thoughts and motives to see if he was telling the truth in which he was. Without realizing it was a thought and not him speaking out, she blurted out something that gave her away instantly.

"You must miss them dearly. I can tell you are a very caring person,"

"What?! What are you talking about?"

"Shoot, I'm sorry I must have heard wrong," Amelia tried to cover up.

"Who do you mean by them?"

"I thought you brought up what happened back at the raid with your family,"

"Mia!" Lynae shouted.

"I'm sorry, please ignore me! I don't know what I'm saying!" Amelia tried to dismiss her statement.

"I... never brought up my family nor about much on what happened to them. How did..." Rimulus was shocked at Amelia's bluntness.

"I'm sorry really, it was a misunderstanding,"

"What's my sister's name? Do you know?" Rimulus pressed onto her.

Amelia was pressured. She knew she was caught. Even if she did say she didn't know – he would know straight away that she was lying. Amelia looked at Lynae with eyes of defeat and that she had to tell him.

"R-Rilletta," Amelia whispered.

"You..." Rimulus swam back a little.

"Rimulus, please don't swim off. She's new to all of this and she didn't mean to..." Lynae tried explaining.

"You're the reincarnate of Cirra!" Rimulus exclaimed.

"Wait what?" Amelia was surprised at his response.

"Oh gods, how is this even possible? I mean I knew reincarnation was evident but you – you have a connection with Cirra the elder regalia!" Rimulus kneeled down.

"How do you know that she's the reincarnation of what's her face?" Meredith asked.

"She read my thoughts and I bet that was her who threw the urchins! Yes, it is her!"

"But was Cirra the bad ruler?" Amelia asked.

"Some say she was, but others said that she was consumed and was unable to control her powers."

"Can I control them?" Amelia asked looking at her hands.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll be able to with the right tutor, and I will help you find that tutor as well!"

"T-thank you, I don't know what to say,"

"No need, your highness, if you will have me, I will serve you at your every whelm and need when duty calls it," Rimulus bowed his head.

"Rimulus, please, I'm not a highness of anything. I'm not even sure if I'm related to Cirra or the other royal siblings,"

"Reincarnates do not have to have blood ties to the original being. But Cirra decided to reincarnate a thousand years later into you. Why, I don't know, but I know that it would be an honor to serve you if you will let me," Rimulus still had his head bowed down.

"If she says yes, will you stop begging her to be by her side?" Lynae snapped.

"Yes," Rimulus responded.

"Alright, Mia, say 'yes' so we can get a move on to our mission,"

"Y-yes I will," Amelia hesitated but Lynae had a point in how much time the girls had to find the woman.

Without realizing it, Rimulus would join the girls in many adventures waiting ahead on this newfound destiny they were placed under. In a way, Amelia read his thoughts being grateful that he was saved, and serving Amelia would be his way of repaying the girls for the debt that he owed them even though the girls did not insist on repayment. But what also stuck to Amelia's mind was that she inherited Cirra's telepathic powers. She also feared that she might have to endure that same battle Cirra did so many years ago.