11 Karius

When I opened my eyes, I was feeling a lot better than ever before.

I stretched my hands up to mytail. My body feels as light as a floating jelly fish.

'I thought I was gonna die? Was that a dream?'

But I quickly shook my head. No it wasn't a dream.

Sai definitely exists. And I am part human, my mother is a mage.

I won't believe any of those if it weren't for the burning sensation I felt at the back of my left hand climbing to my chest.

My eyes opened wide.

A beautiful orange was writing on my skin, it's drawing something while glowing like sunset. At latter, while starred, it created a beautiful sun full of sun rays carved with details.

One of its rays extended to draw like a vine up just above my chest, below my collar bone.

Kssk, kssk.

As if a great artist has drawn on my skin, it was beautiful, each line glowed underwater and I was sure that anyone who sees this could easily get bewitched.

Crash.

I turned my head after the sound of something crashing.

"S-SIEL!!!" My father dropped the shell filled with potons as he came running after me.

He hugged me tightly and he sobbed abruptly. At y astonishment, I was able to notice the state of our home.

It was quiet. The rocks and coral beds I'm laying at were the only ones left neat. But the algae and poton cupboard all hang open, the kitchen was a mess, with all the materials floating.

The whole house was a mess. Something I never though I'd see.

Father let go of me and examined my face. He stared at me critically, and so, I did the same at him.

I could see the lines along his face, his wrinkles were showing. It seems that even the beautiful merman couldn't escape aging.

I smiled at his blue eyes. They were beautiful…

"..."

It was just then after I smiled that his gaze moved to the majestically sun-carved symbol on my hand.

The moment he laid his eyes on the tattoo, it glowed no more.

He looked at me with confusion in his eyes, vivid yet vibrant. I smiled yet again and gathered his hands.

"Where are the others?" I asked for my friends.

Father shook his head and answered, "I sent them home. They already watched over you for a whole day. I had to tell them to go home even if I had to forced them to."

He too, looked restless.

"Siel. What happened?" He inquired.

But I poured my stares at him.

"No, Father. What happened?"

He was taken a back when I asked him distastefully.

"You told me my mother was dead. But you never told me she was a mage."

Father look stunned.

"I am a half-- Mermaid." I emphasized.

"Not just a half mermaid. I can also be on land…" My voiced cracked.

Father knew that I always longed for the land...He always knew that, and yet!

His eyes shook and immediately clasped my hands too.

"Listen, Siel. You are my daughter. You belong to the sea. You belong here." He firmly said full of his conviction. "You are a mermaid."

I bit my lips, "But I'm also a daughter of a mage." I swallowed the lump in my throat, and tried to open my mouth, but I couldn't say anything. Not when Father looked shocked.

I stared down at my tail.

It was emerald green. Maybe not as elegant as my Father's but it was the same color. I am definitely his child but…'What abou Sai?'

I stared at his pretty face whose eyes were shaking in panic.

"I met my brother."

That statement was enough.

Four words were enough to make Father chaotic.

He stared at me, speechless.

I remained calm but my heart was throbbing and my head was noisy in chaos.

What they said was true. Knowledge truly makes us curious.

"What are you talking about? Y-you don't have a brother." He asked confused.

I was also confused. "I have a twin brother! Don't play dumb on me, please!" I sounded desperate.

He vigorously shook his head. "I would have taken you two if you have a brother, Siel."

He stared fiercely. I subconsciously raised my hand to cover my mouth.

His eyes were piercing, silently asking me to tell him who this brother is, desperately searching for truth.

'My…my goodness.' I scoffed bitterly.

'He doesn't know about Sai! He didn't know he exist!'

I held my self together.

Did Sai lie to me? No, the same electric blue eyes, the same face…the existence of my mother. No.

Those weren't lies. Sai is far too arrogant to need to lie. He is too proud to do so.

He may be haughty but I don't my intuition tells me he didn't lie to me about Father. It's just that I'm not the only one who remained ignorant all these times. Karius…my Father, he didn't know as well...

"Ha." I let out a dry laugh.

"Ha..haha..." I started laughingly crying. It feels like there is a big misunderstanding going on.

I do not know what's going on but...This feels like a tragic comedy.

We were robed. We were robed of each other! How? Why?

Father inhaled sharply and started talking after seeing me going hysterical for some reason.

He figured that this discussion won't go anywhere unless he starts talking.

"I met your Mother during war. It was a three-way battle. Against pirates--the humans and us-- mermaids. The 30 mages were sailing the sea…they got entangled in our battle and they had no choice but to defend."

Karius, my Father smiled.

He looked past me and started thinking back.

"Your mother, Inarra. She tried to enchant me with magic, she really thought she did. She tried to seduce me into saving her. I saved her from drowning and kept her at a secret cave."

"She thought it was her enchantment that made me do it, but I was enticed not by magic but her foolishness." Father called out her foolishness yet his eyes twinkled like sparks.

I was reminded of how Sai also called our mother, foolish but they addressed her so dearly.

With the water getting colder, Father took a sponge blanket and wrapped me before he continued.

He pressed my tears away as he continued. I was also beginning to calm down.

"The battled at sea ended, mermaids won. Pirates died, but some of them escaped."

In a way, it was not surprising.

Mermaids have the affinity with water. No matter how great a sailor a human is, if mermaids lure them and propelled underwater to create vortexes to wreck ships, they would all drown to the ocean's depts.

The ocean is beautiful but it is cold.

"What about the mages?" I asked curiously and Father's eyes sunk.

"Only five survived, including the one I hid."

'It was my mother.'

"How did she take in the war?" I inquired, Father suddenly smiled mischievously like reminiscing a memory.

"Oh, she was shocked alright. When I told her that all mages in their ship died, she also tried to kill me. How cute...Later I found out there were four other survivors."

I frown, Father sounded...cheeky?

"She tried to kill me out of anger when it was the pirates who sunk the mage's ship. The audacity to attack me on my territory. hm,hahah" Father chuckled as if recalling the memory.

He looked at me again then smiled calmly.

"But I know it was hard for her... I still tended her wounds. She had no choice if she has to survive."

"I visited the cave a lot more than I previously planned. Before I knew it… I fell in love with a human mage—" He halted and gulped.

"She--"

*Knock knock". He stopped.

Someone knocked over our reef. Father and I exchanged worried glances.

He carefully nodded his head and glided over the huge luster door. He gingerly opened it slightly and searched the visitor.

The visitor in return, gently bowed his head. Beautiful long black hair fluttered.

When the unexpected guest lifted his face, it revealed two beautiful orbs of green vibrant eyes. He was rather charming again this day. He always was.

"Aspen", I called out his name.

"Why are you here? I heard you were missing, but you don't look bad..." Aspen greeted my father who didn't even greet him yet proceeded to scrutinize him.

"May the tides be in your bent," he greeted.

"Don't worry, he knows. I met my brother with him," I spoke.

My Father was suspicious of Aspen before quietly opening the door for him; Afterwards closing the door tightly shut again.

"Please do continue your discussion. I will be silent." Aspen glided across the rock and sat comfortably while pretending we are not in the same space.

Father hesitated before he sat back up to my coral bed again, "Are you sure it's okay?"

I nodded.

He sighed as if feeling resigned and deciding to trust me, "After that, I exchanged my tail for legs to pursue Inarra."

I could see Aspen flinched in the corner of my eye.

"But it came with a great cause. I acquired legs and although it was tough, it took everything from me to gain her love. And when I thought we could live together…In the end, I killed her."

Karius paused to checked me frozen.

"I killed her, but I know she doesn't regret it."

He smiled sadly but warmly patted my auburn hair. He was telling me that Inarra died because he impregnated her. Because she conceived me and Sai, and I understood that mana squashed her internally to keep her children alive.

"How about you? Do you regret it?"

'Do you regret having us?', rather than answering he smiled and patted me a bit more.

"I wasn't even allowed to be with her at her final moments. I was forced to abandon her. I was able to take care of you after she died when a red egg appeared before my door. That egg was you, Siel." His warm smile vanished and a serious expression carved his face.

"…So, tell me. Who is this brother you are talking about a while ago?" his eyes sharpened, and regret was visible.

"Sai." It was Aspen who answered.

"So that explains him being alone all his life." Aspen spoke like he was talking to himself. And Karius, my father twisted his body to look at Aspen with deep eyes.

Aspen smiled at him, "Yes, that bastard, Sai, has the same piercing blue eyes, just like that too, sir." He said casually like he didn't call my father's son a bastard.

"Seems like someone orchestrated this bad joke to our family, Father." I stated.