The time was very chaotic in the Southern waters. The entire place was being turned upside down. The next male that was supposed to mate with the queen had already attained adulthood. It had grown nice and strong in the waters beyond the Southern sea. It had returned just like it’s predecessors on the appointed day. Never was there any delay.
The one to take over the mer-throne, the next mer-queen was being decked. She was being ornamented and groomed. Not that she needed to. Her features were too perfect to be real. Nobody at that point of time , had any hint that she would be deserting them for good.
This was the story of the previous mer-queen who had abandoned her own kingdom. The process of mating for the mer-queen was kept a secret even from the common mer-people. Only the ones close to the queen or the next queen in line, got to learn about it. Ever since Crystal knew what she was up for she felt sorry for both herself and the creature destined to be her mate. She had still agreed to do the job as she felt responsible for maintaining the lineage of her people. She even went to bridal chamber and got ready for the occasion. Soon after she was ready, her mate was ushered in by the others. The two of them were left in the room, as the others went to get ready for the occasion. Crystal looked the creature up from head to toe. He was a well built man with strong features. But it was a shy creature. Probably because it had grown up alone. It was cloaked to be invisible to everyone except the mer-people, bence his solitude can be explained. Crystal started talking to it. It politely replied. They slowly talked about this and that about life. The creature seemed amused. It responded with the enthusiasm of a child. He seemed to have very strong opinion about the outside world even though he could hardly articulate his words. As they talked, Crystal slowly found herself get attached with him. The thought that he would eventually be sacrificed bore heavy on her chest. She just could not bring herself to let him die, not like this. She went ahead and closed the entrance to their room. Then she got rid of all her decorations and got him ready as well. Crystal knew very well that a female mermaid was unable to survive long, away from its ocean, but she needed to take that risk if she wanted to protect the one in front of her. She thought that a queen should value all lives as equal. How was it fair to sacrifice one in exchange of another. She put a spell on the creature to make it forget about its obligation. It made his forget its origin and purpose of existence. She pulled him along as she swam as fast as she could , out of the Southern waters. She left the creature in some far away lake and herself went to hide in the east. She knew that her people would never be able to track her in the wolves’ land. And without her, her mate too would be of no use. They would leave him alone too.
She climbed the nearest cliff and fell on the ground exhausted. It was her first time out of the water . And the hike was quite a long one as well. When she opened her eyes she found a very handsome face staring over her. She immediately sprang up.
“Who are you? ” She asked.
“Well that’s not the problem here. ” He said pointing at her feet which was bleeding profusely. It was the first time ever that she walked and that too so long. She had felt immense pain but she didn’t know how bad it was.
“How bad is it? ” She asked innocently, “would it not grow back? ”
The man was a bit puzzled by her question but said, ” It just needs a little nursing, that’s all. ”
He picked her up in his lap and took her to a nearby camp. The guards in attendance immediately made way. He didn’t stop though. He kept carrying her till they came inside the main camp. He yelled for the doctor in attendance.
The entire camp was quite intimidated by her arrival.
After a few moments the doctor kept looking at Crystal. He kept checking and rechecking her vitals.
“Did you say you were a human? ” The doctor asked.
“Yeah, ” Crystal lied.
“You have very strange anatomy for a human though. Anyway, apply this paste on the feet for a week and take these medicines thrice everyday. ” The doctor prescribed.
“Don’t worry, I will see to that. ” the man reassured the doctor as he left and accompanied him outside.
Crystal looked around. The camp looked like that was military base. There were ammunitions, war dresses, shields and all. Though she had never seen anything like that in the mer-world, she had read about them. Crystal was an avid reader. Hence, though it was her first time outside the water, it didn’t appear that strange.
The handsome man soon returned inside which brought Crystal back from her thoughts.
“Forgive me, ” he excused himself as Crystal got a bit unsettled at his entrance.
“It’s your tent,” Crystal laughed, ” And why do you even apologise. I was a little started, that all. ”
The man kept, staring at the her. “You have a very lovely smile. ” he complimented her. ” Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, I am the Wolf king of the east. These are my territories that you are in. What made you come this way? Actually, we are in the middle of a military expedition. We camped in this area because tonight because we had been tipped of some disturbances here, by the foxes. You know they never let us sleep. Always in the search of some weak spot, those brats. ”
Crystal looked as he spoke. She felt a strange sensation as she admired his masculinity. Interaction with the male wasn’t something very common in her place. May be because there wasn’t any to interact with to begin with, apart from the Queen’s mate. That too, till it was slaughtered on the alter on it’s due date. Crystal signed as the vicious image, blocked the rush of happy hormones to her brain.
“What happened? Is anything the matter? Am I disturbing you? ” He asked.
“No, no. Nothing. I just remembered my dysfunctional family. That’s all. ” She answered.
“Did you run away because of some family dispute? You shouldn’t have come this way though. It’s really dangerous out here. You are lucky that I found you. ” He smiled.
Crystal nodded in agreement with a “hhhmmm” , and smiled back at him.