Crystal had been prepared for her mating cycle, just before she had run away. The hormones rushing around her body were difficult to tame as it was. The person she had given her heart to, embracing her bare chested didn’t hell much to control her urges. She forgot time and space. Forgot consequences and the future. All she wanted at that moment was to get lost in the man right infront of her. Crystal, knowing very well that coupling between a wolf and a sea nymph was never heard of, took the initiative to let her senses loose in her man’s embrace. The wolf king however was unaware of the circumstances. Though he had tried to maintain his decency and boundary in front of Crystal, it was evident he had a soft spot for her from the moment they had met. When the nearly half naked Crystal threw herself on him, he no longer could hold himself back. The two steamy bodies collided with force as they called each other’s name. They cried and mourned as the sky gradually changed colour. The two forgot where they were, who might be watching, what might the consequences of their act may be. All they could see at that moment was the person infront of them.
Later the wolf king carrier Crystal back to their camp in his arms. She smiled and looked at him, as he prepared food for her. She had never felt such happiness in her entire life. Life started to look too perfect. The wolf king smiled back as he saw Crystal staring. He brought the food infront of her and sat.
“Enjoy the food. ” He asked her to eat up. ” Tell me how you like it. It’s my first time cooking something for someone. I have had only done it for myself before. ” He said.
Crystal tasted it and said, ” It’s delicious. I love it. ” And kissed him on the lips.
The king however didn’t respond to her kiss. He looked like he was bothered by something. He put his food down and turned towards Crystal , who looked at him with wide eyes. He took her hand in his and said, “Crystal, I didn’t want what happened earlier to happen that way. I wanted to first tell you everything and then… ” But Crystal didn’t let him finish his sentence. She thrust a piece of food in his mouth and hugged him. She was too ecstatic to even notice his worried face.
“You should eat up too. I know you are strong but you need to regain you strength too, ” She nudged him at his chest and smiled jokingly. The king was lost for words.
“Crystal. What I want to say is very important. Please listen to me. ” He urged.
But Crystal had already roamed away from the spot. She was staring at the star formation in the sky. The mer-witches were renowned for their star gazing knowledge. It was their field of expertise.
“Do you know what those stars over there symbolise? ” She asked him. He nodded his head side ways meaning a no.
“Those are lovers, ” She chirped, then added, ” Like us. ”
She turned to the other side, staring at the mountains, when the king pulled her and asked, pointing at the stars she had just told were lovers, ” What does that mean? ”
” Oh that, that’s the parting, ” She said and turned back again to admire the mountains.
” Parting? Didn’t you say those were lovers. Just one star fell and you say it’s the parting? ” He murmured but by that time she was already chasing after the fireflies. The king shook his head and went to join her.
The next morning, Crystal woke up to an empty tent. She looked around and said to herself, “where did he go so early? ”
She came out of the tent, rubbing her eyes. Two guards posted outside, greeted her.
“My lady, our King was summoned. He had asked you to meet him at the palace. ” They said and asked her to get inside the carriage.
Crystal looked around and then happily went inside the carriage to embark on her journey. On the way she thought about a million ways to tell him about her reality. She rehearsed time and again, how she would greet his family when she would meet them. There were butterflies and fireflies having a party in her stomach. She could actually feel their flutter.
As the carriage drew closer, she saw there was a large crowd gathered at the entrance to the Royal Palace. She had no idea what was going on. She looked here and there as the carriage rushed inside the gates. She could only hear faint murmurs of ‘ it’s a boy again’,
‘Yes, yes, another healthy prince was born. ‘
Crystal couldn’t understand. The carriage stopped at the back entrance of the castle. She was ushered inside by a maid in waiting. Just as she looked puzzled here and there, she saw the wold king come upto the Royal balcony, over looking the gathered crowd. Crystal stopped mid track as she looked up too.
Then beside the king, there emerged a beautiful lady, dresses in all red with a little white bundle in hand.
The crowd immediately started chanting thr slogan of ” Hail the king, hail the queen, hail the new born prince, long live our Royal Family, long live the wolves, long live our tribe”.
Crystal froze as she looked at her man standing with another woman by his side, along with their child.
Something inside her, was tearing apart. The sky above and the land below was disappearing fast. She almost lost her balance as the people around her rushed to her aid.
The commotion immediately attracted attention and the king turned too. He saw her tremble. He immediately called her name out ” Crystal” and ran to her rescue. But Crystal immediately regained her composure. Every eye was pinned on her as the king ran towards her. Crystal did not hesitate this time. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, the king close in pursuit behind her.
She ran and ran, without looking where she was headed. She soon found herself at a dead end at the edge of a cliff.
“Crystal. Please stop. Listen to me. Please give me a chance to explain. I wanted to tell you but you didn’t even let me. Please Crystal. I didn’t want to hide anything from you. I had called you hear, to explain everything and announce you my first consort. Crystal. “He pleaded.
But she was already glancing down the cliff and then looking back at him. There was a river flowing down the cliff. Crystal didn’t need to think twice before making the jump. She instantly looked at him and then sprang.
” Crystal. Nooooooooooooo. ” The distraught king yelled after her. But she was already gone.
The king had the entire area combed. He sent out search parties for many months after her. But with no result. Over time the king was able to get over her, but a prick in his heart remained.
Crystal on the other hand, morphed inside the water. She needed to breathe. She spent days like that underwater. The vision of seeing him with another woman was engraved in her heart with iron blades. She cried and cried, but the pain inside would simply not subside. At one point, she had even contemplated ending her life, but that was the exact moment she realised she was with child.
From that moment onwards, she lived for her baby, her Mia. She made a new life for herself and her daughter in the human world . Though over the years the pain had become ignorable, her love had not died. Even though she had vowed never to tell Mia about her father, on her death bed she couldn’t resist the temptation of making the father-daughter reunion possible. She died an untimely death for being out of the ocean for too long. Little did she know what kind of a calamity, awaited her precious child whom she had so protected and hidden carefully.