The Call Of Thalassa

“I must be a mermaid, Rango.

I have no fear of depths and

a great fear of shallow living.”

-Anais Nin

The rain fell down on the windows restlessly as the skies unleashed their tears. Aileen blew slightly on her steamy cup of tea as she sat on the comfortable couch -nervousness and excitement filling her insides. Her eyes took in nana’s wrinkled face and warm chocolate orbs as she gazed into nothingness lost in her thoughts. It was obvious that the old woman knew more than she let be shown, making her wonder what could she possibly have been through.

The young woman didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t want to pry in nana’s memories, but she was the only one that knew and truly understood what was going on with her. She had all the answers she needed –answers that come from life’s experiences and not the old pages of a dusty book. As comfortable as she felt with Havelock, there were still things that she couldn’t fully grasp and was too shy to question him about. Nana was the only person that could currently help her.

“You know, my dear, you remind me a lot of my younger self.”

Aileen felt her cheeks burning with heat as nana Alexandra gave her a small smile.

“Because we both know about merpeople?“, she questioned her curiously.

The old lady sat comfortably back on her armchair.

“Among other things.”

They fell silent for a while, each one deep in their own thoughts. The sound of the pounding rain filled the quiet living room, creating a cozy atmosphere for the two women.

“I am scared.”

Nana’s eyes snapped open at the young girl in front of her, taking in her confusion and nervousness. She cocked her head to the side.

“Of him?”

The younger woman shook her head negatively. Havelock had proven to her time and time again that he wouldn’t harm her in any way. Not only had he saved her from drowning, but he was also always a gentleman to her. This was out of the question.

“Of the future”, she bit her lower lip nervously, “Everything has changed.”

Nana let a heartfelt laugh escape her at her words.

“Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, my dear.”

“No, it isn’t”, she agreed with the older lady, “But that doesn’t make me any less scared of it.”

“You’d be a fool if you weren’t.”

Emerald eyes met chocolate ones.

“I am not asking of you to be fearless, Aileen. I am asking you to not let your fear destroy the happiness that you can create.”

Aileen watched nana curiously.

“You said you were a merman’s mate. Weren’t you scared of him? Of your future with him?”

Alexandra gave her a saddened smile.

“I was terrified of him”, she admitted, “Back then I was as ignorant as you are. I didn’t know anything about merfolk and their culture. Hell, I didn’t know of their existence!”

Aileen didn’t dare to cut off the older woman as she started explaining to her everything. She sat on the couch across from her and let her words sink in.

“I was traveling with my father at that time, heading towards the Port of Lincester. My grandmother was living nearby and she had fallen terribly sick. My father’s sister had sent a letter to him, telling him that she didn’t have much time left and we had immediately taken the first ship that sailed for the port.

Night had almost fallen, but we were still on the open ocean. The sea was calm and the winds were kind, filling our sails with air and guiding us quickly towards our destination. Everything was wonderful until we reached the Daveglar coasts.

The ship began to shake violently, even though no wave would disturb the surface of the water. The crew started running up and down looking to see what was going on. At first, they assumed we’d crashed into a reef, but they couldn’t be more wrong.”

Nana took a deep breath of air as she reminisced the horror of that night.

“A merfolk attack?“, the young girl whispered, “I thought that their attacks had stopped centuries ago.”

“A Tenebris attack”, she corrected her.

Aileen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“They are outcasts, rogues. Their society has cast them away because they are a danger to them. They are bloodthirsty, revengeful beasts that used to be merpeople. They are more of an animal rather than a mer.”

Aileen felt a shiver going down her spine at the explanation.

“They usually do not travel in packs since they are ruled by madness and end up killing each other. But this group did. They all gathered on one side of our ship and started pushing it. They pushed and pushed with unbelievable force until the ship turned completely over and we all found ourselves underwater.

Then, they started attacking us, feeding on our flesh and bones. I pushed myself towards the surface but then I realized that we had nowhere to hide. The coasts were theoretically near but we didn’t stand a chance trying to swim towards them. A tail is way faster than a pair of legs.

I tried to close my ears and block the screams of terror that surrounded me. I tried to block the sight of floating limps and sharp teeth. I was surrounded by death and I was sure that I was going to die too.

I saw one coming my way, licking his fangs with his tongue as it approached me with crazed eyes. I tried to swim backward but my back touched the side of our turned over ship. In a desperate attempt, I tried to climb onto it but the wood was slippery and I couldn’t hold onto anything. There was nowhere I could hide. Nowhere I could go to.”

Aileen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She sat rigid on the old couch as her form trembled at nana’s words. She couldn’t have imagined that nana had been through all that during her younger years.

“And then I met him”, she smiled to herself at the memory, “Colvert.”

“He slashed my attacker with his sharp trident, snarling at him viciously. His eyes were glowing a vibrant green color as he took in my trembling form. He wore an armor of sorts, it was covering his arms and part of his chest. Needless to say, I was completely shocked.”

The young girl sat on the edge of her seat as her words registered.

“An armor?“, she asked confused.

“Ah yes. You see, the Tenebris apparently had attacked us nearby Atlantis’ borders and the King didn’t take it lightly. He sent his second in command -the general of all his forces, alongside with his royal guards to settle the matter. Colvert was one of the guards that the general took with him. He said he smelled my scent the moment they arrived and almost went mad at the thought of me dying because of them.”

Nana smiled at the memory, feeling a tear falling down her cheek. She thought she had buried her memories deep enough that they didn’t hurt her anymore. She couldn’t be more foolish. How could she forget the happiness of a lifetime because of an unfair moment?

“You love him.”

It was a statement, not a question. It was quite obvious that bringing back those memories made nana emotional. Remembering a loved one that was long gone will always bring tears to those who reminisce him. The pain of the loss never leaves, no matter the years that pass by. You just have to learn to live with their absence and the unreplaceable gap they leave behind.

“I loved him.”

Alexandra quickly wiped the tear that had escaped from her eye, trying to compose herself.

“You see, my dear, just because he was different didn’t mean I loved him or he loved me any less. Love is not something you can restrict –it doesn’t fit into stereotypes and rules. You can’t control it. And that’s what makes it so extraordinary.”

Aileen felt her own eyes filling with tears. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, before looking into nana’s chocolate orbs.

“What happened next?“, she asked curiously.

“Well, to be honest, I was scared out of my mind. When I set foot on land, I didn’t dare to visit the beach for a long period of time. But after a while, I started to feel this itch –this need to be close to the wild waves”, nana chuckled to herself.

“The Call?“, Aileen asked knowingly.

“Well, mates are supposed to be together”, nana shrugged her shoulders.

The young girl played with her fingers nervously.

“How was he?”

Nana took a deep breath, trying to contain the tears in her eyes.

“Colvert was...well, a typical merman. Protective, possessive, kind. He always treated me like I was the most precious gem in the world. I was terrified of him but then, he made me realize that he would never let anything harm me. I slowly but surely fell in love with my merman.

You see, my dear, just because someone is different, doesn’t mean you have to turn your back to him. Colvert gave me happiness that I could find nowhere else in this world. He was my other half and if I might say so, the man that my heart chose to fall for.”

Aileen gave a bright smile to the old lady in front of her. Nana Alexandra gave her hope of a future filled with love and happiness. If she and Colvert have managed to uphold a relationship between a human and a merman, then it was possible for her and Havelock to do the same. She felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders and she could finally breathe again.

“This sounds wonderful, nana”, Aileen whispered excitedly, “It’s like a real-life fairytale!”

“It was. At least, for as long as it lasted”, nana smiled at her sadly.

Aileen furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“I thought that things worked out between you”, She asked timidly.

“Oh, my dear, they did. But all good things end at some time. One way or another.”

Emerald eyes met chocolate ones.

“I don’t understand...“, Aileen said confused.

Nana felt a lump in her throat, making her unable to form the words she wanted. Even after all these years, the past affected her greatly. Goodbyes are never easy, especially when you don’t get to say them.

“Colvert died.”

Aileen’s head snapped up in shock.

“We were together for a few years before he...He went on a mission and never returned back”, a sniffled escaped her, “Strange things were happening back then in Atlantis. He was a royal guard and had a duty to protect his people with his life. And he did.”

Nana turned her gaze to the window and watched as the raindrops slowly fell like unstoppable tears. No matter the years that had passed, the pain hadn’t lessened. She would never forgive herself for not kissing him goodbye that day. Neither would she ever forgive herself for keeping her secret as a surprise and not telling him straight away.

Because Colvert never learned that he was leaving behind his soulmate as she was carrying the precious gift of life. His light faded away before he learned that he was going to be a father. And perhaps, if he was aware of this, he wouldn’t have left her side that dreadful day.

“I am so sorry, nana.”

Alexandra looked at the girl in front of her. Her pearly tears matching her own.

“Don’t be sorry for the dead, my dear. Be sorry for the living. Because they are the ones that carry the curse of remembrance and can do nothing about it.”

Aileen looked at her hands, not knowing what you say. How can you soothe someone’s pain, when the wound is open even after all these years? How can somebody forget their soul’s half? Their heart’s chosen? They can’t. And they never will.

“Nana-”

“The next time you see your prince, I want you to ask him something.”

Aileen looked at her perplexed.

“You have every right to know, my dear.”

Her chocolate eyes were filled with concern like a mother worrying for her child. And in a way, Aileen was like a daughter to her since she had taken care of her at a young age. Nana was the closest mother figure Aileen had since her mother’s death.

“Your life might be in grave danger, my child.”

Nana’s voice trembled, both from fear and anxiousness.

“I don’t understand,” Aileen asked confused.

Alexandra shook her head and her dark orbs hardened.

“Next time you see Havelock...ask him about Sethelious.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 21!!

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Until next time!!