My Little Mermaid

Juliette's days turned back into her routine of doing her chores, eating, and sleeping. She only went to the cliff or the beach when she needed time to herself. Nicolas was never there. After awhile she started to suspect he never wanted to come back. It saddened her, knowing she was part of the reason why he didn't want to come back.

But when she sat on the ground, gazing at the water, a longing started to grow within her. She wanted to become a mermaid. She wished to every star in the sky for it to happen, but every morning she would wake up in her bed and with two legs. Juliette started to avoid the ocean, hoping this yearning will disappear. She didn't need this.

Try as she might, she never stopped totally. It was her escape from reality or when her parents pressured her too much. They wanted her to marry and soon. They forced her to go through grueling and annoying meetings with boys from neighboring villages. None of them looked at her twice once seeing Maria. She was the ugly duckling in her family. It didn't help that she had the label “dreamer” as well. It just added to her ugly duckling image. But she dealt with it.

She walked by the path that led to the cliff. She wanted to. So badly, she wanted to go and sit before the ocean. Not having anything better to do, Juliette turned down the path and strolled calmly to the cliff. It was the same. Everything was the same. The grass turning to dirt the closer it got to the edge. The short green grass had yellow flowers, dandelions. Helen would have a fit if she saw those hardy flowers.

The cliff was just like the last time she was here. Just no Nicolas. He wasn't going to be here, and she knew it. Juliette sat down cross legged. Her eyes stared at the waves, watching them flow back and forth. Rolling over each other. It was calming. She stood there. “I wish I could go into the water. I wish I could become a mermaid.”

What she didn't notice was that someone was watching. Someone hid across the way on the other side of the path, looking up at her. The hills hid the person from view. This person waited, having heard her wish. It fit perfectly with what they were doing. They needed someone like her. Someone that wanted what she did. Now all this person had to do was figure out a way to approach her.

Juliette sighed, sitting on a grassy patch. The wind screamed against the rocks of the cliff. The sky was blue. Something rarely seen in this time of the year. Autumn was coming. She could feel it. The weather was becoming more dreary and cold. The cloud cover was covering the sky most days. The equinox was coming. It was only a few days away.

The festival. Everyone was going to prepare for it. Pulling out the best of everything to celebrate the coming of the changing season. Her father was going to be at the head of the celebration as will all the councilmen. Six in total.

The man, shadowed, figured the festival would be the best time and not now. Now would be too suspicious. He might be caught. At least at the Festival of Color would offer him some cover. It wouldn't be too weird for strangers to talk to each other. Especially when most didn't know who was who unless told. For they painted their faces or wore masks. Or they did both. All he hoped was that he could find her in the festival.

Juliette sighed, hanging her head as she thought of going back home. It was never home to her. Not any more. It was just a place for her to stay and rest her head. But she knew she had to go back. It was only a matter of time. When her stomach rumbled, she knew she should head back. So Juliette stood up and brushed herself off before making the long trek back.

The man watched her and then changed his mind. He would take her now. The man in a white cloak moved, heading behind her.

The light haired girl felt the hairs on her neck rise. Something was near. She didn't know what, but there was something. Before she could even think, arms wrapped around her. A hand a cloth covered her mouth. She tried to scream, to struggle, but all that happened was she fell unconscious.



When she came to, she was in a place she had never seen before. It was made of metal. The whole room. There was a bed tucked in the corner and a nightstand beside it. A barred window let in light, but not a whole lot. The extra light came from a fixture above. It housed three light bulbs, glowing down at her. Slowly, Juliette sat up, feeling nauseous. She hunched over, covering her mouth, hoping nothing would come up. She didn't need that now. Her vision lurched quickly causing her to nearly heave her empty stomach.

A hiss sounded from before her. She looked up, squinting at the bright light streaming in. A shadow was there blocking some of it. It looked to be human. “You're awake. Good. Very good.” Juliette scurried back, hitting the cold metal wall. “Your wish will be granted.”

“My wish?” Hope coursed through her as well as fear. “How will you grant my wish? How do you even know my wish?” She could only guess that he was smiling because of the white mask over his mouth and nose.

“Think of me as your fairy godfather.” Juliette didn't know what to make of that. She wanted to believe there was someone out there that could grant her wish. But did this man have that power?

He stood there, waiting. “Come. I'll take you to the place where all wishes come true.” The man had been practicing that for the whole time she was out. He wanted it to sound real. He wanted her to believe and not struggle. He wanted her to be his perfect creation.

“What if I don't want my wish granted? What if I want a different wish? Will I be able to change it?” The man didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't something he practiced nor anticipated.

Instead, he pulled from a fairy tale he read as a kid. “You'll have three days to decide and change your mind. On the third day, the wish is permanent.” He watched as she brightened at that. It was human nature to know a way out before jumping headlong into something. Especially in this age.

“Okay.” She slowly got up, hoping not to vomit right then and there. The man held out a gloved hand to her for her to take. Juliette did and squeezed, believing she will be able to swim once this was done. Swim in the sea as a mermaid. She smiled softly as he took her down the rusty hallways and up a creaky staircase. It groaned under the combined weight of them both. She was nervous. She never did something like this before. Think for herself. Do something just for herself.

The white cloaked man pushed open a door and the lights came on, blinding her. There were lights in the hallway, but they were dim and flickered on and off. Nothing compared to the white, bright lights flooding her vision now. She closed her eyes, hoping this man would watch over her until the end.

She was pushed gently to a table. It was metal and cold against her even through her pants. “Get up. And the magic will start.” Juliette willingly got atop the table and laid down. Staring at the ceiling for a moment, she closed her eyes from the bright light over head. Someone else came over. She could hear their footsteps against the cement floor. The two mumbled to each other, but Juliette couldn't hear them. She waited, impatiently. It took only moment before two faces were above her. “Relax. Your wish will be granted now.” Juliette smiled. All she could think about was that she was going to be a mermaid. She was really going to get her wish.

But fear quickly took over as they strapped her in. Her wrists, across her stomach, and chest. They even gagged her and strapped her head down. The restraints chaffed. Her struggling was for naught. She was held fast. Her clothes on her legs were gone, leaving them bare as the table molded to her legs, holding them together. Tears started to weld at the corner of her eyes. A few spilled over, dropping onto the table beneath her.

A piston sounded, whooshing up and down. It was followed by an engine noise that revved up as time went on. Then it sounded like liquid was flowing. It scared her. This wasn't magic. This was the technology her parents feared and hated. That she feared. It was the technology that ruined everything. And this was her fault. She wanted to believe her wish was going to be granted, but not by these humans. Humans couldn't do that.

A short scream left her lips when something shot into her hips. It wasn't gentle nor was it quick. She whimpered around the gag, wanting this pain to be over. The needles jabbed into her all the way down her legs. She was crying, wanting it to stop. She begged them to stop. The needles left her and she thanked them. Juliette thanked them, thinking it was over. It wasn't. Needles shot up into the back of her legs. Her muscles trembled as the pain continued.

She didn't know how long she screamed for them to stop. For someone to save her. Her voice left her, in its place was a hoarse version. Juliette wanted out. She didn't want to be a mermaid any more if it hurt this much. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her family. Even if they didn't treat her well. But her hopes, wants, prayers were not answered. Juliette was stuck with her choice. And now she knew there was no going back. She ruined her life even more than before.

At least before she was still human. Now, she was a science experiment.

Juliette was awoken sharply by something cold. It splashed around her as she sank. Her arms flailed about, trying to get to the surface to breathe. Her lungs burned for oxygen. But she couldn't get any. Her legs wouldn't move how she wanted them to. They twitched back and forth. But she didn't question why or how that was. She was focused on trying to get air and survive.

Two arms wrapped around her. Fear took hold, and she struggled within their grasp. “Stop squirming.” The familiar voice calmed her for a moment. Only a moment. She tried to get out, not even realizing she was breathing. “Juliette!” Her name froze her. Only one person in the water knew her name; Nicolas. She spun around and stared into the familiar blue eyes.

Nicolas looked her over, wondering just how she came to have a tail. It was green. Emerald green. And the fin was large. It was forked, and the edges were jagged. Juliette stared at him, realizing he was here before her. “How?” Her hands reached to her throat, remembering she couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned once again.

“Idiot! You were breathing!” Choking, she gulped down the salt water before something slid into place. She took a deep breath. Her lungs filled with air. Surprisingly. She touched her neck, trying to see if there was any gills there, but there weren't. It just made her more confused. “Don't even ask. I'm not in the mood to answer any of your questions.” Juliette ducked her head, licking her lips in apprehension. “But you will answer my question. How the hell did you become one of us?” Her solemn eyes flickered up to him before looking off to the side.

She didn't want to explain it to him. She didn't want to admit that she did this to herself. All of this was her fault. Nicolas waited, glaring at her. He even took a swim around her, noticing everything was correct for her to be a mermaid.

The two of them floated in the water, moving just a bit to counteract the current. Nicolas was about to shout at her for not answering him when she spoke up. “I...wished it?” He didn't know what to make of that.

“What?” Nicolas wanted to know everything now. “Wishes don't just get granted.” Juliette bit her bottom lip, feeling guilty. Tears drifted off into the waves. “What really happened?” Instead of telling him, she broke down. Full out crying and sobbing. She didn't want to tell him, but at the same time she knew he would find out. Truthfully, she didn't really know what happened either. A man took her, injected something into her, and she woke up in the ocean. That was all she knew. It scared her she knew so little. But this was brought upon herself by herself. She didn't even know how long she was out for.

Nicolas didn't know what to do. He was never good with crying girls. So he opted to just pat her on the shoulder. When she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso, he was surprised to say the least. They stayed like that until she was hiccuping. Juliette pushed away, wiping her face on the back of her hand. She bowed her head. She didn't expect to cry like that. But the pain of the injection was still fresh in her mind. Juliette just wanted someone to comfort her. Tell her it will be alright.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned away from him. Nicolas sighed. “Sorry.” He grabbed her wrist only to have her pull away, flinching in pain. His brow furrowed, confused. His blue eyes looked down at her wrists only to notice how red they were. She cradled them to her chest that was covered with just her ripped shirt. It was ripped and cut short, showing off her stomach. Her pale stomach. But what was interesting was that her skin didn't have a green tint to it until just above her tail. It was all pale, human skin color instead.

He started to look closer and noticed that there was a red tint around her mouth as well. Something happened to her. His protective nature started to come out, but his stubbornness won. “So...are you going to tell me?”

She looked at him, fearful and guilt stricken. “I...you won't like it.” He shrugged, not caring in the slightest. He already didn't trust her. She might have helped him, but she was human, and he only knew her a day. “Well,” she started, gently fingering her wrists. “I was kidnapped. And a man there—I was so stupid to believe it, but he said he could grant my wish.” She turned away. Nicolas didn't say anything, but he gave her a look. A patronizing look. “I was offered a way to have my wish granted. He...they did things and...now I'm here.”

“Fine. Keep your secrets. But you need those,” he pointed towards her wrists. “to be taken care of.” Juliette glanced at her wrists and just sighed. She didn't know if she should go with him. But what choice did she have? She didn't know anyone in the sea. Only him. “Follow me.” He flipped his tail, heading through the water. Juliette tried to follow his movements, but it didn't work. She just wiggled around. Nicolas glanced back at her and groaned. He knew he had to teach her how to swim before going anywhere. And that was what he was going to do.