The Mermaid and the Princess

After a day of rest, Aurelia was determined that she should try to walk about once more. The mermaid was scared about it, knowing how much pain their was involved with trying such a stunt. But she knew if she didn’t try, she would be missing out on a human life she had paid dearly for. The moment came for her to get out of bed. The mermaid threw back the clean white linen sheets and looked down at her pink toes. Toes were kinda weird looking the more she thought of it. A foot was just a block of flesh with little numbs sticking out of it. It was really gross looking to Aurelia, but then again, a mermaid’s tail might look freakish and disgusting to any human. She shrugged. This was what she ask for so she best become use to it.

Aurelia lifted her legs off the bed and put them on the floor, feeling the coolness of the hardwood floor beneath them. it felt nice, like swimming in a chilled pool. But the pain started in as soon as she put any pressure on her feet. The mermaid wanted to stop, but she kept pushing on to the point where she was standing on the floor while holding the bedpost for support. As she stood there for it a minute, it didn’t feel so bad anymore. A smile ensued and Aurelia picked up on foot and place it before her. The sharpness made her breath in hard, but as she put her weight on it, it started to feel less painful. It looked as if the pain would only be intense at the first step, so if she walked normally, it shouldn’t be so bad. The mermaid took another step and stood for a while. Then she took another and another, until she was wobbling around the room, walking like a toddler learning to do so for the first time. Aurelia put her hands together and clapped. She was so happy that she had master the art of walking on legs. She head back towards the bed to take a rest when all of a sudden, Giselle walked into the room,

“Well look at you out of bed!” said the princess. This startled Aurelia and she stumbled a little, falling into the bedpost. the princess ran across the room to her side to help on the bed. “Slowly dear.” she said as she looked into those strange siren’s eyes. she couldn’t place where she had seen them before, or the beautiful red hair that accompanied her. There was no way she could have met the poor girl. She couldn’t even speak and Giselle was sure that she would remember someone like this poor girl if she met her. After putting Aurelia back to bed, Giselle began speaking once more

“It looks like you and I will be here for a while together and I wanted to get to know you better. then I realized that I don’t even know your name. I heard that you are not familiar with ink and pen as well so maybe i could read your lips.” Aurelia wanted the princess to understand her better and thought it was a good idea. The mermaid started to form her name with her lips, but the princess didn’t seem to get it.

“Ochwilla, Sabina, Francesca? Oh I do not know!” said the frustrated girl. “How about we make a new name for you. I’ll name some and see if you like any.” Aurelia nodded in approval and listen to Giselle’s suggestions.

“How about. . .Roberta, that was my grandmother’s name.” But Aurelia gave this disgusted face which made Giselle giggle. “Okay, maybe something less old. How about. . .Madison?” Aurelia shook her head no. “Okay, Ranee, Gwenivere, Sarah. . .”and the list went on and on until Giselle said a name that Aurelia fell in love with as soon as she heard it. “Sirena? You like it?” Aurelia gave a very excited nod and smiled. “Sirena, sounds like a name of a sea nymph huh?” How close to the truth Giselle was was outstanding. Aurelia giggled softly and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Giselle’s hand in hers and kissed it. Aurelia, or the newly name Sirena, was happy with the name and couldn’t wait to start her new life with the princess.

A week passed and Aurelia was starting to become a true human. She could now walk as she please and in things called shoes no less. She had been outfitted for clothes by Madame Jeunet and had been stuck with many pins and needles since she couldn’t stand still. The mermaid hated standing still. She had recently began to run and it made her feel proud and strong. Her legs were becoming tone from doing it so often. It reminded her of swimming fast and hard in the water and letting the water rush past her. Instead of that precious water, it had been replaced with air which was like walking in nothingness. It didn’t pull like water and it was so freeing that you would forget it was there.

This week, the mermaid was learning about etiquette and how to be this thing called lady like. She was told not to slurp her tea which she hated. It tasted too bitter and she would have to drown in in lots of cream and sugar and lemon. Giselle thought it was charming caring for the young strange girl. It was like raising a baby and watching it grow into a real person. Giselle would find herself staring at Sirena in awe at her beautiful naivete.

“How wonderful it must be to have not a care in the world.” She said one day to Lady Margaret, her lady in waiting who was not very impressed of the mermaid.

“I suppose it would be nice not to have responsibilities, but you wouldn’t be seen as anything but a child. It’s a shame that God made such a lovely thing so simple in the head. She must have done something horrible as an angel.”

“Lady Margaret! How dare you! You shouldn’t say something like that. I bet she has been through a lot and who are you to say what God has and hasn’t done to other people. She has a love and a liveliness that you are lacking. You mustn’t be jealous of her because God blessed her so.”

“Forgive me your highness. I did not mean to offend you.” apologized Margaret.

“Don’t ask it of me, my lady. Ask forgiveness of God and of the poor angel you have offended.” Giselle had never been so mad at Lady Margaret, but saying Sirena was simple minded and a sinner was something else. The lady left the company of Giselle, leaving the princess alone with Sirena and Josephine who was trying to teach her how to sew. Sirena wasn’t doing so good. She kept pricking her fingers and messing up her stitches. Tears started to come to the mermaids eyes as she became more frustrated. Giselle went over to her and comforted her, putting an arm around her.

“It’s okay Sirena, I wasn’t very good to start off either. Why, I must have stuck myself with a pin a least a dozen times.” Giselle took a finger and wiped away a lone tear streaming down Aurelia’s cheek. A smile came to the mermaid’s face. No matter how hard this human thing was, Giselle was always there making it better, making her remember why she was there. “Come on dearest,” Giselle said to the girl. “let’s go to the beach.” This was one of Aurelia’s favorite things. She loved to put her toes in the water. It was like going home.

The two girls started to walk to the beach when Sirena saw the strange dark people again working in the fields. Aurelia tapped Giselle on the shoulder and pointed to them, then to her own pale skin and shrugged.

“Are you asking why they have different skin than us?” Aurelia nodded. “Well, they come from a different place than you and I. It’s a continent named Africa. It’s a very hot place, hotter than here believe it or not. Anyway, in Africa the sun is so hot, it makes people’s skin get very dark.” Then Aurelia pointed to a working African woman and then to herself. She made a motion for work and then no work to herself.

“The Africans are called slaves dearest. They work for my uncle.” But Aurelia didn’t understand still. “We don’t work like them because we are white civilized women.” But this was all lost on the mermaid. “Oh Sirena, if only the world saw it the way you do. To the world, they are considered property, not people. But I’m guessing you see them as people too the same as I. BUt we are women, we cannot change the way men look at the world.” This world was so different and strange, the word stupid came to mind at times. Back in Aequorian they had no slaves and merfolk was just merfolk. Aurelia shook her head, Too many new concepts to learn today.