Riptide

Riptide

A Short Story By
Erica Cope

Riptide
Copyright © 2014 Erica Cope
Cover design by Sprinkles on Top Studios
All rights reserved. This book may not be used or reproduced, scanned or distributed in any form without permission from the author except where permitted by law. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your respect and cooperation are greatly appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

ISBN-13: 978-1502781710
ISBN-10: 1502781719

Note to Readers:

RIPTIDE

is the prequel to the full-length novel

Sea Swept

~
             

              Our world is not for the fainthearted. The merfolk of Kestia can be cold--violent even. It is the way it is—but it's not the way it has always been.
              There was a time when the breathtaking and mystical world of Kestia was an underwater paradise. The Kestians lived in harmony. I do not believe there was ever a more peaceful place than here. 
              Harmonia and I were amongst the elite. In fact, Harmonia had been betrothed at a very young age to Prince Merrick who would one day be given the trident, making him the reigning ruler of the South Sea just as his father was before him.
              Everything was progressing smoothly. Harmonia had reached the age of maturity. She and Merrick were to be united by the next full moon, but today was the day that Harmonia's betrothal to Merrick was to be made binding and the month long celebrations would begin. These celebrations would lead up to their official union when they would be crowned King and Queen.
                I knew that she was practically giddy with excitement over finally having all her dreams come true. She was going to be queen—something she had been dreaming about since she was a child.
              I didn't really understand her obsession with Merrick. He had always seemed distracted to me, like there was something in the distance he was searching for though he didn't seem to know what it was.  I didn't think he would make for a very attentive mate, but I guess my opinion didn't matter since I was the younger sister and therefore not the one to be betrothed to him. 
              Sometimes though I wondered if perhaps she wasn't so much in love with Merrick as much as she was in love with the idea of being queen. But I didn't dare voice those thoughts.
              “Harmonia, wait for me!” I remembered calling out to her. I may have been stronger than her, but she was faster than me.
              “Swim faster, Delia!” she called back over her shoulder with a wide grin. She didn't slow down though. In fact, she was still smiling at me when another mermaid appeared out of nowhere, directly in Harmonia's path.
              “Watch out!” I exclaimed, but it was too late. Harmonia and the other mermaid collided violently.
              “Are you okay?” I asked as soon as I was close enough. Harmonia appeared fine, but the other mermaid seemed dazed and confused. 
              “I don't know where I am,” the fair-headed maid said in a soft, melodic voice.
              She was obviously a Merrow, from the Northern seas, based on her fair coloring and the shape of her tailfin. Kestians had bold colored tails with feathery fins. Merrows had smoother, pale fins that only flared out at the end like a dolphin’s.
              Her gold hair cascaded down her back, swaying gently around her face. I had never been face to face with a goddess before but with this mermaid's beauty, she could have easily been mistaken for one.
              “Who are you?” Harmonia asked, kindly.
              “My name is Elissa.”
              “Did I hurt you?” Harmonia checked over Elissa to make sure that she was okay. She didn't seem hurt, just sort of lost.
              “No, I'm fine. I just honestly don't know where I am or how I got here for that matter,” Elissa said.
              “You are in the Southern seas. Just outside of the kingdom of Kestia,” I told her. Her green eyes widened in surprise as she realized just how far from home she truly was.
              “Oh, my! I—I don't—,” she stuttered.
              “Come with us,” Harmonia linked her arm through one of Elissa's. “We are on our way to the castle. I'm sure they will be able to help you.”
              The three of us swam on toward Kestia, chatting and getting to know our new friend. Elissa was a modest thing, very gentle and soft-spoken. I liked her immensely and vowed to help her find her way home.
              When we entered the castle, we were met with cheerful greetings all around. Harmonia and I were well known in Kestia anyway, but today was a special day. Everyone knew that today would be the day that the betrothal would be made official. In one moon cycle, Harmonia and Merrick would be officially united and Kestia would have a new king and queen.
              We entered the rectangular throne room where Merrick was with his father, who would very soon hand over the gleaming trident in his hands to his son. The trident would grant Merrick the divine right to reign over the Southern seas.
              When Merrick saw our arrival, his eyes lit up, but he wasn't looking at Harmonia, something she quickly noticed. His focus was entirely on Elissa, as was hers on him. I think the castle could have collapsed around them and it still wouldn't have been enough to break the trance the two of them seemed to be under.
              “Hello, Merrick,” Harmonia said, waving her arms around in an attempt to catch his attention.
              “Hello,” he half-heartedly greeted her, never lifting his stormy gray eyes away from Elissa's bright green ones. “Who are you?”
              “I'm Elissa,” she spoke softly, as she lowered her head, respectfully submissive.
              “She's a bit confused,” Harmonia interrupted the exchange. “I found her swimming around aimlessly. She claims that she doesn't know how she got here or why she's here.”
              Merrick, in a sympathetic gesture, placed his hand on Elissa's shoulder, and in that moment, everything changed. There was a noticeable shift of tension when, at the exact moment Merrick made physical contact with Elissa, identical blue marks appeared on both Elissa and Merrick's forearms.
              Bondmarks.
              “Wha—?” Elissa stared down at her arm in disbelief.
              “So that's why,” Merrick murmured, gazing affectionately down at Elissa. “I never thought this would happen.”
              “Nor did I,” Elissa whispered softly. “But it explains so much—”
              “All this time, I felt like I was looking for
something
but I guess I was really looking for
someone
. You.” Merrick held Elissa's hand in his own.
              “The pull—that is what brought me here,” Elissa explained. She had traveled thousands of miles because of the pull of the bondmark. I couldn't understand how something could be so strong.
              There was more to their exchange but I missed the rest of it, because all I could see was the crestfallen expression on my sister's face as she backed slowly away from Merrick and Elissa.
              “No, no, no, no, no.” She muttered rather darkly. Her face blanched. “That cannot be.”
              “Harmonia? Are you okay?” I realized the moment the words came out of my mouth that of course she wasn't. How could she be? In such a short time span, she went from being the future Queen of Kestia to nothing at all as the bondmarks were more binding than any contract. Merrick and Elissa were soul mates. They were destined to be together.
              It was a rare occurrence for bondmates to find each other, and when they did it was cause for great celebration. Though the look on Harmonia's face at that moment was anything but happy. I knew at once that she was slipping farther and farther into the darkness. I couldn't help but wonder if she would ever resurface from her downward spiral.
              She turned at once, leaving the castle without another word. I tried to follow but she had always been faster than me, and I knew that if she wanted to be left alone there wasn't anything that I could do about it.
 

~
             

              Merrick and Elissa had sealed their bond shortly after her arrival and upon their union they became King and Queen of Kestia.
              Though it had only been a few months since her arrival, I already felt very close to her. She was gentle and kind and it was easy being around her. Elissa, despite her obvious love for Merrick, felt horrible for the way things had turned out. 
              With nothing else to occupy my time, I had begun training with one of Merrick's most trusted guards, Krill. Harmonia never would have approved. She would have said it was
beneath our status
. But since she was no longer at court, I didn't feel the need to seek my older sister's approval. 
              The training was strenuous and though it kept me busy, I tried to make time to visit Elissa as often as I could manage.
              “I'm so glad that you came today,” Elissa said. “You get to meet the new princess before she is officially presented.”
              I could see just how proud she was of her new baby. She motioned for me to come closer. The sleeping baby had golden hair just like her mother.
              “She's beautiful,” I told her.
              “Merrick says he hopes to have at least eight more,” she said with a sigh.
              “How exhausting.”
              “That's what I said.” She smiled. “Though if they are all as sweet as she is, I'd consider it.”
              “Brothers and sisters are always good.”
              Elissa looked up at me, with a sad expression. “Have you spoken to her recently?”
              I knew that she meant my own sister. I shook my
a
head no. “Not since the day the marks appeared.”
              I had tried to talk to her at first, but all of my attempts of reaching out to my sister had been viciously rejected.
              “Should I offer her a position here at court?” Elissa asked. 
              “I'm not sure if there is anything to be done,” I told her honestly.
              “I just feel so awful about how everything turned out,” Elissa said as she ran her slender fingers through her long, golden hair.
              “I know that you feel guilty, but honestly, how could you have known?”
              “Do you know where she is? Is she okay?”
              “I know that she wants to be left alone.”
              “I do wish she would return to court,” Elissa said sadly.
              “I don't know if her heart could face it.”
              “Would you try to talk to her?” she asked.
              “I've tried. She hasn't spoken to me in months,” I admitted.
              “Please? Try again?” I could see how desperate she was to make peace with my sister.
              “I will try.”
              “Thank you,” she said earnestly as I left.
              I knew exactly where Harmonia had been hiding for the last few months. But I also knew that she sought isolation.
              At first, I held on to hope that someday she would speak to me again, but those days were long gone.
              If not for Elissa's request, I would have continued giving my sister the space she so obviously desired. Even though it hurt me to know that Harmonia was out there, alone and heartbroken, I wasn't sure my own heart could handle having her hatred directed at me again. 
              She had taken up residence several miles outside of the Kestian court. Hardly anyone ventured out this far, which I was certain was the reason Harmonia was drawn to this particular area of the ocean.
              I approached the cavern cautiously, unsure how she would respond to my appearance after so much time.
              “Harmonia?” I called out to her. “I know you're there.”
              “Go away, Delia!” she called from inside her new dwelling. 
              “You can't avoid me forever.”
              “Oh yeah? Watch me!” she snapped, still not emerging from inside the depths of the cave she had taken up residence in.
              “Come on, Harmonia. Please?”
              “What do you want?” she asked, finally making an appearance. She looked thinner, like she hadn't eaten properly in several months and her dark hair swayed around her face, framing her pale, sunken-in features. She barely looked like my sister any more.
              “I wanted to see you,” I told her. “I miss you.”
              She cackled in response. The sound took me off guard. She didn't sound like my sister either.
              “Did that ninny send you?” she sneered.
              “Elissa has been nothing but kind to me. She wishes you would return to court.”
              “Of course she does! So she can parade around in that crown that should have been mine!”
              “Harmonia! She isn't like that!” I defended Elissa to her, which was probably a huge mistake.
              “You dare defend her to me? My own sister isn't even on my side?” She spat out the words angrily.
              “I didn't mean—it's just that—” It didn't matter what I was trying to say, nothing I could have said would have persuaded Harmonia that I wasn't a traitor.
              “It doesn't matter anyway! She won't be the queen for long!” she exclaimed, with a wave of her hand.
              “What are you saying?” I asked nervously.
              “You will find out soon—that much I can promise you.”
              “Harmonia, what do you mean? What are you planning to do?”
              “Oh, I've been busy these last few months. You have chosen to visit me just in time because today, I plan to reclaim that which is rightfully mine,” she said, pulling out a spear from the shark-skin strap around her waist. She twisted it back and forth in her hands, mesmerized by the sharp point of the gray stone.
              “No, you can't! Harmonia! How could you?”
              “Don't!” she bellowed, pressing the tip of the spear to my throat. “Don't you dare try to betray me! You will regret it.” 
              “What you are doing is wrong,” I said through my teeth. 
              “Then you have made your choice,” she stated matter-of-factly, dropping the spear away from my neck. I didn't dare touch the tender spot where the point had dug into my skin. It was like I was seeing my sister—truly seeing her—for the first time.
              Harmonia was a scorned woman—furious at what she considered to be a great betrayal. It was at that moment I knew that life in Kestia would never be the same again. Like a riptide, my sister would tear through Kestia leaving a violent disturbance in her wake.               
                 See, the thing about this life was, if Harmonia wanted to be queen, there was only one way that was going to happen. Queen Elissa had one of the kindest souls I had ever known. I didn't want anything to happen to her. I feared for her. I feared what I knew my sister was capable of.
              I knew that she meant to challenge Elissa, which ultimately would result in a battle to the death. That wasn't something I wanted. I didn't want to lose either my friend or my sister.
             
“Harmonia, please, don’t do this!” I tried talking her out of it, but she had always been headstrong. When she wanted something she stopped at nothing to get it.
              “And why not?” she sneered. “I would be a much more suitable queen than that meek little guppy. She stole him from me.”
              “She can’t steal something that was never yours to begin with.”
              “He was supposed to be!” she countered with venom on her tongue.
              “But he loves her,” I reminded her. She flinched in response.
              She tilted her chin up defiantly. “Merrick deserves a worthier mate.”
              “They are bonded!” I cried out in exasperation. Why was this so hard for her to understand? Harmonia was driven mad with jealously. She never loved Merrick but she was supposed to be united with him once she reached maturity. She had grown up believing that one day she would be queen. I think it went to her head.
              When Merrick met Elissa, there was no denying she was meant to be his. The bondmarks—the mark of Aquarius—revealed themselves on their forearms instantly and were the brightest blue any of us had ever seen—a sure indicator of a strong bond.
              “He’s bonded to her.” I said the words slowly, deliberately; desperate for her to get it through her head that this was a bad idea.
              “And now I will kill her.”
              “That won’t make him love you.”
              She cackled—and the sound was so frightfully evil-sounding that my heart stopped in my chest. Her black-as-night hair floated gracefully all around her face, framing it in darkness. What had happened to my sister?
              “Maybe not, but at least I’ll be queen like I was born to be. And if you try to stop me, I swear, I'll kill you too.” She swam away.  I watched until I could no longer see the amber of her feathery tail. What if she succeeded? What would happen to the kingdom? To Merrick? To lose one’s bondmate—I could barely imagine the pain that it would cause. We had all heard stories—legends really because the occurrence was so rare—about bondmates that had suffered such a loss.              
              The consequence of it was total devastation—the surviving mate was never the same again. It was like someone had ripped their body in two. Merrick would be broken.
              The knot that had slowly been forming in the pit of my stomach as I realized there was no reasoning with Harmonia felt heavy. So heavy that I wasn't sure I could even move. I felt frozen in time and space, chained by invisible ropes and weighted down with the guilt that my own flesh and blood was capable of so much hatred.
              I had to stop her, but I had no idea how. I swam toward the direction she had headed in. I couldn't see her any more, but it didn't matter. I knew exactly where she was going.
              The Kestians were already gathering in the center of the inner bailey, eager to meet our new princess. Elissa was beside Merrick. Her fair hair swayed gently around her head only being held back from her face by her seashell crown as she cradled the small bundle in her arms. Her green eyes were bright with excitement as she watched everyone arrive to meet their daughter, the new princess. It was obvious that Merrick's enthusiasm mirrored that of Elissa's.
              When they were side by side like that, the bond was evident in a bigger way than just the zigzag blue marks on their arms that aligned perfectly like puzzle pieces. I watched as he gently wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer and then kissing the top of her head.
              She smiled up at him in return with such adoration it made me idly wonder what that would feel like. To know without a doubt that you were with the one being you were made for. I never gave much thought to destiny, but seeing Merrick and Elissa together, it was easy to believe in the existence of fate.
              There was a glow of love around the two of them. Even their movements were in sync with one another. They looked completely at ease and blissfully happy. But that was all about to change at the hands of my greedy sister.
              My heart broke for Elissa. She had just given birth to a daughter and the little one was supposed to be officially presented to the Kestians as the new princess. This baby would be our future queen.
              Harmonia couldn’t have chosen a worse day to challenge the poor queen. I wanted to scream out a warning. I'm not sure what stopped me other than my own fear of the inevitable repercussions.
              It didn’t matter what day it was nor how long the queen or king had been in power—if another Kestian felt they were more suitable for the throne, they could challenge them—a duel to the death. It rarely happened—in fact it had never happened in my lifetime or that of my own parents.              
              But we all knew about the precedence.
              I had to get out of there. I knew that I shouldn't be such a coward. I knew that I should have tried to stop her—that I should have kept trying.
              But I'd never been brave.
              I took one last look at the happy couple and then, like the coward I was, I left Kestia.

~
 

             
I stayed out of Kestia after that. I knew that Harmonia wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted and I knew that there was no way I was strong enough to make her stop. I grieved the loss of Elissa alone in my self-imposed solitude.
              I found myself in one of the many isolated caverns in the deep sea where no one would come looking for me. The sea was peaceful here. I could almost pretend that it never happened. That Merrick and Elissa were still happily reigning over Kestia together.
              I knew I wouldn't be able to bear to witness Harmonia's tyranny nor Merrick's heartbreak without being consumed with guilt. I felt like it was my fault because I couldn't stop my sister. I didn't even try.
              Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, the summer solstice was approaching. In the past, this was a time of celebration, but that was before Harmonia had ruined everything. Who knew what Kestia was like these days? For all I knew, it no longer existed.
              “I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to find you.” A voice from behind me caused me to jump, losing grip of the spear I was using and letting my dinner get away.
              I turned slowly to find myself face to face with Krill, my former mentor and Merrick's most-trusted friend. His dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. He wore a gold band around each of his rather large biceps—the symbol of the guard. Krill was well-regarded in Kestia for his loyalty to Merrick.
              “How'd you find me?” I demanded to know.
              “Merrick had Ocarina do a locator spell.”
              Ocarina was a well-respected sea witch. She was also a bit of a recluse. Merrick must have been desperate to find me if he had reached out to her.
              “Merrick is looking for me?”
              “Yes. He needs to see you. Immediately.”
              “Why me?” I had been gone for more than a year. I couldn't imagine what he would want from me.
              “I have no idea. You'll have to ask him.”
              I doubted that was true. Merrick told Krill everything but it was obvious that Krill wasn't going to share any information with me. I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that I couldn't just ignore Merrick, he was still my king, but the whole point of leaving was to stay out of it.
              “Okay. Fine. I'll go.”
              I followed Krill to a secluded location outside of Kestia. I wasn't sure why Merrick would want to meet me here, unless he didn't want Harmonia to know he was seeking me.
              Krill stopped and motioned for me to enter the secluded cavern hidden by a curtain of seaweed. 
              When I entered, Merrick was twisting his golden trident in his hands rhythmically as he stared blankly at the stony wall.
            When he noticed my arrival, his whole demeanor changed. Almost like a switch had flipped, he went from apathetic to hopeless despair. I was startled by the obvious change in him. His stormy gray eyes were hardened—emotionless. It was as though he'd completely given up. That he had barely existed for so long that he had decided it wasn't worth it any more.
              “Delia, I need your help,” Merrick begged. I've never seen him so desperate. To witness the devastation still evident in his entire being broke me.
              “Why me?”
              “Because your sister thinks that you are dead.”
              “What?” I gasped.
              “Everyone in Kestia believes you are dead.”
              “Why?” Yes, I had disappeared, but why would that automatically make everyone assume I was dead?
              “I might have had a hand in spreading that rumor,” he admitted.
              “You told people I was dead?”
              “I did it for your protection. Harmonia would have hunted you down if she thought you were still alive.”
              “Oh.” I quietly let that
all
sink in. My sister—my own flesh—wanted me dead. “She wanted me dead?”
              “Yes, so I told her what she wanted to hear,” Merrick said. “She believes you are dead, which makes you the best person for the task.” He peered deep into my eyes. “I suspect that there is a reason you've been away from Kestia this past year?” he asked.
              “Yes,” I answered solemnly.
              “And I suspect that reason has everything to do with what—with what your sister did.” He barely choked out the words. His devastation over Harmonia's actions and the loss of his bondmate, Elissa, were so obvious that it hurt to look at him.
              “I wanted to stop her,” I admitted—wishing I could make him understand how guilty I felt for being such a coward.
              “Harmonia is intimidating, so I understand why you ran away. But I'm really hoping that I'm correct in thinking that you would do anything to make it right?”
              I nodded slowly. “What—what can I do?” I asked him tentatively.
              “I think she's trying to kill me,” he started. He filled me in on what I had missed this past year. “No, I know she is. Rumors of her plans have been filtering in for weeks now and I suspect that she intends to move forward very soon.”
              He spoke so calmly about the possibility of his death, I found it unsettling. Apparently Harmonia had finally realized that it didn't matter how much time had passed, Merrick was never going to love her so she sought total power. The only way to do that would be to take possession of the trident. Merrick had grown suspicious that she'd seek the trident through more covert means.
              “What do you think I'd be able to do?” I turned away from him, shaking my head. “You said that she thinks I'm dead and somehow I don't think my sudden reappearance would be well-received.”
              “I know.”
              “Then why did you send for me?”
              “You might be Harmonia's sister, but you were also Elissa's friend,” he stated. “I trust you to help me.”
              “What do you want me to do?” I asked.
              He stared down at the trident in his hands and then at the sleeping baby—his daughter. She had grown so much since the last time I laid eyes on her. She looked just like Elissa. She even had her golden hair that curled slightly at the ends.
              “Do you know the power behind this trident?” he asked, twisting it in his hands.
              “It gives the holder the divine power to rule over the sea,” I answered.
              “Do you know how one goes about possessing it?”
              I swallowed a hard lump in my throat before answering.
              “Defeating the king or queen who holds it,” I choked out the words.
              “Yes, that is one way. But there is another—a much less violent one.”
              “What?” I asked, surprised. “How?”
              “I can give it to whomever proves themselves worthy.”
              “That easy?”
              “If the trident agrees, yes,” he said sadly. “It's that easy.”
              If the trident agrees? “You sound like you think the trident has a mind of its own.”
              “In a way, it does,” he said, turning the trident over in his hands. “Your sister knows this.”
              I realized where this conversation was going. “Just refuse to give it to her! There's no way she is worthy enough to hold it.”
              “Make no mistake, I have no intention of handing this over to her. Which is why I need your help.”              
              I listened carefully as he began telling me his plan—memorizing every detail in hopes that I would be able to pull it off.
              “You need to leave at once,” Merrick said handing the trident over to me. It glowed brightly as soon as it was in my hands which I wasn't expecting. It took me so off guard that I almost dropped it, but I couldn't. It was like my hand was stuck to the handle of the trident. It felt like it was attaching itself to me. The glowing dimmed until the trident returned to its normal gold color and grew cold again.
              “Interesting,” Merrick muttered thoughtfully.
              “What's interesting?” I asked, still stunned.               “Never mind,” he answered quietly. “You need to travel north until you reach Neptune's cavern. Enter through it and you will find that inside the cave, you are no longer under the sea.”
              He must’ve registered the shock on my face because he was quick to explain, “The cave leads to the phenomenon of the Nisse River.  It flows under land through the inner earth for several miles. The water will gradually shift from salt to fresh there so be prepared for the change. It's not an easy task I ask of you.”
              “I understand.” It didn't matter to me how difficult what he was asking of me would be. I just knew that I had to do it.
              “Before the river resurfaces, you will find yourself in one of the many interconnected caverns. There you must find the Twin caves. Either entrance will take you where you need to go, though the western one will be the easier journey.  Deep inside the Twin caves is where you must hide the trident.”
              “Just...leave it? That's it.”
              “Take this.” He handed me a small vial of thick red liquid. “Pour it on a rock—any rock that is well hidden—then shove the trident into the stone.”
              I furrowed my brow and he must have realized how confused I was by his strange request because he went on to further explain, “It's my blood that will encase the trident in the stone. Only my blood will be able to retrieve it.”
              He gazed down meaningfully at his daughter and I understood.
              “I'll leave at once.”
              He gingerly handed me the trident. “Thank you, Delia.”
              Merrick was once so strong and lively, but now he seemed defeated. I couldn't ignore my part in this now broken soul.
              Even though what he asked of me wouldn't bring back his beloved, it might help put a stop to Harmonia's schemes. She was obviously willing to do horrendous things to get what she wanted, which put the princess at great risk.
              As hard as it was to fathom, I wouldn't put it past her to kill the baby princess like she killed both Elissa and now Merrick.  I didn't stop her before—I didn't even try—but I had to help Merrick now. I owed him that much.              
              With one final look at the morose King, I set off on my journey.