Mutante: Chapter 6
Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Frerichs
While they talked, the light in the compass had been steadily creeping closer to the center of the star and now it stopped blinking, becoming a steady glow.
“We’re here,” Rosie said, holding up the compass.
“Here?”
“Well, the compass doesn’t really show elevation, but the cave is down there somewhere. We just need to go straight down from here and find the entrance.”
“Ok.” His face grew stern, and he drew his sword. “Down, Waterdancer.”
As they exited the pitch black, gradually adjusting to the gloom, Rosie could just make out the starfish formation near the cave. “Go that way,” she murmured, pointing to one of the starfish’s arms.
Robert complied, and eventually, they swam below the star to the trench that hid underneath it.
“The entrance is right over there,” Rosie said, pointing to a dark hole some twenty meters below them.
Robert frowned. “Are you sure the cave is still safe?”
“No, but what other choice do we have? The cave is fairly hidden and inaccessible to large creatures, and the beach inside will be inaccessible to most of that mob. It will give us time to discover if they’re still following us.”
“And what about Waterdancer?”
“If you know of another safe place to sit for a while, I’m open to suggestions.”
“I suppose a tunnel is more defensible than being out here in the open,” Robert grudgingly admitted. He directed Waterdancer toward the cave entrance. They passed through a short tunnel, and the air bubble became visible. Rosie immediately got off and swam up to the bubble, raising her head above the water. It had been a decade since she’d visited the cave, and yet the only evidence of change she could find was in the glow worms and the vegetation. Grandma had introduced the glow worms because Rosie had been afraid of the dark when she was little, and now instead of two worms, there were hundreds of them, their dance lighting up the cavern nearly as bright as her room during the day. The algae and seagrass had grown quite a bit. But the trunk Grandma had put in there to keep their surface-dweller garments and blankets in looked the exact same as it always had.
Rosie stuck her head back down into the water. “All clear,” she said softly. Then she swam onto the shallow beach and willed her tail to transform. At least, according to Grandma, she looked like a perfectly normal human, even if her tail was so unusual. With the ease of much practice, she slipped to the enchanted trunk and drew out the supplies she expected to need: clothes, more food, and blankets to sit on (rocks were incredibly uncomfortable on her feet and legs—how did humans do it?). She wrapped a skirt around her and returned to the beach with the supplies.
Before long, Robert’s head popped out of the water. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course I am.”
“I—I, er, could keep watch with Waterdancer.”
Rosie chuckled. “Don’t tell me the valiant knight is afraid of legs.”
“No, not afraid. Not at all. It’s just that, uh, I would rather we weren’t taken by surprise or trapped if the cave entrance gets blocked.”
“I doubt anything knows where we are. Even if some creature big enough to block the entrance did know we were here, would you be able to fight it off?”
Robert flushed. “You never know.”
“We’re cornered either way. You might as well be comfortable.”
“You consider those comfortable?” he said incredulously, pointing to her legs.
She smiled. “They take a bit of getting used to, but yes. I quite like them, although it’s been years since I’ve used them.” Not since Grandma Essie had been herself. Sorrow washed over her like the gentle lapping of waves on a calm day. Rosie leaned over the water. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly content to sit here by myself. “
“Well, I suppose—I suppose it would be ungentlemanly to leave the fair maiden unattended. I shall join you.” He drew himself up onto the beach. “Now what?”
“Just will your tail to turn into legs,” she said.
“Right,” he agreed doubtfully. He squeezed his eyes closed. “Legs, legs, legs,” he chanted under his breath. Nothing happened. He peeked one eye open and looked at his tail, then closed it again and took up his chant once more.
Stifling a chuckle, she shared the instructions her grandmother had given her all those years ago. “You have to visualize your tail turning into legs and really want to become human.”
Robert stared at her for a moment before trying again. After several more moments of chanting, his face screwed up and red, he sighed and opened his eyes. “I was afraid of that.”
“What?”
“My father never gained his legs either. Everyone says we’re so alike, and I always thought I was probably like him in that way too.”
Rosie blinked at him. Every merperson had the ability. She’d never even heard of one that didn’t, and Grandma Essie had told her stories about when they used to walk the land with the surface-dwellers. Although . . . belief was an important part of the process. If Robert was afraid or disbelieving, he might be unintentionally preventing the change. “Are you sure?”
“About what? My father? Or myself? You’ve just watched me try for ages without any results!”
Rosie tapped her chin, considering a more diplomatic way to put her thoughts. Finally, she decided to just blurt them out. “Is your father afraid of the land?”
“My father isn’t afraid of anything!” Robert snapped, his tail lashing behind him.
She took a deep breath. “I—I don’t mean to pry. It’s just—some merpeople have a fear of the surface or the land, and it can prevent them from transforming. My grandmother said that my mother is afraid of air, which keeps her from transforming, and that’s why my mother didn’t want me to learn.”
Robert scowled. “My grandfather was killed by a harpoon. It hasn’t exactly endeared the surface-dwellers to my family.”
“That sounds horrible,” she said, wishing he were close enough to touch. “My grandmother said that not all surface-dwellers are evil, but some are, and some are just afraid of what they don’t understand. Just like not all merpeople are good.”
“Those witches being classic examples,” Robert said with a small smile.
Rosie nodded. It might be true, but she rarely considered whether her aunt and grandmother might be “wicked witches.” They were certainly nasty and mean, but, because they were focused on each other, they didn’t go around looking for merpeople to hurt. They didn’t prey on beings for sport. Others were more guilty. With her father involved in politics, she had met some truly wicked people who used power for their own ends and had little to no real compassion for others.
“Anyway,” she continued, “it sounds like your father has good reason to fear the surface, as do you. It might affect your ability to manifest legs. As far as I know, the ability is inherent in all merpeople—whether they choose to use it or not, whether they fail to do so or not.”
Robert took a deep breath. “I suppose I could try again.”
“Focus on wanting legs so you can be in this cave, having a nice safe dinner with me.. Try to relax if you can.”
He closed his eyes again. “Relax. Right,” he said, frowning so deeply that his eyebrows touched.
“You don’t look very relaxed. Maybe take deep breaths and just imagine yourself with legs? If you start feeling anxious, think about something that makes you happy.”
“I’ll—I’ll try that.” Robert took another deep breath. His shoulders dropped, and he began to smile, clearly lost in some happy memory.
Rosie waited until he seemed calm. “Now just imagine your tail blurring and then shifting into legs,” she instructed gently.
The smile faltered for a brief moment, but then Robert breathed out and his tail began to blur. Less than a minute later, he lay on the beach, seemingly unable to get up. She held out a hand, and he took it. The touch of his hand sent a flutter of nerves through her stomach. She shrugged it off. Maybe she was just hungry.
Robert stood, his balance clearly unsteady. “How do you manage these things?”
Rosie smiled. “With practice.” She handed him the skirt she had chosen. “Here you go. Grandma says surface-dwellers wrap these around their waists.”
He took the skirt and awkwardly wrapped it around himself.
She held out her hand again. “Come and sit down on the blanket. You can get used to the way your legs feel without having to stay standing.”
He nodded and squared his shoulders. Letting go of her hand, he leaned forward, lost his balance, and pitched into the beach, the breath leaving him in a whoosh.
Rosie laughed. “You might want something to hold onto. You can’t just lean forward. There’s no water.” She braced herself and then pulled him up. “Come on.”
He glared up at her, but took her hand anyway. “I’m new to this. You’re not supposed to laugh at me!”
She gave him a little curtsy, making sure she didn’t throw him further off-balance. “My deepest apologies, sir knight. Now, first raise your right foot, but keep your left one on the ground.”
As Rosie instructed him in the art of walking, nearly repeating verbatim her grandmother’s words from years ago, she studied him. A slightly crooked nose gave him a rakish appearance, and his blond hair was beginning to curl out here in the air. Few people in her social circle would consider him truly handsome, but the vulnerability in his eyes caught at her. Maybe he wasn’t quite as arrogant as he appeared . . . . He was young to be working in the kelp forest—was it possible that he had to help provide for his family?
“How many siblings do you have?” she asked as he mastered alternating between one foot and the other.
Robert turned to look at her and nearly foundered again. “What?”
Rosie shrugged, unwilling to share her thoughts. “I was just curious. I’m an only child.”
“A younger brother and a younger sister. Brad the brat is nine. He’s a bit of a troublemaker, but we keep him around.”
“And your sister?”
His smile softened. “Elise. She’s five, adorable, and knows it. Trouble in an entirely different way.”
“Ah. Are you ready to try walking again?”
“Haven’t I been walking already?”
Rosie chuckled. “I suppose you’ve been walking in place. I meant, do you want to try moving forward on your feet? You just lift one foot and then put it down a little closer to where you’re heading. Then you do the same thing with the other foot, and repeat the process until you’ve reached your destination.”
“All right.”
With shaky legs, he made his way over to the blanket, hand and arm still linked through hers. They were at the edge of the blanket when he stumbled, and his fall pulled them down together onto the blanket. Rosie flushed as she realized how tangled up their legs had gotten.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Robert began, trying to free himself unsuccessfully.
“No, it’s—it’s not your fault. Let me just—” She shifted, trying to get off of him just as he tried to move as well. Their heads collided. “You stay still,” Rosie commanded. “I have more experience with legs than you do.”
Robert nodded, one hand on his head. “I shall do as you command, my lady.”
“Good.” It only took a moment to untangle them and get back to her feet. Then she drew Robert up as well. “Now, let’s try this again.”
Once settled on the blanket, she pulled out the rations.
“I guess you and your grandmother came here often, huh?” Robert said, fingering the blanket.
Rosie nodded, her eyes prickling.
“I never knew my grandparents. My mother’s parents died when she was young, and my father’s parents died right after I was born.”
She cleared her throat. “My father’s parents live in Persepolis. It’s far enough away that we rarely see them.”
“Where did you say you live?”
“I didn’t say—how do I know you will use the information responsibly?”
He grinned at her. “Oh, Princess, your knight would never cause mischief with knowledge of your home keep.”
“I see,” she said dryly.
His grin widened. “I’d say I’ve proven my trustworthiness many times over by now.”
“Well . . . . all right. I live in Atlantia”
He whistled. “The capital city. Nice. I still don’t understand why anyone would send a city girl like you out here. I mean, really, they ought to have given the job to someone more—” He gestured to her slight figure.
She gave him a withering glare. “Someone stronger? More agile? Less likely to trip over their own tail?”
He held up his hands in denial and shook them. “Not at all. Just more suited to the position. You’re not prepared to fight monsters.”
“For your information, I have been making this trip regularly for several years now—without having to fight monsters,” she said icily.
He blinked at her. “Not even the occasional giant eel?”
Rosie shook her head.
“How is that? If legend is right, the witch lives in the center of the forest. How do you get all the way there without encountering monsters? I mean, I harvest a mere half day’s ride into the forest, and Waterdancer and I see plenty of crab demons, wild seahorses, sharks, eels, and the occasional kraken or siren-plant.”
She crossed her arms. “Because the path is magical. Remember? That path you dragged us away from?”
“Ah yes. The famed magical path that failed mere moments before we met.” He frowned. “You didn’t encounter any other path failures before we met, did you?”
“No, not exactly. The path seemed . . . not quite right. There were two of them—one of which seemed very faint, like I was looking at a reflection of the true path. I took the more solid looking one.”
“Hmm. Maybe that’s the problem. If this is really the result of a witches’ feud, maybe the daughter put a fake path in place to trick anyone trying to find her mother.”
Rosie’s skin prickled. Could it be as simple as that? She had thought the path’s magic broken, but if she had been a path of Rina’s making, designed to lull the unwary into complacence and then lead them into a trap . . . . They could get home if they could find the real path.
“Can that compass of yours find anything else?”
“I’ve never tried it. Maybe.”
“What about finding the other path?”
Her brow furrowed. “It’s worth a try, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
Robert nodded, then yawned and covered his mouth. “Sorry. This knight was up before first light, and it’s been a long day.”
“We can sleep in here. That should give the forest creatures time to get distracted.”
“Maybe. Guess we’ll see.”
Rosie laid down and allowed her mind to drift. Robert knew nothing about magic and yet had come up with a practical solution. Some witch’s granddaughter she was! If she had been more alert, they might have used the compass to find the real path hours ago. She sighed. Maybe she was doomed to disappoint everyone in her life, whether they knew her or not. At least she had gotten them here safely. Hopefully, the compass would bring them to the path tomorrow, and Robert could return home intact and she could get to Grandma before her parents grounded her for life.
A/N: Thanks for reading! If you have any thoughts on the story, I’d love to hear them 🙂 I’m still looking for a beta, so if you’re interested, please PM me. See you next Tuesday!
