Young Writers Society

Silira leaned on the taffrail, not sure what time it was. It was dark, that was all she knew. No moon. The stars were out, the constellations moving slowly across the heavens. Heaven. Of course she would never go there. She was a mermaid, not made in the image of God. Her only hope was a quick ending.

Why was it quiet? She didn't like the sudden silence. It reminded her of her own. Silira looked over at the small crowd across the ship, none of them missing her. They were gathered around someone...oh. She walked over, not wanting to be found absent at midnight. The guests were clustered around Corwin and Serena, who were both holding the captain's big watch. Serena was counting the seconds until midnight, and Corwin was looking around, presumably for her. Silira slipped between people and came up to Corwin, tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped and turned around. "Oh, there you are, Silent--"

Serena began the count. "Ten!"

Everyone stopped talking and listened, riveted.

"Nine! Eight! Seven!"

Silira looked up at the stars. Corwin looked down at her. For the first time that day, he got a good look at her eyes.

"Six! Five!"

Corwin, out of anyone's sight, took Silira's hand. "Silent, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Four! Three!"

Silira looked at him, blinking and trying to narrow her eyes.

"Two!"

Corwin took her other hand. "Silent, something is still wrong. But I thought you were all right--"

"One!"

Silira looked into Corwin's eyes with a look that made her message obvious: Yeah. I lied.

Serena waved the watch in the air. "Happy New Year!"

Corwin had looked incredulous, but his attention shifted from Silira to Serena. "Happy New Year!" he shouted, along with the others. Silira backed up into the dark, to the darkest place on the deck, hoping Corwin wouldn't notice that she was gone. And...oh, thank heaven, he didn't. The guests dispersed into their cabins, and Serena and Corwin went into the pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, Serena turned to Corwin, kissed him, and socked him in the mouth. He collapsed on the bed and didn't move. Serena took the small mirror out of her pocket and sat on the bed. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

The mirror flickered, and a voice and face squawked eagerly from it. "Report!"

Serena smiled. "When do you want him dead?"

Silira leaned on the taffrail at the stern of the ship, staring down into the foamy wake. She could barely see a thing, though the stars were as bright as she had ever seen.

She heard a faint sound, a muted melody, as if it was coming from underwater. But she didn't even care what it was.

Her sisters burst out of the water, gleaming in the starlight. "Silira!" Nyrie shouted.

Silira gripped the rail with one hand and waved. Her sisters swam up as near as they could. They were pale, their wet hair pulled back...no...it was cut off, very short. This was unusual, especially with how strong mermaid hair actually was. Silira wondered what could have happened.

"We went to the witch!" Nyrie shouted. Silira wondered if any of the humans would hear her, then didn't care.

"She cut our hair off in exchange for this! Watch out!" Nyrie gathered herself and sprung out of the water, throwing something long and bright. Silira ducked, and the knife landed on the deck. She ran after it as the ship tilted and it slid toward the edge. When she caught it and held it up, it gleamed in the starlight with a cold light. It was simply made, very sharp and strong, with the hilt bound black. Silira ran back to the stern and held it up.

"Good!" Nyrie shouted. "Once you use it, dive in! We brought an extra horse! You'll turn into a mermaid again and live your three hundred years! It will be as if none of this ever happened!"

Silira looked at the knife, then tried to look questioning, waving the knife as if to say, "Use it on what?"

Nyrie was silent.

"On him." Sometimes, the only one who could say what needed to be said was Levana. "Once his blood touches your feet, they'll turn into a tail again."

Oh.

Silira looked at the knife again, seeing her own face reflected in the smooth blade. She saw despair in that face, heartbreak and hopelessness. No, there was hope. She could see it now in the knife, the flash of hope in the reflection of her eyes. She turned back to her sisters, her hair blowing in the rising wind, and nodded.

They nodded back and disappeared beneath the waves.

Snow began to fall again. Silira walked quickly toward the pavilion, pausing at the entrance. There was no sound inside. She looked down at the knife, knowing she'd have to be quick. She must get in, get it over with, and get out. Stab him in the heart. He hadn't seen when she was in pain, had actually talked to her about falling in love with Serena, given her false hope for all her teenage years. The sun was beginning to rise. She could see the light at the horizon. The ship had turned in the night, and was facing into the dawn. Silira cut through the ties that held the pavilion door shut. She could do it. All of this would have never happened.

Then she looked at her reflection in the knife. There was something else in her eyes, something that had won Corwin's heart, something everyone saw in her. The thing that gave the intensity to those huge blue eyes. The thing that had kept her going for so many years. The thing was love, and she couldn't do it.

She threw the knife out to sea and turned, walking back to the stern. She looked down at her sisters.

"She's done it," Levana said.

Silira turned and ran. All her sadness was forgotten. She no longer had hope. Corwin loved Serena, and they would be brilliant together. Yes, he loved her. Yes, he would be sad. But he would forget her easily. Yes, she loved him. But there was nothing she could do. Soon she would forget him, forget the sea, forget everything. Was it possible she could forget God, even if she dissolved into nothing?

Nyrie realized what she had asked Silira to do, and she knew that they had gotten an innocent man killed.

Silira ran, her feet barely touching the ground, like a bird taking off, racing towards the sun. The sky was glowing with fiery light.

Her sisters sped towards the front of the ship, towards the Falcon. They knew Silira was going to jump, and they were rejoicing. No longer would their sister be in pain. She would come home in triumph and rule the sea.

Silira was going faster that ever before, leaping over the wheel and up onto the prow. The sunrise blazed, seeming close enough to touch. If she was going to die, it might as well be at home. No one saw her as she leapt off the silver falcon figurehead, hanging for one moment suspended in space.

The sun shot up over the horizon. It was all over.

Silira landed and shot down into the sea. She saw her sisters for a second, saw the sun shining through the waves. A strand of her hair blew over her face. She tasted seawater, looked up at the ship, and saw Corwin's face for one moment.

Then everything went dark, and she knew no more.

Actually...

I never said this was the end.

Eltress swam up to Silira. "She should be fine. It's just nerves. She's been through too much." Eltress held her up and put her on the spare seahorse, laughing. "We did it! We did it!"

"Did we, though?" Rika said quietly. "She's not breathing. And can you see her tail?"

Nyrie swam up next to Silira, glanced down, and gasped. "She still has legs. Get her out of the water!"

"But they'll see--"

"Get her back up! Now!" No one dared to disobey. Eylee and Eltress each took hold of Silira's arms and swam back up to the surface, silently praying they wouldn't be too late. They splashed out of the water, keeping Silira's head above water. Silira was deadly pale and didn't move.

Corwin woke up. He dimly remembered being knocked out by Serena, who was asleep as far from him as possible, wrapped in her coat and a good many blankets. He sat up, shivering. There were plenty of warm blankets inside the pavilion, but he was on top of them all. He got up, well rested, and went outside. Oh, the air smelled wonderful. The sunrise was beautiful. It was a wonderful morning. He walked to the side of the ship and leaned out over the sea. Why did she hit me? Nerves, I suppose...

Then came the splash. He looked down, wondering what could have made that noise...Oh.

"Man overboard! Man overboard!" Corwin shouted. He couldn't see anything but sea. He ran around the ship, looking around. "Ho! Sing out, whoever you are!" He wondered who could be up this late. Serena, thank heaven, was still in the pavilion. Captain Swordfish, he knew, was in the cabin. Everyone else he had seen go to bed...oh, no...

Fear filled his heart. "Silent!" he shouted, looking around. "Silent!" He ran desperately around the ship, looking for any sign of life. He stopped. She was nowhere in sight. "Not you, too..."

Then someone sang out. Not Silent, but a young woman's cold voice he didn't know.

"Your Highness!"

Corwin raced to the other side of the ship. Who could...

Mermaids.

Five of them. Huge eyes, pointed ears, tails that went up to the chest. Beautiful. Two of them were holding an unconscious Silira. They all had packs on their backs, and cloaks sewn all over with pearls, as if they were on a journey.

"I am Princess Eylee, heir to the throne of all the sea," a regal blond one who looked rather like Silent shouted over the sound of the waves. "Shut your mouth and lower a lifeboat."