The Mermaid Malediction

 



Izbeladia was home to a righteous king and queen. However, although they had tried for years, the couple could not conceive a child as the queen was infertile. With no heir to the throne, the whole kingdom grew weary about who would rule the land once the king and queen were no more. No treatment they tried worked, and eventually, some urged the king to take another wife. However, the king refused.

Saddened by the issue, the queen decided to leave the palace one night; but on her journey, she got lost and fell into a dry well. The queen was hurt, but her injuries weren’t severe. Moments later, a shadow appeared from the outside; it looked like someone was standing next to the well. The queen called for help and, a second later, the end of a rope fell before her feet. She climbed out of the well to be welcomed by a witch who, after hearing her plight, promised to make her fertile. However, there was one condition: the queen had to give the witch her future second-born. She agreed, and the witch healed her wounds and made her fertile with a spell.

The queen snuck back into the castle that night and never spoke of her encounter with the witch. Eleven months later, she gave birth to a son; and three months after, she found out she was pregnant yet again. Unable to keep the secret to herself any longer, the queen revealed what happened that night to her husband. They discussed the issue with their doctor and decided to keep it a secret from the masses. Once their baby, which turned out to be a girl, was born, they handed her over to one of the maids.

One day, however, the witch arrived at the castle and asked whether the queen bore a second child. The queen said no, but the witch knew she was lying. She cast a spell and found where their second child was. Enraged, she cursed the girl to turn into a mermaid every night from the time she turned thirteen. Only marriage to a merman would break the curse, she said. The queen pleaded with the witch and offered her anything she desired in her daughter’s place, but the witch turned her down.

Years passed by and the children, Prince Peter and Princess Saffron, often snuck out of the house at night to swim in the nearby lake. One night, they met a merman named Tom. He said he was the son of a soldier who had also been cursed by the witch. Saffron and Tom eventually fell in love and got married. The night of their wedding, the curse was broken. They were finally free.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Descending Shadows: Shelter

Image
We turned around to find the monsters coming at us. The more of them we slew, the more they poured into the room. We were outnumbered, and running out of space. I knew that if we didn’t act quickly, we’d be dead; so I released Arabella and asked her to teleport everyone in the cellar away from there. Reluctantly, she agreed. I could hear Jason call out to me as they disappeared, but there was no time for us to say our goodbyes. Some of us got injured as the battle waged on, and we were all losing energy. All hope seemed to slowly abandon us when Arabella reappeared. We counted our blessings and teleported out of there with her right away and, as we arrived at where the others were, Jason ran up to me yelling “Moon, I thought I’d never see you again!” I smiled and hugged him tightly. “Oh, no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Didn’t I promise never to leave you?” We were close to the twins’ home, so we went back there to prepare for the hordes that pursued us....
Read more

Descending Shadows: Invasion

Image
“What? Demons again?” I asked, getting to my feet. “Moon, you’re in no condition to fight any demons!” Leslie said. “It’s just a group of people looking for shelter,” Nolan said as he walked in. “Oh, alright,” I said, getting back in bed. Leslie let out a sigh and sat next to me. “Here have your dinner, and call me if you need anything.” After she left the room, I sighed and looked at the food laying in front of me. I wasn't  hungry. My mind wandered off to what happened during my last battle; I wished I could have gone with my parents. But they were right: I am needed here, and I can't abandon my brother and my friends when they need me the most. I managed to force some food down my throat before Leslie came back to complain: “Why haven't you eaten your food, Moon?” “I ate as much as I could, but I’m not that hungry.” “Fine,” Leslie replied. She took the tray away and came back with a bowl of ice cream and a piece of cake covered in choco...
Read more

Born Between Worlds

Image
I never felt like I belonged, no matter where I was. I had kind friends, and parents that saw to my every need, so I couldn’t fathom why I felt that way. The feeling never went away, even when I got older. While we were still children, my best friend Leela often said I was strange for feeling the way I did, and that she wouldn’t have even cared if her parents passed away if it meant she could be adopted by my parents. I found her thoughts to be stranger than mine. Once I became an adult, however, I started to notice things. I could see and hear things that others could not. I feared my mental health was deteriorating, but I soon learned that it was not the case. I quickly found out that my abilities extended beyond heightened senses—I could manipulate the world around me. Wanting to figure out the extent of my powers, I decided to infuse it into my work. I had joined a software company after completing my degree and was a month into developing a new social media app. As a side project,...
Read more