Your Scarlet Hair

Your Scarlet Hair

Spindly fingers handed the dark phial towards awaiting ones. The sea witch smiled curtly as the mermaid wearily glanced at it. “Are you sure this would work?”

The witch tried not to snap angrily and took a deep breath. “Of course I am, my dear. Drink that and you shall have land fins and a soul as that of humans.” When Ariel opened the small vial, the witch quickly added. “With a few conditions: you give me your voice in exchange and your love one has to marry you or you’ll turn into foam and cease to exist.”

The sea princess bit her lip, her purple tail anxiously turning left to right. She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair away from her green eyes. “I’ll do it.”

Ariel placed the rim of the glass near her lips, thinking it over for one more moment before tipping it over. Her voice could make anyone’s ears bleed in agony. The scream, the air thickening around her as the waters pooled tighter around her body. Her eyes started to darken as each breathe escaped her lungs.

The witch’s lips curled up as the most enthralling voice ever made left the mermaid’s throat and into a shell, the one wrapped around the hag’s neck. If this princess wanted to give this witch her golden pipes, then who was she to turn her down?

Ariel closed her eyes as the potion flowed down her throat. She never thought that this could cause her so much pain. It’s as if swords are being shoved inside her mouth and pierced her insides. Her green eyes snapped back open but the colors started to fade to darker shades, turning to black as her insides are now clamped in a bitter vise. Crimson liquid started to form on the pool of her stomach and back up her throat, dribbling out of her lips.

No one else heard a sound from outside the cave’s depths.


* * *


Warm hands shook her rounded shoulders and sea green eyes met gentle brown ones. For a moment, Ariel had no words. It’s him. The prince smiled down as he saw the beautiful girl awake and seemed to be fine. He helped her sit upright on the sandy shore and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “Are you alright?”

Ariel opened her mouth and though she tried to make a sound, nothing came out. She didn’t know that the witch would take every kind of voice she had. She though the hag would only take her singing voice. That conniving little-

“Can you understand me?” The man smiled warmer as Ariel stared at him with moon eyes. “Guess you can’t talk.”

The tailless mermaid sighed, and at least that, that had a sound. She nodded somberly to him, but his smile chased it away. The prince helped her stand up and offered his name. “My name’s Eric. Come on, I’ll show you where I live. Maybe we could figure out if you know anyone in town.”

Although Ariel knew that would be impossible, she went along with his plans.

Prince Eric was talking animatedly to her, and Ariel listened patiently, fascinated with everything about this man. The man he gave up so much for. He was in the middle of a story, about the time his last voyage almost ended up disastrously, when Ariel almost lost her balance. He caught her arm before she fell down and rested her weight on his side. “What’s wrong?” His forehead started to form worry lines and his smiling lips now had a frown etched on it.

The mermaid tried her best to motion towards her feet, starting to form aubergine rings on her soles, surrounded by blue and black. Her face looked pained and the prince pursed his lips. He helped her stand up straight again before whispering gently on her ear. “I’ll carry you back home.”

When they reached the castle, Eric asked one of the butlers to prepare a spare room for their guest. Ariel’s face had a faint tint of pink on her cheeks when she was laid down on the soft bed. She opened parted her lips again, hoping her voice would magically come back to her but still, silence won over.

He smiled at her, giving her minute hands a soft squeeze. “You’re not from around here, are you?” The shook of her head made him chuckle a little. “I thought so. There’s something about you...” Their eyes seem to throw questions and answers back and forth, waiting and reassuring. “Have I seen you before?”

Yes.

She shook her head again and looked away. Ariel lost her voice. She wouldn’t be able to tell him how anyway. The hand on hers clasped tighter. “That’s okay. I’m sure I wouldn’t have forgotten you if I did.”


* * *


The view from the vast window took her breath away. The moon shone so much brighter than what she remembered seeing from underwater. The stars twinkled, as if smiling down upon her. But somehow, something was off.

Her fingers pressed on the cool glass, her face leaning closer. Eric was out on the shore again, as he does every single night. He sleeves as well as the cuffs of his pants were rolled up. The sea breeze carded through his dark locks, and Ariel could imagine every expression that is surely passing through his face.

He mentioned a few days ago how his father, the king, wanted him to marry the princess from the kingdom next to theirs. It would benefit both ends, and an alliance is something that should be practiced often, to prevent unnecessary conflicts.

Eric told Ariel that he refused. And even though it was something good, it wasn’t was she was hoping for. He’s in love with the girl from the temple, the one who saved him.

The mermaid could remember that night so well. She never left the prince until someone else found him. It was the girl from the temple who he woke up to.

Still, Ariel trotted down the castle, joining Eric to offer some company. Without words, she knew that he could understand everything she wants to say. Eric’s lips twitched upwards from the corners as the blonde beauty skipped around him, dancing gracefully, trying to ease his mind away from his thoughts that are keeping him awake.

If only he knew how each step felt like walking trough a path of blades.

She smiled, ignoring each sting, just to see the pain from his eyes disappear. When his face had a genuine smile placed on it, she stopped and took a deep breath. Before the prince could notice her discomfort, Ariel pointed towards Eric’s chest and then up to his head. She did the same gesture and then she shook her head No.

The other smiled widely, even laughed softly. “You think I shouldn’t make my mind and my heart compromise?” He laughed again when Ariel nodded her head fervently, her green eyes sparkling. Then she stepped closer to him, placing one of her hands on his ear, trying not to linger on it, and then placed it on his chest. “Listen to my heart?”

She nodded again and sighed, the air escaping her lips making a wistful sound. Always listen to your heart.

“I wish it was that easy.”

Ariel started to frown, but then she reined it in. She took his hands and started to sway them following the rhythm of the waves beside their forms. He always did love seeing her dance, and Ariel knows it. If she needed to cross an endless expanse knives just to see Eric smile, she would.

Her tears made sure she didn’t get a wink of sleep.


* * *


There’s something sacred from the silence that wrapped around her. She wasn’t even inside the temple yet. She wanted to see up close who the girl that Eric allegedly feel in love with.

The pain of her land fins seemed to be more acute as she got closer, but it was nothing compared to the one she felt upon stepping inside.

The girl immediately spotted Ariel, holding onto the frame of the large entrance doors. She hurried over and helped her up, but her touch seemed to burn her flesh. Her mouth was agape, silent screams leaving but can only be heard in her own head.

The girl stepped away after having Ariel sit on one of the pews. She looked panic, but the mermaid felt better the second her feet left the ground and the girl’s skin left hers. The girl stared at her, her eyes absorbing Ariel’s features. She gasped. “Y-you’re the-“

Ariel raised a hand, and the girl went quiet. Ariel stared back at her, just wishing she was not the one who found Eric. Ariel was the one who saved the prince, not her. But there’s nothing she could do about it.

As if sensing her thoughts, the girl walked away from her with scared eyes.


* * *


The only place where her feet didn’t hurt was when below the surface of salt water. The sun is starting to set and she watched it fall down, an empty feeling forming in the vicinity of her chest. The sea princess have been with humans for awhile now, and the thought of her vanishing forever crept up to her with each passing day. Eric would never marry her. That thought was made clear when the prince questioned her about the girl from the temple. She wasn’t speaking to him anymore and he didn’t know why.

“She mentioned that you stopped by a few weeks ago. Is that true?” His brows furrowed and he kept worrying his bottom lip. When Ariel nodded timidly, his brows dipped lower. “What did you do? She didn’t... Said she’d never... What did you do?”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Please, try to understand. She shook hear head again and again. But he didn’t get it. He doesn’t understand. Maybe he never did.

He was about to shout at her when she walked away, the pang on her feet turning ten-fold.


* * *


The king set down the goblet on the table, the wine tasting sweet on his tongue. He smiled at Eric, even though his only heir is frowning and pushing the food around his plate, not taking a bite.

He coughed to get the young man’s attention and when Eric looked up, the king beamed. “I just found out something about the girl whom you’ve fallen for.”

For a moment, the image of Ariel passed through him. Her wavy blonde hair, her vivid green eyes, her gentle smile...

The king paused for dramatic effect and then ended it with a bright laugh. “She’s the princess that you’re supposed to marry.” He smiled wider at the confusion on his son’s face. “The king and queen sent her here, to our temple, so she could be educated. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Eric tried to speak, but there are no words to say.

Later that night, he softly knocked on Ariel’s door, waiting for her to open it. But after awhile, the door remained closed. Eric thought it safe to open it when he found out it wasn’t locked. His eyes skimmed the room slowly until it fell on a figure curled up on the bed, facing the window overlooking the ocean.

He silently went to her side. When Ariel felt the shift on the bed, she sat up, cuddling her knees near her chest as the pain on her feet just started to calm down. She didn’t take her eyes away from them, fearing of what she would see in Eric’s.

The prince tried to ease her pain this time, but she went rigid, trying not to pull away or lean into his touch. Both options are sorely tempting, but Ariel favored none.

Her green eyes lost some of its shine as he stared at his brown ones. This time, there were no more questions, no answers. They were just absorbing each other.

This time, it was Eric who looked away first. She could hear the words that he never said... I’m not supposed to fall in love with you.


* * *


Even if she knew it was coming, it didn’t make the effect hurt any less. The prince announced his marriage with their neighboring kingdom’s princess to everyone. She accepted her faith of ceasing to exist. She wonders if the witch knew this would happen.

Her feet ached, and it was nothing new, it didn’t hurt any more or any less, they just ached for the waters... for home.

The moment her feet sank down on the cool liquid, familiar colors started to form near the surface of the sea and Ariel was startled to see her sisters.

The mermaids went closer to shore, careful not to show themselves to non-merfolks. Ariel kneeled down, still not believing her vision. The eldest one handed Ariel a dagger, the blade sharp and lethal. She held Ariel’s finger’s tightly, sensing the sorrow from her sister. “The witch gave this to us. If you pierce his heart before nightfall and let his blood drip down your feet, you would live. You’ll become a mermaid again.”

Her other sister cupped Ariel’s face, on the verge of tears. “We can’t lose you. You have to do this.”

The youngest mermaid nodded as she took the blade from her sisters. When they made sure that Ariel understood, they swam back towards the depths of the waters, taking one last glance at their youngest sister.


* * *


Just one more inch, so, so close...

You have to do this. You have to, or this would be all for nothing.

Her hands were shaking as the blade was just a breath away from Eric’s chest. He was asleep with his bride laying next to him. She stared at their clasped fingers and Eric’s smiling face crossed her eyes.

She could hear her own silent voice, mocking her this time... Always listen to your heart.

Ariel retracted the dagger from reaching the prince’s skin and trembled as she left their sleeping forms. The sun enveloped her body as she walked towards the sea, already feeling her frame start to fall apart. Her feet felt numb as it hit the surface of the sea, and her knees gave, her body faltering down the ground.

She took the witch’s blade and slashed her feet, every inch, every expanse of skin, trying to show how much agony she felt during each step as one of these people. The blood dripped down, merging with the salts of the sea and each grain of sand surrounding her.

The scarlet water passed through her body as she lay down on the shore, too tired to wait for her body to turn into foam and be part of the sea again. Her green eyes started to fade to black, the color of the sea leaving her orbs and down to her bleeding feet. The waters reached up to her temple, the blood from her feet washing away the golden shade of her locks. Each strand grasped each drop of blood, and she found it easier to breathe.

Both views were too enthralling to look away from; the sparkling see mimicking stunning tail, and the setting sun sharing the same shade of crimson as the hair of the mermaid.


* * *


The townspeople talked about it, about the mermaid they found lying on the shore. Her gorgeous green tail shining like no other and her scarlet hair more blazing that any other flame could never be forgotten. None of them have ever seen anything as amazing.

As for the prince, no one has seen him after that day.