Subject: [kffdisc] The Mermaid Chronicles (2a/3) Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 18:23:11 EDT From: NVRPARRIS@aol.com Reply-To: kffdisc@onelist.com To: kffdisc@onelist.com From: NVRPARRIS@aol.com Rourounin Kenshin isn't mine... Neither is The Little Mermaid... Please don't sue me! --------------------------------------------------------------- The Mermaid Chronicles (2a/3) Always honest and driven by emotions, she became more so now than ever. Her sisters often asked her what she had seen on her first visit to the surface. Buckling under the relentless pressure, she told them of the beautiful prince and the harlot of a maiden that swept him away, taking all the credit and recognition for her efforts. Okon and Omasu were glad to hear that their sister had come to know love, but they were stricken with grief upon hearing that her love was for a human. Misao no longer trained with her sisters. She became driven by the urge to find out about the prince. Many an evening and morning she would rise to the place where she had left the prince. She saw the fruit in the garden ripen, and the snow on the mountain melt before returning again. At home, her only consolation was raoming about the ruins. Swimming through the wreck of ill-fated ships, she swam with thoughts of only one person clouding her mind. One day, she happened upon a marble statue in the midst of the neglected wilderness. It reminded her so greatly of the prince. She twined her arms around the handsome marble statue until her heart felt like breaking. She immediately let go before tears flowed from her eyes. Misao hopefully approached her father. There was so much she wanted to know. She asked her father who knew of the upper world so well. "Jiya." (the term she used when adressing her father) "If a human never drowns, will he live forever or eventually die." The king was startled yet he answered. "Well, yes. They have to die too, and their lifetime is even shorter than ours. We may live here for 300 years, but when we cease to exist we become mere foam on the water and do not have so much as a grave among our dear ones. We have no immortal souls, no future life. Men on the other hand have a soul which lives forever after the body becomes dust; It rises through the clean air, up to the shining stars! Just as we rise from the water to see the land of the mortals, so they rise to the beautiful unknown regions which we never will see." Misao knitted her brow in frustration. "I'd rather give up all 300 of my years to become a human for one day." "You better not be thinking about that!" warned her father. Misao quickly responded. "Then i'll rather die and float as foam than never being able to hear the music of the waves and seeing the beatiful red sun! Is there anything I can do to gain an immortal life?" "No," said the king. "Only if a human being so loved you that you were everything to him, if all his thoughts and all his love was centered around you that he would let priests join your hands in marriage; then your body would become infused with his soul. Thus and only thus will you gain a share in the felicity of mankind. But that can never happen!" Her father drew nearer. "You fish tail which is of greatest beauty in the sea is thought hideous up on the earth. So little do they understand about it, that to be considered pretty up there you must have two clumsy supports which they call legs!" Misao sighed then looked sadly at her fish tail. "Come now child. Let us be happy. We will hop and skip and drink during our three hundred years. After that we can rest peacefully in the sea foam. Now get ready, the festivities will begin soon." He shooed the girl to her chamber while he prepared for the court ball. Through the thick transparent walls of the great ball room, you could see countless fish , great and small swimming towards the glass walls. The sea outside was brilliantly lit with a blue phosphorescent tint. Everything was bathed in blue light. In the middle of the room, the mermen and mermaids danced to their own beautiful singing. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than any other; for this they applauded her. For a moment she felt glad at heart, for she knew she had the finest voice in both the sea and land. But as a laughing couple passed her, she was reminded of the prince and the upper world. She stole away from crowds. She could not withstand any longer. With firm resolve, she clenched her fists silently. "He's probably sailing up there right now. I love him more than anything in this world. I will do anything to win him and to gain an immortal soul... I have to see the sea witch!" Thereupon the little mermaid left the gardens and went towards the raoring whirlpools, at the back of which the witch lived. She had never been there before. No flowers grew there... only bare gray sand and bubbling mud. Her heart beat faster as she came to the wriggling worms with tentacles. She clenched her long braid as she passed between the hideous polyps. She could see that each one was holdong something or other in one of their hundred arms; sea-chests, skeletons, rudders, even a poor little mermaid whom they had caught and suffocated. That angered Misao more than frightened her, yet she kept a safe distance, well-aware that her ke-cho punch was useless against vile creatures such as these. Then she came to a large opening in the wood where the ground was all slimy, and some huge fat snakes were gambolling about. There sat the witch, letting a toad eat out of her mouth. She called the snakes her little chickens and allowed them to crawl about her unsightly bosom. "I know very well what you came here for." sounded the voice. "It is very foolish of you! You want to get rid of your fish's tail and instead to have two stumps to walk about upon like human beings so that you can win him and an immortal soul." Saying this she gave such a hideous laugh that the toads and snakes fell to the ground and wriggled about there. "I will make you a potion. Before sunrise, you must sit on the beach and drink it. Your tail will divide and shrivel into what men call beautiful legs, but it hurts, as much as if a sharp sword was running through you. You will have a gliding gait, no dancer will rival you, but every step you take will be as if you are treading upon sharp knives, so sharp as to draw blood. If you are willing to suffer this, I am ready to help you." "Yes!" Said the little princess her mind focused on the prince and winning an undying soul. "But remember," said the witch. "Once you recive a human form, you can never be a mermaid again. You cannot return to your father's palace. And if you do not succeed in winning the prince's love, you will gain no immortal soul. The first morning after his marriage with another, your heart will break and you will turn into foam of the sea." "I will do it." said Misao as pale as death. "But you will have to pay me too. And it is no triffle I demand. You have the most beatiful voice in the sea... I daresay you think you will fascinate him with it, but you must give me your voice; I will take the best you posses in return for my precious potion!" "But if you take my voice what will I have left?" squealed a annoyed memaid. "Your beatiful form, your gliding gait, your speaking eyes. With those you ought to be able to bewitch a human heart. I hope you haven't lost courage! Now put out your little tounge and let me collect my payment." "Let it be done." said the little mermaid. "The witch put on her cauldron to brew the magic potion. She punctured her breasts and let the black blood drop into the pot. The steam took wierd shapes. She threw in ingredients until the pot boiled and bubbled like a crocidile that was weeping. At last the potion was ready, and it looked like the clearest water. "There it is." Thereupon she cut off the tounge of the little mermaid who was dumb now, and could neither sing nor speak. As she made her way to the shore, she saw her father's palace; the lights were all out in the great ballroom. Misao wafted with her hand countless kisses towards the palace, and then rose out of the dark blue water. The sun had not risen when she came to the the prince's palace. The moon was shining bright and clear. Sitting on the quiet beach, Misao pulled out the clear potion. She carefully swallowed the burning, stinging draught, and it was like a sharp two-edged sword running through her tender frame; she remembered the words of the witch, as she fainted away. She lay on the grey sands as if she were dead. To Be Continued... -------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. This part was a wee bit longer than expected... There will be a second part to this chapter... 2. A big Domo goes out to those that like the idea of Misao being a mermaid... Thanks be to Hans! _______________________________________________________________________ Subject: [kffdisc] The Mermaid Chronicles (2b/3) Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 18:22:55 EDT From: NVRPARRIS@aol.com Reply-To: kffdisc@onelist.com To: kffdisc@onelist.com From: NVRPARRIS@aol.com Rourounin Kenshin isn't mine... Neither is The Little Mermaid... Please don't sue me! Also... Words in between :: :: these are thoughts. ie: :: Where's my brain?? :: --------------------------------------------------------------- The Mermaid Chronicles (2b/3) The sun rose like a purple flower with a stream of light radiating from it's calyx; it was then that the little mermaid woke up and became conscious of a sharp pang. But just in front of her stood the handsome prince, bathed in the glory of dawn. She froze in wonder as he fixed his almost coal eyes on her; she cast hers down and saw that her fish tail was gone, and that she had the prettiest little legs any maiden could desire... but she was quite naked. :: Ahhh!!:: She wrapped her long thick hair around her. The prince grinned silently as he bent towards her. The prince asked her who she was and how she came there, she looked at him tenderly with a sad expression in her speaking blue eyes, but she could not speak. He then took her by the hand and led her to the palace. Every step she took was as the witch had warned her beforehand; as if she was treading on knives and spikes, but she bore it gladly... led by the prince she moved as lightly as a bubble, and he and everyone else marvelled at her graceful gliding gait. Clothed in the costliest silks and muslins she was the greatest beauty in the palace... She sat with the prince as beatiful slaves came and sang to the prince and his royal parents. One of them sang better than the rest, and the prince, whose name was Aoshi, clapped his hands in quiet favor. That made Misao angry. :: If only that stupid witch hadn't taken my voice! I can sing ten times better than this stupid floozy!:: Now the slaves began to dance, graceful endulating dances to to enchanted music; :: Yes! Now's my chance!!:: Without hesitation, the little mermaid rose herself on tiptoe and glided onto the dance floor. As a mermaid she was rather tomboyish, but the witches potion granted her a grace unrivaled by any human being. She silently thanked the witch as she floated to the celestial sounds. With every motion her grace and beauty became more apparent. Her eyes appealed more deeply to the heart than the songs of the slaves. Everyone was delighted with it, especailly the prince who had a deep love for the arts. She saw a sparkling in his eyes and she danced on, withstanding the pain as her foot touched the ground of sharp knives. That night, the prince said that she should always be near him. He vowed to protect her and placed a velvet cushion for her besides his bed. >From henceforth, the two became inseperable. He coaxed the stubborn mermaid into wearing a human's dress he had made for her. Weraing this, the rode silently through scented woods enjoying eachother's company. Day by day she became dearer to Prince Aoshi. He loved her as one loved a sweet child, but it never entered his mind to make her his queen; yet unless she became his wife, she would never win an everlasting soul, but on his wedding morning would turn to foam. One night, her sisters came arm in arm; they swam arm in arm telling her how her disappearance grieved them. She beckoned them, but they dare not venture near. She almost wept until the prince came. Seeing her in distress, he took her into his arms and consoled her. :: Aoshi-sama :: she thought. He looked into her eyes and they seemed to say... "Do you love me?" And Aoshi answered. "Misao, you are dear to me. You have the best heart of them all and I am fondest of you. You remind me of a young girl I once saw." The prince's sad eyes drifted elsewhere. Misao listened carefully as he spoke to the distant stars. "I was onboard a ship which was wrecked, I was driven on the shores of a holy temple where young girls were ministering at a service. The youngest of them found me on the beach and saved my life. I saw her but twice. She is the only person I could love in this world, but you are much like her. She belongs to the holy temple, but you belong to me." :: *I* was the one who saved your life!!* thought the little mermaid. :: *I* swam him to shore. I saw that stupid girl he loves better than me...:: Misao heaved a bitter sigh. :: Well, I am here with him and she isn't. I will tend to him, love him, and give him my life!:: But now the rumor ran that the prince was to be married to the daughter of a neighboring King, and for that reason was fitting a splendid ship. It was given out that the prince was going on a voyage to see adjoining countries, but it was without a doubt to see the king's daughter. :: Oh please!:: thought Misao. She laughed for she knew the prince's intentions better than any other. On the ship, the prince spoke to the listening Mermaid. "My parents demand it but they will never force me to bring her home as my bride." :: Damn straight!:: Thought a silent mermaid. Aoshi walked towards Misao. "I can never lover her! She will not be like the lovely girl in the temple. If I had to choose a bride it would sooner be you with your speaking eyes my sweet foundling." :: Really!:: Before she could delight any further, he kissed her mouth and played with her long dark hair. He lay his head on her heart and dreamt as she dreamt of human joys and an immortal soul. To Be Continued... -------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. Is Aoshi OOC?? 2. One last part to go!