Author's Note:
My dearest readers,
Thank you for your patience during the time it took for me to release this, I'd love nothing more right now than to spend more time working on it, however, sadly, life gets in the way sometimes as it has a tendency of doing, I was aiming for last weekend but, of course, I was sick as a dog.
For any who might be wondering, I do indeed have a direction in which I'm aiming the story to go, I'm currently a couple of chapters ahead of this one, however, due to my wanting to ensure that each chapter is properly written and as free of grammatical errors and plot holes as possible, I'm going to be aiming at getting a chapter out around once per week, though the exact day may vary to account for the time it takes to get approved and posted up.
Finally, my sincerest thanks for your votes, it really gives both inspiration and insight as to how good of a job I am doing so please don't let up! If you like it, please feel free to comment, if you don't then by all means let me know where I may be going wrong or how I might improve, either in comments or PM.
Well, I think I've rambled on enough for now, so please, enjoy!
Love and hugs,
~ V
-
"Richard, it's the middle of summer! There's not a cloud in the sky, what in the blazes are you doing moping around here in the library for?"
"The light keeps hurting my eyes, grandad, I can't read when it shines through the windows."
"Read? What the devil is a boy your age doing being stuck inside reading at this time of year?"
"I found a book in the back, it's brill! It reminds me of all the stories you told me when I was a baby."
"You're ten years old, lad, not exactly much more than a baby as you are now, haha.."
"If you say so grandad, I'm more grown up than the other kids at school at least!"
"Well, I suppose being able to tie your own shoes at least puts you upon something of a pedestal eh?"
"I can skim stones the furthest too!"
"Hahaha, I'm sure you can, my boy. So what is it that's got you so enthralled?"
"Entalled? Um, it's a book about people who live under the sea, they look like people but they have this big tail instead of legs!"
"Sounds like Merpeople to me."
"Yeah, them!"
"Always the inquisitive one eh? You're more like your father than you'll ever know, my boy. Come now, tea's ready, your grandma has it waiting for us outside on the porch, and she'll have my hide if I don't get back without you with me."
"Can I bring the book?"
"Heh, if you must, my boy."
-
Chapter 2 - Comprehension
Richard slowly found his conciousness once again gracing him with it's presence as he finally started to become aware of himself once more, he had not opened his eyes yet, though he was at least partly sure that he wasn't dead, not yet anyway, though something was different.
He felt..lighter, weightless almost, was the whole thing a dream? Was he dreaming now? Where was he, anyway? If he was at home, wouldn't he be able to feel the pliable embrace of his bed around him? Come to think of it, why did every breath feel like he was inhaling liquid air?
Wait..the expedition!
The disc!
The kraken beast!
The Merpeople!
His eyes bolted open, partly in hope, part in disbelief as he darted his gaze around the small room he now found himself in. It could not have been more than perhaps eight square feet and sealed by a barred bronze gate.
He went to move toward it but found his wrists clapped in irons that suspended from chains that appeared to be built into the wall through a small iron socket upon each side of the wall.
Thankfully they appeared slack enough to allow him some relative free movement about his body, though no more than that.
He berated himself mentally for the thought only just coming to him, but how in the hell was he able to breathe in this place, he most definetly felt the mercurial sensation of water about him, yet somehow his lungs took to it as they would the crip air of an autumn morning.
"Hello?" He called out.
"Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?"
A few seconds passed, nothing. He called out again, nothing.
Then he heard something, a subtle swishing noise as one might expect of something propelling itself through the water, apparently his hearing had adapted as well beneath the waves as his breathing.
A figure edged from the obscured right side of the gate, a pair of brilliant green eyes that matched his tail burning into him as he cocked his head to the side and spoke something in what he could only self-designate as "Merish".
"Lia'sk vel'thra?"
The guard paused a moment, clearly expecting a response.
"Look.." he said, might aswell try, right?
"I don't know what this place is, or where I am, but I swear, there's been some kind of huge mix-up here.."
The guard said nothing, remaining still, his eyes casting off a little to the side before darting back to him, perhaps as if realization had struck.
A few seconds went by before the guard finally set his spear to rest upon the wall next to the cell, his hands coming to his helmet to remove it in a smooth motion, holding it in rest underneath his arm.
This was the first opportunity Richard had to properly get a look at the fascinating, if apparently, greatly unwelcoming species that he had so inadvertently chanced upon.
Their skin, aside from the colour, did not appear, from this distance at least, to look much different in terms of texture than his own.
The next words from the guard bolstered his hope like nothing he ever though would.
"Yeu..hoo..man?" the words were slow and clumsy, as if he was trying to remember a phrase of a long dead language.
He nodded with renewed enthusiasm.
"My name.." he said, attempting to match the guard's tone,
"Is Richard, Richard Renfield, I am human.."
"Heuman.." the guard's pronunciation improved
slightly, though his expression darkened.
"Heuman..no want, no summoon, heuman atak Me'lae.." his voice took on a one to match his expression as he took up his spear again, clanging it against the gate with each pause.
Hope ebbed away from Richard faster than he would have thought possible as he pulled with futile efforts against his bonds.
"No, you have it wrong, I did not come here looking for a fight, I didn't even mean to land myself here at all!" he protested, though his words appeared to fall upon ears unwilling to listen as the guard let out a dismissive snort before replacing his helmet back upon his head and veering off away from the cell.
"Hey, where are you going?!" he called after him.
The guard stopped, looking over his shoulder
"Y'elaigh phn'yae drask de Shas'kia.." he said simply as he disappeared through the archway opposing the cell.
Alone again, he took a moment to examine himself, since his surroundings had made it quite clear that he would be leaving nowhere in any hurry. He found himself still in his diving suit, for the most part at least, his flippers had been detached from his boots and his upper suit appeared to have been cut open from the middle of the collar down to his navel, exposing his toned chest beneath.
It looked as though they attempted to remove it completely, deciding against it however, for whatever reason.
He heard a faint garbled speech coming from the archway which brought him from his thoughts as he saw through the azure blue of the water, several more of the merpeople, most of them dressed as the rest of the guards he had thus far encountered, all save but the one in the middle whom appeared to be their charge.
And such a charge was she.
The armour of the guards was forgone in favour of a dark orange coloured blouse that subtly caught the rays of light around it through a very subtle weave of what appeared to be fish scales and bound itself at the front with simple green ties.
The garment came down to just past her midriff, where her humanoid anatomy melded with her tail and Richard could not help but notice that it did less than he would have liked, given the situation, to shroud her womanly endowments with any modesty, his heart quickened simply looking at her.
Her delicately braided hair, luminescent eyes and substantial tail were coloured of a deep scarlet and she wore around her forehead a simple headband, carefully constructed from seaweed and decorated with a variety of small delicate seashells and upon her beautiful face was the gift of the most beautiful smile he was sure any mortal man would die just to gaze upon for a second longer.
He found himself quite unable to take his eyes from hers, his body all but frozen in captivation at the sight he beheld.
