Miraa walked down to the water's edge by herself that night. The village that her family had decided to reside in was right on the waterfront. Not a lot of people in her time could afford such commodities, but her family could with ease. A recent fight between her parents about alleged infidelities had caused a stir between everyone in the household. A rift of distrust, it seemed; threatened to tear them all apart. Perhaps a walk down to the wet sand would ebb any emotional pains away.
Miraa tugged at the end of her frock as she walked along to make sure it didn't drag in the sand; already knowing that it was too short to even touch the ground. It must have been the uneasiness in her family's situation that was causing her to act so. As her toes finally made contact with a cold lapping wave she reached up and loosened her hair bun, letting her long brown tresses come undone and settle around her shoulders. Breathing in deeply, the smell of the sea seemed to envelope her in an almost euphoric feeling of comfort. The cluster of black rocks to her left beckoned to her and she adventurously took off toward them, all by her lonesome.
Feeling a little better already she reached down to the ground as she walked and picked up an almost seemingly perfect round, white stone. She playfully tossed it back and forth between each hand as she neared the rocks. Spotting a flat one near the edge of the ocean she hopped upon the nearest and made her way toward it, tossing the little stone in her hands all the while. It was dark, but she could make out the even darker shapes of the rocks as she hopped from one to the other carefully, once teetering on one leg and swinging her arms in circles to keep her balance. She let out a low, short laugh at herself at her near mishap as she jumped onto the flat rock she had been aiming for. Just as she straightened herself up to look at the vast, never ending dark body of water before her a loud splash to her right caused her face to go pale. She inched away from the edge of the flat rock, wishing she had brought along a candle. Miraa peered down into the blackness where the splash had come from- a small alcove of rocks. It wasn't a splash caused by a wave, no white-capped ones were visible. The ocean was oddly calm tonight even though the day had been gray, a given that a storm was approaching.
A second splash made her jump and she dropped the white stone into the darkness. It plunked into the sea and Miraa frowned despite the fact that she had something else to worry about- what had made those splashes? A big fish? A sea serpent? Her parents had warned she and her siblings several times about the feared serpents that rarely, but could, show up around this part of the coast. The water was a bit too warm for them. Sea serpents preferred the colder, darker waters. Her fears now eating away at her insides she turned quickly to retreat back to her home; which was over the sandy beach hill. The thought that if something were to happen down by the water, no one would be able to hear her cries for help- that is if she would even be able to cry out for help- crossed her mind.
Alright, now I'm just trying to scare myself, she thought silently. She hopped to the first rock away from the drop off, but stopped short when a third splash and a clattering of rock upon rock sounded. Slowly turning around she feared she may see what she half expected to see. And she did. There, on the flat rock she had just been standing on was the round, white stone she had dropped into the sea. She could barely see it in the black, but it was definitely there. It was wet and glistening from the salty waters. Curiosity would prove to get the better of her. Miraa breathed in sharply as she darted back toward the rock and grasped downward into the darkness for the stone.
Just as she did something wet and thick snaked around her wrist and wrenched her into the sea. A serpent! She came up from the waves sputtering, gasping for air. It was cold and she was already soaked to the bone through her white frock. Fear ate ravenously at her now, feeding off her thoughts; chewing on the unearthly ideas that were forming in her head. She started to panic and frantically splashed for the flat rock, that seemed so unfairly far away. Each time she kicked out, she feared her foot would go straight into a serpent's mouth. Each inch she got closer to the rock, she felt the Gods would cut her luck short and knock her dead right there and then to some untimely, cruel death at the hands of an unseen beast. And just as she neared the rock and reached up to get a grip on it's edge, just as it did seem that the Gods were on her side that night the same thickness that had wrapped around her wrist now slithered across her waist, pulling her back into the darkness. As quickly as the beast acted it was gone away from her again leaving her in the ocean. She opened her eyes briefly underwater, but could see nothing. Feeling blind and helpless, she panicked once again, jetted to the surface of the water and struck out instinctively with both hands, only to have them pulled together with that thick... tentacle? Tail?
The latter was the correct answer, for- from the Gods it seemed- a cloud gave way in the sky and bright, white moonlight shone down into the sea around her. Miraa gasped at the beast furling in the dark water before her. Wrapped around her wrist was the tail of not a sea serpent but a black hippocamp. A beast her parents had not often warned her about, for they appeared for the most part harmless. The creature stared at her creepily and silently, it's top half above the small waves and it's strong tail around her wrists and writhing in the water. The hippocamp, a beast with the head, neck, chest and front legs of a horse, but the tail of a serpent. Starting to sob in complete fear of the beast Miraa kicked out with both legs at the same time, wanted to feel her back against the rocks, to feel at the least only a tad bit safer. But the hippocamp only eerily traveled along with her, still attached to her at her skinny wrists. She felt the flat rock against her back and closed her eyes; awaiting her fate. But instead of hearing an ear-piercing, ungodly wail from the creature, instead of feeling teeth on her skin, instead of arriving at the gates of Heaven to meet the Gods a calm, handsome male voice broke through the odd stillness.
"Why do you smell of so much fear, my dear?"
"W-what? Who?" She stammered. Was this some kind of Hades-sent joke? She let her eyes trail from the thick tail at her wrists all the way up the scaled body to the hippocamp's horse head. Had that crazy old hag at the market dropped something into her ginger tea? The hippocamp only stared back at her with that eerie silence. "Was that-", she started.
"Yes, that was me, my dear. A mere question as to why you are so scared," the hippocamp replied.
This.. is.. seriously.. not.. fucking.. happening, Miraa thought slowly to herself.
"Well, I- I'm not sure. I just thought that... you were going to-"
"Kill you?" The hippocamp let out a hearty laugh. He rocked backward farther into the sea, farther away from the rock, bringing her with him as he laughed. She groaned loudly as the safe feeling from having her back against the rock faded away with the greater distance out into the open water. The grip around her wrists suddenly felt tighter. "No, no my dear. I wouldn't do that. Not at all. Please, call me Phineas."
Her wrists had started to ache from being held together and her wet hair clung around her face irritatingly. Her frock stuck cold against her skin. Honestly, she was miserable, not knowing what this polite English-speaking water beast wanted from her. But, she gave him a chance.
"Two things, Phineas? One, could I please have my wrists? And two, what do you... want?"
