THE TATTOOED WOMAN - Chapter 33
I hope folks are enjoying the story so far. Please leave comments, as criticism both positive and constructive, is inherently useful. Plus, I like reading comments, so that's cool.
Again, a shout-out to Avicia for their suggestions and much-needed help editing this.
The Tattooed Woman Volume 3 - Chapter 33: Sirens and Serpents
It was a glen, much like many others, though perhaps somewhat more remote and lost than most. For the old crofters oft whispered that the faerie folk sometimes visited the place, and those few locals who wandered there, either by design or chance, knew well to avoid the elf-rings and pixie mounds lest they intrude upon the privacy of the wild Sidhe or their reclusive cousins, and be called upon by such perilous and playful folk to dance for their supper, or sing for their freedom.
There were a few brave fools, possessed of an adventurous and restless spirit, who had found themselves drawn to those hills. Sometimes, years later, they returned with a strange gleam in their eyes, or if a lonely or comely wench, they might be with child, while if a brave lad, then more often than not, a small squealing and wrapped bundle might appear one day upon their doorstep. Such children were oft fair of face and feature, freckled, with green eyes and mischievous nature.
A deep pond of dark waters could be found in this particular glen, far back among the trees of that wooded vale. And if one were brave or foolish enough to seek out this pool then, if they left some small offering, or perhaps sang a song, or told a tale, then the Merrow would perchance slip out from among the reeds and pass a few words.
The Merrow was a water sprite of sorts and had lived in that pool since before the time of men and Elves. She watched the stars, weaved, sang, and played with the humans and Fae who visited and was content.
Today, however, her musing was disturbed by the sound of weeping. It was a sad sound, filled with lost hope and broken dreams, and so she listened a while until curiosity prompted her to lay aside her loom and investigate.
Sliding to the surface, she slipped silently through the reeds to regard the shore. There, upon the far bank, perched unhappily upon a boulder, sat a woman. She held her face in her hands as she wept, and her long fair hair hung down almost to the water. She was undressed, and strangely no gown or frock was lying on the ground or hanging from a bush to indicate that she had been swimming.
The Merrow moved through the water with barely the slightest of ripples, but the woman's head came up nonetheless, revealing the most brilliant of blue eyes that glistened with tears. One sparkling droplet fell from her cheek, sizzling briefly as it touched the water, and the Merrow knew.
Rising partly from the surface, she tilted her head as she regarded the weeping creature, "Only love can produce such tears in the likes of you, young Dragon," she shook her head sadly, "You have fallen for a mortal child, have you not?"
Ellén sniffed and nodded miserably.
"Your first, I surmise?"
"I..."
The Merrow's silver tail shifted seamlessly to long legs as she rose from the pond and moved to sit on the rock beside the blonde woman, her long green hair falling over her gills and down across her breasts almost to her waist. Her eyes were as black as the depths, and her small teeth looked as sharp as needles.
Picking up a pebble and casually tossing it into the pond. She spent a moment watching the ripples before drawing a breath, "Ah, 'tis an old tale, young one, though I confess it is usually Elves and the like who grow fond of such and not one of your regal blood. This human must be special indeed."
"I think she is."
Looking at the blonde woman, the Merrow sighed sadly, "You know she will die one day; they all do."
Gazing down into her hands, Ellén shook, "I almost killed her today, I..."
The Merrow smiled, "Hush now, girl, what's past is done, and
almost
is the biggest word that ever there was."
"But..."
"Shhh, tell me, Dragon, can you swim? Perhaps a dip in my pond would ease your sorrows. Many are the sad memories washed away by those waters."
Ellén smiled, "It hardly looks big enough for me."
The green-haired creature grinned as she stroked a soft hand down Ellén's arm, and her voice whispered, "Oh, I assure you, it's deeper than it looks, a lot deeper."
The Dragon gazed at the dark waters and sighed, "'Tis tempting, but I think not today. I suspect you would give new meaning to the term "Drowning your sorrows," no?"
Smiling, the Merrow looked at the woman and shrugged, "Each to her own; I had to try."
"Fair enough."
Flicking another stone into the water, the Merrow chuckled, "I do not drown those I lure to my watery bower, you know. Eventually, they splash ashore. Sometimes they are changed, and sometimes it is the world that has changed around them; one can never know."
Ellén chuckled, "But I live in the sky, and you in the waters. Where then would a Dragon and a mermaid build their house?"
Laughing, the Merrow gestured expansively around her, "Why on the banks of my pond, obviously, then we could visit each other as is our want."
"I wonder then which of us would change the other."
"Should you ever desire to find out, little Dragon, you know where I'll be."
"Little Dragon?"
The Merrow chuckled darkly, "Oh trust me, child of the sky, there are leviathans that swim in the blackest depths that make even the mightiest of wyrms appear as minnows. And the cold abyss hides secrets so ancient that they have not been seen or spoken of since the making of the world. I could show these things to you."
"Maybe one day."
"Maybe... "
The Merrow stood, "Here now, I was weaving afore you came. Let me fetch you a cloak to cover yourself. We cannot have you wandering back to your true love looking thus, 'tis unseemly," she smiled again, revealing a row of gleaming teeth, "no matter how fair you are."
"A kindly offer, but my mother always taught me to be wary of accepting gifts from a creature of the Fae."
The Merrow tilted back her head and laughed, a rich, musical sound that stirred the reeds and caused the waters to ripple and splash, "Oh, your mother sounds very wise. But I suspect that should I attempt such a petty ensorcellment, one of us would get quite the surprise."
Ellén's eyes sparkled, and for just a moment, the Merrow caught the briefest of glimpses at the slitted, almost cat-like pupils, and she shivered as the Dragon spoke, "I wonder who."
"Well, I, for one, have no desire to find out. Let us just say it is a gift between friends, without cost or obligation. Besides," she smiled, "what weaver would not take delight in seeing a thing made by her own hands graced by so fair a maiden."
"You are kind."
The Merrow chuckled and shook her head, "I am Fae."
The creature slid back into the waters and disappeared beneath the surface, leaving only a faint wake to mark the powerful movement of her tail. But soon enough, she returned, and with a flourish, she cast a net-like cloak of some shimmering weave about Ellén's shoulders.
Stepping back, she smiled happily, "There! That should preserve your modesty and turn aside the leers and lustful glances of mortal men," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively, "unless, of course, you court such looks."
Ellén blushed, and giggling, she stroked the fine material, "Scales?"
"It seemed appropriate given the wearer, and of course," the mermaid smiled, "'Tis waterproof."
A faint breeze that gently stirred the reeds and rippled the waters caused the Merrow to look up from the cloak, and she drew a fearful breath, "Majesty."
Following the creature's gaze, Ellén looked over her shoulder and saw the dark figure of the Crone standing in the shadows under the trees. The old woman eyed them as she leaned heavily upon her gnarled and knotted shillelagh. She looked as though she was half-formed from the darkness itself, and only her eyes gleamed.
As she moved out into the light, it appeared to Ellén that the jealous shadows clung to her black garb for just a few moments before retreating back under the trees. She hobbled forward and looked about the glade before turning her gaze back upon the two supernatural figures before her.
