The mermaids of Nawala weren't actually native to the realm, that honor belonged to the fairies and the fairies only.
No, the mermaids had come from a realm far, far away guided by an insatiable hunger that led them to feed on humans, sea monsters, even their own kind if the need arose.
They crossed through various realms, gifted with the rare ability to traverse the realms freely without interruption or consequence, coming by Nawala just once, the smell of the souls having been their true quest. Once they had tasted a soul or two, they had gone off again, but quickly changed course and returned, the soul the most intoxicating of subjects they had ever found.
And there they stayed.
Caspian knew he ought to give credit to the mermaids, being-in conjunction with the native Duru Rivos sea monsters- part of the reason the Realm didn't receive outside visitors.
Then again, the mermaids were also the reason he'd meddled in magic beyond his understanding, turning forgotten souls into his own personal army.
"Caspian, thank the gods, where have you been?"
Caspian looked up from the small wooden flute he had been fiddling with, turning it over and over again in his hands. Tamaerean, Caspian's second-in-command greeted him, the boy's appearance taking on more animal-like qualities than human. His face was long and thin, angular, a sharp jawline accentuating the near-face-splitting grin he always wore, his teeth sharp and elongated. Patches of gray fur blended seamlessly with his skin which seemed to grow more pronounced each time Caspian saw him.
Despite his tall, lanky body, Tamaerean walked towards him with ease, his steps quiet, eyes focused. "The mermaids are gathering at the cove."
"Then we should greet them," Caspian said, pocketing his flute, his fingers twitching; from the fairy dust or nerves, who could say.
The cove sat near the edge of the island, near the large ominous rock structure that jutted out from the Duru Rivos, massive and bleak, shrouded in thick fog. It was a place of neutral ground, a crossroads so to speak with the realm's notorious plague. Caspian had been waiting in the tops of a nearby tree, so when the time came, he wouldn't have to fly the hour or so it would usually take him from the Auktross.
"You're not thinking of actually making a deal with them, right?" Tam asked, taking care to keep by Caspian's side instead of his usual long strides.
"I haven't really thought about it," Caspian mused, catching sight of the cove. It was a complete lie, Caspian had spent sleepless nights thinking about the Bridge meeting and what he would do, what he would say, to cause the least amount of damage. In the end, he'd come to the conclusion that neither party would be happy with whatever his decision he made. He caught snippets of high-pitched laughter the closer they neared the cove. "I'll do what needs to be done."
"But, Cas-"
"Are the others in position?" Caspian snapped, interrupting the boy before he could go any further. Officially, it would be just him and Tamaerean that would attend the meeting, but the other Wanderers' would be in the treetops, in the bushes, hiding and waiting in case anything went south. And he fully expected things to go south.
"Of course," Tam grumbled. Caspian nodded, stepping to the edge of the island, where it circled around a piece of land that jutted out from the water.
"Ah, my favorite god," a woman said, her voice guttural, harsh-sounding. She rose from the water, a mass of tangled seaweed and limbs and scales. She gripped the rock face, pulling her body fully out of the water. She was truly a sight to behold, as all mermaids were. Her eyes were large, doe-like, giving an air of innocence, which was quickly dispelled when she smiled, two rows of lethal teeth that glinted in the realm's sun. Salt-crusted barnacles adorned her arms-four of them to be exact-and waist, scales of seafoam green covered her entire body, down to her fins, which slowly broke apart. The mermaid hissed in pain as her fin became two awkward legs.
"Poppy," Caspian said stoically, nodding his head slightly.
"I am rather surprised you decided to show up. Perhaps you are not as heartless as you look," she mused, snatching a small fish from the surface of the water. She bit off its head, the body still wiggling in her hand, her fingernails digging into its soft flesh. "When we last talked, you mentioned a deal? I am rather fond of deals, my dear Caspian," Poppy said. She dropped the dead fish into the water, wiped the guts off her mouth.
Cas stared at her for a long, tense moment before he walked over to Tamaerean, gripped the crude gray spearhead the boy had in his hand. Caspian looked around, towards the tree line, where wisps of ethereal white souls were moving about aimlessly. He arched his arm back and threw the spearhead near the closest soul. It struck something, which let out a shriek of pain. In an instant, Tam had lifted off the ground, snatched the end of the spear that jutted out of the flora and pulled a mermaid in her human form out into the open.
The spearhead jutted out of her shoulder, blood leaking down her pale arm. She gave Caspian a bemused smile. He scoffed and turned away, motioning to Tamaerean to throw her back into the water.
"I don't trust you," Caspian said, crouching down by the water's edge so he could stare Poppy in the eyes. She stared back, unblinking, always smiling that grotesque smile.
"As you shouldn't," she replied.
"You've killed my Wanderers', eaten my fairies, devoured my souls. You and your sisters are a blight in this realm." The words came out harsh and unyielding. Caspian could feel Tam's eyes on him. He swallowed against the lump in his throat as he spoke, "I'm prepared to strike a deal with you, Poppy, but I need to know that you will honor this deal."
The intense dislike that Caspian felt for Poppy was undeniable, but he couldn't quite bring himself to hate her or her kind. They were beasts of the sea, albeit intelligent, conniving creatures, but led by their primal instincts nonetheless. If he brought himself to hatred, then he would ultimately have to condemn himself as well. They were two different evils but in the end, shared more than he liked to admit.
"I will keep up my end in this bargain, granted it's fair, and you will cease your killing of my sisters," Poppy said, narrowing her round eyes. It gave the air of a curious, yet ruthless child.
The scales on her face shimmered as they moved slightly. She sat upright, her legs almost useless as they sat on the rock, unmoving.
"Every moon cycle, I will personally deliver ten souls to you. You are not allowed the emotions, nor are you allowed to scavenge the edges of the island for any souls that may have wandered out there. I will keep my Wanderer's inland, you keep your sisters in the Rivos." Caspian could feel Tamaerean's eyes on him, boring deep into the back of his skull. Ten souls was a large amount, given the fact that so few were making it to Nawala. That, coupled with the frantic rescue and recovery of any and all emotional responses, would mean that he'd have to divert more attention to the souls than to the island's protective perimeter.
"Ten souls? You wound me," Poppy said. Her eyes closed slowly in an attempt to blink. "I require twenty souls. Every moon cycle, no exceptions, and then you have a deal."
Caspian balked, running through the scenario in his mind. He'd have to corral all the souls, choose the ones that had been there the longest, hoping against hope that he would choose the souls that had the lowest chance of rebirth. There was the looming thought of taking a soul and crushing any hope of it ever being reborn.
As he had done to his Wanderers.
"Deal," Caspian said through gritted teeth, clenching his shaking fists. Poppy smiled, threw her head back and laughed. A shrill, ear-splitting sound that rattled Cas's mind, jumbled his thoughts, made him lose his grip on the situation at hand.
He hadn't really agreed to that, had he?
Caspian whirled around and stalked back to the Auktross.
"What the fuck, Cas!" Tamaerean was at his side, mouth drawn into a fine line, eyes blazing.
"Twenty souls every moon cycle, are you kidding me? By this time next year, there won't be any souls left! Because you decided to keep the scouts from crossing realms." He began to pace, back and forth, head down, arms folded across his chest. Cobb followed him, the light of her wings the only thing illuminating Tam and Caspian in their ever darkening surroundings. The streak of the sun had closed in on itself, leaving the Lost Realm in a blanket of darkness, the small pulsing lights of the souls providing very little light.
A fog rolled in, thick and unapologetic in its quest to cover the entire island. The other Wanderers' would be back to their usual posts by now, always on watch, always ready.
"It's not like I want to give them the souls," Caspian countered, ignoring Tamaerean's anger.
"You gave in without even giving it a second thought." And yet, Caspian had given it a lot of thought. More than the Wanderer would ever know.
"Tam," Caspian said, biting his tongue to keep from raising his voice, fighting the dark coils that moved within him, "we'll just have to take the older ones."
There was silence. Caspian chose not to speak; he knew that if he did, things would escalate into an all-out fight. Tamaerean just didn't understand. None of them did, and none of them ever would. There was only one Caspian, and try as he might, there was only so much he could do.
"I refuse," Tamaerean spat, his words clipped and dripping with anger, "to willingly feed these souls to the mermaids. We're supposed to protect them, Cas, that's what you told me when you brought me back. Protection." He enunciated each syllable for emphasis.
"We are protecting them. If we don't do this, the mermaids will keep getting their souls and they'll kill off more Wanderers'. We sacrifice the few to save the many."
"I didn't resign my soul to oblivion for this," Tam shook his head, his eyes downcast. He flew towards the Auktross in haste, leaving Caspian alone once again.
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