Moonlit Waters: His Mermaid Luna

Chapter 6: Others' sins

OCEANA

Dorian no longer held my arm as we entered the house, and my mother grinned and said his name. "Good evening," he said to my parents, drawing a look from me as he explained that he had accompanied me because it was late. I was already hunching over, bracing myself for the worst, thinking he was going to tell Father where he had gotten me.

With a warm "thank you," my mother invited Dorian to stay for dinner, but he graciously declined. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t stay. I have to go back out there,” he replied before adding that he also had to get home now that the festival was no longer happening. His parents had already left.

Dorian was not a member of my kingdom. He had traveled from two kingdoms away to attend the festival. He turned to my father and told him that he had just received word that two more dogs had been spotted and that the guards were attending to them.

My father nodded, issuing orders to keep them from fleeing, and as they spoke, none of them noticed me standing there, too overcome with grief to look up.

“May I be excused?” My mother informed me that dinner was ready when I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. But I told her I wasn’t hungry. “I’m not feeling well.” I added and my father asked if I wanted to see the doctor, but I quickly assured him that whatever I was feeling would pass. I said, "I would just like to lie down," and they let me go.

Looking up, I thanked Dorian for accompanying me home, and he smiled warmly, stating that I was welcome. I tried my best to return the smile before walking to my room but failed.

Once inside, I dashed to my bed and collapsed on it, burying my face in my pillow. My heart was still filled with sadness, and now I could no longer contain the tears I had been holding back. The events of the day replayed in my mind, and I felt like a terrible person for the thrill I felt earlier when I saw the dogs fighting with the guards.

Humans deserved everything they got, but the poor dogs did nothing to us. They were simply dying because of others' sins, which wasn't fair. I couldn't help but wonder, "What if they were fleeing from their humans?" I mean, humans were barbaric; who knew how they treated them? They were probably on their own based on what I saw. However, a tap on my window snapped me out of my dark reverie.

After a quick wipe of my tears, I glanced up to see Dorian standing there. Then I got up and went to the window, opening it. Before I had even finished opening the window, he apologized, and I knew it was because of my dejected expression.

We could easily hide our tears as the water carried them away, but our wounded souls remained visible through our eyes and could not be concealed.

“I didn’t mean to scream at you. I just freaked out when I saw you up there all alone. You could have gotten hurt.” he said and I gave him a nod of understanding. I just wanted him to go away so I could resume my grieving. “I wish I could hold you,” he said, his voice soft and filled with concern. And, despite my sorrow, a blush crept up my cheeks at his words, and my face creased into a smile. However I didn't reply to what he was saying. Instead, I replied quietly, "Goodnight," and Dorian smiled back.

"Goodnight, my love," he said, making me blush even more before turning to leave. I went back to bed after closing my window, my mind still swirling with the day’s events. However, no sooner had I fallen back onto my bed than I heard a knock at my door, and upon opening it, I saw my father standing there.

"Do you have a minute?" he asked, and I nodded before he sat down next to me. "Are you sure you do not need to see the medic?" he asked, his face filled with concern, and I assured him once more.

There was a moment of silence, as if he was struggling to say whatever he wanted. "Today... what you saw up there," he began, pausing briefly before reaching for my hand. "The things you saw up there are dangerous, Oceana. Having them around indicates that humans are around, and I am sure you do not need a lesson on how dangerous humans are." I interrupted him before he could complete his sentence. I didn’t mean to, but it was like his words opened the gateway to the million questions in my mind.

"What makes you so sure there are humans around? Couldn’t the dogs have come on their own?” I asked, but he dismissed my question with a shake of his head, claiming that the dogs could not have arrived by themselves.

"Dogs are not capable of flying an aircraft," he explained and It was the first time I learned about the name of that ship-like object. I was aware that before the magic cut us off from the outside world, aircrafts flew over the ocean. However, I had never seen one.

"But if they can disguise themselves as humans, maybe they can learn," I explained, and my father frowned, perplexed. “What do you mean, disguise themselves as humans?” he asked but instead of responding, I asked if humans could change their shape, and I watched as something flickered in his eyes at my question before he replied, asking what I meant.

"Can they take on the form of their dogs?" I asked, and he said no, but his tone lacked conviction. "Humans cannot transform into anything, just as their dogs cannot change their shape. Why do you ask this? Why do you think they can change?” I shook my head at his question. “No reason.” I could tell he was hiding something from me, and I was not going to open my chest to him if he could not do the same.

Furthermore, he did not want us to know anything about humans, so even if he knew the dogs could pass as humans, he would not tell me. He opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a knock on my door, which caused him to pause and turn towards it.

My mother entered and apologized for the disturbance. "Delma is here to speak with you," she said, and I felt my heart race at the mention of Delma's name. He was in charge of overseeing the guards and was present with the ones I left behind.

"We will continue our conversation later," my father said, rising as my mother left. But as soon as they left, I got up and followed them. I did not feel proud about spying on my parents, but I knew they would not tell me anything if I asked. So I crept down the hallway, stopping outside the door to my father's study and pressing my ear against it.

I heard Delma’s voice first. "We killed the dogs," he said, and my hands clamped over my mouth, muffling a sob as the poor dogs' faces flashed before my eyes, their agonizing cries for their lost companion echoing in my mind. Tears welled up in my eyes as he continued to tell my father that the black dog had attempted to flee and fell off the cliff. I knew which one was black, Lykos. My father asked if they were certain they kilked it, and they said yes, but they could not see it when they checked.

They stated that they would check the body in the morning. Our eyes struggled to see above the water in the darkness.

“We got it very well. Furthermore, our spears are laced with poison. Even if it tried to hold on and survive, it would die eventually. Most likely, the sea washed it away." Delma added and the tears that had pooled in my eyes fell at that. But my father's next words took the air out of my lungs.

"Did they transform?" he asked quietly but clearly, and my eyes widened. So he knew they transformed and lied to me? I staggered away from the door, my mind racing, and stumbled back to my room, my heart pounding in my chest.

Why? Why had he lied? Was it intended to protect me, or was there something more sinister going on? The sadness and confusion were overwhelming, and the day's events were weighing heavily on me. I couldn’t get the image of Lykos out of my mind. The way he ran, falling on the sand, desperately weak as he attempted to reach his companion, and then I began to imagine him fighting, the desperation in his eyes, and the realization that he had fallen, poisoned, and alone—it was too much to bear. What if the poor thing was still in pain? The least they could have done was finish it off.

Before I knew it, I was floating on my bed again. I needed to leave right away. I exited my room and went to my father's study, where everyone fell silent when I entered. I informed my parents that I had come to wish them a goodnight. They knew I was not feeling well, so they hugged me and said goodnight, with my father telling me we would finish our conversation in the morning.

I exited the study and dashed back to my room, where I collected my pillows and arranged them as if someone was sleeping. Then I shut my door and rushed for the exit, making sure no one was looking.

Making my way to the surface via the same tunnels I had previously used, I swam as fast as I had ever done. This time, they were eerily dark, which made me swim even faster.

Arriving at the spot, I slowed down before emerging from the water. Checking the coast, it was clear, and I focused on the location where the two dogs were confronted by the guards, but it was dark and hard to see. I swam closer, but the tide had receded, so the rocks where I stood to watch were no longer in the water. So, without crawling through the sand, I could not reach them.

I remembered Delma saying Lykos ran, so I started swimming towards the location he mentioned. There were many jagged rocks, which were now exposed as the tide receded. It was the location he was likely to be at, so I took a chance and crawled on the sand, wishing I had gotten my legs already.

As I moved forward, the rough sand scraped against my scales, with each grain feeling like a tiny dagger. The darkness was disorienting, and the eerie silence exacerbated my anxiety. Every shadow seemed to take on a menacing shape, and every sound was a potential threat. But I persisted, motivated by a mix of guilt and pity.

As I got closer to the jagged rocks, I slowed my pace and strained my eyes for any sign of Lykos. The moonlight cast long, eerie shadows, making it difficult to distinguish between rock and body. My heart was pounding in my chest, with each beat echoing in my ears.

"Lykos," I said quietly, the sound barely audible above the gentle lapping of the waves. There was no response—only the whisper of the wind and the distant roar of the ocean—so I crept closer to the rocks, my hands trembling as I crawled over the rough terrain.

Suddenly, my fingers brushed against something warm and soft, and I knew it was fur. “Lykos!” I called out louder this time, panic rising in my voice, but there was still no response. I moved closer, my eyes finally adjusting to the darkness and recognizing the shape of a body. Lykos lay motionless, wedged between two rocks, his fur matted in blood. A broken spear protruded from his neck, the wound slowly trickling blood.

Reaching out to touch him, his body was warm, but there was no movement or sign of life. I pulled the spear out, my hands trembling from the weight of what I was doing, and for the first time since I started, I questioned myself. I didn't even understand the danger I may have put myself in by getting close to this creature. But they didn't seem aggressive when approached by the guards earlier and this one was clearly dead.

Futhermore, I couldn't escape the conviction that the treatment of these unfortunate animals was wrong. It was unjust to kill them simply because they were human pets. I thought about my own pet sea dragon and how heartbroken I would be if someone hurt him simply because I was deemed horrible. He was innocent, as were the dogs.

Throwing away the spear, I got up on the rock and started pulling the dog. But it was huge and heavy, and my strength was failing me. So I left him and dug in the sand with the spearhead.

I wanted to bury him like he had done with the other one earlier and I told myself I would figure out how to get him into the hole after. The sand was damp, making digging easier but more time-consuming.

I was exhausted by the time the hole appeared to be large enough for the dog and I stopped digging and turned around, but then a thought occurred to me.

Wasn’t it supposed to have turned if it were dead? The question froze me in place, and then I heard it—a low rumble. Slowly, I turned around, and there it was, towering over me, its fur black as night and its fangs glistening in the dark.

My heart jumped into my throat, and before I could react, the dog lunged at me, its growl cutting through the night sky and I let out a scream, my arms flying to my face as I tumbled backwards into the freshly dug hole.