Fated

I had been trapped and perched on this rough Boulder for days, the oceans violent waves smashing senselessly onto my legs. The suns blazing heat scorching my naked skin that not even the water could heal. I was being punished. Being punished for refusing to live an imprisoned life. 

It was all worth it, however my plan did not go as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I escaped. 

My bones ached heavily, weighing my body down, leaving me with no energy. Transitioning from mermaid into a human body was excruciating. I was hungry, thirsty and tired. But I would not dare fall asleep perched on this Boulder. No amount of grip would save me from drowning in the wicked ocean. 

I lived my whole life as a mermaid, freely swimming and living in the ocean as it is my home. Was my home. When I began transforming into a mundane I was unable to swim. My tail now replaced with two legs that I could not function naturally. If it wasn’t for this lonely Boulder in the middle of the unending sea, I certainly would have drowned. 

The Water Gods cursed me. Cursed me into this body, forever trapped as somebody else other than my true self, in a world that is unknown to me. I’ve never been around a human. Never seen one, only heard of in stories. 

I had to take my chances and escape. I refused to allow fate to control my life. I don’t even believe in fate. It’s a prison to allow one to be trapped in a condemned future that, according to fate, you could not alter. 

But my life was not written in the Water Gods‘S books as the one who will be married off for power and an alliance. 

No. I was born to succeed and control my own destiny. All my life, from the minute I was born, I was left with my father. A father who hated the world and loved power more his own daughter. My mother died birthing me, and I was left with a narcissistic, psychological maniac who would do and give up anything for power. And that anything is me. 

He had one of the largest army’s in the sea. His warriors fierce and merciless. But that was not enough for him. 

No.

When the King of the Unseelie Sea’s eldest son became of age and seeking a wife, my father threw me into the auction for the highest bidder. He sold me to the Unseelie King for his son, as if I was nothing. Like I was worthless and a bargaining tool for a stronger alliance. 

I prayed every night to the Water Gods for help but they turned a blind eye. Repeating the same line, over and over. 

“It is your fate.”

I could not live with myself if I agreed to this marriage. It’s not like I had a choice. 

But in a way, I did.

A choice to live freely in another world, or be trapped in my original one, being tortured by a future King that had my fathers psychotic traits. 

I could not do it. 

I could suffer no more.  

So, as I turned to swim away from this toxic life, the Water Gods dragged me painfully to the oceans surface. Spitting my out of my home as if I was an abomination and transformed me into a human. 

It sent wave after wave, crushing down onto me, drowning me mercilessly. My lungs had filled with salt water and I struggled for hours, perched onto the Boulder, vomiting uncontrollably, my body quivering from the pain of my stretched and bruised lungs. 

I pray that I will finally be rescued, by anyone. 

But the longer I sit here, the more I begin to lose hope. What if I am stuck here forever? Unable to swim to safety from fear of drowning and of the Water Gods and my father searching for me. 

A few more days had gone passed and I could feel my body shutting down. My breathing became shallow as if the life was being sucked out of me body. I could feel my heart weaken with each pumping beat. 

I lay back onto the Boulder, tired from sitting up straight, and stare at the horizon. The sun setting was so beautiful and majestic.

So, otherworldly. 

I blink slowly and stare at the sun. There was something over there. A line of a small boat heading my way. I try and lean on my arm to get a better look, squinting to make sure that I am not going crazy. 

But it was a boat. And from the distance, I could see the line of somebody. A human. A human man.

I was about to be saved. The boat began getting closer and closer and I perched up onto my knees waving my hands above my head go get his attention. 

He was getting closer now, and his feature became clearer and clearer. 

The man was devastatingly handsome. His black hair sat like a curly bunch on top of his head, falling into his eyes. His body was lean and muscular. His white buttoned up shirt left unbuttoned from the top, revealing his clear tanned skin. 

The boat was only three meters away, and for the first time I felt like I can finally breathe.

As he neared he looked down at me, curious as to why there was a naked woman isolated on a single Boulder in the middle of the sea.

“Are you all right?” He asked. His voice was so angelic, so masculine, so sexy. 

“Please, help me. I’ve been trapped her for... I don’t even know how long. Please, you have to help me.” 

He brought the boat closer and reached out his tanned hand. I reached out, excited and relieved that I was finally about to be free.

“Of course. Let’s get you home, Adella.” He announced.

My hand froze in his. I was so shocked by his words that for a second I thought I had heard him incorrectly.

Until I looked into his eyes. 

His turquoise eyes. His Unseelie eyes. His soft smile turned into a wicked one as I tried to detach our hands he gripped tighter. 

“Do you really think that I’d let a prize like you slip from my fingertips?” He asked, yanking me viciously towards his chest. I struggled against his grip but he held firm. He inhaled my scent and whispered, “My Adella.” Possessively. 

It all clicked. 

The Water Gods did not just trapped me here. They left me here as a sacrifice for the prince.

A single tear slipped from eyes as I heard him say the words that I dreaded to here from the Water Gods.

“It is your fate.”