Eldoris and the Merlune 2

Through her piece of crystal, Eldoris watched her former lover and his new flame. She saw the way he looked at the girl. It was the same way he’d once looked at her until the day he’d betrayed them all. He once could’ve been her prince, her king. The king of her kingdom and a royal wizard of the land. 

What would she have done had the water dragon she’d made hurt him? Or worse – killed. Part of her would have applauded, would have snarled with pleasure and scowled and screamed and celebrated until the sun rose the next day. That part of her would have sharpened an old fish bone and stuck it through his heart for extra measure. But the rest of her..

Her heart stung. Hot tears threatened her vision. She wiped her eyes with her palms and looked up. Sunlight shot through the surface of the water to where she sat on a rock at the bottom of her watery hollow. It was more of a semi-deep pool. But she’d found it and although it was a far cry from her kingdom, it was the place she called home.

Eldoris brought herself back to the moment she was now in. The sunlight on the water danced as if to call her to it. She didn’t glance back as she pushed her body upwards, shifting her tail to move her in strong motions. Water splashed over the moss of the woody hollow as she breached its surface. 

Eldoris let her body fall forward, breathing in the scent of fluffy moss and fresh sunlit air that smoothed back her hair and tickled her cheeks. After so long in the water, the light and air and even seeing a human forest again, felt bizarre. Wind didn’t affect her under the sea. Was this strange lightness the same thing felt by her Merlune sisters who lived along the Ivory river? 

It would be time soon. After all, destroying her ex-lover would be awfully gratifying. But to prepare for that day, she had to make plans to expand her kingdom with her current allies. Matters to discuss and all.

They were set to meet by the small cavern on land, opposite where Eldoris sat half-submerged in the water. Dense trees hid them from sight and sound and they had the back-up of a watery retreat if anyone came by.

She thought about the many minutes spent in each other’s arms, the time she’d nearly drowned him in the water the first time she took him to visit her old home. That was where it had begun. 

And the future that looked. Death and despair and happiness and rebirth.

For a moment. One small insignificant moment, Eldoris let the bittersweet mixture of grief and forest air fill her lungs. In that moment, she sealed the sights and the sounds of the woods in her heart and re-set the iron bars on her soul. Revenge. That’s whst she sought. No matter the cost. Even if he was hurt. He broke her that day. It was beyond time to repay him.

Scents of brine, fish carcasses and ethereal beauty brushed up against her, flooding towards her. Her crew had arrived.