There was barely any light. The sun did not reach the deep cavities and abyss of the sea. The black crocked seaweed flowed everywhere in that chasm. In its shadows, a figure floated quietly, a dark and red dress hanging weakly behind it. Its threads tangled tightly, but they seemed to shiver, struggle to hold on. There were troubling thoughts in her shared mind; her gaze was fixed on her hand.

She swayed there in the dark, pondering deeply, debating her options and anger… until she heard movement. Her sharp eyes shot open, her hands whipping sideways fast, ready to strike what neared. She could have easily slaughtered the fool that neared her from behind, but she did not need to. Her azure eyes pierced the shark in front of her, frozen and startled by the threads tangling in her hand. His red eyes were wide, his fins more spiked, his fear evident.

“It’s you…”

Her hand and vines lowered with her words, which echoed with tedium. The shark let out his breath, relieved to see her dress lose some malice. She would not strike him. That did not mean she would not have liked to do it.

Iara glared while he tried to take deep breaths. He was holding his side, as if in pain. But that pain should be the least of his worries, because she was displeased.

“He is alive.”

It was not a question. Her cold eyes never blinked; it was unnerving how she could show pure anger without frowning. There was a small trace of red in her gaze. So he looked away nervously, trying to stay composed as he excused himself.

“I- I had some complications. Just give me more time! You don’t have to worry! I mean, I’ve come back to warn you! B-but I guess I’m… a bit late, sure. I had to avoid that fat beluga and-“

“You are useless.” He winced, because some vines moved. But he exhaled next, seeing her turn around, giving him her back. “You had many chances to kill that human, when he was clueless. He should still be fragile, unknowing of the sea. And yet you keep on failing, even when I would reward you in kind. You were supposed to maul him to pieces, he should be dead already. I was not supposed to see this fool again, nor hear his pathetic nervous rambles.”

She was still glaring at him over her shoulder, pure disappointment in her glinting eyes. So the shark smiled, trying to bargain.

“You won’t have to worry, dear! O-once-“ He let out an angry pained chuckle, clutching his side. “Once I get up on my fins, he will lose his. I tell you, at least I will manage to rip that tongue of his; he won’t say a word! And then you’ll be able to beat up that joke of a whale, like you want!”

All her mind could feel anger and disappointment, just by thinking about those silver eyes. Due to it, she slowly came to terms, gradually agreeing in judgment. Iara stared at her hands once more, her fingers brushing calmly one soft vine. She felt strong, everything felt right. All was for the better, as she wanted. Her next whisper echoed menacingly.

“Just kill that weakling. Then I’ll help you stop being one against Alon.”

He nodded, nervously holding his hands together, fangs showing in a grin. Her eyes pierced him one last time, to remind him well of what he should accomplish. Then, she glared down, far below. She could see the outlines of a deeper void, between a mass of black seaweed, a stony arc hiding dark ruins.

“I will wait.” She began to sink slowly, with one last warning. “Don’t dare come back without having shed his blood; it’s the only one I can’t reach for.”

He was left in silence and darkness. Her figure hid in the shadows, the last glimpse he got was of bloody blurs following her. She would hide where those two would not dare go, until it was safe for her to reach out once more.

There would be no one to call for her heart.

——————

 

Their thoughts were troubled, but they could not voice them.

Matthew frowned, swaying over the sunken reef. His fins and tail glinted, due to the faint sunlight that pierced the surface not far above. He carefully loomed, watching with apprehension the wounds he could see. Alon had laid the mermaid onto more or less flat sunken rocks; then he had gone up for some minutes, needing a breath.

The brunet floated there, noting how the angler breathed shakily, a frown as well on her face. Her needled fangs brushed her lips, clenched in pain, even if fainted. He could not blame her for hissing even if unconscious. Her tail had scars all over, and he really did not want to think how much it had to hurt to feel your lower fins be stabbed through. She had an awful gap in her long gloomy fin, on one side. Now the appendage looked like a torn array of… something he really hated to look at but he was looking at anyway.

He kept watch, not really knowing what to do. But at least he knew that he didn’t have to do much, because she was not in danger anymore. Those hellish vines were gone. Most were floating or sinking around, their surroundings tainted in disgusting black. Luckily, he had brushed off the ones that had fallen on these rocks. He did not want them anywhere near while Alon swam up.

Matthew crossed his silvery fins, in a thoughtful stance. He leaned his head, feeling pure dread. What Iara did was not something he understood, no matter how much he pondered. He was so caught on his own inner debates that he did not realize Alon was now behind him, back from the surface at last.

“Matthew.”

An eyebrow rose, hearing the echo. Alon was glad to see that Matthew did not cower; he barely jolted for the call, turning calmly to face him.

His silver eyes blinked, seeing those hazel eyes glare at his shoulder. Before he could say anything, Matthew whipped one of his fins at him; but only to brush off a piece of black seaweed that hanged from him.

“Fucking disgusting…”

There was obvious fatigue in his voice, anger and exasperation. Alon laughed sadly, looking up tiredly to the surface above.

“Yeah, these things are staining everything. I could not see the sky with them floating on the waves. There was so much I almost didn’t see there was a boat.” Matthew opened his mouth, of course, worried by those words. Alon was quick to reassure him. “No one saw me.”

Matthew closed his mouth. They both stayed silent for a minute. But Alon soon broke the silence, addressing the matter that worried them most at this moment. He leaned his head, peeking behind him.

“How is she doing?”

They looked down at her. There were still no signs of her waking up.

“She is pretty much one with the reef, lying like a rock; doing quite an impressive job considering, well… that. I doubt you guys have invented pain-killers, and that looks damn painful.”

If he had those wounds right now, like her, he maybe would be turning around in his sleep.  In fact, he fell quite a few times off his hospital bed.

Alon could note the nervousness in Matthew, always satirical when troubled. He could see the worry for the mermaid in his eyes. Still, he could not blame him when he averted his gaze and swam down. He leaned his back onto some walls below, to reflect. With him back, he did not need to keep an eye anymore. The wounds were not nice to look at.

The killer whale gladly let the angelfish keep his distance, taking his place near the angler. One sat onto the reefs, knowing some first aid that could soothe those fins, some non-rotten seaweed used as bandage. The other kept quiet, staring at the waters around them, gone the darkness. Still, both held dark thoughts, unable to leave until they were sure she was alright.

After a while, Alon sighed, hearing Matthew whisper.

“I will be like this forever…”

It was a bitter whisper, discreet, more for himself than for anything else. It was a pronounced mournful thought. Still, he answered.

“You can’t know that for sure.”

Alon had tried to use a reassuring tone. It did not work; Matthew answered back, still angry with everything.

“I am sure of it, because you don’t know how to solve it. And she won’t help.”

Alon looked down with a guilty frown, his tail stopping swaying, tensing. Matthew noted how his voice gained a slight trace of hesitation.

“I know that you don’t want to be a merfolk anymore. I will find a way to reverse what she did.”

His hazel eyes narrowed more, feeling conflicted.

“It’s not this body what bothers me.” He huffed, his tail hitting the rocks behind his back. “It’s not the water either. I just hate this horrible mess.”

Alon had to stop tying bandages, his focus lost.

“I hate it too. She should have not brought you that flower in the first place. You should have not changed. You should have not taken it, Matthew.”

There was a hidden resentfulness in Alon’s words. And Matthew heard and caught it, perfectly. His gaze finally rose up, to glare at the outlines he could see on the rocks.

“Well, excuse me for having wanted something else in my life, Alon!” Matthew lowered a hand, motioning over his tail. “I apologize for thinking THIS was safe! I guess that as a human, I should have known the risks of listening to sorcery and things I have no idea of! You did not have a clue either, you did not warn me! Neither of us knew she wanted to use such a dangerous spell, so-!”

“I knew…”

Matthew blinked. Alon realized too late that he had let out those two words, which he had kept inside with great guilt. He said them in an impulse, overwhelmed, much like Matthew.

The former human began to frown, confused, but all ever wary now. He looked up more at the merman, his next question harsh.

“You what?”

Alon kept quiet, heart beating fast. But it was not like Matthew would let it go now. In a minute, he was facing him, interrogating him with a glare and calculative words.

“Alon, what did you know exactly?”

There was slight dread in those silver eyes. And he knew well when Alon pondered, the expression on his face was now familiar to him. He was looking away, but his hands were fumbling faintly. It was like if he was trying to control that tick of his, in vain.

After a few seconds, Alon crumbled under his piercing stare. He let out a trembling sigh, his expression regaining firmness, but not losing its shame. Matthew only felt more confused with the next admission.

“I knew bringing you to the sea was a bad idea.”

That sentence only made more questions spark, not answering a single one he had. If he thought that he should not be in the sea… it meant that the idea had been brought up. And Matthew could only think, theorize, his mind always sharp.

“You-“ There was realization dawning in those hazel eyes, slowly. His tone grew shaken. “You two spoke. You did know she had that idea.”

Alon finally met his eyes; his black tail curled impossibly against itself, as if cowering. Meanwhile, Matthew’s fins folded, his tail swaying shakily. That fact had been hidden from him all this time, without him having a clue about it.

Matthew listened bleakly to Alon’s echo, which pierced the waters and his mind.

“She told me she wanted to change you. She asked me for help; how could I have, I don’t know. But I knew it was not a good idea. It was clear that you would not be alright in the sea. Most importantly, magic is dangerous; we both knew that, and now you do too. It was a horrible idea; I could not let it happen. So I told her to forget about it, let it be.”

The former human shook his head, eyes losing all emotion. He looked down at the merman blankly, almost indifferently; but he was anything but calm inside.

“You told her to leave me behind.”

“I did, to keep you both from harm.” Alon looked up at him, trying to explain and reason. “You have felt and seen that the sea is not where you should be. It’s-“

“I’m alright in the sea. At least, I was sure I would have been.”

Alon flinched, because Matthew had raised his voice. His hand was clenched, his fins had puffed out… and his sharper teeth showed as he grinned.

“You know, Alon? I began to think you understood why I was able to near the waves. A whole fucking year I had been trying on my own, a whole year failing miserably like a moron… but then you two came up. Maybe I was still a coward most of the time, but I thought you got why I kept daring to dive in. Again, and again, even if it hurt sometimes.” Matthew snarled, seeing apprehension in his silver eyes. “She did understand it. She did know why.”

A growl escaped him, his voice coming up angrier, making Alon shudder with each word.

“But I see that… or you are blind to the reason, or you don’t care much about it. Like her, maybe you would rather not have me around after all. You merfolk like to play with things until you bore of them. You reach for everything that hooks your curiosity, and then you let it sink broken.”

Alon rose up, his tail kicking in reflex against the rocks. His hand was quick to move towards Matthew, his voice now ashamed.

“Matthew, I have never meant to do that. I would never- I only wanted you to be alright. That spell went wrong and-“

Matthew swatted off Alon’s hand, done with everything. He could not let himself contemplate his emotions; there were worse things to acknowledge.

“She is not herself.” Alon stared sadly while Matthew glared at the depths, pondering coldly, almost ignoring him. “She spoke to you, asking for help… And I can only wonder, what would have happened if you had agreed? She has those things around her, like that flower. I saw her lashing at you; I saw the haunted look in her eyes. You are right, something is wrong with her. And it’s because of that spell, we can be sure of it. It twisted her. I wonder if she would have been had you known better.”

Alon lowered his hand. Matthew was crying silently, looking down, with no tears to be seen. His voice was growing quiet.

“You should have known that being with you two was all I wanted. If you had, maybe then we would not be like this, apart and torn. I really did not expect this outcome, Alon.” He laughed sadly, shrugging. “But hey, what do I know? I’m only human, right? Maybe you really know better and parting ways is for the best. You do want to help, after all…”

He purposely told him he did not know anything. But he did know some things. He did know there had been a wish. Something he pushed down, without speaking up. He did not even ask him, did not even think what he wanted. He chose what he considered the easy way out, without realizing he would gladly endure it all.

Matthew moved away, sinking again to the rocks below, wanting to be out of sight. He could not look into those guilty silver eyes. Alon sobbed, holding himself, unable to say a thing to excuse his past callousness.

Ripped blackness kept on sinking and rising around them, which only made their hearts feel more broken.