Her thrashing was so forceful that scales began to peel off of her tail. One of them flew up and stuck to my cheek. I scraped it away and stared at it. It was about the size and hardness of a thumbnail, so transparent that I could see the sky through it.
But as I held and looked through the pretty scale, emotions that weren’t my own suddenly seeped into me—the mermaid queen’s terror for her stolen egg, her obsessive dedication to tracking it down, her raging hatred toward the thief. I was overwhelmed by the queen’s motherly fury.
My heart hurts so much! Is the queen harboring this much sorrow?!
The feelings were so intense that I collapsed to the ground.
“Mom...” I whispered, my eyes welling with tears as the mermaid’s emotions swirled within me. I began hyperventilating, gasping for air as I grabbed my chest.
I’m sure any normal mother would feel the same way about her children. Unlike my biological family, who abandoned me...
“Lune, what’s wrong?!” Liam called, rushing to my side. “Is it the scale? Is it hurting you?”
“No, wait—”
Liam plucked the scale from my hand.
“I’m fine. What’s going on with you?” he asked, appearing completely unaffected.
“Lune is contracted to a great spirit. She’s more sensitive to certain things than other humans,” Lord Reineke explained.
Liam looked sad, as though my pain was his own. He gently patted my back. Now that the scale was no longer filling me with those intense emotions, I felt a little better.
“Lord Reineke...” I said, still short of breath. “Let’s... Let’s find her egg.”
“Is that your wish as my contractor?” he asked with a disgruntled look.
If I asked for it, Lord Reineke would fulfill my wish. But I didn’t want to force him to obey me. I’d rather try to win him over.
“Ms. Mermaid’s child is in that egg, so she must be very upset. Her egg was taken from her, leaving her all alone.”
I was unable to stop my tears from flowing.
I wanted my parents to love me this much too...
Upon hearing my words, the queen couldn’t bear it any longer. Red droplets gushed from her black eyes as though she were crying tears of blood.
“Return it! Give me back my child!!!” she wailed, her voice like a roaring wave crashing over me. Though her tail was covered in wounds, she continued ramming it in protest, driven by a mother’s rage.
Lord Reineke wrapped his tail around me to shield me from her scattering scales. His warmth seeped into my skin, comforting me.
That’s right—even though my old family threw me away, Lord Reineke is here now, caring for me. That’s why I understand.
I hugged his tail tightly.
“Lord Reineke, if you were to disappear, I’d be just like this mermaid. I would search for you no matter the cost. That’s why I think I understand how she feels.”
The spirit sighed loudly.
“It’d be faster to just exterminate these merfolk...but I don’t want to upset you, Lune.”
The queen glared at Lord Reineke. “Foolish land beast! Even if I die, my brethren will cast an eternal curse upon Renard. We will return here time and time again, and drown your people in the river!”
“Why you—”
I stepped between the quarreling pair. “Stop! This is no time for arguments! We need to focus on finding that egg!”
The mermaid queen shut her mouth. Lord Reineke grew silent as well, though he didn’t look happy about it.
Liam stepped forward. “We will search for your egg, so please stop attacking humans.”
The queen scowled. “How will you find it?”
“If you lend us that pendant, we’ll use it to help us scour every last corner of Renard.”
“You want me to hand over my only lead? Unbelievable. You humans are the ones who stole my egg—how am I supposed to trust you?!” she snapped, baring her fangs at Liam.
The other merfolk cried out agreements from the river.
“Exactly! And that human over there has signs of light! We can’t trust him! He could be the culprit!”
They were pointing at Bal.
Shocked, the boy pointed a finger at himself and blinked. “Me?”
“I knew it,” Marcel muttered to himself.
“But I don’t know anything. I didn’t do anything!”
“Few can wield light magic! Cease your excuses!” the merfolk pressed relentlessly.
Bal faltered. “B-But I can’t use light magic. And isn’t it connected to, you know...the royal—”
Liam quickly put his hand over the boy’s mouth. “That’s enough, Bal.”
Bal gasped. “R-Right...” He sank in on himself and turned away from Marcel, ashamed that he’d been hiding something from his master.
Marcel watched him with a sigh, then faced the merfolk.
“Then what now? You want your egg back, but you won’t give us a way to find it. So let’s hear your suggestions. We want to help, but if you refuse to cooperate, these negotiations will come to an end.”
Lord Reineke perked up. “Oh? And then we’ll have an all-out war?”
I placed my hands over his mouth. “Shh, Lord Reineke!”
The merfolk discussed among themselves in hushed whispers.
Grass rustled by the riverbank, and a red dragonfly landed on my tail.
Finally, the merfolk revealed their proposition.
“We’ll exchange the golden string for that boy.”
“You want Bal as a hostage? No way!!!” I objected reflexively.
However, Bal stopped me, and then knelt in front of the mermaid queen. Her body had grown dry, and she was breathing heavily.
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
The queen cast him a dubious look.
“You’re a mother, aren’t you?” he continued. “You’re risking your life for your child. My mom was the same. I’m sure she felt the way you do now. That’s why I trust you guys. And I want you to trust me too.” Bal wiped away the queen’s tears with his finger. “My friends are strong. They will find your egg. I guarantee it.”
The boy stood up, then turned to face us. “I know I’ll be fine, because I believe in all of you. You’ll come back for me, won’t you?”
He smiled brightly, the perfect picture of light.
“Of course, Bal,” Liam replied with a nod.
“We’ve got you,” Marcel added, pounding his chest.
“Bal...” I had no idea what to say. His life was now in danger because of my proposition to help the merfolk.
“It seems I have no other choice,” Lord Reineke sighed, scratching his head with his paw. His silver fur soared in the autumn breeze. “Let’s do this.”
We all nodded at his words.
“We’ll exchange Bal for the string,” Liam announced.
Marcel cautiously untied the mermaid queen, who gave her pendant to Liam. Simultaneously, an orange membrane covered Bal’s body. It almost looked like he’d been trapped inside a massive fish egg.
“As long as you’re inside of this, you’ll be able to breathe underwater, and you’ll have no need for nourishment,” the queen explained.
Bal touched the orange sphere with fascination. “This is so weird, but so cool! I can go in the water like this?” he asked, his voice muffled.
I was a little relieved that he didn’t seem to be worried.
“Bal, wait for us! We’ll come back for you, no matter what!” I shouted.
With the agreement in place, the rest of us began the search for the mermaid’s egg.