She'd known sneaking onto the ship would be risky but she'd known that staying put was the greater risk. All her life she'd been enamored with the sea. As a child she'd spent as much time as she possibly could swimming. Her parents had never had a problem with it since she'd been too young to be of any use to them and she'd used that freedom to explore the cove near their home endlessly. She'd daydream about sprouting gills and fins and scales so she'd never have to leave. She'd made herself a home of sorts in the rocks decorated with sea weed and sea shells and bits of sea glass and driftwood she'd come across in her travels. It was an idyllic time, one she constantly found herself looking back on as she'd grown older.
And grow older she did. Of course this wasn't a surprise, she knew everyone and everything did, she just hadn't expected it to be so terrible. As soon as she'd been old enough to be put to work she was. Since she had no siblings her parents had her help with everything. Her mother put her into the vegetable garden and the kitchen, her father put her into the shed mending nets and on the boat helping him fish. It was a simple life but it was endlessly demanding and she ached for the salty independence of her girlhood.
And then there came to be talk of her marrying and she saw her own life going down the path of her parents' and it was terrifying. She started having nightmares about being crushed, suffocated, tied up, trapped; every night it was some version of the same thing. She deteriorated, drawing into a deep depression, having panic attacks during the day seemingly out of nowhere, she began having intrusive thoughts about ending it all while cleaning the dishes and organizing the fish hooks. It was all just more than she could bear and thus she decided to run away.
She ran through a number of potential plans. She could take the boat but it was so small she'd just end up dashed along the rocks somewhere plus her parents didn't deserve to have their only source of income taken from them. Then while in town selling the day's catch she noticed a merchant ship that was on it's way out in a few days and it seemed like a gift from above. She got herself some men's clothes and boots, practiced a man's gait, worked on deepening her voice, practiced binding her breasts and keeping herself covered while getting dressed and undressed, and finally went to see about getting herself hired on as a cabin boy or some such thing.
Never had she been more grateful for her parents than she was those first few weeks on the ship. The work she'd been put to at home had in many ways been every bit as demanding as her work on the ship and she actually felt like she'd been well prepared for a life at sea. It was liberating and felt glorious to be so competent, especially when many of the other new hires seemed to be struggling. This really was the life for her and she began to dream in earnest about maybe one day owning her own merchant ship, travelling the world, exploring and making a life for herself and others who shared her love of the water and the adventurous life. For now she had no idea how she'd amass enough money to make such a plan come to fruition but she'd made this happen so maybe she'd be able to make that happen too.
Everything was going along swimmingly until she got caught... It was such a ridiculous accident, she couldn't believe that something so small had ended her life. She'd been cleaning the deck when someone slipped and bumped into her and she'd fallen overboard. When they fished her out there was just no hiding her figure. The baggy clothes that had allowed the subterfuge were now plastered to her body in a most indecent way and her womanly form was obvious to everyone with at least one good eye.
Nothing could have been more disastrous. Once the moment of shock passed they swarmed her, and angry mob in a frenzy. She was trussed up and thrown overboard, purposefully this time, amid shouts of her being a jinx and a palpable fear from the men around her. Women brought bad luck and at sea luck was everything.
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So here she was, drowning in the middle of the ocean, miles from shore, an outcome she'd not seen coming even though she'd always known it was a possibility. She struggled futilely with her bonds know there was no hope of even loosening the now sodden ropes that immobilized her arms and legs but the will to live was strong and she could not give up. She knew that if only she could free two limbs she'd have a fighting chance. Her body still remembered a childhood spent in water and swimming would not be an issue but it was impossible smothered in sodden rope!
As her lungs began to burn and she knew she was close to losing the battle and succumbing to the deep a strange thing happened. First she noticed that the water no longer felt cold which seemed odd but was a welcome relief. Then she noticed there was something odd happening to her legs. Her feet appeared to be getting bigger, longer somehow while her skin was... well... vibrating was the best way she could describe it and that didn't seem to make any sense. Before her eyes her legs were clearly changing, metamorphosing. Her feet weren't just getting bigger they were becoming fins! Her skin wasn't just feeling funny it was becoming scales! She was seeing it herself and she still couldn't believe it. This was everything she'd ever dreamed of and it was happening if her vision was to be believed.
Maybe she'd already died, maybe this was her version of the afterlife. That was a comforting thought, pleasing, there were certainly worse ways to spend eternity than the fulfillment of childhood wishes. Or maybe she was hallucinating. She remembered having heard somewhere that oxygen deprivation can cause strange things to happen with the brain. Maybe she was just off her rocker. Again, there were worse things. At least she'd get to die happy. Real or not she decided she'd enjoy it as long as she was able to. When she'd finished pondering the oddness of her legs becoming a fish tail she noticed that her lungs no longer burned. In fact, she had the sensation of breathing somehow, it made even less sense than the scales and fins!
While she was trying to figure out how she could possibly be "breathing" underwater with no air about her (could it be called "breathing" if there was no breath?) she noticed some movement about her. It was subtle at first, far off in the darkened undersea world. As the movement drew closer she was able to make out distinct forms. There appeared to be at least a dozen of whatever was coming for her and she hoped that they weren't looking for a snack...
When they rose to her level and came into the few wisps of sunlight filtering this far down she discovered that they too had fish tails where on a human legs would be, each one a different brilliant jewel tone. Still wondering if this was all a hallucination she noticed that they all had what appeared to be gills on their throats. Maybe that was how she was "breathing" she mused.
Three of the women swam forward and untied her bonds. With her hands free she immediately searched her neck for gills and discovered that she had somehow sprouted those along with scales and fins. Whatever magic this was she was thrilled beyond words. She felt along her new tail, marveling at how very smooth the scales were and how strong the fins seemed to be. She swam a few test circles and was impressed with how quickly she adapted to this new method of locomotion. It seemed little different from the swimming she'd done when she'd had legs.
When she'd finished exploring her new body, at least for the time being, one who appeared to be the leader of the group swam forward and addressed her. "I am Curie, are you hurt?"
Taken aback she hesitated, "No, at least, I don't think so. I am called Ilunen. What's happened to me?"
"When the sailors so ruthlessly discard women from their ships we rescue them. You have been transformed into a creature of the sea, a mermaid. Sadly, we are many. You will always have a home with us, a community, a sisterhood. You will be safe as long as you wish it. Your life is your own now forever more."
As her lungs began to burn and she knew she was close to losing the battle and succumbing to the deep a strange thing happened. First she noticed that the water no longer felt cold which seemed odd but was a welcome relief. Then she noticed there was something odd happening to her legs. Her feet appeared to be getting bigger, longer somehow while her skin was... well... vibrating was the best way she could describe it and that didn't seem to make any sense. Before her eyes her legs were clearly changing, metamorphosing. Her feet weren't just getting bigger they were becoming fins! Her skin wasn't just feeling funny it was becoming scales! She was seeing it herself and she still couldn't believe it. This was everything she'd ever dreamed of and it was happening if her vision was to be believed.
Maybe she'd already died, maybe this was her version of the afterlife. That was a comforting thought, pleasing, there were certainly worse ways to spend eternity than the fulfillment of childhood wishes. Or maybe she was hallucinating. She remembered having heard somewhere that oxygen deprivation can cause strange things to happen with the brain. Maybe she was just off her rocker. Again, there were worse things. At least she'd get to die happy. Real or not she decided she'd enjoy it as long as she was able to. When she'd finished pondering the oddness of her legs becoming a fish tail she noticed that her lungs no longer burned. In fact, she had the sensation of breathing somehow, it made even less sense than the scales and fins!
While she was trying to figure out how she could possibly be "breathing" underwater with no air about her (could it be called "breathing" if there was no breath?) she noticed some movement about her. It was subtle at first, far off in the darkened undersea world. As the movement drew closer she was able to make out distinct forms. There appeared to be at least a dozen of whatever was coming for her and she hoped that they weren't looking for a snack...
When they rose to her level and came into the few wisps of sunlight filtering this far down she discovered that they too had fish tails where on a human legs would be, each one a different brilliant jewel tone. Still wondering if this was all a hallucination she noticed that they all had what appeared to be gills on their throats. Maybe that was how she was "breathing" she mused.
Three of the women swam forward and untied her bonds. With her hands free she immediately searched her neck for gills and discovered that she had somehow sprouted those along with scales and fins. Whatever magic this was she was thrilled beyond words. She felt along her new tail, marveling at how very smooth the scales were and how strong the fins seemed to be. She swam a few test circles and was impressed with how quickly she adapted to this new method of locomotion. It seemed little different from the swimming she'd done when she'd had legs.
When she'd finished exploring her new body, at least for the time being, one who appeared to be the leader of the group swam forward and addressed her. "I am Curie, are you hurt?"
Taken aback she hesitated, "No, at least, I don't think so. I am called Ilunen. What's happened to me?"
"When the sailors so ruthlessly discard women from their ships we rescue them. You have been transformed into a creature of the sea, a mermaid. Sadly, we are many. You will always have a home with us, a community, a sisterhood. You will be safe as long as you wish it. Your life is your own now forever more."
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