Sinead was walking along the beach, like he often did with his old master, the previous Bearer Saint. The rest of Cleara Verdad was at a fishing village not too far from the beach. Sinead had made a habit of disappearing whenever they settled in one area for a little bit.
Finding a small tide pool along the beach, he sat next to it and removed his leather shoes. Sticking his feet in the water, Sinead sighed. The water was nice and cool, very soothing on his calloused feet.
Sinead looked across both sides of the beach then across the water. He was alone. Reaching over his right shoulder and under the two sword sheaths, he stuck his hand in the hidden pocket and pulled out a thin, leather-bound book. The Book of Fate.
The Book had special qualities to it. Several special qualities. It could tell you the fate of any one individual, But it was written in the long forgotten language Deum. Sinead's master called it the language of the Gods. It was on a beach similar to this one where he learned to read Deum, the spoken form lost in time.
"Sinead Volkov" the Saint muttered. He opened the small book, runic text materialized on the paper. The Saint started reading his own shifting fate. The only thing that remained constant was the bold red characters that read 'Encounter of Fate'. Sinead had never seen the blood red text before. He had no idea what it meant.
The lulling tides were broken by a sharp splash off in the distance, a sound usually made when fish would break from the surface. Off in the distance was a silhouette in the shape of a woman's upper half against the red-orange sky. The overcast made for a beautiful sunset when the sun painted the clouds as it peeked between them an tangerine color. The silhouette glinted slightly when it shifted. It was clear the distance figure had spotted the man on the shore. She was holding herself on the rock with her forearms while the waves pushed her, giving the appearance that she was a women stranded in the sea.
Sinead closed the Book. It was hard to read one's own fate. The text would often switch between the two forms of Deum, but only if you were reading your own fate. Sinead replaced the book in it's pocket. Perhaps a swim would help him clear his mind. He had not yet noticed the silhouette on the horizon as it was grappling a rock in the distance and partially hidden from view.
Stripping most of his clothes and removing the gauntlets, Sinead laid his clothes in the sand then waded into the water. The water was nice and cool. When he was waist deep, he lowered the rest of his body in the water and stayed there. The water was very relaxing. Sinead was very glad that he had come to the beach. He had still not noticed the silhouette.
The little silhouette lay hooked on the rock for a moment longer before she saw him began to take off his silly garments. The shadow ducked, not really understanding her embarrassment but feeling it all the same. She was definitely more curious by the moment, watching him first examine a strange block that opened in the center and then getting into the water. With a second splash, the shadow had submerged under the water, where she saw his legs, curious though they were. She broke the surface once more, closer now to the strange man.
From closer one could see details of her body a little better. She had long red hair that swirled in the waves and was tangled with strings of pearls which crowned on her head. It was also evident that she was topless and unabashed of it, breasts submerged in water with the waves lapping over two suggested hills upon her chest. Further than that, such as her tail below, was not visable. She was silent for a moment, examining him in the stillness of the evening before she spoke. "Hello."
The gentle rocking of the waves had been lulling Sinead into a state of semi-consciousness. His mind wandered into memories long since suppressed, the memories that plagued his nightmares. Long, hard, arduous battles. His mind was trying to reject the terrible memories. A soft-spoken voice awoke him from the waking nightmare.
When Sinead opened his eyes, he saw a stunning young woman. Where did she come from was his first thought. He was about to ask when some part of his brain told him that she had said something. Retracing his memories, Sinead realized what she said. "Well, hello there" he said, a grin creeping across his face. The woman had caught him off guard. He had only been caught off guard three times since he had become a Saint, the last two quite recently.
Sinead couldn't see the woman well, as she was in front of the setting sun. But he knew she had pearls in her hair, a lot of them. "You surprised me, you know that?" The woman had a disarming look about her, as if her very presences was a reason to smile.
The woman shifted, her body language suggested embarrassment. Though, Sinead could not see it, the woman's face burned as brightly as her hair did. Biting her lip, her gaze drew southward in as she flushed. "I-I'm sorry..." She really wasn't. She had no clue what had come over her or why her heart pounded in her chest. The water rippled a little as she moved, her teal gaze coming back up to his face. He was a handsome, charming man. She had never seen this kind of human before. She had met ones that resembled herself but not one with a flat chest and broad shoulders. She found herself longing to touch him.
She shifted again for a moment. "I didn't mean to startle you..." Said she as she shifted in her silhouette, a shadow against red which was slowly becoming purple twilight.
As it was got darker, it got easier to see the woman. "You're fine. A good surprise lets you know that you are alive." Sinead could already feel the tide beginning to go out. " Well miss, the tide is starting to go out and riptides are common in this area. Why don't we talk on shore." Then he realized that she might be naked. Sinead was suddenly very embarrassed, evident by his reddening cheeks.
"I-I'm sorry miss, it-t didn't occur to me that y-you might be.." his voice trailed off, the stammering only furthering his embarrassment.
The mermaid shifted closer, confused and desperately wanting to take his face, turn it to hers and remove his shielding from his beautiful face. She did not understand his embarrassment nor what nusity meant. "What's wrong?" She lifted out of the water slightly, reaching for his face as her breasts lifted up out of the water, which were full and heavy but not quite all revealed. She touched his face and stroked his cheek to caox his gaze back upon her. In the twilight she was mostly revealed with the exception of what lay beneath the dark water. She was pale with parts that were sun-kissed into a soft orange and was covered in freckles, mostly on her shoulders. She bore bright blue-green eyes and full, deep rose colored lips. Her hair was a brilliant scarlet and she was riddled with strings of pearls within her locks and it was wrapped around her unseen coral tail. "Have I offended you...? I am deeply sorry..." Her voice was just above a whisper.
Sinead was at a loss for words as she came into almost full view, the woman was absolutely stunning. It was as if Aiden himself had crafted her for unmatched beauty. Suddenly, she was everything to him. Her touch was ever so soft, her voice was like liquid gold. Sinead was almost sure that she was a deity. When he finally found his voice, all he could manage was, "nay, you have not offended me."
Sinead pulled his hand from the water and laid it on her cheek. His rough calloused hand was an extreme contrast to her divinely soft skin. "Do you mind if I ask you your name miss?"
The heat from her cheeks was tangible and evident as she pressed her cheek to his hand with great joy, a pleased smile turning the edges of her mouth upwards. "Glimmer... My name is Glimmer. And yours?" Her voice was breathy, the pounding in her chest making her feel as though she swam the wide ocean. Glimmer drew near to him, almost touching chest to chest with her gaze interlocking his. She was astonished by his voice and sudden enamored behavior, sudden but her heart desired more.
She drew nearer, her arms aching to slide around his neck and let their lips meet. Her lips parted in wonder, eyes leaving his to focus on his... Soft lips... Her mind trailed off for a moment before her teal gaze returned to his, not after exploring his body. Her eyes travelled to his strong chest, his shoulders... All over before returning to his eyes.
Glimmer, a name fit for one of incomparable beauty. "Sinead, Sinead Volkov." He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but for some unknown reason, he held back. Sinead matched her gaze, his eyes long since softened from their normal piercing state. He felt like he were in a dream, meetings like this happened in books, yet it was happening to him at this very moment. It was like Fate had brought them together.
Sinead reached around and placed his other hand on the small of her back, slowly pulling her closer. Soon the only thing that separated them was her beautifully long hair and a few strings of pearls.
Glimmer pressed into him sharply with a soft gasp. Her arms slid around his shoulders and she had pressed her soft breasts against his chest. She held no shame of her body. She was now lifted so far out of water that the part of her anatomy at the edge of her hips began to form coral-colored scales which shone in the coming moonlight. She leaned up, slightly parted lips so close to his. Her breath brushed against his lips and just as she drew in another breath, a wave fell upon them and knocked them both to the shore. The tide the pulled back as she rolled and flopped, her coral tail slapping the wet sand. She rolled onto her stomach, pulling toward Sinead. "A-Are you okay?!" Her tail, which flecked gold when struck by light, slid over to help her angle over him.
Several thoughts rushed into Sinead's mind as he slipped under the water. Cleara Verdad. Drowning. Glimmer's safety. The need to live just to hold her again. He was a ragdoll in the powerful wave. But as luck would have it, they both washed ashore. Sinead lay on his back as the water lapped at him, he was panting heavily. When he looked over, he saw Glimmer not too far from him. He was overcome with relief. "Yes I'm fine, are you okay?" As he sat up, he saw her tail.
At first he was confused, perplexed even. It took him several seconds to realize that she was a mermaid. Again he was at a loss for words.
Glimmer beamed with delight when he asked about her safety and shook her head, tuckin a strand of hair behind her mint-colored, translucent ear, which was webbed like the fin of a fish. She drew near to him, not taking his astonishment for amazement over her tail, for she thought he was already aware. She instead mistook if for adorable surprise from the impact of the wave. She dragged herself on her stomach and curled around him so that she leaned over him with gentle eyes, filled with adoration. She took his hand and pressed it to her cheek. "I'm fine... See?"
The shock drifted from his face as Glimmer drew closer to him, his eyes were once again soft as he peered into her teal gaze. She was still an amazingly beautiful creature. "That's great" Sinead said as a soft grin crossed his lips. But his mind would not let him become so absorbed by her again, because he knew, deep down, that he could not stay with her. He had too many people who depended on him, and his heart ached because of it.
Sinead pulled Glimmer into a warm embrace. He could think of but one way around this dilemma.
The mermaid's face nuzzled into his neck and his cheek as she rested on him, letting her upper half meet his, her elbows propping her up and caressing fingers pressing into his hair and against his scalp. She giggled softly, a contented noise. She was completely and blissfully unaware of his thoughts. She liked him... Intimately... She longed for him even with him already being there. She never felt this way for males of her opposite sex (partially because they were violent.) This was a different feeling. A feeling of deepness and a vastness that went beyond words. Her tail flopped a little as she shifted in his arms. "I am happy." She said plainly, her voice adamant and full of joy.
"Glimmer" Sinead began, "to put it quite literally, you had me at hello. I wish I could stay like this forever." He could feel her heartbeat on his chest, he was sure she could feel his, "but I have people who depend on me on land. People who I cannot abandon. But, if you agree, I could use an ancient magic to make it so you can come with me." Sinead paused for a second. He had no idea how Glimmer would react to the next part. "But it would mean you would become human."
Glimmer lifted from his chest, a startled expression on her face in the moonlight. Her skin was pale in the moonlight, almost as pale as the white of her pearls. She looked back to the sea, which touched the end of her fin and watched the waves rocking back at forth. The mermaid gave a range of emotions when she looked at the water: longing, sadness, and nostalgia were the more evident ones. She knew that even if she stayed in the water she would not return to her homeland, to her kingdom... She had always felt safe in it's castle walls until they had betrayed her heart and sent her to be eaten by merman and sharks alike, destined to wander until she found her charm. She had finally found it, the pearls that adorned her and yet since that time she felt no real need to go home. She was far too... Changed now. There was so much curiosity here. She was experiencing something unbeknownst to mermaid-kind.
She bit her lip a little and tears began to fill her teal eyes but she did not look back to him. The water was her home... It had been for years... She would never again be able to sink in it's splendor or spend hours under the water, being pushed and pulled by the sea and carried by it's currents. She could no longer sing with their friends down below... Her heart ached a terrible and great pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted so badly for both...
Sinead watched as tears started to roll down Glimmer's cheek. It killed him for him to know that he had caused those tears. He had to bring a smile back to her face. "Glimmer, should you decide to become human you should know, the magic that would make you human could turn you back to a mermaid. All you need do is ask." He left out that by doing so, he would be breaking the religious law of Cleara Verdad. There was no need for her to know that.
Glimmer knew that the cost of turning her back would be a great toll, even though he didn't say it. It hung in the air like a gloomy cloud. Even knowing that she couldn't return to the sea she knew what she wanted most and she no longer wanted to return back to the kingdom. "Queen Anne of Lace... Your wish has been granted for I will never return back to you." The mermaid had finally spoken and turned back to Sinead with tears in her eyes and buried her head in his chest. "Promise you will take care of me all my days..." She curled up against him.
Sinead embraced Glimmer like at any moment she would be gone as quickly as she appeared. "I promise to protect you with every breath until the air is no longer mine to breathe, or until Lord Aiden brings me to rest. Whichever comes last." His resolve was strong, far stronger than it had ever been before.
He was overjoyed that she had decided to go with him, but at the same time, he wasn't. He felt like he was tearing her from the only home she ever knew. "Promise me that should you ever wish to return to the sea, you will tell me."
She raised her head up, sliding her chin onto his shoulder and touched her wet cheek to his. "I promise... My love..." She said and reached her hand up into his hair once more, turning her head and pressing her lips firmly and sweetly onto his cheek, holding them there before parting then with a certain softness. Glimmer held him tightly as he held her, warm and passionate despite her nudity. It was one of those things she would need to learn when she became human but she would have no idea for now.
Sinead laid like that with her for several minutes. He was very content to stay like that. Several minutes became a little while, and a little while became a long while. Eventually, long past midnight, Sinead stirred. "We need to go back." Sinead sat up then moved onto his knees. He gently picked Glimmer up taking her over to where the tide pool and his clothes were.
He set Glimmer in the pool then picked up his shirt. Sinead pulled the Book of Fate out of it's hidden pocket then pulled a piece of charcoal out of his pants pocket. He opened to a blank page. "Once I write in here that you become human, you will be enveloped in light. Once the light subsides you will be human. It's painless I promise." Sinead paused for a second. He leaned in and kissed her, "when you are ready, I will begin writing."
Glimmer thought for a moment, her eyes still puffy from crying, though the redness brought out her sea-green eyes. She bit her lip and looked down, waiting a moment before nodding her head, closing her eyes tightly and gathered a handful of sad in her fist, clenching it tightly.
Sinead started writing, Deum was almost second nature to him, he quickly wrote out in the ancient text 'Mermaid Glimmer becomes human, by act of the Bearer Saint'. At first, nothing happened. But then, at the tip of Glimmer's fin, A bright light started spreading across her skin. The light flowed up her body until she was a being of pure light.
It was far too bright to look at Glimmer directly, so Sinead shielded his eyes, unwilling to look away. After about a half a minute, the light subsided, and Glimmer was no longer a mermaid.
Glimmer sat in the pond as still as she could as her fin cleaved in two painlessly. Her legs were still settled against one another in position. She opened one teal eye then the other, which were tightly closed to see her new body. She shifted her bottom to the side and switched the side that her legs leaned on one another, resting on her other hip.
Then without thinking, she parted them wide almost on display for Sinead, taking in the new anatomy with wonder. She said there, naked in the small water pool with her legs parted in wonder to her new... "parts."
Sinead looked away as Glimmer examined her new body. After a few minutes he held his hand out to her. "Come on, let's try out your new legs, you'll find walking is very different from swimming."
She looked up at him, puzzled as to why he looked away. "Sinead," She began, quietly and reached out to him and grasped his hand. "Why do you look away from me? Does this new body not please you...?" She asked, a look of deep insecurity taking place in her body language and eyes and she looked like she just might cry all over again. Glimmer wanted badly for Sinead to like her... She had no idea why... She never wanted anyone to like her so bad. She touched her chest. "Am I not... Am I not beautiful this way...?"
"Glimmer, you are very, very beautiful. I looked away because I was giving you privacy. Something that most women on land expect, especially the area between their knees" he touched the joint in the middle of her legs, "to the shoulders. On land almost everyone wears clothes. It's something that has been passed down since man was fooled by demons into thinking that makes them beautiful, is shameful. But now everyone just views it as normal because that's all they have ever known." By now Sinead realized that Glimmer was in for culture shock, he would do his best to subdue that.
"I don't know what I'd need privacy from you for..."The former mermaid smiled, her teary teal eyes glinting in the moonlight and kissed him gently, her lips connecting firmly with his before parting. She could live with wearing strange cloth over her body if it made him happy. "What is this?" Glimmer asked bluntly as she cupped her hand over the new organ, deeply perplexed by it's complex shape and dynamic. She looked over to him with curious eyes, her brows knitting together. "What does it do?"
"Well. Glimmer that is called a va-" Sinead went on to explain that the part helped to remove liquid waste from the body, he was interrupted by light approaching on the horizon opposite of the sea. "Well would you look at that. It's dawn, which means I've been gone all night."
Sinead picked Glimmer out of the pool and gently set her on her feet, his hands hovered around her should she stumble. After several seconds, he went to stand behind her, picking her up and placing her feet on his. "I'm going to give you a quick lesson on how to walk."
Her legs wobbled and trembled against his, unsturdy as ever. She shook as she tried to get them to work but she also made a bad habit of buckling her knees. She bit her lip in slightly discomfort and worry that she would fall. She clutched her hands onto his arms for safety. She leaned back against him best she could. She was short in her new legs and not very tall at all. She still had tons of hair that interlocked with so many pearls and the pearls on her legs dangled loosely and made it hard to walk. "H-How do you use these things?!" She asked in amazement and half a complaint.
Sinead placed his hands on Glimmer's elbows to steady her, he held up most of her weight so that there was just enough for her muscles to get use. "Relax" he spoke gently, "watch how your legs move." Sinead bent his leg forward, which caused hers to do the same. Then he settled his foot about a foot ahead of the other foot, Glimmer's foot resting on his. "Now for the other foot." Sinead pulled his other foot ahead of the previous step.
Sinead walked slowly up to where the sand meets the ground, So when glimmer did walk on her own, it would be solid ground instead of loose sand.
The woman relaxed on his arms, knees still knocking a little as he moved her from one end of land to the other. She held onto his arms, muttering a soft plea for him not to let go. This would be quite the sight for any passerby to watch a full grown, naked woman adorned in pearls be taught how to walk by an older, dressed man. She watched their legs carefully and tried to steady herself but her legs felt like jelly. When he stopped on flat land she slid off his feet carefully to try on her own.
She took a step forward with her arms spread out and gave the interpretation that she was walking a high-wire, which seemed silly as she had plenty of room to walk. She continued for a few steps before losing balance and falling forward. She was a pile of scarlet waves from underneath could be heard a small, indignant sniff.
Sinead went and sat in front of her, "Your doing good Glimmer, lets get it another shot. This time I will be right by your side to help you gain balance." Sinead held out a hand to her, he had a soft encouraging smile on his face. Sinead would gladly help her in any and every way he could. and right now it was helping her walk.
She propped up on her elbows. Glimmer was not a hard woman to make cry, especially at this vulnerable time. She slid onto her knees and took his hand, her pale hand in contrast to his tan one. She then used him as a leverage to get flat onto her feet, which took her a moment to become steady. She wobbled a little but when she straightened her legs this time, she wobbled no longer. Glimmer looked down at her straightened legs and then beamed at Sinead with abundant, unspeakable joy. She then took a step, arms still spread for balance and she walked. She slowly took one foot in front of the other, giggling when she took about five steps. It wasn't long before she was walking, without her arms, with good balance.
After a moment of walking, she wanted to try talking and walking at the same time. "Sinead, when do you claim a female?" Her meaning was as blunt as a steel bat. She could have essentially asked when he would claim her. "Is it when you first meet them or... Are the stars not in line for mating season yet?"
She then bit her lip. "You don't eat the females of your kind, do you?" She asked and looked over at Sinead, stopping her walk to gaze upon him with slight concern.
Sinead started laughing, but then stopped as he realized Glimmer was serious. "No, Men don't eat women. On land, men and women are joined by matrimony. A celebration that signifies that the two have become a couple. Or sometime a man and a woman just decide to live harmoniously with one another. But always it is started on a question that the man asks the woman." Sinead came up behind Glimmer and wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, "will you marry me?" It was probably the most brash thing he had ever done. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, however long that may be.
She nuzzled against him, sensing from his tone of voice that this question was a serious one. The words sounded near ancient when he spoke them, as if they had been asked for centuries. "What does marry mean?" She pondered the thought that men did not eat their women on land. Where as in the water, they either claimed or ate.
Sinead laughed a slight chuckle, he had not expected that. "Marrying is the act of becoming a couple, it would effectively be the same as saying that you are mine and other man could have you, and that I am yours and no other woman could have me." As luck would have it, Sinead had explained this before, to one of Cleara Verdad's Yoreiqi followers.
Glimmer gasped, turning around in his arms with wide sea-colored orbs twinkling and shimmering as if they were a gateway to the oceans themselves. "Just like Illume and Noct!! Forever, no one else's!!!" She nearly shouted with her glee. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Yes yes yes!!! A million times yes!!!" Glimmer pulled away slightly to kiss his face several times.
"You will be mine forever and no one else's. And we will have a beautiful egg that we both will raise... Oh, Sinead, you've made me so happy." She whispered, as though her heart was shattering from sheer happiness.
Sinead embraced Glimmer warmly, his heart content. He ignored the fact that she said 'egg'. She will learn. Sinead stayed there, hugging her, for several minutes. Then he spoke up, "I'm going to go get you some clothes, I will be back in about five minutes." He leaned in and kissed Glimmer, then went sprinting off to the fishing village.
Less then four minutes later, Sinead returned carrying a cotton shirt and pants, of similar design to his own. Offering the clothes to Glimmer. "These looked about your size, I hope they fit well."
Glimmer was immediately confused beyond her wildest dreams. She examined the cotton shirt and examined his, trying to replicate it. She laid it over her upper half like one would a paper-doll and looked from herself to him. "It's not working, are they broken?" Her eyes were genuinely concerned that she had busted the clothes for good and was really bad at being a human.
Sinead laughed heartily, "no, my dear, they aren't broken." He took the shirt and opened it at the bottom then pulled it over Glimmer's head, guiding her arms through the sleeves. When the shirt was on he went behind her and pulled her hair out from under the shirt. He wrapped the string of pearls around her hair, going up and down the length of hair. Then he picked up a piece of undergarment and told her how to put them on followed by the pants.
When Glimmer was fully clothed, Sinead looked at her and smiled, "the clothes look good on you."
The clothes were large on her but one could still see the curves of her anatomy. She smiled at him but it was clear she was uncomfortable. The clothes restrained her and she couldn't feel the air very well anymore. "Do I need to wear these all the time?" She asked, wondering if there was a time where she could do without. She walked a few steps closer to him, touching the clothes and straightening them out.
"No not all the time, just when we are in public. I realize that they are uncomfortable, but that is something I can remedy. When we get to a large city, say Arca the capitol of the land were are at now, we can get special clothes made that are made from a light material called silk. The clothes you are wearing now are made from cotton, which is a heavier material." Sinead knew that Glimmer was uncomfortable with the clothes on, but it was part of being human.
She nodded her head a little, deciding that he knew better than she was and if they were at their new home, she didn't have to wear them. She wondered what it looked like if it wasn't submerged in water. Glimmer beamed at him, truly content with where she was now, with him. She never imagined that she would have a man to keep like in the legends of Illume and Noct. She always believed that she would be claimed by a male during mating season if she ever went back and have a beautiful egg. She completely forgot that a yoreiqi girl had once told her that humans do not lay eggs and that by giving up being a mermaid, she may never bear an egg.
For now she remain oblivious to the grief that would soon come. "I can't wait to see it." Whispered the former mermaid, flipping her vermilion waves to cascade down one shoulder, riddled with pearls.
Sinead dawned his swords and gauntlets, then bowed and offered Glimmer his hand, "M'lady, shall I introduce you to the world above the water? I trust you will find it to be a truly marvelous place with many enchanting people."
She reached out her hand and set it inside his large palm, a goldfish in the ocean by comparison, "I trust you." Her voice was loving and lowered, speaking in the ways that lover's talk in the deep of the night as the sun rose. She looked back at the ocean a final time, going from black, to purple to orange with the sunrise. Glimmer offered a silent goodbye to the sea, which seemed to stretch out over the shores towards her, calling her back in, but she would not heed it's call. She had a higher calling now.
She turned back to him and held his hand tightly, becoming slightly silhouetted in the sunlight again. Only such a short time and she was now a bride. It did not vary much from the normal as she did not know that such things usually took time. She was certain she would love him forever and her heart was his. She touched his face with a gentle caress. "Let us go."