Ceara woke up alone in Daire’s bed. On the bedside table was a large glass of water, which she sat up and gladly drank down. The first rays of morning sunlight were trying to cut through the thick fabric of Daire’s curtains. She looked down, surprised to see she was still dressed, and that somehow, she hadn’t wrecked her dress. Peering over the edge of the bed, she saw a clean bowl, and thankfully, no puddles or stains from her vomit.
From the kitchen came the sounds of food sizzling in a pan. Ceara inhaled deep as she placed her feet on the cool stone floor; he was making eggs, the scent of sausage still hanging in the air. She made her way to the doorway, leaning gingerly on the frame and watching Daire as he cooked.
He was magnificent to watch. He must have been feeling brave, as he’d been cooking shirtless. She admired the shifting muscles of his back and shoulders, surprised to see a giant rendition of Yggdrasil tattooed down the center of his back. She inched into the kitchen quietly, daring to get closer to him.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said without having to turn his head. Ceara froze in place, still not making a sound. He turned to glance over his shoulder, chuckling at her surprise.
“How did you know I was here?” she pouted, then dropped herself into a chair at the table. Daire snorted, scooping eggs from the pan onto a plate for her, then depositing the plate in front of her with a fork.
“I’ve seen how you devour the eggs Rian makes. I had a feeling the smell would bring you into the waking world.” Even with his curls messy, even while having gotten very little sleep, Ceara still marveled at how handsome Daire was first thing in the morning. The plate was wafting aromatic steam up into Ceara’s face, sending her stomach into a fit of growling.
“What are you waiting for? Eat up,” he ordered. He tapped the spoon on his dish as he served himself a helping of scrambled eggs, then sat across from her. Ceara picked up her fork, her mouth already watering, and dug in. A groan escaped her; the eggs tasted so good, she could have melted onto the floor. Daire watched with a bemused smile, then took a bite of his own food.
“At least I know you like my cooking.” Ceara nodded enthusiastically, filling her mouth once again, practically shoveling down the food.
“I’ll give you that, you know how to keep a girl fed,” she said through a mouthful of eggs.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked. Ceara shrugged, swallowing the food in her mouth.
“Starving, clearly. But otherwise, pretty good.” Daire gave her a look of surprise.
“I would have expected you to be pretty hungover.”
“I don’t see why you would.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not hu-,” she paused, almost outing herself. She cleared her throat, feigning something caught in there. “I’m not usually one who gets hangovers. I don’t usually throw up either. But here we are.” Ceara shrugged again, as Daire gave her a curious look.
“Here we are, indeed.” They continued to eat in silence, occassionally glancing up at each other. Ceara was searching her mind for what happened the night before, the night’s memories ending shortly after she’d thrown up on his floor.
“Thank you for taking care of me last night, by the way.” Daire smiled at her, then shrugged, picking up her now empty plate to put in the wash basin.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy you had a safe place to be sick, instead of who-knows-where you live.” He turned from the basin, watching as Ceara got up to peer out of the open window. The sun was rising higher into the sky. She glanced through the doorway into the bedroom, not seeing what she was looking for.
“My bag, did I leave it downstairs at the tavern?” she asked. He pointed to the closet, where she found the bag hanging on a hook. She thanked him, slinging the bag over her shoulder.
“Leaving so soon?” he asked. He tried, and failed, to hide the disappointment in his voice. Ceara walked to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning back from him.
“I should go. For one, last night was embarrassing, and I need to wash this feeling off of me. Two, the best fishing time is coming up, and Rian has been really insistent that I find him some amberjack,” she said, rolling her eyes. “As if it’s not one of the hardest fish to find in the entire seaside.” Daire smiled, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. Ceara cuddled into his chest, the scent of musk and firewood clinging to his skin and filling her nose. He placed a kiss at the top of her head, before finally releasing her.
“I suppose I’ll allow it. Be safe fishing out there.” Ceara grinned at him.
“No little fishie is going to scare me,” she said with a wink. She stood on her tiptoes, placing a kiss on his cheek before turning and walking toward the door.
Ceara walked happily down the dirt path to her cove, thinking about the previous night. The people at the tavern had certainly been welcoming. Her thoughts reached Mairin, and her stomach dropped. She was still unsure of how to feel about her interactions with Mairin, given her lineage. The Selkie and Finfolk weren’t exactly known for their friendly rapport. To be truthful, they were two sides to the same coin. It was the difference between a mermaid and a siren. Both could control the weather, both could mesmerize humans with the sound of their song. The two used to be apart of the same kingdoms, until the Great Divide.
A sigh escaped Ceara’s lips, longing for the days before the war between the Selkies and Finfolk began. A faction of the Selkie separated, wanting to evict the humans from the shores in a violent manner. Their magic and power had taken a turn into the darker realm, irrevocably changing them into a different being. Those who once used to take the form of seal were now shifting into sharks, viciously attacking humans and Selkies alike. The problems arose when the finmen started to realize the effect that the change in magic had upon the finwomen.
The finwives were deteriorating. Every year they were partnered to their finmen, they became uglier, as though their beauty was being consumed by the magic they’d come to embrace. The men realized that stealing human women would provide them with beautiful wives, and their children wouldn’t be horrific like those provided to them by their finwives. This drove them to lash out harder at the Selkies, who were still thriving at the time. They once attacked any Selkie they could get their hands on, but these days, they focused on the nobility and royalty in the Selkie communities.
This sent Ceara’s thoughts spiraling as she neared her cove. Mairin had said that she wasn’t the only one of the finfolk who were on the shores of Jade Cliffs. Mairin seemed to be here to escape those she’d once aligned with. From the sound of it, she hadn’t joined them willingly. Her words echoed back to Ceara: I may not pose a threat, but I can’t say the same about the others. Ceara thought back to those she had encountered in Jade Cliffs, wondering what signs she had missed. There were some, like the faint striping of the skin, that were telltale signs. Who knew how many Ceara had encountered, or whether they’d noticed her yet.
The entrance to Ceara’s cove glimmered with Selkie magic, and she easily slipped through it. To the human eye, it would seem like there was nothing but dense, thorny brush, unwelcoming to dig through to get to the other side. The anxiety was mounting in the pit of Ceara’s stomach as she scaled the yew tree, easing once she found her coat still neatly folded and stashed away. She slid the dress she’d been wearing from her body, folding it to fit into her basket of dresses, then gathered her coat, bounding down the branches until she reached the edge of the water. She wrapped the coat around her, splashing into the water.
She pushed herself into the waves, twirling beneath the surface and pushing herself quickly into the depths of the water. The tides above her were beginning to roughen, She surfaced again, peering out at the clouds. There were winds coming in from the east, carrying with them dark clouds. Out in the distance, she could hear the shouting of men on board a ship, trying to come in to shore before the storm set in. She raised a flipper, easing the storm as she watched the ship come closer to the shore. Satisfied that they would make it safely, she dove into the waters. There was a school of fish ahead; Ceara debated hunting the amberjack, but had doubts that she’d catch them at this point in the season. Instead, she rose to the surface, floating on her back, enjoying the sun soaking in and warming her.
She stretched, a yawn groaning out of her as she lazily turned back over in the water. A large shadow slipped past the edges of her vision. There was a thud as the shadow smacked into her side. The two went tumbling through the water, almost knocking the air from Ceara’s lungs. She slipped away from her attacker, only to be greeted by a familiar seal face, who beckoned her to follow.
They raced to a distant shore together, Selkie magic creating a glimmering bubble over the island. The pair took turns dipping below each other, playing as they swam through the clear seawater. Once they reached the shore, they flopped onto the soft sands, shedding their coats. Ceara watched as the seal beside her wriggled free of her coat, revealing Ceara’s best friend since her pup years. Nida stood, looking far more voluptuous and bronzed than Ceara had known her to be. When Nida turned, Ceara gasped; her belly was round and swollen.
“You’re pregnant?” she shouted excitedly. Nida smiled, reaching for her friend and embracing in a long, tight hug. “Oh, who did this to you?” Ceara teased. Nida shook her head, extending a hand to Ceara as they walked up the shore, coats in hand.
“Come on, you’ll see,” she said, one hand resting on her belly. “You’d know if you bothered coming back more than once a season, you know.” Nida gave Ceara a pointed look, before tugging her up the path through the trees. A large hall came into view; Ceara was home. They entered the hall together, passing their coats to a Selkie man at the entrance, who accepted the coats and stored them away safely behind a wall of Selkie magic. Through the large doorway, Ceara could see Selkie men and women preparing and setting dishes of marine-based foods over the great table in the center of the room. Her stomach growled, somehow already hungry again. From the corner of the room, a tall, slim red-haired Selkie man sauntered over to her, extending his arms out in a welcoming hug. Ceara happily bounced toward him, throwing herself into his arms. His skin was warm against hers, and in just a moment, she felt like she’d re-entered a familiar memory.
“Sain, my darling!” she exclaimed, tightening her arms around his neck. He squeezed his arms around her waist, nuzzling his face into her hair. They released each other, and he leaned back to look at her.
“I see the human world hasn’t dulled your beauty in the slightest,” he said, his eyes exploring her with an appreciative gaze. “This should be a lovely full moon circle, don’t you think?” he asked, nudging Nida. Nida tutted, rolling her eyes and giving him a slight shove.
“Why, so you can do to her what you did to me?” she asked, a wry grin on her face as she rubbed her hands over her belly. Ceara looked between the two.
“I should have known.” She laughed, shaking her head as he wrapped an arm over each of their waists. She peered over to Nida.
“So that’s why you came to get me? Couldn’t bear leading another full moon ceremony?” she asked with a grin.
“They’re just not the same without you. And the people…” she looked around the room, some of the Selkie realizing that Ceara had returned to the island. “They need to see something go right for once. Our numbers are dwindling on this island, between people running from the Fins, or being captured.” Nida slipped from Sain’s arm, then took Ceara’s hand. She led Ceara into a private room, closing the door carefully behind her, casting a wall of privacy around the room to protect from prying ears.
“It’s getting bad, isn’t it?” Ceara quietly asked. Nida gave her a solemn nod.
“The fins have gone on attack. We have about fifty Selkie on the island these days. We used to be hundreds here. It feels like every other day, we’re hearing about a new Selkie that’s been captured, taken, or killed.” Ceara stared at the floor.
“And what of the nobles? What is the royal house doing about the situation?” Ceara asked. Nida shrugged.
“Most of them are in hiding,” she said, carefully lowering herself into a soft chair with a grunt. “After how many have been killed, I can’t say I blame them. It just means that we’re all disorganized. We can’t keep track of who went where, who has actually disappeared, or who is in hiding in different colonies or on human shores.” Ceara nodded, then sat beside Nida.
“Well, I’m positive that I’m the only one in Jade Cliffs. I’ll keep my eyes open.” Nida gave her a soft, sad smile.
“It’s not going to be enough to just keep your eyes open, Ceara. I think you know that.” A heaviness set into the pit of Ceara’s stomach. She stood, pacing the room.
“What exactly are you expecting me to do, Nida? How am I supposed to protect a scattered people? I may be noble, but I’m not the answer.” Nida’s eyes darkened, her anger clear.
“For one, you could not run away from your responsibilities.” The two Selkie women glared at each other.
“It’s not that simple.”
“It really is.”
“No, it isn’t!” Ceara exploded. She could feel the tears burning her eyes, her own anger rising to the surface. Nida paused, watching as Ceara paced the room. She reached her hand out to Ceara, who cautiously took it. Nida stood, pressing her hand into her lower back to ease the ache.
“We need someone to lead us. I know that you don’t want to be the one to do it, but I’m in no position to lead. We need you. We need your power. We need your guidance.” Nida reached up to Ceara’s face, cupping her cheek in her hand and brushing away the single tear that had escaped.
“But, what if-,” Ceara started, a sob catching in her throat. Nida hushed her, then pulled her into a hug.
“We’re going to protect you, just like you will protect us. Of course you’re scared; nobody watches the Fin tear apart their father and comes away from it unbothered.”
Ceara dissolved into heaving sobs, the memories washing over her. She could still smell the copper of the blood that she’d slipped in as the Finmen bled him dry. His face was painted a dark crimson as he hung by his feet, the blood draining onto the stone floors. She had crashed to the floor, looking up in time to see the Finmen pulling her father’s arms out like a twisted game of tug-o’-war. There had been a horrid crackling of his shoulders dislocating, then the muted sounds of flesh tearing. They’d tossed the parts of his body to the other Finmen, continuing by sinking their teeth into his flesh.
That day Ceara had run as quickly as she could to the waters edge, just barely escaping the finmen who followed her. She frantically rinsed her father’s blood from her body, then dipped into a different direction, eventually finding her way to the shores of Jade Cliffs. Nida and Sain had brought the remaining colony to the island, but only returned to the colony a handful of times. The two women locked eyes as Ceara dried her cheeks. She shook her head.
“I can’t make you those promises right now. I can’t just come back and become Selkie Queen of the island. I’m not ready,” she said. Nida nodded, then held Ceara close to her.
“That’s okay. I get it. And I can work with you until you do get there. But until you get to that point, these people need to know that there’s someone to lead them, to guide them, and to protect them. I’m happy to be your advisor, I’ll do anything if it means that you feel secure.”
The tension in the room eased slightly. They understood each other, at the very least. Ceara drew in a shaking breath, fearful for what the future might hold. Nida placed a finger under Ceara’s chin to lift her face.
“One step at a time. Tonight, we start with the full moon ceremony. It’s been months since we’ve had a proper ceremony, I know the people here would appreciate it,” Nida said. To her surprise Ceara nodded. “And worse comes to worse, you return to Jade Cliffs until the next full moon.” Ceara opened her mouth, but in that moment Nida placed a hand on the underside of her belly, taking a sharp breath in.
“Nida! What’s wrong?” she asked, panicking. Nida waved a hand at her, a slight grin on her face.
“Don’t worry. It’s just the pups getting comfortable.” Ceara breathed a sigh of relief as Nida straightened back up. Ceara smirked.
“Aren’t you glad that Selkie pregnancies are so much shorter than human pregnancies?” she asked. They chuckled briefly. Nida put her hands into the small of her back, stretching backward.
“I’ll say. I’ll take twelve weeks over forty any day.” They linked their arms together, returning to the main hall.
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