Daughter of the Sea

By MistressOtaku

Nearly five years have passed since the confrontation against FATE and the Dragon Gods. It was too bad no one remembered the events. Everyone went on with his or her lives; Nikki and Mikki eventually got together; and Riddel and Dario finally had their dream wedding, moving out of Viper Manor and traveling to the mainland.

Only two people knew the truth. Kid knew, but no one had seen her in five years, and Serge? He keeps the truth to himself, knowing full well that nobody would believe him.

~O~

April 10, 1025AD

One night in the Viper Manor, Marcy walked down the hall to her room. Five years had changed the little warrior girl to a beautiful young lady. Thirteen years old and already stories were circulating that she’d win the next Viper Festival Pageant. She still sported the double-bun hairstyle, but she abandoned the “cute pink dress” and choose to wear a slightly darker pink tank top and matching pair of shorts that had wide legs and made them look like a skirt

Her birthday was that night. Not that it was something to celebrate. It didn’t matter that she was turning fourteen. She and everyone else were always too busy to celebrate anyone’s birthday. This year would not be any different. Arriving at the heavy wood door that led to her room, Marcy sighed.

“Another birthday, another day of training and a night of hanging around my room.”

Turning the knob, Marcy pushed her way into her room and flipped the light switch.

“SURPRISE!”

Karsh, Zoah, Glenn, and Luccia. All stood in Marcy’s spacious room with many gift-wrapped presents. Marcy stood at the door, stunned. Nobody had ever done something like this for her ever.

“Like, what’s with the sudden interest in my birthday?” She asked. “You never seemed to care before.”

“You seemed so bummed all week we figured you could use a party,” Luccia replied, handing Marcy her gift. Karsh grinned and handed her his gift, “Yeah. Can’t have you being distracted during training.”

“Thanks, all of you.”

Marcy resisted the urge to cry. She had spent her life being tough and she didn’t want to stop now. She smiled and gave each of her friends a hug. Placing Luccia’s gift onto her dresser, Marcy turned and asked, “Should I open them now or is there a cake?”

“WHAT BIRTHDAY WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT A CAKE?” Zoah’s deep voice boomed from beneath his helmet. Marcy and the others swore he slept with it on, but no one dared to ask or find out themselves.

With that said, everyone went to the dining hall to have cake. Later, Luccia stopped by Marcy’s room to check on her. Marcy was sitting on her bed, admiring the presents she had received. Karsh and Zoah had pooled together to get her a pair of Spectral Gloves; Glenn had gotten her an autographed poster of Nikki and the Magical Dreamers. Looking up, Marcy saw Luccia and smiled.

“I like your present.” Marcy commented, looking to the beautiful music box. It was carved from driftwood and atop it was a mermaid sitting on a rock. It was painted so perfectly, it almost seemed to come to life.

“Where did you get it?” she asked. Luccia sat down next to Marcy and replied, “It was your mother’s. I merely fixed it and had Van repaint it. Go ahead and play it.”

Marcy took the music box into her hands and turned the key on the bottom a few times and set it down. Slowly at first, the music box began to play the “Song of Marbule.”

“It’s… beautiful. What was my mother like, Luccia?”

Luccia seemed shocked by the question and fumbled with her answer, “V-Vhy do you care now? You never vorried about it before.”

“I… just wondered if you knew her.”

“Not really,” Luccia lied. “I met her shortly before she died and left you vith me. She had no other family to entrust you vith.”

“Oh… okay.”

Luccia got to her feet and said, “I have experiments to attend to. Goodnight, Marcy.”

“Goodnight, Luccia.”

After Luccia left, Marcy placed her presents on a nearly shelf and went into the bathroom to draw herself a bath. Taking her hair out of its buns, it fell to elbow-length. The water was cool and that’s the way Marcy liked it. Whenever she was stressed out, water always calmed her. After soaking in the water for a few hours, Marcy climbed out to get ready for bed.

She gasped in horror at the sight of her hands and her legs. Her fingers had become webbed like a mermaid’s and scales had begun to appear on her legs. Refraining from screaming, Marcy closed her eyes and breathed in and out, hoping that she was seeing things. She cringed as she felt the transformation revert as she dried off. Slowly opening her eyes, Marcy saw that she was back to normal.

Not wanting to think of what had just occurred, Marcy immediately got into her nightgown and climbed into bed. The next morning, she woke and found that she was still normal.

“Maybe it was just a nightmare,” she thought. Days went by and nothing happened. After awhile, Marcy was sure that she had had some sort of dream. If it was a dream, it had been a very terrifying one.

Then, one night, about a month later, Marcy was laying back, eyes closed, soaking in her bath after a long day of drills and sparring matches. Suddenly, she felt sharp pains at her thighs and along her forearms.

She opened her eyes and looked down to see that her fingers were webbed again, there more scales on her legs, as well as across her arms, and she had small fins on her forearms and thighs. Scrambling out of the tub, Marcy grabbed her bathrobe and ran out of the bathroom and into the hall. She ran as fast as she could down the hall to the stairs. When she reached the basement, she ran to Luccia’s door and knocked frantically.

“Vhat do you vant?” Luccia snapped from behind the door. Marcy panted and cried out, “Luccia! It’s me, Marcy. Like, let me in!”

The door clicked as it unlocked. Marcy quickly flung the door open and ran in, slamming the door behind her. Luccia stood back and asked, “Vhat is the problem? Vhy are you so upset?”

Marcy, still dripping wet and panting, quickly pulled her sleeve pull to reveal the fin and scales. Her eyes seemed to glaze over from shock and fear as she asked, “What… is… happening… to… me?”

Luccia looked to the ground, a saddened look on her face. “I thought since your brother vas human, that it vould be the same for you.”

“What? Brother?”

“Please, sit. I’ll explain everything,” Luccia said with a sigh. “Your mother vas a mermaid who rescued and then fell in love vith a sailor. They loved each other and, although they vere not famous or royalty, hoped their marriage vould help to unite demihumans and humans in peace. They had a son and later on, you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this? Why did you lie?”

“I did not think you vere old enough to understand,” Luccia replied quietly. “I did not lie entirely. Your mother did die when you were an infant. There was an explosion in my lab I had in Termina. I tried to rescue her, but she died from her injuries. As for vhat happened to your brother, he vas separated after ve escaped from the fire. I‘m not sure if he is alive. Your father left Termina out of grief, believing his family to be dead.”

Marcy sat there, stunned. This was all too much for her to handle. Her voiced was choked with tears as she whispered, “So, like, I’m a mermaid… like my mother? Why wasn’t I born one?”

“As near as I can figure,” Luccia said, “since you are half-mermaid, the aquatic part of you vas not avakened until maturity.”

The scientist paused and asked, “Vhen is the transformation triggered?”

Still holding back her tears, Marcy replied, “It’s happened when I get wet. It first happened a month ago… on my birthday, after you guys left. Like, it went away after I dried off.”

Looking at her hands and still seeing scales, she continued, “This is the second time it’s happened. It’s starting to go away, now.”

“I do not think that this will be the last time this happens. You cannot run from vat you are.”

“Like, I guess that’s true,” Marcy, finally calming down enough to the point she didn’t feel like crying. “I mean I do have to take a bath sooner or later. What should I do?”

“Vhat you think is right,” Luccia answered, placing her arms on Marcy’s shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “Just understand that the other Devas and I vill always be there for you no matter vhat choice you make.”

Marcy nodded quietly and gave Luccia a quick hug before saying, “I’ll go think about it… Goodnight, Luccia. And, like, thanks for telling me about my mother. Oh, please don‘t tell the guys about this.”

Luccia nodded and went back to her experiments. Marcy sighed and left to return to her room. Once there, she sat on her bed and picked up her music box. Listening to its music, Marcy thought throughout the night about how to handle her newfound heritage.

By dawn, she had made her decision. She placed the music box on her desk and pulled a piece of paper and a pen. After writing a lengthy letter, she sealed it in an envelope and placed it next to the music box. After that, she got dressed and combed out her hair, placing it in buns.

~O~

Later, Luccia walked about her laboratory, jotting down readings off of machines that were around the room. Various monsters in cages chattered and moved restlessly, waiting for their “master” to let them out for tests. Then, Luccia heard a faint knock at the door.

“The door is unlocked.”

Slowly, the door opened and Marcy walked in with a backpack. She paused before saying, “Like, I’m going to leave… for a while. I want to find my brother and father.”

“Really?” Luccia placed her clipboard on top of a machine and walked over to Marcy. “I wish you luck. You know, you have an aunt. Her name is Irenes and she is a mermaid living in Marbule. I would have sent you to her, but you understand that the relations between humans and demihumans have not been peaceful.”

Marcy smiled. At least there would be one person she could go to. She quickly gave Luccia a hug, something she had never done for anyone before and said, and “I know I’ve been, like, a brat all these years, but thanks for being there for me. If Karsh or Zoah ask, tell them I left them a letter in my room that will explain everything.”

Luccia nodded and returned the hug. “Good luck and farevell, Marcella.”

Marcy blushed at the sound of her full name and left the laboratory. That was the last time Luccia, or anyone else from Viper Manor, saw Marcy. That night, Karsh and Zoah came to ask if the scientist had seen Marcy. Luccia did as Marcy had requested and told them about the letter. When they entered her room and found the letter, this is what it said:

“Dear Karsh and Zoah,”

“I know it’s going to sound odd when I say this, but I’m resigning from the Devas. Don’t take it personally; it’s just something I have to do. I recommend Glenn take my place. It’s obvious that Dario is a little distracted at this point. Don’t bother looking for me, by the time you have read this, I’ll be long gone, searching for my past and the family I lost thirteen years ago. Take care and remember me always. I may no longer have the title of a Deva, but I’ll have the spirit of one. Maybe someday, I’ll come back and tell you everything.”

“Your friend and fellow Deva, Marcy”

~O~

Karsh sighed as he read the letter for what seemed like the thousandth time. Zoah had returned to his room and had fallen asleep. Finally putting the letter away, Karsh got up and walked out to the balcony and looked out into the sea.

He remembered when Luccia had first came to Viper Manor, hired by General Viper to develop better element weapons, and how she brought with her a little toddler named Marcy. He remembered how Marcy wanted immediately to follow him, Dario and Zoah into training, how she took to battling with a warrior’s skill. She was the youngest soldier he had ever had the delight of knowing. She had been like a little sister to everyone, both a pleasure and a pain to have around.

Just then, in the light of the silver and red moons, he saw a figure sitting on the rocks that were slightly out to sea by the cliffs. The figure looked like a beautiful mermaid with blond hair done in a double-bun style. Karsh swore that the figure looked up and stared into his eyes for a moment before diving into the sea and swimming off to a second mermaid that was farther offshore. After the two demihumans disappeared into the sea, Karsh smiled and walked back into the manor. Marcy was well on her way to finding her family.


((Author’s Note/Disclaimer: I got the idea of Marcy turning into a mermaid on her 14th birthday from the Disney Channel’s made for TV movie “The 13th Year.”))


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