Once upon a summer, p.23
Once Upon a Summer, page 23
Fenella decided to pay Morveren a visit. Once the bairns were all asleep and Maw took her medicine, she slipped out of bed. Already dressed for her expedition, she went out the door. Melding easily with the gentle summer’s breeze.
The night was so warm that she needn’t have dressed so fully. The humidity of the day stuck the clothes to her damp skin, but she wasn’t bothered by the discomfort.
She was too entranced with the task ahead.
Fenella snuck across the lane, past the other shacks on their row. Lived in by people employed by the Thane; blacksmiths, launderers, maids, servants and others of the same ilk. She knew plainly where she was venturing. The burn – a small river snaking through the beautiful valley.
They say that Morveren is the most beautiful being anyone has ever laid eyes upon. Fenella was excited to see if it was true. She hastened her speed, anxious that one of the bairns would notice her missing and raise Maw.
Bairns were known for going missing. Snatched and tricked from their beds by wealthy gentlemen with the promise of a better life.
She continued on to meet the mermaid who she hoped would be the saviour of her family. She knew why Maw hated Morveren so much. Fenella’s late father drowned at sea. Mermaids were renowned for their illustrious siren song, luring men to wreck their boats at the slight chance of adultery at sea.
Fenella’s shoes were thin, and rubbing before long. Maw hadn’t enough money for clothing so they had to put up with quick fixes and charity from neighbours much larger than herself. She was grateful. She walked across the patchy gravel path towards the burn. Soon she was away from the village and could step freely without worrying about the noise.
She looked up at the moon, the perfectly spherical wonder in the sky. It was a clear night, not a blemish – not a cloud to be seen. She was thankful for the light. It was enchanting, like something out of a fairytale.
Fenella was too busy gawking at the moon to see the shapes lumbering towards her. Several men were stumbling back from the tavern in the next village over. The Thane frowned upon enabling such a vicious addiction such as alcoholism, Maw said. She wasn’t looking at her feet, and tripped over a stone in the path tumbling down the riverbank to its edge. She had never been glad of falling before then. She heard the men whooping drunkenly. They hadn’t noticed her. She waited for them to pass before picking herself up and dusting off her dress.
She started scrambling up the bank when she saw the stream next to her, which was platformed. A blessing, to walk unobserved to her secret meeting with the being she was forbidden to meet with.
Fenella thought about what her auntie said. About Maw’s illness, about Morveren. About how they would all have to go and live with her and their cousins once Maw’s illness took her. She didn’t want to live with them. Folk say that blood is thicker than water but those folk were like ice. Fenella knew she had to take care of it.
She wished on the moon: for good fortune on her travels, success on her mission, for Maw’s recovery.
She trekked along the river’s bank, keeping an eye on her feet and listening out for any threats. The mermaid’s seat was three miles away; the distance wasn’t a problem in summer when the weather was fair and dry. After a harsh winter and grim spring, the summer was glorious. Sun warming every crevice, and flowers blooming so beautifully around the estate. Fenella felt warmed, reborn by the lighter nights and the sun on her face.
An hour later she reached her destination, the mermaid’s seat.
It was empty.
There was no-one there. Fenella crashed to the water’s edge, fists balled. Was it all a lie? Something they told bairns to give them false hope? Fake miracles, to make the world seem less harsh? Was Morveren a fairytale? Tears rolled down her face uncontrollably. Without Morveren there was no way Fenella could keep her family intact.
She dropped to the ground, knees breaking open bloodily against the abrasive shale. She sobbed, letting her tears fill the burn. Her mind kept landing back at the same conclusion: there was nothing she could do to save her family.
A wet rustling nearby brought her back to the present but she didn’t see the point of reacting. So what if some great beast crawled out of the depths and pulled her under, would that be the worst thing? They were probably fake too.
“Bairn,” a voice beckoned sweetly, “why do you weep?”
“Leave me be,” Fenella begged, hands covering her face out of shame.
“So you didn’t come to see me?” the voice sang.
Fenella looked up, expecting to see a maiden standing by the shore. About to berate her for absconding in the dead of night to make a deal with a demon. But no-one was standing on the shore.
“I don’t believe it,” Fenella gasped, blinking tears from her puffy eyes.
“Then why did you travel all this way, lassie?” Morveren taunted from the perfectly formed seat protruding from the gentle watercourse.
“I need your help,” Fenella gushed, splashing into the shallows, reaching out for Morveren, her last hope.
She’d been too traumatised to look at the mermaid properly until then. She saw her now. Her long, straight, platinum white hair lay wet against her pale, shimmering skin. Her face was perfectly symmetrical. Timelessly beautiful. Her seafoam eyes oozed the pain of centuries past – the only indicator of her age.
Fenella observed the mermaid’s body, down to the tell-tale feature, the one she’d been excited to see. Morveren’s tail. Was it rude to stare? She couldn’t help herself. It seemed to change colour with each lapping wave. Taking on the colours of the water, the crest of the wave, the silty bottom, and the moon’s rays in quick succession. Fenella was entranced, unable to tear her eyes away.
“You done gawking?” Morveren inquired.
“I’m sorry,” Fenella replied, ripping her gaze away from the kaleidoscope tail.
“You came here to ask for help,” Morveren repeated, lounging delicately on her seat. “What do you need, bairn?”
“Maw is sick, been so for months, she is going to die.”
“You wish to save her?”
“I wish to save us all.”
Morveren pondered this for a moment, as if unsure. “And what do you offer me in return?”
“I have nothing but my own life to offer.”
“How noble, but what do I need a child’s life for?”
Fenella had heard of mermaid’s humour before but didn’t think she’d be so cruel. “To do your bidding on land.”
“Clever lassie.”
“Do we have a deal?” Fenella stuck out her hand for the mermaid to shake.
“Indeed, your maw’s life for your service, it shall be so.”
“How do I know you won’t trick me?”
“A Maighdean-mara’s word is binding.” Morveren’s face was stern and sincere. Fenella believed her.
“You won’t own my maw’s life, cure her illness and ensure she lives to a ripe old age?”
“You shall be in service to me for as long as she lives. You shall share in my riches, be under my protection and do my bidding ‘til your debt is paid. Or you bring me my cohuleen druith – my cap.” Morveren reached out and shook Fenella’s hand; her cold, wet skin sent shivers down Fenella’s arm.
“Deal.” Fenella felt the words bind her. A warm flutter spread through the water into her bones, searing down her wrists.
Morveren slid deftly off her seat and disappeared into the depths. Fenella froze, the weight of her actions dawning on her. The promise of lifelong servitude to a trickster enchantress. There were worse things.
She waited, hoping the mermaid hadn’t abandoned her. Morveren said her words were binding so Fenella felt sure she would return.
Where she felt the magic spread, she now noticed why it seared with pain as it passed her wrist. On her forearm was a mark, a brand, a three-pronged fork burned into her skin. She recalled some old tale, the King of the Sea often had one of those…tridents.
Suddenly, Morveren was back, bursting through the surface and reclaiming her seat.
“Make sure she drinks all of this, at once,” Morveren extended her arm. Enclosed in her fist was a tiny vial, its contents inky black. “It will take a few hours to kick in.”
“Ta, Morveren!” Fenella waded out to the seat and took the potion.
“Come back here when the full moon is next out and I will have your first task.”
“I will, ta.”
“Hurry along now, the night is waning.” Morveren waved her off.
If Fenella looked back she would have seen the grin on Morveren’s face, but she didn’t look back.
She ran. All the way home.
***
Fenella’s maw made a miraculous recovery, shocking everyone. Fenella didn’t tell anyone about her excursion to see Morveren. Not a soul. She kept the brand hidden, telling people she’d burnt herself and covered it to keep it from infection.
When Maw was well enough to go back to work she took Fenella with her and asked if she could stay on as an apprentice. To work for free until she came of age. Free labour was never turned down – even if she was only a bairn.
So Fenella went to work with Maw. Every day and every night she’d come home to see the happy faces of her siblings. Who had food in their bellies and clothes on their backs. Dreading the day that she had to go back and work for Morveren.
At least it is only one night a month, she told herself. It was the most wonderful month of her life. Maw was happy, the children were happy and everything was going to be okay. Fenella’s auntie felt cheated. She walked around with a sour look on her face, like she was harbouring a mouthful of wasps.
***
Finally, the night of the full moon came around and, after making preparations the day before, Fenella was ready to face her new mistress. Sneaking away in the dead of night would be harder now that Maw was lucid. So she made sure to slip her a bit of homemade sleeping draught.
She didn’t know what to expect. She packed a satchel with an assortment of items: bread, water, pencil, paper, knife, and an extra pair of woollen socks in case she needed to go swimming again.
The walk to the burn seemed to take longer this time, with the knowledge that some sinister tasks were ahead of her.
***
Months went by and Fenella’s arrangement with Morveren was comfortable. They’d meet once a month and plan a series of tasks for Fenella to carry out that lunar cycle. These included collecting information, ingredients for potions and spells, and collecting debts.
Fenella was happy. Morveren was a good mistress. She taught her spells here and there. She shared her vast wealth so Fenella could buy her siblings new clothes and do things like fix the hole in the roof. Maw never questioned where the wealth came from, but somewhere deep down she must have worked it out.
***
It was nearly a year into the arrangement when things took a turn. Fenella was walking back from the burn like she’d done on every full moon for the past eleven months when suddenly a figure jumped out from behind a bush.
“Aha!” the figure bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger.
Fenella pulled her knife instinctively. “What do you want?” she commanded with as much force as a fourteen-year-old girl could.
“Do you not know your own flesh and blood?” the figure teased and stepped into the moonlight.
“Auntie?”
“You wicked lassie, what trouble you’ve gotten yourself into. Dealing with sick demonic monsters!”
“You know nothing about my life, or the company I keep.”
“How dare you show your face in Church!”
Fenella laughed.
“Take her,” Auntie called to the trees.
Several figures stepped out of the foliage. Wearing all black and clutching their crucifixes piously.
“What are you doing?” Fenella asked, keeping the panic from her tone.
She had no chance against four fully grown women in a fight, but in a race? That was different. She feinted to the closest woman, ducked under her arm as she went for the grab and sprinted down the path towards her home. Shouts of disgust followed her escape.
Fenella didn’t stop until she reached the village, slowing down so as not to raise people from their beds with her heavy footfall. She took deep, heaving breaths to calm herself. She would tell Morveren the next time she saw her. That calmed her down. After her auntie found out about Morveren would the villagers think she was evil, too? She decided to sleep on it.
The next morning Fenella was the first up. She was too stressed to sleep for long and too anxious that the women were going to steal her from her bed. Villagers squawked. Something was amiss. Fenella dressed quickly and woke Maw, who went out to see what the kerfuffle was about. Fenella peeked through the keyhole. She saw the four women soaking wet, clutching their bibles and shouting at the top of their lungs.
“The seat is no more!”
“The mermaid’s wrath is over!”
Auntie yelled with a sly, spiteful look in Fenella’s direction. As if she could see her through the tiny hole in the wooden door. It was not the first time her auntie had taken it upon herself to destroy something she disagreed with. Fenella’s maw had told her harrowing tales of their childhood.
Fenella’s heart sank. What will Morveren do without her seat? Will she disappear? Is my servitude over? she thought, deciding that she would miss the mermaid if she was never to see her again. People whooped and cheered, people who had been wronged by the enchantress. Others stood as Fenella did, with sorrow in their hearts, for the mermaid had done them good deals.
***
Fenella laid low for the rest of the month, keeping out of her auntie’s way and only going to work with Maw. She waited for the night of the full moon when she could see if Morveren would return without her seat there. It was painful, not knowing whether her life was about to change. In some ways it was a huge relief knowing that she would be able to go back to her normal life. The brand on her arm reminded her that she had been special – a part of something much more fantastical.
Fenella decided that she would go to the burn before nightfall. To see the damage the women did to the seat and if there was anything she could do to restore it to its former glory. She was almost certain that Morveren would return. There wasn’t anything stopping her, was there? It was just a seat. Somewhere to sit while she waited for custom.
There was no sign that the seat had even existed. The women had done a good job of making sure the mermaid had no base of operation. Fenella sighed. She wrapped herself up in her thin shawl and sat hunched in the sand with her back against the eroded riverbank. Waiting for night to fall, for the moon to come out, for her mistress to return.
She turned words around in her head, wondering how she was going to explain the situation. Morveren wouldn’t know that the women had vandalised her seat yet. The sky grew dark and Fenella became more anxious. She couldn’t wait, so she waded out into the burn to where the seat used to stand.
The moon was the only source of light now, a glowing mystical orb in the clear sky. Like the night Fenella first met her mistress – there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She was glad of the warm summer breeze and that the water had been sunbaked all day.
“Morveren!” she called, standing waist deep in the gentle current.
“You called?” Morveren answered. Breaking the surface gracefully, flipping her wet hair calmly over her shoulder.
“Some of the townsfolk came and destroyed your seat, they think you’re wicked,” Fenella admitted, her head hung low.
“Then they must pay.” Morveren hissed.
“What will happen to them?”
“Who were they?”
“I…”
“You know who the criminals are? You can’t protect them. They must pay for their crimes.” Morveren’s expression was serious, her body rigid with anger.
“My auntie and some other pious women,” Fenella confided.
“You must take me to them,” Morveren ordered.
“But you don’t have legs, won’t you die out of the water?”
“I can walk on land if I wish.”
“Then why have I been doing your dirty work?” Fenella asked.
“Because it’s a horrible sensation. Legs are unnatural, and my skin gets dry out of the water.”
“So you just don’t like it? But it’s possible?”
“I have to return to the water before sunrise, but yes, it’s possible under the power of the full moon,” Morveren said.
“Fine, I’ll take you there.”
“I need some clothes first.”
“Of course, I’ll be back soon.”
Fenella left her bag on the riverbank and hiked up her skirts. She ran all the way back to the village and snuck into her house, being careful not to wake her family. She rifled through Maw’s belongings and found a pair of her pa’s old slacks and a soft linen shirt he reserved for church. She didn’t feel too bad seeing her pa’s old things but she did feel bad for Maw, who had kept them even when they didn’t have enough money for food or clothes.
Fenella stuffed everything she needed into a burlap sack along with a hunk of bread and cheese. In case Morveren needed to eat once she took human form. She pushed her front door open and dipped her head. She ran as fast as she could all the way back to the burn where her mistress was waiting for her.
“Clothes,” she panted.
“Good lass.”
Fenella laid out the clothes on the dry riverbank and turned away, knowing that it wouldn’t be polite to stare as Morveren transformed. Much less when she was naked in her human form. That was something Fenella didn’t want to see.
“You can look now,” Morveren said, her voice as sweet and hypnotic as before her transformation.
Fenella turned around and gasped as she laid eyes on her mistress. Wearing her pa’s clothes that cloaked her slim figure and long, slender legs. Her fair hair was dry, pulled up into a ponytail with elegant stragglers framing her face. Her features looked less ethereal than before, probably to blend in with the humans. But she was still the most beautiful person Fenella had ever laid eyes upon.
