Chapter Text
There it was again - that red flash in the water.
It flickered in and out of view, obscured by the gentle waves lapping at the rocky shore. White seafoam flew at every impact against any surface and covered the clear water in millions of tiny bubbles, yet the ruby glow managed to pierce through the shroud time and time again. The sun’s rays reflected off it and the fishing rod alike, shining a warm glow across the surface.
Alisaie strained to discern the strange glow’s origin, reeling in her line and finding it bare yet again. If not for the allure of discovering something new, some yet unseen species or, Llymlaen bless, some sunken treasure, she would have packed up and left for some other fishing spot bells ago. As it stood, she had nothing but sweat, disappointment and an empty bucket to show for her troubles thus far.
It frustrated Alisaie more than she’d like to admit. A “new catch” or “small fry” of the Fisher’s Guild, she always felt a pressing need to prove herself capable of matching the Big Fishers; those able anglers that could boast of catching the many elusive legends around Eorzea. Yet try as she might, she didn’t seem to have the patience or luck of many of the more grizzled veteran fishers that could sit by a fishing hole for what seemed like suns without moving an ilm.
The line and hook arced into the water with little more than a soft plop as Alisaie let out a long sigh. The sun was relentless with nary a cloud in sight for shelter, and she felt like an ice cube under its unrelenting rays, feeling her temper rise with the heat. If her rod came up empty one more time -
The sudden violent jerk of her rod had Alisaie doing the same, a small yelp of surprise accompanied by the whir of her frantically reeling in her line. The fine cord went taut almost immediately under the strain. Had she not been gripping the handle like a vice grip in excitement, it would have been yanked clean from her hands.
Alisaie’s heart threatened to leap from her mouth. A pull this strong could only be something big, something elusive - something that would finally get her noticed by the more senior members of the guild. Maybe it would even be an undiscovered species - oh, how her mind raced in time with her heart as she reeled in as fast as the line would allow, trying her best to ignore the aching of her arms as the heavy fish on the hook played tug-of-war with her.
She could see it now - a dark shadow just ‘neath the water’s surface. It was huge - almost the length of an adult shark, wiggling to and fro. For a brief moment Alisaie let herself wonder if she’d bitten off more than she could chew, but her eagerness quickly won out and she returned to hauling her catch up with renewed vigor.
It was an immense struggle to lift the hefty fish from the water, one that took all her might and then some. Alisaie heaved back with all her strength, head raised to the heavens and eyes closed as if in prayer, when in reality any less effort and she didn’t know whether it would be her rod or her back that snapped first.
All she heard was the frantic thrashing of something struggling against her line, water splashing against everything as it slowly left the water’s surface for the rocky shore. When it had, the line and rod instantly lost all slack. Alisaie tumbled to the ground and rose in excitement, rubbing her bottom as she eagerly looked for her big catch -
That’s not a fish.
That wasn’t a shark, either.
It was a large fishing net, old knotted fibers draped in seaweed and barnacles and gunk that Alisaie couldn’t be bothered to discern. But it wasn’t the net itself that her eyes were drawn to…
It was what was trapped inside.
Hopelessly entangled under layers of rope lay something that didn’t seem to be of this world. A human, was Alisaie’s initial train of thought before her gaze trailed down her body and her thoughts veered right off the rails.
Where one might expect to see a pair of legs, a lithe, scaled tail seamlessly joined with the pale exposed skin just below her slender hips, glittering like the purest rubies in the sun. A tightly woven skirt of brightly coloured seagrass lay plastered to her skin, soaked through with seawater. With hair that matched the brilliant color of her tail, Alisaie’s eyes were drawn away from their chest that was cleverly rendered decent with twin pearlescent shells, to those wide, deep amber eyes that shone equally as radiantly.
They didn’t meet hers, too busy darting around frantically as the mermaid thrashed and squirmed in her bindings to no avail. The rough net chafed painfully at her fair skin as she attempted to free her arms, but the entangled ropes had pinned them uselessly to their back. Her tail bucked against the rocks, but with no water to propel herself against, it did little more than wear her out.
Finally, exhausted and in visible pain, the mermaid’s struggling slowed. She slumped back against the rock, whimpering, and only then did she seem to see Alisaie gaping in disbelief like a fish.
Both stared at one another in silence for a while before Alisaie yelped and jumped back, clutching her rod like a bat in self-defense - a stupid idea, in hindsight, seeing as the mermaid was trapped and even more nervous than she was. It squirmed futilely in the net for a bit longer, before giving up and surrendering itself to its fate at Alisaie’s hands, shaking in fear or desperation or both.
By all rights, Alisaie should have been beside herself with excitement. A mermaid! Something that seemed to leap straight from the pages of a fairytale, now right before her eyes in the flesh! With this, she’d do more than make herself known within the guild - she’d be in the spotlight, front and center!
But as she stared into the mermaid’s wide, terrified eyes that brimmed with tears threatening to spill over, all those thoughts seemed to melt away. It wasn’t a prize catch that lay before her anymore - only someone scared and in desperate need of help.
Hurriedly, Alisaie rummaged in her bait satchel and retrieved the knife that she used to gut and clean fish, which like all her other tools she kept in pristine condition. Seeing the razor edge flash in the sunlight, the mermaid started to sob as she backed away from Alisaie as much as the net would allow. Her helpless cries made Alisaie’s heart clench painfully, so forlorn was her voice.
“I do not wish to harm you,” Alisaie practically pleaded in the softest tone she could muster, hoping to soothe her and show her intentions were not malicious. She held up her hands palms first in a placating manner and slowly edged towards the net. Whether the mermaid could understand human speech Alisaie did not know, but her efforts seemed to bear fruit as its shaking seemed to ease slightly. She sank to her knees before the net, lifted a heavy fold away from the mermaid’s body, and began the arduous task of cutting it free.
Though the knife was sharp, the lack of a serrated edge made it hard going. Each strand and knot of rope was so salt-crusted and waterlogged that the net felt as if it was made of steel wire instead of tightly twisted hemp. Sweat dripped down Alisaie’s face as she sawed back and forth, back and forth, the constant repetitive motion causing painful blisters to form on her hand. She bit back a wince and kept going.
The mermaid’s gaze alternated between staring at her concentrated expression and at the knife in her clenched hand. Each time the blade came close to her skin, she would tremble in fear and whimper pitifully, a helpless sound that made Alisaie’s heart break every time it was made. “It’s ok, I won’t touch you,” she tried soothing it, not knowing if it would even help.
It seemed to understand that Alisaie only intended to cut the rope and not her. Gradually, her shaking lessened, breathing evened out. Fear turned to curiosity as Alisaie stubbornly worked her way through the many entangled layers that anchored the mermaid to their claustrophobic prison.
The sun fell from its overhanging position in the sky. Rivulets of blood slowly trickled down the handle of Alisaie’s knife from blisters long burst, made worse by the need to rehydrate the mermaid from the sun’s exposure. Every time she dunked her bucket in the sea to fill it with water, the salt burned at her open wounds and turned her into someone who could match even the most foul-mouthed sailors word for word. But strand by strand, fold by fold, the net’s oppressive weight gradually lightened.
And finally, finally, when the last knot had been sliced through and the net slipped off the mermaid’s body, Alisaie felt as though she could cry - from pain or relief, she couldn’t tell. Her whole body ached, her clothes were soaked with sweat, and her hands shook so badly she wouldn’t be able to hold a rod for days.
But it was worth it to see such a beautiful creature free.
The mermaid sat up, looking astonished that it could even do so. It looked at Alisaie, as if committing her to memory, and broke into a smile so radiant that for that brief, blessed period, all her pains melted away. With a flexible, curvaceous stretch and a wordless cry of joy, she dove into the water with barely a splash, an exhibition of perfect form.
For a single, torturous moment Alisaie wondered if that was it. Nary but her bleeding hands to show as proof that the mythical being she’d spent bells to free even existed. She stared wistfully at the water’s surface, already calmed from the mermaid’s elegant dive, and felt a mixture of melancholy and regret. People believed in cold, hard evidence, and her story without a shred of such would doubtless be passed off as a flight of fancy, or some concoction to garner attention. Though she knew her deeds were noble, some part of her soul felt wronged.
Something clattered on the rocks next to her. Alisaie looked and saw a large scale, which she recognised as the same size and shape as the ones that made up the mermaid’s tail, just shy of being able to cover her palm. It sparkled like a diamond as she picked it up, uncountable facets reflecting the light just so, and she was surprised at how light it felt. Inanimate as it was, it was warm to the touch despite being wet, and Alisaie swore she could feel the faintest rhythm of a heartbeat as she clutched it to her chest.
It was like the mermaid had read her mind.
As if on cue, her head popped up above the water, yalms beyond shore. When she saw Alisaie holding the scale, she smiled, turned away - though not before giving Alisaie one last lingering look - and dove beneath the surface. She could see the faint shadow of the mermaid’s slender figure scything through the current with ease, swiftly fading away, just like her dreams.
With a sad pang through her heart, Alisaie realized she never asked if the mermaid had a name.