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Above the sea, where the land is as green as the most glimmering jade and the hills rose like tsunamis in the distance, a castle stood on a cliff overlooking the endless sea.
Cascading towers reached the high heavens, blue and pink shingled roofs sitting atop them. Cream bricks made the walls, with vines and flowered plants interwoven each crack and opening- blending land and building together.
Beautiful gardens ran for miles in every direction, made up of flowers of every colour, size, and type.
In the castle lived a kind queen, who was kept company only by her servants and her daughter, Princess Dania.
Atop the princess's head was thick, blonde, wavy hair that reached her ankles and framed her delicate face. She wore a dress dyed with peony and pink tulips and was framed with silky lace. The long sleeves cut in half at the elbow, forming a bell sleeve.
Her pale skin was adorned with jewelry, pearls and diamonds placed delicately in between the braids of gold.
Even though no king or neighbouring kingdom was present to visit, the castle was filled with joyful laughter and song most days. Dania cared little for her princessly duties, for she cared for the ocean.
Glimmering blue water for as far as the eye could see, trimmed with white seafoam mingling with golden sand. Unexplored depths and beautiful creatures so big you could dance on their backs.
She would see mermaids occasionally when she gazed out her window, see how they freely swam and did what they pleased. Oh, how she wished for that.
On the eve of her 15th birthday, she snuck away to gaze at the ocean once before she would ascend the throne. Wading knee deep in the water, lifting her skirts so as to not wet the fabric, she spotted a fishing boat struggling against a mermaid. His handsome face was contorted in terrified fury, so she rushed deeper into the water and called out to the fishing boat.
“Stop at once! Let the poor mermaid go!” She called out, waving her hands to make herself seen.
The fisherman recognized Dania and let go, shouting apologies. The mermaid flashed her a brilliant, thankful smile and dove into the depths away from the fisherman. Her face flushed crimson and she turned away.
As the hours followed, her adoration grew quickly for the mermaid who she had saved.
Finally she had made up her mind and rose from her bed where she lay, wondering, yearning for the merman she saw. Hastily, she ran through the corridors in the rising moonlight towards the woods. Upon reaching the forest, with the hem of her skirts frayed and muddied, a small cottage stood before her.
She raised her fist, ready to knock when she was knocked back, startled- when the door creaked open and out came a small old woman wearing a tall cone shaped ebony hat with a large brim atop her head.
“Do not worry,” The woman said, “For I know why you are here little princess. I see what you yearn for, but it will only bring you sorrow. You wish to replace your two legs for the tail of a fish, to trade air for water, for the prince of the sea to fall in love with you. I shall help you,”
The witch continued, leaving the princess speechless as she turned away to pour mysterious liquids into a cauldron.
“But I will warn you. On the day your prince's heart lays with anothers’, the spell will break and you will die, floating into the air as the spores of a dandelion.”
The princess, growing ever fearful but determined, spoke up.
“I will do it.”
“But I shall need payment, my dear. As your voice is so lovely, I will cut it from your mouth and you will be on your way.”
With her tongue rid from her mouth and the potion clutched in her hands, Dania rushed down the steps to the ocean where she downed the drink and dove into the water. Suddenly, it felt as if her legs were being sewn into one, glimmering pink scales adorned her legs and her feet formed fins, pale and iridescent, and water became as easy to breathe as air. When she willed her eyes to open, the sea she only saw from the surface was breathtaking. Coral reefs standing tall against the fish whose bodies brushed against them, the warm sunlight breaking through the water in beams, the dark navy depths that she was tempted to explore.
While in awe of her surroundings and her new tail, she was dragged by strong current and pushed onto the back of her prince, knocking them both slightly.
As the prince turned around, his eyes caught on long, thick, golden locks floating in the water and framing a delicate, innocent pale face.
Golden hair like that was rare in mermaids- most Merfolk's hair was black like Ebony or brown like driftwood, he thought.
As he further took in his new companion, he noticed her iridescent tail framed with delicate silky lace around her hips, the pale shimmering fins adorned by jewels and pearls.
“Are you alright, ma’am? Do you maybe need a place to stay? My name is Halloran.”
He asked, resisting the temptation to curl one of his fingers around a coil of her hair. Silently, she nodded- not really taking in what he was saying. She was more interested in her prince himself.
Black wavy hair, with beads braided into a few sections. A small crown of vibrant coral was placed atop his head, with pearls delicately interwoven. His forest green tail was framed with thin shimmering silk around his hips, seashells clipped to the edges. Seashells also adorned the edges of his white glimmering fins, almost painfully it seemed.
Taking her hand, he led her to the castle. Curling towers and intimidating turrets were encased in marble and pearls, in the cracks shone lively and vibrant coral and sea flowers. Knights stood stony faced- then confused when trailing behind the prince stood a beautiful, unknown mermaid. She was then introduced to the castle, and watched with him as performers danced and sang for them. They sang overlapping harmonies and twirled about, waving strings of silk and satin. One mermaid sang and danced far better than the rest. A tense jealousy spread bitterly through Dania's chest; If only she could sing and dance for her prince herself.
As the days passed, her love and affection grew for him. Halloran loved her as well, but not romantically- more the way you would love a child or a pet.
She watched on with slowly growing dread as he fell for the mermaid who had captivated the two of them. A tall, dark beautiful mermaid with long, flowing hair as dark as the night and radiant purple scales covering her tail. Her hips hung not lace or silk, but beads and strings the colour of the bright full moon. She sang like a nightingale.
One night after the prince brought the mermaid to a dinner banquet, Dania met him in his chambers after.
“Why, oh why, do you love another?”Her eyes begged.
The princes’ own eyes softened.
“You are very dear to me, little princess.” Halloran kissed her forehead tenderly. “You remind me of a maiden who once saved me from dying to a fisherman, but I love another.”
Dania crumpled in sorrow. Her tears flowed freely into the ocean water, but no sound escaped.
If only he knew it was me who had saved him that day, she thought as she rose to the surface. A beautiful sunrise turned the water pink and purple, with the sky painted red, orange and yellow. Sorrowfully, she recalled back to what the witch had said.
“On the day your prince's heart lays with anothers’, the spell will break and you will die, floating into the air as the spores of a dandelion.”
She looked back to the surface to where her castle stood, as grand and as welcoming as she remembered it. She wished to see her beautiful caring mother and the endless, bright gardens one last time.
As the sun rose from the sky and lit up the calm blue sea, her body became lighter and lighter. Dandelion spores emerged from her body and flew up to the sky she had danced, laughed and grew up under.
It did not feel as if she was dying, it felt like her dear mothers hugs, the sun that lay on her porcelain skin, the warm meals she was given as a child, and the bountiful laughter that engulfed the castle at all hours.
First, it was her tail that disintegrated into spores.
Then her petite torso, her arms and her delicate, bony hands, her unblemished face, her golden hair what was- as of now, adjourned with sea pearls and had seaweed braided in.
Last, was her heart. It waited as all the other spores disappeared into the sky.
Then, it slowly faded away into spores, but the wind did not pull it away into the ocean, it floated to the castle- up to the windowsill of her mothers bedroom. It sat there, unnoticed for 15 years.
Each year of her life.