Six Years Ago---

My podmates and I were playing around a nearby kelp forest during recess at school. I was darting in and out of the waxy leaves, until I heard a scream. Peeking through a thick patch of seaweed, I tried to look for my friends, who had suddenly disappeared. All I saw around me was sand and ocean water.

"SOMEONE! PLEASE! HELP ME!"

Even though she was screaming, I could recognize my friend's voice.

 I flew into the weeds, swimming as fast as I could, trying to save my friend. For an instant, a hand popped out from the thick forest, and I reached for it. All I grasped was seawater as I lunged forwards...

She was gone.

I woke up screaming that morning. The memory rocketed through my brain, wrenching a knot in my throat. I couldn't save her.

 It wasn't your fault, Morgan told me. She knew the guilt. After all, she was a part of me. Humans were there. You did what you could, and you shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could do.

I nodded a bit, running a webbed hand through my tangled locks. Yeah, I replied softly, knowing that I could have tried harder. I felt her calm slightly before she disappeared back into the darkness of my subconscious, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Stretching, I sat up on my kelp mat and rubbed my eyes. The hot sun shone down on me with such ferocity, the albedo from the light-colored sand nearly blinded my eyes. The water felt uncomfortably warm as I boredly swam around the pool. The seawater was always so sleek and cool back home, I thought. This water is coarse, too warm, and completely uninviting.

 Wanting something to entertain me, I swam over to the underwater viewing areas and floated upright, waiting for the first visitors to arrive. Despite my discontent and malice towards the trainers at the aquarium, after a few weeks I began to notice that I had grown to like the kids who played with me through the glass walls. They were ignorant, yes, but the small moments of entertainment soon became the highlight of my day, and prevented the overwhelming boredom from my confinement from setting in.

When the first few visitors began to straggle over to the viewing areas, I smiled a bit and flicked my fins in a greeting. They left soon after, appearing to lose interest in me, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

In an attempt to entertain myself, I began to swim in circles around the perimeter of the pool. I had found that this action became a habit every time I found myself searching for something to do. This elliptical swimming was somewhat comforting in a way, and I felt my body relax as I propelled myself slowly through the water.

 As I swam, I began to feel an odd tingling sensations on the scales covering my tail, which soon evolved into a burning heat that emitted a bright golden light. Startled, and somewhat shaken by the pain, I quickly diverted my gaze from the water around me to my tail, searching for the source of the sensation. 

My breath hitched as I recognized what had given me such a strange feeling, and I ran a webbed hand over my scales in shock. Hundreds of small zig-zag shaped golden markings had developed on my white scales, glowing with a seemingly-unnatural light that caused me to squint slightly as I inspected them.

Such an occurrence had only been documented in one other individual in my colony, and was an extremely rare, yet extremely powerful gift.

My people recognized these markings as the mythical guðs rúnir, or the god's runes. These stores of divine magic appeared on a merperson's tail after she came of age, and were a gift from the divine king, Poseidon himself.

The development of these markings signified royal blood, and were a signal from the supreme god of the ocean that the individual bearing these markings were to be next in line for the throne. 

A shiver of excitement ran down my spine, causing the large dorsal fin on my back to shudder and twitch as if it had a mind of its own. I was in pure disbelief. I had been hand-picked by Poseidon himself to rule the Pacific, yet I was trapped inside a flooded, watery hell surrounded by the mortal enemies of my people.

I sensed Morgan appear from the depths of my mind and I grinned a bit. Not bad, huh? I boasted to her, my chest puffing with pride.

Yeah, not bad, she replied. But you're forgetting the fact that you're trapped here. How are you going to assume the role of queen and rule the Pacific if you're in this place?

I shook my head slightly, as if to dismiss the thought. I'll figure that out later. For now, the only thing that matters is that I act normal. I don't want the trainers discovering something of this magnitude and importance.

I felt the consciousness relax a bit. That sounds like a good plan, she concurred softly before disappearing into the depths of my mind.

I sighed a bit, bubbles escaping the gill slits lining either side of my neck as I calmed myself. The feelings of giddy excitement and disbelief that pervaded the arrival of the runes had disappeared and now were replaced with a knot in my throat and an anxious feeling in my stomach. How was I going to get out of here?

I was pulled from my thoughts by the roar of a crowd walking down the sidewalk to the viewing areas of my tank. I shook my head as if to clear it of its negative thoughts and ran my webbed fingers through my tangled locks, attempting to make myself look somewhat presentable for the new visitors. The chlorine and other various harsh chemicals from the water in the pool sank deep into my roots, and made each strand of hair rough and gnarled. 

Eventually accepting the fact that attempting to brush my hair was no use, I quickly brushed the remaining strands out of my face before rubbing my eyes, attempting to wash away the obvious signs of exhaustion and stress from my expression.

 Finally somewhat satisfied with my appearance, I made my way over to the glass windows and watched as nearly twenty small human children stampeded towards where I floated, their voices becoming louder and higher pitched as they saw me. 

I had grown accustomed to the presence of school groups at the aquarium and learned how to please the trainers and somewhat ensure that I wouldn't be punished for misbehaving. Flashing a fake smile as I neared the glass, I began to entertain them by rhythmically flicking my fins and swimming gracefully through the water.

The children quieted in response to my movements and watched, their eyes transfixed on my pearlescent scales and golden runic markings. I smiled a bit in relief, grateful for the peace and quiet. I continued swimming and twirling past the windows until I finally heard Alexis' voice behind the glass minutes later. 

Looking through the viewing area at the crowd on the other side, I noticed the trainer was speaking to the group, gesturing to certain parts of my body with her hand. I knew what was to come next, and attentively awaited for her next signal or cue.

"And this is Alexandria's tail," I heard Alexis say. "Beneath the scales, she has a very complex skeleton that includes over 200 individual bones." Some children gasped in reaction, their eyes wide as they listened intently to what the woman was saying. 

 I saw Alexis pause, looking at the crowd in front of her as she waited for them to settle down before continuing her lesson. "Alexandria is a permanent resident here at Aqualand of The Pacific, and is an essential part in teaching conservation to people just like--"

 A child suddenly piped up and interrupted the trainer, his eyes shining with curiosity as he looked up at her. "Where did the mermaid come from?"

 Alexis appeared surprised for a moment, her brows raised quizzically before she calmed herself and opened her mouth to speak. "That's a very good question, buddy," she began, a half-hearted smile plastered across her manicured face. "We found her unconscious on a rock close to shore. She looked sick and unwell, so we decided to take her here to the aquarium so we could care for her, and nurse her back to health."

The child, seeming satisfied with the answer smiled a bit and turned back toward the glass to watch me as I hovered in the water before him, my face contorted with shock and rage. 

I felt heat radiating from my cheeks as my body shook with anger. My venomous fins flared as I let out a low snarl. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! YOU'RE A FUCKING LIAR! TELL THEM THE TRUTH! TELL THEM HOW I GOT HERE! SHOW THEM HOW MUCH OF A MONSTER YOU REALLY ARE!" I shouted furiously, beating my hands against the window. Despite my cried of anger, no one heard me, as I was silenced by the thick layer of glass separating me from them. 

My rage dying down and replaced by despair, I beat a fist against the glass one final time before defeatedly crumpling to the ground, my head resting against the window as I sobbed. "J-just let me g-go home... p-please..." I wept, clawing at the glass.

"But why didn't she go back home?" I heard the boy ask confusedly as I cried.

"Alexandria didn't go back to the ocean because she wouldn't be able to survive on her own. Also, the workers here at Aqualand of the Pacific saw her as a useful learning tool to teach visitors to care for our oceans. She teaches you guys too!" Alexis stated quickly, her cheeks reddening from the sudden inquiry. 

I watched sadly as my very existence was demoted to the money I could be extorted for. A final tear escaped the corner of my eye, the droplet of water dissolving into the warm liquid that filled the pool. I shook my head in disbelief. What have I become? I asked myself as I turned back towards the opposite side of the pool, thrusting my tail and swimming away from the crowd.

From afar, I saw Alexis turn toward he glass, expecting to see me waiting eagerly there. Her eyes widened once she realized that I had disappeared, and she attempted to distract the children with a lengthy, nearly thirty-minute speech. 

When I  had finally calmed down and collected myself, I lifted my body off the coarse sand with a sharp exhale and swam back over to the viewing area. To my surprise, the children were still gathered as eagerly around the glass as they had been when they first arrived.

 Upon noticing my return to the viewing area, Alexis turned over her shoulder to glance at me, grinning slightly before returning her gaze to the crowd. Another child raised his hand to ask the woman a question.

"Does the mermaid do tricks?" The boy asked, his gaze jumping from my tail to Alexis, then back to me again. You could see the excitement in his eyes, and he played with his hands giddily. 

"Yes, but we call them skills or behaviors," the trainer replied before clapping her hands together and flashing a bright grin. "That brings me into our next subject. Would you kids like to see Alexandria perform?" I heard the children cheer in response and knew what would be coming next.

Alexis gave me the cue to follow her and I obeyed, watching through the glass as the children followed behind her like a brood of ducklings. I flicked the fins behind my ears as if to dismiss the thought and focused on the commands that Alexis was giving me. The last thing I wanted to do was be punished for my lack of attention.

When the group exited the underwater viewing area and began to walk up to the surface viewing area, I lifted my head above the water and attentively watched for my next cue. I bit my lip with anticipation, wondering what would come next.

"Alright children," Alexis began, placing the whistle in the corner of her mouth. "The first behavior is a nod. This is an introductory skill that happens to be one of the first skills we teach the residents here at the aquarium." 

I suddenly noticed Alexis bob her finger up and down, drawing an invisible line in the air, and I quickly responded, bobbing my head rhythmically in time with her movements. There was the shrill tweet of the trainer's whistle and I relaxed my muscles, sinking back down into the water to take a breath before surfacing once more. 

 I noticed that the children who were watching at me before were now mirroring Alexis' signals almost as if they were trying to get me to repeat the behavior. I curiously raised a brow and bobbed my head slightly just to see what would happen.

The humans giggled and clapped their stubby hands together which gained the attention of Alexis. I felt a knot form in my stomach, hoping that she wouldn't be mad, but instead of punishing me for misbehaving, she tweeted the whistle once more.

I relaxed a bit, knowing that I wouldn't be reprimanded and returned my gaze to the trainer. 

 Alexis beamed and set the aluminum bucket she was carrying on the ground before making a waving motion with her hand. I once again responded quickly and dove below the waves. Biting my lip in shame, I raised my tail out of the water and shook my flukes until I heard the shrill tweet of the whistle.

After a dozen or so more skills, Alexis finished the performance with a few final words and tossed me a few cubes of old gelatin. Despite the curling of my stomach at their sight, I ate quickly. I was too hungry to be picky right now. 

Diverting my gaze from the gelatin to the trainer, I noticed she had given me the cue to follow her. I obliged and swam beside the crowd as they walked toward the back of the exhibit and into the area surrounding the smaller pool.

Alexis made her way over to the gate which separated me from the channel into the smaller pool and opened the latch, allowing the barrier to retract into the cement walls of the passageway. I flicked my tail and slowly meandered into the shallower water of the smaller tank.

I felt the water shudder slightly as the gate slid back into place, and turned my attention back to Alexis, and the children's hands in the water. I grimaced, digging my fang into my lower lip as I bit it and waited for my next cue. 

The rest of the session followed as per usual, with each of the children receiving a complimentary T-shirt and bracelet after the interaction had ended. With a final tweet of her whistle, Alexis tossed me a floppy herring and opened the gate, allowing me to exit the smaller pool and slide into the deeper water of the main tank.

Once back into the main tank, I sighed a breath of relief, bubbles escaping from my gills and rising to the surface of the water. God, that was so embarrassing, I muttered to myself, to which I heard a small giggle appear from the depths of my mind.

You should have seen yourself,  Morgan replied. You looked like a trained seahorse.

Rolling my eyes, I scoffed a bit and tucked a snarled lock of hair behind my finned ear. I pushed the consciousness back down into the depths of my mind and decided to focus on other things to entertain me. 

I made my way over to the side of the tank by one of the empty outdoor viewing areas and reclined on the surface of the water, my body and tail bobbing slightly in the small waves. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and relaxed, allowing myself to drift off into a light doze moments later.

Unfortunately the peace did not last long, as I was forced from my nap by a hand on my fins and the sharp whine of a child. My eyes shot open and I whipped around, attempting to figure out what had just happened. 

In front of me, perched on the rock barrier separating the pool from the outdoor viewing area stood a young girl with tears running down her cheeks and a hand dripping water. Slightly behind her stood a man who I assumed to be her father, his arms wrapped around the girl in a comforting hug.

I watched closely, putting two-and-two together when I noticed a small bead of crimson blood dripping from the hand of the child. She must have saw me sleeping and reached over the barrier to touch my tail, but instead grabbed one of the spines on my fins.

Despite my general dislike of humans, especially those who bent the rules to come in contact with me, I felt sorry for the girl and knew that I needed to make it up to her. There had to be something I could do.

I heard the father comforting his daughter as he wiped away her tears. "It's ok Lauren. It's just a little boo-boo. Here, see? I'll give it a kiss to make it better." 

 Eventually the girl calmed down a bit and stopped crying, wiping her nose one final time on the back of her hand before turning back around to face me. My eyes widened slightly and my face blushed a blue hue in surprise. I didn't know how to react after I had injured her.

I knew that I needed to make my mistake right and took a deep inhale, steadying my mind and calming myself before beginning to close the distance between me and the girl. Flicking my tail, I slowly made my way over to the stone barrier separating me from the visitors, and directed my attention to her.

I saw her smile a little bit as I neared. Some part of me felt an ounce of relief, but I knew that simply swimming closer wasn't enough to make up for what had happened. 

I used my webbed hands to grip the stone barrier to keep myself close to the pair and flicked the fins behind my ears in a form of a greeting as the girl stared at me. Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she crept closer, eventually sitting on the stone barrier, only inches away from me.

It was silent for a few moments until I noticed a small hand reaching toward me. It almost appeared as if the girl, Lauren was trying to place her hand right on the front of my face. But instead of doing exactly that, she simply held her hand in the air between us, partly outstretched in front of me.

With a quizzical look, I raised a scaly brow and did the same, extending my webbed hand so that it was positioned in much of the same way as hers. Diverting my gaze from my hand back to her eyes, I waited to see what she would do next.

With a grin, Lauren placed her palm on my own, pressing her skin to mine, sending shockwaves of fear, excitement and curiosity through my body. What was this innocent embrace? What was she trying to do? Is there a purpose to this? What are the others back home going to say if they found out about this?

I felt my fins twitch nervously and I silenced them with a small flick of my tail. I heard the father saying words of encouragement to the girl as she held her hand on mine. He raised an odd-shaped device and told the girl to smile before a blinding light flashed, causing me to blink and grimace slightly.

The girl eventually withdrew her hand and waved at me before standing up and taking her father's hand as they walked to the exit of my exhibit. My heart was still racing as I watched them leave, and in an effort to calm myself I dove beneath the surface of the water.

Taking deep breaths, I thought about what had just happened and realized the consequences that would ensue at home had the elders discovered this. 

Shaking my head as if to clear my thoughts, I tried to find something else to distract me. Yet, despite my efforts and my many attempts to think of something other than my fate, my mind still wandered to the punishments of Merfolk who came in contact with humans.

I was an outsider here, a spectacle, something so ugly, yet so mysteriously beautiful that people would pay hundreds of dollars to lay eyes on me. Yet, I was also an outsider among my own people. A traitor, a conspirator, an individual who does not fit the role Merfolk society wanted me to play.

I didn't belong anywhere. ♆