IRIS

I watched from my hidden spot in the bushes of Sugarland. It was dangerous territory for an inexperienced faerie like me. I tried to conceal my large wingspan as the whole land seemed to go into a ruckus. Trees were falling over themselves as an overly large creature, which was pretty terrifying to look at, angrily pounded the ground with his fist. I peered at the ocean to see what had caused the fuss. There appeared to be intruders coming into the bay. I gasped at the sight of a Mermaid with a... 

Could that be…? Yes, a human. There was a human on her back! Two forbidden beings anywhere but in their own homes, who nonetheless were together… in a forbidden land. 

Never in my life had I thought I would see either of those creatures, yet there I was, seeing both of them together, with my very own eyes. What were they doing here? What was I doing here? My venture to Sugarland had more to hold than I bargained for. My home was only a short trip from Sugarland, yet these two must have travelled very far. Appalled at what my eyes were beholding, I watched the Sugarland natives react to the intruders. 

“We must alert the witchy lady!” one tree said to another, as they went to find her. I zoned in on their whereabouts, my eyesight as clear as lasers--a gift I was glad to have at this moment. The witchy lady was hovering over her crystal ball, in the midst of deep forest trees. She resided in a small hut that she had been granted by the lords of Sugarland in exchange for her healing powers and knowledgeable abilities. There was a line of villagers, including an assortment of creatures. Some appeared human--at least, what I knew to be human--while some had pointed ears like my own kind, others were animals on hind legs, and the last in line were creatures that looked like they belonged in a swamp with green moss-like hair covering their bodies, were all waiting for her help. And because of that, I was glad to hear this information as someone thought it, my mind-reading abilities as sharp as my sight.

“Witchy lady, witchy lady!” one of the trees exclaimed, bursting mouth-first into her yurt. 

“How dare you disturb me!” she shrieked, causing all three trees to scramble back, escaping her wrath.

“Please, please,” one of them pleaded in a loud whisper. “Intruders have entered Sugarland!”

She gasped, gazing into her crystal ball. “Agh, so they have...” she pondered to herself in a hushed tone, all the while stroking her chin and stroking stray white hairs that poked out from its warty surface. “Don’t you know I already know everything?! You idiots!” She knocked their heads together with one swift motion, causing the trees to recoil again, falling into the line-up of creatures waiting to see her. “Get out of my yurt!” She was referring to the square linen draping that covered her quarters. It was pulled open to reveal herself sitting on a stool, along with her small table and crystal ball and potions. 

Living above Sugarland, I had heard many things about the creatures that occupied it, so wasn’t too shocked by what I saw--trees with legs that were not planted into the ground and eyes to see with. They had hair of leaves and branches that topped their thin frames. Aside from the trees, there were human hybrids, somewhat like myself, so I had been told in my training, although they were not fae. They resembled a man, but somehow different. There were many more variations, though I didn’t have the time to look at them closely. 

The clumsy trees pushed past them impatiently, causing the other creatures to complain. 

“Witchy lady! There are creatures approaching the forest from the east!” they whined. 

“When is it my turn?” another complained.

“I see them,” she replied sharply, her hands circling the Orbicular on the table in front of her. “A human and a Mermaid... together. This has never been attempted since the treaty... How dare they!” Her tone held anger and disgust, her messy eyebrows rising high on her aged face. The creatures, who once stood in an orderly line, now started to panic and run amuck. 

“Contain yourselves!” she yelled above the bustle, and they all came to a halt. “You must gather a troop at once! We are going to meet these unwelcome intruders at the east wall. Both parts of this pair are unwelcome species. You must comb them out and trap them. We will decide what to do with them from there. Who knows what powers they possess? Go!” 

I watched as the entire village of Sugarland made their way to the east end of the land while the witchy lady zeroed in on her prey… the ball glowing, reflecting her rage upon its shimmering surface.

As I watched, a new voice appeared in my mind, the voice of a woman. It was beautiful, like a song… the song of a siren. I snapped my head in the intruder's direction.

“We need to find someone to change my tail to legs,” the voice said. When I looked in the direction it was coming from, I saw how the human followed her gaze as her sentence trailed off. “On another note, maybe we won’t get the chance. It looks like we are going to be met by the entirety of Sugarland.” 

I watched as the residents made their way to them. A ragged homeless man got to them first. “I can grant you the wish that you seek.” His voice matched his appearance. “I just need some coin in return.” He rubbed his grimy hands together, standing from his position on the grassy shore. 

The siren narrowed her eyes. “And why should I trust you?” 

“I know that you are trying to redeem a wish. I can grant that wish.” He beckoned. “Besides, what other choice do you have? That one is clearly dying.” He nodded in the direction of the human, who glared at him. “You, you are seeking adventure…” He raised his eyebrows at the Mermaid, who looked away as to not give away her intentions. “And I... I have been kicked out by my good-for-nothing wife and need some coin to get back on my feet,” he finished, letting out a disgusting cough and looking toward the witch’s hut. 

“How do I know you aren't bluffing?” she inquired.

“I can tell you the wish that you desire.” He beckoned.

She seemed to think about the offer for a moment, looking at him warily. “What is it, then?” she asked after a moment had passed. 

“You wish to exchange your tail for legs.” His words rang true, causing a shocked appeal to spread across her face, and obviously confirmed her suspicions.

I scoffed, knowing that anyone could have guessed that wish. It was a Mer and a human approaching land... What else could they want, besides to get on land? Of course, she would need to be rid of the tail.

“Anyone could have guessed that,” she scoffed, raising a perfect silver brow. “We are waiting at a bay, I have a tail, and we are a Mermaid and human pairing, that is an odd enough sight to see.” Despite her words, her expression weakened, giving away that she knew as well as he did how she didn’t have much of a choice other than to trust him. Despite my disgust for Mermaids and the latter on her back, I felt my heart ache for her. I could see from a mile away that he was looking to take advantage of that poor girl and her human.

“We should take the deal,” the human murmured to the Mermaid. She turned her face to him, hushing and clearly unwilling to agree to the dirty man’s deal. 

“What other choice do you have than to trust me?” the dirty man insinuated.

After a few long moments of hesitation, she finally agreed, revealing her tail as she emerged from the water and placed it onto the grassy shore, using her arms to pull her along. Her brows knitted together as she struggled with her weight on land. 

“This is not how I wanted to do this,” she said, “but it seems like it is the only choice we have, unfortunately.” She rubbed her temples in angst. “I don’t have any coin though. Do you?” She looked at the human, who reached into his pocket to scrounge up any remaining loot. 

“I have this.” He offered a single coin, scuffed in appearance. 

“That is not enough,” the miscreant hissed. 

“Well… it’s all I have.” The boy shrugged, causing the dirty man to pace in an uneasy circle, finally heaving his chest and agreeing on the available reward. 

“Give me that,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes, causing the coin to flick out from the boy's hand into his own, everyone but him gasping in horror. He grinned at their reactions. “This is going to involve a spell, so I’m going to go over some terms and conditions before we begin.” He cleared his throat. “It's going to have repercussions along your lifespan, such as…” He rushed the rest in a low and hushed tone that was inaudible to any ears in range.

“Could you repeat that, please?” the Mermaid asked.

“No,” he said sharply as he raised his hands to begin the magic. I couldn’t take it any longer. Despite my hatred of both races in front of me, I couldn’t let them get into a binding spell that would ruin their lives forever. 

“Wait!” I jumped from my hiding spot. What was I doing, risking my life for these two? I sighed, holding my ground as they all choked in unison.

“What the…” the miscreant began. 

“You don’t know what you're getting into! But I can help you,” I quickly added, surprising myself and the others.

“Where did you come from?!” The man jumped back, as did the Mermaid, fleeting back into the water.

I ignored him, continuing on with my offer. “I’m only just learning how to balance my magic, but I think I can do it. It’s better than you trusting... that.” I nudged toward the repulsive odour, who was now scowling at my insinuations.

“That's true…” the human started, mesmerised by my wings. His thoughts were flattering my ego and encouraging my confidence in what I was offering. It had to, otherwise, I wasn’t sure if I could go through with it. He was considering the options. His face pulled taut. 

She sighed. “Fine, but I better not regret trusting a faerie,” the Mermaid suddenly mumbled, stealing my attention from the human. She rolled her piercing silvery-purple eyes in my direction. 

“That is so hypocritical!” I exclaimed. “You almost make me want to change my mind about helping you at all!”

“Hypocritical?” She smirked. “How so?”

“Well, for one, you have a human attached to you, and two, your kind have been against us for years...” I scoffed.

She turned up her nose, she was holding strong. “Don’t help us, then!” she said, crossing her arms. 

“Ha! Fine. I should be getting back anyway.” I faltered. If she was going to be so stubborn, I wouldn’t lend my time. I didn’t particularly know what to do in the way of helping them anyway, so it was probably for the best.

“Wait!” the boy interjected. He couldn’t be more than my age, I thought before he continued, finally speaking after being taken aback by my beauty. “We need your help… Please. I’m sick. I’m dying, in fact. This Mermaid can only do so much to help me. I know our worlds have been at odds for many years, but if we could just come together…”

“Ha!” The Mermaid, myself, and the miscreant all chuffed in unison.

“Hear me out,” he continued. “If we all come together, we could be stronger, make an alliance. You're a faerie, and we need to get to the Isle of faeries. You could just fly us there.”

“You nearly didn’t come with me on the account that you didn’t want our kinds unifying.” The Mermaid smirked. She glanced at him, looking for a reaction, before quickly returning to her stance, nose turned toward the sky.

“He's right, though,” the unattractive man agreed. All three of us looked at him in surprise, having forgotten he was even part of the conversation. 

“Whatever,” I said. “Do you want my help or not? I really have to get back. And I can’t fly you there.”

“Yes,” the Mermaid said, finally surrendering. Though she never would have if it weren't for the human and her curiosity about legs and everything that came with them.

“Great, let's get going then,” I said reluctantly. “And let’s take a look at that tail.”