The fork fell from my hand, making contact with the floor as I could feel my heart twisting, I looked down at my plate. that awful stench of fish…no not fish…my friend. The mermaid I met not long ago, my words caught in my throat as I looked up and was met with the gaze of my father. was this my birthday gift?…
(Couple of weeks before)
What could a Motherless child ever hope to become, how could a Motherless child ever hope to become anything when their Mom will never be there to guide them.
Those are the thoughts I, Leonor Rose Burnelay had, as I stared at my maid. she was the closest thing I had to a mother but even so; there will always be that invisible barrier, the barrier that has been taught to me through my education since I was 6.A noble could never truly be close to their servant. You may grow to love them but—they will always be beneath you.
Every so often I would get those stares from the maids— the ones that looked at me pitifully as though I were a lost and abandoned Lamb. Because even though I had my father, he was a busy man; but there was a time…the time he was with my Mother when she was his entire world, before I came into this world; I heard he was truly in love when she was alive.
But she's gone now, and his heart has grown cold… so cold; he could never show me a crumb of the affection I so longed for. It would've been my 11th Birthday soon, A day I so dreaded as it only reminded me My mother died because of me, I figured he wouldn't come, My father Duke yeoman Burnelay.
There are very few things I remember from my childhood but I do remember the gift…the gift my father gave me on my 11th birthday. My memories are foggy as I had tried block out that painful event off my head.
I had a friend when I was younger, her name was Mira. But Mira wasn't like any ordinary friend…no…she was special, she came from the sea—-she was a mermaid…!
I had met Mira one day after I had gone out to cry, close to the mansion was a beach. That day I had slipped away from any of the guards. Can't even remember why I was crying but I instantly stopped crying when I saw her. It was rare to see a mermaid as they were constantly being hunted by humans. The reason? One of the past kings had allowed for the people in his kingdom to hunt them down. That was many centuries ago. but I guess we will never know why he allowed it…some people said he had gone mad after falling in love with a mermaid; others say a mermaid killed his lover..!
Whatever the reason, I wasn't scared when I met Mira. She had golden blonde hair and light blue eyes, as clear as the sky; her tail a shiny purpleish color. She despite—knowing how humans treated her kind; was nice to me. Her voice always used to calm me down when I upset. I thought if I kept her a secret, nothing could go wrong….I thought we could be friends forever…but I was wrong. A few days before my birthday she had said she would make me a Pearl necklace, as a gift.
The next day on my birthday, just before dinner time. I went to the beach to look for Mira. I waited and waited but she never came…. just then I felt a hand on my shoulder and it spooked me but then I realized it was Stephen, one of the guards.
I walked back with Stephen—- he didn't say what was happening but I just went along with it. Stephen led me to the front of the mansion where my eyes landed upon a gold carriage, it had to be my Father's carriage! Had he really come for my birthday!?.
When I went inside the maids led me to the dining room where he was seated. There he was, Duke Yeoman Burnelay, my Father.
His brown hair with a tint of red and green eyes like mine looked the same since the last time we saw each other. his beard had grown longer, his eyes looked into mine, but they didn't show a hint of love in them; nor did he say a word.
I greeted him and took my seat, the dinner was not yet served and as I stayed quiet then suddenly I heard his voice….a cold voice with a hint of raspiness in it. "I ordered them to prepare a special dinner for you. for your birthday" even though I couldn't see for myself, I could feel my cheeks burning and I felt as though my eyes would start tearing up any momen….he did care for me…. he really did….!
Many dishes were placed on the dinner table, but the main one was a fish fillet dish adorned with many vegetables and spices. I noticed there was so much of it, if it was only one fish then it was a pretty big fish. Even with the many spices I could still smell that fish stench, I was never one to really like fish so I avoided that dish in particular and ate more of the other dishes. "Why don't you take a bite of the fish?"…
I was about to take another bite of my food when I heard my Father ask that. fine I told myself, he made the preparations for my birthday dinner…he came here for me…so I should probably at least try a bit of everything. I also noticed fish was the only thing he was eating. I took a bite of the fish crunch…munch ... .it somehow tasted different—not like the regular fish I had tried before, but it was probably prepared differently than usual. it was my birthday so they probably went with something fancier this time.
I was about to take a second bite when he spoke again and his question caught me off guard "… Do you think sneaking around wouldn't get back to my ears?"
I froze.
I opened my mouth to speak but he abruptly spoke again "A mermaid as a friend? You must notice how absurd even saying it sounds, right? ….what was her name…." My eyes widened and I couldn't let a word out.
"Right….Mira?" He chuckled as if it were amusing, the servants around just stayed still not making a single noise. "Happy birthday Leanor!…I hope you enjoyed your gift…your birthday dish".
No…no he couldn't have. could he have really been that cruel, was it really that bad for me to have a friend? Why were mermaids seen as such bad creatures, creatures who were vicious…but Mira had never been vicious—-she had been good…she was good. My Father resumed eating the fish…not a fish but Mira….my first friend who's only crime had been being born differently.
Even after he finished eating and excused himself, I stayed seated. I couldn't move. I was in pure shock, it felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my chest and someone was eating it in front of my eyes. Lucy, my maid helped me get upstairs to my room but that night was the worst, I threw up so much to where I almost felt like passing out. And afterwards cried myself to sleep; cried to where I almost couldn't breathe …after that night I told myself to never get close to a creature like that again. That's what they were….just creatures.