13Buildings were carved from the multi-colored corals. Sea plants would sway in the current much like trees in the summer breeze. Fish of all shapes, sizes and colors would swim about as the birds of the sea.
There was a sea ruler... of course. And he had many daughters. But that is pointless information to tell you right now, for the one we're interested in is a lone merelf. Yes... a merelf.
The merelfs had a certain formula to their looks. Males would have blue hair with a green fringe in front. Their tails were always the color of the deepest blue. Then the females had solely blue hair and tales that would shimmer jade green. And no matter what, all merelfs had sapphire colored eyes and pointed ears.
Perhaps that was why he was an outcast. With eyes of rubies, pure blue tresses, and a jade colored tail, Javed was quite the mutant merelf. He lived alone in his own little coral. Others would generally ignore him and nothing more. He held little knowledge of the above water world, yet never seemed interested in such wonders.
But one night, when the moon was exceptionally bright, Javed happened to look up at the pulsing moonlight through the swirls of water. Suddenly, a black shape passed over the light. Whales held a much different shape compared to this strange phenomenon. Javed, surprisingly curious, swam up through the warm sea water and broke the waves. The cold night air caused his skin to crawl with shivers. He rubbed his upper arms with his hands and glanced around for whatever caused the strange eclipse.
A short ways away was a large, brownish object, just floating upon the water. Long sticks stood out from the top of the odd contraption. Loud music came from the flat top of the new thing. Javed swam over to the odd object and tapped the brown exterior. It was rough and almost soft to the touch-probably from soaking up much water and rotting over the years. Javed turned his look upward, to see the light from the strange object. Loud thumps sounded continuously from overhead.
He used his arms to pull his body and tail from the waves. Holes and limbs of the human-made creation were grabbed as Javed hoisted himself up to peek at what all the noise and light was about.
To his startled red eyes, many men, human men, were jumping around on their two sticks. How odd, not having a tail must be. The loud thumping was apparently the sound made by the human's two poles touching the ground. The ones not jumping were using other strange creations to make music.
The merelf sat there for a while, watching the men party long into the night. Most of them weren't much to look at, except for one man in particular. Upon his two poles were long black... things... that shined ever so slightly in the lamp light. They went up to the bends in his poles and stopped, where another odd cover started. It was a dark blue and ran up to his waist where most merfolks' tails would end. A similarly colored drape laid across the man's upper body, covering all except his fore arms, hands and of course his neck and head.
His hair was paler than the sea foam upon the waves and his eyes were the color of ice from the northern Atlantic. Javed stared, almost entranced, at the young man's dashing appearance.
A sudden crack of thunder rendered Javed from his gaze. The following rain began to pour. The men stopped their jumping and started to scream-some at one another and others just screaming... The white haired man started to shout too, though in a more authoritative way.
But it was no use. It all seemed to happen so fast. The lightening. Then the thunder. The flickering mountains of orange heat eating away at the floating human craft. The thrashing of stormy waves tossed Javed from the side of the ship. He landed in the water with a splash.
Javed poked his head back out of the water in time to watch the strange contraption fall to pieces and sink into the sea. The men were dashed below the waves, crying out as they would go under. Ruby eyes darted to the left, catching a glimpse of a familiar white-haired head bobbing up and down upon the waves.
Without a thought, Javed swam over to the light-haired man, wrapped an arm around his torso and began to swim toward a floating piece of debris. The sailor clinged to the floating piece and coughed up sea water. Javed kept a hold on him through the stormy weather, till the poor human went unconscious.
Crystal blue eyes open as unwanted sunlight graced the lids. No longer was he upon the rocking waters. Now he was upon the sandy beach. In his sight was the blue haired creature-the one who had saved his life. Their lips were touching, more than just lightly... The exotic creature breathed air into the sailor's mouth. He coughed up a bit of water as the blue-haired angel released his lips. Ice colored eyes blinked a few times to clear his vision and focus upon the being above him.
Javed smiled down at the shipwrecked sailor and cupped his cheek.
"Who are you?" the water-logged one asked. Javed leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the other's forehead.
"I am Javed... Please Wait for me," Javed replied. The incoming wave washed upon the shore. Before he knew it, the sailor was alone upon the beach. The pointy-eared creature had vanished, as if never there in the first place.
The awestruck sailor sat up and looked left and right for his savior. He sighed softly, realizing the blue-haired creature was gone. He stood up, brushing sand from his tattered garments.
Javed swam deep down below the surface as thoughts flashed through his mind. How could he live above the water? Who would help him? How would it feel to move upon two poles like the humans do? How would he find that man again? Nothing but an endless stream of questions. Then he suddenly stopped swimming.
"The sea witch..." Javed murmured out loud. The creatures nearby stopped swimming too, stared at him with large eyes, then swam off in a fury-they were scared of the mere mentioning of that name. Javed himself shivered at the thought of enlisting such a foul creature's help. But nothing else seemed conceivable.
Javed looked back toward the surface, feeling his chest tighten. With a sigh, he started to swim again, this time heading to the shadowy depths of the sunken graveyard-a spooky place in the middle of an underwater canyon, filled with human things that had long since fallen beneath the ocean's waves and been forgotten.
Strange fish, with teeth razor sharp and glowing lights above their heads, swam in and out of the shadows. They glared at Javed as he swam past-some looking quite hungry. Javed gulped nervously while swimming past. The largest barge, now more of a barnacle covered cave, was his destination. Javed swam into the dark interior. More ferocious little creatures inhabited the walls of the cavern and struck at Javed with small snapping jaws. The merelf dodged this way and that. His heart rate had accelerated.
"Oh, come in, little merelf," a haunting voice called. Javed approached a dimly lit clearing. Shelves carved out of the walls held numerous bottles filled with odd things-eyeballs, fins, tails, gills, hands, shrimp, krill and other unidentifiable parts. Javed felt his stomach flop. Then he saw her. There was a shark tail the color of ink. Attached at the top was a scaly upper body and two sets of arms, with five long taloned fingers on each hand. Her face was hideous, and scaly like a sea serpent. A forked tongue darted in and out of her mouth while two beady black eyes examined the little merelf.
"What is it you seek, child?" the witch hissed. Javed adverted his eyes from the ugly creature before him.
"I want to be human," he murmured. He heard the witch cackle quite loudly.
"Human you say? Now why would you want to be one of those fish-eating barbarians?" the witch asked with a smirk. Javed swallowed again, clearly displaying his nervousness.
"Because I love one," he squeaked. The witch rolled her eyes.
"Oh, one of those cases," she snickered as she floated to one of the many shelves. She pulled down a few bottles of different colors.
"Lucky for you, I get this case quite often," the witch mused.
"Really?"
"Uh huh. I'll make you a potion. When you're ready to go to the surface, you shall lie upon the beach and drink the potion. It shall not make you a human, but it shall make you a land elf... which is basically what a human is... just you'll retain your pointed ears," the witch began to explain. Javed nodded his blue head. The witch's crafty eyes glanced over at the merelf.
"When you drink the potion, you will feel as if you are being cut in half... That is when you're tail shall turn into legs... permanently," the witch said with a sadistic grin.
"Legs...? They're called legs?" Javed asked quietly. The witch nodded and continued.
"When you walk... that is moving about upon your new legs... you shall feel as if you're walking upon sharp knives,". Javed's face went pale ever so slightly, but he continued to nod.
"But be warned. If this human you so adore vows love to another, you will immediately turn into a puddle of seawater," the witch said as she glanced over at Javed to see his reaction. She smiled vilely when his face turned even whiter.
"Rethinking your decision?" she smirked. Javed looked down for a moment and pondered silently. Then he looked back up at the sea witch.
"No... I want to become a... land elf..." Javed said once more. The witch nodded her head.
"Well then, I'll have this potion ready for you in a moment," she said as she started to throw a few bottles into a large cauldron in the middle of the room.
"Thank you so much," Javed murmured.
"Oh you're quite welcome. And by the way, as payment I require your voice," she replied casually.
"My voice? But... how will I communicate without... my voice?" Javed yelped with alarm. The serpent like woman chuckled lowly.
"Actions speak louder than words," the witch smirked as she continued to concoct the potion in the pot.
"But..." Javed stuttered.
"Nothing hinders true love. So if this is true love, then you have nothing to worry about, right?" the witch said with a lopsided smile. Javed stopped stuttering, then nodded, slightly unsure. Before long the potion was finished and the witch ladled the contents into an oddly shaped bottle. She handed it to Javed with her scaly hand. Then she grinned at him with her pointy teeth.
"Any last words before your voice is gone?" the witch smirked. Javed shook his head. With that, the witch latched onto the merelf's slender neck, digging her claws into the flesh. Javed yelped, then went silent. The witch then retracted her hand, carrying Javed's vocal chords in her palm. The merelf felt his neck with wide eyes. To his surprise there was no open gash or hole to be felt, yet no matter what he did, no sound came.
"Pleasure doing business with you," the witch giggled fiendishly. Javed's shock subsided. He hugged the bottle to his chest and swam out of the spooky cavern. Having no one to say goodbye to, he swam up to the surface once more and in the direction of the shore where his sailor was left. But as he approached the beach, his face fell in sadness, noticing the sailor was no longer on the sand.
Javed beached himself upon the sand and looked down at his jade colored tail. No more would he have the shimmering scales. No more would he have long, elegant tail-fins. After his long last look at his tail, he uncorked the bottle and put the opening to his lips. He tilted his head back as the nasty concoction flowed down his throat. It burned as it went down. The bottle became empty and Javed tossed the bottle to the side. He held his head as a phase of dizziness fell over him. Then he felt it-the sharp pain at his waist.
He threw his head back as he silently screamed. The cutting sensation went down his tail as the scales melted into skin, and the fins twisted into feet and toes. After what felt like a small eternity of pain, Javed felt relief and looked down at his new legs. He ran a hand up his new thigh, feeling the soft skin beneath his fingers.
Javed couldn't help but smile just a little. The only sound seemed to be the soft crash of waves upon the sand. Until he heard it.
"Hey!"
Javed's pointed ears perked. He turned to look at who shouted. His ruby eyes widened and he smiled joyously as he spotted the pale-haired sailor running toward him. After a bit of effort, Javed stumbled to his feet, wobbling. The white-haired man's eyes widened too and he stopped running to stare.
Javed took a step, then another, to advance toward the sailor. The blue-eyed human took a step back, looking slightly appalled. Javed finally reached the sailor and fell forward against him. The white-haired man caught the elf.
"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew," the human murmured. Javed looked up at him, confused. He started to talk, but then remembered he could no longer utter a sound.
"... And you're a mute, huh?" the sailor asked gently. Javed had no idea what a mute was. He continued looking up at the blue-eyed man, wondering why he didn't recognize him as his savior. The sailor smiled sympathetically.
"Come, lets go get you some clothes..." the human said while taking off his shirt and wrapping it around Javed's waist. Then he took his hand and lead the elf up the beach and into the tickling grass.
"... Do you have a name?" the sailor asked. Javed nodded, smiled and tried once more to speak. Realizing again he could not, he looked down at the ground with a frown. The sailor watched the struggling elf. He placed his finger beneath the elf's chin, and tilted it up.
"My name is Crezan Emeron," the sailor said. The elf felt his heart melt under Crezan's blue gaze. Without realizing it, the two were now outside a tall building. Javed tore his gaze away to stare at the large structure-something he'd never seen before.
"This is my sister's home. Come," Crezan said as he opened the door. He pulled the elf with him inside. The inside of the house flashed by Javed's eyes as Crezan guided him down the maze of hallways. They came to a strange angular mountain. Crezan began to walk up. Javed tripped on the first step. Crezan caught him.
"Don't know how to go up steps?" Crezan asked. Javed blushed faintly. The white-haired one demonstrated slowly how to climb the stairs. Javed watched him and, catching on quite quick, followed him up the stairs. Crezan opened up a strange chest and pulled from it a few garments. He helped Javed dress till his naked skin with covered with fabric. The elf looked at himself in the mirror.
"There, much better," Crezan said, watching Javed turn this way and that to look at his reflection.
"Oh? Who's that, Crezan?" a woman's voice asked from the door. The elf and sailor glanced to the door. A woman, with hair and eyes identical to Crezan's, stood in the doorframe.
"Just a shipwrecked elf," Crezan replied. The woman walked over to Crezan and leaned down by him. She whispered something inaudible into his ear. Javed strained to hear, but could make no sense of the words. Crezan shook his head.
"No... he's a man as you can see... and therefore could not be her," Crezan said to his female counterpart.
"Oh... just thought you might have... you know," she giggled. Crezan wrinkled his nose and glared at the woman.
"Well you thought wrong, Razen," he muttered. Crezan looked back to Javed and motioned to the woman.
"That is my sister. Her name is Razen," he said. The white-haired woman grinned and latched onto Javed's hand, shaking it.
"Nice to meet you, elf. What's your name?" she asked. Javed stared at her hand shaking his.
"He's a mute," Crezan added.
"Oh... so I hear," she said as she released Javed's hand. She then headed for the door.
"Make yourself at home," she said as she left the room. Crezan headed for the door too and looked back at the elf.
"You're welcome to stay as long as you wish," Crezan murmured, then turned and left the room. Javed started after him, but stopped in mid step. The sharp pains in his feet suddenly became quite noticeable as he felt loneliness set in on his heart. Why didn't Crezan recognize him?
They fed him. They gave him clothes. They gave him shelter. They provided a warm bed. Yet Crezan remained distant from Javed. The poor elf didn't know what to do.
Crezan had started a habit of walking down to the beach every day to search for his "savior" who he thought was still out there. He'd wait for an hour, then return to the house, usually looking depressed. But one day, he came home with a smile upon his face. By his side stood another elf. She looked exactly like Javed, except for her sapphire colored eyes and female gender. Javed felt his heart sink like the ship that had been struck by lightening.
The following morning, Razen happened to walk by Javed's room. But she stopped as she glanced in, seeing the elf sitting on the side of the bed. He was looking down at the wooden floor. Every now and then a few tear drops would roll down his cheeks and drop off to splatter upon the ground. She walked into the room. Javed looked up at her with a startled expression upon his face.
"It's just me," she said gently as she sat down upon the bed next to him. Javed calmed down and nodded his head, then went back to watching the floor.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Razen asked softly. Javed nodded his head once more. Razen reached over, turning the elf's head to face her own. Her blue eyes looked deeply into his.
"Tell me what's wrong... with your eyes," she requested. His teary eyes were filled with loneliness and heartbreak... clearly distinguishable. Her own eyes widened with a bit of surprise.
"You love him... don't you?" Razen asked. Javed nodded his head again, smiling while tears flowed down his cheeks. The white-haired woman wrapped her arms around Javed. The elf continued to cry silently.
"...You still have a chance. Don't sit here crying, go to him... te... show him how you feel," Razen said sympathetically. Javed looked up at her, rubbed his eyes with the back of hand, and then stood up from the bed.
With as much courage as he could muster, he walked from his room and toward Crezan's. He pushed open the door. To his surprise, Crezan was fast asleep upon the mattress. The elf walked over to the bedside. For a short while, he merely stood there listening to the sound of Crezan's breath. His face looked so relaxed. Javed couldn't help but smile. He gently caressed one of Crezan's cheeks with his hand.
He climbed upon the bed, straddling Crezan's sleeping form. The human remained fast asleep. The elf bit his lip, slightly nervous, but threw all logic aside and leaned down. His lips pressed against Crezan's. The familiar feeling of his mouth was quite soothing. This time he had no need to push air into the sailor's lungs. This time he could enjoy the feel of Crezan's lips against his own.
The white-haired man began to stir. His blue eyes opened slowly. He noticed the familiar blue hair. Thinking it to be the female elf, he rested his hands upon Javed's back. Javed, surprised by Crezan's moments, pulled back. His eyes opened. Crezan's own eyes widened upon seeing the ruby orbs above him.
"Ah! Its you!" he yelped. The elf nodded and smiled. He leaned forward once more to kiss Crezan. The sailor pushed back upon the elf, looking slightly confused.
"Why were you kissing me?" Crezan asked with irritation. Javed cringed at his tone. His nervousness returned. The elf gazed at Crezan's eyes, trying to get rid of the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He first pointed to himself.
"... You..." Crezan said as he tried to understand the mute elf. Javed nodded, then pressed his hand to his chest. Crezan's eyes began to widen again. "... Love..." Crezan continued. Javed nodded again and then rested his hand upon Crezan's chest. The elf smiled with a hopeful expression in his eyes. "Me..." Crezan finishes the sentence. The two men sat silently for what seemed like ages. Then Crezan looked up at Javed.
"That's very thoughtful of you... but I like her... she saved me..." Crezan replied finally. Javed's face fell once again. But then he cupped Crezan's cheeks and kissed his forehead like he had when Crezan was beached. The sailor's blue eyes widened once more... recalling that time.
"I have yet to learn your name... but you know the letters now, don't you?" Crezan whispered. Javed nodded, his face brightening. He picked up Crezan's hand and began to move the tip of his finger along his palm.
"J... A... V..." Crezan watched as the letters were written upon his hand. His heart started to pound. "E... D..." Crezan finished, then looked at Javed with unbelieving eyes.
"You're Javed?" he breathed. Javed nodded his head, looking bashfully at Crezan. Silence followed. Javed felt Crezan's eyes looking him up and down.
"... I never once thought you were a man..." he murmured. Javed picked up Crezan's hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it gently. The white-haired man watched the elf... clearly he was debating something in his head. Javed stared deep into Crezan's eyes-trying to see into his soul.
Crezan smiled slowly.
"Man or not... thank you for saving me from certain death..." Crezan whispered. He brushed a hand through Javed's blue tresses, feeling the soft texture between his fingers. Javed leaned his head into Crezan's touch.
"Why is it you can't speak anymore?" Crezan asked. Javed looked back at Crezan once more, then down at his legs. Crezan looked toward the elf's legs too with a puzzled expression. Javed noticed the sailor's confusion and looked around the room for some type of aid. He noticed a fish tank and pointed to the fish. Then he put his legs together, kicking them at the same time-pretending to have a tail.
"... You had a tail... a mermaid tail?" Crezan tried to clarify. Javed nodded. Then he leaned his head back and held his hand to his mouth like he was holding a bottle. He pulled his legs apart.
"You drank something... that gave you legs...?" Crezan asked again. Javed nodded again, glad that Crezan seemed to be understanding his motions. Then he finally reached forward and rested his hand upon Crezan's throat. He pulled his hand away in a fist. Crezan stared at him-confusion had washed over him once more.
"... Someone ripped out your vocal chords...?" Crezan finally questioned after a long thought process. Javed nodded vigorously. Then he took Crezan's hand in his and held it to his chest.
"That's awful," Crezan murmured. Javed smiled meekly and leaned forward. His forehead rested against Crezan's shoulder. The sailor rested his arms upon Javed's back.
"Well... this explains why the female elf did not seem to know the name Javed or recognize me in the least," Crezan said. Javed wrapped his arms about Crezan's middle. He nuzzled the other man's chest. Crezan stroked Javed's back and sighed softly.
"I should stop yammering..." Crezan whispered. Javed smiled and nodded his head against Crezan's shirt. The white-haired man tilted up the elf's chin. They gazed at one another's eyes momentarily. Their lips were then drawn together in a warm kiss.
The elf was soon pushed back upon the mattress. He sunk into the soft bed as Crezan leaned over him. The sailor caressed his lips over Javed's neck and collar. The elf's skin prickled under his touch. But he paused when he noticed tears coming down the elf's cheeks.
"Javed..." The elf smiled through his tears and wrapped his arms around Crezan's neck. Despite the droplets rolling down his cheeks, his eyes spoke with happiness-so they were tears of joy. Upon realizing this, Crezan smiled too. Then he brushed his mouth against the elf's cheek, kissing away each drop.
Articles of clothing piled upon the floor by the bedside. The sailor ran a hand up the elf's thigh and watched it quiver. Javed's skin was soft all over, Crezan noted. And apparently very sensitive-a few shivers would ensue following the soft stroking of Crezan's hands.
Despite his negative initial thoughts, Crezan found himself enjoying the seduction process of his male savior. The blue-haired creature did not make a sound, but his mouth remained slightly ajar-he would have moaned if he had the voice to do it. The only sounds were their breathing as it sped up, and the slight creak of the mattress below them. But that did not matter. They communicated through touch. A hand would guide a hand. Lips pressed against the shoulder. And their bodies told them with ease when they were both ready.
A while later, Razen jumped upon hearing a shrill cry. She ran up the stairs to see what was the matter. The door flew open and her eyes widened at the sight. The sailor and the elf were upon the bed-entwined in one another's nude embrace. Their bodies glowed from heat and sweat while their chests heaved up and down for air. Crezan noticed Razen in the door and glared at her.
"I know. I know. I am leaving... Just... that was you screaming wasn't it, brother?" Razen asked as she shielded her eyes.
"No... it was Javed," Crezan replied as he looked down at the elf. The tired creature looked up at the sailor.
"But I thought he was a mute," Razen replied. Javed looked toward the woman in the doorway.
"Not anymore," the elf said hoarsely. Crezan chuckled and kissed Javed's forehead.
"Rest your voice... don't want you going mute again," Crezan murmured. Javed looked back at Crezan.
"I will... but I must tell you one thing,"
"... What is it?"
"I love you," Javed replied with a smile. Crezan stared, only for a moment, then drew the elf closer to him.
"I love you too, my angel,"
Crezan looked back toward the door, but saw Razen already had left them in peace.
"Hmm... so doing that got the elf's voice back?" Razen thought to herself as she walked down the stairs. She spied the elf girl sitting by a window in the kitchen. Razen's blue eyes lit up like flames. She giggled and rubbed her hands together as she walked into the kitchen.
"Oh elfie... I've got a little surprise for you..."