Prologue

Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman who hated the sea. The smell of it was not at all refreshing, it tasted horrible, and the waves were incredibly loud when they crashed upon the edge of her beach shack.

Every day she walked to the water's shore and threw stones into the sea. While her brothers and sisters did the same, they had entirely different reasons. They threw stones to see how many times they could get them to skip. She threw them hoping to hurt the sea like it hurt her. She never knew that, all the while she was harmlessly throwing stones into the waves, it would come back to ruin her life.

The morning of the thirteenth of June was gloomy. The waves were especially strong and they woke the maiden up quite early. Frustrated, she ran to the waters edge and hurled stones into the water, cursing at every splash.

She did not realize that a mermaid was swimming near by. The mermaids never seemed to bother the humans, nor did they ever come up to talk. But on this particular day the mermaid king was swimming unnaturally close to the edge of the water. When she threw a stone, it hit the head of the king, instantly filling the man with rage. He swam to the top and broke the surface, ready to fight whoever it was that caused him pain.

His eyes landed on the beautiful maiden, however, and his rage disappeared. No mermaid was as beautiful as the woman standing before him. He instantly fell in love. Calling out to her, he said, "Woman, come live with me in the water and I'll make you queen!"

She did not take upon his offer kindly. Instead, she spat, "Get away, you wretched beast! I will have nothing to do with the sea or your kind!"

The king was not angered, instead he became more determined. He summoned the girl's father to the waters edge and told him of his desire. He would supply the old man with a deep treasure of gold, enough to make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, if he forced his daughter to become a mermaid and be his queen.

The old man loved his daughter very much, but he was very poor. He had seven kids, the beautiful maiden the oldest, and no wife. His children were starving and he could not afford to buy bread. He took the kind up on his offer, promising him the life of his daughter.

Without telling her, he crept into her bedroom and night and tied her up. She screamed and cursed, but the father paid no attention. Although he loved her, the idea of everlasting money appealed to him more. He brought her to the king and laid her on the shore.

When the King saw her he lifted out a triton from the sea. Waving his triton in the air, a swell of light burst out and hit the maiden. She was momentarily blinded, but when her vision returned she was horrified to see that her legs had turned into a mermaid tail.

She shrieked and begged her father to turn her back, but the old man walked away. He could not bear to hear her crying any longer. The king dragged the girl into the sea, her screams quieted by the depths of the sea.

While she became queen, she was still unhappy. Every day she tried to return to the surface but the king would stop her. He dragged her by her tail back into their bed chamber and locked her in. After being there for only a year, the woman gave birth to a daughter, and another year later she was given a daughter again.

Years passed by slowly for the maiden. Despite the two girls being her daughters she refused to love them because they were mermaids. The daughters became bitter and therefore began to hate being mermaids also.

One day she couldn't stand being under the sea any longer. She grabbed the king's triton in her hands and made a vow. She promised that all her descendants would try to become human again until one finally succeeded. Her daughters watched her in silence, unsure of what she would do. Then, suddenly, she stabbed the triton into her heart and instantly died.

Her daughters were horrified. They loved their mother deeply, even though their feelings were not returned, and her suicide burned deep in their hearts. They promised to keep their mother's vow.

Years and years passed. The king, due to the magic of his triton, lived on. He fell in love with every descendant because she was just as beautiful as the original. But every girl refused to love him back. They spent every waking hour trying to find a way back onto land.

Descendant after descendant failed. Over two hundred years passed and yet no girl had managed to become human.

However, one girl was different. She was the most beautiful of any of the descendant , even more than the original. She was graceful and had the most melodious voice, but most importantly, she was brilliant. If any descendant were to find a way back onto land it would be her.

But destiny ran into a problem with the girl. It was determined to turn her back into a human, but the girl did not want to be human. She loved the sea. She loved everything about being a mermaid. There was nothing that could convince her to surface and look at the shore.

Destiny is not one to be trifled with, however, and it was determined to get her on land, whether she liked it or not.