Sea Witch #3
"...all magic comes with a price…"
The prince stood above his lover's body, knife in hand, limbs shaking. Blood spread across the floor, soaking his feet and the edges of his pant legs
"Can you carry the weight of your choice?"
This wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't supposed to happen. Voices were coming towards him. He knew he had to run. A jump out the window. A short stretch of the Beach. Hot tears flooded down his face as he ripped the clothes off his body. For the first time in months, he felt the touch of ocean water.
The pain of his legs changing back to a tail was less than the first transformation, but it was still agony. He floated down to the sea floor, pain ripping at every part of him. When it finally stopped, he didn't try to move. Just layer pathetically in the wet sand for uncounted time.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" A voice finally cut through the quiet. The witch hovered over him, mirroring the scene he had just left.
"Yes, and no." He rasped, voice raw from sobs and screams. "I just wanted to be with him, and I was, for a while. Then they found a mermaid in a fishing net, and I watched them kill her. I was so scared. I couldn't move. I couldn't stop them. I tried to stay by his side, because… I thought he was different from the others."
"You told him what you were." The witch guessed.
"I did." The prince said. "He was going to tell everyone. I begged him to stop. I tried… you knew this would happen didn't you?"
"You were not the first to ask me this favor." He replied. "Are you ready for your price?"
"This wasn't it?" The prince's voice cracked.
"You're coming with me." The witch said, holding out his hand. "That is the price."
The prince stared at the offered hand. He didn't know if there was hope or damnation in this path, but he took the witches hand, and allowed himself to be led back into the graveyard.
Fin
Part 1: https://mangothoughtswritingblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/short-story-sea-witch.html
Part 2: https://mangothoughtswritingblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/short-story-sea-witch-part-2.html
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