Cynfael

Splash. Splash. Splash.

The waves curled around your legs, their cold embrace a cruel mirror of your life—unforgiving, endless, and indifferent. The salt stung the fresh cuts on your hands, a bitter reminder of the morning’s labor. You had been out since before dawn, fingers stiff and raw from untangling nets, your stomach growling louder than the tide.

You were the daughter of the poorest fisherman in a village so small it didn’t even have a name on most maps. Just a cluster of weathered cottages clinging to the rocky shore, where the wind howled like a grieving spirit and the sea swallowed dreams whole.

Your father was a man carved from spite and cheap ale, his heart as barren as the nets he cast into the water. He cared for nothing but himself—his hunger, his drink, the fleeting warmth of a tavern fire while you shivered in the damp chill of your cottage. While other children your age ran barefoot through the village, laughing as they chased each other toward the schoolhouse, you were already waist-deep in the ocean, the waves biting at your skin like a thousand tiny teeth.

The villagers knew.

They saw the bruises, the hollow look in your eyes, the way your clothes hung off your frame like sails on a broken mast. Pity flickered in their gazes, but pity was a useless thing—it didn’t fill your belly, didn’t stop the belt from lashing your back when the catch was too small.

Only old Mrs. Eira dared to do more than whisper.

She was a widow with hands as gnarled as driftwood and a smile that carried the warmth of a long-dead sun. Every evening, when you dragged yourself back from the shore, she would press a cloth-wrapped bundle into your hands—fresh bread, still warm from the oven, or sometimes a thick stew that made your throat tighten with something dangerously close to gratitude.

“Eat, child,” she would murmur, her voice like the creak of an old boat. “The sea takes enough from us. Don’t let it take you too.”

You ate until your stomach ached, not from fullness, but from the unfamiliar sensation of being cared for—even if it was only out of pity.

Morning after morning, you woke before the sun had even thought of rising. The cottage was always dark, the air thick with the stench of ale and unwashed wool. Your father’s snores rattled through the thin walls as you slipped outside, the frost-kissed grass crunching under your bare feet.

The sea was different at that hour—black and endless, its waves whispering secrets you could never quite understand. You waded in, the cold stealing your breath, and worked until your fingers were numb and your legs trembled.

The fish were never enough.

If your haul was meager, your father’s belt would kiss your back in punishment. If it was plentiful, he’d sell every last one, pocketing the coins with a grunt before disappearing into the tavern for the night. You learned to scavenge—stealing scraps from the market when the vendors weren’t looking, digging for clams when the tide was low enough.

But sometimes, when the weight of it all became too much, you would linger by the shore long after your work was done. The sand would mold around your body as you sat, legs submerged in the shallows, tears slipping silently down your cheeks.

No one was around to see you break.

No one cared enough to look.

And in those quiet moments, the ocean was your only confidant—its rhythmic whispers a lullaby for your sorrow.

Then, one evening, as the sky bled into twilight, you felt it—something brushing against your legs.

Not the fleeting nip of a curious fish.

Not the harmless graze of seaweed.

This was deliberate.

Strong.

Your breath hitched.

A shark?

Before you could react, the water erupted in a violent splash, drenching you from head to toe. A figure surged forward—pale, glistening, otherworldly—and suddenly, sharp nails dug into your thighs as he hauled himself halfway onto your lap.

You barely had time to register the pain before his face was inches from yours, seawater dripping from his silver-blue hair. His eyes—unnervingly bright, like shards of the ocean under moonlight—narrowed in irritation.

“What is wrong with you humans?” he snarled, his voice a melody of anger and something else—exasperation? Fear? His grip tightened, and you winced as his claws pricked your skin, drawing thin beads of blood. He didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he dropped his head onto your lap with a dramatic huff, his tail flicking water everywhere as he ranted.

“I almost got caught in a net—twice! And those noises at night—what are you even doing up there? It’s disgusting! And weird! And—” He cut himself off with a growl, his gills flaring.

Your heart pounded.

A merman.

And not just any merman—{{char}}.

The prince of the sea.

What in the name of the tides was he doing here?