‘I’m walking. I’m walking,’ Nemo kept shouting excitedly, as he finally managed to balance himself on his two new legs and actually move. ‘I can’t believe I really have legs and I’m walking. This means I can run, I can breathe outside water for as long as I want, I can get to wear clothes and shoes, and do all these things that I’ve always dreamed of’.
‘Yeah, it also means you cannot breathe under water, and you cannot swim deep into the sea, or see your family very often.’
Daniel stopped talking; he didn’t want to spoil Nemo’s moment. Luckily, Nemo wasn’t paying too much attention to what he was saying; he was much too happy to concentrate.
‘She is amazing,’ Daniel changed the subject, speaking of Eleanor, not without a bit of envy. ‘You’re very lucky, Nemo, to have her as a mother and a queen.’
Nemo was prancing about, trying to step on every kind of surface he could see and experience the different feeling he got every time. His pale skin shone bright as the strong sunshine fell over his well-formed swimmer’s muscles, which was the only thing that made him look older than he was.
‘She can be very fearsome at times. It is not easy being a Sea-Queen and she has been doing it longer than her predecessors. But she is also the most loved one. That’s why most of the mermaids don’t want to let her go.’
‘Let her go where? What do you mean?’
Daniel sat down again, watching Nemo enjoy his new-found hobby, and waited for his answer. Nemo decided to try sitting as well. As he bent his knees, his body weight proved too much and he fell backwards, laughing out loud yet again. Daniel joined in the laughter and moved closer to him. Nemo eventually arranged himself in a sitting position by imitating him, and then continued.
‘After the queen has laid her last egg, she has only a limited time before she starts losing her power and strength, becoming like the rest of us. During this time the successor must be found and crowned in front of all the mermaids. After that, the old queen takes her last journey into the open sea and she is never seen again.’
Daniel heard the sadness in Nemo’s voice and saw it in his eyes. He knew exactly how the boy felt.
‘For some reason though, she still reigns young and strong, and her powers have not diminished. The candidates are all ready and prepared, but the oracle says it’s not time, yet. He seems to be waiting for something, and I’m glad; I don’t want her to go.’
‘The oracle?’
‘He’s the one we all go to consult about important matters like this.’
‘Ok,’ Daniel said, making a mental note to ask more about this oracle later. ‘And what about these candidates? How many of them are there?’
‘There are four of them, the ones that you saw earlier with mother. They are not just her companions and followers; they are all my sisters, and they all want to be the next queen. They stay with her all the time, so that they learn everything there is to know about ruling the mermaids and the seas.’
‘And who decides which one of them will be the next queen?’
‘That will be decided when the competition takes place. They will all have to compete against one another in strength, bravery and wisdom. The winner will of course earn the crown. I’m sure it’s going to be Vanessa.’
‘Which one was she?’
‘She was the one who never smiled,’ Nemo said. ‘I’m sure you noticed her.’
‘That, I did,’ Daniel answered. ‘I have a feeling she would make a terrifying queen.’
‘You don’t know how right you are,’ Nemo commented and stretched his legs arranging his new trousers that barely extended below his knees. They seemed to have been made from some sort of seaweed, tough, yet very light.
‘You know, you might look like a man now, but you still smell like a fish,’ Daniel teased him, giving him a push and running away from him. Nemo chased after him, laughing and enjoying the new feeling that running on his new legs gave him. They played around for a while, until they got tired of it, and then Daniel spoke again.
‘Now where do we go? How do we get to the Queen of Endër?’
‘That’s easy. First we go and visit our friends that I told you about yesterday. They will help us get to Endër. Come, it’s this way. Hope you can pick up,’ he said, laughing, and starting to run again, with Daniel chasing after him this time.
It was only midday when they began to follow the coastline towards south. They stayed near water; they were both barefoot and the sand there was cool and soft. As the day grew older, it got pretty hot and carrying the bow and quiver became a bit uncomfortable. Nemo offered to carry them for a while, and Daniel gratefully let him.
They walked for a good while, stopping only here and there to check out places that seemed of interest. A few times Daniel saw wingmen flying high above them, but they were too far up for him to see them well. Still, he was excited. There were all sorts of other birds flying in the sky, and Daniel didn’t even know half of them. He could also sense the presence of animals in the forest, but he didn’t get to see more than rabbits or squirrels jumping up and down the trees.
The day progressed and the sun was now well on the second half of its daily journey through the sky, when a shadow passed swiftly before them. They didn’t even manage to look up, when Nemo felt something fall and break on top of his head, producing a wet and sticky mass there. It was an egg. Hysterical laughter followed, and in a matter of seconds three silhouettes landed in front of them. They were wingmen, three young ones by the looks of their fresh faces and even more so their silly behavior.
Two of them stood tall and slender - a bit too slender for normal people - with beautiful blue and white wings starting from the back of their neck, joined to their arms and spine, and reaching all the way down to their feet. The third one, with a more stupid look on his face, was a bit shorter and chubbier than his friends, but still handsome to look at. Instead of blue, his wings were a combination of a darker shade of grey and white.
All three had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. Their skin was flawless and whiter compared to that of men, and where it joined their wings, it started to first turn fluffy and eventually produce feathers, small to begin with, but longer and stronger as the wings grew. They wore little in the way of garments; some type of blue vests and trousers that unlike Nemo’s, reached down all the way to their small feet. Speaking of their feet, Daniel noticed they did not wear any shoes or sandals; the skin there was tough, like those of birds, and their toes ended up in sharp claws. Around their waist they wore belts, on which hang two sharp knives, fitted into leather sheaths to their left and right.
Daniel stared amazed at the beauty of these creatures, barely believing his eyes.
Still laughing at their brilliant practical joke, they ignored him completely and started picking on Nemo.
‘Hey, fish-boy, finally got legs huh?’ spoke first one of the taller guys, who unlike the other two, who didn’t have a trace of hair on their fresh faces, sported a single line of hair just under his lower lip. The chubby one, who was actually quite normal, if you would judge by human standards, did not wait to be invited into the conversation.
‘What did you do, steal them from someone? Something smells very fishy to me.’
The laughter returned with a new wave. Daniel could not believe what he was hearing. He turned to see Nemo still cleaning himself up, not saying anything back, and didn’t know if he should do something.
The bullying continued.
‘So, they finally decided to kick you out then, huh? About time I’d say.’
‘You’re better off human, you know? I wouldn’t want to be part of a family that sends me to die hanging on a tree either.’
Nemo stopped cleaning himself and finally looked at them. An understanding passed between them in that short instant. Daniel half expected Nemo to jump at them in anger; after all he was feeling rather furious himself, realizing that these three were very likely the ones who had tied Nemo up and left there to die. But Nemo
did not jump at them. Instead he lowered his head and passed by them, continuing his walk. Daniel didn’t understand. He really wanted to tell these guys off, and even more so, he wanted Nemo to do it. But Nemo just kept walking away.
The three bullies continued teasing Nemo, turning their back on Daniel, who still didn’t move an inch.
‘Oh, are you gonna cry now?’ the tall one with the goatee teased. Daniel noticed with curiosity that the third one, though he laughed along with them, did not utter a word. ‘Gonna swim back to mommy’s arms? Oops wait, you can’t, can you?’
‘No, he cannot,’ Chubby replied. ‘And you know what else he can’t do?’
‘Fly,’ they both shouted at the same time, and in a swift move jumped on Nemo, grabbed him by the arms and extending their enormous wings flew up in the air with him. The third one, who had been silent the whole time, turned to Daniel who hurried forward to try and stop them, and pushed him back hard, throwing him down on the ground. He then arose high in the sky and flew after his friends towards the sea, while Daniel kept shouting at them to bring Nemo back down.
He could hear the boy begging for them to let him go, but they kept on laughing hysterically, flying away further above the sea. A few moments later, after apparently getting tired of carrying him, they let him fall down into the water and flew away towards mainland, shouting triumphantly.
Daniel jumped immediately in, swimming as fast as he could towards the spot where Nemo fell. Being an excellent swimmer came in handy and he reached Nemo in no time. The boy was trying to swim back towards the shore, but he wasn’t doing very well. Clearly the missing tail was a big disadvantage for the ex-merman. Daniel threw one arm around his waist and swam with the help of his other arm and strong legs. In a matter of minutes, they were out of the water again.
Nemo sat on the wet sand, shaken and humiliated. His arms looked red where they had been holding him, and there were visible scratches from their claws, but he didn’t seem to be in any physical pain. He took off the bow and quiver and set them on the sand beside him. Daniel sat next to him and did not speak. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone to talk to him at that moment, so he just kept quiet and decided to let Nemo be the first to talk.
He didn’t have to wait long.
‘They are not all like that, you know? They are honorable people, with a great love of the sky and all things flying. Most of them are artists; they sing and dance, they make beautiful sculptures out of wood, and like everyone else in our kingdom they love to celebrate. Their queen is fierce and respectable and they love her dearly. But these three are different, at least recently. They always make stupid pranks like today and are unkind with their words. And I don’t know why, but for some reason they always pick on me.
‘I have always been afraid of them; that’s another reason why my sisters hate me. They say I’m an embarrassment to them. Mermaids are brave and not afraid of anything. But not me. Yesterday, before you found me, Vanessa and the other three dared me to go to the surface and shoot at them, to prove that I was not afraid. I wanted so much to prove that, so I agreed, even though we are strictly forbidden to use our cross bolts on anyone. But as soon as I broke the surface, they grabbed me and tied me up to the tree where you found me. My sisters kept watching me being dragged away and did nothing, Vanessa wouldn’t let them. So they just went back. At least they apologized today, all except for her.’
‘Did you tell your mother?’
‘No. They would have been in so much trouble. Besides, she wouldn’t have believed me anyway; I had no way to prove it. She thinks the wingmen did this of their own accord; she's furious. She would have contacted the Sky-Queen and asked that they'd be punished, if it weren't for you.’
‘Me?’ Daniel asked surprised. ‘What do I have to do with anything?’
‘I don't know, but as soon as she heard that you are a Visitor, it was like none of this mattered anymore. All she wanted was to see you right away. I still don't understand it; it was like she forgot about what they did to me.’
He stopped talking and lowered his head even more. Daniel realized that he was very close to crying, and put one hand on his shoulder.
‘I’ll tell you what; why don’t we try and put all this behind us, just for now? You’re a new person Nemo and have a new life ahead of you. One day we can come back and deal with all of this again, and I promise you that on that day, I will be there to help you face it. But until then, what do you say we enjoy ourselves and forget about everything else, ok?’
Nemo looked at him. His face lit up a little, and the sob that threatened to overtake him only seconds ago, drew back and disappeared.
‘You’re right. I’m human now and we are on a mission. Besides, I have already decided that I will stay on land forever, and never have to deal with them again. I know I’m going to miss mother, but she will be gone eventually anyway. And when that happens, there will be no one to protect me down there.’
Daniel could not help but feel bad for his new friend. He had no idea things were this hard for him.
‘Are you sure about this, Nemo? I mean, you’d be leaving behind your family, your home, everything you have ever known.’
‘I am,’ Nemo replied, without even thinking. He then looked at Daniel, unable to hide the sadness in his eyes. ‘I do not belong in the sea, Daniel, I never did. I’m a freak.’
Daniel felt like hugging the little man. He had some idea of what it was like to feel as if you didn’t belong. He did not hug Nemo, however; he wouldn’t know what to do if the boy started to cry. Bur he didn’t have to; having gotten it out of his system, Nemo’s smile now returned, though sorrow still loomed in the depth of his youthful bright eyes.
‘The land is my new home now’ he said, looking hopeful, ‘and I think it’s gonna be great.’
Daniel spoke no more; he did not blame the boy. He would probably do the same himself, if he was in Nemo’s shoes, so to speak.
They got up, gathered their things, and resumed their path towards the house of Nemo’s friends. Daniel hung the bow and quiver back on his shoulder. What had just happened, hovered above them like a dark cloud that threatened the sunshine for a bit, but was soon taken away by the wind. He began once again to pay attention to the scenery around him and enjoy everything that his senses were absorbing. Despite this one bad experience, he could not help but marvel at how truly and amazingly beautiful this place was.
As the end of their journey drew near, Daniel spotted on the horizon before him a single house, built on a small cliff rising above the sea. The house seemed completely made of wood, with a rising roof and large windows. A huge garden lay in front of it, facing the woods opposite the sea.
He and Nemo slowly climbed up the cliff, making for the gate, when two huge black dogs appeared in the middle of it. They spotted the visitors and ran straight towards them. Daniel’s heart began to thump like crazy inside his chest. He really did not like dogs; he had been bitten once as a child and had grown terrified of them ever since. As they approached, he stopped walking and grabbed Nemo by the arm.
‘What are we going to do, Nemo? We cannot outrun them.’
Nemo looked at him, puzzled.
‘What do you mean? Outrun who, the dogs?’
Daniel shook his head affirmatively, visibly paralyzed with fear.
‘Are you afraid of them? Why, I mean; what do you think they’re going to do, lick you to death?’
‘Ha-ha, I wish,’ Daniel laughed nervously. ‘No, I’m a bit more worried about their teeth. They look like they might have big sharp ones.’
Nemo seriously did not seem to understand.
‘Yeah, and so? Maybe where you come from, dogs are dangerous, but here in Endërland, they are man’s best friend. It’s never been heard of any dog biting anyone around here, so relax and keep walking. You can stay behind me, if you like. You’ll see, it’s going to be alright.’
Before he even finished speaking, the first of the dogs reached them and threw himself a
t Daniel, barking and wagging his tail with excitement. The second one was right behind, and raising his huge paws on Daniel’s chest, started to welcome him in his own way, completely ignoring Nemo.
Daniel almost fainted from fear at first, but when he saw that the animals seemed earnestly happy to see him and had no intention of hurting him, he relaxed a little. Only a little though; it would take a lot more to rid him of his fear of dogs. He put his hands on their furry heads and patted them lightly. The animals seemed to enjoy that and returned the favor with a good dose of saliva, by means of their long pink tongues.
Nemo, who was watching this with curiosity, laughed hard as Daniel recoiled, clearly disgusted.
‘Wow, they’re treating you like a long lost friend. And I thought I was family here.’
They kept walking towards the house, with the dogs running and jumping all around them. They passed the gate and headed towards the door, when it opened and a young woman came out, holding a baby in her arms. Her hair, Daniel noticed, was dark red like Nemo’s, her skin pale white and eyes dark black. She looked familiar.
‘Is she…?’ Daniel started to ask.
‘My sister,’ Nemo finished his sentence.
‘Just how many of them do you have?’
‘No idea,’ Nemo replied, shrugging. ‘Sarah left us some time ago; is now married to a human and they have a daughter. She’s one of the few who actually like me.’
He hurried towards her with arms open, and she towards him with a big smile on her face.
‘Nemo. Look at you; you’ve got legs. Mother finally decided to let you go, huh?’
‘Yes, only today; can you believe it? Oh I’ve missed you Sarah. How’s little Angel? Can I hold her?’
He took the baby in his arms, without waiting for an answer and started tickling and rocking her. Sarah noticed the scars on his biceps.
‘What happened to you? Who did that?’
‘Nothing to worry about sis; I was just fooling around with your dogs earlier.’
Sarah didn’t believe him, but decided to drop it for the time being and turned to Daniel, who walked over and presented himself.
‘Hello, I’m Daniel.’
‘He’s a Visitor,’ Nemo declared as if a matter of fact. Sarah seemed pleasantly surprised.
‘Really? Oh, this is such a pleasure, Daniel. I’m Sarah, Nemo’s sister, as no doubt you have guessed by now. And this is my little Angel.
‘Nemo stop rocking her so hard; she just ate and will throw up all over you.’
She was too late though. The little angel did exactly that; she threw up all over Nemo, splashing a good little portion on his face. They all laughed, Nemo the hardest. Sarah took the girl back and led the boys in.
The house looked really cozy and warm on the inside. It seemed not much different from any other house Daniel had seen back in his home world. There was a set of couches in what looked like the living room, a dining table and chairs at the far left corner next to the fireplace, all mostly made of wood. The walls seemed decorated with very few things, while the floor was covered with huge colorful rugs.
Somehow he had expected something different.
Sarah made them both some kind of hot tea that Daniel had never had before; a special sea herb that her sisters gathered for her, deliciously tasting like peppermint, only much stronger and sweeter.
‘A Visitor, huh?’ she said as she sat down with them. ‘There hasn’t been one in a very long time now. So, what do you think of Endërland, Daniel?’
Daniel was not prepared to talk about his impressions of Endërland just yet; he still hadn’t seen much of it. However, he decided to go with what he felt for the moment.
‘I really like it; everything is so magical here. But it’s still only my second day, and there’s just so much to see and learn.’
‘Which is part of the reason why we’re here,’ Nemo cut in, almost spilling his tea. ‘We were hoping Garret would help us get to the Queen of Endër. Mother has sent word to her and she is expecting to see us. Where is he, by the way?’
‘He’s just gone to the village nearby to discuss the preparations for the upcoming festivities; he should be back in the evening. Why do you need to see the queen?’
‘She’s got information that Daniel needs,’ Nemo answered in short, feeling quite important. He then looked at Daniel.
‘What did I tell you; people here love celebrations. You might actually be lucky and take part in this one.’
‘You are really going to enjoy it,’ Sarah added. ‘It’s my favorite feast. There’ll be great food and drinks, and music and dancing and lots of games. I can hardly wait.’
They kept on talking about the coming celebrations and the people, letting the conversation flow from one subject to another. Daniel wanted to know everything.
Soon the light of day grew dim, and Sarah lit the oil lamps around the house. Before they knew it, evening came; that’s when Garret came back home too. Daniel half expected him to have red hair too, but that was not the case. He was a handsome young man, seemingly in his mid-twenties, with a cheery face, kind eyes and short light brown hair. He warmed up to Daniel right away and kept asking questions about his world. In return, he was more than happy to share about Endërland and their life here. Daniel especially admired the way he was with Sarah and little Angel. They looked like the light in his eyes and he never seemed to get enough of them.
After a light supper, which consisted mainly of homemade pie and lots of different fruits, Sarah shared with them the story of her own pilgrimage. She told of how when her time came, she visited all of Endërland. She went all the way up to the Northern Mountains, then to the Eastern shore to visit their cousins in Tálas. She travelled through all the villages in the valley of Destiny, spent a few days in Sky-City, stayed in Endër for a while, and of course saved Arba for last, like all her sisters before her.
That’s where she’d met Garret. He had come there to bring offerings to the Lords in the name of his village, and they had fallen in love at first sight. Choosing not to go back to the sea, had been her most difficult decision ever, but she never regretted it. She was happy here with him, and he had promised her they would always live next to the sea, so that she would never be far away from her family.
Daniel listened as she talked about Endërland, and a greater desire arose in him to see it and experience it all for himself.
‘What is this place called Arba?’ he asked. Until now, he had not heard of it.
‘Nemo hasn’t told you about it?’ Garret jumped in disbelief. ‘Why, it’s only the most beautiful place in the whole of Endërland; the capital of our kingdom. It’s where the four Lords reside in the great palace. You should definitely visit it; words cannot do it justice. I will take you there myself if needed.’
‘The four Lords?’ Daniel asked again, puzzled.
‘Nemo, have you told him nothing at all?’ Garret rebuked Nemo playfully; he seemed to enjoy the role of the cicerone. He turned to Daniel again.
‘You met the Queen of the Seas, right?’
Daniel shook his head affirmatively.
‘And you are on your way to meet the Queen of Endër, or as the Lords call her, the Lady of the Land. You probably also know by now that there is a third queen; she rules the sky-people and is called the Sky-Queen, or the Lady of the Skies. Each of them, rules over their own people. However, all of us are subjects to the four Lords, who rule Endërland together, each one for a time. Autumn is the one sitting on the Silver Throne now, but his days will soon end. Winter will take over after him, and then Spring and Summer. It’s a cycle that repeats itself; it has been like this since always. Endërland does not have one king or queen alone but a group of them; and they all answer to the Great Lord, the one who created Endërland and everything in it. He is the ultimate authority over us all, though we haven’t seen him in a very long time, so it’s really just the Lords.’
This started to feel more and more like a very complicated and c
onfusing fairy tale world.
‘Seriously?’ Daniel asked. ‘Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn?’
‘They are people just like you and me, Daniel; we only call them by those names because of the seasons they are in charge of.’
Daniel felt confused. First the Queen of the Seas, then the Queen of the Land; now a third queen and four other lords, who served under another great lord. Did they leave anyone out? And was he supposed to meet them all at some point?
Sarah noticed his perplexity and came to sit next to him.
‘You have nothing to worry about, Daniel. Visitors have always been welcome in Endërland and treated with the outmost respect and honor. I am sure the Queen of Endër will tell you everything you need to know. After mother, she is the wisest and most honorable woman I know; she will look after you.’
Daniel smiled a half shy smile back at her; still feeling a bit like a little kid on his first day at school. She arranged a freckle off his forehead, something his mother used to do when he was a child, and smiled sweetly.
‘I’m glad Nemo brought you to us; we both are.’ She looked at Garret as she said this and he shook his head in affirmation.
Daniel smiled again. He might be in a foreign place, but somehow these people made it feel like home.
They talked some more after that, until time came for bed and Sarah got up and arranged the living room for the two boys to sleep in. Then with Garret and little Angel they said their goodnights and went to their own bedroom.
This was weird for Nemo; it was his first night on land, and he had never before slept like this. But as it turned out, he was far more tired than he looked, because as soon as he put his head on the soft pillow, his eyes closed and he drifted off to a deep sleep.
Daniel smiled and decided to get some sleep himself, even though he wasn’t so tired. He knew by now what was going to happen; he would wake up in his bed and would go on living his day in his own world, until time came again for him to come back to this place. And he was looking forward to it.
An idea came to him. Seeing as they were going to probably have to walk a lot, they would need shoes; and maybe some more appropriate clothes. He was still wearing his pajamas, while Nemo could use a t-shirt, to avoid a nasty sunburn by walking around topless. So he decided he would test a theory he had silently been dwelling on.