The Seashell’s Hidden Secret Ep.2
Marvela has lost the Talkback shell which she uses to communicate with her mermaid family
Earlier Tanya found a beautiful shell at the beach. When she holds it to her ear, she hears voices talking , picking out words such as king, fight and mermen
The sound of the waves breaking on the beach was relentless, but so second nature to Marvela’s ears that she barely noticed it, even tonight when the wind was whipping them up to crash like thunderclaps against the jagged rocks.
She moved about the beach, scouring the sandy pebbled expanse with her wide, verdigris eyes, her pupils blown wide in the semi-darkness. It has to be here, she told herself, bending to pull bladderwrack aside in case its rubbery fronds concealed the sacred shell.
Marvela straightened and took her bearings again. Yes this was the spot, she had perched here, on that slanted rocky outcrop, while she communicated with her sisters Narlette and Talliska.
She had been frightened last night, to learn the extent to which the King of Aquatora was being undermined by some of his courtiers, even his advisors. Discovering secret plans for a coup meant that some kind of battle was imminent. The intelligence came from her sister, and Narlette was rarely wrong. Not only did the mermaid have excellent eavesdropping skills, but her gift for divining trouble from the outset had frequently proved invaluable to steering court politics.
Dropping the Talkback shell that they used to communicate, no matter where they were, presented a terrible risk. Marvela had berated herself all day for her error. She hadn’t dared swim far from the shore since she’d lost it, constantly hoping for an opportunity to return to the beach to recover it. But once the sun rose, she didn’t dare expose herself to the chance of being sighted by humans. Or dogs — blasted dogs. Being ambushed by three of the great furry beasts was how she had lost the shell in the first place.
Three wavy coated, heavyset dogs had come running up to her when she was listening to her sister, causing her to drop the shell, she was so startled. They had barked and given chase when she fled to the sea, one had even swum in pursuit. For a moment she had despaired of escaping, but a dog with four legs couldn’t cut through the water like a mermaid with a tail, so she had quickly and safely reached the marker buoy. From there Marvela watched the dog return to the shore, shaking water droplets from its thick pelt, before joining its pack. All three dogs spent some time sniffing around the rock where she’d sat, before resuming their running and gambolling in the sand. Their human owner lagged fifty metres behind them, wearing a head torch to light the way along the sand.
Marvela had been in agonies of anxiety ever since. It was urgent that she retrieve the shell, one of three which she and her family used to communicate, but in daylight there was too much danger of being seen. Even this early in the morning, she’d watched crews of fisherman leaving on their boats. The morning traffic on this stretch of beach had been constant, plenty more dogs and their walkers, and some runners. Later in the day, families had arrived, setting out their rugs and towels, to play on the beach and swim in the sea.
The poor distressed mermaid had swum deeper, taking herself out to where the seals swam and the currents crossed. Unable to return to land to continue her search ’til after sunset, Marvela had spent the hours deep in thought. The mermen planning to rebel against King Neptune came from outside her family. They were a fierce and aggressive band who seemed to have gathered a few warmongering young selkies into their rebellion.
Talisska — the King’s eldest daughter — excelled at diplomacy. For several years she had been living away from Aquatora, having persuaded her father that she would benefit from learning more about the ways of other courts and kingdoms, before her time came to ascend to the throne. She was currently inland, at the Court of the Faeries, ruled over by King Bartok. Marvela and Narlette relied heavily on her wise counsel; if anyone could steer a clear course through these scheming machinations, it was Princess Tallisska. She too possessed a Talkback shell, and when she stood on the water’s edge, the three of them could talk and hear each other’s responses.
Now, many hours later, Mavela was near to tears with the fruitlessness of her moonlit beachcombing. She had scoured every pebble, stone and shell within range, but as time wore on, her despair was mounting. The Talkback shell was large and distinctive, not native to this beach, which was home to mostly mussel and cockle shells. It should have been easy to see.
I’ve passed this same spot several times, she chided herself. She recognised a sandcastle painstakingly decorated with indigo mussel shells around each turret, plus its creator had dug a moat, while its drawbridge was guarded by the hard outer of a saltwater crab. She had watched a young human toil over the elaborate creation from her position out at sea.
Streamers of apricot and gold light began to leak onto the horizon, making Marvela realise, with a pang, that daybreak was moments away. She had to leave now, despite not having found the precious shell.
She was loath to risk being seen by the fishermen. Although they were not as superstitious as their forebears, they had cameras nowadays. She knew a mermaid being caught in a human’s picture could endanger the safety of the under-sea folk.
As soon as her pale legs were touched by the salty foam of the crashing waves, they transformed into a glorious, iridescent tail. With a rippling motion which ran the length of her sinuous body, Marvela began to swim, dipping her head beneath the surging water. Not a moment too soon, she heard the excited barks of the same three heavyset black dogs. It was a small consolation to have avoided a second encounter with them.
Without the shell, Marvela had no way to contact Narlette or Talisska. So she struck out into deeper waters to find a creature who could take a message to her sisters, while she maintained her vigil for the Talkback shell near the beach.
Story was originally inspired by Monday Mashup #3 but story thread also links back to a character & event in Courtly Love Ep 18
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