A long time ago, the Earth blessed four spirits, making them gods. The gods of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, oversee their realms, creating sentient creatures to help cultivate their lands. These beings constantly war over each other, eventually driving the servants of Water, the Merfolk, to extinction. Millennia later Kyle Weathers receives a gift from an old but mysterious lady while working in Haiti. This gift will change his life forever.

Ithycca- Chapter 1
The Rebirth of a Princess
By AoifeM

It was a beautiful morning. The water was at spring tide, perfect for surfing, if I was proficient enough to do so.

Then again, why do I need to surf anyway?

The glow of the morning sun shined on my wet skin, reflecting off the scales of my tail like little miniature mirrors. I was alone on a rocky island shore. Sometimes you need time by yourself, and surround yourself in tranquility. Trust me, the world is too messed up, and if you have time to get away, it really helps clear your mind.

And from the whirlwind I’ve gone through these past few years, you need all the quiet time you can get.

My name is Ithycca. I am a Mermaid, and I have been living as one for over two years. It hasn’t been the easiest of transitions mind you. First off, I wasn’t born a black girl. My golden brown skin belies the fact I was once a pale white male living in America.

Strange, huh? Well, I suppose the world is just full of surprises, and it seems destiny wouldn't be denied.

Before becoming Ithycca I was Kyle Weathers, a 4.0 college student who was fluent in the French Language. 2 years ago a major catastrophe occurred as a major Earthquake hit the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Haitian city of Port au Prince was especially damaged, as homes crumbled, and the government didn’t have the resources capable to help the victims, and clean up the disaster.

Without hesitating I volunteered to help out. I was a relatively athletic individual; I can do a lot of heavy lifting, and if anyone needed to translate, I was as good as anybody. While my parents weren’t exactly thrilled they knew I was my own man. Plus the trip was being paid for by the UNDP anyway; there really wasn’t anything holding me back from going.

And so I arrived, bags packed, at JFK Airport in New York City. The lines were crowded, yet to me, it seemed a lot more people were arriving rather than departing. Standing in line I began to take off my shoes for inspection. The things you do to get a flight these days.

“Isn’t this awful?” A woman asked me with an English accent. Turning to her I saw a rather attractive blonde hair woman, perfectly proportioned. Her clothes outlined every curve from her body. She was a beauty.

“Welcome to America,” I said with a hint of cynicism to my voice, “I think we really make things sound worse than they really are.

“I agree,” She stated, “You’d probably have a better chance seeing a volcano erupt in Manhattan than another terrorist attack.”

We had a little chuckle at that, reminded me of a stupid sci-fi movie.

She put her bags onto the conveyor belt, then turned to me and introduced herself. “Elizabeth Yves,” she said.

“Kyle Weathers,” I replied, picking up my bags as they passed through the sensors, “You’re heading off to Haiti too I assume?”

With a slight smile she answered, “You assumed correctly. I had to take a flight here from London, and connect with this flight.”

“I see,” I said. “We’ll probably be working together quite a bit then.”

“I hope so,” Elizabeth continued. “It will be a long stay. It would be nice to have kindred spirits while we're here.”

Finished sliding on my shoes, I departed. “See you on the plane, Elizabeth.”

“Please, call me Eliza,” she insisted as I began to walk away.

I didn't really have the opportunity to converse with her during the flight. It was kind of a shame, but what can you do? It shouldn’t be too long to get to Port au Prince, plus I wouldn’t have jetlag, seeing we were still under the same time zone. Hopefully we’ll reconvene once we arrived.

The sun was beginning to set as we finally reached our destination. Having access to the window, I glanced outside and looked at the surroundings. It was utter devastation. Buildings in shambles, smoke and dust seemed to be fuming up into the atmosphere above. The shame of it all. Even the airport we were to land at was rather shaky, the pavement was shattered and cracked; you had to be careful where to touch down.

After the rough landing we grabbed our things and headed into the town. The checkpoint was rather lax, I suppose that in times like this there were more important things then security. Outside I found Eliza, bags and all, trying to grab a taxi, I walked over to say hello.

“Need any help with those bags?” I asked, trying to be as gentlemanly as possible.

“It looks as if you have plenty of bags to worry about as it is,” she stated.

“Where are you heading now?” I asked.

“I have a place to stay in a hotel downtown, paid for by my government,” she answered. I’m sure your country has similarly done the same thing.”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “It’s on the other side of town though.”

“That’s too bad,” she said. She took out a piece of paper and wrote down her phone number. Giving it to me, she instructed, “If you wish to chat, you can always call.”

Her taxi arrived and she set her things in the back seat. “Take care,” she replied, and she closed the door.

I smiled. This will be a rather interesting experience. If I only knew how interesting it would really be.

Two weeks had passed, and I was already into my routine, as a translator and as a street cleaner, mostly trying to clean up debris and rubble, keeping an eye on survivors and meaningful items. During my rounds I saw something that shocked me; it was a young child, about three or four, walking around aimlessly. I couldn’t just ignore the sight of it. I needed to help that child find his family.

Dropping what I was doing, I approach the child. Leaning down, I asked, “Ou est ta mama?”

Obviously a little scared of my presence, he still gave me an answer, “Je ne sais pas.”

He didn’t know where his mother was. I proceeded to pick up the boy and pulled him onto my shoulder. “Nous se trouverons,” I told him, and proceeded to find his mother.

I headed to a nearby neighborhood, hoping someone would be looking for this child. Most people were more focused salvaging what remained of their home and their property. If I was a parent with a missing child, I’d probably be in a frantic mess, freaking out trying to do what I can to find him. Walking around the dusty streets, I began to give up hope. Maybe the best thing I could do is take him back to camp and maybe get him some food for his stomach.

Before I made our way back, someone from beyond the shadows stopped me, “My child!” She cried in a thick accent.

The child recognized her, and I let him go as he ran straight to her arms, hugging her tight as she picked him up. Another reunited family, and a job well done.

“I truly appreciate you going to these lengths finding my child,” She claimed, “I feel like I must reward you.”

Being rather modest, I insisted, “You don’t need to reward me. I was just doing my job.”

Still, underneath her purple robe, she pulled out a shiny, glittering, green object, tied around a string made of hemp. “This is a scale that my family had kept around me for many generations. It is very valuable; it even changes colors from green to purple at night. Please take it.”

She immediately grabbed my hand and gave me her necklace. As soon as it touched my hand I felt a shock run up and down my body. What just happened?

Shaking off the strange feeling I continued, “I really don’t deserve this.”

She laughed, “Sure you do. I cannot think of anyone better to hold onto something so important.” She turned away, stating “I’m sure we will meet again. I’m sure it will be a very interesting reunion.” She walked back into the shadows, kid in tow. I felt uneasy about that last sentence. Maybe I was just paranoid.

Looking at the time, my shift was approaching its end. That was a good thing. Eliza and I had been seeing each other quite a bit, and we agreed to meet tonight for some drinks. I really needed to get a shower.

I made my way home. The thought of a shower almost sounded addicting. I didn’t know why I felt such an overbearing need to do so. It was like the only thing on my mind at this point. Standing naked I turned the faucet on and step into the tub. The feeling was so extraordinary, like nothing I had ever felt, and I’ve taken showers before. I couldn’t help myself as I plug the drain and began to lie down and drift off. Only when the tub began to overflow did I break my trance. I immediately shut off the water, and began to drain it. Seeing the mess I made, I hadn’t any time to clean it. I was to meet her in 15 minutes, and I spent too much time relaxing in the tub, for reasons unknown. Getting dressed as fast as I could I ran out the door.

I was lucky to get there on time, as I saw the stunningly beautiful Eliza, wearing an indigo dress. She went all out it seemed. I felt kind of embarrassed seeing I didn’t dress as well, time was of the essence after all.

I pull up her seat and she sat down, mojito in hand. She took a quick sip and we began talking.

“Long day?” She began.

“Kind of,” I replied. “I’m sorry I’m not dressed for the occasion.”

“It’s quite alright,” She insisted, “This really isn’t supposed to be a pleasure trip anyway. But people do sometimes need to kick back, relax a little. The place can leave a person feeling depressed.”

“I know what you mean,” I agreed. Looking around this place, it was better preserved than most. It was a tourist destination for the most part; they probably had more money put into the place. A few days cleaning out the debris and it was reopened for business. Of course, the décor was ruined, but for us, that wasn’t a major thing. We just needed a place to kick back.

Looking back at her I saw her staring at my necklace. “Where did you get that?” She queried, taking another sip of her drink.

I almost forgot I had it on the whole time. Even in the shower, I didn’t think of taking it off. “Some woman gave it to me for finding her child,” I answered. “She was rather insistent of me having it.”

“That looks rather valuable, I’m surprised you didn’t give it back to her.” Well, thanks for the guilt trip.

“She left before I had the chance,” I half-lied. Yes, she took off before I had any say in the matter. However, something in me wanted this. I couldn’t seem to convince myself of giving it back, no matter how selfish it made me. I almost felt like without it, I was naked.

“I see,” She continued, “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”

“It’s ok, you didn’t,” I said. Changing the subject, I called for the waiter, “Garçon! One of your best bottles of rum s’il vous plait!” Eliza couldn’t help but giggle at my attempt at being sophisticated.

So we continued to chat for the night, drinking to the point of being buzzed. When the night was over I was ready to walk on home, but as I got up from my seat I felt dizzy and woozy.

Balancing myself I heard a worried Eliza ask, “Are you ok?”

“I think so,” I replied, confused. “Weird, I didn’t think I had that much to drink.”

Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, she said, “Come on. I’ll help you back to your hotel.”

Slightly embarrassed, I thanked her for the opportunity. But oddly other than the disoriented feeling standing up I felt fine. With her holding me for support, we made it back to my place. Opening my door for me she dragged me to my bed and laid me down.

“You’re rather heavy,” Eliza joked.

“Gee, thanks,” I replied, feeling a little better now I was on my bed.

“Are you going to be ok?” She asked.

“I think so,” I answered. After all it probably was just me drinking too much and I would be fine by morning.

“Alright.” She began to walk to the door. “I’ll check on you in the morning. Good night.”

She left, leaving me to my own devices. I must have looked like a fool. Oh well. Can’t change what’s passed.

Looking over I reached for my blanket and wrapped it around me. It felt good to be home. For some reason, I felt a lot more tired than usual. It didn’t take me long to pass out.

I had a dream that night. I imagined being underwater, underneath the most blue of waters. The feelings I had as it ran through my hair. I was in a cove, decorated in ornate seashells. In this cover there was a mirror. I swam over to a mirror made from the face of a clam. Looking through my vanity I saw a woman, I saw myself, wearing a brassiere made of clam shells, and jewelry such as a pearl necklaces, beautiful gold bracelets, rings, pearl earrings, and on my head, a beautiful golden tiara with a ruby in the center. My body looked so beautiful; the golden brown skin, the curvaceous hips, and my beautiful green tail, covered in scales which reminded me of the necklace I received from that lady.

Suddenly I was being escorted by two mermen. They must’ve been my guardians. I swam down the hallways and outside. I was greeted by a crowd of millions or merfolk, cheering at the very sight of my presence.

“Long live the daughter of Goddess Alora! Long live our princess!”

And with a cheer they praised me, the princess of the Merfolk.

I woke up the next day, feeling wonderful. I stretched out. I never felt so good in a long while. I wanted to up from my bed and start the day.

That’s when I first realized my life wasn’t going to be the same again.

I wanted to move my legs. Yet my brain wasn’t conforming to my commands. I opened my eyes, in fear. Could I be paralyzed?

That thought was thrown out the window as a I saw a pair of round orbs impeding my sight. I…had boobs!

I was freaking out, my hands were small and slender, my body, at least from what I saw, was just as petite. Speechless, I tumbled out of bed and fell on the floor. That’s when I saw it.

That’s when I saw my tail. My mermaid tail. I became the girl in my dreams. Without thinking, I let out a scream, loud and obviously feminine in nature.

I didn’t even realize that Eliza was just outside the door, about to check up on me. That scream obviously got her attention. “Kyle?” She called to me from behind the door. I declined to answer, because one my voice was altered, and two because I didn’t want her to see me like this. But my screech gave Eliza precedence to worry. She quickly swung open the door, seeing me, the newly minted Mermaid on the floor. She stopped, almost as shocked as I was.

“…Eliza,” I began as I tried to regain my composure, “It’s me, Kyle. I think I’m going to need your help.”