6. Flight

Norma, my maid, runs a brush gently through my hair. "I heard it was quite a show last night. Chef says that you impressed our guest very much."

I sit still as she begins braiding my hair. "Mermaids don't even use magic; of course he was impressed." At the thought of his red eyes on me, a chill runs down my spine, and I feel indecent in my night gown.



"No dear," Norma's voice is hardly above a whisper. She leans in as she continues braiding. "There was another guest. One of our guests."


I turn my head quickly to look her in the eyes. Could it be? A true human rebel here in the castle? Norma has told me stories of the human resistance through out the kingdoms fighting for the freedom of all humans. But I could never fully imagine someone who would do such a thing. What kind of person would be so brave as to risk their lives for the impossible?

"Come. She will help you escape." Norma takes me by the hands and has me stand up and she takes off my night gown and replaces it with a course dress that smells of the scullery. "You must leave. You are powerful." She smooths my hair with one hand. "This dress will confuse his sense of smell long enough for you to get away."

There is a knock on the door. On the other side is the one who must be the "guest." She holds a tray of food which she quickly puts down. Her eyes have a glint in them that a normal maid would never have. She glances at me, taking in the sight of me in my course maid's dress with an unreadable expression.


There isn't much time. Norma packs the food the guest brought in for lunch and ushers us to a secret passage way with brisk instructions which she aims at The Guest who I assume will know enough about the outside to know where we are going.

My chest constricts as we run from everything I have known my entire life into a world I have only seen through windows.