The River Maid (5 page)

A hand pulled her up. Lorelei held her above the water. Her hand clamped down on her arm with an iron grip. She felt Lorelei
’s tail brush against her legs. Adrianna wanted to scream. Whatever spell Lorelei had held her under had been shattered as soon as she hit the water. Revulsion and horror filled her. The girl wasn’t human. 

Adrianna coughed up water as she tried to breathe. She struggled and tried to pull away, but Lorelei held her fast. She remembered how Jutta had been found dead, floating in the river. She began to shiver.

“You said you would help me, Adrianna. You lied to me.” Lorelei was no longer warm and kind. Her eyes had darkened and the river had started to churn. Waves washed over them. Adrianna struggled to keep her head above the water.

Lorelei lifted out a heavy gold chain from the bodice of her dress. Attached to the chain was a vial filled with a thick black liquid with specks of light, like tiny stars. Adrianna was limp in Lorelei
’s grip. She could do nothing as Lorelei took Adrianna’s wrist and drew her nails across it. Lorelei held her bleeding wrist over the vial to let drops of her blood fall into the dark fluid.

Lorelei released her. Adrianna tried desperately to keep afloat. She struggled toward the bank, splashing her arms and kicking her legs. She looked back to see Lorelei tip the liquid down her throat. She screamed as pain washed over her. Her body was gripped in agony as giant claws tore at her insides. The burning pain settled in her legs. It felt like her bones were being squeezed and pulled and twisted. She went under. She opened her mouth to scream and gulped in water.

A strong hand pulled her to the surface and began towing her to the bank. She found herself in the position Lorelei had been in when she had first met her, with her arms resting on the bank and the rest of her body in the water. Lorelei lay next to her, panting. She sounded as if she was in pain as well. Adrianna hung onto the bank. Water lapped against her. It hurt too much to move her legs. She just clung to the bank and breathed.

Lorelei pulled herself out of the water and up onto the bank. Adrianna tried to pull herself up, but she couldn
’t get her legs to obey. Lorelei lay panting on the ground, her wet skirts tangled around her legs. Adrianna blinked. Lorelei had legs. She must have been mistaken. The girl had been human all along.  

She tried to pull herself up onto the bank with her arms and swing her legs up, but her legs wouldn
’t work properly. She fell back into the water.

“
Help me,” Adrianna said. “I can’t get out, my legs…” She broke off as she looked down.

Her legs were gone. In their place was a fishtail. Pale green scales shimmered beneath the water. She stared, her mind refusing to accept what she was seeing.

Lorelei pushed herself up into a sitting position. She touched her legs. Slowly, she raised one and ran her hands down it. Laughing, she fell back to the ground and kicked her legs in the air, her eyes shining.

“
It worked, Adrianna. It worked. Isn’t it wonderful!”

“
My legs…”

“
I can go to him now and we can be together.”

Adrianna wanted to scream at the monstrous thing that was below her dress. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. She was dreaming. “What did you do to me?”

Lorelei looked up from admiring her legs. “You said you would help me.”

“Not like this. Please give me back my legs.”

Lorelei frowned. “I can’t. I need them. So I can be with him.”

“Be with whom
?” Adrianna asked. She didn’t understand. This couldn’t be happening.

“
Christian.”

“
What about me?” she asked.

“You promised to help me, Adrianna. I thought you were different, but
you’re just like all the other girls.”

Adrianna was almost afraid to ask. “
What other girls?”

“The other girls who said they would help me. They all lied. ”

Terror chocked her. “You killed them.”

“No. I just held them under the water to make them stop screaming.”

Adrianna watched her in horror. This was what had happened to Jutta and the other missing girl.

Lorelei got to her knees. She tried to stand, but she collapsed in a tangled heap. She frowned down at her legs.
“Why won’t they work?”

“
You have to learn to walk,” Adrianna said. Her voice sounded far away.

Lorelei got to her feet again. She managed to stand, her legs wobbling. Unsteady, she put one foot out and fell. She got up. Adrianna watched her try again and again. She was like a new born colt; clumsy and awkward in her body. Finally, she was able to take a few steps without falling. Adrianna watched, helpless.

“My mother will be wondering where I am.” It was getting dark. It would be night soon. “She will be worried if I don’t come home.”

Lorelei didn’t hear her. She was too immersed in trying to walk.

“What will you do now?” Adrianna asked.

“
I’m going to find Christian and then we will be together.”

“
And then will you give me my legs back?”

Lorelei frowned.
“I need them.”

“
What about me? You can’t leave me here like this. I don’t belong in the river.”

“
You said you would help me.”

Speaking to Lorelei was like talking to a child. “
Please give me back my legs.” Adrianna blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She didn’t want to be trapped here in the river.

“
I can’t. It’s too late.” Lorelei began to walk slowly away, her hands held out to balance herself.

“
Wait! Don’t leave me,” Adrianna begged.

Lorelei turned and smiled at her.
“I’ll come back and see you. I won’t leave you alone, like I was alone. I will never forget what you did. Here.” She pulled the golden comb from her hair and placed it on the ground in front of Adrianna. Adrianna picked it up. A huge pearl, wider than her thumb, nestled in the centre. “I have a cave. You can get to it underwater, over there beneath that rock where it juts out.” Lorelei pointed to a cliff. “You will be safe there.” She smiled at her. “Goodbye, Adrianna.” Lorelei turned and walked away toward the town. She didn’t look back.

“
Please don’t go.” Lorelei could no longer hear her, but she called after her anyway. Adrianna was left alone in the river, clinging to the grass of the bank. She could feel her legs, as if they were still there. She had to force herself to look down to make sure they were really gone. She couldn’t bear to look at what was beneath her dress. It was too wrong. It couldn’t be possible. If she closed her eyes and waited long enough, when she opened them again the tail would be gone and her legs would be back.

The sky began to darken. She wanted to go home. She could see the town in the distance. It seemed so far away now and she was utterly alone. She wanted her mother. Under the water, she could see the tail moving back and forth. She couldn
’t bear to look at it. Surely when Lorelei got to the town they would be suspicious? They would wonder where she was and come and look for her. But what would they do when they saw her like this?

Chapter Six

Walking was more difficult than Lorelei had imagined it would be. Her legs would not go where she wanted them to and several times she fell to the ground. There were two of them and she had to remember to move them separately. First, she moved one foot and then she had to balance on the first foot while she moved the second foot forward. They were already beginning to ache. Stones cut into her bare feet and her wet dress was a heavy weight, dragging her down.

Every step hurt. Adrianna was lucky. Humans knew how to swim as well as to walk, but Lorelei had only ever been in the water. With every step, it felt as if tiny spikes stabbed her feet. The pain continued all the way up her legs. She clutched handfuls of the fabric of her dress until her knuckles were white to stop herself from crying out at the pain. Her kind was not meant to walk on land. She thought of Christian and forced herself to keep going. She was finally going to be with him.

She remembered the first time she had seen him sitting astride his horse, staring out at the river. She had seen other males over the centuries, but there had been something about the prince that had drawn her to him. She would watch him sailing on the river, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his arms a dark brown under the sun. He would row or read a book or take the oars up and just drift. Once, he had nearly crashed into a barge. She remembered the deep sound of his laughter as he had grabbed the oars and quickly rowed out of the way. Sometimes, he would sit on the bank with his knees drawn up to his chest, gazing out at the river. He would throw stones, skimming them across the surface of the water. Lorelei would dive down to catch them before they reached the riverbed. They were more precious to her than jewels.

Then one day there had been a storm. She had watched, unable to warn him as his small boat was thrown about. He had stood up to pull the sail in when he had struck his head on the mast and fallen into the river. She had watched him sink down, his body limp, as she had seen so many sink down to the riverbed, never to move again. He could have been hers forever; they were all hers, once they fell into the river. But he had been so still and cold, his beautiful eyes closed. Something had made her pull him up and take him to the bank. She had stroked back his dark hair from his brow and touched her fingers to his lips. He was so warm in her arms. She had felt the steady beat of his heart beneath her hand and the smooth planes of his chest. She felt something then, touching him. Something she had no words for. She wanted to touch him, to hold him. To press herself against him and have him hold her as she was holding him.

It was not enough now to watch him from a distance. She longed to be with him. Being with him was all she could think about. She watched for him every day. After the accident, he had stopped going sailing. The days that he did not ride by the river passed so slowly, as she waited to catch a glimpse of him. She couldn’t eat or drink or sleep until she had seen him.

She finally neared the town. She had spent so many years watching from the river and now she was here, walking through it. The townspeople came out of their houses as she passed. They fell in behind her, surrounding her and blocking her escape. More joined the crowd as she walked through the streets, staring and whispering. She knew their faces; she had watched them for so long. She remembered them as children, and their parents and grandparents that came before them. She had watched the town grow over the years, spreading out, the clothes they wore changing. She had dreamed of being here for so long, but the reality of it was far different from how she had imagined it. The stench of animals and rotting fish assailed her. Dirt squelched under her bare feet and in between her toes. The children looked half-starved. They followed her movements with feral eyes. She looked around for Christian. She needed to get to the castle, but it was so high up and her legs ached. She stumbled and almost fell. She swayed unsteadily on her feet.

One woman stepped forward from the crowd.
“Are you hurt, child?” she asked.

Lorelei shook her head. They were all staring at her. She wanted to go back to the river. She wasn
’t used to people looking at her. She had spent so long hiding from them. She clenched her hands in her skirts and forced herself to stay.

“
Where did you come from?” the woman asked.

Lorelei hesitated. They were all waiting for her to answer.
“The river.”

The crowd broke out in whispers. She could hear them talking about her.

The woman put her arm around her. “You poor thing. Let’s get you into the warmth.” She shielded her from the gaze of the townspeople as she led her into a house. She guided Lorelei to a chair and sat her down in front of the fire. It was a relief to take the weight from her aching feet. She expected them to be bruised and bleeding, but her toes that peeked out beneath the muddy hem were dirty but the skin was unbroken. The woman wrapped a blanket around Lorelei’s shoulders. Two more women followed her in to stare and whisper.

She had always been curious to see what a house would look like inside. She knew the words for most of the things she could see; the Count had taught her to speak his language and to name things, drawing pictures in the soft ground of the riverbank. He had drawn a house and named the different rooms, but being inside one was far different from a picture. The house was small and cramped, with tiny windows that only let in a slither of light, and the air was thick with smoke. Children peeked out at her from behind a door. They were all crammed together in this tiny house, while she had the whole river to herself. She wasn
’t used to being surrounded by people; only the drowned and they didn’t speak.

The woman pulled a chair over to her. It creaked under her weight as she sat down.
“Do you have a name?” she asked.

“
Lorelei.”

“
What about your family’s name?” She spoke slowly as if speaking to a child.

It had been so long since she had seen her family. She could no longer remember their names.
“I - I don’t know.”

“
Where are you from?”

“
The river.”

The woman smiled gently at her. “
But where did you live before you were in the river?”

She tried to recall where she had lived before the Count had found her and taken her away from the sea. “
I don’t remember.”

She didn
’t know why she was asking her these questions. She wanted her to stop. Where was Christian?

“
Don’t worry. Your memory will come back to you. Once you’ve rested.” The woman patted her hand.

She went off to speak to the other women gathered in the corner.
“The poor thing doesn’t remember anything,” she said in a low voice.

“
She must have been shipwrecked.”

“
I’ve heard of no ships going down.”

“
She could have fallen overboard.”

“
Look at those white hands and all those jewels. She could be fleeing from the French.”

“Whoever she is, we
can’t have a lady like her staying here. She must stay at the castle.”

Lorelei
’s heart lurched. The castle; that was where Christian was.

“
I’ll send my boy to tell them.”

She smiled to herself. She was going to be with Christian.

The door opened and a woman came in. She held a shawl around her shoulders with calloused red hands. Brown hair, beginning to turn grey at the temples, hung in a braid down her back. “I can’t find Adrianna,” she said. “Jorg said he saw her by the river, but she hasn’t come back.”

The other women exchanged worried glances.
“I’ll send my boys to go and look for her,” one woman said. “She’s a sensible girl. She knows not to go far.”

Lorelei sang softly to herself as she combed out her damp hair with her fingers. She looked up to find the woman who had been looking for Adrianna staring at her, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Lorelei broke off her song. Unsettled, she turned in her chair to face the fire, to get away from the woman
’s sharp gaze. She would wait for Christian to come for her.

~~~~~

Christian strode down the hallway. A footman sprang forward to open the door to the dining room as he approached. A long table, with space to seat twenty, took up most of the room. Footmen lined up against the far wall, staring ahead, in identical white wigs and navy blue livery. Thick tapestries covered the wooden panelled walls to keep the drafts out, although they had little effect. He could still hear the wind raging outside. He took his seat at the head of the table. He rose as his mother came in, followed by Gaspard, both dressed for dinner despite the fact it was only the three of them. He waited for his mother to sit before he took his own seat.

“
I’ve been thinking about your birthday,” his mother said as footmen placed bowls of soup before them.

Holding back a sigh, Christian picked up his spoon. He had been waiting for his mother to bring up the subject of his birthday. “
I don’t want a ball.

“
You’re not at court, Christian,” his mother replied, picking up her own spoon. “How else are you going to find a suitable wife?”

“
I can find myself a wife, without your assistance.”

“
You’re not going to meet anyone suitable without going to court. But this way, they will come to you.”

“
Gaspard, tell her I don’t need a ball to find a wife.” Gaspard was wisely pretending to be absorbed in eating his soup. “Please, mother. I don’t want a ball.”

“
I’ve already sent out the invitations.”

Christian sighed and threw his napkin down. His mother
reached across the table and put her hand over his before he could rise. “I know you’ve been lonely here. Gaspard and myself are not much company for you. It’s difficult at the moment, with the war. No one knows what will happen. It might be my only chance to throw you one.” 

He knew he wasn’t going to win. He could imagine it now; a ball with dozens of girls laughing and flirting and fawning over him. He knew they weren’t interested in him, not really. They were only interested in his titles and his lands and his wealth. They would laugh and agree with everything he said. He would have to keep them entertained. He wouldn’t get a moments peace while they were here. It gave him a headache just to think about it. 

“If I go to the ball, will you allow me to go sailing again?” he asked.

“
Not after what happened last time.” His mother’s face softened. “I lost your father, Christian, and your brother. I don’t want to lose you as well. You’re all I have left.”

He held back a sigh. His mother always had that card to play. He had spent his life being coddled and protected. He wanted his freedom. He wasn
’t a child and he was tired of being treated like one.

He was about to reply when raised voices coming from further inside the castle interrupted him. He signalled a footman.
“Find out what is going on.”

The footman bowed and left, before returning a few minutes later. He leaned down to murmur in Christian
’s ear. “There’s a boy here from the town, Your Highness. I told him you’re not available, but he insists that he must speak with you at once.”

Christian pushed back his chair and rose.
“Show him in. I will see him now.” At least it would be a welcome distraction from the subject of finding him a wife.

The footman disappeared and came back leading a boy. He was small, but Christian guessed he was older than he looked. Some attempt had been made to tidy him up. His unruly brown hair had been slicked down with water and his hands and face scrubbed, but he had managed to get dirty again on his way up to the castle. Christian remembered being a similar age. His mother had despaired of him.

Christian cleared his throat. “You wished to speak with me?” he prompted.

Eyes wide, the boy nodded.
“They sent me to tell you about the girl.”

“
A girl?” Christian asked. It seemed his mother was not alone in trying to match him up with a wife.

“
She’s not from the town,” the boy said. “They don’t know where she’s from and she doesn’t remember either. She just appeared from the river. They think she was shipwrecked.”

“
I’ve heard of no ships going down,” Gaspard said. “The river could have carried her here, but how could she have survived in the water?”

“
Was the girl injured?” Christian’s mother asked.

The boy shrugged.
“She walked to the town from the river. They think she’s a princess.”

“A princess,” his mother said, clearly amused.

The boy nodded vigorously. “She had gold rings on all her fingers and pearls in her hair.”

His mother smiled. “She can stay here until we find out who she is.
Bring her back with you if she’s well enough to travel.”