OVTK: Chapitre Un

When your voice is a curse...

When your voice is all but a blessing, what would you do? What if your singing caused hallucinations to all listeners? It may not matter to some very erratic people, but for me it means my downfall. I have always aspired to be a singer. My voice is as enticing as that of a songbird. If only it hadn’t been for the predicament, there was a chance I could have made it big so many years ago. Imagine a world where you kill a close family friend simply by singing your mom the birthday song.

Don't worry about it, Clara, she had said to me once her"and others"were sane again. But if it was nothing to worry about, why was she sobbing? If it was nothing to worry about, why was she shunned for months after until we had to move to another state? Every time I sung, someone died. My parents never told me the reason for the chaos. They simply told me never to take off my sapphire-gold earrings.

Even without their telling me so, I wouldn't have taken them off. Ever. Having had it since I was a toddler, it's almost like a part of me now. It's something I fiddle with in awkward situations, something that would make me feel trapped without.

So what about now? Do I have my earrings with me? Of course I do. It's not too resplendent, and occasionally I try to hide it with my hair. But my hair goes only down to my shoulders; my mom would never let it grow out. And she would never let me dye my hair brown like Dad's. My hair's blonde, and I like blonde, but it's so pale that you can just barely tell its color.

"Clara! Clara, Tweety, are you whispering?"

Tweety? Since when was I some canary-figured product? And I didn't say anything, I could I have whispered? I spin the chair around a couple times before I finally make it stop. Oh, Karithia, am I glad this chair has wheels. So fun! I look up at my mom. She groans, frustrated.

"I'm not Tweety and I wasn't at all talking," I state using a British accent. It's supposed to make ease of things, but I've ended up fueling the fire. I can almost see the flames in her eyes. Ouch, she's in one of her angry modes. She can never keep her temper.

"I know you have optional hearing issues, but isn't this too much? I said sweety, are you listening!" she screams. I nod. I have tried to explain to her so many times that I can't hear when I'm paying attention to something else, and that it wasn't optional. Well, maybe that's kind of optional, but whatever. She doesn't believe me anyway. Mom fumes for a bit more, then adds, “And as for your curse... Would you like to get rid of it?”

What the heck! There’s a way to get rid of it? How come nobody ever told me before? so many thoughts come and bombard my sensations. Why did she never tell me there was a cure before today? There is a cure, right?  Did she only find out today? Does she know what’s wrong with me? Does she know why my singing causes the audience to lose their common sense? My mom is a hawk as she scrutinizes my eyes for something. I cannot fake anything to put her mind at ease, for I haven’t the slightest idea of what that something is. I’m about to ask her when she puts her hand over mine and forces something into my mouth. Is it a pill?

It must be medicine! Either toxin or some type of drug that restrains you from movement. As lethargic as my tongue feels, it’s not liquid medicine; it’s a pill. It’s not going to be hard to keep from swallowing. I act oblivious to the situation so that I can trick Mom into believing I’ve fallen for the trap. This will definitely buy me some time. It has to. But why would she poison me? Her own daughter!

She clutches onto my arm so hard it burns. She pulls me to the door and pushes me out. I immediately spit out what she’s forced into my mouth, but it’s not anything extraordinary. It’s just a sheet of paper. A sheet of paper with loopy writing on it. I laugh a hoarse laugh. I’ve always been a drama queen, but thinking that my mom was going against me... Wow. That was a new one.

But why hadn’t she told me herself? Instead of stuffing a piece of paper into my mouth, she could have verbally explained things to me. And instead of pushing me out, she could have waved me a good-bye. A hunt for a cure for this curse... it’s leading to more and more mysteries. Mysteries that I do not think I’ll ever know the answers to. I read the note, poised for deciphering codes and riddles.

Let us all be saved by Mistress Moon. The ice castle is very conspicuous, the center of the castle is where she lies. I am a mermaid, he is a siren, together we have you. Clara Ciel, that’s your name. Underwater you are Aricia. Call yourself by that name and you shall thrive. Call yourself Clara and you shall face doom. Take your earrings off but not before you’re deep in water. Make no-one see before you transform. Count down from three simultaneous to swimming and you shall spy the portal. Don’t lose the tool. Store it where you shall easily find it returning. Be wary, they are watching. You are Ciel for the air, Clara for the transparency of the water. I repeat, don’t be caught as Clara Ciel.

Well, that wasn’t as hard as I’d been expecting. So basically I have to go in deep in water, take my earrings off, and then count down from three. I had no idea what the “siren” and the “mermaid” thing was supposed to be, but my mom had probably been drunk. She drinks a lot, especially when her boss gives her a hard time.I know a place where water flows like magic. Waverly Beach is almost right next to wear I live! It’s in walking distance, anyway. I lived in Menasha, Wisconsin. What more could you expect?

After hours that seemed like forever, I have finally arrived. It’s cold, a strange thing to feel when you’re sweating down to your toes. I quickly slip my shoes off. And then I dive in, trying to feel the rush. Bonk! Ouch! Whoops, I had forgotten this was a beach. And, to my disappointment, beaches are definitely not the same thing as first-class swimming pools. Besides, my jeans are too baggy to actually swim in. This time, I walk in until the water almost reaches my nose. As much as I would have loved to swim freely and listen to the others’ laughter, I knew I had to go wherever my mom wanted me to go.

I take a deep breath and sink. Trying not go breathe air out and savoring the last of my oxygen, I pull out my earrings. Three, two, one. I can feel waves surrounding me. It feels like a hurricane, a gentle hurricane, tugging at my body. I know my feelings are illusory, yet I can’t help but release a sigh of tranquility. I have my eyes closed, and yet I can see something in the nothingness. It’s a glistening silver spider web.

I touch it, and it sucks me in. This isn’t fun at all. It’s as forceful as as a vacuum cleaner engulfing the dust bunnies. And, if you don’t know yet, that hurts like five thousand bees are stinging you from all sides. I somehow know, however, that this was a portal. A very disappointing one, but I need to get through this. Cowering in fear, I allow the portal to consume me.

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My mom had been right. The ice castle--that is, assuming I’ve found the right one--is very conspicuous. There are many guards surrounding the walls, and they look more than just a tiny bit menacing. They ask me for my name. I instinctively stutter the first two letters of my name when I realize that that’s not my name anymore. It is, yet it isn’t. Not underwater. This is another strange feeling, and only now do I realize that my breathing has become more even. In fact, I’m breathing underwater. I look down at where my legs should be, and I stifle a scream.

What the heck. I have a scaly golden tail. A tail of a mermaid... No. No way. And where have my jeans gone? My shirt remains, but that’s it. I shake my head, as if that simple action can erase my fears. As I shake my head, I notice another difference. My shoulder-length hair is now down to the backs of my knees. They used to be blonde, a blonde so pale it was almost white. Underwater, in lalaland--or wherever I am--, my hair’s as radiant as the sun. It’s bears absolutely no resemblance to the color white, and it is of a silky golden color.

“Your name?” the guard right in front of me asks again. He puts all his weight on one foot. You can judge a lot about someone by their standing posture. What can I see about this man? Well, he’s one impatient guard. And he’s fidgety, which means he’s the anxious type. I calm down before I say my new name, loud and clear.

“Aricia,” I smile. Looking down, I start to worry. My mom never did tell my my last name... Well, here’s to hoping they don’t ask. I look back up at the guard, but he’s already talking to some other guards. And they’re talking about me.

“Mermaid Aricia! She’s back!” he gasps. “It’s definitely her!”

“She’s a traitor,” one of them growls. “Don’t let her in if it’s the last thing you do.”

“Come on, her parents were.” the fidgety guard complains. “Actually, her Dad was. But she still has Marisa’s blood running through her veins! The warrior Marisa’s! And, even if her Dad did become a traitor to us, she must still have his power.”

I wait until they finish discussing theories about me. I keep having to force myself to not tell them that they’re being very audible, even from a distance. In four words, I can hear them. Finally, they let me into the castle. I nod a thanks to them, although it’s not really a thanks. Guards are used for their fighting skills, I guess, and not their brains. They sure weren’t very smart.

Somehow, I instinctively know my way through the castle. I know how to get to the Mermaid Moon. I swim my way to the throne room--my legs are starting to feel tingly, I should get used to this soon--and when I finally see a middle-aged woman, I halt. I am glued to my stance. Just the sight of her makes me want to serve the rest of my life working for this castle.

“You are Aricia?” she questions. I nod timidly. She smiles tenderly, yet I can see a bitter edge. “Your Dad betrayed us, years ago. Your mom followed him without question, so she’s a traitor too. They were such good comrades until the incident... The incident when they aided the air elementals in almost defeating us. Clara Ciel.”

She knows my name! They know my name! I panic. My mom had told me that my real name would bring me doom. But, in the end, the warning had been pointless. The truth had already been taught, it didn’t matter how or when. Not anymore. Was there no chance of her removing my curse? She seems to be able to read minds, and she replies to my mental question.

“I have powers, that’s why I am queen. And I can get rid of your curse for you, but there is a ninety percent chance that this magic will change your voice. From a beautiful song, it will have changed to a toad’s croak. Nothing less, nothing more. Even as the possibilities of your wish being granted is so mild, you need to pay the price. Will you fight with us for the war? The war against the air elementals...”

Such a small chance of my wish being granted. I’d rather slice out my vocal cords than have the voice of a toad. It was fair game, however, and I was willing to risk it. I took a couple seconds to think about it, but the answer was right there in my head. I shudder, but it’s probably only the cold.

“Yes. I will.”

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[Arithcia]

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