Part IV

The prince and

the seventh were

taken to

the princess’s castle

to prepare for

the wedding.

When the prince

see her, he

falls in love immediately,

for the princess

was the girl

whom he had

seen that day.

Any hope of

love and a

soul with the

prince fades from

the seventh’s heart,

but she dares

not cry, for

mermaids did not.

 

The night of the wedding

was happy.

The seventh celebrated;

her thoughts dwelled

on the outcome

of the witch’s

potion.

She would turn

into foam

if the prince

did not love

her back.

This was so.

Her sisters appeared

to her that night,

hair cut short like

a boy’s.

They tell her

of how she

might win back

her immortal life

by killing the

prince with

the witch’s dagger.

She takes it,

and makes her

way to the

prince’s room.

The seventh raises

the knife high.

Then, she tosses

it aside and

runs off weeping,

throwing herself

overboard the ship

and into the waves.

The seventh felt

herself rise

into the air.

Looking down at

her body, which

was now foam.

Others surround her,

telling how if

she committed

three good acts

in three hundred years,

she would gain

a soul and

live in paradise

forever.

The seventh flies

up into the clouds,

her heart filled

with hope.

She would be

with him

once more.

Reviews

[Joiedevivre]

sinister and hopeful, a fable for the heart.