“You sound disappointed,” said Masika.
“I know how much it means to her,” said Lana.
“And we know how much it means to you,” said Masika. “Don’t let this put you off your own game.”
“You underestimate your friend,” said Nixie. “When Cordelia wakes, she’ll move mountains.”
Cordelia slept for three days. Her friends had come and gone and Nixie had made sure to keep Cordelia covered as much as possible for they were not ready to see the changes taking place. It was mid afternoon when Cordelia woke. Laying on her side, Cordelia brushed the palm of her hand across the cotton bed sheet. For a brief moment she felt relaxed, without a care in the world. The fever and pain had gone. With one side of her face pressed into her pillow, one eye stared at the door. Somehow it seemed clearer, even in the dim candle light. She studied her clothes hanging by the fire place; she could see every detail of the fabric as though she were looking through a microscope. Cordelia swung her legs round to sit up but something seemed to be weighing her down. She pushed herself up with her hand. That’s when she saw Nixie standing on the other side of the room.
“Don’t be alarmed,” said Nixie, the nerves evident in her voice. Nixie knew Cordelia couldn’t hurt her; she was already dead, but even ghosts aren’t immune to fear.
“Why should I be alarmed?” asked Cordelia.
Nixie stared at Cordelia’s feet. Cordelia leaned forward and glanced down. An overwhelming feeling of nausea washed over Cordelia. It came in waves from the pit of her stomach, working its way up to her throat.
“Get them off!” she cried, stamping her webbed feet on the ground.
“I can’t get them off,” said Nixie. “They’re part of you, they’re your feet.”
“They’re not my feet!” snapped Cordelia. She pulled frantically at the feathers on her legs, ripping them out one after the other.
“Stop it!” said Nixie. “You’re hurting yourself.”
Cordelia side-stepped to the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her eyes were lined with blue and black and slowly, a beautiful pair of white, black tipped wings unfolded behind her back. Cordelia’s high pitched scream shattered the mirror and she fell to her knees. Bowing her head, Cordelia made the sign of the cross and began to recite the Hail Mary.
“What are you doing?” asked Nixie.
“Fetch the dagger,” said Cordelia, “you have to end this.”
“What are you saying?”
“Kill me.”
“That’s a relief,” said Nixie.
Cordelia frowned. “What is?”
“You’re still you,” said Nixie. “I was so worried you’d be different.”
“Look at me!” said Cordelia. “How can you say I’m not different?”
“But it’s still you inside,” said Nixie.
“You don’t know that,” said Cordelia. “What if I’m like them?”
“If you were like them you wouldn’t be sitting here talking to me,” said Nixie. “You wouldn’t be asking me to kill you.”
Realising there was an element of truth to Nixie’s theory, Cordelia stopped praying.
“There has to be another way.” Cordelia fell silent, her body tense, her expression serious.
“Alright, now you’re worrying me,” said Nixie.
“Shhhh!” said Cordelia and she closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly as though her life depended on it.
Slowly, her Siren features vanished and she looked human once more.
“How did you do that?” asked Nixie with excitement.
“It’s all in the mind,” said Cordelia. “I should have thought of it sooner.”
“Can you change back?” asked Nixie.
“I don’t want to change back,” said Cordelia. “Not now, not ever.”
“Do you still have your tail?” asked Nixie.
“We’ll soon find out,” said Cordelia, hurrying out of her chamber.
When the coast seemed clear, Cordelia stood on the edge of the black rock, took a deep breath and hurled herself into the water below. The cool, salt water washed over her like a security blanket, healing her wounds and soothing all her sorrows. Her tail was as magnificent as ever and she let the waves wash away her worries as she glided blissfully through the choppy water. Feeling more determined than ever to meet her father, Cordelia practised every dive over and over again until she could no longer muster the energy to climb back up the rocks, but she didn’t want to get out of the water. Cordelia stayed in the rock pool for hours; as long as she was a mermaid, she would never be a Siren.
When dusk fell, a silver glow appeared in the water.
“I’ve been worried about you,” said Nixie.
“I can’t leave,” said Cordelia.
“Of course you can,” said Nixie. “You’ll be as shriveled as a prune if you stay in here all night.”
“What if I don’t win?” asked Cordelia.
“Would it really matter?” asked Nixie. “You’ve had a lot to come to terms with in such a short time.”
“I need to see my father, I need to speak with him.”
“You don’t need to win a competition to do that,” said Nixie.
“I do,” said Cordelia. “Winning the competition means I can go to Meren without anyone really knowing why I’m there. Besides, I want to get there on my own merit.”
“I understand,” said Nixie. “Now show me those fingers. Cordelia glanced at her fingers and smiled, “I suppose I am turning into a prune.”
“You’re still the mermaid we all love,” said Nixie. “Don’t worry about anything else, you know how to control it.”
Cordelia desperately wanted to believe Nixie’s words but her expression said otherwise.
“Accept yourself as you are,” said Nixie. “Otherwise you’ll never be happy.”
“What if I can’t?”
“What if you can?” said Nixie. “With courage, anything is possible.”
Cordelia knew there was truth in what Nixie had said but before she had a chance to respond, Nixie had vanished. Cordelia turned to see Breck standing on the rocks behind her. The sight of him took her breath away and waves of anxiety washed over her.
‘What if he knows?’ she thought. ‘What if I turn in front of him?’
Cordelia took a few steps back, crouched down on the rock edge and slipped into the water. All Breck could see was
