Today Maribelle Fairfields was going to die. It was not right, but those who held power demanded it.

  With her hands tied together with rope, Maribelle was dragged from her jail to one of the piers on the docks. That was where she was going to be executed. As she understood, drowning was a popur method for killing those found guilty of treason in Port Glorious and other colonies. She'd almost drowned once and she never wanted to suffer the crushing pain of being unable to breathe again. To have her life snuffed out that way was a terrible way to die.

  As she walked closer and closer to her death, the crowds hurled abuse at her. They did not dare throw anything physical, though, out of fear of hitting a soldier. Staining their uniforms would likely end in punishment being swiftly dealt out. While the majority of the crowd were eager in their calls for blood, a small minority remained silent. Maribelle wondered if they were some of the few remaining good souls in Port Glorious that believed in her innocence.

  The crowd's words cut Maribelle deep, though what was worse were the men who stared perversely at her while shouting disgusting proposals at her. She had been forced to wear her dark green merfolk clothes. The soldiers told her that ‘if she wanted to be a merfolk then she should dress like one’. It was the tiniest of mercies that they’d left her in peace while she got changed. She didn't feel ashamed to dress as a merfolk, but she knew that many men were staring at her exposed legs, arms and midriff. Bryn was never like that at all, she only looked at her with kindness and warmth.

  Eventually after enduring a city's worth of insults, Maribelle reached the pier. Ahead of her was the crane system that she’d seen a few days ago, and standing next to it was the cage that would be her final resting pce. She realised now that its purpose was never reted to cargo. It was made to drop people trapped in cages into the sea, never to see the surface again. She dreaded to know how many had died from the awful contraption.

  There were also a number of small boats floating nearby. Soldiers armed with crossbows rexed on them. Most likely they were in position just in case she tried to escape by swimming away.

  Before she was handed over to her executioner, she tried to find her parents among the crowds. She hadn't seen them on her way down, and she couldn't see them- no wait. There they were. Among the crows she could see their faces, but there was almost no emotion upon them. Was it because they were trying to not break down in public, or did they believe the lies that were told about her in court? It was impossible to tell, and that made everything all the worse.

  “Did you sleep well?” Edward asked mockingly as he took the rope that bound Maribelle's hands together.

  Of course she hadn't, the knowledge that her remaining time on this world was running out ensuring she barely got any sleep. Now she had only minutes remaining. It just wasn't fair.

  “I must admit I did not get a minute of sleep. The knowledge that I would be the one who would send you to your death gave me such a thrill I couldn't sit still. Killing you once was a fine experience, but this time I'll get to watch you desperately gasp for air, and witness the exact moment you die,” Edward said eagerly.

  Fear overtook Maribelle. She tried to resist, tried to pull back away from Edward. Annoyed at her meagre resistance, Edward walked up close and hammered her in the stomach with his fist. She stumbled to the floor, choking as she tried to breathe. The other soldiers cheered Edward on while she tried to stand back up. Uncaring to her suffering, Edward began dragging her closer to her cage. The pnks scratched and marked Maribelle's body as she was dragged alongside them. Moments ter, Edward picked up Maribelle by the neck, holding her close to an open cage.

  “When you're down there, I want you to realise that none of this would have happened if you just said yes. This is all your fault,” Edward hissed at Maribelle, his malice greatly unsettling her, before shoving her into the cage.

  Maribelle did not have time to recover from the impact of being thrown against metal when the cage door was shut and locked. She heard chains rattled against each other and the cage was hoisted upwards. It was far too cramped to move. Tears dripped from her cheeks as she broke down crying. The crane rotated, swinging her cage around to hover precariously over the sea.

  This was it, she was going to die. No one was going to stand up for her or save her.

  She looked at Edward, his hand on a lever on the crane. “Remember that you had a choice.”

  Something clicked and for a split second, Maribelle felt weightless before the cage plummeted into the sea. Just before she was submerged, instinct took over and Maribelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath, not that it would do her much good.

  With a great spsh, the cage hit the surface and quickly began to sink to the bottom of the sea, water washing over her with its cold embrace. Maribelle's body shook as the cage hit the seabed. Being underwater again felt strangely familiar, but it was unfortunate that she was not a mermaid. Warily, she opened her eyes. She almost gasped in horror but held back to stop her breathing in a mouthful of water.

  There were cages, so many cages, with so many bodies stripped to the bone in them. There must be dozens down here. So many dead innocents.

  Oh fuck, she really was going to die here. Unable to breathe, unable to swim. Her corpse to remain trapped in this case to act as a warning to all others who would dare ally themself with the merfolk.

  She thought of her family, and how much it hurt to once again be separated, permanently from them. She never got to see Steph again, but she hoped they'd be safe.

  She thought of Bryn, the mershark who saved her. She thought of Bryn's hair, her hands, her smile, her joy, her kindness. She remembered the time she spent with Bryn. She remembered the moment she first id eyes on Bryn. Maribelle wished with all her heart that she could see Bryn just one more time.

  Strange, she swore she saw movement disturbing the sand. Again, the thing moved swiftly as it glided very close to the ocean floor, approaching Maribelle’s position. The movement was very subtle and anyone on the surface would have missed it. It was probably just some sealife, but her heart raced as a small spark of hope fred within her. As impossible as it was, a small part of her hoped beyond all reason that another miracle would happen that would save her life.

  Maribelle also realised that she had held her breath for far longer than she expected. What was that about? Did some aspect of her mermaid transformation linger?

  Bursting through the sand with a burst of speed, the figure raced towards Maribelle, their hands gripping tightly against the cage door.

  “Bryn!” Maribelle tried to shout. But no words came out of her mouth, only a flurry of bubbles.

  Bryn was here, she was really here. Her heart thrummed as Maribelle reached out to touch Bryn's hands.

  “Wait, please hold on,” Bryn said urgently. Tears floated away from her puffy eyes. It looked like Bryn also hadn't been sleeping well for days.

  “I'm so, so sorry, Maribelle. This is all my fault. But I'm here now, you're going to be okay,” Bryn decred. Her hands glowed for a second, and she tore the cage door away.

  Maribelle wanted to say something to Bryn, but as a human she could not speak underwater.

  A crossbolt passed through the cage bars, nding worryingly close to Maribelle. She yelped in fear, a few bubbles slipping away.

  “I'm sorry Maribelle, there's too many of them for us to surface here. I can get you away, but you're going to have to hold on as long as you can,” Bryn said, reaching out a hand. Her red eyes darted around in fear.

  She would always trust Bryn. She gdly took Bryn's hand, who quickly pulled her out of the cage and close to her chest.

  Another bolt whizzed past, pnting itself into the sand. “Please hold on tight, Maribelle. You're going to be okay I promise you,” Bryn said, desperation infecting her voice.

  With one kick, Maribelle felt the water rush past her. Even carrying Maribelle, Bryn was still a very graceful swimmer. She weaved close to the sand, dodging bolts as she sped through the water. Maribelle could hear muffled shouts coming from the surface; Edward was probably furious that his execution had not gone to pn.

  Bryn hissed in pain, causing Maribelle to fear for her dearest friend. “I'm okay, just keep holding on. I'll get you somewhere safe,” Bryn shouted as she picked up momentum.

  The sensation of rushing through the seawater was familiar, unfortunately so too was the sensation of Maribelle’s lungs burning with a desperate need for air. Maribelle tried so hard to hold on, but it became more difficult with every passing second. She had managed to go without air for far longer than a human should, but she was reaching her limit.

  Her vision started to dim, and the sounds around her became more muffled. She wanted to beg Bryn to let her breathe again, but she could not utter a single word.

  “I'm so sorry, Maribelle. We are so close now. Please just hold on a little longer. Please don't die,” Bryn sobbed, pain creeping into her voice.

  Maribelle wanted to hold on, she wanted to survive. But it was becoming too hard to do so now. It would be far too cruel for her to perish so close to safety. She was faintly aware that Bryn was carrying her upwards. She could see just about the sunlight shimmer on the surface, but even that was getting dimmer with every passing moment. She tried to force herself to keep going for just a few more moments. However, the encroaching darkness was inevitable. Maribelle Fairfields passed out just as she was about to reach the surface.

  *****

  Edward stood on the pier, seething with unimaginable fury. Once again that bitch Maribelle had survived. Yet again the abominable merfolk had saved her from the clutches of a well earned death.

  The merfolk had never approached this close to Port Glorious. Usually if one of those things got close to one of their colonies all it took were a few crossbolts and a bit of explosives to scare them back into the deep. And yet, today, one of them had dared infiltrate Port Glorious. He clenched his fists tight. Why?

  “Sir?” One of the soldiers beside him asked. Edward gred at the soldier whose earlier bravado had quickly evaporated after the surprise raid.

  “What?” Edward demanded, not in any mood for any stupid questions.

  “What should we do? The merfolk and the traitor are too far for us to chase after them,” the soldier asked, worried about Edward’s reprisal.

  Edward groaned at the stupid question and looked to the deathly silent crowd. They were able to see Maribelle be plunged to her death, but none of them had been able to clearly see what had just happened. Good, that meant they could be misled.

  Edward pointed to the crowds. “You tell them that a merfolk infiltrated the waters of the city with the intent of rescuing the traitor. Then you tell them that you shot the merfolk as she carried the traitor away, killing her, trapped under the merfolk's corpse. Maribelle Fairfields perished shortly after, and all will celebrate her demise,” he expined as he stared at the soldier before him.

  “But that's not what happened,” the soldier whimpered.

  Edward put a hand on the soldier's shoulder, and pulled him closer. “Oh, so you want to tell them that a merfolk was able to sneak into our city, and rescue a traitor from her deserved death?”

  “Of course not sir, I'll do it right away,” the soldier said with a salute before running away.

  Edward turned back to the sea and looked down at the array of cages. The executions pyed an important role, the sea needed to be flooded with death. One may have slipped away, but it didn't matter. Soon someone else would make a mistake, and when that happened, another cage would be dropped into the sea and the process would continue onwards.