Take my Hand - Chapter 1

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The nets of the ships were thrown out to the school of fish that gathered to eat. They were large nets and the fish would not be able to escape from them at all. On board of the ship the men were busy making sure the fishnets didn’t stick together and were thrown out correctly. They longed to see the catch they’d make on this day. A few feet away from them at the rear stood a young girl. Dark blond hair was worn in two thick braids on her back, ribbons tied on both ends of the braids. She couldn’t be much older than 17. She wore a dark green cloak over a thin shirt, breeches and a skirt with splits. A hawk was resting on her arm from flying along the ship. She’d befriended the animal during her years in the great forest of Naclos.  She supported her face with her arms as she watched the fish fighting for their lives in the nets. There was no way they could escape their faith Neri thought sadly. Her grey blue eyes stared at the waters of the sea.

Around her the men were screaming at each other and singing sailor songs. It didn’t interest Neri as it once did when she was still a little girl. She softly sang a song to herself that she learned when she was younger. For the first time in 6 years she was home and the first thing her father asked her was to go fishing with him. The only reason she joined her father on this day was because she hoped that in the open sea she would see him again.

A sigh escaped her lips as she recalled the memories of the day they met. She had been so young during those days, so innocent and shielded from the rest of the world. How different everything was now.

She was so lost in her own trails of thought that at first she didn’t notice what was going on around her. The squeaking noises of her hawk friend pulled her back to reality. She was walking around across her shoulders with widened eyes. If it wasn’t for her mantle then it would have hurt her immensely. “What is it, Liltye?”

It was at that moment she noticed what was going on. A series of clicks reached her ears. It was a distress signal of some sorts. Although she had never heard it as a distress signal she knew it clearly came from a dolphin. Her eyes searched across the water where the nets were.  At first she couldn’t see the marine mammal and she thought she imagined it.  But her imagination proved wrong as she suddenly saw the animal she was looking for. Neri cast aside her cloak and rushed towards her father.

“Father!!!”

Norgalis stood upon the bow of his ship when he saw his daughter come running towards him. He left his duties behind and turned towards her as he grasped for her hand to clasp it into his own. “What is wrong, Neri?”

The young druid of Naclos pointed towards the nets. “There’s a dolphin stuck in the nets, father.  We must do something.”

Both Norgalis and Jozan followed Neri’s gaze and hand to where the dolphin was struggling to stay alive. They remained where they were, although they ordered the men to stop raising the fishnets.  Neri watched in horror. If that dolphin was whom she thought it was, then everything needed to be done to save it.

Without wasting another minute Neri placed Liltye into her father’s hands, removed her leather armour until she was only clad in her cotton dress she gracefully dove into the water.

Norgalis ran to the edge of the bow and screamed at his disappearing daughter. “Neri, have you lost your mind?”

She couldn’t hear him anymore. Applying all the lessons Ahura taught her when she learned how to swim she swam around the fishnet to the place where the dolphin was caught.  The animal was in a clear state of panic. She had to cut it loose as quickly as possible, before it would die from stress and trauma. Struggling to stay above water Neri reached for the dagger fastened to her leg.

Using her skills as a druid, with the possibility to communicate with animals she tried to calm the dolphin down. It seemed to work as he stopped fighting against the nets that kept him prisoner.  Taking in a deep breath Neri ventured under water to cut the nets there. Certainly her father had improved the nets. They were tough to cut through and she had her doubts about it.  When this was over she would have to have a serious talk with her father about his fishing business.

She’d forgotten what it was like to be underwater. It was a world of weightlessness, but this place wasn’t as pretty as what Ahura showed her the first time he took down into the deep world of the sea. Bubbles of air escaped her lips, no matter how hard she tried to keep them closed and keep her breath in. Being able to breathe under water like the merpeople could definitely had its advantages.  Humans were not made to be in the water for long periods of time.

It seemed to take ages to free the dolphin. Under water she could see more and more dolphins gathering up around her. There wasn’t anything they could do for their comrade.

When Neri finally cut the last cords of the fishnet she was so relieved she lost her guards. She didn’t know how long she’d been under water and she wanted to go up to catch some air.  What she didn’t expect was the sheer joy the dolphin expressed about being free. The marine mammal was so full of enthusiast it swam away in a burst of energy. As small and fragile as Neri was, she was knocked back by the sheer force of the tail and got entangled by the shreds of the fishnet.

She tried to get the net off of her, but it was no use. It clung to her skin and she was running out of air. Slowly but steadily her body started to sink into the darker regions of the sea. She couldn’t swim, the net was keeping her immobile. Above her she could see the sun light sparkling on the water and she reached towards it as if by grasping it she could reach the surface, even though she knew quite well grasping a ray of light was impossible. If only she coud focus enough to transform herself into a marine mammal or a fish or some other creature that could swim in the ocean, but that would still not help her get rid of the fishnet that kept her immobile.

If only there was some way for her to reach him....

The longer it took the lower she sank into the deep down to the bottom of the sea. It was cold and dark around her, the warmth of the sun seeming so far away. It was just like the first time she fell into the water without knowing how to swim, except then she was thrashing around wildly. Her air escaped her rapidly, causing bubbles to form in the water and she felt her consciousness slipping away. She couldn’t breathe and the weightlessness she felt earlier was gone now. Her body became heavier the more seconds that passed.

A dark spot growing every bigger and wider above her. The sinking girl couldn’t really tell what it was, but her eyes widened and she reached out instinctively again, raising her arm slowly as she no longer had the energy to lift it properly. Just before she could find out what was coming towards her she felt herself slipping away.

~*****~

A  group of dolphins swam closer and closer towards the girl trapped by the fishnet. Among them was the dolphin Neri had rescued from drowning and dying a slow death. He was as energetic and alert as ever, making it seem like nothing traumatic had ever happened to him. His clicks and whistles carried far across the sea, sounding urgent. Next to him swam a teenaged boy. He was unlike any other boy, seeing as how his skin was a rare shade of blue and green, his shoulder length hair dark blue and where his legs should be was a fishtail, with sidefins and ending like the petals of a large flower. His left hand grasped the hilt of a spear. It didn’t slow him down, he moved gracefully through the water.

His facial features showed he was very worried, making him swim as fast as his fishtail would allow him. Below him was the girl who was caught in the net that nearly cost his dolphin friend’s life. Saving him was now going to cost the girl her life. He would not let that happen.

Somehow when the dolphins came to tell him what transpired his heart leaped. Without wasting another second he swam into the direction of the fishing boat and the fishnets. He didn’t know who the girl was that jumped into the water to save his friend, but deep down he hoped it was her, the one he’d been thinking of every day for the past 6 years but whom he hadn’t met again since their first encounter.

The  merboy dropped his spear as he reached the girl,  grasping the hand the girl reached out to him and pulled her towards him with all of his strength. She already lost consciousness, having been under water for too long without any air to breathe. His own breathing hitched now he beheld the face of the girl in his arm.

It was her.

She looked older, having matured from a little girl in a young woman. Her face still had the little freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her hair still had the same colour and was bound into two braids like she had worn all those years ago when they first met.

There was no mistaking it, the girl he currently held in his arms was no one less than Neri, his Neri.

His Neri was drowning.

Thoughts were rushing through his mind, his emotions getting control over himself. What was she thinking jumping into the water like that? Ofcourse he appreciated it that she saved his dolphin friend’s life, but she risked her own without thinking about it. He could imagine why though, thinking about how he got stuck in a fishing net as well and she was one of the people who saved him at that time too.

Carefully the merboy swam to the surface of the water, making his way to the ship.

~*****~

On the deck of the ship Jozan and Norgalis were getting ready to jump into the water after Neri, seeing as how she didn’t get back out of the water to catch her breath. Although he appeared to be calm, Neri’s father was in quite a panic. The girl in the water was his only child and he didn’t want to lose her.

“Captain!!! Look at the starboard side!!”

Immediately Norgalis threw a look at his first mate and did what his men told him too. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he beheld the sight in front of him. Using only his arms a merboy was climbing up the ship, having the body of his daughter slung across his shoulder. The blond tall man blinked a few times. It was only then that he recognized the boy he caught in his net 6 years ago. The merboy from that time was becoming a man. He almost didn’t recognize him; so much had the boy changed in those years.

The men took Neri’s body from the boy’s arms and placed her flat on the deck. One of them got down to his knees and attempted to breathe life back into the young girl.

“No! Stay away from her!” As his tail was drying up the merboy crawled across the deck towards Neri and took her in his arms. All the men took a couple of steps back and watched with astonishment as they beheld the scene in front of them.

The boy smiled and carefully moved a few wet strands of Neri’s hair out of her face. He placed his fingers on her chin and leant into her. For a few moments all he could do was look at her.  It had been so long since their last goodbye. She hadn’t changed much since then. Her hair was longer and the freckles on her face were still cute. Gently he placed his mouth upon her lips and started to blow air into her mouth. This wasn’t the kind of kiss he wanted to give her. This wasn’t how he planned to see her, lifeless in his arms. It just wasn’t right.

“Neri,” he whispered to her softly, “Neri, please heed my call. I can’t lose you now that I’ve found you again.”

He continued to blow life into her again, praying that she would survive. The sea could not take her yet, she was still so young. His grasp on her body increased as more time passed, his breath becoming more frantic.

Her eyes suddenly blinked and she turned her face quickly, bending over to vomit all the excess water she took in while she was drowning. After that act the girl spent several moments coughing.

“Neri!” Norgalis reached out towards his daughter and pulled her in his arms, glad to see her alive and as well as she could be considering the circumstances. Jozan handed a thick blanket over to his boss, so the man could cover his daughter in it. The first mate himself turned his attention to the merboy on deck. He could see that Ahura’s fishtail was already changing into his pair of legs and that meant the boy would be completely naked. He would be in need of a blanket as well. The boy accepted the large piece of cloth gratefully and covered his groin and legs. Ahura kept his eyes on Neri and watched her recover from her ordeals.

Suddenly he caught Neri’s gaze and his heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds. She had a look of wonder on her face and her lips moved silently to form his name. Although it had been 6 years since she last saw him she had no trouble identifying the young man in front of her. He’d come for her in her time of need, he was here. Her arm reached out to him as she freed herself from her father’s arms. The blanket fell from around her onto the floor of the ship, leaving her only in her soaked garments as the young druid crawled towards her saviour, her long lost friend.

“Ahura,” she finally managed to say as she threw herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him on his lap. They held onto each other for dear life.

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Author's Note:

I wrote this a while ago and it was what originally made me want to write the story of Neri and Ahura. I'm not yet sure what I want to do with this, or if I'm going to change it for the story a little. I don't even think it's entirely finished yet, but I wanted to show it already anyways. It was written with the song Take my Hand from the Escaflowne movie soundtrack playing in the background.