"We finally have a girl who's perfect. We cannot afford to lose her!" The group of old hags pressed on into the forest.
"I'm right here." Zel appeared from some brush behind them.
The quadruplets and old women readied their spears.
"Kill me and you'll never find her." Zel simply replied.
Slowly they lowered their spears.
"What do you want?" one of the hags asked.
"Some answers. What do you know about mermaids?" Zel kept his eyes sharp for any movement against him.
"Earlier, we speared you through several times. You're immortal, aren't you?"
"Yes." Zel admitted. "Now would you kindly answer my question." He hissed. Zel recognized the old woman as Lina's caretaker.
She chuckled to herself. "As long as you tell us where Lina-sama is, we'll let you know all you want."
"Fine." Zel lied. "I know you found a mermaid to feed to that girl of yours. Where did you find them?"
The old woman laughed again, grating on Zel's nerves. "This whole village is made of mermaids, child!"
"Who are you calling a child?! I'll be 500 this year!" Zel scoffed, trying to hide his disbelief. "So..." Zel steadied himself, about the hear the answer he had searched 500 years for. "How does an immortal become normal again?"
"There is but one way. Perhaps if you told us where we might find Lina-sama..."
Zel's cold glare shut the hag's mouth. "Maybe after you've answered another question. Why have you shackled Lina's legs all her life?" Zel's glare plummeted another degree as he remembered Lina's feeble attempts to walk for the first time, after he had removed the wooden braces.
The old hag smiled. So he wants to know the whole story... "Well, if she ever learned to walk, she would have eventually run away from us. The mermaid village was planning to eat her afterall."
Zel almost staggered off his feet. "WHAT?!"
"It's true." The old woman continued. "A mermaid who eats an immortal regains her youth, by stealing the life and face of the girl. Now, if you would please tell us where Lina-sama is -- "
Zel turned. He would have spat in their faces and told them they'd never find Lina, but he still had a hand to play. "First tell me how to return normal."
A spear in his back answered.
Damn...That was a stupid mistake!
"There is no way to return normal." The hag explained. "The only way to end immortality is to die. And that spear tained with mermaid poison should suffice."
Part 4 | Fanfiction