A Merman's Heart

The Merman I spent a fortune on called me ugly, while quickly falling in love with my pretty stepsister instead. I spent a ton of money to treat his injuries, but he said I wasn't sincere. I gave him the best house, but he called me vulgar, while treasuring the sticker my stepsister gave him as an afterthought. They cuddled right in front of me, eager to make me step aside. "It's just a simple sticker, but it's the greatest treasure ever to me! Women like you who only care about money would never understand that. So just give up already, Lyra. You will never measure up to Thea no matter what you do." "That's right… Lyra. Xir doesn't love you, so why force your love on him?" I was simply amused watching them harp on with their duet. Whoever said I wanted Xir's love? In fact, I was touching the burn scars on my face, thinking to myself that Xir would be an adult in three days. Legend said that the potion ground out of merfolk hearts could heal all scars. 'Dear Xir… I've done so much for you. It's time for you to repay me soon.' Chapter 1 I calmly told them what I really wanted. "I don't need Xir's love, just his heart." However, both Xir and Thea Jackson simply laughed at me, with Thea scoffing, "Don't lie, sis. How are those two any different?" So in Thea's mind, having Xir's love meant having his heart, and she probably didn't understand that I meant the physical heart. Xir frowned in annoyance right then, "Just say that you love me, Lyra. Quit spouting such self-righteous excuses… And don't think I'd fall for you because you're playing hard to get." Thea seized the moment to lean on Xir's chest with contempt in her eyes. "Merfolk love beauty above all else, but you…" She trailed off, but I knew all too well what she was referring to. Before I knew it, my fingers were brushing over the gruesome burnt scars on my face, the same scars that I had sustained when I saved her. I was just ten and she was six when she set the curtains on fire, and it was just the two of us in the house. After my mother died, my father took her money to marry his former flame, who had Thea from another marriage. That day, he told me repeatedly to take care of my sister, "Don't let her get hurt even if you're going to get hurt. Understand?" That was why when the room was set ablaze, I didn't run as I rushed inside to get Thea out, and ended up caught in the fire. That was the first time I felt despair, and the sensation of being burnt still lingers in my skin. If the firefighters didn't arrive in time, I'd be dead instead of being merely disfigured. On the other hand, the person who started the fire remained unscathed aside from slight shock, so I really have no idea how she could so righteously taunt me for my hideousness when she knew full well why I was hideous. "Don't forget why I was burnt. Who I had to save." Thea stiffened as she naturally knew that, but refused to let that debt hold her back. "I know you saved me, but I was just a child and didn't know better." Chapter 2 And as Thea continued, she pretended to sob, "I'm very sad too, but I was just a child and couldn't do anything. That's why I've worked like a slave for you over the years, forfeiting my claim to the family's fortune to atone…" Pained, Xir pursed his lips as he held Thea, before turning sharply on me. "Thea had already slaved away for you to atone, even letting you take all the money! Isn't that enough?" I was once again amused. The so-called family's fortune was my mother's possessions and had nothing to do with Thea at all. Also, slave away? Thea? It was me who was serving her beck and call all the time—my father made me do so, even after I was burnt. Moreover… "What does my mother's fortune have to do with you?" I shot back. "Are you my mother's child too?" Thea stopped sobbing as she knew she was caught dead to rights. In reality, she wanted my mother's money too, but she simply had no claim, and now played as if she was conceding it to me out of generosity. Moreover, a mere merman like Xir naturally won't understand human laws, only that his beloved human was given grief. "I never knew how selfish you could be!" He snapped. "Even if Thea isn't your mother's child, she's still your sister! Can't you be more sisterly? She already suffered so much! Can't you see that she's crying?!" I looked at Thea as she stayed in Xir's arms, wondering how much she really suffered. Even if she did, it was none of my fault. However, Xir was smacking the water repeatedly with his blue-scaled tail as a threat. Seeing that he was really angry, I remembered reading that the merfolk's mood affected the medicinal value of their hearts. And there was just three days left—I couldn't afford to screw up now. Taking a deep breath and mustering a smile I think looks friendly, I said, "Please don't get angry." That was the best I could do, as I was no charmer like Thea and even poorer with words. Still, seeing that I caved, Xir was at once smug. "Then free me. I'm leaving with Thea! Then I won't be angry…" Thea looked up at him, her eyes welling with emotion. "Oh, Xir…" With that, they looked deep into each other's eyes like I wasn't in the room. In reality, I was myself confused why Thea was attracted to Xir—he was just a pet at best, no different from an animal. But Thea's presence calmed him, and that worked for me. That was why I have no intention of interfering with their 'sacred' love. "You're still hurt. If you leave now without the potion I made for you, your skin and scales will start to rot." What I didn't tell him is that the medicinal value of his heart would drop if I didn't extract it while his body was still intact. Naturally, Xir had no idea, and merely thought that I was reluctant to let him leave. Snorting as he turned away, he huffed, "You just don't want me to leave!" Thea naturally thought so too, and chimed in innocently, "Come on, sis. If you really love Xir, you should let him go." Love? How many times did I have to tell them that I only wanted his heart? They simply wouldn't believe me. Sighing, I said, "Three days. Just give me three days, and I will send him to your home." Chapter 3 That said, Xir would just be a corpse when he arrived, but since they loved each other so much, Thea probably wouldn't mind. And just as expected, Thea's eyes lit up, clearly convinced that she had stolen something I cared about. She simply had no idea that Xir was nothing more than trash to me without his heart, and there was no point for me to keep him. And if she liked him so much, she could have him. On the other hand, Xir was still under the impression that I was just buying time, and snapped, "Don't think I'll fall in love with you in three days!" I shrugged. "I don't need you to fall for me. I just need your heart." Though I was myself convinced that I was being perfectly honest, neither of them believed me. "Heh!" Xir snickered. "Is that not one and the same, woman? But since you're willing to let me go and treat my wounds, I don't mind being nice for three days." As he finished and before I could react, Thea sniffed as she threw herself over Xir's shoulder, pouting miserably. "You won't fall for Lyra, would you? She has everything, but you're the only one I have." Really? It was true that I had everything at the beginning—loving parents, a life of luxury. However, Thea had taken all of it from me since. As soon as she showed up, I lost my room, while Father became a completely different man, and then I ended up disfigured. Even if she wasn't biologically related to him, she still mattered more to him than me, his own daughter. In fact, both of them acted as if my disfigurement was a perfectly reasonable sacrifice to save Thea. I still remembered how after I was rushed to the hospital, Thea said it was boring and threw a tantrum for Father to take her to the amusement park. Naturally, he was all too happy to do so, leaving me, a ten-year-old, alone at the hospital. No one was there to take care of me even though I barely escaped death. It was the nurse on duty who called Father because even she couldn't stand it. And being a teacher, his reputation mattered to him most of all, so he was suddenly the doting father again when the nurses were around. However, as soon as they left, he was glaring at me in disgust as he snapped, "It's just a burn, how much can it hurt? You're just a child, but already such an attention seeker." Those stinging words left me breathless. He used to love and dote on me, while I was too young to understand why he changed so dramatically. I was even convinced that he was upset that I didn't take good care of Thea, only to find out much later on he had only married my mother for her money. That was why he maintained the disguise of a loving father when my mother was still alive, and bared his true colors once she died. If my mother didn't make it very clear in her will that I wasthe one who would inherit all her fortune, that two-faced dirtbag would have handed everything to Thea gift-wrapped. - "That won't happen, Thea. You're the only one for me." Xir's words yanked me back to reality and saw that they were cuddling again before I knew it. Oh, such love. I checked the time, and decided to interrupt them, "It's time to take your potion, Xir." Xir's lips curled up in turn. "How obsessed can you be, Lyra? Still worried about the potion now? Are you going to tell us to use protection when I make love to Thea too?" I raised a brow. What? Humans… could procreate with fish? Shrugging, I said, "Probably not." Xir chuckled, thinking that I was just lying out of stubbornness. After all, he was convinced I'd do anything for him. Chapter 4 Pouting, Xir snapped, "I'm not taking that! It's so bitter!" "You have to!" I retorted almost instantly. "If you don't, it'll affect your puberty." That much was true—if he didn't take his potion punctually, it would affect his growth and the medicinal value of his heart. Naturally, my worried reaction inflated his ego as he turned to Thea and laughed. "See? She keeps saying she doesn't want my love when she's so crazy for me. Heck, she's more worried about my potion than me." Then, turning back to me, he said, "My body is none of your business." Naturally, he was just messing with me on purpose just to watch me dance, while making him feel all the more important. "No, it is my business," I said. And it was—my face was on the line, literally! Xir happily leaned against the tank's edge, thinking that I loved him so much I was worried about his health. "Fine, I'll take the potion but only if you get me a box of Southwark apple pies." 'Apple pies? Do fish even eat those?' Even as I was left bemused, Thea was smiling emotionally and kissed Xir's cheek. "I'm surprised!" She chirped, while staring gleefully at me. "You remember my favorite food!" Xir smiled back. "Of course. I remember everything about you, Thea." So that was it. Still, it was the perfect opportunity for me to get some fresh air, as I definitely didn't want to stay and watch them flirt. "Fine," I said, interrupting their googly-eyed moment. "First, take your potion." Seeing that I agreed to run the errand, Xir finally took the potion reluctantly, while I only left after I watched him finish it. - On my way to Southwark, I couldn't help remembering the moment I first met Xir. He was kept in a cramped tank in an illegal lab, so bruised and battered he couldn't even do a flip. Naturally, he couldn't hear me outside the tank, but was instinctively curling into a ball when he saw humans—as any victim of prolonged abuse would. I was telling the seller, "Just look at him. His heart's medicinal value is definitely severely affected." The seller shook his head, rubbing his palms enthusiastically. "Actually, Ms. Jackson, a little rehabilitation goes a long way even if he looks bad now. There's still plenty of time before he comes of age anyway. "Moreover, merfolk are getting really rare in the market. It really wasn't easy for me to get you such a premium specimen, y'know…" I was looking at Xir floating in the tank, feeling compassion even though he didn't exactly meet my standards. "Fine, I'll take him." With that, I bought Xir at a king's ransom and took him home, after which I spent another fortune building an indoor temperature-control tank for him. He was so excited he dived deep, exploring the depths because he had never been in a tank that big. "Lyra!" He exclaimed, holding my hand as he vowed, "I will definitely repay this life debt!" And he was really good to me at first, meticulously stringing his tears into a necklace for me. As he watched me gingerly, seemingly worried that I wouldn't like his present, he said, "It's not really valuable, but it took me a long time to make it. You can't say no." "The weather man is saying it will rain. You should wear layers!" "I learnt some massage techniques on the internet! Come, I'll give you a massage!" I watched him swim around enthusiastically, but didn't humor him too much. If anything, I felt really guilty that I would take his heart despite his goodwill. Chapter 5 That was why I always kept my distance, as every time I saw his innocent face, I felt like a terrible person. It was during that time when Thea 'accidentally' stumbled into Xir's tank chamber. Naturally, her bright, pretty face was a lot more attractive than my burnt face, so it was almost expected that Xir fell in love at first sight with her. Since then, he was always staring blankly at the door, and started to care a lot less about me. And during the rare moments we met, he was asking about Thea. "She's your sister? When will she visit again?" "What's her name?" "What's her favorite food?" "What's her favorite color?" In reality, I have not seen Thea since I came of age, when I kicked her, her mother, and Father out of my mother's house. And after Father died, I lost touch with her completely. When she sneaked in, she was caught on camera taking some jewelry when she bumped into Xir, and promptly fled. Somehow, Xir fell in love with her at first sight instead. Oh, the irony… "You want to see her again?" I asked. He nodded, blushing. Remembering my attending physician telling me that keeping the merfolk in a good mood worked wonders for their growth, I agreed to it. I even made a timetable, allowing Thea to come to my house and visit him. Before long, Xir got dissatisfied with only meeting Thea once or thrice a week, and started to resent me because he wanted to spend every moment he had with Thea. "Who do you think you are?!" he ranted. "You have no right to deny my freedom! You have no right to keep Thea away from me! "You're so selfish, always keeping me to yourself! This isn't love—it's imprisonment!" - Back in the present, Xir was still ranting, "You're so selfish! Thea is your sister, but you won't even give her a job!" Even as I felt a sense of deja vu, Thea pursed her lips. "Don't say that—Lyra is just too busy and has no time for me." Xir snorted. "I don't think so, the way she keeps hovering around me every day! You're too nice for your own good, Thea!" I didn't want to interrupt them for a moment, but the apple pies were getting cold, so I headed inside since I definitely didn't want Xir to make me run the same errand twice. He was scowling as soon as he saw me anyway. "Give Thea a job at your company." It wasn't even a request but an order as if it was his right, just like how he knew I wouldn't refuse him. "Fine," I said. Hearing that, Thea finally got off Xir and took the box of apple pies, shooting me a taunting look as she strode off. "See? You don't measure up against me at all." "How so?" I shot back. I honestly had no idea what she was so smug about. Was she proud that she was dating a fish? Thea's smile stiffened, but she soon said, "Still trying to play it cool, huh? Oh, how much do you resent me for stealing Xir away?" I shrugged. If I allowed it to be taken from me, then it didn't matter to me. Whether it was Father or Xir, Thea could take anyone or anything she wanted, but she'd never take what really mattered to me. "I just want his heart. You can have the other parts." It was not surprising they were so compatible, the way this human and that fish were simply incapable of understanding a word I said…