Just one Favor, part 21

The next moments after the failed escape attempt were uncomfortable for everyone. So bizarre and strange. Rick wasn’t sure as to what to think, yet her mind kept down rushing, pumped and taking in all that had just happened. Panic was trying to claim her but she did her best to keep the feeling at bay.

All three mermaids had been cast into the lake while the table and chairs were picked up by the elves and satyrs, both of which gave Rick pitiful looks, much to her dismay. They suspected or knew that she had been given the death sentence.

And she knew why. They had seen what happened here and what would come to be of her. At times, her mind would switch the labels between Elliot and the mermaids, even for a split second, and no matter how much she tried to change it, it was how she thought in brief instances and she knew the image would only turn for the worse as time went on.

Underwater, the mermaids began to work on healing their friend. Rick had received a hoof kick straight to her stomach and probably broke some ribs in the process. Silvia headed into the girl’s hideout to mix a small salve that would take care of that.

The time she was left alone with Marina had been quite excruciating for the black haired mermaid, as she tried to not make eye contact with her. Her teeth biting her lip and her face a tad red from the tears she had shed during and after one of the shadows used their mark on her. She was dabbing some ointment that would reduce the pain on her chest.

“Did he…” she muttered slowly as her hand reached to caress Rick’s shoulder, wanting to hug her.

“Yeah, he… he did it, I think,” was her reply after a moment. That was all she said. She wanted to say more, to out right admit she was doomed and that soon she would lose her mind but she knew how hard this would be for her.

Marina’s reply was only to sob lightly and hold Rick in her arms, trying to be as reassuring as possible, even though she wasn't sure what to do about it.  Rick knew it and remembered the story. The only person who had broken the mark’s curse was Joplin, the rugged elder wizard who died in combat without disclosing how he freed himself from the mind control.

For a moment, she felt like crying, her face was red as Silvia swam up. With an unreadable expression and handed Rick a small bowl with a thick yellow substance, oily enough to not be mixed with the water and heavy enough to not go floating about. “Drink this, It’ll help your heal faster… but it wont help what Elliot has done to you.”

“Silvia!” exclaimed Marina outraged as to the red headed mermaid’s harsh words.

“What do you expect me to say!” Silvia snapped, her face was red. “You saw what he did to her. It was the same thing he did to Alita!”

“But, but maybe she can fight it,” Marina retorted.

“Alita was just as strong willed if not more and we all know she couldn't. She died because of that mark,” Silvia said in an unseen anger. “You should’ve aborted the plan. We have had to change the plan to suit the hijinks she has caused.”

“Silvia!” Marina yelled, taken back by the words her friend used.

The mermaid took a sigh and continued, speaking low “It… it is over now. All the planning and thought being laid to waste,” she said grimly. She took a moment to look over at Rick “Why did you push through with the plan?” she asked, with concern rather outrage now. “I was the one who should have been on Bruthus lap.”

“I rushed with the decision here, okay?” Rick frowned. “You are not the only one who had to make a tough decision here, Silvia. I just rushed on with it because it was easier than dealing with the consequences.”

“We were all paying the same price here, Rick. We could’ve talked about this. Instead of taking the reckless option!” Silvia snapped, not liked to being talked back. “The children, the fellow employees, our friends, it is the price we have been willing to pay since this whole deal started.

“No, that’s not all…” Rick muttered, right before Marina interceded.

“It doesn’t matter, Rick was doing it great, the plan was working until Elliot showed up.” Marina pointed out as she gestured at Rick to drink the balm. It tasted oily if not sickening, but as it went down her throat she began to feel how the warmth spread from her stomach to her body.

“It does because…” Silvia tried to object, but Marina interrupted again.

“Stand down. The last thing we need is more fighting. And did you hear Rick’s using the spellwording? Because I didn’t!” Marina pointed out fiercely. “And since you were much closer to her than Elliot was, Rick wasn’t caught because of being too careless. Something else went wrong.”

“That is beyond the point now…” Silvia sighed, leaving room for a rather long silence.

“It was my father,” Rick said. The mermaids took a moment of silence. “Not long ago, Elliot summoned me and asked me to tell him about those that might show up and look for me. I told him my father was the most likely subject, and he had one of his shadows, Thadeus travel to Gresham to make sure the spell is perpetuated. Not long ago, before our trip to Atlantis, he summoned me to tell show me that my father was in a mental institution, locked up and how easy he could kill him with poison.”

“Oh dear…” Silvia muttered.

“We were asked to sever bonds with people when all this started, and we did to keep them safe, but your father never really forgot about you,” Marina whispered.

“He didn’t really stop seeing the ghost,” Rick muttered wanting to cry but finding herself unable as her mind began to feel apathy for her father, which only made her angry.

“Elliot twisted our spell…” Silvia trailed off. “It is our fault, it has always been…”

“That’s why I didn't tell you about it! I suspected that if I told you would worry about me, either canceling my part of the plan or still pushing it through, with concerned eyes,” she said out loud.

“That is true…” Silvia admitted. “Sadly, the plan has failed. And now that… um, Elliot has done it. He might have no more use for your father to keep you at bay, though,” Silvia muttered. Her words, despite reassuring as they might be hid a rather grim implication.

“I…I am sorry for not having told you about that…” Rick said.

The mermaids stood in silence for a long moment, floating in the middle of the water, looking at each other. It wasn’t until Rick reached up to rub her head that one of them spoke.

“Rick… how are you feeling? I mean, up here,” Silvia asked slowly tapped her forehead.

“I…” she muttered hesitantly before confessing “I feel still the same for now… but my mind… at times, it feels as if my thoughts are getting… twisted. It’s like being forced to see people, actions  under a different light,” she said gloomily. “It… it is not much…” Rick added.

Despite her explanation, the girls were still in a state of shock and fear “Rick… It will… it will get worse,” Silvia whispered while Marina backed away, and began to sob, her face red.

“What are we gonna do?” Marina asked, almost hysterical, her voice clinging to desperation.

“Girls, I-I will try to fight it off, you’ll see. W-while we think of something,” she whispered, with weak reassurance. She certainly wasn't sure if she would be able to, but hoping was just the best thing she could do. She turned and swam away before they could even answer, not wanting to hear what they would say.

She turned her face to glance back at them for a moment, Seeing them exchange concerned looks in silence.

——

Time began to run. The days and nights were rather unsettling if not uncomfortable to live through, now more than ever. The idea of being mentally doomed was a rather harsh blow to Rick's confidence. She did her best trying to remind herself who she was and what was wrong with her way of thinking. She was aware of it, but it was strange, feelings weren’t beginning to connect.

No matter as small as the changes were at first, by the end of the first week, it was when they began to take their toll on her psyche.

She was slowly stopping feeling sad for her father’s situation and no matter how much she tried, just as she couldn't bring herself to hate Elliot as much as she had before. She began to imagine the feeling was gonna lessen until it turned into respect and hopefully stop there.

Her very slow change of allegiance made coexistence with the mermaids something pretty hard. At first, she would try to avoid speaking, calling in for silence as there was little to talk about with Silvia and Marina.

Marina was still shaken from the events and could hardly look over at Rick in fear and sadness, almost feeling depressed at most times of the days. Doing her best to encourage her. While Silvia began to distance herself from Rick being more secretive about her actions and distrustful.

At one point, Silvia and Marina began to talk about the plan and about Elliot, who seemed to be scheduling more business deals with more potential buyers to get rid of the drugs.

And it was then that Marina spoke out “I really hope he runs into someone who tries to kill him to get the loot for free. He has it coming,” she said.

“Honestly, I almost wish we wouldn't have to refresh the enchantments… but at least now we won’t have to put up for his guests,” Silvia added.

It was then that something switched up in her head and she began to tag the two mermaids with what felt like prejudgments. In her mind, they became slackers and rebels and a mild feeling of hate began to rush down her spine as he acknowledged them as enemies. She realized, in horror, what she was thinking.

“No,” she thought to herself “I know the girls, I know Silvia and Marina, they are my friends, they are not my enemies,” she said, trying to think it over, but it was like trying to change a first impression just because one wanted to. The feeling pushed on and on before suddenly disappearing. “This is only going to get worse,” she muttered to herself, knowing that feeling would come back, increased.

She tried to change her way of thinking, but it was harder done than saying it. As more time began to pass, these instances where her perceptions were twisted and altered began to happen more often than not.

A week had passed since the incident. An event-less week as the holidays were coming, for those that weren’t trapped on the grounds. Snow had began to fall around the lake and river as the mermaids were forced to wear more warm clothes. The satyrs and elves weren’t coming around the lake anymore. The wolves did their rounds around the place, but when they did, they remained silent.

One afternoon, Rick sat in the snowy bank by the river, trying to play with the guitar harp for the first time in a long time. She found herself wearing a simple bra, like before, having cast aside her vest because she deemed it not slutty enough, much to her surprise and horror. She took a moment to wear it and forced herself to wear it, but having it cover her body just felt wrong. “No,” she muttered back then under her breath.

She headed down the river and soon she had a bit of a black out. Losing mere seconds of her traverse but finding out that her vest was now gone, suddenly having disappeared. And since that was Rick’s favorite and almost only garment she was more than annoyed.

It came more as an issue when she began to play the guitar harp, trying to relax but her fingers twitched and clumsily strum the strings. She would play a long melody she had worked hard on learning only to find her fingers play a wrong note or an offbeat note as time went on. These errors began to become more jarring as time passed making her more angry that she punched a snow bank.

“Rick?” she heard a soft spoken voice asked. It was Mina who had just come out from the forest’s edge, clad in the usual brown garments Elliot provided the employees, still she looked quite radiant herself.

“Mina, hey,” Rick muttered.

“How are you doing?” she asked “I heard you play… It was… different,” she said, trying to sound polite.

“I am not myself,” she sighed “I-It’s the mark…”

“Anya and Bradhin told me what happened… Are you going to be fine?” she asked with concern, reaching to place her hand on Rick’s shoulder.

“I… I don't know,” she muttered with honesty “It is changing me… I am not feeling well anymore. It will get worse.”

“Maybe… maybe something will happen,” Mina said reassuringly. “Elliot is not smart. He makes mistakes, many.”

“He is…” she said, but what followed were her lips talking on her own before she could react, “He is not. He is brilliant compared to some useless woman who spends most of her time doing nothing other than being taken care of by other-” was her reply with poisonous words before she managed to cover her mouth.

“Rick,” Mina said surprised, taken back.

“Mina… I-I'm so sorry,” Rick muttered.

“I… I have to go,” she said silently, backing away and getting up to her feet, already walking into the forest unimpaired by the snow.

“Idiot,” she muttered to herself but instead came out loud and towards Mina, “Oh what is wrong with me?!” she groaned holding her head, wanting to scream.

“Well, what’s up with the screaming?” came a voice from the sky. It could only be one person. “I thought we were in danger.”

“Megan?” she asked with a regretful sigh. “What do you want?” she asked, feeling how her attitude had shifted to a more defensive stance again.

“I saw what happened to you back then, I gotta say. I am really sorry to hear,” she said, oddly enough she didn't sound apologetically, only bitchy. “How are things going in that noggin of yours?” she asked.

“I am doing what I can,” Rick said, letting out a sigh, moving back.

“That is good, but…” Megan smirked looking around before stepping closer, her scaly talons taking steps on the snow kicking away the guitar harp.

Rick frowned but Megan shrugged “Oh don’t worry about it, you couldn’t even play it, so do not act like if it’s a big tragedy,” she simply said, her eyes looking into the forest and back.

“What do you want?” Rick asked again.

“I want to know what the mermaids are up to…” she simply said, much to Rick’s surprise. “I want to know, what other stunt are you hiding from us and what happened to Thadeus.”

“W-what?” she stuttered.

“Do not act surprised. I wasn’t around when he disappeared, but I know Luke followed his tracks to the place where you usually hang out. I think it is a bit too much of a coincidence to ignore.” Her talons squeezed the snow underneath her, making Rick feel intimidated.

“W-why are you asking this? Why do you wanna know?” she asked.

“Because, my dear girl, I am Elliot’s eyes on the employees. I am the ever vigilant eyes in the sky and the ears in the group,” she grinned. “How else do you think Elliot knew the mermaids were in for funny business again?”

Rick’s face went blank as she realized the implications. Her mind rushed back to the meeting with Bruthus and how things were just as she returned. Megan was there, just as Rick and Marina began to talk. “Could you have…” she muttered to herself just as the realization downed her.

While back then, they didn’t really speak about anything strange, thinking back, her behavior must’ve been more than suspicious. Megan had harpy eyes, keen for looking from up high, she must’ve seen Rick whisper into Bruthus ear from up the sky, the place none of the mermaids looked…

“Yeah… I was,” Megan grinned. Her yellow eyes gleaming with a malevolent look. “So, are you going to tell me?”

“I-I…” she stuttered, trying to curse her, to yell one of the insults that have been coming out as fluid as her own spit. She wanted to react. If possible to sing and bring up the tides on the monster that she was. But she couldn't.

The moment she admitted and the moment Rick put the pieces together that gave her away as the mole in the group, suddenly had her under the same mental spotlight as the other shadows. As a guard. She was a vile scum, a traitorous bitch who just sold out her fellow employers. And yet at the same time. Her mind was slowly beginning to accept her as Elliot’s faithful servant, a diligent justicar that was… “Arg!” she screamed at the confusion.

Rick held her head as she began to think of the implications. The previous escape attempt Silvia and Marina had talked about, the one that cost Alita’s sanity and life, it must’ve failed because of her. It was all because of her that Marina and Silvia didn't make it out of the grounds. It was because of her that Alita ended up committing suicide and it was because of her that Elliot was still in power. The realization only exacerbated the anger and respect she felt.

Megan took a moment of that little time of that internal struggle and held up Rick’s chin with her wing. The harpy was visibly amused by her confused expression. “I expect an answer,” she said confidently.

“I will tell them. I will tell Silvia and Marina,” she told herself out loud. Her mind was beginning to hurt as she tried to fight the programming.

“I don’t think so,” Megan smirked. “Elliot wants you to be quiet…” she uttered, Rick could tell how her new mind would work, and how it would go to extremes to keep these sort of details secret. She was already struggling to not show the proper respect to one of the master’s agents. Her head was pounding her with a nail and drill, trying to get through her skull the idea that what Megan said, was the right thing.

“Speak…” she ordered, pushing through. “I want to know where Thadeus is,” she smirked backing away.

“It-” she managed to say before rick got a hold squeezing her head fins, which hurt almost as if someone was pulling her own ears off, as she tried to fight the ever constant feeling she was giving her soul to the devil. “It…” she said again, this time only to have her biting her tongue so hard she could taste her own blood.

“Yes,” she muttered.

“No!” Rick screamed. “No, no, no! I will not speak!” she yelled out loud, her face and skin blushed red from the suffering.

Megan stepped back, astonished by the response but still not really angered. She stared down at her for quite a bit, before letting out a bit of a chuckle. “Oh, still resisting, aren't we?” She took a step back “Do not worry, it’ll be only a matter of time before you see things the way everyone does…” she smirked spreading her wings and flapping down, raising the snow as she took off.

Rick just stared at her for a moment, trying to breath calmness to herself.

Things began to look grim for Rick. The tingling in her mind began to expand further, influencing more her way of thinking. She couldn't regard Elliot as one of the big enemies, instead finding herself neutral towards him, edging in and out between feelings of hate and respect. It was as if she was seeing things from a twisted angle and all the things he had done were suddenly justified and smart. While Elliot’s shadows had become his gallant knights and paladins to her eyes. She wanted to claw her brain for thinking that.

But not only that, but her mind kept on telling her that her how the mermaids were bad people, if not the villains of the story.

She hadn’t slept with the girls since the failed escape attempt, and instead opted for a more solitary place to spend the night. Feeling herself too uncomfortable to actually look at them in the eyes. It was then that, much like when she last talk with Mina in the river, her body began to act on her own accord while she was conscious, as if a part of her was possessed.

She would end up speaking an insult every now and then, much to her own shock and shame. She had warned them of that before hand and it was still painful to know such hurting words came out of her. She had called them tramps, traitors, disgusting disgraces, and much more things without even wanting, she found herself crying an apology to them if she was lucky of regaining control right after until at some point she begun to lose the feeling of regret in words that came from her mouth.

She had also tried to confess to them the words Megan uttered, but as soon as she thought of it, she either blacked out or found herself unable to talk, while she felt a stabbing guilt of betrayal prodding her chest. Writing it down as a message only to find it torn off soon after, it was useless… “And Megan knew it,” she would tell herself.

The two mermaids weren’t saying anything. But Rick was already beginning to see their reactions. She was being ostracized by them. They were spending less time in the same place as her, most often than not avoiding her. Rarely showing up wherever she was, and Rick didn’t really try to look for them. What good would it do?

It was then that she heard as to how this new persona was beginning to emerge during the black outs. Those chunks of unaccounted time belonged to a new part of herself. “Rayna” was how she called herself. That had to be Elliot’s meddling.

Silvia and Marina looked at her concerned now as Rayna began to develop a more aggressive voice towards them. Meddling in Rick’s words and being responsible of things. But in the end they began to avoid her. Marina just looked away in shame and sadness while Silvia saw her pitifully. “Damn you, Elliot,” she muttered, finding herself unable to actually feel it.

The blackouts were the worst. She would lose entire days in a matter of seconds. When they started, they were few and sporadically, now they were so abundant, Rick was easily beginning to feel like her consciousness and moments of lucidity were the ones that came in short spurts.

She found herself in places she didn't remember going. In the clearings before or on snow bank she didn’t really expect on going. At one point, she returned to consciousness in the middle of the tunnels and floating right before the mermaid’s secret room.

Rick tried to prod where the entrance and illusion would be but to her shock she found nothing but solid wall there. Stone. She was startled at first and began to prod it, making sure she was in the right place. She was, but the tunnel wasn't there anymore.

The girls must’ve used a spell to hide it “Means they don't trust me anymore?” she muttered to herself much to her dismay, but also to her anger, which was followed with “Those bitches,” she found herself muttering before gasping, she had meant say it despite it was her influence. “I am gonna slap myself for saying that,” she sighed before swimming off.

The mermaid’s “treason”, as she found herself calling it, she supposed it might have been understandable. She admitted to herself that should the situation being inverted, she might have taken the same safety measure. That did not lessen the feeling of betrayal.

“I am turning into their enemy, bit by bit,” she gritted her teeth. Her mind went back to the day before, where she swam down the bottom of the lake and found the scrolls Silvia had prepared, those that were filled with the spells she had prepared to teach and remind herself of the skill. And she ripped those into pieces with her own hands. When she was back to herself, she saw herself floating in the middle of the water, with lashes of paper scattered around in the water.

From there on, Rayna began to take over, causing a black out, or taking over Rick’s body at the worst of times. One of the lowest points came on Christmas.

Rick moved over to her alcove where she kept the little stuff she owned, such as her fishing rods, the dirk the wolves gave her for her birthday and a box she borrowed from Marina, not long before the attempt against Bruthus. In there was an incomplete small statue she had carefully carved with the knife. It had been almost complete  and had needed a couple of finishing touches. A small thing she had started while learning a new type of magic.

Despite the changes, she had managed to complete the image. Finding herself unable to play the guitar harp anymore. She looked at it for a long while and suddenly, her mind and eyes began to blur before it all misted out.

When her eyes began to clear she found herself with arms outstretched as if giving something away. It took her a second to realize she was indeed handing something. The unmistakable shape and  color of the coral guitar. Alita’s belonging. “W-wait what…” she muttered to herself without breaking out into a shout.

It was then that she realized whose hands were gripping the instrument’s handles. It was Elliot! She was handing Alita’s memento to him! And it was then that she realized she was smiling as she did. Her body was betraying her, and she tried to move away and reach to take it back, but she found her body wasn’t in her control. Her arm twitched as he reached out but the instrument was already far away. Even worse, she couldn't stop smiling, the only thing she could do was let tears run down her eyes.

Elliot, dressed in a winter robe and bearing thick gloves, garments fitting the winter weather, just smirked as he took the guitar in his hands “Thank you,” he grinned holding it with one hand, carelessly as the tip brushed against the snow on the floor. Seeing that just made the teal haired mermaid cringe. “You certainly know how to treat your master,” she said leaning closer.

Her mind was feeling already too twisted to handle this sort of thing. She couldnt stop regarding him as a brave paladin that was finding his way around justice and the so called guardians. But also, she felt her heart skip a beat and had some difficulty breathing when looking at him. She had a crush on him.

It was then that her mind began to spin in shock. The mark was robbing her of everything from her identity, even her taste for women was beginning to ebb the more time passed. She had felt this would happen and was one of the reason’s she stopped sleeping with the mermaids, sensing she might not be feeling the same as Marina, but also because she might try to beat them up in their sleep.

She managed to regain control of her body just to lean back and away from him. Finding her back touch something cold and hard. It was then that she took notice of her surroundings.

She was in the fountain in the back area of the mansion, in the same fountain she came in and met up with Kristel’s grandmother on the same day as her birthday. The whole garden was covered with a thick layer of snow that hid all the weeds that had grown on it since the last time she had been there. The fountain itself was encased with a thick layer of ice. Elliot stood by the entrance with two of his shadows guarding the doors, and standing right by his side was Lady Kristel, clad in a simple white coat that sheltered her from the elements, looking cute at that.

Elliot just grinned and turned around without saying anything else. His smirk bore an air of victory that was just evident. “Thanks for the present Rayna, I will see what i can do with this… harp,” he said tossing it to one of his shadows. The figure just managed to catch the coral guitar she had taken care off almost for a year. “Maybe sell it…”

“Give it back…” she muttered to herself, but it came out as barely more than a whimper.

“Rick!” Kristel walked up to the fountains boards. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’m good, Lady Kristel,” Rick found herself answering stopping herself before correcting her name. At least as one of Elliot’s servants, she too had to keep up the charade on the little girl as well.

“I am glad…” she said, her voice and expression giving away she was hesitant.

Rick gulped and was about to head back into the tunnel, when she found something floating around the water against her tail.

“W-what is this?” she thought to herself as she scooped it up and found the small figurine she had been carved, split in two. “Why?” she asked out loud.

“Y-you came over here to greet Elliot,” she said, “the moment you came through, you produced that piece of wood and simply snapped it in half, saying it wasn’t worth giving. You then pulled from the tunnel that large harp. It was really pretty. Was it yours?” she asked.

The mermaid felt a ball of lead had just fallen into her stomach. A miasma of feelings, emotions of anger, sadness and over all guilt swarmed into her mind. “I am not gonna take this for long,” she muttered.

“What?” Kristel asked confused, if not concerned.

“Kristel,” Rick muttered, trying to recall the little italian Silvia has taught her. “Tu e tua nonna stare attenti…”

Her italian was sloppy, but upon seeing Kristel nod, she knew she got the message.

“Merry Christmas…” Little Kristel said in a disapointed voice.

Having said that, she dived back in. The shadows had been already staring in her direction but did not react to her words. It was best like that. Had they prolonged the conversation and it would have endangered Kristel. At least she was able to maintain lucidity that time.

Sadly, she stumbled onto Marina on her way out of the tunnel, in the crossing place. “R-Rick?” she whispered, in deep concern “What were you doing in there?” She asking, biting her lower lip nervous for the answer, her voice had little anger and more concern above everything.

“I-I…” Rick found herself muttering, “I… I gave Elliot Alita’s guitar…” She said, trying to sound more sorry than anything else, but the words didn’t come as half felt. The guilt countered with the sense of pride.

“You what?!” she asked startled, almost in outrage. “Why?!  You monster! Why did you ever do that?!” she asked reaching to grip her shoulders.

“I couldn’t help it!” Rick blurted out.

Marina took a moment, pausing to stare at her before backing away. “I…” she muttered, realizing how hard things must’ve been for a while. “I have to go and see Silvia,” she muttered dryly. “I don’t wanna talk with you, not now.”

Rick just frowned, clenching her fist in shame and anger. “I am gonna kill you Rayna, and you Elliot,” she muttered, managing to feel, even as briefly as possible she might have needed.

———

However, things didn’t improve right away after that.

As a couple of days passed, she began to feel more of her control slip into that new mentality as it began to refresh itself on.

Marina hadn’t spoken to her ever since their meeting on Christmas day. She and Silvia avoided her altogether. Both of them would wake up before her and disappear from sight and would return to their small alcoves without saying a word. She didn't see them in the river nor in the lake. It became obvious they were seeking refuge in their planning room, which was still hidden around.

To Rick, it wouldn’t have been surprising to find herself looking for that secret cavern after one of her blackouts. Now she began to feel time fly faster as she slipped in and out of consciousness more often. It was an impending sense of doom, making everything feel pointless to her.

Rayna’s personality was more than hostile to them. As she saw them, her emotions flared and she began to feel an irrational hatred towards them, immediately antagonizing every little thing she saw them do. Rick didn’t knew how to fight those thoughts. It was torturous.

Time came again where Elliot called for his allies, presumably for a large meeting and he requested for Rick’s presence at that. The table was set for the conspirators whilst she was given a small stool to sit upon, and so she did, much like the good servant she was becoming.

Roland, the Necromancer was the first to arrive from within the forest, accompanied by Elliot’s shadow, strangely enough, Ogre, his large Frankenstein, wasn’t around. He was clad in his trademark gothic leather belt bound jacket.

“Ah Roland,” Elliot smirked from the head of the sit, “Where is your monster?” he asked amusedly, even more upon seeing the necromancer’s scowl.

“He is gone,” he spat sitting down on a side of the table “The guardians cornered us near the Silver Enclave ruins in the Alternate. I ordered Ogre to attack, to cover us and then have him come to me…” he took a deep mournful breath and slammed his fist against the table. “Do you have any idea what I had to do to create him? Search the finest cemeteries for parts, craft the controlling runes and the demon’s I had to slay to steal their essences. And the blood, oh the blood, I had to spill, which might have been the only enjoyable part of the whole ordeal, but still, it was a long work,”

“I tell you. Nothing is better than mind controlling them,” Elliot smirked with a sense of pride over his companion, looking at Rick. Roland glanced at her too, obviously bored and annoyed.

“What? Did you finally do it? Took control of her mind?” He asked uninterested, if not bored . “It’s not the same, you use that itty bitty mark of yours. The Cobweb was said to be able to read your mind by holding your forehead and make you say what she wanted by flicking it. Not to mention, spells of the mind are forbidden so the knowledge there is limited. No, Ogre had autonomy, skill and instinct, you can’t program that.”

Elliot paused for a moment to object but looked at Rick and he knew. “I know of that. They have told me Rayna can’t play the guitar harp anymore,”

“She can't? What a pity,” Roland said apathetically.

“I know, I planned to have her play some tunes but she can’t seem to string a chord. Pity, I’ll settle with making her a slut,” he chuckled. Rick couldn’t even frown at those comments, just glad Elliot had ordered her to be still or she could imagine her body would be trying to actually flirt and take it all the way through with the guests. Whereas before she couldn’t follow the song perfectly, now she had lost all coordination and sense of rhythm.

Eventually the other guests came in. First was Mirko, a tall brawny man with yellow wild eyes and a thick mat of brown hair atop his head. He was a corrupted werewolf cop, and presumably the source of all of Elliot’s intel. Followed with an old bald man with a tattooed head, it was Christopherus, the head of the a gang of the alternate that was the one that tried to execute the plan. And finally there was Clint, who was the most normal person of the group. A young man of black hair wearing a long coat and jacket with a neck so high it could cover the area around his mouth. He wore glasses and had a rather small appearance in comparison. So far Rick had imagined he was some sort of expert chemist.

“So, what is the matter?” Chris snorted. “I heard your plan crashed and burned.”

“It was that little mermaid’s fault,” Elliot muttered gesturing at Rick. She felt a very unwanted shame, instead of the pride she might have wanted. “But I took my safety measures with her.”

None of the guests asked, they all knew and could tell what those measures were and simply moved on. “This screw up occurred, but you want us to get rid of the drugs? Is that why you called us?” Mirko snorted, leaning back.

“Do not belittle the fuck up that took place here!” Christ snarled interrupting the conversation. “Bruthus raiders have declared war to my men after what happened in here!”

“So what do I care?” Mirko growled. “This is a matter that concerns the low gangs and not me.”

“It will if I tell the guardians what you do while they aren’t looking,” Chris muttered with a smirk, cackling a laugh that irritated the werewolf.

“Do you know what happens to squealers?” Mirko snarled standing up. Rick could see his nose darken while his ears grew slightly pointier as hair began to spread down his arms. He was shifting into a werewolf, or would’ve hadn’t Elliot stood up.

“Now, stop it you two. We’ll deal with Bruthus, we have more pressing issues here.” He yelled out loud, making the two criminals sit down. Mirko slowly reverting to a more human appearance “I don't care about your concerns, it is mostly why I departmentalize this. Once we sort the problem, I’ll find a way to deal with Bruthus.”

“Alright, then what is the problem?” Clint asked coolly, “Illuminate us.”

Elliot sighed “I am afraid that at some point soon I will be forced to change places.”

“Why? I know for a fact that the guardians have no idea of what is taking place in here,” Mirko pointed out.

“It’s… the girl,” Elliot mumbled.

Mirko grinned softly, before chuckling out loud while both Chris and Roland were outright laughing at the news. “What?” asked the necromancer “has the little girl been demanding with you as of late?”

“Maybe you would have to ask more permission for the kid to hang around with us,” Chris laughed.

“We better be careful before she decides to stop our operation,“ Mirko laughed sarcastically.

“She has begun to become a problem…” Elliot muttered.

“Then kill the child,” Roland said as if casually.

“Moron, I can’t do that.” Elliot muttered “The girl’s family owns the grounds. If Kristel dies, I will be evicted by her grandmother, not to mention her family finds me short of opportunistic.”

He paused before continued “But the main issue I have is the old hag of her grandmother. She is planning to come over on new year’s supper, trying to convince me of getting the child to school as well as planning to move in here.”

“So what about it?” Roland asked with a shrug.

“I can’t keep up the act if that were to happen,” Elliot pointed out

“Then kill the old hag and her apprentice, I need new corpses anyway,” Roland rolled his eyes.

“It is not easy,” Elliot snarled. “This old hag is Rita Esther. Edward Sominos’ mother.”

“Who?” Roland asked.

“One of the head guardians in the American region.” Mirko blinked and leaned forth. “You mean you poisoned the sister of one of the Guardian’s higher ups?! And you got away with it?!” The words felt like a stab to Rick, both shocking and surprising her to the core. She knew Elliot was cruel but she hadn’t considered him responsible for Anivia’s death.

“Not to mention to what you did to his brother in-law,” Roland smirked.

“Shut up,” Elliot snapped “Anyway, the girl’s uncle he hasn't shown up, He has been very busy with the operations and his own family to travel here to meet up with us.”

“And I agree you might have to call off the operation, as Edward’s sister is Johanna Sominos, a highly regarded alchemist and expert forensic of Toronto,” the man with glasses muttered.

“And what’s the matter with this?” Roland asked annoyed.

“It means that, if the rest of this girl’s family comes over, Elliot might not be able to hide the operations from them well enough and might not even live to see the light of the day.”

“Does she suspect?” Clint asked. “The grandmother, I mean.”

“The grandmother? No, she doesn't. She is short of obsessed with the little girl, I don’t think she is aware of anything that has happened with the grounds. But Kristel is beginning to see through the lies and suspect something is going on,” Elliot muttered spitefully “For starters, she has began to use her grandmother’s presence to have things her way.”

“There is only one thing you can do, Nelson,” Roland smirked.

“Do not call me that!” Elliot stamps his fist on the table “I have worked hard to craft this new persona to be recognized back with that wimpy lackey name.”

“Why not romance the old lady like you did with her daughter with your charms?” Clint suggested.

“Because I don’t have any intel on this woman. I convinced Anivia by showing interest the way she liked and pretending interest in the same things as her. Any aspect of her personal life I figured it out. I have had my shadows ask about the grandmother, but there is little information they could obtain, and she keeps up the secrecy whenever I inquire,” Elliot snorted. “All I know is she cares for her granddaughter a lot, has a thing for the modern world and sense that she hates me to the very core.”

“Well that is shocking,” Roland laughed sarcastically.

“Enough!” Chris snorted impatiently. “Roland, you had a point, proceed, I am not in the mood for games.”

The necromancer sighed and leaned back “As I was saying. The family is planning to visit the girl, right? When?”

“In the midsts of January, thats what Rita told me hours ago.”

“And the granny?” He asked.

“In two days, on the 31st” he simply said.

“Not enough time for making the move now, isn't there? The answer is simple then. Kill the grandmother and apprentice. Kidnap the child and erase the evidence and transport the chests of unsold drugs to a new secure locations. Kill your servants, hand them over to me if you want so I can work with their corpses. By the time the investigation takes place, you will already be gone with no trace left. Is that good to you?”

“That seems like a fair plan,” Chris agreed.

“What of the girl?” Elliot asked.

“Take her with you,” Clint muttered “that way you can discourage them if they try to chase you. And once you don't need her, give her to us and we’ll ask for a ransom.”

“Seems like an ideal plan.” Elliot grinned. “I will need some more of that poison, Clint. And help for transporting things.”

“Will do,” Clint muttered before adding, “On the poison. On the moving you are on your own.

“I have to make myself a new monster, so don’t count on me,” Roland shrugged.

“I have a war coming with Bruthus’ because of you, don’t have the attention for your petty moving,” Chris spat.

“And I can’t be seen here for any purpose, so no,” Mirko growled.

“Fine, then, I’ll handle this myself,” Elliot sighed standing up “Gentlemen, for the ideal crimes. We knew this place might not last long, but we took advantage and retired as winners.” He laughed.

During all that time, Rick just stared in shock, hearing their heinous plan to take everything and escape. How they would get rid of the employees and harm little Kristel’s future. She had to stop it, she had to find a way.

“There has to be a way,” she reminded herself over and over yet her body sat back, obediently as if it wasn't her own problem. Part of her began to act as if it wasn't her issue and detached itself emotionally from the others. Rick tried to fight it, to still care but soon she found herself dominated by those feelings. Only feeling wonder and amazement at Elliot’s actions.

———

Hearing Elliot’s terrible plan, but find herself physically and mentally unable to tell it to the soon to be victims was a disheartening punishment. She spent the little time of full awareness she had thinking, on the shore’s snowbank thinking of her friends.

Remembering of she had gotten to know each and every one of the employees and the deeds she had done there. How she had aided Mina in regaining her precious memento or about the times she had talked with the fellow employers. Learning Bradhin’s real identity, chatting with Luke and playing poker with Frank.

Her mind wandered over to the children, the little kids that were part of the charade Elliot was putting up. “What would happen to them?” Rick wandered with a depressed sigh. She hated to know. Elliot would take Kristel, probably branding her on the way. The rest of them were expendable.

She didn’t want to surrender to the despair, but the reality just didn’t seemed to bend on her way. She was now bound to do nothing while terrible things happened to the rest and she as she was now would cease to exist. “If I had only acted better… Or had I not acted at all… They would’ve canceled the plan,” she thought herself, speaking out loud.

“Why did I have to push through? To take the initiative?” she told herself more and more, each time feeling an anger flaring out. To her father who brought her camping despite her reluctance, to the mermaids who insisted on this plan since the start and who got her in this situation in the first place. That anger slowly shifted into hate.

“They did this. Maybe they should experience what I’m feeling right now? Those bitches they are gonna pay when Elliot orders the cleaning of the… what the hell am I saying!?” She said out loud pushing herself up and holding her head.

Rick’s mind was beginning to slip further and further into the downward spiral. She could feel animosity when she talked about taking down the mermaids and was almost as if she was looking forward to doing it herself. “I-I can’t keep this on,” she cried.

Not long ago, she had seen Frank and Maelon passing by and  Rayna even went as far as to try to entice them into having sexual intercourse with her, almost begging. She was feeling embarrassment like any other thing in the world, for not saying shame and self hate. The two satyrs took steps away from her, declining the invitation and getting away as fast as possible.

That was almost enough she had to put up with. She wondered what would happen to her in the future. Would she forget ever being a human? Or would she, but share a similar mentality to Elliot, loving and obeying every whim like one of his shadows? None of the prospects was alluring enough.

She held her head “What do I do, what do I do?” She asked. It was then that she remembered Alita’s action. “Would it be the best solution?” she asked herself as she sat up looking over at the river, just where the trapdoor would be.

“I can’t continue, I wanna get out…” They had been the words Alita last said, and now she could understand why and asked herself if the words would serve her as well…

She took a deep sigh as she dived into the running waters. Swiftly making her way towards the trapdoor in haste, unsure of how much time left as herself she might have left.

Inside the trapdoor laid Alita’s memories and items. Her closet that once held her guitar as well as the clothes she once wore. The place had only been frequented by Rick whenever she wanted to borrow the guitar, but now it laid empty… thanks to Rick.

She sighed, glad that the place was quiet, the wooden trapdoor of above isolated every noise and sound that came from the running water.

The place was rather silent, Rick took a moment to look at the photo with the three original mermaids together at the fountain with their wedding dresses. They looked so happy. “It is a pity the happy times don’t last as much as they should…” she muttered to herself.

It was then that she noticed the diary the swamp mermaid used to keep. It was quite recent, and evident that Alita wrote on it whenever she remembered.

She sighed as she picked up and strolled through the pages. “I wonder why you did it…” she asked out loud, almost imagining as if she was talking to the memory of the mermaid. “Were you afraid?”

Her questions went silent as her fingers quickly flipped through the pages. Getting past the first tenth of the book and into the blank ones.

“It was then that she noticed something amiss, a small fragment of the pages were scribbled with ink. The words were dabbled and hasty and the message was a bit short.

“I don’t know how much time I have left,” Rick read out loud. “I feel myself slipping further into insanity with each passing day. At points I still wonder I did what I did and if it was the right time. I keep on believing vehemently that I did it for you… To keep you alive because that is what love is for. But I also did it because you are stronger than me… No, you are more persistent than me. I know you will stand up after this like you always have. You will not give up, neither you or Silvia… Part of me wants to hate you and see you pay for the trespassings yet I can’t allow these thoughts to taint my memory. Marina, my love, do not stop believing in happy times. I am doing what I am doing because… I am gonna betray you and I have to stop myself from doing this.”

Rick felt her eyes red as she began to tear up underwater. The message on the paper was a beautiful one, one that made Rick feel the closeness with the deceased mermaid.

She took a moment to consider these feelings and thoughts. With a shaky hand, she reached for the closet’s door. “I can’t continue either… and I can make things worse,” she muttered.

——

“I suppose the time has come,” Rick muttered to herself as she stared down at the falling waterfall. “Is this how she did it?” she asked out loud as she began to work quickly, tying the rope around the trunk of the nearest tree.

She gulped with every passing second, wondering if this was the right thing to do. Maybe she could try figure out a way to be freed sometime. Maybe someday, someone would return her proper mind. But that seemed just as likely as the magic police raiding the grounds. And since Elliot was moving plans, it was impossible.

She so wanted to believe there was hope in this life and a way outside of this situation. But the real and hard truth was that, the time had ran out. Soon everyone would be under Elliot’s control or disappear from the grounds. And she would help…

“This has to end now…” she said slowly as she stared down at the rushing waters, where it touched the surface of the lake, making white drizzle on its way down.

She took a moment to close her eyes and collect her thoughts. Her hands began to work nimbly as she didn't knew how long this would last. She took a moment to tighten the rope around her neck and stared down at the running water by her side.

She began to feel her body lean itself forth from the dry edge, bracing herself for the worse.

“No!” She heard a cry come from behind her as her tail fin was suddenly yanked back. Her body slipped down on the wet grass and she fell head first against the ground.

“Rick don’t!” it was Silvia’s voice coming from among the river’s cause.

“No! I have to do this!” Rick cried and squirmed as she felt someone immediately climbing over her. Her Rayna persona began to react and resurface again. Taking grip of her body and tried to fight back, to punch that who was trying to pin her down.

“No, I will not let you do this! I will not let this happen again! Not now!” It was Marina’s voice that replied.

Rayna was feisty and tried to fight with as much strength she could muster, but Rick was resisting to every single moment and squirm, fighting expertly. “You bitch!” she called out.

“No, I am gonna get rid of you and get my love back!” Marina snarled as she stamped, slamming Rick’s cheek with her elbow, a very hard blow that got Rick to spit blood on the grass. Before the black haired mermaid slammed her hand on her wrist, pinning her down, coiling her tail around her light blue scaled tail to keep her from wiggling.

“Do it Marina!” Silvia whispered.

“J-Just let me concentrate!” she yelled back, closing her eyes.

Rick couldn’t understand what they were trying to accomplish, but was trying to trust on them as much as possible. It was then that her eye saw large bird figure gliding the sky away from them. It was Megan, flying in perpendicular to their direction. Rick’s mind, or at least the small part of her that remained knew that if she saw them she would aid her. Her new mentally deranged personality was aware of that and tried to scream, which prompted Rick to bite her tongue to keep herself from talking

She rushed for a moment, trying to get her away. “We have to move!” she muttered arching her back and throwing her head against Marina’s head. She threw her head back in pain.

“I’m sorry!” Rick whispered as she seized the moment of distraction to free her arms and wrap them around Marina’s neck, and began to roll over to the river.

In that small flash, Rick could see Marina’s forearm wrestle, as the fin in her arm stretched and tensed, hardening into the small edge she had used to cut before and swung it down against the rope, snapping it.

Rick and Marina inevitably screamed as the two fell down the river’s waterfall and into the water, holding tight onto each other as they braced themselves for the fall.

Like many times before, Rick dove piercing through the surface of the lake. Inside it, while floating upside down, Rayna took hold of her body and wrestled her arms from Marina’s grip and was already working her way down to free her tail from the knot it was in.

That was when Marina gripped her cheeks and pulled her in, joining and locking their lips together in a split second for the most intense kiss in Rick’s life. But it wasn’t all over. There was a song that echoed in her mind. A voice that mesmerized Rick the first time a year ago.

It was Marina’s singing. Rick could feel her spellwording song reverberating as they kissed.

For a moment, the teal haired mermaid saw the world flash, she began to see the red aura emanating from Marina’s body, the color was rising, becoming brighter and more intense until it suddenly exploded around her.

The energy began to fill Rick’s body from the inside and outside. Coursing down her throat and somehow reaching her spine, from which it began to ascend up her spine to her brain where there was an explosion and then peace. Her mind began to clear itself as it was hers once and for all. All precepts and judgments gone like paper against the fire. The relieve was so much she was stunned for a long moment.

“What happened?” she asked, relieved of the clarity she now bore. Marina’s voice was with her now mixing in harmony with hers. Rick’s magic was now feeling overwhelming and a part of her.

“Welcome back,” Marina whispered to her, her hands sliding onto her shoulders

Rick could only smile as she held her waist and pulled her in for a long and needed kiss. “Thank you so much.”