The River Maid (7 page)

Lying back against the rock, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to curl up as best she could. She wondered if they were still looking for her or if they had given up by now that she was still alive. Had no one thought it strange that Lorelei should appear just as Adrianna disappeared?

It felt awkward and uncomfortable lying like this. She couldn’t tuck her legs under like she usually slept and the rocks dug into her back. The water came up to her chest and lapped against her cheek. She would never be able to sleep she thought, but soon, exhausted from holding on to the cliff all night, her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep. 

~~~~~

Christian rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the stiffness in his back from spending the last several hours in the saddle. It had been a long day. They had been up late last night searching for the missing girl until the rain had made it too dangerous on the cliffs to continue, and then they had been up at dawn to continue the search for her.

Next to him, Gaspard looked just as weary, his usual cheerful face grave and lined with worry. For once, he hadn’t complained about being on a horse, but Christian knew the missing girl meant something to him. Gaspard reached into his coat and pulled out a silver flask. He unscrewed the lid and took a swallow before offering it to Christian. Christian accepted the flask gratefully. The brandy raced through him, warming him up.

“We’re not going to find her,” Christian said, handing him back the flask. “We’ve searched the cliffs and along the riverbank. If she fell into the river, her body could be miles away by now.”

Gaspard slipped the silver flask back into his breast pocket. “
She could still be found.”

Christian didn’t voice his doubts. If she had fallen into the river, she would have stood little chance. The cold would have killed her if not the water.

Men from the town, their faces grim and disheartened, were pulling their boat up onto the bank. They had been searching further down the river. From their faces, Christian knew they had found nothing, but he turned his horse and nudged his mare over to them anyway. 

“
We found no sign of her,” a thick, red-haired man said as Christian rode up. “We asked in St Goar, but no one has seen her.”

“Go back to the town and get something warm to eat
,” Christian said. “You can continue the search tomorrow.”

The man shook his head. “We would rather keep looking.” He nodded further down the river to where a figure stood by the river
’s edge. “That’s the girl’s mother. As long as there’s daylight, we will keep going.” The men climbed back into the boat and used the oars to push away from the bank.

Gaspard sighed heavily from behind him.
“I will go and speak with her.”

“
No,” Christian said, wanting to spare him the pain. “I’ll do it.”

He rode over to her, trying to think of what he would say. The chance that her daughter was still alive was becoming less and less likely with each passing hour, but he couldn
’t tell her that. As he got closer he could see that her eyes were swollen and red from weeping. She wore only a thin dress and had no shawl or cloak, despite the strong wind. 

“
Have you found her?” she asked as he approached, hope filling her voice.

Christian stopped his horse before her.
“No. I’m sorry.” She started to sob into her hands, her shoulders shaking. He was at a loss how to comfort her. “We’re doing everything that we can to find her.” He couldn’t tell her there was little hope now.

She wiped the tears away with the back of her head and took a deep breath to compose herself.
“Have you spoken to the girl from the river?” 

“Why would I need to speak to her
?”

She clutched his stirrup. “
She saw Adrianna. I know she did. I heard her singing. She was singing the same song that Adrianna has been singing for weeks now. How could she have known the song?”

“
Perhaps in your distress you were mistaken.”

“
She knows what happened to Adrianna. I know she does.”

“
I will question her,” Christian said reluctantly.

She released his stirrup and nodded, the sudden fire gone. He watched as she made her way back to the town, her shoulders hunched against more than just the wind, her head down. 

“It’s strange that one girl vanishes just as another appears,” Gaspard said from behind him. He had been listening to their conversation.

“Do you really
believe that Lorelei harmed that girl?” Christian asked, turning his horse so he could face his tutor. “Lorelei is half her size and so weak she could barely walk. What reason would she have for harming her?”

Gaspard shook his head. “
I don’t know, but surely she would have passed Adrianna on her way to the town. She must have seen her. And how did she survive in the river? There have been no reports of any ships going down. It does not make sense.”

“
Lorelei is a guest of my family’s. She has been through a great ordeal. I will not have you making accusations against her.”

“
I wouldn’t dare.”

Lorelei was so fragile. He remembered her slender arms wrapped around his neck, ready to snap under the weight of her bracelets. He couldn’t believe her capable of harming anyone. It had to be a coincidence that Adrianna had disappeared on the same day that Lorelei had appeared.

Chapter Eight

Lorelei moved her aching shoulders and winced at the knots of tension in her neck from holding the same position for hours. Her eyes started to drift shut, but she jerked upright, forcing herself to stay awake. She had been waiting for Christian to return since breakfast, watching as the sun rose to its height and then started its lazy descent in the sky. Day had given way to night now and still she kept watch for him. Every noise, every movement outside, she jumped up, her heart racing, thinking it was him.

Earlier, she had dined alone with Christian
’s mother. She still wasn’t sure how she should address her. The servants called her Her Highness, while Christian addressed her as mother. Her Highness had tried to make conversation with her, but she hadn’t known how to reply when she spoke about the latest fashions in Europe. In the end, they had eaten in silence. Afterwards, worried she had somehow missed Christian returning, Lorelei had excused herself. There was a better view of the path leading to the castle from her bedroom window.

She finally saw movement outside. She held her breath as she waited to see who it was. A servant held a lantern up. In its light, she saw Christian swinging down from his black horse. She immediately jumped up and ran from her room. The pain in her feet forced her to slow her pace as she hurried down the stairs. Christian strode in, looking tired, his boots leaving a muddy trail behind him. She whirled to a stop as she caught sight of him. Dark growth shadowed his strong jaw and lines of weariness etched his face. She wanted to brush back the strands of wet hair from his forehead and soothe the lines from his brow.

“Has my mother retired yet?” Christian asked, his question directed to the male servant who was helping him out of his wet coat.

“
Not yet, Your Highness. She’s waiting for you in the drawing room.”

“
Thank you.”

Lorelei smoothed down her dress as she waited for Christian to notice her, but he was already striding away. She followed soundlessly after him, waiting for him to turn and see her. He entered the drawing room, closing the door behind him and shutting her out. She moved closer to the door and pressed her ear against it. His mother was with him. She could hear their voices through the wood.

“You look exhausted,” his mother said.

“
I am exhausted,” Christian replied. He sounded weary.

“
Where is Gaspard?”

“He’s
still out looking. He refuses to give up.”

“I take it you didn’t find her?” she asked.

“
No.” There was a long pause. “We had to abandon the search once it got too dark to see.”

Fabric rustled and Christian
’s mother said, “You tried, Christian.”

“
Not hard enough.” He sighed. “I promised her mother that I would find her. I shouldn’t have given her hope.”

“
You did what you thought was best.”

“The girl’s mother
is convinced that Lorelei knows something about her daughter’s disappearance.”

Lorelei held her breath, unable to breathe.

“That’s preposterous.”

“
I agree, but Gaspard thinks she must have seen something.”

At that moment, the door opened and Hanna came out carrying an empty tray and almost running into Lorelei. Through the open door, Christian
’s mother could see her from where she sat on the couch next to Christian. With nowhere to hide, Lorelei approached hesitantly. Christian immediately rose when he saw her and bowed.

His mother frowned.
“Lorelei, come in and sit down. Christian cannot sit until you do.”

Blushing, she sat down on the chair facing the couch and once she was seated, Christian sat.

“I’m sorry I had to leave you today,” he said, his blue eyes meeting hers. “I hope my mother has been taking care of you in my absence.” She nodded, unable to speak. “There’s something I have to ask you.” He leaned forward. “Yesterday, a girl went missing from the town. No one has seen her since. Did you see her when you were down at the river? She would be about your own age.”

“
I saw no one.” Lorelei clenched her hands tightly in her lap. Christian was finally speaking to her and he was talking about Adrianna.

“
Forgive me, but I had to ask.”

He rose and she immediately stood as well.
“If you will excuse me, I should retire.” He bowed to her. He stopped to kiss his mother on the forehead and left.

Lorelei felt as if he had taken a knife and plunged it into her heart. Why did he care about finding Adrianna? She had spent so long waiting to be with him, and now that she was finally here, he was off looking for another girl. 

“Christian doesn’t seem to care for my company,” she said, gazing after him.

His mother smiled at her. “
That’s not true. He’s simply tired. We’re glad to have you staying with us, until your memory returns.”

Lorelei wandered slowly back to her room, taking each step one at a time. She had given up everything for him. She would have cut out her tongue if it had been necessary, in order to be with him. What was she if Christian didn’t love her? She wasn’t anything. She could never go back to the river, not now that she had given her tail up. She sat down on the window seat and drew her knees up and pressed her cheek against them. She had never cared for anyone before. She had loved her sisters, but never a human. Christian had to love her. If he didn’t, there would be nothing left of her. He must love her. He must.

~~~~~

Water lapped against her cheek. Adrianna opened her bleary eyes and sat up slowly, wincing from the rocks that had dug into her back during the night. Light filtered through the cracks in the cave. Beneath the water, was a green shape where her legs should be. Adrianna closed her eyes as the events of the previous day came back to her. It wasn
’t real; it couldn’t be real. Unable to bear looking at it, she closed her eyes, shutting out the sight of the tail. She lay there, her heart racing, afraid to face what she was now.

Taking a deep breath, she sat up and stripped off her dress and petticoats and forced herself to look at it - the
thing
that was where her legs should be. Beginning just beneath her hip bone, the pale skin gave way to green scales. They were not entirely green. Every scale was a different shade; from dark emerald, to silver, to nearly blue. It caught the light and glistened like the faceted sides of one of Lorelei’s jewels. How could something so monstrous be so beautiful, she wondered? It ended in a set of transparent fins as delicate and thin as the finest lace that spread out like a fan.

She touched the scales with her fingertips. They were warm and smooth, not cold or slimy as she had feared. She dug her nails into the top where the tail merged with her skin. They drew blood and left little half-moons. She clawed at it, desperately trying to scrape the scales away. The area became red and sore, but the scales didn
’t move. It was part of her now and it wasn’t going away. She blinked away tears. She wasn’t cold in the water, although she should have been, and her fingers hadn’t wrinkled from being in the water either.

She wasn
’t human anymore. She was a mermaid.

Panic and horror suddenly filled her. She screamed and pounded her fists on the walls. Her tail struck the water, sending a wave over her. Objects were swept off the shelf, hitting her as they fell with a splash.

She calmed down and forced herself to breathe slowly. She pulled on her dress, but left off the petticoats. With shaking hands, she pulled the fabric down to cover the tail. She could breathe again once it was covered. She would pretend it wasn’t there, that it wasn’t part of her. She was just a girl, she told herself. Just a girl like all the others.

She picked up the golden cups and jewels that had been knocked into the water. They dated back centuries, from every period of history, all the way back to the Count
’s time. She wasn’t going to stay here as Lorelei had done. She was going to find a way to get her legs back.

She pushed herself to a sitting position and began to search the shelves. She didn
’t know what exactly she was looking for; something, anything, that would tell her how to get her legs back. She took everything off the shelves and even shook out the clothes, but there was no clue about what had been in the potion that Lorelei had drunk. No crushed bones or ground up seahorses. Lorelei could have another hiding place in the river. The maid had been here for centuries.

Frustrated, she lay back and listened to the drip, drip of the water as it filtered through the rocks. The walls of the cave suddenly seemed to close in around her. She needed to get out. She hesitated briefly before she went under and into the hole. She followed the tunnel out of the cave in darkness, her hands stretched out in front of her to feel her way through. She ran out of breath, but she found she could breathe underwater. She emerged from the tunnel into the river and looked around. The light above her suggested a sunny day. She stayed by the entrance to the cave, holding onto the rock, afraid to let go. She could quickly dart back into the tunnel and hide if she needed too.

After several minutes, she finally took one hand from the rock and then the other. She felt the current gently pulling and tugging her away from the cave. She moved her tail. It was the barest movement, but it propelled her forward. She moved her tail back and forth, using her arms to direct herself. She found herself going in the wrong direction. She wriggled and kicked her tail. Finally, she was able to go in a straight line. She smiled, wanting to tell someone what she had done, but there was no one to tell. 

She swam all the way down to the riverbed and touched the slime-coated dark wood that jutted out from the silt. She directed herself upwards, using her tail to propel her. She made sure there were no fishing boats nearby and then she slowly raised her head above the water. She stayed by the cliffs, out of sight. She could see the town and the castle far above it. Were they still looking for her, she wondered? Or had they given up? Her mother must think that she was dead. She could see people on the riverbank, but they were too far away for her to identify. It hurt watching them. She had longed to leave the town, but now all she wanted was to be back there with them.

She dove down. She could pretend that she wasn’t crying underwater. She slipped back through the tunnel to her cave. She pulled herself up onto the ledge and lay back so that the water reached up to her neck and lapped around her like a blanket. No one knew where she was. She didn’t even know what she was now. She had to find a way to get her legs back, but how?