But the second option was much more tougher than the first. Any day her legs may become a tail and then she'd be stuck on land, shunned and despised, used and abused.

Scientists would want to dissect her limb by limb and discover the cause behind the transformation. Criminals would try to kidnap her and demand huge ransom from them.

Then she may be sold to a showman who would put her up for display in a glass case to be gloated by all in exchange of money. She may even be made to model for big brands who may start a whole series of mermaid fashion.

The more she thought, the more insecure she grew. She kept tossing and turning in bed every night contemplating her choices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Celine, what's the matter? You look off today. Your voice is hoarse too."

"Nothing Ken. It's just that I have a sore throat," she muttered, adjusting the scarf that hid her gills.

It was a new change, as her gills were developing, her voice was getting heavier. But she had discovered that she was beginning to be able to breathe and speak underwater and so she guessed it must be some kind of adaptation for communicating underwater. After all it would need a different frequency and loudness.

Her boyfriend put a comforting arm around her and immediately drew back.

"You're freezing!" he exclaimed.

She touched her skin. It was cold and clammy. She stared at it with horror.

"You need to check with the  physician. You're sick," Ken tried to convince her.

"I'm not," she mumbled, "You won't understand."

"Make me understand."

"Leave me alone."

She broke free from his grip and ran off, fighting back the tears which threatened to spill.

He stood stupefied for a second and then let out a sigh. His girlfriend was changing and changing for the worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celine stood at the beach. It was 1.00 am and the pitch black sky had merged with the tumultuous black waters.

She took a deep breath and moved forward till her feet touched the edge of the water.

She had taken her decision. It was becoming exceedingly difficult to stay in the human world.

She moved forward till she was waist deep in swirling white foam.

"Celine!"

The scream shattered her heart.

It was Ken and his voice had pure panic.

She immediately jumped further in, trying to get away from him.

She could feel her lungs collapsing, but the gills were maintaining a steady supply of air.

A pair of strong hands gripped her from behind and dragged her kicking and screaming from the water and flung her on the sand.

"What the heck were you doing?" Ken's angry voice rang out. "Are you trying to kill yourself."

"It's nothing you need to know."

"Maybe I could solve your problem," he said gently.

"Just forget me, Ken and let me go," she struggled in his grip.

"No."

"Fine. You want to know my problem? I'm not a human anymore. I'm transforming into a freaking mermaid."

A tense silence followed.

"I know there isn't any rationale behind it. This can't be..."

Her words were cut off by her own scream as it seared through her legs. It was as if her every nerve was on fire.

"Celine, what happened?" Ken tried to calm her down as she writhed on the sand.

Her legs got stuck together and soon they became shiny, scaly and indistinguishable. And then it began to gain lustre and the waves surprisingly washed ashore to cover her. A tail appeared. It was a beautiful shade of blue which shone purple at an angle.

Ken  stood there staring in awe as he dropped down beside her and ran a hand along the edge of her exposed gills and over her tail. There was a distinguishable gleam of pleasure in his eyes.

But this moment lasted for a second as she started gasping for air. Her lungs were failing.

"Ken, Water!" she said weakly before losing consciousness.

Ken lost no time in lifting her off the ground and took her into the cold sea, holding her underwater in his arms.

Her eyes fluttered open.

And she saw Ken. She hugged him tight and sobbed.

"I'm going to miss you. Always remember how I loved you. Now I need to go find the world of the mermaids."

"Celine, look at me," he said gently.

She looked at him and found him running his hands along the sides of his neck.

And there were distinct red gill slits with tiny bubbles along the edges.

He pointed towards his feet. There were a  pair of midnight blue fins and a tail which glistened in the dark.

"You're..."

She couldn't speak.

"Yes, I am. I can transform myself between a merman and a human and exist in both worlds. With time you'll learn to control your magical abilities too. The transformation is what is the worst. The rest is all a dream sequence. You can go to the human world freely, no gills, no tails. You'll regain your mermaid form the moment your body touches water."

"For how long have you been what you are?"

It was still hard to say the word out loud.

"It happens one in a hundred years. That blessed human gains immortality!" he informed, "But I'm not a transformed human. I'm the prince of Oceania."

Her mouth dropped open, "There's a town underwater?"

"In the legends of Oceania has been mentioned a human who will turn on a new moon night,, after a hundred years of the Prince's birth. She will be the savior  who'll rescue Oceania from the clutches of evil and she will be the one who'll be betrothed to the prince," Ken smiled.

"That means I'm your..."

"Betrothed. You're Princess Celine. The valiant warrior Goddess of our mythology."

His lips crashed into her. She wrapped her arms around him their tails entwined,losing herself in the perfect moment of bliss.

The beautiful dawn broke.

1000 words completed
A/N Written for the summer festival by WattFest

Thanks Pipigrin MaryFahey KashishBelikov teamhathaway
lindajonesAuthor for always supporting me.