#ikathemadhatter

L doesn’t know who’s doing this – because it’s obviously someone, these are murders – but he desperately want to. Sighing, he drags his seat closer to the table, where papers pile so high it’s a wonder they haven’t fallen off. Some of these papers look important, with the royal seal on them, but some are lowly harbingers of boredom that he wishes Watari would let him skip. Tough luck, Mello says. We’re not potential heirs for nothing.

Sometimes L just wishes for some… spice, some challenge. Something to stop the constant buzz of nothing, right behind his eyelids.

But oh, be careful what you wish for.

Sharp teeth puncture skin, and a trickle of blood gets lost in the water. The man’s face is barely visible over the deep sea.

“Speak,” the creature says in a rough voice, vocal chords strained after staying out of the water for so long. “Speak or you’re dead.”

“I dunno !” the fisherman screams. “I dunno where she is ! They took ‘er some place and we ne’er saw ‘er again !”

“Die, then,” the creature says, and he almost carelessly maintains the man’s head underwater until he’s stopped moving, and then some. He tosses the body in the little boat, still entangled in the fishnet, and dives with the speed and precision of an otherworldly fish. His long brown tail disturbs the boat as he sinks deeper and deeper, bubbles rising in a thin spiral above his head.

Light isn’t sure if what he does still has a purpose, but he’ll do it nonetheless. Protecting the kingdom is his duty as a royal, and getting Sayu back is his not so secret motive. His sister was captured moons ago and there’s still no trace of her body, which leads Light to think she’s still alive, captive on land – the worst fate a mermaid could suffer. As he reaches the palace, after dashing through empty streets of coral and bones, he is greeted by Mogi, the entrance guard, who curves his tail in greeting.

“Your Father is waiting for you, Highness.”

Light nods, and he doesn’t lose time gazing at Sayu’s favourite seashells in the main gallery – he needs her back, that’s all.

“You’ve been continuing those senseless killings,” his father tells him, without raising his eyes from the document he’s studying. “Light… I know you miss her. We all do. But this can’t go on. We won’t get her back, and you’re not helping our cause.”

All these words make sense separately but Light can’t turn them into a cohesive whole. Not helping ? What would, then ?

“Allow me to go on land, Father,” Light pleads. “I could – I would be able to learn more about where they keep her. I could free her, Father, I know I can.”

“My son… this nonsense has to stop. I forbid you from approaching the surface. Ever since her eleventh birthday, your sister wanted to get closer to the open air, and see where it got her.” Soichiro sighs, obviously pained, but Light can’t get past the blame he lays on her – a child, innocent, in need of protection. In need of help.

“As you wish, Father,” Light says through gritted teeth. His fists are balled by his side and he barely contains the fury in his movements as he exits his father’s throne hall, blindly swimming through the corridors until he’s out of the palace, in the seaweed garden. He stops on the remains of a rudder, jerky series of bubbles escaping his gills, and that’s where Misa finds him.

She silently holds his hand, and he squeezes as hard as he can. She’s heard all his rants – about how his father is abandoning his own daughter, how he’d find her if he just went up there – so he doesn’t bother repeating himself. Misa slowly sways her burgundy tail and hums a tune, a thing she always does when there’s something on her mind that she can’t say. Light’s head fins flutter irritably and she finally stops.

“Light… You know what’s left to do.”

He sighs. “Then help me pack.” They gather his crown, some throwaway jewels and polished glass in a knapsack, and Light squeezes Misa’s hands one last time before setting off to the west.

One more fisherman, and this time, he doesn’t appear to only have been drowned. Sharp bite marks punctuate his neck and arms, leaving no other choice for L but to go see her.

He hates her as much as he is fascinated by her, this otherworldly creature spinning endlessly in the castle’s dungeon. Her dark tail swishes to and fro, her head fins flutter with fear and she wrings her hands in constant worry. From the wait up, she’d almost look human – if it weren’t for the spotty skin, the scales, the fins, the gills, the gigantic eyes, the – she does not look human.

L isn’t sure if he should be afraid.

“Do you eat humans ?” is the first question he asks. She turns towards him with a blank stare.

The mermaid is in a giant glass container, about a metre high, which only allows her to be submerged horizontally, and doesn’t give her enough space to jump. As if she could, with the heavy cage surrounding her fish bowl. She speaks, but only bubbles leave her mouth, sound lost in the water. Can she even hear him ?

“I think one of your kind is killing our fishermen to try and get you back…”

Her eyes widen, which would be comical if it didn’t make her look even more frightening, and she starts slamming her fists on the glass walls. Fine cracks start to form under her knuckles, but she doesn’t stop until they widen and shards hurt her fingers. The sting of the cuts must wake her up from her frenzy and she backs away, curling her tail around herself, rocking back and forth.

L will get no more from her and he leaves, bare feet wet with seawater.

The cave is deep beneath the city, and Light takes three days to get to it. Sunbeams don’t reach that far, and the only light comes from oddly shaped seaweed, and the little animals that hustle about. He’s not sure this was a good idea, even with Misa’s encouragement, because – people have gone and never returned from this place. He could be one of them, and what would happen to Sayu ? She would have no one. She would die.

He can’t allow it.

When he enters the cave, his eyes don’t accommodate to the absence of light immediately, and all he can rely on to crawl further in is his fins and his sense of smell. Gradually, the dark lightens to grey, and he can start to make out shapes – shelves with glass bottles, endless jumble of half-carved driftwood rotting away, and…

“Oh my,” a croaky voice says, “what have we here !”

“I’m-”

“I know who you are,” the witch says. He moves, and Light can make out his shape, unnaturally long tail and pale blue skin. His eyes glow a faint yellow, and his hands are clawed. “And what would Prince Light want from me ?”

“My father won’t let me go to the surface,” he explains.

“And you’re throwing a tantrum ?” the witch answers, before laughing, brittle sound that hurts Light’s ears. “I don’t mind. I’m so bored these days, anything would seem interesting.”

“I can pay you,” Light says. He gathers up the jewels he brought, but the witch carelessly waves at him not to bother.

“Your little stones don’t interest me, Prince.” He says the word mockingly. “I have much more… fun ideas of how you could pay me for my services.”

“What do you want ?” Light says, defeated.

“Your voice.”

“My… voice ?” he says, perplexed.

“You’d be able to enchant anyone on earth with that pretty voice of yours, mermaid. It’ll be much more interesting to see you flounder without your best asset.”

Light sees red – but he has no other choice. He grits his teeth once more and nods, wordlessly grabbing the vial of murky-coloured potion the witch gives him.

He can hear his gleeful giggles as he swims away.

It takes Light another four days to reach the surface, and from there on the beach. His head pops over the water and he spots a boat, followed by a trail of seagulls. He downs the disgusting potion in one go.

At first he feels nothing. The water flowing in his gills and out again doesn’t seem any warmer. And then it happens all at once – the flow of seawater stops and he feels a sharp pain shoot through his tail, neck, face, everywhere. It only lasts for seconds, but it feels like a lifetime, and his wails gradually subside into nothingness as the potion overtakes his body.

He floats, tossed around by the waves. The sea has never seemed so cold, or so salty, or so daunting. He doesn’t feel the hands picking him up and dragging him in the boat.

If there is one constant in L’s life, it’s grievance hour in the palace gardens. This has been going on for as long as he can remember, and Watari always made sure he could sit by the throne and whisper his advice in the King’s ear. These days there’s a whole shedload of kids sitting by the throne. Mello is one of the most earnest, Near is the most sagacious, and Linda the most apt at forgiving, but they all look up to him. He is, after all, ten years their senior, first in line to inherit the throne, and… he has a known knack for those little detective stories. It’s like a game, he told Ade one day, it’s like solving the great puzzle of justice (that’s why he chose Near and Mello as next in line – they, above all the other kids, get that).

There has been one more constant, lately. A new face showing up in the village. He is young, with brown hair and eyes of that indescribable colour of the sea at sunset. His skin is light, his features sharp, so sharp, and his hands look like they’ve never known manual labour.

In one word, L is absolutely convinced this is the man murdering the fishermen in the village. At first he thought it was only a mermaid – another one – but lately palace staff have gone missing too. That’s something only a land dweller could have done. He wouldn’t have pinned it on any of the people he knows, and a new face, just in time for the new murders ? Come on, that’s a godsend.

He now has a chance at getting rid of the mermaid, catching the fisherman killer, and having a great deal of fun. No one, not even Backup, could ruin this opportunity.

He’s just gotta find proof.

Light is not stupid. He knows he’s being trailed, he just has no voice to make it known that he’s perfectly aware the palace fiend is nearby. He keeps stopping, looking back, seeing no one, and then as soon as he walks away the echoing footsteps start again. He has better things to do that play hide and seek with this dimwit, he thinks, and he decides to hurry back to the inn, where he’s being lodged until the villagers can find what to do with him.

His heart starts beating a little harder when he notices someone has left a letter for him again. The inn tenants have left it on his bed, and he avidly unwraps what he thinks is the latest piece of the enigma the prince (it’s him, there’s no other way) is slowly letting him in on.

Sure enough, a new page of scribbles, a key and several small pebbles fall from the envelope when he shakes it, and he takes a moment to admire them, licking the pebbles for the sensation of salt on his tongue – oh how he misses the sea… but he’s going back soon, he swears. He’s so close, he can feel it, so close to discovering where in the palace they hide Sayu, and if he has to kill every rotten villager standing on his path, then so be it.

His teeth and his senses aren’t as sharp but he’ll make do. A quick glance out the window proves that he was right – the blond kid from the palace is loitering in front of the inn, probably debating going in and being recognised, or remaining outside and failing his secret mission or something. Light finds it all very amusing.

He’s been on land for… several weeks. He’s starting to lose track of time. At first he was afraid – he feared he’d get imprisoned as well. But all it took was for his eyes to water (strange thing human bodies do) and they all changed their mind – apparently, his ensnaring powers still work a little. They’d decided he would stay at the inn, and they would… tolerate his presence, it seems, until a consensus was reached.

When he first entered the palace gardens for the grievance session, he could barely contain a sneer. Everything was so… earthly. The sun hit his skin with renewed vigor, and dirt got inside his sandals. The king was sitting on a throne made out of wood, and there was a strange boy perched on the steps leading to that throne. The villagers explained how they found him, and asked for guidance, but then the boy whispered something to the king, eyes set on Light.

He knows, Light thought irrationally. He knows everything. He’s gonna get me killed, fuck, I need to do something first or he’ll have the upper hand.

Nothing happened, however. The king didn’t declare him enemy number one or order his arrest. The boy just bit his thumb a little and then went back inside the palace.

That’s when the letters started. Light took a little time to gather where they were coming from – the text had no rhyme or reason, and he couldn’t even decipher most of it. It took several of these letters for Light to understand that the letters were sent out of order and that he had to piece them back together to unlock their meaning. So far he has five of them, and he feels like he’s close. The latest letters have mentioned a “she” imprisoned in the palace, hence why Light has been using palace staff to try and get in – unsuccessfully so far, and resulting in several casualties.

The newest letter makes Light pause. He reads it again, unsure of whether he got everything right the first time, and swallows his angry scream not to wake up the people next door. “She’s useless”, the messy scrawl says, “I don’t think we’ll keep her much longer”.

Light’s throat hurts from the scream it can’t let out. The air comes out as a hiss, and he doesn’t even bother reading the rest of the letter before storming out the inn by the back door, and running to the castle.

Oh, he’s been waiting for this. He planned everything and now he only has to watch.

L’s room overlooks the entrance to the dungeons, and sure enough, here the mystery man goes. He is pretty sure the body of a guard will be found by morning, but he… doesn’t really care. The gifts, the letters, everything was just not obvious enough until tonight – really, it’s quite disappointing. But maybe mermaids don’t work like that. Anyhow, L will know tonight that he was right.

His footsteps are silent on the stairs, and he creeps slowly towards the castle gardens. If he guessed right, this mermaid has incredible strength, and would be able to lift her up and carry her to the sea. A morbid part of him wants to see if she’ll recognise him, or if she’ll kill him on sight. He hopes for… he doesn’t know.

Sure enough, indistinct voices come from the lower part of the dungeon, and then a scream. There goes another guard, L guesses. Is he really the only one immune to mermaid trickery ? The villagers all seem to have accepted Light like they would a meek child. How old was he ? Years, centuries ?

Or maybe it was L who was too late. When he arrived to the dungeon, he could only find the mermaid, and no trace of her human counterpart.

He doesn’t have the key. How could he be so stupid. The prince gave him the chance to free her and he forgot the key, cage too sturdy even for him. So he waits, hidden in the dark, until the prince appears, because he will. He doesn’t know what to do – threaten him ? He could easily break his neck, even with the weak remains of his strength, but… the prince probably doesn’t have a key on him, and Light would lose his only ally.

He waits a little longer for the prince to finish scanning the room from the entrance, before slowly releasing a sigh when he’s certain he wasn’t noticed.

“I was sure he’d come here,” the prince says. “Sounds like he wasn’t here for you after all. Maybe he wasn’t even a mermaid and I made that all up in my head. I was so sure though…”

Light’s teeth clamp down on his lip so hard they draw blood. His feelings threaten to bubble out of his mouth, too loud breathing alerting the prince of his presence in the room. Eventually the prince leaves, and Light walks closer to the cage. Sayu’s eyes widen when she sees him, and he has to gesture pleadingly at her not to make any noise.

“Oh, Light !” she whispers. “You shouldn’t have come.”

Nonsense ! He wants to scream, caution be damned, tell her that he’ll be back for her, but… he can’t. His voice was stolen from him and he can’t.

He leaves at dawn, when he can’t stay any longer. Today a grievance session will take place, and the palace will soon be full of people. He hasn’t come back to any of them, but he thinks today he should. He stands in the back, hidden by a tree, and listens to the villagers make complaint after complaint. Nothing stands out, they don’t even talk about him – they really have grown used to his presence…

“We have an announcement to make,” the king ends up saying. Whispers run wild through the crowd, and it takes a few minutes for the silence to come back. “We will be releasing the mermaid.”

“What ? No ! You can’t do this !” come the cries from the villagers, but Light hears nothing of it. Blood rushes in his ears and he can hear it on a loop “releasing the mermaid”. Was it that easy ? He can’t believe it.

“She is of no use,” the king continues, “and we fear the recent murders have been in retaliation for her captivity. We already have a suspect, that we will be arresting shortly.”

That’s him, Light thinks. He can’t run away though – not until he’s seen Sayu free with his own two eyes.

He has only one thing left to do. Leaving the shelter of the tree, he cautiously walks closer to the throne, and catches the prince’s eye. The prince smiles at him, still biting his thumb, but no one comes to imprison him. A chill runs down Light’s back – he’s been played like a mouse between a cat’s claws.

The mermaid is released at dusk. She screams in that strange tongue of hers, thrashing no matter what they say to calm her, and as soon as she hits the water, she dives, and she isn’t seen again. Good riddance, L thinks, and, that’ll teach them for trying to meddle with what should be left alone.

The boy is here, tears barely concealed, and long after everyone has left, he’s still standing, fists balled at his side, shoulders shaking.

L doesn’t know what to do. Should he arrest him now ? He’s got all the proof he wants, which… might not be substantial enough for a court, but eh, he’s a prince. He can get away with more things than the local police.

The boy eventually leaves, and L resists the urge to follow. He might end up dead, he tries to reason, but the boy’s eye shine red under the setting sun, and the tears welled up there look like blood.

Light waits by the sea. He only comes back to the village when hunger is intolerable, at first, and then not at all.

Misa shows up on the fifth day, when he’s so dehydrated he could pass out. Her eyes are sad, but determined. She speaks so softly he doesn’t understand, and hands him a vial – a witch’s vial, cold to the touch, the potion inside it oily black and repulsive. Light downs it in one go, just like before.

The effects are immediate this time. First, he feels warm all over, and he falls forward into the sea with a sigh of delight, while his tail reforms and his lungs fill with water once more. He wants to dive deep, desperately, but he can’t see Misa anymore. He looks around, confused, until a hand reaches out from – the surface ?

His head pops up above the waves, and he sees her. Misa has hoisted herself up a rock, and she’s looking down at him. She would cry if she had human eyes, Light thinks. She’s holding a vial with a potion not to dissimilar from his own, and she drinks it as quickly as she can – before he can stop her.

“No !” he tries to scream, but his voice is hoarse from disuse. “Misa, no !”

She smiles sadly, and holds out her hand. Light reaches out, and out, but he can’t seem to reach her in time.

In a matter of seconds, Misa has turned to foam, and he’s left looking at a rock beaten up by the sea, surrounded by white nothingness. He remains silent. He has no words, nothing to say – she knows already.