#mergrelle

The mermaids and selkies are normally enemies because they constantly compete for territory, treasure, magical items, and the like. However, one day, teen Grelle is swimming through the ocean and sees that selkie Hannah is about to be captured by a crew of evil sailors (maybe led by the nefarious Captain Claude Faustus?) who want her seal pelt. Grelle doesn’t quite know why, but she feels compelled to save Hannah, who is grudgingly grateful and intrigued by the pretty mermaid. Despite themselves, neither one can quite forget the other. ;)

*insert timeskip of a few years here*

Music is an integral part of both mermaid and selkie culture, and singing duets is a common activity for lovers or married couples. Grelle likes to go off by herself and sing sometimes late at night (she’s a little self-conscious about her voice being lower than it ought to be). Hannah secretly follows her a few times to listen. One night, after Grelle finishes singing a traditional mermaid tune (in the merpeople’s language), she hears an unfamiliar voice singing in selkie language. She turns around, and lo and behold, Hannah is sitting on a nearby rock. The two make a big show of pretending not to notice one another while they alternate between singing mermaid and selkie melodies. This goes on for several weeks, until, one fateful night, Grelle starts improvising a song in the sea folks’ common language. After she finishes the first stanza, Hannah takes over with improvised lyrics of her own. The two wind up singing in harmony at the end. Afterwards, they’re both a little stunned, because creating new songs together is normally something only done when the two parties are in a deeply committed relationship. “But it’s forbidden,” thinks Grelle. “But selkies and merpeople are supposed to never join one another in song,” thinks Hannah.