The Biggest Catch, Scene v1

It wasn’t until early morning before she arrived. The town was already awake and lively. The port was littered with fishermen selling their morning catch to the townsfolk and businesses. Kismet walked to the inn near the entrance of town, taking extra care in keeping her features as hidden as possible. She spotted Lucas’ horse tied at the side of the building. Glancing through the front window, she didn’t see him in the main room. It must’ve been a long night, after all.

News quickly resonated through the city of a boat having caught an Undine. Kismet had only heard rumors of Undines, which were said to be tribes of water spirits who live under water. Undines were rarely ever seen since they rarely ever surfaced, and those who actually managed to catch them became rich by selling them to the wealthiest people in the Empire. Kismet curiously slipped between the alleyways toward the docks to see the Undine.

Hundreds of people lined the dock of a modest sized fishing boat. Citizens, travelers, and guards alike all peered over the heads of others, eagerly awaiting to see the captured Undine. Only four have ever been captured within the last one hundred years. Three of the Undines were traded to the Empire, which were then given as a gift of friendship to the Lokem Republic and Telan Empire, and the third placed in the aquarium in Rokan. The fourth was sold to the wealthiest merchant in the border city of Eliad, which borders the Rokan and Telan Empire. And now, a fifth had been captured.

Six fishermen hoisted up a large, glass tank. Inside was a young Undine, who appeared to be no older than twelve, pounding against the walls and crying out for help, but her voice was sealed in by the enclosed tank. From the waist down, her body was like the tail of a fish, covered in subtle shimmering blue scales, with a powerful fin at the end. Her head and torso, however, looked human. Her skin was a pale sky blue, and appeared smooth as silk. Her small hands were webbed, and a long, thin silky fin hung from both her arms, as if they were wings. Small scales covered most of her body in several different shades of blue, primarily on her backside. Her jet-black hair was long and wispy, reaching just beyond her waist. She gazed out desperately with her large black eyes, only to find curiously excited faces gazing back at her in fascination.

The crowd cooed and awed at the helpless Undine, voicing their envy and their admiration for its eerie beauty. Watching the helpless water spirit be carried away into the auction house broke Kismet’s heart. To be confined and traded away to serve as someone’s decoration would be a cruel fate. She slid from building to building and inched herself under the side window of the auction room. The voices of excited bidders and observers poured out of the open window, along with the helpless thumps of the Undine.

The gavel sounded, and the auction began. The bids rose rapidly by those throughout the room, dwindling down to three wealthy entrepreneurs, and a magistrate’s representative. Whispers and low mumbles filled the room with every new bid, as the offers rose to numbers people normally dream of. By the end, the representative bid the highest, winning the auction for two hundred thousand silver coins.



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