Part 3

The beach was silent. Silent and empty except for the two figures standing there. Seleni ventured a glance at the boy. He looked embarrassed, like he didn't know what to do. She felt just as embarrassed. She'd always known that there were such things as humans, but she'd never actually met one. It seemed odd to be standing next to one. What was she supposed to say? And then of course there was the whole question of trying to get her fur coat back. How was she supposed to do that? What if for some reason he didn't want to give it back? Humans were supposed to be dangerous.

Just then the young man held it out to her.

"Take it," he said. "I just picked it up to have a look. You can go back to the sea if you want."

He looked sad. The playful happiness she'd seen just minutes earlier had vanished. It was almost as if he didn't want Seleni to go, and that seemed oddly sweet to her. But she reached out to take the coat all the same. Relief rushed through her as soon as her fingers closed around its wet, silky surface. She hadn't really thought he would refuse to give it back, but you never knew. It was much safer to have it in her own possession.

Now the only thing to do was to put it on and dive back into the waves. Her friends were probably waiting for her a little way off.

Only she didn't want to go.

She looked at the waves. Reflected on their surface, she seemed to see an image of what would happen tomorrow. She would spend the morning getting elaborately dressed, then go through the long wedding ceremonies to marry King Reydhan, the ruler of the kingdom next to her father's. The evening would be spent in parties and revelry, then she would leave home to settle down in a foreign palace, in a foreign country, with a man she hardly knew. She had never objected to Reydhan before. It had seemed all right - after all, there was no one else she loved. Then why did she feel so sad?

Because there was no one else she loved.

The realization came home to her. She had never liked anyone - not in that way (unless you counted the prime minister's son, whom she'd daydreamed about at the age of seven) - and she'd never had any romantic experience. Here, on the moonlit beach, alone with a guy who seemed really sweet, she wanted a chance at finding love. If it didn't work out, she could always return to the ocean. She had nothing to lose. She should at least try.

So she looked at him. And as soon as her eyes met his, in that now-familiar thrill of recognition, she felt happiness blossom inside her. It was as if the world had burst out singing.

"I don't have to go quite yet," she said. "And I have to apologize about my friends running away from you. They're just not used to humans. We've never seen any before."

"It's fine," he said, looking happier as he realized that she wasn't going. "Though I have to point out that I'm not used to selkies and yet I didn't run away from you."

"Probably because we're so hypnotizingly beautiful," said Seleni laughingly. "Wait - how do you know about selkies? I mean, obviously you know about them because you've just seen us, but how do you know what we're called selkies?"

"We humans have a lot of folklore about selkies and mer-creatures. My grandmother likes to tell stories about them. I used to love her stories when I was a kid. I still do, actually," he admitted, glancing at her as if to see if she thought that was silly.

"Me too! My grandmother tells the best stories. Everyone laughs at me for still liking to listen to them, though. So does your grandmother live with you?"

"Yes. We live right back there, that's where the village is. I'm Dalriad, by the way."

"I'm Seleni."

They talked for a long time. Seleni put her coat down on a convenient rock, and the two of them walked up and down the beach, forgetting about time and the coldness of the night. Dalriad told stories and jokes, listened to Seleni's own thoughts, and made her laugh - and it seemed like she was making him laugh too. It was strange how much they found to talk about, considering that they'd had wildly different upbringings. Seleni was an ocean princess, whose life consisted of balls and courts and politics; Dalriad only had experience with fishing and the life of the village. They had almost no experiences in common. Maybe that was the reason they had so much to talk about. Whatever one of them said was wildly interesting and new to the other one.

At last they wandered back to the spot where Seleni had first come ashore. Seleni made a quick decision. She hated to leave, but she had to go back, though tears filled her eyes at the thought. Her entire life was built around the ocean, however much her yearning for something better was pushing her to stay here. And her father's warning was echoing in her thoughts. She walked down to the shore and stood there, the wind lifting her dark hair.

"Dalriad," she said, "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. My friends and my father will be wondering where I am -" She paused. She had left her coat on the rocks  - but where were the rocks? All she could see was sand and water. The beach was clean, not a single untidy furry coat anywhere. It was gone. The tide had come in and covered the rocks, and her coat must have floated out to sea.

Dalriad saw her expression. "What's the matter?"

"Dalriad, my seal-coat is gone." She had to stop there, for her throat was choking up. She turned away and wiped her eyes furiously. "I can't get back to the sea without it. I can't swim far enough to get to my father's palace, or anywhere where we selkies live. The only way I can get there is by turning into a seal. And - " she felt her breath catch as she spoke - "I can't turn into a seal if I don't have that coat. It's my fault. I shouldn't have put it down on the rocks. I should have known the tide was coming in."

She felt more shaken than she ever had. In her sheltered, comfortable life, nothing like this had ever happened. 

But maybe this would be the best thing that had ever happened. Hadn't she just been getting teary-eyed at the thought of leaving Dalriad? It would have taken all she had to go back to the sea and never see him again. She was glad, after all, that she didn't have to.

"Seleni," said Dalriad hesitantly, "I don't know if you feel comfortable with this, but would you like to stay at my house? We have a guest room, and I know my parents would be all right with it. They're all about hospitality. And I really want to do something to help you."

Seleni paused only a second. Yes, Dalriad was a stranger, and yes, she had been brought up to refuse help from anyone except other royals. But there was really nowhere else she could go. She was alone, adrift in a strange world, and she needed help.

"I'd love to stay with you," she said. "Thank you."

oh and Iffy just said <eekzy> which given that she's a guinea pig is really fitting, since guinea pigs squeak. somehow it seems very cute :)

now she says <pgpov> my goodness she is being coherent!! But no, Iffy, saying that you are cute is not a PG point of view!! Honestly, you're so sassy sometimes~

Part 4

Seleni couldn't believe her eyes as she and Dalriad entered the village.

They were standing on a narrow stone street that ran a little way, then curved out of sight. On either side were houses with whitewashed, smooth walls that only reached a little way above Seleni's head. They had deep-set windows that looked smoky periwinkle blue in the darkness of the night. Each window had a wide outer windowsill, so that it was set deep in the wall, and on these windowsills were small blue bowls holding candles. Some of the candles were lighted, making those windows look like golden squares of light. Here and there was a gnarled old tree, its roots making cracks in the street. Above was a dark sky filled with stars. Everything was hushed, even the ceaseless voice of the waves that came from beyond the houses. To Seleni, used to the flamboyant palaces of the ocean, the scene was beautiful, a mix of gold light and blue windows and white walls and starlight and duskiness and Dalriad. She took a deep breath of cool air and turned to him.

"Do you like it?" he asked softly.

"It's wonderful," she answered.

"My house is that one," he said, pointing to one whose windows were illuminated from within. "It looks like my mother's still up. She waits for me when I'm out late."

Seleni hadn't thought about meeting Dalriad's mother. "Do you think she'll like me?"

"Of course she will," said Dalriad, as if it was obvious. "Let's go in."

Seleni found herself passing through a low doorway into a small, cozy, firelit room. The floor was covered in thick reddish patterned rugs, all thrown together haphazardly, since no one of them was big enough to cover the entire floor. There was a bookshelf in the corner, and a sofa covered with cushions. Opposite her, was a fireplace with a large warm fire burning merrily. There were also small lamps standing around, each giving off a warm golden light. And next to the fire, sitting in a low rocker, was a tiny plump woman with curly brown hair and the expression of a matriarch. Her eyes were keen, but there were laugh lines around them, and she was knitting, her dainty hands busily flying among the needles. 

"Dalriad!" she exclaimed as soon as he came in. She put down her knitting and stretched up her arms to hug him, as he bent down and awkwardly kissed her. "Where have you been?" Then she noticed Seleni standing shyly in the doorway. Her eyes widened.

"Allow me to introduce Seleni," said Dalriad formally. "Seleni, this is my mother, Lolis. Mother, this is Seleni."

"Good evening," said Lolis, in a rather chilly tone. "A pleasure to meet you." Her eyes were darting from Dalriad to Seleni, and it was evident she could see what was going on between them.

"Mother," said Dalriad, "I brought Seleni home because she has nowhere else to go. She is a selkie -" He was going to say more, but Lolis interrupted him.

"A selkie." She was obviously surprised. "Dalriad, is this true? Wherever did you find her?"

"On the shore," said Dalriad. "I saw her come ashore as a seal, with my own eyes. She is certainly a selkie."

Lolis looked at Seleni. That wild fluid beauty, those enormous violet eyes - yes, that was no human girl. Her first instinct was suspicion. But then she noticed the innocence in Seleni's eyes, the dignity in the way she stood quietly at the door without begging for hospitality. Seleni was certainly nothing like Dalriad's last girlfriend, she thought. 

At that moment Seleni stepped forward.

"I understand if you don't want to let me stay here," she said respectfully. "I would not ask you for hospitality if I were able to return home. But I have lost my seal coat, and without it I cannot go back to the depths of the sea, which is where my people live. I am alone in the world. I have been so bold as to accept your son's invitation for that reason, and for that reason only."

Lolis was a woman of action. She took her decisions swiftly, summing up the situation and taking what seemed to her the best course, without any pausing or uncertainty. In this case, she knew she was hesitant about letting a sea-girl stay in her own house - moreover, a sea-girl whom her son seemed to be in love with. But she couldn't turn her out to spend the night on the street, and there was something about Seleni that made Lolis think that she was "a good girl."

"Then stay by all means," she said, with a hospitable smile. She got up and put her knitting on the mantelpiece. "We have an extra room where you can stay. Are you hungry? Shall I fix something for you? My husband has already gone to bed, or I'd introduce you to him.  Men are so fond of sleeping, as I'm sure you know. Even Dalri here is no exception," she added fondly. "No, no, do let me make you something," she continued over Seleni's protests. "You must need something after being outside in the cold. The nights do get chilly here, you know. Just a slice of bread and some tea. Sit down."

Thus it was that Seleni was accepted into Dalriad's household. At first she was supposed to be there for only a few days, until something better could be found. But she and Lolis got along splendidly, and Dalriad's father, Derian, liked her too, in his quiet, undemonstrative way, and Dalriad's grandmother thought she was perfect in every way. The few days stretched into a few weeks, the happiest of Seleni's life. She loved living here, and she loved being with Dalriad. She loved Dalriad, period.  Those weeks were always defined, in her memory, by the things he did. How he enlivened every day with his laughter and confidence and encouragement of everyone. How sometimes Seleni glanced up from helping Lolis with something, and discovered that his gaze was fixed on her face with an intense expression. How he brought her a seashell he had found while he was fishing, to make her feel less homesick (how had he known she was homesick, when she'd never said a word about it?). Most beautiful memory of all: standing outside, under an archway in the street, with the jasmine flowers blooming around them, and Dalriad telling her that he loved her and that he wanted to marry her.

Half-laughing, half-crying, she accepted his proposal, and the two of them walked slowly home - for to Seleni it was home now - and told Lolis and Derian that they wanted to get married. Both parents gave their consent, of course, and the wedding was duly celebrated in the simple stone church, with the entire village present, for almost everyone there knew Dalriad. There had never been such a beautiful day in either Dalriad's or Seleni's lives - except perhaps for that sunset evening when they first met.

Slowly a year took its course. The days were all alike, and yet never monotonous. In the mornings Seleni and Lolis got breakfast, then the men went to the sea to fish. Seleni went through the empty, sunlit fields to the white inviting beach and bathed herself in the shallow, warm waves. Every morning the sky was blue, the air was balmy, and the ocean sparkled as if it were a turquoise jewel. Afterwards, Seleni went back to the house or walked through the fields; then came the midday meal,  and housework and errands. After that the fishermen arrived home again, and then the hard work of the day began, as fish were cleaned and stored, nets and boats mended, houses rebuilt, crops and gardens tended, clothes made and washed. Seleni had never had to work hard before, but she embraced it, and earned a reputation for being a good worker. But the best part of the day was in the evening, when often the whole village gathered in somebody's house and sang or danced or talked. It seemed as if for those brief hours, the world was made of music and firelight and love. Magic seemed to descend over the world, casting a thin veil of wonder over everything that transformed it. And so the days passed, each perfect in its own way, like beads of a necklace - different, yet combining to make a whole.

One day there was great bustle in the house. Lolis brewed tea and got cloths soaked in hot water; the doctor and the wise woman hurried over; and Dalriad didn't go down to the beach, but walked up and down outside the house with a drawn face, accompanied by two of his friends, who assured him that "it's all right, man," and "it happens to everyone," and "how do you think your mother did it when you were born?" Everyone in the village knew what was afoot and talked it over in excited voices, and all the women were busy making "a little something" for Seleni, "in case the poor girl should need something to eat."

By evening it was all over. The house had rung to the sound of a baby's cry. Seleni was resting at long last, looking with a proud face at the Miniature Person in the old wooden crib.

"Are you sure you feel all right now?" asked Dalriad anxiously.

She couldn't keep from smiling. "Of course I am. I've never felt better! Isn't she the most perfect little thing?"

Dalriad nodded, looking down at his newborn daughter with pride and apprehension and wonder on his face. "I don't feel as if she can be real. How can I be a father?"

"You'll make a wonderful one," Seleni said comfortingly. "You know, she looks so much like you -"

"I think she looks like you," said Dalriad with authority. 

"So how does it feel to be a father? Aside from a state of disbelief?"

"At first I was so worried about you that I didn't think much about the baby," Dalriad admitted. "But now - I just want to make sure she's protected. Always. The most important thing in the world for me is that you and she are happy."

After the birth of the baby - who was named Lailania, after Seleni's old friend from the sea - the villagers were more intimate with Seleni. Before, they had been slightly suspicious of her, though they tried not to be. But now that she was the mother of Dalriad's daughter, all the new aunts and cousins and grandparents saw her in quite a different light. She would have to be one of them now - in fact, hadn't she always been? Dear Seleni had always been such a nice girl. They'd always been fond of her, bless her heart!

In time, more children came to the family - Kerel, a handsome young chatterbox who generally said anything he could think of just to gain attention, and Ationa, with golden hair and a joyous, radiant personality. Lailania, the oldest, grew into a quiet beautiful girl with her mother's and father's passion and love of life, a shy sense of humor, and a reserved demeanor.

Eleven years went by. Seleni, now the mother of three, changed - she was no longer a naive young bride, but an experienced and hardworking woman, completely happy, with no thoughts of the ocean she had left behind.

That was why the dream took her by surprise.

Seleni was dreaming.

She seemed to be sitting in her father's living room, and her father was standing by the window, looking at the sea. He looked just as he had the last time she saw him, except for the whiteness of his hair and the lines of his face - and he looked so frail! As if a puff of wind might blow him away. Except, Seleni remembered, there was no wind here. Wind was something that belonged to the land.

Her father began to speak.

"Seleni," he said. "Sorrow and unhappiness are to be yours. For Dalriad, your husband, will soon be drowned when he goes to fish."

"Father!"

But he did not respond. it was as if he were only talking to himself, not even knowing that she was there.

"The sea-goddess has marked him out for revenge on the land-dwellers who once harmed one of her own... Only if you leave Dalriad forever, and return to us here in the sea, can he be safe on the water! Alas, that ever you should have to face such a decision! For leave him you cannot. You are like your mother... you would pine away if you left the man whom you love more than life itself..."

The king's voice faded away. Seleni found herself looking at darkness. After a moment, she began to hear Dalriad's faint, peaceful breathing next to her. 

Dalriad! She sat up. The room was dark, but a ray of ivory light shot through the window. She could just make out Dalriad's face. The innumerable sounds of the house - a mouse scampering across the floor, Kerel snoring in the room next to hers, a shutter banging against the wall - surrounded her. Beyond the house, she could make out the whisper of the waves. She was home, and she was safe. Dalriad lay next to her, solid and comforting. It had all been a dream.

She lay back down, trying to calm her breathing. It had all been a dream, she kept repeating to herself. 

But what if it were true? Her father's warning was echoing in her mind. And suddenly they mingled with words he had spoken eleven years ago, words she had forgotten: My daughter, if anyone should appear there, while you are on the beach, do not take up company with him, for it may prove to make your life harder than it has ever been yet, and it would be better not to fall into the trap at all.

This had been no ordinary dream. She knew it, as sometimes selkies did know things. Dalriad was in danger.

She sat up again and looked at him. The moonlight pouring through the window illuminated every feature. The clear lines of his forehead, the perfectly straight nose, the half-smile on his lips. Seleni knew him so well by now, as well - or perhaps better - than she knew herself. And in turn he knew her better than he knew himself. That evening on the shore, when they were young and romantic and searching for love, they had given themselves to each other. Eleven years and three children later, they were irrevocably intertwined. He was a part of her, and she was a part of him. If she lost him, she would be losing the sun of her day, the stars in her sky, the soul of her life.

She got up and walked over to the window, unable to sit still a moment longer. Beyond the fields lay the ocean, sparkling, like an expensive jewel that dominated the world. She looked out at it, her eyes narrowing. Behind her lay the man she loved most in the world: before her lay the home of the mythical goddess who wanted to take him away from her. And suddenly she hated the sea. It had always been her home, her figurative mother, her world. Now it was her enemy. She did not give a thought to the fundamental selkie precept: "The sea always comes first." Dalriad was her world now. She was going to defend him against this unreasonable sea goddess who demanded revenge for a deed done a hundred years ago. Until now, she knew, revenge had been the norm whenever an inhabitant of the sea was harmed by one of the land. Well, it would not happen now.

Because there must be a way she could save Dalriad.

She hardly knew how she would do it. 

But she was determined.

Gradually morning stole over the village. The sky turned the palest rose. The fields were veiled in gray half-light. A bird sang sleepily from the apple tree outside the bedroom. And then sunlight touched the top of the tree, and the sky flushed blue, and day conquered the world. 

When Seleni at last turned from the window, she saw Dalriad was awake, watching her. His eyes were sparkling mischievously, as they always did when he was happy, and he had a boyish smile on his face. 

"You look so beautiful when you're watching the sunrise," he said. Love was shining out of his face. He looked so innocent, so happy. Seleni looked at him and mustered up a smile of her own. She knew at any rate that he loved her, and that he would agree that it was better for her to leave him and save him, than for him to die. 

"You look great yourself," she said, and meant it. "Want to come take a look at the sunrise? It's almost over, but it's still beautiful out there."

Dalriad got up and walked over to stand next to her. He put an arm around her, saying nothing, and Seleni rested her head on his shoulder. For a moment they stood there, saying nothing, watching the morning that promised so much. 

Seleni swallowed and began. 

"Dalriad, I dreamed last night that you will drown when you go to fish, because the sea wants revenge. Is it true?"

Dalriad shrugged. "I don't know. When I was going to market one day - actually, I think it was the day that you showed up - an old woman told me that it was my fate. But look, eleven years have passed since then. If the sea wanted to drown me, wouldn't it have happened by now? And anyway, I don't believe it. I never did. How could the sea want to drown someone? It's just superstition."

Why did men never listen to their wives? "Listen, Dalriad, I'm from the sea. There's a sort of goddess figure who rules it - she's like the essence of the ocean, and it's said that we selkies were created by her. She exists, I have no doubt of that. And she takes revenge on land-dwellers whenever one of them hurts a creature of hers. It has been the way it works since the sea began. If she's singled you out, she won't be swayed. You're in danger, Dalriad. I can feel it."

Dalriad frowned. "Well, don't worry about it, for goodness' sake. It's just a possibility. I'm not going to get fixated on it."

"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty!" Seleni's voice shook. "Don't you trust me? At least don't go fishing until we figure out how to do something about this. It won't save you forever, but don't go courting danger!"

Dalriad ran a hand through his dark hair, looking frustrated. But before he could say anything, the door opened and Lailania came in, barefoot, still in her nightgown.

"Are you and Father arguing?" she asked anxiously.

Seleni laughed reassuringly. The children must not find out about this "Of course we are, darling," she said cheerfully, "but don't worry about it, we're just discussing something. Now get dressed and help me and your grandmother get breakfast."

She wanted to go on talking with Dalriad after breakfast, but first Lolis wanted to consult with her about what clothes Kerel should wear to school - "he's ruined or stained almost all his good shirts and pants, can you imagine! How this boy is ever going to be a presentable young man when he doesn't have us to take care of him, I do not know..." - and by the time she was finished, Dalriad had already left for the shore.

Why? Why wouldn't he listen to her? Did he think she was just being silly? Or did he not want to accept the possibility that his only means of livelihood might be his demise? She didn't know, and she wished he would pay attention.

The day dragged past. Seleni had no idea what she was to do. If only she still had her seal-coat, she could leave the village immediately and go back home. And then the sea would be satisfied, and Dalriad would not drown. But her seal-coat had disappeared years ago. She did not know where it might be. She had no way to go back home, no way to save Dalriad. If only she did!

Last part guys! Thank you all for reading and/or commenting; it's always so nice to share my work with y'all, and I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I did :)

---

A storm was coming. The old king could feel it. He paced up and down in his palace, nervously. He had taken a seal-coat and cast it on the waves, working his magic so that it would be carried straight to his daughter - but would it reach her in time?

***

"Well, it looks like there's a storm coming," Lolis remarked.

"Really?" Seleni glanced up, startled. The two women were washing up. Lolis was at the homemade sink, deftly washing the plates, while Seleni dried them on the old white towel that hung by the stove. It was the same towel that had been there when she first came to live here...

"Yes..." Lolis paused and peered more closely out the window. "Goodness, how odd it looks."

Seleni hurried to stand next to her. 

Reddish sunlight glinted over the world. Far away, in the east, was a tower of storm clouds, so dark they were almost black. Wind swept through the trees. Even within the house, it suddenly felt chilly, forbidding. Seleni shivered.

"I hope Dalriad will be all right," said Lolis. "I don't know why the fishermen haven't come back yet. They're late."

"Lolis," said Seleni quickly. "I think I should go. I'm just going to the shore. I'm finished drying the dishes anyway."

"Go ahead," Lolis replied understandingly. "We'll be waiting for you."

***

Seleni was walking along the shore. The waves, red in the sunset light, slid up and down the sand. She barely heard their sighs; her whole being was focused on the evening itself. The vivid light in the west, the stillness of the cold air, the clouds piling up in the sky. It felt as if it were not just the end of the day, but the end of everything. A mockingbird called harshly from a tree. She turned, but she coudn't see him, so closely screened was he behind the dense foliage.

Hardly knowing where she was going, she walked a little way into the surf. It was cold, but she had always been used to cold water back when she lived in it. She stood there for a moment, gazing out to sea. Dalriad still hadn't come back. She wished she could spot his boat, even if it were just a dot on the horizon.

She paused. There was a dot on the horizon. It looked like something small and dark, bobbing around on the waves. And it was coming closer.

A few seconds later it was within arm's reach, bumping gently against her legs. It looked wet and slick and shapeless. Seleni reached out. 

The moment she touched it, she knew what it was, her fingers tingling with recognition. She had touched it a thousand times before. It wasn't slick at all, it was furry, with fine, soft fur that could only belong to a seal. Or to a selkie.

It was her coat.

For a long moment Seleni stood still. Now that she finally held the key to Dalriad's life, now that the chance she had longed for so fiercely was in her very hands, yearning overwhelmed her, and she could no longer go on. She sank to the ground.

"Why, oh why did I ever come to Ardira Beach?" she whispered desperately. Why had she ever met Dalriad, if it were only to lead to separation from him? She would live the rest of her life without him, abandoning her place at her side so that he might live. But would she be able to survive without him? If only she had never set foot on Ardira!

An instant later she realized that she was wrong. The years she had spent with Dalriad had been the happiest of her life. No matter what came now, she had lived them, and that had been a greater gift than anything that could have happened to her if she had stayed in the ocean. Most important of all, if he had never met her, perhaps he would have had no one to lift the curse. But he had met her, and she was able to save him.

She stood up, facing the endless ocean before her with resolution. She knew she had to leave as soon as possible, for the storm was coming closer, with thunder muttering in the distance, and it might break at any moment and sink Dalriad's boat. But Seleni was no longer afraid of it.

She grasped her coat more tightly and flung it over herself, feeling its smooth cold fur slide over her skin.  Leaping into the water, she landed a second later, as a seal. Her arms and legs had disappeared, replaced by flippers and a tail.

At that moment a peal of thunder seemed to shake the world. The clouds were directly overhead. A cold wind was swirling. The waves were frothing and leaping madly, as if they were trying to attack her. The storm had finally broken. 

If Dalriad's boat was out in this storm, it could easily sink. Seleni plunged into the water and swam forward. She hadn't forgotten how to use her flippers and tail, even though it had been so long since she used them. An extra-impatient thrust sent her forward, smoothly, skimming through the water as if she were flying. With a single movement she increased her speed. The waves sped past, the shore receded. Soon even the cliffs were hardly distinguishable.

There was only one thought in Seleni's mind: Faster! The wind was picking up, whipping the waves into towers of water. A human would never have been able to survive them, but Seleni ducked underwater, avoiding the crashing foam altogether. Something like triumph propelled her on. Every second took her closer to defeating this storm. Soon she would reach the selkies' dwellings, and then she would have returned home. Dalriad would be safe. 

She surfaced quickly for air. It seemed as if night had fallen. The sky was an immense expanse of brooding clouds, with lightning flashing from them so often that it seemed as if a light switch were being flipped on and off rapidly. The waves were higher than any human, with thick crusts of foam. The world rang to the toll of the thunder. 

"Hold onto the mast!"

Seleni turned. Riding on the waves was a boat, tattered and drenched, its sail torn into pieces.  There were three men standing upright in it, clinging to the mast with all their strength. And one of them was Dalriad.

The boat was still unwrecked! Relief filled Seleni. But then she saw another wave rolling in. It was still some distance away, but it was coming closer with every second, perfectly aligned to destroy the boat and everyone in it. 

Desperately she looked down. Something was shimmering through the water. She could hardly make it out, but it seemed to have towers and spires. Suddenly she realized where she was - a few seconds away from a selkie palace.

All she needed to do was reach it, and she would have finished her journey.

Dalriad, clinging to the mast with all his strength, felt the last of his hope slipping away from him. No one could survive this storm. He didn't even know how the boat had been blown so far from shore. All he knew was that these were his last moments on earth.

Then something small and dark and wet surfaced right next to the boat. It was a seal, with enormous yearning eyes that were looking straight into his. He stared at it for a moment. It reminded him of someone, for some reason. Then - he knew he wasn't imagining it - the seal spoke.

"Goodbye, Dalriad." 

Stunned, he glanced away. It was Seleni's voice. Seleni's voice! What was she doing out here? How had she transformed back into a seal? For a second their eyes met again, and in that look there was love and courage and determination. Then Seleni turned and dived below the surface.

"Look out!" one of the men shouted hoarsely.

A wave was cascading toward them, growing bigger the closer it came. Dalriad stared up at it. It drew itself up - it curved over them - it was going to fall -

And then, before his very eyes, it gently collapsed, shrinking as it did so into a small trickle of water that gently doused him, as if he were standing in a shower, before melting away to nothing.

The rock and spin of the boat ceased. It remained quiet, bobbing on the water. The wind died down. The waves disappeared, and the sky was visible again.

There was no trace of the storm. For miles around there was only a calm, tranquil ocean, the cries of seagulls, and a gentle breeze that caught the tattered sail. The boat lifted and fell as it sailed, headed in the direction of Ardira Beach, with every man in it still alive. Dalriad let go of the mast and took a deep breath of cool, fresh, night air.  He had thought he would never breathe again. Yet here he was, headed home, alive and safe.

Then he remembered Seleni, and sadness washed over him. He knew Seleni had left for good. She had saved him by going back to her old home, and that meant he might never see her again. Yet, even as tears came to his eyes at the thought, something deep inside him felt sure that he would never really be separated from her. A love that could defy the storm he had just seen could find a way around anything.  Perhaps the two of them would remain eternally connected, even if they were physically distant from each other.

Or, just perhaps, they would see each other again...

All that could be seen was a sky filled with stars, and the moonlight, and the boat making its way home at last. And a selkie, with pride and love in her eyes as she watched the boat slowly receding, a boat that was safe from revenge - safe because, in the end, the love between a fisherman and a selkie had been even stronger than the sea.