The young mermaid looked happy in the merchant's presence, smiling as the man patted her head as if she was a pet and offered her a treat.
Eve turned to Vincent.
She whispered so that the merchant wouldn't hear what she said to Vincent, "Can I get two minutes alone with her? Please."
Vincent tilted his head before he took a step forward and said to the merchant, "I hear that you stole this mermaid from a wealthy family and they want her back. Do you know what happens to people who steal? Their hands are severed."
"What? That's rubbish!" The merchant denied the accusation and said, "I have this mermaid with me since she was this small," he used both his hands to emphasise it.
"You don't believe me? They are standing right outside in the alley," stated Vincent, and without warning, caught the back of the merchant's neck and dragged him out of the building.
Eve's eyes moved from the door and fell on the young mermaid. She said, "Isla, I need you to listen to me carefully, okay?" And the mermaid's eyebrows furrowed. "You are a mermaid, and you belong to the sea. I am sure your parents must be worried and looking for you."
The young mermaid stared at Eve before shaking her head, "You are lying."
"The tank isn't your home and neither is that man, who has hurt you. I can help you," Eve tried to make the girl understand in a gentle voice.
"I am bad sometimes, which is why he disciplines me. He's a good man, what do you know about it? I am happy here and don't need your help," replied the mermaid, and this put Eve in a tough spot to help the girl. This mermaid was used to the life she had been living until now, believing this was normal when it was far from it.
"And what if he sells you to someone who offers him everything that he needs?" Questioned Eve, and the mermaid stared at her.
"You want to take me away from him..." Isla whispered. "You want to take my place!"
Oh dear, God! Eve exclaimed in her mind.
"There's a life outside, far better than what you have right now, which isn't right and wrong. Don't you want to meet the people who love you? A place which has your kind, who will love and care for you. Where you won't be left alone," stated Eve with a frown.
"Why aren't you home?" the girl questioned Eve, leaving the older mermaid speechless. The young mermaid turned upset and started screaming, which stunned Eve. Isla shouted, "I don't want to go anywhere! This is my home!"
To a person who wasn't a mermaid, the words from the girl were nothing less than a screeching sound, and even Eve winced.
The merchant ran inside, coming to the mermaid's side and patting the girl's head. He then glared at Eve and asked, "What did you try to do to her?"
"The appropriate question would be where did you find her. Did you capture her from the sea? Or at the shore?" Eve demanded from the merchant.
"I answer to no one," harrumphed the merchant and he warned Eve, "Now it would be wise for you to get out of here as no person is bein--"the merchant choked on his words when Vincent caught hold of the human's neck.
"What do you mean no one isn't allowed?" Vincent questioned the merchant and said, "Why don't you answer this lady's questions and you can keep your head on your body?"
"Y-you are threatening me," said the merchant and Vincent nodded solemnly.
"I am glad that you understand that much. Now start talking," Vincent squeezed the merchant's neck before dropping him to the ground. The human coughed while holding his neck.
"A few years ago, I found her washed up on the shore and brought her up. I stole her from no one!" cried the merchant. "Don't you see we share a bond. She is mine."
"You mean a bond of a master and a pet," said Vincent, and he then turned to Eve, who was looking at the girl, who looked at Eve with a repulsive expression now.
The merchant said, "I have customers visiting me soon, and have to take her to another place." While the young mermaid complained to the merchant, who only patted her head as he didn't understand the mermaid's words about what Eve said, Eve and Vincent stepped out of the building. The vampire slipped his hand into his trouser pockets and said,
"Like I said before, not everyone can be saved."
"She's been brainwashed," Eve's lips set themselves in a thin line.
"Mhm, which is why it would be difficult to make her see the normal view," stated Vincent while he stared into her blue eyes. He continued, "I would have proposed to' steal' her from the merchant and put her back into the sea, but what's the guarantee that she won't swim back to the shore again in search of him and be caught by someone else?"
A sigh escaped from Eve's lips, and it wasn't out of relief. She asked Vincent, "Can a person's mind and view ever change?"
"Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is fifty-fifty," responded Vincent.
He started to walk away from the building, and Eve stood there for a few seconds, staring at the closed door before she followed him. The alley they walked in was quiet, and somewhere at a distance, they could hear chatter from the crowd.
When the both of them re-entered the centre of the town, Eve turned behind to look in the direction where they had come from. Vincent said,
"Don't be down. You tried."
"One day I hope mermaids will be treated properly as persons, and not just food. I will aim for it," Eve decided and one corner of Vincent's lips pulled.
"What an ambitious thought," remarked Vincent, and he said, "I look forward to that day."
Eve bowed at him and said, "I should get going now... Thank you for offering your help, even though you didn't want to at first. It means a lot."
"I didn't do it for you. I have my reasons." When she raised her head, Vincent held out a bag in front of her, "This is for you."
Taken aback by surprise, Eve asked, "Me?" Did he get something for her? Taking the bag, she found it to be slightly heavy and jingle. Her eyes widened, realising these were coins.
Back to the merchant who owned the young mermaid shifted the mermaid into a cart and carried her away from the place to another place, where soon the customers were expected to arrive. On the way, the cart wheels creaked, and he finally got into another building which was better in appearance.
"You are late," said a man, who was another merchant like himself.
"I had trouble before getting out, but that's all sorted. Are the customers here yet?" Questioned the merchant.
"Not yet, but they will be here soon. How's your mermaid doing?" Asked the man.
"As usual," replied the merchant before placing the cart next to another tank, which was big and spacious. Inside it was an older mermaid, who noticed him and swam to where he was. The merchant pushed the cloth that had been covering his mermaid.
The older mermaid spoke to the merchant from her tank with a coy smile, "Hello, Mule. You said you were going to take me to the circus."
"If you made yourself more appealing to the customers you would have been taken by now," said the merchant before walking back to the other man and speaking.
The younger mermaid, who was in her smaller tank said, "You know I met a mermaid today."
"I know. It is me," the older mermaid slightly rolled her eyes, and before she could swim away, she heard the younger mermaid say,
"Not you, another one. One who could walk."
Before she could know more from the smaller and unattractive mermaid, Isla's merchant came to push her cart on which the tank was placed to the other side as one of the customers had just arrived.
The older mermaid's eyes narrowed, wondering who this lucky mermaid was out and free, unlike them, who were stuck inside the four walls made of glass.
