manynovel 34: Coral Hill
34: Coral Hill
The Golden Dawn's iridescent coated bubbles shimmered with rainbow colors under the light as it slowly docked at the civilian port of Coral Hill.
The dock here is constructed from huge pink coral branches, with glowing sea vines wrapped around its edges, and a bubble lamp made of translucent seashells hangs every few steps.
"We've arrived at... Coral Hill."
Fisher Taylor gripped the ship's railing, her long blue hair bobbing gently in the water. She gazed at the familiar cluster of colorful coral structures in the distance, her eyes slightly reddening.
The once bustling dock is now rather deserted, with only a few mermaids dressed in coarse cloth.
"Taylor! Taylor's back!"
A little mermaid suddenly peeked out from behind the coral reef, and after seeing Taylor on the deck, she excitedly waved.
But after running only two steps, his mother pulled him back. She shook her head at him, and the little mermaid had no choice but to stop, looking on in the distance with a sense of grievance.
The nano-gold powder from Oro spread silently the moment it arrived at the port, covering the entire port area.
There was no overwhelming hostility, only a few scattered auras carrying anxiety and exhaustion.
He said softly, "It seems the people here still remember Taylor and the others, but... they're not doing too well."
Lingling was clinging to the railing, observing her surroundings. The more she looked, the more she frowned. She pointed to a half-collapsed coral house by the dock:
"Auro, look! That house has a huge hole in it, and there are words written on it!"
Following the direction she pointed, everyone saw a crooked "slave" character drawn in charcoal ash on the ruined wall of the coral house, with a horizontal line drawn next to it.
Molly and Moya exchanged a glance. Molly, the older sister, gently patted the water tank on the deck with her silver fishtail and whispered:
"Lord Oro, Sister Gails, Sister Lingling, you can go to the island with Sister Taylor. Moya and I will stay on the ship to keep watch!"
Moya nodded quickly, still clutching the seaweed shortbread that Gails had given her earlier:
"Yes, yes! We'll keep an eye on the Golden Dawn!"
Oro raised an eyebrow, but didn't expose the sisters' little scheme. Oro knew about their background, and the two were usually very sensible.
So Oro smiled and reached out to ruffle Moya's hair:
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you. But be careful, if any strangers approach, blow the golden whistle I gave you, understand?"
"Understood, Lord Oro!"
The two sisters nodded vigorously, their eyes lighting up.
The group disembarked, but did not leave the dock immediately.
Although the residents were wary of them, since they still remembered Taylor and her friends, the neighbors would surely tell their families.
The mermaids have been forced to leave Mermaid Island for quite some time now. Instead of blindly searching for them, it's better to stay put and wait.
Sure enough, not long after, a hurried sound came from the other end of the dock—the family members of the other three mermaids had arrived.
The first to run over was Coral's mother, an elderly mermaid with red curly hair.
Upon seeing the coral, the mother dropped her basket with a clatter, scattering the sea grapes all over the ground. She rushed over and hugged the coral, her cries filled with lingering fear.
"My coral! You're finally back! I thought... I thought I'd never see you again!"
The other two mermaids' family members also gathered around: an elderly grandmother and a young brother. Their figures, embracing each other, appeared both fragile and warm under the pillar of light from the sun tree Eve.
Taylor stood to the side, watching this scene, her eyes reddening even more.
Gails patted her back gently: "Don't worry, we'll see Tiger soon."
After confirming that the mermaids had left safely, Oro suggested, "Let's go to Taylor's place first, and we can check on the situation at Coral Hill along the way."
Taylor nodded and led the group toward the Coral Apartments.
The scene on the road was even more heartbreaking than the scene at the dock—
The shop, which used to be filled with shell musical instruments, had its windows smashed to pieces, and several rusty bullet casings remained on the ground.
The dessert shop selling rainbow jelly was closed, and there were several deep knife marks on the door.
On the bulletin board next to the door, there were several yellowed "missing person notices" with drawings of the missing mermaid, including children and adults.
Occasionally, you can see a few orphaned merfolk dressed in tattered clothes, huddled in a corner of the coral reef. When they see Oro and his group, they quickly hide inside, leaving only their wary eyes showing.
"...How did Coral Hill become like this?"
Taylor's voice trembled slightly as she pointed to a relatively intact spiral coral building.
"That's my apartment. It used to be very lively here. Every evening, people would sing and dance in the square downstairs..."
The group followed Taylor into the Coral Apartments. The stairs were made of hollow coral branches, which made a slight "creaking" sound when stepped on.
Just as I reached the corner on the first floor, I saw an old fishman with one arm sitting on a stone bench in front of his house. His left sleeve was empty, and his right hand was tightly clutching a dark blue headscarf.
Upon seeing Taylor, the old fishman's body trembled violently, and he quickly stood up and walked over.
"Taylor...Taylor, you're finally back!"
The old fisherman's voice trembled violently, and his wrinkled face was full of anxiety as he handed the headscarf in his hand to Taylor.
"Look at this! This is Tiger's!"
"The day before yesterday, a conflict broke out in Fishman Street. A large group of slave hunters rushed in while the King's army was maintaining order. Tiger was captured by them while trying to protect some orphans!"
"Only this was left, and... and this too!"
The headscarf was embroidered with a small shark, and the edges were stained with dark red blood and torn.
The old fishman then took out a silver bullet casing from his pocket and handed it to Taylor:
"These are tranquilizer dart casings left behind by the slave-catching team. I've seen the Navy's; they're exactly the same! They must have stolen Navy equipment!"
"No...it's impossible..."
Taylor's hands began to tremble. She took the headscarf, and when her fingertips touched the cold bloodstains, tears welled up instantly.
Tiger clearly said he would protect himself...
"It's all my fault! It's all my fault for not being there for him!"
Her body went limp, collapsing onto the coral floor, clutching her headscarf tightly in her hand.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Father and Mother... I couldn't protect my younger brother..."
Gail quickly knelt down, gently put her arm around Taylor's shoulder, and wiped away her tears with her sleeve, her voice gentle yet firm: "Taylor, don't blame yourself, we will find Tiger, we definitely will!"
A crisp "snap" sounded.
It was Lingling. She stood to the side, watching Taylor's breakdown, feeling both anxious and angry.
An invisible aura emanated from her, instantly shattering the seashell bubble lamps hanging outside the window. The fragments of fluorescent algae scattered in the seawater like broken stars.
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors all peeked out to see what was happening.
Oro frowned and quickly used his domineering aura to gently suppress Lingling's imposing presence, so as not to frighten more people.
Before he could even offer a word of comfort to Taylor, the gold dust on his body suddenly vibrated violently—
It's a whistle! It's coming from the direction of the port! Something's happened!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
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