An Angel from the Deep

  Roxanna opened the door to Mordecai's cavern. "Mordecai, I'm home!" cried Roxanna happily as she entered. Mordecai peeked out from the next room. "Welcome back, Roxanna! You made it just in time. Dinner is almost ready." he said."Thank goodness, I'm starved!" claimed Roxanna. "Go ahead and have a seat at the table. Dinner will be out shortly." She thanked Mordecai and seated herself at the table in the kitchen. It wasn't exactly like the dining hall back in her castle in Mertropolis, but she didn't find it hard to adjust to life without a royal treatment. Before she knew it, Mordecai came out with the dish in his hands. He set the steaming tray on the table. Roxanna looked at the dish, which looked rather peculiar. "This is my own, personal recipe. It's called Seaweed Fricassee." "May I ask what's in it?" asked Roxanna. "It has a variety of ingredients, such as roasted sea cucumber, a layer of aqua noodles on the bottom, a bit of fresh algae, some sea tomato sauce, and of course, a nice, thick layer of seaweed on the top." "It sounds delicious!" said Roxanna. "But I do have one question. You said it was called Seaweed Fricassee, but don't fricassees usually have meat?" "Not mine." replied Mordecai. "I don't usually eat much meat because the prices for it are just crazy these days! I settle for vegetarian meals. I hope that's not a problem for you." "Not at all!" claimed Roxanna. "I'm sure this will be delicious. "

  Roxanna wasn't a picky eater, but she was still a little worried about liking this new dish. The Seaweed Fricassee was scooped onto her plate. Merfolk don't use the same silverware that you and I do, though it is very similar. What they use for forks is a stick of coral with three, prong-like sticks coming out of the end. It nearly resembled a trident. Roxanna picked this up and dove it into her meal. Much to her surprise, after tasting it, it turned out to be one of the most delicious things she'd ever tasted! "I love it!" cried Roxanna to Mordecai, immediately scooping another fork-full. "Excellent!" said Mordecai. "It's my best dish. Perhaps I can teach you to cook it one day." "Oh, please do!" said Roxanna cheerfully. "I can't wait for you to teach me everything you know." Mordecai grinned from ear to ear. "You'll be happy to know that your first lesson begins tomorrow, first thing in the morning." he said. "Oh boy, I can't wait!" cheered Roxanna. After dinner, Roxanna was ready to go to bed. She climbed into her spongy bed, and later she was tucked in by Mordecai. "Sweet dreams, sweetie." he said as he swam out the door. Roxanna was asleep in no time.

    The next day, Roxanna leaped from her bed and swam quickly to the kitchen, where Mordecai was making breakfast. She chowed down as soon as it was set down on the table. Mordecai was surprised at how fast the little girl was eating. "Woah, dearie, take it easy!" said Mordecai, rubbing on the back. "Wouldn't want to get a stomach ache now, would you? What's the big hurry?" "Today's going to be super special!" said Roxanna, mumbling with her mouth full of food. "I'm going to have my lessons with you, and later on I'm meeting up with Squirt again. We're going to have so much fun!" "Who's Squirt?" Mordecai asked. "He's a little, blue octopus, about my age. We met yesterday." Mordecai was happy that Roxanna was making friends so quickly. "That's wonderful, dear! Well, since it seems that you've already finished your food, how's about we start your first lesson?" Roxanna's face beamed, and she leaped from her chair. "I'm ready!" said Roxanna.

  Mordecai led her to a small part of the cavern she'd not been yet. A desk was sitting in the middle of the room with a chalkboard in front of it. Roxanna immediately took her seat. Mordecai stood in front of her. "Okay, Roxanna. As you remember, last night I told you that I would teach you about those mysterious patches on your hips." "Oh, yes!" exclaimed Roxanna. "What are they?" "They are called Cutie Marks, my dear." said Mordecai. Roxanna giggled. "Cutie Marks? I like that name!" she said. "Yes, it is a darling name, but they're very interesting." claimed Mordecai. "You see, Roxanna, you are the only merperson to gain a cutie mark ever in the history of the merpeople." "Really?" asked Roxanna in astonishment. "Then, how do you know what a Cutie Mark is?" "This is what amazes me." said Mordecai. "In your world, there is no such thing as a Cutie Mark, but in this world, only the land inhabitants have them. But I've never heard of someone with two Cutie Marks before." Roxanna's eyes widened in amazement. "I have so many questions right now." said Roxanna, rubbing her forehead.

   "I understand this is a lot to process," said Mordecai, "but it will come to you eventually. It will help if I explain what a Cutie Mark is. It is a picture on your body to represent a special talent you possess, and usually points in the direction of one's destiny. I don't know why you have them and no one else in your world does, but perhaps this is also part of your destiny." Roxanna was writing this down using a sea urchin spike dipped in squid ink, and writing with it on a very wide piece of seaweed. "Mordecai, what are the land inhabitants called?" she asked. "All I know is that their colorful, four-legged creatures, and that some possess magic or the ability to fly." "I'm very glad you asked that question, my dear," said Mordecai, "because it's very important for you to know your enemies and how to identify them." He took out a piece of chalk and started drawing on the board. It was a picture of a horrifying pony-like creature with a spiked mane, devious eyes, a serpent's tongue, sharp teeth, and a broken heart for a Cutie Mark on its side. Roxanna was nearly startled by the terrifying monster. "This is your average land inhabitant." he claimed. "These horrible creatures are called ponies."

  Roxanna was writing everything down, having more interest in these so called ponies than ever before. "These are why the surface is strictly forbidden to merfolk." said Mordecai. "There have been many tales of our kind being captured by ponies and using our scales for decorations, and even our own blood for magic potions. We used to be at peace with ponies centuries ago, but only through a now extinct creature called the hippocampus, or sea pony: half pony, half fish. It wasn't until a plague struck them, and the ponies blamed us for it. " He looked down at floor in despair. "My own cousin perished after being crushed by a land ship." Roxanna looked at him in pity. "I'm...I'm so sorry." she said in a small, timid voice. Mordecai looked at Roxanna with a serious look on his face. "You are my child, who I must care for and protect with my life. I forbid the uniting of the surface in any world because I love you. Though we have known each other for only a short time, you already feel like a niece to me." Roxanna blushed. "My love for you, Mordecai, has grown greatly as well." she said. "It's almost like I have a second uncle." They embraced each other, with hearts filled with love. "Shall we get started on today's lesson?" he asked. Roxanna beamed and nodded in reply. "Great," he claimed, "let's get started."