Saorise
Legacy Name: Saorise

A whimsical bell tinkles merrily as you push open the door to the small quaint Irish seaside shop, inside there are shelves with beautiful and varied trinkets and souvenirs. As you start looking around a friendly perky beautiful young lass pops up from behind the counter "top of the mornin to ya! how can I help today? You looking for anything specific, we've got a great sale on some Aran Isle cardigans or maybe you want some of my own locally made jams or marmalade, absolutely beautiful on a fresh scone with some cream!" You dont know how to respond so she continues "Or maybe you are interested in hearing a wee tale? Ah i can see that interests you! What type would you like, a story about the wee little people? About the Kelpies or maybe about the Selkies?" something about the way she says selkies has some sort of magical like pull on you" "Selkies?" her eyes both light up and look sad in a way, as she smiles.

"So you must have heard stories about the selkie folk, the beautiful seal women of the ocean deep. They are recognizable as a little larger than the average common seal and there's a very observable intellect in their eyes, it seems to pull you in and drags you into the ocean and into their world, all while your feet never leave the dry ground. They possess the ability to shed their seal skin and emerge as a naked woman. The one rule for this gift, never lose your skin or you will forever be cursed to be stuck as a two legged. The worst fate that could be imagined for these wild and free folk.There is one particular selkie folk, she had always been curious about the two legs world and would spend hours with just her sharp dark eyes floating above the rippling waves, watching them as they went about their lives, listening to them chatter on their little fishing boats. She had never experienced the feel of sand between human toes or felt the salty seawater dry as a dust upon her bare human arms, but it was a dream of hers. Many of her clan of folk had taken their walks amongst the two legs but quickly returned to the freedom of the cool blue sea and soon she would gather the bravery needed to try for herself. Soon enough the lure of the two leggeds and their strange habits in their small village was too strong and she decided to go on land . Her mother wept and begged her to not be seen and to be careful, she promised adamantly to come back quickly to her seal family.

The day could not have been more beautiful, sunshine and mellow waves that allowed the village men to go out in their boats hoping for a good catch. Having studied the two leggeds carefully for their daily patterns she decided to go to an outcrop of rocks that would hide her from dangerous eyes. Making her way onto the rocks was easy, protecting herself behind the rocks the transformation happened quickly and her seal skin slid off easily. Sitting there she couldn't help admire her new fingers and toes and practiced wiggling them in delight. Slowly but surely she managed to stand upright using the rocks for balance, still wobbly but determined those first few steps were almost comical to watch. Quickly she was able to walk, stand and run on those funny human legs, the thing she didn't know was that her body was as naked as a wee born babe! Using hands and feet she clambered up a small hill onto the green grass overlooking the beach. It was absolutely delightful to her to roll around being tickled by the soft blades until her curiosity got the better of her and she crawled on her belly to the edge to watch the humans scurry around like ants in the peaceful village. As the sun slowly inched across the sky, she enjoyed the warmth on her pale skin but it was all too quickly over and she redressed in her Selkie skin and slipped back into the emerald waters, what a different sensation being in the skin of a two legged had been compared to her own spotted sleek seal skin!

As the days went by she found herself irresistibly drawn to that grassy hill and the sun warm on her human skin, the villagers she had always watched from afar were now as familiar to her as the rocks and seaweed of her home down in the ocean. The brown haired girl in her green dress who would sneak out to meet her lover, the older portly woman who had about 10 children and had to herd them like sheep, the shepard boy who with his flock would get dangerously close to her hiding place but somehow never saw her, and a village lad who always wore a brown hat and never stopped smiling. The last human fascinated her and she caught herself watching for him everytime, sometimes he would be down at the port going to work on one of the small fishing boats going out for the day, at times he would be with the young sheep boy, and very rarely he would come so near to her hill on the beach away from the other humans and take off his clothes like herself and dive into the water, swimming for hours. Even for a clumsy human he had a grace and elegance when he swam, twice she even dared to swim almost next to him as her true self and watched him with round brown eyes.

Mother was getting worried about all the times she was spending in the human world and kept begging her to not go up again, and though she loved her family and her freedom in the sea, something kept pulling her out into the sun and the humans world.Time after time seeing them go about their strange lives on land it made her wonder what it would be like to walk amongst them. But that thought also terrified her so she banished it far away.

That day started as any other day, it had been several weeks since being on the surface and she was watching the tide come in and out while enjoying the sun, she felt sleepy as sometimes the warmth did that to her and she dozed off. Something inside her woke her from her sleep in a horror, deep in her gut a pull and twist was burning and it terrified her, not knowing what it was or why and not seeing anything near to her she looked down to the sea. That's when she saw him, the brown hat man was near her hiding place in the rocks, and he had her skin...

A wild scared cry came from within her soul and escaped from lips, he must have heard it because he turned in the direction as she ducked back down amongst the grass. What to do?! Should she go and fight for her skin or hide and hope he left it and she would escape and never come to the surface again . Peeking just her eyes above the grass she watched horrified as he kept looking around then slowly rolled her skin up into a piece of fabric and walk back to the village with it. A whimper left her and she almost cried. What was she going to do now?

Failed attempts of swimming home underwater left her exhausted and emotionally drained, nothing let her go back to her true self without her skin, this is why the elders had warned all the young foolish selkie pups about hiding their skins if they insisted on going to the surface. She didn't leave the rocks, huddled amongst them in the water letting the tide rock her back and forth not thinking about anything, numb to everything. Time did not register in her blank mind but if she had taken notice it would have been three long days and nights. The sun was just in midday when a familiar twist and pull in her stomach started, she lurched up without thought, he was standing only a length away, neither moved, not even blinking. Her skin was nearby but she didn't see it immediately. "Hello?" The word knocked her out of her frozen trance and she fell backwards into the rocks "oh no I don't want to harm you!" The human put out his hands in what probably was supposed to be a calming gesture but it did nothing for her fear. They both stayed staring at each other until he slowly squatted down to be face to face with her, she tried backing up but ended up against the rocks, those damn rocks. "I don't want to hurt you, do you understand?" Speaking slowly he looked her over curiously and then shyly as the full impact of her nakedness was noticable "oh umm, I'm sorry, didn't mean to stare at you, umm but why are you without clothes, aren't you cold?" If she had understood human emotions in depth she would have seen many cross his face, worry, fear and most of all confusion. He reached out a tentative hand "can you understand me?" Yes the voice didn't come from her mouth but rather was inside his mind, he jumped, startled. "Did you just speak?" He watched her lips Yes came the voice again without lips moving. "How are you doing that??" No "No? No what?" Silence. He leaned forward and studied the girl, she had long silver hair, scatterings of freckles which mostly clustered around her petite nose, the most stunning feature was the amber brown eyes that were absolutely hypnotic and made you lose yourself in them, something old and magic was hidden inside them. The boy couldn't look away until he shook himself out of the almost trance he was under "Well look, it's improper you being out here in your nothings, can I help you?" The hand that had been offered before was still waiting for her response. She stared at the hand and slowly put her own soft one into his huge rough hand Yes

It would have been a strange sight for any passerbys if there had been any, a huge giant of a lad hunched down in front of a small beraggled naked girl, they seeemed to be in their own world together for those moments. Then the spell was broken as he took off his light jacket after setting his shoulder bag down and draped the jacket across her shoulders as she warely let him, all the while acting like a skittish colt that couldn't help it's curiosity at the same time. For some reason she felt pulled to him, she couldn't tell why and it upset her, why would she allow this two legged to touch her and be near her but something made her follow him step by step. All the while they were walking he was making those annoying mouth noises that she heard from all the two leggeds, the shepard boy didn't stop making them to his sheep and the fishermen would make them continuesly as she used to watch them. Somehow she could understand some of the meaningless noises but didn't want to make them back to the man. "Okay lass we are almost to my cottage, sorry it's such a long way, I don't like living so close to the town as you can see" what she could see across the field was a small white building surrounded by a rainbow of different flowers, though she had no idea what they were actually and had decided they were dry not tasty seaweed back on her hill. Guiding her gently he led her inside as she bulked at the entrance "it's okay" that burning feeling in her stomach seemed to disappear as she walked inside, something made her feel calm here. "Umm it's not very clean, apologize for that..." He took off his hat and rubbed his hair awkwardly. It was just like a Selkie den, shiny baubles and things all over, little did she know that his items were mostly common or useless pieces, whereas a selkies den would be filled with pearls,seashells, corals and anything that glimmered or caught their eye. But shiny is shiny and she looked around at everything curiously. Watching her for a moment he half forgot her nakedness until he jumped over to the bed and grabbed a blanket "Here you are, come sit down and I'll start the fire" he held her elbow and plopped her on one of the wooden chairs. Minutes later he started the fire and added some bog to it, the flame startled her and she looked worriedly upwards thinking the sun had fallen from the sky to be inside his strange place, seeing her confusion and somehow knowing what she was thinking, he opened the door to let her see the sun as it was just above the distance mountain, not yet setting. "It's a fire, not the sun" sun? Pointing towards it he repeated "sun" sun she stared at the fire "no that's a fire, fire, not sun" she wanted to touch this miniature sun but he pushed her outstretched hand down "No it's dangerous" she hissed at him.

Finally after he had tidied up the cottage a bit and put the stew back above the fire to reheat, set the table and placed bowls of the warm stew for them he made her sit across from him with a serious look "Okay I need to know where you come from and if you are hurt or what has happened to you" a blank look was his answer "where are you from?" From sea "sea?" *Sea. Yes "the sea? And how are you talking to me without words?" No response but he could have sworn her eyes twinkled for a second. "What is your name?" Name? "Yes your name, mine is Ronan" Ronan something in the way the word filled his mind gave him a warm feeling "what is yours?" No "No?" No even if she had wanted to give her name it would have been impossible for the two leg to understand her Selkie name, for it was made up of a song that the Selkie folk would sing to each other in greeting, each one unique. "Can you not remember it? Were you hurt in some way?" No, safe those eyes, they hypnotized him. "Alright so let's get you in bed and rested, in morning we can figure out more about you" there was that dazzling smile "Here is something to get you more decent and comfortable" she was handed a long soft white tunic for sleeping "I'll just go take one last look and make sure everything is all right for the night, you go ahead and put that on and you can have the bed for tonight" he lit a candle and headed out into the dark. The white shirt he handed her was soft and smooth from years of wear, it would never compare to her own Selkie skin but she managed to slip it on over her head, it felt strange but not in such a bad way. Climbing into the big bed it was the first time she had felt something like that, usually she slept on rocks in the cave or in a bed of seaweed, bit this was a totally different experience like the grass had been and she tried rolling a few times. The combination of comfortable bed, shirt and warmth from the fire she fell asleep almost instantaneously. Not even aware when Ronan quietly entered and put a light blanket over her, he took one for himself and sat down in a chair. The forgotten stew he ate cold and fell asleep in the chair.

The morning rays of light filtering in from the little window woke him with a start, he looked over and she was sitting on the bed watching him curiously "Morning! Did you sleep well?" Yes "Glad to hear it, let's make some breakfast eh?" Once the fire embers had been refuelled and a fresh pot of coffee was being brewed he took her outside to the back of the cottage "Let's get some eggs for a nice breakfast, you didn't eat yesterday and need your strength" the chickens fascinated her, like fat noisy seabirds, maybe as tasty? She tried grabbing one but it was too fast. Ronan laughed "Leave the poor thing, eggs are easier to eat for breakfast, come on" that familiar pull was always near to her when she was in the small house, it annoyed her because she didnt quite understand what it was. Her mind came back to focus as he placed a plate of warm eggs with thick slices of buttered freshly baked bread next to them. The smell coming from it intoxicated her, she sniffed it like a bloodhound until he chuckled and handed her a fork "here eat it rather than just sniff it till it gets cold" the fork was something new and strange and he seemed to realize this "like this" and showed her how to hold it proper. With his own plate he put an egg whole onto a slice of bread and started munching, Mmmmm! She slowly got the hang of the fork but mostly just shoveled the food in like a ravenous wolf. After breakfast was demolished he poured her a cup of coffee and added some milk and a spoonful of sugar. "Do you want to go down to the bay?" her eyes started twinkling and she nodded.

They walked slowly down to the sandy shores with her getting used to the feel of the grass between her toes after the cold packed dirt of the little house's floor, she had refused the slippers he offered. The gulls were twirling around in their slow dance occasionally crying out to one another loudly, he made some squawking noises pretending to talk back to them to try and make her laugh, it drew a small grin from her. "Are you one of the Sea Folk? My mam used to tell us stories at night about the hauntingly intelligent eyes of the seals, how they were like us at some points but always chose the sea" Sea family yes"Mam said they were the souls of the folks lost out in sea, and the seals found them and became a part of them. Wonder if thats true" Ronan watched the beautiful girl beside him to see if she understood or gave him any hints but only silence. "One day you'll tell me all your secrets, I know!" He flopped to the sand and laid there enjoying the heat and the sounds of nature. She never took her eyes of the turquoise waters but slowly sat beside him. They stayed like that for hours until it was time to go home for chores. And so began the beginning of most of their days. Since it was off season for him, Ronan wasnt going fishing as usual, he would cook for them in morning, she would help him around the cottage and then for a few hours he would teach her the basics of life. Writing was a struggle for her so he focused on reading, mending clothes, cooking, and helping with the animals. Her favorite thing was his small collection of hives full of bees which he had built to collect honey, they would go and collect from the wildflowers and create the most delicious pure honey, her first time trying she had shrieked in delight. All the animals had an infinity towards her, all felt peaceful and she never had to worry about scaring them, in fact all seemed to start producing more eggs and milk when she would hum a tune for them. With the bees as well, she would be with him and start humming and the bees would lazily fly away until the harvesting had been finished. The days slowly moved on and on and Ronan had to go back to work fishing, which meant he always brought her fish home, much to her happiness! The towns people would whisper amongst themselves about the strange new girl with the exotic look in her eye and the silence on her lips. He would just explain it as she was from a far away place and had been sick and his extended family had sent her there to the seaside to try to recover. That story seemed to placid them but never fully stopped the whispers, though they accepted her more as she started selling her homemade marmalade and jams from the little garden he had planted for her. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, she reserved her real self for when it was only them, she was fiery and sassy and playful, just like the other seals in the bay. He called her Saorise because it meant freedom in the old tongue. They would swim out in the bay together but she had a bit of sadness to her whenever she was swimming.

"Are you happy?" he looked at her sitting next to him with her eyes closed enjoying the sound of the waves yes I am happy with you "Do you want to return? To the sea?" silence, then I do not know anymore "Why?" Because I am no longer of the ocean, but neither am I am of this land Ronan gently picked up her hand and turned her chin to look into his eyes "Im sorry lass" No, never sorry. I stay for you They shared their first kiss, the kiss of a pure connection between them. Each day they fell more and more in love. A little of the sadness left her and she shined more. He announced their engagement to the village who congratulated him, he had became a favorite amongst the locals in all the years he had lived there. He made her a carved wooden amulet in the shape of a set of waves from a whale bone he had found, as well as buying a small simple gold band. For her the amulet meant more and she cherished They spent their days together farming the small plot of vegetables, minding the animals and just enjoying each others company. Ronan set up a few more beehives and taught her how to harvest the honey herself, it was like magic that the bees never seemed to harm her when she hummed to them but when he tried they liked to remind him he wasnt their favorite. She would always giggle and kiss him where the bee had stung him while he would pretend to be mortally wounded. Her honey became a known cure for all types of ailments and it was in high demand and so was her homemade jams and jellies. Even the poorest person who couldn't afford a coin to pay her never left without something, she made sure everyone was taken care of. The days slipped from months to years and pretty soon 5 years had flown by. The only thing negative anyone ever whispered about the couple was the lack of a child for them. Whenever asked she would just get quiet and turn to the sea, and Ronan would try to distract the person asking into a different topic. Saorise knew Ronan wished for a child but it had not happened for the couple. They were still happy though together on their little farm.

Every year when the fishing season started he would go out with the other men on the bigger ships and every time he was set to return, she would be standing on the hilltop watching the boats come into the port. Even when she didn't know the day he was coming back, it was like magic and she just knew. She would run barefoot down to the wooden pier and wait excitedly. He never failed to bring her the most unique and freshest fish for her as a gift. Welcome home "Hello my bonny lass!" Each time he would scoop her up twirling her all around while she giggled then gently put her down and kiss her like it was their first time. The rest of the crew never teased him cause they all could see the true love between the two. Each of the four season brought her different moods, she loved the spring and storm seasons the best and never fully enjoyed hot summers, fall would make her quietand thoughtful. Their fifth winter together was days of nonstop rain and the little fireplace was always stocked with wood and kept them warm. She was preparing some bread for their supper when a loud banging on their door startled both of them. "Who is there?" Ronan bellowed above the sounds of the wind outside "Its me, Pete, somethings happened and we need you boy!" The old scraggly fisherman who worked alongside Ronan each time they went out in the big boats was trying to keep his old canvas hat on his head. "Come in! Whats happened??" "No time! Theres been a huge shipwreck out by the cove, we need all hands to go and try to find any survivors" Dont go "Saorise, i gotta go...." Please stay some primal feeling inside her did not feel good about this storm. "I promise I'll come back for supper, leave me some of that beautiful bread okay? Don't worry" He smiled, hugged her tightly and kissed her fiercely. She helped him find his rain coat and hat and the two men practically ran down the hill towards town. Her grey eyes watched their lantern until it was just a tiny dot that merged with all the other dots of light converging near the boats.The time passed like it was days when it could have only been several hours. She finally couldn't stay waiting up alone when everyone else in town was also waiting. Taking some small cakes she baked fresh, she got through the rain without any problems and went straight to the small town hall. Most of the village was there, women were cooking stews and brewing tea and coffee and getting ready for the men to come back with any survivors. Kids ran around chasing each other and old men sat around talking about wild tales and anything to pass the time. Saorise was immediately put into the duties of helping prepare blankets, bandages and medicines. Everyone knew what a shipwreck meant and what troubles came with them. Eventually someone on the dock blew a horn announcing the return of the ships and that set everyone to scurrying around preparing last second things, the able body men that hadn't gone out ran out in the rain to go help those returning with bringing in anybody wounded. As the first boats crew came through the big oak doors, they brought in three people with various injuries, none too serious.Saorise was busy helping to clean up the head wound of man who had been on the wrecked ship when she saw Pete enter and look around. She passed off the duty to one woman and went over and started checking the other men coming in behind Pete but didn't see Ronan. Pete had his head down and was clutching his hat. When they closed the door behind the men and Ronan wasn't with his usual crew, she went to Pete and gently tugged on his arm with a questioning look. He could barely raise his face and when he did she saw the tears streaming down his wordless face. Something inside her froze."Oh lass....." Those two words, they said everything with the pain that came from telling them. Too much was happening to her, her body could not do anything but yet did everything at once. He was talking but her ears weren't listening but bits and pieces must have gotten into her mind anyways "big wave. Was untangling a trapped boy. Hit by a falling beam. Washed overboard. Couldn't find him. Looked for as long as possible. Hero"When she next opened her eyes several women were hovering above her, one was dabbing at her forehead with a cold rag, another was crying and holding her hand. In a confused daze she sat up and looked frantically around the building, there was no tall, bright eyed Ronan anywhere. Reality started coming back to her, her heart refused to listen and accept though no no no no no no no she screamed without words inside but outwardly an animalistic wailing noise left her lips and filled everyone inside that building that nights heart with a horrible sadness. The next week or so was a blurred dream, everything happening with only instinct keeping her moving, the funeral of those lost with empty caskets for the onesvthat were never recovered. Each time something or someone from the shipwreck floated to the sandy shores it brought her tiny bits of hope crashing down with pain. The numerous women who tried to come comfort her each day but that slowly stopped trying to intrude in her grief but would still leave food outside her door. The endless hours she would be swimming out in the ocean even when the waves were high. People later would swear they saw hundreds of seals around at this times but others would say it must have just been the bits from the big ship still floating about. Days turned into weeks and the villagers still worried about the silent grieving girl they all had grown fond of but they just didn't know how to support her. Eventually after much time had passed and everyone had a chance to grieve their lost loved ones the small village returned to a slightly dimmer normal. But for the beautiful mysterious girl who now lives alone in the cottage up above the cliffs with crashing qaves, life was never to be the same.