CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time in an ocean far away, there lived a mermaid who was to be crowned the new Queen of the ocean. The only problem? She was missing. 

Meanwhile, in a land close by there lived a fisherman. His name was Tobias and he had been a fisherman all his life, following in the footsteps of his father. Tobias was no king, nor prince, nor any type of royalty at all. He was just a man who made his living catching and selling fish. 

On a day like any other, Tobias had gone far out into the ocean where he seemed to find the freshest of fish. As he was out there, the wind began to blow hard, signalling that there was a storm coming. He listened to his fisherman instincts and went back to land before he got caught in the storm. But it was a quick storm. Tobias barely made it a mile before the sky turned dark and the waves crashed all about him. He prayed to make it back safely, and that he did. 

He tied up his boat as quickly as possible, then went to run home, but his run was cut short. Just up ahead, there was a woman lying on the dock. He ran over and dropped down to her side. She was unconscious. 

He began shaking her, trying to awaken her, but she didn’t wake. He checked her pulse and breathing. She was alive, but for how long? She was soaking wet. She would surely catch frost bite if he didn’t help her. 

He picked her up and rushed her to his home. Once he got there, he laid her on the couch that sat in front of the fire place. He covered her in as many blankets as he could find, then started a fire.

Tobias dried himself off, changed his clothes and then made himself some soup to deter his own chills. He sat on his chair to the left of the couch and watched the shadows from the fire dance along the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. 

“What happened to you?” he whispered to himself as he wondered how she got to the dock. Perhaps there was a shipwreck and the storm had brought her in? But how could she have been the only one to survive? If that be the case, she has one powerful guardian angel watching out for her, he thought. 

CHAPTER 2

The following morning, Tobias woke to find that the woman was still sleeping. He went about his regular morning routine, steeping some tea and making breakfast, except he did it more quietly than normal, so as not to wake or startle the woman. As the eggs and bacon cooked, the woman stirred on the couch, moving for the first time. Tobias froze. The woman opened her eyes. 

She looked around slowly, hesitantly. When her eyes finally landed on Tobias, she gasped softly. Her eyes darkened in fear. Tobias forced his feet to move and urged his mouth to open. 

“Hi,” he said, nervously. “I’m Tobias. You were laying on the dock down by the water, unconscious, in the middle of a storm. I brought you here to warm you up and to make sure you were safe. I don’t know what happened to you. Do you remember anything at all?” 

The woman stared at him with big doe eyes. She took in what he was saying, but nothing registered. She shook her head at his questions. 

“I don’t remember anything.” 

“Okay,” Tobias answered. “Do you know your name?” Her eyes welled with tears. She shook her head again. 

“Okay. Hey. Don’t worry. It shall surely come to you soon enough. In the meantime, would you like some breakfast? Tea?” 

She reached down to her stomach and nodded. Tobias smiled, then began fixing some plates of food and poured some tea. He brought it over to her, moving slowly, so as not to alarm the woman. She smiled sweetly at him. 

They ate together in silence. Tobias didn’t know what else to say or ask the woman. He hoped and prayed she would remember who she was or even some details soon enough… And just like that, his prayer was answered. 

The woman dropped her fork and it clattered onto the plate. She gasped. 

“Cordelia — my name is Cordelia,” she whispered. 

“Cordelia,” Tobias echoed. “Daughter of the sea.” The woman looked up at him, questioningly. 

“Your name. It means ‘daughter of the sea.’ It’s a beautiful name,” Tobias said. Cordelia tilted her head to the side and studied the fisherman. Then she smiled all the way to her eyes. 

“Thank you, Tobias.” 

He blushed slightly…