Chapter 1

Strength

Sometime in the past, where knights and legendary beasts thought to have existed. The Rain poured one night in a small Celtic town, somewhere in Ireland. Horses were being ridden around in the wet mud as their owners attempted to impress the young women despite their drunken Stupor. Set aside from the drunken groupies and bleak weather, a simple Inn seems to be illuminated with life. The drinkers are singing, dancing and laughing at least they are attempting to do so. The cheering and celebratory commotion had died down a small notch as young man in his twenties, comes storming into the tavern, heads to the barkeeper and asks him a question.

"Where the hell is me father?"

The barkeeper, knowing the boy and his family all to well, points out of habit to a man who seems to be enjoying himself with several friends. A lone man at a table watches this scene with curiosity as the young man heads towards the direction he had been pointed to. The young man turns his father around violently to talk to him face to face.

"What do ye think you're doing, ya daft idiot?"

"What are ye talkin' about son?" Said the boy's drunken father.

"Ye were supposed to git Timothy's medicine. Ye remember about that, don't ye?"

"Aye. O' course I remember that. I'm drunk, not senile."

"Tim's home sick." This caught the lone man's undivided attention. "We were both waiting at home for ye to come back with what we need to make the medicine, then I hear that ye're at the Inn."

"A man does ‘ave to enjoy ‘imself once in a while." Said his father, attempting to keep his balance.

"Aye, but ye don't ‘ave the intelligence to know when's the right time to do so.

"Fine, I'll get ‘is medicine." Said his father with anger in his eyes.

"No, I'll git it. Ye just git back ‘ome and keep an eye on Timothy."

"I'm not going to take orders from me own son!"

"Would ye rather want me self to become a single child? Would ye rather want Timothy to die the same way mother did?" The young man yelled to his father.

"Fine, Fine. I'll go. ‘Ere, take the bag Fisher." He says, giving his son a small leather bag.

"Good. Let's git out of ‘ere."

The loner watched with a slight grin as both men walked out of the Inn.

*******
*Later*
*******

The coughs of a young 8 year old boy is heard from a pitch black room of a small hut. The door of the room creaks open. The room is then light up by a candle carried by Fisher, with the help of a poorly made candleholder. Fisher walked through the doorway and towards the ailing boy on the bed. Fisher put the candle on the night table next to the bed and stood near his little brother.

"Tim?"

"I'm fine brother. Was father at the Inn again?"

"Aye. I brought ‘im back from the Inn."

Timothy coughs " Did ‘e get...?"

"Alas, our daft alcoholic of a father didn't take the time to get your medicine."

Fisher goes to a corner of the room, slams a door wide open and gathers a few weapons and other useful items.

"Who's going to get me medicine then?"

"I am little brother." He says walking back to the night table and picking up the candle. "Now, go back to sleep Timothy. I'll be back with some medicine."

The room becomes black once again as Fisher leaves his brother to drift into the land of slumber.

**********

"McGuinty's youngest is home sick." whispered the loner at the bar to a strong bearded man from the village.

"Aye?! So the young one has a cold." He laughs at him mockingly. "I don't believe we ‘ave anything to worry about friend 'for everyone I've met has had one and I've had several me self."

"Haven't ye heard of the plague over in England? I dare not mention the name of it for fear it might cause a panic..." He said with a devilish grin.

"Aye. What ‘bout it?"

"I believe ‘e has caught the plague."

Another man, who has heard their entire conversation, pulls a knife out of his pocket and stands up. The expression on his face shows a mix of fear and determination.

"Then we should do something ‘bout it, before it kills us all!!"

The man attempts to leave the bar, but the loner stands up and gets in his way, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not like that me friend. Ye see bloodshed would mearly make it easier for this curse to spread, and having a murder written upon your soul would clearly send ye to Beelzebub himself."

"Ye 'ave another idea then?"

"I ‘ave a BETTER idea. The Mermaid ‘as to receive ‘er sacrifice tonight, so good fortune should befall our village. So, why not kill two birds with one stone? By having the young lad destroyed by the sea wench, we'll make our village safe and once sacrificed, good fortune shall protect us of any other curse."

**********

Fisher McGuinty is walking in the forest carefully picking up mushrooms, flowers and leaves to prepare as Tim's medicine. He hears some leaves rustling by a bush nearby. He turns around quickly, taking out the sword from it's scabbard and holds it in hand, ready for an attack.

"If this be a thief, leave me be. I've no riches for ye, so be gone."

There was no response. All of a sudden, a young woman jumps into the young man's arms.

"Joy? What are ye doin' ‘ere?"

She holds him tightly and lays her right cheek upon his chest.

"I missed you dreadfully, love." She says before noticing the sword in his hand. "Ye were planning to kill me?"

"Nay, me love. It was simply to protect thyself for, on a night such as tonight, you may never know what fate may befall upon you." he said as he started at the full moon. Joy turns around and looks at it herself, then turns back to Fisher.

" 't is a beautiful moon this night."

"Aye." He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"What would ye compare it's beauty to, love?"

Fisher looked down into the eyes of his love, admiring the reflected glow from her blue eyes. He gently passes his fingers through her long blond hair, then gently lifts her head with his index finger underneath her chin.

"Joy, Me love, I would never be able to compare it to the beauty that stands before me at this very moment. Compared to you, nothing else may contain more beauty."

Fisher kisses her with tenderness as she laid her hands upon his chest. The two stop kissing and look into each other’s eyes, then, Joy simply shoves Fisher to the ground playfully and jumps on top of him. They both keep kissing as the moon shone down upon them.

**********

The door to the McGuinty household bursts wide open, nearly breaking apart from the strength. Several of the town's men walked in, led by the loner from the bar and the two men he had spoken to. Some of the men outside, were carrying torches and other possible weapons. The men inside the house broke anything that stood in their way and the kitchen table had been flipped over and dismantled before Fisher's father had come to his senses.

"What is the meanin' of all of this?" Said Timothy's father.

One of the men took his torch and hit the McGuinty family member on the head. The loner, who quickly became the mob leader, climbs onto the roof of the hut and yells out to his people.

"Git the child, then burn this disease infested hut and everythin' in it!! The curse must be lifted and the devil must be purged from this very place!!"

The mob cheered for the man's heroic words and started spreading alcohol throughout the entire household. On the tables, the beds and the chairs. Tim's father lay motionless on the ground as they spat and spread alcohol all over his battered body.

**********

Joy and Fisher lay nearly naked on the ground. Joy was resting her head on Fisher's chest and he had his arm around her, his hand on the soft skin of her right shoulder. they stared into each other’s eyes, without noticing the lights in the distance. They were both startled by a loud commotion from the bottom of the grassy wet hillside. They both sat up and saw what was going on. Joy put her clothes back on while Fisher put his kilt around his waist and slipped on his chest armor. he looked down from that very hill and saw something that would haunt him forever.

"Dear Lord!! They ‘ave me brother!!"

Fisher saw the mob carrying torches and pulling a giant wooden wagon. Most of the men were walking at both sides of the wagon. Timothy's unconscious body was tied to a stake, which lay on top of a heap of firewood carried by the same wooden wagon. It seemed similar to a standard witch burning. Fisher noticed something far in the distance, just in view of the hillside. He saw his very home, hidden in a bush of fire and heavy black smoke. Fisher could feel the anger starting to build inside of him as he saw his very own town turn against him.

"What's going on?" Said Joy as she walked to his side. She saw the same things he had. "Saints preserve us. Why such hysteria?"

Fisher was simply too overcome with anger to answer her. He just put all his clothes back on and gathered all of his weapons in a hurry.

"Ye can't seriously be thinkin' of fightin' all those men for the sake of your brother. Ye wouldn't stand a chance."

"Aye? What if I don't?"

"Wait!! Fisher, we, we could just move somewhere else and be in love. We can 'ave our own family."

"And what of me brother and father?"

"We'll miss them of course, but, ye can't do anything!! There are too many people. Ye'll surely die!! I love ye too much to lose ye... Fisher... Please, do not go..."

Fisher looked at the fear and love that was present in Joys eyes. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, then gave her a long soft kiss. They then both hugged each other tightly. The fear that was on her face went away as she tried her best to enjoy every moment of it. Fisher then whispered into her ear.

"He's me brother Joy... Just remember, I'll always be with ye, no matter what happens."

With that last remark, Fisher ran down the hill into battle, leaving Joy behind with the frightening thought of losing her love.

"FISHER!!!" Yelled out Joy, but it was useless, for the man was concentrating on the task at hand.

**********

"To the well!!" Yelled out the mob leader to his followers.

Crashing violently out of the trees nearby came out Fisher McGuinty with a sword in hand. Fisher hit the mob leader directly in the face, knocking him to the ground. Parts of the mob attacked Fisher. Fisher swung his sword at them, injuring a slight few. After a few minutes, Fisher gets his arms and legs pinned down by four men. A fourth man starts beating him senselessly, making bruises appear and causing blood to flow. The mob leader gets up and takes a torch from someone in the mob.

"Stop it! Let the boy up, but ‘old ‘im!"

The men stopped beating on him and got out of the mad mob leader's way. They lifted Fisher to his feet, but two men held him by his arms.

"You're Mcguinty's eldest, aren't ye?" Said the mob leader with a smile as Fisher spat right in his face.

"Aye, and I'll be the one ye'll fear if ye denae let me brother go."

The mob leader hit him across the face with the burning end of his torch, causing another bruise and a few slight burns.

"Ye shall be the Mermaid's second sacrifice. Someone, take some rope, tie ‘im up and put ‘im on the wagon with ‘is brother."

**********

Fisher was kneeling at the front of the giant wooden wagon, with his wrists and ankles tied together. His weapons lay out in front of him, almost teasing him. It was a few hours before dawn when the people had arrived to the well that was now emitting a bluish green glow. The townspeople watched in amazement as the Mermaid slowly emerged from the well. The mermaid looked down from the sky and immediately realized which one was her sacrifice. The Mermaid came down and examined the boy tied to the post with much curiosity.

"Such a young soul to be brought to me. I expected something more *sigh* bigger. I guess this could do."

She moved in for a kiss, but stopped as she felt there was a problem. She backed away with anger.

"You dare bring me tainted meat? You'll all suffer from this treachery!!!"

Fisher started to struggle his way out of his rope. He fell flat on his chest by doing so. His hands and feet stayed tied together, right above his back. All of a sudden, he heard dozens of slices in the wind above his head, then his ropes snapped apart. He was surprised when he saw his hands and feet were now free from his bonds. Fisher got up and picked up his sword. Most of the mob had fled, leaving the mob leader, turned loner once again, frozen in fear. Fisher turned around and saw what the loner was looking at.

"Oh, dear Lord, no. Not me brother!"

Timothy was now nothing more than a lifeless corps. His body was riddled with the very sharp scales that covered the Mermaid's lower half of her body. Fisher pointed his sword to the loner.

"Because of ye, I ‘ave lost me father. Because of ye, I ‘ave lost me brother, and because of ye, I ‘ave lost me home. Ye ‘ave destroyed me life, now, I shall destroy yours."

The loner turned around, trying to run away, but fisher jumped off the wagon and plunged his sword deep into the man's back. The Mermaid watched the whole thing and applauded the event.

"Excellent! Well done Fisher! Another useless life ended by one of the strong."

Fisher turned around to face the Mermaid. He lifted his hands in the air in a "Y" pattern , dropped his sword and fell down to his knees.

"Go ahead ya sea wench!! Take me soul, for I ‘ave no use for it!! I ‘ave nothing more to live for but a dead family!!"

The Mermaid got really close to him.

"You really want to die?"

"Aye."

"I'll give you something better than death."

Without any real warning, she gave him a long, prolonged kiss. After the kiss however, Fisher was astonished to see that he was still among the living.

"There! I gave you eternal life. Now, you have no choice but to find something to live for. Hee hee hee!!"

Fisher's anger resurfaced.

"Ye cruel sea wench!! I said I wanted to die!!!"

"Take it or leave it Sunshine."

"Ye killed me brother, mocked the death of the man I just killed, then ye give me eternal life when I obviously wanted to die!! A creature as cruel as yourself doesn't deserve to live on."

"People tell me that all the time sweet-heart. Tee-hee!!"

"I vow, upon the lost souls of me family, that I shall end the killing and suffering ye ‘ave caused throughout the many years of your existence. Me sword shall one day, be tainted with your blood."

"One problem with that though."

"And what would that be?"

"You have to catch me first. Hee hee hee!!"

The Mermaid went back to the well. The same eerie glow started to shine once again, then she dove into the well, followed by Fisher McGuinty.

**********

Joy walked into the area a few minutes later. She had a look of disbelief on her face as she saw the dead bodies. She saw Fisher's footprints on the ground and followed them to the well. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"I cannot believe it. ‘E sacrificed ‘imself."

She clutched her stomach, fell to her knees and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"I didn't even ‘ave the time to tell ‘im about the blessing God gave us. The product of our love. The child I carry inside me self."

She cried like she never cried before.