Introduction Into My Story
The story I will be telling is one I've had in my head since last year. I want to tell an original story and add elements of the Celtic and Scandinavian folklore into the mix. My story will be a retelling of the Danish story The Little-Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, but there's a twist.
First, my story will take place in a fictional village in Denmark.
It will focus on the life of an eighteen-year-old girl named Serene Anker. She takes care of her injured, drunken father, while her mother died when she was young. During the day, her fisherman father collects fish from the sea, and she assists him by selling it at the market. However, Serene believes she's allergic to saltwater and must stay away from her father's boat. During the night, she is a famed hired assassin who goes by the name of Madame Tavs or Madame Silence.
One night, a cloaked man hires Serene to kill the crown prince, Frederick. When she is ready to make the killing blow, saltwater splashed along her arms and legs. Her skins broke out into the scales, and her legs slowly transform into a tail. She's half-mermaid. Serene's transformation alerts several soldiers who are guarding the prince. However, she cannot move, and the guards nearly discover her. Luckily, a young man, Harth, helps her hide. Harth happens to be a servant in the castle, and he has an interest, like his late father, in studying the bizarre and unique myth-like creatures such as mermaids.
Fascinated by her appearance, Harth helps her get a job at the palace. Together, they learn more about her species and where she came from. All the while, Serene takes a servant job in the palace and continues trying to murder the prince.
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Here are a few story elements I am going to use in my story.
Mermaids are obviously going to be the central main Celtic creature I will be exploring. However, I would like to make factions of the mermaids and explore the creatures known as the Merrows, which have skins similar to Selkies. Merrows trick humans into coming into the sea and stealing their souls.
Another element I want to explore is the idea of touching iron harms fairy-like creatures, and I want to have this be a weakness for my character when she is in her mermaid form.
A plot element I want to use for my story is from a story based on creatures known as the Swan Maidens and Selkies. A hunter finds these maidens and takes their skins away and forces them to marry him. However, I want to change it and use it as inspiration for the character Harth. He will take the role of the hunter, but his personality is much nerdier and kinder than the abrasive thieving man from the other tales.
Image Information: [ Banner Image The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark by Maria Rosenberg]