Spooky Legends & Giveaway: Jaclyn Dolamore’s Esmerine on The Mermaid of Zennor & win BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY

Today’s Spooky Legend story and characters fit together perfectly, that’s because we have a real life mermaid telling us the legendary Mermaid of Zennor story. Jaclyn Dolamor’s Esmerine from BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY (available now from Bloomsbury Childrens USA).  If you missed my review, I said, “I was completely swept away by this tender and mournful love story.” Want to read it yourself? Jaclyn is giving away a copy & MAGIC UNDER GLASS.  See details below. 

Click to see the Spooky Legends Master List with links to all the previous posts and giveaways

The Mermaid of Zennor 
by
Jaclyn Dolamore

 

ESMERINE: Alan, when you were a messenger, did you ever hear any stories about mermaids from other parts of the world? I heard there are mermaids up in the north, and I wondered what they were like.
ALAN: Well, once I did hear some travelers telling a story of the mermaid of Zennor. She sounds like the opposite of you. She didn't leave the sea, she bewitched a man to follow her into it and no one ever saw him again.

ESMERINE: But wouldn't he drown?
ALAN: Maybe he did. It sounded like a cautionary tale to me. But they said you can still hear the man's song in the voices of the waves.
ESMERINE: But how can they hear him if he's singing underwater?
ALAN: How should I know? It's just a story. Likely he drowned and that's the end of it.
ESMERINE: Ohhh, well, that's too sad. We'll say he has a magical voice. How did it happen?
ALAN: Well, they say there was a man named Matthew who sang in the choir and had the most glorious voice in all the land, clearer than the church bells. And one night when he was in church this mermaid named Morveren came out of the waves and sat on a rock to comb all the crabs and seashells out of her hair--
ESMERINE: Wait--she had CRABS in her HAIR?
ALAN: Yes, I remember that part of the story quite specifically because I wondered how her hair had gotten so unkempt.
ESMERINE: It gets pretty tangled underwater if you don't braid it, but even so--CRABS? Maybe she wanted to go after a human because mermen didn't want to court someone with crabs in her hair.
ALAN: At least she was combing them out, at any rate, and while doing so, she heard Matthew's voice borne on the wind, and thought, 'What breeze is this that sings so sweetly?' But the wind stopped, and it ended. So the next day, she came back and heard him again, and said, "What bird is this with such a lovely song?" And because this is fairy tale, you know she had to come back a third day, and that was the day she simply HAD to know what that music was, so she pulled herself out of the ocean and tried to get closer. But she saw the tide going out, and I suppose she wasn't any good at turning into a legged form and walking like you are, so she went back to the ocean with the tide and went to see her father the King.
ESMERINE: Oh! Her father was a king? Do you think he really was?
ALAN: Well, why not?
ESMERINE: I just don't see why princesses always get to have the fun.
ALAN: Only in stories. In real life I think they often have to marry ugly nobles from other places.
ESMERINE: Plus, it's always the youngest princess that has all the fun. It seems awfully unfair.
ALAN: Not this time. I don't think Morveren had any siblings at all. Anyway, she went to her father and he said something like, "To hear is one thing, but to see is too much." And a tear the size of a pearl fell from her cheek--and don't you dare ask me how that happened underwater--and she said, "No, the music has enchanted me!" And then her father said she could go, and he gave her a dress encrusted with pearls and coral and other ocean treasures, and told her she must conceal her tail with it, and come back before high tide. Thus clad, she struggled her way to the church, using the trees for support--
ESMERINE: But she could have just used her arms like a seal.
ALAN: I don't think she was trying to move like a seal, I think she was standing on her tail somehow so she'd look human from a distance. She reached the door of the church in time for the last hymn. The congregation was looking ahead so no one saw her. But she saw them, and Matthew as well, looking very handsome indeed. Each night Morveren would dress up and come to the church and what must have been a terribly focused congregation never noticed, until one night she lingered longer than usual, and she caught her breath in a sigh. It was just a little sigh, but Matthew heard it, and he looked to the back of the church--don't laugh. I know what you're going to say, but do you want me to finish this story or not?
ESMERINE: Yes...
ALAN: He saw her, with her shining eyes, and her wet gleaming hair, and what do you think happened?
ESMERINE: He fell instantly in love with her.
ALAN: Precisely. And she was frightened that he had seen her, and started to flee, but he pursued her. She tripped, and he caught her up in his arms and said, "Stay! Please, whoever you are, stay by my side!" And she wept and said, "I cannot. I belong to the sea." He looked and saw the tip of her fins poking out beneath her dress.
ESMERINE: But he didn't care.
ALAN: Of course not. He didn't care that they were different, he only knew that at heart, they were the same. And he said, "Then I will go with you, for I belong by your side."
ESMERINE: *blush*
ALAN: The people from the church saw this, and they told him not to go. "No, Matthew!" his mother cried. But Matthew followed Morveren to the sea. The fishermen gave chase, but Morveren knew that men were greedy, and she tore the pearls and ocean treasures from her dress and the men stopped to get as many gems as they could for themselves. Only Matthew's mother pursued them to the shoreline. As he stepped into the waves, she caught hold of his shirt, but he pushed on. The waters reached his waist, and then his shoulders, and then the sea closed over him, and his mother was left with only a bit of his shirt in her hand. They were never seen again, but...
ESMERINE: But they heard his song on the waves. I see. It's a beautiful story. Although I don't think it's true. I bet humans made it up.
ALAN: Well, it is true in the way that all good stories are.
ESMERINE: Yes. You're right. And I liked it all the same. Except for the crabs in her hair.
ALAN: Me too.

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About the author:

Jaclyn Dolamore was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate. She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food. She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and three weird cats.

Visit Jaclyn Dolamore online: Website|Blog|Twitter Want to read more from Jaclyn Dolamore?

Giveaway provided by Jaclyn Dolamore

One copy of BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY & MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore

 

Available now from Bloomsbury

BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY Description:

She comes from the oceans;
he comes from the skies.
They'll find love somewhere in between

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

Read our review

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**Don’t forget to visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Spooky Legends guest blog with Brenna Yovanoff and a chance to win THE SPACE BETWEEN **