Seaside Enchantment
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Aussiebloke for his continued help and support.
Dedication: To robotunit8. You have been a great help and you inspired me to write this story. What started as a cute joke between friends (OTaT), became a serious story and I thank you for not laughing at me when I actually wrote it.
Lord Algernon Witt looked from the balcony of his seaside home on the Plymouth Coast, looking out at the Channel. The sun had just risen and he had a great deal to do today. Last night he had gotten an urgent call from his old flame Penelope Brown. Penny had not seen him in almost seventeen years, however; lately he had seen her smiling face everyday, just as she was before that fateful day in late July, so many years ago.
In those days, Algie was a brilliant young man. He had gone to the best public schools and had completed his A Levels in just a little over a year. He graduated from Trinity College at Cambridge at the age of twenty in the field of Biology and was looking forward, to the return of his childhood sweetheart, Penny from La Sorbonne. Algie was a passionate young man with a keen scientific mind. His love was a talented artist in the mediums of oils and watercolors, but was not anywhere near as keen on romance. They were both living, breathing paradoxes and complete opposites for that matter; although despite her class, it was almost understood that they would marry.
Penny was the daughter of the Witt’s beloved maid, Constance, who died when Penny was eleven. Because of Constance’s special relationship to the family (over the years, she had become Lady Witt’s closest confidant and friend), Penny became the ward of the previous Lord Witt. Upon Constance’s deathbed, Lady Witt promised to bring up Penny as her own. Penny and Algie grew up under the same roofs (as the Witt’s owned property in several parts of England and abroad) and became sweet on each other as they matured.
Penny, who showed a keen artistic eye, completed girl’s prep school and was accepted at La Sorbonne where she excelled as a landscape/seascape painter. They had only seen each other once in the past three years, and their letters had become quite emotional and affectionate as the day of their reunion was coming. And then it came.
“Penny!” he cried, as he met her at the train and they ran into each others arms and gave each other an uncharacteristic, affectionate hug.
“Algie, my dear! You do not know how long I have waited to see you!” she cried.
On the way home Penny talked almost nonstop about her experiences at school and in Paris in general. Algie was surprised how enthusiastic she was, as he had never seen this side of her before. When they got back to the Plymouth house, it became Algie’s turn to get excited. He loved to tinker with things mechanical and electrical and he built his own computer, which had started the previous summer. It took up a great deal of space, as computers in those days did (just about filling an upstairs sitting room. He had also developed something that he thought would revolutionize the medical world as he pointed to a small opaque booth that was perhaps a little wider than a telephone kiosk. “I call it a ‘structural body scanner’” he enthused at the device which seemed connected to the large computer.
“What does it do?” asked Penny.
“It takes an image of the body, almost like a photograph, but instead of a physical image, it converts the readings to mathematics using complicated algorithms, so the data can be stored on the computer’s magnetic tapes. Do you want to see how it works?” he asked.
“Is it harmful?” asked Penny somewhat dubiously.
“Of course not, love. It is much safer than an X-ray and it uses a spectrum of light which is completely benign. I have even used it myself. Do you want to give it a go?”
“I suppose. As long as it is safe.”
“I assure you it is,” he smiled.
As she walked over to the booth he said. “There is one thing.”
“What?”
“You have to remove your clothing.”
Algie was prepared for a squawk, but instead, Penny walked briskly over to the booth, closed the door, and began to remove her clothes. She then opened the door slightly and tossed the clothes out the door.
“I thought the clothing thingy would be a nonstarter.”
“Don’t be silly, Algie. You are practically my fiancée, at least you will be, when you ask,” he heard her giggle.
Algie laughed, “Penny, I must say, you have changed considerably.”
“Not really, but I have learned that by opening my heart and to allow myself to feel, I have become a better painter” she said as she closed the door of the booth. “Also it affected the way I look at life in general… and people.”
Algie smiled. It seemed that Penny was finally ready for him to propose. He would need to formally ask his father’s permission as she was his ward, and of course he wanted his father’s blessing on his own behalf. As his father was quite fond of Penny and thought them to be quite suitable, he did not foresee a problem. Lord Witt was returning from their large flat in Kensington on Friday. He would ask him then and propose that night. The idea of waiting two whole days was almost too much for him, but he had waited three years for Penny. What was a couple of more days? “Alright Penny, it would be a good idea to close your eyes, as the light will become fairly bright. You will also need to keep perfectly still.”
“Alright Algie. Any time you wish to begin.”
Algie started by pressing a button and looked at the machine’s levels. Then he pushed another button and the booth began to hum. When the levels appeared stable, he pulled a lever and set it to the appropriate level of intensity and pushed another button. The booth flooded with light.
Penny felt a small tingle as the light passed over her lovely features, and well proportioned, Junoesque body. Within about five minutes the light faded and the process was complete. “Very good, Penny, we’re almost finished. Please open the door slightly so I can pass you something.”
The door opened slightly as Penny’s hand extended out. “Please wear this helmet,” requested Algie.
“What’s it for?” she asked as she grasped the item.
“The one flaw of the scanner is that it is not capable of scanning brain activity and function, because your eyes have to remain closed during the scan. This helmet can scan the brain, through an aural/sinus electrical process.”
“What?”
“It connects through your ears and nose.”
“Alright. If you’re sure it is safe” she said uncomfortably. “I have it on. There are things that entered my nostrils and ears. Is this alright?” she said in a somewhat muffled voice.
“It is. That is how I will be able to monitor and copy your brain activity function,” he replied. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Algie threw the switch, checked the levels were set at the proper intensity with the lever and pushed another button. Penny felt a tingling sensation beginning in her nostrils and then in her ears. After the first couple of minutes, she began to feel a little woozy and she moaned.
“Are you alright Penny?” asked Algie.
“Yes,” slurred Penny. “Just a little dizzy.”
“Almost done.”
After another minute or so, Algie turned off the machine. “All set. Open the door a little so I can pass you your clothes,” said Algie and he got no response. “Penny?” he asked.
Algie quickly opened the door and Penny tumbled into his grasp. He quickly pulled off the helmet, carried her lovely nude body into the adjoining bedroom, and laid her down on the bed and checked her vital signs. She appeared to be alright. He went back into the computer room to get her clothes. When he returned, he couldn’t help but take a moment to stare at her beautiful naked form; just drinking in her loveliness. Then his mind returned to a state of propriety and he covered her body with a blanket and put her clothes down on the bed and waited for her to awake. Minutes later, she moaned and then her eyes opened. Instead of the anger Algie expected, Penny just smiled up at him. “You broke me.”
“No, just taxed you a little. I’m sorry love,” he smiled.
“So, did you like what you saw?” she grinned.
“What do you mean?” he asked, with perfect thickness.
“You know very well what I mean.”
“If you are talking about your comely appearance, I was just being a proper gentleman. I’m just glad that you are not cross,” he blushed.
“Who said I’m not?” asked Penny with a hint of mischief.
Algie froze speechless. Then Penny laughed. “I shan’t be angry if you go swimming with me.” “The water is still very cold for this time of the year.”
“I never knew how brave the future Earl of Warwick was,” she laughed.
“Brave enough to pull away your blanket,” laughed Algie.
“Then I really would get cross with you,” she laughed. Algie, please be a dear and fetch my luggage? I have my swimming costume in there” she flirted.
“Of course, love” he smiled as he walked out of the room.
At the time this was all happening another figure was lurking only two hundred yards away. This figure would forever change the lives of Algie and Penny forever.
Merrial was a Mermaid from the lost continent of Atlantis. Her husband, Lorek was a cruel Merman, she was forced by her father to marry. As by the sexist laws of Atlantis, all marriages were permanent. As the life expectancy of Merfolk was on the average greater than 275 years, Merrial was now 110 years old and was stuck with the prospect of being with Lorek for more another century or two. They had only one child Larriel, a beautiful daughter who was a mere 65 years old. She was as lovely as her mother, with lustrous brown hair that matched Merrial’s and a lovely Mermaid form like her mother.
Merrial had fantasized leaving Atlantis and falling in love with a handsome human male (who the mer-race saw as primitive and little more than animals, which was belief that Merrial did not share). While her husband treated humans with scorn, it did not stop him from taking their form and enchanting human females and having sexual intercourse with them, during “The Time of Enchantment”. “The Time of Enchantment” was a 72 hour period that occurred once approximately every human year. During this time, Mermen and Mermaids were permitted to interact with humans. They had the capability of transforming their tails into legs and in essence become fully human (with the difference being their exceptional physical strength). While the males were permitted to be in essence unfaithful to their wives, the women were not allowed to engage in sexual intercourse.
Merrial seldom bothered to grow legs. But she loved to swim around areas where humans swam and then to come up on some unsuspecting human male and kiss them, thereby enchanting them. This enchantment usually lasted for the time the Merfolk was with the human in question and generally speaking, once it wore off, the magic forced the humans to forget them ever seeing or being kissed by the Merfolk. Unlike her husband, she never engaged in any real sexual activity with humans, as Merfolk anatomy in their natural form was biologically incompatible with human anatomy, all she did was to take the male to a secluded shallow place and play with them for a few hours. This meant allowing them to kiss her and fondle her lovely large breasts.
Merrial had seen a handsome young man on the beach the previous day, but he had left before she could get his attention. She still had a couple of days and decided to wait for another day before swimming down the coast line. Merrial looked at this as almost a hunting ritual. She usually became obsessed with her target and usually “bagged him”. If not successful, she would quickly locate a human male at a more populated beach area, sometimes sprouting human limbs to lure that male into a secluded area before reverting to form before she kissed her victim. Unlike some Mermaids, Merrial did not see herself as a “siren” She had no desire to have her target lured to his death after her fun. Instead, she used her enchantment to cause the human to fall into a stupor before departing, leaving the human with a hazy a dream of making love to a beautiful woman.
She then saw her target on the beach, but this time he was not alone. He was in the company of a human female. She then saw the human male begin to swim out in her direction as did the female. If she timed it right, she would be able to snag the male and use her powerful tail and swimming ability to spirit him away from the female, off to the shallows several miles away as she sealed his mouth with hers so he could breathe.
Algie allowed Penny to convince him to jump in the Channel. It was fair brisk, but a bit warmer than he thought it would be. He noticed Penny right behind him. All of a sudden he felt something right next to him. It seemed like a fairly sizable fish. He heard Penny yell as she superimposed herself in front of the thing at the last second. As she felt her head turned, she saw a very lovely human female face inches from hers.
Merrial saw her target only a couple of feet away so she propelled herself at the handsome man. As she closed the distance and was ready to kiss him, he had turned around so he could not see her. She touched the man’s head, turned it and closed her eyes to kiss him.
Penny felt her head pulled to face this incredibly beautiful looking woman. She was mesmerized as she felt the woman pull her in for a kiss. She felt the woman’s tongue enter her mouth and as her lips created a seal, her head exploded in a bright pain. She then felt the creature pulling her away from Algie.
Merrial’s head exploded in the same kind of pain, as she noticed that the person that she was kissing was the attractive human female, instead of the handsome male. As the pain abated she felt love and passion flow into her heart in a way she had never met before. She continued to pull the girl out to sea and then proceeded back to shore to an intimate cove.
Penny knew she should have been afraid, but the passion and lust she felt for this creature overwhelmed all of the emotions she was feeling. When the creature towed her into a shallow cove, she momentarily let go of her. After about a minute, Penny noticed something. The beautiful creature had turned into a beautiful woman. Instead of the greenish/grayish color tail this woman had, she now had legs. Penny launched herself at the strange, but lovely woman and her mouth captured the woman’s mouth hungrily. Her kiss was eagerly returned.
Merrial was shocked. She had never experienced such powerful emotions. Her attempt to enchant someone had worked too well, as she had been affected as well. As Merfolk did not engage in homosexuality, these feelings were completely foreign to her. Still they were undeniable. In the past Merrial had been attracted to the men she had toyed with, but this was something altogether different.
Penny never had a lesbian impulse in her life. People had even accused her of not having any sexual impulses whatsoever. She had been quite fond of Algie and believed that she loved him. She was also greatly attracted to him, but these emotions were so overpowering that they could not be resisted.
They pulled each other to the shore and began to fondle each other’s bodies, neither really knowing what they should do. After a few minutes, the Mermaid exploded in a powerful orgasm. After the Mermaid recovered she brought Penny to an equally powerful one. They continued to kiss and caress each other. The Mermaid had become Penny’s soul mate and Penny had become hers.
Shortly, Penny heard a voice in her mind. For about a minute or so it was completely incomprehensible, but fairly soon, she understood the voice. The voice told her that her soul mate’s name was Merrial. She then thought her name back, hoping that her lover would understand.
“Penny” stated the beautiful woman out loud.
“Merrial” she smiled back as the beautiful woman beamed at her and their passion flared anew.
Algie and his search party looked all afternoon and into the evening for Penny, but they were unable to find her. Algie had seen the creature. His eyes must have deceived him. He thought it looked like a beautiful brown haired woman, but then he saw her tail. Mermaids are fiction, he told himself, but Algie could not dwell upon his hallucination. His love was missing and he had to find her. When darkness came and she was still not found, everyone feared the worst. Lord Witt returned from London as the search for his missing ward had taken on a grim feeling.
The next day the search continued to feel hopeless. By late afternoon, some men had repelled down the cliff face when they had seen what appeared to be the body of a woman. When they got there they determined that she was alive, but asleep. She quickly awoke feeling disoriented. They called for the yacht and a dingy and then brought her home.
Penny arrived strangely disoriented and full of sorrow. Merrial had to return to Atlantis and could not return for almost another year. Penny had begged her to stay, but the Mermaid said that her husband and the Merman authorities would track her down eventually and would kill them both. They would only be safe during the “Time of Enchantment”, but she promised to return the next time, which would be in 360 moons. Penny promised to be there. Then Merrial heard the sound of men approaching as her exhausted love had begun to fall asleep. She kissed her gently on the forehead, grew back her tail and swam off for home with a heavy, but love filled heart.
Algie and Penny’s relationship was never the same. When Algie proposed, she turned him down and as gracefully as possible, left the Witt home with a mixture of sorrow and expectation to make her fortune. After sneaking back the following year to meet Merrial, they agreed to meet on the Isle of Wight at a secluded location the next and following years as Penny found a small flat there. During that time, Penny’s beautiful seascape paintings began to sell quite nicely and soon she became popular. As she became more famous and wealthy, she was able to find a larger flat which was at the seaside and she became a recluse. Her only visitor came to meet her roughly once a year. The only other person she wanted to see, she could not, as she had broken his heart. She wanted to tell him how much she had loved him, but she was not capable of loving him the way he wanted her to.
Algie had fallen on hard times emotionally. His heart yearned for love, but he felt he would never be able to love again. Instead, he threw his passion into scientific research. He knew that Penny was the only woman he could ever love, so the study of science and creativity of his inventions drove him to that end.
During that time, he had lost his mother, then his father. By the time he was thirty-three, he lived alone in the Plymouth house (with a skeleton staff). He had sold the London flat and the place in the Lake District (though he kept the family manor and farm, but left it to be worked by others, while only returning to perform his duties. He also kept the Plymouth house and the Bermuda beach house.). As he was cleaning out his belongings, he found an old X-Mas card from Penny, while she was in Paris, all those years ago. He tore it up, and then felt a strong feeling of remorse. He immediately repaired the tear with some tape and placed it in a prominent place on his desk.
That Christmas, he sent a card to Penny. No message, just inscribed, “Love, Algie.” The following spring he made his startling, revolutionary scientific breakthrough. He was not in it for the money; he never was. Algie had his own reasons for pursuing this technology and every other thing he invented and he would never share it. This breakthough was to be the key to his future happiness, so he knew who his first subject would be. Algie was tired of being alone and there was only one person he wanted to be with.
The next few years were happy for Algie. Penny and he began to exchange X-mas cards. Then two years ago; Penny had written him a letter explaining what had happened to her. Penny assumed that he would be angry or not believe her. Instead, she received a letter from Algie, saying that he believed her and understood, as he had seen the Mermaid himself. He also believed that he was partly to blame for her feelings for Merrial and the Mermaid’s feelings for her. When he had done the brain scan on her, he reasoned that the scan activated an unknown part of Penny’s brain creating a form of psionic power. Upon kissing the then enchanted Penny, Merrial’s enchantment met up with Penny’s power creating an explosive power of enchantment which affected both of them. Algie had cursed himself for wanting to scan Penny’s body and brain, despite the scans being responsible for his current happiness.
Now the Penny of today was coming to meet Algie. His reverie was woken by a soft hand caressing his shoulders. “Come back to bed, love,” said the owner of the hand. Algie smiled wistfully and then followed her comely form back to their bed.