The Mermaid Saga is the creation of the great Rumiko Takahashi and
several others.  Don't sue, I'm broke.

Mermaid's Dream
By Ryo Hoshi


     He had been on his feet for so long, traveling so far, he could no longer
remember who he was.
     But it did not matter.
     Only the vision mattered.
     Somewhere in the vision, selling a special medicine figured greatly in
destiny.
     He carefully entered the house.  No need to disturb the servants, and of
course, no need to alert many to his presence.
     Ah!  The room, the chairs, the fire, all matched his vision.  He sat down
in one of the chairs to wait.

      I was not very pleased with current events; life was too short, and
there was so much to do.  I entered the room with much on my mind.
     But I stopped up short when I saw the disreputable man sitting in my
favorite chair.  The man did not look old.  But the way he dressed, the way he
looked at me, sent shivers up my spine.  He was old, much older then he
looked.
     "Who are you?"
     "My name," he said, "is not important."  He said this in perfect English
with an accent that I could not place, but I thought it might be Chinese, for
he did look Chinese.  "What I have to sell you is."
     "And what do you have to sell to me?"
     "This," he replied, pulling out a jar.  It contained two pieces of some
strange flesh.  "The flesh of a mermaid.  To those who have eaten it, it
brings immortality."
     I have to admit, I was not really able to believe him.  But still...how
could he know?  "I'll take some.  How much?"
     He named a price, and luckily I had it on me.  Within seconds, he was
gone and I contemplated the bit of flesh he had given me.
     Did I really want to try?  Was it worth trying some strange flesh for the
chance I will become immortal?
     I closed my eyes and ate it.

     He cackled after vanishing.  Another part of his vision, done!  And
now...
     He hobbled off to the palace.
     Cooking...
     Yes, cooking the flesh did not affect it that much.
     It did taste a bit like chicken, though.

     There was a bit of an uproar in the kitchen.  Someone had snuck,
according to one of the minor cooks, a bit of a meat into some chicken for the
Queen.  After a while of wild speculation, it was decided that the cook had
been seeing things.
     The next day, Queen Victoria coughed up some blood, and the rumors spread
quickly for a little, but nothing else happened and soon relegated to the back
of their minds.
     By the time it was noticed that the Queen had stopped aging, the incident
had been completely forgotten.

*** *** ***   *** *** ***   *** *** ***

     A few months ago, I proposed to my prereaders a Elseworlds Ranma set in a
universe where Queen Victoria had long ago eaten some of a mermaid's flesh and
become immortal.
     One of them asked for me to tell how she got a hold of it.
     Well, the original story that idea's from got junked for the most part,
but the basic idea seems sound.  So, here it is, the story of how Queen
Victoria ate the flesh of a mermaid.  Any offers of help will be loved, C&C
liked, flames will be C&C, and encouragement appreciated.


		--Ryo Hoahi