One day, her mother was missing.

Her siblings all gathered around her father, chattering at him, nudging him, begging him to tell them what had happened to her, but he could only shake his head and nuzzle them comfortingly in return. When it came to her turn, she had turned away, refusing to meet her father’s eyes, lapsing into silence as she tried to understand what it was that she had seen.

She was young and she didn’t understand.

She didn’t understand what it meant when she had seen a man sneak up on the rocks where her mother and her friends left their skins. She didn’t understand even when she opened her mouth to warn them, but they had already noticed anyway, and shrieked, grabbing their skins and diving back into the water. She didn’t understand when her mother didn’t do so; instead, she went on land and on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks and pleading with the human.

She didn’t understand when her mother left with the human.

Not until she was much older and heard more stories. Then, she understood.

But the understanding dulled her, made her different. Or had it been the witnessing of the affair itself?

She didn’t know, but all she knew were that her siblings seemed to laugh easier, to frolic around easier than she did, than she ever could. They were much more carefree, much more ignorant, and all she could do was to shake her head whenever they asked her to play because she didn’t want them to be her. Didn’t want herself to influence them.

Why did she have to be so weak? Why did their kind have to submit to those humans? She asked, never really voicing out her questions but those around her knew she had reservations.

And then when she actually asked the questions, it was when her mother finally returned. It was when she was a teenager, and not a child anymore. Her mother shook her head and refused to answer, only smiled at her through teary eyes and held her to her bosom tightly.

She was angry, and she was hurt. It wasn’t fair, how their lives could be robbed by such pathetic humans, those humans who were foolish enough to listen to the songs of the sirens and crash into rocks. She felt weak, she felt hopeless, and she felt foolish. It was as if, she thought, that one day she would fall into the same predicament as well.

She was determined not to let this happen.

And so, she went to the one place that was warned that she should never go to, the sea witch’s lair. She had heard many stories about the place. How the witch was proficient in magic, how the witch could help you get what you wanted, but at a price. It was this price that made people wary, but she was not. What price could be worse than losing years of youth to forced living with a human? It was this thought which fuelled her to swim towards the lair.

“Oh look.” A silky voice crooned from the shadows as she stopped at the entrance, peering in warily. “It’s a dear, sweet little selkie! What is it you want, my dear?”

She took a deep breath and swam in, but the sea witch was nowhere to be seen.

“What is it that you want?” The voice came again, sounding highly amused. “Dear me, let’s see. A selkie come to me for help. Fallen in love with a human? Or someone you know have? Tell her to take more care of her skin, will you?”

“It’s not that.” She spoke harshly. “I’m not like all of them. I’m not weak.”

“Oho?” The voice sounded nearer, but when she spun around, there was no one there. “How so, my child?”

“At least,” She hesitated before she elaborated. “I don’t want to be weak...”

“It’s that dratted skin of yours isn’t it?” The voice chimed in before she could finish, and suddenly, a cloud of smoke billowed in front of her, and when it settled, the cacaelia was there, grinning at her.

“Do you have any ideas?” She asked.

“Have you heard,” the cacaelia drawled, using a tentacle to draw her nearer, and another to pluck a bottle from a shelf to pour into the cauldron sitting in the middle of the room. “Of Amityville Academy? I know of some young sea monsters, mermaids even, attending that school... teaches them to be true monsters, I believe. Why not you?”

“I intend to go there.” She answered stoutly. “But...”

“You’re afraid they will laugh at you.” The cacelia finished. “You’re afraid they will point at you in the hallways and whisper, ‘Oh, I hear she’s a selkie!’, ‘How dreadful, to be at the mercy of humans if they should lose their skin to one!’ Well, it’s too bad, if you’re afraid.”

“I’m not!” She insisted. “I just... can’t lose my skin.”

“Aha!” The cacelia breathed, drawing her closer and she winced at the slimy touch. “Now that’s interesting. Did you want me to place a spell on it for you? I could, you know. Why, I could make it so that you would know as soon as anyone even touched it. You would know where exactly it was if stolen.”

“Could... you?” She asked, eyes widening.

“Don’t doubt me, selkie.” The cacelia grinned, releasing her and turning towards her shelves of bottled magic potions. “But now, we have to discuss the subject of payment, won’t we?”

“I don’t know what I have that you would want.” She ventured carefully.

The cacelia snapped her fingers. “Remove your skin.”

“What?”

“Remove your skin, my dear, and we shall see.”

She did as she was told and stripped her seal skin, wading the waters in her human form instead, and now released, her long light blonde hair floated around her. She was surprised that she still could breathe; she intended to quickly slip her skin back on, but there was a bubble encasing her, allowing her to breathe in her human form underwater. It was the witch’s magic, she realized.

“Aha! Yes!” The witch’s eyes lit up. “Your hair will do just fine.”

“My hair?” She asked warily, weaving her fingers through the strands.

“Can’t possibly take your skin, can I?” The witch said. “Besides, selkie skins are terribly easy to get. No offense, my child, but if your kind watched their skin more carefully, perhaps they wouldn’t fall to the human’s prey so often.”

“What will you do with it?”

“That is none of your business.” The witch said sharply. “Now, do we have a deal... or not?”

She closed her eyes. “Alright.”

The next thing she knew, her hair was being cut and falling away from her face, and when she opened her eyes and touched her scalp, it was short and rather highly uncomfortable. She watched as the witch folded the silken hairs away into a drawer and then turned to face her. “Now, your skin, please.”

“I forgot to mention something, by the way.” The witch added as she dropped more bottles into the cauldron. “There’s another side to this spell, a curse if you will. You won’t be able to access your seal form, but I don’t think that will be a problem for you. What will you need a cute little seal for at Amityville Academy, my dear?”

It was a startling surprise and she stared at the witch’s back for a while before she composed herself. “Yes.” She found herself saying. “Yes, that will be fine.”

The next thing she knew, the spell was done and her skin was tied around her human body. “There’s another side effect,” the witch said airily as she left. “Your hair’s changed color. Not much you need to worry about.”

When Marzena emerged from the waters, gasping, and peered at her reflection, she realized that her hair was now a dark blue, a contrast to her natural color. She touched it gingerly; it felt so strange, and then took in a deep breath, before she turned away from the sea, her home and towards the Academy.

A few days after, rumors were around Halloween Town about a platinum blonde beauty frequenting the gambling dens, racking up some debts and then later disappearing into thin air...