Sand and Ruin and Gold

## Short story by Alexis Hall

> I had only questions, uncertainties, and shame. A kiss that was not a kiss from a man who was not a man.
>
>

***Sand and Ruin and Gold*** is the first installment in the fantasy romance *& Other Monsters* anthology (2016). It was written by Alexis Hall and published through Riptide Publishing, made available for free to readers who signed up for his newsletter. It details the relationship between an unnamed genetically-modified prince and the merman Nerites, set in a dystopian world. While mermaids are considered to be predators and made as a spectacle for humans, the protagonist realises their captivity and is determined to set Nerites free. The story opens with the 1866 poem "The Triumph of Time" by Algernon Charles Swinburne.

## Synopsis

*Once upon a time . . . that's how the old stories always begin.*

Once upon a time there was a king of a fallen kingdom. He was just and he was beloved. Or so the numbers said. One day, he gathered together the greatest, wisest minds in all the land—not sorcerers, but scientists—and he bade them fashion him a son. A prince. A perfect prince to embody his father's legacy.

The scientists each brought the prince a gift: beauty, strength, ambition, intellect, pride. But they must have forgotten something because when he saw the mermaids dance at the Cirque de la Mer, he ran away to join them.

For a year, he trained them, performed with them, thought he was happy. For a year he thought he was free. But then Nerites came: A merman who refused to be tamed. A captive from another kingdom. A beast in a glass cage.

The old stories always end with happy ever after. But this isn't one of the old stories. This is a story of princes and monsters.

## Background

### Behind the scenes

Regarding the inspiration for the story, Hall said in an interview, "It was a lot of different things. I'd been having some
conversations at the time about objectification within the m/m genre and that partly explored to write a story in which one of the central characters is literally an exhibit. I also have a sort general interest in what—for lack of a less pretentious way of putting it—I tend to think of as the unknowability of the other. Which is to say that no matter how much you love or care about
someone, ultimately they're them, and you're you, and you can never really understand what it means to be them. I was also kind of missing someone." The American theme park SeaWorld also served as inspiration behind Cirque de la Mer, with "wild things caged" and how "they sell an experience that pretends to be nature and isn't". Hall remarked that the text was "deliberately opaque".

### Content warnings

* Imprisonment
* Sexual abuse (non-graphic)
* Violence
* Human/non-human dynamic

## Plot

A genetically-engineered young man is created to serve as heir to the throne in a dystopian land. Being made as "perfect", he does not have the ability to cry or to show certain emotions. He is intrigued by mermaids ever since he was young and saw them perform at Cirque de la Mer, a grand European attraction. He begins to work at the circus and helps to train the mermaids, being described as a natural. Three prominent mermaids are Neaera, Arethusa, and Ianessa, where the species are described as a matriarchy. The treatment of the Mer is barbaric; they are held captive, exploited, and shipped overseas like commodities, conditioned and treated as entertainment for humans.

He meets Nerites, a merman who is held in isolation. Nerites arrives with Melantheia, a mermaid who is pregnant, though the child was born premature during their travel. The narrator feels drawn to Nerites, the first adult merman he's ever seen, who becomes untamable by the trainers. One day he is dragged down in the water by Neaera and nearly drowns. He begins to understand the emotions the Mer have, similar to humans, where Neaera expresses grief for her son Taras being sent away for being too "wild".

During the summer one day, he plays with Nerites with a bunting, and accidentally falls into the tank. Rather than being drowned or shred to death, Nerites catches him. For a moment they stay there, and exchange a kiss. Eventually he is brought out of the pool. He throws a fish to "reward" Nerites, though the merman rips it to pieces and throws it back at him, angry and betrayed. Some time after, Melantheia dies.

One day, Nerites is taken to the medical pool and tied down, where the trainers attempt to obtain the merman's semen for artificial insemination. Upon seeing the protagonist, Nerites screams. One of the unexperienced trainers moves forward though has her arm torn open. He flees the area, realising how he only saw the Mer as objects, rather than humanely. That night, he goes into Nerites pool, and is left on the shallows near unconsciousness.

The next day, Nerites performs as the final act like every other show. However, near the end of the performance, he drags in one of the trainers and kills her in front of the spectators. The cirque don't destroy him, as Nerites is valuable, but they also know how dangerous he is to keep.

At night, the narrator takes a maintenance vehicle to where the mermaids lie. He goes to Nerites' pool and lifts the merman out, into his arms. They leave the cirque to freedom, where he returns Nerites to the sea. Later he is found by a couple in a boat and brought to their home for food and shelter. He lives in their community whose language he doesn't understand, and refuses some of their cultural practices, like capturing fish. He eventually moves into his own place near the beach, where he sometimes sees Nerites. One day he goes out into the sea and they embrace and kiss.

## Characters

* The Prince - The unnamed protagonist who is genetically-engineered. Despite being designed as "perfect", he is drawn to Cirque de la Mer
* Nerites - A merman brought to Cirque de la Mer; has white skin, black scales, and black eyes; described as untamable and wild
* Neaera - A mermaid who has copper skin, golden scales, and dark-green hair. She performed at Cirque de la Mer since the protagonist was young
* Arethusa - A mermaid who performed at Cirque de la Mer since the protagonist was young; has deep-blue skin and midnight hair, is described as "tempestuous"
* Ianessa - A mermaid who performed at Cirque de la Mer since the protagonist was young; she is "slighter and shyer than the others"
* Taras - The son of Neaera. Became "wild" and was sent away to another cirque
* Eryx - A mermaid who died from cerebral haemorrhage
* Melantheia - A mermaid who arrived to Cirque de la Mer with Nerites pregnant; described as having grey skin, scales, and eyes; she dies from severed artery
* Ourea - The premature child of Melantheia, who died at twenty-one days

## References

1. ↑ "Author Interview by Jodi with Alexis Hall for the Sand and Ruin and Gold Tour with Give Away". *Smoocher's Voice*. 16 June 2017.

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