by Jenni James
Tightening his arms around her waist, he continued, “At first, it was painful to walk—very painful. Then people shrieked to see me dressed just in seaweed as I was. It was something we were not taught before in training, so I had no notion. I covered myself as best I could with an old cloth. But I was taken to the local authorities by some rather rough fishermen. There, they dressed me and shouted at me and asked me all manner of questions, none of which I could answer, since I had no notion of what they were speaking. The land language is a foreign tongue based solely on crisp, clicking words and not our more hollow, musical sounds. So there was no reasoning with the men. And they ate the most despicable meals I have ever seen. Hot—almost everything they ate had been heated somehow until it was not pliable and had no flavor at all. They loved food that burned them. And their manners were nothing like what we would be accustomed to.
“Many of the men had knifes and weapons of some sort, and used them, and threatened each other with them. Very barbaric, as if one was constantly in a competition or show. You know how the whales will prance and flit about during mating season, appearing to show one another up? It was much like that.”
“What did they do to you?”
“Once they saw that I could not speak with them, they sneered and mocked and treated me as though I were stupid and dumb. Eventually, they released me from their prison and sent me back out into the world. I went to the seashore after that, staying out of sight of anyone who might be alarmed at my presence until nightfall. I went to the place where I had hidden the antidote and waded out to sea. Once there, I removed the clothing they had given me and allowed my fins to grow back. I returned home several hours later, and no one was the wiser.”
“What did you do with the clothing?”
“I have kept it all this time in a chest. If we are to travel there, I will need it again. Do you not think?”
PEARL NODDED. HER HEART hammered inside her chest.
“Are you certain you still would like to go on the land?” Keel asked her.
“Oh, yes!” she replied without a moment’s hesitation. “Now I wish to go more than ever.”
“Truly? This is what you wish, even after what I have shared?”
“Indubitably.”
He watched her bright red hair bob up and down before giving her waist a squeeze. “You are a hopeless mess. You know this, right?”
She laughed. “’Tis why you like me so much. Admit it.”
“You may be right!” He laughed with her.
“So, when can we go?”
“Let us wait a week so I can be sure to prepare things for us both for while we are gone. How long will you need up there?” Keel paused, afraid to hear the answer.
“How long can I have?”
Her quiet, hesitant question pierced his heart. “As long as you wish.”
“A month?”
He watched the breeze play against her bright locks, lifting small strands into the air. Slowly, he reached up and captured one of the silky strands, running the length through his fingers to the end. She shivered slightly, and he grinned to see her so pleased with his touch. Instinctively, he ran his fingers down the strand of hair again.
A month was such a long time to be away. A month was long enough for her to truly make up her mind, though. It was also long enough to allow for the strangeness to become normal. For her to begin to forget about her life in the ocean. A fortnight would be so much better for them both.
“Keel? What say you? Is a month too long? I honestly want to give this human world a chance. I want time to understand the people and their ways. May even learn their language, too.”
“What will you do if you find you simply love it and never want to return home?” He had to ask, just so she understood what she could potentially be getting herself in to.
Her excited giggle unnerved him. “Well, then, I guess I do not return!”
“Pearl . . .”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“No. Say it. I know what you wish to speak of anyway, so you might as well say it.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
How could she even fathom what raced through his mind? He doubted she knew the half of it. “A month sounds perfect.”
“What were you about to say?”
“I thought you knew.”
“Keel! Goodness. Tell me how foolish I am for not wanting to come back.” She turned to look at him. The pain of that action caused him to wince.
When he opened his eyes, he saw her lovely purple gaze staring back at him. She was so stunningly beautiful.
“Keel, please say it. Tell me all that you wish to tell me. I do not mean to halt your words. I hope you know you can always open up to me.”
His palm cupped her cheek. “And what is the point, my dear?” Slowly, he brought his thumb down to caress her full bottom lip. “No matter what I say, it shall only be interpreted as my opinion, not advice to be heeded or counsel to be followed. Nay, my dear. I am done speaking of this. If you feel a month with legs is what you desire, so be it. I shall make it happen. If you then choose to stay upon the land and become a human, I will fight with every fiber of my being to enable that to happen as well. This is your turn—this is your dream, Pearl. Do not allow my unease or selfish desires to keep you close to me to hinder that. This is not about me at all. This time is finally yours.”
He watched her worry her lip for a bit, her teeth nibbling upon it. Pulling back, she glanced away. “You are right, though,” she whispered. “I should never be so foolish as to even dream about leaving my family and home. Here, I am protected. Here, I have everything I could ever need. And yet . . .”
“And yet if you do not go upon land, you will never know, will you?”
She shook her head. Tears began to form in her eyes again as she turned a lighter shade of purple than she normally did under the water. He watched in fascination as one sparkly teardrop slid down her cheek. So that was what tears looked like when one was dry.
“Come here.” He tucked her up into his arms, ignoring the pain of the movement. “All is well. You shall see. This is for the best. You need to do this so you know for certain.”
She sniffled into his chest. “Thank you for coming with me. Thank you for caring enough to make sure I did not go alone. I truly do not deserve someone in my life as wonderful as you are.”
He chuckled. “In one week, we shall see how wonderful you think me, when you are in pain and growing legs and cursing the day you ever thought up this idea.”
A WEEK LATER, PEARL was kissing her family good-bye in the main entrance of their section of palace. Great, glowing crystal jellyfish bobbed above them, and long strands of pink and blue seaweed flowers and pearls reached from the intricately carved ceiling to the shimmering abalone floor, creating a beautiful serene room.
Pearl was so nervous, she could feel the flutterfish beating in her stomach.
Her mother hugged her once more. “I expect you to listen to Prince Keel, and stay with him at all times. This journey to the South Seas will be good for you both. I know it will. Just stay safe. Follow the warnings of the sea life, and always be aware of your surroundings.”
“We will, Mother. Prince Keel will take very good care of me.”
“Of course he will,” her father responded, “or we would not allow you to take this journey together. He is one of the finest princes in this colony.”
Her two sisters and littlest brother were there as well, eager to hug her and kiss her and talk about the journey she was about to embark upon.
“Will you bring me back a present?” her brother asked, her sisters interrupting him. “And you have to tell us every detail about your adventures. We will be eagerly awaiting your return.” It had been discussed that if her travels went well, Mother and Father might allow her siblings chances to go on their own travels with trusted friends and royalty too.
Pearl felt a twinge of guilt, not sure how to respon
d to her siblings when she was not certain she would ever return and soon they would know she had been lying to them. Instead, she ignored their chatter and hugged them fiercely, telling them she loved them forever. Glancing up, she caught Keel’s concerned look, but he masked it quickly enough when he realized she had noticed.
They had already been to say good-bye to his family. All in all, both families had taken their fabricated story very well. Neither seemed to think it odd that Keel would wish to take Pearl on a journey to the South Seas, where he hoped to teach her about the responsibilities needed to become a governing princess or queen. In fact, both sets of kin seemed rather pleased with the idea and encouraged it.
She knew it was most likely because they wished for Keel and Pearl to unite one day, and this trip would bring them that much closer to that reality. Keel balked at the idea of creating such a falsehood at first, but after talking it over, they had agreed that outright lying and saying good-bye, instead of leaving without word, would save their families the most heartache in the long run.
As she pulled back from her brother one last time, she felt Keel’s hand on her back. He slid his fingers down her arm and she clutched his hand. For a moment, the excitement of the upcoming adventure seemed to be dampened by a sharp hole in her chest. She had not realized that leaving her family and home would hurt this much. She looked around the beautiful room, her mind wandering down the abalone-covered hallways to each of the coves that made up her siblings’ bedrooms and to her parents’ larger set of rooms with the beautiful sea life and plants scattered about it.
She saw her lovely mother, with her long, bluey-silver hair floating around her and the many strands of pearls and jewels about her neck. How she had loved and learned so much from such a strong, quiet merwoman. Her mother was simply the epitome of a gracious, loving queen who was adored by all. In so many ways, Pearl’s rash temper was nothing like her mother’s personality, but she hoped to someday be one-tenth as wonderful as the queen.
Her father, with his flowing white hair and tall stance, was strong and confident. He was the merman who knew all the answers and could fix or heal anything immediately. He was the anchor of their sweet family, and his trust and love knew no bounds. Even now, his face had turned a light shade of purple. He would miss her. They all would, as she would miss them. Truly, she could not have asked for a more perfect kingdom or family to be born into.
“Good-bye,” Pearl muttered as she looked away, her heart not up to the task of staying longer. Keel caught her gaze, silently asking if she still wished to proceed with their plan.
There was no way she would pull out now. Not after all her preparations and excitement and eagerness to go.
She inhaled a great amount of fluid and nodded her head.
After all, this was what she had always desired. Was it not?
AHHHH! KEEL BIT BACK the words he wanted to shout at the pain of feeling his tail slowly rip apart and the human legs grow. With Pearl right there, watching on, he needed to be strong. They had decided to allow him to change first, go on land, and see if he could trade or barter for clothing for her. But great kettlefish, he had forgotten how painful this process was. He could attempt to persuade Pearl not to try something this awful, but he knew it would be hopeless.
“Argh!” he gasped, and then coughed and hacked and hacked as his lungs burned. They clearly were not dry enough for inhaling large quantities of air at this time. But deuce it all, this hurt. So. Much.
“Are you well?” she asked, her face full of concern next to him. She was on the other side of a jagged cropping of rock a few hundred yards from the landfolks’ port.
With the tide going out as it was, the ocean was much calmer than it could have been. Every few minutes, though, a giant wave would still make its way up to them, drenching them and attempting to slam them both into the ledge where they were perched, facing the water.
He could feel beads of sweat forming upon his brow, every muscle in his body was so tense. “Yes. I am fine,” he answered curtly. Perhaps too curtly.
She flinched. “Indeed, you do not look fine. What can I do to help?”
Not go on the blasted land and live there a month! “Nothing. It is just painful. I have warned you of the pain, have I not?”
“Yes, you did.” He could see her teeth worrying her lip.
Great. Now it would seem he was turning into quite a brute. This would never do. The pain she would face would be enough for her to agonize over—no sense in his silliness harming her too. Instead of distressing over his forming legs, he leaned the short distance between them and kissed her bitten lip.
As always, Pearl instantly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. This time, he could tell she was particularly hoping to take a bit of his ache away. So he let her. Her sweet mouth kissed him and kissed him until he truly could not think of anything else except the dear merwoman in his arms. If she was soon to meet someone on this dangerous journey and this was the last of their kisses, then forgive him—he planned on making the most of it.
Long, slow minutes seemed to bend into a cacophony of feelings and emotions he was not quite willing to explore just yet. How he loved this mermaid. How he needed her near him. Her sweet soul answered something within his own heart he had never found anywhere else.
And excuse his forwardness, but no one kissed another like she did and not feel something toward him. He knew she loved him. He knew it!
However, if he did not let her go, he was certain she would never discover just how greatly she needed him too.
The perfect kisses lasted until just before the transformation was complete. He quickly dipped into the water to put on his clothing. Though he was covered in a seaweed layer and now the water, he felt a bit awkward all of a sudden. His fingers stumbled with the odd clasps and ties on the fabric as it stretched over his legs and chest. How could humans wear such confining clothing? He could barely get these leg coverings on!
Truth be told, they could be extra difficult to get into because they were wet, but he did not remember it being quite this difficult before.
Pearl giggled.
Heaven knew how funny he must look, but eventually he was able to succeed.
“You rascal. You will not be giggling once you attempt the same thing!”
“I am sure I will not.” She laughed. “But you do look so funny and quite odd in landfolk clothing.”
He gasped as he stood up on the reef and twisted from side to side. “Are you saying I do not look completely dashing in this getup?”
Her jaw dropped as she looked up at him.
“What is it?”
“How are you doing that so well?”
He glanced down at his legs. “Do you mean standing like this?”
“Yes. Precisely. That is incredible.”
Stepping down from his perch, he ignored the first stabs of pain in his feet. He climbed back into the water, knowing he would have to get wet again anyway to reach the shore. Moving toward her, he gently cupped her jaw with his hand, his eyes capturing her beautiful purple gaze. “Do you know what? Very soon, this shall be you standing, too.”
She smiled.
“Should I go now and return so you can share this adventure with me?”
Her eyes lit up and sparkled so charmingly at him. “Yes, please. Hurry.”
He needed no more encouragement than that. Picking up the small bag of gold and the boots he had brought with them, he tucked the vial of antidote farther into the crevice of the rock, made sure she still held on to the liquid to transform her tail, and then he kissed her once more and said, “I will be back promptly. Do not leave this spot.”
“I would not dream of it!”
PEARL WAS LEANING AGAINST the reef, staring up at the glorious sun above her, her fins hidden beneath the low tide water, when she heard a voice shouting in a strange tongue.
Panic pierced her heart as she turned in the direction of the sound. Goodness! When had the sand become as close as thi
s? Not a hundred yards from her perch stood a human male. His dark hair waved in the breeze. He shouted again and seemed to be looking directly at her.
Ack! She instinctively dove the rest of the way into the water. Where was Keel? What should she do? The tide had become so low, she could not hide as deeply in the water as she wished. Feeling the water shift, she glanced toward the land and was shocked to see the man’s boots stepping into the water and wading toward her.
NO. NO. NO. NO!
Pearl darted back, but got caught up in a large mass of seaweed. It was about the size of Keel! Urgh. Her arms flailed as she attempted to take the stuff off so she could swim away, but she was still clutching the vial of liquid that would help her turn into a human, so she could not grasp the plant properly. Just then, a large wave crashed down, and the weed became an even greater mess.
The man was shouting more and more. When she glanced up just above the surface of the water, she was amazed to see him nearly upon her.
All at once, his arms were around her. She screamed and attempted to beat him off, but he was too strong. His crisp, clicking words took on a more soothing sound as he whispered near her ear.
Once she realized he was attempting to remove the plant and help her, her panic subsided a bit. Just a bit. Her heart was beating frantically, and she was desperate to hide the fact that she had fins.
It took about two full minutes to completely remove her from the weed, but once he did, she zoomed back to the other side of the rock and peeked up at him.
He remained where he was, still speaking. This time, his hands were out, as if in a peaceful gesture. When he smiled slightly, it was so beautiful, she could not help herself. She smiled back.
The man took a step toward her. He must have liked the exchange. She quickly swam away from the safety of the rock and out to sea, being careful to hide her fins. Then she paused and looked back.
He froze. Again, he spoke in soothing tones, and his hands remained out.
