LEGEND OF THE MER

by Sheri L. Swift

  “Okay Dad, after breakfast,” Lana said a little misty-eyed herself.

  Then her father kissed the top of her head and said, “Goodnight kid, I love you.”

  “Goodnight Dad, I love you too,” she said as she watched him leave and close the door behind him. Lana looked out her window once more and thought; what will it be like living in the ocean for a month? She hoped that the mer were all like King Titan and Princess Tarra. She hoped they would treat her as one of them and not an outsider, even though she knew she was not completely like them. She had been treated badly her entire life from people who couldn’t understand her differences. She hoped that the mer were not the same.

  Lana let her thoughts settle on Prince Titus and how much she knew he cared for her. Surely that will be enough to keep me strong in the days ahead? Lana fell asleep with the memory of his smile.

  ~~~

  Once more, Lana woke to the smell of breakfast. This time, however, she didn’t hear her father whistling downstairs. This is gonna be a sad goodbye for us both. She went ahead and put on her suit and the belt, placing the knife in the sheath. She decided to leave the whale bone combs so that she wouldn’t lose them as well as her brow ring. She briefly took out the grey pearl necklace from her jewelry box and felt the smoothness of the pearls and smiled to remember that night when Prince Titus gave them to her. She put the necklace back, also not wanting to take it. Then she took a deep breath, here we go, and headed downstairs.

  “Good morning, I made you plenty of bacon, you’re gonna need the energy.” Her father grinned.

  “Thanks Dad, the mer do eat don’t they?” Lana laughed.

  “Yeah, but you know, it’s mostly fish and seaweed,” he said wrinkling his nose.

  “Dad, it can’t be that bad,” she said laughing out loud.

  “You’ll get used to it; you know that you do have the cavern to cook the fish if you want.”

  “Yeah, that’s how I ate my last meal there.”

  “You know, I will be talking to Prince Titus myself before you go,” said her father seriously.

  “Yeah, I figured as much.” She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly.

  “Your suit looks great. I’m glad you remembered the knife. I’m not kidding Lana, you’ll need to keep it with you always,” he said sternly with raised brows.

  “Okay Dad, I’ll remember.”

  “Alright, eat your breakfast.” He gave her a slight grin.

  When it was time to leave, Lana’s father walked her to the dock. Prince Titus surfaced. Tempest waited for them further out.

  “It’s good to see you again Prince Titus, I understand that you’ll be looking out for my daughter?” he said seriously.

  “Yes Cole, you may be certain of it.”

  “I want you to be sure to have one of your maidens stay with her each night in the cavern. She needs to have some kind of human routine. Also, make sure she gets some sunlight; she’ll get too weak if she doesn’t. She’ll probably want to cook her fish...”

  “Dad enough already!” Lana rolled her eyes.

  “I assure you Cole, all of her needs will be attended to. And yes, she will be chaperoned by one of our maidens,” said Prince Titus respectfully.

  “Lana, your birthday is a little more than a month away, I expect to see you home by then,” her father said in a serious tone.

  “Wow Dad, I had forgotten, sure,” she said as she hugged him and he kissed the top of her head. Then she hesitated and softly said, “Dad, one thing, please don’t drink while I’m gone.”

  “Lana, I haven’t touched a drop since I first talked to you about your mother, and I don’t think I ever will again.” He smiled and hugged her and she smiled back and kissed him on his cheek.

  “Wish me luck!” Lana said as she ran and jumped into the water.

  “I wish you love and safety!” he called out and gave Prince Titus one last stern glance. The Prince gave a slight bow of his head and flipped into the water following after Lana and Tempest.

  ~~~~~

  Chapter 9

  CITY OF THE MER

  Prince Titus, with Lana on his back, slowed his speed as they neared Gull Island. He began to circle around the base and passed the opening to the cavern.

  “Aren’t we going to the cavern?” Lana let her thoughts ask.

  “No, we are going to the city.”

  “What city?” Lana asked confused.

  “You will see.” He smiled as he looked back to her. They swam around to the other side and at the very bottom was a dark hole covered by seaweed. It looked barely large enough for one of them. He swung her around and took her hand and led her through the opening with Tempest following behind. It was wider than it first appeared, with a long dark tunnel. As they neared the end, a bright light shone. When they finally left the tunnel, Lana could hardly believe her eyes. She saw a large underwater city that was beyond anything she could have imagined.

  “Welcome to Torbist, the city of the mer,” Prince Titus said smiling to see Lana’s expression.

  “It’s so beautiful and so big,” said Lana surprised by it. There were hundreds of what appeared to be domed houses. Each one had only an oval shaped hole in the front. They were brown and seemed to be made of some type of hard clay. The homes outlined the entire city. There was also coral reef gardens running throughout the entire cavern and Lana couldn’t believe how many brilliant colors there were. The gardens had several white marble archways and statues of the mer within them. The center of the city had the most brilliant light coming from what looked like a large multi-faceted crystal. The walls of the large cavern sparkled even more than the blue cavern Titus had taken her to.

  “Your great-grandfather helped to build this light for our city. He placed several lenses in the tunnel above that goes all the way to the top of Gull Island. They refract the sun, leading the light down to the crystal. Even on a clear night, the city is lit by the light of the moon. We also have luminous plants all along the cavern walls that keep the city from ever being completely dark. The top of the cavern has a breathing space which is also vented like the smaller cavern in which you used to live,” explained Prince Titus.

  “Is this her?” Smiled a young boy of a mer. Lana thought he looked like a younger version of Prince Titus, only he had light blonde hair instead of white.

  “Yes Uly, this is she,” said the Prince.

  “Hello, my name is Prince Ulysses, but you can call me Uly like everyone else.”

  “Hi Uly, my name is Lana.” She smiled at him.

  “Her name is Princess Lana. This is my nephew, Tarrock and Rema’s son,” said Prince Titus.

  “Uncle Titus has been waiting a long time for you,” said Uly.

  “Yeah, I know.” Lana smiled to see Titus blush a little.

  “Hello Princess Lana, welcome to our city. My name is Princess Rema and I am the mother of Ulysses,” she said as she gave a smile to Lana and a stern glance to her son. She looked a little like Princess Tarra.

  They all have such similar features, Lana thought.

  “Lana, I wish you to meet my parents, Prince Terrance and Princess Cassandra,” Titus said as he turned to them. They were both smiling and seemed to be so young. Titus’ father did have a short white beard and some white hairs upon his chest, but their faces appeared to be nearly as young as Lana and Titus.

  “Hello, I’m glad to meet you,” Lana said nervously.

  “We are very pleased to meet you,” said his mother.

  “Yes, welcome home to your people,” said his father.

  “Lana, I am so happy that you have returned,” called Princess Tarra as she swam towards them.

  “Thank you, it’s good to be here,” Lana said again a little nervously. How strange that we’re all able to carry on a conversation in our minds. Then all those gathered around let out a slight giggle and Lana realized that they must have just read her thoughts. Her father was right about no one having a private thought.

  “You will get
used to it,” said Titus.

  “It is time Titus,” said Princess Tarra.

  “King Titan wishes to greet you in the Hall,” said Titus as he held her hand and began to lead her towards rows of large white columns that went from the cavern floor to the ceiling. They were on either side of what looked like marble tiles on the floor. They were beautiful with a blue and green Italian motif. It looked as though they were joined by gold grouting.

  Lana thought; that must be real gold! At the end of the long open Hall, there were steps leading up to a golden throne where Lana saw King Titan sitting. He was holding a golden forked staff.

  King Titan smiled to Lana and said, “Welcome Princess Lana, long have the mer waited to greet you.”

  “Thank you King Titan, I’m glad my dad let me come,” she said nervously.

  “I have a gift for you. These are the pearls that your mother gathered to make a crown for you long ago,” said King Titan as Princess Tarra held a golden tray with a circle of grey pearls out to the King. He carefully picked them up and gently placed them on Lana’s head as she leaned forward.

  Lana could hear the shouts of many in her mind. She couldn’t help but remember the cost that her mother and grandparents paid for such a gift.

  “Do not be sad Princess Lana, it was her wish that you should have them.” The King smiled lovingly. Then King Titan swam up from his throne and took Lana’s hand from the reluctant Titus. He turned her to see the hundreds of mer that had gathered in the Hall.

  Lana couldn’t believe how many there were. Some were even dark haired with dark eyes and dark blue tails. These must be the dark ones that dad told me about.

  All the mer were smiling and King Titan shouted, “I give you my granddaughter, Princess Lana the merwalker, and daughter of Princess Leona and Cole Prentis the guardian!”

  Once more, Lana heard the many shouts of all the mer at once and she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by all the attention. “We are having a dance tonight in your honor,” said King Titan with a smile.

  “Wow, thanks,” said Lana timidly.

  “Prince Titus, will you dance with the Princess Lana?” asked the King.

  “It would be my pleasure.” Smiled Titus taking her hand once more. Prince Titus led Lana out towards the center of the cavern near the large crystal and Lana was amazed to hear music being played. She looked across the floor and saw several of the mer playing instruments. Some played golden harps, others played some sort of golden flutes with several pipes. There were large golden drums and some of the mer were blowing into conch shells like the one that her father had.

  “How are we able to hear the music?” Lana sent her thoughts to Titus.

  “All mer can hear the music.” He smiled as he put his arm around her waist and continued holding her hand. He began to swirl them both around like he had done the last time they danced. Lana smiled to remember it.

  “Where’s Tempest?” Lana asked.

  “He is in my home. He knows to stay there once he enters the city,” answered the Prince.

  Lana began to hear the many thoughts of those gathered all around them. Some of the thoughts were coming from the younger mermen. They were all thinking how they would like to dance with her.

  “Does that surprise you?” Prince Titus asked reading her thoughts.

  “Yeah, I can’t imagine why they would.”

  “You still do not understand how very beautiful you truly are.” He smiled, looking into her eyes.

  “No, I guess I don’t. This all seems like a dream.” She blushed.

  “If it is a dream, then I hope to never wake.” He smiled even brighter.

  “How do you stand it, all the thoughts coming to you at the same time?”

  “You will learn how to focus on one at a time.”

  “Gosh, I hope so; this is giving me a headache.”

  “If it is too much for you, we can go somewhere less crowded,” said the Prince with concern.

  “No, I’m okay for a little while longer. Will I have to dance with any of them?” Lana asked nervously.

  “No, they would not dare to ask. They all know that you are my intended,” said the Prince with a glare to the young mermen gathered nearby. Now all of the mer began to choose partners and joined Lana and Titus in the dance. Even Titus’ parents were dancing and smiling to the two of them. “This is not, how do you say, awkward is it?” Titus chuckled.

  “Yeah, I’d say a little,” she laughed. Lana began to focus her thoughts on the Prince and it did help. His thoughts were always so full of love for her. They danced several dances and then Lana couldn’t help but hear the thoughts of a young mermaid nearby. She was thinking of Prince Titus and how she wished that it was she and not Lana that was dancing with him. Lana looked to see her and the girl looked surprised and quickly swam away. She was one of the dark ones. “Who’s that girl?” Lana asked Titus.

  “Her name is Sirene and I am sorry that you read her thoughts. She has always wished that she were my intended. I have spoken to her only a few times. I told her that I was waiting for you to come of age. I know that she hoped something might prevent you and I from being together. I am sure that now she will realize that we were always meant to be.” Titus smiled to Lana affectionately.

  “Is it really me? How do you know?”

  “I have always known, since the day you were born,” he said sincerely.

  “You know, that’s kind of creepy,” Lana giggled.

  “No, it has never been that. Our ways must seem different to you. It was as though I could see what you would become and I was willing to be patient for that day.” He stopped dancing and looked seriously into her eyes.

  “I’m glad you waited for me. You’re right, I don’t understand it all, but I’m glad I met you and I’m glad my parents chose you.” She blushed at being able to tell him what was in her heart.

  “So, are you ever going to introduce me to her?” asked a young merman with dark hair and eyes.

  “Yes I shall. Princess Lana, this is my dearest friend Makoa.”

  “Hi Makoa, it’s nice to meet a friend of Titus’.” Lana smiled to him.

  “Well believe me, it is an honor to finally meet you. You are all he has ever talked about,” chuckled Makoa, knowing that he was embarrassing the Prince.

  “Now you know why he was the last one that I introduced you to,” Titus said as he gave a quirky smile to Makoa.

  “You might say that your intended is a real task master. He never lets up on us guardsmen. We were at least getting a break in the day.” Makoa smiled brightly giving Prince Titus a slight shove.

  “I see; you’re a hard boss are you?” Lana teased.

  “If you do not wish double patrol duty, then you should guard your words,” said Titus jokingly to Makoa.

  “I can see that I have overstayed my welcome,” said Makoa.

  “Yes, most definitely.” Titus grinned with a raised brow.

  “Goodnight Princess Lana, may you enjoy our fair city and may I get the chance to talk with you again.” Makoa bowed as he gave Titus a wink.

  “Not if I can help it,” said Titus, giving Makoa a friendly shove back.

  “Goodnight Makoa, it was nice meeting you and I look forward to that talk,” teased Lana as she smiled to Titus. Makoa then swam away.

  “I should have warned you about him.” Titus smiled.

  “I’m glad you didn’t. I like him, he reminds me of you.”

  “He is nothing like me.”

  “He may not look like you, but he most definitely acts like you,” said Lana with a wide grin.

  Titus sensed that Lana really was not feeling well and he knew it must be her headache. “Come, let me show you where I live,” said Titus as he held her hand and led her to one of the domed houses.

  When Lana entered in, Tempest brushed up against her. She was glad to see him and could tell that he was glad to see her. The inside of the house was very plain. In fact, the only thing in the center was a s
mall luminous plant that gave a faint light and next to the plant, Lana realized, was the glass paperweight with her prom picture inside.

  “Our homes are where we sleep. We have no need of furniture. It is also the one place we cannot hear each other’s thoughts.” He gave an understanding look to Lana.

  “Yeah, this is great. I didn’t realize how bad it was starting to bother me,” she said as she began rubbing her temples.

  “When we are born, we gradually learn to read the thoughts of our parents and our siblings. We have the benefit of our parents to teach us to focus on the other’s thoughts and how to hear them one mer at a time. You have had the experience much like your father, where you hear all thoughts at once. It will take time, but you will learn, just as he did,” said Titus encouragingly.