Surface Tension

by Valentine Wheeler

  Nearly vibrating with excitement, Nicholas followed her across the deck and down the ladder to the hold. “And she knows where they are?” he asked for the tenth time since they’d purchased the ship. “She can really lead us there?”

  “Ask her yourself.” Sarai pushed open the door to the little room they’d built in the stern for precisely this purpose.

  Ydri sat in a chair beside the now-closed window, her lower half human again as she gazed out the window at the ocean. Sarai was never sure what to make of her in her human disguise, the rich green of her complexion shifted to a human brown, and there was an empty space along her waist where her tentacles should be. But when Ydri turned and gave her a delighted smile, an answering grin spread across her face. It had been nearly a week since they’d seen each other last, before the ship’s launch and the final crew selection, and she’d missed Ydri. Hard to believe they’d known each other less than a year—Sarai couldn’t imagine life without Ydri and the undersea world. So much had changed since she left her father’s farm. And for the better, mostly. She’d seen so much more than she had before: the Queen’s court on land and the mermaid court far beneath the waves, the dark blue sea out beyond the harbor, the flash of a storm gaining speed over open water. She wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  Nicholas cleared his throat politely, glancing meaningfully back and forth between Ydri and Sarai. Sarai sighed and stepped farther into the room, letting him pass her. “Ydri,” she said, reaching out a hand to beckon Nicholas forward, “This is Nicholas, my business partner.”

  Ydri tore her gaze from Sarai and nodded politely. “Welcome to the sea, Nicholas.”

  “You’re a real mermaid,” he said, aghast. Then he laughed, a little more high-pitched than usual, a little frantic. “You’re a mermaid. But you look human.”

  She smiled. “We can disguise ourselves when we need to. I thought you might be more comfortable this way. I first learned the spell to come visit Sarai, but I’ve gotten much better at the illusion with practice. You created that picture Sarai keeps in her room?”

  Nicholas turned to Sarai. “You kept it?”

  “Of course I did! It’s beautiful! A little smudged after the water, but still lovely.” Sarai wasn’t sure why she was feeling defensive about keeping something that had clearly been a gift.

  He smiled, a little shyly this time. “Well. I’m glad. Yes. I painted it.”

  “You understand the sky,” said Ydri. “It’s almost as good as the sea.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  “And you have studied the ships that were blown off course? The ones you refer to as lost?”

  “Studied them? They’re only my life’s work! Well, that and the painting, but my father isn’t thrilled about that particular hobby, so he’s always encouraged my research.”

  “I’m sure they will be glad they have not been forgotten. I know they wonder about you.”

  “They do? Of course they do! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is really happening.” He turned to Sarai, tearing his gaze from Ydri. “And the Captain—he knows where to go? He’s not suspicious?”

  “He bought your story, I told you. Funding from an eccentric Lord with theories, buying our supplies and paying everyone regardless of what we find. He’s just glad not to be heading into pirate territory.”

  Nicholas grinned. “This is all a dream, I’m convinced. I’m going to wake up sometime and be stuck in my bedroom in my father’s house, and I may never recover from the disappointment.” He turned and bowed deeply to Ydri. “Miss Ydri, it is an absolute honor to meet you.”

  “You as well,” said Ydri, looking bemused.

  “And now I know you and Sarai have some catching up to do—” he waggled his eyebrows in Sarai’s direction— “so I’ll leave you alone. As long as you promise we’ll talk again soon?”

  “Of course,” said Ydri. “I’ll be traveling alongside your ship for the whole journey. Sarai mentioned you might have questions. There will be plenty of time for them to be answered.”

  Nicholas bowed again, then backed out of the room, watching Ydri until he disappeared into the hallway outside the chamber.

  The door shut behind Nicholas and Sarai let out the breath she’d been holding. Ydri watched her carefully. “You did not think we would get along?”

  Sarai took a moment to look Ydri over, feeling oddly shy. She hadn’t seen Ydri in days, and the last time had been back on land. Now they were in the middle of the ocean together again—though above water this time—and she felt strange and terrified. “No,” she said finally. “I knew you’d like each other. You both appreciate facts too much not to get along.”

  Ydri shimmered, her form switching back to the familiar green, lithe, scaled-tail shape Sarai was used to, then used a pair of tentacles to slither herself out of the chair and a few feet closer to Sarai. “Is everything all right?” There was an uncertainty in her usually forceful voice, and that’s what broke Sarai from the daze she’d been in.

  This was Ydri, no matter where they were. Being on a ship, a ship much like the Blessed Angeline she’d loved before everything changed, didn’t make a difference in how she felt. She crossed the distance between them and took Ydri’s face in her hands, stroking her thumbs over Ydri’s cheekbones as she stared into her wide green eyes. “Hi,” she said.

  “Hello, Sarai,” said Ydri, and kissed her.

  Ydri’s mouth was always cool against Sarai’s own. She slid her hands down to Ydri’s shoulders as Ydri wrapped all four tentacles around Sarai. One worked its way under Sarai’s collar while another caressed her calf, tickling behind Sarai’s knee. The last two joined Ydri’s hands at her waist, then slid to the swell of Sarai’s rear. Sarai pulled back slightly to press a soft kiss to the junction of Ydri’s shoulder and neck, feeling Ydri shiver beneath her.

  “I missed you,” she whispered and pressed closer until her body was pressed against Ydri’s as closely as she could manage. “I’m glad to be back at sea with you.”

  “I’ll take you under once we’re in the deeps,” Ydri murmured back. “I want to show you everything.”

  Sarai curled her hands around Ydri’s back and closed her eyes, smiling against smooth green skin.

  AT FIRST, THE island looked deserted from the crow’s nest, its forests broad and green behind pristine white beaches. Sarai put her hands up to her forehead, shading herself from the glimmer of light off the ocean below and the driving rays from above, and that’s when she saw the narrow paths carved into the dense woods and a tiny figure moving between the trees. Beyond, growing clearer as the ship moved a little closer, stood a clearing and the tops of some sort of wooden structures.

  “There’s someone there,” she whispered. “Oh my goodness, it’s really true.” She hopped out of the basket and hurried down the ropes. “I can see it!” she called to Nicholas. “They’re really there!”

  He locked the wheel and jogged to the rail, leaning out to stare ahead. “I don’t see anything. You saw someone out there? Something?”

  “Buildings,” she confirmed. “And people, I think. They really made it, Nicholas. They really survived the storm.”

  “You didn’t believe Ydri?”

  Sarai smiled. “I did. Of course I did. Would we be here if I hadn’t?”

  He turned from the rail, leaning his back against it as he studied her. “I don’t know, Sarai. You were pretty eager to get back on the water.”

  “Fine, yes, I was, but I could have gotten myself a little boat and started, I don’t know, a merchant empire or something. This”—she waved out at the distant island—“I didn’t need to do this.”

  “Fair enough.” A broad smile broke across his lips, transforming his whole face. He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. “We’re going to meet them, Sarai. The lost ships. We’re going to meet all their descendants.”

  She grinned back. “I know. Isn’t it exciting?”

  Captain Yu emerged from his cabin, midconversation wit
h his first mate, Ricky. Sarai waved and he came to join them at the rail. “Land,” he said, gesturing at the smudge on the horizon. “Your girl was right.”

  “Just a few hours out, sir,” said Sarai. “I’ve been up the mast, and there are definitely buildings there.”

  “The lost ships,” mused the Captain. “Can you imagine?”

  “Sir?”

  “Lost at sea, ships battered, landing with none of the main supply ships, only the personal belongings of whoever happened to be onboard—”

  “Only sheep in the hold,” said Nicholas. “And a few hens. No roosters.”

  They both turned to look at him, and he shrugged. “I’m the leading expert on the lost ships in the entire country. You both know this about me. Don’t act surprised when I know things about them.”

  The Captain shook his head. “I did,” he said with a put-upon sigh, but his eyes crinkled with the edge of a smile. “So what does that mean?”

  Nicholas leaned forward, getting more enthusiastic. “They’d be starting from nearly nothing. Wool, sheep’s milk, maybe meat, though not if they wanted to grow their flock fast. And limited manufactured goods, metals and all that—they wouldn’t be building a forge anytime soon.”

  “Just whatever fresh water they had onboard,” said Sarai thoughtfully. “They’d have to hope to find a spring pretty quickly, or hope for rain.”

  “We’ll find out soon,” said Nicholas. His eyes glowed with excitement. “We’ll meet them in hours.”

  As they approached shore, everyone had a job to do, and Sarai was sent back up to the lines to furl the topsail. The island was beautiful from up there, probably not more than ten square miles, and the village in the trees was surrounded by vibrant foliage and glittering sand and sea. Did they have legends about the rest of the fleet, she wondered suddenly. Did they think they had been the only survivors?

  At the Captain’s call, she scurried back down to the deck and changed into her dress and boots, instead of the sailor’s garb she’d been wearing, then followed him and Nicholas into the rowboat ready to be lowered over the side. When it landed with a splash, Ydri’s head popped up beside her in the slight waves. As Sarai watched, Ydri gave a powerful flick of her tail to push upward, gripping the edge of the boat, then hummed a low note to transform into her two-legged guise. She slid onto the bench beside Sarai as a sailor rowed them toward the shore.

  Finally, the boat’s bottom hit ground and scraped across the damp sand. Sarai stepped out of the rowboat, Nicholas on one side of her, Ydri in her human form on the other. The sand was soft and white, hot even through her boots. Ahead of her, stepping from the trees, were a group of people clothed in woven tunics and leather. She smiled at them and raised a hand to wave, the other hand curling in Ydri’s.

  Acknowledgements

  So many people have had a hand in this book since its inception, and it’s impractical to thank them all. But I would like to send a special wave of gratitude to a few of them. First, to the Panera writers—Felicia Davin, Tamryn Eradani, and Jeff Hudecek. You have listened to me work through hours of this story and constantly given me inspiration and validation (and soup).

  I’d also like to thank my mom, who told me that the short story version of this was too short. You were right!

  And as always, to the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own, for being my once and future sandbox.

  About the Author

  writes all night. She can be found at Arisia and Readercon every year as well as other Boston-area events.

  Her life’s ambition is to eat the cuisine of every single country.

  Twitter: @ghostalservice

  Other books by this author

  “Loose in the Heel, Tight in the Toe” within Once Upon a Rainbow, Volume Three

  “Piece of Cake” within Teacher’s Pet, Volume One

  “Dead Letter” within Into the Mystic, Volume Two

  Checked Baggage: A Thanksgiving Romance

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