Seascape

by Stephanie Burke

  “I am sorry, Elanna. I will return when I can.”

  How to get the fish to her without getting them covered in sand? There was no hope for it.

  He removed his pouch from around his waist and tossed it on the sand by her feet.

  “Don’t mess with my powders.”

  “You’re going to leave me again?” she called, exasperated and a bit frightened. The sun was beginning to wane and she knew that night would soon be upon her.

  “I have to,” he said, looking down into the waters again. “Just leave my powders alone, and I will be back soon.”

  “Storm!” she called as he turned and flipped neatly back into the water. His tail flapped the surface once, a reassurance she assumed. “Don’t leave me alone!”

  But he was gone.

  With a sigh, she bent to pick up the pouch after fastening her bra again. Any thoughts of rinsing off the sweat of the day were gone now, and again she was all alone.

  “Powders?” she asked out loud as she examined the pouch.

  It seemed to be made out of sealskin.

  There was a simple flap opening, and she discovered inside several other sealskin pouches, a few oysters, and a neatly cleaned fillet of fish. At least he had kept his word.

  She carried her treasures over to her fire, and quickly devised a way to cook her fish by laying it over a few green palm fronds.

  His fire still burned brightly, so she decided to spend the night next to it, just in case hers burnt out and there were some strange animals on the island.

  She tried to forget not remembering by poking through his powders.

  What could it hurt? And her curiosity was purely scientific. His species had never been recorded before, and any insights to them should be studied.

  Her thinking justified, she again opened the pouch and pulled out the first powder sack. It had a few bumps on the surface, but it looked like the others.

  She fumbled with it until she noticed an opening just at the top.

  Curiosity piqued, she opened the bag and leaned in close to see what she had found.

  Unfortunately for her, just at that moment a gust of wind passed, kicking the powdery substance contained within up and around her face.

  Reflexively, she inhaled, coughing as the powder filled her nostrils and raced to her lungs.

  “Bad idea,” she gasped as, still coughing, she placed the bag back in the pouch.

  Then suddenly, the world began to look very strange.

  She looked up, and the fire seemed to be dancing, swaying back and forth.

  That looked like fun!

  She giggled a bit…was that her?…and rose suddenly to her feet. She wanted to dance too!

  But the sand was sucking her down, bad sand!

  And the water looked inviting!

  “Look!” she called. “The waves are calling to me!”

  She took one step forward, the dancing forgotten. She wanted to get closer to the beautiful water!

  “Wait for me! I am coming!”

  She took another step and another, delighting in the way the sands seemed to be pushing her towards the beckoning water.

  She looked down at her hands and damn if they didn’t glow!

  She waved them in front of her face, and smiled as the colors gold, red, brown, green, and purple melded and swayed before her eyes!

  But the water was calling again! It was leaving her, like everyone else!

  She had to catch it! She didn’t want to be alone anymore!

  “Wait!” she called. “I want to go with you! Don’t leave me!”

  Racing now, she dragged her feet, stumbling and tripping as she raced to catch up with the water!

  She would not be left alone again! She would not be tossed aside or left behind! She could go to the water, just as it asked. And then she wouldn’t be alone anymore!

  Chapter Six

  Storm dove deep into the waters surrounding his home territory. He loved the feel of the tepid waters, high enough to benefit from the heating rays of the sun, but deep enough to remain undetected by the humans above.

  He looked around and marveled at the beauty he saw, a beauty never seen on the surface.

  There were the multicolored coral reefs and their iridescent inhabitants who darted and dove in schools of rainbow hues.

  There was a myriad of tropical underwater plants waving softly in the light currents.

  The sun cast yellow shadows on the dark rocks, creating an abstract picture of undersea life, and all of it touched a deep part of his heart.

  He could never consider giving up his home territory, even to get away from his queen!

  Storm! she bellowed again, this time with real fear in her tones.

  Maybe this wasn’t another oil-gathering expedition after all. Maybe she needed her healer. Then again, legs may sprout from his fins!

  Knowing Amadala, she wanted another amusement before she had to face the council. More’s the pity!

  As he dove low to enter the chamber way to her private cavern, he felt the presence of another Merman, a presence unknown to him.

  His thoughts turning serious, he raced through the narrow stone ways to her main chamber.

  He exploded onto the scene, a massive form racing through air bubbles of distress, and didn’t stop until he was in a defensive position in front of his queen, his spines rising to their fullest.

  The other Merman, a dark-scaled man, just stood there, arms crossed, looking almost bored with the sudden activity, even as Amadala latched onto his upper arm.

  “What?” he finally gritted out, keeping his attention on the stranger in their midst.

  “Get him!” the shaken queen demanded. “Show him that I am the ruler here, and answer to no one!”

  The dark stranger just raised an eyebrow, his intense eye still on Amadala.

  “Why?” Storm asked, letting a bit of his agitation show.

  He raced here, away from the semi-nude human, to get caught in between a contest of wills between these two? Who was he, anyway? He didn’t seem to be dangerous, just observant and focused on his queen.

  “Because… Just because! I am the queen and I command!” She nervously looked over her shoulder at Sting, waiting and reading his reactions.

  “What?” Storm snarled, losing all patience.

  “Because I am the queen!”

  “I heard you, and darling, you are going to have to come up with something better than that!” He narrowed his eyes and glared at her, forgetting the stranger, focusing his ire on Amadala.

  “He wants to take me away!” she said, trying her best to hide her nervousness.

  “You want to take her away?” he asked, turning his light-colored eyes to the stranger’s dark ones. “Is that correct?”

  “Yes, it is!” the man declared, uncrossing his arms and moving into a defensive position.

  “Well then, good luck! I wish you well! You’ll need it!” he said, suddenly all smiles and sunshine! He even stuck out a hand to be shaken by the dark stranger.

  “Storm!” Amadala wailed, looking at her master healer and first warrior in dismay.

  “I don’t believe I have your name,” he went on, ignoring his queen’s glower.

  “Sting,” the man replied, looked searchingly at the light-colored warrior before him.

  He knew better than to judge a man at first glance, and this man was deceptive.

  His light coloring may give him the appearance of a tame, calm man, but his inner spirit told the truth. This man was a formidable enemy and had the look of a master fighter. No healer he knew ever developed the musculature of a warrior by making powders and using the healing energy. This man was a double threat, someone who knew where to inflict the most damage, and had the ability to see that damage done.

  “Sting, I don’t believe I have heard that name before, but since you’re after the queen here, I wish you well of her!”

  “Storm!” Amadala snapped, dropping the helpless female routine. “You are supposed
to be my defender!”

  “It’s my day off,” he retorted, turning his eyes back to her. “And he has the council written all over him!”

  Sting blinked in surprise. How did this warrior know that?

  “How did you know that?” Amadala asked, her eyes widening in shock.

  “I didn’t,” Storm replied, his face breaking into a smile. “But you just confirmed what I thought. Besides, no Merman in his right mind would try to take you on. No Merman, that is, from this territory.”

  “I am a good queen!” Amadala snarled as she looked at Storm, her pink eyes turning almost red in her anger.

  “I never said you weren’t!” he replied. “But you are a little bitch when you are not wearing your crown!”

  Sting stiffened at Storm’s words, but wisely held his tongue. This place was too enclosed for serious fighting, and the man had only confirmed what the council had warned him about.

  “But I was going to mate with you!” she wailed, getting desperate now.

  Her main defense had just eluded her, and now she was clutching at seaweed!

  Sting stiffened, but relaxed as the turquoise-scaled Merman burst into laughter.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to! Don’t call me again, Amadala. It’s my day off!”

  “But you can’t refuse!” she cried out, trying to think of some loophole that could free her from this unwanted mating. “I enact the order of first choice!”

  “Oh hell,” Storm sighed, his shoulders drooping a bit at her words.

  “Yes! The order of first choice! The only way you can’t mate with me is if you already have a chosen mate!”

  “What is this?” Sting asked, looking as dangerous as his name. “What games do you play, Amadala?”

  “No games!” she crowed. “I have made my first choice, and until Storm produces an intended mate, which he can’t do, I am spoken for!”

  Sting began to lazily circle the devastated-looking man and the gleeful woman.

  He had no doubts that the man, Storm, did not want this match, but his rightful mate was using him to get her way.

  That was very, unqueen-like behavior, but she had him trapped.

  He had forgotten about the ancient law that protected the queen from disagreeable matches. But this was not the case! She was abusing her power and one of her most trusted subjects, just to have her way! There had to be a way out of this!

  “There has to be a way out of this!” Storm nearly wailed, upset at the prospect of being shackled with Amadala for the rest of his natural life!

  “Well, unless you produce a woman, there isn’t a way!” she laughed, lifting an eyebrow mockingly at the angry circling male.

  All I want to do is see to the human and get some rest, Storm thought as his mind reeled. He had to get back and check on her and retrieve his medicine pouch! He didn’t have time for Amadala and her intrigue! If the council had chosen this man, then she should be his problem! Where was good fate when he needed it! Just look at that human! Fate was kind enough to drop her in his lap and… The human!

  “I can do that!” Storm said suddenly brightening dramatically, pulling his shoulders up to their full extension. “I can produce a woman!”

  “What?” Amadala shrieked, losing the air that had puffed up her chest in her victory against Sting. “You have no woman, Storm! I scared that first one away nearly two years ago! And I know for a fact you have been too busy to go and meet one! You are trying to get out of mating with me, and I won’t have it!”

  She narrowed her eyes at her first-in-command, ready to strangle him for not playing along with the game.

  “Oh, but I can produce a woman, my queen,” he said and nodded at the suddenly relieved looking Sting. “And I was on my way to retrieve my medicine pouch when you called.”

  Amadala gasped and her eyes grew wide. Leaving his pouch with a woman—his main source of power and protection—was tantamount to already having the mating ceremony! When did this happen? And more importantly, what was she going to do now?

  “I want to meet her!” she rasped out, her voice sounding dull and scared on the wavelength that she sent it on. “I want to meet her now!”

  “As would I,” Sting added with a big grin. “Just to stand witness, you understand.”

  Storm silently cursed his runaway mouth, while keeping his features pleasant.

  “Of course,” he replied.

  I hope Elanna is in a better mood, he thought as he turned and swam from the cavern. Maybe she would play along, because there sure wasn’t time to warn her.

  * * * * *

  The warm waters rushed up to greet her, to welcome her, to end her loneliness.

  Elanna smiled as she spread her arms out wide, welcoming the invading moisture that rose higher and higher with each step.

  It was almost like being safe and warm again in her mother’s womb. The gentle birth waters of the sea protecting her, offering her solace from the strange mess her world had become.

  Another step and more warmth flooded through her.

  Nothing else mattered right now! Just the warmth and the feeling of love!

  She looked up and the stars danced, leaving a glowing trail upon the darkening night sky. They smiled down at her, telling her she was doing the right thing.

  Another step and the waves lapped gently at her thighs, making her shiver as her nerves were awakening to the teasing sensation of the retreating water.

  “Wait for me,” she gasped, stepping out farther and farther, wanting to float away and be one with the comforting sea. “I am coming!”

  The water rushed past her breasts, droplets of the clear, salty fluid touching her cheeks in delight!

  She tossed her head back and giggled, feeling special and cherished.

  “Almost there,” she breathed. The water kissed her chin, enveloping her in a wet warm embrace. This felt so good, she almost cried. “Almost there!”

  * * * * *

  “Who is this woman, Storm?” Amadala asked as they hurriedly swam towards the island, Sting trailing beside her, making her aware of his presence.

  “She is…well, a bit different,” he hedged. “But her beauty is like none other.”

  That tweaked her vanity a bit. Storm never called her beautiful! He just looked at her like she was an annoying kid sister.

  “No one is as beautiful as you think,” she snorted. “Beauty is a matter of opinion.”

  “And in my opinion, I have never seen a more lovely…female!”

  That should shut her up, he thought, detecting a hint of humor from the quiet Sting.

  “Are we there yet?” she snapped. “And why are we traveling so close to the surface?”

  “Not far now,” Storm answered, wondering if his lady fair would play this game to the end. But he was not lying, though. She was the most unique creature he had ever run into! She was so different, that he…kind of…craved looking at her! Especially after seeing her partially nude! Her breasts and hair alone were enough to give him, well, wet dreams.

  “I can’t wait to meet this paragon,” Amadala snapped, rolling her eyes.

  Sting began to chuckle. He was really beginning to enjoy himself! And he thought being sent out here to the queen’s home territory would be a step down from the excitement of council life! But he could not have been more mistaken! Already he was enthralled in conflict, and, he hoped, had found an ally.

  This Storm seemed to want him to mate with Amadala!

  He sensed no jealousy coming from the man, just an intense need to be away!

  But if she used him in his duties as she tried to use him to get out of her obligations, he could understand the urgency. But he hoped there really was a woman waiting for him at the end of this trip.

  Otherwise, the only way to keep his word to the council was to kill Storm. And he didn’t look to kill easy!

  * * * * *

  Elanna took another step, and suddenly the sea was not so warm and comforting.

&n
bsp; The heat was still there, and the waves pulling her along were just as strong, but suddenly, she couldn’t breathe!

  She tried to inhale as a wave washed over her, but the blinding pain to her brain caused her to fight to push the waters away!

  This wasn’t supposed to happen! The very seas were turning against her now!

  What was wrong with her that so many rejected her? Even the sea no longer found her pleasing!

  But she had no time for further thoughts, as another wave hit her, knocking her feet from under her, forcing her under and upside down.

  This isn’t right, she thought frantically, her arms and legs flailing.

  Some forgotten instinct urged her to hold her breath, but she found it hard to find the way up. Up was where the air was. Up was safe, but she could only spin and fight and the now angry waters battled her struggling body.

  She had to breathe! She inhaled again, the sting water making her eyes burn, and pressure build up in her chest as the liquid began to fill her lungs.

  She again struggled, and opened her mouth in a silent cry, but more water rushed in to add to the pressure in her chest.

  Her head began to spin and the pain began to whirl around her, making her arms and legs leaden.

  Why fight it any more?

  But she again opened her mouth in a scream! She would fight! The sea rejected her, so she would reject it!

  She renewed her struggles, slapping and beating at the now angry waters, trying to fight her way free.

  * * * * *

  “Did you hear something?” Sting asked suddenly.

  The three Merpeople froze, and Storm opened his senses, struggling to hear what had disturbed the dark Merman.

  Storm swam in place, his face scrunched up in concern. Something was wrong.

  Then he heard it, faint and not tuned to any frequency.

  It was an angry scream, a cry of pain and fear.

  Elanna!

  It was Elanna!

  Forgetting the others, he turned and extended his fins and opened his mouth, sucking in water and expelling it through a special opening in his back, pouring on an incredible speed.

  Leaving the others behind, he torpedoed towards the sound, the slight cry for help!