Swim

by M. E. Rhines

  Motionless, I slumped against a jagged bolder. Sharp edges scraped the skin on my back, but I ignored the pain. My discomfort was nothing compared to the horrific bloodshed my people would endure because of me and my relentless tongue.

  All I would have had to do was stay meek, show a tiny bit of respect to the self-aggrandizer, and maybe I could’ve persuaded him. As out of control as his pride was, I had no doubt I could’ve sweet-talked King Odom into a truce. Stroked his precious ego, using his self-absorption to my advantage. Somehow, even knowing the consequences, I couldn’t bring myself to submit. Because of my stupid inability to control my temper, so many would perish.

  I wrapped my arms around myself, bracing my body against a shiver. Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes and hummed; the only distraction that could begin to console me was my music. The fork of my tail tapped in tune with my melody, and I started to sing the solemn song of our clan.

  * * *

  Come kiss me, sailor,

  You’ll drink in the sea.

  Sink to the seafloor,

  Forever with me.

  Usually, the lyrics held conviction and lust. They possessed a magic I never had the opportunity to feel for myself. An incantation powerful enough to intoxicate the mind of a human and make him desperate to follow his fated mermaid. Coming from my lips now, the song was bitter with loneliness and heartache.

  Still, the familiar words offered me a speck of comfort as I recounted how many times my sister Fawna and I had sung it while roaming the sea. We practiced our song, blissfully awaiting the day our voices would latch on to a sailor and bind him to us for eternity. She’d found her human. With him came a heartbreak no mermaid should ever have to live through.

  As for me, I no longer cared if I saw another human again. I’d found love in the ocean, but now I wished I’d never felt it at all. While Fawna’s love suffered a devastating end, mine underwent a tragedy of its own. Even after seeing what Gene’s death did to Fawna, nothing could have prepared me for the throbbing in my chest.

  Lennox’s betrayal shattered my heart, and the pain was debilitating. With each beat, my heart struggled to regain its rhythm. Part of me wished it would collapse, give in to the exhaustion and let me perish. Life wasn’t worth living if it was to be spent in this numbing haze.

  A steady clicking sound in the distance dragged me from my thoughts. I listened hard, trying to separate the source from the natural noises of the ocean’s currents. The low frequency chatter stopped, replaced by a soft, high-pitched moan.

  The hair on my arms stood, and I sprang forward, pressing my face against the icy metal slats caging me in. The sound might be accented, slightly different from the species I knew, but the animal was still identifiable. A whale of some sort was close enough to hear, which meant he could most definitely hear me.

  I stretched my vocal chords and started singing again, this time of duress and danger. My melody spoke for me, carrying my message into the ocean to the magnificent neighboring creature. His song stopped, then the clicking started again. My cheeks lifted into a hesitant smile. The whale was trying to communicate.

  As he came closer, the animal’s sounds became more familiar. A humpback whale. Though not common in my tropical waters, they did migrate nearby to birth their young before returning to colder climates. I’d only had the pleasure of meeting a few in my lifetime, and the approaching shadow filled me with glee at the prospect of seeing just one more.

  The colossal humpback swam toward me. His fat tailfin was double the size of my whole body at least. Fifty feet of pure gentle giant closed in. The grooves on his chin dimpled around his mouth, almost as if he smiled at me. Huge eyes filled with wisdom and curiosity observed the predicament I was in.

  He stopped a few feet away before turning around again.

  “Wait,” I called to him. “Please, I need your help!”

  As quickly as he appeared, his grey flesh vanished in the icy blue waters. I fell back, clutching my chest as my last hope disappeared before my eyes. Suddenly, he sang to me. Intelligence and empathy soaked his groans, and though I couldn’t understand his language, something told me to swim as far away from the bars as I could.

  I found a tiny crevice in the back of the cavern to take cover in, sheltering my head and neck with my hands and arms. This time, the whale’s approach was thundering and loud. He moved through the water with purpose, using his strength to propel forward. His fins sliced the water, creating an underwater tide strong enough to make a tidal wave on the surface.

  My savior made impact with a sickening crash. The walls around me shook and crumbled, chunks of sandstone and crystal dislodging from where the palace rested atop the cavern. Metal clanked and creaked as it gave way under the weight of the fifty-foot whale.

  Slowly, I lowered my arms and opened my eyes. A dust storm settled in front of me, revealing a glimpse of the humpback’s nose. Just the tip of his snout nearly filled the whole prison cell. I gasped, inhaling a smog of grit and sand. A dry, hacking cough erupted from my chest, making the skittish giant flinch.

  “It’s all right,” I told him, extending a limp, unthreatening hand. He inched forward, then tapped his nose against my fingertips experimentally. “That’s it. I won’t hurt you.”

  I brushed some debris off him, and he nuzzled into my touch. That such a magnificent, bright creature had taken it upon himself to save me humbled me. He’d gifted a lowly mermaid with a wretched past a second chance at redemption. Maybe he saw something in me, a potential to be more and do better than what I thought possible. My chest swelled at the prospect. This was it—what could perhaps be the last opportunity to mend my ways and prove myself worthy of my title.

  And this time, I wouldn’t squander it. I pressed my forehead against his nose and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much for what you’ve given me.”

  The whale jumped, startled by approaching voices. With the commotion made by him breaking me out, there was no way the Finfolk inside the castle hadn’t heard. “You better go,” I said with a gentle shove that didn’t even begin to move him. As if understanding my plea, he backed up and swam away. The wake his tail left behind blew me back a few feet.

  Once the draft dissipated, I darted out of the prison. Cold clawed at my tail muscles, making them cramp and seize up. My shoulder landed hard on the seafloor. Immobile and useless, my lower extremity prickled and stung.

  Male voices grew louder, the sound of their feet dredging on the seafloor came closer. I begged my tailfin to work, to shake off the frostbite surely nipping at my fork. Pain seared the length of my lower body, closing in on my torso. I rested my palm on my scales, riddled with tiny icicles, then rubbed. Warmth radiated from the friction, but it wasn’t enough.

  A cloud of silt and disturbed sand drifted into me. I closed my eyes and let my body go limp. So close to escape, only to have all hope snatched away at the last second. Such was the story of my life. In truth, one didn’t require the gift of precognition to see how it would end. History repeated itself, after all.

  Lennox’s voice called my name, and I lifted my head to scan the water around me. His footsteps quickened, followed by someone slower behind him. I found him among the blue haze, then relaxed my neck again once I caught sight of his companion. Ainsley ran along, fighting the weight of the water to get to me as if afraid I might pop up and swim away.

  “What happened to you?” Lennox asked, kneeling at my side and pulling me into his arms. It could almost feel like an embrace, but my better judgement knew different. Like his friend, he was just afraid I’d get loose.

  Ainsley breathed hard. He leaned forward to catch his breath before saying, “Sounded like a bomb went off down here.”

  “No bomb,” I answered. “Just a whale.” The flapping of my gills slowed as the numbing sensation drifted up my chest and into my neck. My shivering ceased. Suddenly, my body didn’t feel so cold. I exhaled my relief as a flush of warmth covered my skin.

  A fog clouded my thou
ghts. Each time I blinked, more time went by before my eyes opened again. It didn’t matter that Lennox was here; I was too tired to feel angry that he held me so close or to think about how much Ainsley’s presence perturbed me.

  All I wanted was to fall asleep…

  “Angelique!” Lennox took my face in his hands and shook my head. “Wake up, Angelique. Don’t fall asleep.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Ainsley wondered.

  “She’s freezing to death. Hypothermia is setting in.”

  “Press her against you. Your body should warm her up.”

  “No, she’s too far gone for my heat to help her much. Ainsley, we’ve got to get her to the surface and into the light.”

  “What? We can’t. We’re supposed to—”

  “If we don’t bring her up, she’ll die.” Lennox swooped me into his arms, cradling me tight. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

  Ainsley stepped in front of him to block his exit. “King Odom will be furious.”

  “I don’t care! Let him throw a fit, if he must. Angelique means too much to me to just watch her suffer like this.”

  “She tricked you, remember? You can’t trust her.”

  “Tell that to my heart, Ainsley. Because right now, it doesn’t matter who this girl’s mother is. What matters is I love her and I won’t lose her. Not like this.”

  Lennox put a foot forward, but he walked into Ainsley’s extended arm. The other Fin-man patted his shoulder and shook his head.

  “Step aside,” Lennox warned, “or I will remove you with my dagger.”

  “Relax, friend. I consider you a brother and would never draw my weapon against you.”

  “Ordinarily I would share the sentiment, but this is a matter of life and death.”

  “I understand there’s no talking any sense into you, I’m not going to try, so don’t worry.” Ainsley held out his hands and waved his hands toward himself. “Give me her tail.”

  Lennox narrowed his eyes at the request. “Why?”

  “You can’t haul her up to the surface yourself. Face it, you’re the king of currents but not the best swimmer. Let me help you.”

  Against my cheek, I felt a gust of air leave Lennox’s chest. He shifted me, moving my lower half into the crook of Ainsley’s elbows. I mumbled in protest. I’d rather die than have that filthy Fin-man touching me. Lennox pressed his hot lips into my hair as I squirmed, shushing me as if I were a merling.

  Together, the pair kicked their legs and carried me toward the surface. The higher we ascended, the warmer the temperatures in the surrounding water became. Glowing rays of sunshine kissed my body, mingling with the natural warmth of the Fin-men carrying me to replace the trauma-induced false heat with a more natural, sincere warmth that soaked into my core.

  They held me in place just below the waves, letting my body adjust. Slowly, my capacities came back to me. I blinked my eyes open, stretched out my fork, and tested the strength of my arms. When I was certain I wouldn’t spiral back to the seafloor, I pushed away from the men, determined to swim on my own fin.

  I turned my back to Ainsley, grumbling something of a thank you over my shoulder and moving my attention to Lennox. All the color had drained from his face, and the lines around his green eyes were taut with worry. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked with caution.

  “For now,” I replied. “Until King Odom drags me back down to the freezing depths again, that is.”

  “No. I won’t let that happen. It should’ve never happened the first time. I’m sorry, Angelique, I failed you.”

  I offered a weak shrug and tilted my head. “I lied to you. You didn’t know who I was or if I’d deceived you in other ways. Why should I expect you to help a stranger?”

  “Because I know you.” He took my hand, clasping it between his two. “Princess or not, in my heart, I know you’re the same mermaid I fell in love with. Your agenda may have been skewed, but I trust what I feel.”

  A familiar flutter danced in my stomach, and I pulled him in. “You saved me. Again.”

  “That’s our thing, remember? You save me; I save you.”

  I drew near, close enough to place my arms around his neck, bobbing my tail to match his kicks. “What do you say we find a new thing?”

  His mouth closed over mine, hard and desperate to make up for lost time and deep regrets. A hot blush covered my cheeks, chasing away any residual chill still clinging to my skin. When his hands traveled up my spine, exploring the tender flesh of my shoulders, I tugged him tighter against me.

  It didn’t matter if we were in Finfolkaheem or Atargatis, I was certain I couldn’t survive a single day without him. Lennox was my destiny, the reason I was put in the ocean. Now that the cloud had lifted from my mind, I saw it all with crystal clarity. Together, Lennox and I would unite our clans and end the suffering for good.

  Ainsley cleared his throat. “Nice little show you two are putting on, but what about King Odom? He’s not going to let this union happen, Lennox.”

  “I’m taking my mermaid home,” Lennox announced. “With or without the king’s blessing.”

  I smiled at him, my heart threatening to overfill with affection and admiration.

  “What, so you’re just leaving us?”

  “I don’t know about you, Ainsley, but I’m about done eating chum. Queen Myrtle has promised us food, real food, and I trust her. I’m going to Atargatis to help her prepare a defense. When the Finfolk army arrives, we’ll be ready. Hopefully, I can convince them to lay down their weapons before anybody gets hurt.”

  “He’s relying on your current to get us there,” Ainsley complained. “None of us can make one that lasts as long or get as far as yours can.”

  “I guess he’ll have to get there the old-fashioned way. He’ll steal one of the human’s vessels. We’ll have enough of a head start to give Angelique’s people proper warning, even bring in the Atlantians.”

  “This is treason, you know. If he catches you, you’ll hang for it. He’ll drag you to the surface and string you from a tree.”

  Lennox smirked, undeterred. “I think I’d prefer to call it mutiny. The question is, Ainsley, which side are you on?”

  Ainsley rubbed his blond beard, drawing his eyebrows together as he weighed his options. His eyes shifted before settling on me and softening. “You said you’ve got shrimp in Atargatis, right?”

  Do you think we can trust them? Aunt Myrtle directed the obvious question at the council with her telepathy.

  Under Donald’s watchful eye, and out of our telepathic loop, Lennox squirmed. Uncomfortable with the exclusion, he tapped his fingers along the glass conference table and focused on an almost-invisible smudge. His shoulders sagged, and I wondered if it was the weight of acting against his king weighed on them.

  Ainsley sat beside him, displaying much less patience and whispering loudly. We were wasting time, he’d say before rocking to stand and sitting down again. Fear was obvious in his eyes. He knew full well the scale of the carnage about to befall Atargatis, and it killed him almost as much as me to sit around discussing instead of actively preparing for the inevitable onslaught.

  Eileen regarded him with a sympathetic smile. The boys did come all this way.

  It could be a ruse, Donald pointed out. A distraction to keep us occupied while they sneak inside our walls unnoticed. They could attack and have the advantage. King Odom could be in the prison right now beheading Calypso.

  Eileen stroked a lock of her red hair, then moved her gaze to Lennox’s, as if comparing the two and weighing their differences. They seem convincing enough. I don’t sense anything off about them.

  The change in demeanor is too drastic, Donald countered. This Lennox is the same Fin-man who was prepared to tear down our walls to get to Calypso only days ago. What could bring about such a sudden change?

  The pink speckling my face didn’t go unnoticed by Eileen or my aunt, and they flashed me knowing grins.

  I think love might have inter
vened, Myrtle suggested.

  Donald guffawed, shaking his head. This isn’t a fairy tale. Love isn’t so powerful as to turn an assassin into a savior.

  “That’s enough!” I slapped my palms onto the table and rose to hover above them. “I didn’t bring these two here to have their motives questioned. If you have suspicions about them, at least give them the courtesy of voicing it so they can hear you. They have the right to defend themselves, though to be honest, my vouching for them should be enough.”

  “Settle down,” Aunt Myrtle pleaded.

  “My mother may have lost her crown, but you will have to kill me before I’ll renounce my title. I swam across the ocean to find a peaceful resolution. Faced the nets and hooks of human sailors, the luring of a treacherous sea witches who made my mother look like a saint, and faced down a chauvinistic tyrant of a king who locked me in a prison underneath an iceberg to freeze to death. Through all that, I still made it back alive. I’ve proven myself worthy, and I won’t let any of you question my place in this kingdom again.”

  Eileen’s eyes widened. “Oh, Princess, please. None of us have ever questioned your standing here. When your sisters fled, you stayed behind, alone, to govern. Every one of us holds a tremendous admiration for you. If we’ve ever done anything to make you feel anything less than respected, we offer our most humble apologies.”

  “Of course,” Donald agreed with a reluctant nod. “As far as we’re concerned, you’re the acting heir to the throne. Should something happen to Myrtle, your rule would not be challenged.”

  “Then I ask you to trust me.” I took in a steadying breath, stifling the emotion threatening to break through. “The only reason Atargatis is still standing, the only reason I swim before you today, is because of these two Fin-men. They rescued me, denied King Odom his quick passage, and brought me home. They mean you nothing but goodwill and assistance. I swear on my crown.”