Breathless: A Little Mermaid Retelling

by Megan Linski

  Isamaria fastened goggles to her face, then dived in. She held her breath as she swam in wide strokes, not really sure what she was looking for… if anything.

  In each direction she looked there was nothing but an expanse of blue water. She couldn’t even see any fish. Isamaria dove down farther, but she didn’t accomplish anything. She was fighting the current, and getting tired. Isamaria returned to the boat before she became too exhausted and the sea claimed her for its own.

  Disappointed, she climbed back onto the boat. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m nuts.

  Isamaria closed her eyes and pictured the boy in her head again. She could still see him; water dangling from his dark lashes, and soft waves in his brown hair she could imagine running her hands though.

  Cut it out, Isa. He’s not a Disney prince. He doesn’t even exist.

  She must’ve been out in the sun for too long. Or she was so pissed at her dad she was imagining running off with some hot dude just to say screw you.

  Isa guided the boat back to shore. She docked her uncle’s boat at the marina, then once it was secure, headed to the office and got her longboard.

  Her dad had bought her a car, but Isa enjoyed skating around Coral Bay more than she did driving. He didn’t like it… thought it made her look like a punk. Isa just enjoyed the exercise. She had too much energy. Every day it felt like she was going to jump out of her skin. Working out made that feeling go away, at least for a little bit.

  Isa put her helmet on and glided down the street on her board. She did some ollies and skimmed down some stair rails, then took a few minutes to do some jumps at the skate park before she realized how late it was. She hurried home from there, and threw her longboard in the garage once she got to her three-story stucco.

  “Dad, I’m home!” She loped into the massive, open-concept kitchen, but he wasn’t there. The only person around besides her was their maid, Guadalupe.

  “He’s not here, chica,” Lupe said when she noticed Isa poking around the too-large rooms, pristine in appearance. It was as if the house was a living magazine and not a place where people resided. “He’s still at work.”

  “Do you know when he’ll be home, Lupe?” she asked. She breathed a sigh of relief, but also, disappointment. He was supposed to be here so she could make grouper tonight, his favorite. He’d been gone since five that morning. Isa knew, because she was up at that time and couldn’t sleep. She could never sleep these days.

  Lupe shook her head. “No. But I took the fish out of the freezer, just in case.”

  Isa’s lips downturned and her stomach rumbled. But she shook it off. “It’s okay. I’ll wait up for him.”

  “Don’t wait too long, chica. Remember to eat.” Lupe kissed her forehead while she gathered her purse. Isa wanted to beg her to stay so she wouldn’t be alone again in this big house, but Lupe had her own family to go home to and she was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

  Isa busied herself with homework at the island in the kitchen, looking out the window every few minutes. When her father finally pulled into the driveway at eight, Isa jumped up from her chair and went to start battering the fish. It was soggy in the sink.

  Colson walked into the house with a fast food bag, and Isa froze. “Hello, Ria,” he said, using her old nickname from when she was a kid. It irritated her. “I stopped for dinner.”

  Take-out again. Oh well. At least it was something to eat.

  “I… was supposed to make dinner for you,” Isa trailed off. “Remember?”

  Her father’s face was blank. “Oh. Sorry, honey. I got you a salad.”

  He’d forgotten. She’d even left a note and texted him. How could he have forgotten again?

  “It’s okay,” she said, and she threw the fish back in the freezer. “It’s too late to cook, anyway.”

  Her father joined her at the island. He started in on his burger and fries while she chewed her salad dutifully.

  “How was your day at work?” she asked, wanting to break the conversation.

  “Okay.” He shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Typical duties.”

  Being a Navy Admiral, her father couldn’t talk much about what he did. Isamaria knew it wasn’t his fault, but sometimes, it just made her feel like he didn’t want to talk to her.

  “I saw someone today,” she blurted out. She wanted to say something to get her father’s attention, even if it was dumb. “There was someone in the water.”

  “Not unusual. It is Florida. Lots of people in the water,” he said noncommittally.

  “No, I mean, it was a boy. He was different. He had…”

  Her father briefly looked up to her, and she lost her courage. She shook her head. “Never mind.”

  “You know, the Seaside Ball is coming up,” her father mentioned for the hundredth time in a row, and her stomach dropped. “Have you gotten your dress yet? You’ll need a pretty one when they crown you Coral Queen.”

  “I don’t know if I’m going to win, Dad,” Isa mumbled. “Can we drop it?”

  “I don’t see why you wouldn’t win.” He wiped his mouth. “You’re the most beautiful girl in town. The obvious choice.”

  Isa was careful, thinking of what she should say. Being crowned Coral Queen at the annual Seaside Ball was every girl’s dream in Coral Bay. Many dreamed about it from the time they were three years old. Girls had fought over the position before, even sabotaged each other for it, but whoever won the crown was determined by popular vote.

  Isamaria knew she was a shoe-in for the crown. Despite being shy, and a bit of an introvert, she’d been elected homecoming queen and prom queen in high school. For some unknown reason, she’d been popular, and everyone at school loved her. She couldn’t figure out why, except that she knew people thought her pretty, and also her dad was one of the richest and most powerful people in town, so everyone tried to suck up to her and get on her good side.

  Yep. She played the part of the queen bee well. But it was all a distraction… a mask… a role she took as an actress that wasn’t her. Isamaria didn’t want to be Coral Queen any more than she wanted to claw her eyes out (though she’d do it over taking the title). Isa wanted the crown to go to a girl who actually wanted it… someone who deserved it and who wasn’t a fake.

  In other words, not her. For that shell-shaped crown to be placed on her head would be the cherry on top of her ice-cream sundae of shitty lies and poor cover-ups.

  If people knew the real her… well, they wouldn’t even come near her. Forget about being Coral Queen.

  It wasn’t just about her peers. Her dad had very specific roles and rules for women. Isamaria didn’t fit into any of them, and as such, was a big disappointment to him.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I… uh… don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  “Your mother won the Coral Queen crown,” Colson said. “It would be great for you to follow in her footsteps.”

  Isamaria didn’t know why her dad cared so much about what her mother had done. She’d left, after all. He was still in love with a ghost, a ghost who was living several states away with a much younger (and most likely more affectionate) man.

  “Maybe.” She played with her fork. Though she’d been starving when her father got here, she was no longer hungry.

  “I’ll leave money on the table tomorrow. You can go shopping for your dress then,” her dad said. He finished eating and cleaned up the wrappings. He threw away the empty bag and went up to his suite to take a shower without so much as a goodnight.

  Isa bit her lip and tried to shove the feelings down. She hated whenever her father used her mother against her in a conversation, which was too often. Lupe had been around far longer and been far more of a mother than Bella ever had, but her father never acknowledged that. Lupe had helped her learn to walk, changed her diapers, and put together all of Isa’s birthday parties, but for Colson it wasn’t enough. To him, Lupe was just “the help.”

  What her dad had said tonight only c
emented the fact in her head that if she wasn’t chosen for Coral Queen, she’d fail to measure up to her mother, which would be unforgivable in her father’s eyes.

  She simultaneously could and could not handle that. Half of her wanted to skip the stupid Seaside Ball altogether and take a stand on who she really was to her father. The other half wanted to win the crown, and make her dad proud of her, just once. He wasn’t proud of her when she’d graduated as valedictorian, or when she’d gotten into the Marine Biology program. Maybe winning some sexist crown and pretending to be a real princess for a day would finally win him over.

  Isamaria threw her half-eaten salad away and kicked the trash can. Screw this. She was going out. She needed her board. She needed to ride the waves. She needed to be free.

  In her bedroom, Isa texted both Harbor and Shelly and told them to meet her down by the beach, the usual spot. She zipped up her wetsuit and grabbed her surfboard, careful not to turn on the automatic lights so her dad wouldn’t catch her sneaking out.

  Like he’d give a damn.

  Isa skated down the street. A few raindrops sprinkled down from the clouds that had covered the area, and the sky gave an ominous rumble, but Isa ignored both.

  She was going surfing.

  Chapter Three

  Adrian

  Adrian was seriously bored at his birthday party.

  The palace was decked out in all its finest. The silver towers were wrapped in gold and aquamarine, the colors that were picked out for Adrian’s herald the day he was born.

  He was made to wear a very stuffy shirt in the same colors, something that would make his father happy but that he hated. Celer was flirting with mare in the stables, and Moona stayed outside— she didn’t like parties.

  The great hall was already swarming with merpeople. The hall was suited to fit at least five hundred merpeople, but Adrian could swear there were double that packed into the space. The band was playing some sort of jazzy underwater song that Adrian had heard a thousand times. It was like all they knew.

  This party sucked. Adrian would’ve been happy with some classic hard rock, blared as loud as it could go, and booze.

  Lots and lots of booze.

  Most nineteen-year olds had massive parties where stuff would get broken and no one would remember what happened later. All of Adrian’s birthdays were the same from the moment he could remember them. All balls, civil affairs. The only people his age that ever came were children of high society merpeople. The rest were his father’s friends.

  Adrian surpassed the tall piles of gifts that were next to his throne (which was placed at his father’s side). He wasn’t much of a material guy in the first place. He never was interested in mermaid presents, anyway. He preferred things from on land.

  “Mermen and merladies, please stand for the arrival of King Poseidon, King of the Sea, Ruler of the Ocean, and his wife, Queen Ianthe, Mistress of the Waves, Protector of the Depths.”

  Poseidon wasn’t anything to scoff at. He was brawny, with light green skin that was scaly all over and a tail that was larger than some mermen were tall. He had long black hair that billowed out behind him, and carried a bejeweled trident that Adrian struggled to lift, even now.

  His mother clung dutifully to her husband’s arm. Ianthe was tall, thin, and gorgeous. She had red hair that was braided into a crown around her head, and was wearing a lavender dress to compliment her purple tail. She gave Adrian a kind smile as they approached.

  “My son.” Poseidon took his arm away from Ianthe and clapped Adrian on the shoulder. “Today is the day. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time.”

  You have. But Adrian forced a smile and said, “Sure have, Dad.”

  “There are plenty of contenders. The mermaid of your dreams is waiting in the crowd.” His father shook his shoulder. “Choose carefully, Adrian.”

  Adrian swallowed past a lump in his throat. Ianthe put a light hand on his arm.

  “Go on,” she whispered encouragingly. “She’s out there.”

  Adrian nodded at his mother and swam at his father’s side toward the nearest young lady. Her tail was light pink, along with her hair. Her eyes were the colors of bubbles. Adrian figured inside her head, there wasn’t much else. Next to her was a yellow-tailed girl, who gazed at Adrian suspiciously. She was probably a handmaid who was protective of her lady.

  “Adrian, I’d like to introduce you to Lady Jennifer, from the Caspian Sea,” Poseidon said, gesturing to the pink-tailed mermaid.

  Jennifer giggled, and Adrian instantly found the sound annoying.

  “You’re so strong.” Jennifer ran her fingers over Adrian’s chest, and he had to fight not to recoil away. “I like that.”

  She was eyeing him like a piece of meat. Adrian cleared his throat and said, “How do you do?”

  Jennifer giggled again. “Very well, thank you.”

  “Jennifer’s father has been Lord of the Caspian Sea for many centuries, son,” Poseidon said. “Longer than almost anyone has ever held a title.”

  Like Adrian cared about titles. “Isn’t the Caspian Sea enclosed?” he asked Jennifer curiously.

  “Yes, the Caspian Sea is surrounded by land. We had to transform for a time until we could join the oceans again.” Jennifer was barely paying attention to what Adrian was asking her. She was too focused on his biceps.

  “Do you ever go to the surface?” Adrian burst before he could control himself, and Poseidon sent him a disapproving glance.

  She shook her head. “Oh, no. I never go to the surface. You have to be a complete idiot to want to. I only go on land when we have to risk travelling somewhere… like for this.” She batted her eyelashes at him.

  So she wasn’t adventurous at all. Pass. His father noticed the glazed-over look in Adrian’s eyes and said, “Thank you, Lady Jennifer. We’ll keep you in mind.”

  Jennifer was red-faced as Adrian swam away. She leaned in and whispered something vile to her yellow-tailed friend, who was shooting daggers at Adrian’s back.

  He was going to piss off a lot of women tonight. Happy Birthday to him.

  “I thought we talked about this. You’re not to bring it up,” his father hissed at him in low tones. “No talking about the surface.”

  “Sorry.” Adrian knew his father only let him get away with so much because he was a boy, and because he felt the need to indulge him as long as he could before the duties of the crown took over his life.

  But… his father thought that Adrian only went up to the surface every now and then. If he truly knew, if he realized it was a daily thing… he’d never be allowed to leave the palace.

  His father introduced him to mermaid after mermaid. Adrian kept waiting for that special moment, a powerful connection, some sort of love at first sight, but it never happened. None of the girls caught Adrian’s eye or even held his attention.

  It wasn’t like he didn’t like them as people… but as his queen? Most of them weren’t concerned about him or his feelings, what he wanted, what he wished for and dreamed about. They just wanted that shell tiara on their head, and the big wedding that would come after.

  They wanted to be his queen. They didn’t want to be his.

  They didn’t know what they were getting into. It was a big job. The mermaid he chose would eventually become the Mistress of the Waves, Protector of the Depths. Poseidon might be King of the Sea, but it was Ianthe who kept it safe from the humans, who restored the waters each year and who tended to the care of each and every creature that dwelled within its reach.

  Adrian knew he couldn’t pick just any girl. Whoever became his bride had to be kind… sweet… and had to have the ability to hold great power without it going to her head.

  That wasn’t any of the girls here, that was for sure. Most of them were prawning about, showing off the shell jewelry their parents had bought them or bragging on and on endlessly about bloodlines.

  In Adrian’s opinion, such things didn’t matter. But… he had to remind himself that his
queen wouldn’t be the only one with a heavy burden. Someday, he’d be Lord of the Sea, and he’d have just as much responsibility on his shoulders as his father did.

  The thought made him want to puke.

  Ianthe noticed Adrian was less than enthusiastic about the whole affair. She pried him away from his father’s side and wrapped an arm around him. “Feeling a little overwhelmed?”

  The room was spinning. “There are so many.” And he had to pick one? The right one, tonight? He wasn’t even sure if he could remember half the names. How was he supposed to find his soulmate in this mess? The night would be over by the time introductions were finished.

  “Give them a chance, Adrian,” Ianthe said, quite gently. “I’m sure some of them are just as nervous as you are.”

  He wasn’t sure about that. The girls who didn’t get picked would go home and be free to marry whomever they chose. For him, there was no getting out of this.

  Ianthe took over and started introducing him to different mermaids. The ones she chose were better than Poseidon’s picks, but Adrian looked at them immediately as friends, not lovers.

  Over and over, Adrian kept on coming back to the girl on the boat, the one with the green eyes. More like the one without fins, mind you, Adrian thought. It was a pointless fantasy. He’d never see that particular girl ever again, and even if he did, he’d never be able to bring her back to Aquatica. She belonged on land. And him, the sea.

  But if she were here, and if she were a mermaid and not a human… he’d pick her in a minute. He knew it. There was just something about her that… clicked with him.

  Hours passed, and the night lengthened. He longed to sleep, but knew these kinds of parties could go on for days. After he’d met nearly a hundred girls, Adrian excused himself to get a bite to eat, but really, he wasn’t hungry. He just needed an excuse for a break. He sat at the table next to his father and picked at the swordfish and seaweed hash that had been served.