The Little Mermaid (Faerie Tale Collection) (2 page)

"Tyrant?" She gasped and pretended to be appalled at his silly declarations, but found that the sensation of being in his embrace and the soft tickling of the bubbles around her was too delicious not to stay exactly where she was for some time more.

He chuckled again. "You sound so upset by my teasing."

"I am," she murmured into him. "And later, you shall pay for being such a brute. Until then, I think I shall remain here a bit longer."

"Only a bit?" She felt his hand slowly work his way up her back. So calm and peaceful.

"Mmm . . . Maybe a bit longer than a bit." She grinned into his chest.

After a few minutes of silence, he murmured against her brow, "Pearl?"

"Yes?" she asked, not moving an inch.

She felt his chest expand as he inhaled a large mass of the glorious sea water in these parts. His hands stilled in their travels along her back and instead came to rest against her shoulders. Slowly, he pushed her resisting form back enough to look deeply into her eyes.

"Keel, what is it?" she asked. Usually he was much more playful. "Why are you so intense all of a sudden?"

"You know there is no one else in this ocean I would rather be with than you."

"Yes, I know. We have so much fun together."

He shook his head, his features looking a bit lost for a moment. "Do you only ever see the fun?"

Pearl blinked, not sure where this conversation was going. "Do you not?"

"No." His fingers reached up and captured her jaw. "No, my dear, I think of so very much more when I am with you."

She trembled when his thumb traced her lip briefly. "What do you imagine when we are together?"

"Everything. The world. The ocean is ours. As if we could truly rule it all together."

"But . . . Keel?" Could he really be saying this to her now? Did he not remember she had vowed never to love him? Why would he even briefly touch on such a subject? He knew her desires to see so very much before she settled down. There was so much more to explore and do and see and become and learn from.

"I know you will believe I am speaking out of turn or whatever nonsense you have convinced yourself of, but Pearl dearest, you are in love with me, and it is time you understood that."

She flinched and was about to push out of his grasp, but Keel was quicker. His mouth found hers. Again. Great reef! Why could she never function after the merman kissed her? Nothing seemed to form even the faintest of coherent thoughts when his perfect mouth decided to remind her once again how much she enjoyed his company.

Sighing, she happily brought her arms around his neck and kissed him for quite a few more minutes before he pulled back.

He smiled smugly and then kissed her cheek before moving to her ear and whispering, "Marry me."

Her heart fluttered for a full ten seconds and she could hardly catch her fluid, it was so difficult to inhale. Yes, she wanted to shout. Yes, the dancing flutterfish in her stomach were enough evidence to tell her there was nothing she could wish for more than to be his wife. His princess. His love.

Gah. She melted into his chest again, her frantic heart racing, her smile so very wide. And then she remembered. Clutching his arms for a moment, she allowed the wave of silliness to leave her. Instead, she focused on the sparkling bubbles around them. The vibrant, skittering domes bobbed and tumbled their way up to the surface.

To that great unknown world.

Oh, to be free like that! To explore and see and have so very many adventures!

She looked back at the dear merman in front of her. Touching his face lightly, she stared into his pretty aqua-colored eyes and then kissed those handsome lips tenderly before declaring, "I cannot. My destiny lies in the world above me. I must go. I must search this amazing place out first. To really live and see and be and do."

Worry etched his chiseled face. "If you do, I cannot imagine you ever returning."

Pearl bit her lip and then shrugged slightly. There was nothing to be said about such a declaration. "And I cannot promise to return. There is hope and happiness and beauty here. But what of my desire to know what is best for me? What of my longing to see what might be out there? If it is my destiny to return, I shall, but with this tugging within me, I cannot imagine there being anything here that will make up for the glories I will find."

The words were out before she realized the true sting of them.

His open, trusting eyes distanced themselves in that instant, as if an unseen barrier came between them and he hardened the friendship he had with her. "Go, then. Go and see your world. Live your dreams." He kicked his fins and swam a few paces away. Instantly, she felt bereft without his arms about her. "Go. The rest of us will stay here and do what we have promised to do."

"You say it like I am betraying my family or something."

"Are you not?" The coldness about him shocked her.

A surge of irritation flashed through her small frame as she flipped her fins. "You may believe what you wish, Prince Keel, but I know my place is not of this ocean yet! I must learn and grow first. Think me selfish if you must. But a true friend, a true man who loved me, would want what is best for me. I refuse to be tied down to this tedious sea life. There is nothing about this that makes me happy."

All at once, Keel seemed harrowed by a shot of pain. His eyes darkened, his perfect mouth turned down, and he simply shook his head. "Forgive me for my proposal. May the great waves be with you. I wish you well." With that, he swam away, leaving her alone in the joyous Octavian underground sea vents.

LATER THAT EVENING, PEARL swam home to the giant underwater palace her father and the other kings shared. For several centuries, the monarchies had their own palaces in the different seas. But as more and more humans came to inhabit the land and their fishing boats and trade ships and the like began to dominate the waters, the kingdoms began to move to the quieter life in the North Ocean, where Pearl’s family had ruled peacefully ever since.

It was safer for the great families to colonize together and each govern a separate portion of the various oceans than to be so distant from one another and so vulnerable for the land people to see and capture them.

Pearl’s father had always feared the people on land. Always. Telling her horridly frightening tales of what they had done to the merfolk in the past.

At first, she had been scared of the humans too. All of her family had been. But slowly over the years, her fear had turned into a fascination that could not be satisfied. She had convinced herself that her father must be wrong, that indeed what he shared with them was just mere shark tales designed to terrify young merchildren into behaving themselves and not swimming off. For how could such an intriguing, ingenious species that looked so much like them truly be bad?

As she approached the gleaming white fortress, she chose to enter through one of the smaller side entrances instead of up the large stairs and through the golden doors. She swished her fins and swam down the long, finely decorated gold-and-abalone side hall, dodging servants, to the small pearlescent cove that had been created for her. Pushing aside the thick maroon ruffled sea fronds that grew from the top of the entrance, she swam into her room. Several beautiful crystal jellyfish bobbed and glowed as she entered, filling the whole room with a stunning collection of blues and greens and light pinks.

How she loved her room! She swished over to her bed, a beautiful massive oyster shell, open and inviting, and lay down upon the lush seaflowers her mother had planted within the shell to ensure Pearl slept like a princess. They were soft, and gently floated around her as she snuggled deeper into their midst.

She wondered what the landfolk beds must be like. Did they sleep on flowers too? Or was it the floor they curled up upon? Good kettlefish! Rolling over to her side, she again attempted to balance this overwhelming desire to explore the human world. What was it that called to her so? Why must she constantly find her thoughts being drawn to the humans? There must be a reason.

There must.

Despite what Keel or any other merfolk might think of her notions, she had some sort of divine need to be there. Why else would she feel such a pull?

Day in and day out, Pearl dreamed of life on land. Obsessed about it, really. Truly, it was becoming quite frustrating to sleep at times. Her mind would always wander off and imagine a day when she would step upon the land instead of dreaming amongst the bubbles here in the sea like she should be doing.

She sighed and stretched out her long tail.

Would they really capture her and take her into their homes if they saw her?

The idea of being taken prisoner, while upsetting, did not seem all that bad, as long as she could be positive she would be allowed to leave eventually. Just being on land, whether captured or not, would help her learn so very much more about them all.

However, her biggest concern was not necessarily the capturing part—it was her ability to move on land. How would she do so? From all accounts, the landfolk did not have tails or fins, and instead moved about on appendages. Legs. And they did not generally swim, either, saving all their travels for dry land or ships.

How would she move?

She could imagine that her tail would become quite cumbersome if she attempted to drag it behind her. The few times she had managed to swim her way to the surface and climb upon the jagged Graystone Reef nearest the kingdom, she was always impressed by how heavy she felt. Being above the water, her whole body felt scads weightier than she ever thought possible. More than once, she had ripped the delicate tissues of her fins upon the jagged rock as she attempted to move upon it.

Why did it seem as if the air around her literally pushed her to the reef when she was above the water like that? How strong must the landfolk be to travel around on legs, as it was rumored they did?

They must be a much more superior species to do so. Much, much stronger than she was.

Wait a moment. Where was that record she had of a merman who had walked among the humans? It had to be around this room somewhere.

Pearl sat up and looked about the small place, then swished over to her shelves, lifting up various fronds and flowers and shells she had neglected to put back where they belonged when she was getting dressed earlier. She glanced upon the table near her bed and then the one along the wall. She even glanced into the sea urchin basket she had nearest the door. But it was not until she poked her head behind the large oyster shell that she found the strand of clamshells that had the account of the merman etched upon them.

“Here it is!” she exclaimed to no one in particular as she pulled them up and then curled up on her bed to read them once more.

IT TOOK A BIT to find, but on the fourth clamshell, Pearl was able to make out a faint description of the merman doing something that allowed him to grow a pair of human legs so he could walk on land.

That would be the answer to everything! Then the landfolk would not recognize her as an outsider, and she would not have the awful things happen to her that others warn of.

She rubbed against the bottom of the clam, where the etchings were hardest to read, hoping it was just a bit of sea moss collected there and she could find more. But alas, it was definitely worn through. This was a very old account, at least a few hundred years or more. It was a miracle the clamshells had lasted this long in the first place.

Pearl sighed and tossed the strand, watching it float and settle near her flowery pillow. If he did so, if he was actually able to grow human legs and then survive to etch it down for everyone else to learn from, it must be possible for her too. It must be.