LEGEND OF THE MER (21 page)

~~~

Even with the fast pace of the pod, it took over two weeks to reach the city of
Tullius
in the South Pacific.  Everyone was so tired that they each went straight to their homes to sleep.  Lana didn’t even take the time to look arou
nd at her new home.  She, Titus
and Tempest entered their
small house.  Lana had adjusted to sleeping under the water and didn’t feel the need to live in a cave
rn like her father had. 
Man I miss human food; I hope I
have a chance to get some in
the future
.

Titus sensed her thoughts and said, “I will make sure to take you to meet my friend Levu tomorrow.  He will help us to find anything you need Lana.  He knows the best islands for fruit and which ones are not inhabited.  I even like to eat the coconuts that they grow here
.
”
H
e smiled and kissed her and they fell asleep exhausted.

When Lana woke, she heard the sound of Tempest clicking and
whistling;
she knew that Titus must have taken his shift for guard duty.  She was sure that he told Tempest to stay with her and that he didn’t like it too much.  “Okay Tempest, let’s check out Tullius, but stay with me or you’ll have to come back,” she said as she rubbed his back and he shook his head up and down quickly in agreement.

The city of
Tullius
was nearly the replica of Torbist, only they didn’t have the advantage of the crystal light in the center.  They used the many luminous plants throughout and it gave the city a blue glow.

“Hello Lana, how did you sleep?” Princess Tarra asked as she swam
to her
.

“Hi Tarra, I slept great until Tempest woke me up
.
”
S
he
grinned at him
.

“Yes, he can be a bit of a nuisance when he is missing Titus
. 
So, what do you think of Tullius?  It is not quite the city of
Torbist
, but we rarely stay inside here.”

“I
like it, but I can see how it c
ould get gloomy if I had to stay here for too long.”

“I would have to agree,” said Titus as he
swam
to the girls and gave Lana a good morning kiss.

“Good morning to you too, I missed you,” said Lana as she hugged him.

“Apparently Tempest did too,” laughed Tarra as Tempest rolled in circles with excitement.

“Hello boy, thank you for staying with Lana,” said Titus as he rubbed his back.  “Are you ready to meet my friend?”
h
e
asked Lana.

“Yeah, I’d love to, especially if he can get me some fruit
!
”

“May I come along?” Tarra asked.

“Yes, I have even invited Makoa.  He loves the coconuts as much as I do,” answered Titus with a grin.

Lana made sure that she left her necklace and crown of pearls in their home and then the four of them along with Tempest; set out for
Kaloki
Island
.

It wasn’t hard to find Levu.  He was in his little fishing boat working on his net.  He had dark curly hair and dark skin.  He was large for a boy of fourteen.  Titus gave him no warning, but came up sending a curtain of water from his tail.  “Bula Prince Titus, you nearly s
cared me half to death,” he said
in his island
accent with a chuckle.

“Hello Levu, I wish for you to meet som
eone very special
.
”
Titus grinned
.

“Is it your lady friend I have heard so much about?”

“Yes, only she is now my mate, we joined in union nearly a month ago,” said Titus as he took Lana’s hand and pulled her up out of the water.

“Hi Levu, I’
ve heard a lot about you
.
”
Lana smiled.

“Bula Princess Lana and I have heard tale of you.  Congratulations to you both,” said Levu with a bright smile.

“As you know, Princess Lana is a merwalker and she lived on an island.  She is missing some of the human foods that she used to eat.  I was hoping that you might help us to get some for her and even show us an island where she might feel free to sit on the beach if she wishes,” said Titus.

“Yes, and I bet you will be wanting some coconuts,” Levu smiled a knowing look.  “Just follow me and I will take you to just the right island.”

In no time, Levu drove his boat to a small island.  The island was surrounded by so many coral reefs that it was hard for him to manage it, even with his small boat.  Titus, Lana, Makoa and Tarra found it almost as difficult, but Levu knew where every reef was and how to avoid them.

“There are a few banana
and coconut trees on this island; no one wants to risk coming here because of the reefs.  It is miles from any of the islands with people, you will be safe here
.
”
H
e smiled to Lana.

“Thanks
Levu, I can’t tell you how much this means to me.  I haven’t felt war
m sand under my feet in quite a
while,” said Lana as she walked out of the surf.  She looked back to
wards Titus and sincerely said, “Thank you
also Titus, for allowing me some time here.”

“I will be near if you need me.  I will take a few of those coconuts Levu
.
”
H
e winked.

“I hear you Prince Titus, I am going.  He saved my life once several years ago and I do his bidding,” said Levu to Lana as he smiled and winked back at Titus.

Lana couldn’t believe how clear the
water was around the island. 
Wow, it’s
al
most as
clear as the pool at my
high school
.  There were tropical birds singing in the morning sun and the fragrance of the flowers was so intoxicating.  Lana helped Levu to gather the coconuts and the bananas after he climbed the trees and cut them down.  She didn’t know why Makoa and Tarra chose not to show them
selves. 
Why are the mer so shy?
  She made sure there was enough for all of them, although s
he wasn’t sure if they liked
bananas.

Lana sat down in the warm sand and began
to unpeel her
bananas.  They were the sweetest
she had ever tasted.  She picked up a coconut and didn’t have a clue how to open it?

Levu saw her staring at it and laughed, “Let me show you the way we islanders open a coconut.”  Levu took a thick long stick and then took out his knife and carved two sharp points, one on either end.  He shoved the one end of the stick into the ground and then picked up a coconut and slammed it against the point at the top of the stick and the coconut split in half.

“How did you do that?” Lana asked curiously.

“You see, there are two dots on the coconut and you have to hit it between them and it will open
.
”
H
e showed her once more.

Lana picked up a coconut and tried it.  The first time, she didn’t hit it hard enough and nothing happened.  Then she tried again and it worked.  She was so excited that she took it straight to Titus and gave it to him. 
“See Titus, I can do it for you!
”
S
he smiled.

“Thank you Lana,” he said trying not to let her know that he could crush it open himself.  He took it and drank the milk and ate out the meat.  Levu threw several of the coconuts out in
to
the water when Lana wasn’t looking and Titus grabbed them up and gave them to Makoa and Tarra.

Lana came back and offered some bananas, but neither Titus nor the others wanted to eat them.  So, she sat back down and ate another, she soon wished that she hadn’t.  She was beginning to feel ill from eating so many. 
Oh, I think I’m gonna be sick
. 
She quickly got up and ran into the trees and threw up.

“Lana, are you alright?” Titus asked with concern.

“Yeah, I just ate too much,” she called back.

Aside from getting sick, Lana had enjoyed her day on the island.  She didn’t stay too long on the beach because she knew that her fair skin would burn.  She rested under the shade of the trees further in.  She loved the cool breeze and she remembered her father and how much he said that he enjoyed the islands too.  She missed him and
thought;
dad and Rose must be
married
now
.  She couldn’t help but cry at the thought of not being able to be there with them on their special day.  She was glad she had this time to let out her feelings withou
t Titus.  She didn’t want him
feel
ing
bad about it.

~~~

After a few weeks of visiting the little island, they all began to call it
Mer
Island
.  Makoa and Tarra finally showed themselves to Levu.  He was comfortable with them and they were also with him.  Lana was glad that the mer had a friend like him.  He was so kind and funny, like Makoa.  They two hit it off right from the start and they never stopped giving Titus grief.  Titus enjoyed it though.

One morning, Lana and Tarra visited the island with Levu
;
Titus and Makoa went to do some fishing.

“Lana, if you do not mind, I would like to go around the island a ways.  I saw a large flat rock and I would like to lie in the sun,” said Tarra as Lana and Levu were heading for the trees to gather coconuts.

“Sure, we’ll meet you there after we get what we need.”

Tarra rarely took time out of the water, but she did on occasion like to lay on a warm rock.  She hopped up and laid back and began soaking up the sun.  As she did, she began to sing a song of th
e mermaids.  It was a sacred song that began and ended with a prayer
….