LEGEND OF THE MER (36 page)

Jody looked up to see the large muscular man towering over him and he seemed to be a little intimidated by his size.  “Hi Micah; nice to meet you,” Jody said a little cautiously.

“Bula Jody.  Lana and I were just going to lie on the dock for a
while,” said Micah in a serious tone and then looked to Lana, “Are you ready Lana?”

“Yeah, it was nice seeing you again Jody,” she said as she waved and turned to go to the dock.

“Yeah, nice seeing you too and nice meeting you Micah,” he said as he waved and began jogging back down the beach.

“I can only imagine what Prince Titus is thinking at this very moment,”
chuckl
ed Micah.

“It was only a matter of time before he’d have taken things into his own hands,” Lana sighed as she got to the dock.  She could now read Titus’ thoughts and they weren’t very nice.  “Thanks Micah, I owe you another one,” said Lana as she got in the water.

“Tell Tarra that I will be there shortly; I want to say goodbye to your father.”

“Okay,”
she
said
and then
swam below.

Titus was not smiling as
Lana
swam to him.

“Titus, everything is alright; he seems to have matured since I last saw him.  He’s even trying to do something to help the planet
.
”
S
he smiled looking into his eyes as she wrapped her arms around the back of his stiff neck.

“I was beginning to wish I had brought my spear
.
”
H
e let a half grin show.

“Thank you for not bringing your spear,” she
giggl
ed and kissed him.

“I am glad that Micah was on the island; I can see that it does
have its advantages
.
”
H
e
grinn
ed.

“Yeah, you should’ve seen the look on Jody’s face when he first saw him,” Lana giggled
again
.

“Good, perhaps he will leave you alone in the future.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“I cannot help but be a little envious of him and Micah.  I wish that I could go on the land with you,” he said sadly looking at her.

“Titus, you never have anything to be envious of.  My place is in the ocean with you, forever.  You know that we won’t even be staying here past the fall.”

“I know; I am sorry.  I do not wish to take any time away from you visiting with your father.  I suppose it is enough to know that you carry my child and are the mother of Rose and that you love me
.
”
H
e smiled
his brightest smile
.

“Yeah, it is.  There is no one other than you Titus and there never will be
.
”
Lana
smiled back and kissed him once more.  Then he helped her gently on his back and she laid her head on his shoulder and they swam back to the city with Tempest.

~~~

One morning, Lana and
Tarra took their daughters to the coral reef gardens to play.  Most of the mothers had gathered there with their children.  Lana was so glad to be back in Torbist.  She thought that the gardens here were the most beautiful she had seen anywhere.

Talei’s favorite little playmates were two year old twins; Filene was their mother.  Landon was her son, and Laken was her daughter.  Th
ey each had the dark hair, eyes
and the dark blue tail of their mother and father.

Rose’s favorite playmates were four year old Victo
ria and her six year old sister
Kristina.  T
hey also had dark hair, eyes
and the dark blue tail.

Kristina brought her small golden violin with her th
at
morning.  She set up her music stand with a slate of music and began to play a new song that she had learned from the Music Master.

Victoria
began to swim a little dance all around to th
e music and Rose, Talei, Landon
and Laken joined in.  Lana and the other mothers smiled to see their children enjoying the music.

Lana couldn’t believe how talented Kristina w
as at such a young age. 
That’
s one
thing I love about the mer; they’
re so
skilled in music and encourage
their children in the musical arts and in their
wonderful craftsmanship
.

“Your father gave Micah a letter that arrived from his brother Eli yesterday
.
”
Tarra
smiled
to Lana.

“Did Eli and his wife Lev
ani have their baby?” Lana asked with excitement.

“Yes, they had a baby girl and they named her Faith
.”

“What a beautiful name,” said Lana imagining how precious she must be.

Both Lana and Tarra looked to see Sirene swimming to them with a smile on her face.

“Good morning, how is everyone?” Sirene asked.

“We’re fine; how are you?” Lana
giggl
ed reading her thoughts of how much she loved her husband Tristan.

“I am fine; Tristan and I are expecting a baby
.
”
S
he smiled brightly.

“Sirene, that is wonderful.  How far along are you?” Tarra asked.

“Only two
months; now I know why I was so sick on our journey here
.”

“I remember those days when I was first pregnant with Rose; that time was the worst
.
”
Lana
smil
ed.

“I did not have too badly of a time with Talei; I hope you will not be sick for long,” said Tarra sympathetically.

“I hope not,” said Sirene.

“So what does Tristan think?” Lana asked.

“He is so excited; he went to tell Prince Titus and Prince Makoa.  I made him wait until today.”

“I can imagine how happy he is,” said Tarra.

“What are you hoping for a boy or girl?” Lana asked.

“I do not care; just a healthy little one.”

“May Arius bless you both
.
”
Lana
smiled
.

“You do not have long to wait yourself Lana,” s
ai
d Tarra.

“No, sooner would be better; I’m beginning to feel like I’m the size of a whale and I can
’t
travel on Titus’ back,” she
giggled once more.

Filene joined in the conversation.

Tarra told her of the letter Micah had received from Eli.

Filene said that when Micah sent a reply, to be sure and mention that Fianna was missing Andrew.

Ratu Daniel would not allow his youngest son to travel with Micah and the mer.  He knew that Andrew and Fianna had come to care for one another and thought that their time apart might prove their love.  He did not want Andrew following Micah’s path unless it was genuine.

Lana and the other mermaids believed that there would be another union of the mer and the Chief’s son within a year’s time.

The mothers all shared their stories of their little ones and how proud they were of them.  Lana loved being a part of a community where everyone genuinely cared for the other and it did seem like she had a large extended family.

~~~~~

Chapter 22

THE LITTLE PRINCE

Once more, Prince Titus waited outside his home for any news of Lana and the new baby.  This time however, he had little Rose with him to remind him of what a miracle it was to have a child.

Prince Makoa, Prince Uly, Prince Terranc
e
and King Titan also were with Titus.  They helped him to endure this time with stories of old.

King Titan told one story of how nervous Prince Terrance was the day that Prince Tarrock was born.  He said that he nearl
y fainted as he sensed his wife
Princess Cassandra’s pain.  Her labor began before the mermaids could come to her and he waited with her until they did, because it had started in the middle of the night.

“You were very brave Father; I do not think that I could have taken it so well
.
”
Grinn
ed Titus.

“Yes, it is a hard thing to see your mate suffer so and it was a hard labor for her; but as with such things, Tarrock was born and her pain passed and was replaced with joy that a Prince was born.”

“I pray it will be soon for Princess Lana; I too
do not think that I could stand
to see my mate in such pain,” said Makoa sincerely.

“One day you shall and I will be beside you my friend,”
vowe
d Titus.

Soon Princess Rema came
out
and told Titus that his child had been born. 
He
quickly swam inside his home to see Tarra beside Lana as she held their little Prince.

He was already trying to swim from his mother’s arms and Lana had to laugh to se
e it, “He’s just like his dad
; eager
to see more of the ocean where
he lives.”

Titus went to her and their son and gently kissed his wispy light blonde head, “Hello little Prince Tarrock.”

“I’m so glad
you chose y
our brother’s name.  I know
your parents
will love it and my dad too
.
”
Lana smiled to Titus.

“Yes, it is a fine name; it will keep the memory of my brother alive for us all
.
”
Titus smiled to Tarra.

“Thank you both for such a gift
.
”
Tarra
smiled
gratefully.

Then Titus carried his little son to the waiting men outside, where his mother and Princess Rema had also gone.  Then Rema went back inside with Lana and Tarra.  Titus smiled to his parents and said, “I have a son and his name is Prince Tarrock.”

“Oh Titus, thank you for that, he is a wonderful son,” his mother said full of emotion.

“Congratulations my son; you have chosen a good name
.
”
H
is father smiled
proudly
.

“May h
e be as brave and noble as his u
ncle,” said King Titan.

“See
your little brother Rose,”
Titus
said
as he brought him to her.

Rose
smiled and kissed his cheek.

Then he showed him to Uly
. 
“Cool, you named him after father!”
Uly s
miled
.

“Yes, he has your father’s name
.”

“I can see that Uly is picking up some
of the human language,” chuckled
Makoa as he swam to Titus and little Prince Tarrock, “Congratulations my friend, he is a fine son.”

“Thank you
Prince
Makoa; would you like to hold him?” Titus asked, knowing he might be afraid to.

“No, I do not think that I could do it.”

“Nonsense, here you go,” said Titus as he put his tiny son in Makoa’s arms.

“He is so small; I am afraid that I might break him.”

“You will not; he takes after his father.  In fact, you might want to hold on tight; he has already tried to swim away from his mother.”

“Which only reminds me of the day that you were born,” said Princess Cassandra as she went and kissed his little cheek.

Makoa passed Prince Tarrock to his grandmothe
r as he could tell that she wanted
to hold him.

Princ
ess Rema was also glad that Prince Titus
had cho
sen her husband’s name for his
son.  She hoped that he would grow to be the merman that Prince Tarrock had been.  She was sure that with
Prince
Titus as his father and
Princess
Lana as his mother, he would be a mer of strong character.

Lan
a was so grateful that her time
of pain had passed and that she was able to give Titus a son.  She knew that he was the very image of Titus; just as Rose was also.  She was glad that he was a merman and would be able to hunt beside his father one day.

Lana had Tarra send word to her father a
nd Micah in the cavern.  Cole
had been waiting for the past three hours for his grandchild’s birth.  Tristan and Sirene also waited with them and helped to watch little Talei.

It wasn’t long and Cole, completely outfitted in scuba gear, came into Lana’s small home and saw his grandson for himself.  Lana passed Prince Tarrock to him and many bubbles escaped from his mouth piece as he smiled to see his tiny grandson of a mer.

“He looks just like Rose when she was born,” said Lana smiling to her dad.

“He’
s a fine boy; he definitely takes after his father, and his grandmother Leona,” Cole said to her with a grin.

Prince Tarrock flipped his tail quickly and tried to wriggle free of his grandfather’s grasp.  “Yeah, I think he has some of his mother in him too,” laughed her father, releasing air bubbles.

“I wasn’t that bad
.
”
Lana
smil
ed.

“No, not till you reached about thirteen
.
”
H
er dad winked.  “Seriously Lana, you two picked a fine name for him.  I know Tarrock would like it.”

“I’m glad Dad; I wish I’d known him, but I guess I’ve gotten to know some of what he was like just by knowing his family
.
”

“Yeah, I told you they were special.  You deserve to have such a family in your life
.
”
Cole
smiled releasing more air bubbles.

Lana smiled and said,
“Thanks Dad, so do you
.
”

Cole
passed Prince Tarrock back to her.

“Tell mom that I’ll come to the cavern in a week or so if she’d like to see him.”

“I will, and yeah, she can’t wait to see her new grandchild.  She’ll love that you named him Tarrock too.  I can just see him and Jedediah causing mischief together one day,” laughed her father, causing air bubbles to escape once more.

“Yeah, I can see that too,” Lana also had to laugh.

Then her father left her home and Titus and the other mermen said their farewells to him, but not before little Rose went and kissed her grandpa Cole’s face mask.  They all laughed to see it.

~~~

Late one evening, Prince Tarrock was restless.  Lana began to sing him a lullaby that she sang to Rose many times before.  It was told to Lana that her own mother Leona used to sing it to her also.  It was a favorite of the mer
maid mothers.  It was an
ancient lullaby.  Lana hummed the tune aloud as she sang the words in her mind to little Tarrock
…

SEAHORSE LULLAB
Y

Sleep peacefully my little one

Now cradled in my arm

I pray you will have sweet dreams this night

Kept safe from any harm

May you dream of many Seahorses

Rocking and twirling all around

All their friends have come to play

Though they do not make a sound

I have asked them not to wake my Prince

For you need this time to rest

So they quietly dance the night away

For they know that it is best

So sleep peacefully my little one

Now cradled in my arm

I pray you will have sweet dreams this night

Kept safe from any harm

Just as Lana was finishing the last line of the song, Titus came in from night patrol.  “Have I told you how very much I love you
.
”
H
e smiled to see her cradling their son and singing the mermaid’s lullaby.

“I think you might have told me a time or two, but I never get tired of hearing it
.
”
S
he smiled.

“Has our son been giving you any trouble?”
Titus gave a knowing look.

“Perhaps a little, but then I t
hink he loves to hear his mom
sing to him.  I’m sure
I’m spoiling him rotten,” she
giggl
ed.