The Little Mermaid (Faerie Tale Collection) (4 page)

And as much as she hated to admit it—for the sting of her own lack of ability pained her most of all—Pearl was not the mermaid for Keel.

She was certain of it.

Now if only she could stop kissing him so easily. Then perhaps she could convince him of such a thing too.

BY THE TIME THEY reached Graystone Reef, the reflection through the water looked as though the sun would set soon.

Keel held out his hand. “Stay here while I check to see if we are safe.”

She rolled her eyes, but knew better than to argue with him, especially when the promise of what they were to discuss was more exciting than her insistence of being able to protect herself. No need to distract him now.

He came back quickly. “There is nothing out there.”

She popped her head above the water and watched in amazement as Keel easily heaved himself up on the jagged rock next to them. Then he held out his hand for her to grasp. As he pulled her up onto his tail with her back to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her to ensure she did not slip off. The awkwardness of their weight made it hard at first for her to sit properly.

“Here, lean against me, and I will aid you in being able to stay up.”

She did as she was told, and immediately felt the relief of pressure. “It is incredible how much heaviness there is in the air up here.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around her middle and spoke near her right ear, his warm breath sending a million zingling sparks all over her, especially mingled with the breeze of air around them. “Yes, it is the first thing our training as the elect princes must cover—how to gain enough strength to withstand the outside world easily.”

She could not think. She could not breathe. Everything about Keel felt different out of the ocean. The weight of his arms around her, her back against his . . . It all felt more real somehow. More something . . . she could not quite describe. But the sensations were tremendously unique and strangely, very comforting and attractive at the same time.

She closed her eyes and tucked her head against his neck as Keel continued to mutter about his experiences training for this. Even the tone of his voice was different out of the water. More crisp and deep and . . . and . . . almost perfect. Mmm. Pearl could listen to his words all evening and never get tired of them.

“Are you listening?” he whispered softly, which caused her to jump a bit.

“No.” She grinned and kept her eyes closed.

He chuckled, sending slight shivers down her back. “I did not think so.”

When she did not respond a few minutes later, he asked, “You really do love it up here, do you not?”

Pearl nodded. The warmth from the fading sun and light breeze slowly drying her hair was wonderful. Even the waves barely lapped around them, all was calm. She felt relaxed, and so deliciously free.

He kissed the side of her head and murmured, “I never want to let you go.”

She grinned slowly. “Then do not. Let us stay here just like this forever.”

KEEL’S HEART STUTTERED TO a stop and then sped up again. Of course, Pearl said things like this all the time and never meant any of them. He held back a sigh and decided to allow the moment to play out until the sun finished setting. This fragment of time was too stunning not to allow it to immerse them both in its glory.

She nestled in deeper as the sun slowly sank beneath the water before them, bathing them in rays of pink, purple, and red hues. He felt her muscles relax and melt into him. She truly was in her element. The soft air all around them must calm her in a way he would never understand.

He moved slightly and felt the sharp sting of the jagged rock of the reef under his tail. Above the ocean was a strange, cruel place. If you slipped while swimming, you merely bounced within the water and attempted again. When you fell on land, it was a lot less forgiving, and serious damage could occur to you. Even just her weight against him pressed the rough rock painfully into his scales. There was no ease here. Everything was heavier, harder, and much more brutal.

But it was what she wished to experience. He took a deep breath of air, his lungs expanding and drying as he did so. Even that hurt if one did not wait and inhaled too quickly at first. After a few more minutes of silence, sitting together in the twilight, he finally brought up what he knew she was waiting patiently to hear.

“When you officially take on the office of prince, one of the first things you must do is rise to the surface of the ocean and partake of a small amount of fluid, different from what is in the water. The liquid that you drink will transform your tail into legs. The whole process takes one or two hours, depending on the merperson.”

“You have done this?” she asked, turning around a bit to see him, and grinding his tail deeper into the jagged rock.

He grunted and shifted her to ease the pain. “Yes. I have.”

“And you never told me!” She moved again.

Quickly, he held her hips in place. “Yes. Remember, I could not tell you. I have been sworn to secrecy.”

“What happened? What was it like? How long were you transformed? Did it last awhile? When was this?”

“Good kettlefish, merwoman.” He chuckled. “Let me speak, and I promise I shall answer everything.”

“But I am so excited. I want to know everything now.”

Her bright eyes and wide smile were so pretty. “I can see that, but I can only talk so fast.”

“But—”

“And whatever you do, remain still, please.” He held on more firmly.

“Oh! Am I hurting you?” She bit her lip. “Sorry.”

“Not you—just this darn reef. Every time you jolt, I feel it below me.”

She gasped. And then coughed. He knew her lungs must not be as dry as his.

“Are you well?” he asked once her spasm had calmed down.

“Yes, but you are not.” She turned around slowly until her back was against his chest once more and then said, “I am dreadfully sorry. I had completely forgotten how harsh this rock can be and how it can tear into our fins. Forgive me?”

“Hush. There is nothing to forgive. Now, to quell your curiosity, I was in a human state for about two days before I drank the antidote which returned my fins to normal again.”

“What happened? Did you go on land? Did you see it?”

He could tell she could barely contain her excitement. However, she did her best not to move. “No. We did not go on land. There were about ten of us that first time.”

“First time? Wait a minute . . .”

He cringed. He probably should have not mentioned he had done this more than once. “The first time, there were too many of us, and it would have looked deuced odd—a bunch of men dressed only in a seaweed covering coming out of the ocean onto the land.”

“Oh. What did you do?”

“We went to an abandoned reef much like this one, though more flat, and did some intense training, mostly attempting to balance and walk with legs—getting used to the heaviness out of water, that sort of thing.”

“And when you went again?”

He paused a moment to gather his thoughts, debating whether or not to tell her. It was something he had told no one before. Once he realized Pearl’s fascination with the land would not be diminished and would only continue to grow, he decided to go on land for a few days and gain what knowledge he could to see what she was actually wishing for. What he found did not make him happy, nor did it make him eager to return now.

He frowned.

“Keel?” she asked quietly. “Did you go a second time?”

“Yes.”

She must have felt the unease within him because she did not push for answers. She only said simply, “Oh. Was it nice?”

“No. It was not. In fact, it was rather horrific.”

“What happened?” she whispered after a few moments of silence. Then, when he did not respond straight away, she said, “If you would rather not tell me, I understand.”

He shook his head. “No. No, you do not realize. I went alone. I took some of the liquid and came to the seashore and walked onto the land.”

Tightening his arms around her waist, he continued, “At first, it was painful to walk—very painful. Then people shrieked to see me dressed just in seaweed as I was. It was something we were not taught before in training, so I had no notion. I covered myself as best I could with an old cloth. But I was taken to the local authorities by some rather rough fishermen. There, they dressed me and shouted at me and asked me all manner of questions, none of which I could answer, since I had no notion of what they were speaking. The land language is a foreign tongue based solely on crisp, clicking words and not our more hollow, musical sounds. So there was no reasoning with the men. And they ate the most despicable meals I have ever seen. Hot—almost everything they ate had been heated somehow until it was not pliable and had no flavor at all. They loved food that burned them. And their manners were nothing like what we would be accustomed to.

“Many of the men had knifes and weapons of some sort, and used them, and threatened each other with them. Very barbaric, as if one was constantly in a competition or show. You know how the whales will prance and flit about during mating season, appearing to show one another up? It was much like that.”

“What did they do to you?”

“Once they saw that I could not speak with them, they sneered and mocked and treated me as though I were stupid and dumb. Eventually, they released me from their prison and sent me back out into the world. I went to the seashore after that, staying out of sight of anyone who might be alarmed at my presence until nightfall. I went to the place where I had hidden the antidote and waded out to sea. Once there, I removed the clothing they had given me and allowed my fins to grow back. I returned home several hours later, and no one was the wiser.”

“What did you do with the clothing?”

“I have kept it all this time in a chest. If we are to travel there, I will need it again. Do you not think?”

PEARL NODDED. HER HEART hammered inside her chest.

“Are you certain you still would like to go on the land?” Keel asked her.

“Oh, yes!” she replied without a moment’s hesitation. “Now I wish to go more than ever.”

“Truly? This is what you wish, even after what I have shared?”

“Indubitably.”

He watched her bright red hair bob up and down before giving her waist a squeeze. “You are a hopeless mess. You know this, right?”

She laughed. “’Tis why you like me so much. Admit it.”

“You may be right!” He laughed with her.

“So, when can we go?”

“Let us wait a week so I can be sure to prepare things for us both for while we are gone. How long will you need up there?” Keel paused, afraid to hear the answer.

“How long can I have?”

Her quiet, hesitant question pierced his heart. “As long as you wish.”

“A month?”

He watched the breeze play against her bright locks, lifting small strands into the air. Slowly, he reached up and captured one of the silky strands, running the length through his fingers to the end. She shivered slightly, and he grinned to see her so pleased with his touch. Instinctively, he ran his fingers down the strand of hair again.

A month was such a long time to be away. A month was long enough for her to truly make up her mind, though. It was also long enough to allow for the strangeness to become normal. For her to begin to forget about her life in the ocean. A fortnight would be so much better for them both.