“You got them presents?” He smiled. “Oh you didn’t have to do th-Wait.”
Merman. She said merman.
He began staring at her, with a blank look on his face, as he processed what she said.
“…Where did you say we were going again?”
We’re going underwater…OF COURSE we’re going underwater. I’m dating a mermaid for Pete’s sake.
He facepalmed, and then he looked over at his luggage. “I guess I have to go back home and drop this off again, along with those presents…How am I going to explain this to my parents?” He sort of chuckled nervously, and then sat back down on the dock. He looked at her, smiled and shook his head. “Alright, so, um, how are we doing this?”
“Of course I got them presents! I’ve been meaning to give them to you forever, but I’m really kind of awful at planning and remembering to bring my bags and-” she huffed and shook her head.
Adella was afraid her non-stop talking became too much for Thomas when she noticed his blank stare. “Sorry for rambling… And we’re going to my family’s summer palace! Didn’t I tell you this before?” She beamed up at him, “it’s much easier to plan an itinerary when I know everything about where we’re going! As for getting there…”
She pulled two small vials out of her bag, one full of a shimmering golden mixture, and the other a luminous blue-green. “I was saving these for visiting you- but this works just as well! Drinking this one,” she lifted the blue-green vial, “will make you a merman. While the other would change you back to a human.” She slipped the golden vial back into her bag.
“Explaining this to your parents… well, you can attempt to tell them the truth…. but if they don’t believe you, you can always tell them that your wealthy friend has more than enough clothes for you to not need to carry your own?” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, “that’s actually a pretty decent cover story. I think Andrina’s cunning must be rubbing off on me…”
He grinned. “Guess I must’ve missed that.”
He took the blue-green vial from her and looked at it in amazement. “Wow…what is it though? And does it hurt? You know…changing.”
“Well…they do know about you being a mermaid and all. It’s just that…it just sounds so crazy. Well, from their perspective anyway.” He chuckled. “That’s a good idea though.”
“You know…I could just introduce you to my parents right now. Since I’ve been meaning to for a while. Unless you just want to get going now.” He shrugged.
“Thomas!” She kneeled up on her tail and waved eagerly at him, sliding back into the water and swimming around to meet him. She giggled breathlessly as she hopped up on the small pier. “Are you ready to go?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer, but instead pulled her bag open and pulled out two neatly wrapped, very soggy boxes with large seaweed bows. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought these after you already said your good byes… but I couldn’t leave them in my room with my sisters! The pink one’s for your sister and the blue one is for your parents… Maybe you could just drop them off in your house and hand them out later? or…”
She trailed off as she caught sight of hus luggage and flashed him a huge grin. “What in Neptune’s name did you pack? You won’t be needing boots and trousers where we’re going.”
Then she gasped and blushed, realizing what she said and quickly amended, “because you’ll be a merman… that is…”
“You got them presents?” He smiled. “Oh you didn’t have to do th-Wait.”
Merman. She said merman.
He began staring at her, with a blank look on his face, as he processed what she said.
“…Where did you say we were going again?”
We’re going underwater…OF COURSE we’re going underwater. I’m dating a mermaid for Pete’s sake.
He facepalmed, and then he looked over at his luggage. “I guess I have to go back home and drop this off again, along with those presents…How am I going to explain this to my parents?” He sort of chuckled nervously, and then sat back down on the dock. He looked at her, smiled and shook his head. “Alright, so, um, how are we doing this?”
Adella threw her presents together, stuffing them into a little green bag already filled to the brim with make-up and hair accessories. Today was the last day she could give out the gifts, afterall, she was going on vacation. She knew better than to leave things around her shared bedroom for too long without supervision- they might not be there when she got back, especially if Arista was lurking around.
With a smile she closed her bag and headed for Jamestown. She spent a not-so-brief moment pinning up her bangs and admiring her reflection before climbing up onto one of the docks. “Thomas? Are you here?”
Thomas threw his last hat in his luggage and closed it shut. “There,” he said with a sigh. He heard a noise behind him, and turned around. Elizabeth, his sister, was peeking around the corner of the door frame. “Tommy,” she whispered. “Do you really have to go?”
He walked over to her, bent down, and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry, Liz,” he said, his voice soft with affection. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He looked at her with a smile, kissed her forehead, and turned back to grab his luggage. He said his goodbyes to his sister, his mother, and his father, who was just about to head off to work. He left the house and headed for the dock.
I’m going on vacation…with Adella.
They had never spent more than a day or two together, but now they were going to spend a whole month together. He was a bit worried, but excited.
He was also worried that she still had yet to meet his family. He told his family he was going on a short trip, but he never specified where, or with whom.
I hope they won’t be too mad…
Whatever, no need to worry about that now. I just need to find Adella.
He reached the dock and looked around. She still wasn’t there. He sat down on the edge, and began to stare into the water. About 10 minutes passed before he heard her voice.
He looked up and saw her over a few docks down. He got up and started waving to her. “Adella, I’m over here!”
He gave her a half-hearted smile. “You would think, but still, it’s a leopard.” He sort of chuckled at the ridiculousness of the situation. Actually, everything about them being together was ridiculous. She was right though. He’s already had to deal with sirens and the lord of the dead. Now, a leopard. What have I gotten myself into? He shook his head and sighed. The only thing that broke his musing was her kiss, which also of course led to his face turning a bit red. He turned to look at her, and gave her the warmest smile. “Right, together, we can handle anything.” And with that, he kissed her on the forehead.
“I hope they do too. They risked a lot coming here. Well, yeah they weren’t the only family to move here. Quite a few others have as well. They’re actually considering building a schoolhouse due to all of the children.”
“Anything.” She repeated contently, beaming at him. “I hope you truly believe that, Thomas,” nestling her now kissed head into his shoulder with a quiet giggle. “You sure do know how to make a girl feel special!”
She stole a glance at the village behind them, sure it was smaller the last time she’d been here. Not that she’d gotten all that good a look- it’s always more than a little awkward to come back to a place that you had burned down… “Well, at least your sister won’t be lonely! It’ll be good to have other people her age to play with- especially with you working all the time!” She nudged him playfully, then put on a pout. “Oh no! This means I’ll have to share your time off with another girl! You’d better not forget about me!… and speaking of forgetting- I forgot that I had a gift for her- do you remember, I told you a bought her a little tiara?”
He laughed. “Yeah, speaking of work, that’s what I should be doing right now….but that can wait a bit.”
“Oh don’t worry, I could never forget about you.” For a split second, he couldn’t help but be reminded of her siren days. Of course I won’t ever forget her, not after that…
“Oh right, I completely forgot! Do you want me to give it to he-No wait, you should meet her! Yeah, you should come meet my family!”
“Well,” she mumbles, “you’ve already dealt with sirens and a lord of the dead- a plain old leopard shouldn’t cause too much worry….” Adella had meant to tease but she realized that, all things considered, it wasn’t especially laughable. She smiled as he worried for their luck and rolled her eyes, you have no idea. She stretched upwards and planted a small peck on his cheek. “You don’t need to worry about our luck- if we’re together, we can handle anything. Don’t you think?”
She giggled falling back into his side. “I hope your family settles in all right. Are there any other children around for your sister to play with?”
He gave her a half-hearted smile. “You would think, but still, it’s a leopard.” He sort of chuckled at the ridiculousness of the situation. Actually, everything about them being together was ridiculous. She was right though. He’s already had to deal with sirens and the lord of the dead. Now, a leopard. What have I gotten myself into? He shook his head and sighed. The only thing that broke his musing was her kiss, which also of course led to his face turning a bit red. He turned to look at her, and gave her the warmest smile. “Right, together, we can handle anything.” And with that, he kissed her on the forehead.
“I hope they do too. They risked a lot coming here. Well, yeah they weren’t the only family to move here. Quite a few others have as well. They’re actually considering building a schoolhouse due to all of the children.”
She felt a fluttering in her chest at the way he whispered he’d do anything for her. It was so genuine. Not that Thomas had ever seemed anything less than sincere, but for what might have been the first time, she truly believed it. She smiled warmly, thinking maybe- just maybe, this was what true love was all about. Unless it’s because I missed him so much- the stories always say absence makes the heart fonder. “Y’know, you’re really sweet. I- I don’t think I tell you that enough.”
And then she giggled dismissively, “believe it or not, I’ve spoken to the leopard before. I was under the impression that despite her scary exterior- she could be a decent person.” She wrung her hands, beginning to be more careful with her words. “But for this particular, very unfortunate, incident- she sought me out…. But I doubt we’ll be seeing her ever again- she nearly drowned trying to kill me once.” He pulled her closer and she curled up in his embrace. “Don’t worry about it, Thomas. I know you’d do whatever you could to help me and I’m safe now- and what are the chances of something like that happening again?” Bet ya didn’t think dating a mermaid would be so much trouble.
She leaned back on his shoulder to look up at him as he calmed down to reveal his news. “Your family? They’re here?! Oh that’s amazing! Do they like it here? How’re they settling? Will they be getting job-” she caught a breath and laughed, “they… didn’t have time to even look around town yet, did they?”
He blushed at the “you’re really sweet” comment, and he just didn’t know what to say back.
“You would think that by now, I’d be freaked out by the idea of a talking leopard, but I’m not.” He laughs a bit uncomfortably, but then he turns back to her. “I’m just so relieved you’re okay. And you know what, you shouldn’t say things like that with luck like ours…”
He laughed. “No, they only landed a couple of hours ago so they probably haven’t explored much. I bet you anything Liz is already running around though,” he chuckled. “But yeah, I already have a job set up for my father. I’m not so sure about what my mother is going to do.” He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out soon.”
“Thomas, y-you came in to the water!” She broke into a huge grin and practically flung herself at him in a hug. “That’s so sweet! I can’t even believe-” She stopped, realizing that A) it was probably too soon for her to be jumping on him while he was getting over his fear. And B) she had been clinging to him, and now that she noticed, she was blushing like crazy. She let go with a quiet giggle and sat down beside him. “So, you’d be willing to hurt someone for me? And my sisters were trying to tell me that brave knights didn’t exist…”
With a sigh, she looked away from him. “As for the story- I got into a fight with a leopard. It wanted me to be amusing. The leopard- Sabor- is always going on about how it didn’t need any friends, but it bothers people when it’s bored or lonely! So I kind of told it off, and refused to entertain it…. And then it bit me… I mean, I was in the water so I was able to fight back…” She bit her lip, leaving out the part about her becoming a siren to save herself.
“Anyway- you don’t need to go to my defense. I wouldn’t want you fighting ferocious felines.” She nudges him playfully, besides, I got a note saying she’s dead… and good riddance. Less fish will be eaten by her. “Now please tell me you have better news than I do- I-I mean did.“
He was a bit taken aback by her tackling him, but he couldn’t stop grinning (and blushing for that matter). He held her tight until he felt her let go. “Of course I would be. I’d do anything for you,” he said in almost a whisper. He had to turn his head so she wouldn’t see him blushing (not like it really matters since he’s always blushing).
“…Wait…a leopard?!” He was staring at her in disbelief. “How on earth did you cross paths with a leopard?” He was still trying to process it all. “Areyouok?Isitgoingtobecomingafteryouagain?!” he said all in one breath. Then, he grabbed her and held her again. “I’m…I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you…” He let her go and looked at her. She’s taking this awfully well…
He took a breath and forced himself to calm down. “Alright well, yeah my news is definitely much better than yours.” He chuckled. “My family finally arrived this morning. I got them settled in their new home, and they’re probably unpacking right now.”
Thomas heard his name being called from somewhere behind him. The voice sounded familiar…Adella!
A stupid smile spread across his face as he turned around and looked down into the ocean. He saw her swimming there, as beautiful as ever, the sun shining off her scales like gems. Suddenly, he became extremely self conscious as he realized he just took off his shirt. He scrambled to put it back on, and by the time he finished, his face was beet red.
“Adella!,” he shouted down. “I’ll be right down!” He was too far up to notice that she was injured, and he ran off that ship and ran onto the beach.
“Oh Adella, I have some great news t-“
His eyes suddenly widened. He finally noticed the bandages that covered her body.
“A-Adella….what happened?”
“Thomas, it’s nice to finally see you again!” She smiled, waving as he made is way down to the beach. She hoped she wasn’t still too red. His smile almost made her forget that she looked like a mauled-mummy. Almost.
Well, she thought to herself as his eyes widened, hoping he wouldn’t notice was a bit of a long shot… Wincing, she awkwardly explained, “Ahaha, honestly you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you… But I saw a doctor of sorts and I should be able to ditch the bandaids in four days!” She giggled, changing the subject, “you had news?”
He noticed that she wasn’t coming any closer to him, so he kicked off his boots and walked into the water. He sat down only a foot or two in, the water just came up to his waist. Luckily, the ocean was calm, so barely any waves were breaking. She was still a couple of feet away, but he still had a lingering fear of drowning, so that was as far as he could go. “No, please don’t try to change the subject.” He looked at her, his eyes filled with worry. “What happened? Who did this to you? Do you…do you need me to hurt someone?” He wanted to protect her, even if it meant being a bit violent. But really, all he wanted to do was hold her, but clearly with his fear of drowning and her not budging, that wasn’t going to happen.
Thomas was working on the ship, swabbing the deck. You’d think after all this time I’d be doing something a bit more worthwhile than swabbing the deck… He stopped for a second, and wiped his brow with his shirt. It’s too bloody hot for Spring. He looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then he took off his shirt. Much better.
Perhaps with all that was going on- trident missing and leopard attacks and siren-temper-tantrums -Adella should have other priorities. She should be helping Daddy and Attina find a way to keep the kingdom safe or recovering or not traumatizing her boyfriend. But instead she just wanted to see him- if he wasn’t working, that is.
She poked her head above the surface in Jamestown, shielding her eyes against the sun. “If I were Thomas, where would I be?” Working. Always a safe bet. She turned toward the ships. There seemed to be someone up there… someone taking off their shirt. She blushed, that’s hardly appropriate for me to look a- that’s- “Thomas!” She blurted out his name and gasped to cover her mouth. Oops!
Thomas heard his name being called from somewhere behind him. The voice sounded familiar…Adella!
A stupid smile spread across his face as he turned around and looked down into the ocean. He saw her swimming there, as beautiful as ever, the sun shining off her scales like gems. Suddenly, he became extremely self conscious as he realized he just took off his shirt. He scrambled to put it back on, and by the time he finished, his face was beet red.
“Adella!,” he shouted down. “I’ll be right down!” He was too far up to notice that she was injured, and he ran off that ship and ran onto the beach.
“Oh Adella, I have some great news t-“
His eyes suddenly widened. He finally noticed the bandages that covered her body.
“A-Adella….what happened?”
Thomas was working on the ship, swabbing the deck. You’d think after all this time I’d be doing something a bit more worthwhile than swabbing the deck… He stopped for a second, and wiped his brow with his shirt. It’s too bloody hot for Spring. He looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then he took off his shirt. Much better.
