Page 10 of The Noble's Merman

FIVE

Mo had shown up much earlier than he needed to, waiting by the same rock at the beach, because the last thing he wanted to be was late. He didn’t mind waiting, but he would mentally tear himself apart if he had to make Kent wait. He worried that Kent thought merfolk were just a myth like the shanties sailors would sing, and he made up the whole encounter in his head… no. Mo was overthinking. He was here, and Kent appeared last time like he’d asked. Everything would be fine.

Sure enough, he could hear rustling from the trees in the distance. Mo was still hidden, wary in case it was a different human and not the one he was expecting, so he stayed back and away from anyone’s view. With his back against the rock, he continued to wait before he showed himself, hoping it really was Kent?—

“Mo?”

He’s here!

Mo’s heart hammered, his tailfin fluttering, and he swam around the boulder, finding the beautiful human waiting for him by the shore.

“Good evening, Kent! I’m here,” he said, a grin spreading across his face.

Kent wore a grin of his own, the most adorable expression as he clasped his hands together. “Mo, I’m so happy to see you!”

He chuckled, feeling minnows swirling in his chest. “Happy to see you, too. I hope the last few days have treated you well.”

“Oh, they could’ve been better. Enough about that, though, I wanted to show you this!”

Kent reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a book. “This is the history of merfolk I’d wanted to show you. Ah, but first, I need to shed myself of some of these clothes. It’s rather warm. I was just too excited, I had to come right away to the water!”

Mo recalled, yes, last time Kent wasn’t wearing nearly as much cloth. “That’s perfectly fine. I would like you to be comfortable here.”

“Same to you. I—I’ll be just right over there, you can see me.” He pointed toward the trees.

Mo nodded, and Kent stepped away to do what he said. Mo figured Kent probably wanted to stay dry if he were to only undress as he did before; most humans he saw, if they were to enter the water, stripped their clothes entirely. But if Kent didn’t want to, more’s the pity. Mo couldn’t hide the fact from his own mind that we would love to see what Kent looked like bare.

If Kent wanted to stay dry, Mo figured he should probably get out of the water. He hauled himself onto the beach, crawling on his arms and kicking his tail for leverage, until the entirety of his body was on land.

“Wait, Mo! Are you all right? What are you doing?” Kent raised his voice in a panic as he ran back over, now with less cloth on his person, kneeling down next to him, to Mo’s right.

“What? I’m fine!” he laughed, sitting up straight.

“You… you mean you can leave the water?”

Oh, how endearing. Mo kept chuckling as he spoke, “Yes, yes, I can. At least for a while. I can breathe air, too. You needn’t worry.”

Kent blinked, readjusting his position and sitting flat on his rear. He now wore only a white shirt along with a neckcloth, and clothes on the upper part of his legs that Mo couldn’t remember the name of. “How long can you stay out of the water?” he asked, cradling the book in his lap.

“I have heard that merfolk can stay out for a whole day or so. I personally have never been out of the water for that long, that’s just what I’ve been told all my life.”

“Very understandable. You… you really wouldn’t have a reason to be on land for that long anyway if you can’t gain legs, right?”

“That’s right. At the very least, it all means I can still sit out here with you for quite a while.”

Kent’s cheeks turned a charming shade of red. “Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Um… Sitting here next to you like this does make things easier.” He fumbled with the book in his hands. “I also left my horse back at home, so we shan’t need worry about her. I walked here myself.”

“Your… horse? Was that the animal I saw you with last time?”

“Yes, yes! I’m sorry, of course you wouldn’t know what a horse is. Her name is Biscuit, and she’s a dear friend of mine.”

Mo chuckled, “That’s adorable.”

Even though Kent’s cheeks were already red, they somehow darkened a little bit more.

“I’m curious what you mean by your days could have been better, though,” Mo inquired. “What troubles you?”

“Oh, that.” Mo watched Kent’s throat bob as he gulped. “It wasn’t anything I could call terrible, just uncomfortable. I went to a party, and my father arranged for me to dance with a lady I had no interest in. She was nice, yes, but…” He pursed his lips, as if unsure of what else to say.

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