Page 44 of Sea's Secret

I sank to the bottom of the sandy pool’s floor. I watched the sun ripple through the water's movements from the waves entering and leaving the pool. It was relaxing to watch, and the heavy weight of the water was a comfort I had missed while on land. My heart ached. I would do all in my power to save my people, even if I had to reveal myself to a human, and take Dominick to the Misted Seas. I would do anything.

After a few minutes at the bottom of the pool, I resurfaced, and floated with my eyes closed. I was tired. It was difficult to sleep in the cave. I wished I could have gone to that pool to sleep each night, but Dominick would become suspicious. I was also worried about leaving him alone. Many nights, I woke up to him groaning in his sleep as if in pain. I wondered how he endured such a horrible curse. My mind focused on his handsome face, on his smile, and the way he and I had formed an easy friendship on the island. After asking to touch his hands that second day, he had not been as talkative and close with me, but I hoped with time, he would talk more, once again. I could be patient if I needed to be. I let the movement of the ocean lull me to a peaceful state.

“Meria?!” I opened my eyes to the crashing of waves on rocks and the feeling of being rocked slightly. I smiled. There was nothing like the ocean, and I loved it. My tail shifted with the movement. I moved it back and forth, trying to figure out whose voice was calling me, sleep still fogging my brain.

Where am I?

“Meria?” The voice called again, and when I heard it for the third time, that was when I twisted my head to the side to see a pair of widened, dark blue eyes staring down at me. His brown hair was wild as it blew in the sea breeze, and he was looking from my tail to my face in shock.

“Oh, Hi, Dominick,” I said, feigning calm as I pulled myself onto a rock and removed my tail fully from the water. I wanted to cover my tail, but there was no reason; he had seen it. All I could do was hope I would change back soon.

How am I to navigate this situation? I wondered.

“You are a mermaid?” he asked as I sat there, waiting for my legs to return.

“I am,” I said softly.

I did not dare look into his eyes, nor even wait a moment for him to say something. My legs had returned. I stood. His face was still frozen in surprise, his mouth opening and closing. Unsure what to do, and being the coward that I am, I ran from the rocks to the beach. There was no other place to go. I was stuck on that island with Dominick. I mean, I could have swam away, but he was my connection to Walden. Not only that, but he was a Walden prince. I was sure that him being royalty would help me find my mother that much more efficiently. I needed him, and since he knew I was a mermaid, to achieve his goals, he needed me. I sank into the warm sand and waited for Dominick to find me.

He walked slowly from the rocks to the beach. I still couldn't look at him, so I focused on the waves pulling in and out of the cove. Dominick sank down beside me.

“You are a mermaid, not stranded on this island. I’m on this island because you, a mermaid, saved me?” he asked.

“Please, do not hurt me,” I said, trying to make myself as small as possible by wrapping my arms around my knees that were pulled up to my chest. I turned my head to watch him.

He whipped his head around to look at me. “What? Why would you say that?” His voice was rougher than I had ever heard it before, and I moved backward.

“I know about humans; they killed us–kept us prisoner when King Falcon ruled.”

“Oh–King Falcon, may he rot in the mountain, is dead. He has been dead for over five hundred years.” He paused, then added, “Most humans don’t even believe that mermaids exist anymore. They are considered to be myths. I am still not sure if I truly saw you with a tail or not, just now,” he said, shaking his head.

“I am a mermaid. I do have a tail,” I said with a smile, looking at him. His eyes were transfixed on my legs.

“Does it–did it hurt to change?”

“No, it just feels like stretching,” I said.

“I will not hurt you, Meria,” Dominick said in a voice I had never heard from him. His tone was not only quiet, but he sounded as if he cared deeply for me and that he wanted me to understand what he said and that he needed me to know that he truly meant it. I was not sure how someone could deduce such a thing from a simple phrase, but I not only heard his words, I felt them within my soul, even though he had no melody. I was surprised by it and looked into his eyes.

“Thank you. You have been very kind to me, even when I do not understand human things. My cousin said a ship should be here to rescue us. I guess I can tell you that, now.”

“Do you know whose ship it is?”

“He said he was looking for a Walden ship.”

Dominick tensed, and I placed a hand upon his shoulder, which he shook off and stood up.

“I cannot go on a ship from Walden.”

“Yes, you can. I am sure it will be alright. My cousin also told me they picked up another sailor from your ship’s crew; his name was rather odd: Shifts or Sends. He likes to listen to what he can from humans.”

“Sands?” he asked.

“Maybe that was it.”

“Perhaps, I can board—If he is there, that helps,” he said, sinking down onto the sand with his face in his hands. “We have challenges ahead of us, Meria.”

“Can you keep my identity as a mermaid secret from other humans?”

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