The Servant Girl and The Sea Prince

Chapter Fifteen: MELINDA

I guess I have no choice but to sleep on the beach tonight, Melinda sighed to herself. She stripped down to her shift, and used her brown gown as a makeshift blanket.

"Melinda...what's wrong?". She had started to doze off, when she heard Poseidon's familiar voice. His blue-green eyes were trimmed with red. Had he been crying too?

"Everything..." moaned Melinda. "I lost my job...and I don't have...a place to stay...". She wiped away fresh tears on the rough fabric of her shift. "It's not fair", she whispered. "I just wanted a chance...a life better than this...".

Concern creasing Poseidon's brow, he glided closer to Melinda. "There could be a chance, Melinda..." he said softly. "But it's a long story...". He hesitated for a second, then continued, his melodic voice full of emotion. "My father, King Neptune...he foamed today..."

Melinda wrapped her pale arms around the merman. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Poseidon..."

Poseidon buried his handsome face in Melinda's embrace for a little while. "Thank you, Melinda..." he murmured as he finally pulled back. There was a glimmer of hope in his turquoise eyes in spite of his heavy grief.

"This is the Enchanted Royal Aquamarine of Pacifica...". Poseidon had opened his clenched fist to reveal a beautiful, pale blue jewel.

"It's so pretty" remarked Melinda.

"It's not just pretty" Poseidon stated. "It's a magical gemstone passed down from generation to generation in the royal family of Pacifica. My father told me, right before he foamed, that if a mermaid or merman's true love is a human, and the human loves them back, the Aquamarine can permanently turn the leg-walker into one of our kind..."

Melinda was speechless for a moment. She had fantasized about being a mermaid for just about as long as she could remember. Could her dream really come true?

"My father warned me that magic can be unstable..." cautioned Poseidon. "If the transformation works, it could be painful, and there's no turning back. You'll have to leave the surface world behind forever".

"There's nothing left for me...up here...at all" Melinda uttered. "No family, no job, no home, very few friends..."

Her life on land had been one of endless hardship and misfortune. Melinda only felt a sense of deep peace and real happiness whenever she was in or near the Western Ocean. The sea had always seemed to call to her, as if her true destiny laid somewhere far below the churning waves.

"Are you sure, Melinda?" questioned Poseidon, intently gazing into her green eyes. "Is this...is being a mermaid truly what your heart desires?"

"Yes!" Melinda asserted. She had never been more sure about anything in her sixteen years of life.

"Take my hand" instructed Poseidon. As Melinda squeezed the merman's right hand, he stroked the Enchanted Royal Aquamarine of Pacifica with his other hand. The magical gemstone emitted a blindingly bright, powder blue ray of light.

Melinda's metamorphosis from a two-legged human girl into a mermaid was a slow and gradual process. The first thing to change were her eyes. Her vision grew sharper, so the dim light of late evening was now as bright as noon to her.

"So that's how you guys can see in the dark depths of the ocean!" Melinda exclaimed.

Then she developed gills on the back of her neck. One reason why merfolk tended to have such long hair was to cover up the tiny but somewhat unsightly slits. While Melinda could still breathe above the surface to some degree, the fragrance of the salty sea air no longer smelled as nice as it once did. She longed to submerge her head in the cool waters of the Western Ocean.

Her lower body reforming into a fish-like tail was the longest and most arduous part of Melinda's transformation. She winced in agonizing pain as her bones rearranged to merge her two legs into a single, powerful appendage. A burning sensation engulfing her soft, sensitive skin, shimmering scales in every imaginable shade of pink, ranging from a pastel hue reminiscent of strawberry ice cream to a deep, warm rose color, appeared one by one. Pink had always been Melinda's favorite color, yet she hardly ever had a chance to wear it, as neutral-toned fabric was both cheaper and more practical for working in. Finally, Melinda's big feet were stretched out, and reshaped into a billowy yet strong fluke.

Once her transfiguration was complete, Melinda, who was still wearing her cream-colored linen shift, was so exhausted she wondered if she would pass out. Poseidon gently tugged her down into the sea. "How do you feel...?" the hunky, red-haired merman inquired, looking quite concerned.

"Fine...I suppose..." Melinda said. She experimented with slowly wiggling and flicking her brand new mermaid tail. "Most of the pain has subsided, but I feel pretty tired". It was so strange to be able to speak underwater, and her voice sounded higher in pitch than it had been when she was human.

Poseidon smiled warmly at Melinda, and then tenderly kissed her. His stunning turquoise tail intertwined with her beautiful, new, pink fishtail.

The merman took Melinda by the hand, and helped her swim down to his palace, at a leisurely pace. "It's so beautiful down here! The water's so blue!" she sang out, when they arrived in Pacifica at last.

The merfolk kingdom was a densely populated city, not entirely unlike Irvine. They were surrounded by various species of Civilized sea creatures, including Pacific mackerels, Kelp basses, and California spiny lobsters, as well as fellow merfolk in many different shapes, sizes, and tail and skin colors.

The Pacifican royal palace, like most other structures in the kingdom, was built from coral and driftwood. It had round windows made out of shiny sea glass. In front of it was a pearly gate, guarded by a muscular merman.

"Your Majesty!" shouted the guard. He raised an eyebrow, perhaps at Melinda's decidedly unmermaid-like attire. "Who's your friend...?"

"Her name is Melinda", Poseidon introduced, holding his head high. "And I am courting her". Melinda blushed, as the guard opened up the gate for them.