A Merman's Tale

Margaret: Chapter Twelve

     A week had passed since the Ardus sword sensed the presence of Marina. Seirra and I had doubled our efforts in the search for the princess but apparently, she was nowhere to be found again. If there was anything good about that chance (almost) encounter, it was the fact that Marina was certainly in Grasveld Aisles.  

     It had been 15 days since Seirra and I had met but I had never seen him as restless as he was in the past week. He was always in a hurry to the point that I had to beg him before he realized that we were both already exhausted from all the walking and running that we had done.

     “Seirra, I don’t think we’d lose her any further if we stop searching for a while,” I told him as I pulled him off the street towards one of the benches around the Fountain of Venus. The artwork was a landmark located in the middle of the city and famous for being the only remaining masterpiece created by Lorenzo de Guia, Grasveld Aisles’ most renowned artist. All his other artworks were all believed to have been either destroyed or lost under the ocean.

     “I really couldn’t waste more time, Marge,” he began the moment I was seated on the bench right in front of Venus.

     “I know. It’s just that we’ve been looking for her since I got out of class, and that was five hours ago, Seirra. It’s ten in the evening and we haven’t even bothered with dinner. I’m sorry but I really am worn out now,” I told him in an almost wailing voice.

     It was subtle but the moment I finished my statement, I saw that he finally realized just how tired I was. He ran his eyes from my head down to my feet and stared at me for an entire six seconds. Discomfort spread through me at being subjected to his stare but I welcomed it because I know it would knock some sense into him.

     Finally, he sighed.

     “I’m sorry,” he said in a quiet voice as he took a seat beside me.

     “Don’t be. I know finding her is important. It’s not your fault that I get tired easily.”

     “No. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. It wasn’t your obligation.”

     I heard deep remorse in his voice and I realized just how sincere he was. Seirra might seem easygoing all the time but he did know when things should be treated seriously.

     I smiled at him.

     “It’s alright. I actually liked helping you.”

     He smiled back then, “I’ll go get something to eat.”

     I watched him as he ambled towards the nearby bakery. The way he walked steadily towards his destination made me wish I had his stamina.

     He wasn’t tired at all, I thought enviously.

     I let my eyes wander around while I waited for Seirra to come back. It was late at night and there were only a few people outside—or at least in this part of the city. The small bakery was on my right. The bakeshop lady seemed to have been drawn in by Seirra’s charm and I swallowed the burst of jealousy that sprouted from my throat.

     Several meters from my left were two elderly men intent on playing chess in one of the tables of a closed restaurant’s porch. A young couple, probably in their late teens like me, passed by the players but the old men didn’t seem to notice. The young guy was wearing a black hoodie and jeans—making him look like an amateur snatcher. He took a drag from his lighted cigarette and sent out the smoke into the night air. His girlfriend, who was wearing a red tight-fitting dress and shiny, black thigh-high boots, took the cigarette from him and breathed in some smoke for herself.