Soulmate Little Mermaid AU- Solangelo

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I nodded, giving him a teasing smile. 'I'm alright. Promise.' I mouthed. He nodded hesitantly. 

"Just let me help you inside." He put his arm back around my shoulder and carried my weight inside the room. It was smaller than my room in my dad's castle, but I liked this one a lot better. It was very human. Instead of shells being used for decoration, there were flowers. Instead of kelp, there were curtains. Instead of a clam, there was a bed. It was amazing. Will helped me over to sit on the bed, which had a soft yellow blanket. Not my first choice, but I was too amazed to be annoyed. He seemed hesitant to leave. "I'll...see you in the morning, right? 10:00?"  I nodded happily. 

"Okay. Cool." He stayed in that spot for a moment, looking around the room, before turning and walking back to the door. "Goodbye, sleep tight." He shut the door on his way out. I looked around, focusing on what my room had to offer outside of it being so human, and noticed the curtains were slightly open, allowing me to see the ending of the sunset. I've seen it before when I was at the surface against my father's wishes, but now...it was different. It reminded me that I had 3 days to kiss Will, or I would go back to the ocean. Today didn't count, Aphrodite had said, since they were supposed to be 3 whole days, but still. It wasn't a lot of time. Tomorrow I was going to spend almost the whole day with him. Hopefully that helps. 

I wasn't going to force him, obviously. I wanted to kiss him, of course, even without the deal, but what if he didn't want to? I would become a merman and we would never meet each other ever again. I frowned, the gravity of the situation finally hitting me. I would never see Thalia, Percy, or Jason again if I did get the kiss. Or my father. We may not be close, but I still loved him. I miss him already. I miss them all. 

A knock on the door distracted me from my thoughts, thankfully. I couldn't get up or call out to them, so I just waited until they peaked their head in. It was Bia. Right, she was coming to drop my pajamas off, whatever those were. 

"Hello." She didn't meet my eyes, just plopped some cloth down on my bed. I lifted the top one to hold it in front of me. It was a white square with two slanted squares on the sides. "That's a shirt." I looked over at Bia, who was watching me with a sad look in her eye that I didn't get. "I've got to tell you something." She sat down next to me on on the bed, facing me. She was looking down at her lap, playing with a ring on her hand. The ring was a silver band with two arrows crossing at the middle, the same style as my skull ring, which I had gotten from my father when I was just a few months old. "I'm...I used to be a...mermaid...too." She whispered and leaned in at the word mermaid. "My mother never liked the ocean so a few years after I was born, we left. She made a deal with a sea witch, Aphrodite, and we were given a deal. If she could find her soulmate and kiss him within 7 days, we could stay human. My dad wasn't her soulmate. They used to tell everyone she was, for their reputations, but it wasn't true. Anyway, she was able to do it and we stayed on land. Ever since then, we've been working for the royal family." I looked at her in awe. 

I pointed at her and then to me. She raised an eyebrow. 'How did you know about me?' I mouthed. 

"Your dad knew my mom. You knew my mom. And you knew me too, but I don't really remember since I was so young. My mom used to tell me about you. She drew a few pictures of what she imagined you would look like when you were older. They were spot on." She reached into her pocket and showed me a piece of paper. On it was me as a 10 year old, just 6 years ago. My black and red tail was longer than it had been in real life, much to my annoyance. Even in human form, I was shorter than I should have been at my age. 

"My mom got a different job, a few years ago so she isn't here. I liked being around Hazel, my sister, though. Plus, Will's my best friend, so I couldn't leave him. 

'Was Hazel...?" I mouthed. She shook her head. 

"No, her mom was a human." She told me. Humans can be with mermaids? "She's only my half-sister." I nodded. "So, Will, huh?" She teased. I blushed. I was going to show her the name on my forearm, but then remembered it was erased temporarily by Aphrodite for the deal. 

"I've seen Will's soulmark before. It had your name." She nudged me with her shoulder and I smiled, thinking of him talking about his soulmate. "Is it the same deal? You have to kiss him within three days?" I nodded. "I'd love to help, but I know Aphrodite. Well, Mom knows Aphrodite, but she's told me enough about her to know that she wouldn't take kindly to outside help. I'm sorry. If I helped you, she would probably say you cheated and turn you back to being human." I nodded sadly to say I understood. "What I can do, however, is help you with all the human stuff. You have enough on your plate. Now, these," She held up two black rectangles connected at the top. "are pants. They go on your legs. Just step into them and each leg goes into a hole..." She continued to explain how to get dressed and walk properly without falling over. I liked her. She was nice and understanding, and the gods know I wouldn't be able to do this without her.