By the Seaside ( A Mermaid Tale)

Chapter 12

Kaerius and Amatheia come out from the bedroom with a walking Nabia holding one of each parent's hands. "They are gone?" Kaerius asked.

Fergus nodded. "Yes, and I believe it was all Evalynn."

Evalynn waved her hand in a it-was-nothing gesture.

Kaerius nodded to her gratefully and looked to Amatheia. "We have decided to leave you both and return home to the sea."

The couple nodded in understanding.

"But how will you?" Evalynn asked.

Kaerius glanced at Amatheia. "We were hoping you two could help us with that matter."

Fergus looks at Evalynn, and she looks at him. They weren't sure how to help them, but maybe they did.

Fergus clasps his hands together and looks at the mermaid family he has helped so far. "Well then, I suppose we should start thinking."

They had come up with a quick but well thought over plan. They were going to go through this as quietly as possible.

Evalynn helped throw straw into the back of their carriage as Fergus hooked up the horses.Amatheia was very fascinated with the creatures, and Fergus found her stroking their noses many a time. She would blush and sing an apology.

Fergus would wave her off and would start to help Evalynn prepare for the merfolk to escape. When they were ready, Evalynn and Amatheia embraced with few tears.

 Kaerius let Evalynn hold Nabia for one last time and she hugged and kissed the growing baby's forehead. Nabia seemed to be about three now.

Fergus and the merman clasped hands. "Perhaps you could visit?" Fergus offered with a small smile.

Kaerius smiled back. "Perhaps. I would love Nabia to know who saved us."Evalynn smiled at Kaerius's comment and handed Nabia back to Amatheia.

Amatheia gave her a sweet smile and entered the back of the carriage, her mate followed.

Fergus entered the driver's seat after they had covered the merfolk family in straw, hiding them from any unwanted attention. He struck the reins and waved to Evalynn as she entered their home.Fergus leaded the horses towards the bay area and watched for any fishermen that tried to follow him.

When he got there, he stopped the carriage a quarter mile from where he had found Amatheia. He made sure there was enough forestry to sneak the family through. They would be vulnerable while at the beach so they would have to be quick.

Fergus helped Amatheia step out with a quiet Nabia in her arms.

Kaerius followed and sang softly to Amatheia in their language, telling her to keep quiet. Amatheia repeated it to Nabia and the child pressed her finger against her smiling mouth. Amatheia smiles at her and kisses her forehead.

Fergus guided them through the minimum trees and brought them to the shore. He signalled them ahead and they jogged silently to the bay area until they found a large rock to hide behind. It the was the same rock Fergus had found Amatheia, his heart gave a pull at the memory of it.

Earlier, Kaerius had explained that it took over an hour for their tails to fully form. He slipped into the water after Amatheia and glanced at Fergus, he was supposed to guard them until their tails grew.

Fergus took in the area and listened for any footsteps or strange noises coming from the trails. He watched in fascination as Kaerius's toes slowly became webbed. Kaerius gripped his mate in his arms as she bit into her fist. Kaerius seemed to be in pain also from how red his face was and the gleam of sweat on his forehead.Nabia wasn't doing too well either. She pouted and hugged her mother for comfort, but stayed as silent as possible like she was told.

Fergus couldn't fathom dealing with that type of pain. He remembered when he worked on his father's farm and the log of a tree had fell on his shin, splitting the bone in half. He knew that kind of pain, but he could help but wonder what the merfolk were going through.

After about a half an hour of the transformation, Nabia let out a loud wail as her legs stuck together and started morphing into a tail. Scales had already sprung from the legs of the merfolk.

Amatheia shushed her and kissed her daughter's forehead. Tears were leaking from her eyes and down her cheeks.

A loud crack sounded from a distance.