How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Original Chapter Twenty-Three: Debrief and De-stress

~Chapter Twenty-Three: Debrief and De-stress~

It takes us nearly a full day to return to the castle. It is not that we are moving slower, but that we make a lot of stops along the way. Apparently, the cities I saw on the way to Taiji are part of the Pacific Kingdom and Nero knows people in them that he wanted to visit. Though, the first stop we made was actually to get Drest's tail patched up. That was our longest stop, as it took over an hour for the healer to release Drest, and to check over everyone else in the group as a precaution.

The healer was not happy when I refused to be looked over, but she let it go after my numerous refusals, albeit begrudgingly. While we had argued, Nero watched me like a hawk, undoubtedly seeing more than I would like him to. Still, he did not insist that I let her look me over, which is good, considering how bad the burns were started to look at the time. The hot metal really took its toll on my hands and wrists, but it will eventually heal on its own if left untreated. I intend to tell Nero once we return to the castle, but I do not want to delay us any further to get these attended to.

Sadly, the burns kept me from holding Nero's hand after our first stop, which is around the time they started to blister. It is a good thing that hand holding is not necessary when using rip currents, or my subtle way of avoiding his outstretched hand might have been more obvious. However, when we finally exit the rip currents for the last time, right at the edge of the dome, my choices are rather limited. I can either accept the hand that he is holding out to me or pretend like everything is normal while slowly swimming back to the castle without assistance, which would not only prolong my torture, but also seem terribly suspicious.

Nero starts to eye me warily when I hesitate. After a moment of indecision, I reach for his hand. Just as my fingers touch his, he quickly pulls away, eyes wide. For a second, I worry that he caught sight of my hands and was disgusted by the burnt skin, but then I am hit in the side roughly and instantly know his real reason for drawing back – he did not want to get hit by the massive, over-excited shark, which is the ocean's version of a metal tank.

My stomach drops when Fin's teeth close over my leg, but when his teeth do not break skin, I groan, because I bet I know where this is going. As I thought, he starts to swim around with my leg gently but firmly held between his teeth, resulting in me being pulled along like some kind of toy. "Traitor," I growl to my laughing fiancé as Fin swims past him.

Despite still having my doubts about the shark's intentions, I let Fin swim me back to the castle in his mouth, ignoring the quiet mirth from the Mer we pass. The children are the only ones who openly express their amusement, pointing and laughing as if it is the funniest thing they have seen all day. Apparently, they all seem fine with a giant, carnivorous shark carrying around their prince's fiancé in its sharp, pointy teeth.

Just as it seems like Fin is about to drop me off at one of the entrances, he changes course and swims in a large circuit around the castle. "Great Hanruhm's beard, are you going to let me go?" I demand as we pass by yet another entrance, despite knowing that the shark cannot actually understand. If only there was a language that sharks actually did understand...

As we pass by one of the larger windows, I discover what the inside of Laelia's room looks like. She looks up as our large shadow passes by her window and her eyes widen as she rushes to the window. She looks worried at first, considering how wide her eyes grew, but once she realizes that I am not in any danger, she begins to giggle. Using a gesture I have seen used often in this realm's TV shows and movies, I flip her off before she disappears from sight.

Luckily, we do not pass the twins on our circuit around the castle, as there would be no end to the teasing and jokes. However, I have no doubt that they will hear about it before...whatever meal is next to be had. I have yet to see a clock in this time zone, so it could be morning or afternoon.