Oceans Call

Chapter 19: Human

The town was small. The sound of the crashing waves and the creaking of wood was all I could hear, maybe the occasional wind. All the shops were closed at that hour, there was really no point in going there. I reached out, touched the splintering wood and shivered. I hadn't touched wood in so long - there was none in Trocien. I squeezed my eyes shut and moved on.

I touched the road, the uneven black rock. Traced the yellow dashes. Felt the cool pavement and shiny metal cars parked alongside the road. I could feel Connor's eyes on me, his presence was a small comfort. I reached up and wiped the tears from my eyes before facing him.

"Why did you really bring me here, Connor?" I asked softly.

He stared at me, neither of us breaking contact.

"I... I told you. I thought it'd be fun- I..." His eyes wandered away as he trailed off.

"Connor." His eyes met mine once more. "I am your princess. You will tell me the truth."

His eyes widened slightly. "I don't know, your majesty," he added, voice dripping. "Maybe I wanted to see where you came from-" Thunder rolled in the distance, a flurry of black clouds were steadily approaching the seaside town. 

"The truth! When will you learn to trust me? Don't I deserve at least that?"

He exhaled sharply and raked a hand through his hair. When he spoke at last, his voice was quiet, free of its previous poison. "You're right. I-My parents died here. Or at least... I think they did. My mother died fighting in the war - she saved me, I told you that - but my dad died saving a human girl." He paused and I waited patiently for him to continue. "He saw her flailing in the water, drowning. Undines aren't supposed to make contact with humans, its just the law but... his instincts took over and he took pity on her. He helped her to shore and laid her in the sand, when a Shadow... A Shadow appeared and... And killed the girl... Then my father..."

"I'm sorry Connor-"

"I-I can't even remember his face..."he said frantically, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. He began pacing, wiping his face with his hands. I'd never seen him so insecure, so unsure and lost. "Don't they know they took a child's father? They took everything! I don't understand... I don't understand why- why the worst things always happen to the best people... I've spent my entire life trying so, so hard to make it worth it... To be enough. And then my mom left too... I was never enough... And now I'm not enough for you..."

I stood there dumbfounded, not sure of what to do. Finally, I pulled him to me. "Connor you-you're more than enough." He had to bend to bury his face in the crook of my neck, his tears soaking through my sweatshirt. I stroked his hair, his back. I wished there was something I could say to take away the pain, but I knew better then. Pain doesn't just go away. 

"I'm supposed to be the strong one..." He whispered. "But I'm... I'm breaking..."

We stood there, in the middle of the quiet street, for a long time. Me staring at the stars, Connor quietly crying on my shoulder. And then we made a decision, a stupid decision that seemed so right at the time. Maybe it was the stress, the burden of expectations, but we decided to go see my parents. My human parents. 

~*~*~*~

I could scarcely remember where my family lived, but once we settled on the decision, I couldn't stop. I marched up the hill, Connor close at my heels. I spotted lamplight shining through the window up ahead and dropped, my belly brushing the damp soil. Connor followed suit and we crawled ahead so that we had a clear view of the window while still being concealed by the dense bracken.