How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Twenty-two: Welcome to the Island

~Chapter Twenty-two: Welcome to the Island~

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

I glance at Felix, who is sitting on the other side of the office at his desk. He has been busy writing something down since I arrived half hour ago, looking for quiet company, but either he finished or has decided to take a break, as he is now very focused on me. Slumping further into the chair I claimed upon my arrival, I grimace. "No."

I kind of wish he would return to the paperwork, though, as I am only here until Nero's return. It is too quiet in my chambers without my fiancé there, and since Felix has been busy all morning, he seemed like the safest bet for company. However, I was clearly wrong, as Felix looks ready to dedicate as much time as necessary to this conversation.

Maybe I should've gone to the training gym instead.

Since leaving would likely just lead to him following me around, though, I stand up and walk over to one of Felix's bookshelves to see if there is anything that might be worth distracting myself with instead of leaving the office entirely. Unfortunately, though, most of them are just report journals that date back over one hundred years. There are a few strategy books that could be interesting, but I am tired, so picking one of those up does not sound like a good idea.

After a moment, I move over to another bookshelf and pull out a book with the fancy title of The Princess Diaries written across a pink cover. I flip through a random section of the book, expecting to find dirt on his sisters, but it appears to be about a fictional human instead. Rather than putting it back, I return to my chair to read it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Felix is still watching me, but since he is not asking questions, I refrain from calling him out on it. Eventually, though, he returns to his paperwork. The next thing I know, there is a knock on the door right before it opens, and I twitch awake, not sure at what point I fell asleep, only that it was around a third of the way through The Princess Diaries. The book itself is lying on the floor, as I must have dropped it at some point, but I quickly pick it up and set it in my lap in case someone accidentally tramples it. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glance at the sheepish-looking Mer standing in the doorway with only a towel around his waist while dripping water all over the floor.

Must be important.

"Sorry to wake you," the Mer apologizes, and I realize why he would say that when I look over at Felix, who is fast asleep in his own chair with his feet propped up on the desk and his mouth hanging open as he snores softly. After a moment of hesitation, I toss my book at Felix's face.

It hits with a satisfying thud, and the crown prince almost falls out of his chair in surprise, his arms waving as he tries not to lose his balance. This looks urgent, so while Felix probably needs the sleep as much as I do, it is best to wake him up instead of sending the unfamiliar Mer away to come back later. Clearly, Felix does not feel the same way, as he takes a moment to glare at me as soon as he realizes I was the one to throw the book.

However, as soon as he sees that we are not alone, he drops his legs from the desk and sits up straight. "You weren't supposed to be back until tonight, Corporal. Did something happen?"

"We made it to the cove all right, but about thirteen hours ago, we encountered a problem when one of the team, Private Drest, got too close to the shore and tore his tail fins on an old human trap. He had to change back to be able to swim, but that lead to the humans finding him and taking him into custody, along with Nero-shinmet, who was trying to help him at the time. Captain Aiken stayed behind to keep an eye on things while I returned here for backup."