Originally Published in 2012
Hiiii!!! Thank you for still reading! I am so grateful for the success of the story so far! It's all thanks to you guys so I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Song: Can't Escape My Love by Enrique Iglesias. (I don't particularly like his music, but his song popped into my head as I wrote the chapter. / Picture: Random mermaid swimming around
Chapter 6
What was I doing? Why in the world was I still here! I needed to get out, or swim out— whatever. Back up, on the surface it must be close to midnight. Maybe no one would notice a mermaid swimming in the streets. Wait, I couldn't go back home like this! Could mermaids even breathe above water? Fine, maybe I could just swim as far away from the castle as possible and deal with my new life on my own. No! That was a horrible idea; I can't learn to be a mermaid by myself. Maybe I can try to contact Ridge; perhaps he might know something about this. Never mind, stupid thought, mermaids are supposed to be a huge secret; one that I so happen to have stumbled on to.
After a while of going around with stupid plans and pathetic contradictions, I decided that the best thing I could do was simply leave the castle and deal with everything after. Sounded like a good plan. I slowly got up from my rock/bed and headed out the so-called door. The coast was clear; I slowly swam out of my room, trying to make as less noise and the least bubbles as possible. It was amazing how I got the hang of swimming so fast—even the gorgeous looking Danicio had commented on it earlier when he'd accompanied me to my room. I could see the exit, now was the time to see how fast a mermaid can swim. But oddly enough, I hesitated. Yes I know it's stupid, my plan was to escape this place and yet I end up hesitating. What was there to hesitate for? Easy, I have nothing to go back to. Even if I could go find a way to be back on land, what was there to look forward to? My Dad's just going to abuse me more, my brother and I had a fight and this time it'll probably last forever, I had no job and no school to attend. Maybe when I had tried to kill myself, Lucifer simply rejected my admittance to hell and instead put me down here, because it might be better. Not that I believe in Satan or God; God took my mother away and the Devil made my life miserable. Maybe this place is just to make me more unhappy. I am so confused.
"What are you doing?" A voice said behind me.
I turned around and saw Prince Taiven. How could I not have heard him? He probably swam quietly–like me—so no one would bother him. But what was he doing here, close to the exit.
"I could ask you the same thing, your Majesty." I was careful not to sound too arrogant. King Taiven Senior had scarred me death earlier, I haven't let out a single swear since. Maybe he could get me to quit smoking. Oh wait, I'm underwater, he already did.
Taiven sighed. "I could not sleep." He said. "I had the intention of going out for a swim, and instead stumble upon you. Why are you up and going Miss Johansson?" Why in the world does he talk like that? It gets ridiculously annoying after only one phrase. They didn't expect me to speak like that, did they?
"I'm leaving." I announced to the prince. I saw a slight smile play on his lips. Good, at least he was happy to get rid of me.
"And where would you go Tarabelle?" He asked me. He called me Tarabelle; I hate my name so much. Next time someone asks me, I'll probably change my name to Alexandra or something cheap like that; its way better then the name I have now. "Back to the surface and reveal our existence to the human world?"
"Even if I could go back to the surface, I'd know better then to go around telling people that merpeople exist. That would either put me in some mental institution or possibly in prison." Yes fine, I snapped at the Prince. But his guards weren't here, and neither was his Daddy; I could get mad all I wanted, as long as I didn't talk too loud.
Taiven seemed taken aback; I'm full of surprises today aren't I? "You would not reveal are existence?"
"I already answered that you're Majesty." This time I might have sounded a little meaner then intended. But oddly enough, he didn't seem to mind.
Taiven sighed. "You can go back to the surface." The Prince said to me, seriously. "Around twenty feet before we breach the surface, we turn mortal." I got a tight squeeze in my stomach when he said we. Was he accepting that I was one of them? "And as long as we stay out of salted water, we stay mortal, once on land."
I looked down, and of course stared at my tail. Looking at it, it reminded me again how very real everything was around me. Now, Taiven was telling me that all I had to do was swim back up, and it'll all be gone. This was a whole new world, something every five to nine year old dreamed to live in or discover. Only I was eighteen, and this was far beyond a dream, because it was real and nothing beyond ones expectations. Still, I was once a kid, and I'm sure that the Me from back then would have been overjoyed to be have been turned into a mermaid. Was that kid still somewhere inside of me, buried deep down under the anger, the hate, the depression, and the loneliness?
After a while of starring down at my tail, I looked up at Taiven. He was being incredibly patient. "What do the markings on my tail mean?" I asked him. I know, out of all the questions going around in my head, I asks that one. But what can I say, I wanted to know. I had about nine signs on it, and I've seen some merpeople today who had none.
"Two of your markings indicate that you have been transformed into a mermaid." Taiven replied. "As for the other six, I do not know. The marking language is very old, older then you could possibly imagine, most of its language has been forgotten over the centuries and we are only left with the simple basics."
Well he wasn't much help. "What do yours mean?" I asked him. Taiven had about five signs on his tail.
Again, a smile played on Taiven's lips. Did he ever actually smile? Or was it just some fake almost smile that he always did to throw merfolk off? "Mine indicate my royal status and my place in my kingdom."
"All five of them?" I questioned without hesitation.
"Of course not Tarabelle; only three of them out of the five indicate my royalty. As for the other two, sadly I do not know." The prince answered.
"If you insist on using my name, can you at least call me Tara?" I couldn't help it; my name coming out of his mouth was driving me nuts.
"If that is your wish" Taiven said to me. "Now, I believe that the exit is right in front of us, if you wish to leave Tara." It was right there. He was literally letting me leave if I wanted too. But I didn't know if I did.
Finally after way too long, I made up my mind; I'm going to stay down here. I could leave whenever I wanted too, and right now I had no reason to. I haven't even started to learn anything, for all I know I might actually like it down here.
I swam slightly away from the exit, and looked at Taiven. "I'll stay your Majesty." I swam away from him, and started heading back to my room. "Thank you for the chat, I'll see you tomorrow." I made it sound as if we'd know each other for years, and I'm sure that rubbed him the wrong way.
"I suppose we shall." Was the last thing I heard Taiven say before I regained my room.
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-NocteLamia101
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