"Are you sure?" said Llyr as we kissed under the stars.
I nodded, "definitely."
I now truly felt like I could trust him, and after a day like ours I didn't want to wait a minute longer.
He kissed my neck and tugged at one of the strings on my bikini. I lay back and sighed, an amazing feeling washing over me.
Suddenly a man's voice filled the air. At first I was confused and wondered if I was hearing things, I sat up slowly and then I screamed. A dozen big men stood in the waves.
Llyr put his arms around me.
"It's okay," he said. "It's Ri."
I felt my cheeks redden. Omg, his father? How long have they been standing there whilst we've been making out? This is so cringe and embarrasing!
Fortunately they seemed preoccupied with other affairs. Ri, who stood at the forefront, shouted to Llyr in their language and Llyr answered him in what I could only assume was the same tongue.
Now that Ri had transformed to man and stood out of the water, I could see that his dark, wet hair was as long as his waist, and he wore big metal bands around his wrists and neck. He was terrifyingly tall, and most certainly not somebody you would want to rub up the wrong way.
While they spoke, I peered at the rest of the congregation. To Ri's right was Spirit. His blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail tonight,and he was watching me intensely, arms crossed in front of his chest.
The rest of the men were just like Ri, Spirit,and Llyr; muscular and inked-up. I squinted in the moonlight and could see that some of them had small, light-coloured dots painted on their skin. They wore cloths round their waists, which looked as though they were made of nets but it was hard to see such details in the dark.
Llyr and Ri continued to exchange words but I did not have a clue what they were saying. I wondered why they were here.
Llyr turned to me. "Crystal, there is another boat leaving the harbour full of poison."
"Oh, Shhh...oot," I said, narrowly avoiding a swear word. Great, this'll make life at home all the better.
"Yes, but they need me to go with them and stop it," he said softly. "I'm so sorry."
I looked at him and nodded. "Its okay, but how will I get home?"
"Bright will take you," said Llyr, nodding towards one of the smaller tribesmen who stood on the edges of the gathering. "I will introduce you. He will get you home safely, I promise."
"Okay," I said, reaching for my dress. I looked at the mermen and then back at Llyr. "They're staring," I whispered.
Llyr turned. "Spare us a moment?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.
Ri nodded silently, and they turned their backs on us so that they faced the sea.
Llyr helped me to my feet, and I buttoned up my dress. He picked up my sunglasses and scarf and handed them to me.
"I wish so much that I didn't have to go," he said kissing me on the cheek.
I hugged him. "Me too, but it's okay. I understand."
"I will come to you tomorrow, sundown," he said looking down at me. "But I won't be able to stay very long; I have to go on a journey."
I looked down disappointed but forced myself to nod and smile. He took my hand, and we walked down to the sea. The mermen turned back to face us again, and I felt around twelve sets of eyes fix themselves curiously to my face.
"Hi," I said awkwardly.
"May the spirit of the night reach out and bless you under its moon and stars, Miss White," said Ri with a friendly but boundaried smile.
"Oh... yes lovely, thank you," I replied, feeling kind of foolish.
"This is Bright," said Llyr. Bright had short, scruffy hair and was of a more slender build than the other men. He smiled with a genuine warmth and I relaxed a little.
Llyr squeezed my hand before joining the other men behind Ri.
"We need to take Llyr," said Ri. "I'm sorry for that."
"Sure... no worries," I said, with a small smile.
Spirit threw back his head and laughed. "No worries," he mimicked in a high-pitched voice.
I was suddenly overcome by rage and I felt a dizzy sensation. Is he really taking the piss out of my voice now? What a loser.
"Um.. So, Spirit?" I heard myself say, voice somehow cool and collected.
Spirit face convulsed as I called him, and his lip curled. "So, whatever-your-name-is?"
Oh, this man-child!
"I was just wondering where your spear was this evening?" I asked, casually.
He sniggered, lip jutting out so far now it looked as though it may drop off his face. "Why? Do you need a toy to play with on your journey home?"
"No," I replied unable to control myself. "I was just worried it had gotten lodged up your backside."
There was a couple of seconds of shocked silence and the world spun. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. They are going to murder me.
Suddenly the steely expressions the men wore on their faces cracked. They howled with laughter, and some even doubled over into the waves.
One of the men next to Spirit slapped him on the back. "That told you, didn't it?" he hooted.
I raised an eyebrow at Spirit, who momentarily looked uneasy. He forced a sarcastic smile. "Not really," he muttered, turning away from the men and storming into the sea.
The other men laughed harder and jeered, before walking out behind him. They began to dive into the waves, disappearing one by one.
I caught a glimpse of Ri as he turned and was relieved to see that he too appeared to be shaking with laughter. Hm, it seems I may have earned a little respect around here - thanks to Spirit.
I looked at Llyr and he grinned and winked at me before striding into the waves after Ri. I watched him stretch his arms above his head and vanish once again away from me and beneath the surface. The sea was still again and Bright and I were now left alone on a silent deserted beach.
"Right then," he said walking up to the rowing boat. "We'd better get moving."
His arms trembled a little as he picked up the boat and he then staggered bow-legged to the sea with it. Now, I could see why they weren't so reluctant to leave him behind. Although his strength was impressive, he didn't carry it with quite as much ease as Llyr.
I waded through the sea, still warmed from the sun, and towards the vessel. When I was knee deep, Bright took my hands and I suddenly felt my feet leave the waters as he swung me around in a circle, then up and over into the boat. It was not the smoothest of landings but he held onto one hand from below whilst I gripped the edge of the boat with the other, until I eventually stabilised. I exhaled wearily and shook my head, before taking a seat on the wooden bench.
It wasn't long before Bright hopped in and we departed into open ocean.
I felt sad to have Llyr taken from me like that, especially given the timing. And I was also worried about what the mers would accomplish tonight, and how much this would rock Mum and Dad's marriage.
"You look worried, Miss White," said Bright as we bobbed along.
"I am," I said, looking out to sea distractedly, my mind racing.
"He will come to you the first second he gets," said Bright. "Let me not lie to you about that."
I smiled, grateful for his words. "Thank you," I said, as we glided over the smooth waters.
I couldn't help but notice that the pressure had changed. Instead of that crisp fresh air, it felt now as though a tension hung in the atmosphere. We rowed for another half hour or so, when I saw a flicker across the ocean to the far west.
I jumped. Please no, it couldn't be.
The confirmatory rumble of thunder sounded in the distance some twenty seconds later.
"Oh, my God!" I cried. We were out in the middle of the ocean, in a rowing boat! Bright seems really lovely and everything but he no way has the reassuring, powerful presence of Llyr.
Nevertheless, Bright rowed on cool as a cucumber.
"Don't worry yourself, Miss White. That storm will stay in the west, I guarantee it," he said with utmost confidence.
Oh, he's just trying to make me feel better. How can he be so sure? I watched on rigidly, and, true to Brights word, the storm did appear to remain rather stationary. It was bizarre, I had always known a storm to travel.
"Look behind you!" said Bright.
I turned and saw the twinkling lights of Starfish, and breathed a huge sigh of relief, the tension slowly releasing itself from my body.
"Thank goodness!" I laughed, giddy from relief.
Bright laughed too. "Thank you, goodness!" he said cheerily. "What did I tell you, eh? You didn't trust me but not to worry."
"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. "Its just I'm terrified of storms, it's like my worst fear, asides from sharks."
"Poor sharks, no one cares for them much," sighed Bright.
"Well, they don't seem very... approachable," I said, trying to find a diplomatic term. Maybe Bright likes them. I mean, you just don't know who's friends with who - or what - round here.
Bright laughed. "Of course. They're probably the greatest threat to the mer."
"Really?" I smile, relieved not to have caused offense. "But you can sense them a mile off, right?"
"Yes, we can. And also, even if one comes near us, we can usually put up a pretty good fight. There have been a few...accidents here and there, but generally they know not to bother us. It's kind of like there's a mutual respect."
"Oh, thank goodness," I smiled.
"Not always, though. You should have seen Llyr once," continued Bright. "He punched one in the face. It came charging into our kingdom one day - it was a great white, as well. I think it was a bit of a lunatic, that shark."
My stomach did a somersault as I imagined such a scenario. "I see."
"It recoiled at first but then it decided to advance again, and so he kind of hugged its mouth shut and then Spirit came at it with his spear," said Bright, before cracking up. "He must have pulled it out of his behind, you know."
I laughed too, as I remembered my earlier comment. "Oh God."
"Yeah, don't mind Spirit too much," said Bright. "He can be stupid sometimes, he'll start picking fights for no reason. But really, he's a nice guy."
"Nice?" I squeaked.
"Yeah, honestly. He's got a soft side, most of our mers will tell you that. It's just that you just have to dig deep."
"Hmm, you must need a serious rig for that," I muttered, quite sure Bright would not understand what I meant.
Bright grinned, "I don't blame you for thinking that way. You did the right thing tonight. He was so rude, honesty, to speak to a young lady like that..." Bright sighed and shook his head with disapproval. "I'd have told him, if you hadn't." He laughed again suddenly, as though he was remembering the whole situation, "Even Ri was laughing, that's rare, you know?"
I grinned, pleased with this news. "I thought you were all going to kill me," I admitted.
"No, we will always protect you," said Bright. "We all know how much you mean to him."
I smiled and nodded with gratitude, although somehow I knew Llyr's affections for me would not be enough to change Ri's mind.