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                T H E   P R O D I G Y ' S   S O N
                   Volume One: The Coming Home
                    by Dasha Ariel DeMeredith
                 August 5, 1997 - August 8, 1997
             A sequel to Disney's The Little Mermaid
 (...and a parable about me and my best friend's relationship.)
     All points of Disney's movie are used without permission,
and are not intended for commercial gain -- only fandom. Credit
for all writing, save that of the writers of The Little Mermaid,
are solely of the mind of the above author.

                         *      *      *

     "Jonathan -- I thought I'd find you here."
     The little boy looked up to see his mother watching him skip
rocks along the sea shore with a sense of partial detachment and
distraction. Jonathan turned, looked at his mother, and settled
himself down on the dry sand upon the shore. With a strangely
understanding smile, she sat down upon the strand beside him,
looking out across the sea into the burning of the sunset.
     "I was just... thinkin'." Jonathan said, and drew designs in
the sand.
     Mother settled her hands in her lap, and continued to watch
the sunset. "Do you like the ocean?"
     Jonathan smiled slightly. "I want to be a sailor."
     "Why is that?"
     Jonathan stopped, and looked at her. Although wrinkled, her
face was far from elderly in appearance -- time had been kind to
her, even if Jonathan had not. "Ever since father was killed...
I've felt... kinda lost..."
     She nodded, encouraging him to continue. Strands of grey
were lit by the fading day, and glowed slightly red in from the
light of the setting sun, to compliment her already red hair.
     "I like being in the water too -- a sailor doesn't get to do
that much. That's why I like diving for seashells."
     Jonathan laughed slightly -- he had a large collection of
sparkling shells and opalescent pearls he'd collected, and stores
in his room like the inside of a treasure chest.
     "I once collected thing as you do. My collection meant
everything to me, until the day it was destroyed. I'd go there
every day to be alone, and to think...  and to dream."
     Jonathan sighed. "What did you dream of?"
     Mother looked down at her hands and seemed to want to avoid
the question. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. You're
not the only one who goes for a swim early in the morning, you
know." 
     Jonathan blinked. He _had_ known that, on occasion, mother
would leave early in the morning, and return when it was time for
Jonathan to awaken. Whenever he had confronted her about it, he
had been told such things as neighborly visits and market
shopping.
     "Jonathan..." his mother continued. "Your family may no
longer be royal, but that doesn't mean that there aren't
wonderful things you can't enjoy."
     What was mother talking about now? Jonathan's expression was
confused. His mother stood, and offered her hand. "Come, I'll
show you."
     Jonathan sighed, and stomped out his artwork in the sand. He
stood, and turned to his mother. She turned, and with her rather
wide pace, she worked her way back up the bluff, up onto the
cleft upon which their house was built, overlooking the sea.
There she stopped, and faced the sunset once more.
     "Mother?" Jonathan inquired.
     "You're sixteen now. It's time you met my side of the
family."
     Jonathan felt some sense of relief at this. So that was what
this was about. Mother had said something about her family being
sailors. Despite which, she always insisted that Jonathan's
longing to go to sea was via his father's blood. That was what
she had told him, in any case -- that and no more.
     She turned her head to face him. "Do you trust me?"
     Jonathan nodded. "Yes, mother."
     The aging peasant woman who was his mother, took her boy in
her arms for several long moments, patted him on the shoulder
once, and sighed. "You'll do fine, then."
     "When do we leave?"
     "Soon, but only you must go."
     "Why?"
     "Because this is something you must do."
     "But... what about the McCreadies."
     "I'll talk to them -- don't worry about it."
     Jonathan nodded -- she was in earnest. "What do I do?"
     She turned once more to the sunset. "Jump."
     Jonathan thought he saw, for a flash of a moment, a light
out upon the sea. Suddenly, Jonathan felt his mother's hands
thrusting him over the cliffside, and down into the spray of the
ocean deep below the bluff.

     Dazed, to say the least -- Jonathan felt the warmth
returning to his skin -- the sun was coming out. Jonathan blinked
-- he could not see clearly. The sun was directly overhead -- how
could that be? Slowly, Jonathan stopped to take in his
surroundings.
     Still unable to see clearly, he could hear a distant rolling
-- the waves breaking against the shore... only strangely
muffled. He must have lost his shirt somewhere along the way --
he rubbed his bare arms, taking in the rising warmth of the sun.
     Then Jonathan realized it -- he could not feel his feet. Was
he hurt? Keep calm, don't panic -- that'll only make things
worse, he told himself. Start with moving, then worry about
damage control. He tried to move his legs, and was relieved to
feel they moved. He rubbed his face with his hands, and spent
several minute concentrating on the sun overhead.
     Strange, he thought -- I've never seen the sun sparkle like
that. Suddenly, Jonathan had a cold realization. He held his hand
before his eyes -- sure enough, he could see it very clearly. He
could see just fine? Once more, Jonathan squinted at the sun
overhead.
     Perhaps I'm just seeing things. It should be night by now,
unless I've slept all night and half the day. By why would I...
     Jonathan's blood froze -- he remembered the fall from the
bluff overlooking the sea. His feet -- were they...?
     Jonathan looked down.
     His feet weren't there. From a line about his waist, his
skin stopped. There was a frill of lacy flesh about his waist,
and was then followed by a pattern of white jungle tiger-like
stripes all down the length of a fish's tail, switching on and
off -- black and white. He had a tail! Where were his legs?
     Jonathan blinked, no that wasn't right. He touched the
fish's tail, and felt the sensation of his hand running along the
small, delicate scales. He moved what had been the muscles in his
legs once, and the tail twitched downwards.
     No, not a fish's tail -- a fish's tail is parallel to it's
oblong head -- this tail was parallel to the oblong part of the
chest -- quite the wrong direction for a fish, more like a
dolphin.
     Then it dawned on him.
     What had mother called them? When he was little, she had
read to him the tales of the strange ladies of the sea who saved
dreamy young heartsick sailors -- the mermaids.
     Jonathan touched the soft partition where scale and flesh
met, and meshed together, blending where the frill emerged. So
that was why mother had thrown him into the sea -- to become a
mermaid... er... man?
     But why?
     Since no answer immediately presented itself, Jonathan
resigned himself to gaining mobility once again. The surface was
no more than a hundred feet above him. He wondered for a moment
how he breathed -- and took a deep breath. The water felt the
same in his lungs as air had -- how very strange. Pushing off the
bottom, Jonathan rose a few feet in the water -- and drifted
slowly back down.
     Air.
     It made things float, and if he didn't need it anymore, he
wouldn't float. So, Jonathan followed the first instincts his
father had taught him once, swimming in the pond near their old
castle home -- he kicked what used to be his feet together.
     His tail swung once, and then back. He felt the air -- or
rather the water rush past him. Jonathan was elated -- that was
incredible! He pushed again and again, and found himself moving
faster and faster than he had ever dreamed possible in the water
-- until he broke the above surface.
     The was definitely different from the water. He breathed in
the air -- it was certainly not the same. He leaned under the
water, and breathed in the water -- he felt the water enter his
lungs, and the air rush out. He felt no inclination to choke on
the water, however -- he breathed normally.
     Well, why not? Jonathan reasoned. A child breathes within
it's mother's womb for eight to nine months before it first
breathes of the air. Whatever the juices are the sustain a child
in the womb, give it breath. After all -- the sea gives breath to
so many other creatures, does it not?
     Jonathan sighed, and wrung the water from his mousey red
hair. There were bluffs not far away -- rocky ones very different
from his home. He must be leagues and leagues down the currents
from his home shore! If he couldn't walk -- he'd have to swim.
     Jonathan dived once more. The salt didn't bother his eyes,
he realized -- how nice it would be to go to sea now. He could
dive for all the sea shells he wished! He could stay down under
the water forever! Elated, Jonathan swam down along the seafloor,
searching about the rocks and sand, as he kicked with his new
tail with all his might to see how fast he could go.
     "Ahem." a new voice said.
     Jonathan paused in the water, gliding upward a meter or so,
coming to a stop. Several meters away, hanging in the water,
another figure floated.
     Another merman, Jonathan realized. This one had opalescent
turquoise scales. He held a staff -- and looked at Jonathan
inquisitively.
     "Who are you?" Jonathan found himself saying aloud. It
seemed strange, but the sound of his voice carried well in the
water.
     "I am with the border guard. Are you not from around here?"
     "No... I come from many leagues away."
     "To where are you traveling?"
     Jonathan chose his words with caution. "I was traveling to
visit family, but I appear to have gotten lost."
     "I'd be wary, friend. This close to the shore and the
surface, you risk danger of detection by the land-dwellers.
     "I was just attempting to get my bearings in this unfamiliar
place."
     The other merman smiled. "Then let me be the first to
welcome you. These are the waters of the Queen."
     "Which Queen?"
     "What other queen is there but the Sea Queen Arista?" the
other said, turning to swim away from him. "Follow me."
     Warily, Jonathan said nothing, but moved to follow. He'd
been swimming all his life -- but he still felt new at *this*.
     "What is your name, friend?" the other inquired.
     "I'm afraid my name would been to foreign to pronounce. What
would you rather call me?"
     "I'll call you after my son Marlan -- he died around the
time you were born."
     Jonathan blinked. "I'm sorry."
     "It is a compliment, Marlan."
     Jonathan smiled. "Very well, you may call me Marlan."

     After many leagues, "Marlan" (as he was now called) had
learned not to swim in bursts, but in a long steady flow, which
he found gave him great endurance.
     "How did your son die?" Marlan inquired.
     "He wanted to go to the surface, and when we weren't
watching he went -- and got caught in a fisherman's net." He said 
with obvious emotion.
     Marlan sighed, a deep sound.
     It was not very much longer after this that Marlan and his
compatriot came across a large mound of coral where three fair
sized seahorses were waiting. There was some small discussion
among them and Marlan's new companion, before all at once, they
turned and began heading off in a new direction. Marlan's
companion motioned for Marlan to follow.
     "Jonathan?"
     Marlan paused -- and turned around. A woman was floating
just too one side of him where no one had been a moment before.
Marlan's companion bowed once to her, and continued after the
seahorses.
     A mermaid, Marlan concluded. She was a red tailed mermaid
who wore a cloth bodice that seemed to be little more than two
circles sewn together. She wore a band upon her head of gold. The
Queen?
     "Arista, I presume?" Marlan inquired, bowing like Marlan's
escort had a few moments ago by curving the tail out in front of
him slightly, allowing him to slide down in the water and
forward, gracefully.
     "You catch on quickly, Jonathan."
     "I always was a quick learner, your... majesty?"
     Arista giggled a little to herself at his awkward attempts
of reverement. "I am your aunt, so feel no need to revere me."
     "My... Aunt?" Marlan paused. Arista could almost see the
wheels in his head spinning. "Which would make you my mother's
sister?"
     Arista laughed. "Your mother has kept you in the dark for
far too long, and you are far too bright to stay  in the dark any
longer. Yes -- your mother was the youngest of my seven sisters.
I am the eldest."
     Marlan nodded. "Arista... do all your sister's name start
with an 'a'?"
     Arista smiled. "Father had a large heart, but little
imagination."
     "I see. Then my mother was... a mermaid at one time?"
     "Come with me, Jonathan. I will tell you all on the way."
Arista motioned for him to follow.

     "They are lovely, aren't they?" Arista inquired.
     Marlan watched the dolphins flocking about, playing in the
water above with fascination. "They are..."
     "Your mother loved to spend time on the surface."
     "I can see why -- it looks wonderful on this side."
     Patterns and kaleidoscopes of color rippled out from where
the dolphins were playing, forming bands of light and rainbows of
sunlight from the afternoon sun. Marlan remembered something the
guard from the bluff had said. "Is the surface forbidden?"
     "It is -- contact between worlds is forbidden."
     "I take it, then, my grandfather on this side of the family
was also a king?"
     "He was. It was considered a very poetic union to marry
between both worlds."
     "So she was an outcast, then? Traveling to the surface and
everything?"
     "No, but she was a bitter disappointment to her father. They
did not get along until it was all over."
     "I can understand that. What happened?"
     "She rebelled, and sided with one of the darkest characters
of the ocean to get what she wanted. There was a ku, but because
of your mother and father's bravery, they saved not only the
kingdom, but your mother's dreams." Arista sighed.
     "Where were you during all this?"
     "At a floral party." Arista hung her head. "I'd known she
was acting pretty dreamy lately, but I didn't know she was at the
point of open rebellion. If only I'd known..."
     "If you'd known, I wouldn't be here."
     Arista didn't say anything -- that did not seem to change
her opinion. "You've been asked here for a reason."
     "More like thrust here."
     "Would you have come otherwise?"
     "If I'd known."
     "You don't act very surprised at all I've told you, Marlan."
Arista observed, turning to face him.
     Marlan considered this. "Mayhap that is because I've always
known mother was very... human. She had her secret ways. If I had
a secret like hers, I'd be very cautious as well. Even I've heard
stories from a prince's wedding gone berserk when the bride
turned into a monster, and the prince had been under a spell. The
story turned into another hero-destroys-monster myth."
     "There was a large raft of witnesses to the event -- mer and
man alike."
     Marlan turned to Arista. "Why was I brought here?"
     "Your mother saw how much you loved the sea, and wanted you
to know that your do have this option for your life."
     "I'll be staying, then?"
     "Only for a season. Until you feel yourself comfortable to
make a long lasting decision in your life."
     "Man and Mer." Marlan tasted the words on his tongue. "The
latins used the word mere for sea." He looked up at the dolphins
playing on the surface, and then back to Arista. Her tail was
cocked to one side, something that seemed an almost...
inquisitive pose.
     "I'm going to be a real misfit."
     "You're already catching on quickly." Arista reassured him.
     "I traveled to Paris once... I couldn't speak the language,
and I stuck out like a sore thumb."
     "Sore thumb?" Arista asked, puzzled, glancing at her left
thumb, as if it would provide some explanation. 
     "Nevermind."
     Arista shrugged. "Unlike Paris, the culture shock here is
not nearly as bad."
     "Pardon my doubts."
     "Trust me. We're really not all that different." Arista
smiled, offering a hand to him.
     Marlan took her hand, and she led him off through the
steadily cooling water.

     The palace was simply palatial, Marlan decided. There was
nothing he had really ever seen which compared to the magnificent
open-air... well, water -- structure as the main palace of the
kings and queens of all the oceans, built far beneath the sea,
under a mountain, in a cave that his entire countryside could fit
within.
     In awe, Arista found her nephew had reverted to his boyhood,
learning anew their way of life. Of course, there came a point at
which she could really teach him nothing, and he needed to learn
it himself -- like which undersea delicacies were his favorite,
and his own health and grooming.
     Of course, clothing was really not an issue in a land where
there was no (or at least very little) cloth. Apparently they
could make something similar from a cotton-like plant from under
the ocean, but in many cases these things did not last for long
under water. So, clothing was considered an aphrodisiac in this
land where the sun's rays were not nearly as deadly, and light
came, for the most part, from phosphorus lamps and other chemical
lights.
     Their understanding of chemistry astounded Marlan -- their
sciences were far beyond those of the land dwellers, simply
because their needs were different, and had taken study in
different directions.
     Then there was magic. That must have been what it was -- a
power unleashed by the mind to make changes in things. Most of it
was in the possession of the king, but there were small household
incantations in use frequently -- a book of potions was a
standard in every household (or cave, rather).
     Because of the sheer size of the oceans of the world, they
was room in plenty for families, and children often found their
own caves to play in, and would move into years later.
     Indeed, Marlan *felt* like a child again. Who could deny the
wonders of another land, another culture so close, and yet so
different from his own?
     Settling in for the night, Arista left him in a chamber
filled with soft grasses -- a sleeping chamber. The people of Mer
did not sleep on beds, as it were, but on beds of soft undersea
grasses. Marlan settled down into the grasses, and smelled a
gentle aroma coming from them. This was nice...
     ...and before long, he was asleep.

     The following morning was breakfast, Marlan was met by a
school of young mer boys and girls, all flocking about in the
water, and feasting a breakfast of seafruit and milk-made
concoctions.
     "The children of the merfolk who serve in the palace school
here, and eat breakfast together." Came Arista's voice. She was
being followed by an assortment of other mermen and women. "This
is my husband, Banaeter."
     "How do you do, Prince Marlan?" Banaeter inquired.
     "You are not King?"
     "Only the direct line of King Poseidos." Arista explained.
"Over here are my sisters Aquata, Adrena, Atina, Adella, and
Alana, and their mates. Our children are among those who are
here."
     Marlan nodded. "So, in your absence, one of sisters reigns?"
     "Yes, in age order: Alana, Adrena, Adella, Aquata, and
Adella."
     "If the need arose, the crown would then have normally
reverted to your mother, but now it would go to Arista's
children."
     Marlan nodded at the order of succession. "Is that why you
call me a Prince, Banaeter?"
     He nodded. "The very last, being the only child of the
youngest of the crown sisters, but of Poseidos's blood, none the
less."
     Gravely, Marlan nodded. "So if I remain here, I would be
included as your family?"
     "Of course!" Atina put in, a rather stately and elderly
merwoman. "Your mother was never hated! You would be welcome if
you chose to live out your life here."
     "Ariel's son lives up to his mother's name..." Arista told
her sisters and their companions. "Never once has he complained
in our having him brought here, but has done nothing observe,
learn, and reason upon our ways. There is little doubt in my mind
of his heritage." Arista smiled.
     Marlan couldn't help but smile a little at that. Following
Arista, each other sisters came up, and kissed him once on each
cheek. A little surprised, she welcomed them the best way he knew
how -- by a shake of hands.

     "Once again, this is rumor control." Arista's voice
announced. There was a stir among the assembly, and a few
murmuring voices. "We have one new name to add to the end of the
list of succession, that of the young Prince Marlan, son of Ariel
and Eric."
     The murmur grew.
     "As you have probably already guessed, he may or may not
choose to stay, but will be with us for a matter of a season."
     "What about the Icarae?" A voice in among the crowd asked.
The audience assembled in the throne room was divided into seven
different section -- one for each ocean, Marlan reasoned. There
were representatives and emissaries of every species of ocean-
going creature Marlan could ever have imagined. He had never
known just how many different types of dolphins there were, or
even if some of those things really were dolphins...
     Banaeter then rose up from the floor, twitched his tail
once, and addresses the assembly. "A team of warriors is already
being assembled to deal with the problem. We are accepting
volunteers."
     More murmurs.
     "Icarae?" Marlan whispered into Alana's ear.
     "Man and Mer devouring monsters. Every species on earth has
it's predators to worry about."
     "Sharks?"
     "They are one predator, but we have ways of keeping sharks
at bay. There are even giant squid who would eat a merman whole.
No, the Icarae no one has ever lived to tell about, and they wipe
out whole communities. No one knows what they are. Some have even
guessed renegade worm-people."
     "There are other human folk than the mer?"
     "There are humans with more different kinds of tails and
tentacles as the oceans themselves. Most of them are mer -- but
some simply are not interested in our peaceful way of life."
     Marlan nodded. "I'd like to see them."
     "Why?" Adella asked.
     "I've seen art, poetry, music, beauty, and life of the mer -
- but I have not seen your problems. Where I wish to live will
have more to do with your trials, than with your riches. The
humans have art and poetry as well -- but they are constantly
overcoming their trials."
     "Nature always finds a way." Atina put in.
     "Wise words." Adella affirmed.
     "You will also learn a lot of history in seeing the Icarae."
Atina observed.
     Marlan nodded. "True. Is it agreed, then?"

     "Actually, we don't buy those rumors about worm-people. I've
met a few half-human glowworms myself, and as obnoxious as they
are, they wouldn't be slaughtering families in caves." reported a
rather stern and scarred old dolphin who was some kind of legion
general of the mer. "I've seen white whales devour entire and
entire merman in one gulp, but I've never seen something that
leaves black marks on it's victims, but leaves the meat to rot."
     Marlan raised an eyebrow. "How does a mer fight a white
whale?"
     "With magic, mostly."
     "Have you tried any kinds of tools?"
     "What tool could possibly be strong enough to hurt a beast
of that size?"
     "Something straight and sharp, made of steel or iron."
     "You think too much like a human. Such a tool is too weighty
and large to be used in the water. However -- we do have one
weapon."
     The general then proceeded to demonstrate a technique that
had been developed for catching sharks -- leading them into a
cave with only one entrance, and then shutting off the cave
entrance after the bait (the mer) had escaped, but before the
shark could get out.
     Marlan considered this. "What do you do once it's trapped?"
     "Leave it."
     Marlan looked at the general for a long moment. "Why?"
     "It will not die by our hands, but of it's own starvation.
We are not lovers of death, as are the humans."
     Marlan defended his people. "They are not lovers of death --
fearers, rather."
     "Could have fooled my eyes. You should know the hero for
which you are named."
     "A victim of the humans? As Alana pointed out -- every
species has predators. They are simply another predator which
feeds on the fishes of the sea."
     "And the dolphins?"
     "Accidental deaths. Some are simply careless -- and every
species has it's rotten eggs."
     "Humans must more than any other species."
     "That may be so." Marlan sighed. "What if you put a small
cyanide capsule in the cave before the shark is caught in it?
Time it to only release after a day or two -- the shark is only
in pain for a few hours before it is quietly dealt with."
     The general flicked a fin sideways for a moment -- thinking.
"Perhaps..."
     "Cave mouths could be protected with steel fortifications
which a mer can open, but a shark cannot."
     The general was thinking now. "Sharks are none too bright.
Could you build such a thing?"
     Marlan nodded. "I've worked with the locksmith's apprentice
from time to time. I like to think I'm a Jack of all trades."
     "Jack of...?"
     "Nevermind it -- you get my meaning."
     The general nodded.

     Arista was resplendent in her pink gauzy kelp-woven gown,
bearing a sharp golden trident -- the mer symbol of rule,
apparently.she seemed happy to be the one who introduced me to
all her associates at one of the Mer's favorite social events --
the celebration of the summer solstice. One question had been
gnawing at my mind for a while, and this was the best time to ask
it.
     "Do you have some kind of ulterior motive to all this? Are
you trying to convince me to stay here among the Mer?"
     "Oh no Marlan! We are proud of our way of life, and we have
a great deal of respect for Ariel. Forgive me if I tend to treat
you as a very honored guest, instead of a nephew."
     "How many Mer are there in the world?"
     "Less than 50,000."
     "Whereas the humans number over a million."
     "Humans spread like salmon eggs. A Mer may have as many as
three healthy children in her lifetime, each of which should live
to nearly fifty summers."
     "That is impressive. I wonder why they are so different?"
     "A Mer may live to fifty -- if not killed before they can
reach it."
     "Come again?"
     "Predators. The land if not as nearly populated by man-
devouring creatures as the sea. Beneath the surface, everything
is alive -- we believe life itself first sprang from the sea.
That also means that everything eats -- from the smallest flower
to the largest of sea monsters."
     "The Icarae?"
     "The Icarae are only the latest of our worries. The
Sacarynth monsters are still out there in some regions, there are
great killer whales, and giant squid and sharks which will
swallow a Mer whole. There are some varieties of earthen sea
dwellers which frequent will carry off a Mer child to eat. The
Mer also have enemies -- like the White Orcas, the Octopi, and
the sharks..."
     Marlan listened gravely. It was a lot to learn in so little
time thus far, and he wanted to soak in more than the words, but
how she said them, to see if any more meaning lay in her voice.
Presently, Marlan thought he heard someone laughing. It was a
crowded room, and any number of people could have been laughing,
so at first he had ignored it. Then something hit him -- he knew
that voice -- but he didn't know from where. It nagged and
pestered him as he listened to that single laugh out of the
crowded room full of Mer. Her searched the crowd for the source
of that sound, and his eyes fell upon a young Merwoman, laying in
one of the large "window"s that surrounded the ball room, which
were nothing more than openings into the cave beyond. Light was
generated in several places, and the entire palace was built
around it so that each place had it's own share of the main
lights, using mirrors and glass prisms. She was just laying
there, laughing with a few other female companions.
     Like one under enchantment, Marlan drew apart from Arista
and her sisters. Slowly, almost drifting with small movements of
his tail, he moved through the crowd toward her. Everything else
in the room seemed to fade, only him and her.
     She was a small Mermaid, perhaps just a single summer older
than he. Her two companions saw him come over, smiled and swam
off together. The girl looked up at Marlan, and he stopped
drifting toward her. Her tail was patterned with orange scales
with interspersed black ones all the way down her tail in the
pattern of jaguar's fur, black spots on orange.
     They looked at each other blankly for a moment, before she
laughed. "You look lost."
     Marlan searched for something to say, but "Yes..." was all
that came out.
     She rose up out of the window frame, flicked her tail once,
and met him at the same eye-level. "You're Prince Marlan, aren't
you? The nephew of the queen?"
     "Son of Ariel." he replied, finding his tongue once more.
     "Ah! So royal on two sides, Mer and Man!"
     A wave of fear hit Marlan. He looked around at every other
Mer in the room, and bit his lip. Marlan moved out the window
into the water beyond, and motioned for her to follow. Curious,
she did. Marlan dipped down below the site of the ball room, in
the shadow.
     The girl laughed again. "Did I say something wrong?"
     "No... they just... don't know this yet."
     "Know what?"
     "I'm... not a human prince."
     Her face became confused. "Eric wasn't a prince?"
     "He was king for a while, but someone wanted his throne. He
was killed by an Arab mercenary. The same Arab was... hired to
come after me and my mother as well."
     Her face showed her interest increasing. "Ariel?"
     "Yes... but Ariel took me and fled. We've lived in hiding
ever since the false king took power."
     "There is no false king, only ones who do not rule." she
replied, folding her arms, and tipping her tail aside. "Those are
called tyrants."
     Marlan closed his eyes and hung his head. "Then he is a
tyrant."
     "How is he a tyrant?"
     "He bought himself a gold castle from the labor of all his
people. Children in some places starve as their mothers struggle
to feed them. We were very lucky, and gave generously to those
not as lucky as we."
     Her expression became even more intrigued. "How does Ariel
earn your keep?"
     "Singing for whoever needs a soprano in town. She's worked
for the theater, a tavern, several rich men  -- she's been
offered positions performing for the king. You can understand why
she's never taken it, though."
     "Of course..."
     Marlan nodded, kicked his tail once, and rose up in the
water to the window again. Curious, she followed. "Marlan is a
very Mer name -- did Ariel give it to you?"
     "No, my name is actually Jonathan. Marlan arouses less
suspicion from those who... don't know me."
     She nodded with understanding. "Makes sense. Heaven only
knows there are some Mer which would rather kill the son of a
human, as look at him -- Ariel's son or no."
     Marlan sighed. "What is it you do?"
     "I'm a poet."
     "A poet?"
     "Do humans not have poetry?"
     "We certainly do. I've dabbled in the area, but never really
had much success. I fancy myself more as a novelist."
     "What's a novelist?"
     "Mer don't have books?"
     "Oh -- books are rare -- paper is hard to get. Among the
Mer, stories are usually told verbally. Can you recite well?"
     "Not verbatim, but I love telling stories."
     She drifted down into the well of the window frame again.
"Tell me a story of humans."
     "Humans?"
     "If the Queen's sister was as intrigued with them to become
and marry one, then a poetess must certainly understand why."
     Marlan smiled. "You are very open minded."
     "I'm open to anything -- I reserve my judgements well."
     Marlan laughed, and sat down on the edge of the window,
looking at her. Her reached over and touched her tail. "What's
your name?"
     "Saphia, daughter of Cholsar."
     "Saphia..." Marlan tasted the word on his tongue. "...What a
beautiful name."

     All of the sudden, the chamber was rocked with a concussion.
Several of the guest screamed, and bits of dust fell down through
the water from the ceiling.
     "Sharks! Sharks! Sharks!" came the warning cry.
     Saphia was up immediately. "Quickly! After me!"  Like a
shot, she dove down out the window, and down through the water to
the palace's base. Marlan heard a sound -- some kind of grinding
noise, and another discordant group of shouts from the guest who
were moving in many different directions.
     Marlan wasted no time -- after a moment of floundering in
the water confused, he righted himself in the water, and followed
after Saphia. He found her at the base of the palace. It appeared
that the original stone masons of the palace carved it from the
mountain, and the pieces of rock left behind formed a pile of
sand around the base. Saphia began to move a large, oblong
boulder which was set up against the foundation. Once aside,
Marlan observed some kind of opening inside the foundation. "Come
with me." she recommended, slipping into the darkness beyond.
Marlan looked back upwards at the main chamber. Several mermen
and women had acquired sharpened staves, and were forcing the
sharks out of the main ballroom. Some of the sharks bit at the
staves, and a few of them had already lost their ends. One shark
in particular, saw Marlan -- unarmed, down below.
     Then Marlan realized just how big the sharks were -- a dozen
meters or more in length! Marlan wasted now time following Saphia
down into the hole, and with rush of adrenaline, he managed to
move the boulder over the entrance behind him.
     "Quickly!" came Saphia's voice in the darkness.
     "Where?..." Marlan panted. "I can't see a thing."
     "Oh, that's right... you haven't received your sight yet."
     "Sight? Normally I can see fine, can't I?"
     Marlan could sense she was right in front of him, so with
his hands extended, he began to move forward.
     "A young Mer, once he or she has reached the age of
accountability, they learn a basic quantity of magic. One of the
basic spells they learn is to make a habit of a spell that lets
them see when the water is too dark and the sun doesn't reach.
Most caverns are open to the sun in one place of another. This
cave was made by Mer magic, so no light enters it -- neither do 
sharks." Suddenly, Marlan felt a hand on his shoulder. "Take my
hand."
     Marlan grasped the hand that was on his shoulder firmly.
"Okay, my life is in your hands. Literally."
     "Hmmm..." Came Saphia's voice down the chamber, as he felt
her hand carrying him forward. "What would you do if I told you
that was a Mer's marriage proposal?"
     Marlan blinked. "I'd probably go ballistic."
     Saphia laughed. "Well it is -- sort of -- but that's okay, I
know what you mean."
     There was a quiet moment before Marlan spoke up with the
question that had been bothering him. "Can ask you something
utterly silly?"
     "Certainly, Prince Marlan."
     "Just Jonathan."
     "Ask away, Jonathan."
     "Do I know you from somewhere?"
     Because of the darkness, Marlan couldn't see what her
reaction was, but from the way she seemed to have stopped pulling
him, she could tell she had paused. "Logically, that would be a
silly question -- you are a human, and have always been that way
until just now."
     Marlan felt silly for asking.
     "However, in this situation, I don't think logic applies."
Saphia continued a moment later, thinking aloud. Marlan listened
intently. "I fancy myself as a poet. You'd think I'd always have
something to say. Now, words decide to fail me." Another pause.
"I too feel like I've known you from someplace."
     "I'd give a lot right now to know why we both feel that."
     "No." Saphia disagreed. "Perhaps it's best not to know why -
- for now -- to preserve the mystery of the feeling."
     "You make this sound like a story."
     "Isn't it, though? All stories are real, somehow. You only
happen to be in this one at the moment."
     Marlan was a little surprised at this statement, but agreed.
Saphia paused for a moment more, but said nothing more before she
continued down the corridor.
     "We passed several intersections with other caverns. This
palace is laced with them. That place where we entered is
actually the exit to a large system of escape tunnels."
     "Where are you headed?"
     "There is a place I know Jonathan, deep inside the palace.
Trust me."
     "I trust you."
     "You have no other choice." Saphia laughed. "You can't see
where you are going, and would be lost without me."
     "True again."
     "Oh, I love the feeling of power." she giggled. Marlan
couldn't help but to laugh a little too.
     "You're the first person I've ever met that could look at 
life that way."
     "As a story?"
     "Yes."
     "Your the story teller, I'm only a poet."
     "Do you write your poems down?"
     "I recite them."
     "I have terrible memory."
     "I used to say the same. A little magic can help that too."
     "You really think so?"
                       "As the winters go
                         and corals grow
                    the more I stare upwards
                  and ponder the forbidden sun
                     and it's lightning rays
                         it seems to me
               that the sun slowly, day after day
                       burns the sea away
                        and me with it."
     ...Saphia recited.
     Marlan blinked, thinking. "Interesting."
     "That couplet is one of my least. I have composed far
better. Of course there are books of poems, but paper is very
rare here. Few are interested in the human's paper because it
cannot hold up for long under water. We do have some, but we
prefer to do it by memory. Only for concerts and readings, for
which the compositions are always remembered, do we ever write
things down."
     "Do you have a library of these?"
     "It's where we're headed now."

     A noise echoed through the tunnel, like a rock falling.
     "Did you hear that?" Marlan inquired.
     "Yes -- it's coming from in front of us."
     "Can you anything?"
     "Nothing out of the ordinary... unless you like overgrown
seamoss."
     "Then what was that?"
     "I don't know... Come along."
     Marlan began to see a light at the end of the chamber -- a
shaft of sunlight that was beaming down into some kind of room at
the end of the tunnel. Saphia moved some large grasses aside that
were covering the entrance, and they emerged in a hallway of
sorts, only it was circular. Saphia was more concerned with
getting the grasses back in order while Marlan looked up and down
the hallway.
     "SHARK!" Marlan exclaimed, suddenly escaping down the
hallway. Saphia looked up from the opposite direction Marlan was
heading, and saw the large white beast with all the fins racing
down the hallway at them. Saphia yelped, and had caught up with
Marlan in moments.
     "Faster! Don't worry about moving straight so much -- move
your tail more!"
     "I'm trying!"
     "Try harder!"
     There as a rushing sound behind Marlan, and Marlan barely
missed having a bite taken out of the fins of his tail. Like a
thing possessed, Marlan suddenly turned around and swam over the
startled shark's head. On the far wall of the cave, was an iron
trident like the gold one the queen possessed. He picked it up,
and turned to face the shark.
     The shark was confused which to go after. Marlan appeared
bigger, but the small one was harder to catch. The small one had
no weapons, but the large one had just acquired one, and seemed
ready to use it. Well, Sharks were never known for their logic,
so it attacked the one that was ready to meet it -- it came after
Marlan batted it's first run aside with the back end of the
trident, twirling around once in the water as he did so.
Infuriated, the Shark came back again at Marlan. This time Marlan
was not ready for his attack, and brought up the point of the
trident just up into the giant white shark's lower jaw just as he
was about to strike.
     The shark's blood had been drawn, but Marlan knew from
experience that once the shark had drawn either of their blood,
it was over -- the scent of their blood in the water would draw
more sharks from the ballroom down here.
     "Shalikinae veribdisea!" Saphia announced, pointing at the
shark. The shark turned to her, confused. Marlan used the chance
to dive out of harm's way, move to Saphia's side, with the iron
trident handy.
     "What was that? A spell?"
     "A spell of distraction. Now swim!"
     Continuing down the corridor once more, Marlan looked behind
him, and saw the shark gaining once more. It opened it's maw,
about to bite down, when suddenly Marlan launched the trident at
it. Before the shark could react, the trident was already down
it's throat.  Startled, the shark bit down on the trident, and
broke it in half, leaving the pointed in lodged in it's throat.
The two Mer continued their flight down the chamber.
     "I knew we'd find a use for those ostentatious decorations
sooner or later." Saphia laughed. "Not bad, Jonathan-son-of-
Ariel."
     "Spearing whales and sharks, and using a javelin was a part
of learning a sailor's duties."
     "You're a sailor?"
     "No, I just learned what they do. I really don't know what I
want to do with my life."
     "Well, you'll probably live a longer one among the humans."
     "I'll be sure to bear that in mind."
     The library was a large tube-shaped chamber with vertical
walls, but with a circular floor and ceiling. Scrolls lined the
walls. One part of the wall held bound volumes, which Marlan
began to look over. "This isn't paper."
     "Not human paper made from wood pulp, this is made from the
sea-cotton flower. It is woven into sheets, that octopi oil can
be used to write with upon them."
     "Music?" Marlan observed, on one of the bound volumes.
     "The music of Sebastian, royal court composer -- a good
friend of your mother's. Some of the Lays of the Mer can be found
over here..."

                        *       *       *

     I had obviously been wrong in my guess about paper -- but it
obviously was rare and valuable if it could hold up under water. 
"I never knew the Mer came from humans!" I told Saphia.
     "That's only one legend." Saphia explained,  searching
through another volume. We were both laying on what were
basically mer chair/couches. They were intended for only one
person, but it was the length of a full grown Mer from head to
tip of tail, that he/she could lay out on and read. "Let me show
you the myths of some of the Delsolaea Mers from the region you
call the Baltic Sea. They believe that the Mer actually came the
other way around -- from fish which..."
     "You're familiar with human place names?"
     "Right now we are about seventy miles off the coast of what
you call Spain. After Ariel, we decided it was best to know our
enemy -- she sort of set an example for us. We gathered as much
as we could from wrecked ships -- most of which is maps and
charts, but the books we recovered are in another library."
     Another thing I had discovered during my sojourn in the
library was just how well the Mer could manage their tails. Once,
Saphia sat up on her chair/couch, and bent her tail just like it
had knees in it's center, allowing it to bend at a right angle in
the center. All I had done before was wag it back and forth. I
tried it -- took a few tries to find the right muscles, but I
could move it any which way I chose -- even all the way back
around to touch my find to my shoulders with out the use of my
hands. Saphia received infinite amusement by my exploration of
the limits of my tail after that, to the point of curling up on
my chair/couch, laughing insanely. Whenever I pushed it too far,
and yelped "OUCH!"
     However, the joviality and bliss of the library that day did
not last, as not too much longer was when Arista and her
attendants raced into the room, out of breath.
     "Jonathan!"
     "Oh... greetings aunt Arista."
     Saphia only waved.
     "I see you've been busy?" Arista pointed her thumb over her
shoulder -- down the hall where the shark lay in a hazy cloud of
his own misty blood mixed into the water.
     "Oh -- yes. Will it smell like that for long?
     "Fortunately, no. The tides will refresh the water in these 
caves, as long as we get the body out of here."
     I closed the volume Saphia had been showing me. Saphia had
been sitting on my bench during my exploration of my tail, and
with me doing odd things with my tail, and Saphia laying there on
the same couch -- it looked a little suspicious.
     "What *have* you been doing to my nephew, Miss Saphia?"
     "Delsolaean mythology?" Saphia asked innocently.
     "Laying on a couch with my nephew hanging over you in the
water?"
     "He was practicing aerobic stretches."
     "You expect me to believe that?" Arista asked, folding her
arms.
     "Not really." Saphia replied.
     Arista smiled. "Knowing the way Jonathan has been acting
this last week since he came, I'm actually unsurprised. I guess I
should ask, Jonathan, what *have* you done to my chief poetess?"
     "He's done nothing, but learn how and what it is to be Mer."
     Arista raised an eyebrow. "Well, we have to go on with
making sure the last of that pack of sharks is out of the
castle -- take your time. I'll be back to collect you later,
Jonathan."
     "Yes, my queen." I replied.
     Never having been addressed that way before by me, she
looked startled and blinked a few times at my having said it.
"Saphia, make sure he at least has a standard education by the
time you're done."
     "He already knows language, so he's passed that with flying
colors -- it's magic he needs work with. As far as the sciences -
- his knowledge of a few things could baffle even our best
scientific minds -- the scientific knowledge of the humans."
     "Excellent! Carry on." Arista smiled, turned, hefted her
trident once, and began to leave order to have the dead shark
disposed of.

     "So, basically, what you're saying is that the language the
words are in really doesn't matter."
     "Magic words are any that have meaning for you." Saphia
explained. "Magic is a science -- the science of the manipulation
of yours or any environment or system using mental commands."
     "Among the humans, magic is more of a fascination -- I think
very few actually understand it."
     "Now, they can't be totally devoid of any knowledge of it.
There are probably some who do -- you just can't think of them at
the moment."
     "Perhaps."
     "Now, there are three rules of magic. (1) Never do anything
on another person that they don't want done. (2) Never cast a
spell to do someone or something harm. (3) Always try to promote
life with your castings."
     "Why is it that -- earlier you spoke in another language to
cast a spell?"
     "Some languages are easier for casting spells. I know many
languages -- marcthiae malnon tau erusinat?"
     "What?"
     "I asked if I could get your permission to try a few
experimental demonstrations in order to teach you."
     "You said all that in... three words?"
     "Four actually, but yes -- the southern Iniandic languages
are very handy for household magic. Do you mind?"
     "I don't mind. Demonstrate away."
     "Hold up your hand."
     "Which?"
     "Doesn't matter. Either will do -- I just need to create a
sense of direction."
     Jonathan raised his right hand to the square. Saphia reached
out and touched her left hand to it. "Marranon tel defumius, se
para tuen meniuos." she announced in a commanding tone.
     I felt a twinge in the back of my head -- I suddenly became
very light headed. Dazed, I toppled down through the water onto
one of the chair/couches -- and fell asleep.

     I don't know how long it was, but when I awoke, Saphia was
hovering over me, with an expression of concern on her face.
Dazed, I looked up at her... and realized she was the most
beautiful creature I had ever seen. Such magnificent red hair --
like mother's, only younger and full of life. She had the softest
looking face -- like a dove's wing, or the rainbow shell of a
soap bubble, delicate as a rose. I touched her hair, and brushed
it out of her face.
     I couldn't hold it inside and deny it any longer -- I loved
her.
     How could I tell her, though? I had to let her know. My hand
still rested upon her hair -- and I gently drew her close. Our
lips touched -- the most tender of touches -- and a feeling of
peace washed over me.
     She broke off. "Well! Oh my... that answers *that*
question!"
     "Hmmm...? What question?"
     "That spell was one of my own -- I designed it to bring out
repressed emotions."
     I sighed blissfully, holding her shoulders close to mine.
"It must have worked -- I'm not repressed anymore."
     "I can see that." she giggled like a small girl.
     "What are you going to do about it?" I inquired, with almost
playful curiosity.
     "Enjoy it."
     I laughed, and held her close me. She placed her hands upon
my chest, and laid her head down upon my breast. "Me too."
     "You just have to have the last word, don't you?" she
whispered.
     I smiled, but said nothing. Instead I held her tight, and
gently caressed her hair for hours.

     "You do realize, of course, than my nephew may not be fully
aware of the morality of the situation." Arista noted with an
intrigued eyebrow.
     Hand in hand, Saphia smiled with self-confidence. "I taught
him myself. Nothing wrong has exchanged between us, nor will it
until the proper time."
     Arista looked at me. "What are your feelings on the matter?"
     "I love her with all my soul, aunt."
     "Do you wish to be married?"
     I turned to face Saphia. "...Do we?"
     "Is that a request?"
     "Yes." I smiled.
     Saphia gently elbowed me in the ribs. "Request accepted."
     "Yes aunt, we do." I replied to Arista. "Could Ariel come?"
     "Only if she wants to." Arista replied. "Very well, you
choose a date, and I shall arrange it. There is, however, one
other matter."
     "Yes?" I inquired.
     "Will you be a Mer or a Man?"
     I looked at Saphia. I'd only known her for a day now, but
already it felt like eternity. I'd never found anything else like
her in all the parts of the world I'd sailed to. "I go wherever
she goes." I said.
     "Your dedication is admirable. Saphia?"
     Saphia was trapped. She looked once at me, once at the
queen, and sighed. "I have great admiration for humankind, but no
desire to join them. However, if Jonathan goes home to them, I'll
go with him. If I must choose for both of us, I would choose to
stay here -- for the sea is my home."
     "Will it be your home as well, Marlan?"
     "Jonathan. Yes, it shall."
     Arista was smiling broadly now, as if quelling a certain
degree of excitement. "Excellent!"

     Mother came out to swim that morning as she usually did.
She'd probably looked for me every morning I guessed, because she
was looking for me the morning I surfaced to bring her
invitation.
     "Jonathan!" she exclaimed, "You make a handsome merman!"
     I blushed. "I have you to thank for that, I understand."
     "I suppose that much is true. How has your visit gone so
far?"
     "I've come to deliver a message to you, from your sisters."
     She sighed at that mention of her family, and accepted the
scroll of water-knit and octopi oil. She was starting to smile, I
noticed, as she began to read it -- and glanced once or twice at
me as she did. I was just laying there in the shallows, with my
tail half out of the water, basking for a little bit of sun.
After several minutes of reading through the scroll, mother
suddenly shouted for joy, and finished reading while giggling
like a little Mer schoolgirl.
     She'd reached the good news, I guessed.
     Finished with the letter, she held it against her for a
moment, and then ran out into the water like someone gone mad, 
diving into the water. Watching -- for a moment I couldn't tell
what she was doing, until she suddenly leapt out of the water,
and splashed down -- I had to blink when I saw it -- with a
mermaid's tail.
     My mother?
     Surprised, I swam out to meet her. "Mother!" I exclaimed.
     She had a turquoise scaled tail and wore purple seashells. I
had never seen such a look of youth and jubilance in her matronly
motherly features.
     "It's been so long!" She exclaimed, going for a long dive
like a jumping dolphin.
     "I thought you liked being human!" I replied --
flabbergasted. "It's what you always wanted!"
     Ariel stopped, and I swam quickly up to my mother's side.
     "I used to -- but I wouldn't have done what I did... until I
met your father." Ariel sighed. "When he died... I lost my will
to be human. Since I couldn't come back... you were the only
thing that gave me will to live." Her face fell. "As I grew
older, I wanted to go home... but you were all that mattered...
all that I had left of my beloved Eric."
     I smiled, and could almost feel the warmth of a tear amongst
the salty water dripping down our faces. Finally, for the first
time since our desperate flight from the palace, mother was once
again happy.

     Well, I'll give Arista this much -- she sure knows how to
throw a party. She credited it as a trait of Mer kind -- but she
arranged it all.
     I explained to Arista Ariel's feelings -- that she had
decided to take Arista's invitation to return, because her family
was far more important to her now. Her dreams had changed, and
she still wished to follow her dreams. Arista used the term
"obsession", but I immediately corrected her -- *DREAMS*.
Obsessions are uncontrollable -- dreams we act upon very rarely,
only if given the right opportunity.
     It seemed like I was forming a bridge between my mother and
her alienated family. It seemed to me that if only I could make
each other understand the other's feelings, then they could work
it out from there. Only time would tell.
     Banaeter, Arista's mate, acted as a beneficiary and
authority figure where ceremonies that normally required a king,
were concerned. He was to marry Saphia and I, but the entire
kingdom wanted to meet this matronly Merwoman named Ariel --
she'd gained a certain reputation as a legend over the years of
her absence. One time, Banaeter asked if everything Ariel spoke
of was true. I just looked at him, and replied, "I'm standing
here, aren't I?"
     Here's a puzzler for you -- okay, if you lived in the water,
do you think you'd ever need to bathe? Well, they did have their
own rendition of soap, but it was different as the underwater
technique was different. However, I learned about a heavy-water
bath. It was something of a new fad -- heavy minerals are mixed
with scents, lotions, and oils, in a pool on the seafloor. Then
you bathe in it -- this was the ritual I was put through all day
before the ceremony was supposed to take place.
     There was a lot of whispered conversation I never heard. It
was, apparently, tradition to leave the wedding plans utterly out
of the hands of those getting married -- I couldn't decide if it
was likely that this caused less or more elopements among the Mer
than from among Men.

     "You're sure you want to do this?" Mother asked me, in a
very somber tone.
     I nodded soberly. "When I'm with her, I feel... like I did
when I wanted to go sailing -- like sailing would be touching a
dream. It's like I've realized all my dreams... in her." I tried
to explain, pausing to collect my emotions frequently.
     "That must have been some spell she placed on you." Ariel
laughed.
     "You're one to talk, mother!" I laughed. "Now that I know
how it works, how many spells did you use to cheat when keeping
up our house after father's death?"
     Ariel's face fell, and she glanced away. "Jonathan...
there's something I've been meaning to tell you..."
     "Yes...?"
     "I..." she struggled to say, "...keep having these dreams...
that your father is alive... only captured...  I kept seeing our
home -- you being burned alive. I had to bring you here. It was
the only place where I could really sleep, and know you were
safe."
     I glanced upwards, at the surface above us. "Well, if father
is alive -- we'll find him. Together."
     Ariel smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "For now,
concentrate on the moment."

     At first, I thought that the worst thing that could ever
happen to the marriage was everything going wrong. I was wrong on
that guess. What's worse is when everything goes right -- and you
have nothing to do but wait for it to happen. There is a garden
outside the royal palace, where sunlight can reach, and flowers
bloom. I spent a long time thinking there, before the ceremony
started. I caught occasional glimpses of the whole of Merkind
swam by the palace gates, it seemed. I spent a long time just
watching the flowers wave back and forth in the currents that
moved like wind. No... the sea is not very different from land, I
concluded. Only the valley and canyons go down forever, and the
entire world had has ceiling -- not a floor. Swimming then, was a
lot like flying... only swimming took less effort...
     That was when the call came. I was escorted to the main
palace audience chamber.  There, each of the windows had been
cloaked with grasses and kelp.
     Then came every second though I could have ever experienced.
Fear -- that our relationship wasn't strong enough, wasn't
founded right, had been taken to quickly... then somebody pushed
me, and I was set on the path I had chosen.
     Inside the ballroom, there was a single aisle down the
center formed by curtains of reeds on either side. In the very
center, a light emanated, and I could see Banaeter standing
there. Slowly, I moved forward. I felt silly -- I was dressed in
nothing but a few ribbons that had been tied around my arms,
chest, and tail.
     Well, I was in it now -- no backing out.
     Putting my courage to the sticking place, I swam forward.
From somewhere -- behind the reed curtain I soon realized -- a
chorus of ghostly Mermaid voices sang. Then -- beyond Banaeter --
I could see the white and black stripes of Saphia's tail in the
distance, coming toward me and Banaeter. She wore a gauzy veil
across her face -- which made it obvious that mother had
obviously had something to do with planning the wedding. She was
not wearing her standard pearl white shell now either -- but what
must have been an extraordinarily expensive bodice of woven
fabric. Saphia's father had gone ALL OUT on this -- cloth was
extremely precious among the Mer! Then again... you give your
daughter away as the wife of one of the royal family... I marked
myself to be careful of that in the future. Forget about the
economics, I chastised myself.
     The chorus rose to a point as the two of us reached the
center, where Banaeter hung suspended in the water waiting for
us.
     Banaeter held his arms up for us to stop, and we both paused
in the water. The chorus died away.
     "In days of older, the Mer filled the oceans of this world.
Today our numbers are few and growing smaller. Our oppression
grows greater and greater. We are all striving to conquer this
monumental and continuing defeat. You have come here today help
fight this battle -- you have come to do what your mothers and
fathers have always done. We are all gathered here, to witness
the joining of the great house of Poseidos, Eric of Spain, and
that of the great hero of the White Orca War -- Cholsar. You have
chosen to come here. We welcome you here. We know that this may
be the last time many of us will ever see you again..." Banaeter
was saying, and so much I caught of his speech -- that and no
more.
     It was at that moment I noticed our tails. Hers was white
with black stripes, like that of a great white jungle cat. Mine,
on the other hand, was spotted like that of another jungle cat.
No one seemed to have noticed this odd similarity between us.
While, we were not the only mer in the sea with multi-colored
tails, this odd similarity of colors was almost... meaningful.
     Banaeter moved the two of us side by side, before the
glowing white sphere that radiated a pure white light. Saphia
placed one palm on top of the sphere. Saphia then elbowed me in
the ribs, and whispered for me to touch the bottom of the sphere.
A little embarrassed that I didn't know the ceremony, I placed a
palm on the bottom of the sphere. Banaeter raised his arms, and
muttered a few final words -- this time in a language I couldn't
understand. The chorus rose again...
     There was flash of light from the sphere that momentarily
blinded me. The next thing I knew, Saphia's hand was in my own,
and there were two identical gold rings on our hands.
     "The vows are sealed." Banaeter announced, concluding the
ceremony.

     Saphia had never heard the idea of the honeymoon before --
but she liked it as soon as I suggested it. For that reason, I
wasn't around when it happened, but rumor has it that Arista led
Ariel back to her old room in the palace after the wedding. Her
first response was to suddenly scream out in horror -- "You
CLEANED it!"
     If it happened or not, she'd never tell me, but it's my
guess that it did -- Arista only laughs. As for the honeymoon --
well, that's a story for a whole different night, my loyal
children. I'll continue with my "tail" tomorrow night.

                 DASHA ARIEL DEMEREDITH CLANCEY
    (http://www.inquo.net/~hgtomato or Cadence@inQuo.net)
*****************************************************************
              When's it my turn? Wouldn't I love...
              ...love to explore that shore above?
                        Out of the sea...
             Wish I could be... part of that world.
*****************************************************************

_________________________________________________________________________

Shad Z. Daly
This page last modified Wed, Mar 19, 2003.

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