Fates: Chapter Thirty-One

Seirra

I watched Margaret while everyone was busy giving us their cheers of awe. She didn’t seem angry anymore but I knew she still didn’t want to believe in mermaids or mermen. It would have been a whole lot easier if she had no memories of me at all. Not even dreams. I could charm her, mystify her, or scare her. Hell, I could even seduce her into coming with me.

But she had dreamed of me before we met ‘again’ and it made her confused. It caused her to doubt her own judgment. Besides, when it all came down to it, I would never be able to live with myself if I knew that Margaret went with me because of some underhanded tactic. I wanted her to choose to be with me.

“That was the most amazing duet I’ve ever heard live, I swear!” Boyd exclaimed. “Pity the rest of the student body won’t hear it.”

“Boyd.” Marge warned.

He merely shrugged and grinned then went on to the member of the club who was holding the video camera. Marge shook her head at him and when she turned to look at me, I immediately smiled at her good-naturedly.

“I guess the duet really was beautiful,” I told her.

“You have a beautiful voice and I’ve been practicing that song for quite some time already. It’s bound to sound good.”

“Or as Boyd said, it was thoroughly ‘amazing’.”

“Well, of course.” And then she finally gave in and smiled back.

“You have a wonderful voice—almost like a mermaid’s.” My comment surprised her just as I wanted to. “Believe me, I know.”

“What are you talking about?” she demanded, her voice incredulous.

I wasn’t given the chance to reply because at that moment, Mr. Ramirez’s student assistant poked his head in and asked for Hannah.

“Sir Ramirez wants you in the faculty room,” he told Hannah when he found her across the room. “Says it’s to finalize which section of the exhibit you’ll be in.”

Hannah nodded in excitement and turned to me. It was time for us to leave. I glanced at Margaret who clearly hated the interruption. I decided she needed to hear some answers. But not now.

“I’ll see you after your rehearsals,” I whispered just for her.

*****

I was able to excuse myself from bringing Hannah home by saying that I needed to get back to a store near my rented apartment at the West End. She didn’t look too cheerful about the idea but judging from the lack of disappointment in her eyes, I knew the teasing we got from her friends in Grassfield had not gotten into her head.

There were several food stands near the gates of Grassfield High where I decided to wait for Marge. Knowing her, she was probably torn between her need to get answers and her urge to escape from me. Since I didn’t have much time, I was not going to give her any other choice. I just finished the hotdog I was leisurely eating to pass the time when I saw her coming out of the school gates. It was always easy to spot her because of her red hair but it was her companion that gave her identity away. She was with Robert who was easier for me to discern because of his height and the canvas he was currently carrying.

I went over to intercept them but they weren’t expecting to see me and I heard a part of their conversation.

“You mean he told you he’s a real merman?” Robert clarified in a fierce whisper. There was disbelief and astonishment in his tone.

“Yes. How many times do I have to tell you? But I don’t believe him. I can’t believe him. I mean, I don’t know, but I really can’t believe he’s a merman,” Marge replied despondently.

“But Marge, if it’s true then there must be some real motive for him to tell you. I mean, who goes around telling people they’re a merman?”

“I don’t know, Robert.”

“Perhaps we should discuss this someplace more private.”

Marge whirled around when she heard my voice and even Robert was surprised to see me. I gave him a nod then turned to Margaret.

“I guess we should,” she replied.

I let her lead us to a secluded bench in the small park where nursery and elementary school kids were playing. The bench was near the basketball court which was currently empty of players.

There was silence during the short trip to the bench and I took that time to study Robert. Marge seemed comfortable to tell him about me and considering how his own sister still didn’t know anything, I assumed he could be trusted. He had never shown any kind of hostility towards me nor did he seem romantically interested in Margaret but I still felt that there was something different about him. He enlightened me of what it was when it was him who started our conversation.

“Mermaids, according to some legends, are vile and often cause storms and shipwrecks. They use their voices to lure sailors into the sea and drown them. Are these true?”

The question alone told me how interested he was in creatures like me. Somehow, I felt some kind of regret that he would forget all about me and Marge when this was over. There weren’t many humans who were interested in understanding us instead of killing us. He knew the legends and the genuine curiosity in his voice made me give him an honest answer.

“Yes. Just as in folklores, we have the ability to use water to inflict damage. We have magic that could cause storms, floods, and yes, we can control sea currents and destroy a ship, eventually drowning humans.” He swallowed but his eyes showed courage—at least as much as he could muster. I knew Marge was listening too but she kept quiet and stared at the empty basketball court. “We do that by choice and I assure you that that merpeople of Aquania do not do anything as catastrophic to humans. We opt to keep our existence a secret. There are, however, other individuals, groups—kingdoms—of merpeople who just might want to use their magic to threaten humans.”

“You mean there are mermaid civilizations? Like hundreds of you?”

My willingness to answer his questions made him take my words lightly. He didn’t seem bothered at all to know about how threatening we could be depending on our magic and motive. I guess I need not instill fear in him by making him understand the danger we could cause.

“Thousands, even. We are scattered all over the world and our powers are the only things that keep humans from finding evidence of our existence. Aquania is just one of the eight kingdoms, which is really more like large groups consisting of more than a hundred. Other groups are smaller and do not believe in rules or settling down. And there also nomads.”

“Wow, you sound like the Vikings or Saxons, even Spartans! Do you go to wars and colonize other groups too?”

“That was how it was before but not now. We still train warriors though, because there is always the threat of war among kingdoms.”

“Fascinating! I assume you’re one of the soldiers?” I nodded and he continued, “See, Marge? He can only describe all these if he’s the real thing.”

“He could be making all that up,” she insisted.

I went to stand in front of her and she was forced to look at me. It must be uncomfortable for her to tilt her head back that far but I had to get a point across.

“Have you ever wondered why you seemed to be able to sing too well since the day you woke up in the beach with lost memories?”

I gave her time to recall the events that had happened and when her eyes began to spark with realization, I stepped back so she could look at me without craning her neck.

“It was because you had a deal with a Celari leader—me. For almost a month you helped me in my search for the missing Aquanian princess. In exchange, I will grant your wish for a beautiful voice.”

She gasped then looked down at her hands. “That’s…not true.”

“It is. You have a beautiful voice, Marge. But ordinary. The voice you have now is caused by magic. You acquired a mermaid’s voice.”

“No!” She was standing then, her eyes adamant at her denial.

“Yes. And your lost memories. They were all of me. You weren’t supposed to remember me at all, not even through dreams.”

“Then why have I been dreaming of you? And who’s the mermaid?” She started to pace.

“The mermaid is Marina, the missing princess. Turns out, she was not the girl I needed to help me keep Aquania’s existence hidden from humans. I needed the girl I’m in love with.”

“What has that got to do with me?”

I was silent a few seconds too long and it was Robert who answered. “You’re in love with Marge.” And then more excitedly, “She’s the girl you need in order to keep Aquania hidden!”

Margaret snapped around and faced me, her eyes wide and frantic. She clutched her chest and started breathing hard. “But that’s…”

I nodded once and forced myself to talk. “I had to leave because of my duty to Aquania and you had to forget but now I need you to come with me, not only to save my kingdom but because I…I need you to be with me.”

“But I don’t even know you! How am I supposed to believe that we fell in love? And why in heaven’s name should I save a kingdom I haven’t even heard of until yesterday?”

I locked my gaze on her and as I met her searching eyes, I told her, “You must have dreamed of me because you still remember what you felt for me. That’s the only reason I could think of.”

She stood there frozen, looking at me with varying degrees of emotion.

“Remember me, Marge,” I pleaded. “I need you to remember.”

She shook her head violently and she ran. Robert immediately followed her but I was too dejected to do the same. I sat on the bench that Marge recently vacated and covered my face with my hands. Unless she saw me as a merman, she would never believe anything I said. But I couldn’t go back to that form until Sunday; and even if she believed me by then, there was no assurance that she would go with me. If she didn’t, then this entire trip would be useless.

I was running out of options. I leaned back on the bench and ran both of my hands through my hair in frustration.

And then I heard Margaret scream.