Margaret: Chapter Three

I’m still having doubts about this guy’s sanity, or maybe mine, but my instincts tell me that his tail and gills—yeah he’s got gills, right on both sides of his neck—are real. I no longer want to think too much about it. He’s not human, all right, but maybe if I concentrate on his face and upper body, I wouldn’t notice just how not human he is. It’s quite hard though. I could still remember how slimy he felt.

I shivered.

His chocolate brown hair combined with his green eyes and tan, muscular body, gives him the image of a mythical god. If he ever holds a trident, I’m pretty sure I’m never going to look at King Triton or Poseidon the same way ever again. I mean, come on, those trident-carrying gods are supposed to look old. This guy in front of me shows no sign of ever going weak and wrinkly. He’s that hot.

Now what on earth am I thinking? This guy’s half-demented, half-fish and here I am fantasizing over him. I must have caught on his brain disease.

I took a breath and asked him: “What kind of favor?”

“To put it simply, I want your help so I could have legs,” he said, looking straight at me.

I stared at him, mouth open.

“You liar!” I stood up.  “I knew you’re an actor! What is this? ‘The Little Merman’?”

I saw him clench both of his fists. “I’m not a fictional character! I am a real merman! What proof do you need?”

“That’s not real,” I said, pointing at his tail.

“Touch it, then. I even give you permission to try to remove it,” he replied, one of his eyebrows raised.

I was more than willing to expose his lies so I immediately knelt beside him and touched his tail. I felt the texture of the glassy yet rough scales. Hmm, they make good costumes these days. I looked at him, my eyes definitely telling him that I still don’t believe it’s real. I ran my hand on it then tried to touch the part of his tail by his waist.

It felt weird that I’m touching a man’s midsection but I’m sure I can justify this by saying that I’m only doing it for the sake of finding out the truth.

Yeah right.

That was my conscience—which I promptly ignored.

His tail apparently fit him well. There don’t seem to be any obvious gap between the tail and his skin. I tried to look for it by scratching the edges but all it did was made him laugh for being tickled. He took my hand to push it away from him then gazed at me.

“I only let you do what you wish because you amuse me. However, I think you have your proof,” he said, his voice rough.

I looked back at him and with my chin held high, I said: “Okay. So maybe, you’re a real merman. Why do you want legs?” My eyes widened, a possibility entering my mind. “Oh my gosh! You fell in love with me when you saved me, haven’t you? Oh dear, this is like a fairy tale!” I exclaimed then grinned at him.

“You wish.” He finally released my hand. I hadn’t even noticed he was still holding it. “I’m not an actor and this is not a fairy tale. I’m a merman on a mission. And I need your help to accomplish it.”

He looked utterly serious with his words. I began to try understanding him. “So you saved me because you needed me?”

“The storm was a signal that my 29 days has started,” he began what was obviously a long tale. “Every year, I get 29 days to find the princess of Aquania. I am our kingdom’s next generation of Celaris. I hold the Crystal Key of Saol.”

He took out a necklace with a three-inch pendant. I’d swear my life that it’s not a crystal. It’s a diamond. If I sell that, I could have started my own business. I stared at it before I turned back at him.

“29 days every year. How long have been looking for your princess? And what on earth does that crystal do?” I asked him, eager to hear the rest of the story. These things fascinate me. I mean, he may turn out to be insane but his story is quite interesting.

“It’s been eight years since I started looking for her. I’ve been all over the world but I never found her.” He turned to look at the sea. “I need to find Princess Marina before I turn 21. As a Celari, it is my duty to protect Aquania from humans.” He then faced me again. “I cannot allow your people to find our kingdom. It will create complexities that I’m sure even humans would not want.”

I nodded. I’m very sure our world would be in an uproar should we ever discover an under-the-sea civilization. Look at what they thought about Atlantis. Although, I think it would be more dangerous to this person’s fellowmen than it is for the humans.

And then I realized that I have no idea what his name was.

“Forgive me for interrupting your tale but…what’s your name?”

His face registered something that seemed like confusion.

“You haven’t told me. If you don’t want to say then that’s fine,” I told him, shrugging my shoulders.

“Seirra.”

I nodded. “Seirra Celari. Unique name. I’m Margaret. Margaret Delterro.”

I didn’t expect a handshake so when he extended his hand, I was quite surprised.

“I live on land every year for 29 days, remember? Haven’t you been listening?”

I took his hand. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Nice to meet you.”

When he released my hand, I saw him get ready to continue his story.

“As I was saying, I need to protect Aquania. In order to do that, I must fulfill the ancient tradition:

Seek the woman that must be kissed,

The power to protect, it will release.

Search for your princess and find true love.

Use the key to hide from above.

“Princess Marina is the lost daughter of our King Tideus. She’s the princess whose kiss I shall have to activate the power of the Crystal Key to conceal our kingdom. Right now, we’re using the power of King Tideus’s trident but its effects can only last for ten years. When my uncle, the previous Celari leader, died eight years ago, the veil that protects our kingdom has slowly been fading.”

I nodded, still lightheaded from the sound of his singing voice. Goodness! His voice was heavenly.

“Which means you need to find that Marina girl soon.” I’m slowly beginning to understand but my brain is still full of questions. “How do you know if she’s Marina anyway? Why do you have a mere 29 days? And how do I fit into the picture?”

He smiled at me. “I know you have lots of questions. Every human who had helped me in the past had been the same. But first, I need your promise to help me.”

“Yeah sure, promise,” came my sarcastic answer. “How do I even know I won’t die when I help you?”

“You won’t die. You won’t ever be harmed,” he said with assurance. “After 29 days, you won’t even remember me.”