EMBER

Your Highness

The water is cold. I love it when it's cold. I look at my tail. Bluish, shimmering with gold. I feel it. My flower calling me. Strange isn't it but I feel like I was meant to come back to the water. I search for Tess and Aiden. They are no where to be seen. I close my eyes and sing. The song is suppose to call other mermaids or in this case mermaids and mermen nearby. I stop and wait for a response. Nothing. I then hear the water pick up. 

"Tes-," CRAP! Wrong song........totally wrong song. A frenzy of sharks were heading my way. I started the swim. I flop my tail but I was a bit out of practice. I feel myself picking up speed but not enough. I look back and realized that was a bad idea. I'm going to die. God.

The sound of a sea-shell echoed........I don't see a face just a figure swim pass in a flash. It's a him. He surrounded the sharks the sound hypnotizing them. The sharks had stopped and then they changed course. They started swimming in the opposite direction. I breathe a sigh of relief. The sharks are gone and the figure makes it's way towards me.  I know him. He knows me. 

"Your highness are you okay?" he asks. Okay those words did not just come out of his mouth. 

"Are you serious?" I say, "Kai.....really 'your highness.'

He looks at me. ''Okay then, Are you okay Em?" 

"Yes, I'm okay," I say.

He shakes his head and then,

"So you're okay........BUT YOU'RE BLOODY CRAZY...YOU IDIOT GIRL......" he shouts, ''DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID? YOU SUMMONED AN ARMY OF SHARKS AND THEY WERE HEADED RIGHT FOR THE PALACE NOT TO MENTION IF THERE WERE MORE SHARKS NEARBY....I'D BE DEAD......"YOU' WOULD CERTAINLY BE DEAD. SO I HOPE YOU'RE OKAY ''YOUR HIGHNESS" I HOPE YOU'RE OKAY!" 

"You done?" I ask.

"God Em," he says disappointed.

"Don't 'God Em' me Kai, do you think I wanted to come back. Do you think I want to be a stupid Queen. Huh? No! I don't. I DON'T WANT TO BE QUEEN AND CERTAINLY OF ALL I DON'T WANT TO MARRY YOU!"

His face is expressionless. I feel tears but I can't cry underwater.

"What did we miss?" Tess said appearing with Aiden, "Oh, Hi Kai."

"Hi Tess," Kai says.

"This is Aiden," Tess says introducing Aiden,"he's human."

"What's that suppose to mean," he says giving her a playful shove. They laugh. 

"You brought a human?" Kai says in that disappointing tone. 

"Yes. You got a problem with that."

"The King might," Kai says. 

"You don't worry about the King okay," I counter.

"Okay, Your Highness."

I stare at him. I could say a million things to him but Tess is here and most importantly Aiden.

"We should head to the palace," my sister says.

"I can't wait to see it," Aiden says excited.

"You'll love it," Tess says to him. They start to swim. 

"Your boyfriend?" Kai asks when they were both out of hearing distance. 

"Maybe," I say, "or maybe it's none of your business."

"Whatever you say, Your Highness, but looks to me it's your sister's business and he doesn't seem to mind," he says.

If only I could-

"You guys coming," Tess calls. I shake my head. I watch as she and Aiden swim side my side. I watch him laugh at her every word.

"After you," Kai gestures. 

I flop my tail and try to swim as fast as I can. I pass Tess and Aiden. I needed to get away from him. So I just SWIM.