Submerged

Confessing

My mother didn't seemed concerned that I was gone for so long, and I didn't mention that I almost drowned.

Or the fact that I was saved by a man that lived in the lake and said he was a merman.

Holy shit, that sounded more and more insane every time I said it.

I ate my dinner in silence while mom and her boy toy shared their food and played footsies under the table. I about threw up what I had just eaten, so I excused myself and went to the loft. When I crawled into bed, I felt a chill, and it made me think of the coolness of his skin. How he pressed me to his body and we moved with grace through the water. I sighed and caught myself smiling.

Sleep that night was impossible, not after what I had went through that day. I had maybe fell asleep for a couple hours before the sun came up, and I was up before my mother could write me another note about going out. I tossed on some clean clothes and skipped down the steps, running to the door. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten much, except supper last night. There were some bananas on the counter that my mother had brought, so I grabbed one and bolted out the door.

By the time I got to the dock, the banana was gone and I tossed the peel into the woods. Some wild animal would love that. The man from the lake flashed in my mind. Would he like it if he knew I just threw that trash in the woods?

I stepped onto the dock, suddenly nervous and very aware of the water slapping the dock and shore in their own rhythm. I felt my heart beating faster as I slowly walked across the dock and stood on the edge, looking into the water where the man had been yesterday.I took a deep breath, feeling the morning breeze on my skin. There was more wind than yesterday, and the clouds were passing over the sun like traffic on a busy street. I closed my eyes.

What if I imagined the whole thing, and I was crazy from nearly drowning? What if this handsome merman hadn't actually rescued me and held me close? What if-

"Good morning." Said a cool voice. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I opened my eyes and stumbled backwards.

"You're real!" I stated. Then I looked down sheepishly. Of course he is real you moron.

"Yes, I am real." He chuckled and bit his lip, looking up at me. I bent down and sat on the wooden planks, crossing my legs and resting my chin on my elbows. I starred at him. Water dripped off his eyebrows and lips. His lips looked gray and murky, just like the rest of his skin. A shade of death almost. I felt like I needed to know everything about him, and asking him was surprisingly easy.

"So," I started, "Where did you come from?" He put his elbow on the dock, the water dripping off and making little puddles around him. He put his head on his hand and he looked around.

"I come from," he raised one eyebrow and shrugged, "here, I guess." I looked at him blankly. He laughed out loud a little and continued. "I have lived in this area for as long as I can remember. My father says that our ancestors didn't evolve like the humans, and we stayed in the water, living wherever we could without being seen. We hunt on animals that live in and around the lake, and eat them cooked, just like you all. Sometimes a raw fish is fine, if its killed correctly. We are the type that live in the caves and are on our feet most of our lives. I told you about my relatives that live in the water all the time, and have a tail." He looked down, and his voice lowered to a whisper.

"We have rules." he said.

"What kind of rules, like you can't be seen?" I asked, leaning in to his story. He just looked up at me with sympathy in his eyes. "Exactly." He said. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry.

"So what happens if you are seen?" I asked, my voice cracked a little, "like if you save someone?"

"We are a secret that very few know about." He simply said, looking up at the clouds. They were getting thinner now, and the sky was vibrant. He took a deep breath and said with a loud sigh, "We are expected to kill."

I stopped breathing. His eyes met mine, and I think he saw the fear welling on my face.

"I am supposed to kill you, because I have let you see me. I can't trust that you wont tell everyone you know about me."

"I would never say anything, I swear." My head was spinning, so i put my hands on the dock to steady myself. "You have to kill me?" I asked, bitterness in my voice. "Why the hell didn't you just let me drown?" I yelled, balling my hands into a fist. I stared hard at him, his eyes searching my face for something ,but not finding anything but betrayal.

"I just acted in the moment," he explained, "I saw you in trouble and I wanted to save you. I didn't think about the conciquences." He brought his hands up to his face and covered his mouth, muttering through his fingers, "I am so sorry."

I felt a lump rise in my throat and tears build up in my eyes so fast that I couldn't hold them down. My voice was shaking as I said, while crying, "I wish you would've let me drown. I don't want to die now," I hugged myself, "I have my whole life to live!" I half yelled, "Look at me!"

And he did.

His eyes were watery and his jaw was tight.

"You are not going to die," he said, anger in his voice now, "not by my hand, nor anyone elses."

"What do you mean, 'anyone elses'?" I said, squinting to see through the tears that were pouring down my face. He growled through his teeth, "Aquiam." I dropped my hands and scoffed, "What? What are you talking about?" He looked up, annoyed. "Aquiam is my older cousin, the grandson of an elder, like me, and a stickler for the rules. He saw me with you and said," He paused, making eye contact with me, even though I was standing far above him, "he said that if I didn't kill you by the full moon, he would do it himself." He threw his hands up like he just surrendered.

"But, that's three days, I'm leaving in a week, I preffer to not go back in a body bag," I said, panicky, "and you know that already, obviously." My heart was racing. "How is this avoidable? I am going to fucking die, for real, by the one who saved me." I knealed on the dock and put my face in my hands, forcing my lungs to take in as much oxygen as they could handle and hold it there, exhale, and draw a breath again.

I felt a cold, damp hand on my knee. He said in a deep voice, now serious and dark, "I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe." I shook my head in my hands and muttered, "You don't even know me. I'm just a human, and you have rules." I exploded in tears and before I could react, his hands were around my wrists and I was yanked into the cool lake water.

I splashed and got myself upright, but before I could scream at him, he had a hand tight over my mouth. I glared at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the camp. I followed his gaze to the window, and saw Andrew's face. He was looking around outside the camp, probably for me, and his eyes made it to the dock. I felt the merman's hand slip off my face and a slight ripple around me told me that he had sunk into the water. I looked up at the camp and stuck my arm out of the water, waving back at him. He smiled and waved to me, turning to say something to my mother, then he walked away. I quickly turned behind me to look for the water man, and he was there.

"Hold your breath," he said sternly, "we are going somewhere safer. Somewhere nobody will see us."

I obeyed, and took a large breath in, pinching my lips together tight. He turned around in the water and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. As soon as my hands locked, we were under the water, the thick coolness flowing past my face so fast I had to shut my eyes.

I already owed this man my life, what would I owe him if he saved me a second time?

I would do anything now.

He was my prince.