Resonant

Chapter 31

Fen

I woke up in the morning filthy and aching. Zale was curved around my body and making an endearing snuffling noise in my ear, and I tried to remember a time I felt this happy. I still hadn't thought of one several minutes later, when Zale started to stir.

"So does this mean I can call you my fiancé now?" he asked groggily.

My cheeks burned, which was probably the whole point in bringing it up. "Zale!" I complained.

"What? I'm just asking."

His smirk said otherwise. He was teasing me; I decided to tease him back. "Well, I don't know. Are we even officially engaged without a ring?"

For that matter, did merfolk do rings? I couldn't say, since none of the ones I had spent a lot of time around were married. In my culture, tattoos were a more common way to show commitment. They were a lot harder to remove.

I really was just teasing him back, but Zale sat up and went to his closet, where he appeared to put on the first garments his hands landed on. Since he liked to dress in mostly shades of grey and black, his outfit looked put together without any real effort on his part.

He chucked a shirt that would hang down past my butt and a pair of slacks my way, immediately contradicting the idea that his wardrobe could be easily matched. These made no sense together at all. Maybe Zale could pull it off, but I couldn't.

"Let me just go get my own clothes," I said, holding his own back out toward him.

"Please?" Zale asked, trying like always to get out of letting me leave even for a minute. Part of me wondered whether I still let him have too much control, but what was the harm in agreeing?

I put on his clothes, which dwarfed me, and realized the harm: I looked awful. I couldn't have people seeing me like this, not if they were going to take me seriously as Zale's – gulp – consort.

I pulled the shirt away my frame, growing more distressed as it stretched further and further from my body. It truly was huge on me; why did Zale even own a shirt this big? "Zale, I can't go out like this."

"Sure you can. You look good in black." He reached out for my hand, but I stepped back.

"Zale, I can't."

He took a step back and frowned, though I could tell his displeasure wasn't aimed at me. "I'm sorry, Fen. I was just excited. This is going to be so much easier once you move in and have your own clothes here."

I felt cold inside at the reminder that eventually, I'd have to live here. It sort of went along with the whole marrying a prince thing – you moved in with him, not the other way around.

Zale came closer again and gently lifted my chin so our eyes would meet. "It's okay. You don't need to move in soon. Would you feel better if I set you up with that tutor?"

I hugged him hard. "That would be perfect." The sooner, the better. I needed to learn more about merfolk and Zale's kingdom and how to interact with all these important people who would be a part of my life from now on. I needed to learn how not to humiliate myself or Zale. "Thank you for understanding."

He kissed my temple. "I'm not always going to get it right. I'll probably always be a pushy asshole. But I really am trying."

I stepped back and teleported back home to change. While I was there, I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth, since doing those things was just more comfortable in my own space. That was something I'd have to get over at some point, but it seemed a harmless indulgence for now.

When I arrived back in Zale's room, he was waiting by the door for me. "Ready?" he asked.

I realized there was an odd light in his eyes. I might have even called it "eager," though I could count the number of times I saw him get genuinely excited about something on one hand.