Veriel

Chapter 3

Veriel stared at her, his sunshine come to life.

Even from the corner of the pool, even in the darkness, he knew it was her. He knew the soft curve of her cheek, the teeny crinkle between her eyebrows, the scar on her chin. Strips of crimson cloth slithered between the golden ropes of her twin braids.

Of course, there were some differences between dream and reality. She was human instead of a siren, and paler than expected. The green fabric of her dress was heavy and sturdy, much more like Prydish clothing than that of the Aquilans.

And she looked unbearably sad.

Drop by drop, her tears fell into his pool, each one plucking on a new heartstring. The joyous symphony inside him slowly turned into a lamentation as he listened to her cry.

He knew nothing about her real self, not her favorite color, or what vegetables made her nose wrinkle, or even her name, but he knew more than anything that he wanted to take this mysterious burden from her. To unravel her hair from its tight twists and see her untethered and free.

She swished her toes through the water, entirely unaware of the ripples she caused throughout his entire being.

Smarter individuals might have come to the conclusion that the girl wanted to be left alone, but Veriel, in his general social ignorance and unabashed romantic enthusiasm, was overcome with the urge to swim over and wrap around her. Before she could vanish into mist, he needed to thank her for keeping his heart beating all these years. He needed to hear her sing.

But how in the world could he shower his feelings upon her when he could only speak underwater? Not that she would be able to understand or hear siren tongue anyway.

He exhaled in annoyance. How entirely frustrating that his voice was so close that he felt the faint thrum resonating against his tongue, but it was still too far away to touch. 

He could mouth a speech to her. Or suddenly become literate and write one. Or perhaps a prudent course of action would be to pop out and hurriedly draw a picture in the dirt detailing that he was just a wee bit mute, but ready to commit to a long and happy life together.

The only stumbling block between him and the fulfillment of this plan was that he hadn't one bit of experience interacting with a woman who wasn't his mother or motherish. Or who wasn't a siren.

What would a human boy do in this instance?

Courtship as a siren involved finding and decorating caves—not that Veri had ever witnessed such a thing for himself, but Mama had told him the stories. His father had diligently combed the sea floor for the finest pearls, the most colorful coral, and had presented her with a very cozy oceanside home in his bid for her heart.

Veriel was fresh out of caves at the moment, so a more modest gift would have to suffice.

And if his powers of observation were correct, the girl with the toes was in need of new jewelry. She didn't seem terribly pleased with the headband she had at the moment - the one that was currently sinking to the bottom of the pool. That, or she was very uncoordinated and unskilled at wearing headbands, but he didn't mind that in a woman.

With a quiver of excitement, he slipped back under the water and shot over to his treasure trove.

One of the tiles on the side was just a bit loose, covering up a spot where another siren's chain used to be anchored. He popped it open. Inside the hollow were carefully nestled all of the whozits and whatzits he'd gathered over the years.

He didn't have time to paw through everything, only what was closest. The first possible gift he pulled out was a clasp designed to hold cloaks together at the shoulder. Small ropes of gold had been woven into fantastic glittering swirls, the outside dotted with rubies and sparkling sapphires.