The Mer Prince

Chapter 15

XY's POV

He happily swims over to our table when they leave his sight, two plates of flounder sitting on plates in front of us. I pick mine up and bite into it stiffly, looking up to find him making an odd face, his face scrunched up and his tongue out slightly.

Biting back a threat for him to keep his tongue in his mouth or something else, I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?" I ask, swallowing the loose meat.

"Is that how I'm supposed to eat this...? No silverware or anything?" He asks, tilting his head. Silverware? He must have read my confusion on my face and he shook his head with a small "Never mind." He picked up his flounder and opened his small mouth, and I expected him to take a bite when he stopped and tilted his head, looking confused as he tried to figure how in the bloomin sea he was supposed to eat it.

I didn't bother to hide an amused smirk at his turning of the fish and disgusted look at the fish's head, rear end, and its fins. Then he surprised me, opening his mouth and biting the thick meat of the flounder's lower back, his mouth bigger than I expected. I blinked a few times to clear away any thoughts that could lead from that. I was barely managing to loosen my scales as it was. He looked like he was going to hate the fish, like braving for a disgusting taste, before his eyes growing wide as he chewed it happily.

"This ish really good." He mumbled, quite unroyal-like, around a bite, his eyes finally meeting mine again. If someone told me to describe adorable, they would probably be confused when I told them 'Prince Charley with his cheeks filled'. But here he was. It was only the morning of the second day knowing him and already I liked him more than any woman or breeder I've met. Even if he use to be a human.

I tried to turn my focus on my food and plan out the day silently in my head. I should probably teach him things today, but what is there to teach him? I'd have to find out what all he knew for one. And maybe I can find out more about him without an interrogation. He'll want to know why his father dropped him like a sack of chum, but I won't bring that up. He can ask me if he wants.

Besides that.... he's pretty thin. When was the last time he ate a full meal? What do humans eat? They can't catch fish very well, they don't have fins or tails to chase after fish, and I haven't seen any try to get kelp??? How are humans even alive?

Well, then again, the only reason why I found Charley was because a snack. He had millions of the good fish, and he openly offered them, but he kept them alive in water holders? Did he prefer them living...? How had he even caught them all? He doesn't look like a hunter, he's small and wavy like kelp.

I blink and realize he's looking up at me uneasily, my plate is empty as I've eaten all my flounder, and he still only has three bites out of his. Oh Cod, I must have been staring at him this whole time and making him uncomfortable. He's sunk in his seat and looking like he was trying to disappear under my staring.

"Sorry." I say, hoping I don't sound harsh as I look over at a wall. I'm more collected than this usually! What's being around him doing to me?