Eyes Outshine the Horizon Line

Chapter 3 - Wild Waters

Lucas swam through the water. "Okay. As long as the queen never finds out everything will be alright." Lucas muttered to himself. "She never has to know Nancy used her siren song to save a human." He then came across surface items almost dripping out of a cavern. The young merman went inside only to see Nancy doting over the bust of Eddie.

"Nancy?" Lucas questioned. Nancy never let him know where she kept her things. "Lucas? How did you find me?" she asked innocently. "What is all of this? What are you doing with that thing?" he asked. "Isn't it beautiful? Look at the longing in his eyes." Nancy said wistfully and guided him out from her grotto back towards the coral reefs.

"It's from the shipwreck. I found him at Merman's Reef. And I'll bet there's so much more." Nancy spoke as Lucas followed her. "And what do you even know about longing?" Lucas argued. He sighed "You have to let go of this obsession with humans. I know you find it incredible but-" "I'm not obsessed." she tried to argue but Lucas groaned. "Nancy, I saw you that night of the shipwreck. I saw you use your song to save him." Nancy stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "You know your mother wants you far away from them and if she finds out. It may be the end for all of us." "But we don't have to be afraid of them, Lucas. If you had just seen it up there." Nancy got wistful again. "The ship rode on the wind, and they filled the sky with fire. It was beautiful." She looked towards her grotto and smiled.

"Nancy, the human world is a mess. What's stopping them from frying and eating us or skinning you from tail to flesh?" Lucas began. "Those are very different scenarios." Nancy added. "Life is so much better here. It's wetter and we even have a hot crustacean band? What more can you ask for? Not to mention the fish being happy and playing some music all day." "I suppose you're right on that." Nancy agreed. "And it's so much better. Everything is magic here." Lucas continued as if on cue, some fish danced around them. Their colors brighter than anything she ever saw on the surface but then she realized this was the perfect opportunity to get away. After all, she needed to help her brother clear the wreckage from their bedroom.

...

The King sat with the Hopper-Byers family around the long formal breakfast table. They just wished the one missing would join them.

"Don't tell me Eddie's still going on about this girl who rescued him." King Wayne said in his drawl as their cook, Murray placed plates of food in front of them. "Should I take Eddie's food upstairs for him?" Murray offered. "No Murray. He needs to be here and recover with us." "When will he be better?" El asked. "Concussions take a bit, maybe a week or so." Jonathan answered. "Him being lovesick may take a bit." This earned a laugh from Will. "I'm just bummed that my bust is gone." "You can always make a new one sweetie." Hopper's wife, Joyce, encouraged, reaching out and squeezing his hand from across the table. "But I am afraid he's still hung up on her, whoever she may be." Hopper answered. "And the shipwreck. Any casualties?" Joyce asked. "No. Just a tiny bit of flesh on Max's leg." El joked as Max readjusted the crutches against the table. "Thank goodness no lives were lost." Wayne replied. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Although his restlessness has been worrying me. Is it something maybe his parents had?" Hopper shrugged. Then footsteps approached. It was Eddie, complete with a bandage on his head.

"Eddie, please sit. We had Murray make some breakfast for you." Wayne said as he stood to greet him. He just walked right past him to the balcony. "Is there any sign of that girl?" he asked. "No. Nothing." Hopper answered. "Just eat something." Joyce urged. "You need it to heal." "I'm not hungry." Eddie said. Wayne sighed. "There was no girl." he argued matter of factly. "You were lucky to have made it to shore before you passed out." "Yes. Because of her. She was real. She saved my life." Eddie argued back simply. Wayne's mouth formed into a thin line. "I'm worried about you boy. You've not been yourself since the shipwreck."

Eddie ignored him, which only increased the tension. "Have you checked the neighboring islands?" he asked Hopper. Hopper glanced at the King stunned and then back to the prince. "Not all of them." he answered. "Then I will." Eddie said, trying to find where the bandage began on his head. He walked towards the docks but was stopped.

"No, you will not!" Wayne said sternly. "You're not leaving this castle until you're feeling better." "I will feel better when I find her." Eddie replied. " Do not think you're using this girl as an excuse to run off again, risking your life on some trade ship for the adventure of it all. "Uncle Wayne. It's not just for the adventure. "I'm trying to reach out to other cultures, so we don't get left behind. Did you know on this last trip we traded our cane for 20 cases of quinine? They use it in Europe to treat malaria." Eddie argued. "This can save people." "Which are now at the bottom of the ocean." Wayne retorted. El looked up slightly. Maybe that mermaid saved it. She wondered.

"How many shipwrecks have there been in our waters this year alone?" Wayne asked. Hopper said nothing, knowing the answer. "About 5." Joyce answered for him. "Did you hear that, Eddie?" Wayne said in an attempt to get his nephew's attention. Eddie gave him a nod before staring back outside, plotting his escape to the sea. "Shipwrecks, hurricanes, the sea gods are against us." he said, trying to make his point.

"But are they? Because I don't think I made it back to the lifeboat on my own." Max said, suddenly standing, grabbing her crutches for stability. "A single kind one doesn't change anything." Wayne replied glaring at her sternly. "They are eroding our land from under us, stealing it back into the ocean." Wayne said, making his way towards Eddie. "They would kill us all if they could." "That's ridiculous." Eddie argued with a laugh.

"Is it? A shipwreck took your mother away. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that. Now I almost lost all of you to another shipwreck. We cannot keep tempting fate like this. It has got to stop." "What do you mean?" Eddie asked, making his way to the table that his uncle just sat down at. "I don't want to do this but you have forced my hand. "All of your responsibilities are here now. So, no more voyages and no more chasing after girls who don't exist." Wayne said. "This includes the rest of you." "So we're all being punished for Eddie's delusion?" Will said as he looked to his parents for support, but they said nothing. Will and El stood as well, helping Max up the stairs to their bedrooms. Jonathan then stood quietly and walked to Eddie.

"Thanks dude. Really." Jonathan sassed before going up to his room as well. Eddie didn't bother looking towards anyone still at the table as he left the palace and towards the rocky shoreline where Eddie was left alone with his thoughts. He just wanted to be out there on the sea already, looking for her. She haunted him and it wasn't like he remembered her face. All he remembered was an outline of a woman with fallen ringlets. That was almost every woman. Eddie longed for even a glimpse of her, wondering if her eyes outshined the horizon line. He just wanted her real, and next to him. He foolishly wondered if he waited on the shore just long enough, she would just appear before him. Soon enough, his legs moved him before he had time to think anymore. Eddie found himself on a ship and sailing to the next few islands over. He would find her himself, even if it killed him.