the Little Mermaid (2023) [H.S. x J.C.]

Chapter twelve

It took longer than Zayn was comfortable with, but he has finally freed himself from his fish crate prison and is now climbing outside the castle wall onto the window ledge to Harry's new room. He is exhausted and cranky, and the moment he sees him, it tumbles out.

"This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life. Thrown into a crate with a bunch of bottom-feeders. I could have been fricasseed!" He paces in frantic circles. "And then having to climb all the way up here. They couldn't give you a room on the ground floor? Crab ain't made for climbing! I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, young man."

He looks away, and Zayn shakes his head at him. "No. Don't you turn your back on me. What were you thinking giving up your merman gifts?" He pauses just get that witch to give them back, you could go home and just be . . . just be miserable in Harry's green eyes and sighs—"just be . . . just be miserable for the rest of your life. My, what a soft shell I am turning out to be. All right, all right. I'll try to help you. But we've got to be bold, act quickly. Don't forget about the kiss—"

Harry picks Zayn up and kisses him.

"Ah, no, not me!" What a silly child. "You got to kiss the prince!"

A glazed look comes into Harry's eyes. Zayn frowns. "Don't you remember? You've only got three days to . . ." He stops, realizing that he doesn't seem to be hearing his words. Zayn waves his claw in front of Harry's face as he stares off to the side. "Hello?"

Harry doesn't react. Instead, he puts Zayn down and yawns. His movements are almost trancelike. . . .

Zayn gasps as it hits him. "Oh, no! He's put a spell on you. You can't remember, can you?"

Closing his eyes, Harry lies down on the window seat. Zayn is aghast.

"Now what are going to do?" Of course that nasty sea witch would not play fair. It's not like he wants Harry yo succeed. Well, Zayn was never a crab to quit. Things just got harder, but not impossible.

"We got no time to lose," he says, filling his voice with optimism. They can definitely do this. "We just got to find a way to get the two of you together, and . . ." He sees that Harry is fast asleep. He shakes his head. "You are hopeless, child. You know that? Completely hopeless."

It has been a long day, though. Zayn decides to follow Harry's lead and allows himself a brief moment of shut-eye. Unfortunately, he's not even sure his eyes have gotten to close before he's startled by a ruckus near the window. And sea gods help him, it's that skies-forsaken bird!

Sabrina, having made her way through Harry's open window, is loudly helping herself to a tray of food left on the nearby table. "Oooo, a buffet! What, no nuts?"

"What are you doing here?" Zayn asks.

"Oh, there you are!" Sabrina pops her head up and beams at him. "I've been looking for you. Louis told me the whole story. Has Harry killed the prince yet?"

"Not killed! Kissed, you birdbrain! And it's worse than we thought." He sighs, tiredly running a claw over his face. "The witch placed a spell on him. As soon as I tell him he's got to kiss him, the thought jumps clear right out of his head. So now it's up on us."

"To kiss the prince?"

Zayn groans. Why does he bother. "Forget it."

"Where is Harry now?" Sabrina asks.

"What do you mean? He's right here—" Zayn looks behind him and his jaw drops. Harry's boots lie on the floor, but the boy who should filling them is gone.

"Oh . . ." He supposes he shouldn't be surprised. Harry was never good at staying in one place as a merman. Now he's got a brand-new pair of feet to help him evade him.