The Mer Prince

Chapter 20

Sorry for the whole moth of waiting my noble readers!

Charley

I'm not sure why but it is rather comfortable here, looking at an amazing coral and Atlantis-ruins like city. Breathtaking and pleasant, and XY beside me. It was easy to open up to him, though the question was rather sudden.

I figured since I opened up to him I deserved some answers too, so I piped up and asked him. "Cavadan was your brother, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. He was one of my brothers." XY says, looking out over the city.

"One? Does that mean there are more of your family?" The thought of many hot men like XY in the sea was very alarming and at the same time alluring.

"There are no more of my brothers left alive from my birth batch." XY answered stiffly.

"Birth batch? So mer people reproduce like fish? With like, guppies or eggs?" I could see his tenseness from the first two questions wearing away. I'd never try to push him- or anyone for that matter- for information they didn't want to share. And besides, I was curious to know biological facts about mer people.

"The female breeders can have up to eighteen guppies within a single current cycle." XY says. "And we're born as guppies, not in eggs."

"Wow, that's neat. Are breeders separate from nonbreeders or is that just something like one day a lady gets pregnant, and she's a breeder? And are their men breeders?" I was asking him, tilting my head.

"You tell by tail color wether they are breeders or not, and yes, there are men...." XY says, trailing off and glancing towards me.

"What's the color then?" I ask curiously.

"Orange." XY answers bluntly. I didn't understand why he said it so bluntly until I opened my mouth and made the connection.

"Wait, are you saying I can get pregnant? I'm a breeder?! Is that- that's why that all happened with my dad and everything isn't it?" I was flabbergasted. Did that mean I could have a child? How did that even work? Did that mean there was a way for mers to- I'm not going to even think it! That means- that explains the looks certainly! The clothing on the other orange tails and then only on them and the guards-

"Calm down." XY's voice was by my ear and his arms were around me, and I had shut my eyes tightly at some point, my mind running a thousand miles an hour. But at his cool commanding tone of voice I shivered, opening my eyes and realizing I had managed to float myself away with my abnormal breathing and we were now up more, my hands to my head and my tail folded neatly under me on grainy sand.

"Relax." XY says, using that cool and commanding voice, that was neither harsh nor demanding, and rather easy to obey. I took a breath and released it slowly, my shoulders loosening and my head resting back against his chest. My chest kind of hurt- I'm not sure why. But it didn't feel like heart burn or anything, just rather warm. And comfortable.

My choices were made rather quickly- I didn't have a very long time to process what's going on, or even take notes, but I suppose I'm just like Shamu or Free Willy in a odd sense. And with my head resting against XY's chest and my eyes closed, I can think clearly. I was a mer prince, raised as a human, and returned to the sea by the brother of the man who had locked me away from it. And he was quite nice. A little rough- and his chest is certainly like stone- but he's stuck beside me.

I owed him a lot.