Beauty and the Merman

Chapter 9

It was hard to keep track of time in the ocean when there were no calendars, but it must have been some time later when Gilden came to visit. Sorelen and I were reading in the library when another merman I hadn't seen before burst through. I was startled out of the book.
This strange merman swam over to Sorelen and burst out "There you are."
Sorelen swam over to him and gave him a hug. "Hi Gill, how are you doing?"
"I'm good, how are you? You're the one who's been M.I.A.  for all this time." That's when he looked over at me and was hugging me before I could do anything about it.
Sorelen laughed and informed me "This is my younger brother, Gilden. The one I told you about."
That's right. He said Gilden might visit. But he was squeezing me way too hard. "Can't breathe."
Gilden let go of me, looking a little sorry, but mostly happy to see me for some reason. That's when he began whispering to Sorelen. "I would have visited you sooner but I had some things to take care of. How's it going?" Sorelen looked at him with smoldering eyes and Gilden shut up. "We'll talk about it later, Gilden."
"Right." Then he was back to happy Gilden and asked me "What's your name?"
"Marina."
"Oh, like the sea. Very nice. I like it. I just came by to visit you guys. Make sure Sorelen is still alive."
Sorelen looked at him with exasperation. "Please, Gill. How long are you staying?"
"Oh, for a week. Unless you don't want me here."
"No, it's fine. Marina, would you like to talk to Gill while I prepare dinner for three?"
"Sure." I responded. Then Sorelen left, leaving me alone with Gilden. Now that I could look at him properly, he did have some similarities to Sorelen. They both had the same brown hair, but his eyes were nothing like Sorelen's. While Sorelen's eyes reminded me of home and earth, Gilden's eyes were light blue like the ocean. Sorelen wore a tender but serious expression but Gilden's face was made for laughter. Gilden swam next to me and said "Let's talk."
We began swimming through the castle when Gilden asked "So, what do you think of my big brother?"
"What about him?"
"How has he been treating you?"
"Well, I suppose. We talk. We read. We eat. Not much to do in a prison." I didn't mean to let that slip out, but I had been gone from home so long. And I still had some resentment. But I regretted the comment when I saw Gilden get serious for the first time. So I corrected myself "But he's nice enough."
"I'm sorry for you being stuck here."
"Why in the world would you be apologizing? Forget about it. Sorelen never tells me either."
"I can't tell you why, but I can tell you that you seem good for Sorelen. I love my brother, and he's a great guy. But he's been down on his luck for a while and you seem to have brought him back from where he was. Don't let the situation blind you from seeing him in the right light."
I didn't quite understand what he meant, but I nodded my head. Gilden seemed like he was trying to help me. He was a nice guy.