T&H Excerpts

sassy mermaid drives sailor boy crazy

Being held captive in a tank hardly bigger than you are has three problems: one: there is absolutely nothing to do, and two: your tail gets cramped and you start hallucinating of the ocean and the beautifully open water in a desperate attempt to console yourself and three: the fear of what will happen to you, but being completely helpless and unable to fix the situation.

This is what drove her to the point of madness.

She was flipped upside down, tail stretched to the top of the tank, her head on the floor of the tank and face smushed against the glass. She waved her tail back and forth, trying to get her blood flowing. It was agony being in here- the water tasted strange and made her feel lightheaded, her heart beating fast and hard in her throat. Being upside down was a comfort, somehow. If her life was turned wonky, she might as well literally be that way. And that was how she was positioned when the boy from yesterday came in. He opened the door, clad in a loose fitting white-gray shirt and brown breeches that went to his mid calf, and brown boots with strange buttons and ornaments. He was carrying a notebook and a quill.

Her eyes traveled up (or rather, down, since she was still upside down) his body, to his face, when she realized with a start- and a lurch in her chest- that he was staring right back at her. In a flurry she tried to move in an upright position, jerking herself up and entangling herself in her tail in the process.

"Codfish," she cursed, and very carefully unentangled herself. Her skin felt hot. Call her crazy, but being held captive didn't mean that she didn't have a sense of dignity. The times she had seen Jasper always began in less than pleasant circumstances- she assumed he was there when she was first captured and knifed by that hideous squid of a man, then when he had jumped into the tank and scared her half to death- and now, with her floating upside down and tangled up in her own body.

"Hello again," a voice said, startling her out of her thoughts. Jasper was standing in front of her, his hand raised in greeting. She nodded slightly at him.

"How have you been, Sereia?" He asked as he pulled up a chair from nearby and sat down.

She eyed him warily. Why in all of Atlantis was he holding a notebook and quill? He had better not be recording her answers or making observations, because she absolutely refused to be made into a laughing stock by being treated like a mere fish- a creature to be studied or ogled at.

She scoffed at him, bubbles popping out of her mouth, crossed her arms and said nothing.

He looked up from his notebook, which he had been flipping through and noticed her expression.

"Sorry," his eyebrows quirked in confusion, "What did I say?"

She glared at him coldly. Ally or not, she couldn't be completely sure.

"If you knew the significance of a Kyin's name, you wouldn't be so ready to use it," she said coldly.

He raised his arms and shoulders in a shrug.

"Sorry," he said apologetically, "I didn't know. Tell me."

"No, I'd rather not, " she said. "But know this- my name is akin to having my trust and loyalty. Don't you dare use it so frivolously and mock who I am in doing so."

He shrugged again, contrite. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," he repeated.

"That's the whole point." She muttered. "You're not supposed to know. Us Kyin are a reserved species for a reason." She flipped her tail at him in annoyance.

He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, probably praying to Poseidon for patience or counting to ten or something.

Good, she thought. He probably doesn't get annoyed as often as he should.

"Look," he said after a minute. "I'm trying to help you-"

"I don't need your help," she huffed.

He waited a minute for the irony of her words and situation to sink in.

"You are in a tank that is practically unbreakable, in the middle of a ship with a constant guard at watch," he said slowly, almost in disbelief. "But be my guest, try and break out any time you wish."

She stared stubbornly past his shoulders, refusing to acknowledge her foolishness.

"Fine." he stood up abruptly. "You don't want my help. You're obviously crazy because there is no way you're getting out of here, and then you'll be fed to some sea monster simply because you were too proud to admit it!" He threw his hands up in the air and stalked away, not even bothering to pick up his notebook or quill where he had dropped them on the floor.