RIPPLE

{Fourteen}

There he is.

       My prince charming is on the deck of a large shrimping boat named JENNY. His cerulean eyes look slightly sad as he gazes down into the ocean. He looks so relaxed, so beautiful, but that song echoes here on the boat and its twisted tune churns the fear in my bones. I want to pull him from the edge as I see an orange tail lick the surface. The sweet evening breeze blows his hair back. Lachlan's curiosity always gets the better of him and he leans slightly over the edge.

       “Lachlan!” I scream. But he can't hear me.

        He's alone on the deck, he can't see or hear me. As the waves below rock the boat, I can't seem to warn Lachlan fast enough. He can't get away fast enough. When the boat tips over, Lachlan is thrust right into the sea.

* * *

I wake up with fear in my veins and a scream in my throat. If it were just a dream, Lachlan would be returning today. I try to tell myself that it was just a dream, that everything is really okay . . . but deep inside, I knew nothing would ever be the same again. I knew Lachlan was claimed by the sea.

        Getting ready very slowly, tears claim my eyes and they finally fall onto my dress as I sit on the comfy bed. Everything inside of me feels destroyed. Despite the heart that echoes and beats in my chest, it feels like another piece of me is gone. Lachlan is gone and he won't be coming back. And this is all my fault. Its my fault for leaving him the other night. Its my fault for coming here to the surface world.

       You can't save everyone, Nerissa.

        But I can still save Lachlan. and why did that orange tail look so familiar?

       A knock on the door made me dry my pathetic tears. I couldnt muster the courage to speak, so I got up on shaking legs like death was summoning me to the door. And maybe it has, because here is King Ronan. My breath catches in my throat, “You have a guest waiting for you in the meal hall, Nerissa, and he requests that the two of you speak alone.”

        Fear courses through me as I follow King Ronan through the dimly lit corridors. Will this be the last time I ever walk these corridors again? What about my younger sisters? And this guest. Who could it be? Poseidon? My father? By the look on the King's face, there was fear and worry and his lips were very tight.

        “Who is it, King Ronan?”

        But King Ronan didn't or couldn't speak and would barely look at me as we walked. He repeated that there's a guest in the meal hall that doesn't liked to be keep waiting, and shuffled me quickly inside, closing the doors with an echoing slam that sounded final.

       Again that echoing fear.

       Breakfast is already on the table, and a hum surrounds the room until I find him. He's standing in the corner of the room, near the windows and my back is pressed up against the door. A message and a necklace in a bottle are being held in his hands.

       Fear courses through me.

       I know why he's here.

        “The royal Sinclair family prove to be such gracious hosts, don't they?” Power evaporates from his every pore and his eyes are a strange shade of ever-changing blue. His black hair holds a slight salt and pepper touch and he hasn't shaved his four o clock shadow this morning. He clicks his tongue and sighs, changing his gaze from the fields onto me. “You, Princess Nerissa Caraway, have put my ocean through more trouble than I'd care to admit.”