RIPPLE

{Twenty Two} WEEK ONE

Week One

I felt Lachlan's loss as soon as he left. I knew that he was a damn skilled liar, but he would never lie about something like this. It felt too much like a goodbye. But I would feel if Lachlan were to die in the sea, and I know that he would make it home safely, running from the beach to the gardens and returning to the heavily guarded Palace to talk to his mother and tell her his story, how I saved him.

        Now that I was alone, I remember how his last breath felt as his lips turned blue and his face pale. But I also remember how strong his heart sounded once I brought him back from the dead, and how it sounded when we lay against one another in bed, shroud in the darkness and blue of the sea.

        As soon as Lachlan left, it was like he had never been there to make a deal with Poseidon. Thirty days is a long time, and details for wedding plans were being prepared around the meal hall once plates were cleared after dinner.

         Dad watches me closely, knowing I'm running on autopilot. I sit beside Merrick, listening to his mother Amphrite talking excitedly about what color the place mats should be and suggesting which flowers could be in my bouquet. Merrick and I let his mother make all the decisions, we could barely look at each other, and his arrogance was thankfully gone once reality set in.

        I couldn't wait to return to the surface world.

          On the fourth day once Poseidon confirmed that Lachlan indeed was on the Island of Monsters, my father convinced Poseidon to allow me onto his private island with minimal guards. Unfortunately, Poseidon agreed so long as I brought Merrick along.

        As the sun was setting on day five, I finally convince Merrick to come with me to explore his father's island.

         Without his arrogance, Merrick might actually be a decent man. He walked along the beach with me, liking the space between us as we walk. Merrick walks barefoot in a pair of abstract swim trunks and a white tank. His blonde hair is windblown and he looks somewhat carefree as he walks along thoughtfully and thankfully silent beside me.

       Poseidon's island was large, and to big to explore with the only hour we had out here. There were large palm trees, and a path that led through them up a hill where more trees waited and grew thicker and closer together. I wanted to see what was at the top.

       Where was the Island of Monsters, and what exact creatures inhabit it?

        I adored the crisp feeling of the wind on my face, bathing in the warmth of the sun. The sand tickles my toes and my legs ache for the freedom of the ocean. I am caught between two worlds; and that was my father's worst fear, to lose more of his daughters and family to a world he didn't want to see.

         Interrupting my thoughts as the guard falls behind, Merrick gazes over at me. “I hope your Prince finds his way back here, Nerissa.”

        I raise an eyebrow and almost chance a laugh, “You're telling me after you almost watch him drown that you're one of our cheerleaders now?”

         Merrick lifts his shoulders in a small shrug. “Sometimes my father gives me no choice.” He gazes out at the ocean. “First Aquamarine disobeyed your father, and now you. You're very brave, Princess, very selfless; but those are qualities that my father tends to squash out. I'm starting to see a trend with you Caraway girls, and I know your father can't pass Glimmer off to me. Each girl offered to me loves someone else, and so do I.”

        I stare wide-eyed. He's going against a God — his own father — to choose his own Fate. Maybe he isn't the vain dunderhead I thought he was. “Is- is she in the sanctuary with us?” It was a fair question.