The Mer Prince

Chapter 38

John Argus's (Formerly Runt's) POV

We arrived at a towering human building, looking like humans, and talking like humans. I was not walking like one, and that did not seem to please the witch. I told her to suck a squid and she muted me.

Charley was taken into the massive building. He was the only one that could go in with Ursula, much to the other human and I's dismay. I was naked, and the big man who rescued Charley had to watch me. Humans rushed out to collect Charley from Ursula and take them in.

"I hope he's alright." The big man fidgeted in the seat in front of me. I still wasn't sure who he was, not his name or why he helped us at all. I kicked his seat and he looked back at me with mermaid eyes.

I still had no way to speak to him, so I glared and pursed my sealed lips. I even crossed my arms.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, moving into the back with me.

This was murder. I just want to know who you are and why the hell Charley is going into another human place! That's my damn mer!

We made solid eye-contact until he broke the gaze, looking out towards the building. Ursula came in and started the vehicle that we were in. The merman-human male hopped to the front seat again.

"How is he? Will they heal him?" The man asked.

"Yes, this is a hospital. He will be okay, it was only a shoulder graze." Ursula assured. She gave him something, and then started the engine. "We will come back, and pick him up later."

The big guy breathed in relief and looked out towards the building. "So, we just have to wait?"

"That's right. And until then, you are taking care of that squid in the back seat." She told him. I could glean she meant me, and I gave her a hard glare. I kicked her seat too. "He's like a child and smells like pond scum."

"Is he... that human word... hangry?" The merman asked, solidifying that he was a merman with legs.

Ursula laughed and responded, then turned on human music. They started talking, and I flopped over onto my side, arms crossed. I moved the human legs around and then crossed them, then put them up above my head. They were much less versatile than tentacles, and I grabbed them to bring them to my face. One had five smaller things on them that I could move, the other only had three. I had eight tiny thingies on the ends of my feet. I felt slightly proud to have the perfect number for once, wiggling them. I started to get to feel over this new lower half of me until the car slowed.

"Quit that!" Ursula chided me. The engine and music shut off as we arrived at a small human home. The brown triangle-roofed place was not as boring to look at as all the other places I had seen, but the building was still human so I hated it.

"What should-" The merman started, getting out of the car.

"Grab him and take him in, XY. He needs a bath and dressed." Ursula opened the door of the vehicle. Somehow, I doubted his name was XY.

I let go of my legs and rolled over, the merman reaching in and taking me under the arms. I smacked his face as soon as he pulled me too close, which unfortunately hurt my hand, and did not seem to phase him. My arms suddenly dropped like weights under a quick witch spell. Fuck.

The merman carried me like an unwanted guppy, at a distance, with my legs dangling above the ground. I glared at him the whole journey into the house and as he put me into a tub. This was the smallest tank I had ever been in! They filled it with warm water and I panicked, kicking and turning my gaze, trying to get out of the hot water. I would not be boiled alive today!

"He's smaller than Charley." The merman commented to Ursula as he forced me back into the tub and held me still. "Is he a child?" I wanted to beat in his fucking face, but I was more concerned about the raising warm water around my legs. Kicking at the water was doing no good.

"No, he's an adult. He was most likely the smallest of his batch at birth." Ursula reasoned. "He's missing toes too. Most octopi try to get rid of eggs that seem too small and fling them out of their caves, which either kills them or...."

"I know about that." The merman interrupted. "I was born in the trenches, I know how many eggs I have seen rotting on walls or at the bottom of the shallow spots. I have never met one that's hatched and survived...." He was looking at me with a sad gaze. I flipped myself so I could kick him, my back in the warm water now as my feet jabbed into his side.

Ursula gave a laugh at my position, and the merman only fixed me back to a sitting position. There were many curses I wanted to scream at them, and a few bites I could give. But my voice was still sealed away, and my arms still at my sides, and warm water was rising around me so they could torture me more.

"I'll go make lunch." Ursula commented. "We will go talk to Charles as soon as he calls. And be careful, I'm going to let the squid free now." She left the room, leaving me with the merman, the water faucet turning off.

My lips could move again, and my arms. I moved to attack the merman, but he was prepared for me, suddenly pinning my hands down on the side of the tub and grabbing a sponge. I tried to bite his arm, but my teeth were no longer sharp and he shoved the sponge into my face and started aggressively rubbing.

"You fuck! You fucker! Eat shit!" I sputtered, trying to free my hands and squeezing my eyes shut.

"Hey! Charley told me to take care of you while he gets better, so work with me!" The merman said, serious and a little threatening. He dipped the sponge in the water and started scrubbing my neck.

"He said what?" I growled and tried to crush his hand between my shoulder and cheek, getting myself more wet as the sponge squeezed out. "I can take care of myself!"

"Then quit acting like a feral and wash yourself!" His hand slipped from my shoulder and the sponge hit my face, my hands freed.

"You don't wash yourself with a sponge!" I insisted throwing it back into his face. "You're trying to boil me with the hot water!"

"It's warm water, not hot! We're not trying to boil you, and humans wash with a sponge!" He smacked the sponge back into my face.

The sponge was the last straw as I lunged for his neck, but again, he was prepared for me. He pushed me back, smacked my side, and shoved me down in the water. My jaw hit the side of the bath and he grabbed the sponge, starting to scrub so hard I thought I was losing skin and panicked.

"I don't want to die here! I want to see my brother!" I thrashed about, my arms being pinned as my back was brushed over.

"You're not dying! You're being cleaned! Cod, I don't see how Charley made friends with you." The blue-eyed man scolded, brushing quickly over what I could tell was my rear, and freed me so he could take my legs and scrub them. "You really stink like shit." He coughed, dumping a paste on the sponge and washing my back again.

I had tensed, but the rough handling was forcing my muscles to ease. Being reassured that I was not being murdered was a plus.

Being flipped over to be washed, I immediately crossed my arms. The merman didn't clean them, but he got my armpits and my chest. I sniffed myself while his gaze turned, curious about the foam that he was spreading over me and then washing off. It smelled edible. I tried some. It was not edible.

"Euych!" I was spitting and sitting up. "Chemical!"

"It smells good right?" The merman sounded very amused. "Not so tasty?"

"Shut up! Go die!" I threw the container of the stuff at him. He caught it, which left me pausing in awe. This was definitely one of the trench mermen.

"Here, rinse off." He handed me the sponge like I would know what to do with it now. "I'll find clothes." His were wet now. I didn't want anything like that, but let him leave.

As soon as he left, I got out of the water and started looking for a suitable weapon. I found a spiked object behind the toilet with a handle, pulling it from its sheath I could tell this had great power.

The merman walked back in and I raised it towards him threateningly. He stopped immediately in his tracks and made a face of disgust.

"Ursula! He has the shit scrubber!" He called behind him.