Serenitatem

Chapter 11

It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Tal ran as if he had a destination in mind, but in truth, he didn't think about where he was headed at all. He had thought this escape from his old life was going to work but everything fell apart in an instant. Why did he run off? The pure panic in that he would be dragged back to the lagoon forever made him want to get away. He liked the human world and wasn't ready to go anywhere yet.

Another problem arose to suddenly Tal nearly stumbled over his own feet. His father had been seen. By a human fisherman. If Menlo had been seen, it was only a matter of time before the whole town knew and they would be hunting for him, for his father.

Tal's eyes darted over the waves as if he expected to see boats ominously searching the waters. He stopped near the path that led to Axel and Elle's home, trying to catch his breath. He tried to get his thoughts together. So far, the fisherman had only told Axel, and he didn't seem to believe him in the slightest, which was a relief.

Tal bit his lip and came to a sorrowing decision. He had to leave. He had to find his father and go back to the lagoon before it was too late. Forget freedom. It was better than seeing Menlo strung up in a net. Or any of the others in his colony. Even Sebasou, that. Well, maybe just for fun, just to see him squirm a bit. As he headed for the beach, Tal thought about telling Elle that he was leaving. She'd ask where he was going and not take a vague answer. Tal had a horrible suspicion that she knew something was up. No, he better just go and let it be.

He paused at the little beach by the house. The waves beckoned him to join them but Tal forced himself to look back. "Goodbye," he whispered. Tal began walking into the foamy water, savoring the cool feeling traveling up his legs as he went deeper. Legs that would become his familiar tail. He was about to dive under the waves when a shout from the shore caught his attention. He turned towards the shore.

"TAL!" Elle was running at a full sprint to the beach, her flaming hair streaming behind her. Axel wasn't far behind, yelling at his niece to stop.

"Elle?" Tal stood stunned as she began splashing towards him. What was she doing? He was relieved the water hadn't covered his legs completely.

"What are you-?" Elle was right in front of him when she tripped. Arms flailing, Elle and Tal crashing right into each other, Tal's feet slipped of the sandy bottom as they tumbled into the drop off, where the deepness of the ocean rapidly increased. Tal was so disoriented, he hardly felt his shorts ripping as his tail burst into form. Elle's face broke the surface and she gasped for air before a wave crashed right over their heads, sending them both under, spinning around in a whirl of bubbles and foam.

Tal didn't know his right from his left, his up from his down. He paused right below the surface to get his bearings. He looked around and choked, sending a stream of bubbles out of his mouth. Elle. She was floating in the water, her hair fanned out like seaweed. He was at her side in an instant. Tal could hardly breathe as he held her head above the water. Blood trickling from a gash in her forehead mingled with the seawater. She was clearly unconscious and hung limply in his arms.

It took a moment for him to realize Axel was shouting at him from the edge of the drop off. Tal forgot all his fear of being seen with his tail. He swam as quickly as he could, flapping his fins in a slightly awkward way that kept his body upright. Right before he handed, Elle to her uncle, he gave her forehead a quick kiss. A merman's only gift. He prayed it would work. Axel was as pale as the sand as he scooped Elle into his arms. To both of their reliefs, Elle stirred and opened her eyes.

"What...?" she moaned weakly, turning her head to try to figure out where she was.

"Don't move," Axel said firmly. "You'll be alright. I'm taking you to the hospital." Without a backwards glance at Tal, he ran up the beach towards the road.

"Will she be okay?" Tal yelled, fear rattling in his chest. He hovered there uncertainly as Axel and Elle went out of sight.

Tal knew he couldn't leave with Elle hurt. He had to make sure she was okay before anything else. After retrieving the shredded shorts from the sea, he hauled himself onto the beach for the second time in two days. It felt wrong to go into Axel's house when he wasn't there so Tal waited on the beach, hugging his knees to his chest.

A few hours later, Tal was shivering in his wet clothes as a cool breeze blew from the ocean. Dusk was falling now and they still hadn't returned. He was about to go into the water to warm up when he spotted a figure walking down the path. It was Axel- and he was alone.

Heart in his throat, Tal ran over to him. "Is she-?" he gasped.

"She's fine," Axel said, unsmiling. "I just brought her into the house then went to find you." He handed Tal a fresh set of clothes. "Here, you must be freezing."

Axel turned his back as he changed. After, in a low voice, he said, "Does she know?"

Tal froze. "K-know what?" he managed.

The young man scowled. "Don't play dumb with me, Tal. I know what you are. I had my suspicions and today confirmed it. So does she know?"

His brain must have stopped working. It wasn't possible that Axel knew that he was a merman. This couldn't be happening. Tal took a few steps back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Axel said in a much gentler voice. "I brought you from the beach and patched you up, gave you food and clothes. You can trust me, Tal. Promise."

Tal looked into his eyes, trying to see any flicker of trickery, but there was none. "No, " he said softly. "Elle doesn't know anything."

Axel visibly relaxed. "Good."

Tal was bursting to get some answers. "How did you know I'm a merman?"

"I once met someone like you a long time ago. Same webs between the fingers, same confusion about the human world. I saw your tail when you brought Elle to me." Suddenly, Axel frowned. "'Did you do something to Elle when you kissed her?"

Tal stammered out an explanation. "I-I was only trying to help her! Promise! I can heal things when I...um..kiss them." He blushed under Axel's cold glare. "Honest! I was afraid you wouldn't let me so I- well I did it without asking." He said this part very fast staring at his feet

Axel grunted. "Well whatever you did worked. The doctor said she must have hit her head on some rocks but didn't even have a concussion. He put a bandage on her head, but I'll bet its starting to scab over."

Tal nodded slowly. It seemed Axel wasn't going to kill him for breaking some human law about kissing girls. He blushed again.

"And none of that teenage hormone stuff, okay?" Axel said sternly, wiping the grin off his face. "I don't want you breaking her heart because you can't stay. Don't tell her anything. You can see her and spent the night, but you're going home tomorrow."