Mermaid

Chapter Two

~ Harry's POV
(first person)

Finally I was able to drag the small boy to the shore and rested him against the sand out of the water. He wasn't looking too good. I wiggled up the grainy piece of land, sliding my tail over the rough surface. I didn't like this "land" very much, it was hard to move along.

I grabbed him by his shoulders and laid him very carefully on his back onto the sand. He wasn't moving, and I was worried. Maybe he had some water inside him? We as mer-people could breathe water, but we didn't have to breathe very often. I guess I could try and push the water out of him?

I pressed my hands to his chest and compressed it several times. To my amazement, he responded and started coughing after a few tries, water coming out of his mouth. I turned him to his side, allowing him to expel all of the liquid from his insides.

He collapsed back after a minute or so, his eyes still closed and his mouth slightly open. I slid a bit closer, sitting by his shoulders. I leaned over him curiously, bending to see his face. He was a very pretty young merman. I mean, boy. Whatever he was, looking at him made my heart set ablaze. Wait, what?

No. I didn't know what this feeling was, and it scared me. Looking down at him, seeing his smooth tan skin and tousled brown hair made my face heat up. Each gorgeous plane of his forehead and sharp cheekbones was perfect; and his long dark eyelashes fluttered softly in the sea breeze. There was this complicated feeling building up in my stomach, something that I couldn't explain. It drew me closer, enticing me until I was practically on top of the smaller boy.

I bent down and kissed his pale pink lips softly, just a peck. He felt so cold and weak, and in my foolish mind I thought it might warm him up. That's when his eyes shot open and I fell back, startled by the sky blue color. And the fact that he was awake. And had seen me, if but only for a brief second.

His eyes squeezed shut again as he turned to his side, coughing again and spitting out more salt water.

I shuffled back to the ocean, afraid now. Mother had warned all of her sons about humans. They were dangerous. We couldn't be seen by them, and if we were, they might take us prisoner. That's what had happened to dad, after all.

Scooting backwards was easier said than done. I was only a small bit away before I saw the boy's arms stir in an effort to get himself up. I couldn't let him catch me. I had already broken so many rules of my mums. Finally I made it back to the waterline and I dragged myself in, pushing off with my arms to get out far enough so I could paddle away. The sky was clearing up a bit now, still blowing cold air around the shore but you could see a little blue peeking out of the fluffy grey bunches.

Blue. Just like his eyes.

I nearly slapped myself for thinking such a thing. Finally diving back down, I hurried to the palace. The lights were on in the music room, and I could hear the orchestra in the middle of a piece. My piece!

Frantically I swam through the palace, brushing past guards and servants and chefs. "Good afternoon Prince Harry!" they all said, and I sent a hurried smile to each. I could hear the music and my brothers voices building up, just seconds away from my solo...

I ducked behind the seaweed curtains and into my spot just in time, out of breath and heart racing. The crescendo built up and there was roaring in my ears, partly from the recent accidents I had knowingly found fault with and the fact that I was performing in such a large crowd of important merfolk. Finally it was my turn and I belted out a very emotional, adrenaline-infused solo that shot my voice up high to the ceilings and suddenly cracked just before it was over.

Embarrassment set my cheeks on fire almost as much as kissing that boy on the beach, but I tried to finish strong and made it to where the rest of my brothers came in with their much lower voices. I stood there completely still, fear soaking into my scales and skin. What did I just do?

Why was I so stupid and couldn't listen to Flounder? She was right, after all. I was late to the concert, and of course mother would notice. Not to mention how much trouble I would be in with Sebastian and my older brothers. The song finished, and I fled to my room.

Flounder found me an hour later curled up on my bed. I was sobbing into the spongy pillows, curled up into a ball. "Hey Harry. Do you wanna talk?" she asked softly. I shook my head, mumbling into the mattress. She sighed, exhaling water from her gills. "If you're worried about Sebastian or your mother, don't fret about it. They've got bigger problems to deal with."

This surprised me. "What?" I asked, lifting my head slightly. Flounder patted me on the back. "Well, I'm not supposed to be talking about this, but I guess it won't be too bad if I told you." "What?" I rolled over, a slight grin on my face. She rolled her eyes, a small smirk on her face. "Sebastian may or may not have gotten a bit angry with the conch-drummers and shoved one into their instrument."

I chuckled, slowly coming out of my upset mood. "And mum?" "She had to bring one of her guests to the infirmary after a jellyfish stung him. I told her they weren't good pets, but she said she'd de-sting them. I guess they forgot about one."

Talking to Flounder always put me in a good mood, no matter what I had been going through. I sighed, relaxing a bit more onto my sponge-bed. We sat for a moment of silence, allowing the tension to melt away.

"So, can we talk about what's going on with you?" she said lightly. Instantly I panicked and buried my face in the pillow. "Nothing. I'm just stressed out," I lied.

Flounder knew it too. "Aww come on Harry, you can tell me."

I sighed, turning over to face her. "I-I don't know. I mean, I was feeling fine this morning but suddenly I'm all tingly and warm inside. Like, my stomach keeps doing flips and I feel like I'm blushing all the time. I want to smile, and I'm trying hard not to because I'm still worried about mother being mad at me. But at the same time I feel light and happy. Does that make sense?"

She thought for a moment, nodding a couple times. "Yeah. Harry! Have you met anyone new recently?" Uh oh. She knew. "Umm, well, yeah I guess. Well, I've met a lot of new people recently, with all the banquets mother has been throwing and such. But I don't see how that has anything to do with-"

"Oooh Harry!" Flounder squealed, nudging me. "Somebody's met someone special!"

My face warmed up so quickly, I knew I was blushing for real now. I ducked my head, skating it slowly in an attempt to deter her. But my best friend knew me too well. "So? When do I get to meet this little mermaid? Is she one of the councilors daughters?" she teased. I took a deep breath.

"Umm, Flounder?" I said softly. She stopped her happy swim-dance and looked at me. "What?"

"The, umm, person that I met... Well they're a guy. And he's not a merman, he's a human."

Omg so sorry that I update so slowly! My New Years resolution is to update more (among other things). I just watched The Human Centipede with a few friends and I literally can't even sleep. Like, it's really bad. I can't even read any Larry things right now cuz of butts and all... If you don't know, then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE trust me that it's super gross. I need to think about some other stuff but it's literally 4:24am and I need to sleep. Goodnight... Thank you for reading!