Authors: Sheri L. Swift
“It’s alright, she understands. Besides, she hasn’t got the hang of scuba diving just yet. I’ll try and see you once more before you leave next week,” said her father sadly.
“Yeah Dad, please do. Titus and I have agreed that we want you to have the black pearl necklace for your wedding gift. It’s in my jewelry box at home
.”
“Lana, you know how I feel about that
.
”
H
e raised his brows beneath his mask.
“Dad, not for her to wear, but for you to sell. You might be able to get another
Sheri Lynn
?”
Lana smiled as she knew it was tempting him.
“You know, I hadn’t thought of that. It might be nice to get another schooner at that,” he chuckled letting out air bubbles once more.
“If you need anything else, you know that the treasure is in the city and where it is. You are welcome to it Cole,” Titus said with a hand shake.
“No Prince Titus, you keep your t
reasure. In fact, I hope you’
ll seal off the city and the cavern
before you go
.
”
“We will do as you say,” said Titus with a slight bow of his head.
“Well,
I guess
I’ll see you guys i
n about a week,” said Cole
as he hugged Lana goodbye. She kissed his cheek and let him go. It was one of the hardest things she ever had to do and Titus knew it.
Titus and Lana danced and visited with all those gathered during the entire day. As the sun began to set, they said their goodbyes and Titus scooped Lana up into his arms and began to swim her back to the cavern. “This reminds me of the first day we met. It was when you were born and I held
you for the first time.
Then I spent seventeen winters watching you grow.
The next time
that I held you, was
after you had passed out
.
”
H
e
grinned
.
“Yeah, about that, you knew what would happen to me didn’t you? Tempest didn’t take me to the cav
ern, he took me out to the deep
where you just happened to come along and rescue me
.
”
S
he smiled a knowing look.
“P
erhaps I did help the situation a little,” he
chuckl
ed and then kissed her.
~~~
The next morning, Lana woke in the pool beside Titus and she ran her fingers tenderly down his face as he slept. He grinned and opened up his eyes, “Is this how it is to be
every morning, you will not allow
your husband sleep?” Titus teased.
“Yep, every morning, like it or not
.
”
S
he kissed him.
“Good, I like it
.
”
H
e kissed her back.
The days that followed were a wonderful time for Lana and Titus. They both enjoyed a love that neither had ever known and they were amazed by the wonder of it.
Cole
did come
to
the
cavern the
day
before they were to leave and
sai
d his farewell, “I”
ll miss you kid. I guess I need to stop calling you that Lana. You’re a beautiful woman and it’s hard for me to realize that you’re not my little girl anymore,” he said kissing the top of her head.
“I don’t know Dad, I think I’ll always be your little girl
.
”
S
he kissed his cheek.
“And you will always be my big girl
.
”
S
miled Titus as he kissed
Lana
.
“You two be sure and take care. I envy you going to the
South Pacific
.
”
Cole
grinned
.
“You know where we will be. You are welcome to join us,” encouraged Titus.
“
I need to let things settle down here for a few years before I can.”
“Dad, did you ever ask Rose to marry you?” Lana asked hopeful.
“Yeah
and she agreed. We plan on marrying in a few weeks
.
”
H
e
gave a wide grin
.
“Oh Dad, that’s wonderful. I remembered that I have her combs in my jewelry box too. I want her to have them for her daughter one day,” Lana giggled.
“
I’ll let her know, can’t give you a guarantee on that one though
.
”
H
e smiled again.
“Congratulations Cole,” said Titus shaking his hand.
“Thanks, love is
in the air you know,” Cole chuckled
.
“Yes, I know,” said Titus as he looked down to Lana beside him.
“Let’s make an agreement to meet back here at
Gull
Island
three years fr
om today, okay?” said Cole
.
“It is agreed,” said Titus with a bow of his head.
“Maybe it’
ll be a mermaid day
.
”
Lana
smiled
.
“Yeah, I believe it will be, one way or another
.
”
Cole
smiled and he hugged Lana once more and wished them a safe journey.
~~~~~
Titus was good to his word and the mermen blocked the entrance to Torbist and the cavern with large boulders before they began to make their journey.
King Titan and half of the guard led the front of the mer. Titus, with Lana on his back, and Makoa followed after the pod with the other half of the guard.
Each
of the guard
smen
carried long spears that were crafted much like Lana’s knife.
Lana couldn’t help but be exc
ited about
making a long trip
with her husband and her new family.
Cole had shown her a map of where the mer traveled and she saw that they would be swimming down to the
South Atlantic Ocean
and around
South America
to the
South Pacific Ocean
.
She
knew that it might be a hard trip
for her and she hoped
she was up to the challenge. At least she had Titus to help her. Tempest seemed to sense her need and he rubbed up against her and it looked as though he smiled.
Soon after the pod began to swim out to the deep part of the ocean, Lana thought t
hat she heard something strange,
what’s that sound?
Titus was swimming so fast that she could barely concentrate. She had an overwhelming urge to listen
and she let go of Titus and
began to swim towards the sound that she believed was some sort of music. It was just like the mer played in Torbist, only th
is seemed to have an eerie tone to it
.
Titus quickly swam to her and grabbed her and held Lana tightly to his chest. He swam even faster to catch the pod.
“What’s wrong Titus? What’s that music that I hear?” Lana asked.
“It comes from the others that we d
o not speak of,” he said as he continued to increase his speed
.
“What others, do you mean Damon?”
“Lana,
please do not mention that name
and do not think on any of it. Just trust me and do as I say,” he said sternly.
“
Okay
,” she said and she tried to clear her mind, but it was hard to not hear the music.
Titus gave a nod to Makoa as he passed and began to swim even faster, passing up the entire pod until he reached the front where his father and King Titan were. “Lana, you must trust what I am doing, I will return for you and explain everything later. Please stay with my father,” said
Titus as he looked to Prince Terrance
and put Lana on his back.
Wow, this is
n’t
awkward
,
Lana
thought. She wasn’
t very comfort
able having to ride her father-in-law’s back and
was confused by it all.
“It will be well daughter, he will return soon. Keep your thoughts on how much he
loves you,” said
Prince Terrance.
“I’ll try and do as you say,” said Lana trying to
keep her
focus on Titus.
It seemed like they had
traveled
at top speed for hours when Titus finally came back to the front and got Lana. He could tel
l that she was upset with
him and he grinned and kissed her and swung her on his back once more. “Please do not be angry with me, I was trying to protect you,” he said seriously.
“Protect me from what?” Lana asked
coldly
; still not ready to forgive him.
“Damon and his guard are not the only
other
mer
with
in the ocean. There are others that l
ive near an underwater mountain
called the Bermuda Rise. Their ways are not ours. They lead humans to their death, only they do it occasionally as to not be caught. We believed that Darious had gone to them after he broke off from us. It was confirmed when we saw that he had been made a Prince and wore the golden crown and the one braid of the others, but especially his eyes. I believe it is their environment that causes them to change. The others came from our people long ago, when they chose to not serve King Titan. He allowed them to leave and form a pod of their own.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because Tiberius was King Titan’s older brother and he was rejected to be King Tiryn’s successor; that was their father. When he died, the mer named Titan their King as his father had wished and Tiberius revolted along with about a third of the pod. Rather than see war among the family, King Titan granted them leave. That was over one thousand winters ago and we have agreed to stay out of their waters and they have agreed to stay out of ours. We only cross paths with them occasionally when we migrate, but we agree to keep our distance from each other. You heard their music; they often lure men with their maidens. They play the golden harps and sing and bring
them
to their death,” said Titus sadly.
“Titus
that’s awful. It makes sense though, I’ve heard about a place called the Bermuda Triangle where sh
ips have disappeared. That’s terrible
to think that Damon’
s joined them,” said Lana with a shudder.
“That is why I did not want to take a chance on them reading your thoughts. I thought it was best to not tell you
,
so that you would not be thinking about them,” he said apologetically.
“Titus, we’re married now, you’re gonna have to trust me enough to tell me everything. I’m learning to keep my thoughts focused on yo
u and I might’
ve been able to do it.”
“You are right and I am sorry. I will tell you everything in the future and I will work at helping you to keep your thoughts only on me”
H
e turned and winked to her and she laughed. Tempest went speeding by and rolled playfully alongside of them as he did.
Lana found it so thrilling to travel in such a large group. She never really had time to get to know the pod and now she could see how many of the mer had young children. They carried them on their backs as Titus did with Lana.
“I like carrying you on my back,” said Titus as he read her thoughts.
Lana laughed and gave him a hug, “I suppose there’s no other way. I can admit that
I’m not able to keep up with
all
of you
. I guess it also has its advantages,” she said as she kissed his shoulder.
“I quite agree
.
”
H
e smiled to her.
Lana saw so many wonderful sights she had never seen before. Not only t
he beautiful colors of the coral reefs beneath the ocean, but also the many
underwater mountain ranges
. She couldn’t believe how
many varieties of fish
that she saw
and how many of them gave off different colors of light
. Her favorite surprise of all was the large humpback whales with their long knobby flippers and mouths. There was a mother swimming below the surface with her calf on top of her back and again, Lana smiled and Titus read her thoughts of how much it were like she and Titus.
Tempest enjoyed finding small squid. At first, he played with them. Then he began to eat them and it made Lana ill at the thought and Titus laughed at her. Tempest gave up when a larger squid came and began releasing its ink into the water and Lana laughed to see him quickly swim away.
Whenever the mer came upon shoa
ls of herring
or krill
, they would stop and
eat. Lana was used to eating her fish
raw by now, but she still preferred it cooked. Titus would tear it apart for her and again, Lana noticed the mer parents doing the same for their children. Titus would smile his bright smile and tell her how much he did not mind; he was willing to do anything for her. He realized how much she was doing for him just by giving up her life that she had before.
After a few days of
t
raveling
, Lana felt the water getting warmer and it seemed to become clearer as they
continued to follow
a
nother
long series of underwater mountain ranges. She began to sense sadness in the mer and she asked Titus, “Why are the mer so sad?”
“Because they remember the way t
he oceans used to be. Each winter
, there is a noticeable change and we do not know how long the sea will sustain life. Humans do not realize that all that they do is connected to a chain of all other life,” said Titus sadly.
“You mean that it’s humans that have caused it?”
“Yes, their need to consume energy has a rippling effect on all life, not to mention the damage that their ships have caused throughout the
winter
s. They used to use wind to sail them, now there are new ways to power them. There are some places in the sea that we mer no longer travel because it would cause us to become ill.”
“Titus, that’s so sad. You’
d think that there’s room enough for everyone to live freely without harm. I guess I never really paid much attention to conservation because my dad always taught me to respect all life. We were probably the most eco-friendly home on the island and I just figured that everyone else was doing their part too. I guess I was wrong
.
”
“I know that there are humans who care and are trying to make a difference, but I do not know if they will have time, unless others soon heed the
ir warnings,” said Titus serious
ly.
Lana looked around again at the many mer with their young.
How sad it is
to think that
they wo
n’t be able to see this same beautiful oc
ean when
they
have children of their
own
. She hoped that humans would make a difference before that day came.