Authors: Sheri L. Swift
As was Micah’s tradition, he and his father Ratu Daniel and his mother Kalea, arranged a meeting with Tarra’s father Prince Terrance. They brought him a gift of Tabua (whale’s teeth) and asked his permission to marry Princess Tarra. Prince Terrance gladly gave it, knowing how much his daughter had come to love Micah and how much Titus respected him.
It was agreed that the union would take place on
Kaloki
Island
, in the lagoon. Ratu Daniel would give part of the ceremony and King Titan would give the other. The entire village was invited as well as all of the mer. It was to be at night by torchlight.
~~~
On the day of the wedding when the time was near, all of the mer that were attending
t
raveled
together, with King Titan leading and Titus and Makoa following the procession.
Tarra wore the white pearls upon her head and white shells for her top. She also wore strands of white pearls around her wrists.
Lana was so happy for her. She and Titus decided to bring baby Rose with them, it would be a story to tell of how her first
outing was to attend her aunt Tarra and u
ncle Micah’s wedding. Tempest came along too, but Titus made him stay far enough away to not disturb the ceremony.
“Well Sister, the time has come for you to join in union with your human,” Titus teased with a grin.
“Yes Brother and I cannot wait to do
so
.
”
S
he smiled and kissed him
on the cheek letting her thoughts tell him how thankful she was.
“I’
m so happy for you Tarra, bless you both,” said Lana as she kissed her cheek and hugged her.
“I am also happy for you my daughter
.
”
S
miled Princess Cassandra also kissing and hugging her.
“Thank you Mother,” said Tarra as she went to her father and took his hand. They swam together to come beside Micah and then Prince Terrance placed her hand in Micah’s and Micah gave a smile and a knowing look of gratitude to her father.
As was his custom, Micah wore a white shell necklace and a ring of white flowers upon his head. He also wore a white cloth draped across his shoulder and chest. He had on the traditional long colorful skirt.
Micah and Tarra
were both given white flower leis. They together faced Ratu Daniel and King Titan. The island warriors began to beat their drums to signal that the Vakamau (Marriage Ceremony) was about to begin.
Ratu Daniel spoke first, “Bula! We welcome the mer to our island and we wish to show you our custom
.
”
H
e clapped his hands three times and one of the villagers gave him a half coconut cup of Kava and he drank it. Then all of the villagers clapped their hands three times and Ratu Daniel handed King Titan the Kava to drink and he did, then all drank from their half coconut cups of Kava that had been given them and the welcom
ing part of the ceremony
was complete.
King Titan called to everyone as the mer began to blow on their conch shells signaling it was time for the sacred assembly of the union. “We mer of Tullius and the people of
Kaloki
Island
have come together for this sacred event of the union of Micah and Princess Tarra. May the great and mighty Arius bless them with a long and happy life of peace. May they not know hunger, may they always remember
the sacred ways of their people
and may they be blessed with many offspring. Micah, do you wish to make a vow to Princess Tarra?”
“Yes I do. Princess Tarra, I will do all that I can to protect and provide for you. I will try and always live the sacred ways of our people and teach them to our children. I will love you for as long as there is a beat in my heart,” said Micah so filled with joy.
“Princess Tarra, do you wish to speak a vow to Micah?” King Titan asked.
“Yes. Micah, I will do all I can to give you comfort and rest. I will try and live the sacred ways of our people and teach them to our children. I will also love you for as long as I have a beat in my heart,” said Tarra as tears rolled down her cheeks.
King Titan proclaimed them joined and the shouts went up from the islanders as well as the mer. The islanders began to beat upon their drums once more. Their warrior dancers came and twirled lit torches. They were wearing grass skirts and leggings. There was such a celebration that the mer and the islanders have become one. Micah and Tarra visited with
all those wishing them well unti
l late in the evening.
Titus and Lana were filled with the memory of their own wedding. Titus had made it a special project of his to search out a secret grotto for Micah and Tarra. He let Micah know where it was and had shown it to him the day before. Lana had been sure to leave a basket of fruit and a large jug of water. She even managed to have Levu bring driftwood for the fire ring they had made so that Micah could have a small fire for warmth. Titus made sure that there was some ventilation in the roof.
Since the grotto was not very far, Tarra sat in a canoe that was prepared for them and decorated with beautiful tropical flowers. Micah paddled, and as he did, he told
Tarra
how very much he loved her and would always remember this night.
Once they entered the grotto, he began to sign. He pointed to her with his right index finger and then he slowly brought his hand to his chest, saying she was his.
She signed, with her right hand, fingers up and out moving towards him, saying yours. They smiled and embraced.
~~~~~
Over the next several months, the mer and the villagers of
Kaloki
Island
grew closer
. Titus and Makoa became like brothers to not only Levu and Micah, but also Micah’s brothers Eli and Andrew. They even became close to his cousin Jo
seph
and were glad they had learned the language of the hands to speak with him. The mer and the men worked e
ach day together. Titus, Makoa
and many of the guard
,
would herd the fish to the nets of the villagers. They in turn provided food from their island, of which Lana was especially grateful.
Little Rose was growing so quickly. She loved her cousin Uly, who visit
ed
her often
. He never stopped making her smile as he wiggled his ears back and forth.
“Now why does that remind me of you?” Lana asked Titus.
“I cannot imagine what you are talking about,” he said with a smile and a kiss to her.
“She likes it when I do it
.
”
S
miled Uly.
“Yeah, she does
,
”
Lana
giggled
.
“Are you going to
Mer
Island
today?” Uly asked.
“Yes and Makoa too,” answered Titus.
“May I come along?”
“You must get your mother’s permission,” Titus said with a grin. Uly did not say another word but took off quickly out their doorway. Titus shook his head and laughed, “He reminds me so much of myself at that age.”
“Yeah, I can see that he would,” Lana also laughed and baby Rose laughed with them just because.
~~~
When Titus, Lana, Makoa
and Uly arrived at Mer Island, Tarra was sun bathing on the rock with Micah, she had a slight round belly as she was now expecting their first child. “Hi Tarra and Micah,” called Lana as she swam up.
“Bula everyone
!
”
S
miled Tarra.
“I see you are picking up the human ways already,” teased Titus.
“She learns quickly
.
”
Micah
smiled
and then he kissed her.
“I cannot wait to see my new cousin, maybe you will have the boy for me to fish with,” said Uly hopeful.
“You never know Uly, even if I have a girl, she might like to learn to fish,” s
ai
d Tarra.
“Yes, I guess so, then I will teach her and Princess Rose
!
”
H
e smiled
brightly
.
“Yeah, I’m sure
Rose will love that Uly
.
”
Lana
grinned
.
“If she is anything like her mother, she will insist that you teach her. Do not let Princess Lana’s name fool you;
calm and peaceful waters
,”
chuckl
ed Titus.
Lana wasn’t laughing; she just gave Titus a glare and said, “I’m going to get some bananas and sit alone in the shade for a
while.” Everyone else laughed under their breath as to not let Lana hear them. “Too late, I can especially hear your thoughts Makoa!” Lana called back as she walked into the trees.
“I think I am glad that she could not hear my thoughts,”
chuckl
ed Micah.
“Yes, you do have an advantage over us with our women
.
”
Titus
smiled
to Tarra.
Tarra jumped in the water pulling Titus under and everyone laughed.
“Brothers and s
isters,” said Uly rolling his eyes.
“How have you been Micah, are you looking forward to being a father?” Makoa asked.
“I have been blessed more than a man should be and yes, I am greatly looking forward to being a father and seeing our baby
.
”
“Which are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?”
“I do not care, only a healthy child.”
“Yes, I pray it is so
.
”
Makoa
smiled
.
Titus and Tarra resurfaced smiling and then they both together splashed Micah. He jumped in with a cannonball next to them and then all five went swimming.
After Lana had her fill of bananas, she went back to the rock and saw the others swimming in the distance
. S
he decided to
lie
in the sun for a
while. Only a few minutes passed and Lana began
to get a strange feeling.
It’s just
like the
time in the cavern with Darious
, she thought. S
he quickly sat up. She looked out to see the others still swimming and she couldn’t see anything else, but she felt
;
Damo
n!
She
called out
, “Titus, Come back please!”
Titus lifted up his
head as he heard her and
then
dove down and sped through the water to her, “What is it?” Titus asked with concern as he
surfac
ed.
“I’m not sure, maybe nothing; only I could swear that I felt the presence of Damon,” she said softly.
“I think we should
return to the city,” he said
as he took her hand and pulled her off the rock and onto his back. He let his thoughts tell the others and Tarra told Micah.
Micah and Tarra went to their grotto and the mer went to Tullius. Titus
had
told Tarra to ha
ve Micah, his brothers and Levu
,
meet him at
Kaloki
Island
when the sun had set. He wanted to tell them of Damon and the others.
Titus
knew that Lana must have sensed his presence and that they needed to be prepared.
After Titus and Lana
returned to the city, King Titan called for Titus to meet with him. He told him that one of the mer families had disappeared. They could only guess that they had joined with Damon and the others; they had been of the Native American descent and Damon must have somehow convinced them that they belonged with him.
King Titan agreed with Titus that he must prepare the islanders for what might come and that they would appreciat
e any help they could give;
the mer in turn would
do what they could to
protect them.
When Titus and Makoa arrived at
Kaloki
Island
, they saw that Micah had not only brought his brothers and Levu, but also at least fifty of the island
warriors
together to hear what Prince Titus had to say. “Hello Micah, I am glad that you brought so many,” said Titus
grateful
ly.
“Bula Prince Titus, what do you wish us to do?” Micah asked sincerely.
“Right now, I am not really sure. We believe that an attack of some kind is going to come soon. I
do
not
know
if it will
only
be
against
my people or yours as well,” said Titus sadly.
“Then we will prepare for battle. You must tell us all you can on how these others fight
.
”
“We sha
ll, we greatly appreciate any help that your people can give
to
us and we agree to help you
also
,” vowed Titus.
~~~
During the next few weeks, a
ll was calm.
However, Prince Titus and the guard worked nearly day and night to help the islanders prepare for what they might have to face. Micah and his men were brave and strong, but Titus knew that if they could gain some sort of advantage on land th
en it would be their best option
.
Titus and Micah developed a plan on how they might trap Damon. Titus knew that the best chance would include Lana’s involvement and it did not sit well with him.
The night before they were to begin to execute the plan, Lana and Titus nestled with their little Rose in their home. Tempest stayed by the entrance as he now felt very protective of little Rose.
“Titus, is there no other way?” Lana asked with worry filling her mind.
“I do not see how, but you know that you do not have to
do this Lana. I would
prefer that you did not,” said Titus seriously looking into her eyes.
“No Titus, if you’re gonna be fool enough to draw Damon to you, then I’m gonna be there with you,”
she
said sternly.
“It may be possible that Makoa and I could do the same.”
“No Titus, you know he
’
d only wait until a day that I returned to
Mer
Island
with you.”