Authors: Sheri L. Swift
Later that night, after Tarra and Micah had returned to their grotto, Tarra put little Talei down on her seaweed bed. This was the first night that she and Micah had together that it was still early enough, and they were not so tired, to have time to talk. “Come here my wife; I have missed you
.
”
Micah smiled as he held her tightly.
“I have missed you also my husband; I have longed to have this moment with you alone
.
”
S
he smiled as she looked into his eyes.
“Tarra, what is it? Is something wrong?” Micah asked seriously.
“No, everything is right and perfect. I have been glad that you could not read my thoughts so that I might have this surprise for you
.
”
S
he smiled even brighter.
“Are you pregnant?” Micah asked with a wide grin.
“Perhaps you can read my thoughts after all
,
”
s
he giggled and kissed him deeply.
“That is wonderful, how far?”
“A few months now; I did not wish to give you an added burden while we
t
raveled
.”
“Tarra, please do not keep such things from me in the future. It would not have been a burden; I would have loved knowing,” he said as he looked lovingly to her.
“I am sorry; I will tell you in the future. Please do not be upset with me.”
“I am not up
set; I am happy,” Micah made the sign for happy
.
I
t warmed Tarra’s heart to remember those days of getting to know each other and she made the sign for baby with the rocking motion of her arms and they both smiled and kissed once more.
~~~~~
Titus swam to the back of the Hall, which was where the home of King Titan was, like he had many times since the death of his brother Tarrock. He would come in the early hours just before dawn to give the King his report.
Titus
gave a nod to the guards at the entrance and went inside, he saw the King rousing from his sleep with a smile on his face. “I see that you are dreaming of Queen Horaios once more
.
”
Titus grin
ned
.
“Yes, this was a good dream. We were both young; when our children were only babes
.
”
King Titan smiled widely.
“
I know how sweet those days are;
for Lana and I
are
living them.”
“Yes you are; you must treasure each moment, for time passes so quickly.”
“Yes it does; it seems only yesterday that little Rose was born, not to mention Tarrock.”
“It is after one loses their mate that time seems to slow,” said the King sadly.
“I know that you miss her and I can only imagine how hard it will be for me to live on past Lana.”
“Yes, there has never been before or after, a love like that I have for Horaios. As you know, we mer mate for life. I look forward to the day that I shall be with her once more, after I am gathered with those who have gone before me
.
”
S
miled the King.
“May it be a long while yet,” said Titus sincerely.
“I do not have the strength that I once had. I c
an tell that my many winter
s are now wearing upon me. I am glad that I have chosen you my
g
randson to reign after me. I know that you will make a fine King for our people.”
“I am honored by your faith in me. When that day comes, I shall try and lead as you have, though it will not be easy. You
have shown me that over the
winters I have served you.”
“No, being a King is never easy; you must put the whole of the pod above everything else, even your own will.”
“I know that I need to grow in patience and understanding of such things. I pray that you will have many winters more to teach me,” Titus said with a half grin.
“You will learn; just as I have
.
”
King Titan smiled encouragingly.
Titus went on to tell the King of the nights report.
~~~
Cole and Rose enjoyed living among the mer. Cole spent many hours talking with Prince Terrance. He’d always been like an uncle to him before and it was good to regain that relationship.
Prince Terrance and the other older mermen, shared with Cole about the battle of the mer. They told of how Titus and Tristan fought bravely and never left the side of the King. They told of how Micah and his men greatly risked their lives to come and help them, and if it had not been for Titus and his guardsmen relentlessly pursuing the others, they would have surely lost their lives. Then they told of how Damon had slipped past all and entered the city. They were all grateful for
Prince
Makoa staying behind.
Cole couldn’t believe it when he heard how close Titus came to losing his life with Damon’s poison ring and how Tristan’s quick action saved him with Tarrock’s spear.
Cole also found it hard to
believe that there was a poison strong enough to kill a mer.
Tristan had told the mermen that Damon’s ring contained the venom of a tiny jellyfish.
Cole remembered that he had heard of the Irukandji and how its venom was one hundred times more potent than a Cobra and one thousand
times that of a Tarantula and
are found off the northern coast of
Australia
.
Cole had never realized just how bad the war had been and how close Damon had gotten to Lana and little Rose.
Cole thought about how much Darious and Damon had changed in such a short time. He knew that Damon must have picked up the ways of the other mer they had come to live with. He could only imagine how evil they really were. He was even more amazed that Tristan had once lived that life before, and yet chose the life he had now with the mer of Tullius. He and Sirene were the perfect example of a changed life. Cole was happy for them both; he knew himself what a good life the mer had and how much you could appreciate it coming from the outside.
~~~
One November morning, Lana sat in the galley of the
Bonnie Rose
and visited with her mother. Rose was preparing lunch at the stove while Lana sat at the table. Lana couldn’t help but notice that Rose seemed to have a slight roundness to her
stomach and she began to wonder,
is she
pregnant agai
n,
if
so, how far along is
she?
“I’
m only a
bout six weeks
, but I was hoping
to keep it from your father until Thanksgiving. I wanted to surprise him,” said R
ose as she smiled and turned to
Lana, realizing what had happened.
Lana looked at her with a wide
grin
and said, “Rose Prentis, how long have you been able to read my thoughts?”
Rose laughed and said, “I’m not really sure. I know it must have been for a
while; only at first I thought that I just had really good insight. Then on the day of your graduation, I realized that I was able to hear you and your father’s thoughts when you and he were talking back and forth with one another. Your father found out on our wedding night; I couldn’t help but hear what he was thinking and he couldn’t help but hear what I thought about it,” Rose laughed out loud.
“Mom, I can’t believe that you or dad never told me. I guess I’ve gotten pretty good at focusing on each person’s thoughts or I might have paid more attention to yours.”
“I suppose that your father and I
also
have
that part of
the Prentis
heritage; I’m sure the kids
will have it too. I’ve especially noticed that I get more perceptive when I’m around the mer.”
“Yeah, they do bring it out in us
.
”
Lana smiled.
“I can only imagine what Jedediah is going to think about his parents knowing his every thought
, not to mention the added strength
,
” she laughed.
“Yeah, I can imagine. Just do him
and the little one a favor and raise the
m up knowing about it and don’t just spr
ing it on the
m one day like my dad did with me.”
“Yes, I remember that day,” Rose said with a wide grin.
“Then you remember how shocked I was.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You do what?” Cole asked as he came into the galley.
“Remember how shocked Lana was the day she found out that you could hear her thoughts.”
“So, you finally told her did you
.
”
Cole smiled to Rose and then to Lana.
“Yeah, I can’t believe that I didn’t know before
.
”
S
miled Lana while shaking her head.
“I told you that she knew more than we thought; she was just so sneaky about it,” he said as he hugged Rose and kissed her on her cheek.
“I think it’s time you wake your son for lunch or he won’t want to sleep tonight,” Rose told him as she smiled and kissed him back.
“Okay, I’m starved. We’ll be right back.”
Rose waited for him to leave and then she smiled to Lana, “Thanks for not letting him know.”
“You’re welcome; I can’t believe how many babies are on the way.”
“Yes, isn’t it wonderful; the family is only getting larger,” Rose smiled once more and then Cole came in with Jedediah and they all enjoyed their lunch together.
~~~
On the day of Thanksgiving, Lana came and helped to prepare the meal with her mother. She loved having her to share the holidays with as she had in the past with her father.
The mer didn’t understand the importance of such a day and of course
Kaloki
Island
didn’t celebrate the American holiday.
For Lana and her parents, it was more than just remembering
America
’s history; it was truly a day to remember all that they were thankful for and it didn’t matter that they were sitting right in the middle of the South Pacific while they celebrated it.
It had been a tradition of Lana and her father’s to have each one tell what they were most thankful for before they began to eat their meal. Cole began first, “I’m most thankful for this time I have to not only spend with my wife and children, but also my grandchildren and all of our extended family
.
”
H
e smiled.
Then it was Rose’s turn, “I’m most thankful for getting to know a certain young teenage girl, which led to my marrying her father and becoming the mother of his three children
.
”
S
he smiled brightly to Cole.
“Rose, did you just say what I think you did?”
“Yes, we have another little one on the way and he or she will be born at
Safe
Harbor
this summer
.
”
S
he hugged and kissed Cole.
“Did you hear that Jedediah? You’re gonna have a little brother or sister
.
”
Lana smiled and kissed him on his cheek.