Authors: Sheri L. Swift
“He still does,” she giggled.
“Yeah, he was a pretty funny guy. I know Prince Tarrock would be proud of
him
and his sister
Tarra.”
“I think he’d be proud of you too Dad. You’ve successfully guarded the mer all these years
.
”
S
he smiled tenderly.
“Yeah, and they’ve done the same for us. I’ve never felt such evil as I did with Darious that last day. I pray he never returns.”
“Me too, he creeps me out. Are the mer really that strong?”
“Yeah
Lana, w
hen thirty or so get together like they did on that night, there’s no ship that can withstand them. Their back teeth are razor sharp and their jaws are strong. No human is a match for a mer in the water.”
“Oh Dad, I never thought of it like that, that’s awful!”
“I never imagined that any mer could be so violent, Prince Tarrock tried to tell me. It wasn’t just that they killed those men like that, but that they’d enjoyed doing it,” her father said staring out the window.
“Are all the dark ones like that?”
“No, it’s not their heritage, but their choice that’s made them what they are. We are from that same line ourselves and there are still some twenty or so families that have remained in King Titan’s pod. Dariou
s and those fifty
that left with him that day chose their fate.”
“Wow Dad, how many mer are there?” Lana asked with surprise.
“There are hundreds. I even heard that some broke off from the original p
od and formed their own over a
thousand years ago. Who knows if they still exist? It’s amazing that they have all remained hidden for as long as they have. With today’s satellite technology, I can’t imagine that it will last forever. I can only guess how reckless Darious and his pod are.
There’s something else I haven’t told you. You might say that Darious has always held a sort of grudge against me for marrying your mother. With
Prince Tarrock already married
and Prince Titus being too young, you could say that Darious would have been the natural choice for a Princess like her. That all changed when we met. I think the grudge has only gotten stronger since she was killed; he probably blames me for her death. That’s why I especially hoped you wouldn’t go near the water
. I don’t really know if he’
d harm you, you look so much like your mother, but he even has more of a reason than ever to desire you,” her father said seriously.
“Why?” Lana asked confused.
“Because you are Prince Titus’ intended. He not only hates him because he is a Prince and the brother of Tarrock, but he is now the head of the guard for the pod.”
“Prince Titus! I didn’t realize
.
”
Lana
was
astonished by that fact.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty big deal, that’s why I’m not so sure that he should be hanging out at the dock so much and not on duty,” her father
said with a chuckle
.
“Yeah, I can imagine how King Titan feels about that one
.
”
S
he smiled.
“Well kid, it’s late and I’m sure you’re tired. By the way, did you ever get that dance?” he asked with a raised brow and slight smile.
“You know Dad, I did, but you might say that the guy had a bit of Darious in him
.
”
S
he
gave
a quirky grin.
“Lana
did he hurt you?” her father asked with concern.
“No, he just creeped me out,” she
giggl
ed.
“I can only imagine how Prince Titus felt about that
,
”
h
e laughed out loud.
“Yeah, you might say that he took care of the situation
.
”
S
he smiled brightly.
“Did he drown him?”
“No, but got him thoroughly drenched,” she giggled
once more
.
“I’
m liking this guy more and more
.
”
H
e
grinn
ed.
“I’m glad Dad,
he’s really nice
and we have so much in common,” she said looking at her hands.
“Yeah, I guess you do at that
.
”
H
e
smiled lovingly
.
“Well, I better get to bed, thanks Dad for telling me everything.”
“I just hope I didn’t give you nightmares.”
“No, I don’t think I’ll be having any of those tonight,” she said smiling as she kissed him on his cheek and headed up the stairs.
As Lana lay in bed, she thought about all her father had told her.
How sad that the
Captain of the Misty Blue killed my
mother and grandparents
.
How awful that Darious and
the others not only killed all the crew, but also Prince Tarrock. It must have been hard for Prince Titus; he
lost so much that day, even I
left him
.
Lana thought of
what her father said about Prince Titus being the head of the guard now.
He seems so young, like my age
. Lana
realize
d
that he was certainly str
ong enough.
He’
s definitely the size of any human man and very muscular
. It was m
ore in the way he acted.
He kno
w
s
how to ha
ve fun and he looks to be the age of the guys in my
senior class
.
How strange that the mer age so differently from humans
. Then the scene of him curving his ears forward flashed in her mind and she let out a laugh. Then she remembered what she felt when he held her hands and looked into her eyes. She sighed and closed her eyes drifting off to sweet dreams.
~~~~~
The next morning, Lana helped her dad clean the lens and the glass windows of the lighthouse. She tried to at least do it once a month to help him out.
She loved looking out over the ocean as she cleaned. It wasn’t long and she spotted Tempest jumping out in the waves and she knew
;
Prince Titus must not be far beneath
. She was surprised at how much she liked that, him
always being around.
I hope he doesn’
t get in trouble
though
, she was sure that she was becoming a distraction for him.
She finished up as quickly as she could. Even her dad knew that he couldn’t keep her from going to the dock. “You got it bad kid, get going
.
”
H
e smiled as he took the bucket of soapy water from her hand.
“Thanks Dad, love you!” Lana yelled as she ran down the steps.
When Lana reached the dock, Tempest was swimming upright on his tail backwards and making clicking sounds. “Hello Tempest, you show-off,” she laughed. Then the dolphin jumped into the air splashing Lana.
“He can be wicked when he wants to be,” said Prince Titus in her mind as he slowly surfaced with a smile.
“Yeah, I wonder who taught him that trick
.
”
She
smiled raising her brows.
“Someone had to teach him, he was just a baby when his mother was trapped in a tuna net and killed. I raised...” Prince Titus stopped as he read Lana’s thoughts and realized she knew the truth about her mother.
“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean to upset me
.
”
S
he said s
oft
ly.
“No, I would never wish to do that. I am sorry, about all of it. I have always wished that I could have helped prevent it somehow.”
“That makes you and my dad; he’s carried that with him for so long that it was eating away at him.”
“Yes, I thought as much.” Then Tempest came once more and splashed them both and they laughed. “I am so glad that you have come today
,
” said
the
Prince.
“Yeah, me too, but are you sure you should be here?”
S
he smiled a half grin.
“Yes, I have the night patrol
.
”
H
e smiled realizing what she was thinking and surprised that her father had told her so much.
“That must not leave you a lot of time for sleeping
.
”
S
he smiled
even brighter
.
“I get more than e
nough. Besides, on school days
I nap a lot
,
”
h
e chuckled.
“Oh, so on weekends you won’t be getting much sleep?” Lana asked teasingly.
“Not if I can help it. That is, if you will spend the time with me
.
”
H
e smiled raising both his brows.
“I’d like to, I just don’t want to make you vulnerable. You can’t stay on the surface for long in the day without someone seeing you,” she said seriously.
“No, but at least we may still communicate with each other even if I am under the dock
.
”
H
e smiled once more.
“That can’t be too much fun for you
.
”
“No more than it is for you to have to sit on the dock.”
“I wish I could swim with you.”
“You will soon, and the waiting will make it all the sweeter when we do,” he said tenderly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right
.
”
Lana felt the same feeling warm her within as she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers. Then she took the opportunity and quickly splashed him. Prince Titus slightly waved his tail sending a tide across the dock drenching Lana. She laughed and said, “That’s not fair! You’re so much stronger than I am!”
“Does it bother you?” Prince Titus asked seriously.
“No, it’s cool
.
”
S
he smiled.
“This word, cool, you have said it before. Do you mean cold?”
“No, it means good
.
”
S
he laughed out loud.
“Your language is very confusing,” smiled the Prince shaking his head.
“Yeah, I guess it can be, but I’ll teach you,” she s
aid
teasingly
with a smile
.
“I would like that very much and I will teach you the ways of the mer when we are able to go out together,” he said proudly.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
“This graduation, is it important?”
“Yeah, kind of, it means that I’ve completed my school.”
“I see; then it is important. You will not have to go there anymore?”
“Nope, that’s it. Some do go on to more schooling, but I’ve chose
n
not to,” said Lana looking up to read his face and his thoughts on the matter and both said that he was very pleased.
~~~
One evening, Lana was in the kitchen making dinner and her father came home. He had a funny look on his face and was carrying a small package. “What’s up?” Lana asked.
“I picked something up from the mainland today that I got for your fish boyfriend
.
”
H
e
grinn
ed.
“Dad, I’m not even sure if he is my boyfriend and I don’t think you’d want anyone calling mom a fish,” she said a little upset.
“Yeah, you’re right, probably not. Anyway, I think he’ll like it.”
“What could he possibly like? I’ve thought about giving him something, but don’t think he needs anything
.
”
“Oh, he’ll like this
.
”
H
er father pulled out a half domed glass paperweight.
“Why would he ever want that?”
S
he looked puzzled.
“Look inside
.
”
H
e brought it closer and showed her the picture inside. It was a picture of Lana in her prom dress.
“Dad, that’s actually pretty cool, he just might like it at that
.
”
S
he smiled
as she remembered that night
.
“They guarantee that it’s waterproof, although you can’t be sure if they meant salt water and the depths that he travels,” her father
chuckl
ed.
“Can I give it to him tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks Dad, that’s a great gift
!
”
S
he hugged h
im
.
~~~
The next morning, Lana got up earlier than usual and took the gift to the dock. Prince Titus was true to
his word and soon surfaced.
Wow, I really like that about him, how I can
count on him to be
here whenever I want
to see him.
“
You are welcome and w
hat brings you out so early on this fine morning?” Prince Titus asked
with a bright smile
.
“My dad had something made for you that he thought you might like.”
The prince was intrigued, “What is it?”
H
e smiled a half grin, not sure what Cole could want to give him.
“It’s sort of a glass rock with a picture inside, see
.
”
S
he handed him the paperweight.
“It is of you, the night of your dance! I will cherish it and it is an honor that your father has chosen to give it to me
.
”
H
e said as he stared at the picture smiling.
“Yeah, well I’m not sure about that,” Lana giggled.
“Tell him thank you for me
.
”
H
e beamed.
“I will.”
“I wi
ll have to show it to my friend
Levu, who lives on one of the islands near
Fiji
. He is always asking what you look like
.
”
T
he Prince smiled.
“You have a friend there, is he a mer?”
“No, he is a native boy that I saved when his raft crashed into a coral reef several years ago. His mother had a hard time birthing him and she named him Levu, which means big. He was no small boy I assure you. He is a strapping boy of fourteen now,” said Prince Titus as he smiled and held his arms wide open to describe his size. It made Lana laugh.