The Little Mermaid (Faerie Tale Collection) (9 page)

He kissed her then, wrapped her right up in his arms and kissed her.

But it was not meant to be. At least, not for long. For as soon as she forgot the world around her, she felt herself being snatched out of his arms and a large, rough knapsack being placed over her head.

“KEEL!”

“Yes. I am here!” Keel struggled against the bag and ties holding him hostage as he thrashed about on the ground. How dare that slimy monster touch his Pearl? As soon as he could get out of this blasted confinement, heads would roll. Never before had this much rage roared through his body.

Just when he finally had her seeing reason. Just when she was certain he was correct and the humans would only harm her—just when she actually admitted to her true feelings and love for him!—this happens.

Urgh.

He continued to struggle as he felt two men lift him and dump him into something hard and high, like a box above the ground. “Pearl!” he called out, worried that they were being separated from each other.

Then he heard the screams and the thump as they lifted her bag, landing it next to his.

All went silent.

“Pearl?” He nudged his way toward her as the men began to shout and the box rocked a bit. When she did not make a sound, a shot of terror raced through his heart. “Pearl? Are you well?”

They better not have harmed her!

Still, there was no sound. The box jolted suddenly, and it felt as though they were moving briskly, as if the contraption they were in had wheels of some sort. Keel flew back against a wall of the box as the apparatus picked up speed. He wasted no more time. Urgently, he worked at the strong rope binding him into the bag, stretching and edging and attempting to expand movement in every which way he could. All the while, he inched closer and closer to the mermaid. “Pearl!” he shouted as he bumped into her.

He could feel her solid form move slightly from the impact, but she remained limp, silent, and lifeless.

“Pearl!”

What had they done to her?

Violently, he tugged and pulled as he attempted to remove himself. He had to save her. He had to! Curse this stupid land and its inane ability to harm those who walked upon it. It was too brutal for her softness. His breathing had increased so very much that he was becoming exceptionally warm in his covering, which caused him to panic more.

Was Pearl too hot as well?

Finally, as the wheeled box raced upwards, Keel was able to wriggle one arm out of the rope, which freed his hand enough to rip a tear in the fabric and find the wretched knot that was holding all of it together. He continued to call her name as he worked and bucked and plucked at the knot holding him captive. Eventually, he felt the thing loosen, and the whole of the rope seemed to melt around him. In an instant, the covering was off and he went to Pearl.

Locating her bindings, he began to free them as he cradled her upon his lap. “Pearl. Wake up. I need you to wake up, sweetheart. It will be deuced awkward to escape with you asleep in my arms.”

Just as he released the largest of the knots, the rolling box halted. Quickly, he began to remove the rope from around her and then pull the large sack up and over her head. He heard shouting, but did not waste a moment looking around before gently picking her up. As he turned the sleeping girl in his arms and hoisted her near his shoulder, he gasped at the sight of blood oozing upon the coarse brown fabric below.

As tenderly as possible, he held her head within his hand and cringed. So much crimson wetness seeped from her. How hard had they thrown her to cause such damage? His stomach churned at the brutality of the human race. Who would do such a thing to another living creature?

The box lurched slowly into movement again. Keel glanced around, surprised to see that no one was coming aboard to harm them further. The prince and another man sat in front of the thing, whipping at animals that were forced to pull them forward. In fact, as they made their way past a group of curious onlookers, he realized they must have been who the prince was shouting at. Both sides of the streets were lined with village merchants, some with wares to sell in wheeled carts, and others with children.

He felt the ground shift and harden slightly, and he noticed they were beginning to leisurely travel upon a narrow bridge of some sort that led directly into the heart of the castle. The gate to the fortress looked like a large stone and iron mouth, waiting to clamp down and seal them within the palace grounds forever. Keel’s heart raced as he wondered at all the horrors awaiting them. If they did not leave now, he would never get the princess to safety.

With as much care as possible, he scrambled with Pearl over to the edge of the box. Just as he was about to jump over the thing and wish for the best, he found a type of rope latch securing the back end to the main frame of the wood. Keel released it with a loud thud and panicked. But as he glanced toward the front, he noticed that the drivers of the contraption had not heard. Neither of the two men had even looked back once to see that all was not well with their cargo.

Were all humans this dense? Perhaps they did not believe merpeople were intelligent enough to think and fight on their own.

Whatever the reason, Keel honestly could not have cared one jot in that moment. In fact, he simply took it as a sign from the great sea gods that they were being watched over. Thank goodness the bridge was so narrow that the traveling box could not move as fast as it had been. As swiftly as possible, he tucked Pearl against his chest, one hand holding her tightly against him while the other hand clutched the rope that connected the gate to the rest of the thing. Several of the people had already begun to follow them and were walking upon the bridge again.

Keel slid to the edge of the gate and pushed off. He stumbled upon the stone, but through the great mercy of fate, he was able to stay his balance enough to collect himself before they both toppled over.

Then as he hoisted her higher upon his chest, Keel took one final look back at the now halted box and ran through the crowd waiting below him.

Drake must have felt the weight of the box shift significantly enough to glance back and see them escaping.

Keel ignored the shouting that followed. He did not look back. He knew he only had a few moments of shocked reaction from the onlookers before they realized what had really happened and went after him. So he took every precious moment he had and fled with Pearl in his arms as quickly and as surely down the hill as he could.

KEEL CAREENED AROUND A bend as he followed the winding path strewn with plants and greenery down to the village below, the sharp boots behind him pounding several feet away. They could run, but he vowed they would never find them. Pearl’s weight began to grow upon him, but he pushed the thought away. There was no time to think of the disadvantages now, not when everything proved to be in his favor.

As he passed the next turn, he veered to the right and into the foliage, hoping that with the bends in the road, he would have enough time to hide them within the bushes until the chase was called off. Just as like the schools of fish do in the ocean when escaping a larger predator, Keel chose the darkest, most covered spot to hide in several feet away from the trail. It was beneath low-hung branches of a tall, spindly tree.

Panting from the exertion, he laid the still listless Pearl down on her side upon the dank floor and then went into action, covering their small hiding spot with the branches he could quickly grab just around them to disguise any bits of color seeping through.

All the extra worry was for naught.

Keel was shocked to hear the sound of several loud, booted feet as they charged past, still keeping to the path. Peeking through an opening, he could make out the matching clothing of the prince and many men who followed him.

Their pace was swift, but had slowed down to a more methodical rhythm, almost as if they were simply biding their time.

Did they recognize he had veered off the road and was even now hidden away?

Knowing royal strategy as he did, they had more than likely given up the chase altogether and were going to align themselves across the beach and wait for them to escape.

Keel sighed. There was nothing he could do about that now. Neither he nor Pearl were in any state to be able to beat them to the oceanfront.

Pearl!

Good heavens, he nearly forgot. Keel sat on the ground and tugged upon her shoulders. Then he gently lifted her until her head lay facedown across his leg. Tenderly, he touched her open wound and grimaced once more at the atrocious sight before him. The darker blood clashed horridly against her vivid hair, now matted and moist.

She needed the healing saltwater of the ocean to help this mess, and he had no notion of how to get it to her.

He ran his hand down her arm and clutched her wrist. His heart clenched when through his own racing pulse, he could feel nothing in her. But he did not let go. He could not. There was still hope. She could not have been killed by these monstrous beings before he could begin his life with her.

He refused to believe it.

Gingerly, he dressed her wound, his hands shaking as they removed hair and debris to uncover the large, glaring slash. Leaning over, he lifted her skirt a few inches, found the clean white linen beneath, and ripped one of the ruffled sections right off. Then he wrapped it tightly around the exposed wound and her forehead, tying it securely. Concern marred his heart as he watched the blood slowly seep through the fabric.

But it was that pulsing blood that gave him hope. Reaching down, he grasped her wrist again, and this time, with his own heart rate settled a bit more, he was able to feel hers. Faint, but slow and steady. It would seem she was in a sleep-like state. He felt so helpless in those minutes when he held her and rocked back and forth, willing her to wake up.

It was not until sometime later when he began to feel his first real pangs of hunger strike him. How long had it been since either of them had eaten?

Probably twenty-four hours had passed since they partook of the seaweed meal before he first transformed. Typically, merfolk could go two or three days without sustenance, but with the changes to their bodies and environment, they would need a meal very, very soon.

In fact, without the saltwater Pearl needed or some other sort of nourishment, she might become even more ill. Or worse yet—never awake again.

Curse this foul, evil land! Curse a people so caught up in their own importance and design to own everything good in this world that they could not be kind enough to allow others the right to live and visit and enjoy it too.

What good was it, taking a trip to a place where you would always be hunted? He laid her gently upon the ground, her vibrant red hair floating gently around her, looking like a bright halo. Her features were paler than he had seen before, and he feared it had little to do with the shadows under the shade of the large foliage. But still, with her pretty nose and sweeping eyelashes, with beautiful pink lips, the whiteness did not detract a fraction from her beauty. She was stunningly unique, even for a human woman—he had yet to see one who was her equal.

What did Drake want with them? Why treat them no better than animals or slaves? Keel shuddered at the images these thoughts had produced. He did not want to know what was in Drake’s mind. He only needed to understand one thing—the best way to leave this horrid land and get his Pearl to safety so that she might heal and live.

It was still early afternoon and several hours until dusk, but it could not be helped—leaving her hidden here was his only option to obtain food and saltwater for her. Shortly, he would return, and hopefully, by nightfall, they could leave this place forever.

He leaned down and kissed her sweet mouth, his heart lurching when she did not return the gesture. This was not good. She had been asleep too long. He had to save her now.