Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series (35 page)

After several moments of acute agony, he
succeeded in shoving all of these bitter thoughts away, while
shaking himself out of his uneasiness, as he realized that he
wasn’t alone, and that the merfolk around him were undoubtedly
watching him, alarmed by his depressed countenance.

However, he wasn’t quick enough. The eyes of
Taeria and the olive green-haired merman beside him, Veram, stared
at him curiously, their faces unsettled. Being so lighthearted,
they could probably detect anxiety a mile away.

“What’s wrong, Ian?” asked Taeria softly, as
Jala, Rhena, and a merman he didn’t recognize, arrived and swam
casually onto the equally long couch in front of him. “You don’t
like the food? the drink?”

“No, I love them,” he murmured, reaching for
the crystal glass full of what looked like thick blue punch, as he
absentmindedly noticed that the room was packed now with roughly
three hundred merfolk. “I’m fine.” He put on a fake smile and
grinned.

It didn’t convince her. Pulling out a small
clear flask half full of peach-colored liquid, she twisted off the
cap and set it on the table, worry beaming in her eyes. Before he
knew what was happening, she poured a few drops of the liquid into
his blue punch and then smiled joyfully as if she’d done him a
favor.

But he wasn’t a bit happy at her action and
was actually quite terrified. Gazing at her, troubled thoughts
racing through his mind like a speedboat, he instinctively released
his grip on the glass. What’d she do to his punch? What was with
all this secretive stuff?

Just as he was about to voice his concern,
Rhena, who’d been watching him closely ever since she’d arrived a
short while ago, spoke up, amusement in her voice, “Drink it, Ian.
It won’t hurt.”

At her innocent-sounding tone, Ian grew more
disturbed, not knowing what to think, as the princess exchanged a
knowing look with her. “What happened, Rhena?” He stared at her,
both bewildered and fearful.

She just smiled, warmth radiating from her
eyes. “You’ll find out when you drink it.”

But he cocked his head to the side, taken
aback by her vague response. “I’m not sure I want to.”

Her voice grew more serious, even as light
still danced in her eyes: “Don’t let the dolphins frighten you,
Ian. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Still uncertain, Ian glanced at her expectant
face and forced himself to indulge her request. After all, how bad
could it be? What kind of mischief were the mermaids really capable
of anyway? With their culture that thrived on kindness, surely they
wouldn’t go too far.

Releasing some of his paranoia with those
thoughts, though still not bringing himself to trust her
completely, Ian put the crystal glass up to his lips unsteadily and
took a tiny sip. Immediately, the sweet flavors of vanilla cream
and almond powder burst onto his taste buds, as Rhena and Taeria
grinned at him playfully.

His eyes widening at the strong, yet
surprisingly wonderful flavor, he felt a strange wind-like
sensation go straight through his body that only lasted a second
before fading away. Not knowing what had happened, he went back to
eating without asking any further questions about it. He’d probably
find out soon enough though.

Later that evening, much of the supper spent
conversing with Taeria, Rhena, and Rai, he eventually finished the
delicious meal, and King Jayan and Queen Osenia led him upstairs to
his bedroom. He was more than a bit surprised though when he saw
it; there were four kelp-like beds sprawled out in each corner of
the splendidly decorated room, which, unfortunately, probably meant
that he’d have to share his room with three others. His assumption
was correct.

A second later, Veram, Sardin, and Rai, three
of the mermen he’d played Arval with, swam into the room, slapping
him gently with their tails--a gesture that Ian had grown all too
familiar with, though he hadn’t the heart to try it out
himself--their eyes gleaming with mirth and excitement. He didn’t
feel at all like laughing though.

Negative thoughts doused his mind, like water
dousing a fire: How was he going to get out of here with everyone
watching him? If his hypothesis were correct, he could only
transport to and from this world when nobody was around him. With
all these merfolk around though, and so near to him, he’d be lucky
to ever make it out. And even if he could, would he wish that upon
himself?

If he were to teleport out of here right now,
even with their trusting culture, they’d probably still grow
suspicious of him and begin to wonder what his true intentions for
rescuing the princess were, and that perhaps he’d only saved her so
that he could take their gifts. Or, a worse way to look at it,
perhaps they’d believe that he’d only freed her so that he could
spy out their kingdom and report it to their enemies.

No, he couldn’t risk that … no matter what.
It would be too much of a loss to have this kingdom turned against
him as well.

Seeing his only option then, he turned to
look at King Jayan’s beaming face, and tried to appear relaxed and
sophisticated in his rejection of his offer. “King Jayan,” he
murmured, his voice quickly wavering from casualness. “I’m very
grateful for your hospitality, but I have somewhere I need to be
tonight.”

As if ascertaining if he were serious, the
king keenly observed him, trying to penetrate through his stern
face and find some hint of sarcasm or jesting. He got nowhere. But
it didn’t matter.

King Jayan merely smiled at him, disregarding
his agenda as if it couldn’t possibly be true. “Enjoy your stay
here, Ian,” he said kindly, before cupping his hands and blowing on
them, adding a bizarre farewell, “The tide is waning,” before
swimming away with the queen, leaving Ian little choice but to head
into his bedroom.

Disheartened, stress rising in him, Ian
painfully shut the door behind him, imagining Eddy storming out of
the bathroom at Shadowcrest Manor and telling Tianna that he hadn’t
seen Ian anywhere in there, causing terror to invade her face. Then
he saw Hazel’s face grow icy cold, dark worry emanating from it, as
she anxiously asked Eddy what could’ve possibly happened to...

“Why so dark, Ian?” Rai swam near him and put
a hand firmly on his shoulder, his cheerful countenance diminished
somewhat.

Annoyed and startled, Ian tried to keep a
friendly face. “I’m just thinking about a few things--that’s
all.”

Acknowledging Ian’s words, Rai reached inside
his tunic and pulled out a small circular stone container, full of
a cream-colored lotion, handing it to Ian. “Princess Taeria gave
this to me for my birthday. I don’t need it anymore,” he said
matter-of-factly, a touch of humor in his voice.

Ian eyed it with interest. “What does it do?”
he asked.

Winking at him, Rai swam around him in a
circle, and then whispered into his ear, “Give it to a girl you
like and see what happens.”

Ian just laughed at this implication. “So if
this is for girls, then why were you even using it in the first
place?”

With an embarrassed smile, Rai replied, “The
princess and her friends tricked me. I won’t say anymore.” He
paused. “So, you’ll give it to someone, right?”

Laughing again, Ian pondered over this unique
culture that thrived on gifts, happiness, and bizarre pranks. It
seemed that if anyone were sad, dejected, or depressed, everyone
went out of their way to cheer up that person. An interesting
concept indeed, and one that perhaps he should try out at home,
if
he ever managed to get back there. “I’ll consider it,” he
said, amused, as he took the lotion container and slipped it into a
pocket in his dark black tunic. “Thank you, Rai.”

Unknown to Rai though, Ian did not intend to
actually ever give it to Hazel, or any other girl for that matter.
Not only did he not know the effects of the cream, which, knowing
the merfolk culture, could either be some sort of love potion,
beauty ointment, or strange concoction that transformed her into a
mermaid, but even the very process of giving it to Hazel would be
extremely awkward. How would he even begin to go about explaining
this gift to her?

Before he’d dwelt any longer on it though,
Rai suddenly interrupted his thoughts with a blunt assumption.
“There’s a girl at home that you like, Ian, and you want to go back
and meet her. Is that why you want to leave?”

These perceptive words halted Ian’s thoughts.
Although he had far more reasons for wanting to go home than to see
Hazel, he couldn’t deny that this was one of them, and if this
explanation could get him out of this palace, he’d not hesitate to
go along with it. “Yes, that’s definitely part of the reason,” he
replied, “though I also need to see my friends and family, as I’m
sure they’re terribly worried about me by now.”

Rai paused for a second. “I understand,” he
said, his voice reflective rather than sad. “Just stay a little
longer, Ian, and then you may go.”

As if he’d uttered a magic word, the other
two mermen, Veram and Sardin, suddenly finished their conversation
and swam over to Ian, hovering around him and barraging him with a
host of different questions, some relating to his thoughts about
being a merman, others relating to how life was like for a human on
land.

Once he’d satisfied their curiosity in these
areas, they then rambled on about which mermaids they liked and
which ones liked them, before putting the focus on him, mentioning
how Rhena, who’d not only hugged him, but had also expressed a
great interest in him, seemed to be deeply in love with him.

Not believing them, he, nonetheless, blushed
at their words and desperately tried to change the subject. After
what seemed like several hours of burning embarrassment, though it
were probably only five minutes, he eventually succeeded and they
discussed the game of Arval instead, praising Ian for how great
he’d done, as it was his first try and he’d only been a merman for
a short time and so hadn’t yet mastered the art of swimming.

Fifty minutes later, after chatting with them
about their school life, their hobbies, their unusual underwater
games, and their swimming records, Ian had had enough and just
wanted to leave. Swimming off his bed, he opened up the door and
glanced back at them.

Rai’s face immediately darkened.

“So you truly are leaving us,” he said, grave
disappointment in his tone, as Veram and Sardin looked at Ian with
surprised sadness. “Where will you go?”

“Back to my home.”

Expecting him to put up an argument, Ian was
surprised when he gave in so quickly.

“That is understandable,” he said.

Before Ian could try to further justify his
reasoning, Sardin broke into the conversation. “You’ll be back
soon, won’t you?” he asked, a wisp of sorrow wafting into his
voice.

“I hope so, Sardin,” he muttered, feeling sad
himself, yet also greatly relieved that they’d finally given him
the chance to leave. If only he weren’t too late. By now, Eddy
could’ve very well called 911 and gotten the waitress to start
looking for him. Or perhaps, Tianna could’ve thought he was playing
another Halloween prank and so they’d now started searching for his
hiding spot.

Then again, both these possibilities could
very easily be wrong, as time seemed to work differently in this
world. Though here, many hours had passed, on earth, only several
minutes might have passed. There was really no way of knowing. He
had to hope for the best.

After a rather lengthy pause, in which Ian
tried to calm himself down by imagining the best possible return
scenario, Sardin gazed at him, his face melancholy from Ian’s
words. “Then I wish you a hearty farewell, Ian. May the ocean’s
current carry you safely to your destination.” Looking Ian steadily
in the eye, he then added a word of caution: “And don’t lose that
necklace. Princess Taeria would be much displeased.”

Telling him and his friends that he’d protect
it at all costs, an expression that once he’d explained to them
seemed to relax them greatly, Ian turned his back to them and swam
away from them, anxious to get back to the surface.

As he darted down a corridor, passing a
couple of well-detailed paintings, he suddenly felt a firm hand on
his shoulder and instinctively stopped, turning around sharply and
gazing into the face of Sardin and his two friends.

His lips pursed in annoyance. Were they not
letting him go after all? Had they only been mocking him?

Before he could get any angrier though, they
quickly explained to him that they were going to escort him to the
crystal gate and then leave him there.

Nodding his head in agreement, surprised by
their loyal friendship, as he’d only met them a few hours ago,
while at the same time, feeling rather guilty over his hasty
assumption, Ian followed them out of the palace, passed the elegant
pastel buildings, and then left the Kingdom of Yavara through the
crystal gate, which Sardin opened by whispering a few words to
it.

Standing outside the gate, Ian waved goodbye
to them and gave them each a quick farewell, to which they
exchanged weird glances with each other, uttering one of their many
strange farewells back to him, before swimming away, glancing back
every once in awhile with sorrow in their eyes.

Departing from them, a bit shaken at leaving
them, Ian shot forward at forty miles an hour and raced through the
five golden arches he’d been through earlier. Once he’d gone
through all of them, he swam for about twenty-five minutes and then
resurfaced, scanning around him, noticing that he was past the red
and black stone archway and back in the cove again.

Though this really shouldn’t have encouraged
him, for some bizarre reason, it did, even though it had been here
where the woodsmen had nearly murdered him. Perhaps he thought that
by being near to where he’d arrived in this world, he was that much
closer to teleporting back to his home. He didn’t know. Still, it
was the best explanation he had.