The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer) (33 page)

             
“Because Christian is a liar, every five seconds I find out something he hasn’t told me! I can’t even stand to be in the same house with him!”

             
“What did he lie about?” He slowly gazes over the top of the book.

             
“Take your pick: the fact that he’s a merman, his age, or he’s some sort of high prince!”

             
“The High Prince, huh?” Gramps puts the book in his lap. He chuckles happily. “I knew he was important, but I didn’t realize he was
that
important!”

             
“Gramps, this is a bad thing…wait, how did you know he was important?” I ask.

             
“Everyone kisses his hand, and Sven and Henrik test his food for poison. He is always working. He spends more time on the phone than a telemarketer. Plus, have you ever seen him lift a finger at Marjory’s? Sven drives the car and Henrik deals with the finances. They even open the doors for him. Did you actually believe they were his cousins? I mean, there aren’t any similarities other than their fins.”

             
“Yes, I did believe they were his cousins!” I angrily stomp my foot. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m not used to being lied to!  I want to go home!”

Theory #5 is False –
Sven isn’t the leader – Christian is!

             
“I’m sorry,” Gramps says slowly. “It’s Christmas Day. There’s no way we’ll get a flight out of here today. Besides, that monster is still at large, and I’m not taking you anywhere without our mermen.”

             
“Gramps, be reasonable,” I plead. “He lied to me!”

             
“You be reasonable.” Gramps moves slightly forward in his chair. “Do you know
why
he lied to you?”

             
“It doesn’t matter, a lie is a lie.”My eyes start to tear up.

             
“Alex, when you were young, I used to tell you that your seahorse blanket was magical and would keep away bad dreams. I lied to you. I did it because I love you and wanted you to sleep without nightmares.  Yes, it is best if we don’t lie, but sometimes we have good reason.”

             
“Good reason? You lied about a magical blanket. He lied about his identity.”

             
“Maybe you should go find out why?” He picks back up his book before delightedly chuckling under his breath, “the High Prince!”

             
I’m not deterred. I wipe my eyes as I march though the ridiculously enormous cottage until I find Christian. He is texting in a chair in his bedroom.

             
“I want to go home,” I demand.

             
He puts down his phone. “The soonest I can arrange a flight for us is tomorrow.”

“I want to go home now and by myself!”

“That’s impossible. As my declared, you must have bodyguards, and I’m not letting you go anywhere without me until that vile man is caught.”

“I’m not your declared anymore!” I argue. “I broke up with you!”

“I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” he says. “I chose to declare my love for you, and you accepted by returning the kiss. Because of this, you are under my guardianship. I’m not human. You can’t break up with me.”

“Ugh! This nightmare never ends! I’ll go to the airport by myself!”

“You don’t have your passport or any money.”

I’m incensed. “I’m not your prisoner! I want to go home!”

“Then I suggest you go talk to Thomas,” he answers.

I glare at him and cross my arms. He takes a deep breath.

“Alexandra, it was my plan to tell you today, but then my mother burst in, and I had no choice but to go speak with my father. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.” The repentant look on his face pierces my heart. I feel betrayed but can’t deny that I have strong feelings for him.

“Why?” I simply whisper.

“It felt wonderful to have you love me for me and not my title or money. You know how it feels to have people proclaim their love for you without even knowing you.” I nod, thinking of my fans. He continues, “I have endured five hundred years of false accolades and mermaids who love the idea of me but don’t know me. Then I met you, and you refused to even look at me. No one had ever done that before. I was intrigued.

“I watched you and found you to be kind to everyone. When I asked Marjory about you, she was overcome with emotion because of her love for you. The more I found out about you and the more time I spent with you, the more I wanted to be with you. Yes, there isn’t a cre
ature who can compare to you in matters of beauty, but I fell in love with you because of your benevolent heart. I let myself get carried away because, for the first time in my life, I was with someone who loved me for me and not because of who my father is, or the size of my bank account. That’s why I declared my love so early. I knew I would never find your equal, even if I looked a million years.  For once, I was just a regular, bewitched merman. I have been able to experience falling in love without my title getting in the way, and I have fallen head over heels in love with you, hook, line, and sinker. I know I should have told you sooner, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you running again. I admit that I had purposefully planned to tell you today because you couldn’t leave without talking to me first.”

He pauses, fighting back emotion.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

             
My first instinct is to lash out, but looking in his beautiful, blue eyes causes my heart to skip a beat. I can no longer hurt him anymore than I can hurt Gramps.

             
“You have to promise me no more lies,” I say in a hushed voice.

             
“Of course,” he says, holding his breath, on edge as he waits for more words.

             
Those words don’t come. Instead, I kiss him.

             
Sniffling sounds come from the corridor.

“That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen!” Kerstin blubbers. She staggers into the room and throws us into a group hug. “Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!”

              “Kerstin, why must you always eavesdrop?” Christian asks, pinching the ridge of his nose out of frustration.

             
“Because I love and worry about my older brother and his declared.” She hiccups.

             
“Isn’t Mother expecting you home for Christmas dinner?”

             
“I have a couple hours until I’m supposed to be there,” she answers as she makes herself at home.

             
“I would like to speak with Alexandra, privately.” Christian gives her a frightening look.

             
“Big brother, you don’t scare me.” She flips her hair. “Everyone else might scramble when they see you, but to me you are simply my wonderful, older               brother.”

She smiles, oozing with her family’s charm.

              He smirks. “Let’s see how wonderful you think I am after I tell Mother and Father the report I just received from the university. I know that they will be upset to hear that you have been spending so much hanging out with Prince Fredrick and Princess Cassandra that you are progressing very slowly. I have already spoken to you about you poor choice in friends. Apparently the time has come for me to disclose to our parents that I have forbidden these friendships, and you have disobeyed. Perhaps I’ll call Father right now?”

He pulls out his phone.
Her face pales.

“Christian, please wait until after the holidays,” she pleads.

              He points to the door. “I will wait until January first
if
you give us some privacy.”

             
She frowns but goes to the door.

             
“And, Kerstin, I was serious about you making new friends. Go give Henrik your bank card. Perhaps if you don’t have access to money, you will stay home and do your homework.”

             
“Yes, Christian,” she says dejectedly as she leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

“I’m sorry about Kerstin,” he says as we sit, hand in hand. “She’s rather exuberant.”

              “I think she’s fabulous. How old is she, really?”

             
“I told you the truth before.  She’s just a couple years older than you,” he answers. “She’s the baby and spoiled rotten. Thank goodness she’s very kind hearted.”

“You know, you’re really bossy,” I say not so teasingly. “And I can’t believe your parents let you punish her.”

              “Alexandra, I am five hundred and sixty-two years old. I am old enough to be Kerstin’s great-grandfather. Of course              I can punish her. In fact, with all my parents’ other responsibilities, I am in charge of making sure she doesn’t disgrace the family.”

             
“No, that’s your job,” I tease before cringing. “How much trouble are you in with your parents?”

             
“Alexandra, I have neither disgraced my family nor received any sort of punishment because of our relationship. After a thorough explanation of what has occurred, my father took my side, and my mother has decided to make the most of it.”

             
“Meaning?”

             
“Meaning that someday she wants grandchildren, and it will never happen with anyone but you.” He gently squeezes my hand.

             
“Are you really that serious about us?” I ask.

             
“I have never been more serious about anything in my life. I declared my love for you, and I will marry you – when the time is appropriate. Now that I have found you, I’m never letting you go.”

             
A thought comes to mind. “Christian, you’re some sort of a prince. Why did you come to our little village in Maine?”

             
“I’m not a prince. I’m the high prince. There is a very big difference. In the Realm, there are many territories and many kings, but they are ruled by one high king, my father. I am my father’s second in command. I rule over all the other kings with him.”

             
I swallow. “And what exactly is your father’s Realm?”

             
“The Atlantic Ocean,” he says, watching me intently.

             
“The
whole
ocean?” I say, stunned. “It’s the second largest ocean…”

             
“Yes, thirty-one million, eight hundred thousand square miles to be exact,” he interrupts, continuing to watch me. “Our capital city of Atlantis has a larger population than the ten most populous human cities, combined. Over a billion merfolk call it home.”

             
The numbers are staggering.

“And you will someday be high king?”

He nods slowly. “Sooner than I would care to, because merfolk are immortal, we don’t inherit after the death of our predecessor. When Father retires, he will simply pass the Realm to me.  Due to my age and experience, I will likely inherit within the next twenty years. I am already centuries older than all the kings in the Realm.”

“You say you want to marry me, but wouldn’t that mean that…” I can’t say the words.

“Yes, it would mean that you would become the high queen,” he finishes my sentence. As much as I try to discern what he is thinking, his face is unreadable.

I shake my head before hissing, “Christian, I didn’t even like having help while I was wounded. Becoming a queen sounds horrendous. With the way everyone acts around you, I’m sure merfolk royalty are highly revered. I can’t live like that. You know I don’t like the attention I get from modeling, why would I purposefully run towards more attention?”

Christian chuckles calculatedly. “That is precisely why you are the perfect girl for the job. You don’t have silly misconceptions about dressing up and hero-worship...”

I interrupt him. “There are about a hundred reasons I want to run from this room kicking and screaming. It’s all I can do to keep from hyperventilating! This isn’t like the movies where the girl marries the prince and becomes a glamorous princess. There’s a whole realm to think about and billions of merfolk
.”

             
“I know it’s a lot to ask of you.”

             
“Too much,” I mumble.

             
“Yes,” he says quietly.

             
I lean my head on his shoulder, and he holds me in his arms.

             
“How do you do it?” I ask.

             
“I don’t know any differently. I was born into power. For you, the path is different. The responsibilities of the Realm you will have to choose for yourself.”

             
I lose track of time as we sit in silence. Eventually I say, “You didn’t answer my original question.  Why did you come to live in Seaside?”