The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer) (35 page)

             
“Beautiful…romantic…my sister…” The words are barely lucid.  Kerstin bear hugs us both, kissing us all over our faces, wetting us with her tears.

             
Gramps is right behind her, joining the group hug. His eyes are also filled with tears. “I was hoping it would be sooner than later!”

             
I raise an eyebrow while trying to keep my hands from trembling.

             
“Christian asked for your hand, months ago,” Gramps explains.

             
“Why is it that you don’t have a problem with your seventeen-year-old granddaughter getting engaged?” I ask, giving him a warning glance.

             
“Alex, you are far more mature than your peers, besides I married your grandmother when she was seventeen. Also, I have never seen any two people more suited to each other, except for maybe Jen and Sven.”

             
“Gramps, for being so overprotective, you are very lax when it comes to Christian.”

             
“He’s smart, kind, rich, and powerful. What’s not to like?” He shrugs his shoulders.

             
“Must…tell…Mother…” Kerstin stammers.

             
“I will inform Mother and Father,
after
Alexandra gives me an answer,” Christian tells his sister. He returns his attentions to me.

             
“I just decided to date you and suddenly you’re popping the question? Why now?  Why such urgency?” I ask.

             
His eyes are locked to mine. 

“I nearly lost you and have never been so frightened.  You are the one aspect of my life that I have no control over, and as I’m sure you’ve already noticed, I’m a bit of a control freak.” Kerstin nods in the background.
He continues, “An engagement to me will provide legal protection for you in the Atlantic Realm. I can have permanent bodyguards assigned to you.”

             
“Christian, it is not your responsibility to take care of me,” I take the crown from my head and return it to its box.

             
“Actually…”

             
“I don’t care that I’m your declared. You can’t use that argument with me. If I would have died during the attack, it would have been
his
fault, not yours. You are not responsible for my welfare. Besides, I’m not a mermaid, and I’m still not convinced that living under water is feasible for me.”

             
“I can’t believe it!” Kerstin shakes her head in utter disbelief. “She’s rejecting you, big brother!”

             
“She is a jewel, isn’t she?”Christian forces a smile as he puts my hands on the velvet box in my lap. “Alexandra, I know it’s a lot.  Would you please think it over?”

             
“I think that’s a great idea,” Gramps interjects, quickly. “I always make it a policy to sleep on big decisions.”

13

Negotiations

Sleep is elusive. I don’t realize how much time has passed until I look at the clock and find that it is nearly four in the morning. I turn my back to the clock and stare at the lit Christmas tree in the corner. I watch shadows flickering across the wall, created by the sparkling lights. This is when I notice that I’m not alone. A tall shadow on the wall moves forward.

             
“Have you slept at all?” I ask aloud.

             
“I find it difficult to sleep while the jury is deliberating,” Christian answers. “I assume you haven’t slept either?”

             
“No.”

             
He walks around the bed, coming into my line of vision. He pulls back the duvet and climbs into the bed with me.

             
“Your feet are like icicles!” I move away from him.

             
“Oh, really?” He smiles impishly as he puts his cold feet on mine.

             
“Don’t make me kick you out of this bed,” I threaten.

             
His body warms next to mine and I sigh.

             
“Better?” he asks.

             
“Much,” I say, turning onto my back. “So, how much sleep do merfolk need?”

             
“One to three hours, depending on how tired we are.” He puts an arm around me, and I nestle next to his body.

             
“What do you do with all the extra time?”

             
“Write treaties, make diplomatic calls, think of you.”

             
“Did Kerstin make it home safely?” I change the subject.

             
“Yes, however, I would like to return to the previous topic. Alexandra, please tell me what you’re thinking.”

             
“I don’t think I will. I would like to hear what your expert opinion on the matter.”

             
He kisses my neck, working his way to my lips, all the while electricity shoots through my body.

             
“Christian!” I try to push him away.

             
“Did you say something, my love?” He tenderly kisses my chin. “I apologize, I’m a little distracted at the moment.”

             
I grab a decorative pillow and put it between our faces. “I just asked you to tell me what you think I’m thinking.”

             
He moves the pillow and laughs. “Alexandra, I have no idea what you’re thinking. Of course I have numerous assumptions but nothing substantiated. I find you very unpredictable.”

             
“And those assumptions are?”

             
“Hmmm…” He smiles. “I believe you’ll have to wager for that information.  I like the way Sven and Jen gamble to solve their disputes. I believe this could ease our current predicament.”

             
“And what predicament are you referring to?”

             
“Whether or not we should become engaged,” he says, matter-of-factly.

“What exactly is the wager?”

              He raises an eyebrow. “You know what I want. What are your demands?”

             
I think for a moment. “I want to wait until I’m finished with college for us to become engaged, and I want to go to college on
land
.”

             
“That is a very steep wager.” He sits up. “Four and a half years away from you would be torture. I believe I will amend my demands. If I win, you to agree to an immediate engagement, share my bank account, and attend the University of Atlantis. Is this acceptable?”

             
“I will decide that when I hear what the game is.”

             
“It’s quite simple. I will read your mind.” He turns on the light, takes a pen and piece of paper from my bedside table, and hands them to me. “If I know you well enough to guess your top three reasons for not wanting to get engaged, this will prove that we are compatible enough to do just that.”

             
“I already told you my feelings on the matter.”

             
“Alexandra, we both know that those were just your excuses. I’m talking about the real reasons you’re avoiding an engagement with me.”

             
“Your age gives you the advantage,” I argue.

             
“No, on the contrary, with you I am at a loss.”

             
“You must already have your assumptions?”

             
“Yes, but they are just that… assumptions.”

             
I look at the paper in my hands. “I will agree to the wager if we add a stipulation to it. If, at any time, either of us breaks the terms or conditions of the wager, all bets are off.”

             
“What terms and conditions?”

             
“I will add mine to the bottom of my list, only to be read after you have made your guesses. You can do the same at the bottom of your assumptions. We can call them our ‘deal-breakers.’”

             
“Agreed,” Christian says, picking up a sheet of paper and a pen.  “And if you aren’t completely honest, I win by default. How much time do I have?”

             
“Fifteen minutes,” I answer.

             
“That’s a very short time to determine the course of our lives.”

             
“It’s best if we don’t linger on it. Neither one of us has slept. Plus, I don’t want to deal with this with Gramps in the room. Two against one is never a fair fight.”

             
He nods as he looks at the clock. “Fifteen minutes it is. Starting in three…two…one…”

             
It’s an impossible task to write the terrifying truth. I write excuse after excuse and just end up crossing them out. My mind reels with dozens of excuses. With only a few seconds left, I finally come up with three truthful reasons. I put down my pen and paper. Christian is waiting for me.

             
“It was harder for me than you,” I say.

             
“My assumptions may be completely wrong.” He holds out his sheet of paper. “We will review each other’s answers and deal-breakers before we discuss them.”

             
I quietly exchange papers with him. I scowl when I see his perfect calligraphy handwriting on the official- looking document. I don’t know how he wrote it in fifteen minutes.

I, High Prince Christian Kelp of the Atlantic Realm, do hereby vow to abide by the ruling of this wager. In the event that I guess Alexandra Singer’s misgivings, we will enter into a legal engagement in which all my property and assets will have her name added as a title-holder. Furthermore, she will be assigned permanent bodyguards from the ranks of the Imperial Protective Services. If I fail to guess her reservations, Alexandra Singer and I will wait until she graduates with a four-year degree from a human university before we become e
ngaged.

My official assumptions are:

1.
       
Fear of living under water.

2.
      
Fear of having her heart broken.

3.
      
Fear of perceived failure.

             
As I will eternally love Alexandra Singer, I present no deal-breaker. There is not a transgression great enough for me to cease loving her or nullify this contract.

             
Before I finish reading his contract, he tenderly kisses the back of my neck.

“You can congratulate me on my engagement,” he whispers.

              “How did you guess when I didn’t even know myself?” I put down his contract.

             
“I am really observant.” He wraps his arms around my waist. “How are you taking it?”

             
“I am unexpectedly calm. I suppose it has something to do with my deal-breaker.”

             
He lets go of me and picks up my paper, reading the bottom of the page. “I am rather fond of this deal-breaker. Undying loyalty is what everyone should demand when entering into an engagement.”

             
I nod, putting down his contract. I lay my head on my pillow and pull up the duvet. “Now that that is decided, we can go back to bed.”

             
He turns off the light, but instead of leaving, he climbs back into my bed.

             
“I’m trying to go to sleep,” I tell him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

             
“Uh-uh,” he says, pulling me to him. “I know it’s too soon for your tastes, but I am so overjoyed that I can barely speak. Now that you are my fiancée, I am a step closer to spending eternity with you.”

             
A large yawn escapes my mouth and I close my eyes. “Christian, when did you know you loved me?”

             
“The first time you fell asleep in my arms, during the drive from Portland to Seaside. It wasn’t until that night that I understood the anonymous quote, ‘Falling in love is when she falls asleep in your arms and wakes up in your dreams.’ You have visited my dreams every night since.”

             
“I was very rude to you that night.”