Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Charm to Bind My Heart to Yours ❯ Part 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Part 2

Sven swam confidently through the waters surrounding the city, familiar with ever nook and cranny. In his left he held a precious coil of rope and in the right a hardy spear made from the ocean trees that grew only in their city. The rock charms around his tail and wrists cast a soft green light too dim for any human to see anything, but his sensitive eyes caught everything in it.
He’d changed in his 10 years in this new life. He still had a fairly slender build but now had hardened muscles to accompany it. As he’d grown and developed much the same way a normal human boy would his fish tail had also grown longer; his tail and pelvic fins elongating gracefully with strange streaks of sandy blonde running through them. The fin he had torn so badly years before had even healed better than anyone could have expected, much to his relief. The only thing about him that hadn’t changed much was his face. While it had lengthened out slightly, it still had a soft, almost feminine feel to it.
Seeing that this area was clear of predators he swam back to meet the others of his hunting party. They were already there waiting for him and laughing amongst themselves.
“What took you captain?” they asked, “We were beginning to wonder if you’d found a pack of sharks or something!”
The others laughed at that and even Sven smiled slightly at the joke. They were all sturdy, heavily muscled mermen dotted with scars from encounters they’d managed to survive. Sven was the only one among them without a mark and with a slender build. And yet he was the one in charge.
“Believe me,” he said, “If I’d found a pack of sharks you would’ve heard me calling you over.”
“Calling us for help more likely,” the newest member to the party said.
The others attempted to silence him with a glare before the comment was made, but it had already passed. They looked to Sven almost apologetically, but he only shrugged it off.
His men knew he was the fasted swimmer of them all and could easily out swim anyone or anything be it friend or foe. In addition to his speed he also know every catacomb in the surrounding cliffs; which were safe and which were inhabited by creatures, which had dead ends and which led to an exit. He wasn’t as strong as some of the others, but he was fast, clever, and had a photographic memory.
“Tell me something Darrel,” he said, gliding up until they were face to face, “Do you honestly think I would let them catch me?”
Darrel’s face flushed with embarrassment as he realized his mistake.
“My apologies sir,” he said, hanging his head.
“No matter,” Sven said, adjusting his grip on his spear as he felt the subtle vibrations in the water, “You can apologize by readying your spear. Something’s coming.”
It was not a predator that approached them however, but one of his mermaid admirers. Sighing he lowered his spear and swam to meet her, ignoring the chuckles of his men.
“Laleen,” he said, taking her by the shoulders, “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times not to leave the city without an escort!”
“But I have one right here!” she said, giggling stupidly and batting her eyelashes, “Besides I know this area is safe. After all you’re the one that patrols it Sven.”
“Laleen I’m tired of playing you games. I’m not interested in marrying you.”
“Why not?” she pouted, tugging on his shell charm gently, “I’m interested in you.”
“That’s not the po-“his sentence was cut off as he pushed her out of the way and was grabbed by a giant tentacle in her place.
“SVEN!!!” she shrieked.
His men swam frantically to his aid, jabbing at the tentacle as they tired to free him.
“The suction cup!” he ordered, “Break the suction!”
“But sir! If we do that, we’ll-“
“I’d rather be injured than dead!”
Sven gritted his teeth and braced himself while Darrel did the same and clutched his spear tightly. He stabbed the tentacle, puncturing the suction cup and just barely piercing the scales of his commanding officer.
The giant octopus let out a muted screech of pain from below and released its hold. Sven and the others didn’t wait for it to renew its attack. Taking Laleen’s hand in his own he and the others retreated for the safety of the city.
“You see?” Sven said, being overly cruel in an attempt to make her understand, “This is the kind of thing that happens when you seek me out. Don’t ever do it again. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said, her pelvic fins drooping in sadness as she swam home.
“That was a little harsh Captain,” one of his men said, “Even if it was her fault you got hurt.”
“Really,” another said, “She’s gorgeous. I’d make her my wife in a heartbeat.”
“I’m not interested in them,” Sven said coldly, turning in the direction of his home, “You are all dismissed until tomorrow.”
“Sir!” they said saluting him with their spears and dispersing.
He held his shell charm tightly in his fist as he swam home. How could he ever tell them, merman who had been born and raised under the sea, his vow? His love for a human girl he could never see again?
Sighing as he hung his rope and spear on a rack in his room he plucked a strand of seaweed out of his personal garden and began chewing on it absently. He wandered over to the window as he did every night and lamented on his last 10 years of life.
Elder Giddeon and brainwashed everyone into thinking they’d never had a life on the surface. Never had a human mother or father. Never tasted the sweet air above or felt the warmth of the sun. He remembered it keenly though. Almost as keenly as he remembered Collette the last time he had seen her.
He frowned as that memory surfaced. The image of her standing on the beach in her white dress gaping in horror as he changed into a different sort of being. The pain and fear in her eyes as she watched him dive below the surface and leave her standing there. How he wished he could erase that memory and replace it with one of her smiling. But he could not; whenever he though of her, no matter what, the vision of her in pain was always the one to surface. Shaking his head to clear it of the disturbing picture he brought his train of thought back to where he had left off.
Sarken had said right away that he wouldn’t make it with his slender frame and already-injured fin and Sven had dared him to prove it. He’d been forced to stay chained to a rock on the outskirts of the city for his insolent words, and never spoke again for months afterwards. But he had indeed proven Sarken wrong. He’d mastered the spear and his aim was always on the mark. Never could he throw so far as the others, but he was faster and more clever than most. His memory amazed Sarken as well in such a way that he’d been assigned to a patrol group only two years after his arrival. There were fewer fatalities among his group with him remembering where all of the predators and dangerous areas were. Added to that was a cool demeanor that allowed him to see all outcomes of a situation in a fight. These things added together had gotten him promoted to patrol captain when he was only 19 years old.
The mermaids apparently found these qualities and his natural looks very attractive. He’d had a long strain of them coming to visit him in the hopes that he’d ask them to marry him. Of course he’d refused them all, having eyes and a heart for Collette only.
“Sven darling are you home?”
“I’m here mother,” he said, drawing himself out of his lament and turning to face her.
She was an elderly mermaid, with just a few wrinkles beginning to line her eyes. But the weight of loss hung heavy about her as if it was trying to pull her down to the ocean floor and keep her there forever.
“Oh, good,” she said, swimming up to him and giving him a hug, “I wanted to talk to you about that Laleen girl.”
“I won’t marry her.”
“Darling, I heard what happened today and I understand if you’re upset that she put you in danger, but that was no reason to so short with her! The poor thing’s heartbroken!”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings mother,” he said, sighing as they’d gone over this many times before, “I’m just not interested in getting married. I don’t want to go out on patrol and not come back to my wife.”
“Many wives are widows from the patrols,” she said, not willing to let it die, “That’s how your father passed away you know. I’m not ashamed of him. I’m proud to have been his wife after all he did give me such a beautiful son.”
Sven smiled slightly at this. She thought he actually believed she was his true mother. He knew the truth though. His mother was still alive somewhere on his former home.
“Mother,” he said, taking her hands and kissing them as was custom for merpeople when they made a promise to another, “I promise that I’ll apologize to Laleen for my behavior. And someday I will get married, but I’m just not ready now. Is that alright with you?”
“My son,” she said, sighing and closing her red eyes, “It is done.”
She leaned up, kissed him on the cheek, and then quietly left. Once she was gone Sven swam back to the window and thought again of Collette.
I wonder what she looks like now…, he thought, Even better, I wonder if she still remembers me. Probably not. More than likely I’m dead to her.
Poor Sven couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

* * *
She stood at the cave entrance to her home holding her arms out wide as the wind whipped around her. Her partially-bob-cut sandy blonde hair snapped around her face while the ponytailed sides and back hung limply along the line of her back.
Collette stood still as the rock beneath her barefoot in her blood-red bikini. She relished the feeling as she was alternately warmed by the setting sun and cooled by the sharp ocean breeze. She closed her eyes and waited for it.
Suddenly the wind stopped and she dove into the water. This was a game she liked to play with herself. The sudden break in the wind marked the start when she would dive into the water and see how deep she could get before she was forced to surface. Once she thought she could go further and dove too deep, experiencing a moment of panic before her head finally broke surface. She wondered if that was how Sven had felt when he’d been forced to enter the thing he feared the most.
Bubbles burst from between her lips as she kicked for the surface, unable to hold it any longer. Breaking free of the waters grasp she kicked for ledge at the cave’s entrance. She pulled herself out of the water and toweled off, glanced at the setting sun one last time, and went inside.
She hadn’t changed anything in the home from what Sven had originally showed her that day so many years ago except for one of the smaller rooms. Granted she’d moved her things into the ‘house’ above to make it look like that’s where she lived, but really her she resided in the true home below. And she had converted what was supposed to be a small bedroom she’d converted into her workshop.
For Collette had taken up the occupation of photography and was good at it. Better than most, but not considered the best by far she was able to make ends meet for herself and that was all she really cared about.
She hadn’t grown more than a couple inches from her height at fifteen but had filled out her woman’s figure. As she studied herself in the mirror she realized that she could’ve done worse as far as filling out went. Her swimming kept her fit and slim at the least though one couldn’t really call her all that athletic. Her pale skin wasn’t as smooth as before either. It now had a few scars from where she’d scraped herself in learning how to dive. She’d even adopted Sven’s old hairstyle; bobbed in front and long on the sides and back.
Slipping into her pajamas and climbing into bed with a book she gazed around her at the pictures she had hung on the walls. Images of her and Sven that she’d rescued from the garbage. In their desperation to hide the evidence of their lies her parents had raided her room while she had been passed out after the ceremony and taken anything that might remind her of him.
Collette unconsciously reached up and touched her seashell pendent that she never removed. Even if she hadn’t rescued the pictures she’d still be able to remember him with it.
Not interested in her book anymore she tossed it aside and snuggled into her covers. Tonight would likely bring another nightmare of that horrid day when she had lost her best friend and first love, but so long as she got to see him it wouldn’t be so bad.

It was past 10’oclock the day after by the time Collette finished her errands for work. She’d had to pick up some extra materials if she was ever to finish so many prints for the wedding next week. And now she was running late to get home since it had taken the clerk so long to find the things she wanted.
Normally she tried to make it home by sunset so that she could do her diving exercises. She’d regretfully missed it tonight and felt horrible about it, but there was nothing she could do.
Loading her things into her old beat-up truck she hopped into the driver’s seat and headed for home. Tired and anxious for bed she didn’t notice right away that another car had parked in her driveway.
At first she thought it was her mother come to tell her that her father’s health had improved, but then she recognized the vehicle as a stylish sports car. The Drew brothers were at her house waiting for her.
Feeling her heart trying to knock its way out of her chest she climbed out of her truck and headed for the door to her house. She knew it would be pointless to try and sneak away, they’d already seen her pull up. The best she could hope for is that they’d just be delivering a message and would then go away. But then again, with the Drews, that was like trying to ask for Sven’s return. It was something that wasn’t ever going to happen.
There were only two Drew brothers now. Drewley had gone out for a swim by himself shortly after the ceremony and not returned. His brothers swore up and down that they heard him screaming in the distance, though it was never proved. Drewtas and Drewson seemed to think that they had to somehow make up for their brother’s absence and so had doubled their muscle mass and invested in everything that they thought could possibly make them look good.
The years hadn’t done anything to improve their behavior either. Collette had heard that they’d raped a girl and gone unpunished. Even more the reason avoid them at all costs.
“Hey, there Collette,” Drewtas said, pushing himself off the car, “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Well,” she said, sounding sarcastic, “it is my house, you know. I do live here. Now what do you want?”
“Come on sweetheart,” Drewson said, fingering a lock of her hair, “Don’t be like that, we haven’t seen you in like forever.”
“The six days of bliss seems to have made me forget how annoying the two of you are,” she said, swatting his hand away, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Drewtas made as if to block her path to the house and ended up getting kneed in the crotch. As he doubled over in pain Drewson moved in to grab her but Collette was too quick. She ducked under his reach and sprinted away.
Tree branches and thorn bushes pulled and tugged at her jacket and jeans. Hoping it would speed up her escape Collette slipped out of her jacket and smiled to herself when she heard one of her pursuers trip over it. Without the jacket to protect her however her skin became the victim for the pulls and tugs of the trees. Wincing as one particularly sharp branch tore across her arm she forced herself to keep going.
They chased her clear to the cliffs where she was forced to come to a stop lest she run over it and into the water below. Turning slowly she faced the Drews who approached with malicious grins on their faces.
“What the hell do you two want?!” she demanded.
“Oh, I think you know,” Drewson said, cracking his knuckles.
“Yeah,” Drewtas agreed, taking another step forward, “We know you had something to do with what happen to our bro’, so we want revenge for him.”
Collette couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All of this for something she’d had nothing to do with? If anyone was responsible for Drewley’s demise it was the albino man who was really a merman, he had said that they would pay after all.
Drewson made to swing at her and missed when she ducked beneath it. But while she was crouched down Drewtas swung at her. Collette leaned back to avoid being hit and overbalanced herself.
Her eyes went wide with fear as she tumbled off the cliff and into space. The Drew brothers leaned over the cliff together to watch her descent and smiling in a satisfied manner when she hit the water.
“Bro’s avenged,” they said together, nodding in affirmation.

Collette floundered in the water, her heavy clothes weighing her down in the rough waves. At the moment she was doing well to keep her head above the water, but she could feel herself succumbing to the weariness in her muscles.
Normally she was a strong swimmer, but the waters here were rough and swirled together in mini-whirlpools. She was getting pulled under and swept out to sea with the tide, and there was nothing she could to about it.

* * *

Sven and his men were hunting as a group today since one of the parties hadn’t come home the night before. Safety and strength in numbers dictated that they stay together when such things happened. No one knew as of yet what had happened, but all in the city had smelled the blood as it travelled down current. That patrol team would not be coming home.
“Be careful,” he said, gripping his spear tightly, “Something’s there.”
One of them was about to make a comment that perhaps it was another one of Sven’s admirers, but were too scared by what new enemy might lurk beyond the light of their trinkets to make the joke.
As one they swam forward slowly and cautiously, but even that could not prepare them for what they saw.
It was a pack of albino sharks. Hunters of the deep who had evolved specifically for the purpose of taking down merpeople as their prey. For a split second the two sides treaded water facing each other. One awed and terrified; the other on the hunt and seeing its prey.
Then, suddenly the chase was on. Sven and his team took off as fast as they could, none of them wanting to die, and none wanting to lead the monsters to the city. Thinking as fast as he could Sven realized that the only thing that might stop these monsters was the same thing that would hurt him. An extremely bright light, and he knew just where to find one. This was his chance to go to the surface again and he was going to take it.
“Keep them busy for a moment,” he ordered, “I have a plan!!”
Without questioning the command his men spun around and swam circles around the beasts. Being careful not to come within their attack range they kept them confused while Sven put his plan into motion.
He dug at the area where he’d been hurt yesterday until it began to bleed. With a thin trail of blood following him he swam several times around the sharks until the smell of it was thick and the sharks were no longer paying attention to his men. Now with the scent of his blood in the water the shark’s attention was focused solely on him.
“Captain! What are you doing?!” Darrel demanded as he narrowly avoided an attack.
“I’m drawing them away! I’m the fastest so don’t worry about me! When we’re gone from your sight head back to the city and tell Elder Giddeon what’s out here!”
“But-“
“Do it!”
With that he let go of his rope and spear and swam at full speed for the surface, the sharks following close behind. He swam quickly and furiously towards the surface with the sharks following in close pursuit. When the glow of his stone jewelry had faded his men gathered around and looked up in awe.
“Such bravery,” they said as they gazed at the spot where he had vanished.
Darrel hovered there for a moment while the others turned and headed back to the city. Gripping his spear tightly he made his decision and bolted after Sven and the creatures. Fast as Sven may be he wouldn’t stand a chance against monsters like that if they managed to catch him. Darrel didn’t want that to happen, much as they all liked to tease their captain about his slender frame they had grown to be good friends with him and had been kept alive many a time thanks to him. Now it was his turn to return the favor.

His tail pumping furiously behind him Sven raced the monsters of the deep to the surface. He was more excited that fearful though, for he anticipated the creatures to turn back one the light got too bright for them.
It seemed like an eternity to him before the water around him began to lighten with a glow from above. The sharks pursuing him seemed to hesitate, unsure if they should continue the chase and capture their prey or turn away from the uncomfortable light. They did keep up the chase for a time, but as soon as the water around them began to turn into an even lighter blue they turned and headed back into the dark depths.
Pleased with himself Sven didn’t slow as he continued his ascent. Back to the world he had left behind.

Darrel was confused. He’d seen the sharks give up the chase and turn away, but his captain kept on going with a smile on his face. Never before had he seen such a look of pure joy on him before and it disturbed him more than a little. Sven was not one to show his emotions so this out of place reaction was a mystery to him.
Seeking to know why Sven was so happy to be swimming for the surface he followed behind at a distance even though his eyes stung from the pale light of the surface world’s moon.

With one final beat of his tail Sven launched himself out of the water. His head and torso free of the water’s grip he breathed in deep of the night air and gazed upon the moon and stars above him. Even their pale light stung at his eyes but he didn’t care. He was so overcome with joy at seeing them again he allowed himself to fall backwards and floated in the water on his back.
He closed his eyes and let the wind play across his face. Cold as it was he felt warmed by it and dreaded the thought of having to return to the dark depths. Sven closed his eyes and fought back the sickening feeling that thought brought to him. Until now he hadn’t truly realized how much he missed his former home, and he didn’t want to leave it ever again.
Opening his eyes again he slapped his tail hard against the water’s surface and made another promise to himself. That he wouldn’t go back. None of his men would know what had happened after the sharks had followed him. So, he reasoned, if he never returned they would simply assume that they had caught up with him and he had been eaten.
Resuming an upright position he looked around for his old home and saw it off in the distance. It loomed in an almost dark and forbidding way, but the twinkling lights of the beach houses dispelled most of the eerie effect. Thinking he might go and see if anything had changed about it he headed in that direction.
As he got closer he began to notice something floating limply in the water. Curious he swam closer, and was appalled. It was a young woman floating facedown and not moving. Sven hurriedly flipped her over to see if she was even still alive and felt a lump rise in his chest.
Her appearance had matured and she appeared to have adopted his old hairstyle, but there was no mistaking who it was. He placed his ear next to her mouth and could hear her barely breathing around the gurgling of water in her lungs.
Praying that his rescue would not somehow endanger her life further he swam towards the island with a new sense of urgency, doing his best to keep Collette’s head above the water.
Once there Sven drug her as far as he could onto the beach and laid her out on her back. Pressing his ear against her mouth again he was appalled to find that she had stopped breathing. Sven felt panic grip his heart in that moment.
His hands made circular motions in the air as he floundered in his panic, trying to remember the proper procedure for resuscitating someone. It had been a decade since he had seen someone actually perform the procedure and he hadn’t been paying that much attention in the first place.
Finally remembering to an extent he leaned her torso forward and beat on her back as forcefully, yet somewhat gently as he could, and after minutes of continuous pounding she finally spat up a pint of salt water. With the water out of her lungs she was halfway there, but she still was not breathing. Nervously he glanced around to make sure that no one was looking, a childish thing to do considering the situation, and pressed his lips against hers. Once…twice…three times before she gave a sort of stuttering cough and started breathing on her own again.
Collette was breathing on her own again; however, her body had partially succumbed to the cold ocean waters. Realizing this Sven, without giving much thought to what he was doing, stripped her soaked shirt off, but respectively left her undergarments on, and laid his torso across hers so that his body heat would warm her. Together they laid there like that until she had stopped shivering and her lips were no longer blue, at which point he pushed himself off and looked down at her.
Tenderly he brushed her wet bangs out of her eyes and traced the line of her chin softly with his fingers. Flowing from her chin to her neck he came across the leather string of her necklace. Smiling as his expression softened he noticed for the first time that she still wore the shell charm he had given her. Unconsciously his free hand moved up to wrap itself around his own charm.
His pelvic fins fluttered nervously at his hips and his tail beat it’s outline into the sand as he leaned in close and ever-so gently kissed her on the lips. A warm kiss so unlike the cold one he’d gotten when he’d saved her life. The kiss was brief, but when he pulled away her eyes fluttered open for just a moment and she moaned softly.
Collette was coming around and as much as he longed to stay by her side Sven didn’t want her to see him like this. Caressing the side of her face and brushing his lips along her collar bone he heaved himself back into the ocean.

Moments after Sven had hidden himself behind a rock Collette stuttered awake. She gazed up at the moon and felt the sand beneath her, trying to register how she’d come here.
She could remember falling off the cliff and into the ocean. She could remember passing out and the water pulling her out to sea. But beyond that…everything was dark or blurred.
Slowly she sat up and wrapped her arms around herself. A shiver worked its way up her spine, but it wasn’t from the cold. It was from the odd sensation that she had escaped death and knew that someone had helped. That much she knew wasn’t a dream since her top had been taken off and thrown to the side. But the rest…
A vague image of just moments before fluttered to the surface of her mind. The image of a young man with concerned red eyes and snow white hair looking down at her. She raised her hand up to her lips and felt the warmth there from where someone had pressed their own against them.
“Sven…” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes, “You rescued me didn’t you…?”
She stood up and swayed dizzily for a moment, searching the ocean in front of her for any sign of him. When she didn’t see him in the water she looked along the beach for him, but only saw the imprint of where he’d lain and the trail of where he’d drug himself back into the water.
Collette started to follow that trail when a flashlight beam shone down on her.
“Hello? Are you all right?”

* * *

Darrel swam as fast as he could back to the city, hardly able to comprehend what he’d just witnessed.
His cold-hearted captain had just saved a human woman from death. Not only that but he’d kissed her! He’d gazed on her unconscious form with loving eyes. The same look that mermaids throughout the city would kill each other for had been given to a human!
Elder Giddeon would be told of this development. And while Darrel had no true desire to betray his captain like this, it was treason to even journey to the surface unless you were emissary to ensure the humans were staying within their boundaries.
But what Sven had done was not only treason, but sickening to him. Their kind detested the land walkers with fiery passion. Sven was going to be severely punished for this, maybe even made into an example so that none would ever think of doing the same again.

* * *

Sven watched from behind the rock as Collette searched the sea and beach for him. His heart stung to know that she had sensed his presence but he could not be there for her. How he longed to call out to her, to let her know that he was still there, watching out for her. But he couldn’t, he just couldn’t; not while he was still forced to live in a separate world from her.
He watched as one of the townspeople happened upon her, helped her into their car, and likely drove her away to a hospital where she could be properly taken care of.
“Collette…” he sighed sinking down into the water.
“Is that the girl’s name?”
Sven spun half-way around in surprise when a heavy net was thrown over him and he was pulled underwater. He beat his tail furiously against the heavy mesh but he had no hope to break free of it. He glared at the holders of the net, and was surprised to see members from his own patrol group, Darrel included, along with Sarken.
“What is the meaning of this!?” he demanded.
“Treason,” Sarken explained, glaring back at him with contempt, “None may come to the surface without permission lest you be an avatar to the land walkers. You not only came here without permission, but made contact with a human female.”
“I-“
“You can not deny it Sven. Darrel followed you here and witnessed the whole encounter. And if it weren’t for the fact that he’d come straight back to report what you’d done he’d be sharing your fate. Have you anything to say for yourself?”
“Only that I don’t regret it! If it weren’t for your stupid curse I’d have a real life up there with her!”
Darrel and the others, except for Sarken, gasped. They had never been told that Sven had been one of the human children born with the mer-folks’ curse. The knowledge that he wasn’t truly born as one them cast him in a different light. A light that caused them to look down on him as inferior.
“No matter,” Sarken shrugged, “Giddeon has instructed us to make you into an example. You’re not much longer for this life anyway. So perhaps you should be grateful that you got to see your precious woman one last time. And perhaps if she saw your face tonight you’ll be seeing her again.”
Sven fought for his life, but it was no use. They had him caught in their net and were going to enact their punishment no matter how much he may struggle. Or perhaps they had always had him caught in their net, and it hadn’t been until now that he’d realized how foolish his dreams of being with Collette again had been.

* * *

Collette sat in the window of the hospital with her nightgown on staring out at the storm that rattled against the glass. She sighed anxiously. She knew that it had to have been Sven that had saved her and wanted desperately to go out and look for him. But the sudden storm and the fretting hospital nurses kept her confined indoors.
Twice, when she was not sitting in the window, she was pacing the halls only to be shooed into bed by whoever managed to catch her. The third time one nurse got so fed up with her restlessness that she personally walked Collette back to her room and forced her to lie down in bed.
“You nearly drowned Miss Landel,” she scolded, pulling the sheets up and over her, “You need to rest while your tests are being processed.”
“I told you there’s nothing wrong with me,” Collette said, crossing her arms over her chest, “Whoever that was that pulled me out of the water made sure I was OK.”
“Miss Landel you washed up on shore by chance, and it’s lucky that you did. Now get some rest and maybe you’ll be well enough to leave when the storm breaks.”
“Morning?” she asked, a hopeful note touching around her voice.
“Longer than that,” she said, looking out the window at the sleeting rain thoughtfully, “The storm’s almost classified as a hurricane, it’s so strong. They aren’t expecting it to be over until sometime tomorrow night at the earliest.”
“So I’m stuck here?”
“Looks like it. Just be happy you were found before this kicked up or you wouldn’t have made it for sure.”
That’s not true…Collette thought as she watched her leave, Sven would’ve found some way to save me. I just know he would.

* * *

Sven fought to keep himself oriented in the thrashing waves, but it did him little good. He was weak and dizzy from loss of blood. And he was tired, so tired. He never fully appreciated the constant movement of his pelvic fins at until that moment when they hung, uselessly slit down their length, at his sides. Now he had to rely solely on his tail fin to keep himself from being thrown about. Unfortunately his tail only really served as a form of propulsion and did him no good. To make matters worse the scent of his blood was also thick in the water around him drawing in any predators that might be nearby.
He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. That was when a powerful wave lifted him up and threw him against an exposed boulder near the island’s shore, rendering him unconscious.
Sven couldn’t drown of course since he was a creature of the sea, but that didn’t mean that predators wouldn’t take advantage of his state. He possessed an uncommon amount of luck however as he was pushed up past the rocks, where his body was beached high up on the sands of the beach. There he lay, bleeding to death in a torrent of rain.

* * *

As soon as they proclaimed her to be in perfect health Collette changed out of her hospital gown, into her normal clothes, and ran out the doors of the hospital. Out in the parking lot she saw her truck where her mother had thoughtfully parked it in anticipation of her dismissal from the hospital. Silently thanking her mother she climbed in and raced to the section of beach where she’d supposedly washed up on shore.
Skidding her truck to a stop and leaving a track of burnt rubber behind her, Collette pulled into a parking space and jumped out of the truck. Running down the beach she was at the shoreline within seconds. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out into the night.
“SVEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!!!!!!”
She stood there while her echo came back to her. Collette waited a few moments after it had faded into the darkness before trying again. The same result greeted her efforts.
Sighing she hung her head and headed back to her truck, beginning to think that they had been right and that she had in fact dreamed seeming that pair of red eyes. That is, until she noticed the dark outline of something near the rockier section of beach.
Hardly daring to hope, but not being able to escape a sense of elation she ran towards the shape. Her initial thought as she approached it was that it was a piece of irregularly shaped driftwood, but as her eyes adjusted to the dimness outside her headlight’s range she recognized it for what it really was.
It was Sven. He was still unconscious and covered in wounds which bled profusely and stained his pale skin and the sand beneath him crimson. Mustering all her strength just to refrain from vomiting Collette knelt down beside him and felt the side of his neck for a pulse. Collette shivered slightly at the feeling of his slick, wet, skin, but willed herself not to pull away. Yet She sighed with relief when she found a pulse where it was supposed to be. It was slow and faint, but it was there nonetheless.
Taking a deep breathe to steady herself she pulled Sven’s arm over her shoulder and half-carried, half-dragged him back to her truck where she hefted him into the bed of it. Looking at him and the impressive length of his tail she realized that he was too long for her to close the tailgate behind him. So she ended up having to force him to curl into an almost fetal position before she could safely close him in.
As she closed the tailgate behind him she felt a pang of guilt that she couldn’t put him in the more-comfortable cab with her, but, as his long fish tail made it impossible for him to stretch out even in the bed, it would be even more inconceivable for him to try and fit into the cab. So it was that she drove slower than she ever had before back to her house, taking special care to avoid any and all potholes she came across if she could at all help it.
When she finally did make it back she found that she had a dilemma ahead of her. She wanted desperately to help ease Sven’s pain, but couldn’t keep him in the upper house or else her clients would notice and tell the police. Or simply die of a heart attack on the spot, whichever happened first. Considering everyone’s firm denial of his existence the last time she’d tried to prove it, which was something she should try and avoid both outcomes at any and all costs.
With that in mind she hoped she didn’t hurt Sven any more as she carefully carried him inside, down the stairs she had built years ago, and into the bathtub. Again his tail added a ridiculous amount of extra length to his body so it was forced to hang limply out of the side. And every so often a few droplets of blood would splatter off its end and onto the floor.
Again Collette had to control herself in order not to vomit at the sight of it. So it was with shaking hands that she filled the tub with lukewarm water and did her best to clean Sven’s wounds.
But there was only so much that she could do for him, and there seemed to be something wrong. Collette couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about him, besides his fish tail, didn’t sit right with her. She shrugged it off though, as he seemed to be doing better already.
The water did seem to help him as his breathing eased and some of what little color he had to his skin came back. Sven still didn’t wake up despite this, but that was too be expected. Collette knelt down on the floor and leaned against the edge of the tub with her head propped up on her elbows and studied her long lost friend.
“He’s gotten handsome,” she mused, brushing his hair away from his eyes with still-shaking fingers, “His face is stronger too, and he looks so much more mature.”
Unintentionally she began to run her fingers down the side of his face, along the artery in his neck, along the strong line of his collarbone, and began tracing the outlines of his muscles. As she did so the shaking in her fingers steadied and her gaze softened. The events of the past day and a half seemed to melt away and were replaced with others.
In her mind she and Sven had never been separated. He was not lying unconscious in her bath tub, and she was not tending to his injuries. Her mind told her that they were married and that now they were unwinding after a hard day at work. Something that might have been entirely plausible in another time and place.
The sound of a droplet of water falling from the facet brought her back to reality. hastily she jerked her hand away and flushed a deep red as if Sven himself had woken up and caught her in the act.
“Stupid! Stupid!” she berated herself, “He’s unconscious for crying out loud! And even if you could be with him, look! He’s part fish now! You two couldn’t do anything even if you wanted to!”
She felt the tears coming on before she threw the washcloths she’d used to clean Sven’s wounds across the small room. She spun around to leave and noticed something hanging around Sven’s neck out of the corner of her eye. Curious she leaned in for a closer look.
The floodgates opened wide as she recognized his shell charm and ran to her bedroom crying hot tears of frustration for what could not and would never be.

* * *

At first Sven thought that he’d died because the water was so much warmer than what he was used to. Sluggishly he tried to move his hand and found that it was similar to having wrapped a certain seaweed that numbed whatever it touched on contact around it and then trying to move it directly afterwards. This feeling of not being able to move his body in the way that he should further led him to believe that he had in fact died. Slowly he opened his eyes to see what heaven was like and was shocked to see himself in a bathtub with his tail hanging out the back.
For a moment he felt panic settle around his heart. thinking that a human had stumbled across his dying form on the shore and intended to put him on display for their own personal profit he was thinking far and fast ahead on ways to escape. Death would be a hundred times better than the humiliation he’d have to endure if that were the case.
However, as he took stock of his surroundings and began to see things for how they really were his panic settled. The spasmodic, and painful, twitching of his tail from his flight instinct kicking in also began to subside.
“I recognize this place…” he said, looking around at the glowing rock walls, “This was going to be my house if I hadn’t…” He paused for a moment to glare resentfully at his long fish tail with its normally smooth silver scales jutting out at odd angles or ripped out completely from his ‘punishment’. Looking from it to the tub he recollected his thoughts and continued on with his reflection. “Who could’ve brought me here?”
As soon as the question formed in his mind the answer came. Collette, the only person besides his father who had even known that this place existed.
He wanted to see her, to hold her close to him, and to thank her for saving his life. But he was in too much pain to hardly even move his arm, let alone be able to drag his whole body to wherever she was. Nevertheless, it was worth a try. With a great deal of effort he tried to pull himself out of the tub, but it was no use. Sven collapsed back into the tub with a splash and once again sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

Collette vaguely heard the noise of Sven’s movements through the sounds of her own sobbing, but didn’t move. She was too depressed by the thoughts coursing through her mind to do anything. The poor thing could hardly even find a reason in her current state for why she had saved her lost friend in the first place if they couldn’t be together.

* * *

Weeks past while Sven drifted fitfully in and out of sleep with Collette constantly coming in to check on him. Always when she did so however he was asleep or pretending to be. Much as he wanted to speak to her like he had in their childhood he couldn’t work up the courage to make it happen, and most often felt too ill to do so even when he had worked up the courage.
At the very least the less serious of his wounds had completely healed and his more serious were three quarters of the way there. Despite this however he was still weak and had even developed a fever. This was partially because Collette had no idea what to feed him, and knew that, but had no idea how he had developed the fever. Sven knew somewhere in the back of his mind that it was because he needed to be in salt water.
Collette had regretfully left him to go to work that day, which was probably in her best interest. She was already near the point of worrying herself sick, and he didn’t want to have to trouble her with taking him to the ocean. And today he was feeling better than he had in a long time so he took it upon himself to crawl out of the bathtub, navigate his way to the bedroom, and let himself out of the house on the ocean side.
As he made his way out of the tunnel he felt guilty about leaving without telling Collette. But he had the feeling that if he stayed in the bathtub much longer he wouldn’t last another week. Sven did promise himself though that as soon as he was well enough again he would speak to her.
Grabbing the ledge with both hands Sven gave one last heave and tumbled into the water. In the ocean again he kept a tight hold on the rock wall since his fins hadn’t healed yet and he didn’t want to get swept out to where there were predators. Even so he felt much better being back in the ocean again and, once he had wedged himself firmly in between two rocks, fell into a restful sleep.

* * *
Collette came home exhausted that evening after work and wanted nothing more than to simply collapse on her bed and fall asleep. But she was obligated to check in on Sven and see if his fever had gone down.
“Sven,” she said, softly as she walked into the bathroom, “Are you awake?”
Collette stood frozen in the doorway when she saw that the tub was empty and that there was a puddle of water directly outside of it. Frantic she ran down the hall, through her bedroom, and out of the exit tunnel to the ocean.
Scanning the waves for her friend she could feel her pulse beginning to race with fear for him. Her initial thought had been that someone had come to her house, found him, and taken him away. But when she had almost slipped and killed herself on the water trail when she’d ran out of the bathroom she knew that Sven had left on his own.
“SVEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!!” she shouted.

Underwater Sven heard her yelling and woke up from his sleep. Glancing up he saw her leaning over the edge of the rock ledge shouting his name out into the distance. Horrible as he felt to have suddenly left her as he did, he didn’t move to show her he was fine. All he did was watch her shout herself hoarse before she gave up and left again.

* * *

Every day for the next week Collette came out at night and shouted Sven’s name out into space in the hopes that he would come back to him.
Sven for his part stayed out of sight and finished healing. After his first night in the ocean his fins had healed back together to the point where he could swim through the shallows near the cliffs and harvest some seaweed. Now that he had the proper food and was in a place that accelerated his healing process he was back in perfect health in a matter of days.
Remembering his promise to himself he hauled himself up on the rock and waited for Collette to come out and call for him. He sat there with his tail hanging in the water and waited for hours before he realized that Collette wasn’t coming this night. When he thought about it he really couldn’t blame her for giving up. After all he’d kept himself hidden from her for over a week so that she wouldn’t have to see him injured again. But she must have taken it as him leaving again.
Half of him was so ashamed of hurting Collette again that he wanted to just slip back into the water and disappear before he could do it again. But the other half of him, the more reasonable half, knew that he needed to make things right with her. And making things right meant that he would have to drag himself back into the house and confront her.
So that is exactly what he did. The going was faster than it had been before and he made a great deal more noise than he had when he was injured, or maybe he was just imagining it. But Sven thought that if Collette was in the house at all should would hear the sounds of his crawling outside and come to investigate. She didn’t come, and Sven could hear the sounds of her crying inside of the bedroom.
At the sound of her crying Sven felt a strong need to be beside Collette at that moment no matter if he wasn’t who he used to be or not.
He opened the door to the room and crawled across the floor to the bed. He pulled himself up on one of the posts and looked up to see which side she was sleeping on before letting himself slid back to the floor. Once there he crawled to the free side of the bed and pulled himself up on top of it. First his torso and then as much of his tail as would fit. On the bed he rolled over on his side to face her.
Collette hadn’t even stirred at the extra weight on the bed so he reached out and stroked her hair, marveling at the softness of it.
Collette immediately snapped back to reality at his touch and laid there frozen for a moment before rolling over to face him. For a brief second she saw him as she remembered him when they were children before that faded away and she saw him as she had the past few weeks.
“Sven…” she whispered, new tears brimming in her eyes.
“C-Co-Collette…” he stuttered, having not formed words with his mouth in years.
They both cried then. Both with joy at being together again, and with sorrow over what was not to be.

The next few weeks while Sven recuperated from his near-death experience were like stepping back in time. With the exception of their adult bodies and Sven’s inability to leave the water for any great length of time it was as if nothing had changed too much. Their blossoming romance from years ago even picked back up from that night before the coming of age ceremony and started to progress to something beyond a simple crush.
Collette went to work everyday with a renewed sense of spirit while Sven recovered in the ocean, never straying too far from the shore as he had been before. Then when the day was through they would come together at the cave’s entrance and watch the sunset side-by-side, content to be in each other’s company.
Once he’d gotten enough of his strength back Sven would perform tricks for Collette, leaping out of the water and doing flips impossible for any human to accomplish. She would laugh at his antics and take pictures of it even though she only got a flash of his silver tail on most occasions. Sometimes he would even hold her close to him while dove down and took her on a personal tour of the ocean life right outside her door.
So the time passed until Sven was in perfect physical health, and Collette in a perfect state of mind, once more.

* * *

He and Collette were sharing a Friday evening together in celebration of their joint recovery; though the sun had long since set and she sat on the rocky entrance in her pajamas. Collette had even introduced Sven to something he would never have the pleasure of tasting in his years underwater, a fine red wine.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” she asked, staring up at the heavens through her wine glass.
“Mmm-hmm…” Sven said, pulling his torso up on top of the ledge and taking another sip of his wine. He made a slight face the flavor of it, but didn’t say anything since he didn’t want to offend Collette.“You know you really appreciate them when you haven’t seen them for 10 years…”
“I suppose so,” Colette said, drawing her attention down to him.
“What?” he asked, not understanding the look she was giving him.
“I was wondering something,” she said, swishing her drink around in her glass.
“Oh, really? And just what might that be?”
“That time you disappeared after I brought you home I was wondering if you’d gone back to some slender-tailed hottie down in that city,” she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm, “Is there one?”
Sven’s shoulders shook with laughter at her comment, and it was quite some time before he’d regained control of himself.
“No…no, nothing like that,” he said, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
“What then?”
“I was just too big of a coward to talk to you while I was still…”
“Still what?”
“Still like this,” he said, gesturing to his long fish tail.
This time it was Collette’s turn to laugh at his silly comment.
“You think something like that would bother me?” she said, still laughing.
“It seemed to bother you that day of the ceremony,” he said, his tone deathly serious.
“It did,” she said, swaying as she stood up, “But I’ve kind of gotten used to it now. And it sorta becomes you. I don’t know why.”
“Collette? Are you OK?” he asked, watching her carefully.
“I’m fine,” she said, placing a hand against the wall to steady herself, “Just a little too much to drink I think.”
Sven looked down at his own drink and promptly dumped it into the water beside him. If the stuff made him act like that he wanted no more of it.
“Maybe you should get to bed,” he said.
“Yeah, maybe I should,” she said, tripping and falling into the water as she tried to walk away.
She landed into the water with a loud splash and floundered for a moment before Sven caught her. Collette coughed up water while Sven held her.
“Sorry,” she said, the cold water quickly sobering her up, “I, uh, won’t do that again.”
“It’s Ok,” he said.
Above them the moon was full and the sky was blissfully free of clouds so that every speck of light from the stars sparkled down on them. All around the sounds of the ocean and the wind blended together in perfect harmony to create the melody of the night. Nature had set the mood and events were out of their hands.
Collette leaned against Sven and tucked her head under his chin, not even bothering to stop and think about what she was doing. Sven seemed to be urged to follow through on his feelings as well as he leaned his head in against hers and pulled her tighter to him. He kept them floating so that Collette’s head remained above water, but he currents pulled them slightly out to sea so that they were under the full effect of the night sky.
Pushing away from Sven slightly Collette looked up at him almost bashfully through her eyelashes. Water droplets slid down her face from her wet hair and worked together with the light to cause her skin to sparkle. The light and water had a slightly different effect on Sven. His already pale skin seemed to reflect the light completely, making it look as though he were glowing and giving his blood red eyes a sharper hue. The sharper color of his eyes did nothing to diminish the love that was radiating from them though.
Slowly and gently Sven leaned down and brushed his lips against the side of Collette’s cheek. Immediately all of the tension left her body and she completely melted inside. Thus when Sven kissed her a second time, this time on the lips, she kissed him back. The kiss was long and passionate, but nothing compared to the next one.
Momentarily they broke away before they began anew. This time however, Sven Tightened his grip around Collette’s waist and let them sink underwater.
Instead of crying out in surprise as soon as she felt the water go over her head Collette steadied herself and put her trust in Sven, allowing him to pull her down. She kept her eyes wide open underwater even though the salt stung at them for she didn’t want to miss a single moment of the experience. Underneath the ocean at night was like nothing she had ever seen before. All around her beams of light flickered from above and the currents gentle pulling of their hair gave them the look of something out of a dream.
All the while Collette could feel her heart pounding within her chest in response to the seemingly calm and even gaze Sven was giving her.
Wordlessly he held her close and kissed her underwater, his strong fins beating to keep them suspended in place. Collette gave herself in to the moment and ran her hands through his hair, keeping his lips pressed to hers.
Sven was a creature of the water and could have kept kissing her indefinitely, but Collette needed to surface for her air. So when he recognized that she could hold her breathe no longer Sven broke the kiss and swam for the surface with her in tow.
“I was not done kissing you,” Collette said; once she’d gotten her breathe back.
“My mistake,” Sven said, pulling her underwater once more.
The kiss lasted longer this time, with Collette taking a deeper breathe than before now that she knew what to expect. When they surfaced the second time Collette was shivering with cold from being in the water too long and had to get out. Sven helped her out onto the ledge and pulled himself up after her.
“That was…” Collette began.
“It just was,” Sven said, gazing at her with the same wistful expression, “Let’s just leave it at that shall we?”
They leaned against each other as they stared up at the night sky. The stayed like that until Sven looked down at his love when he felt her shoulders start to tremble against him.
“You should go inside if you’re that cold,” he said, knowing that it would be silly for her to stay if she could be warmer, “I’ll still be here in the morning.”
“It’s not that,” she said, doing her best to hide the real reason behind her trembling, “I just wish-“
“I know, but if you want to make a wish now’s the time to do it,” Sven said excitedly, cutting her off and pointing up at the sky.
Collette followed the line of his finger and saw a shooting star streaking its way across the heavens. Closing her eyes quickly before the star finished its journey she made a wish. When she opened them again however, Sven was still sitting beside her the way he’d been when she’d closed them.
“I guess I shouldn’t have expected it to work,” she said, sighing.
“What did you wish for?” Sven asked.
“I wished that you could be with me,” she said, her eyes trailing along the line of his tail.
“That was my wish too,” he said, also turning his gaze to his tail, “It seemed logical enough that if something like this were possible that shooting stars could really grant your wishes too. Besides I thought that if we both wished on the same star it’d have twice the power and really come true.”
Collette pushed away from him and stood up, turning to go inside. She was frustrated and didn’t want to end up crying in front of Sven anymore that night. He’d already seen enough of that, and it made her mad to know that she never used to be that way.
“I’ll see you in the morning Sven,” she said, walking stiffly away.
“Goodnight, Collette,” he whispered softly.
He slapped his tail angrily against the water’s surface as he watched her leave. How he wished that what they both wanted could be true. For him to be human again and be by her side for the rest of their lives. He thought this with much more anger than he ever had before and slapped his tail against the water again.
No, he thought, I will not let her walk away again.
“Collette! Wait!” he said, causing Collette to turn back around as he grabbed hold of the wall and pulled himself fully out of the water.
As he did so the strangest thing happened. Tingling sensations ran up and down his tail as it first split in two, shortened slightly, and then had the scales recede to reveal legs, human legs. Sven stared down at himself in disbelief as he stood up shakily and took a few steps, holding the wall for support. His first few attempts at walking again ended in him falling and scraping his elbows on the rough stone, but eventually he regained his sense of balance.
Excitedly he looked up to where Collette was staring at him with her jaw hanging open.
“Collette,” he said, reaching his hand out to her.
“Sven…” she said, stepping towards him.
Sven took another shaky step towards her as she virtually ran towards him with her arms out in front of her. Stupidly thinking that she was going to give him a hug he just stood there.
“You jerk!” she yelled pushing him into the water, “If you could turn back why didn’t you earlier?!”
“I didn’t know I could!” he said, coughing with surprise as he bobbed back up to the surface.
“Liar!” she yelled, throwing a small rock at his head and missing by a mile.
“No I didn’t!” he said, flipping the end of his tail up at her, “Besides, look! As soon as I hit the water again they turned back into a tail!”
That seemed to calm Collette down in a hurry and she knelt down beside the water’s edge to look him in the eye.
“You’re not pulling my leg?”
“Oh, funny pun,” he said, sarcastically, “No, I’m not pulling your leg. Do you think I would over something like this?”
“No you wouldn’t,” she sighed, helping him up on the ledge again, “How do you think you did that anyways?”
“I think I might have an idea…” he said, flipping his tail up on the ledge and thinking of how he’d felt just moments before.
For a moment nothing happened, then his tail split, shank, and receded back into human legs once more. Sven looked happily at her and she returned his gaze tenfold. They could be together again, now and forever after.

* * *

“It was just a dream,” Collette thought as she lay there in her bed the next morning, “Sven’s still stuck living in the water, and I’m still deluding myself that it isn’t so.”
But it hadn’t been, and Sven was no longer trapped to live out the rest of his life in the water. He was in fact sleeping in her bed, right next to her. She watched the rise and fall of his chest as she remembered last night. Everything about it was still so vivid to her. His taste, his touch, the way he felt against her. They were one now, in body and in spirit, and she took great joy from that fact.
She felt some guilt however for what they had done and quietly wished that they hadn’t let things get out of hand. All her life she had been told that such things were to be saved for marriage, and she had blown it. But still…there was nothing to be done about it now. Collette half-rose out from under the sheets and kissed her love softly on the forehead.
“Let this world perish,” she whispered, “I don’t care, because I have you.”
Still sleeping Sven smiled gently and heaved a great sigh of contentment. Collette echoed his sigh and laid back down again, preserving this moment in her memories.

* * *

Over the next week Sven found that he had to re-master the art of walking all over again. During this time Collette couldn’t help but laugh at him as he repeatedly fell down and scraped his knees and elbows. Eventually, however he got the hang of again, and when he did he dared to go out in public with Collette.
“OK, so we’re clear on the plan if anyone asks us who you are right?” she asked as they sat in her truck outside a clothing store.
“Of course,” he said, making sure his sunglasses were secure on his face, “I’m a friend from your last business trip that’s lost their home to a fire and you’ve offered to let me stay with you until I can get my feet back under me.”
“Good, and where are you from?”
“Far, far inland, and the albino thing is just a genetic mishap that happens every now and then. We will make no references to this island’s curse no matter what.”
“Excellent. Now let’s buy you some clothes.”
Together they went into the store, drawing stares from everyone as they went. As they walked, ignoring the looks they were getting, Collette pretended not to hear the additional whispers. The stares and the whispers however didn’t seem to bother Sven all that much, but he could also hide behind his sunglasses. Nevertheless they took their time finding new clothes for Sven, which Collette said she’d buy for him without hesitation.
Once at the checkout, though, they ran into the Drew brothers. Never satisfied with just leaving well enough alone, they felt the need to harass Collette even in the presence of her guest.
“So I hear you took a tumble into the ocean Collette,” Drewtas said, as if he didn’t know.
“Go to hell Drewtas,” Collette snapped, not caring who heard her curse at them.
“Big mouth you got there for someone who almost drowned,” Drewson said.
“And you can join him asshole.”
Both Drew brothers faces nearly turned purple with anger. As much as Sven hated the Drews and loved to see them so angry he wasn’t usually one for starting a big scene in a public place.
“Come on Collette,” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “I think one of the other isles doesn’t have anyone in it.”
Drewtas and Drewson seemed to take notice of him for the first time. Quickly scrutinizing his thin frame they assumed that he wouldn’t be able to beat them in a fistfight. But upon seeing his white hair and the sunglasses he wore they also immediately assumed he was an albino. A fact that only further angered them.
“And just who the hell might you be?” they demanded.
“Sven,” he said as he smiled politely, seeing no reason not use his real name, “I’m an old friend of Collette’s from the mainland. See my house burned down a few weeks back and she offered to let me live with her until I can get my financial situation back under control.”
“You dirty little liar!” Drewson said, his hands balling up into fists, “You’re that little freak she used to hang out with when we were kids!”
“Where you been hidin’ freak?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean,” Sven said, still feigning innocence, “This is my first time on this island.”
“Bullshit!!” Drewson said, punching Sven hard enough to knock his glasses off.
Sven was a few inshes taller than the Drew brothers now so he was able to look down at them. His red eyes looked at them now not with anger, but with disdain. He’d never liked them, and likely never would so long as they behaved in such a way.
“Now look at what you’ve gone and done,” he said, bending down to pick up his glasses, “You broke them. These were my only pair that survived the fire.” He turned to Collette, still playing his part perfectly. “I’m sorry Collette,” he said, “but could you buy me a new pair?”
“Sure,” she said, also playing her part, “I’ll go get a pair. You wanna wait here for me?”
“Sure,” he said, smiling sweetly.
Sven waited until Collette was gone before his smile turned into a frown.
“Seriously though,” he said, glaring at the two brothers, “those were my only pair.”
“Cry about it why don’t ya?” Drewtas said, throwing another punch.
Sven caught the second one with ease, twisting Drewtas’ arm behind his back as he did so.
“I’ll have to decline,” he said, his voice dropping down to a whisper, “But you might want to not try that again. I heard what happened to Drewly, and it would be a pity if your family lost their other sons as well.” Both the Drew’s eyes went wide. For once their suspicions about something had been correct, and they didn’t know whether to be happy or afraid. “I’ve never taken the life of a human before,” Sven continued in the same low voice, “But I might make an exception if you threaten Collette like that again.”
Releasing his captive, Sven watched as the two of them walked stiffly away. As he did so Sven suspected that it would not be the last he would see of them.

* * *

Sven and Collette spent two months living together, managing to fool everyone on the island except the Drew brothers of his true identity. During that time Sven would accompany Collette to work and help her with whatever project she was working on or offer to give swimming lessons at the local pool. At first he’d been reluctant to do so, but once they’d made sure it was only salt water that triggered his transformation, he’d had no problems with it. So during the day he would work, but at night he would return to the sea and swim with Collette.
It was during one of these nights that Collette finally opened up and told Sven that she was pregnant with his child. Hardly able to contain his joy Sven proposed to her, which she happily accepted. They were wed within the week with only Collette’s parents and immediate family attending.
“What do you think sweetheart,” he said, standing with her on the beach only hours after they had exchanged their vows, “build a castle on the beach with me?”
“Of course,” she said, racing down to the shoreline with him.
Blissfully they made their castle, just like they had when they were children. Unbeknownst to them, though, the drew brothers had followed them and were planning on something horrible for the two newlyweds.
If the other Drewly had been alive the events that unfolded next would almost be like stepping back in time they were so similar. Collette and Sven playing on the beach together, the Drew brothers coming to interrupt their fun, and the situation ending badly for Collette emotionally, worse for Sven physically.
There were many people on the beach so Sven and Collette didn’t even look up when they heard footsteps coming closer to them until the shadows of the Drew brothers fell across them.
“What do you two want?” Collette demanded, standing up to face them.
“Really,” Sven agreed, standing up as well to support and protect his wife, “Can’t you see we’re enjoying our wedding?”
“Not for long,” they said, heaving a bucket of salt water over Sven.
Immediately Sven dropped to the ground as his legs fused together into his fish tail. Chaos erupted on the beach then with Collette’s mother screaming for all her worth.
“How did you know that would work?” Sven demanded, glaring up at them as Collette knelt by his side.
“You think we’re stupid or something,” Drewtas said, pulling a gun out from seemingly nowhere.
“Yeah,” his brother agreed, “You two sure weren’t that careful ‘bout hidin’ what was going on at night.”
Sven and Collette bit their lips. For once the Drews were right, they hadn’t been very careful at all about hiding their nighttime activities.
“Go Collette,” he said, knowing that with his heavy tail he wouldn’t be able to run away.
“No,” she said, holding his arm tightly, “I won’t let you leave me again.”
“Just go,” he said, “Everything will be fine I promise.”
Quickly he lashed out with his tail, tripping the two Drews and buying them some time.
“Run!” he shouted, pushing her away.
Collette obeyed without thinking. Running as fast as she could away from her husband and their attackers.
“Oh no you don’t!” Drewtas shouted, pointing his gun at the fleeing Collette.
“Don’t you dare!” Sven countered, slapping his hand with his tail just as the gun went off.
Sven winced as the bullet grazed his arm, but at least the gun was out of their reach. That alone didn’t help him all that much though. In the water he could’ve handled the two of them together. But on land with his tail instead of legs he was at a big disadvantage.
While the Drew brothers were able to kick and punch at him he could only flail with his tail. Sven was taking a major beating and no one on the beach was coming to help him. But the worst of it came when Drewtas kept him distracted for Drewson to retrieve the gun.
“Sven!!” Collette screamed.
Grinning evilly Drewson took aim at Collette and fired. Sven heard the shot fire and all the screaming and running on the beach abruptly halted at the sound of the second shot. Before he could stop to think about what he was doing Sven flung himself into the path of the bullet.
For a moment time stood still. Sven lay on the beach propped up slightly on one elbow, staring in shock and disbelief at the bleeding hole in his chest. Collette stood frozen not three feet away with her hands pressed tightly to her mouth in horror. And the Drew brothers stood together, looking very satisfied with what they had done. Coughing as he choked on his own blood Sven brought time back into motion.
Immediately Collette started screaming at the top of her lungs as she ran to Sven’s side.
“Serves him right,” the Drews said, “He played a part in killing Drewly so we killed him. All’s right with the-“
Both of them were cut off when two javelins were suddenly protruding from their chests. All eyes turned to the water where 10 mermaids and mermen were walking calmly on to shore.
“You should know before you die,” Sarken said, “It was not Sven here who killed your brother, it was I. If you hadn’t harmed him when you were young in the first place he wouldn’t have died, and you two likely would not be dying now.”
Sarken motioned to the two younger mermen behind him and they took the Drews and drug them out to sea where the sharks would make quick work of their remains. Then Giddeon stepped forward. He stood directly before Collette and the dying Sven, but spoke to all who were gathered and gathering on the beach.
“The blood of one of ours has been willingly spilled for one of yours today,” he said, speaking firmly and somewhat resentfully, “Never did we think this day would come, but it has. Be grateful to young Sven here land dwellers. For because of his actions here today our curse on your kind is broken. No longer will we take your children who share our legacy. They will be yours until their dying day.”
There were many cheers of happiness along the beach with some of the mothers of recent albino children even crying with joy. The only one who was not happy was Collette, who held the hand of her dying husband as he had his head laid in her lap.
“But be warned,” Giddeon shouted above the cheering, “That should you forget what led to the curse in the first place history will repeat itself. Never forget us, because we will be watching you.”
With that he turned and left with all of the others except for Sarken. He stayed behind for a moment and looked at Collette and Sven with what could only be described as pity.
“I am sorry for the two of you,” he said, speaking to Sven, “I can see now why you never showed interest in the maids back home. This girl is a beautiful one and I can tell you loved her long before you ever came to us.”
Bowing stiffly he joined the others in the ocean, never to return again.
“Don’t leave me Sven…” Collette whispered, her voice breaking with her heart, “Not now…Not on our wedding day…”
“I’m sorry Collette…” he said, smiling up at her, “I shouldn’t have let them get the gun back in the first place…”
“Don’t leave me!” she wailed as his eyelids fluttered, “I can’t live without you!”
“Silly…” he said, his voice nothing more than a soft whisper, “Of course you can…”
Stubbornly Collette shook her head. Softly Sven took her hand and kissed it.
“Yes you can…After all I’ll always be here,” he said, tapping her where her heart was and then placing the back of his hand across her stomach, “And here…”
“I love you,” she said.
Unable to speak Sven only smiled warmly as his hand dropped to the sandy beach and his eyes fluttered shut for the last time.
“Sven…? SVEN!!!!!!!”