Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Two if by Sea
Chapter 1
He came up out of the sea. First a sleek head emerged from the waves, and bobbed there as he waited for his gills to close and his set of air-breathing lungs to take over respiration. He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, tasting the salt-laden tang of air for the first time in many weeks. He’d been too busy lately to visit the surface world, and he’d almost forgotten the feel as his lungs expanded and air rushed into them.
Once he was breathing air, he swam in a leisurely fashion toward the beach nearby. As he moved, membranes slid slowly over his large eyes to protect them from the harsh light of the sun. His eyes were adapted to the cool depths of the sea, where sunlight was gentle and very dim by the time it reached the underwater city that was his home. The membranes would protect his retinas from being scarred by the bright sunlight here on the surface.
He walked the last few feet out of the water and onto the sand, the toes of his bare feet spreading a little as he relearned the proper balance for moving through air and not water. The webbing between his toes, which helped him to swim more efficiently, also aided him to walk somewhat flat-footed over the sand. He paused for a moment, feeling the wind already drying out his skin a little. He didn’t have much time – he had to get to the large stone structure that had been built about a quarter of a mile from the beach before his skin dried out completely. He would be in acute pain if that happened, and would require healing potions from the human wizards to mend himself before he returned to the sea.
He began to walk, slowly at first but then with more speed as his balance improved. He moved up the beach toward a path leading over a jumble of rocks. Those self-same human wizards had smoothed the stone with their magic until it was like glass under his bare feet. They’d learned their lesson the first time, when the rocks had cut into his skin and sliced his feet to ribbons. He’d been leaving a trail of blood when he finally limped up to the door of the building, and the wizards had had to scramble to heal him before he’d lost too much blood.
The humans had tried to convince him to wear the strange things they called ‘clothing’ when he was on land, but he’d flatly refused. His people never wore clothing – why would they? They didn’t need protection from the elements under the sea, and as for modesty…even though he was nude no genitalia were visible at his groin. His penis and testicles were retracted into a pouch, and only emerged when he was ready to mate. Evolution had provided that pouch to keep his genitals safe from the attacks of some of the more aggressive species of fish, who would find a bobbing length of flesh a tasty snack.
The only things he wore were a decorative collar made of gold encrusted with pearls, a girdle of the same material, and a pair of bracers on his forearms. The bracers actually served a purpose, as short but extremely sharp coral blades were hidden in cunningly crafted sheaths within the bracers. More than one of his opponents had gotten a nasty surprise when those blades had slid out of their sheaths in response to pressure on a certain place on the top of the bracers. A lethal surprise for many of them.
He also wore a circlet of gold and pearls around his wide forehead, a circlet that denoted his rank. Set in the very center of this circlet was a small stone that looked rather like an opal – except that a rainbow of colors swirled at its center. This stone was an artifact of his people that was beyond price, although the humans had more than once offered a ton of gold in exchange for it. He always turned them down; the stone was not for sale.
His hair, which was a dark-green wrack around his face, resembled seaweed more than actual hair. That’s because it was not hair at all, but was made up of tiny tentacles instead. The tentacles were only the size of a normal human hair strand, and they moved in a slow sway around his head as he walked. Most of them had microscopic sensory glands at the tips that read vibrations in the water around him and warned him of approaching predators and enemies alike. A few had minute stingers on the end, stingers loaded with a potent poison. Those stingers were his last line of defense, and he seldom needed to use them while in battle.
His skin, which was more like that of a shark or dolphin than a fish’s, was such a pale, pearly-green color that it actually looked white in many lights. His long-fingered hands had webbing between the fingers as well, and retractable claws at the tips. His nearly lipless mouth, when he opened it a bit, displayed an impressive set of jagged teeth much like a shark’s. He was a creature bred and well-equipped for hunting and fighting alike, a predator of the sea.
He moved through the soft grass of the field beyond the rocks, his eyes fixed on the large stone building that was his destination. With the membranes lowered, it was as though he were looking through cheesecloth. But he could still see, even if not a quarter as well as he normally could. He sped up his pace a bit, wanting to get to the building and be admitted so that he was out of the harsh, drying sunlight and into a cool dim environment once more.
Someone had been watching for his approach, because a large wooden door opened suddenly and a human stepped out of the building. He bowed obsequiously as the merman approached him. “Welcome, Prince Lavisnare!” the human cried in his strange, thick, heavy manner of speaking.
“Greetings, human,” he replied in a voice meant to carry a long way under the water, which meant that it was so high and sharp that a few octaves higher it would have been sonic and the human wouldn’t have been able to hear it at all. “Is everything prepared?”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the human cried, waving a hand at the open door. “Please go in and make yourself comfortable. The Ten will be arriving shortly,” he added deferentially as the merman stepped lightly into the cool stone building with a silent sigh of relief.
“Very well,” he said indifferently, flipping a hand at the servant. “You are dismissed.” His imperious tone of voice made the human bow even lower and disappear from sight.
The Prince walked down a short stone corridor to a thick, metal-bound door and pushed it open. Inside was a marvel of magic and engineering – an enormous pool had been built into the very earth itself, and wizards had opened a channel to it leading from the sea not far away. Salt water had filled the giant pool, and he sighed in pleasure as he dove lightly off the lip broad lip of the pool and into his natural environment. The cool water closed over him, and he swam through it easily, gracefully. He did several laps underwater before choosing to surface again, as he needed to keep his lungs open so that he could speak to the humans who would be arriving very soon now.
He swam slowly toward the ‘seat’ that had been made for him at one end of the pool. It had been hollowed out of the rock and conformed to his body, and when he reclined back into it only his head was out of the water. He made himself comfortable as he waited for the humans to arrive, his eyes(Now uncovered once again) half-lidded as he reveled in being surrounded by his natural element once more.
The door opened and a group of humans filed slowly in. He lifted his head a bit as the only acknowledgement that he saw them. He was always careful to appear, proud, arrogant, and powerful around the humans, since he suspected shrewdly that if he gave even an inch they’d try to take a mile. He needed the upper hand in any negotiation with this race, as he’d observed the things that humans did even to each other when they wanted something. While he was a warrior, his battles were generally clean and honest. Not so with these duplicitous beings, who would stab each other in the back over a handful of grain.
The humans made their way to a set of chairs that ringed the pool near his seat, their long, heavy robes swishing over the stone as they moved. Once again he marveled that they could even move in that stiff fabric, let alone so easily. They took their seats in order of precedent, the highest Lord in the land seating himself near Prince Lavisnare’s head.
The Ten were the Lords and Ladies who ruled this country, and they always came personally to negotiate with the mer Prince as a sign of respect for him. And so they could keep an eye on each other, he thought cynically as the humans sat down in the chairs and looked at him.
“Greetings, Prince Lavisnare,” Lord Hakkor, the highest human in this country, said to him.
“Greetings, human,” he replied, choosing not to use the human’s title or name because he knew that it infuriated them when he called them simply ‘human’.
And indeed, the Lord’s nostrils were flaring and his eyes were narrowing a little. The Prince concealed a toothy grin. He enjoyed playing with these arrogant creatures for his own amusement, as there was little that they could do about his slights. They were the ones who needed him, after all, and not the other way around. He made sure that they never forgot that fact.
Lord Hakkor cleared his throat a bit. “Yes. Thank you for coming today,” he told the mer Prince, although he looked like he might be choking on the polite words a little.
“Your messenger said that you wished to discuss something with me,” the Prince remarked coolly.
“Yes, that’s right. We are quite satisfied with the trade negotiations that we have undertaken with you in the past, and we hope that you are as well…”
“The trade items have been sufficient,” he agreed, making them all sigh and relax in their chairs. They really were simple creatures, he thought in disgust. “If he had been this easy to read, he would have died in battle long ago. “But if you do not wish to renegotiate, why have you summoned me here?”
“The neighboring Kingdom of Jokasta has contacted us,” Lord Hakkor replied, “And has indicated that they would like to trade with you as well. They were impressed by the size and quality of the pearls that our ambassador’s lady was sporting at a ball, and the King closely questioned both her and her husband as to the origin of pearls of such amazing quality and luster. Of course he did not tell the King where they had actually come from, only that we had received them through a trade negotiation with a sea-faring folk. Which is close enough to the truth, anyway,” he continued dryly. “The King made it known to our ambassador that he would like to trade with these folk as well, on very generous terms to you. He sent one of his sons to us as a surety of his good intentions, and indicated that the boy would be your hostage as a good faith gesture until talks were done between the Jokasta and your own Kingdom.
We didn’t dare tell him that such a gesture was wasted on your people,” Lord Hakkor explained dryly, “And I kept the boy at my home while I tried to send him back to his Kingdom. But he stubbornly refuses to go, declaring that he means to be his father’s hostage in this matter and that if he is not turned over to these ‘sea folk’ immediately his father will see this as an unforgivable breech of manners and will declare war against us. We do not want to fight a costly war over such a small matter…” he added, grimacing, “So we summoned you today to take charge of the boy. You must take him with you to your Kingdom as a hostage to his father’s good faith.”
Silence. The Prince gazed up at the seated humans with a blank expression on his face, but with his mouth slightly open. This was a gesture of shock that he seldom made, as it gave away too much of what he was thinking or feeling. “That is not possible,” he began flatly after a moment. “The human boy would drown, and you would have your war anyway when his sire sought to punish you for his death.”
“We’ve thought of that,” Lord Hakkor replied grimly. “And have come up with a solution. Or, rather, our wizards have come up with one, anyway. One of them will accompany the Prince to your Kingdom under the sea and will use his magic to create an environment that the boy can breathe in. Since you can breathe both air and water, you could easily enter this environment. Also, the wizard can use his magic to give the boy temporary gills so that he might venture out into the sea itself. That way he can be your hostage without dying.”
“A simple solution,” the mer Prince agreed dryly, “But why should I take this human boy with me? I have no need of a hostage, nor do I really wish to have even MORE humans as trade partners. What does this Kingdom have that I or my people might want or need? What we receive from you is enough.”
“If we’re caught up in a war our trade will by necessity have to end,” Lord Hakkor replied crisply. "Besides, there is at least one thing that the Kingdom will be able to provide you that we cannot. Please bring it in,” he told the servant standing near the door. The man bowed and left quickly, only to return with a wooden casket in his hands. He carried this over to where Lord Hakkor was sitting. All of the humans were staring at the casket greedily, the mer Prince noted with interest. What was in it? His curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he was willing to wait and see just what it was that the humans were offering him.
Lord Hakkor took the casket from the servant and dismissed him. Once the man was gone, he came over and knelt near the mer Prince’s head. He opened the casket slowly, saying: “We do not have the soil necessary to mine these kinds of gems, and we pay a very high price indeed for just one of them. This is why the Kingdom of Jokasta is so very wealthy. And its ruler is pledging to trade you these gems for the many-colored pearls that your people manage to find in your oyster beds. Look upon them, Prince Lavisnare – have you ever seen their like before?”
The mer Prince looked into the casket, his eyes dazzled by the rich spill of color within. The gems displayed were not faceted, but were all smooth and round like pebbles. One of the kinds of gems in the casket were the color of blood, a rich and red glowing stone that dazzled the eye. Another was milky white, a third a blue so bright and perfect that it took his breath away. Truly the casket contained riches beyond compare, and he longed to reach out and touch them. But he forced himself to remain still, not wanting the humans to see his awe and fascination of the contents of the casket.
“And this is what the King of Jokasta wishes to trade me for our pearls?” he said, keeping his voice even and cool with a great effort.
“Yes. If you take his son as a friendly hostage, and treat him well, the King will trade you these stones for your pearls. Is that not a good enough bargain?” Lord Hakkor said as he practically salivated on the gems in the casket.
The mer Prince sighed slightly, a hiss of the breath. Much as he did not want to admit it, he was drawn to the beauty of the gems in the casket. They would make splendid ornaments for his people, and any male would be proud to give them as courting gifts to the female of his choice. For this, his folk would work the oyster beds religiously to find the best quality pearls possible. “Very well,” he said aloud. “I agree to the terms. I will take this human boy with me to my home. Although perhaps he will not care for it…but that is not my concern.”
Lord Hakkor looked pleased. He straightened up with the casket still in his hands, and turned to the servant hovering near the door. “Please have Prince Raddyth come in now,” he told the man. The servant bowed and left the room to fetch the Prince.
Lavisnare wondered silently if he had lost his mind. Seeing those gems had thrown off his good sense. What exactly was he going to do with a spoiled human prince in his domain? He frowned slightly as the door opened and the servant escorted another well-dressed human into the pool room. “What is going on here?” a light young voice demanded imperiously.
“Prince Raddyth, welcome,” Lord Hakkor said obsequiously. Lavisnare rolled his eyes behind the human lord’s back as the Prince turned on Hakkor.
“Lord Hakkor! You told me that I would be meeting a representative of these sea-faring folk! Yet you drag me to this place so that we can…what? Take a refreshing swim?” he waved a hand at the pool irritably.
“No, Prince Raddyth. You were brought here to meet a member of the sea-faring folk, as promised,” Hakkor said soothingly. “This is he, in fact. Prince Raddyth, I would like you to meet Prince Lavisnare of the Mer folk.”
Startled, shocked silence. The human prince gaped down at the creature reclining in the stone chair at one end of the pool. Lavisnare met him stare-for-stare, his own face blank. But he did let his mouth open a bit, to display his jagged teeth. He wanted the human to understand just how dangerous he was right from the start. He would not be giving this human prince the upper hand in any of their dealings.
Prince Raddyth pointed a shaking finger at Lavisnare. “What the hell is THAT?!” he cried.
Lord Hakkor visibly winced, much to Lavisnare’s well-hidden amusement. “Prince Raddyth, this is Prince Lavisnare, as I said,” he replied rather sharply. “Your father wishes to trade with the folk responsible for the production of those magnificent pearls, does he not? Well, it is Prince Lavisnare’s people who tend the oyster beds that those pearls come from. They live under the sea in an underwater city. We first became aware of them a few years ago when one of his folk got tangled in fishing net off of our coast. We might have killed him outright, except for the fact that he was wearing a necklet of the most astonishing pearls that the fishermen had ever seen. One of the Ten was summoned to the harbor to decide what to do with the creature, and she immediately got a wizard to cast a translating spell on the mer man so that she could talk with him. He was wary, and only told us a little of his folk. But he did promise to fetch his Prince to talk to her if they let him go, and he kept his word. Negotiations began between our two races, and our trading has been very successful since then. You wished to go as a hostage to these sea-faring folk, and our wizards have devised a way for you to do so if you still wish to. You will simply go and live under the sea with Prince Lavisnare,” Lord Hakkor explained hurriedly.
Lavisnare tilted his head a little. He was curious to see how the human prince was going to handle this sudden shock. Prince Raddyth blinked a few times, his mouth twisted into a grimace. But then he seemed to come back to himself. “I see,” he said slowly. “So I will still be a hostage for my father?”
Lord Hakkor nodded, looking relieved. “Yes, indeed. A wizard will be dispatched with you to the undersea kingdom to create an environment suitable for you to live in, and you will be given temporary gills so that you can breathe underwater as well. Prince Lavisnare has agreed that you may come and live as his hostage in his kingdom. If that is acceptable…if not, you are free to return to your father’s kingdom if you so wish.”
The prince gave him a dark look. “I will not be doing that,” he declared coolly. “I am meant to be a hostage to these…people…” he gave Lavisnare a look that contained more than a little distaste, “And that is what I shall be. Even if that means venturing under the surface of the sea to dwell among his race,” he pointed a finger in Lavisnare’s general direction.
The mer prince was more than faintly amused by the young human’s arrogance, but Lord Hakkor looked dismayed. He was well aware of how rude and condescending the human prince was being toward Lavisnare. He made soothing motions with his hands toward Prince Raddyth. “All shall be taken care of,” he promised the human prince. “And you will depart with Prince Lavisnare within the hour. Please have a seat, young prince,” he added, pointing to a chair that a servant had fetched, “So that we may talk while we wait.”
The prince shrugged negligently, but walked over and seated himself with cool grace in the chair. Lavisnare considered this human who would be living among his people. Prince Raddyth had hair the color of the sunlight itself, that fell in longish curls around his face. His skin was very pale, but without the greenish tint that his people’s had, of course. A soft pink mouth was set into a firm, rather sulky line. Eyes that were almost the same color as Lavisnare’s ‘hair’ were narrowed and smoldering. Lavisnare supposed that the humans would call this youth beautiful, although his tastes were radically different. To him, Raddyth just seemed vulnerable and soft. He had no claws, his teeth were small and not sharp-looking at all, and the hair that these humans had instead of tentacles did not protect his skull or have poisonous tips. He did not like the thought of keeping a constant guard on the human, not to imprison him but to keep him safe from the many dangers in the sea.
Prince Raddyth leaned forward a little. Now he was actually looking at Lavisnare, a bold stare that rather interested the mer prince. He returned it, curios to see what the youth would say or do next. “Just what kind of creature are you?” the boy drawled, clearly trying to be as insulting as possible.
Lord Hakkor looked like he wanted to groan and slap a hand over his face. Or over Prince Raddyth’s mouth, anyway. Lavisnare smiled, letting his jagged teeth show once again. “I am a creature of the sea,” he replied. “Adapted and bred to live well in the water. I cannot say the same for you humans, as you don’t really seem adapted to your environment at all. You’re clumsy, graceless, soft, and vulnerable. And you don’t seem very intelligent, either. It is a wonder that you haven’t all died out by now.” His voice was silky but also as razor-sharp as his teeth.
The Ten moved uneasily in their chairs as Prince Raddyth glared down at Lavisnare. “How dare you!” he snarled, his hand going to the sheathed sword at his side.
Lavisnare’s smile widened. “I think that I dare much, human tadpole. You are to be my hostage, after all. In my kingdom, you will not be a prince. You will simply be the guarantee between my people and yours over our trading negotiations. Unless you wish to leave now? Return to your own kingdom and tell your father that these ‘creatures’ are not worth trading with.” He waved a hand in a negligent fashion at the outraged human youth. “I simply do not care one way or the other,” he went on coldly. “In point of fact, I would prefer it if you DID return home. Then you would not be a bother to me, as you are sure to be if you decide to come live among my people.”
A fuming silence, as Raddyth gave him a deadly glare. The Ten looked unhappy, while Lavisnare lounged back in his stone seat and waited patiently. He’d meant every word that he’d said, and if he could drive this human boy off he’d be satisfied. But the prince hunched his shoulders and spat: “I WILL come to your kingdom as a hostage, whether you like it or not. And you would do well to treat me as befits a prince of the realm, or my father will be VERY unhappy with you.”
Lavisnare looked as unimpressed as he felt over this blatant threat. There was nothing that these dirt-bound creatures could do to his folk, no matter how angry they were. He could rip this human youth apart, and there was no way that his royal father could retaliate for the death. The only thing that would keep him from doing just that was the fact that he did want this trade treaty with Raddyth’s kingdom, as those jewels were very tempting. But should he decide that the human prince was too much of an imposition, or just too damned annoying, he might just decide that he didn’t care after all. “I will treat you as I choose to treat you,” he replied calmly.
The boy’s scowl was dark. But it was clear that he was caught between a rock and a hard place, as he had chosen to stay as a hostage in spite of the fact that he was thrown by Lavisnare’s appearance. He shut his mouth, but cast the mer prince a mutinous glare and looked away deliberately. Lavisnare let out a hiss that sounded rather like steam coming from a kettle, which the human prince fortunately didn’t know was his people’s form of laughter. But Lord Hakkor knew, and he stiffened in his chair and cast Lavisnare a rather wild look of his own.
Lavisnare was beginning to enjoy himself. These humans were fun to play with, even if they weren’t worth much else. Just then the door opened, and a rather tall, skinny human in a set of shabby-looking dark blue robes ambled into the room. He held a stick of some kind in one hand, with a glowing white stone set in the end. He bowed nervously to the assembled humans around the pool. “My Lords,” he said. “I am Wizard Jarrox. I was ordered to come here?”
Lord Hakkor jumped to his feet, looking relieved. “Ah, Wizard Jarrox. Please come in. Let me explain,” he began, hurrying over to the gawky young wizard. He took the younger human’s elbow and pulled him aside to explain about what his task would be. He talked swiftly, making the wizard look rather dismayed. Jarrox glanced over at the pool, his eyes widening a bit when he caught sight of Lavisnare. Clearly he wasn’t one of the wizards who normally dealt with the needs of the mer folk. Then he darted a glance at the angry, sulky prince slumped in the chair, and sweat visibly popped out on his forehead. He was a very unhappy wizard at the moment. Lord Hakkor sighed and began to gesticulate vigorously as he talked. Finally the wizard Jarrox looked resigned; it was clear that Lord Hakkor had made some argument that had had an effect on him.
Lord Hakkor finally turned back to the people waiting around and in the pool. “The wizard Jarrox has consented to accompany you to Prince Lavisnare’s kingdom,” Lord Hakkor told Prince Raddyth triumphantly. “He will provide you with an environment that you can live in once you arrive, and he will also cast a spell that gives you temporary gills so that you can swim there without worrying about drowning.”
Prince Raddyth didn’t look particularly delighted by this tidbit of information. He glowered at the wizard, who pulled nervously at the front of his robes. “That will be fine,” the human prince said stiffly, a wealth of undertones in his voice.
Another steam kettle hiss from the direction of the pool, which made Lord Hakkor’s shoulders stiffen. “Perhaps you should all leave as soon as possible,” he snapped, whirling around to direct a glower of his own at Lavisnare.
His face wasn’t really made for smirking, but somehow he managed that expression anyway. “As you wish, Lord Hakkor,” he said silkily. “I cannot wait to show Prince Raddyth the beauties of my home.”
Even Raddyth caught the sardonic undertone in his voice, and gave Lavisnare a death glare. The wizard Jarrox looked like he wanted to sink through the floor of the pool room, and Lord Hakkor’s expression was murderous. But there was nothing he could do; he had no hold on Lavisnare at all. He spoke through gritted teeth, in a voice that was coldly polite. “I’m sure that Prince Raddyth will enjoy his stay among your people,” he said.
“Yes, I’m sure he will,” Lavisnare purred, giving Lord Hakkor a toothy smile. He was now thoroughly enjoying himself.
Prince Raddyth sighed in a long-suffering sort of way. His face had taken on a bored, supercilious expression. “Can we get on with this?” he asked of the air.
Lord Hakkor looked at Lavisnare, who considered whether he wanted to play with the humans anymore. But in the end he decided that he’d gotten enough entertainment out of them for the time being. Besides, he’d now have his own personal hostage to play with every day. “Yes, let us go,” he remarked, flowing up out of the pool.
Raddyth gasped a little when he saw just how tall Lavisnare actually was. The mer prince walked silently over the stone toward him. “I think that you will enjoy being a guest in my kingdom, Prince,” he said softly, the menace in his voice clear. Raddyth swallowed heavily, looking frightened for the first time.
Lavisnare turned away from him and looked at the human wizard instead. “Let us proceed to the beach,” he told Jarrox. “So that you can cast your spell on both yourself and the Prince.”
The wizard nodded nervously, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Lavisnare moved toward the door without taking his leave of the Ten, something they were used to by now. The mer prince left when he wanted to, and saw no reason for learning the human system of manners. His hearing picked up the sound of three sets of footsteps as Prince Raddyth, the wizard, and Lord Hakkor followed him. He didn’t glance back over his shoulder at the humans to see if they were keeping up. He moved swiftly and lightly down the dirt path and over the smoothed rocks, heading for the sea. He didn’t pause until he’d waded into the water up to his waist. Then he turned to look at the humans standing on the beach behind him.
“Cast your spell, wizard,” he said to Jarrox commandingly.
The wizard gulped but closed his eyes and lifted his staff. He began to mutter in the wizard’s tongue, chanting a spell. Prince Raddyth began to look nervous, but before he could protest the flesh of his neck began to…MOVE. He grabbed at it, his eyes wild, crying out as the skin and muscles rearranged themselves into gills. Jarrox’s neck had done the same by the time he finished his spell.
“Take your clothes off, Prince Raddyth,” Lavisnare called.
“What?!” yelped the prince, staring at the mer prince as though he’d gone insane.
Lavisnare sighed in a long-suffering sort of way. “Your clothes will only log you down when they get wet,” he pointed out semi-patiently. “They will be a drag on you when you try to swim. You‘ll get tired more easily. So take them off and discard them. You can have your wizard conjure you some more when we get to my city and he creates an environment that you can live in.”
Prince Raddyth took a deep breath, his mouth set in grim lines. Without saying anything, he began to strip off his clothing. Jarrox followed suit, revealing a skinny, gawky form for everyone to see. He turned rather pink in embarrassment, but Prince Raddyth merely shucked down his own clothing on the sand and began to wade into the water toward Lavisnare. “Come on, wizard,” he called impatiently over his shoulder.
Jarrox miserably waded into the water after him, while Lavisnare waited for them to approach him. Once they were close enough, he turned and dove into the water in a graceful glide. The membranes slid away from his eyes, and his gills opened as he took in a deep breath of water. Here was his true element, and he sighed in pleasure as he turned in a circle to wait for the humans to catch up with him.
Lavisnare was impatient with their progress. The humans were slow and awkward swimmers, especially the wizard. Not only was he gawky, but he had to keep a hold of his staff because he used it to cast spells. The mer prince thought in disgust that it would take them hours to reach the boundary of his city at this rate. He circled back sharply, seeing both of the humans staring at him questioningly. “Prince, grab me here,” he told Raddyth, indicating his golden girdle. “And hold on tightly. Wizard, you put your arms around the prince.”
Raddyth stiffened and glared in outrage, though he could say nothing because his voice was too low for him to be able to speak underwater. Lavisnare met him stare-for-stare. “This way I can pull you both along, and our pace will quicken,” he explained coldly. “There are predators in these waters who would just love your soft human flesh. The faster we go, the less chance there is of them coming to investigate and taking a bite out of one or both of you.”
The Wizard Jarrox looked terrified, and even Raddyth showed some signs of fear. He nodded and made an impatient gesture with one hand at Jarrox, before he reached out to grab Lavisnare’s girdle with both hands. Jarrox timidly put his arms around the prince, and they started downward again. Lavisnare swan strongly and swiftly despite the new weight pulling on him, making better time now. His large eyes scanned the water on all sides, and the tips of his tentacles brought him information about variations in the pressure and movement of the water around him. He was ready for anything.
But they encountered no dangers, which pleased him. He saw the first boundary marker of his city appear out of the gloom, a brightly glowing coral tower. This particular kind of coral was deliberately ‘planted’ all through the city, because of its phosphorescent quality. It glowed with a low-level light, and it was as though the city had ‘street lights’ scattered all through it. He was challenged by a sentry as he approached, which was normal. There were creatures under the sea that could change their appearance radically, and one of them might be trying to enter the city disguised as the mer prince. Better to be safe than sorry, when you were surrounded by enemies.
“My Prince,” the sentry called, his coral-edged weapon drawn and at the ready.
“It is well, Hakinare,” Lavisnare told him. “I return from negotiations with the humans.”
“But what are these?!” the sentry cried as he caught sight of Prince Raddyth and the Wizard Jarrox.
“Humans,” the mer prince replied succinctly. “They have come to live among us for awhile.”
“Humans? But why?” the sentry asked, looking dumbfounded.
“Because we are negotiating with their kingdom for these,” Lavisnare lifted the wooden box that he carried in one hand, and opened it. A sharp, hissing breath passed through the sentry’s gills when he saw the jewels contained in the casket. “Prince Raddyth here is a hostage for his father the King until such time as we complete negotiations. The wizard has come along to make sure that he may breathe and live under the sea.”
The sentry dragged his eyes away from the marvelous gems. “Humans to live here, in our city? How odd,” he said.
Lavisnare shrugged as he closed the casket. “Perhaps, but it is also what is to be from now on. We will simply have to get used to their presence. I will take them to a place where the human wizard can create an environment for them to breathe in, and then report to my sire about this situation. Carry on, Hakinare.”
“Of course, My Prince,” the sentry replied readily. His eyes followed them as Lavisnare swam past the boundary marker and entered the city itself.
The humans stared in awe at the city of the sea folk. The buildings were all made of coral and water-smoothed stone. The coral had been trained to grow over the framework of stone, and most buildings took many years to be completed. There were no windows or doors in the buildings; the only entrance and exit points were tunnels that had been smoothed through the coral and stone near the tops. Why would they need entrances at the bottom of their buildings? They didn’t walk under the sea, after all. The structures had been built to shield the mer folk from strong currents caused by storms above the sea, and also to shelter them safely away from predators such as sharks.
Lavisnare made his way to a large building near the center of the city. He pulled the two humans into one of the tunnels, feeling the human price stiffen behind him at being in such a cramped and dark space. But soon enough they slid out of it and into a large, open space beyond. The walls of this large room were dotted with glowing crystals that shed a soft, gentle light. Lavisnare turned to the two humans.
“This is where you will live,” he told them. “Wizard, can you cast your spell to create an environment suitable for humans without being able to speak?”
Jarrox nodded, and then lifted the staff in his hand. He closed his eyes, and his lips moved silently as he began his spell. Both Lavisnare and Raddyth floated in the water and waited. Suddenly a small circular bit of air appeared in front of them, and began to swell and grow. Lavisnare was a bit alarmed at first, but it didn’t harm him when it came in contact with him. It simply swelled and swelled, and he found himself in a pocket of air. He fell a few feet to the floor, landing deftly. His air breathing lungs opened automatically, and his gills closed. He sucked in the air, which was fresh and smelled of the surface lands. Prince Raddyth was wheezing a bit next to him, spitting up water and spluttering as his human lungs took over once more. The ball of air continued to grow until it had expanded to include the entire large room. Then Jarrox ended the spell, panting and wheezing himself as his own lungs relearned the touch of air.
Prince Raddyth coughed up the last of the water in his throat. “Horrible,” he wheezed. “To breathe in such a way. It is as though one is constantly drowning…”
“You will not have to experience it again for some time if you do not want to,” Lavisnare pointed out. “If you remain here in this environment and do not go out into the city itself.”
Raddyth glanced around discontentedly. “A cage,” he said in disgust.
“Only if you choose it to be,” Lavisnare said indifferently. “You can always venture outside, although I would not recommend it if you are not with one of my people. You are too soft and defenseless. Many predators would consider you a tasty snack.”
Jarrox looked terrified at this thought, his thin hands spasming on his staff. But Raddyth merely glowered at Lavisnare. “You are neither a welcoming nor a gracious host,” he spat.
The mer prince showed his teeth in a sharp grin. “No, I am not. I did not want a human hostage in my lands. But you insisted on coming here, Prince, so you will have to deal with the consequences of your choice.”
“I am coming to see that,” Raddyth snarled. “Wizard!” he barked, making Jarrox jump.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty?” he stuttered.
“Can you make this space more comfortable for us? Or must we reside in this empty room for the entire time that we’re here?”
“I can fetch us things to make us more comfortable, Your Majesty,” the wizard said hurriedly. “Whatever you desire.”
“Good.” Raddyth gave Lavisnare a cold look. “You have done your duty as our host,” he sneered, “So now that we’re in this place you can leave.”
The mer prince’s thin lips twitched. Raddyth’s haughtiness amused him. But he had to give the human a certain amount of grudging admiration as well. Raddyth was in a strange place, surrounded by unfriendly creatures and an environment that he couldn’t breathe in without the help of a wizard, and yet he still acted as though he were a prince residing in his own castle. Being an arrogant creature himself, he could acknowledge Raddyth’s breath-taking arrogance. He nodded his head slightly.
“Of course. I have to speak to my sire about you both, and explain to him why I have allowed you to come to our city. He will not be terribly pleased, but I know that he will grudgingly allow you to stay.” He walked over to the entrance, which was still flooded with water because it was outside the giant ‘air bubble’ that Jarrox had conjured. “I will leave you to get settled in,” he added, smirking as he pulled himself up into the flooded entrance and swam away out of the building without looking back.
“Arrogant, smug creature,” Raddyth muttered to himself, glowering after Lavisnare’s retreating form. Jarrox kept silent, not pointing out that the mer prince was no more arrogant than the HUMAN one was.
Go to Next Chapter
Two if by Sea
Chapter 1
He came up out of the sea. First a sleek head emerged from the waves, and bobbed there as he waited for his gills to close and his set of air-breathing lungs to take over respiration. He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, tasting the salt-laden tang of air for the first time in many weeks. He’d been too busy lately to visit the surface world, and he’d almost forgotten the feel as his lungs expanded and air rushed into them.
Once he was breathing air, he swam in a leisurely fashion toward the beach nearby. As he moved, membranes slid slowly over his large eyes to protect them from the harsh light of the sun. His eyes were adapted to the cool depths of the sea, where sunlight was gentle and very dim by the time it reached the underwater city that was his home. The membranes would protect his retinas from being scarred by the bright sunlight here on the surface.
He walked the last few feet out of the water and onto the sand, the toes of his bare feet spreading a little as he relearned the proper balance for moving through air and not water. The webbing between his toes, which helped him to swim more efficiently, also aided him to walk somewhat flat-footed over the sand. He paused for a moment, feeling the wind already drying out his skin a little. He didn’t have much time – he had to get to the large stone structure that had been built about a quarter of a mile from the beach before his skin dried out completely. He would be in acute pain if that happened, and would require healing potions from the human wizards to mend himself before he returned to the sea.
He began to walk, slowly at first but then with more speed as his balance improved. He moved up the beach toward a path leading over a jumble of rocks. Those self-same human wizards had smoothed the stone with their magic until it was like glass under his bare feet. They’d learned their lesson the first time, when the rocks had cut into his skin and sliced his feet to ribbons. He’d been leaving a trail of blood when he finally limped up to the door of the building, and the wizards had had to scramble to heal him before he’d lost too much blood.
The humans had tried to convince him to wear the strange things they called ‘clothing’ when he was on land, but he’d flatly refused. His people never wore clothing – why would they? They didn’t need protection from the elements under the sea, and as for modesty…even though he was nude no genitalia were visible at his groin. His penis and testicles were retracted into a pouch, and only emerged when he was ready to mate. Evolution had provided that pouch to keep his genitals safe from the attacks of some of the more aggressive species of fish, who would find a bobbing length of flesh a tasty snack.
The only things he wore were a decorative collar made of gold encrusted with pearls, a girdle of the same material, and a pair of bracers on his forearms. The bracers actually served a purpose, as short but extremely sharp coral blades were hidden in cunningly crafted sheaths within the bracers. More than one of his opponents had gotten a nasty surprise when those blades had slid out of their sheaths in response to pressure on a certain place on the top of the bracers. A lethal surprise for many of them.
He also wore a circlet of gold and pearls around his wide forehead, a circlet that denoted his rank. Set in the very center of this circlet was a small stone that looked rather like an opal – except that a rainbow of colors swirled at its center. This stone was an artifact of his people that was beyond price, although the humans had more than once offered a ton of gold in exchange for it. He always turned them down; the stone was not for sale.
His hair, which was a dark-green wrack around his face, resembled seaweed more than actual hair. That’s because it was not hair at all, but was made up of tiny tentacles instead. The tentacles were only the size of a normal human hair strand, and they moved in a slow sway around his head as he walked. Most of them had microscopic sensory glands at the tips that read vibrations in the water around him and warned him of approaching predators and enemies alike. A few had minute stingers on the end, stingers loaded with a potent poison. Those stingers were his last line of defense, and he seldom needed to use them while in battle.
His skin, which was more like that of a shark or dolphin than a fish’s, was such a pale, pearly-green color that it actually looked white in many lights. His long-fingered hands had webbing between the fingers as well, and retractable claws at the tips. His nearly lipless mouth, when he opened it a bit, displayed an impressive set of jagged teeth much like a shark’s. He was a creature bred and well-equipped for hunting and fighting alike, a predator of the sea.
He moved through the soft grass of the field beyond the rocks, his eyes fixed on the large stone building that was his destination. With the membranes lowered, it was as though he were looking through cheesecloth. But he could still see, even if not a quarter as well as he normally could. He sped up his pace a bit, wanting to get to the building and be admitted so that he was out of the harsh, drying sunlight and into a cool dim environment once more.
Someone had been watching for his approach, because a large wooden door opened suddenly and a human stepped out of the building. He bowed obsequiously as the merman approached him. “Welcome, Prince Lavisnare!” the human cried in his strange, thick, heavy manner of speaking.
“Greetings, human,” he replied in a voice meant to carry a long way under the water, which meant that it was so high and sharp that a few octaves higher it would have been sonic and the human wouldn’t have been able to hear it at all. “Is everything prepared?”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the human cried, waving a hand at the open door. “Please go in and make yourself comfortable. The Ten will be arriving shortly,” he added deferentially as the merman stepped lightly into the cool stone building with a silent sigh of relief.
“Very well,” he said indifferently, flipping a hand at the servant. “You are dismissed.” His imperious tone of voice made the human bow even lower and disappear from sight.
The Prince walked down a short stone corridor to a thick, metal-bound door and pushed it open. Inside was a marvel of magic and engineering – an enormous pool had been built into the very earth itself, and wizards had opened a channel to it leading from the sea not far away. Salt water had filled the giant pool, and he sighed in pleasure as he dove lightly off the lip broad lip of the pool and into his natural environment. The cool water closed over him, and he swam through it easily, gracefully. He did several laps underwater before choosing to surface again, as he needed to keep his lungs open so that he could speak to the humans who would be arriving very soon now.
He swam slowly toward the ‘seat’ that had been made for him at one end of the pool. It had been hollowed out of the rock and conformed to his body, and when he reclined back into it only his head was out of the water. He made himself comfortable as he waited for the humans to arrive, his eyes(Now uncovered once again) half-lidded as he reveled in being surrounded by his natural element once more.
The door opened and a group of humans filed slowly in. He lifted his head a bit as the only acknowledgement that he saw them. He was always careful to appear, proud, arrogant, and powerful around the humans, since he suspected shrewdly that if he gave even an inch they’d try to take a mile. He needed the upper hand in any negotiation with this race, as he’d observed the things that humans did even to each other when they wanted something. While he was a warrior, his battles were generally clean and honest. Not so with these duplicitous beings, who would stab each other in the back over a handful of grain.
The humans made their way to a set of chairs that ringed the pool near his seat, their long, heavy robes swishing over the stone as they moved. Once again he marveled that they could even move in that stiff fabric, let alone so easily. They took their seats in order of precedent, the highest Lord in the land seating himself near Prince Lavisnare’s head.
The Ten were the Lords and Ladies who ruled this country, and they always came personally to negotiate with the mer Prince as a sign of respect for him. And so they could keep an eye on each other, he thought cynically as the humans sat down in the chairs and looked at him.
“Greetings, Prince Lavisnare,” Lord Hakkor, the highest human in this country, said to him.
“Greetings, human,” he replied, choosing not to use the human’s title or name because he knew that it infuriated them when he called them simply ‘human’.
And indeed, the Lord’s nostrils were flaring and his eyes were narrowing a little. The Prince concealed a toothy grin. He enjoyed playing with these arrogant creatures for his own amusement, as there was little that they could do about his slights. They were the ones who needed him, after all, and not the other way around. He made sure that they never forgot that fact.
Lord Hakkor cleared his throat a bit. “Yes. Thank you for coming today,” he told the mer Prince, although he looked like he might be choking on the polite words a little.
“Your messenger said that you wished to discuss something with me,” the Prince remarked coolly.
“Yes, that’s right. We are quite satisfied with the trade negotiations that we have undertaken with you in the past, and we hope that you are as well…”
“The trade items have been sufficient,” he agreed, making them all sigh and relax in their chairs. They really were simple creatures, he thought in disgust. “If he had been this easy to read, he would have died in battle long ago. “But if you do not wish to renegotiate, why have you summoned me here?”
“The neighboring Kingdom of Jokasta has contacted us,” Lord Hakkor replied, “And has indicated that they would like to trade with you as well. They were impressed by the size and quality of the pearls that our ambassador’s lady was sporting at a ball, and the King closely questioned both her and her husband as to the origin of pearls of such amazing quality and luster. Of course he did not tell the King where they had actually come from, only that we had received them through a trade negotiation with a sea-faring folk. Which is close enough to the truth, anyway,” he continued dryly. “The King made it known to our ambassador that he would like to trade with these folk as well, on very generous terms to you. He sent one of his sons to us as a surety of his good intentions, and indicated that the boy would be your hostage as a good faith gesture until talks were done between the Jokasta and your own Kingdom.
We didn’t dare tell him that such a gesture was wasted on your people,” Lord Hakkor explained dryly, “And I kept the boy at my home while I tried to send him back to his Kingdom. But he stubbornly refuses to go, declaring that he means to be his father’s hostage in this matter and that if he is not turned over to these ‘sea folk’ immediately his father will see this as an unforgivable breech of manners and will declare war against us. We do not want to fight a costly war over such a small matter…” he added, grimacing, “So we summoned you today to take charge of the boy. You must take him with you to your Kingdom as a hostage to his father’s good faith.”
Silence. The Prince gazed up at the seated humans with a blank expression on his face, but with his mouth slightly open. This was a gesture of shock that he seldom made, as it gave away too much of what he was thinking or feeling. “That is not possible,” he began flatly after a moment. “The human boy would drown, and you would have your war anyway when his sire sought to punish you for his death.”
“We’ve thought of that,” Lord Hakkor replied grimly. “And have come up with a solution. Or, rather, our wizards have come up with one, anyway. One of them will accompany the Prince to your Kingdom under the sea and will use his magic to create an environment that the boy can breathe in. Since you can breathe both air and water, you could easily enter this environment. Also, the wizard can use his magic to give the boy temporary gills so that he might venture out into the sea itself. That way he can be your hostage without dying.”
“A simple solution,” the mer Prince agreed dryly, “But why should I take this human boy with me? I have no need of a hostage, nor do I really wish to have even MORE humans as trade partners. What does this Kingdom have that I or my people might want or need? What we receive from you is enough.”
“If we’re caught up in a war our trade will by necessity have to end,” Lord Hakkor replied crisply. "Besides, there is at least one thing that the Kingdom will be able to provide you that we cannot. Please bring it in,” he told the servant standing near the door. The man bowed and left quickly, only to return with a wooden casket in his hands. He carried this over to where Lord Hakkor was sitting. All of the humans were staring at the casket greedily, the mer Prince noted with interest. What was in it? His curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he was willing to wait and see just what it was that the humans were offering him.
Lord Hakkor took the casket from the servant and dismissed him. Once the man was gone, he came over and knelt near the mer Prince’s head. He opened the casket slowly, saying: “We do not have the soil necessary to mine these kinds of gems, and we pay a very high price indeed for just one of them. This is why the Kingdom of Jokasta is so very wealthy. And its ruler is pledging to trade you these gems for the many-colored pearls that your people manage to find in your oyster beds. Look upon them, Prince Lavisnare – have you ever seen their like before?”
The mer Prince looked into the casket, his eyes dazzled by the rich spill of color within. The gems displayed were not faceted, but were all smooth and round like pebbles. One of the kinds of gems in the casket were the color of blood, a rich and red glowing stone that dazzled the eye. Another was milky white, a third a blue so bright and perfect that it took his breath away. Truly the casket contained riches beyond compare, and he longed to reach out and touch them. But he forced himself to remain still, not wanting the humans to see his awe and fascination of the contents of the casket.
“And this is what the King of Jokasta wishes to trade me for our pearls?” he said, keeping his voice even and cool with a great effort.
“Yes. If you take his son as a friendly hostage, and treat him well, the King will trade you these stones for your pearls. Is that not a good enough bargain?” Lord Hakkor said as he practically salivated on the gems in the casket.
The mer Prince sighed slightly, a hiss of the breath. Much as he did not want to admit it, he was drawn to the beauty of the gems in the casket. They would make splendid ornaments for his people, and any male would be proud to give them as courting gifts to the female of his choice. For this, his folk would work the oyster beds religiously to find the best quality pearls possible. “Very well,” he said aloud. “I agree to the terms. I will take this human boy with me to my home. Although perhaps he will not care for it…but that is not my concern.”
Lord Hakkor looked pleased. He straightened up with the casket still in his hands, and turned to the servant hovering near the door. “Please have Prince Raddyth come in now,” he told the man. The servant bowed and left the room to fetch the Prince.
Lavisnare wondered silently if he had lost his mind. Seeing those gems had thrown off his good sense. What exactly was he going to do with a spoiled human prince in his domain? He frowned slightly as the door opened and the servant escorted another well-dressed human into the pool room. “What is going on here?” a light young voice demanded imperiously.
“Prince Raddyth, welcome,” Lord Hakkor said obsequiously. Lavisnare rolled his eyes behind the human lord’s back as the Prince turned on Hakkor.
“Lord Hakkor! You told me that I would be meeting a representative of these sea-faring folk! Yet you drag me to this place so that we can…what? Take a refreshing swim?” he waved a hand at the pool irritably.
“No, Prince Raddyth. You were brought here to meet a member of the sea-faring folk, as promised,” Hakkor said soothingly. “This is he, in fact. Prince Raddyth, I would like you to meet Prince Lavisnare of the Mer folk.”
Startled, shocked silence. The human prince gaped down at the creature reclining in the stone chair at one end of the pool. Lavisnare met him stare-for-stare, his own face blank. But he did let his mouth open a bit, to display his jagged teeth. He wanted the human to understand just how dangerous he was right from the start. He would not be giving this human prince the upper hand in any of their dealings.
Prince Raddyth pointed a shaking finger at Lavisnare. “What the hell is THAT?!” he cried.
Lord Hakkor visibly winced, much to Lavisnare’s well-hidden amusement. “Prince Raddyth, this is Prince Lavisnare, as I said,” he replied rather sharply. “Your father wishes to trade with the folk responsible for the production of those magnificent pearls, does he not? Well, it is Prince Lavisnare’s people who tend the oyster beds that those pearls come from. They live under the sea in an underwater city. We first became aware of them a few years ago when one of his folk got tangled in fishing net off of our coast. We might have killed him outright, except for the fact that he was wearing a necklet of the most astonishing pearls that the fishermen had ever seen. One of the Ten was summoned to the harbor to decide what to do with the creature, and she immediately got a wizard to cast a translating spell on the mer man so that she could talk with him. He was wary, and only told us a little of his folk. But he did promise to fetch his Prince to talk to her if they let him go, and he kept his word. Negotiations began between our two races, and our trading has been very successful since then. You wished to go as a hostage to these sea-faring folk, and our wizards have devised a way for you to do so if you still wish to. You will simply go and live under the sea with Prince Lavisnare,” Lord Hakkor explained hurriedly.
Lavisnare tilted his head a little. He was curious to see how the human prince was going to handle this sudden shock. Prince Raddyth blinked a few times, his mouth twisted into a grimace. But then he seemed to come back to himself. “I see,” he said slowly. “So I will still be a hostage for my father?”
Lord Hakkor nodded, looking relieved. “Yes, indeed. A wizard will be dispatched with you to the undersea kingdom to create an environment suitable for you to live in, and you will be given temporary gills so that you can breathe underwater as well. Prince Lavisnare has agreed that you may come and live as his hostage in his kingdom. If that is acceptable…if not, you are free to return to your father’s kingdom if you so wish.”
The prince gave him a dark look. “I will not be doing that,” he declared coolly. “I am meant to be a hostage to these…people…” he gave Lavisnare a look that contained more than a little distaste, “And that is what I shall be. Even if that means venturing under the surface of the sea to dwell among his race,” he pointed a finger in Lavisnare’s general direction.
The mer prince was more than faintly amused by the young human’s arrogance, but Lord Hakkor looked dismayed. He was well aware of how rude and condescending the human prince was being toward Lavisnare. He made soothing motions with his hands toward Prince Raddyth. “All shall be taken care of,” he promised the human prince. “And you will depart with Prince Lavisnare within the hour. Please have a seat, young prince,” he added, pointing to a chair that a servant had fetched, “So that we may talk while we wait.”
The prince shrugged negligently, but walked over and seated himself with cool grace in the chair. Lavisnare considered this human who would be living among his people. Prince Raddyth had hair the color of the sunlight itself, that fell in longish curls around his face. His skin was very pale, but without the greenish tint that his people’s had, of course. A soft pink mouth was set into a firm, rather sulky line. Eyes that were almost the same color as Lavisnare’s ‘hair’ were narrowed and smoldering. Lavisnare supposed that the humans would call this youth beautiful, although his tastes were radically different. To him, Raddyth just seemed vulnerable and soft. He had no claws, his teeth were small and not sharp-looking at all, and the hair that these humans had instead of tentacles did not protect his skull or have poisonous tips. He did not like the thought of keeping a constant guard on the human, not to imprison him but to keep him safe from the many dangers in the sea.
Prince Raddyth leaned forward a little. Now he was actually looking at Lavisnare, a bold stare that rather interested the mer prince. He returned it, curios to see what the youth would say or do next. “Just what kind of creature are you?” the boy drawled, clearly trying to be as insulting as possible.
Lord Hakkor looked like he wanted to groan and slap a hand over his face. Or over Prince Raddyth’s mouth, anyway. Lavisnare smiled, letting his jagged teeth show once again. “I am a creature of the sea,” he replied. “Adapted and bred to live well in the water. I cannot say the same for you humans, as you don’t really seem adapted to your environment at all. You’re clumsy, graceless, soft, and vulnerable. And you don’t seem very intelligent, either. It is a wonder that you haven’t all died out by now.” His voice was silky but also as razor-sharp as his teeth.
The Ten moved uneasily in their chairs as Prince Raddyth glared down at Lavisnare. “How dare you!” he snarled, his hand going to the sheathed sword at his side.
Lavisnare’s smile widened. “I think that I dare much, human tadpole. You are to be my hostage, after all. In my kingdom, you will not be a prince. You will simply be the guarantee between my people and yours over our trading negotiations. Unless you wish to leave now? Return to your own kingdom and tell your father that these ‘creatures’ are not worth trading with.” He waved a hand in a negligent fashion at the outraged human youth. “I simply do not care one way or the other,” he went on coldly. “In point of fact, I would prefer it if you DID return home. Then you would not be a bother to me, as you are sure to be if you decide to come live among my people.”
A fuming silence, as Raddyth gave him a deadly glare. The Ten looked unhappy, while Lavisnare lounged back in his stone seat and waited patiently. He’d meant every word that he’d said, and if he could drive this human boy off he’d be satisfied. But the prince hunched his shoulders and spat: “I WILL come to your kingdom as a hostage, whether you like it or not. And you would do well to treat me as befits a prince of the realm, or my father will be VERY unhappy with you.”
Lavisnare looked as unimpressed as he felt over this blatant threat. There was nothing that these dirt-bound creatures could do to his folk, no matter how angry they were. He could rip this human youth apart, and there was no way that his royal father could retaliate for the death. The only thing that would keep him from doing just that was the fact that he did want this trade treaty with Raddyth’s kingdom, as those jewels were very tempting. But should he decide that the human prince was too much of an imposition, or just too damned annoying, he might just decide that he didn’t care after all. “I will treat you as I choose to treat you,” he replied calmly.
The boy’s scowl was dark. But it was clear that he was caught between a rock and a hard place, as he had chosen to stay as a hostage in spite of the fact that he was thrown by Lavisnare’s appearance. He shut his mouth, but cast the mer prince a mutinous glare and looked away deliberately. Lavisnare let out a hiss that sounded rather like steam coming from a kettle, which the human prince fortunately didn’t know was his people’s form of laughter. But Lord Hakkor knew, and he stiffened in his chair and cast Lavisnare a rather wild look of his own.
Lavisnare was beginning to enjoy himself. These humans were fun to play with, even if they weren’t worth much else. Just then the door opened, and a rather tall, skinny human in a set of shabby-looking dark blue robes ambled into the room. He held a stick of some kind in one hand, with a glowing white stone set in the end. He bowed nervously to the assembled humans around the pool. “My Lords,” he said. “I am Wizard Jarrox. I was ordered to come here?”
Lord Hakkor jumped to his feet, looking relieved. “Ah, Wizard Jarrox. Please come in. Let me explain,” he began, hurrying over to the gawky young wizard. He took the younger human’s elbow and pulled him aside to explain about what his task would be. He talked swiftly, making the wizard look rather dismayed. Jarrox glanced over at the pool, his eyes widening a bit when he caught sight of Lavisnare. Clearly he wasn’t one of the wizards who normally dealt with the needs of the mer folk. Then he darted a glance at the angry, sulky prince slumped in the chair, and sweat visibly popped out on his forehead. He was a very unhappy wizard at the moment. Lord Hakkor sighed and began to gesticulate vigorously as he talked. Finally the wizard Jarrox looked resigned; it was clear that Lord Hakkor had made some argument that had had an effect on him.
Lord Hakkor finally turned back to the people waiting around and in the pool. “The wizard Jarrox has consented to accompany you to Prince Lavisnare’s kingdom,” Lord Hakkor told Prince Raddyth triumphantly. “He will provide you with an environment that you can live in once you arrive, and he will also cast a spell that gives you temporary gills so that you can swim there without worrying about drowning.”
Prince Raddyth didn’t look particularly delighted by this tidbit of information. He glowered at the wizard, who pulled nervously at the front of his robes. “That will be fine,” the human prince said stiffly, a wealth of undertones in his voice.
Another steam kettle hiss from the direction of the pool, which made Lord Hakkor’s shoulders stiffen. “Perhaps you should all leave as soon as possible,” he snapped, whirling around to direct a glower of his own at Lavisnare.
His face wasn’t really made for smirking, but somehow he managed that expression anyway. “As you wish, Lord Hakkor,” he said silkily. “I cannot wait to show Prince Raddyth the beauties of my home.”
Even Raddyth caught the sardonic undertone in his voice, and gave Lavisnare a death glare. The wizard Jarrox looked like he wanted to sink through the floor of the pool room, and Lord Hakkor’s expression was murderous. But there was nothing he could do; he had no hold on Lavisnare at all. He spoke through gritted teeth, in a voice that was coldly polite. “I’m sure that Prince Raddyth will enjoy his stay among your people,” he said.
“Yes, I’m sure he will,” Lavisnare purred, giving Lord Hakkor a toothy smile. He was now thoroughly enjoying himself.
Prince Raddyth sighed in a long-suffering sort of way. His face had taken on a bored, supercilious expression. “Can we get on with this?” he asked of the air.
Lord Hakkor looked at Lavisnare, who considered whether he wanted to play with the humans anymore. But in the end he decided that he’d gotten enough entertainment out of them for the time being. Besides, he’d now have his own personal hostage to play with every day. “Yes, let us go,” he remarked, flowing up out of the pool.
Raddyth gasped a little when he saw just how tall Lavisnare actually was. The mer prince walked silently over the stone toward him. “I think that you will enjoy being a guest in my kingdom, Prince,” he said softly, the menace in his voice clear. Raddyth swallowed heavily, looking frightened for the first time.
Lavisnare turned away from him and looked at the human wizard instead. “Let us proceed to the beach,” he told Jarrox. “So that you can cast your spell on both yourself and the Prince.”
The wizard nodded nervously, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Lavisnare moved toward the door without taking his leave of the Ten, something they were used to by now. The mer prince left when he wanted to, and saw no reason for learning the human system of manners. His hearing picked up the sound of three sets of footsteps as Prince Raddyth, the wizard, and Lord Hakkor followed him. He didn’t glance back over his shoulder at the humans to see if they were keeping up. He moved swiftly and lightly down the dirt path and over the smoothed rocks, heading for the sea. He didn’t pause until he’d waded into the water up to his waist. Then he turned to look at the humans standing on the beach behind him.
“Cast your spell, wizard,” he said to Jarrox commandingly.
The wizard gulped but closed his eyes and lifted his staff. He began to mutter in the wizard’s tongue, chanting a spell. Prince Raddyth began to look nervous, but before he could protest the flesh of his neck began to…MOVE. He grabbed at it, his eyes wild, crying out as the skin and muscles rearranged themselves into gills. Jarrox’s neck had done the same by the time he finished his spell.
“Take your clothes off, Prince Raddyth,” Lavisnare called.
“What?!” yelped the prince, staring at the mer prince as though he’d gone insane.
Lavisnare sighed in a long-suffering sort of way. “Your clothes will only log you down when they get wet,” he pointed out semi-patiently. “They will be a drag on you when you try to swim. You‘ll get tired more easily. So take them off and discard them. You can have your wizard conjure you some more when we get to my city and he creates an environment that you can live in.”
Prince Raddyth took a deep breath, his mouth set in grim lines. Without saying anything, he began to strip off his clothing. Jarrox followed suit, revealing a skinny, gawky form for everyone to see. He turned rather pink in embarrassment, but Prince Raddyth merely shucked down his own clothing on the sand and began to wade into the water toward Lavisnare. “Come on, wizard,” he called impatiently over his shoulder.
Jarrox miserably waded into the water after him, while Lavisnare waited for them to approach him. Once they were close enough, he turned and dove into the water in a graceful glide. The membranes slid away from his eyes, and his gills opened as he took in a deep breath of water. Here was his true element, and he sighed in pleasure as he turned in a circle to wait for the humans to catch up with him.
Lavisnare was impatient with their progress. The humans were slow and awkward swimmers, especially the wizard. Not only was he gawky, but he had to keep a hold of his staff because he used it to cast spells. The mer prince thought in disgust that it would take them hours to reach the boundary of his city at this rate. He circled back sharply, seeing both of the humans staring at him questioningly. “Prince, grab me here,” he told Raddyth, indicating his golden girdle. “And hold on tightly. Wizard, you put your arms around the prince.”
Raddyth stiffened and glared in outrage, though he could say nothing because his voice was too low for him to be able to speak underwater. Lavisnare met him stare-for-stare. “This way I can pull you both along, and our pace will quicken,” he explained coldly. “There are predators in these waters who would just love your soft human flesh. The faster we go, the less chance there is of them coming to investigate and taking a bite out of one or both of you.”
The Wizard Jarrox looked terrified, and even Raddyth showed some signs of fear. He nodded and made an impatient gesture with one hand at Jarrox, before he reached out to grab Lavisnare’s girdle with both hands. Jarrox timidly put his arms around the prince, and they started downward again. Lavisnare swan strongly and swiftly despite the new weight pulling on him, making better time now. His large eyes scanned the water on all sides, and the tips of his tentacles brought him information about variations in the pressure and movement of the water around him. He was ready for anything.
But they encountered no dangers, which pleased him. He saw the first boundary marker of his city appear out of the gloom, a brightly glowing coral tower. This particular kind of coral was deliberately ‘planted’ all through the city, because of its phosphorescent quality. It glowed with a low-level light, and it was as though the city had ‘street lights’ scattered all through it. He was challenged by a sentry as he approached, which was normal. There were creatures under the sea that could change their appearance radically, and one of them might be trying to enter the city disguised as the mer prince. Better to be safe than sorry, when you were surrounded by enemies.
“My Prince,” the sentry called, his coral-edged weapon drawn and at the ready.
“It is well, Hakinare,” Lavisnare told him. “I return from negotiations with the humans.”
“But what are these?!” the sentry cried as he caught sight of Prince Raddyth and the Wizard Jarrox.
“Humans,” the mer prince replied succinctly. “They have come to live among us for awhile.”
“Humans? But why?” the sentry asked, looking dumbfounded.
“Because we are negotiating with their kingdom for these,” Lavisnare lifted the wooden box that he carried in one hand, and opened it. A sharp, hissing breath passed through the sentry’s gills when he saw the jewels contained in the casket. “Prince Raddyth here is a hostage for his father the King until such time as we complete negotiations. The wizard has come along to make sure that he may breathe and live under the sea.”
The sentry dragged his eyes away from the marvelous gems. “Humans to live here, in our city? How odd,” he said.
Lavisnare shrugged as he closed the casket. “Perhaps, but it is also what is to be from now on. We will simply have to get used to their presence. I will take them to a place where the human wizard can create an environment for them to breathe in, and then report to my sire about this situation. Carry on, Hakinare.”
“Of course, My Prince,” the sentry replied readily. His eyes followed them as Lavisnare swam past the boundary marker and entered the city itself.
The humans stared in awe at the city of the sea folk. The buildings were all made of coral and water-smoothed stone. The coral had been trained to grow over the framework of stone, and most buildings took many years to be completed. There were no windows or doors in the buildings; the only entrance and exit points were tunnels that had been smoothed through the coral and stone near the tops. Why would they need entrances at the bottom of their buildings? They didn’t walk under the sea, after all. The structures had been built to shield the mer folk from strong currents caused by storms above the sea, and also to shelter them safely away from predators such as sharks.
Lavisnare made his way to a large building near the center of the city. He pulled the two humans into one of the tunnels, feeling the human price stiffen behind him at being in such a cramped and dark space. But soon enough they slid out of it and into a large, open space beyond. The walls of this large room were dotted with glowing crystals that shed a soft, gentle light. Lavisnare turned to the two humans.
“This is where you will live,” he told them. “Wizard, can you cast your spell to create an environment suitable for humans without being able to speak?”
Jarrox nodded, and then lifted the staff in his hand. He closed his eyes, and his lips moved silently as he began his spell. Both Lavisnare and Raddyth floated in the water and waited. Suddenly a small circular bit of air appeared in front of them, and began to swell and grow. Lavisnare was a bit alarmed at first, but it didn’t harm him when it came in contact with him. It simply swelled and swelled, and he found himself in a pocket of air. He fell a few feet to the floor, landing deftly. His air breathing lungs opened automatically, and his gills closed. He sucked in the air, which was fresh and smelled of the surface lands. Prince Raddyth was wheezing a bit next to him, spitting up water and spluttering as his human lungs took over once more. The ball of air continued to grow until it had expanded to include the entire large room. Then Jarrox ended the spell, panting and wheezing himself as his own lungs relearned the touch of air.
Prince Raddyth coughed up the last of the water in his throat. “Horrible,” he wheezed. “To breathe in such a way. It is as though one is constantly drowning…”
“You will not have to experience it again for some time if you do not want to,” Lavisnare pointed out. “If you remain here in this environment and do not go out into the city itself.”
Raddyth glanced around discontentedly. “A cage,” he said in disgust.
“Only if you choose it to be,” Lavisnare said indifferently. “You can always venture outside, although I would not recommend it if you are not with one of my people. You are too soft and defenseless. Many predators would consider you a tasty snack.”
Jarrox looked terrified at this thought, his thin hands spasming on his staff. But Raddyth merely glowered at Lavisnare. “You are neither a welcoming nor a gracious host,” he spat.
The mer prince showed his teeth in a sharp grin. “No, I am not. I did not want a human hostage in my lands. But you insisted on coming here, Prince, so you will have to deal with the consequences of your choice.”
“I am coming to see that,” Raddyth snarled. “Wizard!” he barked, making Jarrox jump.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty?” he stuttered.
“Can you make this space more comfortable for us? Or must we reside in this empty room for the entire time that we’re here?”
“I can fetch us things to make us more comfortable, Your Majesty,” the wizard said hurriedly. “Whatever you desire.”
“Good.” Raddyth gave Lavisnare a cold look. “You have done your duty as our host,” he sneered, “So now that we’re in this place you can leave.”
The mer prince’s thin lips twitched. Raddyth’s haughtiness amused him. But he had to give the human a certain amount of grudging admiration as well. Raddyth was in a strange place, surrounded by unfriendly creatures and an environment that he couldn’t breathe in without the help of a wizard, and yet he still acted as though he were a prince residing in his own castle. Being an arrogant creature himself, he could acknowledge Raddyth’s breath-taking arrogance. He nodded his head slightly.
“Of course. I have to speak to my sire about you both, and explain to him why I have allowed you to come to our city. He will not be terribly pleased, but I know that he will grudgingly allow you to stay.” He walked over to the entrance, which was still flooded with water because it was outside the giant ‘air bubble’ that Jarrox had conjured. “I will leave you to get settled in,” he added, smirking as he pulled himself up into the flooded entrance and swam away out of the building without looking back.
“Arrogant, smug creature,” Raddyth muttered to himself, glowering after Lavisnare’s retreating form. Jarrox kept silent, not pointing out that the mer prince was no more arrogant than the HUMAN one was.
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