Chapter 4

Byron would be here soon. That thought kept on a roll in my head. I didn't know what to do next. I frantically danced around the only object in my house, the gigantic pool.

Never in my life did I think I would have a human visitor. My house was in no way a normal human habitat. The trouble was that a normal human house and what it should contain was still quite a bit of a mystery to me.

What was a human male going to think when he saw the interior of my house was a pool? Sharks teeth, I had surely done the stupidest thing that a mer could do, stand out.

I tried to breath,  but I needed my gills to feel in any way myself. Glancing at the human gadget known as a watch, I discerned that I had about fifteen minutes until I had to meet Byron. That would, hopefully, be enough time to calm my nerves.

I dived into the water and my gills appeared, helping me to calm somewhat. I swished my sparkling golden tail in the water. As a royal, I was the last to ever display a golden tail. For a moment, sadness overwhelmed me as I stared at my tail.

Forcing those thoughts away, I swam through the cave, dug out of solid rock, that led straight to the ocean. Many of my friends came and went through here. Having my connection with the ocean meant the world to me.

When the humans had started construction, I had to suffer many arguments and exclamations of disbelief to obtain my pool. No human wanted to dig the cave, even when I held the water back for them. I had told them there was rock under the sand and they didn't want to believe me. Many had left in fear or anger until I offered them the golden treasures from one of the many sunken human ships.

Aquala didn't enjoy the human reckless behaviour towards our beloved ocean. She liked to punish those who she deemed unworthy, so many human ships had succumbed to her wrath.

After much frustration, the humans agreed to build what I had asked of them. On the outside, my house resembled any other that dotted along the beach. The inside tells another story. A pool runs the length and breadth of the building. My roof has huge sky lights of glass, so the sun gives dappled rays through the water. It is the best I can do while trying to replicate human life.

With the completion of my pool within a house, I had to instill what we call the mermaids kiss on anyone who had even sighted the construction. In my species, only the females could deliver the kiss.

To humans a mermaids kiss, even on the cheek, was enough to wipe any memory. We could selectively delete the memories we wanted while leaving everything else intact. It made me grateful that I was born into a female body. If not, my house may not exist and I don't know how I would cope without it.

Having a closeness with humans had become as important as my closeness to my ocean friends. I needed the interaction with others. How ironic was it that I wanted any relationship with the people who had destroyed my species?

I swam out of the cave and could hear the frolicking of human children in the water near the shore. That made me smile and then sigh. I would never have any merlings and it saddened me.

A familiar noise echoed through the water to me, and I snapped to attention. Byron made his way along the shore to my house. Frantic nerves made me flail in an awkward arc.

When my mind decided to return to me, I quickly swam back through the cave. I reverted to my human body, dried myself and tossed suitable human attire over my person. With my fingers shaking, it took concerted effort to dress myself.

Byron's presence always had the ability to flabbergast and stupefy me. I gulped down half a bottle of salt water, and tried to prepare myself for meeting him.

Faking my confidence and hoping I'd stifled my nerves, I strode out onto the beach. He stopped and glanced at me from where he stood near my house. A frown marred his forehead for a moment, before a smile appeared.

"Hello, Coral, I didn't realise that this was your home." Byron said as he gestured behind me.

"Good afternoon to you, Byron." I forced the words out and they sounded stifled.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry I made this whole situation secretive but it's important." He explained.

"I'm fine thank you." I replied, although I wasn't really doing that well at all.

"If you're not comfortable with me, a virtual stranger, being in your space, I'm happy to take you to my place."

I heard his words and paused. He scrubbed a hand through his hair tousling it from where it had sat neatly combed. For the first time, I could see past my nerves to stare at the perfection he presented me.

I don't think I could ever explain how even a glance at him affected me. My whole body flared to life with tingling heat. I had a growing urge to press my lips to his and hold him close to me. Overall, my chest fluttered with an urgency that stole my breath, making it hard to talk.

"I didn't mean anything by that, Coral. You're safe with me and I wouldn't hurt you." Byron sounded concerned, and I realised that he thought he'd managed to offend me.

"I'm happy to go to your place." I prattled off the words.

"Are you sure?" tense aquamarine eyes met mine.

"I'm sure."

"Okay, come this way. We'll have to walk back along the beach." Byron gestured across the sand.

Once I walked beside him, my rational mind returned to me. Relief gushed through me that I didn't have to explain about my house only containing a pool.

"Do you live nearby?" I managed to ask.

"Down around the bend." He pointed.

"Is that why you go past my house of a morning?"

"Yeah, I like to start the day with a surf. Past your house had the best waves for the last couple of days. I only moved into my place a few weeks ago, so it's taking me a while to find the spot with the best waves."  He said as he let his feet dip into the ocean.

My heart sank as I stayed well away from the waters edge. The fact that he could walk in the water depressed me. No mer could sink their human toes in the water without having their tail, fins and gills appear. No matter how much salt water I drank, I couldn't hide the oceans effect on me.

"Can I ask you something?" Byron glanced my way.

"Yes."

"I've heard that you've had promotions offered to you many times at work. Why did you refuse them?"

His question startled me. How did he know about the promotions? Then I recalled that Susie had spent time with him yesterday, maybe they had discussed me. That made me quite uncomfortable.

"Who told you about that?" I turned defensive and crossed my arms.

"That doesn't matter right now."

"Yes, it does." I insisted.

"You're an asset to the aquarium, if everything I've heard about you is the truth." Byron replied.

"How do you know all of this?" I shoved my feet into the sand and came to a halt.

"Uh, I've asked about you." He scrubbed a hand into his hair.

"Asked who?"

"Everyone."

"Why?"

"We have to work together and I wanted to get to know you a little better," his hand twisted in his hair. "Damn, it's hard to lie to you."

"Why would you lie to me?"

Now I was in a state of confusion. Mer didn't understand lying. Only humans lie. Mer may stretch the truth a little but we'd never outright lie if we could avoid it. If any human walked up to me and asked me if I was a mermaid, I'd tell them the truth. None ever had because I'd managed to merge into human society with little effort.

In a way, the humans may see me as a liar while trying to copy their lifestyle. I saw it as a way to keep my sanity and to have companionship. After the last hundred years of being alone I craved that companionship.

"If you answer my original question, I'll tell you the truth once we reach my house." He bargained with me.

"Fine, I have no need for the money and I'm happy where I am in my job. If the veterinarians need aid with any of my brethren, I am happy to assist." I explained.

"Your brethren?" he arched his brows at me but I said nothing. "Are you sure you don't need the money? Your house would cost a lot to run." He waved a hand back to my house.

"I'm certain about everything I have told you." I insisted.

We kept walking towards the cliffs, but I'd noticed that Bryon had started frowning. I didn't know what to say in response. When he turned and walked up a path that led away from the beach, I followed.

"This is my place, come on in." He said as he let himself through an opening that I hadn't noticed.

Moving along that path made me realise that humans liked growing things. Plants managed to cover every part of the ground and even some of the walls. It reminded me of the kelp forests that surround the palace. This comforted me after the abruptness of Byron's question, which had left me lost.

"You like my garden?" he turned to ask me.

"Yes."

"I haven't been here long but the first thing I did was to start planting. I like growing my own fruits and vegetables if possible, so that I know what goes into my food."

None of his words made any sense to me, but I nodded. I didn't want to ask what a fruit or vegetable was if they were a common entity for humans.

"I made up a few veggie patties earlier in case we ended up back here." Byron kept talking.

"I think I'd rather you tell me why you were so secretive earlier."

He turned to me with a thoughtful expression, "Coral, my name is Byron Blue, does that have any meaning for you?" his look of certainty in no way helped me. Why would his name mean something important to me?

"No, should it?" I frowned at him.

"Let me tell you my story and it might explain a few things." He waved a hand to the door he had opened into his house.

"Why do you need to tell me any of this information?"

I entered his house and my question became an awed gasping noise. This was what a human habitation looked like and it was nothing as I expected. There were things everywhere. I saw odd squishy looking things to sharp, breakable items. I tucked my hands at my sides so I wouldn't cause any damage.

"You can sit down if you want, Coral." Byron sounded amused, so I turned my focus to him.

"Uh, sorry?"

"Sit and I'll explain."

Byron waved a hand to the large tan object where he had taken a seat. I realised that this was a couch, as I'd seen some dotted around the aquarium for the human visitors to sit upon.

I sat with great care upon the plush couch. It had a weird feel and far spongier than anything I had ever sat upon before. Even the anemone chairs back at the palace weren't this soft.

"Are you ready yet?" Byron's amusement turned into a small laugh.

"This is very squishy." I admitted and his laugh grew a little.

"I paid a lot of money for that so called squishiness, so I'm glad it appeals to you."

"It does." I nodded.

"Excellent, lets get back to discussing my name."

"If that's the important place to start." I nodded again, feeling a bit silly this time.

"My mother named me Byron Blue, because she conceived me and then had me during a blue moon." His explanation had started normal but made a sharp veer that I wasn't expecting.

I froze in place and stared at earnest aquamarine eyes that I knew weren't lying to me. Was he trying to tell me something that wasn't human related?

Every blue moon, mer of age, whether bonded or not, had a ritual that they all undertook. We would all come to the shore, don our human disguise and seek out a human of the opposite sex. It was said in the oldest prophecies that one would come to the mer through such a ritual. That one would rebuild the mer. That one was born on the blue moon as part human and part mer.

It was a ritual that continued until one hundred years ago when my species disappeared into starving human mouths. Though many blue moons had come within that time, I had never bothered with the ritual. I no longer believed in that prophecy. No one would come to save me, I had to suffer this world on my own and in isolation.

"You were born during a blue moon?" I stuttered through dry lips desperate for a lick of salt water.

"Yes. When my mother died a few years ago, I couldn't bear to hear her name mentioned during my grief. I changed my name back to Byron Blue as it seemed appropriate at the time." He replied in a calm tone.

"I'm so sorry, Byron. Having lost my, uh, folk, I know exactly what it's like." A sigh escaped me at how I'd almost blurted out the truth to him,

"I had a feeling that you'd lost your parents. We can share and understand each other's pain." Byron joined in my sigh.

"Yes, I guess we can."

"That's not the end of my story."

"I didn't think it was." I waved a hand for him to continue.

"Looking back now, I guess I wanted to find a purpose in my life. I found one in a way that I never expected." He smiled as he spoke, which softened the grief from earlier.

"What was it?"

"Byron Blue is the owner of dozens of aquariums around the world. I wanted to protect all the animals of the ocean that my mother had loved so dearly."

Things connected in my head in a swift calculation. Byron who had me released from work yesterday. He knew how to sell tickets and get people to see the boss. The last words echoed in my head.

"You're the new owner of the aquarium." I blurted out.

"Yes."

Silence echoed around us and I couldn't speak with how flabbergasted he left me. He owned the aquarium. Byron was my new boss. Was he going to change things? Would I be able to adapt if things did change? What if I couldn't swim to work anymore?

These questions darted around in my mind. A memory struck me and I winced. Here I sat facing the man who now had control over a good portion of my day, and my friends at the aquarium, not just the creatures either.

"Mel and Donovan." I muttered.

"I'm sorry? Did you just say Mel and Donovan?" Byron leaned forward with his hands on his knees to peer at me.

"I did say that."

"Who are Mel and Donovan?"

"My friends. Every Wednesday night I let them in to visit at the aquarium. Susie knew all about it, but now that you're my boss..." I stopped talking and covered my mouth with my hand.

"Coral, I'm not changing anything. You're welcome to have your friends visit the aquarium whenever you like."

"They give a huge donation to the aquarium every month."

"That's another thing I want to talk to you about, but first you need to listen," Byron stared at me and I faced him with another wince. "Your friends can visit. I have no problem with that."

"Thank you." A breath gushed out of me.

"The other thing is that you need to stop donating your earnings back into the aquarium."

"Sharks teeth! How do you know that?" I gulped in a breath with my shock and wished I had my gills to breathe a little easier.

"I'm the boss." He winked at me, which only managed to stun me more.

"I don't need or want money." I told him with a grimace.

"Okay, we can discuss that later."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"There's something good between us that's growing. It's like a spark, an attraction, a chemistry. I wanted to show you the honest me. It also seems that I can't lie to you, even if I want to," he grinned at that. "Do you feel it, Coral?"

I could only nod my head. Opening my mouth would have me blurting out everything about the mer bonding process. If he sensed our bond, maybe, just maybe, the mer could have a brighter future than just me.

My hope started to expand to a brightness that I wanted to clutch hold of tightly. I wanted something I couldn't have, but it was there tantalising me with a future that I desperately craved. All I could wonder was how to make it mine.