Notes: It's been a long time coming, but here it is, finally: the continuation of Singing Well and the final chapter coming next weekend!

With the excitement and adrenaline of his discovery ebbing away, Matthias was delirious with sleep. Short of slumping against the well's wall where it was still too cold, he picked his feet up and walked back to the mansion, just barely making it through the french doors and closing them, before finally collapsing against his sleeping bag and slithering himself into it, groaning for sleep and letting it pull him under. When he woke up again, the clock chimed three times, and he was confused as to how he slept less than an hour since collapsing.

Opening his eyes, he realized that it's daylight and that he slept most of the day away.

He turned onto his back and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, groaning as he stretched the stiffness from his muscles. The last thing he remembered was waking up as the clock chimed two in the night and dreams of blue, glistening scales and softer blue eyes. Matthias shook his head, thinking how weird this particular dream was, but also that it made sense for his mind to fill in the gaps of what might have caused the singing in the well.

Thinking it over longer, he realized there was no way for a mermaid to end up in the well, not on its own. Not unless the mansion's first owner was a sadistic man that found the mermaid at sea and decided to bring it home as a live trophy. Nor would it have survived down there all these decades without food. And do mermaids require salt water to live, or can they live in freshwater? He's never heard of a mermaid in a freshwater lake.

No, the more he thought about it, the more unlikely this sleep-ridden theory became. With a sigh, he crawled out of his sleeping bag. A mermaid would have certainly been more interesting than a plain ghost, but it's evident that this was not a legend about a mermaid. Maybe it was the ghost of a mermaid, he thought with a chuckle. He cleaned up after himself in the tea room, leaving only his sleeping bag before tracing his steps back through the house to the front where his truck was parked.

He was already two meals behind and he needed food. He sat on the bed of his truck and opened his old metal cooler to fish out one of the sandwiches he prepared for this trip. Noshing on his breakfast—lunch—whatever this was, he considered other possible causes of the singing, thinking about the land's history. 'After a few minutes, he got tired of thinking about it and his mind went blank, eating steadily. He lazily glanced over the contents of his truck. He eventually noticed his hiking rope was missing, stopped chewing, tried to remember if he had taken it out of the truck and for what. When he finished his sandwich, he jumped off the bed of his truck and made his way through the house again to check the tea room, and not finding it there, the garden.

Matthias was stunned seeing the rope dangling from the well's arch. His flashlight was laying in the dewy grass. Flashes of his dream came back to him and his heart beat rose when he realized it wasn't a dream at all.

There was a merman trapped in the well.

Excitement bubbled up in him again as he strode towards the edge of the well, peering in. At this time of day, he could see almost all the way down to the bottom where water shimmered back up at him. What did the merman say his name was again?

"Niels?" he called down, his voice booming echoes around the well.

Matthias waited with bated breath, but no sound ever came. The water remained still at the bottom of the haunted well.

"Niels!" he called again, louder this time. If there were any neighbours at all, they would have heard him.

But still, no answer came. With a disappointed sigh, Matthias picked up his flashlight and turned back towards the house. He left the rope hanging on the arch, a sign of his lingering hope that the merman was real and not a figment of his imagination.

Dropping his flashlight on his sleeping bag, Matthias decided to take a good look around the house. It may be decrepit and in serious need of repair from the neglect and abuse of time, but it seemed to be a lovely home in its prime. As he explored every nook of it, he realized the plumbing and electrical were outdated: everything would need to be ripped out and someone would need to be hired to redo it all. It would cost a pretty penny, but the dream it stirred was prettier.

Since he would have to wait until nightfall anyway for any supernatural activity to take place, Matthias started looking into what it would take to seriously buy and renovate the mansion. He had always dreamed of having a beautiful big house, with a loving partner and lots of kids if he could, and this was the closest he had ever seen to his fantasy home. All he was missing was the family to live in it…

Deciding not to dwell on that too much, he even looked into what it would take to rent a fishing boat to go out at sea, just in case.

When the light filtering into the tea room turned into an orange dusk, Matthias pulled on his sweater and decided to go out into the garden. He knew it was still too early for anything to come from the well, but he wanted to see what the garden might have looked like in its former glory. Brushing dead leaves off one of the stone benches circling the garden, he sat down and looked around him, taking in the warmth of the final rays of light and imagining what the hedges might have looked like when they were still trimmed, how the marble of the well must have looked when it was polished, or what colour the roses could be when they bloom in the spring. Seeing it in his mind's eye drew him deeper into a fantasy where this home was his and everything was perfect.

His gaze fixated on the large well in the middle of the garden and he thought back to what happened the night before, if at all. He remembered how Niels' body coiled around the rough rope and how his narrow arms struggled to lift his weight up out of the water. A thought occurred to Matthias and he walked over to the well and reached for the rope that wrapped around the well's arch. He pulled the length of it out of the well to tie the end into a loop he hoped would be wide enough for Niels to slide into. He dropped the looped end back into the well and coiled the length once around the arch so Matthias could pull him up. Just in case the dream was real… It couldn't hurt to be prepared this time.

As the daylight hours ticked away, Matthias became increasingly nervous. He hoped last night was more than just a dream. He realized he was excited to see the merman again, and he hated the thought of him not existing at all, that he might be just a figment of his imagination.

Otherwise, the ache Matthias felt hearing Niels' broken, lonely voice would haunt him forever.

As Matthias walked away, Niels let his heart go hollow again. He let his body sink down to the bottom of the well, only allowing himself to breathe again when his back touched the gravelly bottom. As he basked in the silver moonlight, his scales reflecting opal stars against the stone walls, Niels let his deprived mind process this encounter. He imagined Matthias' strong hands still imprinted on his arm from when he lifted him onto the edge of the well.

His hands were so warm…

The only time Niels ever remembered warmth like this was when he and his brother would let themselves float up to the surface of the ocean on a sunny day with the cool waves rolling softly over their skin and scales, basking in the golden rays. Emil sometimes talked about the girl with the coral scales that he thought was too pretty for him and Niels would tease him about how pink his cheeks got when he thought of her. They both always came back down to the depths a little pinker than before with a warmth to their skin that lingered for days.

A pang twisted Niels' heart. It had been so long since he thought of his little brother and now he remembered why. It was just too painful to think of them dying apart.

But he wasn't so naïve as to put too much trust in the human. He might have been the first to hear his plea and offer help, but that didn't mean he would keep his promise and help Niels get back home. He had been on the verge of giving up entirely for nearly a decade now but he just couldn't bring himself to let go.

With a defeated sigh, Niels gathered his strength to swim out of the circle of moonlight and back into the endless caverns that he hoped would lead him home. His eyes readjusted to the darkness quickly enough. The maze was the only thing that kept him going and it was taking him forever it seems to map it, but he was determined to find a way out. After all, the occasional wandering fish that served as his scarce meals were coming in from somewhere, and if there was a way for them to get in, then there was a way for him to get out.

When Niels' strength began to ebb, he turned back towards his nest just out of the well's light. Curling in his bed of algae and weeds, he managed to fall asleep but with difficulty. No longer distracted with his quest, his mind circled back to Matthias with his sweet, adoring eyes and confident smile. He was endearing, that much was certain, which is something Niels never thought he would say about a human. He always considered them to be repulsive, greedy creatures and he couldn't pinpoint why this one felt different.

In the end, Niels came to the conclusion that he had simply been alone for far too long and soon drifted to sleep…

He dreamt of a harbour he had seen many times before in their migrations. It was the prettiest he'd ever seen with layered cobblestones and large pots with trees and shrubs that flowered. A wooden fence kept people off the harbour to not get in the sailors' ways or to prevent them from falling down to the cobblestones, although it was currently deserted. A bright summer sun soaked into Niels' skin, warming him to his core—a welcomed change from the chill of the well that has become his prison.

"There you are," said a voice not far behind him.

Niels spun and his heart fluttered seeing Matthias, wearing a red t-shirt and washed out jeans. He was embarrassed that his own body would betray his loneliness like this, but Matthias either didn't notice or didn't mind, smiling at him with those star-lit eyes of his.

"I missed you," said Matthias, as though greeting a lover at the end of a long day.

This only cause Niels' heart to start beating faster. He didn't dare speak. He didn't have to since Matthias started walking towards him until they were standing face to face and he took Niels' hands in his own.

Standing… Niels looked down and was shocked to find he was standing on two legs, wearing a pair of plain dark blue slacks. Panicked, his legs gave out and he crumbled forward into Matthias' broad chest, the other wrapping an arm around his slim waist to hold him up.

"I've got you," said Matthias, his voice filled with promise. "Dance with me."

"I can't," said Niels, his melodic voice stuttering around his racing heart. Glancing up, he realized they were alarmingly close, Matthias' lips temptingly close.

"'Course you can," smiled Matthias. "Try standing again. I'll make sure you don't fall."

Matthias felt so warm against Niels' bare skin, he felt compelled to lean into him. He knew he would do it again, even if it burned him. Bracing himself against Matthias, Niels slowly brought himself to stand on his own shaking legs.

"You're doing great," encouraged Matthias, steadily taking a single step back, causing Niels to stumble forward. "Not so hard, right?"

"Don't be so condescending," said Niels, wrinkling his nose. "It's unattractive."

Matthias burst out laughing at that. Niels couldn't think of a more wonderful sound.

Matthias continued to take a step back here, a side step there, moving slowly so Niels could keep up on his unsteady legs, as slowly as the dusk turned to night.

"What're you doing?" asked Niels.

"Dancing," chuckled Matthias. "It's what humans do when they have something to celebrate."

"What're we celebrating?"

"The fact that we can be together now."

Niels glanced up at Matthias, his eyes betraying his uncertainty and doubt. "But my family…," he said, his panic returning. Everything he'd done to get back to them all these year couldn't have been for nothing.

"I know," frowned Matthias. "But it's been so long since you've seen them, they probably think you're dead. And I can make you so happy."

"But I didn't ask for this," protested Niels, holding Matthias at arm's length. "I don't belong with you!"

Lightning suddenly hit the star-lit sky, startling Niels with its booming thunder. He had no idea it could be so loud. He looked out at sea to see waves roiling wildly, his heart hammering as he feared what would happen if he dared to jump in now, imagining his frail body slamming against the stones of the harbour, bones splintering and blood splaying. Becoming short of breath, he turned to face Matthias, seeking some comfort and craving his warmth and finding him gone.

Niels startled awake, his lungs filling with water and for a brief moment, he was sure he was drowning—until he remembered who he was, what he was, and he relaxed, trying to calm his pounding heart. There was a lingering warmth where Matthias touched him in his dream, but while the warmth from last night was comforting, now it haunted him.

Matthias was gone. Niels was sure of this. The human had no reason to stay, and Niels had no reason to trust he would. For centuries, their two species worked against each other between the humans stealing and killing the mermen's food supply and mermen retaliating by enchanting and drowning the human sailors. It was a task normally left for the females because for some reason, that's what most human males preferred, but Niels himself had managed to snare a few of his own.

And still, Matthias felt different. Wanting to prove it to himself, Niels swam to the well and up to the water's surface. He was elated to find the rope Matthias used still dangling there, although he was confused to see it knotted into a loop.

He poked his head out of the water, yanking on the rope and was relieved when it remained tied-fast to the well's arch. "Matthias," he called, hoping the Dane was awake and nearby.

And until he would come, Niels swam circles around the well.

Unsure at what point the well would sing again, if at all, Matthias decided he would try to get some sleep and fix what his restlessness from the night before disrupted. He didn't bother taking off his sweater before getting in his sleeping bag, his flashlight close at hand, and quickly drifted to sleep.

Matthias dreamt of home. He hadn't been there since he was seven, since his grandfather passed away and his new foster family brought him to England to live with them, promising a better life that never came, but he never stopped thinking of the little seaside cottage in the Danish countryside as his home. Now that he was standing alone on his grandfather's dock, it was occurring to him just how lonely he'd become since the last time he was here.

The ocean was unusually still and the sun was just beginning to set. This had always been Matthias' favourite time of day, to see the ocean painted in so many vibrant, beautiful colours.

"There you are," called a familiar, lilting voice.

Matthias spun around to see where the voice came from, but his grandfather's property was deserted.

"I missed you," it called again in a teasing tone, and this time, Matthias caught a glint of turquoise in the water—a colour that didn't belong in sunset drenched waters. A pale blond head slowly rose from the water, a coiling fishtail painted teal and turquoise curling just above the water line to keep himself balanced.

"Niels," gasped Matthias. "You're here—in the ocean."

"Thanks to you," smiled Niels. "You saved me."

Matthias was shocked, but elated, although he had no memories of how he saved him. He knelt on the edge of the dock to be closer to him. "I'm so happy you were able to go back home," he said sincerely.

"I'm happy too, but there's something… missing," murmured Niels, looking distantly sad.

"You didn't find your family?"

"I did, but I'm still missing something… someone."

Matthias' heart nearly gave out from the longing gaze Niels gave him, his sing-song voice enthralling him. The merman reached up to grasp Matthias' hand and Matthias clung to his cold one, ready to pull him up to the dock as he did when at the well. They were worlds apart and yet Matthias felt drawn to him, still.

"We can be together now," Niels said, suddenly pulling Matthias into the water with surprising strength.

Shocked, Matthias hardly had time to scream before he was pulled into the water. Niels was too strong and too fast a swimmer for Matthias to stop him. As his lungs filled with saltwater and his body seized, Niels cradled him in his arms. As Matthias' body turned cold, he found himself wanting to be nowhere else but here. Niels hummed softly to him. Despite his lungs burning with a desperate need for oxygen, Matthias didn't feel his consciousness give. Slowly, he let go of his fear, his arms wrapping around Niels' waist as his body uncoiled and he slowly opened his eyes. Through the murky waters, he saw Niels' pale skin glowing underwater and a large, flowing aquamarine tail next to him. Startled, Matthias tried to flee from the large creature, finding the limb responding to him and causing him to swim back.

Niels held his arm, holding him close. "We can be together now," he said again.

Finally, his words clicked in Matthias' mind. Clinging to Niels, excitement bubbling in his chest, he tried to wiggle his lower body to try to figure out how to swim with it, laughing as bubbles of air slipped from his lips and his lungs filled with water, but surprisingly, the burning feeling eased and he could breathe again.

Thunder shook the house and startled Matthias awake, waking him from the dream turned nightmare. His body shivered, cold despite the sweater he was still wearing. Matthias' heart jumped wildly in his chest. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. It was just a dream, he told himself, over and over again. Niels wouldn't hurt me. When he finally calmed down, Matthias peered out the large windows to the well. It was messing with his head, something no haunted place had ever done to him before. Glancing around the tea room where he slept, he felt a pang as he dropped whatever fantasy he'd built for himself that day and decided he would leave in the morning.

Unable to sleep again, Matthias pulled out his laptop again. This time, he researched mermaid mythology, trying to see what sort of lore existed about them. As the storm outside slowly died down, he realized his search had wandered into a realm where some mythical humans were rumoured to have once been mermaids and even some humans that disappeared at sea, rumoured to have become one. None of them had any solid basis to accredit them.

When the storm stopped and the trees rustled in the wind, Matthias thought he heard singing. Paying careful attention now, closing his laptop, he heard it again, just faintly in the wind.

"It's just my imagination," he thought aloud, knowing he wasn't just dreaming it this time. Grabbing his raincoat and a flashlight, he went out into the garden.

"Matthias," the well sang faintly, drowned out by water and wind.

Matthias half-ran to the well, careful not to slip in the slick glass and saw the rope he'd hung being tugged taut from inside. His heart started racing the closer he got, beaming his flashlight down into the well. It just about stopped when he saw Niels, clearly and unimagined at the bottom of it.

"Niels?" he called tentatively. His mind was still reeling at thought that he hadn't imagined any of the night before.

"Matthias," called up Niels. "Help me up."

Matthias nodded numbly. Still spooked from his dream, but excited to see that Niels was actually real, Matthias pulled up the rope where Niels had sat himself in. He was heavier than he imagined, but he managed to pull him up to sit on the edge of the well.

"You're still here," said Niels, and Matthias couldn't have missed the surprise and relief in Niels' voice, barely contained.

"I said I would be," said Matthias, and he realized now how much he meant it. It was just a dream, he told himself again, shaking his dread. "And I sort of have a plan to get you home," he said all in one breath, surprised at himself.

Niels gazed at him with a mixture of surprise and excitement. "Really? How?"

"I have a truck. I can buy a large container I hope you can fit in, rent a boat, sail out to sea and let you out there."

Niels paled a little. It sounded uncomfortable, but sounded better than living in the well much longer. "W-why are you helping me?" he asked, wanting to know why this human was willing to do all this for him.

"Because it's the right thing to do?" replied Matthias, surprised by the question. "I don't even know how you're getting food in there. Do you live just off water?" he asked all at once.

Niels chuckled, awkward from his fraught nerves. "Sometimes I'll find a fish here and there. Seaweed sometimes, too," he murmured. "But it's not enough…"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean that I'm growing weaker," he said, his voice heavy with sadness. "I can't swim for as long as I used to, or as fast. My heart beats too fast. I'm worried that if I don't find a way out through the caverns, I'll die in here."

Matthias frowned. "I'll get you out of here," he promised again.

Niels smiled softly. "You have a plan. It's the most I've come up with for decades."

"Let's do it tomorrow, then," offered Matthias. He felt that the sooner he helped Niels get home, the sooner he could be rid of is fears.

Niels' heart almost stopped. Tomorrow. He can go home tomorrow. His hand reached for Matthias' lacing their fingers together as he leaned into his warmth, all that warmth that was so comforting and so nostalgic. Surprising even himself, he leaned into Matthias' chest, tilting his head up and connecting their lips in a soft kiss, fingers clinging just as tightly as he clung to the hope Matthias gave him.

Notes: Don't forget to let me know what you think! I cherish your thoughts—they fuel my motivation lol