Under the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean, Sally sat in the centre of a large library of her home. She had a sketchpad resting against her tail as she committed her memory of Sherlock to paper. She sketched the way his curls moved in the ocean breeze, the curve of his cupids bow and the way the corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. As she sketched she took breaks to smile and sigh at the man she had met before going back to her sketch of him. The drawing of him that she did was of a very close likeness of him. She sighed again, beginning to wonder when she'd be able to see him next. She began to hope that she would see him the next day if he went out boating again. As she imagined him, the push and pull of the tide lulled her into a dreamless sleep.
Sherlock wanted to go back to the sea that day. He didn't know if he would see the mermaid again, but he hoped he would. She seemed to like him too, so maybe she would come up to the surface again. He got ready to go and ignored his servants' frantic pleads for him to stay and rest after almost drowning yesterday. He would be fine. He knew he would be. He hoped he would be, at least. Sherlock went back to the seashore and stood at the water's edge, looking out at the sea. Then he got into his boat and pushed off away from shore. This time he only went as far as long as he could still see the shore. After a long period of rowing, he took a break, putting his oars on the floor of his boat. He looked around the sea, wondering if Sally would show up today.
Sally swam away from her chores in the place she called home, she was just the daughter of a nobleman in the mer-kingdom. She wasn't even noticed by anyone in the kingdom so she just swam away, no one noticing the flash of her red tail as she sped towards where she first met him. God how she wanted to see him again, and feel the warmth of his lips against hers, but she knew that it was forbidden. She was betrothed to someone else, a man named James, or Jim, as he liked to be called. She didn't even like him but her father was blind to that after her mother died in a horrible fishing accident.
When she surfaced at their meeting point she looked around, her glimmer of hope that he would be there died down. Then she saw the small boat that he had come to the sea in and swam towards it under the surface so she could arrive there faster. When she did she swam under the boat and resurfaced with a cheesy grin on her face.
"Hello!" She exclaimed.
Sherlock sighed, feeling slightly disappointed, but that instantly vanished when Sally popped out of the water next to the boat. He meant to smile back but it ended up being a goofy grin. "Hey, Sally," he said, glad she had come. "Sorry I didn't come out as far as yesterday. I'm keeping the shore in view in case a storm shows up again," he explained.
She nodded, understanding what he meant.
"I'll be able to warn you, but there isn't going to be any storms today. No one has annoyed Poseidon yet," she giggled.
She remembered the news that went around the kingdom that Poseidon had completely lost his shit because someone had moved his tail decorations. It wasn't funny for her as someone she cared about was stuck out at sea in the midst of the storm.
"So, how are you feeling now?" She asked him, genuinely concerned.
He chuckled and said, "Good to hear. I'm feeling fine, really." He tried not to sound too annoyed towards her, even though she was like the tenth person to ask him that. "Thank you again, for yesterday," Sherlock said, trying to sound nicer again.
He gave her a smile as he thought about all the questions he still had for her. She had mentioned Poseidon, who was supposedly a god of the sea. It made sense he would be king to the mermaid species as well.
He saw her tail just underneath the water and decided to ask his first question. "I apologize if this seems like a stupid question to you, but do most of your kind have red tails or does it mostly vary in colour?"
She blushed slightly before looking away. "I'm the only one here with a red tail..." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed because she didn't like having a red tail.
She had heard that people in other parts of the world had red tails.
"But here they're generally greens and blues, I think it's because of the wintry climate in the water," she sighed. "But there are some people with purple tails, and white tails. God those tails are beautiful," she sighed.
She was jealous of the people with those colour tails but she knew that her red tail suited her. She rested her arms on the edge of the boat and placed her chin on them.
"So, do all of your people have black hair and blue eyes?" She asked him with a devilish smirk.
She wanted to find out where he was from, and know as much about him as she possibly could without it seeming creepy.
So she was a rarity, and that definitely made her more interesting. He heard the wistfulness in her sigh as she mentioned the other colours, and was about to ask another question when she spoke again.
"I suppose it's only fair I get to answer some questions too, isn't it?" he said with a chuckle. "No, not all of us. Some have brown hair, some have blonde, some have red or orange hair. Unfortunately we don't get any naturally purple haired people or blue haired people. Black, blonde, brown, and red are the only four hair colours there are, varying in shades of course," he explained.
Then he thought of another question and posed it to her, "Am I the only human you've seen or have you come across others?"
"You're the only human I've ever seen, mainly because people are too stupid to get too close when they see something huge with a tail swimming towards them," she had a slightly sad look on her face.
He was the only human she had met, and she felt drawn to him by some sort of string. But he probably didn't feel the same way that she did, no one ever really felt the same way as she did. She looked down into the waters. The man she was meant to be marrying didn't even feel the same way towards her as she did him; all he cared about was the perfect little housewife he was getting while he ruled the oceans with a cruel hand.
She looked back up at him and gave him a sad smile. "So, where are you from?"
"I'm from Wales," Sherlock replied. "That's the land you can see there in the distance," he pointed towards the shoreline. "The king is my father, so really I'm a prince. You may still call me Sherlock, since I'm the only one who knows about you and we're not in a place where such formalities are needed." Sherlock shrugged, not noticing the sadness behind her smile. "Besides, I come out to sea to escape from my royal duties and briefly be a regular man. I'd rather not be reminded of my title out here."
She smiled softly, mentally storing the fact that he was a prince into her mental notes. A faint grin played on her lips as she imagined him wearing his crown and royal robes.
"Well, for me in a few months time I'll be the queen of where I'm from, Coralentia," she said calmly. "But my betrothed is going to rule with a cruel hand," she sighed heavily.
She looked to the sky and smiled before dunking again so her hair didn't dry out, she kept her hands on the side of the boat so that she didn't drift away or under the boat and knock herself unconscious.
"I think you might like my home, its calm, no one cared about titles unless you're the King or the Queen," she smiled at him before looking to him. She ran her fingernail over the grain of the wood. "But I don't think you'd be able to see where I'm from because it's way over there," she pointed into the distance.
Sherlock frowned when he heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke about her betrothal. Sherlock considered asking about it, but decided not to as it really wasn't his business. Sherlock did like the sound of her home already. He wished he could see it, but that probably would never happen seeing as he was a human without gills or fins. He looked in the direction Sally pointed; knowing as well as she did that he wouldn't be able to see it either.
"If there was a way to go there, I would love to see it," said Sherlock with a genuine smile.
She smiled. "Some weird mermaid scientists actually found a way," she shrugged nonchalantly.
The mermaid sighing again and fiddling with the engagement necklace that rested against her chest. Sally dropped the necklace back onto her sternum with a frown.
"I actually wish I could see your world sometime, but there isn't a way for me to do that," she looked into the bottom of the boat and grinned.
She looked at him with a devilish smile. "You know, if I can get the bracelet that'll enable you to see my home I'll bring it to you and show you around,"
"You make it sound like you have to steal it," said Sherlock as a playful smirk spread across his lips. "You'd be willing to do that for me?"
She nodded. "It technically wouldn't be stealing, only borrowing," she winked at him and dunked. "If you give me half an hour I'll be able to get it for you,"
He smiled more and said, "I'll wait right here."
He felt excitement leap forward in his chest at the thought of being able to discover a new world. He wished he could bring something with him to take notes, but since it would be underwater it would be pointless. He would just have to take everything into memory.
"Stay here," she told him firmly.
She dived back into the water, her tail flicking up into the air and glistening a bright red. She slipped through the water with elegance before diving further down to reach her home. She swam through the halls before grabbing her seaweed bag and swam into the room where the bracelet was kept. Using a letter opener she opened the glass case and quickly shoved the bracelet into her bag before leaving and returning to Sherlock. She was absolutely ecstatic that Sherlock was going to see her home with her.
Sherlock waited patiently until Sally returned.
He beamed at her when she resurfaced and said, "I guess you had no trouble. How does the bracelet work though?"
"You'll need to take your boat somewhere so that it doesn't drift off," she said before taking the bracelet out of the green bag. "You basically put it onto your wrist, get in the water and bam, you get a tail!"
"Hmm, all right. Good thing I stayed near the shore then," said Sherlock. "I'll be right back."
Sherlock took the bracelet and set it down next to him as he rowed back to the shore. He beached his boat before putting the bracelet on and wading into the water. Sherlock waited a moment before he felt a weird sensation in his legs. They were suddenly molding together, and his feet were spreading out and becoming fins. Moments later, he had his very own tail. This one was a dark navy, which he liked. He tried swimming with it, and found it wasn't too hard. He just had to move his tail back and forth to propel himself through the water. He went underwater and to his surprise, he was able to breathe. Pleased with this new discovery, Sherlock swam back to where Sally was waiting for him.
"This is really cool," he said as he reached her. "I'm ready."
She laughed slightly at him before grinning.
"It's not that great," she offered him her hand.
Before he took it she dove under the water she just grabbed it and pulled him down with her. She smirked at him before gazing at him. He looked good with a tail, but she knew that he couldn't stay like that with her forever. He had his own country, and she had her kingdom. She began to swim towards the city with her hand in his. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, they were close to her home.
When they were close to the city she let go of his hand and gazed out over the brightly coloured coral homes. The palace was the most beautiful place by far, with white coral turrets, and flags made from coloured seaweed floating above them.
Sherlock held her hand and swam with her as she led him to her home. Sherlock looked on in wonder at the underwater world around him, and his eyes grew even wider when he saw the city. It was exhilarating.
"This is incredible," Sherlock murmured as he paused to admire the beauty of the underwater city.
He smiled at Sally, truly glad she had given him this chance.
Of course, he began to wonder how all this worked. How had mermaids managed to create an entire society and culture under the sea? The scientific part of his mind was racing as he struggled to come up with answers for all these. He almost forgot to just enjoy the moment, and one look at the red tailed woman beside him took him out of his reverie.
"Lead the way, Sally," he said with a grin.
"It's Lady here, if we're close to the palace," she sighed before swimming closer to the ground and began to enter the city, smiling at the people she passed by.
She glanced back at Sherlock and gestured for him to follow her. The buildings in the city all had an iridescent shimmer to it as they passed them by. This deep under the water, Sally's tail looked more vivid than it had been before when she was above the water or at the surface.
"Ah, sorry my Lady," Sherlock said before he followed her through the city.
He looked around at the other mer-people but tried not to look like he was staring. He was just fascinated by everything, and almost lost sight of Sally before he spotted her unique red tail.
He quickly caught up to her, apologizing before asking, "So where are we going, my Lady?"
"I said not until we're close to the palace, it's just Sally up until there," she grinned at him before turning left because she was taking him to her favourite place in the city.
She swam out into the centre of a large, open area and smiled. The kelp grew high around the circular area and bubbles rose from stiff columns of pink and blue coral.
He shrugged in response and continued swimming alongside her. He was in awe as he saw the scenery around him. It really was beautiful.
"You're lucky if you get to see this every day," Sherlock said to Sally as he looked around. "We have mountains and trees, fields of flowers and rolling hills. Here, it's just...amazing..." He let himself trail off as he admired the view with a smile.
She smiled at him before stopping in the centre of the formation.
"This is my favourite place to go!" She said with a sigh.
It was where her mother used to take her when she was younger before she was killed.
"You know, I'd give anything to be able to go see your world, this place is bland to me now... After sixteen years of being here I'm used to it..."
"I can understand that," Sherlock said, nodding slowly. "Unfortunately our scientists haven't discovered any methods to allow mermaids to come onto land. Then again, they don't even know mermaids really exist." He laughed slightly at his joke and looked at Sally. "If I find a way though, I'll let you know."
She smiled at him before sitting on a old statue that looked as if it had been dropped into the sea thousands of years ago.
Sherlock stayed where he was as Sally went to take a seat on the side.
After a long moment he swam over to Sally, lingering in the water as he said, "I hope you feel the same way I do right now when I show you my home. If I ever get a chance to that is."
She smiled softly.
"I'd love to see your home, but I know that it's nearly impossible..." She looked down at her fins.
Then Sally sighed, subconsciously playing with her hair as she sighed. She glanced at him before looking back down. She liked him as something more than just a 'friend' but she had to subdue those feelings; she was engaged to somebody else for crying out loud!