Storm at Sea

When Barry reached the surface, it was nightfall.

There were fireworks going off, the faint sound of music and laughter, and a grand ship; the Crimson Comet, was anchored in the water not too far from where Barry was. Unable to help himself, Barry swam to the ship and then climbed up the side, where he peered through a porthole.

Onboard the ship, there was a party taking place. The ship's deck was decorated, there was an abundance of delicious food, and a fiddler and an accordion player playing charming music while the ship's passengers and crew danced, laughed and had fun. Barry was so caught up admiring it all that he didn't realize he'd been spotted.

"Hi there!"

Barry nearly jumped out of his skin and forced himself not to yelp as he came face-to-face with a human boy. The boy was crouching down to Barry's level and gazing at Barry with awe and curiosity while Barry stared at the boy in shock.

"A real merman! Cool! I'm Wally. What's your name?" he asked.

"Uh…" Barry struggled for a reply. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was talking to a human and said human apparently didn't mind the fact that Barry wasn't human. "You…you're not scared of me or want to hurt me?"

Wally cocked his head in confusion. "Why would I? I think it's amazing. I knew the stories were true, I knew it! My grandpa said merfolk were just myths, but they're not if you're one. Are there more of you? Can we be friends?"

So apparently humans had heard of merfolk, but decreed them a myth. Barry didn't know quite what to think of it. Realizing Wally was waiting for a reply, Barry quickly regained his composure.

"Uh…yes, yes, there are more of us and I'd be more than happy to be your friend, but listen, Wally…" Barry beckoned for the boy to move in closer as he whispered into his ear, "I'm kind of not supposed to be here right now, so can you promise me this'll be our little secret?"

Wally's eyes widened and then he nodded. "I promise, Mr. Merman."

"Thank you," said Barry, relieved. He quickly glanced around and was also immensely relieved that no one else seemed to have noticed Barry's presence or Wally speaking through a porthole. Much as Barry wanted to be part of the human world and have his world and theirs as one, part of him was terrified of the first step that came with it. "By the way, my name is—"

"Wally! Wally, come here, sweetheart!"

Wally glanced over his shoulder. "Coming, Aunt Iris!"

And with that, Wally left Barry and headed towards a beautiful young woman in a red dress with gold brocade. She was smiling as she took Wally's hands and they danced together. This was the woman Wally had called Aunt Iris.

Barry found himself captivated by Iris's beauty and grace. Barry had seen Iris from afar before, but it wasn't quite the same as seeing her up close. She was so mesmerizing and Barry's heart was beginning to flutter.

"Hey, dude! Quite a show, eh?"

Barry scowled at Cisco, who was hovering above Barry's head and apparently forgot about volume control, for he was quite loud.

"Cisco, be quiet! They'll hear you!" hissed Barry.

Being caught by the boy had been enough, never mind the rest of the ship's crew.

"Oh, I see. We're being sneaky, are we?" Cisco perched himself next to Barry. "So, what'cha looking at, Bar?"

Barry beckoned to Iris. "Her. I've watched humans from afar, but I've never been this close to one before." Barry sighed dreamily. "She's very beautiful, isn't she?"

Cisco whistled low and nodded. "She's gorgeous. You've got great taste, man."

Suddenly, all fell silent and the dancing ceased when Iris's father stepped onto the deck and beckoned and spoke.

"Quiet down, everyone. Quiet down," said Joe. "If I could have your attention, please. It's my honor and privilege to present to my daughter, Princess Iris, a very grand birthday present I hope she will greatly enjoy."

Iris smiled. "Daddy, this trip and party's been a great enough present. You shouldn't have gone to any trouble."

Joe smiled back as he patted his daughter's hand. "It's no trouble, baby. Happy Birthday, Iris."

One of the ship's crewman pulled back the cloth covering Iris's present to reveal a grand statue in Iris's image. The statue portrayed her as a beautiful queen, but failed to capture Iris's true spirit and personality, making it somewhat dull.

The ship's crewman gave a polite applause, Wally stared and Iris was rendered speechless.

"Goodness. Daddy, it…it's lovely. It's really something," she stammered. "Thank you." Iris was trying to be grateful for the present out of love for her father, but it was clear she had mixed feelings about the gift itself.

Joe seemed quite pleased with it. "It was something your mother wanted. She thought it should stand in the garden with the others. Of course, I had hoped it might be a wedding present."

Iris laughed and shook her head. "Daddy, please, don't start. You're not still sore because I didn't fall for Prince Oliver when he visited for the annual peace treaty signing, are you? Oliver was a charming young man, but nothing would've happened between us. He was clearly in love with that Felicity girl. Besides, why're you so anxious for me to marry? I'm a young girl, there's plenty of time. Is this about me claiming the throne?"

Joe sighed and became serious. "Iris…" he sighed. "The reason I've been trying to find you someone isn't just because a queen needs a king by her side, it's because I worry about you. I'm not going to be around forever and I want to make sure that you're taken care of, provided for, and above all that there's someone who loves you as much as Francine and I loved each other."

Queen Francine. Barry's hand flew to the ring on his neck. This ring belonged to Iris's mother!

Iris touched her father's face. "And I appreciate your concern, Dad, but I can take care of myself and if I'm to marry, I want it to be for love."

"And I want you to have that," said Joe. "And it's not just me. It's everyone back at the castle, Wally, our friends, and the entire kingdom that wants you to find the right man."

"And I have no doubt that the right man for me's out there somewhere," said Iris, as she took a seat on the rail of the deck. She didn't look down, otherwise she would've noticed Barry sitting right below her, looking at her in the way every woman wants to be looked at. "I just haven't found him yet. But when I find the right one, I'll know, just like you did with Mom and Rudolph with his wife. It'll just hit me, like lightning."

No sooner had Iris said this, the dark clouds in the distant rumbled with thunder and lit up with lightning. Suddenly the winds picked up speed, rain began to fall and a chill settled on everyone. One of the ship's crewmen, who was watching things from his place in the crow's nest, "Hurricane a-comin'! Stand fast! Secure the rigging!"

Everyone on board leapt into action as they were quickly caught in a dangerous storm. The wind blew hard and fast and sent Cisco flying straight to the clouds. Barry couldn't hang onto the sodden ropes for long before he was tossed into the sea by the storm. Linda and Hartley, who'd been watching everything from a distance, met a fate similar to Barry's. The billowing waves rocked the ship like it was nothing. The rain came down in sheets, soaking everyone to the bone and making it slippery and dangerous as they struggled to secure the ship's rigging and get into port.

When Barry resurfaced, he could only watch in horror as lightning struck the ship's sails causing it to alight with fire. The ship itself then crashed into sharp rocks and became stuck, causing most of the ship's crewmen to fall overboard. Having no other choice, everyone else on the ship evacuated into the lifeboats to safety. Just when they thought they were safe, Wally called out, "Aunt Iris! Grandpa Joe! Help!"

Iris looked up in terror from her place in the lifeboat. "Wally! Hang on, I'm coming!"

Before Joe could stop her or join her, Iris dove into the water and quickly made her way up to the ship's deck which was ablaze. Wally was at the helm, frozen with fear from the terrible storm and the blazing fire as tears slid down his cheeks.

"Jump, Wally! Jump!"

Despite how frightened he looked, Wally jumped into his aunt's arms. Iris carried her nephew to the rail of the ship, where she got her foot trapped when the floor gave away. In an attempt to save him, Iris tossed Wally over the railing, causing the boy to fall into the sea and be picked up into the lifeboat by Joe.

Before Iris could get herself free, the fire reached the ship's supply of gunpowder and the ship itself exploded.

"IRIS!" cried Joe.

Barry's heart pounded with fear as he leapt into action. Frantically, Barry searched through the debris for any sign of Iris. Only when he happened to glance over his shoulder did he see her. Iris was unconscious and clutching a piece of floating driftwood and then she slipped beneath the waves.

Quickly, Barry dove into the water, grabbed Iris with one arm and pulled her up to the surface and then he carried her to shore.

XXX

Sometime later, the storm was over and the sea was calm again.

Barry lay on the shore with Iris, who was out cold. Barry couldn't believe this was happening. Gazing at humans in the shadows or from afar was one thing, but to actually be there with Iris, so close and yet so far made his heart pound. Barry longed to have Iris awaken and see him and speak with her, but he couldn't afford to dwell on that at the moment as right then, he was scared she wasn't going to make it.

Though Barry had saved her from drowning, Iris's pulse was faint, her eyes remained close, and she wasn't breathing or moving.

Barry bit his lip in worry as his hand brushed against Iris's cheek. "Please, please wake up. Don't die. Please." He didn't know what to do and didn't know how he was going to live with himself if it turned out he'd saved her just to lose her.

"Barnacles and seaweed, what a storm!" Cisco flew down and stood next to Barry. His eyes widened at the sight of Iris. "Oh, holy—! You're a hero and you are in so much trouble!"

"That's the least of my concerns right now!" said Barry. "Cisco, I don't know what to do! She's got a faint pulse, but she's not breathing. Help me!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," said Cisco. "Let me think." He glanced over Iris and then looked back at Barry. "Maybe she's still got water in her lungs. Did you try to resuscitate her?"

Barry mentally slapped himself for not thinking of such an obvious thing. He remembered now, having read about human physiology in his books, what to do when a human had difficulty breathing. Quickly, he performed some chest compressions before rolling her onto her side and pressing hard onto Iris's back. Moments later, Iris began coughing up copious amounts of water. When she eventually ceased coughing, she lay on her back on the seashore, her eyes remained closed but now she was breathing normally.

"Holy…" gasped Cisco, amazed.

"It worked. She's breathing," said Barry, relieved. "Cisco, go see if you can find some help. She can't stay here."

Cisco nodded and took flight.

Alone with Iris, Barry stroked back a small lock of Iris's black hair. "You're so beautiful…" He found herself captivated by Iris's beauty and other good qualities, like her bravery and selflessness that he'd seen the previous night. In that moment, Barry realized just how much he truly cared for the princess and how much he wished he could stay with her and maybe she'd care for him in return. Like his mother before him, Barry had fallen under the spell of Love at First Sight.

Unable to help himself, Barry began to sing as he gently caressed Iris's cheek.

What would I give
To live where you are?
What would I pay
To stay here beside you?
What would I do to see you
Smiling at me?

Where would we walk?
Where would we run?
If we could stay all day in the sun?
Just you and me
And I could be
Part of your world

As the sun began to peek out from beyond the clouds, Iris began to stir.

Iris knew the voice singing to her. It was so beautiful and every note seemed to rejuvenate her somehow. The brightness of the sunlight combined with Iris's own grogginess kept her from truly seeing who it was before her, but she could barely see a man with sea-green eyes that were loving and gentle. Without thinking, Iris covered her hand with his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Iris's rescuer blushed and smiled, and then he looked alarmed at the sound of Joe and Wally's approaching footsteps.

"IRIS!"

Iris's rescuer then disappeared as Joe and Wally came upon her. Cisco had swiped Wally's watch, causing them to chase after the seagull and locate Iris. After Joe shook Iris, causing her to become fully conscious, Iris slowly sat up and shook her head to try and clear the remaining fogginess.

"Aunt Iris! Oh, thank heavens, you're all right!" said Wally, relieved. He tightly embraced his aunt, stubbornly refusing to let her go.

"You really enjoy scaring me to death, don't you? You're going to cause me to go completely grey and die of a heart attack if you keep this up!" said Joe, good-naturedly, as he joined in the embrace.

"I'm okay, guys," assured Iris, as she snuggled in close to them both.

"What on earth happened?" demanded Joe.

Iris blinked as she broke apart from her family members looked around the beach, trying to locate her savior. "There was a young man…the one who's always singing when we're out sailing…he rescued me…I couldn't really see his face, but he had the most beautiful voice…"

In an attempt to locate her savior and thank him, Iris took a few steps forward, only for her legs to shake and cause her to collapse. Joe caught Iris before she fell to her knees and then he smiled as he shook his head at his daughter.

"Iris, honey, I think you swallowed a bit too much sea water," said Joe. "We'd better get you back to the castle."

Iris did not protest as she complied with her father's wishes, which spoke volumes as to how tired she was from the previous night's adventures.

XXX

Unbeknownst to the three retreating humans, Barry was watching from behind a rock with Linda and Hartley.

Hartley had witnessed everything and against his better judgment, decided he wouldn't say a word to the Sea King about it. However, the very idea of keeping such a secret and of facing the Sea King's wrath should the Sea King learn of it, was causing Hartley to panic and he kept muttering over and over to himself that no one would speak of the incident.

Neither Linda nor Barry took notice of Hartley's ramblings. Linda was stunned by what had happened but she also felt terrified as well as happy for her best friend. Barry kept his gaze on Iris as the waves crashed around her and the wind blew his hair this way and that and he climbed up the rock to get a better view. There were no thoughts in his head but thoughts of joy and no dreams within his heart but dreams of love.

I don't know when
I don't how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see
Someday I'll be
Part of your world!

In that moment, even though Barry didn't know how or when, he knew in his heart that one day, he would be with Iris, their hearts forever entwined in eternal love.

XXX

Unbeknownst to all on the surface, Eobard had witnessed everything thanks to his spies and was enjoying every minute of it.

"Oh, Barry, you poor lovestruck fool. You don't realize how easy you're making this for me," said Eobard, cackling. "You've fallen in love with a human, and not just any human, a princess! Oh, won't your grandfather just love that?"

Eobard clapped his hands together and his red eyes glowed as he thought of the ramifications of Barry's love for the human girl. If thing progressed as they should, Barry would practically hand over the triton and the throne of the kingdom to Eobard personally. It was simply too good of a plan to pass up. He just needed to bide his time and then when Barry was ready, Eobard would make his move and he'd be King of the Sea…