Sally pulled on Cookie's reins before cantering out of the palace; her hair flew out behind her in a streak of red and gold, looking like flames. She guided her horse through the streets in the direction of the ocean of the beach house before she stopped outside of the stable and guided her in before briskly walking towards the sea, where she felt comforted with the hushing of the tide washing in and out. When she arrived at the sea she removed her supple leather boots and walked to the edge of the ocean where the cool salt water tickled her feet. She looked down at the crystal water and sighed. She knew that she would have to return to the sea soon, but she wanted to stay on land with Sherlock. Her father wouldn't allow it, and James, he definitely wouldn't allow it. She was his possession, his queen. The sea breeze moved strands of her hair from her face. The setting sun set her eyes ablaze, the brown turned to fires that shifted as her eyes moved along the horizon. Her eyelashes cast long shadows over her cheeks. She took a deep breath before walking back up to the beach house and curling up on the opulent sofa in the main living area.
Sherlock kept a speedy pace as he rode back with Sally to his beach house. He returned his horse to the stable and looked at Sally as she started heading towards the shore. He wanted to follow her, but had a feeling she would like some time to herself. He knew she would come back, seeing as she still had legs. Sherlock walked back into the house and removed his shoes before waiting for Sally to return. When she did, he took a seat beside her on the sofa.
"Sally?" he spoke her name cautiously. "Are you all right?"
She glanced at him with a pout on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said sadly.
She curled up into an even smaller ball but then shuffled so that her head rested in his lap. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, thinking about the way that his father had called her 'passionate'. It wasn't passion that she had been feeling when she had her rant at him without letting the man get a single word in edgeways until she had finished.
"I'm just thinking about how much of an asshole your father is," she mumbled sadly.
Sherlock wasn't quite sure he believed her. When Sally rested her head on his lap, he put a gentle hand on the top of her head and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. He snorted when Sally called his father an asshole.
"Well, he is an asshole," Sherlock agreed. "I can promise you we're not going back there again though."
Sherlock thought back to the protective instinct that had emerged when his bastard father said he liked Sally. He sighed, hoping his father wouldn't try to come after them. Sherlock looked down at Sally, seeing the sad look on her face. He wanted to cheer her up somehow. He looked at her exposed side. A grin spreading across his face, he brought a hand to where her ribs where and tickled her there.
"Gotcha!" he said with a mischievous smile, tickling her with both hands.
Sally let out a shrill squeal and grabbed his hands to stop him from tickling her. It didn't work, she wasn't strong enough to get his hands off of her body, but she did try ever so hard to get away from the relentlessness of his hands on her body.
"Stop!" She laughed, as she scrambled to get some purchase to tickle him back.
She moved so that her legs were at either side of his and bent at the knees as she faced him. She gave him a devilish grin as she began to tickle his stomach, giggling as she did. Her fingernails were quite short so she didn't injure him. Soon, Sally leaned forwards slightly so that their lips were inches apart. She took in a shaky breath before tentatively pressing her lips against his. At first she missed his lips, her own lips touching the corner of his mouth. The second time she tried her lips touched his in the most perfect position. His lips were soft against hers, and slightly moist and warm.
He continued tickling her even when she took hold of his hands. He was surprised when Sally sat up and straddled his hips and started tickling him mercilessly. He laughed; glad to see that response from her. There was still a smile on his face even as Sally leaned down to kiss him. His eyes widened, but he returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He tasted her lips and was able to pick up on faint traces of the sea. He slid his tongue between her lips, tasting the inside of her mouth before pulling it back and nibbling slightly on her lower lip. Sherlock pulled his lips back when he found himself blushing deeply.
"That was...rather nice," he said with a shy smile.
In their passion fuelled moment, Sally's small hands made their way to rest against the toned muscle of his chest. When their lips separated she gazed down into his eyes which were the colour of the ocean after a storm. Sally had known that she had felt something for Sherlock but that feeling was amplified tenfold as their lips crashed together and their tongues explored each other's mouths.
"Yeah, I guess it was..."
He looked at her with a soft smile and gave her one more kisses, just a quick peck before he pulled back again. His smile turned into a smirk as he looked up at her face.
"Not bad...for a mermaid," he said teasingly.
"Not too bad for a human, either," she smirked.
She stifled a giggle as she began to tickle him again; her fingers tickled the toned muscle of his stomach before she leaned forwards again and brushed her lips over his. The kiss was fleeting, and lasted only for a second. She kept tickling him while she did that.
He tried to hide a chuckle but he couldn't since Sally started tickling him again.
"Hey..." he smiled as he let Sally kiss him once more.
Then he decided to tickle her back in order to get her to stop.
She squirmed on his lap when he tickled her, laughing as she did. Her hips pushed down against his as she squirmed. A goofy grin was plastered on her face.
He stopped after a short while so Sally could breathe. He admired her for a moment before a cool wind came in through a slightly opened window. Sherlock looked up and he could see it was getting dark outside.
"I should get a fire running," said Sherlock. "Can you let me up please?" he said since Sally was still on his lap.
He waited for Sally to get off of him before standing and walking to the fireplace. He had a small stack of chopped wood next to it, and got a few to put into the fireplace. He started a fire and said,
"It'll take a few minutes before the heat actually warms up the whole house." Sherlock walked to the opened window and shut it before rejoining Sally back on the sofa.
Sally moved off of his lap when asked, and while he was getting the fire running she ran up the stairs to grab one of the fur throws that was on her bed. She arrived back at the sofa while he was walking back to the seat. She had the smooth fur wrapped around her shoulders. She looked adorable while sitting there. The throw was different shades of grey fur. She opened it for him to join her on the floor in front of the fire with a soft smile on her face.
"Alright?" She asked him with a smile.
Sherlock saw Sally's invitation and went to her side. He sat down and let her put part of the blanket around his shoulders. It was quite comfy, and Sherlock liked it. He smiled back at Sally as he said,
"Alright." Sherlock put an arm around her shoulder so she could lean on him if she wanted.
She did lean on him, gazing into the crackling of the flames. Her eyelids grew heavy due to the warmth of the blanket, Sherlock's heat and the flickering of the flames. Soon, her eyes shut and she was sleeping with her head resting against his shoulder. Her breaths were soft against his skin and she had a serene, get pained look on her face.
He sat with her in silence as he watched the flames before them. The fire was somewhat hypnotic, lulling Sherlock into a state of relaxation as he sat with Sally leaning against him. After a half an hour had passed, Sherlock looked at Sally to see that her eyes were closed. He smiled at the sight of her sleeping and decided to bring her to bed. He moved slowly as not to wake her up and carefully cradled her in his arms as he stood. He carried her up the stairs and to her bedroom. Sherlock gently set Sally on her bed and pulled the covers over her. He took a moment to look at her, thinking she looked very peaceful sleeping.
"Good night Sally," he whispered before going to his own room.
Sally didn't stir in his arms as he carried her up the stairs and to her room. When she was placed onto the cool cotton sheets of her bed she curled up. When she felt the sheets over her a faint smile came to her lips. She relaxed when Sherlock left the room, her body unfurling as she moved to lie on her stomach. Her eyelids fluttered in her sleep as her dream of Sherlock and her going back to the palace to see the roses again twisted. The flowers began to turn red, and drip to the ground and scaled hands clawed up through the grass. Their nails were twisted, and hanging off of the nail beds, covered in a crisp layer of drying blood. The hands grabbed for her ankles, pulling her down with into the grass with them. She screamed. Her eyes flew open and she sat upright in the bed, her chest heaved with her laborious breaths.
Sherlock was sleeping lightly and dreaming that he was a mermaid again. This time however, he wasn't swimming in Sally's home city, he was just swimming through what seemed like an endless ocean. It was simply an ocean that just seemed vast with nothing in sight for miles and miles. He felt like he was heading to Coralentia, but no matter how far he went, he never seemed to get there. Then a scream cut through the skin of his consciousness, pulling him back into the waking world. He sat up, realizing it was Sally's scream.
Alarmed, Sherlock got out of the bed and ran out of his room. He went straight to Sally's room and went in without knocking.
"Sally! Hey, Sally, it's all right," he said as he sat by her and pulled her into his arms.
He held her close to him, whispering soothing words.
"Hey you're alright, it was just a dream." Remembering something, Sherlock pulled back and cupped Sally's face in his hands.
He looked right into her eyes and said, "Alright?"
Sally was panicking, but she wrapped her arms tightly around Sherlock's broad shoulders. She held onto him and buried her face in the warmth of his neck. She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again. She looked up into his clear blue eyes and softly leaned into his touch.
"Alright," she muttered, closing her eyes again.
Her heart was hammering under her breastbone. She was deathly pale as she moved closer to Sherlock again. Her breathing slowly calmed before she felt the hot sting of tears coming to her eyes. She had no idea why she was doing this. It was like the sea was falling out of her.
Sherlock smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead before letting him lean into his chest. He held her in silence, giving her a chance to calm down.
A few minutes passed and Sherlock whispered to Sally, "Do you want to tell me about the dream?"
She shook her head. She didn't really like talking about things, but she did feel far more comfortable and much safer than she usually did when she was with Sherlock that when she was without him. She softly nuzzled his chest and closed her eyes, wanting to sleep again but too scared to.
"That's all right," Sherlock said gently. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" he offered, wanting to give her more comfort for the rest of the night.
"Okay," Sherlock nodded and stroked her hair for a moment. "I'll stay here then." He pulled back and asked, "Do you think you can try to go back to sleep? I'll stay right next to you if you want."
She nodded and shuffled back down in her bed before resting her head back onto the fluffy pillow. She pulled the covers over her body and sighed. She closed her eyes before dropping off into a light sleep.
Sherlock watched her fall asleep, glad she was okay again. He made himself comfortable before putting a protective yet gentle arm over Sally. He fell back asleep knowing Sally was safe and sound.
Sally rolled so that her body was facing his and her face was resting by his neck. She took soft breaths as she slept, her sleep was very light. But sally knew that Sherlock would protect her if she woke.
Sherlock shifted only slightly as he felt Sally's body move under his arm. He held her a little bit firmly in his sleep, dreaming that he was in the ocean with her. They were swimming in that vast ocean again. However, as they swam the ocean started getting darker. Shrieks could be heard coming from below, and Sherlock got a taste in his mouth that was most definitely not salt water. Then he turned his head and looked at Sally in the dream. Sally was wearing her bracelet, and it was literally glowing brightly.
"Sally..." he spoke in his sleep.
Sally grumbled slightly in her sleep, she had heard him say her name but she didn't wake. She was having the same dream. She watched as the darkness spread through the water, like a drop of ink falling and diffusing through a glass of water. She turned to look at Sherlock, her expression was impassive but her eyes held the fear that she had concealed from the day that her father had agreed to having her marry James. The darken water burned the skin and scales of men and women who fought against its immense power.
As Sherlock watched the darkness spread, he saw shapes being formed in the darkness itself. Hideous looking creatures peeled themselves apart from the darkness, black and radiating pure evil. He looked down and saw merpeople trying to swim away and escape the creatures as they attempted to feed on them.
"Sally!" he said a little bit loudly, seeing her tail start turning back into a pair of legs again. "Sally no!"
Sally looked at him as her breathing faltered, her hands moved to grasp her throat as she tried to breathe normally, but she couldn't. The water burned her lungs, and the darkness enveloped her, one of the creatures grabbed her, dragging her limp body away from Sherlock. She didn't even struggle. She just allowed them to take her away from him. No words were spoken from her, but James emerged from the centre of the darkness, with a dark cackle as his creation poisoned all of her world.
Sherlock's eyes widened in horror as he saw Sally get taken away from him. He tried to go after her, but a laugh drew his attention away from Sally. He saw a merman with an inky black tail. The merman laughed cruelly at them both and a dark whisper rung in his ears. Time is running out. Better hurry, little prince.
