Chapter 9
When Jim was finished researching, he put the book away and turned to Melody, who was browsing through a shelf at the other end of the library.
He walked over to her. "What are you reading?", he asked, looking at all the books sprawled across the floor.
"Just some old tales my mother used to read to me as a child." She sighed. "It was all so much easier back then..."
He sat down. "I know. What's that one about?", he asked, pointing to the book in her hand.
"Pirates.", she said bluntly. "I wonder if they're really a fierce as everybody says..."
"They are, trust me.", he told her. "But they're still people. One of my best friends is a pirate. And he's a good guy all in all."
Melody looked at him and noticed a single small tear in the corner of his eye. "I'd love to meet him one day.", she told him and tried smiling.
"So would I.", Jim said sadly.
She felt sorry for him and wondered how close they had been. She turned back to her book. "There's so much more out there...and I'll never see it." She closed it and sighed.
Jim looked at her and then took her hand. "Come with me.", he said and pulled her away, noticing the sun was turning redder.
They didn't speak a word as he pulled her along the hallway. He soon found the ballroom and they crept up the stairs and back into the hallway, heading towards her bedroom.
"Alright, where in God's name are we heading?", she asked him, chuckling.
He opened her door and went over to the balcony. "Come on, princess."
She looked puzzled, but walked towards him slowly. Once again Jim's heart skipped a beat. Her long black hair, her pale face and rosy lips and her eyes, he simply couldn't stop staring at her. How could anyone get so beautiful?
His heart suddenly started beating faster as he took her hand and pulled her out to him. He stepped up on the railing and Melody gasped. "Jim!", she hissed. "What are you doing, get down from there!"
He smirked and carefully walked along the railing and towards the roof. He put his hands on it and pulled himself up with ease. "Now you.", he said, reaching out his hand and smiling.
"What? No. I am not doing that!", she protested, shaking her head.
"Told you you were scared.", he said. "Besides, I thought you wanted to see the world." He nodded his head to the roof and stretched his hand further. "Come on, trust me."
Melody bit her lip, took off her high shoes and carefully stepped onto the railing. She glanced down and her heart beat faster. She cautiously took one step towards the roof, then another, then she started swaying and let out a small shriek.
A second later Jim had grabbed her hand and pulled her up to him. She was in his arms, her face ever so close to his. She could smell him. Her heart beat faster and faster as her cheeks turned pink.
Jim smiled at her and then stood up, pulling her up with him. He moved over to the very top of the roof of the tower and sat down, Melody next to him. She looked ahead and her heart skipped a beat. It was beautiful. The sea sparkled under the setting sun and the sky grew redder and redder by the moment. The seagulls cried and the waves broke and the moment was perfect.
"Now that's something.", she heard him say.
"It's more than I ever could have asked for...", she replied and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I've never seen so much of the world...Look, over there! That's the village!"
"You've never been to the village before?", he asked, taken aback.
"No, I never really got around to it..."
"We'll change that! You have no idea how much fun that can be!", he cried. "That's scary, you've really never been to the village..."
She bit her lip and felt uneasy. He had been so many places and she...well, she hadn't even left the palace, except for the ocean of course.
"Hey, don't look so glum, I'll take you to town tomorrow. All secretive.", he promised and smiled at her, winking.
It made her chuckle and she said: "Thank you, Jim."
They were silent after that, watching the sun slowly vanish behind the horizon. Melody decided that this was the most wonderful moment of her life. And it was all thanks to Jim. The boy who came from somewhere far beyond, somewhere out there in the sea...
She glanced at him and noticed he was staring at her. She tried not to blush and giggled on the inside.
The sun reflected in her eyes, her hair swaying in the soft breeze and her bare feet stretched away from her body. His heart beat irregularly as he saw the soft chuckle play around her perfect lips. He wasn't surprised she had never been in town. If you looked like a fallen angel, anything could happen among "the simple folk".
He found he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was a vision, so much more beautiful than any sunset could ever be. It was a cry from underneath them that eventually knocked him out of his trance.
"Melody?! Melody, where are you?" They both looked down below and saw the queen on the balcony, looking around. "Melody!"
Melody looked at Jim, raising her eyebrows and he tried hard not to laugh. She giggled quietly and he mouthed: "Ssshh!" She nodded and put her hand over her mouth. Jim looked down again, watching as the queen leaned over the railing, looking for her daughter. But Melody was looking at Jim. His jacket...he had never seen anything quite like it. It was a completely new design and the cloth was different from anything she knew.
Ariel finally sighed and went back in the room, soon after Jim heard a door close. He smirked. It was beginning to get dark and chilly. As the breeze hit Melody's arms, she shivered slightly. Jim smiled warmly and took off his jacket. "Here, put this on!", he said and handed it to her. She pulled it over her arms and then realized it had his scent. And it was warm...
Suddenly Jim slid down the roof and landed on the balcony. "We should get back in, your mother's looking for you..", he said and held out his arms. Melody swallowed and then began sliding down slowly, until she fell forwards with a short squeal. She fell straight into his arms and he cackled. "No need to squeak like that, nothing's going to happen." He smiled down at her and she felt the blush on her cheeks again. She freed herself from his grasp and stroked her hair down.
"Oh, Jim, my parents will be furious, I missed tea!" She turned and started walking through her room towards her door. "And you'll be in trouble too, dinner's being served now, you should get down to the kitchen!"
Jim smirked and rushed over, opening the door for her. "Yes, but unlike you, I am not a scaredy cat." She stuck her tongue out at him and hurried along the hallway and down the stairs. Jim waited a bit, since he didn't want to raise suspicion with him and Melody arriving at the same time.
A few minutes later, he rushed down the stairs and straight to the kitchen. The chef didn't even notice him come in, he was ordering the people around again. Jim washed his hands quickly and then began cutting the vegetables that lay there, ready and waiting.
"You missed tea today.", he father remarked blankly.
"Yes, I know, I'm sorry, I was...er..."
"Melody, were you in the ocean?", her mother asked, looking at her strictly.
"What? No, I..."
"Melody. Were you in the ocean?"
"I...I'm really sorry, I..."
"Melody! We told you, it was your punishment! Why would you disobey us like that?!", her father shouted. Melody flinched and looked down.
"Eric, please, calm down! Melody..." Melody looked up at her mother, biting her lip. "You know I don't mind you being in the ocean, but I can't trust you! You just...whatever I say, it seems to me you just don't care! I'm at my wits end, Melody...I don't know what to do anymore.", Ariel said, looking at her. Her expression showed disappointment and betrayal.
Melody looked down again, the guilty conscience eating her up. Why couldn't her mother understand she wasn't doing all this to hurt her? That was the last thing on her mind this afternoon.
Suddenly the door opened and a couple of servants came in with the soups. Melody didn't even look up.
The conversation ended after the servants came in and they spent the rest of the evening silent. All that could be heard was the clatter of dishes and the occasional cough.
When she was done, Melody stood up. "I'm sorry.", she whispered hoarsely. Her parents kept silent and she bowed, leaving the room in tears.
She strut through the hallway and ran up the stairs, tears running down her face, sobbing.
Jim just stood there, watching her run upstairs. He didn't call her, she wouldn't want him to know she was crying. Her sobs broke his heart in half and he numbly walked along the hallway when she was out of sight. He walked out, the sky was dark now and the stars glittered in the distance. He saw what looked like Space Port from the distance, but knew it was an actual moon.
Back on the ship, Danny and Ben came to greet him, Morph fluttering around his head excitedly.
"Man, me and Morph were looking out for you, where were you? I didn't see you once today!", Danny cried and smirked. "What the hell were you doing all day?"
"The mission, man. Just our mission.", he replied blankly.
"Jimmy, you missed supper, but I saved you some!", Ben told him.
"Okay, cool, thanks Ben."
He went under deck with his friends, but he couldn't stop thinking about Melody. Not just how she was crying, but when he remembered being so close to her his heart started racing.
"But do you know who I did see? The princess.", Daniel said and winked at Jim. "It's pretty amazing, I've never seen anything quite like it."
Jim knew exactly what Daniel was talking about. "Do you know what I saw today? Your father and the captain talking."
"What? Really? What would they be talking about?"
"I have no clue, I couldn't get closer, I had human company."
"Damn, seriously? That's so strange, I think I'll talk to him later..."
Later that night, when everyone was asleep, the moon was high in the sky and the ocean was calm and quiet and no sound could be heard, two young people lay awake in bed, thinking only about each other.
