The Mermaid and the Beast
Chapter 10- How to Ride a Shark for Dummies
"You're supposed to race with my father's shark?" Artemisia raised an eyebrow curiously, "That's going to be a problem."
Spark rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me!" she said sarcastically.
"Why don't you borrow Jake's shark and paint him in white?" Sky suggested
The Sharkanian shook his head, "It won't work. Jessop is much smaller than the Albino, his eyes are yellow and he lacks the Albino's scars. Mandy will notice, she may be snobbish but she is no idiot."
"I just can't imagine Sparky riding that monster," Bluetail sighed, "Not that he will let her, anyway."
"Actually," Artemisia said, "If my father orders him to, the Albino obeys. All we have to do is to convince him to lend him to you."
"How're we supposed to do now? Begging?"
"What will happen if I try to ride on him without Shaga's permission?"
Jake looked away in dismay, "Believe me, you don't want to know."
Bluetail turned to the Sharkanian princess, "Princess, doesn't the Albino listen to you as well?
"Not at all," Artemisia sighed sadly, "He tolerates me because of my father, but he doesn't obey me like my father."
Spark smacked her forehead, "Great! I'll have to be Mandy's slave for an entire month! I can already hear it! Spark, do this! Spark, do that! Massage my tailfin, clean my seahorse's stable, clean my room!"
"I can ask daddy," Artemisia offered, "I mean, he doesn't lend his shark to anyone, not even me, but I think I can talk him into it."
The others gave her a look of disbelief, "Princess, I can't let you do that! You shouldn't get yourself in trouble for us!" Jake snapped in worry before Bluetail smacked his tailfin with his own.
"Don't make her change her mind," the swordfish muttered, "At least she wants to help us."
"Daddy barely tells me no," Artemisia grinned, "It's no problem for me." Saying this, the Sharkanian princess swam away to search for Emperor Shaga.
"But when he tells her no, it's his last word," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Well, while Artemisia convinces her father about it, shouldn't you show Spark how to ride a shark?" Sky suggested, "I mean, they're different from seahorses, right?"
"I suppose you're right, I guess Jessop won't mind if I teach her on him."
Spark couldn't help but grin, "Come on, Jake, how hard can it be?"
"LEFT!"
Spark panicked as she turned pulled Jessop's reins to the left, making the shark turn violently; Jake was sitting behind her, helping the mermaid wherever they were about to run over someone. Jessop turned out to be much more stubborn than Jake had imagined. In fact, the shark didn't like the idea of another merfolk other than Jake commanding him.
"Brake at the curves!" Jake cried out in terror as the shark waved his tailfin furiously, "Look out with the algae! You have to show him who's in charge, but don't exaggerate!"
"Exaggerate?!" Spark replied as she tried to get Jessop to stop, "Me? He's the one who won't listen!"
"WHALES!"
Jake and Spark panicked when they realized they had ridden into a herd of blue whales, and the shark's presence seemed to bother them. By that time, Jessop seemed to be swimming completely on his own will, instinctively dodging the whales and avoiding their tailfins before finally swimming away from the herd.
Bluetail sighed in frustration from the stables, waiting for the duo to return from their wild ride; apparently, it wasn't going as planned. Sky was pacing around, worried for Spark's safety. She was right when she said sharks were much harder to handle, but this was ridiculous!
"If she can't handle a normal shark, I don't want to imagine how she's supposed to handle The Albino." Bluetail said letting out a sigh of dismay.
"If Emperor Shaga will let her, · Sky reminded him, "But I doubt he will. I mean, Jake himself has said the Emperor cherishes his shark as much as his daughter, I don't think he will risk his shark getting hurt."
A few meters away, in the seahorses' corral, a certain red-haired mermaid accompanied by a yellow guppy was watching at the sharks from afar curiously, wondering however the Sharkanians were actually able to tame them. In fact, Ariel had caught sight of the mermaid and the Sharkanian riding one of the sharks from her window and had insisted on going to see what happened, despite her father's warning to stay away from the sharks.
Even though domesticated, they retained their savage nature.
"Ariel, let's go," Flounder insisted, shivering at the sight of the sleeping sharks, "I don't want to get eaten, or worse."
"Come on, Flounder. They're tied up," Ariel reassured him, "Besides, its not like they can reach this far, can they?"
"What I'm worried about it's the white shark! Look at him, he's a monster!"
Ariel couldn't help but roll her eyes at her best friend; sometimes he could be a little too cowardly, but she knew he just worried about her. He worried about her safety, and he had all reasons to be worried right then. After all, those sharks did look dangerous after all.
Back with Spark, the mermaid was still struggling to retain control over the shark, but Jessop was having none of it. He did like her a bit; he had learned his master cared dearly for the mermaid and she brought him great joy. He had found right then that Jake grew mad if he didn't listen to her, but Jessop couldn't help it. He only wanted Jake with him.
"How do I get him to stop?!" Spark cried out in frustration, as pulling the shark's reins with all her might.
"Let me do it, Spark! You're still too inexperienced for this!" the Sharkanian replied in dismay, softly but quickly taking the reins off the mermaid's delicate hands and pulled the reins abruptly, signaling the shark to finally stop. This time Jessop listened, knowing it was his master who was ordering him to.
When they stopped, Spark was frozen in shock and fear; she couldn't do it. If she couldn't handle Jessop, how would The Albino react to her? It would be much worse, she assumed, considering the white shark's personality and size. After a few minutes, the mermaid finally gave in to her exhaustion and fainted; Jake caught her just as she was about to fall off the saddle, and he couldn't help but smile slightly as he shifted her to make her comfortable. He lightly smacked his shark's side, and Jessop slowly made his way to the edge of the stables, not wanting to make his master angry.
Ariel couldn't contain it; she was known for being a caring mermaid, and often went out of her way to help those who need it. She didn't feel comfortable around Sharkanians, but at least there was a swordfish guard and another mermaid present.
"What happened?" the red-haired mermaid called out for the group and swam towards them, followed by a reluctant Flounder, "Is she alright?"
Sky and Bluetail bowed respectfully at the princess, but Jake couldn't do so because he was holding Spark. However, he did reply, "She's fine, we just had a wild ride," he sighed in embarrassment before looking back at his shark in annoyance, making Jessop snort apologetically, "He doesn't usually behave like that."
Flounder hid in his friend's red hair when Jessop set his eyes on him; he didn't want to become the shark's target for lunch.
Ariel couldn't help but ask, "Why was she riding a shark, anyway?"
"It's a long story, princess," Bluetail replied, "One about betting against an experienced sea-horse rider, and having to ride Emperor Shaga's mount in the race."
Flounder's mouth gaped, and he wordlessly pointed a fin at The Albino. Jake understood and nodded as a reply.
Unbetsknown to them, Jaskket had been watching them the entire time. He had overheard princess Artemisia arguing with her father (again), but this time she had mentioned something about a bet and lending the Albino to Spark. And now watching Jake holding the mermaid that way, made him feel a little of nostalgia.
He would not admit it outloud to anyone, but he missed his daughter right then. He had asked her if she wanted to accompany them, but she coldly refused his offer. While he treasures his daughter dearly, he never knew how to communicate with her properly; in fact, when she was born, after his wife passed away due to illness, he spent a hard time taking care of her.
"Get back here, young lady!" the Sharkanian commander cried out in frustration as he chased his five-month old daughter around the room. She had become old enough to swim a few weeks ago, and after that hell broke loose for him. The young female would race around the room she was in, and it usually took about four guards to catch and subdue her, but this time he was on his own.
In fact, he was not proud to admit it, but lately he had been putting his daughter's safety on his soldiers' hands rather than taking care of her himself. He was just too grief-stricken after Lillian's death to think about it, and most of the time he tried to make himself busy so that he would not have to think that Lillian was gone forever…
"Gotcha, you little scamper!" Jaskket cried triumphantly as he finally managed to get a grip on the young Sharkanian.
The baby tried to struggle out of his grasp, but her father's hands were too strong. At last, she gave up with a pout. He couldn't help but laugh as he held her up.
"Now get back to bed so your daddy can go back to sleep," he cooed as he set her down into her crib. She crossed her arms and glared at him with her emerald eyes. He began to wonder if she had inherited his temper.
"Don't give me that look, little missy!" he ordered, crossing his arms. "As your superior, I order you to go to sleep right now! Don't make me angry!"
Sapphire suddenly broke into tears, causing Jaskket to freeze. That had been louder than he had intended.
"No, no, no! Don't cry!" he panicked.
She opened her mouth and wailed at full volume. It was not that he hated his daughter, but when it came to her crying. He was completely helpless. He did not have the ability to calm down anyone. So far, Lillian had been the one who handled these situations before she died.
"Please!" he begged, "You'll wake the entire neighborhood up!"
He had to get her to quiet down and go to sleep. He considered fetching one of his soldiers to help him, but that would make him look weak. Jaskket decided he at least had to try to calm his daughter down. First, he considered what was making her cry. She was clearly not hungry, because his soldiers always handled that.
"For Kua's sake, what do you want from me, kid?!"
His outburst did not make it any better. He slapped himself in the face. What would Lillian do in this predicament? In the years he had known her, he still had trouble showing affection to others. After being in the army for most of his life, he had learned to bottle up his emotions, discarding them as a weakness.
Maybe he should let his emotions resurface from the bottom of his being. He thought about what Lillian would use to calm the baby down.
"A lullaby! Is that what you want?"
Sapphire seemed to understand him for she stopped wailing for a bit and held out her tiny hands with a whimper, indicating that she wanted him to hold her as well. He carefully scooper her in his arms, just like he had seen females do it. She was so tiny and soft. He would not be surprised if she grew up to be as beautiful as her mother.
He cradled her gently and attempted to sing the lullaby Lillian would always use:
"Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed…"
He trailed off as she began crying again. He rolled his eyes.
"Why did you have to inherit my exigent attitude?" He groaned.
Unfortunately, he was not as gifted in singing as his late wife was, mostly because he had never sung at all. Besides, the song was not in his key. Maybe he should try another song, but he didn't know that many. The first line he sung came directly from his thoughts:
"Hush now, my baby
Be still now, don't cry
Sleep like you're rocked by the sea…"
Sapphire paused a moment to listen to the tune. Jaskket glanced down and saw that his cheesy song was working, so he continued:
"Sleep and remember
My lullaby
And I'll be with you when you dream…"
Sapphire giggled in delight, clearly enjoying the song. She clapped her tiny hands for more. Jaskket couldn't help but smile down at her.
"Drift on a current
That flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling
So peaceful and calm
And holding you, I'm smiling, too
Here in my arms
Safe from all harm."
The lullaby took its effect as Sapphire let out a yawn and closer her eyes. He gazed in awe as she innocently sucked her thumb. He would have given a pacifier, but her teeth had already grown. So he laid her in her crib, careful not to wake her. He then gently tugged her blanket over her small body. Smiling, Jaskket leaned forward and lightly kissed the baby on the forehead.
Perhaps he was not such a bad father after all.
Jaskket came back to reality when he spotted Artemisia swimming towards the group, a worried look on her face. Apparently, her argue with Emperor Shaga had gone neutral.
"So, how did it go?" Sky inquired, making Artemisia sigh in worry.
Artemisia sighed, "I have good news and bad news." She looked up, "The good news, he didn't like the idea of Spark riding his shark but he finally agreed."
Bluetail felt a shiver running down his spine, "And the bad news?"
"He conditioned that he won't help her in riding The Albino. She has to break him in."
"I don't think it's that hard," Ariel spoke up, "I mean, all she has to do is to show him there's nothing to worry about and befriend him."
"I'm afraid is not that easy with sharks, princess," Jake sighed, "Unlike seahorses, sharks do not accept a rider other than their own. They won't let anyone to even touch them."
Flounder was still trying to hide from the sharks' vision range, not knowing that they paid him no heed at all.
"Don't worry, boy," spoke Jake, noticing Flounder's attempts to hide in Ariel's hair, "They don't eat guppies. Not anymore, at least."
Although relieved to some extent, Flounder still felt rather nervous when the Albino set his eyes on him curiously. He may be tied up, but that didn't mean he wouldn't break loose at any moment.