Daughter of the Sea

A Novella

Stanza XIV

Together once more, their love they expressed
As all barriers at last ceased to be.
No longer apart, a new future they sought,
The man and his daughter of the sea.

"Oh, I had forgotten how soft this feels!"

He laughed ecstatically as he watched her lay upon the bed in his private chambers, her hands roaming over the silken sheets as she smiled mischievously at her husband.

"You haven't changed a bit," he said. "You're just like I remember . . ."

She frowned, her eyes growing cloudy, unwanted memories racing through her mind. "Haven't I?" she asked. "I . . . I'm glad you think so. After everything . . ."

He glanced back at the spare bed on the other side of the room, smiling as he watched his daughters curled beneath the warm blankets, their eyes closed in sleep, their fins protruding from beneath the sheets, twitching every so often. "They're beautiful," he said under his breath. "The most beautiful things I've ever seen . . ."

Her hands came to rest upon his shoulders as she sat up, her fluke curling about his waist. "You have no idea how happy you've made them," she whispered in his ear, her fingers gently massaging the tension from his back. "They have wanted to meet you ever since I first told them the truth about you."

He felt strangely inadequate all of a sudden. "Hopefully I haven't disappointed them." A thought crossed his mind, a wave of guilt washing over him. "They understand, don't they? You explained to them how I didn't want to . . . I didn't abandon them—"

Her lips brushed against his neck. "They know, luvánathem. Believe me. They know."

He turned back to face her. "And what about you? How can I ever thank you for raising them without me?" A haunted look came across his face. "How . . . How horrible was it?"

She glanced away, her expression one of noticeable discomfort. "The first few cycles were the hardest. The moment it became obvious that . . . that I couldn't hide any longer, I had to leave my father's house and live on the outskirts of the kingdom." A sad sigh emanated from her throat. "My people do not look kindly upon those who are with child without . . . Anyway, I limited my contact with others as much as possible. It was easier that way. I didn't have to hear their whispers or be subject to their judgment, at least not as often as if I . . ."

His hands balled into fists, his anger rising within him at the thought. "They had no right!" he hissed. "Didn't your father tell them the truth? That we were married—"

She looked at him sadly. "Of course not. That would have been even more embarrassing to him to admit that. But . . ." She closed her eyes, the voices that had taunted her ringing through her memory. "It did not take long for the rumors to spread. For their words to become . . ."

She shook her head. "I could live with their insults, of course. I didn't care because I knew what was true. But what broke my heart was when they began to insult the twins. No matter where we went, someone would call them ilvéldetheren." She flinched as she spoke the word, the severity of its meaning apparent to her husband. "It is difficult to translate the full meaning into your language. I don't know what the correct word would be."

He inhaled sharply. "'Bastard'?" he offered. "'Illegitimate'?"

She nodded slightly. "Sort of. But not strong enough. Imagine . . . Imagine that you are trying to tell your worst enemy that he is lower than the dirt beneath your feet. That he doesn't even deserve to be alive. That is the full meaning of . . ."

He felt his heart crumble within his chest as he realized just how much misery he had brought upon her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his hand coming to rest upon her cheek. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't—"

"Don't apologize to me."

Her voice was loving, yet firm as her eyes of blue looked into his own, her own spirit filled with sadness as she studied the wrinkles that had taken hold of his brow, the multiple flecks of gray scattered through his hair and beard, making him appear older than he truly was. "It was my choice as well," she said. "And it is not like you haven't suffered as well."

He bowed his head as he acknowledged the truth in her words. "Not a moment went by when I didn't think of you," he said. "Every minute of every day for fifteen years . . ."

A smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "You kept your word. My father was certain you would break it. That you would set sail upon the ocean. That you would break down and demand that he permit me to see you."

He sighed, his gaze turning back to the bed containing the sleeping véldenmaína. "I wanted to so badly," he confessed. "But I couldn't let anything happen to them. I couldn't risk breaking my word if it meant he would . . ."

Clearing his throat, he tried to change the subject. "So what happened? Why all of a sudden after all these years did he have a change of heart? It doesn't make any sense."

She shifted her weight as she wrapped her arms around his waist, the soft flesh of her fin lovingly caressing his ankle. "You can ask him yourself tomorrow," she said, her chin resting upon his shoulder. "He wants to meet with you in the morning."

"Really?"

He glanced back at his wife. "What for?"

She shrugged. "I don't know exactly. All I know is that he refused to have anything to do with me or the girls once they were born. I was not permitted to enter the palace, not even to permit him the opportunity to meet his granddaughters." A single tear flowed from her eye, staining her husband's shirt. "No matter how many times I tried, he would not have me. Until . . . Until about two of your months ago. I don't know what changed, but he came to me, all the way out to our little home outside the kingdom. Something he had never done before. And he . . . He apologized, Eric. He said he couldn't deny his granddaughters' existence any longer. And he . . ." She shifted uncomfortably. "He wept, Eric. I didn't know what to do. The only other time I ever saw him cry was when . . . when Mánawe . . ."

She lay back upon the bed, her eyes closing momentarily as she savored once more the smoothness of the blankets. "Can we talk about something else, please?" she asked. "Not the past, but the present."

He lay next to her, his arm draped across her waist. "Sorry. You're right. We've been apart for so long. All I want to do is look at you, to prove you're actually here with me."

She laughed again. "I'm not going anywhere this time, Eric. You are stuck with me."

His hand moved up and down her back gently as he spoke. "That's good to hear. Because I . . . I think we should do it, Ariel. I think we should do what we talked about before."

Her eyes widened. "You mean it? You still want to?"

He nodded in response. "I do. I've had my fill of ruling a kingdom. I don't want anything more to do with it. MacDowell is as good a man as ever. I want . . . I want to get to know my children, Ariel. I want us to be a real family. Somewhere the four of us can be together without having to worry about what anyone else may think." He looked at her expectantly. "What are your thoughts?"

Her warm smile greeted his eyes. "I think that island of yours sounds like a wonderful place to live."

He looked at her in confusion as a strange glint filled her eye. "And . . . I was also thinking that . . . that . . ."

"What?" He frowned at her sudden trepidation. "What is it?"

She looked at him expectantly. "That maybe our family isn't complete at just four. That maybe you would want to . . . to . . ."

Her statement caught him by surprise. "Really? You want another—"

His reaction caused her face to fall, caused her to roll to her side, no longer facing him. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

His hand came to rest upon her shoulder. "No, it's not that! I . . . I'm not opposed to the idea—"

"Then what?" She rolled to face him once again, her eyes moist. "I just thought it would be a good thing if you were able to raise a child, since you had that opportunity taken away from you before. I thought . . . I thought you would want to!"

He ran his hand through her luxurious hair of flame. "I would love to," he said. "As long as . . ." He suddenly felt highly self-conscious as he ran his hand through his graying beard. "As long as you don't think I'm too old. That you still find me . . ."

She looked at him in confusion. "Of course not! Why would you—" Suddenly understanding, she nodded as she brought her hand to his chin, her fingers stroking his whiskers. "I like this," she said softly, marveling at the sensation. "It makes you look even more handsome."

"You're just saying that," he muttered, cursing his graying hair and lined face beneath his breath.

She pulled herself until she was positioned directly above him. "No, I'm not," she whispered, her lips coming into contact with his as she pressed into him, his lips returning her kiss as his arms wrapped around her waist.

Pulling away, they looked into one another's eyes, their hearts pounding loudly as long-repressed desire began to surge through them.

He glanced toward the sleeping twins. "What . . . What about them . . .?"

She smiled as she loosened the string keeping the shells atop her breasts in place. "They're sound sleepers, Eric. They can sleep through anything. Believe me, I know."

She lowered herself onto his chest, her lips next to his ear. "I've missed you so much, Eric. Please. Let me show you how much . . ."

Husband and wife kissed each other passionately as they shifted position, as they became one once more, moving and writhing atop the silken sheets, their cries of pleasure flowing into each others' ears until, having finally expressed their love for each other once more, they fell asleep clinging to one another, happy to be with each other, knowing they would never have to be separated again, that the family they had both pined for was now, at last, a reality.

AN: More to come!