Chapter 17
May didn't leave the palace for the next few nights. While the guards thought her mother had punished her for not making curfew, the reality was that she didn't know what to do anymore. Losing four months' worth of work left her adrift in the water.
"What are we gonna do?" she wondered as she sat outside the palace gate, staring out at the open ocean. Her melancholy reverie was interrupted when she felt something soft and rubbery rub against her shoulder. She turned and saw a familiar face floating beside her. "Hey, Popplio," she smiled. Popplio grinned and started swimming around in front of her, doing fun little flips and twirls. May giggled at the sight. "You're gonna be quite the performer one of these nights," she grinned. Popplio cheered and darted into her lap, curling up in contentment. "Hm," she hummed as she gently stroked Popplio's head. "I wonder what we should do tonight." At this, Popplio perked up and swam up to her eye level, pointing excitedly out at the ocean. At this, May sighed sadly. "Sorry, Popplio," she said. "I don't feel like going scouting tonight." At this, Popplio's face fell, and she swam down and curled up in her lap again. May just sighed and started stroking her again.
"May?"
"Hm?" she blinked, looking up. "Oh, good evening, Mother."
"Good evening," Cynthia said. She took a sack slung over her shoulder and handed it to her daughter. "Could you do me a favor and take this to the local coral-smith in town? He requested this order last night, but we were a little delayed in getting it to him."
"Sure!" May said, perking up with a smile as she swam up and took the sack, slinging it over her shoulders. She sighed a moment when she remembered how her sacks used to feel like this, but she quickly shook off her thoughts and tightened the strap. "Do you want me back home for anything else?"
"No, but thank you for asking," Cynthia smiled. "I'll send a guard to fetch you if I need anything else."
"Okay," May grinned, then she turned to Popplio. "You should go back to our room, okay?" Popplio just sighed sadly, prompting a sympathetic May to gently stroke her head. "We'll get back to scouting the ocean soon. Now's just not the right time, okay?" Popplio smiled weakly before May pulled her in for a hug. "Don't worry. We'll find your home soon. I promise." After letting go, Popplio swam back into the palace with Cynthia, while May swam off to swim her errand.
After swimming out so she was right above the village, she dove down and swam straight to it, swimming quickly along the path between the homes and other structures. Other merfolk moved slowly along while floating upright, as though they were walking down a street, while she faced forward and propelled herself through the water as fast as she could. They expressed annoyance with her for this, insisting that she would just end up swimming into one of them. A few of them snidely wondered why she didn't just swim through like the rest of them, which annoyed her quite a bit.
"If they were to enter a race, they would stand no chance of winning," she mumbled to herself. "Why don't they use their fins the way they're supposed to?" She sighed in annoyance and shook her head. "I'm never gonna understand our kind."
The rest of the swim to the coral-smith was largely uneventful. After delivering the order he asked for and receiving his thanks, she started to swim back to the palace to inform her mother that her errand was done. As she was swimming, however, she caught a familiar glint out of the corner of her eye once again. She turned and saw Lillie hiding behind one of the homes, looking around cautiously once again, before swimming off.
"Now where are you off to?" May wondered aloud, and she started swimming after her. Lillie swam just out past the edge of the village and stopped in front of a small rock formation. After looking around again to make sure no one saw her, prompting May to hide herself from view, she pulled one of the rocks to the side, revealing a secret passage big enough for her to swim through, and promptly dove into it, pulling the rock back over the opening. May's eyes were wide with both surprise and excitement, and she swam over to the rock. Although she had to feel around for a moment to find it, as it blended into its surroundings better than one might have thought, she eventually found it and pulled it aside. Her eyes sparkled as she swam inside, careful to pull the rock back over the opening behind her before going any further. Once she was sure the passage was covered again, she turned forward and swam through. The passage was narrow enough that a mermaid had to take care not to hit her head, but it was wide enough that she didn't feel constricted. She smiled as she swam through, noting some sparkles in the walls around her: rare crystals that humans had yet to discover.
It wasn't long before she reached the end of the passage. There, she had to hold up her hand in front of her eyes to shield them from a surprisingly bright light, even though it couldn't be any later than the first watch of the night by now. Once her sharp eyes adjusted, she looked around and gave a quiet gasp of astonishment at what she saw:
The surface was much closer here than she expected; it would only take two or three flicks of her fins to break it. What shocked her even more, however, was what she saw up there.
"Humans?"
Yes, it was true. There, floating above her, kicking their stumps so as to stay afloat, were two humans! No sooner had she noticed them than one of them suddenly submerged under the water and started to sink down, air bubbles flowing out of her nose.
"Oh no!" May gasped. "She's drowning!" She started to swim towards the human, only to feel something grip her tail and pull her back. "Hey!"
"Wait a moment, May!"
May's eyes widened. "Lillie?"
"Just watch!"
"But she's gonna –"
"Don't worry, she'll be fine; just watch!"
May turned and looked back at the human, who was now quite deep under the surface. As she sank further down, she suddenly kicked her legs and did a backflip in the water. She then swam forward, twirling through while small bubbles floated up from her face, before she pushed herself off the floor and floated gracefully back to the surface.
"Wha –" May blinked, stunned.
"Wasn't that amazing?" Lillie asked with a huge grin, her eyes wide and sparkling with joy. "I never knew humans could swim so gracefully!"
"I –" May stammered, unable to understand what she just witnessed. "But how –?"
Before she could ask her question, the girl dove again down, kicking her legs and moving her arms so as to push herself down. Once she was deep enough, she looked over at the mermaids and waved. Lillie waved back with a giggle and swam over to the human, twirling around her. As May watched them play together, she couldn't help but smile. She knew that humans and mermaids were at peace with one another, and she'd often heard stories of the wars they used to wage on each other, but she'd never seen them together in the same place. Something about the way they played with each other now as they raced to the surface warmed her heart...assuming that wasn't the temperature of the water around her; it was warmer than she was used to.
"May, come on!" Lillie giggled, swimming down to her and grabbing her hand. "They'd love to meet you!"
"Huh?" May blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "No, wait!" she cried, pulling her hand away just before Lillie could pull her above the surface.
"What?" Lillie blinked, confused. "You're not afraid of humans, are you?"
"No no no," May shook her head. "It's not that I'm afraid. It's just…"
"Just what?"
May sighed. "I can't breathe up there."
Lillie blinked in surprise. "You can't?"
"No," May shook her head sadly. "I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I can't breathe the air above the surface. Believe me, Lillie, I'd come up with you if I could, but I can't. I'm sorry."
Lillie looked at May, frowning slightly, before turning upwards and swimming to the surface to speak to the humans. May watched as her tail and lower torso floated under the water and found herself comparing this to the humans floating with her, although they were swimming away from her and getting out of the water, leaving only their feet in.
As she watched them float in the water, May had a thought. "Maybe I should try peeking out," she mused. "I breathe through my mouth and nose, so maybe if I keep those submerged while my eyes and ears go above, I can see everyone above the surface without suffocating." She took a deep breath and slowly started to swim towards the surface. It didn't take her long to reach it. Once she did, she slowly pushed herself up above the quiet water and peeked out, leaving the lower half of her head and everything below it submerged.
Like before, the water quickly dried off her exposed skin, leaving only small droplets. All her unsubmerged hair clung to her again, though it didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable this time since most of her hair floated in the water. She could see everything clearly and, most notably, her ears were half-submerged, muffling the sounds from above in such a way that it didn't overwhelm her; she could actually understand what everyone was saying!
"Hey, is that your friend you told us about?"
May glanced at the human who said this. He was a young man, about Lillie's age, with dark skin and a big grin on his face.
"Oh!" Lillie exclaimed. "Yes! Everyone, this is Princess May!"
Even though they couldn't see it, May smiled at everyone. She then lifted her arm out of the water and waved at them, wincing slightly at the feeling of her arm drying up. She quickly pulled it back in the water, soaking it again.
"Nice to meet you, May!" the young man said. "My name's Hau!" He raised an eyebrow, confused. "But why don't you come up like Lillie?" He turned to his merfriend. "Is she shy?"
"No," Lillie shook her head. "She can't breathe air like you and I can. She isn't sure why, but she would gladly come up if she could."
"Oh," Hau blinked. "Well, in that case, I'll just come down to you!" With that, he stood up and jumped into the water, submerging himself. May quickly followed suit, floating beneath the surface while he scrambled to get onto her eye level. He waved at her with a grin. May couldn't help but giggle as bubbles emerged from his mouth while he waved. After a moment, he swam up to the surface and back to the shoreline, while May slowly ascended and peeked out again.
"That's sweet of you, Hau," Lillie giggled.
"Wow," Hau grinned, looking at May. "I know it goes without saying since you're a mermaid and all, but has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" May blushed at this and giggled.
"I met May when I first came to her kingdom," Lillie explained. "She's always been so kind and helpful and understanding...I really can't say how wonderful of a friend she's been to me."
"I'd say you're both very lucky to have friends like each other," the girl smiled. She wore a strange top hung over her torso (then again, any human clothing would probably look strange, May thought), and her short, dark hair clung to her from being submerged underwater.
"I suppose," Lillie said, blushing slightly.
The conversation didn't last much longer, as the humans had to go home and get ready for bed. After saying their goodbyes, May dove back underwater and swam down a short distance before stopping and floating, her eyes still bright. She wasn't sure if it was the light from above or the adrenaline coursing through her veins that made them so bright.
"Why so surprised?" Lillie asked with a cheerful smile. "You look like you just discovered the Oceansong!"
"I…" May said, quickly snapping out of her stupor and gazing at her friend. Her bright green eyes were similarly wide, and her smile was bigger than it had ever been since they met. "S-Sorry, it's just...I've never seen a human so close before. They're so...different from what I expected." She looked down and sighed. "But then...I guess I didn't really know what to expect. I never thought I'd ever get so close to humans."
"They're so mysterious and unique," Lillie agreed with a smile. "The way they use their legs to do things we mermaids could never do...and even things that we could." She gazed at the surface longingly. May looked up with her and noticed how still the surface was. It wasn't rippling like the surface of the ocean; May didn't feel sick looking at it. She then turned and gazed at Lillie, who seemed to have forgotten all about her as she stared at the world above, singing a gentle, longing melody: the same one, May remembered, that she sang in that cavern not too long ago.
"You…" May whispered, as the pieces all fell into place. "You want to be one of them, don't you?"
At first, Lillie didn't seem to hear her, but after a moment, she turned to her with a sad, longing smile. "Yes," she whispered, holding a hand over her heart. "I know it's a foolish dream, but...their world is so amazing, and they're so kind...I would give anything for the chance to be with them for the rest of my life."
As Lillie turned her eyes back towards the surface, May noticed the sadness in her eyes and quickly connected the dots. "To be with them...and away from your mother?"
That caught Lillie's attention immediately, and she jerked her head to face May. "My...mother? What does she –?"
"You don't have to hide it, Lillie," May said sadly, floating towards her friend. "I saw what she did to you." She reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "You want to escape, don't you?"
"No!" Lillie cried suddenly, recoiling. "I mean, yes? Oh…" she moaned. "It's complicated."
May just sighed and lowered her arm. "I'm sorry," she said, looking away. "I probably shouldn't have brought it up." She turned and started to swim away, heading to the small passage she came in through. When she was about halfway through, she suddenly felt something touch her tail. She turned and saw Lillie behind her, with a hand on her tail. The two of them swam out, one behind the other, and eventually returned to the ocean on the outskirts of the village. Lillie sealed up the passage, and they sat down beside it.
"It's all right," she said quietly. "I've never been able to talk about it before. I just...wasn't sure what to do."
"How long has this been going on?" May asked.
"Well, she was always the controlling type," Lillie explained, "but when my brother swam away and stole a forbidden potion, she only got worse. After my father died and we came to your domain, she became so strict, I...well, I feel like a complete prisoner. I can't swim where I want, I can't be who I want, and...well...oh, who am I kidding? It's not like you would understand!"
May listened to her friend's troubles and sighed. "You know," she said slowly, "up until last night, I would've said I did." Lillie looked at her, eyes wide. "When my older sister went to the surface for the first time, my sisters all became obsessed with it. It was all they wanted to talk about. And since they were so obsessed with it, they assumed that I was obsessed with it too. They would always try and pull me into their conversations. But...I never wanted what they wanted. As far as I was concerned, the ocean was my home: where I belonged. When they tried to take me to the surface with them to finally become human...something in me just snapped, and I finally told them the truth." She faced Lillie, who still looked wide-eyed at her confession. "I thought I had it rough with them, but now I know it's nothing compared to what you've been through." She slid over next to her and put a compassionate hand on her shoulder. "You deserve so much better."
Lillie could feel tears budding in her eyes. "May," she whimpered before lunging forward and pulling her into a tight embrace. May hugged her back tightly, gently stroking her hair as it floated in the water. Lillie simply rested in her friend's comforting embrace, crying softly and letting out her pain, not bothering to notice how it floated up away from her, never to be seen again.
The two of them went their separate ways after this: May swam back to the palace, while Lillie swam back home. When May arrived, she sat outside the palace, staring up at the surface. It was much farther away from her here than it was back in that small pool she met the humans in: so much so that a human wouldn't even be able to see it from below, even with that...thing they wore over their eyes so they could see underwater.
May sighed and looked back down at the village. "Lillie said that humans are mysterious and unique," she mumbled. "They can do things that mermaids can't." As she pondered these words, she smiled to herself and shook her head. "I get the feeling that humans see us mermaids in the exact same way." She stretched out her tail in front of her and watched as it glimmered under the faint light of the waning moon. "After all, we can breathe both in and out of the water, and we can swim at speeds rivalling even that of a Sharpedo. Not to mention we can see the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean: places so deep that no human will ever be able to reach down to it."
After sitting outside a little longer, she turned and swam back inside, spending the rest of the night with her mother. Eventually, the faint moonlight gave way to the golden glow of the rising sun. The merfolk all promptly retired to their rooms, with May swimming to hers. She looked around a moment, then raised an eyebrow.
"Popplio?" she said. "Are you in here?"
The response to her question was sudden and unexpected, as a sharp clattering from behind her chests filled with scales shocked her. Popplio frantically swam out of the wreckage, looking frightened. Then, when she saw May, she looked down guiltily.
Seeing this, May put her hands on her hips. "Now what trouble did you get yourself into this time?" Popplio looked up at her sadly, prompting her to chuckle and pat her on the head. "Don't worry. It's not a big deal. Mother wanted me to clean up back there anyways." With that, she swam over and inspected the small mess: a few stray shells, a small string of pearls, and tiny diamonds were scattered about. May quickly sorted them and set them aside. As she was finishing, she noticed a strange glow coming from the farthest recesses of the area. She raised an eyebrow, curious, and reached down there. She felt something smooth like glass and, after struggling a bit to get a grip, pulled it out. Her eyes went wide.
"My forbidden potion!" she exclaimed. She looked at the place where she put it. "That's right," she mused. "After my sisters left, I put this down there so I would never have to look at it again." She sighed bitterly as she stared at the liquid inside, still bubbling like she got it last night. "If it wasn't for how chemically imbalanced this filthy liquid was, and how it could possibly destroy something it leaked out on, I would've poured it out long ago." She shook her head with a small frown. "Well, I guess I should put it back in a safe place. After all, I'm not planning on becoming human any time soon."
It was then, as she was reaching to put it away, that she realized what she was saying. "Wait a minute," she said, as her eyes lit up as a smile slowly grew on her face. "That's it!" She turned to Popplio with a grin. "Popplio, I think I know what to do with this potion, but I'm gonna need your help!"