Chapter 9 - Kiss The Boy
Back at Erica's palace, Arron was gazing out his bedroom window at the little Princess playing with her beloved cat.
What a perfect girl... Arron thought as he watched Erica dance around on the sand with the cat in her arms. Erica then noticed Arron looking at her and she waved at him. Arron smiled sheepishly and waved back, then stepped back inside his bedroom and continued combing his hair with the dingle-hopper, his slippered feet walking past Stella as the crab berated the Prince non-stop.
"This has gotta be, without a doubt, the most humiliating day of my life…" she said as she flicked a piece of lettuce off of her face. Arron knew that whatever she had been through in the kitchen when that commotion had occurred, it had more than made up for Stella blabbing his secret earlier that day. "The things I do for you, child!" she whined, but Arron wasn't listening.
"Now listen. When de princess takes you on dat carriage ride tomorrow, you gotta look your best!" she said as Arron climbed into bed, sinking into the soft mattress and pillows. He had never felt anything like it before. "You gotta bat your eyes, like dis..." said Stella as she demonstrated an exaggerated eye-lash flutter. "You gotta pout your lips, like dis..." she puckered up, spit flying as she did so. "Arron?" she asked, and turned to see that the boy was fast asleep. Stella smiled sweetly at the former merman, thinking about all he had been through that day. The poor thing was probably exhausted. "You are hopeless, child, you know dat" she said with a tired sigh as she blew out the bedside candle. "Completely hopeless…" she curled up on one of the pillows, and drifted off to sleep herself.
The next day, Arron and Erica walked down the palace steps together, both eager to clamber into the carriage and get into town early. Erica wore her normal navy blue skirt, black boots, white stockings, her black hair tied back with a ribbon and a smart white-buttoned shirt with a red vest over the top.
Arron wore grey pants, black shoes, and a white collared shirt with a blue sweater overtop that matched the shade of Erica's skirt. The two kids climbed into the carriage and Erica took the reins of the horses and they rode into town. Erica couldn't stop smiling as Arron displayed his inner child at every new sight they saw, gaping at everything. Erica had never considered trees very exciting before, but Arron certainly seemed too. As they pulled into the local town, they saw many carts and stalls being set up for the morning. Fruits and vegetables lay for sale in boxes, dogs ran around the square, horses stayed stationed on the side of the streets, and children ran about everywhere. Arron found it amazing, overjoyed that he was finally able to be a part of the world he loved so much. If only he could say so.
Stella kept a close eye on the two kids as she chased after them, never letting Arron out of her sight for a second, Flora not far behind as she jumped out of the river that ran underneath the village bridge.
"Has she kissed him yet?" Stella turned to Flora in frustration.
"Not yet…" she replied.
"Oh, man!" Flora grumbled as she swam further up stream.
After many hours of Arron dragging Erica around the town and the two of them laughing (or at least one of them) the whole time, they came across a part of town where couples were dancing. For the first time,Arron wanted to back away, not sure what to make of the scene. But now it was Erica's turn to bring out her inner child. The last time she had had a chance to go dancing with anybody felt like centuries ago, when she was little, waltzing with her father... often stepping on his feet. She was ecstatic at the thought to dance again.
Erica grabbed Arron by the hand and led him into the square, despite the frantic shaking of Arron's head. He had never been dancing before and wasn't particularly eager to start now. But Erica put her arm around Arron's waste and showed him how to dance a simple waltz as a nearby orchestra played a folk song. It wasn't long before Arron wished he had known about dancing long before, as he grew to love the feeling of being close to his Princess as they moved as one. Arron lifted Erica by her waste over his head and twirled her around as the music came into a chorus, and she was smiling brightly when he set her back down.
Eventually, the square cleared of dancers and the band packed away, and in its place gathered the local choir.
"Oooh, the choir's here today!" Erica exclaimed, causing Arron to turn and look to what she had pointed out. "I haven't heard them perform in ages. They're so good! Let's go and see..." Erica then grabbed Arron by the hand again and led him away, although this time he smiled at her adorable energy. The two stood with the awaiting audience as the group warmed up, and a conductor that reminded the red-head so much of Stella stood in front of the singers, and a song in a language Arron didn't understand rang out. It was lovely.
As Arron kept watching the musicians do what they did best, he couldn't help but notice that a feeling of guilt had washed over him. He had been in their very situation just days ago in choir practice, but he had never appreciated it. Though performing reminded him of his father, as he had sung on his birthday each year and now dreaded doing it, he had never thought to use his voice in other ways. He had taken it for granted, and now he was here in front of a gathering of angelic vocalists who hadn't thrown away their talent at first opportunity. Subconsciously, he touched a hand to his throat where he suddenly missed the vibrations he used to feel there. But now there was nothing, and there never would be again.
Erica noticed the forlorn look in the boy's eyes, and sensed that the choir was probably reminding him of some terrible memory as to why he didn't speak. Wanting to make sure he was okay, she quickly came up with an idea.
"Hey, you know, they have these cute boat things down by the docks. If you want, we can go. I mean, it's either that or heading back to the castle." Arron smiled and nodded eagerly. Anything to get away from the reminder of how selfish he was.
"Well alrighty then!" the girl beamed. When they came into view of the thing Erica called a 'row-boat', Arron had no idea what it was or how it worked, so when Erica took both oars to steer it, Arron didn't argue.
Out on the lake, Arron looked around for his sea friends as Erica rowed them into the middle of the medium-shallow water, which was about neck deep, meaning someone tall could stand up on the sandy bank below. Stella, Flora and Sienna peered out from behind some shrubbery and shot Arron a thumbs-up when he saw them, and he gave them a nod and a smile back.
"Has she kissed him yet?" asked Sienna.
"No!" replied the fish and crab in unison.
"Well they better get cracking!" she said.
"First a carriage ride, then dancing, and now dis. If dis doesn't work, I don't know what will!" Stella fretted, her face turning a pale shade as stress consumed her mind.
"So..." said Erica. "What do you think about this weather we're having?" Stella buried her face in her hands.
"Ugh, this is going nowhere…" she grumbled as she saw the bored expression on the two teenager's faces.
"I got it!" Sienna cried suddenly, and flew up to a branch on a nearby tree. "What we need is a little romantic stimulation…" said the bird, clearing her throat. Sienna attempted to sing a 'romantic' tune, but the sound that came out was a mix between a dying cat and an ogre gargling nails.
"Wow" exclaimed Erica as they rowed under the pink sky. "Someone should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery." she joked. Arron smiled nervously at his bird-friend before face-palming his head in his hands. Why, sienna, he thought, do you have to be so daft about everything?!
"Oh god, I am surrounded by amateurs..." Stella grumbled as she grabbed a plant to use as a make-shift baton. "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself!" she gave Sienna a small pinch on the beak and the bird shut-up. "What we need," began the crustacean "Is to set, da mood…" she swam over to a group of pelicans and beckoned to the birds and some nearby turtles and whispered
"Percussion…" and the birds used their wings to drum on the turtle's green underbellies.
"Strings…" she gestured to some grasshoppers, and they used their antenna's to make a soft violin sound.
"Winds…" she gestured to a group of flamingos as they flapped their wings to make a soft breeze. Stella then bowed to herself and said,
"Words…"
"There you see him
Sitting there across the way
He don't got a lot to say
But there's something about him
And you don't know why
But you're dyin' to try
You wanna kiss the boy
Yes, you want him,
Look at him, you know you do
Possible he wants you too
There is one way to ask him
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the boy
Sing with me now:
Sha la la la la la
My oh my
Look like the girl too shy
Ain't gonna kiss the boy
Sha la la la la la
Ain't that sad?
Ain't it a shame? Too bad
She gonna miss the boy
Now's your moment
Floatin' in a blue lagoon
Girl, you better do it soon,
No time will be better
He don't say a word,
And he won't say a word,
Until ya,
Kiss the boy"
Erica looked at the crimson haired boy in front of her, feeling so calm and safe in his presence.
"You know, I feel really bad about not knowing your name." the little Prince gave her an 'it's okay' look in reply, but Erica still felt guilty. They had spent an entire day together, and she hadn't even bothered to ask his name. "Maybe I could guess?" she said. Arron nodded. "Hmmm... let's say, if one is the letter A, and two is the letter B and so on, what letter would it start with?" Arron thought about it. All he knew of the human alphabet were the words he had read in the books that he had salvaged, and he could barely remember any of it. But he had remembered reading a book in his grotto with bright colours and exaggerated illustrations on its pages. It must have been a children's book, a children's book that painted the alphabet. Racking his brain, Arron went for broke and held up one finger.
"A?" Erica questioned, and Arron nodded. He had been right! "Okay, let's go from there. Uh... Avery?" she suggested. Arron smirked and shook his head. "Okay, no. Uh, Alex? Axel? Abbot?" Arron's face turned white at the mention of his brother's name. What were they doing right now? He thought. Probably rejoicing that he had left.
"Arron, his name is Arron..." came a strange and disembodied voice from somewhere Erica didn't know.
"Arron?" Erica suggested, not knowing how that thought had came into her head. Arron smiled wildly and nodded, and Erica took his hands in hers. "Arron? That's really nice. Alright then. Arron" she said, looking dreamily into his eyes. "If you don't mind, I think it's time we learned more about each other. Don't you think?" Erica questioned, and Arron smiled. "Well, I'm 15. You?" Arron nodded and flashed ten fingers, then five more to signal that they were the same age. "I thought so! Although at first I thought you were younger, being your height and all" Erica caught her breath as she realised that she might have just hurt his feelings. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry if that was mean. Did I hurt your feelings?" she asked feverishly, but to her delight, Arron was silently laughing, and Erica breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew. Thank goodness you have a sense of humour! One time I called a suitor's pet dog lionfart instead of heart, and he didn't talk to me for the rest of the meeting!" Erica burst out laughing, and Arron slapped his knee to signal that he too found the story hilarious.
"So. I don't have any siblings. How about you?" she questioned, and Arron held up six fingers. "Six siblings? My gosh, I guess you've never been lonely a day in your life." Although he appreciated the jest, Arron's face fell. He had felt lonely every minute of his existence. Even with Flora at his side, he had never felt particularly close with any of his brothers. If anything terrible were to happen to them, he'd beg for the world to take him instead in a heartbeat, but he didn't really consider any one of the perfect house of law members his friends.
Erica noticed Arron's sunken face and placed a hand on his.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of anything bad. Man, I need to think abut what I say before I say it..." Arron took a proper hold of her hand and gave her a sympathetic look, and Erica took it as a sign that he wasn't affected. "Do you have six brothers or sisters? Or is it a bit of both?" she asked. Arron thought about a way to answer her question, and held up his arms the way Abbot would whenever he wanted to show off his muscles to a group of adoring mermaids. Erica giggled. "I'll take that as six boys. Which one are you?" Arron held up seven fingers. "Seventh... the oldest?" she quizzed. Arron shook his head. "The youngest?" he nodded, smiling the whole time. He was finally communicating with Erica. "Oh my, you poor thing" Erica folded her arms across her chest and sat back in the boat. "Six older brothers. I always wanted a sister, but... my parents..." Erica trailed off as she remembered the happy days of her childhood... holding her mother's hand as they walked along the beach... plunking her hands across the piano keys in her father's music room, he'd always clap for her horrible concerts... running through the halls and under the servants legs, giggling like mad the entire time... drawing with crayons on the marble floor before she knew that she wasn't supposed to do that. Her parents had been there through it all. And now, she was still here, ten years later, aching for their presence to return. She looked back at Arron, knowing that he would probably take her hand in a way to say 'I'm so sorry to hear that', but Erica prayed that he wouldn't. Every suitor said that exact same thing when they found out about the orphan status of the Princess, and she couldn't take false sympathy anymore. But to her surprise, Arron didn't do any of that. Instead, his face remained unchanged, although his brow seemed to be slightly knotted in understanding. Instead, he pressed a palm to his chest, and came away with holding up two fingers. Erica read his signs aloud.
"You... two? Oh, you too... wait. You too?" she questioned. Arron had known what she had meant when she had trailed off. Her parents were dead. But he knew that the last thing she would want was for someone to shower her in sympathy that they felt obligated to provide, as that was all anyone ever gave him for months after Athenean had died. When he had, all Arron had wanted was for someone to share in his experience and connect with him. Someone who had lost their father too. To answer Erica's question, he held up one finger, and repeated the same signal to symbolise masculinity as before.
"Your father?" she asked, and Arron nodded.
Erica couldn't believe it. Had she finally found someone who had lost a parent while they were young too?
"How old were you?" she asked, and Arron signalled that he was seven. "Me too." Erica replied. Suddenly, after a few seconds of tense silence, Erica leaned forward and threw her arms around Arron, and he blinked in surprise at this new found closeness. He closed his eyes and hugged her back, his rosy cheeks returning. Erica pulled away, tears threatening to fall.
"I can't believe I finally found someone that's gone trough the same things as me" she said, wiping away her tears through short chuckles. "But I'm so glad I did." Arron gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen in response, and the two let their little boat drift them wherever it pleased, and eventually they ended up floating through a curtain of reeds and into a natural made lagoon, plants all around them and fish jumping in and out of the water underneath them. Both Erica and Arron looked at the sight in amazement as the ocean creatures seemed to have an entire routine rehearsed, and Arron saw Flora in one of the rows and gave her a smile full of thanks. The little fish winked back.
"Sha la la la la la
Don't be scared
You got the mood prepared
Go on and kiss the boy
Sha la la la la la
Don't stop now
Don't try to hide it
How you want to kiss the boy
Sha la la la la la
Float along
And listen to the song
The song say, "kiss the boy"
Sha la la la la
Music play
Do what the music say
You got to kiss the
You've got to kiss the boy
You wanna kiss the boy
You've gotta kiss the boy
Go on and kiss the boy"
Erica and Arron slowly leaned in for a kiss, their eyes slowly closing as they came closer and closer towards each other. But as soon as the two teenagers were about to share true love's first kiss, they suddenly found themselves scrambling about in the shallow water as the boat flipped and they were sent overboard.
After the terrifying experience of not being able to breathe underwater Arron had experienced the previous day, he had developed a fear of the very thing he used to call his home; the sea. He frantically splashed about as the dark water clouded his eyes and blurred his vision, his mind trapped in the memories from yesterday. The pain of losing his voice... the pain of transforming... the pain of nearly drowning. He tried to push through it all and stay afloat, a terrified look on his face, but the water was only shallow enough for someone relatively tall to stand up on, and that wicked sorcerer hadn't bothered to make Arron tall for his age at all. In fact, he stood at 5'2, barely taller than Erica. He felt himself going limp and began to sink, the dark surface of the lake growing farther and farther away from him...
Erica managed to stay comfortably afloat, and when she surfaced, she saw that Arron was nowhere to be seen.
"Arron?" she called out, but knew that it was useless to do so. Suddenly, she caught a glint of red hair in the moonlight below the surface, and she dove down to get him back up. Heaving Arron up by his arms, Erica took in a deep breath when their heads broke through the water, and Arron seemed to snap back to life.
"Are you okay?" Erica asked feverishly, her body still getting over the shock of the cold water and nearly having her new best friend drown. "Nod if you're okay!" she exclaimed, and Arron did, and the two stayed bobbing up and down in the lake. "God, you scared me so much..." she said as she pulled him closer. "Don't ever do that again..." Arron shook his head to say that he wouldn't, but Erica could still see the fear on his face.
"Hey, hey" Erica whispered, steadying Arron as she gripped his shoulders. "You're alright, you're alright. I'm sorry, I should've known you wouldn't be ready to be near the water again" Arron steadied his breathing and looked his Princess in the eye. She was so considerate. She gently touched his hair, as if to comfort him, and he placed a hand on her arm. "Let's get you back home." she said, and Arron nodded.
They slowly turned the boat back up-right as best they could, as their feet didn't touch the sand beneath them. Arron knew that what had just happened couldn't be a coincidence. Someone had tripped them up, and he had a pretty good idea who. Little did he know how right he was however, as two pairs of glowing golden eyes smiled viciously from nearby, both satisfied with their work…
Back in the dark depths of the ocean, Ursulis heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the Prince's sunken face through his crystal ball.
"Ugh, that was too close for comfort, gals!" he snapped at his eels as he swam over to a an ingredient cupboard. "The little Casanova!" he exclaimed. "He's better than I thought. At this rate, that tiny girl will be kissing him by sunset for sure!" he ranted as he threw a number of strange objects into his cauldron, and clutched the nautilus shell around his neck. "Well, it's time Ursulis took matters into his own tentacles!" he cried gleefully. "Tritannia's son will be mine! And then I'll make her pay, pay for casting me out. Oh, I'll have my revenge, girls" he said to his eels. "We'll ruin that Queen. We'll ruin her by using the precious voice of the thing she doesn't even know she loves the most..." he cackled horrendously, the nautilus shell glowing, causing his voice to sound smoother and younger, until the maniacal laughter was not that of his, but that of the little mer-Prince himself. The shell began to glow and transform his skin to a pale complexion, his hair to chocolate brown, and his entire form began to look more… human.