The sound of seagulls reached Gil's ears, and he slowly blinked his eyes open. He could feel the sea water lapping at his tail and grains of sand sticking to his skin. He also felt something in his hand, and when he lifted his head to see what it was he blinked in surprise.

It was Eli's hand clutching his.

She was curled up in the sand opposite him, legs away from the ocean to keep herself dry. He stared at her in fascination, wondering when he had dozed off and when she had woken and repositioned herself closer to him. The last thing he was able to remember was moving himself to where the waves met with the land to keep his scales from drying out, and watching over Eli as she slept. He knew he had been exhausted from swimming and carrying her all this way, but he hadn't expected to fall asleep so easily after the rescue.

His eyes remained focused on their touching hands. The sight made him grin, and he carefully moved his fingers the tiniest bit, enough to feel but not awaken. Her fingers were surprisingly calloused for a princess, but still soft.

Remembering she was royalty, his joy deflated. Right, she was a princess, someone of very high standing with the humans. Though she had begged him to take her away, there were sure to be humans looking for her. Perhaps the sailors from her ship would come to the island to search. If so, that meant they couldn't stay there long.

But where could he take her? And how long would it be until his father sent a search party for him as well? If he found his son with a human, how would he react?

Gil didn't want to find out.

"Thank you."

With a jolt he realized Eli was awake and looking at him. She smiled and grasped his hand tighter. "You saved me, Gil. From more than you know... Words can't describe how grateful I am!"

He could feel his cheeks grow warm as she looked at him with the brightest of eyes. She had remembered his name! "You sounded miserable before, on the ship. When you heard that news... I couldn't let you go back to that," he replied, trying to retain his composure. She remembered his name! Did that mean that after their parting she'd thought about him like he'd thought of her? The idea filled him with pure joy.

They sat up, and Eli tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She looked over him in awe, eyes brimming with excitement. "I've heard stories of mermaids before, but I never thought they were real! You scared the shit out of me when I saw you in the water yesterday!"

Gil laughed at her very unladylike remark. So she wasn't afraid to speak her mind... He liked that. "Same to you. When you noticed me I froze in terror! I didn't know what you would do! It's... It's actually one of the worst things merfolk fear, for one of our kind to be seen by a human."

She nodded gravely. "I can only imagine the terrible things humans would do if they knew you existed outside of the stories. We tend to fear the unknown and unfamiliar... And lash out as a result. We're horrible, really."

"But you're not like those humans. I can tell." Gil shifted his body so his tail was out of the water. The reflection of the midday sun shined vibrantly across its scales. "You saw me with a fish tail and didn't rat me out to your crew."

Eli looked to him for permission before feeling his scales. As she ran her hand over them, he beamed at her dazed expression. "It's one thing to see it, it's another to actually feel it, right?" He hadn't expected her gentle touch to feel so good on his tail... He had to hide his disappointment as she withdrew her hand, her curiosity having been satisfied.

"It does make it easier to accept that this isn't a dream," she admitted sheepishly. Her eyes wandered to the golden crown and accessories he wore. "...Are you a prince?" she asked. "Or do all merfolk dress so ornately?"

He hesitated. "We do like to accessorize with whatever we find, but I am actually a prince... Though I guess that really depends on the outcome to all this."

"What do you mean?"

"Contact with humans is forbidden. If my father finds out I helped you, I don't know what he'll do. Might disown me." He shrugged, trying to shake off the nagging anxiety at the back of his mind. "It really doesn't matter right now. Right now we need to figure out what to do next. We can't risk staying here too long."

Eli averted her gaze. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble! I didn't think of anything other than my selfish wish last night... I didn't think of how it would affect you."

"To be fair, you really didn't have time to think," he pointed out. "And even so, I chose to help you. I'm not going to abandon you over a title."

"...If I may ask, why are you helping me? We only met for a few seconds yesterday afternoon. Why bother when you hardly know me?"

As her beautiful eyes bore into his, he found it was his turn to look away. "I... I just..." What was he supposed to say? That he loved her voice, loved her beauty? Was deeply, madly in love with her, despite having only met her yesterday? It all sounded so bizarre, even to him, like a romance from a story.

A kiss was placed on his cheek, and he swore his heart nearly burst from his chest. He knew his face was burning as he looked back to her, bewildered, but he had to do it, to see what expression she wore.

A sweet smile was on Eli's lips as she replied, "You don't have to answer. If I'm being honest, I'm rather enchanted by you myself."

As she stood, Gil was left pondering her flirtatious yet cryptic words. What did she mean, exactly...? Enchanted as in... love? Enchanted as in... fascinated? Before he could work up the bravery to ask, she turned her back to him and lifted her face to the sky as she stretched. "We slept for quite some time, didn't we? We best figure out a plan soon. What do you propose?"

Having missed his chance for clarification, Gil shoved her previous words to the back of his mind. Right. They had more important matters to sort out at the moment. "...There's another island nearby we could go to, but I'm sure if they're searching for you that would only be a temporary solution as well. It could buy us a day, at least."

"That's still one more day I'm free." Eli turned with a wry grin. "I'm willing to take the chance."

Gil smirked. "Then let's get going."

It was awkward, at first, deciding how best to travel together. Eli was an impressive swimmer, it turned out, but of course she couldn't keep up with Gil's power and speed. To conserve time he allowed her onto his back and she hugged him tightly as he pushed through the water. It did slow him down somewhat, with her body flattening his back fins, but they still maintained a good pace so he really couldn't complain. Having Eli that close to him more than made up for it. By far the hardest part was making sure her head stayed above the waves. He tried his best, and on the first few occasions he failed in this he apologized profusely. But she dismissed his apologies with a playful laugh each time, making him laugh too.


By the time they reached the new island, the sky was darkening with shades of pink and purple. They collapsed onto the shore, bodies aching, exhausted from their journey. Eli's stomach growled for the umpteenth time and she pressed a shaky hand to it, embarrassed. "Hush, I'll get something to eat soon," she scolded.

"Just catch your breath and let your arms rest, I'll find something for you." Without another word Gil swam off, ignoring the ache in his own muscles. Had this island always been that far from the other? He had never noticed, but maybe it was just his exhaustion playing tricks on his sense of distance. He quickly caught a couple mackerels and headed to the surface.

"Will this do?" he asked, pulling himself up on the sand to sit beside her with his catch in hand. She nodded tiredly.

"I don't know if I can eat both, though."

"That's okay, the other can be mine then."

This seemed to shock her. She furrowed her brows, confused. "You... eat fish?"

He laughed. "We need to eat too! Seaweed and kelp are good, but not much taste to them."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Merfolk are cannibals... Who knew?"

"We're not cannibals. We're just higher up on the food chain than most fish," he corrected her, still laughing. "There's other fish that prey on us too, you know. How do you think I got these scars?"

She smiled. "I figured you were just clumsy for a merman or something?"

"Heh, if only!" He watched as she stood and gathered twigs and debris for a fire. "We're natural enemies with lots of things over territory. Including other merfolk sometimes. But there's things in the deep sea you've probably never heard of. Only the bravest merfolk wander down to those depths."

"Are you saying you're one of those bravest?" Eli asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He couldn't resist puffing his chest out a little as he answered, "Wellll... Let's just say I've gone places I shouldn't have. The Deep may or may not be one of those places."

"Is that what you call it? The Deep?"

He nodded. "The creatures there are probably what you would call monsters. You know they're horrifying when even my kind are afraid to get close to them. Only a few have dared to reach the very bottom of The Deep. And they've come back with weird stories... Or they didn't come back at all."

"I'd like to hear one of those stories," Eli ventured. "It'll entertain me while I get this mess of sticks to light."

Gil turned onto his stomach and rested his head on his crossed arms, lovingly watching her as she worked. "Well... I heard there's a coven of sea witches that live down there. They were born as mermaids, but were exiled from all merfolk territory due to some conflict. They retreated into The Deep, and have spent so long in that abyss that the darkness warped their minds and bodies, and they mutated into beings of other sea creatures. They practice dark magic, a human craft they learned from books that drifted down to them from shipwrecks. ...Some say they're using their magic to keep themselves young and slowly build up power so they can exact revenge on those that exiled them one day. Others say they mean no harm and only wish to be left alone, to practice their craft in peace. And others say if you're willing to go to them for help, they can grant you a wish but that it'll cost you. There's lots of rumors about the coven, but no one knows for sure what's fact and what's not..." He trailed off as Eli's efforts paid off and she beamed over at him proudly.

"Toss me the fish, please!" He threw them and she caught them easily. As she prepared them for cooking, she grinned. "That's such a fantastic story! Do you believe it, Gil? That there's witches in The Deep?"

He shrugged. "Anything's possible down there. I don't quite believe it, but I can't shake the feeling it could be true. But..." His pause caught her attention and she listened intently as he went on. "...I do know this. One of my friends went looking for the coven once. He wanted to become human, to live among them and learn how they live. ...He went into The Deep and we never saw or heard from him again." A shiver passed over his spine as he recalled those days of waiting for his friend to return. Though he had mostly moved on from the memory, the idea that his friend had vanished into the depths of the sea still haunted him when brought up.

"...Did you go searching for him? Is that where those scars came from?" Eli gently asked.

Gil sighed. "I did. I didn't find him. And I didn't find a coven. The only things I found were creatures I don't even have names for. ...And an angry father when I returned."

Grimacing, Eli nodded. "I know all about that, at least... There's no reasoning with them."

As the fish cooked, she told him of her own father and why she was so desparate to run away. "He's been trying to marry me off for a couple years now. To get more territory, money, power... I'm his bargaining chip, I guess you could say. He's hungry for more power. But... Most meetings with my potential husbands end with me being scolded and locked away, so you can imagine how they go," she explained with a stubborn frown. "And of course that only enrages my father. But the suitors deserve it... They're no better than he is."

"What did they do?" Gil asked nonchalantly, trying to mask his jealousy at the mention of her being wed. If they were upsetting Eli, those men didn't deserve her. Pompous shrimps!

"The usual: Ordered me around, ignored me, tried to touch me or kiss me without my approval... The worst ones did none of that, but instead were so sickeningly sweet and sugary and fake that I could just smell the money my father had bribed them with to treat me like a dainty little thing!" She grabbed a stone and tossed it aside, her anger obvious. "Not one of them ever bothered to know me, or asked me what I wanted. Especially not my father... I'm just an asset to him. Nothing more, nothing less... If he once had love for me, power and wealth ate away at it 'til it was no more."

She glared into the fire, eyes burning with fury. "My mother left me with him. She got to escape, when I was little. Don't know where she is or even if she's still alive, but the fact that she just up and left me with him... I'm sure I just remind him of her." She gave a bitter laugh. "Heh... It's ironic, isn't it? Wanting to escape my father, but I refuse to be wed. That's probably my best chance at getting away, but... Oh, nevermind. At this point I'm just rambling... All that doesn't matter now!"

"I'm sorry... That's no way to live," Gil offered, hoping to comfort her. "We're in similar situations title wise, but your situation sounds far worse."

"It's fine... I'm free now!" A laugh escaped her lips. "It's sort of funny, you know. Countless times I've thought about running away, either from home or during my supervised travels, but I could never bring myself to do it. Even if you get a chance to change something in your life, it's very easy to let fear paralyze you. As much as I wanted to be free, I think I was afraid of suddenly being alone. I have the skills to survive on my own thanks to my travels, but... When you've been surrounded by people watching over you your entire life, it's scary to leave it all behind for an uncertain future."

He could understand. He'd watched his friend struggle with the decision to leave the merfolk behind long before he ventured into The Deep. Many secret conversations were had between them, weighing what life on the surface might be like versus the life they both knew well.

"All done!" Eli walked over with the skewered fish and handed him his as she sat down. "Thank you for catching them!"

He smiled as he sat up. "And thank you for cooking them. I'm excited to try this! I've never had cooked fish before. We eat our food raw."

Eli blew on her fish to cool it. "I suppose that makes sense. I've eaten raw fish before and rather liked it!"

Gil was amused at her enthusiasm. "Really?"

"Oh, yes! We have chefs from many countries, so I've been lucky enough to try all sorts of food!"

Taking a small bite, Gil was instantly astonished at how different the fish meat tasted. "Fire makes it taste like this? Wow!" He took another bite, then another. "This is awesome!"

"I'm glad you like it!" Eli smiled warmly, pleased. "Eat up!"


The stars shined bright in the night sky as Gil and Eli rested on their backs, talking about anything and everything that came to mind.

"Is it true? That merfolk can sing people to their deaths?" she asked him with wonder in her voice.

He laughed. "Partially. Mermaids do have powerful, enchanting singing voices. Our ancestors believed they were gifted their voices from the ancient goddess of the sea. If they sing to a human, the human can't resist their song. It's like they're being hypnotized, and depending on what the song's about they can be persuaded to follow it. Most mermaids don't intend to cause harm, but there have been those with ill intentions in the past. Those are probably the ones in the stories you've heard."

"Interesting... And what about the mermen? Can you sing?"

"We can, but we don't have the same power."

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Could you sing for me, then?! I would love to hear a merman song!"

Gil rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "Ahhh... I'm sort of an exception. You probably noticed my scratchy voice... My vocal chords were damaged when I was younger. I can't exactly sing like the others. I mean, I can, but it's not sweet to the ears."

"I would still love to hear it," she insisted. "Your voice is lovely! It has... character!"

Another laugh burst from him. "I appreciate your words, but another time. I'd much rather hear you sing."

"Me?" she asked, bewildered.

"Your singing was what drew me to the surface yesterday. You have the voice of a mermaid, Eli." His eyes shined as he recalled the moment he fell in love with her. "I knew at the sound of your voice that I needed to see the person behind it. I knew it was a risk, but I couldn't resist finding out who you were."

Eli giggled. "I would be perfectly content being a mermaid. If you say I have the voice, I'm one step closer!"

The image of Eli as a mermaid flashed in Gil's mind and he felt his cheeks warm at the thought. If only... Oh, if only... He could picture them swimming side by side, laughing as they played with the dolphins, or chasing after one another through the kingdom. He could see them singing together, kissing...

He lightly cleared his throat to dispel his increasing imagination. "Wouldn't that be something?"


"That's a lovely hairpiece."

Eli was running her fingers through her hair, and Gil noticed the flower ornament again as it shifted with her movements. He'd wondered about it a couple times before, but it simply hadn't come up in their conversations.

She grinned and touched it fondly. "Thank you... I bought it on one of my travels. A merchant was selling batches of them, but I liked this one the best."

"Is it your favorite flower?"

"Oddly, not really. That would be red tulips. But he didn't have those, and this one stood out to me." She smiled warmly. "When I was a child, this was how I always drew flowers. Five petals... No special meaning, I just always had to draw them this way. And the pink is pretty." She shrugged. "There's really not much behind it, but it's one of the few things I can say I own. If I come home with something my father can add to his collection of valuables, he takes it."

She unclipped the ornament and handed it to him so he could get a closer look. It was very light in his hand, and as his fingers ran over the flower he found it was a cheap metal with fabric fitted over it.

"It's just a simple fake flower barette. It has no real worth. He has no use for it, so it's mine."

Gil scowled at the idea of Eli returning home with items she loved only to have her father claim them for himself. "He has no right to do that... That stuff should be yours!"

She gave him a wry smirk. "Oh, don't worry! I was very pissed for awhile after he started doing that, but I thought of a way to get back at him."

"What did you do?"

"I started coming back from my travels with the most valuable and ugliest souvenirs I could find. They might be of considerable worth, but they're doomed to sit in his treasury until he's rotting in the earth. No one in their right mind would buy or trade for them."

They laughed, and Gil leaned forward to clip the flower ornament back in place above her ear. As their faces neared, he could see her blushing. He grinned, a blush coming to his own cheeks.

"It may not be worth any money, but it has worth to you. I'd say that makes it very valuable," he offered. "Anything that's important to you has value."

She smiled, touching the clip fondly again. "I agree. ...Do you have anything like that?"

He didn't even need to think. "My mother's favorite shell. It's just a... Uh..." He struggled to find the words to describe it so she could picture it. "It's one of those... swirly ones. But! They get pretty big and they got spines close to the top, like a crown! It's dark brown, almost black... And it's got white streaks on it!" He grinned proudly. "They're not from around here. She received it as a gift from merfolk visiting our territory from overseas. It's mine now..." He glanced at Eli. "I lost my mom when I was young, too. We're not really sure what happened. Something got her... It was probably an accident."

"Oh, gosh... I'm so sorry, Gil..." Eli dropped her gaze. "I don't know what to say..."

"It's fine. It was years ago. I still have her shell to remind me of her." He wished he could show Eli the shell. It was such a magnificent shell... One of a kind, like her.

"That's good. ...I'd like to hear more about her." Her eyes were comforting, and her genuity shined through her smile. "Only if you want to share, of course."

This surprised Gil for a second, then he beamed. "Okay! Hm... Where do I begin...?"


Eventually as the night wore on, their talk turned more serious as they debated what to do next.

"...What do you plan to do, Eli?" Gil glanced over at her, taking in the sight of her looking to the stars. The moonlight upon her face was stunning, and her hair blew gently in the breeze, and in that moment Gil was even more certain: Eli was no mere human, for she was a goddess in his eyes.

"I... I don't know." She was quiet as she spoke. "We can't keep running from island to island forever. Even if we could, despite my survival skills, it would be hell trying to live like that. Too many uncertainties come with that. Gathering food, clean water, the weather..."

"I could gather food for you," Gil eagerly suggested. "I can catch you all the fish you could want!"

Eli grinned at him. "That's very kind of you, Gil, but I'm afraid I would be too much of a burden. At some point you have to return to the merfolk. You can't be babysitting me your whole life."

"I want to help you, though!" He pushed himself up. "Just tell me what you need from me, Eli, and I'll do it!"

"You're not my servant! I can't have you tending to me like that!" she scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"But I..." Gil faltered, the realization that she was right hitting him like a punch to the gut. His earlier delusion came crashing down on him: Eli was no goddess, she was human, and as a human of course she had different needs than he did. The thought that he'd be able to stay by her side for the rest of his life was a laughable one. At some point she would have to return to civilization. Obviously he wouldn't be able to follow her. They would have to part ways and go on with their own lives...

"It pains me to say it, but you and I know it's the truth." Eli sat up, and the pain she spoke of was very clearly visible in her eyes. "I wish I could stay with you. I want to learn all about merfolk, learn more about you... But-" Her voice caught with emotion and she paused to recollect herself. "But that's but a dream. Reality isn't so kind."

It felt like his heart was burning. Not of anger, but simply sadness. "Sometimes dreams can become reality..."

She silently took his hand. "Most dreams are impossible, Gil. ...And this one is the stuff of fairy tales."

Her words conflicted with her actions as she caressed his cheek. Gil closed his eyes at her touch, heart pounding in his ears. "Dream the impossible," he whispered.

Eli reluctantly pulled back, and when he opened his eyes he saw the tears escaping down her face. "I wish I could," she murmured softly. "I wish I could, Gil."

He fought back his own tears, and rested upon the sand once more, face to the sky. The swirling emotions in his heart calmed as he accepted their future, with both misery and understanding. Reality really was the cruelest enemy of happiness. "...We'll discuss where you plan to go when we wake. There are a few civilized lands within a week's swim, including yours. ...I can bring debris from the shipwreck back here to help make a raft tomorrow."

"Thank you... Yes, we'll talk more in the morning." She positioned herself as she had the night before, beside him but body away from the waves lapping at his tail. She glanced at him, then turned her eyes to the night sky once more. "For now, let's just enjoy the stars together. They're gorgeous tonight."

He reached his hand out to her, and she took it. Even if their paths were not meant to stay together, even if Eli dared not kindle a flame destined to be put out, comfort could still be offered between them.