As Nathaniel approached the large skeleton, he slowed down to a stop and gazed tentatively at the large bony structure. He stayed still as an unsettled feeling rose up in him and nervously gripped his arm. Lila quickly noticed that Nathaniel wasn't following her anymore and turned around to look at him.
"It's just this way."
Lila spoke sweetly as if she was trying to lure him in. Nathaniel took a deep breath and began swimming forward into the jaws of the skeleton, the thoughts of being able to be with Marc spurring him on into the darkness. While moving through a narrow tunnel, the redhead couldn't help noticing the brown tendrils stuck to the rough surface around him and uneasily moved through the small space. He quickly saw the small eyes in the dark and felt horrified as the moans of the small creatures reached his ears.
Nathaniel moved forward again but as he did, one of the creatures reached out and wound itself around his wrist. Nathaniel gasped and immediately struggled against the grip. He grunted and pulled as hard as he could, successfully freeing himself after a few seconds. He backed up against the top of the tunnel, fearfully looking down at the creatures covering the floor below him.
Nathaniel was snapped out of his fear by Lila calling to him from the large room at the end of the tunnel. The redhead watched as Lila sat down on a small stone seat. The brown-haired mermaid immediately began speaking loudly, her voice filling the large space.
"So, when it comes to your problem, the solution is very simple. The only way for you to be happy and have what you want is to become a human."
Nathaniel gasped quietly before curiously looking at her.
"You can do that?"
Lila smirked.
"Of course. I can do many great things. Something like that is no problem for me and helping others is what I do, but a deal must be made. I'm going to make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days only."
As Lila began explaining, she led Nathaniel over to a large cauldron in the middle of the room.
"Now listen carefully, this next part is very important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get the prince to fall in love with you and he must prove that love with a kiss. A kiss of true love. If he kisses you before the sun sets on the final day, the spell will become permanent and you'll remain a human forever."
Nathaniel stayed quiet as he thought over the deal. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lila continued talking.
"But if he doesn't kiss you, you'll turn back into a merman...and you'll belong to me."
Marinette and Alix, who were secretly watching from the entrance. gasped as they heard the last part. They immediately yelled out protests and tried swimming into the room but they were unable to. In the room, Nathaniel couldn't hear his friend's shouts due to the magical barrier that Lila had put in place to keep out intruders.
Nathaniel nervously chewed on his lip as he pondered over the price of the spell.
"So, do we have a deal?"
Nathaniel nervously glanced at Lila before speaking with a hint of sadness.
"If I become human, I'll never be with my mother or friends again."
Lila gave him a thoughtful look.
"That's true, but you'll have your prince. It's definitely a tough choice. But there's something you need to know before you decide. As much as I like helping the poor and unfortunate, I can't do this for free. I must receive payment for the potion."
Nathaniel frowned.
"But I don't have any..."
Lila immediately cut him off.
"I'm not asking for much. The price is just something small. You really won't miss it much. What I want is...your voice."
Nathaniel looked confused.
"My voice?"
Lila elaborated surely.
"Yes. It'll mean no talking, no singing. Nothing."
Nathaniel's brows furrowed.
"But without my voice, how am I going to be able to..."
Lila answered matter of factly.
"You're smart. I think you'll find a way to communicate nonverbally."
Nathaniel stayed silent as he thought over the price and conditions of the offer that Lila proposed. While he was thinking, Lila conjured up a scroll that listed the terms and price of the deal. The paper moved until it was floating in front of the redhead and a fishbone quill manifested in the air next to the scroll.
Nathaniel bit his lip as he scanned over the writing and his eyes landed on the empty spot at the bottom where his signature would go. He thought of Marc's face and his mother's words. He knew that he would do anything to be with the human prince and if this is the price, then he would gladly pay it.
The redheaded merman got a determined gleam in his eyes as he grabbed the quill and scrawled his name on the bottom of the contract. Lila grinned and rolled it up before snapping her fingers, causing the paper to vanish into thin air. The brown-haired mermaid smiled triumphantly and began throwing various things into her cauldron while chanting words that Nathaniel didn't understand.
Nathaniel watched with fascination as bright lights and swirls appeared in and around the large pot. Suddenly a large pair of misty hands appeared from the color and reached out towards Nathaniel. One hand stopped in front of the redhead and turned into a stream of mist. It shot forward before sliding down his throat while the other hand swirled around his torso.
Before Nathaniel could react, the hand moved back out with a ball of bright light held carefully in its grip. The merman's hands came up to rest on his own throat as the realization set in that the glowing ball was his voice. The hands retracted into a seashell, taking his voice with them before a cloud burst out from the cauldron and captured Nathaniel in a bubble.
Marinette and Alix frantically watched as Nathaniel's tail thrashed violently, light surrounded it for a few seconds before the tail split in two and legs appeared. Suddenly, the bubble popped and Nathaniel struggled to hold his breath since he was human now. The barrier keeping Marinette and Alix out fell and the two rushed in. They each grabbed one of Nathaniel's arms and raced up out of Lila's lair, rushing to bring Nathaniel up to the surface as fast as they could. Upon breaking the surface of the water, Nathaniel took a deep gasping breath of air. Marinette and Alix worriedly looked at him before bringing him over to shore closest to the castle.
Marc sat on a pile of rocks on the beach, just trying to focus on writing in his journal while enjoying the sound of the waves crashing. Getting distracted by his own thoughts about the beautiful unknown boy that had saved him, the dark-haired prince stood up and started walking down the beach while his black and white dog, Ziggy, raced around his feet. Marc smiled and reached down to pet the dog while he wondered how to find the boy that he had seen. The green-eyed boy had searched everywhere but has had no luck in finding his mysterious savior.
Unknown to Marc, in the shallow water nearby the castle, the boy he has been searching for was laid on a rock. Nathaniel's upper body was resting out of the water. The redhead reached up and pushed his wet hair out of his face before sitting down in the shallow water which allowed the tops of his knees to rise up from the water.
The blue-eyed boy looked in shock at them for a few seconds before lifting one leg up and wiggling his toes. Nathaniel smiled and tried to stand up. His legs wobbled as he tried to maintain his balance on the new appendages, but he soon fell over and landed with a large splash. Marinette and Alix worriedly watched him before quietly talking to one another while Nathaniel continued to get the hang of his legs.
"I can't actually believe that he has legs now."
Alix expressed her disbelief.
"I don't know how he's going to get a kiss in three days. He can't even talk."
Marinette worriedly watched Nathaniel more.
Alix nodded in agreement before Marinette continued.
"This is a disaster! His mother is not going to like this at all! Maybe it would be for the best if I went back and told her so that she could reverse this or something."
Marinette wailed out as thoughts of Queen Caline's reaction to the deal permeated her mind.
Nathaniel, who was now standing up successfully, overheard the last part of Marinette's freak-out and put his hands up in front of her to stop her from swimming away. The redhead shook his head at Marinette. The blue-eyed mermaid stopped and looked at him with worry as he shook his head.
Marinette understood what he was trying to say and frowned.
"Nathaniel, I'm worried about this deal. I don't know if you'll be able to get a kiss in such a short amount of time. But maybe we can convince Lila to give your voice back and we can go home."
Nathaniel pleadingly looked at Marinette with a crestfallen look in his eyes and she gazed back for a few seconds before sighing.
"Okay. I won't go get Queen Caline, but we must do everything we can to make sure that you get that kiss. I'll be here to help you."
Marinette faintly smiled at Nathaniel while speaking reassuringly.
Nathaniel smiled at Marinette with a grateful look before heading over to the shore and shakily walking out of the water. While walking out, he noticed all of his bare skin and remembered that humans usually wore cloth to cover themselves. The redhead glanced around before spotting a mast from a shipwreck laying nearby. Nathaniel picked it up and tied it around his waist using rope so that he was properly covered up.
Marc kicked rocks as he wandered further down the beach with Ziggy trailing behind him. Suddenly, the dog sniffed and took off running down the sand, barking the whole time.
"Ziggy? What is it?"
Marc questioned the now excited canine who ran back and jumped up on the dark-haired boy. The dog glanced between Marc and the beach ahead of them a few times before running ahead. Marc started running to follow the happy dog to where it was she seemingly wanted to go.
Ziggy rounded a corner and she barked louder. The dog ran over to Nathaniel and immediately began chasing him around a pile of rocks that Nathaniel quickly climbed up to use as a retreat from the happy animal. The dog leaped up and managed to lick the blue-eyed boy's face a few times before running away at the sound of her owner calling for her.
Soon after, Marc ran around the same corner that he saw Ziggy run around. Once he went around it, he was bombarded as his dog immediately bounded up to him before biting the top of his boot and tugging. Marc reached down to pet the top of her head.
"What's gotten into you, girl?"
After saying that, Marc glanced up and noticed the boy sitting on top of a pile of rocks nearby.
"Oh, that's why you were acting like that."
Marc headed over to the somewhat familiar boy who was pushing his hair back in what seemed to be a nervous manner.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry if she scared you."
Marc said while motioning to Ziggy who was happily running around his legs.
The unknown boy said nothing and just smiled at Marc while leaning in slightly. Marc looked back with a hint of a blush on his cheeks. Gazing into the boy's blue eyes, Marc couldn't help but feel like he has seen him before.
"I don't know why, but you seem familiar. Have we met before?"
Marc quietly questioned.
The redhead nodded with a happy look on his face. As Marc took in the boy's appearance, the face of the mystery boy flashed in his mind and Marc smiled.
"'I knew it! You were the one that saved me! I've been looking everywhere for you! What is your name?"
Marc had taken Nathaniel by the hands in his excitement at finding the boy who had rescued him.
Nathaniel immediately began trying to say his name but no sound came out. He remembered the deal and frowned deeply, a forlorn look appearing on his face as one of his hands came to rest on his throat.
"What's wrong?"
Marc worriedly asked with concern filling his gaze.
Nathaniel tapped the front of his throat with his hand, hoping that Marc would understand.
"You can't speak?"
Marc guessed quietly while resting a hand on Nathaniel's arm.
Nathaniel shook his head no.
"Oh. Then you can't be who I was looking for."
Marc disappointedly looked away while remembering the voice that he had heard from the beautiful boy before.
Nathaniel sighed before getting an idea. The redhead immediately began doing motions with his hands, trying to tell Marc what happened but Marc only watched with confusion. Nathaniel tried harder and lost his balance causing him to fall off of the rock. Marc immediately caught him and steadied him on his feet.
The accident caused Marc's arms to end up around Nathaniel's waist while the redhead's ended up resting around Marc's neck. The two gazed into each other's eyes for a few seconds before they both shyly looked away.
"You seem like you need help. Just come with me."
Marc kindly said while leading Nathaniel down the beach.
The blue-eyed boy glanced back and shot a hopeful smile at Marinette and Alix who were watching from far away. Alix shot him two thumbs up and Marinette waved.