Under the Moonlight

"How is it that of all the people Captain Amelia assigns me to and I manage to lose her and I call her a thief and she wound up being a . . . a princess! Damn it! And a cute one too! Ughh, no wonder why she kept going on about her father, and being the princess, she must think I'm a fool." Jim kicked the ground as his boots slewed through the sand. He stopped and thought for a moment, Water, she likes the water I bet she went for a swim! Jim began to undress as he ran towards the ocean and into the water.

The icy coolness of the seawater hit like sharp needles as he dove under, looking around though only able to see the reefs. He continued to swim out as he looked around the crystal clear water, slowly warming up as he found different varieties of life under the ocean by moonlight. There were dozens of fish swimming around him, almost acting like a curtain. Suddenly he looked up to see a large red tail zoom by him, but he needed air by that time and had to surface. As he pushed through the water, he felt the moonlight radiating on his face as he swam towards a nearby rock.

"Where the hell could she be? Wouldn't she need to get some air too? Hu, unless she's a fish." Jim chuckled as he readied himself to dive in again, until he almost crashed into the very person he'd been searching for.

"Melody?"

"That's Princess Melody to you!" Melody screeched at him as she pointed an index finger at him, clearly frustrated.

"Well, do you believe me now?"

"Believe you? What, you mean about you really being the princess?"

"Yes!" Melody rolled her eyes, unable to believe how "dumb" he could be.

"Look, I'm really sorry about all that Princess, I just was over cautious and made a fool of myself. Your dad already chewed me out, and I've been swimming around for hours, so could we please not do this right now? Your dad, King Eric, wants to make sure you're okay. And I promised I'd bring you back in one piece, so don't make me go back on my word." Jim looked at Melody with a mixture of emotions on his face: annoyance, exhaustion, worry, and apologetic just to name a few.

"Fine, you can call me Melody, I think we're far past formalities by now." Melody began to swim back.

"Hmm, fine, you can call me Jim." He scoffed as he followed her back.

"Dad! We're back." Melody held a hand to her face in order for the sound of her voice to echo so that her father could hear.

"Melody! Oh thank Triton that you're all right! Thank you Mr. Hawkins, this favor won't go unnoticed, now shall we return to the party? Everyone wants to make sure you're alright Melody." Eric petted his daughter's head lovingly as a pair of heals clacked on the marble floor.

"Melody, thank goodness you're alright." Ariel embraced her daughter, as she looked her over to make sure there were no injuries.

"I'm fine mother." Melody gave her mother a hug as she pulled away, not wanting to ruin her mother's expensive dress.

"Alright, Carlotta!" Ariel turned away for a moment.

"Yes ma'am." Carlotta curtsied.

"Melody needs to get cleaned up, I'm sure her guests would like to see if she's alright, then it's straight to bed." Ariel looked over at Melody, seeing that she seemed to be somewhat tired from the long night.

"Yes ma'am, come along princess, time to get you into the bath." Carlotta pulled Melody away as the others continued to chat.

"Well, now that she's back, Captain Amelia!" Eric hollered.

"Yes you're highness." The Captain bowed.

"You may call off the search, everything's fine now."

"Yes your highness." Captain Amelia bowed her head as she walked off.

"Well Mr. Hawkins." Eric turned toward Jim.

"Jim." Jim looked up at him, not liking the sound of his last name to be his "title."

"Right, Jim, I'm relieved that you found her, and you need to keep a good eye on her, I'd hate for this to happen again." Eric looked at him sternly.

"Yes you're majesty. I assure you it won't." Jim had a somewhat harsh tone to his voice.

"Good, then we're agreed on that. Now if you excuse me, I'll need to attend to my guests." Eric nodded, having a somewhat bitter tone to his own voice.

"Huh, royalty." Jim scoffed at he walked towards the nearest bathroom to shower and change back into his uniform.

"Now, the water's just perfect, I'll give you some privacy, just ring the bell when you're ready to be dressed." Carlotta closed the doors and locked them from the outside.

"Huhh, no one trusts me anymore, one mistake and everyone thinks I'm some damsel in distress." Melody rolled her eyes as she sank beneath the bubbles.

She quickly bathed and rang the bell, the door unlocked and the maids helped her dress, she wore the same dress she had on earlier that evening, all the stains from the sand and ocean gone, Carlotta was a talented seamstress.

"Perfect, now all you're guests are in the dining room, no one's eaten yet." Carlotta patted Melody on the shoulder as she walked her out.

"Hmm, I guess this will be an interesting night. Or at least what's left of it." Melody sighed as she walked into the hallway, seeing Jim waiting by her door.

"What are you doing here?" Melody eyed him suspiciously.

"I've been ordered by your father to keep a good eye on you." Jim rolled off the wall in a cool laid-back manor as he held his arm out, but clearly not wanting to do so. His eyes grazed over her body, though clearly not in a lustful manor.

"Hmm, you clean up pretty good." He smirked.

"I could say the same. So uh, you're my royal babysitter than hu?" Melody eyed him back.

"Yep." Jim began to walk forward, almost pulling her with him.

"Figures." Melody rolled her eyes as she caught up with him.

"Ya well, they're orders, which means you're not supposed to like them, so deal. And by the way, your dad said not to mention what happened." Jim whispered as they neared the stairs.

"So what am I supposed to tell them?" Melody whispered back harshly.

"I don't know, like you fainted or something." Jim shrugged his broad shoulders.

"What? You've got to be kidding." Melody palmed her forehead.

"Well, make something up." Jim whispered back.

"Fine, but you're not going to like it." Melody stated rather loudly.

"Whatever, it's not like it can get any worse." Jim looked away, observing the ballroom.

"Hmm, we'll see about that." Melody smiled deviously.

"Melody! Are you alright?" Alex ran up to Melody and practically pulled her off of Jim's arm.

"Ya, I'm fine." Melody gave him a quick hug and backed away, still mad that he left her alone.

"Oh Melody, I was so worried about you!" Alexandria ran over, her frills bouncing to and fro as she ran over to embrace Melody.

"Umm, thanks? I'm fine Alexandria, thanks for worrying about me." Melody merely stood still until Alexandria let go of her.

"Well what are friends for?" Alexandria gave Melody a sly look.

"Ya, sure." Melody looked around and noticed two of her other guests in the corner of the room.

Boris was with Johnathan at the snack bar, Boris clearly being the only one to have eaten, since he had barbeque sauce and frosting all over his face. The remainder of her guests came over to see if she was all right, then everyone took their seats.

"Well thank you all for coming, I suppose we'll start with a toast." Eric lifted his glass as everyone held theirs just above the table.

"To Melody, may she find happiness and be granted joy in her life." Everyone raised their glass as they cheered in agreement and took a drink and began to eat.

Melody was asked what had happened to her, and she merely stated that she had some business to attend to; Jim would nudge her whenever she said anything suspicious.

"Would you quit doing that?" Melody whispered over to him.

"So Melody, who is this charming guest you have with you?" Alexandria asked.

"He's a guest from out of town." Melody smiled.

"I'm here to protect Melody, under the King's orders." Jim stated as he took another bite.

"Oh my, seems you have a knight in shining armor, I'm terribly jealous!" Alexandria teased as she snapped her wrist towards Melody from across the table.

"Hmm, and I though you were only interested in Alex, my Alexandria, what a tease you are." Melody laughed as she saw how red Alexandria turned.

"What, but I-I mean." All Alexandria could do was stutter.

Alex looked over between Alexandria and Melody and felt himself blush at the thought of two girls fighting over him, though he wasn't too altogether sure which of the two would accept him, he had left Melody all alone with those pirates, and Alexandria wasn't totally his type. He was about to speak when,

"Please excuse me." Melody rose as she walked out, barely eating any of her food.

"Melody, would you hold on a second?" Jim ran after her, nodding over at her guests.

She was walking quickly, but not quite jogging or running away. She went out to the gardens, taking in the sweet scent of hibiscus and roses. She let her fingers glide over the soft petals as she smiled at the feel. She'd wished it could always be like this, peaceful, serene, and alone which didn't happen often.

"Hey! Would you quit running off like that?" Jim huffed as he grabbed Melody's arm and turned her towards him roughly.

"Hey! Don't pull my arm like that, and don't sneak up on me! What are you, some type of creeper?" Melody scowled at him.

"Sorry, but I'm tired of running after you. And it'll be best if we just stayed together." Jim looked into her eyes earnestly.

"Fine, but don't expect me to like fall for you or something." Melody blushed as she puffed up her cheeks.

"Ha, what are you twelve?" Jim laughed.

"No! I'm just making an upfront statement. It's usual for this situation to lead to . . . to falling . . . in love or something." Melody pursed her lips as she looked away from him.

Those baby blue eyes were calling her in, his brown hair blowing in the breeze, and his cologne was so intoxicating, she couldn't stand it. She continued to bite down at her lips and look away from him, since he was not only standing close but also continuing to hold her hand. Jim wasn't doing too much better himself, catching glimpses of her when he got the chance; her dark blue eyes darting around, at times looking up at him, only to look down at the ground. Her black hair lightly curled and pined over to one side, but there were some small strands of hair that managed to frame her face, making her look innocent and lovely. And if she honestly bite down on her lips one more time, he'd have to bite down on them for her. Jim never had to restrain himself from a person before, he honestly was able to keep his cool, but he was losing himself with her. He could get lost in her eyes, his hands lost in her hair, and that dress could honestly get lost too, he saw her in that get-up she wore earlier, those seashells and those cute board shorts that exposed her toned calves. She was beautiful under that moonlight, but his mind honestly continued to venture to unclean thoughts. Melody was merely thinking of a way from "accidentally" getting tangled up with him on the grass.

"So, this garden, it's your mom's? I mean the queen?" Jim managed to stutter out.

"Ya, she likes all this stuff, I just like walking through it all, it's very calming." Melody smiled as she tried to walk away, though Jim pulled on her hand as her eyes looked down to her arm then down to their hands, up his arm and landing on his face. He was a light shade of pink, and his lips looked chapped, his eyes glazed over with a mixture of curiosity and lust. She gnawed at her lips again as she looked away, only to be pulled into his chest, her hands smashed against his torso as her lips crashed onto his neck.

"Melody, stop doing that with your lips, or I swear you're going to regret it." Jim panted out as his hands fell down her arms and grasped her small waist.

"I regret nothing." She looked up at him as she bite her lip again.

"Damn you!" Jim pulled her into a heated kiss, his lips crashing against hers as he began to chew at her lips, making them raw as he licked at them as she moaned. As soon as she parted her lips his tongue dove in as he battled her for dominance, to which she was doing rather well, until he tilted his head, licking the walls of her mouth as she moaned and swirled her tongue around his own as she pulled away for air, a trail of saliva connecting the two.

"Jim, this really isn't a good idea." Melody huffed as she looked at him, her eyes glazed over and her chest heaved. She tried to push away, but he wouldn't allow it, he simply held her as he kept enough distance so that she could breath.

"I'm sorry, your highness, I'm sorry. I got carried away." Jim pushed his hair out of his face as he backed away, still thinking of the way her lips tasted of the sea mixed with lipstick.

"I didn't exactly stop you Jim, this is just as much my fault as it is yours." Melody reached out to touch his arm.

"But I'm supposed to be protecting you, not . . . pleasuring myself with you." Jim looked away for a moment as he looked into her eyes again, seeing an emptiness that he too seemed to have lately.

"Jim, I pleasured myself too, it happens, we're only human. I just honestly never thought my first kiss would be like that." Melody touched her lips and blushed at the thought.

"That was your first kiss? What are you some type of kissing expert?" Jim looked at her aghast at her 'all natural talent.'

"Umm, I guess I'm just a . . . natural?" Melody shrugged as she walked towards a small pond filled with water lilies.

"Ha, wait. So uh, you wanna do it again sometime?" Jim looked at her, knowing he must have sounded ridiculous, he inwardly face palmed himself.

"Sure, but next time, it'll be on the beach, and I'll be in my seashell bikini with my bikini bottoms." Melody went up close to him and whispered right by his ear as she gave him a sly look.

"Ughh, you have no idea what you're doing to me." Jim rolled his eyes as he almost groaned at the thought of Melody and himself making out on the sand, her body barely covered by her small bathing suit.

"Haha, you're too much fun to tease." Melody pushed him playfully as she ran towards a gazebo with grapes and ivy growing around the main structure, almost like a little hideaway.

"You're still running from me." Jim came up from behind Melody as he hugged her just beneath her mid-sized chest.

"And you're acting like a pervert stalker." Melody elbowed him as he groaned in pain, she merely skipped away towards her room and climbed the rope, and then she undressed and had just enough time to put her nightgown on as he reached her window. Her hair was cascading down her slender back as she brushed it, facing her mirror and away from him.

"You know, this is getting old." Jim leaned against the wall adjacent to her as she smiled at his reflection.

"And you're crossing the line." She looked up at him, a single eyebrow raised.

"How so?" Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Because, you are in my room, fully dressed, but I am in my nightgown, and you've already stolen my first kiss. Not to mention, thinking dirty little thoughts about me, and even possibly causing me to create some of my own about you." She fiddled with the ends of her hair, dropping small pieces as they bounced and stayed just above her bellybutton, which was clearly visible. Her hair acted as a curtain, hiding all her hidden treasures from him, he almost cursed it, if it weren't for how beautiful and mysterious it made her look.

"You're such a tease." Jim scoffed as he looked away from her and frowned.

"You know, it takes one to know one." Melody smiled as she walked to her bed, blowing out all her candles but one.

"So, where are you sleeping?" Melody looked up at him, covered in sheets and a large comforter embroidered with mermaids and sea life.

"In here, Carlotta was nice enough to bring me in a cot. So I'll be at your feet if you need me." Jim bowed as he began to undress, not even facing away from her, let alone staring right at her, almost imagining she was the one to undress him. It was going to be a long and painful night of sexual tension for him.

"Oh, that's too bad. Well, I hope you sleep well." Melody smirked as she blew out the last light and went to sleep, dreaming of all that happened under the moonlight.

"Good night princess." Jim smiled as he got into the cot and dreamed about long black hair and dark blue eyes looking up at him as he kissed her soft flesh. Her lips still warm from the kiss they shared earlier that night, but this was only the beginning of their rather complicated relationship.