The Mermaid and The Beast
Chapter 7- Preparations
Announcement: I've made up a poll about how Sparky finds out Jake is her father, those interested can find it in my profile page.
And so, on with the chapter.
"Her father is a Sharkanian…?" Sky whispered somberly, flicking her tailfin lightly, "That would explain lots of things…"
Bluetail had paid Sky a visit after returning to Atlantica, he had promised her he would inform her what had become of Spark, and she couldn't believe Shaga had actually put her to take care of his shark. And according to Bluetail's descriptions of The Albino, he seemed to be a very vicious shark. But what caught her by surprise was when Bluetail told her that the Sharkanian that had been looking after, Jake, was her father.
"Believe me, I didn't believe it at first neither," Bluetail replied as he shifted in his seat, back on Sky's terrace, "I mean, Spark doesn't look like him at all… but I admit the color of her tailfin is quite similar to his."
"And that explains why the sharks that roamed around here never attacked her," Sky sighed, "I always had my heart in my throat every time she snuck out of Atlantica to see sharks."
"But listen carefully, Spark can't find out about this. Jake thinks she won't take it kindly, and sincerely, I agree."
"I don't quite agree with that," Sky commented, "She has the right to know who her parents are."
"Are you kidding? What would you do if out of sudden you found out your father is a Sharkanian and you're a hybrid? Besides, I gave him my word, so I won't be the one to spill the beans."
"I still think we should tell her the truth-"
"NO!" Bluetail raised the volume of his voice, but soon regretted when he saw Sky's startled expression, "Sorry for that, but listen to me. I don't want to hurt Spark nor break my promise to Jake, try to understand. Just imagine it, what would she do if she found out? She'd probably be angry at Jake and, on extension, me, since I was an accomplice in the secret."
"I…" Sky hesitated for a moment before looking up at the swordfish's eyes, "You're right. I won't say anything to anyone about this, especially Spark."
"Thank you."
"I just hope what you're doing, Blue."
Bluetail sighed, "Me too, Sky. Me too."
"Hear me, Albino!" Spark spoke firmly to the white shark, who was eyeing her in annoyance, "You don't like me, and let's make it clear that I don't like you! But we must at least learn to tolerate each other, because, let's face it, you need me! I'm the one who's going to feed you and brush your teeth! So if you want me to do it at all, you better start behaving!"
Jake and Plummer stared amusingly at Spark's lecture. They knew she was stubborn, but this was ridiculous; it was the first time in years that someone had the nerve to talk to the Albino like that. The white shark wasn't listening to her, anyway.
"Seriously, Sparky, you shouldn't be doing that," Plummer commented, "He's going to take it against you."
"Come on, it's not like he is smart enough to take grudges against someone, is he?"
Jake sighed, "You have no idea, he's smarter than he looks. "
"Just wait, in his feeding time he is going to be a pain in the ass."
Spark sighed in dismay, "Of all the sharks in here, Shaga had to make me take care precisely of him," she pointed at the white shark, who snorted in irritation, "How did Shaga tame him at all, anyway?! I imagine that The Albino was even more aggressive than he is now, I suppose."
"We don't know what happened," Jake explained, "We were not present when Emperor Shaga first went to tame a his own mount, but we were surprise and, "he lowered his tone, "Inward terrified when we saw that he was mounting a white shark, larger and fiercer than any we had ever seen."
"The Albino had those scars when Shaga tamed him or did he gain him somehow?"
"He gained them during a fight with a wild shark when the Emperor had taken Artemisia for her first ride. After that incident, Emperor Shaga never wanted Artemisia going near a wild shark."
The sound of a door opening caught the attention of the trio, and Jake and Plummer remained silent when Commander Jaskket swam into the stables, apparently having overcome his guilt, and his usual cold exterior was back. He spoke to Spark in an intimidating tone.
"Get the Albino ready, we're heading out to Atlantica tomorrow," he told her, making her jump.
"S-Sure," Spark replied coldly, but she couldn't stop trembling as much as she wanted, "Anything else?"
Jaskket couldn't help it, but this mermaid reminded him a little of his daughter, Sapphire, but he didn't show it. Instead, he simply muttered something under his breath and swam away with Spark's eyes set on him. Spark looked back at Jake for instructions, and he swam close to the cage door.
"First, you have to saddle him up and tighten the girths, then you have to put him the bridle on," he explained, "But after the lecture you gave him, he's going to make it harder for you."
"I'll bring you his things," Plummer swam away from the two, not wanting to feel the Albino's ire.
"I can't believe it! We're going to Atlantica!" Spark's mood enlightened up, "I suppose it's for a few days, right?"
Jake nodded, "Indeed. We're staying in Atlantica for a few days to renew the peace treaty, but this is the first time Princess Artemisia is actually accompanying her father.
"She has never gone out of Sharkania?"
"No, remember what I told you a few days ago about her father being very overprotective of her. I don't even know how she managed to convince him this time. In fact, I'm surprised Emperor Shaga is not bringing the entire army this time-"
Jake quickly became silent and swam a few steps back, grabbing Spark's hand and pulling her along as he did so. The mermaid was confused for a while before turning around and spotting a female Sharkanian swimming into the stables, and stared into The Albino's cage. Much to Spark's shock, the white shark simply stared at the female Sharkanian, not giving her a growl or a snap of his teeth.
The female Sharkanian was about one year older than Spark, but she was of about the same height. She had straight, long platinum red hair reaching her waist, and there were black seashells adorning her breast. Her tailfin was horizontal and shark-like, like all Sharkanians', and her arms were delicate-looking, even though she was stronger than she looked. A dark blue line ran down her back and tailfin, like her father's.
Spark didn't need to ask who that was.
"That's princess Artemisia," Jake whispered as low as he could into the mermaid's ear, "She's friendly, but don't make her angry. You won't like it, believe me. I'm afraid Emperor Shaga passed his temper down to her."
"Hey there, Albino." Artemisia gave the white shark a small smile, "How have you been?"
The Albino snorted, bubbles emerging from his gills and floating in the ceiling as a reply; Spark saw Artemisia holding out something- some kind of food, apparently a treat. To her shock, The Albino started wagging his tailfin and a grin appeared on his face, giving him an almost playful look.
"Here, I brought you the seagull liver you like so much," Artemisia spoke, not noticing the disgusted look on Spark's face, "Just don't tell father, will you?"
"Hey, I thought you said The Albino was only docile towards Shaga," Spark whispered to Jake as she saw Artemisia throw the organ to the white shark.
"She's his daughter," the Sharkanian explained, "practically, Emperor Shaga's blood runs through her veins."
Artemisia turned to look at the mermaid and the Sharkanian, and waved at them, "See you later, Jake."
Jake did the mandatory respect bow, "See you later, princess."
As the Sharkanian princess swam away, Spark turned to look at Jake, "What were you saying about blood? What does that have to do with anything?"
"See, have you noticed sharks are very sensitive to blood?" Jake spoke, and continued after Spark nodded, "Well, merfolk don't know this, but sharks are also sensitive to blood inside our bodies, that's how they can recognize their riders. Even a blind sharks will be able to recognize its master."
"As for you question, Princess Artemisia is Emperor Shaga's daughter, so obviously she carries his blood; The Albino can sense it because the scent of her blood is the same as Emperor Shaga's. If she wasn't his daughter, The Albino would have the same attitude towards her as he has towards everyone else. That's how we can tell if our wives cheated on us."
Spark couldn't help but laugh at the last comment and didn't realize she had floated back to the Albino's cage,; The Albino, back to his terrible mood, rattled against the bars with his tailfin, intending to startle the mermaid. However, she was already accustomed to the white shark's attempts to scare the heck out of her, and paid him no heed.
"Thanks for the help, you know!" Plummer's voice resounded through the stables, and Spark saw him swimming back to them, holding a red-colored saddle, bridle, and various other things, "Don't worry, I'm just carrying about five hundred pounds of things, you can ignore me if you want."
Jake rolled his eyes at Plummer's sarcasm, "Stop being such a crybaby, Plummer!"
Spark ignored the bickering Sharkanians and set her eyes on The Albino once more, and she swore she could see a glint of mischief in his eyes.
This would be a long night.
I know this chap was rather short, but I'm busy with school and I haven't had time to work on my stories. But I'll do longer chapters, I promise.