oOo
The Little Mermaid
written by oathk33p3r
oOo
o FIVE o
"This is Olette, the lovely maiden who saved my life."
She had hair that resembled the color of damp earth, and it cascaded past her bare shoulders and cast shadows against the white of her skin. Her bright eyes shined emerald under the afternoon rays pouring through the glass ceilings, lighting up her entire pristine face. Her chin, wrists, and neck were slender, delicate, feminine.
Her pink lips gently curled upwards in a sincere smile. Of course she would be smiling, Kairi thought. Sora had his arms protectively around her shoulders. Kairi had given up her voice, her life, to be in her place.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Olette," said the girl.
Despite Olette's delicate features marking a rare sort of beauty, Kairi envied her voice the most. Each word shyly and softly tumbled past her lips, but each word was loud enough to be heard and to be understood.
Kairi acknowledged Olette's greeting with a slight nod of her head.
Sora and Olette exchanged uneasy glances, which Roxas immediately caught.
"Our guest here cannot speak," he explained. "But I am sure that won't stop us from merrymaking and storytelling tonight," he said brightly. He pulled out a chair that was apparently meant for Kairi. "Please, take a seat," he offered kindly.
Kairi could not resist the welcoming gesture and silently sat down. Roxas went back to his place at the table, which was to the right of Sora and across from Kairi.
Roxas must have noticed the heavy atmosphere, because he brightly said "Let's start with some wine!"
A servant immediately appeared by the side of the table and poured four glasses of dark liquid. Kairi gingerly held her glass and sniffed what they called 'wine.'
The sweet aroma filled her nostrils, which sharply contrasted to the salty scents she was accustomed to. She intently followed Roxas's every move—to properly holding the glass to raising it in the air. Despite the tragedy of losing her voice, she was glad she had an excuse for not shouting "Cheers!" It seemed silly, but also seemed like a major part of this "wine" culture. Kairi soaked her tongue with a bit of the wine and immediately regretted it. She hated the taste, and it burned her throat.
"Would you like to hear the story?" Sora asked politely.
He was referring to the story of how the "lovely maiden" saved his life.
"I saved you, it was me," Kairi wanted to say. But instead, she gave a small smile and nodded.
Sora grinned and gave a loving glance at Olette before beginning.
"A few nights ago, Highwind tragically sunk. Oh, it was terrible. Half the ship was ablaze, and the other half was underwater. Men drowned, burned to death, and dived overboard. Miraculously, I grabbed hold of a bit of driftwood big enough to lie on. I must've blacked out, because the next time I opened my eyes, the sun was high up in the sky. I don' t know how I possibly floated to shore."
"Seagulls and sharks perhaps?" Roxas said jokingly. "Or possibly a mermaid?"
Olette giggled at Roxas's remarks.
Sora shook his head, but wore a good-natured smile.
"Yes, I'm sure it was the latter. Why, she's sitting across from us now! The finest one I have ever seen."
Kairi's heart skipped a beat and she stared at Sora with wide eyes.
But Sora had his attention focused on the girl sitting next to her.
"Oh, Sora. I can barely even swim."
Sora reached out and took a hold of one of Olette's hands.
"But you can definitely save a poor sailor's dear life."
Though Kairi knew it was impossible for Sora to know, she could not help but feel disappointed. She took another daring sip of wine. She wasn't sure of it, but it seemed to ease her tension a little bit.
Sora continued on with the story.
"I don't know how long I was out there, lying under the scorching sun. My vision was blurred and my tongue felt like sandpaper. I tried crying out for help, but I could not find an ounce of energy in me. Even though my body was on land, my soul felt like it was heading towards the heavens. I knew I was reaching my end. During what felt like hours, I thought about many things. About our kingdom, the ocean, my crew…but the most prominent thought was that of my poor mother. Her dying wish was for me to get married to the fairest maiden in the kingdom.
And just as I was about to close my eyes for the last time, the softest voice woke me up."
Sora turned to Olette and asked "Can you tell everyone what you said?"
Olette shyly looked down at her lap and then up again. Kairi took another sip of wine.
"I was out by the shore with my sister looking for sea shells. I saw Prince Sora unconscious, lying on the driftwood he described. This being the first time I've ever seen an unconscious man, my first instinct was to wake him up. And so I rushed over, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted "Wake up, please!"
Roxas roared with laughter as Sora chuckled.
"Softest voice, you say?" Roxas teased.
Kairi refrained from heaving an impatient sigh. She decided to take a swig of wine to hide her frustration.
"Prince Roxas, you must understand that Prince Sora was not in his best mental state at the time."
"Miss Olette, you're quite the polite person! "Wake up, please,"" Roxas echoed Olette's words and cracked up once more.
The exchange of conversation and gazes, the laughter and drinking of wine…everything started blurring and meshing into one solid irritating sound that was sending Kairi to her edge. She didn't belong in this conversation. She didn't know the ways of humans. She didn't like the story. She couldn't laugh—not because she didn't have her voice, but more importantly, because she could not tell her side of the story.
Kairi lifted the glass to her lips again, but she was out of wine.
"…And my fool of a brother fell in love with you, I see. But how did you…"
Roxas's voice waltzed in and out of Kairi's focus. The servant must have noticed Kairi's empty glass, because he was filling it up again. Kairi nodded in thanks and tilted her head back as she poured all of its contents down her throat.
The wine tasted sweet in her mouth and warm in her body. Her face was radiating like the sun, and she felt good for the first time since she lost her voice.
Smiling, Kairi placed her head down on the cool surface of the table and thought of the day she saved Sora.
"…what were you doing…there…the first place? Was she…That's strange…Wow!"
She had replayed that day over and over in her head hundreds of times. It was the first time in her life she had saved anything or anyone. It was the first time she accomplished something none of her older sisters had. It was the first time she fell in love without exchanging a single glance or word. Sora's existence provided Kairi with so much in a single day. He was so dear, so precious, to Kairi. All she wanted was for him to feel the same. All she needed was a little kiss...
"Miss? Miss!"
Kairi flipped open her eyes and lifted her head, but a bit too fast. The room was spinning in circles and didn't bother slowing down to a stop until Roxas grabbed her shoulders.
"Are you all right?"
She pushed Roxas away and stumbled up from her chair. She felt like she just got her legs again as she wobbled towards the nearest hallway towards the stairs leading to the nice tub of water she took a bath in earlier that day…
oOo
"I hope this is comfortable enough for you."
Kairi turned around to be met by Riku. He was leaning against the angular entrance of her grotto with his arms crossed over his chest. His strong tail waved back and forth, the tip of his fin brushing against the clean floor. She blinked and he was now hovering over her. He reached out and started tugging on her garments.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but let me take this off for you. You'll feel much better…"
Kairi's heart started to race and panic took over her. How did he find her here? Kairi tried giving him a taste of her power once more. Though weak legs had replaced her strong tail, Riku stumbled backwards with a look a fright.
"Miss, please, wake up! It's okay!"
Kairi opened her eyes and immediately sat upright.
She was lying on top of a soft, but sturdy, rectangular bed that reminded her of the seabed she slept on back at home.
A few yards away, Olette was nervously peering back. She was clutching at her stomach and slightly wincing as though in pain.
"I'm sorry," Olette started, "I was helping you get changed into your night clothes. I should've waited for you to wake up…"
Kairi felt terrible. She must've unconsciously kicked Olette.
The two girls silently looked at each other for a while. Finally, Olette slowly walked over and placed the nightgown on the foot of Kairi's bed.
"Here, change into this. I brought you some water, so please make sure to drink a few glasses before going to sleep."
Kairi slightly nodded.
"I'll tell Prince Sora and Prince Roxas that you have awakened. They were quite worried about you."
Olette straightened out her dress and then slightly bowed.
"Good night. Please do not hesitate to call for help if you need it. I'm currently staying in the guest bedroom right next door."
She turned around to leave. Without even realizing it, Kairi reached out and slightly touched Olette's wrist.
Olette turned around, slightly surprised.
"Thank you," Kairi mouthed.
The beautiful girl smiled, replied with a "my pleasure", and left the room.
Kairi reached over for the glass of water placed next to her and slowly sipped the tasteless liquid. She allowed it to form a small pool in her tongue and soak up the bitterness from the wine. She concluded that the wine had some sort of powerful effect on her. The humans seemed unaffected…
There was a brief knock on the door shortly after Kairi put down her glass. She wondered if Olette forgot something as she walked over to open it.
"Miss!"
It was Roxas. His eyes were filled with concern and he was slightly panting as though he ran down flights of stairs.
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.
Kairi nodded. She was feeling all right, more or less. The room wasn't spinning anymore and the glow had left her face.
"I want to give you my sincerest apologies. This condition you're in…it was my fault. I was not aware of your low tolerance when it comes to alcoholic imbibing…And I was a fool for not noticing your state until it was too late."
Kairi was not aware that such a cheerful person could appear so ashamed. An overwhelming wave of pity washed over her as she realized that she never even properly thanked this kind person for helping her. Come to think of it, he was the first human she had ever properly interacted with.
"I want to give you this," Roxas said. He produced a small bell from his waist pocket. "If you ever need help, just ring it, and I'll be there for you. It's the least I could do."
Roxas stepped away from the door.
"Good night, Miss. To make up for tonight, I would be honored to give you a grand tour of our kingdom. Would that be all right?"
Kairi hesitated. She only had two days left for her true love's kiss. She didn't have time for such play, but a few hours shouldn't hurt…
Roxas waited patiently.
Kairi returned Roxas's awaiting gaze with a smile and a nod. Roxas beamed.
"I'll meet you by the front gate at noon. Sleep well."
