Thank you so much to reviewers Fairies-are-Real, Dazed. in. Life, rolletti, LunaNigra, Wildfire2, jdeppgirl4, peanutmeg, ProdigiousDiscourse, barelypassing4sane, Autumnia, Tonzura123 and ginevra85!!
And I really do mean thank you, everyone. I recently purged my email inbox of junk mail and in the process re-read the reviews I've recieved and your enthusiasum meant so much to me! Thank you, thank you!
Special thanks to Caomhe of Tyrone and Arquenniel for the brainstorming help! I really don't think I would've had the patience to see this one through without you!
Chapter 8: Mermaid
A mesmerizing sort of aura clung to the surface of the water, dancing spirals of pure light filtering down through the sapphire waves. Beneath the sparkle lay Isha's domain. Disregarding the swirling colors reflected in the water, Isha captured the attention of all who passed.
And she wanted it that way.
She loved having a school of young mermen streaming after her, silvery shells and fine sonnets intended to gain her good favor. It was a pleasant game to her, keeping their hearts tied to her but never once returning any of their affections save when it suited her interests.
However, one merman remained impervious to her beauty.
He had the loveliest black curls and the brightest green eyes. Every mermaid in the seven seas would have given their tail fin to be the object of his love. And Isha was among their number.
Why shouldn't she?
She was the most beautiful. She should have the very best.
Carthan was the very best, at least for the moment.
She'd spent hours arranging the dark locks about her shoulders so as to carefully accent the deep pools of her eyes and the smooth lines of her cheekbones. And it had worked.
Finally, after months of labor, he was at last by her side, chasing the brilliant rays of light through the cool water. Isha could feel the passing gaze of envious mermaids, glowering over her victory, and let her smile widen.
This was her day and she would revel in it.
If only they would swim past the Anabius caves so that all her admirers could see and ooze with jealousy. Perhaps she would finally receive a new pearl necklace in their renewed efforts to capture her fancy.
But instead Carthan had raced off, a dimpled smile flashing back over his shoulder and the silvery glint of his tail to chase. Isha had no choice but to follow or lose her afternoon with him.
He shot through the water, the sun's rays becoming stronger and stronger as they traveled at breakneck speeds. Gradually a white expanse grew on the horizon and Isha immediately recognized the smooth sands as the beaches below Cair Paravel.
She didn't see what was so special there. The sands were comfortable…if one was interesting in lying in the sun, something Isha was not looking to do. The sun would ruin her hair, turn all her smooth locks to frizz.
Carthan glanced back and Isha quickly replaced the pout with a smile.
He returned the expression and turned back to swim.
Isha's pout renewed two seconds later and she felt herself counting the minutes until they stopped this ridiculous race to the sandbars before them.
Just when the water roaring past her ears almost became too much, Carthan slowed, folding his tail underneath him and pushing the water in front of him back to halt his progress. He pointed at the surface, only feet away in the shallow waters. Slowly, as to break the surface with barely a ripple, they felt the cool water give way and took a breath of dry air.
Isha was beginning to feel annoyed. The mermen's jealous fervor was not worth this. It would take weeks for her skin to recover from the moisture loss.
His voice was low and rumbled pleasantly. "I come here often."
"Indeed." She wasn't impressed.
He nodded, a twinkle in his eyes begging to be explained.
"And…why is that?"
"Wait and see."
Isha waited, trying to ignore how bitingly clear her vision was without the water to distort it and feeling her head begin to ache as her skin dried. Before them was the long stretch of white sands and then the craggy face of the cliffs below Cair Paravel.
Voices, stripped of the warbling she had become so accustomed to, trailed down past the cove to their left. The mermaid sent herself past a boulder obstructing her view with a quick flick of emerald scales and saw four figures sprinting down the beach with an entourage of various creatures following them.
Huffing a small sigh, she glanced down to the other end of the beach. It couldn't be the Kings and Queens of Narnia that Carthan had brought her here for. They really weren't anything special. Perhaps he was waiting for her to spot a conch shell washed up on the sand.
She spared a small look in his direction. His perfect face wasn't looking down the beach at all but towards the cove…towards the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.
"Carthan-"
"Shh, they've come." He reached out and caught her hand, pulling her close to his side.
"Carthan," she tried her most disarming tone, a silky murmur, "Cair Paravel is a wonder but perhaps we could go to the Anabius caves. I've heard there are some lovely springs there."
"Isha, wait a moment. You'll see." Carthan grinned at her and stubbornly remained in place.
Isha's temper would have reared but he suddenly slid his arm around her waist and pointed at the first figure to reach the waters, a slim daughter of Eve.
"See? That one is called Susan…" He spoke the name as though it was the finest sonnet.
Even Daena, the silliest and most ignorant of mermaids, would have seen the way his eyes lingered on 'Susan'. Not even Carthan's strong grip about her hip made Isha's jealousy cool now.
Was Carthan blind? He had the loveliest of mermaids at his side. What would he want with a simple daughter of Eve?
"And that one there," he pointed to a small form just reaching the water's edge. "She is called Lucy."
"Carthan…" Isha felt the name grind on her teeth.
He was, once more, completely oblivious. "And the one behind Lucy? He is called Peter, I believe."
"Indeed." Isha's glower turned on the figure he pointed to…and an instant later her glower was nothing of the sort. In fact, Isha was beginning to see how this day could prove to be beneficial. "By Peter you mean High King Peter, of course."
"Yes, and behind him is Edmund."
Indeed!" Oh yes, today would be very beneficial.
Lucy's laughter kept Isha from saying anymore. "We beat you! You owe me a new dagger, Pete!"
"That wasn't entirely fair, you know. We didn't exactly get much warning." The son of Adam had grown since she'd seen him last. At that time he had only been High King for a matter of days. He hadn't been much to look at. A shark the size of her tail could have overpowered him. This day however, she saw that he had grown. His shoulders were broad and his face pleasant.
Isha might have enjoyed the moment but more than just Peter was present, and the reminder was about as enjoyable as getting beached on an uninhabited island.
"You sound almost jealous!" Susan's voice really wasn't all that beautiful but Carthan was mesmerized by it.
"Can't take a loss?" The youngest one was giggling as she trailed her fingers through the waves.
"I didn't say that."
"Sounded like you did to me." Edmund chipped in, easily tugging off his tunic and joining his sisters in the water.
"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
"Oh no, I'm a neutral party, Pete."
"Traitor!" The High King splashed into the water after them, grinning good naturedly but moving towards his younger brother.
"I think Lucy's onto something." Susan brushed back the long strands of satiny hair from her slender face and, again, Carthan's eyes followed her every move. "You are jealous."
"No, I'm not…I just-" Peter glanced at Edmund.
"Neutral party, remember?" The younger son of Adam turned two fingers on himself and backed away from his older brother.
"A neutral party that didn't have any problem with tackling me a few days ago." Peter reached to pull off his own tunic and Isha saw a glimpse of the lean muscles beneath.
"I think you've gotten a little too much sun, Peter, because you tackled me. I wasn't the one that crashed into…" Edmund suddenly trailed off.
The High King froze at the same instant, his nose and eyes peeking back through the tunic's neckline.
Susan's eyes narrowed. "Crashed into what?"
"Nothing, it's nothing." Peter tried to shrug, his charming voice muffled by the fabric, as he returned himself to removing his tunic.
"This 'nothing' wouldn't happen to have anything to do with my music box, would it?"
Isha had gradually drifted forward, her emerald tail lifting her up through the water so that her porcelain shoulders broke the surface. She was only barely a stone's throw from the monarchs and she drifted closer with each new wave.
A little gasp and Isha's attention was torn from Peter and Edmund to the youngest. "Susan! Look! A mermaid!"
Carthan immediately shrank back, wary of being seen. Isha was not so shy. He had wanted them to see the humans. Well, she wanted the humans to see her. It was only fair that she fulfill her expectations also.
With an impish glint sparkling in her eyes she moved out past the rock. Carthan made to catch her hand but he moved too slowly and only water brushed her fingers.
"Lucy, maybe we shouldn't bother her…" Susan reached for her younger sister's hand.
The little dark haired daughter of Eve was oblivious and waded closer. "I don't think we've ever met before."
Isha didn't even pretend to be interested in what the daughter of Eve said. Carthan had wanted to see them. He would get his wish.
And she would get hers.
For who was a greater prize than a High King? Carthan would surely fall for her once she had the High King wrapped around her pinky finger.
Queen Lucy's smile remained sweetly in place. "I'm Lucy."
The two brothers either hadn't heard their sister or didn't care, remaining where they stood in the shallows, bickering quietly.
"Lucy…" Susan placed a hand on her shoulder, bent in close, and whispered, "I don't think she wants to speak with us."
"Why not?"
While they had been conversing, Carthan had also slipped forward in the azure waters, his jaw hanging slightly. Again, Isha felt bewilderment rise within her. What was so bewitching?
"I just don't think she's interested." The low volume of Susan's voice might have escaped many creatures but not a mermaid. Isha heard every word as if it had been spoken only a few inches away. "Lets-"
"Su! A merman!"
Utilizing the opportunity, Isha flipped under the nearest wave, sliding through the cool Narnian waters. Instantly, her hair calmed, curling around her shoulders, arms, and waist. In a move that had taken her months to perfect, she surfaced, her back to the High King, her head turned, and her eyes flicking back at him.
To her utter shock the High King ignored her presence completely, preferring instead to give his brother a hard shove on the shoulder.
Drowning out the young Queen's prattle, Isha watched in astonishment and mounting annoyance as Edmund shoved Peter right back. The two were like a pair of quarreling clownfish while her beauty faded under the sun's harsh rays.
"That was supremely brilliant, Ed."
"Technically I didn't say anything."
"You said enough, apparently."
"We are kings," Ed shrugged. "It shouldn't be that difficult to find another music box."
"That's not the point."
Her lips rounded to a full pout and she sank down into the water, letting it lap against her chin. This day that had started so well was turning into one of the worst. High King Peter hadn't given her the slightest indication that he knew she even existed nor had King Edmund, though she was only yards away. Carthan, too, seemed oblivious of her presence.
That last thought sent a fresh rage through her veins, unnaturally warming her limbs. One thing was absolutely certain. She would not lose three potential suitors this day.
Her attention was whipped over to Carthan, all the intensity of her gaze boring into the middle of his back. Her sway over him, it seemed, hadn't waned. His brilliant green eyes locked with hers.
She set her lips in a firm line, sending a silent signal that they were leaving.
Now.
Carthan stuttered a farewell to the pair of Queens and he leapt back into the deeper waters, silvery scales glimmering in a flash of sunlight.
Isha followed an instant later, only pausing to glare at the confounded daughters of Eve and sons of Adam.
Really, what had Aslan been thinking bringing them into Narnia?
Just before she disappeared into the white spray Carthan had left in his wake, she thought she heard Queen Lucy say, "You know, I don't think she was listening to me."