Chapter Six- The Oyster Field

Shiro, his tail back on, stared in surprise at the oyster field before him. He truly had never seen an oyster field but even he could see that it was huge. Good thing these things have a tender; it'll make our search a little easier.

He flicked his fins a little and felt excited and nervous. He was nervous about their continuing search for a black pearl and excited as that pearl was part of what was needed to get a tail of his own. He wondered what it would look like and knew that it would look right on him because it would be real.

Lance smiled at Shiro's stunned expression before taking his hand and pulling him over the field and toward a tall and wide coral house. He stopped at the door-less entrance and called, "Allura? It's Lance. I brought my boyfriend and I have a request."

"Lance?" A mermaid with tanned skin, blue eyes, a white tail with blue and pink accents, and long white hair with thin streaks of ice blue appeared and behind her was an older merman, his age evident as his two-toned hair was all gray. Allura's eyes went to Shiro and Lance said, "Shiro, this is Allura and her father, Alfor. They are the current tenders of the kingdom's oyster fields."

"And I hope Keith marries Allura and that they have children to carry on the family career," Alfor said meaningfully. "Although, Krolia is a fine mermaid."

Allura ignored Alfor's hint of her getting married as she held out a hand. "It is nice to meet you, Shiro. How long have you been dating?"

"We met a year ago but didn't date until a few months ago," he said as he took her handshake.

Suddenly, Allura's eyes flared white briefly before Shiro released her hand, a bit startled by her eyes glowing. She stared at him in awe. "You're part merman," she said in a loud whisper.

"How…can you tell?" Shiro asked, too stunned to deny it.

"Allura is one quarter Seer on her mother's side," Alfor said. "She is also able to divine one's true nature if they are hiding it. Most merpeople tend to be open and honest in her presence."

"Divining one's nature only happens if I can touch them," Allura clarified. "So, Lance. Can I safely assume that you're looking for a black pearl?"

Lance nodded. "That's right. Specifically, one that can fit in Shiro's shell." He pointed to the white shell on Shiro's necklace.

"That's quite the request," she said as Shiro and Lance parted to let her pass. "But I'll see what I can do." She swam over to the closest row, went to an oyster, floated close to it, and murmured to it while gently stroking its edges with her fingers.

The oyster wiggled and shuddered before slowly opening up. Lance and Shiro hurried over to see a pretty white pearl sitting in the middle. Shiro marveled at its smooth surface while a little disappointed that it wasn't black.

"Shiro, do you know what to do once you've found your pearl?" Allura asked as she coaxed open the oysters which would close a few minutes after opening.

"I know I have to transfer a little of a powerful force from myself to the pearl and then put it in the shell. It'll make the necklace unbreakable and give me my own tail."

"Correct, but your shell will also turn black once the pearl is inside."

"Interesting," he said as he checked a black pearl's size with his lone pearl: A little too big, but awfully close.

Allura watched as Shiro compared sizes with any small black pearl that was revealed. She admitted that the size was a rare one; as rare as part merpeople. She also noticed that the pearl he was using to compare sizes would fit in the shell if it wasn't tied off by itself. By itself. Hmm…

"That's the last one," Lance said later on. "No small black pearl."

"Your pearl may be closer than you think," Allura said. "I believe your lone one maybe be a black pearl, biding its time."

"Biding its time for what?" Lance asked.

"It's a story passed down through my family line on Father's side. Pearls that small are rare and only used for special occasions or purposes. I think if you transfer that force to that pearl, it'll turn black and complete your quest of getting your own tail."

"And change between human and merman," Shiro added. "Although, no one's said how that works,"

"Mom and Dad will know. Maybe they're waiting until you've changed before revealing how to change back and forth."

"They could be. We do have a lot to fulfill and need to keep it in mind as we look and it's possible that what we needed was right here the whole time." He touched the small pearl.

Allura looked to the far horizon. "It's starting to get dark. Why don't you two spend the night with Father and me? We rarely have guests and it's more enjoyable to cook when there's more than one or two."

"Sounds good to me," Lance said. "How about you, Shiro?"

"How can I turn down such a warm invitation?" he asked. "We accept, Allura."

"Great." She quickly swam back to the house, calling, "Father, we have two more for dinner and they're staying overnight!" Shiro and Lance shared grins at Allura's enthusiasm.

"I like her," Shiro said. "She's friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable."

"I like her for the same reasons. Alfor likes me too and he tried to fix me up with Allura when I was a kid and she was a pre-teen."

"Really?"

Lance nodded. "Allura put a stop to that. For one thing, I was too young to be engaged or even betrothed and for another, she was not interested in me romantically. She only saw me as a good friend and that's how I saw her. I do agree with Alfor, though. I think she and Keith would be a good match."

"I haven't met Keith but considering his job in a pearl shop, I would have to agree in that respect."

"Then, I'll introduce you to Keith tomorrow. He may seem cold at first, but he eventually warms up once he gets to know you."

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

Veronica sat at the dinner table with only her parents as the dishes were being brought out. "Where are Lance and Shiro?" she asked.

"Probably spending the night with Allura and Alfor," the king replied. "There are a lot of oysters and Allura has to coax them open to reveal their contents. I wonder if Shiro will find an unusual one to give to his mother."

"I…followed them a littler earlier," Veronica admitted. "I found out that Shiro's not a merman. He revealed his legs."

"He's part merman, yes," the queen said calmly. "He revealed this the day before you met him."

"You…knew?" Veronica was stunned that her parents already knew and weren't put off by it.

"Yes and thanks to you reviving our kind's fear of humans, he has to wear a tail to avoid fear and hate from our people," the king said sternly.

Veronica looked at her plate thoughtfully. She had spent the day telling the city what she had witnessed and the looks of horror and fear filled her with satisfaction. Unfortunately, her parents didn't feel the same way. That's fine. The city shares my feelings and, with any luck, Shiro will want to stay away from here after his vacation is over.