Chapter Eight- Jealous No More

Veronica took a sparkly purple tail off the rack and placed it up against Shiro's tail. "Oh, yes," she said. "This looks wonderful on you."

"I don't know," Shiro said as he looked in a mirror. "I don't sparkles are me."

"I agree," Keith said. "But purple does go well with your black and white hair. Pretty much any color would."

"You've got to be kidding," Shiro said. "If I wore orange, it would have to be on Halloween."

"Halloween," Lance repeated. "Isn't that the holiday were kids wear costumes and go door-to-door for candy?"

"Right. Orange and black are the traditional colors of the holiday, though purple also works."

"How about solid light blue or pale green?" Veronica suggested holding both up and changing the subject.

Shiro was enjoying the window-shopping with Veronica. Now that she wasn't jealous, she was warm and friendly like her brother and made it clear that she'd love to have Shiro as a brother-in-law.

"You know," Lance said. "I have a rainbow-colored one at home. I personally think it looks great on me."

"Rainbow-colored?" Shiro repeated. "That sounds interesting and cool."

"And there's one right here," Veronica said, pulling out the tail and holding it up.

"It's beautiful," Shiro gasped.

"I say you should get it," Veronica said.

"I don't have any money and I may not wear it often."

"I'll buy it and I think it'd be nice if you and Lance had matching tails on your wedding day."

"I don't know what to say except thank you," Shiro said.

"I'd like to buy a couple for you," Lance cut in. "So, you'll have some options whenever you choose to visit."

Shiro laughed slightly. "All right but afterwards we need to see your parents to show my tail and how I can change back and forth."

All four merpeople left with three tails for Shiro: The rainbow one along with a swirled black and white one and a deep sapphire blue one. Veronica offtered to put them in Lance's room so the two mermen could meet with the king and queen. They headed to the throne room in time to see six mermen and mermaids leaving, all looking important. Shiro and Lance allowed them to pass, the latter being bowed to as they passed.

"Oh, good. The council has just ended," Lance said. "Mom and Dad are alone. Shiro, stay here and listen so we can really surprise them." Lance swam into the room.

"Lance," the king said. "Where is your beloved?"

"He'll be along in a moment. Actually, we have a surprise for both of you. Shiro!"

Shiro swam in bare-chested now that he was a real merman. The king and queen gasped at seeing Shiro with an actual tail. "You did it," the queen said with a smile. "I knew you would succeed."

Shiro bowed. "Thank you, your highness. Allura revealed that the lone pearl on my necklace could have been a hidden black one. I transferred a little of my love for Lance to it while declaring my love for him and my heritage to the city."

"Why did you do it before the whole city?" the king asked.

"Veronica had told them that I was a danger as I was part merman. She had pulled off the slip-on to expose my legs. That is when I went to Lance and declared my love."

Both king and queen sighed before the former said, "My daughter has been causing you two a good deal of grief."

"Not anymore," Shiro said. "After getting my tail, she admitted being jealous and not wanting to like me. I told her that I forgive her and for us to start over. She agreed and I find her as warm and friendly as Lance is."

"Good," the queen said. "And now that your quest is complete, we will tell you how to change forms which is simple. You touch the shell and say, 'I wish to be…' and then state which form to take."

"I'm guessing if I say human, I'll still be able to breathe underwater," Shiro said.

"Of course. You are still part merman when in human form."

"Since this is your third day of vacation, what will you do with the rest of it?" the king asked.

"I'll stay here until the end," Shiro answered. "There's still a lot to see and experience. I also need to practice using my tail. It feels a lot different than a slip-on." There was gentle laughter from the royals.

"Maybe we could be betrothed this week?" Lance asked hopefully.

The king stroked his chin. "I do not see why not. I recommend a private ceremony and then a public announcement later on."

"Sounds good to me," Shiro said.

Lance's fins twitched happily. "Once we're betrothed, we can sleep in the same room and even the same bed! I mean, mine's large enough for three merpeople."

"Wow," Shiro said as the bed he had been sleeping in was a normal full-size one. Well, when one is royalty, accommodations tend to be bigger.

"A betrothal later this week?" Veronica's eyes sparkled.

"Yeah. Father suggested a private one and a public announcement at a later date. I'm thinking family only."

"As it's a private ceremony, it makes sense. Are you going to shop for rings?"

"I think we should," Shiro said. "In fact, I saw one I really liked even though I was looking for black pearls."

"Yeah? Well, in that case, let's go get our rings."

"Great. I also saw this diner that looked interesting."

"Yeah? Mom and Dad won't mind if we have dinner alone."

"I'll let them know," Veronica told him.

"Thanks, sis," Lance said as he and Shiro headed out to a late afternoon of shopping and dining.

Veronica watched the pair leave and reflected on her actions and feelings. When she had first heard that Lance had approached and befriended a human, she had been shocked and scared. She was shocked that Lance approached a human but it faded a little when hearing that Shiro was receptive to the existence of mythical creatures. She was still afraid that Shiro would try to capture Lance and sell him; of course that didn't happen.

When she learned that Lance and Shiro fell in love, she became insanely jealous and refused to get to know Shiro. She was convinced that he was trouble and it wasn't until today when Shiro gained a tail that she realized that she had been wrong. She jumped at Shiro's offer to start over and let her actual personality come out. She liked Shiro now and looked forward to the betrothal in two or three days.