Philip

She looked lifeless. Immobile.
Was she dead?

I carefully remove the net from her face and examine her features. I knew it was improper to have these thoughts at a time like this, but she was absolutely stunning. She had the sort of profile that made you stop in your tracks and gaze.

I press my ear to her chest, hoping to detect a pulse or the faintest sign of life. Did mermaids even have pulses?

Thump. Th-thump.

Good! She was still awake.
As I move back to watch her again, she jolts up and coughs out a trail of seaweed.

I am startled by her movement but still, watch her in silence. 

She observes me intently, scooting backward once she realized our closeness but is prohibited once she feels the constraints of the net.

I take out a knife to free her but she only retreats, going back even further. I raise both of my hands to show her my lack of defense."I won't hurt you" She watches me silently. Could she understand me?

I throw the knife down and slide it to her so she could grab it. She does and cautiously cuts herself free. Once she was done, she returns her gaze to mine but still stares at me with caution.

My eyesight falls and the necklace around her neck becomes the focus of my gaze. No, it couldn't be. It was my mother's necklace.

"Where did you get this?" I fume, seeing the familiar outline. I would know the jewel from anywhere. I remember playing with it as a child or my mother letting me wear it when I cried.

I gripped the back of her neck, pulling it into my palm before turning it around.

"Jane?"
It was my mother's necklace. Her name dispelled any doubt. 

"Where did you get this? I must know!" my voice was impatient. Harsh.

She shook her head hesitantly, clearly not grasping what I was saying.

"Where did you... NEVERMIND! You don't understand a word I'm saying." I mutter, letting her neck go.

She looks up at my curly mane and gently runs her fingers through them, instantly flinching away. I tried not to smile as she looked at me like a foreign object. Little did she know who the real stranger was.

She frowns and runs her fingers against my skin, tracing my eyebrows then my nose then moving down to my lips. She rubbed her fingers against them, taking her time to feel the crevices and creaks.  She moves down to feel my legs, crouching to touch my toes. She was a curious little thing. Adorable and forward. She stared into my green eyes before pulling her hands away, understanding the intrusiveness of her touch.

I guess this was the part I was supposed to let her be free? She examines my features but doesn't move. Maybe she couldn't move? I guess she had been out of the water for too long.

I bend down and lift her into my arms, staring into her eyes. She throws an arm around my neck on instinct and frowns. I lower her into the waters, taking one final glimpse at her features before letting her go.

She splashes the water with her fin and swims away, not daring to look back.

Despite knowing that this was our final encounter, I felt content. Every year I asked for a sign, on my mother's birthday and I suppose my mother had sent me a sign in the form of a mermaid.

———

Ara

"Tails! Tails!" I scream. He swims over and squeaks frantically.

"Did you see that? A human! A human! A boy!  And he let me go!!"

"Squeak!! Squeakkk."

"Come on! Let's see where he lives" 

Tails and I follow his boat until it disappears onto land. I swim up to the surface and peek from behind a large prickly rock.

"SQUEAKKK!" Tails shouts. 

"Shhhh Tails!" I scolded. I turn my sights to him once more, watching him carefully, holding my breath as he took off his white skin with buttons. His physique was rounded and defined. I couldn't help but respect his beauty. He was very easy to look at...

He threw it against the sand and dropped to the floor, holding his knees and looking into the ocean. He shook his head, whispering something before standing and retreating back to a big palace in the distance.

I wondered what his name was. And why did he look so mad seeing the necklace I found in the graveyard?

——

Philip

"You're back early," Nicholas smirks. He was in the bosoms of some palace servant.

"Would you care to do this in your room in your bed brother?  Or maybe in one of the 50 rooms in the palace."

"But that's no fun Philip" he smirks. I refused to crack a smile, dropping my net and fishing gear to the floor.

"What mood is this?" He grumbles, sitting up to observe me. The servant girl watches me and takes an obvious peek at my physique before realizing her error and remembering her status. "I am sorry Prince Philip" she bows her head and runs out.

"Aww Philip! You scared another one!" Nicholas curses, trying to run after her. I rolled my eyes and go to the bath that was already drawn. 

"You believe in mermaids?" I ask nonchalantly, dipping into the warmth of the waters.

"Mermaids? Did an anchor drop on your head tonight" Nicholas chuckles.

"No...no I just.... I thought I saw something today."

"It was probably a dolphin or a two-headed fish" Nicholas teased, looking around my bathroom for something to busy himself with. 

"Yea...yea"I mutter. I take out my sketching journal and draw the woman from today. Dark eyes and hair that was a vibrant auburn. Her complexion was as dark as nightfall, and her features were as beautiful as the highest point on a mountain. Lips as thick as the mounds of sand.

 She was absolutely stunning. I will never be able to forget her countenance. I didn't know if I could live in a world where I would never see her again. I flipped the page and wrote a note to myself: Mermaids are real. 

"Father said to be down for dinner tonight. He needs to talk to us"

"Tell him I'm not hungry".

"Of course, you're not" Nicholas sighs before leaving. Nicholas was all for appearances and conversing with the people. He had to be, being the future ruler of the kingdom. I on the other hand was more reserved and faded into the background. I didn't mind it. It gave me more time to explore the kingdom. 

I mark the last outline of the woman on my sketchpad and frown, rubbing my finger against the outline of her lips. 

I wondered who and what she was. 

Author Note:

Can anyone guess the plot yet? lol