Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

“Look, Talia,” Serena exclaimed, “They’re holding hands in their sleep, isn’t it precious?” She indicated the two babies.

“Yes,” Talia agreed with a frown, “That’s very sweet.”

The girl blinked her eyes open and started crying, waking the boy. Serena quickly scooped the crying child up. “It’s okay, Len. I’m here.” She held the boy in her other arm to make sure he wouldn’t start crying, as well.

“Len?” Talia stared at her. “You didn’t name them, did you?”

“Well, I didn’t want to keep calling them girl and boy,” Serena explained, “So I named her Len and him Douglas.”

“You shouldn’t name them,” Talia warned, “You are sure to get attached that way.”

“It will be fine,” Serena promised, “I’m sure they’ll be off to their new homes soon.” She smiled at the pair. “I wonder what kind of parents you will have. I really wish you two could stay together.”

“But they can’t.” Talia said, firmly. “It is not our duty to become emotional. Spiro will decide on the place where they can do the most good. It can complicate things if you are emotionally invested.”

“I know,” Serena replied, still looking at the babies, “I promise I won’t do anything foolish, okay?”

Talia gave her a doubtful look, but decided to drop the subject. There wasn’t much more she could do for the girl. Serena would just have to learn the way of things on her own.

“So you and Eric have been dating for a few months, now, right?” Ashley commented at lunch the next day.

“Have we?” Aria took a moment to think about it. “I guess so.” They’d only actually gone on a handful dates and, with everything going on, they hadn’t spent too much time together outside of work. The most time they had spent together was when they were trying to save the birds and that was over, so it was back to business as usual.

“Getting serious?” Megan wondered.

Aria gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.” She remembered that he had professed his love and she had never responded. She wasn’t even sure if she could. “Our lives are a little too hectic for a serious relationship, right now. Between school and work, I’m just not ready for it, you know?”

“Way to go sounding all mature,” Ashley told her, “Most girls around here jump into relationships headfirst and find out the consequences later.”

Aria shrugged. “Guess I’m just too busy.” Class began and the girls turned their attention to the teacher, but Aria couldn’t really pay attention to the lesson. She kept thinking about Eric. She liked him well enough, but was that really enough? It seemed like he was more invested in the relationship than she was and that didn’t seem fair. Even taking Kai out of the equation, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to move forward with Eric.

By the time the bell rang for them to switch classes, she was still no closer to an answer. She quietly sighed as she left the room, wishing someone would show up and tell her what she should do.

“Maybe you and Eric should take a break,” Freya suggested when Aria talked to her about it before work, “Clear your head a little.”

“You think he’d be okay with that?” Aria wondered, “I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“If you don’t know how you feel about your relationship, he’s going to wind up getting hurt, anyway,” Freya pointed out, “It’s better to let him know ahead of time than to drag things out until they go wrong.” While she was fully in support of Aria dating Eric, Freya knew things could go horribly wrong if Aria couldn’t get her head straight. She paused for a moment before asking, “This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain merman prince, would it?”

Aria shook her head. “Not really. I mean, I can’t say that I’m not attracted to Kai, but I feel like I wouldn’t be having such an issue there if I knew where I stood with Eric. We haven’t actually been on that many dates and I feel like he’s rushed into the relationship more than I have. I guess, I just need things to slow down long enough for me to get my bearings. I’m just seventeen, after all. I’m not ready for a complicated relationship.”

“Almost eighteen,” Freya pointed out, but she nodded her understanding, “One of the most mature things a person can do is acknowledge how immature they are.”

“I’m not sure whether that was a compliment or an insult,” Aria told her.

Freya smiled and put a finger to her lips. “I’ll never tell.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Eric asked when Aria explained that she wanted to take a break.

She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. “You’ve been amazing. I’m just not sure I’m ready for a serious relationship.” She tried to explain things as she had explained them to Freya, but they didn’t seem to make him feel much better.

“So you just need things to slow down, a little?” He sighed. “I guess I can understand that, but is a break really necessary?”

Aria nodded. “For now. I just need a little time to be myself without being part of a couple, if that makes any sense.” She realized that part of it was simply that she needed to figure out if she really wanted to be a human and she couldn’t base her decision on a guy. “We’ll still see each other at work and stuff. Once I get my head cleared, we can give it another go.”

“Alright.” Eric offered her a smile. “I’ll hold you to that.” He headed back to the lab and Freya walked over.

“How did things go?” the nymph asked.

“About as well as you’d expect,” Aria replied as she watched Eric disappear, “I’m tired. Let’s go home.”

“You look down,” Adam noted as Eric returned. They were working later to help Dr. Grey with some research.

Eric shrugged as he looked over some papers. “Aria wants a break.”

Adam gave him a sympathetic look. “Boy, that’s rough. I know how much you like her. Oh well, other fish in the sea, so to speak. I suppose you might prefer birds in the sky…”

“It’s just a break,” Eric argued, “It might not even be permanent. She just needs a little time to work things out, I guess.”

“Sure,” Adam agreed, “I’m sure you two will work things out in no time. In the meantime, I could introduce you to a few girls to get your mind off of her.”

“I’m good,” Eric assured him, “I’m just going to focus on work for a while.”

“Always a good plan,” Dr. Grey told him, surprising both boys, since he hadn’t even appeared to be paying attention, “Relationships are distractions, even if Ariel is a rather endearing girl.”

“Aria,” Eric corrected.

“Right,” Dr. Grey tapped a pencil against his forehead, “I’m always thinking of that movie, I suppose.”

Adam and Eric exchanged a look. Eric was the first to voice their thought, “The Little Mermaid?”

“That’s the one,” Grey replied with a nod.

“By Disney?” Adam tried to clarify.

“Naturally,” he commented without ever looking at the boys.

They stared at him for a moment longer, but neither what sure what to say upon learning that their boss, who seemed to have no interest in anything besides science had seen a Disney movie.

“Do you watch a lot of animated films?” Eric asked.

“No more than most people, I suppose.” At their silence, he looked up at them. “Is there something odd about that?”

“No,” Eric rushed to assure him.

“Not, at all,” Adam agreed.

Grey stared at them a moment longer, as if trying to figure out whether they were joking. “Shall we return to work, then?”

“Yes.” Eric quickly returned his attention to the work at hand, briefly distracted from his thoughts about Aria.

For the next few weeks, Aria and Eric didn’t talk much. They were cordial whenever they saw each other, but would quickly go their separate directions. Freya didn’t comment on it, knowing this was something Aria needed to work out for herself.

The full moon party came faster than Freya would have liked as she watched Aria and Eric growing more distant. She certainly didn’t want the girl getting her head turned by a merman while she was avoiding the human.

“We don’t have to go tonight, if you don’t feel up to it,” Freya tried to persuade her.

“I’m fine,” Aria promised as she stepped out in her blue dress, “It’ll be good to get my mind off of things. Besides, I promised I’d be there.”

“Are you sure you want to be spending time with Kai, now?” Freya asked, “It could get you into trouble with Sapphira and he might take it the wrong way if he finds out you’re currently unattached.”

“I’m not afraid of the princess,” Aria stated, “and there’s no need to tell Kai that Eric and I are on a break. I wouldn’t want to lead him on, after all.” She had a feeling she was way past that, but she couldn’t help wanting to go, anyway. “We’d better head out, then.”

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the party. The sun would be setting soon, but it was earlier than the other parties had been and Aria knew it would end later than they had. Freya had told her it would be nearly noon. However, Aria had school the next day and wouldn’t be able to stay the whole time, much to her disappointment.

She found Kai, waiting for her outside the building and she smiled at him. “Hello.”

He returned the smile easily. “Hello to you. I thought we might have a moment alone before going to the party.”

Aria looked at Freya. “You can go on in.”

The nymph frowned, but nodded. She gave Aria a meaningful look before going inside.

“Sometimes, I think she doesn’t like me,” Kai commented.

Aria shook her head. “She acts like that around most guys, I think.”

“Are there many who pursue you?”

Aria laughed at that. “What a question.” She started walking, sure that he would follow.

“I suppose I was being too forward,” he observed as he fell into step beside her.

“Just a bit,” she agreed, “You have no right to be jealous, though, as you are spoken for, already.”

“As are you,” he pointed out.

Aria looked out over the sea, “Right…” She considered telling him that she had broken up with Eric, but she wasn’t sure that was permanent and telling him had the potential to do more harm than good. She was debating what to say when she heard an unpleasantly familiar voice behind them.

“So this is where you’ve gotten to,” Sapphira commented, “I had wondered.”

Aria and Kai turned to face the princess. Aria put on her sweetest smile. “It’s a pleasure to see you, as ever.”

Sapphira pointedly ignored her and looked at Kai. “It is not wise for my betrothed to be seen in the company of a land girl so frequently and without a chaperone. People may talk and we wouldn’t want to put our peace treaty at risk, now, would we?”

“I have done nothing to threaten the peace,” he promised.

“Appearances are worth so much more than words,” Sapphira told him, “Come to the party with me or you will put everything at risk.”

Kai glared at the princess for a moment before giving a resigned sigh. “Fine.” He started walking without looking at her.

Aria tried to follow him, but Sapphira stepped in her way. “You have been meddling in things you do not understand, land girl. You would do well to stay away from us from now on.”

“Or what?” Aria demanded.

“You’ll regret it,” Sapphira promised her.

“Are we going?” Kai asked, turning back to face the girls.

Aria wanted to walk beside him, but she had no desire to walk with Sapphira. “I’ll be along in a minute. I’d like a moment more of fresh air.”

Sapphira turned back to Kai. “Let’s go.” She started walking and Kai gave Aria one last look before he followed.

Aria waited until they were out of earshot before she released a sigh of her own, deciding she would never be able to get along with the princess. She frowned, deciding that a short walk to clear her head might be a good idea. She didn’t want to risk letting Sapphira see she had angered her.

Aria was walking down the beach when she suddenly felt an arm around her waist and a hand over her mouth. She struggled to break free, but it did no good as she was dragged away with no one around to help her.

As Freya watched Kai walk in with Sapphira, she wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. She looked around, expecting Aria to come, as well. When she didn’t, Freya headed outside, figuring she would have to be nearby.

Kai watched Freya leave and frowned, easily guessing why she had walked out. He looked at Sapphira. “You don’t need to bully Aria, you know.”

“She sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong,” Sapphira commented, “I find it annoying. Besides, she’s always hanging around you. It’s just not appropriate since you and I are engaged to be married.”

“We both know you have as little interest in that engagement as I do,” Kai replied, “This whole thing is just some kind of power play, isn’t it? I’d think you’d be relieved that I am the one putting it at risk. That way, I will be the one blamed if and when things go wrong.”

“This will go wrong,” Sapphira promised, “I could easily accuse you of choosing a land girl over me and destroying the whole treaty, but I haven’t, yet, and I don’t intend to do so. If I am willing to put forth the effort to maintain the peace, why aren’t you?”

He stared at her for a moment, surprised by the statement. He found it hard to believe that he was actually being made to feel guilty by Sapphira, the snobbish, temperamental princess of a kingdom he generally wanted to avoid. “That peace treaty isn’t right. We shouldn’t be forced to be married just because our parents can’t come up with better solutions.”

Sapphira shrugged. “We are royalty. We have responsibilities that we can’t avoid. You and I both realize that any sort of treaty between our kingdoms wouldn’t be likely to last. Our marriage and the heir that we would raise is the best way to ensure a lasting peace. Would you throw that all away for some land girl?”

Kai frowned at her words. “It’s not fair or us to be burdened with such a thing. I never asked to be a prince and I would choose the life of a peasant if it meant I could be free to choose my own life.”

“Well, life isn’t fair,” she commented, “We have the power to rule. We will be given dominion over two kingdoms. Many peasants would enter an arranged marriage in exchange for such power. Shall we offer it to one of them?”

“If only that were an option.” He sighed. “You know: this may be the first conversation we’ve had that didn’t make me want to get away from you as quickly as possible.”

“I’m making an effort not to be insulted,” she informed him.

Kai offered her a smile, “Sorry. I just meant that I like you better when you’re not acting all high and mighty.”

“Was that supposed to be an improvement?” she wondered.

He laughed and shrugged. “It was supposed to be, but I guess I’m not as eloquent as I’d like to believe.”

“I certainly can’t argue that,” she told him.

“Everything okay?” Idun asked, following Freya out of the party.

“It’s fine,” Freya promised, “I’m just trying to find Aria.”

“You worried about her?” Idun asked, already knowing the answer.

“Always.” Freya looked around, frowning as she failed to spot her friend. The sun was going down, making it hard to see. “She must have run off somewhere.”

“Want me to help you look?” Idun offered.

Freya gave her a grateful smile. “I’d appreciate that.”

Aria continued to kick and attempt to scream as she was dragged away, but it did little good. Soon, she was pulled into a shed. Her captor only released his hold when the door was shut behind them. “You may as well calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” He flipped on a light, illuminating the room.

“Forgive me if I have my doubts after the way you kidnapped me,” Aria growled, turning to face him. She paused as she recognized her abductor. “Alizarin?”

He nodded. “I just need to keep you here for a little while.”

Aria frowned as she understood. “Sapphira put you up to this.”

“I am acting on her orders,” he agreed, “It shouldn’t be for too long.”

“How long?” she demanded.

“Until she comes to tell me to let you go,” he explained.

“Right…” Aria looked at the door, wondering if she could push past him and escape.

“Don’t bother trying,” Alizarin warned, “You won’t get by me, so you might as well just relax and wait until the princess shows up.”

She continued to frown, but it was pretty obvious that she wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon, so she sat down on the floor and stared at the wall with her arms crossed, defiantly. “Fine.”