The Call Of Thalassa

“Escape the ordinary.”

The sun had barely risen to the sky this beautiful morning, warming the world up with its bright rays. Most villagers had already woken up, preparing to attend this Sunday’s service that would take place in a few minutes. Soon enough, only the small kids and the teenagers remained in their homes, sleeping soundlessly as the rest of the villagers filled the local church.

Alexandra smiled to herself as her footsteps echoed in the police station. Sunday’s service was the cover they needed to make sure that Aileen escaped without anyone noticing. The elder did not appear to be intimidated by the curious glances of the policemen, nor by the fact that they stopped her for a check. With a stern look that would have made anyone tremble with fear she demanded to see the commander, insisting until her request was granted.

After sitting down opposite the officer, she touched the pie she had brought to her knees. The smell of baked apple and cinnamon soon filled the office, even if the pie was well rolled up. She glanced at the commander intently, making him sit uncomfortably in his seat. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the woman decided to speak.

“I demand to see Aileen Smith”, she stated firmly.

The commander –a man in his forties, let out a shaky breath. He took in the appearance of the old woman, noting her wrinkled face and grey locks that were pulled into a stern bun. She was wearing a long skirt and a necklace of pearls, while her hands were clutching the covered apple pie. She was a grandmother by all means –both in her appearance and her behavior.

“I’m afraid that I cannot let you see her, ma’am”, he finally said, “We have orders from the mayor to not let anyone visit her.”

“Listen to me, sir”, Alexandra narrowed her eyes in warning, “You’ve been keeping the girl locked for a whole week! You do not let us speak or see her! You do not let us give her a change of clothes! Hell, you have yet to tell us why you locked her up in the first place!”

“Ma’am, please calm do-”

No, you’ll listen to me, boy!”, she pointed a finger to him, “Seaworth is a community run by certain laws! We do not have a monarchy, where the King decides and orders people around without giving a damn. The girl is not a criminal! You’ve arrested her for a reason that even you are not aware of! I want to see her. Now!”

The man ran a hand through his brunette locks in frustration, not knowing what to say. The truth was that he didn’t know why the girl was arrested. The mayor’s son had brought her in, saying that she had broken the law and his father demanded she stayed in a cell until they had more clues. When the man had tried to ask what had the girl done, Alastor warned him to not get involved in affairs that did not concern him if he wanted to keep his position. The commander didn’t ask more questions after that.

“Ma’am, unfortunately, I-”

“Please, sir”, Alexandra’s eyes filled with tears, “I beg of you to let me see her. I just want to make sure she is alright and give her some apple pie. You wouldn’t refuse an old lady from seeing her granddaughter, would you?”

The officer tried to give her a stern look, failing miserably.

“You’re not her grandmother”, he muttered weakly as he tried to find one last excuse.

“Not by blood, sir”, the elder agreed with him, “But you don’t need to have the same blood with someone to consider them family. Sometimes you create such a powerful bond with them that the blood running through your veins it’s the only difference between you.”

His blue eyes watched her carefully as a few moments of silence passed. In the end, he sighed deeply before nodding his head in agreement.

“You’ll see her for ten minutes”, he finally said, “Not a second later.”

Alexandra gave him a grateful smile, before thanking him. She squeezed his hand tightly before making her way to the door. Just before she left, a voice was cleared behind her. She turned around with a raised eyebrow.

“Nobody will learn that I let you see her”, the commander warned her, “Otherwise, we will both be in trouble.”

“Of course, officer”, nana gave him a knowing smile before exiting the office.

Soon enough, an officer was guiding her through the numerous empty cells and down another corridor. Alexandra could feel her chest hammering against her chest from the adrenaline but a stoic expression was on her face. Everything was going according to their plan –she’d just have to keep her calm until her part was over.

When they finally arrived at a certain cell, she couldn’t help but move faster. She held onto the bars with one hand, while the other was holding the pie. A gasp escaped her lips when her gaze fell upon a familiar face. Her fiery locks were in a messy bun on top of her head, allowing the elder to take in her tired features. Her emerald eyes had black shadows beneath them and her eyelids were swollen from the sleepless nights she had spent. Her figure was noticeably thinner and her clothes were wrinkled.

“Aileen?”, the old lady muttered in shock.

When the green gems fell upon her, they filled with unshed tears.

“Nana?”, the girl whispered hoarsely, “Is that you?”

The elder gave a glance at the two officers looking at them, before turning her attention to the girl in front of her. When Aileen approached her, nana squeezed her hand encouragingly through the bars.

“I brought you some pie”, the woman smiled at her, “You need to get your strength back, my dear.”

Aileen furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she watched Alexandra unfolding the red towel she had covered the pie with. The delicious smell tantalized her nose immediately, making her stomach growl in hunger. She hadn’t eaten much this previous week –Alastor’s threats and the worry for her mate’s well being had made her lose her appetite.

She just wanted to get out of that damned cell and never come back. She wanted to lose herself in the eyes of her beloved and forget all her worries. She wanted his arms around her, protecting her from the horrors of this world. She wanted to lay her head in the crook of his neck and smell his salty scent. She wanted to feel his lips against her own.

She would lie if she said her thoughts weren’t filled with him –that she hadn’t missed him terribly these past days. The hours are flowing slowly when you are trapped in a room and it seemed to her as if she hadn’t seen him in years.

She just wanted her merman –nothing else.

Nana smiled when she realized that the tasty pie had intrigued the officers that were observing her every move. She let them get a look at the delicious apple pie, making sure they couldn’t resist the tasty treat.

“Why don’t you take a slice, boys”, Alexandra urged them, “There is enough for everyone.”

The two men gazed at the tasty treat with longing but hesitated.

“We don’t eat on duty, ma’am”, one of them finally said.

“Oh come on, dear! This is my best recipe!”, the elder insisted, “You haven’t tasted anything better in your whole life! It would be a shame to miss the chance…”

They looked at one another, wondering what to do.

“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t”, nana winked at them.

The two men finally gave in –the smell of the baked apples combined with cinnamon was too much for them to resist. They each took a slice, moaning as their taste bunds exploded at the heavenly dessert. They complimented the old lady on her cooking skills before continuing to munch happily and making small talk with one another.

“Nana”, Aileen muttered after a while, “What are you doing? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, my dear”, Alexandra gave her a wide smile, “Everything is fine.”

Aileen was too tired to press for further explanations.

“Can I have a slice, please?”

Nana made a grimace when the officers couldn’t see. Turning around to make sure they wouldn’t hear her, she faced Aileen with a serious look.

“I wouldn’t suggest that, my dear”, she whispered carefully, “Unless you want to run to the toilet for the rest of the day, that’s it.”

Aileen cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“What do you mean, Nana?”

Alexandra gave her a small smile.

“You didn’t believe that a certain merman would ever let you suffer, did you?”

Aileen’s eyes widened in surprise, gazing briefly at the guards that seemed to be in a world of their own as they chatted about football.

“What did he do?”, she asked silently.

“Why, my dear”, the elder gave her a knowing smirk, “He came to save his soul’s other half, of course.”

“Came?”, Aileen mumbled shocked, “In case you don’t remember, he can’t walk!”

Alexandra shook her head in amusement.

“I wouldn’t bet on that, if I were you, my dear”, she gave her a wink, making her eyes widen.

Aileen’s heart was beating wildly in her chest. Her thoughts were tangled and confused as she watched nana Alexandra smirking at her. She was baffled at the news –how was she supposed to believe that her merman had turned into a human? She had so many questions swirling in her mind that she didn’t know what to ask first. Although, nana didn’t give her a chance to ask for any explanations.

“Look, my dear”, she said as she glanced quickly at the guards behind her, “Just go with the flow. We are here to get you out. Afterward, you’ll have the time to ask your questions and your mate will make everything clear.”

Just as she finished, the two officers approached their whispering forms. Nana collected her posture before continuing with their plan.

“Gentlemen, this girl over here seems to have completely lost her appetite”, the elder said dramatically, “Do you mind if you eat the rest of this pie? It would be a shame to throw it away…”

The guards were too happy to oblige, taking the heavenly goodness from her hands and devouring it in a matter of minutes. Alexandra smirked as she watched them –the laxatives she had added in her recipe would soon make them run to the nearest bathroom. She couldn’t bring herself to pity them, even though she knew they would probably spend the whole day in the restroom.

A few moments later, the two men started to groan as their stomach rumbled. They didn’t give it much thought until they were both sprinting towards the nearest bathroom. Nana smiled as Aileen watched them in bewilderment, before giving Alexandra a pointed look.

“Whose idea was it?”, she asked.

“Mine, of course”, the elder said proudly.

“I should have figured it by now”, Aileen smiled in amusement, “Only you would force the poor lads to poop all day long.”

Alexandra smirked at her words but she didn’t manage to say anything else. A loud sound echoed around the whole building, making them all flinch at the unbearable sound. The officers started to run out of the building confused and terrified to see what was going on.

Aileen watched as nana’s eyes sparkled in mischievousness.

“That must be Aide”, she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 40!!

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