I smelled the wet shoots of grass. The sun was setting behind us as Arne carried me back to the peaceful cottage. I could not wait to see Clara. But I was not sure what she’d think of my tail. Of course, to a little girl as imaginative as her, it may just be the thing she’s dreamed of seeing.

 Arne opened the door, taking me in. My eyes skimmed the space. “Where is Clara?”

 “I took her to stay with Ida’s family until I found you.”

 “Oh,” I said, almost frowning. I really missed her.

  “Now that we’re back, I can go get her for you.”

 “Right now? As the sun sets?”

 “No. Tomorrow.”

 I nodded. “So it’s… just us?” I lifted my eyes to stare up at his. My nose grazed the side of his hairy jaw, taking in his comforting scent.

 Arne’s arms tightened around me. I could hear his heart beating in his warm chest. “Um…” he coughed, looking ahead. “I’ll set you down.” He carried me further into our warm abode. My head lay on his chest, and my eyes drooped tiresomely. He took me to where we kept the tub. Slowly, Arne lowered me in.

 My tail flopped over the rim.

 “Is that comfortable for you?”

 “It’ll do,” I said. Why complain? At least I was back.

 “I assume you must be hungry.”

 “Famished.”

 “Let me see what I can cook up.”

 I let him leave me, becoming interested in my own thoughts. I still did not know how I was going to prevent a war so imminent it was practically carved into our future, staring back at me and laughing. I gazed at my tail, still disbelieving how we made it out of the water with our lives. Disbelieving that in this moment I was safe.

 I heard the sounds of pots clinging in the kitchen as Arne started to cook supper. I wondered if his mind was also racing with attempts to find a solution. Oh, Arne… how brave he was. And his confession in the water downright shook me. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine a life with him, but I felt as though I didn’t deserve to.

 I knew he’d wait to talk about this, but we could never get married as he desired. What priest would bind a man to a mermaid? Or a man to a woman whose hand was already taken? I was still Eric’s wife. And though it pained my core, I could not shake my love for him. I cared for Eric even now. My heart bursted for his grief. And yet, every time I’d remember the night he threw me off the boat, I wished I didn’t care. I wished I could hate him properly. How could I when he didn’t even understand me? I never trusted him enough to let him understand me.

 Though perhaps I was right not to trust him. What if I had told the truth that day? What if I had said, “It’s true, Eric. I am a mermaid. Not a witch or a mermaid witch, but a mermaid princess of Undersea. I left it all for you. Because I love you.” Thinking of his face now, his hardened features, the rancor in his gaze… I don’t know. I don’t think it would have changed anything. Either way, I could only see him pushing me off the Royal just the same. Because it would crush his pride to think he married me, to think he had me in his chamber, to think he loved me.

 His pride was why I never could trust him. It manifested through the same disdain I’d seen in my father’s eyes when his dearest daughter dared to love a human. Mermen thought they were purer than humans, and humans thought themselves superior to the merpeople.

 But Arne… he was something different. He was of both worlds, and he saw the good in both. Saw the good in me. This was why we made sense. Him and I, we were the balance this world needed.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

 As the savory aroma of vegetable stew snaked it’s way to my side of the cottage, I let my concern for Eric, for Atlantica, for the entire world slip behind my conscience. I was home for real now. Wherever Arne was, I wanted to be. He was my home, my newest treasure, my love.

 His shadow moved before him as he came around the corner. I watched as he emerged with a bowl in hand. “I’ll set it here on this stool for now. It’s quite hot,” he said.

 “Thank you, Arne.”

 He came to kneel by the side of the tub. I extended my arm over the rim and he held my hand in his. His cobalt eyes glowing with an adoration I never noticed before. It made him appear less mature and stoic and more youthful and feeling. I marveled at the change in him, squeezing his rough hand tight. “What are you thinking of?”

 “For now? You.”

 I pressed my lips together with worry, “I’m trying to think of you, of us. But I fear…”

 Arne put his chin on the rim, staring up at me patiently. “What do you fear?”

 I muttered, “It’s all vexation. I can’t have you and you can’t have me. Not as a wife.”

 “Who said so?”

 He seemed so calm. I stammered. “Everyone?” I said with a shrug, confused as to why I needed to explain it.

 His gaze turned profound. “Ariel, if you want to be married, then we shall be. Do you?”

 I hesitated only because I didn’t understand. But in trusting him, I said, “Yes. Yes, I want to marry you. I would love to.”

 His serious eyes softened, a grin showing on his face. He reached for my face and pulled me in for a gentle kiss. I could feel this becoming natural for us.

 “Tomorrow, then,” he promised.

 All I could think was, How? Confused, I simply chuckled. “Arne, dear, has my absence made you unwise?”

 “No, Ariel. It’s struck wisdom into me.” His fingers ran down my cheek. “I have a plan. A plan to end this stupid war and give us the life we want.”

 My face drew closer as I listened, my eyes wide. “What is your plan?”

 “We’ll cover your tail and call you disabled to the priest. Which won’t be a lie because, well, you are. Then after we say our vows, I will expose you.”

 I moved away. This was not sounding good. “What? Why would you expose me?”

 “Just hear me out. What can they do if we are married?”

 “They can do a lot. They’ll take us to court. We’ll be tried and hanged.”

 “Not if they recognize you as their princess. This will be more than a race-mixing ordeal, it will be a marital crime. One that involves the prince. Which means—”

 I gasped, picking up his sentence, “We’ll have gained Eric’s attention. We’d be going to the palace.”

 He nodded. “To the palace where you will speak to him as a mermaid princess on behalf of her people, and as a past lover, gently negotiating with him to call off the war.”

 My heart sank. I shook my head. “I can’t,” I said, breaking his inspired mood.

 He frowned. “Ariel.”

 “I can’t Arne. He won’t listen, anyway. And besides, how can I face him?” My eyes began to cloud. “You don’t understand. He’ll never forgive me. Not after I’ve betrayed him.”

 Arne held my shoulder. “Ariel, help me understand. What happened between you? Why did you leave him?”

 I frowned as I recalled the night we parted, knowing there were few ways I could tell it without Eric sounding like the monster Arne accused him of being. “I didn’t leave. He…” I squeezed my eyes and dipped my head, “he threw me off his ship.”

 “He did what?” Arne’s stern voice rose.

 “It wasn’t his fault. He believed I was a witch. Everyone said I was.”

 “And he believed them?” Arne’s hand found my face again. “Ariel, it strains my heart to think you have blamed yourself for that. No good man would ever behave like that. But it fits the likes of him. Prince Eric has abused women before.”

 My throat wrenched, remembering Arne’s story about how his wife died and how Josephine lost her legs. “Arne… you’re right. And I know you are. But I still care for him. I still feel responsible.”

 “You’ll have to ignore the feeling, Ariel. For us. For Atlantica. I need you to be brave. I need you to show him that he hasn’t left you scorned. Show him the most callous, dispassionate side of yourself.”

 My eyes went wide. It felt like he was asking the world of me, and yet I knew it made perfect sense. “Even if he does call off the war, he’ll never let us be happily married.”

 “Well, we know he won’t claim you after seeing your tail.”

 “But what if he hangs us? What if Clara is left without a father?”

 My remark made Arne's brow twitch, the rest of him calm and unwavering. “Is there any chance he may love you too much to make a public execution out of you? Think, Ariel. For, if you say there is none, then I will abandon the thought.”

 For him, I considered it. My mind went back to the fateful night again. I could hear the rough waves of the ocean, could feel the heat of his torch by my face’s side while the rest of me was stinging in the cold wind of the night. I remembered how he bent me over the edge of his ship.

 I remember chewing back my admittance as I endured his accusations, telling Eric that his behavior made me see him differently. “What if I’m right?” he’d said to me.

 I had replied, “What if you’re wrong?”

 Finally I remembered how he kissed my cheek just before he tossed me, saying, “Oh, Ariel. I sure hope I’m not.”

 That was all I needed to remember before I had my answer. Eric had hoped I was a mermaid. He had hoped I would live. And the way he grieved afterward confirmed that he would never want to see me die again.

 “There is… a small chance.”