Four
1683 Words
Chance choked on his spit, and he gazed at her. "Marry you?!"
He wondered if he had heard right, but he was sure he had since his ears were strong enough to pick up sound from a long distance.
"Marry me," Amara affirmed. She bit her bottom lip and wondered if she had said something right. Perhaps she was too forward?
The way he was staring at her like she was nuts to have suggested what she said didn't help matters, and she wrinkled her button nose and tried to make a light joke out of it.
"You are handsome, almost godlike, and I am easy on the eyes as well. We'd both make a great couple." Amara shrugged.
"Is that what marriage is?" Chance mused, shaking his head.
As she nodded, he realized she was naive, and he wondered if he told her what he was, how she'd react.
Maybe she wouldn't believe him.
"Do you agree with me? I see you smiling, and I feel you are thinking things through."
"It's funny you wish to take the next weredragon king home. You should be frightened and not even give me a second glance."
Amara giggled, "Well, if you see yourself as a weredragon, I don't think I should say otherwise."
As he had thought, she didn't believe him.
"I am a high-class merm..." Amara's stomach chose the opportunity to grumble, interrupting her.
She blushed and used her long tresses to cover her face.
Chance chuckled, "You are so cute."
Amara reddened more, and her eyes wandered away from his. "I'm sorry. My stomach always chooses time like this to embarrass me, and I think it's my fault for picking at my food this morning."
"Besides, " Chance said, gazing around. "You are the only one here. What are you doing in such a remote area?"
"I need to eat, or I may pass out," Amara grumbled, nudging his shoulder. "I don't feel like chewing on the leaves here, and I don't even know what to eat since the convenience store is damaged."
"You chew on leaves?" Chance asked with wide eyes. He chuckled as she nodded.
"You are weird but in a cute way."
"Thank you," Amara said, giving him a dimpled smile. "You are the first human that would think I am cute."
But then, she had not talked to a lot of humans.
Chance rose to his feet, made a makeshift rod, and dug out some worms in the soil; he managed to catch three fish before walking back to the fire he had made.
"I'll just roast some fish over the fire, and you can have some before going home."
"I can't eat that," Amara mumbled and slapped Chance's hand before he could roast the fish.
"Why? What is wrong?"
"Actually," Amara blushed. She let out a sigh and stared at him seriously in the eyes, "I am a mermaid, and I am not allowed to eat one of my kind, and neither should I eat ordinary fish."
"A mermaid?" Chance burst out into a peal of laughter. "That is the funniest I have heard from you today."
"You don't believe me?"
"Of course, I don't, and I won't until I get proof of what you actually are." Chance said.
He was aware there were a lot of species of beings roaming around. Still, he didn't believe the girl before him was part of what he detested the most.
She looked too innocent to be one of the monsters.
"Well, I guess I have to show you then, even though it is prohibited to show ourselves out to humans. I sense you are an exception."
Chance ignored the glint in her mesmerizing eyes and gazed at her. She swirled her hands, and immediately, her legs, which were feet, switched into tails or was it called flippers.
Whatever it was called, it was unnerving. She was part of them, yet she looked too sweet. Too innocent.
Chance gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists.
"I am glad you believe me now," Amara said with a giggle. "How about you be mine? I can give you whatever you wish for. I have the power to make your wishes come true; you only need to follow me home and introduce yourself as the man willing to marry me to my parents."
Chance recalled the investigation he had done on the merpeople before now; they were grateful people and would meet any requirement for the people who helped them.
Yet, he assumed that their innermost act covered what they truly were. If people had seen them as monsters, they wouldn't have associated that positive attribute with them.
Nevertheless, the girl, whom he didn't know her name had helped him and did not let him die; she was too sweet and naive.
Even with the way she seemed, he couldn't come up with a reason as to why her people had killed his family.
If they were all as sweet as she was...
Enraged as the thoughts of his mother's death enveloped his mind, he imagined handing out the same punishment evaded his mind, but he controlled himself.
He noticed the girl by his side and how she had tried to avoid the fire at all times. He remembered mermaids were scared of fire, and an idea surged through him.
His eyes went heavenward, and he whispered silently. Abruptly, a huge wind came towards the fire and smacked her.
Amara yelped and grasped the man's hands. "My tail is on fire! Help!"
Chance carried her swiftly towards the large water and placed her tail into it.
Amara let out a relieved sigh, and she winced as it stung.
Her hand went towards it, and she noticed a large burn adorned her leg as her tail switched.
She spread her hand and shut her eyes.
Chance saw her lips moving, but he didn't know what she was saying, and he didn't think he was interested in it.
Rather, he kept on watching her and tried to know what her next move would be.
"Thank you for helping me," Amara said, staring at her leg. It was healing slowly, and the bruises were disappearing as well.
"You don't need to thank me. I did what I did to help you since you helped me in return. I couldn't let your tail be roasted."
Amara nodded and smiled a little, "Still, I am grateful. For this kindness you have shown to me, ask for anything; I promise to do it."
"Just consider me a genie that is here to grant your wishes," Amara said with a smile.
"First of all, I don't know your name..."
"It's Amara." She said, cutting him off.
"Alright, Princess Amara, I am Chance, and happy to be at your service."
Chance grasped her hand, which was by her side, and brushed his lips on it before bowing.
The brush of his lips sent a shiver down her spine, and she bit her lips.
Chance stared up at her and noticed she was staring at him. He was glad she didn't know he had caused the fire to hit her deliberately. Also, he felt somewhat guilty that he had done so because she was so sweet and hadn't caused him any harm.
"You didn't tell me what you wanted."
"I want nothing, princess. Your pretty face alone is satisfactory."
Amara giggled, "That's silly. I don't like that title. You can call me Amara."
"I wish to call you that, Princess." Chance teased, and he saw her blush as well as giggle again.
"You are a good man," Amara said, and Chance saw her legs turned into a flipper once more.
Amara plucked out a tiny substance from her scale, which he realized was a scale. It was large enough to be a hand mirror, and it glistened as the sun ray smacked it.
"What is that for?"
"I can sense you with this, and whenever you are in danger, I can come over to save you. Also, you can sense if I am in danger with it as well. Aside from this, for asking nothing, I will give you the treasure of the ocean and whatever is within my reach."
Chance nodded. He didn't know why she was making promises to him, but he believed she would do all that she said. He clasped the scale she stretched out to him and assessed it.
It was as light as a feather, but it wielded powers. He felt it as soon as he touched it.
"Thanks for this." Chance said. "But, I'd like to see the mermaid clan. I was told they gather in the most beautiful place underneath the sea, and the non-mermaid clan would not be able to see them."
"That's right," Amara said. "And I'd grant your wish."
She readily agreed and gushed, "I can introduce you to my parents as well. I'm sure they'd accept you since they love me."
Chance grimaced as she went on chattering. He wondered if she ever got tired.
"My parents do what I want and..."
Her parents would go to such a length for her? Chance doubted it. But then, he believed not everyone would be like his father.
His father didn't care about him. Most of the time, he forgot he existed, and that he had been living by himself ever since the death of his mother.
His father had been plotting on how to avenge her death on the merpeople, but he hadn't come up with a good enough strategy that would make them successful.
It was even harder on him as he had seen his mother murdered in cold blood.
Chance winced as he flashed back to what had happened. He grimaced and kneaded his temple as a blinding headache surfaced.
It always happened whenever he tried to remember that day. The day that often haunted him in his sleep each night.
The day he believed everything ended for him.
He was going to avenge her death. He had sworn, and he'd surely fulfilled it, no matter what.
- Writer
