Unexpectedly Meeting You

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

*WILLIAM*

A day in the pool again training with Art who is now very energetic and full of smiles on his face. I think something happened last night between him and Larissa. Well, that’s none of my business. I had a good morning too, I got a kiss from Neola, and she’s really serious when I said that I am in danger because she kissed me yesterday without my permission. I really don’t know what to expect from her aside from the simple things I knew from the day that I met her.

Today is a busy day for me I have to attend a meeting via skype, so I need to finish training earlier. Brandon is making a fuss of my whereabouts. I don’t like to lie about where I am right now but I know they won’t believe me or they will freak out. It’s been a month and a half since we left there, and there are only 25 days before Neola’s natal day. I was wondering why the Vipers haven’t found us yet and Leroy told me that King Amasis might be planning something big because of his silence. We need to be prepared.

The training went easy, I guess our body has adjusted to the things that we are now capable of doing. It is now easy for us to run, walk, fight, breathe and swim under the water with intense temperature. Carrying heavy loads is easy and now Art and I have more time with our royalties.

“How are you?” Neola asked as she sat beside me with a concern face.

“I’m great… why?”

“Nothing, I was just wondering if you feel weak or something.” She said. Oh does she mean about the kiss. Crap, I forgot.

“Ah.. owwww… now that you mention it… my body is aching, I think I need some… kiss.” I acted.

She gasp, and hugged me. “I’m sorry William, this is all my fault, I f I haven’t give you that surprise kiss, your life wouldn’t be in danger.” She said and kissed me.

My life is in danger? What did Art told her about? Argh… now I feel guilty about this whole kissing thing.

“Neola, I have something to confess.” I said seriously.

“What?”

“Amm, about the kiss… why did you say that… it’d you fault that my life is in danger?” I asked.

“mmmm… because when I kissed you… you just stared at me and then your face got red, so I thought that the kiss will shorten your life.” She said honestly.

“PFT… hahaha.” I can’t help but laugh. “What? Who said that?” I said and my eyes are tearing.

“No one.” She said.

I took her closer and she sat on my lap, her eyes are green then pink. I smirked cause I know that she’s blushing. Her arms are wrapped around my neck. “Amm about the kiss, it will not shorten my life and I’m sorry.” I said, I don’t know where to start.

“Really? You’re not going to die?” She asked.

“I’m not.”

“Then why are you sorry?”

“Well… ammm.. because …. I took advantage of you.” I said and she looked puzzled. This is so not me, confessing to girl that I took advantage of her. I mean it’s natural for men to take advantage… right?

“What do you mean?”

“You are not responsible to kiss me every day or any time that I want too… It’s just that you took me by surprise when you kissed me.”

“You lied?” she said and loosen her grip.

“No… I mean yeah I lied about the thing that you have to kiss me every day because you surprised me… but I didn’t lie when I told you that I want a kiss from you every day.” I said it… Damn!

There were silence. I don’t know what her reaction is,  cause I lowered my face down, I never had confess to a girl before like this. Even to Devon, it was just casual and then we started dating and then she became my girlfriend. I guess mermaids are different. Oh crap! I forgot Neola IS a mermaid… I don’t even know if we can be together… if it is possible to a human and mythical creature? Together?

“I… I’m so..” I was trying to apologize when I faced her again, but she… her eyes are violet. She’s not mad?

“You wanted to kiss me?” she asked.

“Ah… yeah… I guess.” I said.

“So a kiss… what is the significance of a kiss to a human?”

I almost choked, do I really have to explain this thing to her. “Well… it’s a thing that… humans do when they… like… someone.” There I said it. I’m having a hard time looking at her eyes. I don’t know how she would react about this.

“Really… so like, does that mean love?”

“Amm.. well in some ways yeah you can call it love.

“So when you said that you like to kiss me… does that mean that you love me?”

“What?” I immediately looked at her. Is she serious? She just looked at me straight in the eye.

I don’t even know how I really feel about her. Maybe this is just infatuation or something, maybe this is just temporary. How about when she will come back to her kingdom, I mean she’s the next ruler and all.

She released a sigh and stood up from my lap. She looked disappointed.

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to force into something. I have already caused you too much trouble.” She said and left. I didn’t see the color of her eyes.

I slapped my face hard. ARGH!! What have I done? I don’t know what to say.

“Serves you right.” Leroy said.

“What?”

“You know the slap on your own face.” He said.

“How long have you been there?” I asked.

“Not long enough… I heard the part where she asked about what’s the significance is a kiss to a human.” He said and sat beside me drinking a mug of coffee.

I sighed. There were silence between the two of us, I can hear him sipping into his mug.

“What can you suggest that I would do?” I asked him. I am desperate in finding the answers of what should I do in this kind of situation.

He pats my back. “It’s up to you kid. Check your heart.” He said.

“But people say that mind should be over the heart in making decisions.” I reasoned.

“Yeah… but not in your situation. I know what you’re thinking, you find it hard to believe that humans and mermaids can co-exist or if this is all true?”

I looked at him… can he read my mind too?

“I know all the confusions that you had right now… cause I’ve been there.” He said looking straight into nowhere.

“You have fallen in love with a mermaid?” I said and he looked at me and smiled.

“Yup.”

“But I thought that you married a human?”

“Yes I did, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t fell in love with a mermaid.” He said.

“What happen?... if you want to tell me though.”

“It’s alright, it happened a long time ago, with Castalia… she is beautiful and do I have to mention drop-dead-gorgeous?” he said and we both chuckled. “She was my original royalty.”

“What? I though you..”

“I’m not done yet.” He said and I shut my mouth. “When I first discovered her I was in a boat fishing when I was still a freshman in college. Everyone left the dorm for thanksgiving and I decided to stay to have a time for myself. I was fishing and then a storm came in and I was swept by the waves into an unknown island. I was unconscious for like an hour, when I woke up her beautiful face was right in front of me.” He said smiling while remembering his past, he must really loved her. “When I saw her naked body I was like ‘Am I in heaven?’ but then I saw her tail… and I freaked out. “

“I can imagine that.” I said.

“I tried to run away from her but my leg was badly hurt and her eyes are like orange. She told me to calm down and she’s not going to hurt me, I didn’t believe her but my body relaxed on itself it was like she’s controlling me. For days she brought food and took care of my injury, you do know that the royalties can control the appearance of their tail right?” He said and I nodded. “I get to know her and then she said out of nowhere that I am her protector and that we are bound to be together. We grew closer together and found out my powers. Even before king Amasis is trying to conquer the whole pacific, so you don’t really know when the war will start all you have to do is to be prepared and protect your royalty. I started to have feelings for her and like you I tried to deny it many times, thinking that this is all just a freakin dream. She was always targeted by the Vipers because she is the fiancé of the heir to the throne.” He said and started to look sad.

“What? She has a fiancé?

“Yup, later she admitted that she also has feelings for me that she loved me to. But instead of listening to my heart, I listened to what my mind said. My heart was telling me that take her away and be happy together, love her until the rest of my life, but my mind said that I don’t have the right to take her away, I mean she already has her own life and she will be married to the next king of Althea.”

“Wait! What? Did you say that she is going to marry the next king of Althea?”

“You heard it right, she is about to marry King Xerxes that time, and did I mention that Xerxes became my best friend? Funny huh? The girl that I love and love me is about to be married by my best friend.”

“I can totally relate to that.” I honestly said. “So what happened next?”

“I told her that it is not right for us to be together and that mermaids and humans are impossible to be together… and I also thought about the life that I can give her at that time, I don’t even have a decent job at that time and money was hard that I thought that I would never graduate from college… but I was wrong, When I realized about my mistake, it was too late. She got married.”

“Did you regret it?” I asked and he looked at me.

“At first yeah, I was totally devastated, Xerxes never knew my feelings for her and hers for me. I need to do something to erase her from my mind and from my heart, but I learned that it is impossible. I loved her. So asked help from Xerxes to away for a while and he gave me precious stones from the sea. I took it and started a business and I met my current wife. She was the one who was there when I was wasted and when I was broken. She never left me even when the business that I’ve started became bankrupt she was still there to encourage me to move on and that everything will be alright. She became my strength when I was weak. She loved me even though she’s not sure that I can love her back. Watching her perseverance in me… I took a huge step, I moved on… I learned how to love her, and it wasn’t hard because she is a lovely woman. Eventually we got married and had four children and our business boomed like crazy so now I’m happy with my wife, my family and my business.” He said with a smile.

“Wow.” Is all that I could say.

“So with your problem right now, you have to follow your heart, because you might not find a woman that can love you after your heart got broken.” He said, pats my back and left.

I had a little thinking; I didn’t know that Leroy can have an experience like that, now I’m curious to see his wife.

I have to follow my heart eh? Yeah he was right; I need to make a move now before it’s too late. I ran outside to find Neola… but I heard a scream. “Neola!” I ran outside and I found her on the ground crying.

I enclosed my arms to her. “What happen?” I said and later Leroy Steve and Greg went outside too.

“Larissa and Art, they are in danger.” She told us in panic.

“What? Where are they?” Leroy asked.

“In the forest.” Neola said.

In a cue weapons appeared in Leroy’s hands, Steve and Greg went inside and had some weapons on their own.

“You stay here, you have to protect her.” Leroy said to me.

I want o protest but he is right. Neola needs me now, she’s still sobbing hard. Leroy and the other men ran out in an instant, Leroy disappeared first.

“Shhh, it will be alright.” I said stroking her hair, hoping that everything will be alright.

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