A Harmony of Water and Weald Read online

  And looks at me, shyly,

  Until our prince is standing

  Beside us.

  “You were supposed to sit still!”

  He is not angry with us.

  Exasperated, yes,

  But not angry.

  We will pose for him again

  In a little while.

  Our princess takes him by the hand

  And pulls him down onto the sand with us. ^_^

  I, too, sit up, and dust some of the sand

  From my hair. I smile at him

  And tell him ‘sorry’.

  He grins, almost shyly, and shrugs.

  “Well, you probably needed some rest anyway.”

  I could have watched the sea for hours.

  My princess, though, could not.

  “Maris was thinking too hard,” she says.

  I am tempted to throw a little more sand her way,

  But she can be fussy and I am content this way,

  With my prince and my princess by my side.

  My princess lays her head in his lap,

  Which means I move close

  And let him rest his head on my shoulder.

  For a while, we sit still,

  Letting the sun wash over us

  As the sea sings a susurrus lullaby

  In a duet with the wind.

  I find my princess’s hand

  And take it in my own.

  She brings it to her lips and kisses it

  Then lets it go with a reluctant caress.

  “Don’t give up your voice for me,”

  She whispers. I do not quite understand,

  For I know she would let my hand go

  The moment I wanted to speak.

  I sigh and tuck a strand of hair,

  Behind her ear.

  It’s escaped the braids she put it in. ^_^

  “How is your sketch?”

  I am looking at my princess’s face

  As I speak because I cannot look at my prince’s.

  I can feel his sigh feather down my collarbone

  Before he responds.

  “Ruined?”

  “I’m sure it’s fine.

  You’re always too hard on yourself.”

  I would nod in agreement,

  But because he cannot see my face,

  I make proper words.

  I still don’t understand art.

  But I trust my princess

  And I want my prince to be happy.

  “That’s because you’re both biased.”

  Our princess snorts

  And I join her.

  My body moves enough that

  My prince shifts away from me,

  And even our princess sits up properly

  To look at him.

  “Oh, Bernhard,” she sighs.

  This is already an old argument between us.

  None of us will win it. :(

  None of us will lose it. ^_^

  “Look,” I say,

  And point them to the sea.

  In the distance,

  Just close enough to see,

  Is a whale.

  I cannot hear its song from here. :(

  Salt stings my eyes.

  There are moments

  When my heart aches

  For the sea and my sisters.

  I never know when.

  I never know why.

  My prince and princess notice.

  I love them because they always notice,

  Even if I have never told them why.

  How could I explain my sisters to them?

  They pull me close,

  Both of them.

  My family,

  My new sisters,

  Close to me,

  All of us together,

  With the salt tang sea

  Upon our tongues.

  They sing for me.

  I join them with my body

  What I can move without leaving them.

  It is a long time

  Before I do not feel

  Like I will cry so much

  The sea will swallow the beach

  And us along with it.

  My princess is stroking my hair

  And presses a bird-light kiss

  To my temple.

  I would kiss her back,

  Like this, but I do not want to move. :(

  My prince is picking sand

  Out of my dress.

  After a while, my princess asks,

  “Shall we pose again?”

  I do not need to see

  My prince’s face to know

  That he is glowing at the question.

  Our princess is not good

  At sitting still for long.

  She is always moving

  Like the sea is always moving.

  “Let’s do something different,”

  My prince says.

  He brushes the sand off his breeches as he gets up

  And returns to his easel.

  Luckily, he still carries his sketchbook too. ^_^

  My princess and I snuggle close,

  The way we were before. ^_^

  Though I sneak a glance at our prince

  And, finding him still preparing,

  I kiss my princess on her nose.

  It’s eel-quick and light.

  I like the way it turns

  My princess’s cheeks all red

  And the way it makes

  Her eyes sparkle with joy.

  Our prince calls out to us

  To shift our positions, just so.

  Once we are arranged to his satisfaction,

  Our backs are to one another,

  My princess’ head on my shoulder,

  Her golden hair spilling down my arm.

  My head is tilted slightly,

  And my eyes are closed.

  If I can just hear the sea,

  And feel my sister’s body

  And do no think about anything,

  I am content.

  We stay like that until my prince

  Has finished his drawing.

  And then, our princess and I,

  Splash in the waves and start

  To hunt the shallow pools

  For supper. ^_^

  In a Flutter

  I miss my cat.

  Thanks to my princess,

  I’ve been able to tell my prince

  What I call my cat and that it is not

  ‘Red Ocean’ at all, but it is fine

  If he calls her that.

  I don’t know how to explain

  Why I chose that name

  And I am strangely glad.

  I miss my sisters.

  My prince says that,

  Once we can travel again,

  We must all travel back to

  His kingdom to visit his family. ^_^

  It is a state visit.

  My princess has been in a flutter

  Since he told us. Worryingly flitting

  Here and there,

  Trying to get everything sorted.

  “I bet they’ll expect me

  To be pregnant,” she grumbles

  When we are alone.

  My prince holds out a letter

  That had arrived here as if by magic,

  Though my prince and princess say that

  It was just a bird.

  “Mother will be too busy

  Cooing over my sister’s twins.”

  He grimaces as he speaks, though,

  And I offer him my hand.

  He smiles at me, taps my fingers lightly.

  “I’m all right.”

  I smile back,

  And instead I wrap my arms

  Around my princess

  As she paces past me

  And I pull her onto the bed

  With
a squeak and a giggle.

  Now she is between us

  And snuggles up against me,

  Her head tucked against my chest.

  I kiss her hair lightly and dream.

  My prince says that my cat

  Can come with us when we return. ^_^

  And we might see my sisters,

  If they know we’re travelling!

  But I don’t know how

  To tell them we’re coming. :(

  If only the bird messenger

  Was truly magic like the Sea Witch.

  Then I could tell them!

  Perhaps the Sea Witch knows anyway

  And will tell them for me.

  “Maaaaaaris,” a voice calls.

  It takes me a moment to realise whose.

  It is my prince’s, reaching out with a brush,

  To tickle my ear with it.

  It’s a clean brush, of course.

  But I dislike tickling even so.

  I turn to face him,

  Pulling my princess along with me.

  “Hey!” she protests,

  Though not very loudly.

  At most she moves to snuggle me

  Differently. She’s so warm. ^_^

  “Don’t move so much.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  “Shark,” I say.

  “We’re not going to be eaten by sharks,”

  My princess announces, walking her fingers

  Over one of my legs.

  When I look down I see her grinning

  And I know she was just joking.

  Sharks are dangerous, though,

  And I don’t know how to deal with them

  As a tall-crab. It would be far worse

  Than as a mermaid.

  I hope none of my sisters

  Has been eaten by a shark. T_T

  “We’ll be fine, Asta,” my prince says.

  “You’re worrying too much.”

  “I want them to like me!”

  She sits up, abruptly,

  And I startle enough to fall

  Onto the pillows. >>

  “Sorry, Maris,” my princess

  Murmurs, though her attention

  Is on my prince now.

  “They’ll like you.

  And if they don’t,

  That’s their loss

  And they can’t do anything

  About it anyway.”

  I look from one to the other

  And frown, slightly.

  It strikes me then

  How calm my prince

  And how anxious my princess.

  I don’t know whether to

  Be proud of my prince or

  Be afraid for my princess.

  “They’ll like you both,”

  I say to them.

  “And they’ll be happy

  For us all.”

  I know they will be. ^_^

  “And now we should sleep

  And think about it tomorrow.”

  I yawn, though mostly

  It is to convince them both

  That it is truly late.

  Sometimes they forget.

  We curl up together,

  My princess and I.

  My prince, as always,

  Keeps his distance.

  Just a little.

  Close enough to reach out

  Not close enough to touch.

  “Tomorrow,”

  They breathe almost in unison

  As my prince blows out the lantern light.

  My ‘good night’ goes unseen,

  But I’m sure they know I said it. ^_^

  The Nature of Our Relationship

  It has been a long time

  Since I have been in the sea. :/

  On the sea, really.

  After much packing

  And planning and pacing

  We were ready to set sail

  And travel to my prince’s kingdom.

  The sea is not so treacherous now.

  I stand at the bow of the ship,

  Looking at the quiet sea.

  It’s funny. I’ve never thought

  Of the sea as quiet before.

  It is always filled with life.

  It makes me uncomfortable

  To think of how easy it is

  To forget what life is like

  Under the glassy surface. :(

  To think how easy it is

  To think about the sea

  As a glassy surface even when

  It is clearly not glass-still.

  I wonder if I will see my sisters.

  If they know that I am travelling

  To – through – their home, just for a little while.

  My prince and princess are asleep.

  If my sisters are out in the sea tonight,

  I will not be able to see them.

  There is barely even starlight.

  I have come every night

  Since we left port. ^_^

  I think…

  I think… If my sisters come,

  The Sea Witch will have told them.

  And if she told them, then

  She would likely wake me.

  I think.

  I hope. ^_^;

  Still, I come out here,

  To watch the sea as the ship

  Cuts through it

  And the night light reflects off it.

  No sound but the wood cutting through

  The water and the waves lapping against

  The ship and in the distance.

  It is peaceful. ^_^

  But I come for my sisters.

  If they know I am here,

  I want them to know that I came

  For them. Waited, for them.

  Looked into the waves for them. ^_^

  My prince and princess do not

  Remark on my behaviour.

  I don’t know if it is because they

  Do not know how, what, to ask

  Or because they know this is something

  That I must do alone.

  I don’t know how I feel about that. :/

  They are my family too.

  I don’t know how many nights

  I wait on the deck, woollen shawl

  Wrapped around my shoulders

  Because it is still too cold

  For me to be comfortable.

  There is no moon the night

  The Sea Witch calls to me.

  It is just at the moment

  When I had wanted to turn

  To leave and go to sleep.

  Instead it looks like I

  Have turned because she called

  And I gasp when my eyes

  Understand what I am seeing.

  My sisters! :O

  They are more now

  Some only young.

  They must have been born

  After I left. I do not know them

  And they do not seem to understand

  Why they are here.

  But soon they are exploring the deck

  And seem content enough.

  Perhaps later I can tell them

  About the dangers of ships. ^_^

  The sisters who remain

  Are the sisters I have left.

  One of them hisses when

  I move forward to hug them

  And I freeze.

  We are no longer the same

  They and I.

  It feels… I do not want to think

  About how it feels. Perhaps later

  When I am alone.

  We do not speak,

  My sisters and I.

  I see them.

  Some more scarred

  Than when I was still

  One of them.

  Three of my sisters are

  Not among them.

  Quietly, the
Sea Witch

  Explains that they died.

  I cry salt tears that

  My sisters do not understand.

  One of the smaller ones

  Slithers over to me

  And asks what I am doing.

  I try to tell her,

  Am grateful the Sea Witch

  Explains it so well.

  I think she does.

  It is difficult, now,

  To understand my sisters. :(

  No, it is not difficult

  But it is strange,

  Like a skill forgotten

  Finding itself suddenly

  In use again and

  All the new things

  That I want to share

  With my sisters do not help.

  We have no words to

  Explain them. No way

  To share these differences.

  At last, we sit in silence,

  Just my sisters and I.

  I do not snuggle up to them

  The way I would when I was

  Still a mermaid.

  It hurts to know they would

  Bite me if I came too close

  Because I am too like a tall-crab

  For them to see me differently.

  I am scared of what would happen

  If the Sea Witch were to leave. T_T

  She does not.

  This time, for now,

  She has legs like mine

  And they do not seem to

  Do her any harm the way

  Mine did when I first

  Walked on land.

  I am envious.

  Just a little.

  This quiet is companionable.

  It is better than trying to talk

  And find some middle ground.

  The little mermaid that

  Wanted to know what tears are

  Comes up to me again.

  Places a small, cold hand

  Onto my knee.

  I look down at her

  And wonder whether

  She is a mermaid like I was.

  One who longs to see

  The world on land

  And understand these strange

  Creatures that call themselves ‘human’.

  I smile. ^_^

  But that only seems

  To frighten her. Briefly.

  Soon she is back,

  Poking at my body.

  Pulling on my hair,

  Combing her hands through it.

  I let her unless it hurts

  Very badly. She isn’t vicious

  Only curious.

  I wonder if she’s ever touched

  A living tall-crab before.

  Or at all. :/

  My sisters watch

  Impassive.

  The Sea Witch…

  Well, she is herself.

  As always.

  Mysterious as the sky.

  I do not know

  How long it is

  Until morning when

  My sisters leave.

  One by one

  They dive into the water.

  The youngest first.

  Then… my sisters.

  Only one of them

  Reaches out a hand

  To touch mine without

  Threatening to bite me