What is Happily Ever After?

Ch. 1 

Aria forced her encrusted eyes open when morning came.  She groaned and rubbed the gunk off her eyelids.  She’d cried herself to sleep yet again the previous night.   

What is wrong with me?  She glumly stretched her limbs after getting out of bed.  I should be over this by now. 

I should be over him by now... 

She slowly moved on autopilot, getting ready for the day until her dog, Bode, came bounding up.  He dropped his favorite ball at her feet and cocked his head as if he understood what she was going through.  Aria paused long enough to realize he probably did understand, considering it was the crack of dawn and nowhere near time to play a game of fetch. 

She smiled in reflex and relaxed.  She bent down and pet the big fuzzball, reassuring him with gentle coos that she was alright.  He licked her face in response, then circled her as she got ready to go outside and do her chores.   

It was a beautiful spring morning.  A busy season for any farmer like her.  She breathed in the fragrant air and stepped off the porch to go greet the other animals like she always did.  A routine was what she needed, she realized.  It would keep him out of her mind all day, Goddess willing. 

Today’s a good day, she thought to herself.  And it’ll be a productive day too!  I’m not even going to think about him.  Nope.  No, siree.  Not at all. 

Fast forward to later that morning.  She’d gone into town on a whim to pick up more seeds when she spotted them on Starlet Town’s main plaza next to the general store, blissfully tangled up in each other as lovers often are.  It made her feel sick to her stomach.   

She had to veer in the opposite direction they were headed in to avoid being seen with more tears in her eyes.  That meant heading to the (thankfully) vacant beach.  She pretended to look for seashells until she was sure they were out of range to see her shoulders shaking and her lips quivering. Damn it!  Why is he even here to begin with?! 

Aria couldn’t have foreseen that her ex-boyfriend and the woman he cheated on her with would be vacationing in Starlet Town, close to four years after their explosive breakup.  The last time Aria asked him, Chase said he hated the beach.  Yet there he was on the wharf a few days ago, with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed bitch on his arm.  Aria did know the woman’s name; she just didn’t want to know it.  She didn’t want to think about her.  Or him.  Together.   

Aria heaved a heavy sigh out of her lungs and, after some back and forth in her head, decided she would spend the rest of the day in the ocean.  Away from Starlet Town.  Less of a chance to run into them again.  Less opportunities to be reminded of it all. 

She headed to the closest teleport hub and vanished in a gust of flower petals, then blinked and found herself in the ocean, with a merfolk tail and all.  Aria let a stream of bubbles out of her mouth and looked around the merfolk kingdom, finding it as sparsely populated as ever.   

Being here made her a little sad, but for a completely different reason.  She’d healed the ocean and the coral tree, true, but the merfolk as a species seemed to be tapering off into extinction.  She was saddened by the thought; an entire civilization wiped away from existence.   It was no wonder some of the merfolk still didn’t trust her, despite all she had done.  Well... maybe one or two of the merfolk.  At least one. 

Speaking of Semeru, she warily looked around the plaza, but didn’t see any sign of Shark Man.  She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not, because-- 

“Oh, Aria!” she heard a familiar voice slightly muffled by the water.  Sound definitely traveled differently underwater. The princess looked happy to see Aria. 

Aria’s lips were pulled into a smile despite her earlier mood.  It was hard not to smile around Miranjani, whose sunny personality outshone most others.  The princess swam up to Aria with something cupped in her hands, “There you are!  I’ve been looking for you!” 

“I know I haven’t been in the ocean for a couple of days now; it’s been busy on the surface,” Aria smiled in apology.   

The mermaid’s eyes sparkled in wonder, “Really?  Oh, you must tell me what you’ve been up to!  Please?” 

Aria talked about what the spring season meant for a farmer when one of the other merfolk swam up to them and told the princess her parents ‘desired her presence.’ 

“Again?  Whatever for?” Miranjani huffed in annoyance.  The merfolk merely shrugged and suggested she finish her conversation before heading to the audience chamber.  They swam away, leaving Mira looking apologetic.  “Sorry, Aria.  Oh, but before I go, I wanted to give you this!”  She then held out the small trinket in her hands.  It was a ring embedded with a deep yellow gem, almost golden.  Just as Aria was trying to puzzle out the name of the gem, Princess Miranjani slipped the ring onto Aria’s index finger.  “Isn’t it pretty?  The gem reminded me of your eye color!  That means it’s meant for you!” she beamed. 

Aria couldn’t contain her smile and thanked the princess profusely before she had to swim off to meet with the king and queen.   

Aria looked down at the gift on her finger, admiring the shade of yellow.  Mira was right; it really did match the amber shade of her eyes, now that she thought about it.   

Deciding she would work on the underwater farm that day, Aria headed to the fields of strange and alien-looking vegetation.  She greeted a few familiar faces along the way, including Delani and Agung as they were heading out on their respective patrols.  She reached the field lined up with her crops and got to work.   

Her mind wandered as it so often did when she was in the middle of a repetitive task.  Her work-related thoughts eventually turned to more mundane things, then to memories of people she didn’t want to think about.  Memories of Chase and his girlfriend being happy together.  Her chipper mood slowly became more and more melancholy as time passed, and the sun hovered over the ocean up above.     

Aria stopped what she was doing, dropped her scythe into the sand, then drifted over to a large boulder to lean against the side.   She looked out at the expanse of colorful revived coral reefs, finding it difficult to enjoy what should have been a breathtaking sight.  Her mind was stuck in a loop of anger, apathy, and self-pity.  Her anger was aimed more at Chase and What’s-Her-Face.  Her apathy stemmed from her reasoning that that chapter of her life was over, and therefore she shouldn’t care.  And her self-pity made her wallow in regret of what could have been as she was reminded that Chase and her had once been planning a life together before he’d been caught with his pants down.  Which cycled back to anger, of course.   

Crying underwater was a bit of a strange experience.  Her eyes felt hot but didn’t sting for one thing.  She continually wiped her face to erase imaginary tears, which she supposed was a habit at this point.  Her shoulders still shook and her lower lip wavered though, making it obvious to any passersby that she was heartbroken.  Maybe merfolk were unable to cry like humans?  It was a question for another day. 

She was in her state of anger when she was abruptly ripped from her loathing thoughts.   She hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings and therefore hadn’t felt the change in the current.  Nor did she suspect she wasn’t alone anymore.  A hand wrapped itself around her arm and slammed it into the rock behind her, jerking her to awareness and panic.   

Her new tail reflexively thrashed to get away, but it was no use.  Whoever it was, they were much stronger than her.  She shut her eyes and shouted out a ‘No!’ while waiting for the blow.  But all she felt was a metallic point at her throat.  And then she heard him. 

“Land-dweller?” 

Aria peeked an eye open to see two startled blue irises looking into hers.  Semeru was inches away from her face, far too close, but Aria pressed her free hand to her throbbing heart as her anger welled up. 

“Gods, Semeru!  You almost gave me a heart attack!” she raised her voice. 

Semeru backed up before she could push him away, his features returning to something neutral.  “My apologies.  I didn’t recognize you and thought you were a foreign merfolk.  I didn’t hurt you, did I?”  His tone should have been concerned, but it sounded more to Aria like he was brushing her off.   

“Do you honestly think it would kill you to not stab first and ask questions later?!” she seethed at him.   

He furrowed his brow at her.  “It could, actually.  And I already apologized.”  Then he looked her up and down in a non-suggestive manner.  “How did you become a merfolk anyway?” 

Aria snorted, “You can ask Cho Oyu.  Maybe she’ll tell you.” 

She felt too furious to properly insult him, so she began to swim in the other direction when he spoke up again, “Wait...” 

She stopped, thinking he would give her a proper apology, but instead he gripped her chin in one hand and turned her head from one side to the other as if examining her.   

While he wasn’t terribly close, his critical gaze made her blush.  Could he tell she had been crying just now?  Were her eyes that red?  She realized a second too late that he was invading her personal space, but she still jerked her face away and backed up.  “What are you doing?” she asked, a bit indignant.   

Semeru, unflappable as ever, tilted his head at her and asked, “Have you been sleeping well?” 

Aria blinked a few times before her temper returned.  She frowned, “What does that have to do with anything?” 

“Denali told me you looked tired,” he answered.  Aria reached up to touch the darkened skin under her eyes.  “And I have to agree.” 

Gods, can this day get any worse?  She felt her face heat up.  Aria was about to sputter an angry denial when he continued, “I’ll take you to the barracks so you can rest.  I’ll come get you tonight; there’s something you need to see.”   

Then the idiot started to swim away without her! 

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere with you?!” She crossed her arms as he passed her, swimming in the direction of the Merfolk Kingdom.   

He stopped and looked at her.  “You don’t have to go anywhere with me; but I do think what you see will be worth your time.”  His gaze softened a fraction, “I promise it’s nothing dangerous, Aria.”  Semeru then inclined his head as if asking her to follow him.  

I think that’s the first time he’s ever said my name, she thought, feeling butterflies in her stomach.  She internally shook her head, wondering what was wrong with her.  Then she relented, supposing that it couldn’t hurt to indulge him this once.  “Fine.  I’ll go,” she huffed before swimming in the same direction he was going in.   

He swam just ahead of her, and like he said, escorted her to the barracks and to her room, making sure the door closed behind her before he left.  He was just about to leave the barracks and head to the palace when one of the other merfolk stopped him. 

“Hi, Semeru.  Did you find Aria?” Denali inquired. 

The captain of the guard replied in mild frustration, though it wasn’t exactly aimed at Denali.  “I did.  I wish you had told me she looks like a merfolk now, I... thought she was someone else at first.”  He left out the detail that he’d almost skewered her. 

Denali tilted her head.  “I didn’t tell you?  I thought you’d have seen her around the kingdom by now.  Well, where is she?  At the field?” 

Semeru inclined his head towards the barracks.  “She was, but now she’s in her room asleep.  At least I hope she is,” he muttered the last part under his breath. 

“You... hope?  Why?” Denali heard him though. 

Semeru shook his head at her, “Do you know how stubborn she is?  She was resistant to your idea of showing her the migration tonight.” 

Denali’s brow furrowed and she raised her voice slightly.  “You told her?!  I said to keep it a surprise, Semeru!” 

“Relax, I didn’t tell her.  I just said we were taking her somewhere tonight, but I didn’t mention where.” 

“Oh.  Uh, about that...” Denali then looked away awkwardly, tapping her pointer fingers together.  Semeru suddenly had a bad feeling.  “Turns out I can’t be there for the migration.  I forgot it was my mom’s birthday today, and we’re going to celebrate it tonight.  Do you think you could...?” 

“No,” he cut her off, looking stern.   

Denali scowled in annoyance.  “Well, Agung’s going to be on patrol tonight, so he can’t be there either!  Who else is going to take her?”   

He began to wave her concerns off, “The migration happens every year, Denali.  She’ll probably--” but he cut himself off when he noticed the mermaid’s glare.  He crossed his arms, returning a cold gaze to her.   

Their staring contest ended when Denali’s glare faltered, but rather than admit defeat, she quickly came up with an argument: “Weren’t you just saying we should be thanking her for everything she’s done?  Single-handedly cleaning the ocean and healing The Coral Tree?  And for getting rid of the black roots?  Does any of that sound familiar?” 

Semeru stiffened as if he’d been backed into a corner.  He had said that, hadn’t he?   

He let out a deep breath and relented, “Fine.  I’ll take her.  But I doubt she’ll be happy about it, given recent events.” 

Denali tried to contain her triumphant smile.  “It’ll be fine, Semeru.  Think of it as a chance for you to get to know each other!  And if anyone needs a break from everyday life, it would be the two of you,” she grinned.   

Semeru shook his head.  Here she was, telling him to take a break again.  “There’s nothing wrong with working hard.  And why are you so sure seeing the migration will make Aria happy?  They’re nothing extraordinary...” 

“The princess says humans that love animals are fascinated by them.  And Aria does love animals, remember.”  Then the mermaid’s grin tapered off to a frown as if a melancholy thought entered her mind.   

“What?” Semeru noticed it. 

She fidgeted, “I could be wrong, but... I kind of get the impression something’s going on with Aria.  I mean, when I talked to her today, I could tell something was upsetting her.  Maybe she just needs someone to talk to?  Or maybe she wants someone to listen?  You’re good at that!  And if the migration and a friendly ear aren’t enough to make her happy,” Denali said, “Just kiss her!” 

Semeru blinked and frowned, “Just... what?” Kiss?  What does that word even mean?  

“It’s a human custom.  Princess Miranjani says it’s something humans do to cheer each other up!  To... comfort them, I think.  And to show that they care about someone.  It’s a simple gesture, but it’s pretty powerful.” Denali nodded.  “All you need to do is press your lips against hers.  Easy, right?” she smiled hopefully. 

“Press my...?” Semeru seemed a bit taken aback.  “Why would humans do that?  Is it even sanitary?” 

“Hm... I don’t really know.  But it couldn’t hurt, could it?” 

She was right about that.  It did seem like a harmless gesture.  Honestly, Semeru had never learned that much about humans and just took rumors and myths at face value.  He believed all humans were dangerous and a threat to the Merfolk way of life... or rather, he used to.  Aria, special as she was, had done a good job dismantling those beliefs.  She was far more selfless and hard-working than any Merfolk he’d met.  She’d reversed decades of pollution to the coral reefs practically overnight and healed their sacred Coral Tree.  She was a land-dweller with a Goddess’ blessing!  If that didn’t make her special, he didn’t know what could.   

Semeru breathed out his nose.  “I said I would take her to see the migration, so I will.  But don’t blame me if the ‘kiss’ thing doesn’t work.” 

Denali beamed at him, “Don’t worry about it.  And like I said, it’s a chance for the two of you to get to know each other!”