#charcoaledlines

His golden hair waved freely in the current as he swam with the dolphins. His brow was strong and his nose was elegant, sloping upwards slightly at the end. His shoulders were broad, punctuated with sculpted collarbones and well kept muscles from spear fishing.

 Luke’s waist was narrow with small hips and a flat stomach, though his muscles were toned. His oblique’s cut across the lower half of his stomach in a ‘V’, leading down into his glistening light green tail. It was long and flowing and one of the prettiest tails in the whole kingdom.

 Mermaids often fawned over it, not only because it belonged to the mer-prince, but also because it was the color of royalty. Luke’s father had the same color tail as him, and his older brother’s, but somehow – his seemed to be the brightest of them all.

 Luke often kept it well tended to with jellyfish lotion, but his father’s maids always went the extra step and massaged it with kelp and seaweed for added measure. Luke never liked the attention he got for his appearance, but he had no choice coming from a royal family.

 He was often dragged to social events in hopes to meet a mermaid with flowing locks and a pretty face to call a princess. But Luke was never interested in any of them. He always wanted to go out and swim with dolphins and sing with them and their harmonious tunes.

 He’d often sneak away from his siblings, grabbing his satchel and slinging it over his shoulder before swimming to the outskirts of his kingdom to find his mammalian friends. There he would find them racing through the currents, their clicks and whistles echoing throughout the water.

 They’d always greet Luke with nudges and brushes – they loved the mer-prince. And Luke would spend the day singing with them, forgetting his duties back at the castle. They’d swim together, but on this particular day, the dolphins had brought him close to shore, the sandy bottom rising higher and higher until they were in shallower water.

 Luke could see off in the distance a small dock that jutted out into the water, crabs and other small fish darting around the dark poles that stuck into the sand. He had always been fascinated by the people who lived out of water. He remembered the first time his father had talked about them – calling them humans.

 Luke had found the word odd, and found it even more peculiar that these people looked like the mer-folk, but instead of having tails, they had legs. Luke swam closer to the dock, gazing up at the sunlight that was peeking through the surface.

 He looked back to his friends, noticing that they had all but swum back out to deeper water. It was then that he remembered the legends he heard about the humans – the terrible things they did to sea creatures and how they polluted the ocean with their waste.

 Luke slowed down, cautious about approaching any closer. He knew the humans had no idea about the mere existence of his people, and he didn’t want to risk exposing it all now.

 But suddenly, he saw them – a pair of pale legs dipped into the water. They swished back and forth lazily. Luke watched intently, debating on whether to swim closer or not. He knew it was a bad idea, but he so desperately wanted to see his first pair of legs up close and personal.

 He knew he was under the cover of murky water to human eyes (his were equipped to living under the water.) Luke bit down on his lip, teeth gnawing on the inside before he decided to move closer. He was a strong swimmer if something were to happen, he could just dart away.

 Luke swished his tail, propelling him closer towards the legs moving back and forth at the end of the dock. The person they belonged to didn’t seem to even notice anyone was below them. Luke looked at them curiously, but his jaw dropped open when he noticed the color their toes were painted.

 The pale green color glimmered against the sunlight, shining the same color as his tail. Luke’s eyes flashed to his tail and then back to the human girl’s feet – an exact match. Luke squinted, trying to see above the surface, but all he could see was a dark shape wobbling from the current.

 He was fascinated by the look of the skin, how pale it was, dotted with dark freckles near the ankle and shin. A yarn anklet wrapped around her right ankle. He wanted to reach out and touch it, and before he knew it, his thoughts became an action. His fingertips brushed against the skin, soft underneath his touch.

 The legs instantly retracted, disappearing above the surface. He saw the dark shape lean over the dock, trying to see below the water, but Luke knew it was too murky for the human to see anything. He slinked away, racing back to the castle to tell his friends what had happened.

 He wouldn’t dare tell his father, but Michael, Calum and Ashton were his best friends – he told them everything. He called them over the shellphone, beckoning them to meet him by the stables. And so they did, listening intently as Luke told them about the human he had touched.

 Ashton, being the oldest, of course told him that it was a bad idea in the first place and recommended not to go back. Calum was overly curious, asking what their skin felt like – if it were any different from their own.

 Luke told them it was almost the same, except they had sunspots from living above the water. They were rare on the merfolk, usually only on the mermaids and merman that worked near the surface had them on their back and shoulders.

 And then there was Michael, he didn’t say much. But he went against Ashton’s word, saying that Luke had to go back to the dock to see if the human returned. He thought it was a sign that the nail polish of the girl matched his tail.  

 Luke knew that Michael was a hopeless romantic, but he did have a point. And the exact thought of it being a sign crossed through his mind while he was still in shallow water. It just had to be.

 So the next day, Luke found himself by the dock again. He had abandoned his duties as mer-prince, told his dolphin friends that he had important things to attend to and made the trip back out to the low water.

 Like he had hoped, the girl’s feet were dipped into the water, kicking back and forth like they were the day before. The only difference this time was the color of her toenails. Instead of being the bright green they were yesterday, they were now a deep, but shining blue that inevitably matched the hue of Luke’s eyes.

 He stayed there for a while, hidden beneath the surface, his tail swishing back and forth as he watched the girl’s feet moving with the current. He so desperately wanted to know what she doing above the surface, out in the world that he had no information about.

 He wanted to know if she was like every other human he had heard about. Luke looked out to deeper water, seeing a few mermaids and mermen heading back towards the kingdom. But other than that, the sea around him was desolate.

 Luke took a deep breath, gave one strong flick of his tail and broke through the surface. It had been a long time since he breathed real air and it felt good to feel the sun on his face. But he startled when he heard a surprised gasp.

 And then his eyes fell upon her – the human he had been so curious about.  She was beautiful with long dark locks, piercing brown eyes and an angular face. A book was cradled in her lap, her finger slipped in between one of the pages, as she was ready to turn it.

 But now – her gaze was torn away from the words and settled on Luke. “Where did you come from?” She asked, her eyes darting away from his slightly to glance to either side of him. “I didn’t see you on the beach earlier,” she continued, biting at the skin of her pale pink lips.

 “What are you reading about?” Luke chose to ask instead of answering the question she asked him. The girl looked at him curiously, her head tilting to the side slightly as her eyes searched his. He raised his eyebrows, seeming to bring her out of her reverie.

 “It’s just a book about fairytales,” she shrugged. “Mermaids, mostly,” she answered, looking back down to her book as she held it up for him to look at. On the front of the leather-bound book was a metallic gold mermaid outlined against the reddish brown of the leather.

 It was swimming through a forest of seaweed, a couple fish friends tagging behind her. It looked old, but Luke thought it was beautiful. That was one thing about Luke that was nothing like his family – he found the beauty in small things – in places that everyone else overlooked.

 “Mermaids,” he mused, his fingers grasping onto the rough wood of the dock beside her. The girl nodded, a small blush painting her cheeks rosy. “You don’t really believe in those, do you?” He asked, swishing his tail ironically below the water.

 A laugh fell from the girl’s lips, the blush on her cheeks intensifying. Luke thought the sound was melodic, having heard nothing like it before. But one thing was for sure – he wanted to hear it again.

 “Of course I do,” she answered, her chocolate eyes coming up to meet with his. “It might be silly, but I’ve believed in them since I was a child. The Little Mermaid really did it for me,” she laughed, folding over the corner of the page in her book, shutting it and setting it to the side of her. “What about you?”

 Luke shrugged just as she did. “I don’t know,” he smirked up at her, blinking some of the saltwater out of his eyes. It never bothered him, but to her, he was still just another human. “I would think they would have spotted some kind of evidence by now if they were real, don’t you think?” He asked, biting at his lip.

 “That’s true,” the girl agreed. “I just think the timing isn’t right. They’re elusive creatures. I don’t think we could catch a sight of them if we tried,” she said.

 Luke smiled, his lips spreading wide to show off his pearly white teeth. It was now that he took it upon himself to grab onto the dock with both hands, heaving himself up out of the water and taking a seat beside the girl on the dock.

 He heard her intake of breath when her eyes settled on his glistening tail that was now revealed to her. Luke had never seen his tail in direct sunlight, but now that he had, he now had a new appreciation for his tail.

 The scales glimmered in the light, reflecting the sunlight in a million little rainbows. “You’re a…” the word died on the girl’s lips; instead a shaky breath replaced what she wanted to say. Luke curled his lips in on themselves. He had always imagined how a human would react to seeing what he really was and here he was in the moment.

 “C’mon, you can say it,” Luke teased. “A merman,” he continued, nudging her shoulder, some of the water that still clung to him now on her own tanned arm.

 “A merman,” she echoed breathily, her eyes eating up every inch of his tail. Luke raised his flukes above the surface; the translucent green of his fin still sparkled out of water. “Can I – can I touch it?” She asked, her eyes darting away from his tail to meet his bright blue eyes.

 Luke nodded slowly, his eyes dropping to her hand. The human reached out her hand, her fingernails matching the shade of her toenails. The pads of her fingers brushed against the smooth, silky surface of Luke’s tail.

 The scales slid beneath her touch easily. She could feel the strong muscles beneath the slimy surface. Luke watched as she stroked it over and over again, biting down on his lip as he did so. Her feather-light touch was almost ticklish. But somehow, Luke loved the feeling of her hands on his body.

 The girl then slowed her hand until it was just her fingers moving, tracing the outline of a scale near his hips. Luke watched intently, but then his eyes moved to her now still legs in the water. “Can I touch yours?” He blurted out.

 The girl’s eyes flashed up to his. “My legs?” She asked and Luke nodded, avoiding her gaze. The girl laughed, but agreed. She raised them up out of the water, the anklet dangling off her foot.

 Luke reached forward, his hands skimming over the skin of her legs, feeling every bump and pore beneath his fingertips. He felt the hills of her freckles on her shins, the bones of her ankle – it was so different from what he was used to.

 Luke looked curiously at the yarn strung around her anklet. It was every color of the rainbow fading from reds, oranges, yellows into purples and blues. The end of it was fraying – Luke could tell that she barely took it off. And of course, Luke, once again, found beauty in the worn out anklet.

 “What is your name?” The girl suddenly asked, letting her leg drop before Luke could make it to her feet. Luke leaned back on the deck, his arms supporting him on the wood.

 “Luke,” he said, his voice coming out deep. “Nothing special, what is yours?” He asked, licking his lips. He couldn’t wait to finally have a name for the girl.

 “Kaity,” the girl answered with another small blush. Luke smiled. He liked the girl’s name; it was simple like she was, but still beautiful.  Luke turned to the satchel that was strapped across his chest, flipping open the seaweed flap.

 He rooted around inside for a moment, feeling Kaity’s curious eyes watching him. Finally, he found what he was looking for and pulled it out. He didn’t know why he kept the seashell ring with him at all times, but he did. He had found it exploring one day and he slipped it into his bag and that’s where it stayed.

 Until today, that is.

 Luke grabbed Kaity’s hand, smoothing out her fingers and placing the ring on her index finger. The pale orange of the seashell contrasted well with her skin, and surprisingly enough, it was a perfect fit.

 “Luke, that’s beautiful,” Kaity murmured, lifting her hand out of Luke’s to inspect the piece of jewelry. “You can’t give this to me though,” she started to shake her head, trying to pry the ring off of her finger, but Luke stopped her by covering her hands with his own.

 “No, I can,” Luke argued softly. “You’re the first human I’ve ever seen, Kaity. You deserve it. Just to know we are real and this isn’t just all a dream. When you wake up tomorrow and see the ring, those stories won’t all just be fairytales.”

 Luke found himself leaning forward – he didn’t know what was coming over him, but it just felt right. His lips met the corner of her mouth, pressing a small kiss to her cheek. But just then, someone called out Kaity’s name.

 Both Luke and Kaity’s heads snapped towards the sound, seeing another girl that looked identical Kaity coming down the beach, heading towards the dock they were sitting on.

 “I have to go,” Luke said. “She can’t see me.”

 He moved his hands from Kaity’s and braced himself to slide back into the depths below, but she grabbed at his wrist. “Promise me you’ll come back,” she almost spit, her voice urgent to get all the words out before he left.

 “I promise,” Luke breathed before he slipped back into his own world.

 -

 Luke had kept his promise, returning to Kaity on the dock day after day. He would sit with her and she would read to him fairytales out of her book. In turn, Luke would sometimes play with her hair while she read, twirling the dark lock of hair around his finger.

 And more often than not, he brought her gifts. He brought her another ring, a sea glass necklace and a seashell anklet to go with her old one. Kaity always refused the presents, but in the end, she always accepted them with red cheeks.

 They had become quite good friends sitting with each other day in and day out. Kaity was surprised to find out that Luke was actually the prince of the mer-folk and abandoned his duties to come and sit with her each day.

 Of course, she scolded him, telling him that his royal responsibilities were more important than sitting with her each day, but Luke would laugh and say he didn’t care. He hadn’t told his father that he was seeing a human every day, hell, he hadn’t even told his friends.

 Sure, they knew about the girl he had saw, but they didn’t know that he was getting to know her. They just thought he was out with the dolphins again. Luke knew he would probably get into trouble one day, but it was worth it.

 He was falling in love with Kaity.

 He was so eager to learn every detail about her, about her life on land when she wasn’t sitting with him by the ocean. But somewhere deep down inside him, Luke knew this wouldn’t be able to last. It was when he was lying on his bed in the middle of the night that he realized it.

 Their love was impossible.

 She was the human and he was the merman. They would never be able to live together; Luke couldn’t walk on land and Kaity couldn’t breathe underwater. He closed his eyes shut tight, trying to think of a way for them to be together.

 He couldn’t spend his whole life at the surface and risk being seen by other humans. He wanted to be able to show off Kaity to his friends; his father. And then he remembered one of the stories that Kaity had read to him out of her book of fairytales.

 It was The Little Mermaid. How the sea witch gave the mermaid legs to walk on land, maybe, Luke thought, the local sea witch could give him legs too. He wasn’t worried about any evilness, seeing as all the sea witches that resided in the kingdom were well paid by his father and actually helpful.

 Luke bolted from his bed, his covers floating towards the ground as he swam through the castle quietly. He didn’t want to wake his parents and risk his plan failing. He slipped out of the castle and into the darkness, only the street lamps to illuminate his way.

 Luke swam quickly, twisting and turning down the streets until he came to the most reliable (and closest) sea witch hut. He didn’t bother with knocking, he moved the kelp curtain aside. The woman was inside and still awake, a long spoon in her wrinkled hands.

 “I knew you would be coming,” she said, her dark eyes flickering up to meet Luke’s. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, but the sea witch continued, answering his unspoken question. “I’m a witch, darling. We know all.”

 Luke nodded, biting at the side of his mouth. “So you know what I’m going to ask then,” he spoke clearly, only a hint of nervousness in his voice.

 The old witch laughed but nodded, giving her cauldron one more stir. Luke couldn’t help but look at the black pot strung up in the middle of the hut; smoke was curling out of it, an eerie greenish hue illuminating the darkest shadows of the room.

 “Of course I do,” the witch answered. “But I’m afraid to say that there is no way I can give you legs, sweet prince.”

 Luke felt his heart drop. All he had hoped for was slipping between his fingers. Even the sea witch couldn’t help them be together.

 “But don’t fret,” the woman continued. Luke’s eyes flashed back up to the witch, arching an eyebrow at her. “There is a way for you to be together. Your darling human can become a mermaid. Her legs will bind together and forever be captive by the sea.”

 “And this is all for free; no catch,” Luke asked. Though he was sure that witch was on his side, he didn’t want to make the mistake the Little Mermaid from the fairytale did.

 “As long as your father keeps the payments coming to support my family, this is my gift to you,” the woman answered, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled a toothy grin at him. Luke felt as if he could sing until the sun came up.

 Him and Kaity were going to be together. That is – if Kaity were willing to leave her life as a human behind for him.

 But Luke was willing to take that chance.

 He stayed up all night with the sea witch perfecting the potion that he was to give to Kaity to drink. He had no doubt that it would work on her after watching the green hue change from pink, to purple, to orange and blue after each ingredient was added to the cauldron.

 Finally, when the sun was starting to penetrate towards the depths, the potion was finished. The witch spooned it into a vial, the light pink liquid safe inside. “Make sure she drinks every drop,” the witch said, pressing the glass container into the palm of Luke’s hand.

 He nodded, listening carefully to every direction that she had given him. Though he hadn’t slept yet, Luke headed towards the surface; knowing Kaity would be waiting for him at the dock. The light soon became brighter and Luke knew he was close.

 Like always, Kaity’s feet were swishing back and forth, her signature anklets moving along with her. Luke couldn’t resist himself, his hand reached out, encircling her ankle and tugging. He heard her small yelp before she splashed into the water below.

 Luke’s arms came around her waist, pressing her body firmly into his. “Luke!” Kaity whined once she had broken the surface, gulping down a breath of fresh air. She slapped at his chest playfully, splashing some of the salt water into his face.

 “Kaity,” he returned with a bright smile and a flick of his tail.

 “What are you so happy about?” She questioned, her hands now braced against the broad planes of his chest as she looked at him curiously. It wasn’t often that Luke arrived in such an excited manner as pulling her into the ocean.

 They had swum around together before, but nothing like this. “I’ve figured it out. I’ve figured out how we can be together,” Luke smiled, resting his forehead against Kaity’s.

 “But how, Luke?” Kaity asked, her lips turning down in a frown. She wanted to be with him as much as he did, but she knew she couldn’t live underwater as long as she was a human, and Luke couldn’t live out of water as long as he was a merman.

 Luke hated seeing the frown grace Kaity’s lips. But he knew it wouldn’t be there for long. “With this,” he answered, holding up the vial with the potion inside. Kaity looked at it with wide eyes, looking to Luke for him to continue. “It’s a potion that will transform you into a mermaid. But Kaity that would mean that you would be leaving your life as a human behind.”

 Kaity was silent for a moment, thinking about her siblings, her parents and the job that she would be leaving behind all for Luke. She had never felt this way about someone before, and the temptation of being a part of the merfolk was just too strong for her to resist.

 “What do I have to do?” She asked, a smile spreading across her face.

 “Just drink every drop of this and you’ll be a mermaid,” Luke explained, pulling the cork out of the top and handing Kaity the vial. Kaity nodded and pressed the cold glass against her lips, but found herself stopping. Luke’s hand was wrapped around her wrist, tugging it away from her mouth. “Just take one last look at your legs. It’ll be the last time you ever see them.”

 Kaity nodded again, looking down to her feet, the pale skin and bright red toenails. She knew she would miss her legs, but somehow, she was more excited to see her tail. Kaity took a deep breath, looking up into Luke’s eyes before downing the sickly sweet potion.

 She swallowed it down, pushing herself away from Luke as her body began to tingle. Luke watched in awe as the water around Kaity began to swirl, a white glow engulfing her. And before it even started, the rush of swirling water was over.

 Kaity looked down to where her legs would have been but was now replaced with a bright purple and blue iridescent tail. She flicked her tail, a laugh bubbling out of her mouth. Luke watched as she surged forward, throwing her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

 “Kaity,” Luke murmured, pulling back slightly. “Let me show you the world.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her beneath the surface. Kaity panicked, but remembered that she could now breathe underwater.

 They swam for a while before she could see the castle rising in the distance. Luke hurriedly swam through the kingdom before swimming into the castle and through the hallways. Kaity did her best to keep up with him and take in all the details of her new world at the same time. But Luke was just so excited that he didn’t think to slow down for her.

 He finally stopped in front of a door momentarily, pushing it open and pulling Kaity through the threshold. Inside where dozens of glass cases filled with crowns, tiaras and other jewelry of the likes. “Luke, what are we doing in here?” Kaity asked, as Luke swam over to a case.

 Luke propped open the glass, pulling out one of the tiaras within. It was decorated with beautiful, bright sea glass and pale pink pearls and vibrant coral. He lifted it above Kaity’s head, placing it perfectly so it sat atop her head.

 “Will you be my princess?” Luke asked, grabbing Kaity’s hand as squeezing it. He had been meaning to ask for the months that they had been getting to know each other. But now, it just felt like the right time since everything was coming together.

 Kaity blushed; breaking her gaze from Luke’s to look at the open case beside them. She reached in, pulling out one of the more masculine crowns that was braided with seaweed and decorated with intricate seashells, placing it on top of Luke’s messy blonde hair.

 “Only if you’ll be my prince,” she offered him a cheeky smile. Luke grinned, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to Kaity’s lips as his answer.