Coral entered the shop, her footsteps lighter than before. She was dripping wet, and it was obvious to her parents where she'd been. Coral barely acknowledged the customer walking past her. Delmar and Melusine approached her, exchanging looks.
"Coral?" Mr. Ocean spoke.
"I want to be a mermaid," she answered.
Melusine gasped, stepping back. Delmar gently guided her to a stool. He pulled one for her, and helped her sit down.
"Coral," he began. "The reason we left the sea was because of Delta."
"If you were to return," Melusine replied. "She might recognize you. She and her minion, Calder."
"But has she seen me?" Coral argued, sliding off the stool. She didn't let it slip in her expression she knew who Calder was.
Coral walked around, picking up a dolphin glass figure. "Does this Delta even know who I really am?"
Melusine sighed, glancing at Delmar. Coral turned around, eyes soft and pleading.
"Coral," Melusine began carefully. "We didn't tell you this but your parents gave you to us. They told us, made us promise to love you in their stead."
"Shortly afterward," Delmar continued. "The castle exploded, a sacrifice your parents made to destroy Delta and Calder."
Coral's breath hitched, her fingers trembling against her lips. "They're dead?"
"We don't know," Delmar said gently. "But it's uncertain if they did survive."
Coral's head bowed, hands dropping to her side. Melusine approached her, embracing her tightly.
"We swam to safety," Delmar continued, his voice a gravely whisper. "A merbaby couldn't be hidden forever. So...we made a choice."
-
Melusine blew bubbles at the merchild. The baby laughed, chubby hands attempting to grasp the bubbles, as Delmar swam in cautious circles.
"What are we going to do now?" Delmar murmured.
"We must give her a name," Melusine said, rubbing noses with the baby.
"Oh right," Delmar paused, and swam toward his wife. "What did you have in mind?"
"Coral," she smiled. "That's her name."
"Truly lovely," Delmar replied, hand resting on her shoulder. His brows furrowed in thought. "But what now? We must hide."
"Why should we?" Melusine answered. "Delta is dead."
"How can we be so sure?" Delmar said.
"You saw that explosion," Melusine reminded him. "She's dead."
Delmar fell quiet, his tail twitching with unresolved tension. He huffed, finally voicing the thought that has haunted him, "But for our safety, we can no longer remain in the sea."
"I see," Melusine agreed, bopping Coral's head. "But by what means?"
"We must take a potion," he said. "That will turn us into humans."
Melusine's eyes widened. She backed away, holding the baby close. "We can't...not her."
Delmar swam closer. "She's the only one who has access to such magic."
"The price is too high," Melusine protested, turning from his touch, her eyes brimmed with tears. "You know this."
Delmar nodded, shoulders slouched. "But we have no other choice. We must see Tempest."
Melusine turned to Coral, who cooed happily. She closed her eyes, her heaving chest slowed. She opened them, meeting his somber gaze.
"If the price is Coral," she said, wearily. "I will hurt that sea witch. Badly."
Delmar smiled, offering his hand. Melusine took it firmly.
"I won't stop you," he said. "I'll even offer my trident."
Melusine nodded curtly. "Now you sound like my Delmar."
Delmar chuckled, then began to swim, Melusine close behind.
-
"A sea witch?" Coral asked, eyebrow raised. "You visited this sea witch named Tempest?"
"A horrid beast," Melusine explained, finally letting go of Coral to look her in the eyes. "One we had no choice in seeing."
Delmar nodded. "It was through her... "magic" that gifted us a potion."
"A potion?" Coral glanced her father.
Melusine nodded. "A potion that we took."
"What was this potion?"
The couple locked eyes. Delmar began. "I think you have an idea what that potion is."
-
Melusine clutched Coral to her chest as they traversed the swirling kelp forest. The frigid waters of the Pacific elicited a shiver from the lowly mermaid. They had swam to the lair of the sea witch, located in the cold waters of Alaska.
Delmar was in front, eyes surveying the surroundings. The kelp gave an eerie atmosphere, like any moment, they could come alive.
Melusine gasped as she felt something wrap around her tail. She looked down. A kelp's leaf was tightly wrapped on her caudal peduncle.
She thrashed about, trying to free herself but to no avail.
"Delmar!" she screamed.
Delmar spun around, spotting his beloved in trouble. He swam toward her, but the kelp attacked. They enclosed around his wrists and tail, shrouding his mouth with the wet leaves.
An evil cackle echoed in the swarming forest. The pair froze as a writhing mass emerged from the kelp.
Melusine raised her trident, hands shaking as she held the merbaby.
"Hello," Tempest purred, drifting into view.
Her hair was shaped like an octopus— a mantle with tentacles that writhed when she moved. She wore a sleeveless dress formed of kelp that also writhed. Her skin was a pale green, with dark scales that dotted her lower arms and wrists. Webbing between her long fingers with sharp claws.
She approached Delmar, her sea green lips curled into a smile. Her golden irises glimmered at the sight of the merman.
"I haven't seen you since Atlantis," she joked, cupping his cheeks forcefully.
Delmar glared at her fiercely.
"Merfolk," she rolled her eyes. "Always so serious—"
She spotted Melusine and the merbaby. She drifted toward them, as Melusine tried her past to swim away from her.
"This is a surprise," she said, a smile slowly creeping across her lips.
"Stay away from them!" Delmar yelled.
Tempest turned around, lips twisted into a pout. "Relax, I'm not going to eat it," she assured him, reaching out toward the merchild.
Melusine, overcome with panic and maternal instinct, snapped at the sea witch's fingers with her teeth.
Tempest recoiled, clutching her hand tightly. "And they say I'm the monster," she mocked, her smile unwavering.
"Enough," Delmar declared. "Leave them, we're here to see you."
Tempest turned around, a frown replacing her smile. "Start with that! Mermaids...mermen....so troublesome!"
The kelp unwrapped the pair. Melusine released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She looked around, noting the absence of the sea witch.
Coral cooed, chubby arms reaching out west. Melusine turned to see Tempest disappearing behind a stalk of kale. She took off, slowly swimming after the sea witch. Delmar followed after her, brows furrowed in concentration.
Melusine swam toward a clearing, the kelp forming an arch. Tempest sat, beside a sunken ship, her cauldron bubbling with a mysterious liquid.
Delmar joined his beloved's side, as Tempest produced an ore, and began to stir the cauldron. She beckoned them to come closer with her long. bony finger.
They approached cautiously, as Coral cooed. Tempest began, "What do you want?"
"We wish to be human," Delmar replied.
Tempest scoffed, pausing. "I know that; it was rhetorical. Being human won't be easy—either for you or the merchild."
She lifted her head, eyes went wide. "The Mer-king and Queen are no more. Delta has taken over, hasn't she?"
Melusine covered her mouth, eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Tempest let out a snort. "She lives."
"What?" Delmar breathed.
"That means little Coral here is not safe," Tempest added. She continued stirring. "The potion I will give. It will make you human, a painful process but one I can accomplish."
She lifted her head again. "I just need one thing."
She gestured to their hair. "Your hair."
"What?" Melusine gasped. "But we mermaid can never grow it back."
"You can't do that!" Delmar exclaimed.
"I know," she smiled. "I need your hair too."
Delmar's eyes shot wide open. Tempest chuckled menacingly. "I won't leave you out."
The seaweed leaf from her dress wrapped around the hilt of the jagged knife, and lifted it to the pair. They exchanged knowing looks.
"How much," Tempest began, her eyes glowing amber. "Are you willing to sacrifice for Coral?"
-
Coral looked at her mother's hair. The shoulder length bob she rocked gave new meaning. It was more than a hairstyle. It was a scar. A daily reminder of what she and Delmar gave up to be here.
She wiped her eyes, sniffing. Melusine rubbed her daughter's back, smiling fondly.
"You gave up your hair...for me?" Coral asked, sobbing.
"It's a sacrifice we did willing," Melusine assured her, lifting her chin. "Because we loved you."
"Besides," she added. "I rock short hair quite well."
Coral let out a broken laugh. "You're right, Mom."
"I, for one, hate my new look," Delmar grumbled. "But I did it for you. And I would do it again."
Coral sniffed, anger and resent burned in her gaze. "This Delta...she took everything from you, from me! She must be stopped."
"No!" Delmar said. "You cannot do that. You must stay here."
"Why?" Coral said, chest heaving. "Delta has been abusing her authority, with stolen power she flaunts proudly. She's banished you from your home, and you are fine with this?"
"We are, Coral," Melusine said. "We always were."
"We made the choice," Delmar replied. "And we would make it again."
Coral bowed her head. "Okay," she murmured. "Okay..."
"Coral..." Delmar said, insistently. "Promise us you won't become a mermaid."
"How can I not?" Coral murmured. "I am a mermaid, as much as I cosplay as a human."
"You are human," Melusine replied with a smile. "You've always been."
Coral met her gaze, her hand gripping her arm. She rubbed it thoughtfully, goosebumps raised on her wet skin.
"But...I'm not," Coral said softly. "I've never been. I know what I want to do, to be. I want to embrace the other side of myself."
She knelt down, and drew her legs close. Delmar glanced at Melusine, his gaze pleading and a quiet resign. Coral exhaled, the hot air tickling her kneecaps.
"Please..." she begged. "I'm in the deep end right now. Please, Mom. Dad. Let me do this. Caspian..."
She smiled at the thought, as she added, "Caspian will protect me."
"Alright," Melusine said, bowing her head. "We may discuss this tomorrow. Not now."
Coral lifted her head. She rose to her feet, and Melusine hugged her. She rubbed her back, her fingers tangled in Coral's coarse hair. Delmar joined in the huddle, embracing the two. Coral gripped her mother's shoulders, desperate not to let go.
Coral murmured against her shoulder. "Okay. Thank you, Mom."
Melusine said nothing, her gaze brimmed with her true feelings. "Of course," she replied, calmly.