The Servant Girl and The Sea Prince

Chapter Four: POSEIDON

Crown Prince Poseidon had been curious about the surface world, though not to the same degree as Oceana, for a while. That was one reason why he was enrolled in Prof. Yellowtail's "Humanology 101" class at the University of Pacifica.

He wrinkled his chiseled nose at the unfamiliar, displeasing odor of the musky sea air. He had heard older merfolk mention before that the smells above the water line took some getting used to, but he sure didn't expect it to be this pungent.

At least it looked a lot better up above the ocean's surface than it smelled. Up in the dark sky, dozens of bright white dots were floating above him. Those are called stars, Poseidon recognized. The countless twinkling, shining celestial bodies were unlike anything he had ever beheld in his life.

He was fairly certain that humans hardly ever swam in the ocean this late in the evening, but he spotted a two-legged figure several meters in front of him. Poseidon instinctively dipped his head back in the water. Merfolk were generally discouraged from directly interacting with human beings.

A frown creased Poseidon's brow. The sea was growing increasingly turbulent. As he scrutinized the churning water, he realized that the lone leg-walker, whose silhouette was distinctly female, was quickly drifting in his direction. Her movements were surprisingly graceful, yet tinged with a growing desperation. With each surge of the waves, she was pulled further out to sea, straight towards the heart of the brewing storm.

The Crown Prince of Pacifica knew good and well that if he didn't help the poor human maiden, she would, in all likelihood, drown. He was far from an expert on landlubber biology, but he understood that they could not breathe underwater. Prof. Yellowtail would probably say "One less human to worry about!" and advise him to let her go to a watery grave. His father, King Neptune, on the other fin, firmly believed that every sentient creature had inherent value, even humans.

Poseidon impulsively wrapped his muscular arms around the drowning girl. He could not help but notice that she was actually just as pretty as many mermaids were. She had greasy brown hair, styled in a messy braid, but she boasted delicate facial features, a fair complexion, and lovely, seaweed green eyes. The strange, light-colored garment she wore clung to her slender physique. While he didn't care much for her two scrawny legs where her tail should be, her big, flipper-like feet did enhance the appearance of the human lady's lower body.

With the young woman in his strong grasp, he swam toward the shoreline. He gently placed her soaking wet form on the beach.

"Wait, please don't go..." the human girl said. Her accent was thicker than anemone glue, but he was able to understand her. Pacifican Anglo, which had replaced Archaic Pacifican as the official language of his kingdom hundreds of years ago, was derived from a local human language, but the pronunciation of many words was different.

"You saved me..." she continued. "I'm Melinda...."

It was not a name commonly used in the merfolk world, but he thought it was a beautiful moniker that fit her as well as a mermaid's well-tailored seashell bra top.

"Won't you please at least tell me your name...?" she begged, gazing into his blue-green eyes.

Poseidon hesitated. Should he really speak to a human...? Such a thing was definitely frowned upon, but for some reason that didn't stop him from blurting out "Poseidon..." before diving into the Western Ocean.

For a few minutes, he floated aimlessly ten meters under the surface, a whirlpool of complex emotions swirling within him. It had been undoubtedly foolhardy to reveal himself to a leg-walker, but she had struck him as so trustworthy, so sincere. The memory of Melinda's wide green eyes, filled with both heartfelt gratitude and unquenchable curiosity, lingered in the Crown Prince of Pacifica's mind.

He suddenly noticed a bizarre, brown object on the sandy bottom of the shallows. A single word, spoken in Prof. Yellowtail's grating voice, echoed in his head: "Shoe". It was a covering for human feet, made of the skin of a four-legged land animal. Did it belong to Melinda...?

Poseidon couldn't resist cracking a small smile. He had promised his sister Oceana that he would bring her back a human artifact for her ever-expanding collection, after all. Shoes were especially fascinating to some merfolk, as their kind had no need for them, for obvious reasons.