The Little Mermaid (SH22-Style)
Chapter 3
by Casey (Jedi at aemail4u.com)
2/1/04
And the ongoing saga continues.....
The sunrise was red and the sunset clear a full cycle of the
sun had come into effect as the dark shadow glided across the
coral floor of his shelter. Waving a hand towards two dirty
golden rods in a corner, he muttered a few words and settled down
to watch his magic in play.
"BETH!!!!!!! JOSH!!!!!!! GET IN HERE NOW!!!!!!" bellowed a
strong, irate voice from within his chambers. Cringing, the two
merpeople gently swam in, checking the time and unsure of why
they had been summoned.
The mermaid with her partner slowly stopped before the merman
seated at the back of the room. Silence prevailed before she
cautiously asked, "So, ummmm, we were just about to begin
investigating the Jurelo...."
"Do you not know why I have summoned you here?" the man asked
darkly.
Exchanging a quick glance, Josh answered, "No, not really, sir."
Drawing himself up to his full height, which didn’t seem to be
that much, the merman glared upon the pair before answering
sadistically. "I have reports of two Aquatic Gaurds, a male and
female, drawing an enticed shark into inhabited waters. Reports
say the two resembled you."
The two just floated, not moving, not uttering a word for
themselves or against themselves; just waiting an inevitable
punishment that seemed to never come. The wait was always the
worst. One can forget the upcoming consequence of an action until
judgment rests moments away.
Hearing the continuing silence, the elder merman sighed before
returning judgment. "The reports said that you, Josh, were the
one leading the shark. Therefore, you will be required to do thirty-two
hours of service reconstructing the damage of the area. If you
finish before your time is up, I will find other work for you to do."
A pair of light blue eyes flickered open only to stare at the
floor, replying quietly, "Yes, sir."
Then turning to the mermaid, he said, "Beth, you on the other
hand, from the witness reports, were following the pair, not
leading the shark, but following it. This is your final warning.
Don’t waste it."
Deep blue eyes popped open filled with hatred and unfair
circumstance, as she grudgingly growled, "Sir."
Feeling the disciplinary action light yet severe, Chief
Inspector Greyson returned to his chair and began barking orders.
Beth didn’t quite hear what he was saying, thoughts racing
through her head and her eyes narrowing at the stony bottom of
the chamber.
"Dismissed."
The sharp word brought her back to reality as she
drifted with dignity after Josh and towards the exit.
As soon as both were out of earshot, the Chief Inspector of the
Aquatic Guard let out a heavy sigh. ‘Those two are going to be
the death of me.’
The young merman glanced softly at his equally young
counterpart. ‘Still seething. It’s gonna be a while till I hear
the end of this one.’ He thought smiling softly to himself.
‘She’ll gripe about this one for weeks. Oh well, I don’t mind.’
"Can you believe that," the mermaid stated, rather than asked,
through clenched teeth. "That was so untrue! I led the shark into
the town. You were the one to distract it by getting it to follow
you out of town." Still seething, and fists clenched, she swam in
front of Josh, refusing to let him pass. "And just why do you put
up with me, again?" Then she ended regretfully, "I don’t deserve
it."
Mouth gaping, and thoughts racing, he found himself hard
pressed for an answer. "Well, ummmmm. I just do." ‘Idiot.’
Then finding a suitable train of thought, he quickly finished, "You
deserve my toleration just as much as everyone else does, Beth!
And we both know why Greyson did that. Don’t sweat it. I can
handle another thirty-two service hours. It’ll improve my character by
forcing me to do menial tasks to improve the image of the Aquatic
Guard." He comically smiled back at her, trying to pry a grin
from her still angry face.
"I should get the same punishment as you." Sighing, she stared
off towards the segment of water they were to patrol that night.
"Just because...."
As he reached out and grabbed her wrist, she turned with a
quizzical face to him. "No more hiding behind that wall of
royalty. Yes, you are treated differently, but it might have been
the witness reports from when the shark left that he was judging
from. No more. From now on, stop seeing how people treat you
different and more how they treat you the same. Okay?"
"Well, you always treat me the same...."
Slowly shaking her head, she smiled solemnly and looked up at
the quickly darkening surface.
‘Uh-oh....there’s that mischievous twinkle in her eyes again....’
"So, you don’t think anyone would catch us at this time if we
went to the surface now, do you?"
The pure mischief in her voice was begging him to go, but
Greyson’s earlier yelling was telling him no. "Well, I guess we
could...but isn’t that a ship?"
"Huh?" she said, turning her head back towards the water to see
a ship beginning to anchor. "So it is...."
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him to the surface before he
could say a word.
On to Part 4!
Back to part 2
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