"Nah. Remember, I live in the ocean." I smiled. I kissed Sollen's cheek and said, "Go crazy, but come back, okay?" She let out a snort, and stomped her foot on the ground.  I let go of her, and faced the ocean.

"Dathan, I want you to meet someone." I took in a deep breath, and began to sing. "In the blue mist, in the white sea, Siren is the only one for me." I finished, and took in a deep breath again. No sooner than I'd finished taking in my breath did a bottle nose dolphin come up to the edge of the water. Siren.

"Siren!" I walked up to my little buddy, and rubbed his head just in front of his blowhole. "Gimme five," I said, smiling. Siren made a clicking noise, and hit his flipper onto my hand.

I stared in wonder, trying to get over my constant amazement. First she picks the only horse in the stable who could beat Break. Then she rides that horse as if she was born in the saddle, and tames the beast like... A beast tamer. And now I found out she had a beautiful voice and a pet dolphin. It was all I could do not to get down onone knee right there and propose, which would have been a litte much.

I settled for gawking for a few seconds before smiling down at the dolphin, eys filled with awe. "Hey there. You, sir, are a handsome old chap. I would be honored to shake hands with you in the most gentlemanly of fashions." Putting on my super fake British, I held my hand out where Siren could reach it. To my further amazement he mimicked my mock formality, raising his nose a bit higher and placing his flipper in my palm. We shake hands, and, in unison, give each other a quick nod. I couldn't have choreographed it any better.

I watched as Dathan and Siren got acquainted with eachother, laughing at their small trick. "Siren, this is Dathan," I said, gesturing to Dathan. Siren nodded, and scooted a bit further into the water. He wanted me to come in with him. "Siren, I'm sorry. I can't go back into the water right now, buddy." If I even got caught in the rain, I would grow fins.

"Watch this, Dathan," I said, eager to show him Siren's newest trick. I put my hand to my lips, kissed it, and then blew the kiss to Siren. Siren waited a few seconds, kissed his flipper, and waved it in the air towards me; that was his way of blowing a kiss back to me. I laughed, and sat down at the edge of the water, careful not to let the waves touch me. It was now a bit after noon, and I felt my stomach growl.

She was adorable. I watched her, spellbound, as she showed me another trick she'd taught her pet dolphin. It didn't get much more amazing than that. When I heard her stomach rumble, I raised a hand imperiously. At the beckon a servant who had been following at a distance approached us, pushing a picnic trolley. He set out the blanket, chairs, a table, and the full spread before bowing and taking his leave.

I grinned at Zarya, gesturing to it all with a sweep of my arm. There were Mediterranean chicken sandwiches with chicken, basil, red pepper, balsamic dressing and mozzarella, as well as salad, pasta, bread, and iced tea. "Lunch is served, my lady."

When Dathan showed me the assortment of food that the servant had put out, I almost drooled. He was charming, handsome, and he could make basically anything happen. "Thanks, Dathan," I said, smiling.

I sat myself down in one of the chairs, and began eating one of the chicken sandwiches. They were delicious. Before I knew it, the sandwich was devoured. I piled some pasta onto a plate, and began eating that, too. All of this food was delicious.

Even eating she was gorgeous. Okay, maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself, but so far I couldn't find a single flaw. Thus far, Zarya was perfect. I began eating as well, savoring the food happily. My family was really lucky. We had just about everything. I think the only thing we didn't personally own was our own country, and even then I'm pretty sure Mom was descended from some kind of Austrian nobility, where every child of a noble got their ti
tle. So I was kind of, like, a duke or something. Whatever. The point was that we were pretty well off. And I was really appreciative of that.

I wanted to throw all of that down at Zarya's feet, but couldn't muster the courage. During all this thinking I was probably staring at her, eyes gone all wistfull and dreamy. But I didn't care, as long as I was with her.

I couldn't help but keep stealing glances at Dathan during lunch. I finally saw that his eyes were glazed over, and couldn't hold back the laugh. I let out a few gigles, which escalated into laughs. Luckily for me, I didn't have any food in my mouth at the moment. I choked on air, and began coughing, still laughing as I did so. Finally, I reached over and grabbed a glass of sweet tea.

As I sipped out of it, my eyes met Dathan's, and I looked away. Even though I liked him, this would never work. He belonged on land, and I belonged in the sea. He was normal, and I was a mermaid. This would never work.

I couldn't stand to see her sad, which was exactly how she was looking now. Then the thought struck me that she was a mermaid. Every night, having to return to water. But I had to make it work. Girls like her didn't come around every day. Not even every lifetime. But this... I had to find a way. Then again, coming out and confessing my love wasn't exactly a bright move. What if she didn't like me? Then I'd have just made a huge fool of myself.

"Is there... I mean... Do you know of any way I could... grow a tail? You know, to go into the water with you. It might be fun to see where you're from, since you've seen my home. Maybe even something pemanent. Just in case one of us decides to run away from our families, you know?" I tried to sound casual, and maybe got it right, but I couldn't be entirely sure.

I laughed lightly, still not looking at Dathan. "Magic doesn't work that way. The only way that will ever happen is if Yara, the goddess of the sea, and also my mom, grants you the power to stay in the water. And my mom hasn't been seen in over ten years." I looked down.

Just to do something, I put a piece of garlic bread into my mouth. I chewed off a piece of it, and swallowed slowly.

"I'll just have to go and ask her, then. Any chance I could get directions?" I attempted goofiness, again, trying to get her to giggle. Then my mouth slipped, bypassing my lips.

"I just... want to find a way. For us. There has to be something. I've only known you for a day, but already I can't imagine what it'll be like when you've gone. So I've decided that I won't be able to survive apart from you. Whatever I have to do, whatever it takes... I'll do it." I bit back some of the emotion, my ex
pression coming off passionate and determined, which was a heckuva lot better than whiny and desperate. 'Please, Goddess. Let this happen. Let something happen to make all this craziness work. I can't loose her. Not now.'

I sighed, and frowned. "Dathan, like I said, my mother hasn't been seen in over ten years. For all I know, she may be dead." I crossed my legs, and told the tears that were forming in my eyes to stay behind my eyelids. I closed my eyes and said, "It's not that easy. Yara will ask you to do her a favor. You must complete that favor, or she will not grant you what you want."

My face took on a pained ex
pression, features twisting with emotion. I couldn't accept that. There was something I could do to reach her mother. "I don't care what she asks me to do. Please tell me I'm not going crazy, that you feel it too. I can't be the only one of of who understands that there's something deeper here. I'll do anything to be with you. I'd... I'd kill Break if it meant being with you. You should understand how serious that is to me. I just can't... I can't let you go." Despite my efforts a single tear fell to my cheek, and I wiped it away forcefully, angry to be showing that much weakness. Now more than ever I had to be strong.

I truly was touched. "There is something deeper here, Dathan." I got out of my chair and kneeled beside him. I wrapped my arms around him. "Just don't do anything rash." I gave him a tight hug, and turned away. I was full now, and I wanted to spend the rest of the day being happy, not worrying about how to make things work. This would never work. I was a creature of the sea, and Dathan was a man of the land. I thought about what could've happened to my mother. Where could she have gone? "There's something very deep here. Deeper than the ocean water that runs through my veins. Deeper than the chasms of the sea." I sighed.

Her words reassured me, and I felt my heart expand to near-bursting. "Then we'll find a way. Love always finds a way, right?" In my head, I heard my mother in her head, when my sister had fallen in love with a boy she considered beneath our class. 'A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?' My sister then replied, 'Then I shall build myself a pair of wings.' I smiled, a new brightness of hope shining through my gaze, softening to a shade like mist over Irish seas. This could work. "How do I call this Yara?"