The Mermaid in the Boathouse

Emerging into the sunlight, I stopped.

"Would the lady care to dine in shade or in sun?"

There was no hesitation in her reply.

"The lady has had enough darkness. Sunlight, please."

There was a patch of soft grass upwind from the stink of the boathouse and I struggled to set her down gracefully before I turned to fetch the hamper.

Neesa's nose turned up at the smoked fish, but she eagerly accepted a native fruit, teeth tearing into it in her hunger. She picked out a second and I smiled as the juices ran down her chin as she bit into it.

She slowed when it was half-eaten, watched me taking alternate bites of fish and bread. She pointed at the loaf curiously with a graceful forefinger.

"Name of?" she inquired politely.

Of course. Not many ovens in her world.

"Bread, lady. A type of seed is first allowed to ripen, then ground very fine before being mixed with some other things and then cooked." 'Cooked' was a bit of a stretch, so I tore off a piece, handed it to her.

She sniffed it, rubbed her fingers across it, sniffed again. A pointed tongue stretched out, its very tip running lightly over the surface of the bread. She hesitated, raised the piece to her mouth and bit off a chunk before beginning to chew.

A surprised look came over her face, a happy smile grew on her face.

"Is good. The lady thanks the man."

"The man is honoured by the lady's thanks."

I found flint and steel in my own bag; nobody on Cordelia travels unprepared.

I lit a fire, put a small kettle on it. That too was a curiosity to her. Fire would hardly be unknown to the People; I myself had seen lightning strikes cause fires on nearby islands. Yet using   fire must have seemed odd to an aquatic being.

" ♬ "   I said. The lady will see.

When the water had boiled, I took it off the fire, crumbled tea leaves into it, held it out for her inspection. I smiled as her eyes followed the first dark streaks twirling in the hot water. A minute later, I swirled the kettle, poured some into two mugs and offered her one.

She raised it to her nose; the cat-mask sniff made me grin. Turning to me, she raised her eyebrows.

"It's tea," I said. I took a sip of mine and smiled. The Council had not stinted here; it was a good blend.

Neesa took a tentative sip. Her face wrinkled at the bitter taste and she set the mug down hastily.

"The man drinks this?"

I smiled, looked further in the basket and found a small pot of honey. I dipped a teaspoon, lifted it. She watched with interest the long golden strands oozing off the spoon. I stirred it into her tea.

"The lady may wish to try it again," I suggested.

Unconvinced but still curious, she picked up the tea, sniffed again, took a sip. Her smile showed her surprised delight.

"Honey," I said. "Our insects make it."

Her eyes went wide at the concept.

Trying to make conversation, I asked, "What would the lady have dined on, by choice?"

Her face became animated and she almost squirmed with the pleasure of the memories. Her breasts shifted as she did so and I had to work to keep my attention on her face. By any standards, they were remarkably attractive, well-shaped; their coral-coloured nipples and areolae were near-perfection to my eyes.

Fish - she named a dozen different types, most of which I was familiar with - and shellfish, of course. Crab, crayfish, lobsters. Sea urchins. Seaweed, "but only the kind growing on..."  Not knowing subsurface Cordelia as she did, she lost me there, but she carried on whistling happily.

I thought for a moment. She would find my diet dull in time.

"The man is pleased that the lady has honoured him by sharing his fare." It was a standard pleasantry, but her eyes opened a bit as I continued.

I thought carefully how to phrase it so as not to offend with human bluntness.

"The lady is aware of the man's responsibility for her in the eyes of his clan."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at being reminded of her captive status.

"But the man," I continued, pointing at the rough planks fastened across the boathouse slips, "would be equally honoured to accept the gracious pledge of the lady, should it so please her, to remain nearby once he removes these unfortunate barriers."

The implications of my offer struck her and her eyes opened wide. She blinked. A promise was a well-nigh holy thing to her kind. Once the boards were removed, the only thing keeping her tethered to this ill-omened island would be her word given to... a human, a being without honour, as all the People knew. But, still, it would be a promise.

I could see her weighing it in her mind.

"The lady could swim again?" I could see the hesitant hope on her face as she spoke.

"The man would be pleased to enable such a happy thing."

.

There were rocks between us and the waves and, with some hesitation, she again consented to be carried.

Her body was warm against my chest as I stepped towards the sea and I was embarrassed to find the feel of the skin on her shoulders and back sensually delightful, actually exciting. I pushed the feelings down, concentrated on my footing.

I waded out, the water rising to over my waist, rising and falling with the slow waves and she slid from my arms with barely a splash.

She swam around me, circling under the surface, then rose, laughter like silver bells.

Happily in her element now, she darted away, dove and I wondered for a moment if she would flee her oath-word. My doubt crumbled as she shot half out of the water close by, crystalline laughter filling my world. She flung her head back and her long hair swung with it, molten gold in the sunshine, a perfect arc of seawater flying from its ends. Before the drops had fallen, she was gone again.

I watched as she spun and twisted and played in the warm water. Once she rose well out of the water, balancing on her tail, turning with her arms outstretched. Sea People or not, I thought her the loveliest thing I had ever seen.

Her slender form sped through the clear water, effortlessly and infinitely graceful, far faster than I could ever swim. I could see the sea's surface ripple with the force of her driving tail, then she was rising in front of me, arms around me, breasts against my chest, her head on my shoulder, her body solid and warm against mine.

Her voice was high, clear -- but gentle. The bitterness I'd heard earlier had vanished.

"Mee-shaa!"

It was my turn to be astonished; not only had she dropped her previous careful formality, addressed me as an equal, one of her own clan, perhaps even her own family, but had without hesitation taken me into her arms.

I smiled. "The man is pleased to see such happiness. The lady's pleasure brings beauty to the waters."

She raised her face, gave me a quick peck on one cheek, wriggled out of my arms to swim beside me, a golden halo of hair surrounding her face and shoulders. She looked at me, spoke softly.

" ♪♬ "   Would the man permit the lady to provide dinner later?

"If you are willing, Neesa. Perhaps you might find dinner while I remove those boards?"

She smiled again and I felt 12 years old, awkward. fumbling. Laughing at my obvious bashfulness, she twisted, vanished down into the water and I turned to my task.

.

Anyone from Cordelia learns to appreciate seafood. On the other hand, most people on Cordelia prefer their seafood cooked, well, mostly. I could see cross-cultural dining was going to be a learning experience. Yet, even uncooked, the meal she laid before me was delicious. Like my dining companion, I found that I preferred some things over others and she found my choices amusing.

I found her laugh amusing. And more than that.

No matter that we had been enemies this morning; the creature before me now was charming, civilized and as hospitable as one could imagine.

And beautiful. If I could look beyond the tail — which, granted, was pretty enough — Neesa was one of the most enchanting women I had ever seen.

I tried to divert my growing physical awareness of her presence by dropping back into formality.

"Would the lady be insulted if the man were to pose a question?"

She cocked her head to one side, another universal gesture.

"The man may certainly ask." She smiled coyly, herself moving to informal wording. "I am in your debt, Misha."

I hadn't expected that. Promises and debts were equally important in her world. I'd once astonished Phenos by quoting a line from an Old Earth poem to him: A promise made is a debt unpaid.   He had, for the first time, completely accepted a human thought as equal to one of his own people's.

For Neesa to acknowledge a debt to me was, to my knowledge, almost unprecedented, especially so soon in a relationship. I decided to stay formal for the moment.

"How came then the lady to be in such as this?" My head nodded at the boathouse, doors, windows and slipdoors now propped open to let in fresh air.

She became solemn.

"Do you know our people, Misha? The schools we swim in?"

I smiled at the aquatic turn of phrase, dialed down my formal manners.

"Your families form communities, in turn composing clans. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes." She blushed momentarily. "The People have no rank among themselves, Misha, but some lines... does 'line' mean anything to you?"

"I think so."

"Some lines are given greater respect than others."

"I see."

"My line is one afforded great respect among the People, Misha."

"Oh." I smiled, let my eyes flicker over her briefly. "I am not surprised."

She surprised me then, for she giggled and blushed like a 13-year-old human girl. It trickled off and her face fell again.

"My community received an... offer from another. A nuptial proposal."

"Marriage?"

"Yes. To twin our currents, two lines, with myself and a male of theirs."

"I suppose that must have been an honour," I said softly, sensed unhappiness in her voice.

"A great honour, in some ways. But Enroth..."

"The male?"

"Yes," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "Enroth is strong, long and honoured for his courage..."

Her mouth snapped shut. I could see she was suddenly worried that she might have upset me by referring to the recent conflict.

I put out my hand on the sand between us, palm up. "It's OK, Neesa. I'm not upset. We were all involved."

She smiled wryly, looked at my hand as if discovering it for the first time. When she placed her hand in mine, I found it soft and warm.

She took a deep breath. "Enroth is indeed a great fighter. But there is no love in his heart, only hatred. He would purge this ocean and its islands of all humans, tint the farrest lagoons with your blood."

A tear gathered at her eye. She wiped it away with her free hand.

"He is a thing of hate, not love and he loves me not, I think. He sought me only for the influence it would bring, a way to convince my clan to resume, to follow him back into hatred."

I said nothing, squeezed her hand in support.

"My community was in favour, supported his offer. When I offered doubts, I was faced with a circle of fins."

I puzzled over that for a second. Ah, everybody had turned their backs on her.

"They expected me to change my mind, for the People are to their cores seekers of cooperation and harmony. But to wed Enroth was too large a wave. I fled."

"Oh."

"I am, I suppose, in disgrace now. The tides will spread word of it and I am unwelcome in my tomorrows anywhere."

She looked up at me, squared her shoulders.

"I thought, perhaps, there might be refuge in the human seas, a place for me."

I thought of old Phenos with his jug, earning scraps under the docks. My heart sank.

"Then I was careless, became entangled in a human fishing net."

The tears were real now, trickling down those fair cheeks. Without thinking, I treated her as I would a human woman, wrapped my arms around her for a comforting hug. Her body stiffened under my arms, for it is inconceivable to touch a woman of the People without her permission. I started to stammer apologies, but she relaxed and pulled me back in.

"It is accepted, Misha, and the lady thanks the man for offering what was needed."

I hugged her again, silent, waiting.

"They spoke not our speech," she started. "Hard-eyed, they were."

The couple who had caught her had had a heated discussion, staring at her. Without any attempt to explain or untangle her, they had pulled in the rest of their nets over her, sailed to the island we were on now and locked Neesa in the long-derelict building. She had watched in disbelief through a crack in the wall as the man sailed off alone, leaving the woman behind with their captive.

That had been two days ago. It had been yesterday morning when I had been summoned to the Chambers and told to pack for a week, my services as an interpreter being needed immediately. It hadn't been the first time for me and I hadn't thought much about it. Interpreting brought cash and was in any case easier than fishing.

Her story had however left me more puzzled than before. No doubt the fishing couple had hoped for a reward for capturing Neesa in waters more-or-less reserved for humans. But why had the Council not simply said yes or no, sent a councilboat to either bring her back in tethers or simply release her?

I found my hands running through Neesa's hair, over her back. She relaxed, melted into my chest. With a human woman, I might have known what to say or do next; with Neesa, I had no idea and merely held her, my hands gentle on her back. Then I had an idea.

"Can you wait just a moment, Neesa?"

She pulled away, nodded solemnly.

I rose, fumbled through my duffle, found my shaving bag. I untied it as I went back, extracting a comb. My father had made three of them of turtle shell, one for each of my mother and sisters. At my mother's death, it had come to me.

I knelt beside her, held it where she could see it in the dusk.

"It is beautiful," she said.

"My father made it for my mother."

"Oh! May I see it?"

I passed it to her and she examined it closely.

"A treasure," she said, handing it back. "You must be proud of it."

"I am."

My eyes met hers for a moment.

"May I?" I asked, lifting it towards her head.

Her face broke into a happier smile and she sat up, turned her back towards me. "Please."

Her hair was typical for the women of the Sea People, longer than almost any human's and very fine. It was still damp from the ocean and there were knots and some sand. I started at the bottom, carefully, and was still wrestling with a snarl when firstmoon rose over the horizon.

Neesa's head turned towards the rising light and she gave a deep sigh of contentment.

"The man treats the lady with care," she whispered, "like pride."

She turned over her shoulder, looked at me. "Why is that?"

"We are not all evil, lady. Among humans, this is a friendly thing."

"A friendly thing, Misha? Are we friends now?"

I thought. "We are, I hope, at least no longer enemies."

She smiled, turned to face the ocean again and I continued with the comb.

We were silent for a time, each absorbed in our own thoughts, then she spoke again.

"A friendly thing, Misha. Would new friends do this?"

"No," I admitted. "Parents for their children. Couples."

"Lovers?"

I felt my heart stop. I dropped my hands, leaving the comb still in her hair.

"The man apologizes," I whispered, "if the lady is affronted by his inadvertent presumption."

She was silent. After a moment, I worked up my courage, spoke again.

"Yes, lady, lovers - but also friends."

She said nothing for a minute.

"I think we might be 'friends'," she said carefully then, weighing the word.

She turned over her shoulder again, smiled.

Her hand touched her hair. "Is it done?"

"Not quite."

She turned her head to the front. I resumed my work.

When I finished, she swept her fingers through a wave of gold, stretching out, feeling it flow like the waves in front of us.

"Thank you," she said softly, then turned towards me.

"Misha...?"

Her odd, entrancing eyes seemed enormous.

"Would... would friends..."

She lifted her chin towards me, hesitantly.

Scarcely knowing what to think, I lowered my lips to within a fingerbreadth of hers, stopped.

"Maybe," I whispered.

She lifted her lips to mine and I was lost in softness and gentleness and endless, endless eyes.

I felt her hand on my chest, gentle fingers playing over my skin. I leaned down further, pressed harder, traced the tip of my tongue over her lips and thought I would die when it was met with hers.

Her hand rose now, caught me behind my head and pulled our lips together harder. Her tongue slipped past mine, explored my teeth as her hand caught one of my nipples.

I felt my pulse pound, felt myself stiffen. My tongue darted further into her mouth, swirling, exploring.

She shivered as I put my hand on her waist, swept perfect skin, paused under a firm breast.

"Yes," she whispered.

My hand rose, covered her breast and I felt its nipple harden and rise under my palm. I cupped its shape, hefted it, squeezed gently.

There was no human now, no seamaid, just man and woman and the delight was amazing.

Suddenly she hissed softly, pushed me away, her chest rising and falling.

"I think I could get to like 'friends' very much," she said, looking out at the ocean.

"But not tonight, Misha. Not now. Not too fast."

Her eyes turned back to me. "Please?"

"As the lady wishes."

+

The choice of sleeping places was obvious.

The boathouse's upper story had proved to be a sail loft, one large room in which to mend and dry sails and other rigging. The loft had a warped floor with gaps here and there between the boards and several of the windows were broken, but there was some ancient furniture, including a crumbling desk and, more importantly to me, a sad old bed, complete with stained mattress. I'd been grateful for worse.

As for her, the water in the boathouse was cleaner now that the boards had been removed and she had in any case no way of climbing stairs.

"Until tomorrow, Misha."

"I look forward to the privilege, lady."

+

"♪!! "

Her scream rang through my dreams. Without thinking, naked and unarmed, I was pounding down the stairs.

There was no glory, no honour to be gained or lost in that short, brutal, winner-takes-all brawl in the darkness. True, they were out of their element, partially on solid ground, but they were armed and the odds were three to one. They would have shown me no mercy had I fallen.

When I wrenched the door open, one of them had a struggling Neesa over his shoulder. A second lunged at me, blade gleaming in his hand. My hands seized the top of the door frame and I lifted myself, thrust out desperately with both legs.

My kick landed in the middle of his chest and he fell into the shallow water with a shriek, dropping his long knife as he fell. His head hit the cribwork between the slips with a dull thud and he lay inert. I dropped to my feet, caught up the fallen blade, ducked as the third merman hurriedly threw a small spear at me. I felt its breeze on my cheek as it disappeared into the night behind me. Unarmed now, his face fell and he slid back into the water.

I slashed at the first figure, who dropped Neesa and raised a lance. He had the reach on me; I desperately threw the knife at him. It tumbled wildly, moonlight reflecting from the spinning blade.

He dodged, lost his balance and, bellowing, slithered on his tail back into the slip with a splash. Neesa's hands reached out for me and in an instant I had grasped them, pulled her into my arms and, gasping for breath, fled up the stairs.

I placed her hurriedly on the bed, looked frantically around for some sort of weapon. My eyes fell on the disintegrating desk. As I wrenched off a leg, the lance head drove through the floorboards, barely missing my foot. It quivered, wobbled and was pulled back through the boards, only to be driven through again, grazing my right calf. I couldn't fathom how the creature knew where I was, but it was clear that remaining up here was a bad option.