I want to dance with somebody Ch.1

Day one:

I woke up with my head out of water. I was breathing deeply through my nose. That was the first thing I noticed that was wrong. The second was that a human was standing over me. I blinked a few times in the moist air. The human had an oval shaped face with big blue eyes and curly blond hair hanging around it. Her nose was small and pointed and her lips were pressed in a thin line. She looked around the same age as me. I took an immediate dislike to her, after all she was a human.

"Finally you're awake." Said the human in that strange accent people on land had. "Where is the prince of the merpeople?"

I stayed quiet and looked down at myself. I was in a sort of white box filled with water. The sides were smooth but hard, almost like rock. I had seen this on the shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean. It is said that people wash themselves in it. My red tail couldn't fit in it fully; so my fins were hanging out the side of the box. My turquoise hair was hanging in waves over my orange sea shells that were coveringmy breasts. My hair was beginning to dry at the roots. The ends were still wet, so the golden in my hair was fading and was barely visible.

"Answer me!" The human shrieked. I cringed at the high pitched sound. She reached into the box I moved my tail out the other side out of her reach. She pulled something out from the bottom of the box and set it on the windowsill. The box made a gurgling sound and the water level began to fall. The water was being drained.

"Let's see how long you last without water, now tell me where the prince of the merpeople is." She said with a sly smile on her face.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked wondering why she was looking for my brother. He never comes up to the surface he couldn't have
done anything.

"I am going to marry him." She announced. I laughed at this; my brother was already married, happily in fact, with three beautiful children.

"Don't laugh at me. I will be a royal."

"I will never tell you." I spat.

She looked down at me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled it up to have a look at it. I tried to pull away but I couldn't get a grip in this slippery box. Her eyes widened when she saw the mark on my wrist. It was a trident. The symbol that meant I was of royal blood and eligible to hold the trident and rule the sea. Only direct descendants were born with the symbol on their wrist. She dropped my wrist. I held it to my chest.

"If I can't marry a prince then my brother will marry a princess." She said with a grin on her face. She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The water had now all drained from the box. My tail was beginning to dry up. I decided I needed to get out of there and there was only one way to do that; I began to change my tail into legs. I hoped I wouldn't regret this.

It began with a tingling at the bottom of my fin that worked its way up to my hips. I watched as my beautiful shiny red tale became pale and split down the middle. As my tail separated it turned into skin and feet formed at the base. I hadn't changed into a human in a long time.

I stood up shakily and stepped out of the box carefully. There was a towel on the ground and another hanging off a hook on the wall. I dried my feet before grabbing the other towel and wrapping it around my naked body. I dried myself quickly but then heard voices outside the door, I was too slow. I wrapped the towel around my waist.

The door opened and the human girl pulled another human into the room by his arm. This human was male. He was tall with broad shoulders and his skin had a golden-brown tint to it. Unlike the human girl he had dark brown hair and sea green eyes which widened when he laid eyes on me. His curvaceous lips were full with a pink tinge to them. His bottom lip dropped as his eyes widened. He turned around quickly, cheeks reddening. He looked strangely familiar.

"Hanna why is there a strange naked woman in our bathroom?" The male asked.

"She is a mermaid princess. You have to marry her. Then our family will be royalty. We will be what connects the sea to the land, we will be famous." Hanna squealed with delight.

"A mermaid?" He asked, turning around with curiosity. I pulled at the towel and made sure it was covering my body. "She looks pretty human to me."

"She was a mermaid a few minutes ago. She must have changed. Also look at this. It's the mark that the royal merpeople are born with." She grabbed my wrist again and pulled me roughly towards the man. She twisted it around and held it up to him. He took it and held it lightly. His eyes widened again. I pulled my wrist from his grasp, it came away easier than expected and I tumbled backwards. He grabbed me before I fell. The towel began to slip but I caught it. He let go and I stepped away from them quickly. He frowned.

"You scared her; don't be so harsh with her. She may not be human but she is still a woman." He said to Hanna. Then to me he said "What's your name? Are you eighteen yet?"

"Nixie, no not yet." I replied and his frowned deepened. He knew I was stuck here for thirty days. If I was over eighteen I could change into a human at will but I wouldn't be eighteen for another thirty days. So I had exactly thirty days until I could turn back into a mermaid and until my eighteenth birthday. My birthday was going to be a grand event that the whole ocean would know about. The arrangements were already taking place. If my family doesn't hear from me in a few days there will be search parties everywhere looking for me.

"Hanna you did this, she is your responsibility now, you will take care of her. First get her some clothes. Bring her down for dinner in an hour." He said before leaving the room. He glanced back at me as he went out of the door.

Hanna beckoned me to follow her out the door and down the hall. I followed her quietly. The hall was lined with windows, as I walked past them I looked out and saw mountains. I wondered where the sea was. Hanna opened a door and held it open for me. I looked inside and saw a strange rectangle shaped bed, a set of wooden drawers and a dressing table with a stool. Across the room was a window and outside the window down the hill was the glistening blue sea. I ran across to the window and clutched onto the windowsill as I gazed out to the deep blue sea with longing.

"I'll see if I can find you some clothes. Wait here." I heard the door closing and footsteps in the hall. I didn't even turn around. I was mesmerised by the ocean; my home, my family, my love, my everything. I didn't know what I was without it. How was I going to last a month on land alone? I heard the door open and close behind me. I tore my gaze from the ocean and turned around.

Hanna was holding up a red dress, a long gown with sleeves and a square neck. It was a beautiful dress made of soft material. She set it on the bed and laid out some under garments. She asked if I needed any help. I shook my head, I had put dresses on before, I knew how. She turned around and I got dressed quickly, leaving my sea shells on. She then sat me on the stool and brushed my hair. It dried fast and hung down my back in turquoise waves. She put red lipstick on my lips; it was heavier than the octopus ink we use on our lips in the ocean. She took a long look at me and then smiled.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I probably should have released you from that net instead of bring you back to the house but it's for good reason. My brother will fall in love with you don't worry.

"I don't want him to fall in love with me. I want to go home." I replied.

"Then tell me where the prince is? It's you or him."

"He is married." I said. Her face fell.

"Look you have to stay here for thirty days anyway because you changed into a human so let's just see what happens. You might change your mind." I just shook my head. How could a mermaid fall in love with a human? It was stupid they could never be together. One lives on land and the other in the sea. It was impossible, at least that is what my parents told me after they found out I was watching a human dance on the beach with his friends. He was a few years older than me with a beautiful face with green eyes and dark brown hair. He saw me watching and swam over and with a friendly smile he asked if I wanted to join them, I said yes but before I could join them my sister pulled me back into the depts of the sea. She told my parents and I never saw him again. I told my parents that I just wanted to dance with somebody and since then they filled my head with the horrors of the world on land. I was taught to hate humans epically the ones with friendly smiles, they are the ones that will turn on you. I never knew what to believe.

Hanna left the room with a promise to come get me before dinner. I went and sat on the bed. It was comfy but everything was so dry it was strange. It was different to move in the air but I was getting used to it. I lay down and closed my eyes. I was where I wanted to be seven years ago why wasn't I happy? I was filled with so much distrust now that I didn't know who to trust or how to act. Life was so much easier when I was ten.

I sat up and walked over to the window again. I pulled the stool over to the window. I opened it and stuck my head out, breathing in the salty sea air. Seagulls cawed as they flew over the water and I remembered how I tried to catch them as they swooped low and tried to steal fish from my ocean. I caught a few but I hadn't the heart to punish it and I always ended up letting it go.

After a while there was a knock on the door. Hanna stepped inside and told me dinner was ready. I reluctantly left my seat by the window and I followed her down the hall and into a room with a long dark wood table. Zale was sitting at the far end of the table at the top. He looked up when we came in. His mouth hung slightly open for a second before closed it. He stood up and held out a chair for me. I sat down. He sat back down and so did Hanna.

A small plump man with a kind round face came into the room with a jug of water, he filled each of our glasses before leaving the room again. I gulped down my water and refilled my glass. Hanna and Zale were both watching me.

"Aren't you a princess?" Hanna asked.

"Yes."

"Do princess in the sea refill their own water glass?"

"My siblings don't but I like to do things for myself."

They both gave me an odd look.

"Our parents are away for a week to visit our relatives in the next town over. I will explain the situation to them when they get back but for now you can stay in the room Hanna brought you to. It was our elder sisters but she is married and lives with her husband so the room is free." Zale explained.

I nodded as the small man came back into the room and set plates full of food in front of us. It was fish with some yellow mushy stuff and lots of land vegetables. The fish tasted delicious and I dug in. I hadn't realised how hungry I was. I ate in silence while Hanna and Zale chatted away.

I found myself looking at Zale. Observing the curve of his jaw and the way his lips moved as he formed his words. I kept realising I was looking at him and had to look away again. He caught me looking and I felt my face heat up as I looked away. What was wrong with me?

"My wedding is in about a month. You should stay for it. It will be a big celebration. What do you think?" Zale said to me after we had finished dinner.

He was engaged. I felt a strange feeling when he said that. I forced a smile on my face and said "When is it?"

"On the 26th of next month. Exactly thirty days. It is on the day you can change back but maybe you would like to stay for the celebration." He said with a friendly smile. One of those smiles I was told not to trust.

"That is if you end up getting married to Elena." Hanna said. Zale looked over at her and rolled his eyes. He sighed and sat back in his chair.

"I don't know I have to get home as soon as I can."

"Well maybe you will change your mind. Think about it anyway."

I told him I would think about it and went back to my room. I lay on the bed in sorrow. I felt very upset; I must have been missing my family. There was no other explanation for it. I got up and took off my dress. I left my under garments on, a vest and culottes. They were very comfy. I got under the covers and fell asleep within ten minutes. That was the end of my first day on land. Only twenty nine more to go.