Beyond the Sea

“How do you know why I came out here?” Alex asked the two strangers that he was following to God knows where, “Or was it a coincidence?”

“Coincidences like that don’t happen, Alex,” One of the mysterious merman responded to Alex, not bothering to turn around and look at him.

“How do you know my name?” Alex asked again, the shock evident in his voice also present on his face.

“Just a coincidence,” The other man chimed in sarcastically, earning a huff from Alex.

“Seriously, where are we going?” Alex whined, finally causing the other two mermen to turn around and look at him.

“We’re getting to that, okay?” The first man chuckled, as the other replied, “Just follow us, alright? I’m Zack, by the way, and that’s Rian.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alex greeted the two mermen politely, as he continued to swim along behind them.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s just go, yeah?” Rian rolled his eyes, glad when Alex finally stopped asking questions.

Alex became more and more confused as he began to realize where exactly Rian and Zack were taking him. The lighter it got, the more hesitant Alex became, and the more coaxing was needed on both Rian and Zack’s part. Of course, Alex was extremely excited about the prospect of being able to walk on land, but he was unsure if he trusted the two black-tailed mermen to find a proper way for him to be able to do so. As well as that, Alex was also fairly confused with why the two strangers would want to help him.

“Um, how exactly is this going to work?” Alex voiced his concerns, as the three mermen eventually surfaced, poking their heads out of the water. Alex took a moment to look over the scenery, and was in awe at how beautiful the city on the shore looked.

“Just watch, will you?” Rian mumbled, before he and Zack began to swim towards the sand. The runaway prince watched on as the two other men struggled onto the land, trying to contain the noises leaving his lips. Alex’s laughs seized, though, once he noticed what had happened to Rian and Zack. They were now standing on the land, sleek tails replaced with human legs. Alex gaped at the sight in front of him, and it was now Rian and Zack’s turn to laugh at the shocked boy.

“What about me?” Alex pouted, head tipped to the side as he watched Rian and Zack compose themselves. As he waited for an answer, he wondered how in the world their transformation was possible, other than by the magic of his father. Alex had had no idea that other beings, nevermind humans, had magic, as well. He also wondered how exactly the pants came with the legs.

“We don’t really know…” Zack confessed, “He just told us to bring you out here.”

“Who?” Alex asked curiously, moving as close to the shore as he could, without exposing his tail due to the fear of any other humans being nearby and catching a glimpse of his fins.

“We know someone who can help you,” Rian explained, and Alex nodded in response.

“Alright, well-”

Alex’s speech was cut off when he felt himself go blind for a moment, unable to hear or feel anything around him, as well. Just a few seconds after, the young boy found himself splayed out on the floor of a dimly lit room, bottles of potions lining every wall. The air had a smoky, dark feel to it, and the entire space glowed a deep purple. Leaning up on his elbows, Alex looked up as a dark figure began to make its way towards him, and he could feel his heart almost beating its way out of his chest.

“Idiots,” a voice cursed, and although it spoke such an insult, Alex perceived it as smooth and comforting, enabling him to relax just a little bit. As the shadow moved closer, Alex could finally see that it belonged to a fairly tall man, with dark hair and a small bit of stubble on his face. Looking up slowly and cautiously, Alex’s eyes met with the new stranger’s, and he took in the sight of one of the most beautiful pairs of dark chocolate eyes that he had ever seen.

Seeming to notice the distressed look on Alex’s face, the man spoke calmly, “Sorry, not you. Rian and Zack, I mean. Whatever, they’ll find their way back here soon enough.”

Alex nodded in response to the statement, unsure of what else to say. Although he had even more questions now than he did while swimming along with Zack and Rian, he would not voice them, as he was much more nervous now as he would before. Although they seemed quite scheming, Rian and Zack were easy to talk to. The human now standing in front of Alex, though, left a funny feeling in his stomach as he looked up at him, cowering meekly where he lay of the floor.

“I’m Jack, by the way. And you’re a lot cuter than I thought you would be,” The man dressed in black pants and a black dress shirt spoke, kneeling beside Alex. “Do you want me to get you a pillow, or something?”

“No thank you,” Alex responded politely, the blush colouring his cheeks almost the same shade of pink as his hair.

“Alright. Sorry, I’ve never had any merpeople in here before. Anyways, what did Rian and Zack tell you?” Jack asked, hopping up to sit on the counter that lined the walls of the room.

“They said you can help me?” Alex replied unsure of what exactly the other two men had meant by that. Piecing things together slowly, Alex eventually realized what Jack had hoped he would, as he asked with a gasp, “Their tales, that was you, wasn’t it?”

“And he’s smart, too!” Jack clapped, nodding his head afterwards. “Yes, that was all my doing. I can do the same for you, too, and then you can go find that little princess you’ve been chasing after.”

“How do you know about that?” Alex frowned, quite embarrassed by how much the three strangers he had met that day knew about him.

“I have my ways. Mystical orbs, and all that.” Jack explained, “Anyways, this may take a couple days, as I just discovered that I’m out of a bunch of the materials that I’ll need. When Rian and Zack get back, I’ll instruct them to go retrieve the items, and you can stay here in the meanwhile.”

“That’s awfully nice of you, but are you sure I won’t be a bother?” Alex questioned Jack, not wanting to impose.

“Of course not, sweetheart. Let me help you up off of the floor, yeah?” Jack smiled, reaching a hand out for Alex to take.

Rian and Zack returned not long after Alex and Jack’s introduction, and were highly annoyed by Jack’s next request. After a fair amount of complaints from the both of them, they returned back to the sea, on the hunt for the materials that Jack needed to transform Alex into a human. Alex learnt a lot about Jack in the following few days, slowly asking the older man all of the questions that he had had on his mind. Alex had learnt that Jack was twenty-two, but when he questioned how Jack was able to achieve all he had in his skills of magic in that time, Jack simply replied that he had been twenty-two for quite a bit longer than twenty-two years. Jack showed Alex many of the various things he had done with magic, and Alex looked on with awe at each and every thing he was presented with. All in all, the two boys got along extremely well, and were almost disappointed when Rian and Zack returned back with the supplies a couple of days later.

“Alright,” Jack spoke, standing in front of where Alex was laying on a bed, various tubes and bottles around them. “This is going to be quite simple. A little of this, a little of that, and presto, you can walk. I just need one thing from you, though.”

“I don’t- have any money-” Alex started, being cut off from where Jack chuckled above him.

“I don’t want money. What I want is your voice,” Jack murmured, small smile of his face as he examined Alex’s shocked expression.

“But how will I-” Alex worried, as Jack interrupted him with, “I don’t know, you’re pretty. And don’t forget about body language,”

Nodding in agreement glumly, Alex agreed to Jack’s condition. Before he knew it, he was signing his name on a golden scroll, and Jack began to work. Mixing various things above Alex, the potions began to fall upon him, creating a thick layer of grey smoke. Not long after, the smoke began to clear, and Jack smiled triumphantly as Alex’s own pair of brand new legs became visible to the two men. Alex wondered again how the addition of the shorts worked, but before he let himself think about that for too long, he was sitting up on the side of the bed, not trusting himself to stand up and walk just yet.

“Thank you!” Alex cheered, reaching his arms out to a grinning Jack, who quickly accepted his head. It appeared that he had not only gained legs from their exchange, but a friend, as well.