The Imagination Latibule: The Little Mermaid - Eric

Chapter 6

Sebastian had been talking to you about something, something you couldn't remember. You knew he'd complained about climbing to the highest tower for you, and how he was going all soft shelled wanting you and the prince to fall in love, but the details always seemed hazy. So, you'd left your room and decided to explore. But when a group of guards walked by, you hid, unsure that you were allowed to be wandering alone, and that's when you found a...

You didn't know the word, so you settled on a grotto. A grotto of books and trinkets beyond your wildest dreams. It was magical. You wandered through the shelves, spinning a globe and laughing, almost at yourself, at the glee it brought you. Then, you saw a small mermaid figurine on a high shelf, and smiled. You had to reach on tiptoes to grab it, and almost fell backwards as Sebastian decided to scare you. 

"What are you doing in here, child?" he cried from the shelf, and you batted him away as you kept admiring the collection. "You can't just go wandering around wherever you please," he insisted. You rolled your eyes at his worry, but then you heard the door open, and as he whispered, "hide," you dropped down behind the shelf, heart beating fast.

"Who's in here?" Eric called as he walked in. You didn't reply, watching as he walked over to the window and pulled the curtains apart, bathing the room in a warm light, and simultaneously revealing you. But when he saw you, he wasn't angry, nor indifferent; he seemed happy.

"Oh, it's you," he said. "Nobody usually comes in here." You walked out from behind the shelf, the mermaid in your hand.

"My little mermaid," he said, and you quickly placed the trinket back on the shelf, thinking he might be mad. But he smiled and took a step forward. "It's alright, it's alright. You can look at it," he said, taking it down for you again. You smiled, taking it gently and turning it over in your hand, running your finger up and down, feeling the texture of the glassy hair and fins. You handed it back with a grateful smile, and he smiled back. Then you raised your eyebrow. "I found her on the coast of Cartagena," he said. "Isn't she beautiful?" He looked at you, expecting a reply, and then he remembered. "Oh, that's right. You..." he trailed off and you nodded shyly. "Well, it really doesn't matter. Most people around here use too many words and have nothing to say. You know, I never believe all that lore about mermaids luring sailors to their deaths." It warmed your heart a little to hear him say that, and he looked at the mermaid fondly. "Here, take her," he said, passing the mermaid into your hands. You shook your head, trying to hand it back, but he declined. "No, really. I want you to have her. I'm running out of space as it is." Your eyes must have lit up as Eric let out a small chuckle. You clutched the little mermaid to your chest, hoping that it conveyed your gratuity. He smiled back, and as he turned slightly, the light caught his eyes, the same way it had at the beach. Beautiful. 

Eric watched you as you continued to admire his collection, hands running over the different and unfamiliar objects. Some you'd seen before, some only when it was debris from wreckages, and some things you'd never seen in your life. 

"Nearly all of these things come from my voyages," he told you, and you liked that he wanted to keep talking. "I know it must seem silly, collecting all this stuff --" you shook your head rigorously - not at all! "-- but just look at this fossilized sea stone." He lifted it off the shelf, heavy in his hands, and held it out to you with a grunt. "Can you believe that such amazing things exist down there?" You took it from his hands, realising that just like you not knowing things about his world, he didn't know things about your world. Raising it above your head with both hands, he cried out, "no, wait!" as you threw it to the floor, the rock splitting into pieces. For a moment, he wasn't what had happened, but then you knelt down and pulled out from the centre of the stone, a red crystallised gem. You held it out to him and he stuttered in awe, taking it from you.