Mermen on Accident (DNF Mermaid AU)

The Mermaid Queen

"Well done boys. You made it farther than I thought."

I sit in shock, utter confusion. I take in my surroundings quickly. George and I are sitting on a white couch with decorative pillows. I'm still clutching his wrist like it's an anchor to the real world. I swiftly switch to his hand and he squeezes it. The woman in front of us is beautiful, with long dark hair and a coral pink dress that contrasts with the marble flooring and her glossy white shoes. She has gold and silver jewelry across her arms and on her neck. Her smile is as white as her shoes. The only accent color in her blinding white house is her dress and the occasional seaweed green.

The woman drops her hands to her hips and smiles. "I just wish you didn't have to be so smart and ruin all the fun."

I frown at her. "You're the Mermaid Queen aren't you?"

"That is me dear." She has a hint of an English accent that I barely catch onto.

George gasps. "You can help us with this prophecy thing?"

She nods her head. "Anything you wish to know."

I look over at George's excited face then back to the Mermaid Queen. "What was that all about then? The falling into different realities and such?"

The Mermaid Queen moves to sit on a white lounge chair and crosses her legs, adjusting her dress. "It's a precaution for anyone who enters my presence. I show them their worst fears, give them a chance to redo something important in their lives." She folds her arms across her chest. "Of course I had to split you two up at the end there, otherwise it would've been too easy. It ended up being too easy anyway."

I shoot a confused look at her.

"I really enjoyed watching you make decisions love," she points at George and he shrinks in his seat, a blush rising to his cheeks. He avoids my eyes.

"You on the other hand," she moves her finger to me. "You figured out much too quickly. Didn't even give me a chance to rewrite the past."

My lips part silently. George and I weren't in the same vision at the end there? It makes me wonder what he had to make a choice about.

"Well, we passed right?" I ask.

She nods curtly. "That's why you're here love."

She reaches out and a woman dressed in all white rushes by to hand her a drink before scurrying off down the hall. The Mermaid Queen takes a sip.

"What is it you want to know then?"

"Well, first," I start, "can you see everything? Like, have you been watching us?"

She smiles. "I see everything that goes on in my ocean."

"Then you know about The Seer and what he told us."

George squeezes my hand, reminding me that he is there, and that he still has a hold of my hand. I squeeze back.

"I do."

"Then we need answers. We need to know how to break the prophecy. We need to know how to become human again, and what he meant when he said, 'beware your time limit. Three days from now you will remain in the form you wear.'"

The woman nods thoughtfully.

George speaks up. "Also, what's your name?"

Her thoughtful face quickly morphs into amusement and she laughs loudly, almost scaring me.

Between chuckles she says, "Oh I really like you. You are my favorite."

I look over at George and he shrugs. "I was just being polite."