Arbed House Headcanons

Mermaid's Wish Pt2 (Fin)

Rhian first met Kei on the day of the town fair, after accidentally getting bumped by an angry butcher going after a thief at the edge of the boardwalk and falling into the water. The lack of oxygen blurred his mind as he went down, sinking deeper and deeper. His last memory before he went unconscious was of a dark shape moving toward him in the murky water. There shouldn't be sharks in such shallow waters, he thought.

......

The sandy ground littered with pebbles and stones came into view. He squeezed his eyes shut and furrowed his brows, eyes burning from the salt of the seawater. When they felt better, he opened  them again and took in his surroundings. He recognized this place. It's a small bay not too far away from the market, the sound of which he could still faintly hear.

He was about to shuffle to his feet when his gaze fell on another pair of eyes, ones that belonged to someone peeking from behind a tree.

Rhian jolted, then quickly steadied himself. With the calmest voice he could manage, he asked: "Hello?" Before he could decide what to say next, the figure moved out from behind the tree, hands held high, stuttering: "I, I mean no harm. Uh... I was just checking to see if you're all right."

However, Rhian barely heard his explanation, as his attention was instantly caught by the stranger's lower half of the body. Where legs should be, there's instead a long snake-like tail, covered with scales as black as the dead of night, a tail that now curled around the base of the tree as its master stared anxiously at Rhian. Rhian would've mistaken him for a half-snake creature had it not been for the lethal-looking fin at the end of his tail.

A mermaid? Rhian thought, his gaze returning to the stranger's face. It was the face of a young boy around Rhian's age. His black hair matched his tail, and his dark brown eyes are fixed intensely on Rhian. The stranger's expression was solemn, which contrasted with his act of putting up his hands and twirling his tail anxiously.

Upon meeting such a creature, Rhian held his guard up, but he still appeared relaxed on the outside, as he always did.

"Alright, I mean no harm either, relax. Did you find me here?" Rhian then remembered the dark shape that had come toward him in the water after he fell, and he rephrased his question: "So you're the one who fished me out and brought me here?"

The boy nodded.

"Why, thank you." Rhian said, but the boy's response didn't make him feel more at ease. He didn't believe that strangers could just go around saving other strangers. What was this boy's motive? Out of kindness? Who believes in that kind of thing?

Rhian decided to set that aside for a while and continue speaking with the boy. Perhaps he would know along the conversation.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but are you one of the merfolk?"

The boy nodded again, hands still held up high. Rhian suppressed an amused smile and reminded: "You know, you can put your hands down now."

"Oh, okay." The boy meekly put his hands down.

"I hope I don't sound rude. Do you have a name?"

"Kei."

"Well, Kei, thank you again for saving me from drowning. I can never thank you enough. Is there anything I could do for you in return? You can ask for whatever you want."

Fake smile plastered on his face, Rhian is actually silently cursing in his mind: Damn it. I do hate owing other people favors.

Kei looked alarmed. He waved his hands and shook his head furiously, stammering:" Uh, no need. It was no trouble at all, really."