The Octopus Queen (A Little Mermaid Retelling)

18 - The Night the Sea Witch Loses Her Heart

Klaus and Papa retreat to Papa's workshop while I drag the large tub into the center of our house and fill it with steaming hot water from the stove. I groan with pleasure as I sink into the tub's wooden depths, contorting my body so everything but my head is underwater. As I wash up, my thoughts drift to how different Klaus's and mine lives are. Papa and I are barely scraping by whereas Klaus has everything at his fingertips. It wasn't difficult to notice the disdain in his father's eyes when he saw where we live.

Does the duke believe that I'm merely out to get my hands on Klaus's fortune? I wouldn't doubt it. That seems in line with most of the gently-bred girls I've seen in Rollinsville.

I don't want to keep Klaus waiting, so I exit the tub while the water is still warm. I'm a little tired, but at least my teeth don't chatter and my veins no longer flow with ice. A good meal and some conversation will undoubtedly replenish my energy.

After wrapping myself in a worn towel, I pull the drain on the tub and watch as the water flows down into the drain in the middle of the room. Once it's empty, I recork the tub and put it back in its corner.

There is only one outfit Klaus hasn't seen me wear before and it's a simple brown skirt and blouse patterned with blue and green flowers. I wring out my long hair as best as I can and fashion it into a heavy plait. Slipping my feet into a dry pair of boots, I grab my satchel, intent on paying for at least some of this evening's meal.

When I enter Papa's shop, he and Klaus are deep in conversation about different varieties of traps. The rain has finally eased, but I carry an umbrella with me anyway.

"You look lovely, Sina," Klaus says, smiling.

"As opposed to a hideous, rain-soaked rat?" I replied blithely, going up to Papa and kissing his cheek. "Shall I bring you back anything?"

He laughs softly. "I am capable of fending for myself, child."

"Fine," I counter, grinning. "No dessert for you."

Papa nods idly and turns back to his traps. "Enjoy yourselves tonight."

I notice that he doesn't give Klaus any instructions on when to have me home. Perhaps they worked that out while I was getting ready.

"May I?" Klaus asks, holding out his hand for my umbrella.

I pass it to him and loop my arm through his as we walk out of the workshop, heading up the bank to the village. "I am helping to pay for tonight's meal," I tell Klaus. At least in the village, I can afford a meal for two, unlike Rollinsville.

"If you insist," he replies with a wink. "Far be it for me to tell the witch who tamed the sea 'no'."

I have to chuckle. I've done that, haven't I?

Klaus hums softly and pulls me close, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. A warmth that has nothing to do with the summer air or the bath I just had flows through my body. Klaus kissed me in the same chaste fashion back in Rollinsville and I was content. But now, however, I desire more. I tilt my head up and Klaus smiles.

"Are you looking for a kiss, Sina Fisher?" he asks playfully, blue eyes dancing.

"Perhaps," I reply with a coy shrug.

"I was hoping you would ask," he says softly, leaning down to kiss me gently on the lips—in full view of the villagers of Farbarrow.

While I have read a lot of romance novels, the dream of falling in love and marrying does not dominate my everyday thoughts. I did not know what to expect, but what I felt in the moment was beyond anything I could have imagined: beautiful, tender, and comforting.