Something Special

Part 6

Mark paced outside by the front door of his Palace as he waited impatiently for Jack to arrive. He head raged with millions of thoughts as only one consistently stayed present.

They should have been here by now.

The doors opened and Mark looked to see that his father and old brother, Tom, had come to join him outside.

"My, the only time I've ever seen you get like this is either the day before your birthday or Christmas Eve." His father chuckled.

"Ya well, this time I'm waiting for something much better than any birthday gift I've ever gotten." Mark said still pacing.

"Does this have to do with Pet you just got? Is that why you had the staff empty out the guest pool and then had it refilled with salt water?" Tom asked.

"Yes to both questions." Mark said.

"You never did tell us it is, so what is it?" His father asked.

"Oh, it's a surprise. All I'll say is that I know for 100% certainty that you have nothing like it in that zoo of yours." Mark said.

His father looked intrigued. "Okay, I'll bit. When is this mysterious Pet of your support to arrive."

"An hour ago." Mark said going back to his pacing.

"I'm sure they'll turn up." Tom said and then glanced behind Mark. "In fact, I think that's them now."

Mark looked over and saw the gates open as a large transport truck rode in and stopped in front of the doors. A few people stepped out and made there way to the back of the truck while a man and a woman approached them. The man had a fresh cut across his cheek that look recently cleaned. The man's name tag read, William, and the woman's read, Kelly.

The two stop in front of them and bowed. "Your majestys." Kelly said. "We apologize of the delay but there was an instant that cause a setback in our schedule."

"My God, son. What happened to your face?" His father asked William but before he could answer Kelly said.

"Oh, the creature got a little feisty when Will decided to picked it up without warning. It's nothing his didn't deserve, trust me." William glared at Kelly.

This surprised Mark, Jack hadn't appeared hostile when he had seen him last. They most of provoced him in someway to make him because aggressive.

"Alright then." His father said as he and Mark looked to the other people unloaded a container from the back of the truck, then the carried it over to them.

"Where do you want it, your highness?" One of the men asked Mark.

"This way, follow me." Mark said then headed towards the front doors.

"Is at… water I hear moving around in there?" Tom asked as the craw carried the container past him.

Mark scoffed at the question as he lead the people inside. "Really? I just order the staff to build an aquarium into one of the walls of my room and had the pool water replaced with sea water. Then your gotta go and ask a stupid question like, 'Is the container containing my aquatic Pet fill with water'?"

Tom raced his hand in surrender. "It was just a question!"

As the enter the guest room hall, Mark could practically see the gears in his father head turning as he mutter to himself. "It's not a Sea Serpent or baby Leviathan 'cause the containers to small…" His father was probably racking his brain trying to figure out what Jack could be. His father was most likely think, what could give a man a cut like that and fit into a container so small? Mark doubted his father would ever be able to guess.

They enter the room with the pool and the people set the container next to the water as one of the men said to them. "Y'all might want to stand back a little bit. It may still be holding a grudge for earlier and I doubt being tossed back and forth in a metal container for the last thirty minutes had improved it's mood at all."

The man named William unlocked the container, then he and three other men picked it up, lifted the lid and tilted it to pour out the contents into the pool. All Mark saw was the rush of water and the colors green, white and gold before something, or someone, hit the water with a splash before sinking below the surface. 

Mark wanted to say something about them not being careful enough with Jack, but after what he did to one of them earlier. Mark thought they won't willing to risk something like that happening again.

But still, Jack whole species, as of yesterday, is considered extremely endangered and he could quite possibly be the last of his kind. If not, then there has to be very few Merfolk left, or else one would have been caught long before now. So dispite what he did, shouldn't they be being very careful with Jack? If it's true that Jack is the last Merman left alive, then they should be doing everything in there power to keep him that way!

The four men quickly took the container and backed away from the water, while Kelly fearless approach the edge of the pool.

"Kell-" William stared to say but she cut him off.

"Relax, Will. It may not like you, but it doesn't seem to mind me."

"That because you babied it." William muttered.

She ignored him and turned towards the royals. "As long as you don't make any sudden moves and startle the thing, it should be safe to come closer, your majestys. That was Will's mistake." She said the last bit with a chuckle causing William to glare at her more.

While his father and bother were hesitant, Mark walked over to the pools edge. Jack didn't appear to dislike him before, so Mark thought at as long as he appeared nonthreatening Jack wouldn't lash out at him like he did to William.

Mark hadn't had the the time to add any rocks or places for Jack to hide in the pool yet, so it was quite easy to spot him. Jack was sitting near the center of the pool, rubbing his eyes while looking around confused. For here, Mark couldn't see any injuries on Jack, which was good.

"If that is all, your highness. Then we will take are leave." Kelly said before bowing to the royals, then her and the four men left with the empty container.

Mark's father and bother joined him and looked into the pool. At first they didn't knew what they were looking at, then his father's eyes widened in surprise while Tom was blinking his eyes in confusion, still not getting it. 

"Mark," his father said breathlessly, "they were said to have been extinct sence the 17th century. How..?" 

"I don't know, dad. I've been wondering that myself." Mark said.

"I don't understand. What am I look at here?" Tom asked confused out of his mind. 

Before Mark could answer him, Jack suddenly looked up at them. The Merman glanced over all of them before his eyes landed on Mark's. Mark couldn't see Jack's face all that well through the ripples on the surface of the water, but his eyes stood out to Mark.

Mark then said to his family without looking away from Jack, "Dad, Tom, this is Jack, the last Merman."