EnglandxMale!Merman!Reader Part 4

The next day I planned to repeat the previous day's routine, but received an unwelcome surprise when my cousins wanted to accompany me to the beach. This would have bothered me on a regular day, but now it was twice as annoying because _______ wouldn't approach if I was near my cousins. What's more, Alfred enjoys rough play and is always sneaking up on me and dunking me under water. Francis isn't any better; he swims around under water, sneaking up on girls and tugging on their swimsuits. Not only does it infuriate everyone, but it reflects badly on us as his family. He's gotten us banned from beaches before, but if he gets me banned from this beach I'll feed him to the sharks!

But here we were, setting up on the sand for a day of sun and 'fun'. My goal was to get as far away from them as possible. At least then I'd have a prayer of seeing _______. I was the first one in the water and immediately swam as far and as fast as I could, hoping they would loose me.

When I stopped and looked back, it appeared I accomplished my goal. But that false sense of security was shattered when Alfred leaped out of the water and forced me under without giving me a chance to breath. When I resurfaced, I was a coughing, struggling mess. I was about to give him hell, but he was already swimming away.

Just then, I felt two arms wrap around my waist and start carrying me away through the water. I looked down and saw an aqua blue shape holding me from the front and pushing me forward. The shapes color then changed to reveal _______ smiling up at me through the water. And sure enough, Zuga came swimming up alongside him.

The two pushed me behind the rocks that poked out of the water. No one was hanging out here today, so it was the perfect place for us to talk. _______ helped me climb onto a large rock before pulling himself up next to me.

“Who was that boy?” _______  immediately asked me.

“That would be Alfred, my cousin from the United States,” I replied gruffly.

“Why did he push you under water like that without allowing you to take a breath first? Was he trying to harm you?”

“No, what he did is called 'dunking', it's a form of rough-play and it's his idea of fun.”

“Do you think it's fun?” he tilted his head, making him look rather adorable.

“God no!” I huffed. “I hate it when he does that. I only wish I could get back at him and teach him a lesson.”

“Hmm...” the merman hummed. He turned to me and smirked. “That's Alfred over there, yes?” he pointed to the American who was splashing and thrashing about, making everyone swim away from him.

I sighed with annoyance. “Yeah, that would be him...”

“Don't take you eyes off him,” he said with an evil glint in his eye. He dove into the water and immediately changed colors to match the sea.

I watched Alfred with interest, eager to see just what _______ had suddenly cooked up. For a while, nothing happened, just more of Alfred thrashing and splashing about like a moron. But he suddenly stopped and looked down, like he felt something swim past him. I smirked evilly, knowing just what, or rather who, that 'something' was. Alfred was spinning in circles in the water now, getting freaked out at something swimming around him that he couldn't see. Suddenly, Alfred leaped completely out of the water like a cartoon character and screamed like a girl.

“MATTIE!” he cried. “Something bit me!” He swam back to shore faster than I'd ever seen him move in my whole life.

The whole scene made me laugh hysterically to the point where tears were forming in my eyes. I heard Zuga cackling and squeaking next to me; he found it as funny as I did. Meanwhile, _______ had appeared back on the rock with a devilish smile on his face.

“What...did you...do...to him?” I gasped out between my laughter.

He bared his teeth and snapped his jaws a couple times for effect. “I've tasted a lot of fowl things in my time, but that cousin of yours was positively rancid,” he joked. “Do you think he learned anything?”

“Knowing Alfred, it's doubtful. But still that was bloody brilliant!” I laughed. _______ began to laugh too, but interrupted himself with a yawn. “Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes, I'm fine. Thank you,” he said nodding his head. I couldn't help but notice he had bags under his eyes and his (tone) skin seemed a tad pale.

“If you say so...” I said doubtfully.

“Arthur, you believe in magic and mythical creatures, yes?” _______ asked suddenly changing the subject.

“Of course I do.”

“How long can you hold your breath underwater?”

“Uh... about a minute? Maybe a minute and a half?”

He smiled brightly. “Perfect! I want to show you something special.” He took my hand and pulled me back into the water. Still holding my hand, he pulled me along through the water. I don't think I'll ever get used to how fast he can swim. He pulled me around to the other side of the cliffs, where there was nothing but rocks and waves crashing against them.

“Alright, Arthur, take a deep breath for me,” _______ said. I complied and swallowed as much air as I could. He pulled me under and swam towards the rocks. He pulled me further and further below until I saw a tiny opening in the rocks, barely wide enough for us to swim through but too thin for Zuga. But in we went, _______ pulling me along though the darkness of the cave and leaving Zuga outside.

The cave was long and dark. I felt the need for oxygen but I couldn't satisfy it. My grip on _______'s hand tightened as I grew desperate for air.  He noticed and said “It's just a little further, please hold on a little longer.”

True to his promise, I was pulled up to an air pocket and gasped as oxygen filled my lungs again. Once I caught my breath, _______ said “This is what I wanted to show you.”

I looked around. The walls of this cave were covered in glowing crystals that gleamed in every color imaginable. Their gleam filled the dark cave with light. They shimmered and shone beautifully. All these crystals were very large; the smallest ones were still larger than my head, while the largest ones were bigger than my whole body. _______ pulled me over to a ledge in the cave so I didn't have to keep treading water and just sit. He pulled himself up next to me.

“This place is magnificent!” I finally said.

“My parents brought my sisters and I here every year when we migrated to these waters,” _______ said. He yawned again before continuing. “It's my favorite place to visit.”

“You have sisters?” I asked.

“Two older, two younger,” he replied. “I'm right in the middle.”

“I'd love to meet them,” I smiled.

“Sorry, I don't think you'll have the chance,” he explained. “They all found mates and left the pod long ago. My eldest sister joined a pod up in the Arctics, my second eldest joined up with a pod in Bermuda, and both my youngest are in a pod in the Indian Ocean. We rarely see each other anymore. Can't even remember when last I saw my eldest sister; we don't visit the arctics often.”

I cocked a brow. “If they all found 'mates' where does that leave you?”

He yawned again. “I don't draw a lot of attention from my species. I've yet to meet a caller who called for long.”

“The others don't find you attractive?” I asked.

“Attractive?”

“You know, physically appealing?”

“Oh, that's one of those things you humans cherish in a mate, yes?” he chuckled, shaking his head. “That's why I find your species so fascinating; you think yourselves so advanced, yet still get so hung up on such trivial and primitive matters as appearance or material possessions.”

“So I take it appearance doesn't matter much to you?”

“Well, that's not to say that we don't compliment each other on, say, our hair or eyes or whatnot, but we don't let it cloud our judgment. When mating for life, looks have little aid in the long run.”

“So what is it about you that others don't like?”

He frowned. “They say I'm reckless. A danger to myself, my mate, and any offspring I may bear. My fondness of the human species makes me undesirable.”

“You're not alone in the world are you?” I asked.

“No, I still have friends and whatnot. My pod admires my skills as a hunter and gatherer, as well as my speed and stamina, but they do not like me being near humans,” he said.

I scowled. “Alright, I've heard you go on and on about mer-people loathing humans, but why exactly do they detest us humans as a whole?”

“The human species does not coexist well with others,” he said. “All mer-folk know the tales of how, long before you were building structures that touch the sky, long before you conquered all the land, eons and eons ago when saber-ed beasts roamed the lands, when humans hunted and killed mer-people.”

My eyes went wide. “W-what? Killed...?”

“Nearly destroyed us as a species,” he went on. “The stories say that we mer-people used to be river dwellers, living in fresh water in peace and happiness. But then humans found us. They began a vicious massacre of all mer-people. Killed us on sight, fearing we would compete with them for space and food. The only escape was the ocean, whose depths and vastness could shelter us. A miniscule number of our kind remained. Since then, mer-people have had a hatred of humans that all stems from our ancestors.”

“But humans have changed!” I exclaimed. “We've learned to live in peace with nature, to stop over killing, and to protect our fragile world.”

“Yet every day more animals die, more plants wither, more water is poisoned, and more sky is blackened,” he replied. “Even worse, your kind are corrupted by greed and selfishness. As fond as I am of you and your kind, Arthur, I have to concede to the pod; humans have not changed. If we were to expose ourselves, we'd only be imprisoned in your zoos or treated as show things. We'd rather keep hiding all our lives than threaten our entire species.”

I heard him speak with such disdain. I've never heard him speak like that before. What's worse, it was about me and my kind. I desperately wanted to offer some kind of redemption for humans, but nothing came to mind. A lump formed in my throat. Before I could stop myself, I found myself crying. I was crying because he was right.

_______ saw this and frowned even more. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed my head against his chest,  burying his nose in my hair. “I'm sorry,” he said sadly. “I didn't bring you here to make you cry. I never wanted to hurt you like that.”

“N-no,” I sniffled, “It-it's okay--”

“It's not,” he interrupted. “I brought you to the place that bore my happiest memories as a pup and now made you sad because I kept talking. Now if we ever come back here, you'll only think of how I made you sad. I wanted these crystals to bare happy memories for you, too.”

I managed to smile a bit hearing this. “_______, you silly boy,” I said. “Even if you make me upset, every memory, any memory I can have with you is a happy one. Just because I can spend it with you.”

_______ smiled against my hair. “You certainly have a way with words, Arthur.” He cut himself off with another yawn. I pulled away from his chest and looked at his face.

“You've been yawning this entire time,” I stated.

“I apologize,” he said rubbing his eye. “It was my responsibility to guard our sleeping grounds last night while the rest of the pod was asleep. Normally it's not strenuous work, but two large sharks entered the area last night and I had to lure them away from the pod.”

“You don't honestly mean to say you made yourself live bait, did you?!” I gasped.

He nodded tiredly. “It was the only way. I lead them away from the pod, but it took some time to get them off my tail. By the time they finally gave up, the sun was rising. I had spent the entire night trying to fend off two sharks.”

“You mustn't do that ever again!” I demanded without thinking.

He eyed me curiously. “Who are you to make such demands? I am a part of the pod, and as such I do what is needed, even if it means sacrificing my life so the others can live theirs.”

“No!” I scolded. “You can't! Never again! I forbid it!”

“Forbid?”

“It means--”

“I know what forbid means, Arthur. But I question with what authority you forbid me from doing my duty?”

“Y-you just can't!” The lump in my throat returned. “I know I'm being selfish, but...but...”

“But...?”

“I...I just don't want you to get hurt. Your the most wonderful person I've ever met. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you.”

There was a long silence between us until _______ finally said, “The elders were right: you humans are selfish.” I flinched at his insult. But then he rested his head on my shoulder and smiled. “But, in this case, I think I like selfishness.”

I felt myself blushing again, which made him chuckle before yawning yet again. “Um... I-if you want, y-you c-can take a rest,” I offered.

The second I offered, he wrapped his arms around my body, wrapped his tail around my legs, and rested his head on my chest, nuzzling into my warmth. I smiled and leaned back, stroking his hair with one hand and his cheek with the other.

He sighed happily. “That feels nice.” He then nuzzled himself deeper into my chest. “And you're so warm. I like it.” His eyes fluttered shut and he was asleep in an instant.

I smiled at the sleepy merman and felt sleep overcoming myself. I leaned back and rested my head on the rock floor, looking up at the shining crystals above me. Even though I was laying on cold, hard rocks and _______'s (fav. color) tail prevented me from moving my legs at all, I felt more comfortable than I'd ever felt before.

And to think; that silly merman thought this wouldn't be a good memory for me.