Chapter 21: You Have My Word

Zale momentarily set aside his confusion and shock at finding such a creature here in Talori's room because this solved his problem perfectly. If she knew a surface-dweller, all he had to do was send her away with them.

"Wake up!" he shouted in English as he shook the creature's shoulder.

"Talori? Are you back already?" the creature mumbled sleepily, rubbing its eyes before jumping backward in alarm. "Zale! I mean…um…ah, I really can't explain this."

Zale crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the creature. "What are you? How did you get down here?"

"I'm a water fairy. I got swept off my boat in a storm and Talori saved me. Please don't get mad at her for sneaking out! I was the one who wanted to stay here after I woke up; this was my idea not hers."

He wasn't so sure about that. Even if it was this water fairy's idea—what was a water fairy, anyway?—he knew his sister. If a surface-dweller fell into her lap, there was no way she would let them go without answering a million questions.

Zale couldn't care about that right now even though it was quite apparent Talori had been sneaking out for a while and keeping secrets from him. He could worry about that later when she was safe.

"I do not care about that. You are leaving tonight and taking Talori with you. She is in danger."

The water fairy's eyes widened. "What?!"

Before he had the chance to explain himself further he heard Talori's voice outside. "Thank you, Aeces. I will see you later."

"Goodnight, Princess."

Zale needed to talk to her urgently so he moved the chest himself to let her in. She blinked at him with her jaw dropped as she took in the scene before her, unable to come up with an explanation.

"Spare me," he said in English. "I do not care what happened. You are going with him up to the surface."

Talori was finally able to find her voice to sputter, "You are sending me to the surface?!"

"It is the only safe place I can think of right now. You need to go with him and stay there until I have finished my plan. I can send for you through the witches when Gar goes to meet with them when the time comes. I will not let them take you to the dark."

"How are you accepting this so easily? I thought you would be angry with me for harboring a surface-dweller and sneaking out!"

Zale sighed. He was but he couldn't focus on that right now because it was too convenient to have someone here who had a place to hide her at the exact moment he needed it.

"Tali, I am sorry I had to keep you locked up for your own safety. Sneaking out was a stupid thing to do but I understand why you would want to. I am more relieved we have a solution to our problem than I am angry.

"We can talk about this later. You need to go and get as much distance from here as possible before anyone notices you are missing. I do not know this water fairy but you clearly trust him so that is going to have to be good enough for now."

Talori bit her lip. "I do trust him. But did you even ask if that was alright or just make demands?"

Zale hesitated. His sister knew him too well. He didn't have to say anything for her to get her answer.

She sighed. "That is what I thought. Brennan, I do not wish to impose on you but I also do not wish to be dragged to the deep. Can I stay with you for a while?"

So the water fairy's name was Brennan. Zale assumed it was male but couldn't be sure. Not that he thought it would be an issue. They were two completely different species. If a merman had been staying in his sister's room, that would be a different story.

Talori's curiosity had always gotten the best of her. She had probably talked this water fairy's ear off the whole time he had been here. She was definitely too interested in whatever he might have to say to think of him as a man.

Zale didn't like anything about this but he had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Putting his trust in a stranger did not sit well with him but better that than losing his sister forever because of the merking's selfishness. Honestly, she would probably have the time of her life on the surface. That was a much better option than sending her somewhere frightening and unhabitable.

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"Uh…" Brennan said slowly. "What exactly is going on here? I'm not sure I understand."

Talori swished her tail anxiously. "The merking wishes to marry me off to the chief of a tribe of deep-sea merfolk."

"I do not know you or trust you but anything you have to offer is better than sending her to such a place. It is cold, dark, and barren. She would never survive down there," Zale spat.

"Oh. For how long?"

"Only until Zale finishes his plan. Right, Zale?" Talori asked.

Zale was taken aback. She had told this outsider about his plan? She must trust him more than he thought. Part of him was upset by this but the other part was relieved. The water fairy hadn't done anything truly untrustworthy aside from hiding here in the first place.

He had stayed in Talori's room and not made any fuss. He most likely planned to leave without anyone knowing he was there so she wouldn't get in trouble before this happened.

That had to count for something. If he didn't want her to get in trouble, he had to care about her well-being at least slightly as his savior, didn't he? Zale knew how that bred loyalty more than most.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I am unsure how long it will take but I can compensate you upon her safe return. What do you want?"

Brennan answered immediately. It seemed he had already thought about this.

"I want to work with you. Well, merfolk in general. I'm a marine biologist on the surface, which means I work with humans trying to preserve the ocean. I'm sure you have noticed the trash problem. That's one of the things we're trying to fix."

Zale was amazed that there were humans who cared about such things. Why would the ocean matter to them when they didn't live there? But he wasn't about to turn down such an opportunity even if it hadn't been the only thing the water fairy wanted in compensation.

This had been exactly what he had been hoping to accomplish by having more contact with the surface-dwellers. And someone already involved just so happened to end up with his sister? It seemed too good to be true.

"Why do you care?" Zale asked, unable to stop himself.

He knew he wasn't supposed to be wasting time but the question would bother him if he didn't get it answered before they left. It made no sense for creatures who didn't live here to care what happened to it.

"Fairies are tied very closely with nature," Brennan explained. "My element is water and I have always been drawn to the ocean as a result. That's why I went into the field I did. I care about fixing what the humans broke in general but especially the ocean. Things have gotten pretty bad."

Zale couldn't deny that. And that was only in this small corner of it. He couldn't speak for the rest of the ocean.

The water fairy's voice was more impassioned than it had been this entire time. He certainly seemed sincere. Zale was going to have to take his word for it.

"I see. Take care of Tali for me and I will cooperate with you. You have my word. But will you be able to protect her? She will stick out among the humans and does not have legs to walk around as you do."

Brennan nodded seriously. "Don't worry about it. I've been among the humans for centuries. And I happen to have a witch friend who I think will be able to help us make her appear human. We will take care of her, I promise."

Zale did instinctively trust the witches because he had seen their good work already in the magic items that kept their borders safe. He was going to have to trust this water fairy too.

"Alright. The two of you need to leave now. No more wasting time."

Talori's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Zale."

"Don't be. This all worked out in the end. All that matters is that you are safe," Zale said as he circled around her and tapped his tail against hers before putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning forward to their foreheads touched. "I love you, Tali. Learn as much as you can up there so you can tell me all about it when you get home."

"I will! I love you too."

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