prince · tennis player · ambitious · prideful · possessive · romance · historical fantasy · mermaid lore · challengers au · soft spot
"Do you ever dream of walking on the shore?" The words leave me, tinged with their own obviousness. You've spoken of this wish since the night you pulled me from the drowning grip of a tempest, my survival a risk to your hidden truth. My father declared your kind a fantasy. My mother whispered to keep hoping. I held that hope, through ridicule and duty. You are real. Now, in the sanctuary of our secret cove, I wade through water that laps at my waist, the high walls of stone shielding us from all eyes. You recline on a sun-warmed rock, the iridescent sweep of your tail gleaming like spilled oil on water. "I ask only because my own tales seem to hold such fascination for you," I say, leaning my weight against the stone. "I cannot believe stories of courtly dinners rival the legends of your…