Six

 

Erik trudged into his father's throne room with his eyes on the stone floor. He didn't want to meet his father's gaze at all, so when he approached the throne, he not only fell to his knees but bowed so low his forehead touched the stone.

"Father, I bring heavy news from Beacon Isle," he said.

The courtiers hushed each other, to better listen to his news.

"Crown Prince Philip is dead, as are all who sailed with him," Erik continued.

"How did he die?" Father demanded.

"The ship we were on ran into a storm. Lightning struck the mast, which crushed the ship's cabin when it fell. All those within perished, and the ship sank." For the first time, Erik wished he'd been inside the cabin with his brother, for he knew what the king would ask next.

"How did you survive, when your brother perished?"

Erik wished he could bow lower, so that he sank right through the stones. "Philip sent me to fetch more wine, so I wasn't in the cabin. I was thrown into the ocean with everyone else, but by some miracle, I found my way to an undamaged boat, and made my way to shore." A mermaid, not a miracle, Erik was certain, but his father would never believe him. He barely believed himself, and he'd seen her with his own eyes.

"The sea is a perilous mistress, that no man can withstand. Not even a king. Poor Philip," Father said gravely.

No man, maybe. But the more Erik thought about it, the more he remembered about his time on that little boat. There'd been a girl, he remembered now. She'd hauled him aboard the boat, but somehow he'd ended up back in the water. That's when he saw the mermaid. Much later, he'd found himself back on board the boat with her, and he'd heard her ordering someone or something to take them home. The mermaids, or maybe even the ocean itself. And he'd arrived safely on the shore, but alone.

She couldn't have perished. It just wasn't possible. He'd return to Beacon Isle and find her and...

"Arise, Sir Erik. As crown prince, you are now heir to the throne in your brother's place," Father said, before the courtiers erupted in applause.

Crown prince? No, he had to return and find her. He'd dreamed of her every night, and every morning felt lost to find her gone.

"You will report back to me here on the morrow. Before you can become king, you have a lot to learn," Father continued.

Erik's heart sank. He resolved to learn all he could about kingship as fast as possible, the sooner to return to the mysterious girl. And he would find her. Some day, some how, he vowed, he would hold her in his arms again.