Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Let me get this straight,” Zoe began, her mind ticking over. “You want me to come with you to the underwater head quarters of all Mer-folk to talk to the King.”

Josiah nodded. “As I said, you are the first person who has been changed in 2000 years and we need an agent above the surface. We Mer-folk can live above land but we have to remain near the coast. You on the other hand can go anywhere.”

Zoe stared at him. “I’m getting married in a soon, I have caterers to hire, florists to talk to, bridesmaid dresses to sort out and then there’s this new house I’m decorating for Zarifa. I cant just drop everything to go meet the king of Mer-Folk and have cucumber sandwiches.”

“Sea cucumbers don’t go well in sandwiches,” Josiah said, clearly ignoring her dilemma. “Oh and the bread goes all-”

“Are you not listening! I cant do it! Go bite someone else!” Zoe raged. 

Josiah laughed. “A mer-person can only bite one person ever.”

“Well get your sister or someone, anyone to grab a random stranger,” Zoe continued, shuffling papers and pretending to be busy. “Anybody.”

Josiah leaned across the table and placed a hand on top of hers, the warmth immediately zapping down her veins like wildfire. Her hands froze, as slowly she looked up meeting the gaze that sent her stomach whizzing into butterflies. Zoe felt her heart begin to hammer. Those twinkling, blue grey eyes that were now silently imploring her. Zoe tried to breath but it suddenly became impossible. His hands were so warm as they slowly closed around hers. 

“Zoe. I want you,” he breathed. 

The door suddenly flew open as Daniel burst in with a wide grin on his face that melted as soon as he saw Josiah. Josiah jumped back into his chair as the papers Zoe had been shuffling came to life and scattered across the floor. 

“Whose this?” Daniel said cautiously eyeing Josiah. 

“I’m from the Undersea Decorating Corp, we were discussing a switch over for Zoe to our company,” Josiah lied smoothly getting out of his chair to shake Daniel’s hand. Zoe could tell that Daniel didn’t’t really buy that as he looked back at Zoe. 

“I thought you was happy with this firm?” he said puzzled. 

“Oh I am. That’s why Mr. Josiah here is just leaving,” she glared. 

“I am not leaving until you agree to come with me,” Josiah retorted firmly. 

“Hey, hey bub. If my fiancée,” Zoe flinched at the way Daniel emphasized that term, “ doesn’t want to come with you, she wont.”

“Oh and who are you? Her husband,” Josiah said, his eyes glittering wickedly. 

“Well I don’t know who you think you are but I might as well be,”’ Daniel spat back. 

“Ooh only her first love that she wouldn’t’t have told you about,” Josiah grinned evilly. 

Zoe leapt up as it looked like Daniel was going to take a swing at him and wedged herself between the two men. Sorry man and fish out of water. ‘When did my life become a mills and boons novel,’ she thought. “Break it up you two,” she yelled. 

The two men glanced down at her, Zoe suddenly aware of the fact that Josiah seemed taller than she remembered. He was even fractionally taller than Daniel. Oh and that the entire office were peering through the glass wall that separated her office from the rest of the building, eager looks painted on their faces. Daniel glared sedately at Josiah. “I think you should leave.”

“I’m not leaving until Zoe comes with me, her use is far greater than your silly wedding,” Josiah stated firmly. 

Daniel gasped and even Zoe felt the sting of that one. “How can a decorating firm be more important than holy matrimony,” Daniel gaped.

“Because that’s not why he’s here,” Zoe sighed. Daniel stared blankly whereas Josiah began to shake his head, giving Zoe a very firm ‘don’t you dare look‘. Zoe looked up at her husband-to-be. ‘Although probably for not longer,’ she thought dully. “There’s stuff about me you don’t know.”

*******

With a thump, Zoe rolled out of the bath at Daniels feet, her fiancée’s eyes wide but his mouth firmly shut as he stared at her long maroon tail. Zoe knew that no amount of explaining would make sense, so she left Josiah in the living room downstairs, eating croissants and talking to her aquarium fish which freaked Daniel out no end. Upstairs, Zoe began undressing Daniel staring at her as though she had lost her mind, they had a guest, her old flame to be precise downstairs. Who was talking to the aquarium fish. But then he said nothing as she slipped into the bath and grew a tail. 

Zoe shook her head dismally as she reached for a towel that hung on the rack just out of reach. Daniel leant over pulled it off the rack for her before crouching beside her. He hesitated for a moment before beginning to dry her tail, within a minute or so her legs returned. 

“Why didn’t’t you tell me?” he asked softly. 

Zoe shrugged. “Lots of reasons. I swore not to when I left the island. I wasn’t sure how you would take it, I didn’t want you running to the media telling them your fiancée is a fish and I mean how do you tell your fiancée that your half fish?” 

Daniel managed a wry smile. “I guess so.”

Zoe got up and pulled her clothes back on as Daniel watched quietly. She didn’t dare ask about the wedding, whether he still wanted to marry a fish. She guessed he would need a lot of time to mull it over. He had a steady thoughtful look pasted on his face, the one he wore when he sat at the coffee table with MRI scans and X-rays trying to figure out a tricky case. Like she did then, Zoe just left him alone to think. 

Josiah looked up brightly as they traipsed silently down the stairs. “So am I invited to the wedding?”

“Drop dead,” Zoe glared. “That’s it. You have screwed my life up enough, what are you doing here?”

Josiah nodded before seating himself on the couch. Zoe wandered over and sat in front of him, her feet resting on the coffee table as Daniel stood behind her. “I guess I will just have to trust you,” he directed at Daniel. 

“I guess you will just have to,” Daniel retorted as Zoe rolled her eyes. 

“Ok,” Josiah said, “From what I gather, humans are very sceptical about out existence right?”

Zoe nodded. “Up until twenty seconds ago,” Daniel said darkly. 

Josiah ignored that comment. “So they would be unaware that the pollutants they have been pumping into the ocean has been slowly killing us. Our hope is that somehow you can convince them to stop.”

“Pollutants?” Zoe echoed. She wasn’t surprised, but she wanted something more specific. 

Josiah shrugged. “There always has been a presence of chemicals in the ocean but this is new. At first we didn’t know what was causing the slow death of mer-folk.”

“Where are these chemicals more prevalent?” Daniel suddenly sounded interested.  

“The sea of Japan, the Black sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Yemen, the top end of Australia are the worst places, we have ordered all mer-folk to leave those areas,” Josiah said. 

By now Daniel had his notepad out. “Symptoms if you please.”

Josiah looked surprised. “Ok…rashes, dorsal fins start dropping off and the main flukes start disintegrating. A few times mer-folk have been killed by sharks and Orca because it hampers their swimming. If they survive that then trouble breathing in oxygen from the water follows so they have to surface which of course is very dangerous or keeping warm in deeper cold waters.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Daniel held a hand up. “Your not a mammal?”

Josiah looked at Zoe questioningly. “Whats a mammal?”

“Like dolphins. Warm blooded, gives birth to live young.”

The light flicked on in Josiah’s eyes as he understood. “Not exactly. Like we breath water like a fish but we can we can keep warm in cold water and give birth to live young.”

“I thought you would have noticed the gills,” Zoe looked at Daniel.

Daniel scribbled furiously. “Nope, keep going.”

“Ok well if they don’t get killed by passing boats, fishing nets or the crap humans dump in the ocean when they have to surface, paralysis followed by suffocation follows. There have been cases of madness, psychotic behaviour but suffocation is more common,” Josiah said grimly. 

“Ick,” Zoe cringed. ‘What a way to go‘.

“Yeah,” Josiah said sadly. “It’s a terrible way to go.”

Zoe glared frostily but of course Daniel was oblivious. “How do you know its chemicals?”

Josiah shrugged. “We don’t really but there are a number of oil drilling platforms in those areas so we presume that they are dumping something they shouldn’t or aren’t aware of the effect it is having.”

“Does it affect just mer-folk?” Zoe asked suddenly. 

Josiah thought for a moment. “Yeah. Actually it does.”

‘Odd. Mind you if it affected more well known species Green peace would have been all over it like a rash- Uhh sorry barnacle,’ Zoe thought as it was Josiah’s turn to glare. 

“Look symptoms are all well and good but I would need to do a post mortem to really get an idea,” Daniel said. 

“What’s that?” Josiah asked wide eyed. 

Zoe sighed. This wasn’t going to be pretty. “Post mortem means getting a dead person, mer-folk, whatever and cutting them open and examining the-” Daniel began.

Josiah was on his feet, eyes flashing dangerously. “You! You monster! How dare you!”

“Steady on! I’m not eating them I’m merely examining the cause of death,” Daniel looked surprised. 

“Really. It is a precise operation just so they can examine the internal organs and stuff,” Zoe explained.

Josiah sat down slowly and as the silence hung in the air. Zoe could hear her aquarium fish carrying on in the background. Zoe looked at Josiah and pleaded silently with him. After awhile he sighed. “Its not up to me, the king has to make the decision. I know he wont like it, but perhaps if you argue it,” he looked at Zoe. 

Zoe nodded, suddenly convinced that she had to do something. “Ok. I will try my best.”

Author's Note

Sorry I havent posted in awhile. I wasnt sure if people were still interested.....