#i like how you can see the water surface tension being interacting with the leaf margins (:

[b-blushes]

frogbit, duckweed, and water crowfoot in the pond (:

[paradisobound]

They’ll Tear Us Apart (If You Give Them the Chance)

Summary: Dan was just a fairy in his little village of Vixedeler when a mermaid invades the waters and sends the village into a frenzy. A thousand year old rivalry is resurfaced and Dan is left in the middle of his village while also feeding his new connection with the mermaid, Phil. As tensions rise, and Dan falls deeply for Phil, a Romeo and Juliet love story begins. 

Warnings: Mentions of violence and conflict (but not explicitly) 

Word Count: 7.3k

This is a Romeo and Juliet au centered around fairy!Dan and mermaid!Phil (but don’t worry! No one dies at the end!) 

**Link to the Art** | **Link to Ao3**

Written for the 2019 @phandomreversebang! 

Thank you so much to my lovely artist @lovelydeps! It was so much fun working with you and getting your idea for your art and bringing it to life! And your art blew me away! And thanks to my beta’s @partlycharlie and @stockholm-13-syndrome who both looked over the fic for me! And special thanks to @flymetomanchester and @phloridas for being the best cheerleaders whenever it comes to any of my fics! You’re the best :) 

The wind whistled through the air as Dan walks slowly through the forest on his way back to his cottage. His hands are full of the fruits and berries he had picked up on his way back.

His feet crinkle a bit in the leaves, but his near weightless body doesn’t really make a sound as he walks. He hums to himself, looking around at all of the trees and little critters around him. A squirrel to his right. A bunny to his left. They never bother him so he never bother them.

Dan figures he could use his wings and fly by to his little cottage, but that takes energy and to be quite honest, Dan’s a bit lazy. Not to mention, he had a run in with a bumble bee a few days ago and he isn’t trying to collide with another one of those fuzzy fellas any time soon.

Dan lives in a quiet little village called Vixedalar, which resides just outside the forest. They share a border with another little village called Estemopia, but they often don’t interact. Dan’s village is very quiet and often isn’t bothered and Dan quite likes that.

He prefers to be alone, sitting in his cottage, sipping Grassroot tea and consuming his berries. Well, he prefers to be alone when he’s not with his friend Lilibeth, but she is often busy in her garden or messing with the mortals in the overlands. Lilibeth likes to change out their babies; although Dan doesn’t like her mischievous actions, he does sometimes laugh at the stories she tells.

His village is near water, which is uncommon for his kind. Dan learnt when he was first taken to the water by his guardians as a youngling - they warned him to never go near it or in it. However, many people in his village fish, which used to leave Dan scratching his head in confusion.

Dan has to pass the water every time he goes back to his cottage from foraging for berries and fruit. He often finds himself staring out at it, as if it’s calling to him, but he never goes to it. He reminds himself of his warnings and just moves on with his time, happily humming and skipping a bit as his wings get excited and he hovers a bit over the ground.

This afternoon is no different. Dan is walking by the water and looking at it from a distance. He lets out a sigh and finds himself smiling. Maybe one day, maybe he’ll cave and go to the water.

Dan is about to turn his head and look back to where he is walking when he sees an odd ruffle in the water. His heart skips a beat and he lets out a loud gasp. What was that in the water? He narrows his eyes a bit and floats up, his wings holding him, and he looks over the water.

The water doesn’t move again, but that doesn’t mean Dan isn’t still curious about what it was. His heart is racing a bit and his wings are beginning to strain. He quickly shuts his eyes and sucks in a breath as his body lessens in size and he flies through the trees as fast he can back to his cottage.

Dan can admit that he’s never been the most graceful with his landings when he goes back to being full bodied, but he certainly tries. This time, he loses a few berries and an apple and huffs in annoyance.

“Never been the most graceful, have you, Dan?”

Dan snickers and turns to his friend Lilibeth. She’s stood in front of her cottage across from his own. Her light colored hair is flowing a bit in the wind, and she has some stray pieces tucked behind her ears. Her wings are looking as beautiful as ever, a bright azure blue with swirls that are unlike anything Dan had ever seen.

When Dan had first seen Lilibeth, he quickly realized how pretty she was, but as they grew up, he realized she was a close friend, not someone he wanted to raise his future family with.

“Never have been and never will be,” Dan says with a chuckle.

Lilibeth waves him off and turns around, wiping her palms on her cloth pants and walking back to the flower garden in the front of her cottage. Dan always envied how well she could grow flowers. He doesn’t do well with that. He’s good at making cures and teas. He’s not good at other things.

Dan cuddles his fruit and berries closer to his chest as he walks up to his cottage door and steps inside. Dan walks over to his table and sets down his food on the wooden surface.

He walks to his tiny little leaf basin of water and rinses off his hands before he grabs a small blade and a wooden bowl and walks back over to his table. He grabs each fruit piece by piece and begins to cut them smaller.

As his blade cuts through each piece, he begins to think more and more about the water. What did he see in the water? It wasn’t a fish - the fish aren’t very big in the water. It had to be something different.

His blade suddenly stops mid-cut and his heart beats fast. Was it a mermaid? He’s only heard of them in stories from his guardians and the whispers around the village.

But surely, a mermaid wouldn’t dare to actually come back into their little village, would it?

Dan shakes his head and lets his hair fall into his eyes a bit before he tucks the stray bit behind his ear. He’ll talk to Lilibeth about what he saw later.

***

Dan visits Lilibeth in her garden a little while later. His berries and fruit were all cut and he even brought a small wooden bowl for Lilibeth to have as well. He walks up behind her and she stands up, turning around and smiling at him.

“Found some good fruit?” she asks and Dan nods. “Let’s bring them inside.”

Dan follows her into her cottage and sits down beside her at her small table. Lilibeth’s cottage is a lot smaller than Dan’s but Dan finds it cozier. His sometimes seems empty when he doesn’t have company.

Lilibeth picks out a fresh berry from the bowl and takes a bite of it. “How did foraging go?”

“It went well,” he says. “Didn’t have to look long before I came about a really good amount of berries.”

“Good!” Lilibeth smiles. “I was speaking with Merrybeth and she mentioned that berries were becoming scarce. She said we might have to rely more on fish soon.”

Dan makes a face. He isn’t nearly as much of a fan of fish as he is other foods; he much prefers fruit over meat. “I’m not fond of that idea.”

“Nor I,” she says.

Dan picks up a berry from the bowl and eats it. He watches Lilibeth reach for one too, and then remembers how she mentioned water. He should mention to her what he saw.

“I saw something in the water,” Dan says.

“In the water?” Lilibeth asks.

Dan nods.

“Yes, I believe it might be a…”

“… a mermaid?” she says, her eyes widening. “Are you sure that is what you saw?”

“I’m not that sure,” Dan admits. “But it was odd.”

“Mermaids aren’t supposed to be able to come into our village,” she says, as if that’s not something Dan already knows.

Dan knows the lore about the mermaids. His kind, the fairies, and the mermaids have been in a war for over 1000 years. They never interact nor do they like each other. Normally when a mermaid comes around, the villagers run them out or threaten worse.

Dan’s guardian used  to tell him when he was a child that it was because of a mistake between fairies and mermaids. The fairies were always mischievous and Dan knew that because of Lilibeth and his follow villagers. But one year, way back in the earlier days, a fairy mistakenly took the baby of a mermaid, thinking it was a mortal being. The mermaids found out and sought out the fairy and killed them. It was a sad day in the neighboring village that still thrives at the thought of the fairy who lost their life.

“Are you sure?” Lilibeth asked again. “It’s a bit foolish to claim there is a mermaid and there are none.”

“I’m aware.” Dan says. “I think that is what it was but…”

“Let us go to the water and see.” Lilibeth interrupted, standing up from her stool and extending her hand out.

Dan grabbed onto her hand and pulled himself up. She began to drag him to the door and Dan laughed a bit as her strength yanked him outside of the cottage and dragged him a bit down the pathway towards the forest.

Lilibeth shut her eyes and shrunk down and Dan followed and shrunk down, flying beside her. They zipped through the forest, between the trees and past all of the insect that shared the air with them.

Dan loved flying with Lilibeth. Sometimes he liked flying alone but other days, he’s glad that he has such a good friend like Lilibeth to play around with. He never had many friends as a child but Lilibeth was always there for him.

They flew around for a while until Dan began to feel the telltale signs of exhaustion in his wings and he motioned for Lilibeth that he was going to land. Lilibeth landed next to him and they took a second to catch their breath.

They were both still laughing at their antics when Dan remembered what they were doing in the forest. They were supposed to be going to the water. He looked around to gather his bearings. To his right, he caught sight of the water in the distance and he and Lilibeth began to walk closer to it.

They were almost to the clearing and the water when Dan noticed a ripple in the water again. His breath caught in his throat and his hand came up, instinctively to his chest in surprise. He turned to Lilibeth and her green eyes were staring wide towards the water.

“Did you see that?” She asked, her finger coming out in front of her to point towards the ripple.

Dan nodded.

He continued watching the water for a few more moments before he saw it…a dark blue tail came out of the water and splashed back through the crest, creating a soft splash in its wake.

Dan gasped and Lilibeth made an unsettling noise. They turned to each other and both immediately took off and flew as fast as they could back to their village. They needed to warn the others.

As soon as they land, Lilibeth runs down the pathway to the village center where there is a bustle of other fairies roaming about, bartering their food and selling their fish.

Lilibeth moves through the small crowd of others and stands in the middle of them and picks up her voice. “Dan and I have spotted a mermaid in our waters.” She says. “We saw it while we were out in the forest frolicking for fruit.”

There is a sudden uproar of voices and everyone seems to be appalled by the word of a mermaid being spotted. A few of the males step forward with their fishing nets in hand and scowl.

“How dare a mermaid invade our waters?” The one spat out, his eyes growing a bit darker in color.

“We must all brace for an impending invasion!” The other one called, his wings suddenly fluttering as he picked up into the air, hovering. “We must prepare for anything they bring. It’s clear that they’re ready to strike us again and we need to be ready.”

Dan felt his mouth opening and shutting, almost as if he wanted to argue and say that he thought that wasn’t true. But he didn’t speak up. He wasn’t too well known in the village like Lilibeth was and he wasn’t going to get into any possible scrabbles with other fairies. Dan knew how stubborn his kind can be.

Slowly, the village began to whisper among each other and Dan found himself in the middle of everyone else as they all spoke about what the mermaids could do to them. It made Dan shudder and wrap his arms around his thin frame, almost as if to protect himself from something that wasn’t even there.

When the sun began to set, and the moon and stars came out, the village broke apart and Dan walked back to his cottage besides Lilibeth. They said their goodnights to each other and went their separate ways.

As Dan washed up in his basin and then redressed, he found himself thinking about the mermaid and if the creature was really as dangerous as everything was telling him they were. He knew from the stories that mermaids could be mean but his kind could be too.

When Dan tucks himself into his bed and wills his eyes to shut, all he can think of is whether or not the mermaid is still in the water, just swimming around, unaware of what was going on in the village.

***

Many moons passed and nothing happened within the village. Most villagers have forgotten that the mermaid was in the water while a few remain on watch some nights by the water to make sure the mermaid didn’t leave.

Dan found himself thinking about the mermaid every time he did anything. When he was out in the village looking to barter for a new shirt, he found himself wondering if the mermaid had ever worn a shirt. When he goes into the forest and picks his berries, he finds himself wanting to go to the water and see if he can see the mermaid again, just to see what they looked like.

He was curious.

When he is out one afternoon and has packed all of his leaves, flowers, and fruit into his leaf knapsack, he finds himself flying to the water. He maneuvers through the branches and trees and surpasses a few bees before he lands on the edge of the water and looks down into it.

He’s stood on a rock on the end, peering at his own reflection in the light pool. A few bugs dance along the top of the water and he giggles as he watches the way they bounce and make little zaps onto the water.

Dan plops down onto his behind and sits with his legs tucked under him. He removes his knapsack from his shoulder and sets it down beside him as he looks at the water and stares with intent to see if he can spot the mermaid. They were probably already gone but Dan was just curious into seeing one that he was eager to sit and watch.

After a few moments of nothing happening, Dan finds himself already getting a bit board so he looks around and finds a stick next to him. He picks it up in his hand and looks it over before he gently pushes it into the water and watches the rippling around it.

He waves the stick around, drawing designs in the water and giggling as he watches so fish come up and try to bit the end of the stick like its bait. As nothing continues to happen, Dan feels himself sigh and let out a breath. The mermaid was definitely gone and he was beginning to doubt that he and Lilibeth even saw it. Maybe their minds had just been playing tricks on them. He really isn’t sure anymore.

Dan moves back and picks the stick out of the water, throwing it off to the side and feeling the splashes of the water until his skin as he does so. He shivers from the cool touch of the water and turns his head to pick up his knapsack when he hears loud splashing in front of him.

He looks up and see’s blue eyes staring at him, just barely peaking over the water with a mop of wet dark hair on top. Dan feels his heart beat erratically and he begins to crawl backwards to escape the edge of the water.

The head suddenly comes up further and Dan lets out a loud gasp as he sees the mermaid in front of him, their webbed hands coming up and swimming in circles to keep the mermaid afloat. Dan watches the creature for a moment before the fear wins out in his head and he wills himself to fly.

He flies as fast as he can back to his cottage and only when he has landed and caught his breath has he realized that he left his knapsack at the water and he was going to need to go into the village for food that night.

***

A knock happens on Dan’s door as he’s mashing some berries in his bowl to create a tea to drink. He stands up from his table and walks over, opening the door to see Lilibeth on the other side.

She was wearing a long skirt today which was unusual for her but Dan had to admit she looked beautiful. She must have bought it in the village or she might have flown to the next village over for it.

“Peter told me that he and Caspian have been on watch at the water every night.” She says, inviting herself in and walking inside. She takes a seat at his table on one of the stools and rests her feet on the stool across from her. “He said that there is a mermaid living in the waters but it doesn’t appear to want any harm.”

“Oh.” Dan finds himself saying as he shuts the door and walks towards her, sitting down opposite.

“Which is a good thing.” She continues. “I’m not sure what our village would do if we had an onslaught of mermaids coming for us. Caspian says that he believes there is only one lone male.”

“I’m aware.” Dan says. “I saw it today.”

“You did?” Lilibeth questioned. “When?”

“Earlier when I was out in the forest getting my food.” Dan says. “I decided to go sit by the water and it came up while I was there. I was too afraid to do anything so I flew away.”

“Did it appear dangerous?” Lilibeth asks

Dan shook his head. “No, but I’m also not sure.”

“What did it look like?” She questioned.

Dan shook his head again. “I didn’t really see.”

“I’m afraid that it has ulterior motives.” She says, keeping up with the original subject. “Although Caspian and Peter both told me that they did not believe the mermaid was harmful, I’m unsure. Why would a mermaid invade our waters? They know their place.”

Dan nodded but he didn’t agree with her. He didn’t believe that the mermaid was harmful because…well, he didn’t really have a good reasoning for it. He just had a feeling that the mermaid wasn’t harmful and he was going to believe it.

“Speaking of,” Lilibeth says, clearing her throat a bit. “Caspian asked me if I would go fishing with him one day.”

Dan felt his lips curl into a smile. “Oh?” He teases. “You and Caspian going to be a family?”

Lilibeth reaches out and shoves his shoulder. “He gave me this skirt as a mating gift.” She says, flattening the fabric onto her legs. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Dan nods because the white fabric weaved with green is stunning against her long white hair and bright eyes. She paired it was a beautiful sheer green top and Dan finds himself staring at how beautiful she looks right now. Almost glowing actually, if you will.

“It’s stunning.” He says. “Where did Caspian get it?”

“He didn’t say.” Lilibeth answered. “But as soon as he gave it to me, I knew I had to accept.”

Dan couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous at Lilibeth and Caspian. He has sort of known that something was going on between them when he would spot Caspian coming out of Lilibeth’s cottage often, sometimes in the morning. He was happy for her, really he was. He knew that they were at the time of their life where mating was something they needed to do but it was hard for Dan to find someone he could see as his mate when he was attracted to…well, males.

He and Lilibeth shared a meal together before she left to tend to her garden and Dan decided he wanted to finish making his teas. Later that night when he was getting washed up to lay down, he found himself thinking about the mermaid again and it’s deep blue eyes that pierced into him.

Dan wanted to see that mermaid again. He was determined to.

***

As the sun is rising the next morning, Dan is already at the edge of the water, tip toeing down the rock to the edge. He hadn’t been able to get any rest the night before. His mind was busy trying to figure out the mermaid. He was still so curious about the creature and as soon as dawn began to break, Dan had gotten up and dressed and flown to the water where he now was.

He was sat on the same rock he had been the day before. This time, he had his feet dangling into the cool water and he was swishing them back and forth, running the water over the tops of his feet. He was laughing a bit at how they tickled but he mostly just liked the feeling of the water running over his feet. He was still doing this when he saw the ripple in the water come from nowhere and suddenly, the same piercing blue eyes were staring up at him from the surface.

Dan draws in a loud breath and looks down at the water and at the creature. He pulls his feet up from the water and tucks them under his body as he kneels and places his hands on the end of the rock in front of him and stares intently, trying to figure out the mermaid.

“Is all you fairies do is stare?”

The voice shocks Dan and he lets out a gasp as his eyes widen and watches the mermaid breach the surface of the water and swim closer, his head fully poking out. Dan moves backwards from the edge of the rock and the mermaid comes up and pushes their arms on the end of the rock, resting their upper body on the edge.

“I’ve never seen your kind before.” Dan says, his voice catching a bit in his throat.

The mermaid scoffs and a small smile ghosts his lips. “I see you all staring at me every night.”

“We don’t mean to do any harm!” Dan quickly says. “It’s just that none of us know what to do with a…”

“A mermaid.” The creature finishes. “Do you have a name?”

Dan nods. “I’m Daniel.”

“I’m Phil.”

Dan looks down and cocks his head to the side. Phil? He’d never heard of a name like that before. It sounds like a mortal name.

“What are you doing in our waters?” Dan asks, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Phil opens his mouth but suddenly the sound of whispers and voices drowns out anything he could have been saying. Dan quickly turns his head and sees a group of his fellow villagers coming towards the water, some with fishing nets and some with what looked like branches poles.

Dan quickly turns back to say something to Phil but Phil is long gone, already swum off somewhere else in the water. Dan quickly stands up and rushes away, ready to fly off and escape the other villagers when his name is called by a deep voice in the group.

“Daniel?” Dan turns his head and sees Caspian standing on the outside with Peter on his right. He’s holding a hand-woven net in his head and his red wings are waving in the air. He walks over to Dan and gives him a questioning look. “What are you doing near the water?”

Dan opened his mouth and quickly thought of the first thing that came to his head. “I was out getting some berries but they began to stain my hands so I came to the water to wash my hands.”

Caspian nodded and cocked his eyebrow. “The water is not safe right now, Daniel. You should be more careful.”

Dan wanted to roll his eyes. He understood that Caspian was a wee bit older than himself but he didn’t like how Caspian treated him like a youngling just because Dan liked to gather berries and fruit and not fish.

“I’m aware.”

“We do not know if the mermaid is dangerous yet so please, do not go to the water unless you have to.” His voice goes soft and he looks around before leaning closer to Dan, his long brown hair falling over his shoulder and nearly into Dan’s face. “I’d hate to tell Lilibeth that we found you at the bottom of the waters.”

Dan swallowed at that thought and furrowed his brows, but nodded nonetheless. He quickly said his agreement to Caspian and then bid his farewell and flew away, feeling completely foolish.

When he lands at his cottage, Lilibeth is walking outside of her own with a leaf filled with water in her hands to water her garden. Dan finds himself walking up to her, coming up behind her as she waters down her plants.

“I went to the waters this morning.” He says to her. “I spoke with the mermaid.”

Lilibeth dropped the leaf on the ground, the water splashing around their feet. She stood up from squatting position and turned to face Dan. “Are you foolish?”

“The mermaid was nice!” He counters. “He told me that his name was Phil. I don’t think he means any harm.”

“Daniel,” She says, her hands coming up in front of her to make a gesture towards Dan. “We do not know if this mermaid is dangerous. Mermaids are manipulative creatures. You need to be careful. You cannot be going to the waters and just accepting this foul creatures friendship.”

“I wasn’t doing that!” Dan counted. “I went to the waters and the mermaid was there and I spoke with him.”

“You’re acting like a fool.” Lilibeth says, her voice tight and harsh. “You’re not thinking.”

“I’m aware of what I’m doing.” Dan says. “I see now harm in the mermaid being there.”

“That’s all fine and well until in one move, it’s slitting your throat.”

“Lilibeth, we don’t know…” Dan stops himself because what he was going to say would just prove her correct. They do not know if Phil is dangerous so in hindsight, Dan shouldn’t be seeing him or even speaking to him. “I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.”

“I don’t want you getting harmed.” She says. “Caspian warns me of the mermaid all of the time and I’m warning you. Do not befriend him. Treat him like an enemy.”

Dan nods.

“And please, Dan.” She continues. “Do not go to the water and see him.”

Dan doesn’t end up listening to Lilibeth despite her warning him and the next few days, he found himself waiting on the edge of the water for Phil to come and speak to him. A few mornings in a row, Phil did not swim up to Dan but rather just swam closer for a moment before disappearing back into the water. This frustrated Dan immensely.

But then after nearly four mornings of not seeing the mermaid, Dan finally sees him again and they talk for a brief moment before Phil would disappear and Dan would be left all alone again on the rock.

On the fifth day, Dan had been out all afternoon gathering as many fruits and berries he could so he could take them to the town center to barter for new clothes and he found himself going to the water just as the night was beginning to fall. The moon was reflecting brightly in the water and he sat on the same rock he always did and snacked on a few berries as he waited to see Phil.

His eyes eventually grew tired and his body began to collapse in on itself from exhaustion and he found himself laying down the rock to rest. His eyes shut and just as he’s beginning to succumb to his bodies rest, he feels something reach out and touch his hand.

He opens his eyes a bit and sees Phil leaning on the edge of the rock, his hand coming out and resting on top of Dan’s. Dan feels his heart pick up it’s beating as he looks down at Phil.

“You always come every day to see me.” Phil says, his voice gentle. “What do you see in me? You should be afraid.”

Dan picks his head up and bit and looks down into Phil’s blue eyes. “I’m not afraid of you.” He says, his voice wavering a bit. “I know you don’t want to hurt anymore. If you were going to hurt me, you would have already. I like visiting you and seeing you.”

Phil’s lips curled into a slight smile and Dan smiled back, his head resting limply against the rock. Dan looked down at their hands again and he notices that Phil’s hand is not webbed at the moment, it looks just like Dan’s. Dan opens his hand and turns his palm over underneath Phil’s skin. Phil looks down between them and his connects their hands together.

“You don’t treat me like I’m a monster.” Phil says. “I appreciate that.”

“You’re not a monster.” Dan says. “You’re just another being like me.”

When Dan shuts his eyes, no longer again to fight it anymore, his and Phil’s hand is still connected on the rock and Dan feels comfort in knowing he’s gained the trust of such a ‘dangerous’ creature.

Dan feels safe around Phil.

When he wakes up to the bright sunlight, his hand is alone and he’s alone as well. Phil is gone back into the water and Dan is unsure of how long Phil stayed with him but his heart fluttered a bit thinking that maybe Phil had watched over him all night and protected him.

He was beginning to take a liking to the mermaid and it was a bit scary for Dan to think about. He found himself thinking about Phil’s bright eyes and soft smile. He thought about how gentle and kind Phil’s voice had actually been. He thought about the trust in Phil’s voice when he told Dan he appreciated him.

Dan really liked Phil.

If he wasn’t feeling a bit foolish, he might even say that he could see Phil as his mate. Maybe that’s why they were able to appreciate each other so well. On some deep level, they were mates.

Dan felt a bit daft knowing that he was a fairy and really thinking about being a mate to a mermaid after their history of tension between the two but he couldn’t help thinking about it. He thought about how Phil’s lips would fell against his own. He thought about how Phil’s skin would feel against his. He wondered if Phil had a body like his own―he heard mermaids could sometimes walk on land―and if he and Phil could share such intimate moments with each other.

He continues to have these thoughts the rest of the day until Lilibeth comes knowing on his door at dusk, a worried expression on her face. She’s a bit disheveled and her wings and fluttering in worry. “Daniel, they’re planning on slaughtering the mermaid.”

Dan felt his heart shatter and his eyes will up with tears. “What?”

“Caspian and Peter saw the mermaid by you as you slept near the water and they feared that it had plans to do something awful to you. They’re planning on killing him. I just got word.”

“Lilibeth, they can’t kill him!” Dan pleaded. “Phil means no harm!”

“Daniel, I do believe you but Caspian is certain about this and I’m afraid he’s not going to change his mind.”

“I have to go and warn him!” Dan cries. “I need to warn him about this!”

He doesn’t wait for Lilibeth to answer. He just pushes past her out of the cottage and takes off, flying as fast as his wings can go towards the water.

When he lands, he falls to the rock and crawls to the edge. He cups his hands to his mouth and shouts Phil’s name until the mermaid rises from the water and swims near, his blue tail poking behind him out of the water. When he gets to the rock and pulls himself up, Dan reaches down and grabs for his hand.

“Phil, they’re planning on killing you.” He cries. “The fairies in my village think you’re going to harm someone…they’ve already made their decision.”

Phil reaches up and his webbed hands transforms into a normal hand and smoothes its ways through Dan’s hair. “Do not worry.” Phil says. “I’m not afraid of them.”

“But they’re going to kill you!” Dan cried. “They can’t kill you!”

Phil shushed him and rested his hand on Dan’s jaw. “They’re not going to kill me. I won’t let them.”

“They’re strong, Phil. They won’t give up.”

Phil just shushes him again and runs his hand over Dan’s cheek, soothing his crying. “I’m going to be safe, Dan. I promise nothing will happen to me.”

“I know you’re good.” Dan says. “I know you won’t harm anymore and you won’t harm me. I know you wont!”

Phil continued to stroke his cheek and Dan sees Phil’s eyes glistening a bit with his own tears and sadness. Dan sniffles and tries to stop his crying but he lets a few more tears fall. He was just going to know Phil, he didn’t want to lose him yet. He couldn’t.

“I’ll be safe.” Phil repeats.

“Please be safe.” Dan says. “For me.”

“I’ll be safe for you.”

Dan looks down at Phil and finds himself leaning in, ready to connect their lips. He presses his lips against Phil’s mouth and their lips lock as if they were a perfect match. Dan lets out a whimper and pulls back, Phil’s hand still resting on his cheek.

“If you weren’t a mermaid, I’d say you were my mate.” Dan says.

“You are my mate.” Phil says. “I know you were special to me the moment I saw you.”

“Me too.”

Phil smiles at him and then he leans up and they share another kiss. When Dan pulls back, he positions himself so he’s laying down on his stomach and he’s face to face with Phil.

“How did you even get to our waters?” He says. “Mermaids aren’t supposed to know where we are.”

“I got lost from my kind.” Phil says. “I was messing around with a couple of other mermaids and I got separated from them. I swam the full length of the water before I came to land and had to try and find where they went. I can walk on land for short distances so I wandered until i was near exhaustion. I was on the verge of death when I saw your water here and I stumbled in. I never meant to invade your land.”

“I knew you weren’t an invader.” Dan says, his lips curling into a smile. “I knew you didn’t mean any harm.”

“I never would harm anyone unless they wanted to harm me.” Phil says. “I am not a dangerous kind.”

Dan opens his mouth to ask Phil more questions when there is a glowing amber light in the distance. He turns his head and sees fire and torches coming towards the water. There is whispering and shouting coming from there and Dan feels himself begin to panic.

“Phil, they’re coming to kill you! We have to go!” Dan gets up and tries to tug for Phil to get up onto the rock. “Please!”

“I have no where to go, Dan!” Phil cries. “I’ll die if I can’t get back to water.”

“I have a basin at my cottage you can be in! But you can’t stay here.”

“Dan, I don’t think I can…”

“Please!” Dan cries, tears escaping down his cheeks again. “I can’t have you die when I just found my mate.”

Phil looks out towards the glowing amber and then back at Dan and climbs his way up onto the rock. Dan is mesmerized by Phil’s stunning blue and green scaled tale and how it transforms into two lanky legs in front of his eyes.

Despite the fact that Phil is naked, Dan wraps his arm around his waist and hurries him into the forest where they rush as fast as they can. Dan uses the strength he has in his wings to fly them back to his cottage just as he hears Caspian’s deep voice shout to the crowd that tonight, they kill a mermaid.

As soon as they land, Dan hurries Phil into his cottage. Phil is panting and exhausted, barely able to hold himself up. Dan rushes to get the water into his basin and then he helps Phil step inside the water. Once his lower half is coated, Phil visibly relaxes and his tail begins to form again.

Dan breathes a sigh of relief and rests next to the basin where Phil lays back and rests his head against the back, shutting his eyes. Dan reaches up and connects their hands as he lays down on the floor of his cottage and shuts his eyes as well.

***

The next morning, Dan finds his wings a bit crumbled under him as he wakes up to Phil staring at him from the basin. His body is covered with a thin layer of water and Dan can see that he’s struggling to remain submerged in Dan’s small tub.

“I can’t stay here forever.” Phil says. “I can’t live in something this small.”

Dan nods, feeling his chest tighten. “I know.”

“I need to go back to the water but…”

“I’ll talk to the village!” Dan says, sitting up. “I’ll convince them to let you stay here in the water.”

“They want me dead, Dan.”

“I know but, I feel like I can convince them.”

Dan picks himself up and stretches as his wings as he paces around the cottage and tries to figure out how he is going to do this. He eventually takes in a deep breath and heads out of the cottage and into the village center.

Most people are out and about already this morning and Caspian, Peter, and Lilibeth are as well. Caspian is talking loudly to another villager about how he missed his opportunity to kill the mermaid last night and Dan felt a bit sick.

Dan walks over to Caspian and stands in front of him. “You can’t kill Phil.” He says. “You can’t hurt him!”

Caspian’s eyes widen and he cocks his head. “Who is this Phil?”

“The mermaid!” Dan says and everyone around him suddenly stops talking and ceases their movements. “You can’t hurt him!”

“And why can’t I?” Caspian questions. “He’s a dangerous threat to our village and our peace. He needs to leave.”

“No, he doesn’t!” Dan counters. “Phil doesn’t mean any harm! He got lost from his kind and ended up in our waters. He has no idea where he is or where he can go! He needs to stay in those waters to stay alive!”

Caspian let out a laugh and Peter followed. “I have some news for you then, Daniel. The mermaid was not in the water last night. Must be he already left.”

“No.” Dan shook his head and sucked in a breath. “Phil stayed in my cottage last night. He stayed in my washing basin but he can’t stay their forever! He needs the water!” Dan pleads. “He means no harm to anyone and he’ll never lay a hand on me but I believe he is my mate and I would like for him to be able to stay.”

Lilibeth picks up her head and looks at Dan, giving him that knowing glance that Dan has seen her give him so often. She suddenly turns to Caspian and places her delicate hand on his arm. “Let the mermaid stay in the waters.” She says. “He hasn’t harmed anyone yet and I doubt he will. You can let him stay in the waters and if he harms anyone or anything, then we can think of what to do. But it is true that he hasn’t harmed us.”

Caspian looked between them both and let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But the moment he hurts anyone, I’ll kill him with my own hands.”

Dan nodded and agreed with a smile because he knows that Phil wouldn’t even harm anyone or anything. Phil just needed a place to live and the waters was perfect for him.

Dan thanked Lilibeth with a hug and then thanked Caspian with a bow and flew back to his cottage as fast as he could. He pushed open the door and rushed inside, yelling Phil’s name as he said, “Phil! They’re allowing you to stay! You can stay in the waters!”

When he doesn’t hear a response, he wanders to his water basin and sees it empty, Phil no longer in sight. His heart shatters in his chest and he falls to his knees as sobs collect in his throat and he cries into his hands.

Phil was gone.

***

Dan doesn’t see Phil for many moons. He finds himself at the edge of the water each morning and night, waiting for Phil to come back. Each day, his heart breaks more and more at the thought of losing Phil and not knowing where he is.

After the fifth day, Dan begins to give up hope.

Dan sits on the edge of the rock, a stick in his hand as he waves it through the water and watches it ripple under his strokes. He continues to draw designs, his tears falling from his cheeks and landing on the rock in front him, splashing the dry stone. He sniffles and his body shakes as his vision blurs more. He misses Phil a lot.

He’s about to leave for the evening and go back to his cottage when something grabs his stick in the water. He gasps and looks down and his face crumples as he see’s Phil’s piercing blue eyes poking out of the water. Without thinking, Dan pushes himself into the water despite his sensitive wings protesting, and he wraps his arms around Phil, holding him close as Phil keeps them afloat with his swimming.

“I thought you left me.” Dan cries.

“I knew I wasn’t wanted by the village.” Phil says. “So I disappeared before they could kill me.”

Dan leaned forward and rested his head on Phils shoulder, his legs swinging in the water to help him swim. “But you’re allowed to be here now!” Dan says. “The villagers told me you could stay! I went back to the cottage to tell you but you were gone.”

Dan pulls back and looks at Phil who is staring at him with wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

Dan nods and smiles. “You’re welcome to stay here, Phil. You get to stay with me.”

Phil lets out a loud cry and then they’re sharing another kiss as Dan chuckles and smiles because he’s so happy.

He’ll ask Phil where he went eventually but for right now, Dan was going to stay here with Phil and spend his evening with his newly found mate.