Ocean Prince Ch. 02

Two weeks later Elena laid in bed stroking Isaiah's hand. They were now living out of a hotel.

"Tell me about your husband, was he a pilot? I've met a few pilots in my time." His voice still sounded sweet like honey.

"No," Elena replied.

Isaiah had been getting sick. At first, Elena assumed it was his diet. Whenever he didn't adhere to a strictly vegan diet he became violently ill. But when he became so weak he was bedridden she realized there was something very wrong.

They had been living on Elena's dead husband's military pension. But that would not last very long, or stretch very far, in Hawaii. So Isaiah had the brilliant idea to use Elena's husband's identifications to get a job at a department store.

Elena was certain that his plan would backfire, but nope- he aced the interview AND background check. He held the job, for all of three days.

Elena found work as a maid, working odd hours. She was on-call with an agency, cleaning homes, offices any place that contracted out their cleaning staff. She stayed away from the beach but the beach called to her, literally.

Elena would hear voices in the pipes, the sink, even the toilet. She chalked up the instances to plumbing problems. After all, she had grown up with a fish tank as a child so she knew that water and plumbing tended to make noises that sounded like speech.

"Water, water in the pipes," she said, mimicking the 'mirror-mirror on the wall speech from snow white.' "Who's the fairest of them all? No, wait that didn't even rhyme." She tapped her fingers along an exposed pipe as she wiped down the sink of an office break room.

"You stole him," the words were clear as day. And voice sounded soft, child-like. It had to be the water.

Elena chuckled and knocked on the pipe, as if knocking on a door. "You have anything to say to me?"

"You stole him... Give him back."

That was the last time Elena went to work.

With her phone turned off she laid in bed by his side. "How do I help you?" Elena asked as she stroked his face. Isaiah was burning with fever.

"You... must journey to my homeland."

"The ocean?" Yes, that had to be the key. The ocean sent him to her, the ocean would hold the key to saving him. "Come with me."

"I couldn't even if I tried." Isaiah rolled over in bed to face the light of the window. He started to cough but the sound quickly evolved into vomiting. He threw his head over the side of the bed. From his mouth poured an obscene amount of water. It was as if he had been drowning.

Elena put her arms around him. She didn't want to leave only to return to his corpse. But if she stayed she would be forced to watch him die. Her mind drifted to the voice in the pipes. Had she received stolen property, is that what he was? He was so eager to learn about the human world, it was sweet like a gender swap litter mermaid. But was he actually someone's pet or perhaps even a slave of some kind? "Will you be OK on your own?"

" I'll stay in the room as long as I can, but If I'm not here, I will leave you clues on where find me."

"Ok," Elena replied in a meek voice. It was all she could do not to cry.

It was around midnight, the moon high in the sky, but people were still out partying on the beach.

Elena wore a long t-shirt over a plain black bra and underwear (which could easily pass for a swimsuit.) She locked eyes with a few young men partying around a bonfire. They raised their beers, as id offering her one. But she shook her head, and dove into the waves. Elena didn't know what she was looking for, all she knew was she had to find it.

In the darkness. She took a breath and started to swim out to the place where she had seen the ocean goddess, but she felt something: fish, lots and lots of fish. Since the beach was pretty well lit for the nighttime crowd and (and to prevent the rampant homeless population from taking residence)Elena had brought a single pen-sized flashlight. She had bought the overpriced souvenir just before starting her walk. It seemed like a wise idea at the time but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to see just what was below her.

Standing in waist deep water, she stroked the surrounding ocean with the flashlight, shining the beam just a few inched below the surface. The crystal clear water sparkled with colorful fish. Sailfin tangs, lined surgeonfish, all seemed to circle around her. The way their metallic skin sparkled was mesmerizing.

Elena blinked her eyes and gripped her flashlight hard. They were making deliberate patterns. She knew if she wanted to get out of the water this was her chance; she could easily fight off a school of aquarium fish. "That's pretty cute," she said out loud. "Do you also do birthday parties?"

She felt a sharp pain in her leg. Elena had been stung by a jellyfish before, the pain was not intolerable, just annoying. A wave crashed down upon her, pulling her under before she had a chance to take a breath.

She quickly surfaced for air. The water was now neck deep, and among the glittery fish were dozens of box jellyfish. Elena's only solace was that she was still wearing her t-shirt; without access to her chest and vital organs there was only so much they could do. Death by drowning was also not a pleasant thought, but in the moment it felt like a preferable option. Especially when she felt a massive searing pain, like being hit in the thigh with a branding iron.

Another wave hit. By the time she surfaced her feet were no longer touching the floor and she had lost her flashlight. But by the light of the moon she saw them; an entire heard of Portuguese man-of-War forming a circle around her. With each sting she was pulled underwater. She instinctively tried to come up for air, her body desperate to survive. But as the pain of the stings compounded, she knew what she needed to do. "I trust you, Isaiah." She took off her wedding ring, and released her last breath.

As she closed her eyes, she could see a school of white trevally swimming in a figure eight above her. Their silver bodies looked like links of chain, securing her fate.

Her body trembled, as she sank lower into the darkness. She closed her eyes, when she opened them she was surrounded by giant stone-like walls. The walls were moving, circling her. As they closed in on her she reached her hand out to touch one. It blinked. 'Sunfish, of course,' she thought to herself. She had only ever seen pictures of the massive creatures. But now, for whatever reason, they had gathered (or been summoned) to pull her to a watery grave.

"Don't even try to escape," the sound seemed to be coming from all around her, as if the entity was able to communicate through the waves.

In her current state Elena was unable to scream or communicate in any way, so she decided to at least have her last thoughts be of something kind. 'I'm sorry.'

"I know you are..." Suddenly Elena's ring floated down in a bubble of air. "And I know I won't be able to find my brother without your help."

Elena hit the floor with a thump. She had fallen into some kind of underwater cave. Her legs were still in horrific pain from the jellyfish attack, so she could only crawl. But at least she appeared to be in a place with breathable air. "Hello?"

"Hello," the voice echoed from further down the cave. The sound was no longer distorted. Elena could clearly hear the voice of a human child.

"Did you just speak English?" Elena asked, as she forced herself to crawl in the direction of the sound, her wet hair dripping salt water into her eyes.

"I speak all languages. And I have been looking for you, ELENA RIOS!" The walls shook from the force of creature's roar. "I am Kaylinani and you have kidnapped my brother!"

"Isaiah?" Elena asked as she turned a corner, she could see a shadow on the wall. the creature walked on four legs, with a back covered in spikes.

"He's my brother, you don't even know his real form!"

"I-I'm so sorry. He was sent to me," the words choked in her throat. "I lost someone too. I know what to feels like to have the person you care about ripped from you. I swear, I will take you to him."

"I know all about you," the creature's eyes glowed a neon green. As a giant turtle emerged from the shadows. "I was there when my mother told him about you. She said you were sad because you lost your soldier husband," the creature paused, her tone was a cross between anger and sadness. "But you had a good heart. He would be your friend and you would show him the human world. He jumped at the chance. I mean of course he would, my brother is too young and naive to know the true horrors of your world."

"How old is he?" Elena asked.

The creature came forward from the shadows. It was a giant turtle made of stone. But the creature had no mouth; its creepy child-like voice appeared to be telepathic. "In your human years, I guess he would be," the turtle closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. "25."

"He is a baby," Elena said with a chuckle.

The creature's eyes shot open and she shot Elena a death glared. "How old are you?"

"In human years I'm 23," Elena replied honestly.

"With your skin, and those bags under your eyes?- I'd say more like 33. I can't believe my mother would hand over little Isa to an old witch."

"How old are you?" Elena asked, suddenly feeling brave.

"I am older then you can imagine. When I was Isa's age I witnessed the horrific atrocities of your kind. People thrown into the water with weights and shackles, some in pieces. What you do to your kind is sick! And what you do to your animals is even worse." The cave shook as the creature started to walk towards Elena."Where is my brother? What have you done with him?" She stepped closer and closer until she was face to face, staring down Elena, showing off her massive size. Each of her legs stood like pillars, with feet like waiting to crush Elena with a single step.

The searing pain in shook Elena back to reality. She needed to find a way to save Isaiah and perhaps this turtle could provide some assistance. "He's very sick. And I don't know how to help him. Can I take you to him?" Her real question was 'how?' since the creature appeared to be one with the cave.

"First I need to know I can trust you. Tell me something about my brother that will prove you are a friend."

Elena thought for a moment. "He asked if my husband was a pilot." It was more of a question than 'proof of friendship'. "He said he knew a few pilots. I don't know what that means but it seemed to bring him a sense of peace and comfort."

The creature sat down with a thump, then sighed. "My brother's true form is one of exquisite beauty."

"So is his human form." Elena couldn't help but smile.

"You humans know nothing of beauty. My spikes are the result of my father's lineage."

"Your father?"

"Hephaestus, God of the forge."

"I would have guessed Aries," Elena muttered under her breath.

"Well, Isa is the son of Hermes, so he was gifted with the wings of a bird."

"But he's a turtle: A turtle with bird wings?"

"You humans can only know true beauty when you've seen it with your own eyes. Here, climb on my back." Kaylinani formed a staircase on her front leg, it was enough to allow Elena to climb up even with her injuries. "After you find a place to lay, put your ring in your mouth. It contains enough enchantment to allow you to survive the trip to the surface."

Elena did as she asked. With the ring on her tongue, she quickly fell into a deep sleep. "I've already seen true beauty," she moaned as her memory drifted back to the second time she saw Isaiah completely wet.

When she first took him home, back when they still lived on the off-base military housing, she offered him her husband's clothes. After all, Isaiah was only wearing jeans- really gross looking jeans that appeared to be decaying as the ocean water dried.

Elena led him to the bathroom so he could shower. But he looked around with awe and wonder. "What is this place?"

"The bathroom?"

He walked to the shower, and touched the shower-head, examining every pore. "What does this do?"

The innocence of his dark, doe, eyes was so adorable Elena couldn't help but smile. "First you turn on this lever," she explained, raising the level to start the flow of cold water.

Isaiah stroked his hand through the downpour. "That's amazing."

"And to make it a little warmer you turn this knob," she said, turning the knob to where she usually set it for a shower. "You can make it warmer but don't turn it all the way because um.. fire..hot..."

Isaiah chuckled. "So I've heard: I know what hot and cold are."

"Oh, sorry."

Elena watched as he stepped into the shower. Already half-naked, with his tan skin and long dark brown hair he was a vision of masculine, pacific islander, beauty. He kicked off the jeans and Elena quickly put them into a trash bag.

"God damn those itched," he said, as he let the water flow over his face and chest. He reached for the soap bottle and pumped a generous amount onto his hands. "I pulled them off a dead body. Probably not the smartest idea, but a friend of mine said I shouldn't meet you without covering certain things."

"Your friend?"

"She's a dolphin, taught me all about the ways of the humans." Isaiah started to lathed up his body, from his stomach down, focusing on his legs but subtly caressing his thick, uncircumcised cock. "But you don't mind, right?"

"Mind?" Elena was about to offer Isaiah a washcloth but it was clear he didn't need one.

"It feels so good to just let it all out." He widened his stance and closed his eyes, letting the water caress his face. He was touching himself with slow deliberate motions, like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. When he reached the tip he would rube it ever so softly as he moaned. "Oh, that feels incredible." He moved one hand to the shower rod, holding on for balance as he started to jerk off faster, harder even as the water washed off the soap.

Elena was frozen in place. Clearly, he wanted her to watch as he blew his load, a thick white liquid covering his hand. It was more then she had ever seen from a man.

He rubbed his lower stomach as if to prolong the pleasure before washing off. He ran his fingers through his long hair, revealing it's natural wave, as he turned to Elena with a smile. "I wonder how it would feel if you touched me."

"I'm going to grab you some clean clothes..."

Elena awoke on a beach, washed up like a piece of driftwood. Her legs were still throbbing and she could see the gashed left behind by the army of jellyfish. But she felt strong enough to sit up. At her feet was a plush toy; a little turtle with hard plastic butterfly wings. "Isaiah?"

The toy's eyes opened. "No, you whore." Since the mouth was not moving, Elena knew it had to be Kaylinani. "I had been planning on healing your legs but after I saw your awful, sick dream- you can forget about it!"

Elena couldn't help but laugh. "You're going to be disguised as a plush toy?"

The turtle crawled on to Elena's arm. "Yes, you will pretend I'm a toy, a cheap souvenir from your island of Ha-why-ee. No one will suspect a thing." Her eyes glowed a fiery red. "But you best not mess with me, human. Now take me to my brother."