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Description
This was an historic day.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Evelyn Marie Grace of the house of Matin, was opening a ridiculously extravagant aquarium for the keeping and display of the first merman captured alive. The creature had been fished out of a net off of the rocky reefs of the island Zamib. Those reefs had claimed many a ship over the years. With proof of finfolk in the area, perhaps there was more to the danger than reefs and currents.

Her Majesty's new aquarium featured a large pool that stretched thirty yards across with shallow areas for the merman to rest. The bottom of the pool was glass and steel for better viewing pleasure. Pumps carried fresh water from the ocean while ingenious heaters kept the temperature at something close to the merman's native tropical ocean. For the grand opening, the Royal retinue and assorted hangers-on had claimed the lower chambers in case the merman decided not to surface. All of the officers of Her Majesty's Navy crowded the upper platform to show her might over the sea.

"What do you say, Reg?" One captain said to another. "Five guineas say it's a seal."

Captain Reginald Wilburforst Bight snorted softly. He was a man of science, but he had to admit there were stranger things in the sea than anyone had ever dreamed of. Her Majesty was no slouch in the natural sciences, either.

"I don't think the Queen would be tricked by a seal," Capt. Bight returned. "Remember that whole to do about the 'unicorn'?"

Some fool had found a deformed calf and tried to pass it off as a unicorn. Queen Evelyn had taken a long, hard look at the thing, then had the con artist flogged for wasting her time. The calf was spared and indeed still had a home in the Royal menagerie, but listed as a curiosity rather than a beast of myth. So for Her Majesty to go to all of this trouble, she must be very convinced that this merman was real.

"Wouldn't have suspected you to believe in fairy tales," Captain Reynold Fremont said. "Any great mysteries you want to ask our finny friend?"

"If it can speak, I'd like to know if it saw Julian when the Nimbus went down."

Reynold ducked his head. First Lieutenant Julian Cuthbert Claiborne had been Reginald's oldest and dearest friend right up until his ship ran aground off of the coast of Zamib. That had been six years ago and Bight had never quite recovered. Reynold was saved from having to come up with a reply when the band trilled and something shot into the pool with amazing speed. From where the officers stood, they could only see a slate blue streak but the astonished gasp from the lower viewing chamber was clearly audible. Admirals and lieutenants alike craned their necks. The unseen creature slammed into the glass opposite with enough force to make the support wires sing.

The naval officers winced.

"Don't tell me it broke its neck," an admiral laughed, trying to hide his amusement.

The blue blur shook itself and started a circuit of the enclosure. The cries of astonishment from below piqued the curiosity of the naval members. A few of them swore they had seen mermaids before, but no one had glimpsed a merman. Finally the creature surfaced in the middle of the pool. Reginald gawked. With only head and shoulders above the water, it could have been any man out for a swim but for the blue tinge to its skin. Long brown hair that might have been fair had it been allowed to dry plastered to the back. A short beard, quite neatly trimmed, framed the face. It had huge blue eyes that seemed . . . somehow familiar. Then a large tail, tinged with blue, flipped into the air and the creature dove. It circled around the pool underwater thrice, then surfaced again and cruised the surface, seeing all there was to see with wide, frightened eyes. Reginald had a moment to feel sorry for the poor thing. It was obviously quite distressed. Kept in a small pool away from others of its own kind . . . did it have a wife or younglings back home in Zamib? Reports of mermen were rare . . . perhaps he had several wives? A whole pod of young? The creature locked eyes with him. Again, Reginald had the thought that there was something distressingly familiar about the merman. When it dove once more, he turned to Fremont.

"Doesn't that thing look familiar?" he asked.

"W-what?" Reynold asked, laughing.

"Doesn't he look familiar?"

Before Reginald could elaborate, the creature burst from the water, launching himself up the slick glass sides of his enclosure and managed to lock one hand around Bight's ankle. Reg howled, nearly toppling into the water from the weight of the thing. Reynold and few other nearby officers seized his coat, leaving the merman dangling from his leg.

"Unhand me, wretch!" Reginald wailed.

"Ruuuh," the merman managed, water gushing from his mouth and gills.

The admiral who had chortled over the thought of the merman breaking his neck drew a pistol, but others stayed his hand.

"Don't kill it! Her Majesty will have you beheaded!"

"Get it off of me!" Bight cried, kicking.

"Ruuuuuuug," the merman tried again.

"Get a stick! Strike its arm!" Reynold yelled.

"Ruuuuggeeeee . . ."

Reginald Bight stilled, looking down into the merman's oh-so-familiar eyes.

"Reggieeee . . ."

Those oh-so-familiar eyes that knew his name. Not just his name, but the affectionate moniker used only by family and close friends. Reginald finally realized who the merman brought to mind.

"J-Jules?"

The merman's - Julian's - expression became one of intense relief.

"Reggie . . . help me!"

The words were still strained, as though the creature wasn't used to speaking. His plea delivered, he finally released Reginald's ankle and splashed down into the pool.

Description
This was an historic day.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Evelyn Marie Grace of the house of Matin, was opening a ridiculously extravagant aquarium for the keeping and display of the first merman captured alive. The creature had been fished out of a net off of the rocky reefs of the island Zamib. Those reefs had claimed many a ship over the years. With proof of finfolk in the area, perhaps there was more to the danger than reefs and currents.

Her Majesty's new aquarium featured a large pool that stretched thirty yards across with shallow areas for the merman to rest. The bottom of the pool was glass and steel for better viewing pleasure. Pumps carried fresh water from the ocean while ingenious heaters kept the temperature at something close to the merman's native tropical ocean. For the grand opening, the Royal retinue and assorted hangers-on had claimed the lower chambers in case the merman decided not to surface. All of the officers of Her Majesty's Navy crowded the upper platform to show her might over the sea.

"What do you say, Reg?" One captain said to another. "Five guineas say it's a seal."

Captain Reginald Wilburforst Bight snorted softly. He was a man of science, but he had to admit there were stranger things in the sea than anyone had ever dreamed of. Her Majesty was no slouch in the natural sciences, either.

"I don't think the Queen would be tricked by a seal," Capt. Bight returned. "Remember that whole to do about the 'unicorn'?"

Some fool had found a deformed calf and tried to pass it off as a unicorn. Queen Evelyn had taken a long, hard look at the thing, then had the con artist flogged for wasting her time. The calf was spared and indeed still had a home in the Royal menagerie, but listed as a curiosity rather than a beast of myth. So for Her Majesty to go to all of this trouble, she must be very convinced that this merman was real.

"Wouldn't have suspected you to believe in fairy tales," Captain Reynold Fremont said. "Any great mysteries you want to ask our finny friend?"

"If it can speak, I'd like to know if it saw Julian when the Nimbus went down."

Reynold ducked his head. First Lieutenant Julian Cuthbert Claiborne had been Reginald's oldest and dearest friend right up until his ship ran aground off of the coast of Zamib. That had been six years ago and Bight had never quite recovered. Reynold was saved from having to come up with a reply when the band trilled and something shot into the pool with amazing speed. From where the officers stood, they could only see a slate blue streak but the astonished gasp from the lower viewing chamber was clearly audible. Admirals and lieutenants alike craned their necks. The unseen creature slammed into the glass opposite with enough force to make the support wires sing.

The naval officers winced.

"Don't tell me it broke its neck," an admiral laughed, trying to hide his amusement.

The blue blur shook itself and started a circuit of the enclosure. The cries of astonishment from below piqued the curiosity of the naval members. A few of them swore they had seen mermaids before, but no one had glimpsed a merman. Finally the creature surfaced in the middle of the pool. Reginald gawked. With only head and shoulders above the water, it could have been any man out for a swim but for the blue tinge to its skin. Long brown hair that might have been fair had it been allowed to dry plastered to the back. A short beard, quite neatly trimmed, framed the face. It had huge blue eyes that seemed . . . somehow familiar. Then a large tail, tinged with blue, flipped into the air and the creature dove. It circled around the pool underwater thrice, then surfaced again and cruised the surface, seeing all there was to see with wide, frightened eyes. Reginald had a moment to feel sorry for the poor thing. It was obviously quite distressed. Kept in a small pool away from others of its own kind . . . did it have a wife or younglings back home in Zamib? Reports of mermen were rare . . . perhaps he had several wives? A whole pod of young? The creature locked eyes with him. Again, Reginald had the thought that there was something distressingly familiar about the merman. When it dove once more, he turned to Fremont.

"Doesn't that thing look familiar?" he asked.

"W-what?" Reynold asked, laughing.

"Doesn't he look familiar?"

Before Reginald could elaborate, the creature burst from the water, launching himself up the slick glass sides of his enclosure and managed to lock one hand around Bight's ankle. Reg howled, nearly toppling into the water from the weight of the thing. Reynold and few other nearby officers seized his coat, leaving the merman dangling from his leg.

"Unhand me, wretch!" Reginald wailed.

"Ruuuh," the merman managed, water gushing from his mouth and gills.

The admiral who had chortled over the thought of the merman breaking his neck drew a pistol, but others stayed his hand.

"Don't kill it! Her Majesty will have you beheaded!"

"Get it off of me!" Bight cried, kicking.

"Ruuuuuuug," the merman tried again.

"Get a stick! Strike its arm!" Reynold yelled.

"Ruuuuggeeeee . . ."

Reginald Bight stilled, looking down into the merman's oh-so-familiar eyes.

"Reggieeee . . ."

Those oh-so-familiar eyes that knew his name. Not just his name, but the affectionate moniker used only by family and close friends. Reginald finally realized who the merman brought to mind.

"J-Jules?"

The merman's - Julian's - expression became one of intense relief.

"Reggie . . . help me!"

The words were still strained, as though the creature wasn't used to speaking. His plea delivered, he finally released Reginald's ankle and splashed down into the pool.