Awaiting Destiny Read online

  Destiny instantly felt guilty, so she attempted to coax the tiny, shy octopus from its decorative home with a plump clam. She dangled and swirled it around in front of the opening, cooing softly. “I’m so sorry little guy.’

  Finally, the octopus reached out with a tiny, tentative tentacle and took a piece.

  Mrs. Waverly gave a lighthearted chuckle. “I see you have your mother’s necklace. Tell me, Destiny darling…how did you come to find your way home to Mertopia? We have all wondered about you for such a long time.”

  Home? It was still hard for her to believe that she was half mermaid.

  Destiny barely took a breath as she poured out the entire story of her adventure to a riveted Mrs. Waverly. The other woman shook her head continuously saying, “Oh dear! Oh Dear! OH DEAR!!” With such gusto it was like she was saying something totally different every time.

  As the last clam was eaten, Destiny got to the part where they arrived at the Steam Kitchen. “And that’s how I got here,” Destiny finished, and then new hope gleamed from her eyes. “Can you tell me what happened to my mother?”

  Mrs. Waverly gently smiled but paused before she answered, as though she were picking her words very carefully. “Well, darling, there is much you don’t know…and I think it would be best if you talked directly to your grandfather. It is truly not my place to talk about it.”

  Destiny tried to hide her disappointment with a smile. “Okay… I understand. Thank you, anyway. Lunch was wonderful.”

  “I will tell you this,” Mrs. Waverly said, gently squeezing her hand. “I see much of your mother in you…she was a very kind and adventurous young woman.”

  Destiny thought her expression said Mrs. Waverly knew a lot more then she was saying.

  “Your mother believed love could cross any boundary and run deeper than any ocean. She would be very proud of you, dear.”

  Destiny swallowed hard and answered, “Thank you, Mrs. Waverly.”

  Kincade had been quietly listening during most of the lunch, but he seemed to sense it was time for them to carry on their journey. He rose from the bench and gave an eloquent bow. “Mrs. Waverly, as usual your hospitality could only be surpassed by your extraordinary cooking. We do still have quite a way ahead and must be on our way.”

  Mrs. Waverly let out a long sigh.

  “Of course you do, dear,” she said heavily, rising. “I have been selfishly taking up your time. It is just so wonderful. I really couldn’t help myself.”

  Kincade immediately reached for his cheeks, looking nervous, but she just squeezed him around the waist and turned to Destiny. “Darling, if you ever have need of me, I will be there for you.”

  Destiny stood to receive a grandmotherly hug. To her surprise, Mrs. Waverly smelled like sea kelp and flowers. Funny, she smelled like all the other grandmothers that she had ever met, even though she was under the ocean. She expected her to smell…well, fishy.

  “Now don’t be a stranger, dear,” the older woman said, “I will look forward to your next visit.”

  “Okay” Destiny said, with a sugarcoated smile, but she felt suddenly tired and nervous.

  Kincade was fumbling around in his pack as if looking for something. When Mrs. Waverly saw what he was doing, she let out a screech that made Destiny think of an angry goose.

  “Good heavens boy! There is no charge! How could you even begin to think that there would be a charge when you brought me the princess?”

  Kincade stammered, “No…of course not…I just found this in the restricted area and thought you might like it.” He held up a little brass teakettle, encrusted with sand and barnacles.

  Destiny thought it looked like something a wayward sailor threw overboard 50 years ago. But one would have thought it was a huge diamond, to see Mrs. Waverly react.

  The older woman’s heart seemed to melt instantly, and she clapped with the giddy excitement of a little girl. “It’s absolutely perfect!” she exclaimed in delight, as she snatched it out of his outstretched hand. “I will have this cleaned up in a jiffy and turn it into a beautiful centerpiece. Thank you, darling.” She pecked him on the cheek and immediately rushed to her kitchen to polish her treasure, seeming to forget them in the doorway.

  Destiny and Kincade couldn’t help sharing a giggle at her excitement, and took the opportunity to sneak out the door. Kincade put his hand on the small of her back to guide her out making her catch her breath a little. She mentally shook herself, annoyed.

  They traveled back along the round tunnel and came to a halt at the door. Outside, the sea was darker than before. They stood on the stone porch for a moment to let their eyes adjust.

  “Kincade, what time do you suppose it is?” Destiny asked her new friend. “I seem to have lost track of time. I mean, with all the passing out and stuff, the day seems to have gotten away from me.”

  He looked up toward the surface. “I would guess it’s about seven waypoints into the day.”

  “Seven what?” she asked, bewildered.

  “Waypoints…oh, I believe you call them something else,” Kincade said, snapping his fingers as if that would help him remember. It didn’t seem to, so he knocked on his head a bit. It was a habit she noticed he did a lot. She found it kind of cute.

  Destiny continued to look at him questioningly. She supposed he meant hours, but rather enjoyed watching him suffer.

  “Oh…this is ludicrous,” he said, exasperated. “It rhymes with sour… or tower.”

  “Dork?” she asked sweetly.

  “No, no, that doesn’t rhyme,” he said, quickly.

  Destiny started to laugh so he turned to her with a wry grin. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” he asked, pointing his index finger at her accusingly.

  “I just can’t help myself. You are so proper and stiff. You really need to loosen up a little,” she said, wiggling back and forth, doing her best jellyfish imitation.

  “Loosen up?” he questioned stiffly.

  “Absolutely! Try it with me,” Destiny demanded, doing her best to sound stern.

  Kincade looked down his nose at her, his back ramrod-straight. “I am not in a position to be…” His brow furrowed as he searched for the right word. “A silly jiggler,” he finished, puffing up his chest importantly.

  “Well, you seem to think I am some silly princess, and I am doing it. What does that make me?”

  “A silly princess,” Kincade answered flatly, though his lip twitched like he was trying hard not to smile.

  “Come on… try it with me,” Destiny pleaded sweetly, changing her tactic. She grabbed both of his hands in hers and started shaking his arms up and down and turning. Her legs were steady on the rock porch and she was able to start turning him in circles. He didn’t resist much and soon they were turning circles faster and faster. Kincade, obviously starting to enjoy this, started beating his powerful tail. A moment later, Destiny’s legs lifted off the rock completely, and then they started spinning so quickly a whirlpool formed above their heads and attracted a few small fish to join in their antics. She felt as if she was being swirled around a giant fish bowl. Everything seemed off-kilter, and her head was swimming. Her long, pale hair wrapped around them like cotton candy as they spun. They drifted slightly, now spinning in open water, several feet off of the porch ledge.

  She giggled uncontrollably, pleading, “Please, no more! You’re loose! Very loose… like slimy purple sea goo!”

  Kincade seemed to let all his stiffness and formality drift away on the current. He began laughing. “You will have to do better than that!” he demanded, playing along and spinning her even faster.

  “Please! I think I’m getting seasick!” Destiny didn’t know if it were possible for mermaids to get seasick, but she was completely stuffed after such a delicious lunch and didn’t want to chance losing it. “You’re loose like the yucky gunk inside a raw oyster.”

  Then she added more for good measure. “Bathing in a tub full of slime with little bits of soap scum and tapioca…” She
prayed that would do the trick.

  “Well, I guess that’s pretty loose,” Kincade said, grudgingly. She thought he let her off the hook too easy. Or maybe she was just enjoying the feel of his hands in hers.

  Kincade turned his tail in the opposite direction like a brake, until they were just floating. The whirlpool of water above their heads dissipated quickly, along with the little joy-riding fish. Most of Destiny’s hair fanned out above her as they stopped. A few stray strands had become entangled in Kincade’s pack and one unruly curl seemed to be trapped underneath one of his armpits.

  “May I have that back, please? Or were you intending on towing me around with it?” she asked coyly, pointing to her captured curl. She was trying to hide the absolute horror of having her hair under an armpit that wasn’t her own. Kincade’s eyes grew round and he released it at once. She resisted the urge to smell it and see if it was worth saving, she pondered just cutting that piece off later. Oh, how she really missed stuffing her hair into her baseball cap.

  “You know, Kincade, if you ever happen to see a blue baseball cap floating around on your travels, please let me know,” Destiny asked him seriously. “I lost mine in my …uhmmm..drowning incident. I loved that cap. It always brought me luck. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to hit a baseball again.” she said, forlornly.

  Kincade took off his pack and fumbled around. “Perhaps this will do?” He asked, with a shrug, pulling out her lost hat.

  “Really? You are like my hero!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck in an appreciative hug. Which placed her entirely too close to a pair of perfect lips.

  What was she doing? Heat crept up her neck until her face was completely aflame. Luckily, she was underwater- topside, her hair and eyelashes would undoubtedly be scorched. She quickly pushed away and looked down trying to hide her embarrassment.

  Kincade was beaming. He handed her the cap with a gallant bow.

  “My pleasure, Princess. If I had known I would get that kind of a reaction, I would have given it to you much sooner.” he said, with a charming wink.

  Is he flirting with me? Me? There is no way.

  She swirled all of her hair into a large twist, stuffed it in her cap and plunked it onto her head unceremoniously. Stray curls immediately crept out of the rim disobediently.

  “That’s so much better! Now I feel like I can face anything!” she said, with a relieved sigh. “Well, except for maybe another shark, …and definitely not my dad.”

  “Shall we continue on our journey?” she asked, with a shake of her head, enjoying the new found confidence.

  “As you wish, Princess,” Kincade replied, holding out his hand for her to grasp.

  She could totally get used to this.

  “When are you going to stop with all the Princess nonsense and call just me Destiny?” she asked in mock exasperation.

  “Maybe if you were to become a Queen,” he answered coyly, in the same mocking tone.

  She sighed out loud and rolled her eyes…to think she had actually thought about kissing him!

  Chapter 5

  To the Palace

  Destiny was entranced by the alien sea life and vibrant colors as they traveled back through Mertopia that when they arrived, she couldn’t believe they had already reached the arched-cave entrance to the transportation tube. A small crowd of merpeople waited at the ticket booth. She noticed that a few sneaky fish ignored the line and headed directly down the tunnel. It’s probably hard to make a fish pay up.

  She and Kincade came to a rest in line behind a lovely merwoman with piercing yellow eyes that seemed glued to Destiny’s wet tennis shoes. Destiny couldn’t resist doing a mini-tap dance. She kicked her feet; heel, toe, heel, toe…and ended with a little shake of her rump. Kincade grinned and Destiny giggled as the woman, looking slightly shocked, quickly bought her ticket and hurried away without a word.

  She recognized the ticketing merman as the one she had seen earlier by the bored, humdrum expression plastered on his face. He obviously hadn’t had any excitement since then.

  Destiny approached the ticket booth smiling, excitement beaming from her eyes. “Hello!” she exclaimed cheerfully, trying to wake him up.

  The man grunted. “Where to, miss?”

  Destiny’s heart started pounding instantly as she answered trying to sound official, “The Palace, please.”

  “Two-and-one-half froths, please,” the ticket taker said, with a yawn.

  Panic crept up her spine. He wanted her to pay?!! She didn’t have anything to buy a ticket with except maybe her hat, and there was no way she was going to give it up now!

  “Just a moment, please,” she croaked.

  Turning to Kincade, she whispered in horror, “Kincade, I don’t have two and a half… froths? What do I do?”

  The boy’s eyebrows wrinkled in mock seriousness. “Well, you could offer him a kiss, Princess. That may wake him up.”

  Destiny felt her face shrivel like a dried prune. “Perhaps I could take it out of your tail,” she suggested curtly, with a stubborn cross of her arms. If he thought she would beg for two and a half whatevers, he certainly had the wrong girl! She put her nose up for good measure and pretended to be very interested in the rock wall behind the booth.

  “Perhaps you would let me pay for your fare this time?” Kincade asked, gently.

  Destiny glanced at him stubbornly, trying to look unconvinced. It was better if he thought she was doing him a favor.

  “Please?” he coaxed.

  She sighed deeply and waited a moment before answering. “If you insist.”

  Destiny glanced at the ticket man, who now seemed to have a hint of humor in his bulbous, tired eyes. “No kiss then?”

  “Not from her.” Kincade grinned and shook his head. Stepping in front of Destiny, he pulled what looked like two copper coins engraved with dolphins from his pack.

  “Two for Dolphinium Palace, Please,” he said, handing them to the ticket merman.

  The merman handed him back two flat, blue stones. “Enjoy your trip,” he said, yawning.

  They continued past the ticket booth and down the luminous, glowing tunnel. The tunnel gradually narrowed until it seemed as if they had come to a dead end. The merpeople and hitchhiking fish that had come down right before them seemed to have completely vanished into thin air, or rather…water.

  “Where did they all go?” Destiny asked curiously, thinking maybe they would be riding on some kind of a mer-bus or something with them.

  “I will show you,” Kincade replied, coming to a halt.

  As Destiny looked more closely at the dead end of the cave, she realized there were actually three stone doors that blended naturally into the walls. To the side of each door was a stone-sized slot protruding from the cave wall. The first was the same blue color as the stone they received; the others were green, and red. Kincade stopped in front of the blue slot, reached up, and deposited both stones into it.

  Destiny watched in anticipation until the door opened in a whoosh of tiny bubbles and fresh seawater. The glow of the algae in the cave illuminated the doorway slightly, though it looked darker beyond the door and was difficult to see inside. The seawater rushed by like a raging river trapped in a tube. It looked terrifyingly fun! Her dad would definitely not approve!

  “Ready, Princess?” Kincade asked, with an irritating grin.

  The knots in Destiny’s stomach squeezed harder and her heart pounded feverishly. She had to fight to keep her voice steady. “Of course,” she stated, with a smile that oozed totally fake confidence. “This looks much better than a boring bus.”

  “Shall I put your hat in my pack? It will surely get lost again otherwise,” Kincade offered. Destiny nodded, took it off and handed it over to him. Pale ringlets fanned out instantly.

  He put the cap in his pack, and then offered his hand to her. “Shall we, Princess?”

  She didn’t answer, but gladly took it, squeezing it in a nervous, vise like grip. He gave her a reassu
ring grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t get away,” he teased.

  Embarrassed, she loosened her grip enough to let the blood flow back to his fingers. Kincade seemed to watch the flow for a moment, then, with a powerful burst from his tail, they leaped into the torrent in the transportation tube. Blue lights embedded in the top of the tube lit up immediately as they entered, replacing the soft glow of the algae growing outside. They accelerated almost instantly, twisting and turning. Destiny’s senses reeled and she closed her eyes, clenching Kincade’s hand tightly. Her stomach lurched, and for a moment she wished Mrs. Waverly wasn’t such a good cook, stuffing her like a roast turkey. The water echoed in her ears like a waterfall and rushed cold against her skin. After a minute, she realized she was holding her breath. She tentatively took a breath, letting the fear ebb away on the current. She willed her stomach to calm and slowly opened her eyes, relaxing. Kincade was smiling at her with wicked amusement.

  Suddenly her fear was replaced by the sheer exhilaration that could only compare with being on a death-defying amusement park ride. Destiny’s first breath came out as a gleeful screech, and soon they were both laughing uncontrollably. Feeling more confident, she let go of Kincade’s hand and stretched her arms above her head like Superman. She felt like she was flying. As they hurled through the twisting tube, she watched the blue lights whiz by like flashes, lighting the dips and turns of the tunnel. Though dizzying, the lights thankfully helped prepare her stomach for the lurches in advance.

  “This must be what it would be like in a water slide… caught in a tornado,” she yelled.

  “I can’t say I have had the pleasure of that!” he yelled back, flashing a toothy grin.

  The twisting and turning seemed to settle into a more direct route and they picked up even more speed. Destiny’s hair flew straight behind her like a silken streamer.

  A few minutes later they spotted a lighted sign: Dolphinium Palace, Next Two Rights, in blue glowing letters.