“The Ten Fairy-Tales of Hua Yong” – The Mermaid (Capture): Little Prince, give me your legs and I will grant you eternity.
Warm breath mingled; the exchange of heat between lips and teeth made Sheng Shaoyou feel feverish.
His rut had only just passed, yet the cool orchid scent wrapping around him sent every drop of blood surging to one place, shaking his composure, stirring dangerous thoughts.
Sheng Shaoyou prided himself on never letting desire cloud reason, but the youth pinning him down—kissing him—looked like a masterpiece from the Pre-Raphaelites, and he felt as though he were dreaming.
Both wrists were trapped above his head; his lips were licked until they were soaking wet. He struggled, yet his body refused to obey, turning languid and hot.
A hand, noticeably colder than normal, slid admiringly along his trim waist, fingertips tracing every clean line.
“Beautiful,” Hua Yong murmured, licking his lips in satisfaction.
“Let go of me,” Sheng Shaoyou rasped. He jerked a knee toward the intruder’s abdomen—only to hit a wall of hard muscle.
Such explosive strength beneath so delicate a face.
Feeling threatened, Sheng Shaoyou’s eyes darkened; he fought even more ruthlessly.
“Get—off!”
“No can do.” Hua Yong bent again and teasingly licked his ear-lobe. “Wasn’t it you who once said you couldn’t wait to see me? Who told me to come sooner? Now I’m here, and you’ve forgotten everything. Mr Sheng, that’s hardly fair.”
The tone was soft, tinged with helpless grievance, the open, burning gaze impossible to read—yet the affection and intent felt utterly sincere.
“You promised to give me a pair of legs. Does the promise still count?”
Give you legs?
What on earth was this late-night trespassing fish talking about?
“Please.” He lowered his head to steal another kiss.
“Get—mph!”
Sheng Shaoyou’s dressing-gown hung to his ankles. The dark-grey silk hugged broad shoulders and a narrow waist; even at night he looked proper, every fold immaculate.
The half-perverse fish, however, used the tail that ought to be in a soup-pot to flip up the hem and, uninvited, brushed against his bare calf.
“A promise is a promise,” Hua Yong whispered, lips roaming from jaw to throat, nibbling his Adam’s apple while drawling, “Mr Sheng, won’t you remember—please?”
Remember? Remember what?
The cool orchid scent both reminded and tempted him, curling through his nose, sapping his strength.
That slippery tail slid higher; Sheng Shaoyou shivered. It felt like a very different rut was coming.
⋯
Strange tremors, infuriating pleasure.
He arched his neck and cursed, “What species of pervert are you?”
“The kind that likes only Mr Sheng,” Hua Yong answered matter-of-factly. His pale fingertip touched the knot between Sheng Shaoyou’s brows; he sighed. “Poor Mr Sheng—still can’t remember? Let me help.”
The voice was cool, the words gentle; the slight mischievous lilt made it oddly enchanting. A flash of bright blue flame leapt from his fingertip—like magic—straight into Sheng Shaoyou’s brow.
Lost memories, like a dead tree, burst into bud in an instant.
Every sense magnified; the kiss felt achingly familiar. In the orchid fragrance his mind drifted, turning sluggish, while long-buried scenes flickered past like theater slides:
“You saved me—in the water, when I was in danger. When I opened my eyes I thought I saw a god. How can anyone be so beautiful?”
“Who are you? A tail?—A mermaid?”
“Do you have a name?”
“You’re so lovely—a face that would make even flowers sing. How about Hua Yong, Flower -Song?”
“I leave tomorrow. Truth is, I hate the sea, hate vacations, hate the Omega my father brought—but meeting you makes it worthwhile.”
“Hua Yong, I like you. If you like me, come with me.”
“I see—you can’t yet. You have a kingdom, followers, a dying king-father, and a dozen rival heirs. Fine, I’ll wait. When you win your throne, bring me the treasure I long for.”
“I heard merfolk can grow legs if they receive something from the one they love—□□, is that true?”
“Then when you return I’ll give you legs. Don’t make me wait too long.”
He remembered everything: heat, yearning, devotion, reluctance—memories bloomed like fireworks.
His gaze softened; confusion and doubt crept across his face. Hua Yong lifted his hand, and Sheng Shaoyou, almost sleep-walking, touched the Youth’s cheek. “You—finally came?”
“Mm.” Hua Yong met his eyes tenderly; endless love and indulgence swam in those dark pupils. “I’m here. You’d forgotten me, but I still came.”
“Hua Yong, I didn’t—”
“It doesn’t matter.” He kissed Sheng Shaoyou’s forehead, soothing. “I know you’ve had hard days, but they’re over. I’ll stay by you forever and protect you.”
Sheng Shaoyou looped an arm around his neck and drew him close, cheek to cheek, smiling. “And how will you protect me, Mr Mermaid?”
Hua Yong smiled back, earnest. “Anyone who defies you will pay—dearly.”
“Such a cruel god, Mr Hua.”
“No.” He rubbed noses with him. “I’m a soft-hearted god.” His cool fingers slipped inside the robe, brushing chest-skin. “Too soft—couldn’t refuse the ‘request’ you forgot, so I swam ten thousand leagues, crossed half the globe to reach you.”
“And got harpooned near the coast?” At the word harpoon, Sheng Shaoyou suddenly recalled the wound on that tail—Hua Yong had once told him the tip was his weakest spot, agony paralyzing if injured.
All leisure vanished; he pushed Hua Yong aside, lifted the quilt, and inspected.
Hua Yong didn’t stop him, lying there while Sheng Shaoyou’s anxious gaze swept the S-curved tail and settled on the fin.
The bleeding had stopped. Only a healing mark remained, yet the sight made Sheng Shaoyou’s chest tighten; it took effort not to march out and execute the expert who’d dared experiment on him.
“Does it hurt?”
Hua Yong shook his head. “Compared with being forgotten by Mr Sheng, not at all.”
“Humans are terrible,” Sheng Shaoyou muttered, thumb caressing the wound. “They’ll use your blood, your bones, your powers—everything. They won’t let you go.”
“And you?” Hua Yong lowered thick lashes. “Will you let me go?”
He seemed untouched by those grim possibilities, looking only for an answer in Sheng Shaoyou’s eyes.
“Could you bear to send me away?”
Sheng Shaoyou sighed, brushing stray hair behind his ear. “I can’t bear it, but you mustn’t stay.”
Hua Yong smiled again—the cold king of the sea had smiled more tonight than in the past decade.
“Mr Sheng, are you worried about me?”
“Yes,” he answered frankly. “More than keeping you, I want you to live free.”
“You don’t want to stay in a display tank showing off purification tricks forever, do you?”
“If I weren’t waiting for you I’d never have stayed there,” Hua Yong said softly. “Couldn’t you see? I was waiting.”
“I have other powers too: making people remember, or forget. After tonight no one but you will remember me.” A wicked-god smile curved his lips; cool fingers slipped inside Sheng Shaoyou’s collar, roaming his chest. “Mr Sheng, you’re so hot.”
“Stop fooling around.” Sheng Shaoyou caught the hand, breath uneven. “What are you going to do?”
“Since I’m here, I’ll just ask you for legs and stay.” Hua Yong licked his lips lazily. “My mission is done; the ocean, divided for thirty millennia, is now united under me.”
Pride softened Sheng Shaoyou; he teased, “Ten years and you’ve become that formidable?”
“Indeed.” Hua Yong’s almond eyes curved. “Since I’m so formidable, will Mr Sheng let me pursue him?”
“You’re a fish on land—how will you pursue me, hm?”
“That’s why I need legs.” He flipped onto his back, tail curled, revealing a neat slit in his glistening belly. “See? I’ve an opening right here.”
“What is it?” Sheng Shaoyou touched it; the slit widened, exposing the hilt of something firm.
“Genital slit,” Hua Yong said. “Would Mr Sheng like to look—or try it now?”
The answer was pure, serious.
“You little beast,” Sheng Shaoyou swore, turning his face aside, ears burning scarlet.
“My bad. Looks like Mr Sheng isn’t interested in merfolk. I’d better get those legs.” He burrowed under the quilt, seeking the gift his long-absent lover could grant.
Legend said a mermaid needed a beloved human’s □□ to grow legs; if the human loved him back, the mermaid could shift freely between tail and legs.
Heat, dizziness, rocking.
“You… finished yet…?” Sheng Shaoyou gasped, eyes squeezed shut. “Stop…”
Hua Yong surfaced, face both innocent and tempting. “Finished.” He licked his lips. “Thank you for the feast—delicious.”
“Shut up!”
“Alright.” Beneath the blanket the slippery tail vanished, replaced by a pair of straight, warm legs. He bent awkward knees, pressing against the miracle spot—Sheng Shaoyou groaned and glared, the mist in his eyes blunting the menace.
“So cute,” the damn mermaid sighed.
“Don’t poke me with your legs! Move your foot!”
“Sorry, still getting used to them.” Yet the smooth instep was already rubbing his calf. “Mr Sheng.”
“What?” Sheng Shaoyou’s face burned; his tongue stayed sharp. “You sound like a kitten that hasn’t been weaned, mewling nonstop.”
Hua Yong chuckled. “I’ll never wean off you, Mr Sheng.”
“You—”
“Enough. Since Mr Sheng has kept his promise, it’s my turn now.” He raised a forefinger to his brow; indigo light blossomed in a five-point star, and he chanted in ancient mer-speech.
Instantly every creature in the sea went wild. In minutes a message spread across the blue kingdom on waves no human ear or device could catch: The king has found his queen.
In the storage-bay tank the clownfish shivered, spinning with joy.
“Our king found his consort!”
“He’s getting married!”
“I thought he’d be single forever—but the queen was beside us all along!”
“So that’s why he pretended to be trapped—courtship!”
The little aquarium and the ocean boiled alike.
“Mr Sheng, will you stay with me forever?”
“Since Mr Hua chased me across ten thousand miles into my own bedroom, how could I refuse?” Sheng Shaoyou bent to nuzzle the gland at his nape.
“Then Mr Sheng agrees?”
“Mm.”
The orchid pheromone shifted—and Sheng Shaoyou paused. “Wait—” His gaze flicked over that face, prettier than any Omega’s. “You’re not an Omega?”
Hua Yong shook his head, eyes wide and innocent. “When did I ever say I was an Omega?”
See? The ancients were right—merfolk do deceive.
But where others lured sailors to death with song, Hua Yong had lied only for love.
He bit the pulsing gland of his beloved Alpha, twining orchid with the woody intoxication of drunk-branch pheromone until the two scents became one.
Fairy-tales end sweetly; lovers unite.
My Little Prince—give me legs, and I give you eternity. I will love you, chase you, and yield to you forever— a god soft-hearted only toward you.
That summer the wind was strong; at low tide the waves and the hot breeze carried you to me.
A boy opened his eyes, and in those black pupils the whole Milky Way shone.
From that moment, the king who ruled the pinnacle of life beneath the sea fell in love—destined to be a devotee of one alone.
To be captured by love is, on this earth, the most romantic fate.