Iris wondered how to greet the man until she suddenly got an idea.
She briefly cleared her throat and closed her eyes, it was then that she began to hum a melody.
Iris wasn't sure where she learned or how it even came to her memory, it just seemed to come to her naturally since she was a maiden of the ocean, born to sing to the delight of sailors, the sea creatures, and herself.
The melody didn't have any lyrics but the notes came out of her throat with a lovely passion filled with the emotional longing to be with the man, to have their separation of land and sea be removed so he could be right by her side without the need to get rid of the gorgeous mermaid tail the fairy had just given her.
--------------
The man looked at the girl with awe. He had seen his many share of maidens before but never had he seen a woman that had a lovely blue fish tail where her legs were supposed to be, and never had he heard a maiden sing so well either.
The song reminded him of the hymns he would hear at church every Sunday but, without needing any words, he could sense that this song was made just for him. Every note and chord felt like a kiss to his soul and the warmness of the melody washed over him like rain.
To think, just a moment ago he came towards this cave to seek shelter after surviving a storm that crashed his personal ship yesterday. Now, he was standing in front of a singing mermaid who loved him, and he loved her back.
Suddenly, the man was overcome with a tingling feeling around his body. He also had the sudden urge to remove his shirt and boots before massaging his legs, thinking they had fallen asleep.
He wondered why this was happening. Was his infatuation for the mermaid turning his legs into jelly?
He soon found his answer as his legs were involuntarily drawn together, and his feet flattened and spread out, much to his shock.
Yet, the mermaid still continued singing, which helped calm his nerves a little as he felt the metamorphosis continue in his body.
Soon enough, he found himself wrapped up in the emotions of the mermaid's song enough that he just couldn't contain himself anymore. His voice joined with hers to turn the small performance into a harmony.
--------------
Iris was letting herself be carried by the he power of her voice when she suddenly noticed that her little greeting song became a duet.
When she opened her eyes, Iris was shocked by the sight of the man again.
Only this time he was laying on the floor. His shirt and boots were gone and his legs and pants were replaced with a muscular blue tail that seemed to almost match the color of her scales but in a much darker shade.
This cute visitor wasn't just a man anymore, he was a merman!
Iris gasped and wondered how this could have happened before she heard it, his voice.
The merman in front of her had his eyes closed and was singing the song she sang to him. It was like he was returning the hello that her melody was intended to be, a greeting.
Upon hearing her gasp, the merman's song died in his throat and his eyes opened to look at her.
The two stared at each other for what felt like forever. Shyly, Iris smiled and waved her hand, trying to break the awkward silence.
The man smiled and returned her wave, his tail twitching against the grotto's floor. Suddenly, as if he realized he could no longer feel his legs, the man's eyes widened and he looked down at his body.
It was then that he saw the tail.
He stared at that scaly limb even longer than he started at the mermaid. The man laid a gentle hand on his tail and began to stroke his new limb.
Like a dog wagging his tail while enjoying an owner's pet, the man's tailfins began flapping against the cave floor as his fingers touched the sensitive scales.
After a minute of feeling around his tail, he stared back at Iris. The mermaid's caring eyes revealed everything, she had done this to him.
Iris gulped, sensing the shock, fear, and confusion moving around the man's mind. Yet, the hard blush that appeared at the man's cheeks made it seem like he was more embarrassed at having his well-built torso naked and exposed in front of the girl than he was surprised at being a merman.
Not wanting to make this awkward tension any more palpable, Iris began to talk. "Hello, there. I'm Iris, a mermaid of the Atlantean kingdom. Welcome to my grotto!"
The man gulped and was silent for a moment but soon returned a small, if rather nervous, smile. "Hello, Iris. It's nice to meet you. You look very lovely, my apologies for intruding into your humble home."
Iris grinned, he complimented her! "Oh, no need to apologize. You look quite handsome yourself. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed you were a prince before I… turned you…"
The awkward silence returned but, after a few seconds, the man began to weakly chuckle. "Funny you say that, Iris, but I am a prince."
The mermaid's eyes widened. "Really?"
The man nodded. "Yes. I'm Prince Aaron of the Omassa Kingdom. It's a kingdom that's located near the sea and has a lovely shoreline. I'm meant to be next in the line of the throne after my father but…" The man paused as he looked at his fish tail. "Now, I'm not so sure…"
Iris gulped, feeling a tinge of guilt over the feeling that she might have jeopardized a kingdom by turning their most capable prince into a merman.
Prince Aaron looked at Iris and waved to her. "Hey, don't feel bad! You didn't mean to do this to me. Really, it's my fault. It was my carelessness that got me into this mess in the first place."
"You mean it?" Iris replied. "Oh, but I should have remembered that a mermaid's voice has powers like that. I could've just said hello."
Prince Aaron chuckled. "Well, it certainly wouldn't have been nearly as exciting if you hadn't sung to me. Really, you have the voice of an angel."
Iris began to blush. This conversation had been going far from how she had planned. It was one thing to think about falling in love with a prince, it was a whole other thing to have it actually happen to her, and have that prince be a dashing merman as well.
"Well…" She stammered. "You have a wonderful voice, too. You really made my song all the more better once you joined in."
For the first time since he met her, Prince Aaron smiled warmly. "Thank you, Iris. It's an honor to have met you." He looked at his tail and began to move it.
The tail undulated slightly, a natural movement he supposed. Aaron found that he was able to move the tail back and forth if he concentrated on those muscles. He realized his reflexes with the tail would take time to become automatic.
"I have to say, this is a very nice tail you gave me. Of course, it helps that blue is a favorite color of mine. I've always had a fondness for the sea back at home." He chuckled, trying to find the good out of the situation.
"I'm glad to hear that!" Iris smiled before a realization made her face fall. "Though, that tail is likely permanent. I'm not sure how your parents will react to this."
Prince Aaron nodded. "I worry about that too. Though, I should still go back home. Even with me as a merman, I think it's worse to have my parents think I drowned at sea once parts of my wrecked ship show up on shore."
"Fair point." Iris agreed. "But what if they get angry over seeing you as half-fish?"
Prince Aaron shrugged. "Well, worst case scenario, I'm not a prince anymore. If that ever happens, we just could elope together at sea."
"Elope?" Iris gasped. "Does that mean…?"
The merman grinned. "Indeed it does. Out of all the maidens and princesses I've seen throughout my life as a prince, I'd be honored to have you as my betrothed."
Iris began to blush intensely. Her and Prince Aaron, together in marriage. Ruling as king and queen of the Omassa Kingdom. She sighed dreamily. What was once an innocent wish was now quickly becoming a fairy tale before her very eyes.
If Aaron's parents allowed their marriage to happen, Iris was sure to have Goldenrod as the maid of honor as thanks.
As Prince Aaron beamed at the mermaid's clear approval of her marrying him, he felt the sun beating down on his tail. It wasn't uncomfortable but it did remind him that his body belonged to the sea now and was not meant to freely move on land anymore.
"Erm, Iris, could you please teach me how to use my tail? I've had legs my whole life, so this is a new thing for me." He said, embarrassed that he would need to learn how to use a tail as if he was a baby asking his mother how to walk.
The mermaid smiled. "Of course, Aaron! Just follow my lead and you'll get used to swimming with a tail in no time."
Iris slid off the rock with a small splash. With only her head and neck later popping out of the water. She beckoned him to join her with a gentle finger.
Nodding, Prince Aaron began to crawl towards the water. It took a lot of effort since his tail was so weighty. Being a single six foot scaly limb filled with powerful muscles, the tail's heavy mass was terribly revealed to him as he crawled on the floor and groaned with effort.
Eventually, he reached the edge of the water and plunged into it with a huge splash but not before he lunged forward and hugged Iris, causing the two mers to disappear from the surface above the water.
After a moment of silence, Goldenrod appeared from a rock formation around the grotto's second floor. The fairy smiled, proud that her wish was making her newfound friend so happy.
"Soon enough, Iris. You'll learn to grant wishes for kind humans that do good to you, just like what you did for me." She whispered to herself. "For mermaids, at their heart and core, are fairies, too."
With a satisfied smile, the fairy fluttered her wings and flew away. She had a good feeling Iris wasn't going to get tired being a mermaid or miss her human life anytime soon.