For a moment, it appeared that he was going to approach and speak to us, but instead the Pelagic Prince walked by, merely giving us a short, friendly wave for the most part (although I noticed him wink at Myshtal). He stopped at the edge of the pool, and then shrugged in a way that caused the vest to drop from his shoulders. Looking back in our direction, he gave us a cocky grin and then suddenly leaped up and out over the water.
From the way his body was positioned, I got the impression that he was attempting a belly flop of some sort. That being the case, I expected to hear an audible “plop” as he hit the surface of the pool and see water splash explosively. What actually happened, however, was quite a surprise.
While still in the air, the Pelagic Prince acrobatically performed a double backflip, then somehow managed to straighten out before hitting the water. Remarkably, he went in with a sound that was barely above a whisper, and which scarcely caused a ripple on the surface. Once under the water, he zipped away like he had a motor attached to him, swimming the length of the pool and back, then completing the circuit again – all in under ten seconds (and while still wearing his tuxedo pants).
“Wow,” murmured Gossamer. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before.”
Kane nodded in agreement. “Me either. I didn’t even know they made aquatic tuxedos.”
That caused a general round of laughter, and a moment later, normal conversation resumed. In truth, however, I only halfway paid attention to what was being said, as I was still keeping an eye on the Pelagic Prince. I lost track of how many times he swam the length of the pool over the next few minutes, but there was one thing I did take note of: he never once broke the surface for air. It was an effective display of his talents, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed.
After a few minutes, the Pelagic Prince exited the pool. He came out almost the same way he’d gone in – jumping straight out of the water with a muted sound like a knife leaving a sheath, and barely disturbing the surface of the pool. Landing next to his vest, he suddenly shuddered in a weird way – and then again – and for a second I wondered if he had caught a chill or something. It took me a moment to realize what he was actually doing was shaking water off his body, but in a very controlled manner that didn’t send droplets flying everywhere. A minute later, he was generally dry except for his pants and hair.
Apparently swimming did something to improve his social skills, because the Pelagic Prince – still shirtless – swiftly strode over to us purposefully and introduced himself. We responded in kind, with each member of our group individually greeting him. Although he responded politely to each of us in turn, it became obvious almost immediately that he was really only interested in one person: Myshtal.
Even before she introduced herself (using her formal name, Isteria), the Pelagic Prince seemed to have eyes for no one but my betrothed. On her part, she seemed to note his attention, but emotionally I could sense that she wasn’t interested – a fact that gave me peace of mind, for some reason.
Lacking empathic abilities, the Pelagic Prince clearly didn’t realize that his feelings weren’t reciprocated. (Or if he did, maybe he didn’t care, thinking he could win her over.) Intentionally engaging Myshtal in one-on-one conversation, it only took him a minute or two to casually maneuver her a few feet away from the rest of us and out of earshot. From that aspect, he had his technique for getting a girl alone, so to speak, down to a science.
Telling myself that I was responsible for her, I kept an eye on Myshtal and her new suitor, only half-heartedly participating in the discussion the rest of my friends were engaged in (which currently focused on the merits of an up-and-coming social media site). I couldn’t hear what was being said between them, but I could sense Myshtal slowly growing annoyed and frustrated with the Pelagic Prince, as he clearly wasn’t getting the message.
I spent a brief moment debating about whether I should come to her rescue, but immediately dismissed the idea. Anything along those lines was sure to reignite the fuse on a stick of dynamite that had already been doused once tonight. Everyone in my current circle of friends – particularly Myshtal and Electra – had managed to peacefully coexist since the girls had returned from delivering gifts on behalf of my grandmother. (In fact, the only notable event of an untoward nature had been when Myshtal introduced herself to the Pelagic Prince by her formal name, which caused Electra to frown – presumably because she hadn’t heard it before.) In short, I made a conscious choice to do nothing where Myshtal was concerned.
In the end, standing down turned out to be the right decision, as Myshtal apparently handled the problem on her own. I don’t know what she said, but she uttered something that caused the Pelagic Prince to smile broadly as he responded, and then he quickly retrieved his vest and shuffled away towards the interior of the mansion. Myshtal rejoined us a moment later, glancing over her shoulder as if to make sure her admirer was gone.
“Well, someone has a fan,” Gossamer noted.
“Not by choice,” Myshtal assured her. “He’s somewhat overbearing.”
“It goes with the territory,” Vestibule chimed
