John pov~
I looked back at Alexander, formerly known as Fish Guy, and my heart broke at the helplessness in his eyes. I sighed and closed the door behind me. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, setting my ramen down beside me. I pulled out my phone and turned the music, which I had paused when I noticed Alexander was awake, back on. Lifeboat came on and I leaned back against the couch, sighing.
Should I let Alexander go? He was really distressed. But if I kept him here, it would be an amazing discovery. I could just take some pictures to prove he existed, but I could easily have photoshopped them, so it's not a sure fact that my professors and classmates would believe me. I want to keep him here, but I feel bad about it. Alexander had said he'd probably either die or develop a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Neither of those options were too good, but the Stockholm syndrome was less awful for me. It would screw up the studies, because we wouldn't be able to properly judge his responses to people.
From what I can see, he doesn't really like people, but that might just be because he woke up in my bath.
I hummed along to Lifeboat and scrolled through my contacts. I wanted to call one of my friends and ask them to come over and meet Alexander, just to see how he would react to that, before possible Stockholm syndrome kicked in and he started liking me or other people.
I called Laffayette and waited for them to pick up, which they promptly did.
"Salut! You good?"
"Yeah, do you think you could come over?"
"John, it's 3AM."
"I know. You need to come over."
"D'accord, d'accord."
"Thanks Laf."
I hung up and waited for my friend to show up. The doorbell going off not soon later alerts me that they'd actually come over. I opened the door for them and hugged them briefly.
"So, why'd you want me to come over?"
"You're gonna have to believe me."
"It depends."
"I found a merman."
"What?"
"Yeah, I was out in the ocean and I fell on him in the water and he was unconscious so I took him home."
Laf gave me a blank stare and I fiddled with my shirt.
"What."
"Just follow me." I sighed, leading them towards the bathroom. "Warning, he doesn't really like me."
"Uhhh..." Laf followed me to the bathroom and I opened the door, pressing my finger to my lips to indicate they should be quiet.
I saw Alexander under the water, staring up at the ceiling through a layer of water. His eyes were unreadable, and the rest of him was showing no telltale signs of emotions. I did notice that his eyes were a little redder than they'd been before. I took a deep breath and walked over to him.
"Alexander?"
"If you won't let me leave, then go away." He responded, still staring at the ceiling. His words were muffled because they came from under the water, but I got the gist of it.
I shot Laf a look, indicating he should come over. "There's someone here to see you."
"Great. Tell them to leave too."
I sighed and Laf stepped forward. "Salut." (Hey)
"Au revoir." (Good bye) Alexander replied monotonously in French.
"Alexander, please?"
"I said please too." He hissed, switching back to English.
"C'mon please talk to us." I urged.
"No."
"Alexander, please."
"No."
"Can you tell us about your friends? You said you had friends that you needed to get back to."
"No." His voice cracked and I saw tears slip down his cheeks into the water.
I met Laf's gaze and they gave me a warning look, clearly telling me not to do what I was about to do. I did it anyway.
"Ok, how about this Alexander; you tell us a little bit about your friends and your customs, and I'll let you go tomorrow night. Sounds good?"
His eyes lit up and he whirled around, bringing his head out of the water. His hair and face was dripping, and there was hope and suspicion evident in his expression.
"How do I know I can trust you?" He furrowed his brows.
"Écoute, tu nous dis ce qu'il demande, et je promets on te délivre. D'accord?" (Listen, you tell us what he asks, and I swear we'll free you. Ok?) Laf said.
"D'accord." (Ok) Alexander conceded, frowning and looking really upset. "What do you want to know?"
I blinked in shock. I barely knew any French, so what Laf said was a mystery to me. But somehow Alexander has agreed to it.
"Can I get my notebook?" I asked. He glared at me, but nodded slowly.
I left, smiling, and rushed to my room, snatching my notebook and a random pen. I raced back to the bathroom. I sat down and looked at the merman who was glaring at me from the bathtub. I smiled sheepishly at him and his eyes just got colder.
"When do I get to leave?" He asked flatly.
"Tomorrow night." I explained, opening my notebook. "I can't exactly walk to the beach in broad daylight carrying a merman."
"I see you point. But you could take me back now."
"But I wouldn't get any answers, would I?" I cocked my head slightly. "Ok, let's get to it. Who are your friends?"
"Maria. Peggy, Eliza and Angelica." He grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Last names?"
"Maria Reynolds. The Schuylers are sisters... why do you even care about the last names?"
"I'm asking the questions."
"You sound very threatening." He raised an eyebrow, clearly not threatened.
"Shut up."
"I thought you wanted me to talk?"
"Alexander, you know what I mean."
"Yeah yeah, keep asking questions."
So many questions crowded my mind and I smiled at all the information I could learn. "What's the hierarchy?"
"There's the king or queen and their direct family, they're the most 'important' I guess. Then there are nobles and knights. Then there are some jobs that are considered more..." He fumbled for the word. "'Worthy' than others. I assume humans have something similar."
"Where do you stand in this system?"
Alexander froze and gave me a suspicious look. "I was born at the bottom of the chain."
"You were born there. But what about now?"
"I was adopted..."
"By who?"
"Why do you care?" He snapped.
"I want to know. You agreed to answer my questions." I reminded him.
He muttered something in French, and under his breath.
"Speak up? And in English?"
He hissed. "I was adopted by the king."
"So you're a prince?"
"Technically."
I stared at the merman, considering this new information in my head. I could do the immoral thing and keep him here, using him against the king. I could use the prince as a bargaining chip.
Should I?
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