The western village

NOELLE'S POV,

I wake up by the sound of my alarm at 5 in the morning. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready and then I head out to the entrance.

King Roan is already waiting in front of the door. He looks like shit; I wonder if he slept at all.

''Good morning, did you get any sleep last night?'' I ask a bit concerned.

''No, not much just had a lot to think about.''

Before I can say anything else he walks out the door. I follow him while we walk to the edge of the air bubble. Roan stands still and looks at me from head to toe.

''Considering what Julias told me about your magic I think you should be able to shapeshift into a water creature. Maybe we can try a mermaid, just think about what you want to look like. Picture everything from the breathing gills to the tail. When you have the image just say Shapolo''

I look at him a bit doubtful, but I say, ''Okay let's give it a try.''

I think about a long green shimmering tail, a small glitter top and I picture that I have gills on the sides of my neck. I say with a loud and confident voice, ''Shapolo.''

I feel like a million tiny feathers are tickling me for a minute and I am levitating off the ground. Then there is a blinding light and when I look again, I have a tail! I leap through the air bubble and feel the water surrounding me. It feels so good to be able to breathe underwater.

When I look next to me Roan has also shifted into a merman. I can see all his abs and he chose a dark purple strong tail. He stares at me and says,

''You know that mermaids normally wear more than a tiny bit of fabric over their breasts, right? Not that I am complaining but be prepared for a lot of looks at the village.''

He smiles at me teasingly. The thought of him looking at my breast makes me blush, so I swim away quickly and reply, ''O don't be ridiculous, come on let's see who can swim faster.''

I never knew swimming could be this much fun! I'm almost disappointed when we arrive at the village. Even from outside the air bubble I can still see burnt buildings and pieces of stone laying everywhere. We go inside the bubble, and I say Shapolo again to turn back into my human form.

Roan looks at me, ''You know it is very impressive that you can shapeshift on your first try. You did a great job.''

Then he smiles at me for the first time. I must admit that it makes him look good to be less tense. I smile back at him and ask, ''So, what can I do to help today?''

He points to the destroyed houses, ''I am just going to talk to the families that lost someone. See if there is anything we can do. I will of course compensate every family that had their house destroyed. We need to check if everyone has enough food, and we can help clean up the mess. I want you to stay close to me though I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.''

I follow Roan the rest of the day as he hands out money to the affected families, cleans the streets, and makes the food grow on the fields with his magic. He seems to make time to talk to anyone who wants to, and I can see his people love him. Even the families that lost someone seem happy to see him and when I talk to them, they have nothing but kind words to say.

A mother who lost her child said, ''Our King would do anything for us. Other rulers would not even care about a small village like this, but he came to protect us as fast as he could. Besides that, he is here afterward to help us get back on our feet and show us that he cares. Is there anything more we could ask for?''

With his people, Roan seems happy and kind and not the tense liege that I heard he was. At the end of the day, all the people gather at the town's square. Roan stands in the middle and speaks loudly, ''Yesterday was a sad day. I owe you all an apology for not being here in time. Every death that happens under my rule is one that I carry with me forever. Today we made the first step to recovering. I will come back every week to help you rebuild and make sure that you all have everything you need. I have updated the security, there will be shark men patrolling 24/7, and Noelle and I will put some protective spells over the village. Go home now, eat and rest.''

The people all bow to him and shout, "Long live King Roan!"

Then they all leave to go to their homes. As soon as we are alone his shoulders drop and his eyes become weary and tired.

''Are you okay Roan?'' I ask.

He sighs, ''It has been a long day and I need to look strong and confident for the people. I can't make them worry more.''

''I'm sure they would understand if you told them how you feel.'’

His eyes look sad when he says, ''It's not their burden to carry. can you please help me with some protective spells? Just repeat after me.''

I copy every movement and spell Roan does and 10 minutes later a misty protective shield makes sure the village is more difficult to find.

We head back home to the castle and when we arrive Roan says, ''It's been a long day; I need to rest but tomorrow we can resume your training. O and Noelle thank you for today.''

I smile at him, ''You are welcome, see you tomorrow. I hope you can get some rest tonight.''

I squeeze his hand lightly before I leave. Later when I am lying in bed, I can't help but wonder if I made a wrong judgment on the King of the Sea Realm.