☸ The Taxi Driver’s Point-of-View ☸

“Why did I even take this job,” I sighed in exasperation as I drove around the residential area.

My name is Evan, a former Marine Biologist. I got fired by my boss because I couldn’t find any discoveries in their study for almost a year. He said that the reason he fired me was because of my lack of punctuality and dedication to my work. But I’m sure that the real reason was that he’s afraid that I will become big someday. He’s afraid because I have the luck that he doesn’t have.

“Wait for me, you piece of sh*t. I will get back there soon and surpass your fame. I will discover ‘something’ that no one has ever seen before. You’ll regret firing me, I swear,” I whispered in irritation.

The plan is to first earn money by being a taxi driver, and when I saved enough, I will return to the field. Only a little more and I can come back.

After I steered around, I saw a couple on-standby for a taxi, so I stopped in front of their house.

“Want a ride, kid?” I asked with a smile after I opened my side window.

He’s young. Maybe a high school student?

“Yeah, we have a PWD here so can we use your trunk to store her wheelchair?” he asked and looked at the disabled girl beside him.

“Sure,” I said and pressed the button to open the trunk. After that, I went outside to help them. He lifted the girl, and I brought the wheelchair inside the trunk. They then went to the backseat, and I came back to the driver's seat.

“So where’s the destination?” I asked with a smile.

“The chapel,” he responded.

This kid can’t even give a fake smile. I’m sure he doesn’t have many friends.

“Got it,” I replied and hit the accelerator.

The two of them are the same age. They don’t look like siblings, so... perhaps they’re lovers?

“Pixie, don’t wander around or you might bump the windshield if this car stops,” the girl said with a worried face.

“Idiot, the driver can’t see Pixie, you know,” the guy whispered to her.

What’s up with these two?

“Pixie... as in fairy?” I thought to myself and looked at them through the mirror. Then I became stunned by what I saw.

A mermaid?

The disabled girl’s leg became a mermaid’s tail in a blink of an eye.

What in the name of... A mermaid? For real? Am I seeing things?

I immediately closed my eyes and shook my head. Then, I opened it once again and still saw the mermaid. When I realized that what I spotted was real, I immediately looked back on the road and feigned ignorance. Normally, I won’t be able to see the legs of my passenger, but because my previous customer was a hot foreigner, I put it down to check her out and forgot to return it.

To think my perverted side will be useful today. This... is my time!

After I dropped them in front of the chapel, I drove forward but stopped after some blocks away. Then, I grabbed my cell phone in the pocket and called my former co-worker.

“Hello, Rocky,” I muttered after he answered my call.

“Oh, man. What’s up?”

“You won’t believe this. I saw a real mermaid here in our city,” I said in enthusiasm.

“Huh?” Rocky reacted, confused.

“As I was saying, the mermaid looks exactly like your typical high school girl but with a lower body of a fish. We’re gonna be rich if we sell that thing!”

“You know, I think you’re mistaken,” Rocky replied, uninterested.

“What? This is legit!”

“Mermaids are only from storybooks. Anyway, I’m sure that you’re mistaken, so I’m hanging up. I’m busy here so I’ll call you later,” Rocky said, and he hung up.

He... didn’t believe me?

Because of that, I got pissed and gripped my cell phone as hard as I could.

“Screw you then. I’m gonna take all the money and be rich alone!” I whispered and laughed out loud.

I then grabbed the sheeted knife in the trunk and proceeded towards the chapel. I opened the closed door of the building with a bang and saw the couple from earlier.

“I’ll be taking that little mermaid, kid,” I said with an evil smile and snickered.

♛ Prince’s Point-of-View ♛

“Darn it. So he saw Arian as a mermaid earlier,” I reacted with furrowed eyebrows after I clicked my tongue.

“My name is Evan, a Marine Biologist. That girl is a valuable discovery, so hand her over right away,” he announced with a villain-like grin.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that. How about you find some customers to ride your taxi instead? That job is more suitable for you,” I countered with a smile.

“Shut up!” he shouted in anger.

“Wh-what should we do, Prince,” Arian asked in nervousness.

“Pixie, can you buy time for us?” I asked in a serious look.

“Leave it to me!” Pixie immediately responded and flew up. She then swung her wand towards Evan.

“Wait... what?” Evan reacted in a confused face. “I can’t see anything.”

“Let’s go!” I said to Arian and pushed her wheelchair. We immediately passed Evan as we head outside.

“Illusion? It’s illusion, right? F*ck you, mermaid!” Evan reacted furiously but smirked after that. Without a second guess, he cut his hand and felt the pain from it.

“My illusion... got canceled?” Pixie reacted in a shocked tone.

“How’s that? Aren’t I smart?”

“Prince, watch out!” Pixie yelled.

Before I knew it, Evan chased us, ready to thrust with his knife.

He’s fast, we can’t outrun him!

“Take this!” Evan shouted and prepared to impale us.

“Prince!” Arian shouted with widened eyes.

*splurt*

“Oh~ You’re one brave kid,” Evan commented in a sadistic grin.

I blocked his stab using a palm. Because of that, the knife pierced through my hand and blood poured on the floor.

“Like I’ll let you hurt her, idiot...” I replied with a grin as I tried my best to hide the pain.

“How long will you last then!” he screamed and kicked me in the gut. I then flew away and landed on a nearby wall.

Arian immediately went towards me using her wheelchair and left it so she could come near me. Then, she brought out a white handkerchief from her skirt’s pocket and tied it on my wounded hand. But the cloth only got covered by my blood in an instant.

“This is bad, the wound is too deep,” she cried and held my injured hand. “If only I have my legs right now.”

That’s right. If only Arian returned to normal earlier, she will have no problem defeating this criminal.

“Stop!” Pixie shouted and flew towards Evan. She tackled him but bounced away.

“Because you didn’t let me have her without resisting earlier, you suffered from that fate. How pitiful,” Evan said as mock.

Think, Prince! There should be a reason the marriage didn’t work. Maybe it’s because of love? No. Both Arian and I confirmed our feelings to each other before kissing, so that’s not the case. Does that mean that it’s not the proper way to turn her back to normal? How can the Little Mermaid return to being a human again in the story? Wait... mermaid... to human. Not human... to mermaid...

“I got it,” I whispered and looked at Evan with a weak smile, yet victorious.

“What?” Evan reacted, confused.

“In the story, the girl is a mermaid who wants to be human. She needs to marry the prince to stay as a human. But to become a mermaid again, she needs to pour the blood of the prince on her legs. But Arian is the opposite of that. She’s a human, not a mermaid. She needs to marry me to stay as a mermaid. And for her to become a human again, she needs to pour my blood to her tail. It’s the opposite of the story,” I said and clenched my fist on top of Arian’s tail. My blood then got poured on it. Because of that, Arian’s tail emitted a bright light, enough for Evan and me to cover our eyes with an arm. After a while, the light disappeared.

“That’s...” Pixie reacted with a big smile while on her stomach. “The curse came back to the book! Arian is now free from it!”

“Leave the rest to me, Prince,” Arian said with a pissed face and walked towards Evan.

“What? How come you have human legs now?” Evan asked in confusion and backed down with his knife.

“Watch out for the knife, Arian!” Pixie reminded her.

“Why you--!” Evan said and ran towards Arian. But before he stabbed Arian, she took a taekwondo stance and delivered a roundhouse kick on his side body.

*crack*

It was so powerful that I could hear Evan’s rib cage break.

“Gwahhhhh!” Evan reacted in pain.

“That should... hurt,” I whispered, seated on the floor with no energy left.

After Evan received the blow, he fainted on the floor.

“Are you okay, Prince?” Arian worriedly asked and rushed towards me.

“Idiot. How can I be okay after I got stabbed in the hand? I’m losing too much blood, you know,” I retorted in a weak voice and forced a laugh.

“You’re the idiot! It’s not the time to joke around!” Arian shouted and tears dropped from her eyes.

“Arian, leave it to me!” Pixie immediately responded and zipped towards me.

“But can your illusion save him? I mean, he’s losing too much blood now,” Arian asked in a panic.

“I will not use an illusion anymore. I’ll heal him for real!” Pixie announced with a serious expression. She pointed her wand towards my injured hand and my wound glowed.

“But I thought you can only do illusions in this world?” Arian asked, surprised.

“Yeah. But I can use my actual powers for emergencies. I don’t want to use it because of its toll on my body. But it is no time to worry about that now,” Pixie replied as she focused as hard as she could.

“Wait? Toll? What will happen to you after this?” I asked, concerned.

“Don’t worry. The tolls are only these two. The first one is I can’t use advanced magic except for illusions for an entire day. The second one is I will end up sleeping after this. You won’t be able to wake me until I’m completely recovered.”

“Pixie, thank you very much,” Arian said with a relieved smile.

And after a while, my wound disappeared completely as nothing happened. I couldn’t feel the loss of blood anymore either.

“So with that, I’ll let you handle the rest... Prince,” Pixie whispered and fell. I caught her with my two hands and replied, “Yeah. Thank you, Pixie.”

With that conclusion, we immediately called the police. Evan got apprehended for attempted murder. He woke up after the police caught him and said to them that Arian is a mermaid. But the police only laughed it off and took him to their station.

“So it finally ended, huh,” Arian whispered with a smile.

Both of us were walking on the roads of the residential area while the sun was near the horizon.

“Yeah,” I replied and looked at my breast pocket where Pixie slept with a smile. After four seconds, I remembered the kiss, and it made me blush in an instant.

“Uhmm... about the marriage earlier...” Arian said in shyness, her eyes not on me.

“Wh-wh-what about that?” I asked nervously.

“When I said I like you... as a man...” she continued in a shy expression.

After I heard that, I gulped out of nervousness and averted my gaze from her.

She then stared at me and with a smile, she continued, “I think it’s only a suspension bridge effect!”

“Suspension... bridge?” I asked after I looked back at her, stupefied.

“I mean, the mood earlier is so good that I got carried away. So with that, see you later at school,” she said and jogged away.

Wait, you’re gonna end it like that?

“Wait!” I shouted, and she stopped her run.

“Do you... like me?” she asked, not faced to me.

“That’s...” I responded, tensed. “I—”

“You still got seven more princesses to save, right?”

“Arian...” I whispered, astonished a little.

She turned towards me with a charming smile and replied, “I’ll be waiting for your answer after you saved everyone.” Then she ran away and left me alone.

After that, I smiled and whispered, “Yeah.”

Suddenly, a girl in a maid uniform passed behind my back and stopped after she saw me. She was carrying a big paper bag in her arms.

“Is that... a crown?” she whispered in a puzzled look after she saw my head ornament.

“Cindy?” her companion maid called three meters away from her.

“I’m coming!” she replied and ran off.

The crown on my head glowed, and when I turned around, no one was there. The crown’s light also disappeared.

“A princess?” I whispered to myself as I stared at the empty road.