When Bluepool first laid eyes on Grace, he thought he found love.  Even after he caught a glimpse of Qin, the mer female who was once of his tribe, he didn't think Grace lost out when it came to looks.  
	But seeing the female whose hair shone like the sun and eyes as blue as the sky, his breath was taken away.  He could do nothing but stare as the luminous pearl in his hand weighed down heavily. 
	Coral was also taken aback by the rare beauty, but rather than staring, he found himself retreating to the surf to observe from a safe distance.  
	"Mom.  Serenity told me you were going to look at mer males..." Hope had been in a rotten mood today and seeing the infamous mer folk sounded like a good way to make it better.  
	I massaged my temple, noticing that Hope's attention wasn't on me at all.  There was a reason I didn't let the girls appear in front of the merfolk.  They would, no doubt, attract their curiosity, at the very least. With the terrible reputation the merfolk had, I thought it would be best to keep them away until the girls were old enough to safely make their own decisions.  Looking at Hope now, I'm convinced I was right.
	"You didn't decide yet, did you?" Hope's excitement might have been contagious to someone like Bluepool, but not the rest.  
	"No, I haven't. Come over here, please." I was asking, but I wasn't.  These were two unmated mers.  They could try to take off with Hope.  Naturally, Curtis and Muir standing behind me wouldn't let that happen, but no need to invite trouble. 
	"Do you think they'll kidnap me? Then why are you considering them?" Hope hadn't taken her eyes off the mer that was staring at her.  
	"I won't do it!" promised Bluepool.  "Unless you want me to?" he added in a daze. 
	I smacked my forehead.  "For the love of..." I lost this one.  Bye, fish boy. 
	"Hey, Curtis!  Why are you strangling him?" Hope surged forward in Bluepool's defense.  
	Curtis loosened his coils but did not let the fish go. 
	"Wait," said Hope.  "I like him. Let him go. You can't kill him."
	I put my head back and looked up at the sky.  She likes him already... Obviously, it's his looks but still.  
	Curtis tightened his coils again after Hope's declaration.  
	"If you hurt him, I won't talk to you anymore," Hope threatened. 
	Curtis actually let off.
	Hope breathed a sigh of relief and shot an angry scowl at Curtis. "What's your name," she asked the mer male.  
	"Bluepool," he responded.  He couldn't believe how strong the snake male was.  Bluepool had put everything he had into breaking free, but he hadn't even loosened a scale. 
	"Bluepool, I like you.  You can court me until I'm older." Hope tugged on Curtis's coils and turned to her mom. 
	"Mom, tell him to let go."  She remembered her manners.  "Please."
	Do I toss the fish out or not?  I'm leaning towards tossing, but I know that'll make Hope try harder to get to him and away from me. 
	With a heavy sigh, I gave the weak order, "Curtis, please let him go."
	Curtis obliged after a few seconds of hesitation.
	"Uh, hi." Hope felt a little shy all of a sudden.  "I'm Hope."
	"Hope..." Bluepool's eyes were all hearts.
	I felt a little like digging eyes out.  Not mine.  Most preferably, Bluepool's. I'm not interested in seeing my teen's first romance play out with someone I was just considering marrying.  I shivered with the heebie-jeebies.