Hannibal merman AU - Talking goldfish - WIP

"So…" Alana smiled. "A merman?"

Will blushed. "Yes." He glanced down at his feet. "Well, not now, anyway."

Alana smiled. "I'm glad for that."

This seemed to take Will aback, but Alana smiled at him. "I meant not now. If you were, we couldn't be having this conversation. Not unless I was a mermaid."

Will's face softened. "I… I could see if I could make that happen."

Alana raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Because I'll consider it if that's the case."

Will's face went beet red at the thought of Alana with a tail… Just as beautiful. On land or in water, her beauty would never change. 

"Will? WILL!"

Will shook his head quickly, eyes locking with Alana's. 

"You were off in a daze."

"I… Oh, Yes, I'm sorry, you'd be beautiful with a dark blue tail!"

From the look on Alana's face, Will wasn't sure if he'd strayed too far off topic or not. He'd certainly caught her off guard, but she looked flattered enough to be happy. They kept on walking down the halls of the palace.

"So, besides breathing on land and water, what else does being a merman entail?" She asked, genuinely curious. 

Will shrugged. "I don't believe it's overly different from being a human, really." He said. "Working every day, children attending school-"

"Oh, I meant… physical differences."

"Ah!" Will nodded. "Well, there's the tail, obviously. Lungs adapted to breathe on land and in water like you said, communication with other merfolk and fish-"

"Hold on," A big smile came to Alana's lips. "You can actually talk to fish?"

"Of course," Will said. "Ever since I was born. Some are more chatty than you'd think."

"All kinds of fish?" Alana asked, raising a eyebrow. "Not just talking to Dolphins or something."

Will smiled. "I've talked to more fish than I could name," he said. 

"So," Alana paused, standing next to a rather large fish tank, holding several large goldfish swimming contently around inside. "You could talk to my goldfish?"

"Goldfish?" Will blinked, glancing into the tank. The fish in question was one Will had never seen before. It had a bright orange-gold color and small, but beautifully flowing fins. He stared at it for a moment, amazed. He was certain he'd met every kind of fish in existence. Where had these fellows been his whole life?

"I'm…" He nodded. "Yes, Yes, I could talk to your fish."

Alana nodded to the tank. "Go right head." A tone in her voice suggested a challenge. One he was more than willing to accept.

"I will!" He said, lifting the lid of the tank. He glanced down into the water. Taking a deep breath, he dunked his head into the tank. It felt strange to have to hold his breath under water and he didn't like the pressure building in his lungs. Still, he opened his eyes, suddenly finding himself face to face with the little fish. It stared at him, curious about the large being that had entered his domain.

"Hi," Will said. "Excuse me for my intru-"

"Ce n'est pas un problème, monsieur. Bienvenue chez moi, je suis-"

Will blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Je vois que vous rencontrez ma dame. Pourriez-vous lui dire que je préfère-"

The pressure in Will's lungs began to build and he had no choice but to pull back from the water gasping for breath. Alana stood close beside him.

"So?" She asked, her eyes bright, "What did he say?"

Will blinked. "I'm not sure."

"How come?"

"Did you get him from the ocean?" Will asked. 

"No. He came from a lake."

"Oh." 

Alana raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's the problem?"

"Foreign language."

(A/N: I'm guessing goldfish don't speak french, but I wanted to use an actual language rather than create my own.)