A Mermaid’s Wish by Viola Grace Page A

do their own nails.”
    He flipped through the pages. “I don’t see your name on here.”
    She blushed. “I am nothing special. I am a low-level bureaucrat. I push documents for a living.”
    “You think there won’t be paperwork in the colony? I think your particular skill set would be in high demand.” He went to his desk and took out a pen. With swift strokes, he added her name to the list. “I expect you to sit for the interview, just as any of the other candidates do.”
    She wanted to argue but he gave her a serious look from his ocean-blue eyes. “Fine. I will schedule myself as the last interview. I am sure by then, you will have filled all the spots. Oh, your brother is here to take you to lunch. You have two hours before the first woman of the new list shows up.”
    He blinked. “You knew I would give in?”
    She smiled. “I have worked for you for a while, Doctor. This is not the first time I have had to wait for you to see sense.”
    “Fine. Do you want me to bring you anything?” He always asked.
    She shook her head. “No, I brought my lunch, and I have calls to make. Two hours. That is all.”
    “Yes, Taem. Anything you say, Taem.” He chuckled, and she left him, resuming her seat at her desk and starting to make calls.
    She waved farewell to the too-handsome Sardu, and he smiled and blew her a kiss. Her skin went scarlet, but she kept working. The new world was going to see the rise of the average woman, and she was going to make it happen.
    Taem got to work.
     
    Six hours later, she was exhausted but triumphant. Three out of the six women were already on the confirmation list for the new colony, and all six were delighted to be considered.
    Dr. Nordal-jak was gone for the day, so once she had confirmed the sixty appointments for the following day, she was free for whatever was left of the evening.
    Once all records were locked, she headed for the airlock and removed her work wrap. The staff entrance was full of wraps on pegs, and her peg was the only one remaining.
    Naked, she jumped into the wet entrance, transformed into her mer form and swam for home.
    Her mother was wearing an elegant wrap when Taem emerged from the wet entrance at home. “You were supposed to be here for dinner.”
    Taem calmly wrapped herself in a red wrap that clashed horribly with her hair simply because her mother hated it. “I had to work, Mother.”
    Her mother patted her elegant locks with the pearls interwove in them. “Your sisters and their husbands missed you. Especially Josnal.”
    Taem shivered. Her brother-in-law was the reason that she had sought out the witch when she was twelve. At her sister’s wedding, he had whispered to her that he was so glad to be part of this loving and beautiful family. He swore that he would be there every moment while she developed into the beauty that was already visible.
    She had been queasy, but no one in her family seemed to find his words threatening. In a world of vanity she had no champions, so she went looking for one.
    The gene-witch had been surprised to see her.
     
    What are you doing here, little noble? The woman swayed, her black and silver hair surrounding her in a cloud while her tail fanned slowly to keep her upright.
    I am not a noble, but I do want to be normal.
    What do you mean normal ?
    Beauty is something I want to avoid. I want to be plain, so I can just be me without folk expecting nothing but a pretty face and body.
    What you are asking is not something I normally grant. I normally work the other way around.
    Well, then take my beauty and give it to someone else. She was desperate.
    No, child. I will simply hold your beauty until you are ready to deal with it. When you are, simply break the charm I will give you and your beauty will surround you. You will be everything you were born to be, but you will be able to choose it and not have it shape you.
    What followed had been samples of blood, flashes of light and, finally, a subtle charm had been