Caspian swam with purpose, the cold waters shifting around his aerodynamic body. He glanced behind him, seeing several armed mermen trailing behind him. He swallowed, putting on an extra burst of speed, his grip on the octopus tightening.
He must hurry.
He can't get caught, not by Calder—his dermal denticles glinted in the light. He was slim, his two dorsal finds provided the aerodynamics needed, and ungrooved large spines signaled how dangerous he was.
Speaking of which, the horrid spiny dogfish snapped at his fins. Caspian yelped, before swiping at him with his tailfins. Calder grunted as the fins stung his narrow, pointed snout.
Irritated, he shook it off, teeth bared. Caspian gave a smug smirk before throwing the octopus at Calder.
Startled, the octopus released a massive ink cloud. It blocked Calder's sight, filled his nostrils and his mouth.
The dogfish swam out of the ink cloud, shaking his head. Caspian fled as well, a trail of ink thinning as he swam out of sight.
Calder is swarmed by his men, who gave concerned glances. "Are you alright, my liege?" One of them asked.
"Cetus..." Calder spat, casting an annoyed glare, as his gills flared angrily. "If I was...ugh...alright. Would I be spitting out octopus ink!?"
His men stifled their laughter as Calder spat out more ink. Cetus shook his head no. "Of course not, my liege."
"Therefore," Calder sputtered, shaking his head one final time before swimming away. "We can conclude with our brains..." He whipped around, screaming, "That I am not alright!"
His men blew out choking breaths, eyes squeezed shut. Calder grunted, swimming between them.
"Are you alright?" Calder repeated Cetus' words mockingly. "Listen, Delta won't be happy about this. That we let that brat go, again."
"But she'll electrocute you," Nerio grinned.
Calder's head snapped to him, his shark teeth showing. Nerio turned around, as Neifion, his twin, nudged him smugly.
"Sorry, my liege," Nerio said quickly.
"You dartfish better be sorry!" Calder snapped. He groaned, shaking his head.
"Don't worry," Beck assured him, his black hair and brown skin contrasted with the cool waters. "We'll get Caspian, and you'll win over Delta's favor."
Calder stared, transfixed on the merman's hair. He whined, before scuttled off into the distance, crying bitterly. His men stared in confusion before chasing after him.
"Calder!" They called, one after another, "wait!"
Their cries, and pleas echoing the further they swam.
-
That morning, Coral woke up, wiping the dry tears that stained her cheeks. Tears shed from the fact that soon she'd be leaving Pearl Beach.
She wasn't ready.
Despite her rather depressing words about her not being human, she wasn't spiritually ready for this big step. So much of her life was spent on the surface, she'd be an alien in the sea.
And she didn't to be a foreigner in her true home.
However, she'd always loved the sea, and that hasn't changed.
She looked out from her window. The sun was up, its light beaming from the horizon. She threw off her bedcovers, and stretched, freeing up her joints and stiff muscles. Her toes curled then stretched out.
A smile came to her lips, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. For once, she wasn't going to rush, or hurry. She was going to take her time.
After all, this might be her last time on the surface.
As a human...
-
Coral descended the stairs, dressed in a pink and black raglan shirt, with elbow-length sleeves. She wore blue Capri jeans, and brown sandals. Her ginger hair tied into a long, slick ponytail. Her crystal blue eyes glinted with that familiar joy.
Mrs. Ocean whipped around, and gave her daughter a warm smile.
"You look lovely my dear," Mrs. Ocean said. Mr. Ocean walked in, carting a box. He also nodded in approval.
"Thank you," Coral said, grinning. She continued down to the floor, and glanced at her surf board.
"This Caspian..." Mrs. Ocean said, thoughtfully as Coral grabbed the board. "Do you like him?"
Coral froze, then turned around. Her lips parted in an 'oh' shape, her eyebrows shot up. She glanced at her dad, then back to her mother. Her lips then formed a thin line, as if deep in thought.
"I....like him as a friend?" She cringed, sounding unsure.
"Uh huh," Mrs. Ocean said, chuckling.
"You're spending an awful lot of time with this 'friend' Coral," Mr. Ocean said, setting down the box.
"I like Caspian...as a mermaid," Coral buckled down. "He seems great. I mean, he did kidnap me, and then we almost died—"
"What?" Mrs. Ocean blinked.
"You know that time I disappeared and nearly scared you guys half to death?" She said, raising the surfboard as a shield. "I went into the sea to test my new skills. And that's how I met him. He was escaping Delta's guards, I guess, and grabbed me. We ended up in a sunken ship, and I accidentally woke the Leviathan—"
"You roused the greatest threat to our people?" Mr. Ocean murmured, stunned.
"Accidentally Dad," Coral continued, curling up behind the board. "I do insist on the accidentally part—did I mean it was an accident?"
Mrs. Ocean let out a scoff, shaking her head. Coral grinned sheepishly, her cheeks burning red.
"At least you're being honest...now," Mrs. Ocean laughed. "You're better than the teens your age."
"It must be the fact she's a mermaid," Mr. Ocean grumbled. "If she was fully human—she was never going to tell us."
Coral let out a slight laugh, knowing deep down she was probably grounded.
For life.
-
Mr. Carla was teaching, but she wasn't really paying attention what he taught. He faded out of her vision, and mind. Her pencil was pressed on the page, but she wasn't writing down the question. Rather, the graphite was drawing out a vision she'd always had when she was young.
A dream so haunting, it shocks her awake.
The sinking city of Atlantis.
When she asked her parents about it, if it truly was Atlantis she saw, they confirmed. They gave reasons, mainly that one she must have a subconscious connection to her land, her kingdom.
It was amazing she knew so much subconsciously, but was still in the dark. her body held memories she didn't understand or remember. And it's quite eerie.
She knew she must leave, she wasn't really human anymore. But this was all she knew. Was she capable of leaving her friends and colleagues behind?
"Coral Ocean!" Her name made her straightened. She turned to Yvette Harrison, who flashed a nervous grimace.
"Sorry, sir," Coral said, closing her book hurriedly. "It's just..."
I'm not human. I never was.
But that was a depressing answer. It might get her sent to the school therapist. And last time she visited the therapist, she pretended to have DID to she could get more candy.
In her defense....she didn't know what DID was. And that was good candy.
"I wasn't paying attention," she admitted softly. "I haven't had, for some time."
Her eyes welled with tears. "And now...I'm never gonna see you guys again-"
Her voice broke, and began to cry. Tears dripped down onto her notebook's cover. Her classmates, exchanged glances before leaving their seats one by one. Yvette was the first to hug her, and the others followed suit.
Mr. Carla walked up, and joined the pile, though he felt pretty awkward about it.
"That's nonsense," he said soothingly. "You're not leaving, Coral."
Coral sniffed, wiping her eyes. She smiled, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent more tears. "I'm sorry for causing a scene."
"Coral..." Mr. Carla said. "You're not making a scene. I mean you are, but it's okay to express how you feel. You don't have to bottle them inside."
"Yeah," Micah smiled in the huddle. "This isn't the 1900s anymore."
"Promise me, you won't...you know," she mumbled.
"What? Kill you?" Yvette murmured.
"Why would we do that?" Katie Myers snickered. "It's not like you're a mermaid or something."
The silence was deafening, but it was undercut with words that would live forever.
"I am a mermaid."
-
Caspian, swam past the swirling kelp. He scanned the haunting area, shivering from the icy cold. Sensing something behind him, he turned around, hand clenched into a fist.
It was simply a kelp stalk, swaying from the current.
"My, my," the sea witch's voice echoed. "I thought merfolk didn't harm living things."
Caspian frowned at the words. "You must be confusing me with those flower-wearing, love and peace humans."
"Those are hippies, child," Tempest said, emerging from the kelp forest. "Of course, you wouldn't know. You weren't there!"
Her laugh sent an icy chill down his spine. Tempest drifted forward, octopi tentacles drifting behind her. She stopped, her hands resting her kelp dress.
"Come merboy," she urged with a smug smirk. "Follow me."
Caspian sighed, swimming after her.
The sea witch led him to the rusty cauldron, covered in moss. Tempest loomed over the cauldron, waving around her thin hands.
"What do you need, merboy?" She asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
"A spell," he replied. "To turn a friend into a mermaid."
"I know," she frowned, rolling her eyes. "It was rhetorical."
She glanced at him, the smile spreading. "I can do what you wish, but it will cost you."
She bent down, plucking an oar from off the ground. Caspian watched as she stirred the pot.
"Already, it's done," she said.
Caspian's eyebrows shot up. "How? I just met you."
Tempest glanced over, chuckling. It blew into a evil cackle, sending shivers down Caspian's spine. She kept laughing, even as her kelp tendril from her elegant dress picked up a sharp object.
"Here, merboy," she said, tossing the jagged knife toward him.
Caspian caught, and stared at the blade.
"A price to be paid," she smiled. "A...sacrifice if you will."
Caspian stared at the knife, its reflective surface showing him. His eyes shook with a fear. He took a sharp breath before placing the blade to his throat.