BREATHE EASY

I doubt this would count as official "fan fiction", since I'm writing purely about one of my OCs. But if OCs are allowed here, then it's okay to post a few personal stories about them, isn't it? And in a way, this would be fan fiction about going underwater. I hardly do it myself, but I love looking at underwater pictures and reading underwater literature.

Yes, this is the same Rhiella who wins the heart of my boy, Terence. She loves to swim, and she does it whenever she gets the chance. She'd make a terrific mermaid.

This isn't supposed to be anything very significant. Mostly I wrote it simply to entertain myself.

Character and Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

Rhiella felt like she was flying. In fact, she was flying—in a manner of speaking.

She was falling freely through the air, with nothing to hold her or hinder her. She could feel her long dress and her long, thick hair billowing extravagantly behind her, the pleasant chill of the wind blowing in her face. While nothing short of exhilarating, the sensation did not last long; she was fast approaching a vast, blue-black expanse of water. At just the right moment, the young, beautiful, willowy princess positioned herself so that she made a smooth, swan-like dive into the water.

She held her breath and landed with a terrific splash that sent water spraying in all directions, like a shower of diamonds.

Anyone who saw her would have been greatly impressed at her daring, as well as her skill and elegance. Actually, it was a good thing no one could see Rhiella now. Usually she was not allowed to go near the lake (which was less than a quarter of a mile from her castle) by herself, let alone into it. But Rhiella couldn't help herself.

Something about that lake called to her, in a way she couldn't explain. And contrary to everyone's beliefs, she was quite an extraordinary swimmer. She ought to be, anyway, having swum in a two-hundred-feet-or-more-deep lake many a night for nearly fourteen years, without any instruction from anybody.

Whenever she felt the desire for a swim, it was her best option to do so at night, where she stood the smallest chance of being caught, and where she could take as long as she wanted. Besides, the lake was especially beautiful and enchanting at night. Aside from the mere pleasure of the sport, this was a way of relieving herself from her daily tribulations as princess.

It was in the lake that Rhiella could let everything go. In a way, the water cleansed her soul as well as her body.

Under the water, Rhiella continued to go down steadily, relishing the cool, soft caress of the water on her bare skin. After she went down what must have been at least fifteen feet, she stopped, straightened her posture, and hung motionless for a time in the water. The only true movements were those of her feet as they tread the water and kept her afloat, and also of her long hair, which rose and fell rhythmically with the undercurrent, swirling about her face in lazy tendrils as if it had a life all its own.

The floor of the lake was still a good distance below her, no less than fifty feet. Farther out, it dipped down even more. Rhiella couldn't even see the complete bottom; everything there was encased in black shadow. But further up, there were rich, exotic tints of purple and blue, with silvery-white patches from the moon overhead. The most beautiful parts were those that were touched by the moon. Even after seeing the same sights for fourteen years, Rhiella was still mesmerized every time.

Her ears ached slightly from the pressure; she pinched her nose and blew lightly.

At length, the princess began to move forward, using her long, slender legs to propel herself through the water while she held her arms steady at her sides. Every now and again, to ease the pressure in her chest, she let a bit of her breath go in a spume of bubbles. She wondered if her bubbles were visible on the surface of the lake.

When the last bit of air had left her lungs, she somewhat reluctantly made the ascension to the surface. The cold night air stung her wet face like the slap of a hand.

Rhiella only stayed up long enough to take her refill before dropping back down.

Again, she stayed underwater for as long as she could, until she was obliged to come up once more. Thus, she kept up this routine, the water feeling a little warmer every time she re-entered it. When she felt the need for a respite, she did so by a large, smooth white stone that rose gently out of the water.

Here, the water was still quite deep, but Rhiella could lean against the stone and rest herself. With one hand, she wiped the moisture from her eyes, then she glanced around at her surroundings. The moon was its usual bright beacon in the sky, and the lake gave off the impression of there being twice as many stars. The lake spread so far and wide that it was impossible to see the opposite shore; there was only the faint ring of mountains to mark the border.

To Rhiella, it was one of the most beautiful sights in the whole world.

How she wished she could stay like this forever, with no worries or woes—nothing but the water and the moon, and the little fish that sported about.

She wished there was some way she could remain under the water, without having to worry so much about breathing.

Then she noticed a nearby patch of reeds. Intrigued, she swam over when she slipped back into the water. Among the stalks, she found a perfectly straight one, about a foot long and about as thick as her finger, that was completely hollow from end to end. When she put one end into her mouth, she was able to suck in air easily.

She tried it out with her head fully submerged, and it worked like a charm, so long as the other end remained above the water.

Rhiella was delighted.

Though this meant she had to stay closer to the surface, at least she could keep her head down and still be able to breathe easy.

For the next hour or so, Rhiella swam about in this way, and sometimes she remained perfectly still and let her body drift where it would.

It felt a little strange to be taking in air through a reed, but she got used to it in no time. The whoosh of her breath sounded eerie, yet it was an exciting sound, and oddly comforting. Every now and again, Rhiella touched the back of her head; if her head breached the surface, that meant it was safe to breathe through the reed. Because there were a few times when the girl would accidentally suck in water instead of air, and that sent her into a violent fit of coughing and sputtering.

Sometimes, when water did leak into the reed, Rhiella found she could get rid of it by simply blowing out forcefully.

Also, having her face in the water more often made it a little more difficult to tell which direction she was going, but this was all right.

Most of the time, she hardly cared.

Time passed by unnoticed while the princess engaged in her aquatic fantasies.

When at long last she felt tired enough to call it quits, and when she sensed dawn wasn't too far distant, she continued to use her reed as she slowly made her way to shore, and she took the thing with her as she waded onto dry land and made the trek back to her palace. Though cold and drenched to the bone, she also felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and clean.

As crazy as her life as a princess often was, she felt ready to take it on again. This was the best part of her night swims; they provided her with new strength and vigor.

They kept her going.

And tomorrow night, if she was fortunate enough, she would be able to perform this activity all over again.