Cleo flew through the water, enjoying her early morning swim. Bella and Rikki were still sound asleep, exhausted from staying up so late into the night before.
The girls had been filling out college applications until the early morning hours. They were determined to get into the same school so that they could stick together. They didn't really care to have to find new friends who, inevitably, they would have to keep secrets from. But with deadlines approaching quickly, the girls were having to get applications in the mail as quickly as possible.
Cleo relaxed at the edge of the familiar moon pool, glad to have a bit of time to herself. She rested her head on her arms, deep in thought. She'd had an awful lot on her mind lately. Between her relationship with Lewis, work, and issues at home, it felt like there was always something to be thinking about. She played with her crystal necklace absentmindedly as she filtered through the thoughts in her head, looping it around her fingers.
Before she could catch it, the leather strap of the necklace snapped. The crystal slipped through Cleo's fingers and sliced through the water, falling down into the depths of the moon pool.
"Shoot." Cleo murmured as she watched the necklace disappear into the deep blue water. She took a quick breath of oxygen before diving down after it.
Cleo swam easily to the sandy bottom of the moon pool. It was quite a bit deeper than she had expected it to be, but she reached it in only a few moments. She searched through the sand, looking through the darkness for her necklace.
It was hard to see down there, so far underneath the surface. Cleo saw a glittering shape in the sand not far from her. She quickly reached for it, cupping it in her hand. She swam up to the surface without pause, glad to be away from the blackness of the sea.
Cleo surfaced at the edge of the pool. She opened her hand and examined what she had brought back up with her. To her surprise, it was not the familiar blue crystal that she held. It was a ring. A strange ring, she noticed. The band was intricate, almost ugly. It was thick and made of silver, with a strange decoration around the band. It had one light stone in the middle, but it was so embedded in the silver band you could barely see it.
Cleo turned it around in her hand, examining it. It was beautiful to her. Reluctantly, Cleo set the ring on the edge of the pool. Once again, she dove down to the bottom of the pool. It didn't take her long to find her necklace. She swam back up to the surface and quickly refastened it around her neck. She checked to make sure it was secure before focusing in on the silver ring that lay on the sand.
"Where did you come from?" She spoke to the silver as she turned the ring over and over in her hand. It felt strangely warm in her hand, even though it had come out of the chilled water. She looked at it for a few moments before deciding to bring it back to her home to show her friends. She gripped the ring tightly in her hand and headed back towards the shore.
"So tell me about it, what did you find?" Lewis walked over with an amused grin on his face.
Cleo stood up from the couch with a smile and held the ring out to him. "Any idea what it is? I found it at the bottom of the moon pool."
"Rikki, I think it's just a ring. Someone must have dropped it." Lewis gave his girlfriend a humoring look. "Why do you think it's anything special?"
"I don't know..." Cleo took the ring from her boyfriend and toyed with it. "There's just something about it."
"It's kinda ugly." Lewis wrinkled his nose at it. "But you should put it on anyway. Everything you wear looks instantly beautiful." Lewis pulled Cleo in for a kiss.
"Nice one." Cleo smiled as she kissed him back as she slipped the ring onto her finger. She knew it wasn't delicate, but she felt like she was supposed to wear it.
The pair met up with the rest of their standard group. There was Will, who dated Bella. They were practically perfect together. The lot of them spent most of their free time either at Will's boat shed or at the cafe that Zane and Rikki owned. Zane and Rikki had a fiery relationship. They bickered frequently, but they always got past it. The six of them were practically inseparable.
Today they had spent the afternoon at the cafe. Bella was rehearsing with her band, Rikki and Zane were working, and Will, Cleo, and Lewis were hanging out at a table in the corner.
"And it was at the bottom of the moon pool?" Will turned the ring over in his hands.
"Yup." Cleo took it back from him and placed it tightly on her ring finger."I'd love to know who dropped it there."
"We know, we know, what a fascinating mystery." Lewis wrapped his arm around Cleo's shoulders and held her tightly. "But onto more exciting issues..."
Cleo rolled her eyes at Lewis before turning to Will. "How is training going?"
After a month of Sophie's begging, Will had agreed to dive in a local competition. Sophie was trying to get a coaching job and she wanted to use Will as a demonstration of her coaching technique.
"It feels like we never stopped." Will rolled his eyes slightly. "She's still a coaching machine."
"But it's just the one dive comp, right?" Lewis asked.
"Yeah." Will nodded. "I kinda feel like I owe her."
"And what are you three up to?" Rikki pulled up a seat and flopped down at the table.
"We're just catching up on Will's training." Cleo said. "Are you done with work?"
"Yeah." Rikki shrugged. "Zane can handle it for a while by himself."
"Well I've got to be going." Will stood. "Sophie will be freaking because I'm late for training."
"Have fun with the slave driver." Rikki called over her shoulder as Will headed towards Bella to say goodbye.
"I still think we should try harder to be friends with Sophie." Cleo said diplomatically.
"No thanks." Zane said quickly as he walked up to the table. "Sophie's a manipulative pain in the neck."
"Agreed." Rikki nodded. "And I'm about sick of this place. Fancy a swim?" She looked at Cleo expectantly.
"Sure." Cleo reluctantly pulled herself away from Lewis.
"Aw come on..." Lewis held onto Cleo tightly. "Don't go."
"You're welcome to swim with us." Cleo said with a dazzling smile that made Lewis melt.
"Ok." He said enthusiastically. "I've been swimming really well lately."
Cleo and Rikki exchanged the same look with one another. They knew that Lewis couldn't keep up with them in the water, but he sure loved to try.
"Alright then, Lewis." Rikki said with a smirk. "We're just gonna head that way then."
The three of them headed out of the cafe and onto the beach.
"Wait, I found a new place. You'll love it." Rikki led the group quickly over the beach.
They walked almost a mile until they came to a series of rocks in the sand. The rocks created a beautiful ledge that extended out over the water.
"This is gorgeous, Rikki." Cleo couldn't wait to jump into the water.
Rikki climbed up onto the top rock, careful not to lose her footing. She dove out into the sea. It was maybe 10 feet to the water, but she dove in gracefully. She surfaced a few moments later, golden tail shining in the water behind her.
"Come on in!" She shouted. "It's great in here!"
"Coming, coming." Lewis humored her. "After you?" He extended a hand to Cleo, helping her out onto the rock.
Cleo took his hand with a smile. "Thank you." She said happily. "See you down there?"
Lewis nodded, giving Cleo one more kiss before stepping slightly aside to give her room to dive.
Cleo took a deep breath and leaped off the rock into the water. She landed in the water with a huge splash and allowed herself to sink down into the sea.
She sank down, enjoying the darkness of the ocean. All of a sudden, she found herself completely out of breath. She needed oxygen, and badly. She quickly pushed herself up to the surface, gasping for air. Her legs kicked behind her as she inhaled and exhaled. She had not been much of a swimmer before she became a mermaid, and without her fin she was just about to sink like a stone.
"Cleo?" Lewis had been watching the whole time. It was taking way longer than usual for Cleo to change. "Are you alright?"
Cleo kicked her legs in panic. Why hadn't her fin appeared? What was going on?
"I don't think so." She called up to Lewis. "I don't know what's going on, I'm human." Cleo kicked hard, struggling to keep her head above water.
Lewis didn't hesitate. He dove down into the water and swam quickly to Cleo. He held her tightly in his arms and guided her clumsily to the shore, assisted by Rikki.
"What's going on?" Rikki was slightly panicked as she looked at Cleo's legs. "Where is her tail?"
"I don't know." Lewis laid Cleo gently on the sandy bank. "Cleo, how do you feel?"
Cleo looked into Lewis's eyes worriedly. "I feel human." She said quietly.
It was a weird feeling. Cleo hadn't felt human in the water for a few years. She was used to changing into a mermaid, but nothing was changing now. She still had two legs. What had happened?
Lewis and Rikki chattered around her, asking questions and tossing out ideas of what had happened. Lewis examined the position of the sun in the sky and began a debate with Rikki about whether or not the sun could also control mermaid powers.
Cleo let the pair of them talk. They weren't paying much attention to her, which gave Cleo a few moments to examine herself. She looked at her feet, which were in a pair of soaking wet shoes. She examined her legs, and then held her hands out in front of her.
Her eyes landed on the ring. It felt especially hot around her finger. She held her hand up close to her face. The stone at the center of the ring had changed. It was no longer pale blue. Cleo's eyes narrowed. The stone had changed to a deep black color.
Cleo grasped the ring and pulled it off of her hand quickly. Instantly, her familiar fin appeared.
Lewis and Rikki stopped talking at the same time and looked at Cleo in shocked silence.
"Well there it is." Rikki held herself up on her arms as she spoke. "What took so long?"
Wordlessly, Cleo held the ring up to Lewis.
"It was this?" Lewis took the ring from her hastily and held it up close to his eye.
Cleo looked from her friend to her boyfriend. "I told you the ring was special."