The still deep perplexed her, leaving Sapphire in a state of frozen trance; closed eyes, hair loose and dancing around her elfish face.
She did look bizarre, but somehow, among the vibrant coral, her frowning eyebrows and jagged, striking cheekbones made her appear ordinary in the underwater environment.
Fishes of every colour and size passed her regularly, unprovoked by her presence.
Sapphire turned her head from side to side, surveying every aspect of the seabed; she had never experienced such peace and total tranquillity.
Her mouth opened wide as she experimented.
Gulping, the salt water washed her worries away as it made its way into her soul, turning her body a pale shade of turquoise.
Her vivid, blue eyes opened whilst a look of sheer joy and madness occasionally sparkled in them, reflecting the sunlight. Her head twisted slowly, matching the movements of a stalking cat, as her mouth shaped into an extensive grin. She knew what was awaiting her.
Sapph's body shaped accordingly, allowing her to (with just an incline of the head) speed through the deep, deep blue, sending ripples echoing onto the surface of the sea.
Her soul, now filled with the traits of the blue, tempted her to remain just a little longer, whizzing through the multi-coloured fish and vivid coral, for just a little while longer-
No.
Her mind compelled her to halt and her hair slowly flowed to the front of her face as she made an abrupt stop.
What about Conor, and her mother? She couldn't leave her, not again, she wouldn't cope.
What was it that she had learnt about time?
Something about the variations in time between earth and the Mer world-
How long had she been here?
Her stomach turned at the thought of leaving them alone.
She was finding it difficult to breathe.
But you belong here. This is your true home. You can leave all your miseries behind, start again, better, bigger, as one of us.
No!
Her lungs adjusted with her mind to earth circumstances, leaving Sapphire helpless and screaming because of the splintering pain, only to find that her plea was nothing but vigorous gurgling.
Sea water really was in her soul. Deep, deep down, where she couldn't get to it. Deep, deep down, where it submerged her whole conscious in blue.
Invisible tears streaked her cheeks as her whole body struck out in violent spasms, suffering from the ferocity of the water that engulfed her.
Around her, calm.
A composition of red contra blue sat peacefully below, regularly dipping forward and back, causing fish to unwillingly emerge from hiding every so often.
Peace, total tranquillity.
Sapphire's vision had begun to turn blurred; this wasn't supposed to be happening, only seconds before she had been happy and safe, where she belonged.
This was it, this was the end.
She had imagined her death somewhat different;
especially not amidst an empty surrounding, where no one would ever find her, or would ever know where she had disappeared to, where she would be left to decompose with the help of the deep, deep blue; just another corpse-
but her mother, and Conor…
Well, time would act as a cloak to cover the scars, just as it had with the death of her father.
Oh, yes, time was a cunning thing and the deadliest weapon if one had it as their ally.
Over time Conor would learn to hate her, despise her even, for abandoning him. Just their father had done.
She would die hated and alone.
