So this is a weird idea I had for my sisters (And my) love of mermaids and my particular love of elves (NOT the annoying ones. Damn Grimm brothers.)
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Michigan
She opened her eyes. It was cloudy, and she was lying on something soft. She sat up and looked all around her. Why was she in the woods? She looked down at herself. She was in a long green and brown dress (It's a cotehardie with those sleeve wings and a drop waist belt) made of a very soft material.
Cotton. She thought to herself... What was her name? She jumped up as she heard footfalls on the forest floor. A woman, about the same age as her, was approaching her. The woman was wearing a similar dress to hers, but it was blue. She held a wooden bowl in her hands. She had an apprehensive look on her face, but it soon disappeared and was replaced by a friendly smile. She had black, wavy hair that rippled like water, and her eyes were a deep violet colour. Her skin was pale, and her lips were a reddish hue. She was petite in size, and she had slightly pointed ears. Reaching up, she felt that her own ears came to a similar point as the stranger.
"Good to see that you're awake Aoibheann (Pronounced Ahv-een. It's Irish Gaelic). You've been asleep for nearly two days." Was that her name? Aoibheann? Who was this woman?She stood slowly, not saying anything.
The woman sighed. "Another memory break? Allow me to explain. A few days ago, we were hunting a large buck. It turned and struck you down. Cahal (Kah-hahl) killed it, but you were out cold. We didn't know whether you were going to wake or not. Luckily, Blathnaid (Blaw-nid) came back from her trip to the Canada settlement and was able to heal you. Memory loss was expected. I'm Roisin (Rosh-een), your best friend, Cahal is your hunting partner, and you can control water and cause clouds and wind to respond to your commands just as plants respond to mine."
"I can control water, wind, and clouds?" Her accent was different than that of Roisin.
Roisin nodded. "Here, I brought you a water bowl. I know how moving the water through air makes you happy."
"Thank you." Even though she didn't remember this person, Aoibheann decided to be friendly. She flicked her wrist over the bowl, and a column of water rose up. The action seemed familiar, though she didn't quite know why. The water snaked its way toward her, and it just brushed against her fingers. She panicked, and returned the water back to the bowl with a twist of the hand. Wasn't something supposed to happen when water touched her? Maybe it was just nerves.
"Time for breakfast. My mother sent me to check on you." Roisin started to walk from the spot back down the leaf covered hill. Aoibheann followed her. If this was her best friend, she had nothing to fear.
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Australia, the Moon Pool
"For the fourth time, Lewis, I don't have any new info!" Shouted Rikki. She and Bella were at the Moon Pool, trying to find Cleo. She had gone missing last night. Cleo had been alone at her house because her dad, Sam, and Kim had gone to visit Sam's parents for a few days. Cleo couldn't go because she had a college interview on Sunday, the day after the flight left. Sam hadn't been happy about it, but she and Don let Cleo stay at home by herself. She had decided to stay with Rikki and Bella at the moon pool, as a kind of mermaid camping trip.
All Rikki and Bella had heard was a scream, and Cleo was gone. It looked as if she had been dragged across the sand and into the water, but there were no footprints. Lewis and Will had been helping the girls with their search. Zane had been keeping his distance since the school year ended. But that was nothing new. Rikki, however decided they needed his help.
"Yeah, I'll call you as soon as I find out anything. At all. Bye." She ended the call and put the iPhone into her pocket.
"Remind me why we need Zane's help?" said Bella.
"We need his help because his dad has the satellite. We can cover more ground if we can search the entire planet."
Bella held up a hand and popped her head forward in a gesture of disbelief. "Wait, his dad has a satellite? How do you know that?"
"I was dating him for a year and a half." She said with a shrug. "Lets go."
She dove into the clear water of the pool, Bella close behind her.
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Rikki's
He was just sitting in his office, tapping a pencil against the reddish wood of the desk. There wasn't much to do. All the bills had been paid, and the new waiters were taking care of the customers. Right after the almost destruction of Earth, he had fired Sophie, who had gone back to her apartment in Sydney. She had only been here to assist Will with his training anyway. Rikki walked in suddenly, startling him.
"Rikki!"
She sighed. "That's my name, don't wear it out." then crossed her elbows, shifted her weight to her left leg, then cocked her head to the right.
Ignoring that, he said "Why are you here? I'm not complaining though."
Another sigh. "Cleo's gone missing." He stood and walked over to her. "There were visible signs of struggle."
"Such as?" He said, concern in his voice.
"We were camping at the Moon Pool. She was dragged across the sand into the water, and we heard her scream. She was already gone when we woke, but the water was still rippling."
He furrowed his brow. Who knew about the moon pool, moved wicked fast, and had a reason for kidnapping Cleo? "Why did you come to me? Do you have any leads?"
She said, "I was kind of hoping to use your dad's satellite, and none whatsoever."
He walked back to his desk, and she followed. "Of course. I can access it from here." He logged into the system, and allowed her to sit down and control the equipment. "If you don't mind my saying this, why didn't you use google maps or google earth?"
She looked up from his computer. "On a satellite, I know who to detect any odd water currents coming from Mako. I might be able to figure out where Cleo was taken. Can't exactly do that with google earth."
He looked at her in surprise.
"Oh, come on, just because I've never owned one doesn't mean I don't know how to use it." She said, seeing the expression.
They both turned back to the computer as it picked up on a movement of water from Mako at 1:00 that morning. Rikki's eyes widened as a green line that traced the path lead straight to the Washington Sound.
"I need to call Lewis." she said as she left the room.
Zane just stared after her. What had happened to Cleo?
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Back at the Moon Pool
Bella, Will, and Lewis were already there when Rikki sped in. Lewis saw her and said, "Your call sounded pretty urgent. Did you get anything?"
She nodded. Lewis sighed in relief. "Hold that sigh, Lewis, it's not good. I used Zane's satellite to find a water current leaving here last night, as she was dragged into the water and we searched all around the pool and reefs. A green line traced the artificial current to the Washington Sound before stopping right at land. I don't know if she's in Washington right now, or if they took her further inland."
Bella covered her mouth. Will's expression remained stoic. Lewis slumped back onto a rock with a black look on his face.
"Bella, you and I can swim to Seattle and find out if anyone saw anything." Rikki said, the only one who appeared to be in charge.
Lewis stood up. "Wait, Will and I aren't just going to wait behind!"
"I agree with Lewis." said Will.
Rikki smoothly moved her head forward, then said "Yes, you are."
"And why is that?"
"Because you can't keep up." Said Bella, as she made to get in the water with Rikki.
Both guys felt a bit stupid. "You'll call, right?" said Will.
"We'll call you as soon as we're on dry land." Said Bella, who was hugged by Will before she dove underwater.
They were off.
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Seattle
That was the longest she had ever swum in her life. It was enjoyable, but now she was extremely exhausted.
They laid side by side on the quiet, rocky beach. The waves here were rough, so it was no wonder that nobody was around. Gathering some strength, Rikki pulled herself up and dried herself and Bella.
"Bella, lets go before the tide comes in and soaks us again." Rikki said, shaking a now human Bella awake. The groggy blonde looked up at her friend with sleepy eyes. She stood up though, and after shaking their legs out, they began to walk towards the city. All they could see was the space needle. Once there, they had to purchase rain coats. I mean, this was the northwest! They found the spot on Rikki's printed out map where the green line ended and asked anyone if they had seen Cleo. Nobody had, and they started to feel hopeless until they got to the airport. One of the captains had flown a private jet to Michigan around that same time, and he said the woman on board had a sleeping Cleo with her. They thanked the pilot and went to the nearest Starbucks. On their trip around the city, they had exchanged their money for American money.
"Whatever has the most caffiene, please." was Rikki's order. Bella got a capuccino. Rikki was at the condiments table when Bella's coffee was done, adding more sugar to the espresso. When she was done, they sat down at a table and discussed what they had heard.
"Okay, so here's what we have" said Rikki in a hushed tone "She was dragged across the sand into the water, pulled across the pacific in a half an hour, then flown to Michigan. Who do we know who has the ability and motivation to kidnapp her?"
Bella thought for a moment then said "Nobody. At least, nobody I know." then she took a sip of the warm drink in her hand.
"The only person that comes to mind is Charelotte, but she hasn't got the ability, just the motivation. So, scratch that."
"Let's call Lewis." Said Bella, changing the subject. As Bella pulled out her iPhone and scrolled for Lewis's number, Rikki said,
"Of course, I'm worried as heck for Cleo, but this kind of feels like a cop show, you know? It's kind of cool." Bella just smiled as Lewis answered. The phone was set to speaker, and they propped it up against the window wall.
"Have you found her?" said Lewis.
"Gosh, Nice to hear you too. No, we made it okay, no injuries or exposures." Rikki said.
They heard him sigh. "Sorry. I'm just worried. Did you find her?"
"Nope. But we have figured out where they took her. A private jet left here about an hour after Cleo disappeared and landed in Michigan. We got an adress from the pilot." Said Bella.
"How are you going to get to Michigan?"
"Simple. We'll find rivers and go as far as they can, then walk or take public transportation where they can't." Said Bella with a nod from Rikki.
"Okay. See if you can get a hotel room or some kind of accomadation. It's nearly dark there, and you were swimming and walking for a long time."
"You got it. Bye Lewis!" said Rikki
"So, where do we stay?" asked Bella.
"There's a microtel not far from here. They're not expensive." Rikki answered. Both girls finished their coffees and headed to the motel.
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I got this idea from one of my many trips to the woods. R&R please!