A voice was what woke Lovise up; the girl's voice, to be precise. She immediately sat up, looking around at her location: she appeared to be in an underwater grotto, sitting on slightly damp sand.
"Oh good, you're finally awake," she said, propping herself on her arms to look up at Lovise. "I'm Mathia." But Lovise didn't care about her name: only about the tail, or current lack thereof.
"Mermaids don't exist." She said, standing up and looking for an exit. "Where are we? Why am I here? Where's your tail? Why aren't you wearing anything?" Lovise used her hands to cover the naked lady.
"You fainted and fell off the boat, so I had to carry you down here until you woke up." Mathia stood up and brushed the sand off her. "We're in an underwater cave, accessible by a tunnel system that way." She pointed behind her to a dark tunnel. "I don't have a tail when not in water, and why would I be wearing anything without my tail if I'm not when I have it?" Mathia scoffed, as if this was an obvious question. "Plus I prefer going au naturel." She walked over to the clearly uncomfortable Lovise and, using her fingertips, rubbed her temples.
"What are you doing to me?" Lovise asked, attempting to back away.
"Relax, I'm just trying to see if you're okay." After a few moments, Mathia stepped back. "You hurt your head a little, likely hitting it against a rock; you should survive."
"That's great, but can I go now? I have friends coming back soon and they'll freak if I'm not home." Lovise made her way to the tunnel.
"Wait!" Mathia exclaimed, grabbing Lovise's arm. "It's too dangerous to go at night, there are bandits lurking around every corner. You need to stay here with me until sunrise."
"No way! I can handle a couple of thieves, I need to get home!" Lovise attempted to break Mathia's hold, but to no avail.
"You can't! Please, I need you to believe me!" Lovise stared at Mathia, her eyes the only reason she sighed and walked away from the tunnel.
"All right; I'll stay. But don't expect me to stay any longer than needed." Mathia smiled and released Lovise's arm.
"I need to sleep in water, so I'll be right here the whole time; just call my name if you need me." She turned and walked to the shore; Lukas watched her, her hands still covering the nude lady. Mathia elegantly dived into the dark water, her red tail the only visible part of her as she swam away. Lovise moved away from the shore, waiting until Mathia swam far away enough to not see her. Once she was sure she was alone, Lovise walked as quietly as she could to the dark tunnel system. She stepped on a small shell, the sound of it cracking echoing and causing her to stop. Her heart seemed to beat faster as she silently listened for the sound of Mathia splashing through the water: thankfully, she heard nothing. Her feet made a silent noise on the fine sand, hardly being heard by herself. Lovise pressed her back against the wall of the cave, hiding in the shadows. It took a few minutes, but she could see the pale moon, shining into the tunnel through a wide entrance. The tunnel exited out in a small pool of water in the sea. She made a run for it, her feet just barely outside when two identical men with loincloths on stepped out of the shadows and blocked the exit.
"Looks like we've managed to get our hands on a human. Empty your pockets." Said one of the men.
"Listen, I don't want trouble; I just want to get home." Lovise said, stealthily reaching into her back pocket to take out her knife. "If you let me go, I won't come back here again." The men both laughed.
"You assume we'd let you off scot-free: grab her arms." The taller one said, latching his arm around Lovise's bicep. The other grabbed her other arm as they dragged her back into the tunnel, further and further away from the exit.
"Let me go! Mathia! Help me!" Her small voice hardly echoed once before a hand clamped over her mouth. Lovise had lost all hope and let her body go limp in the mens' arms. Her eyes began to droop, watching the small beam of light. Her mind didn't register what she was seeing: a tall figure lurking in the shadows, with what appeared to be a spear in their hand, following the three. It wasn't until the figure stepped into the light that she realized that Mathia was the mysterious figure, holding not one, but two spears. Lovise's eyes remained locked on her, watching her grab a handful of pebbles and throw one of them against the wall in front of the men.
"Hold her here." The tall one said, dropping Lovise's arm. The other held tight onto her other arm, his eyes fixated on the tall man. Mathia stepped out of the shadows once again, dropped one of her spears, and expertly threw it into the short one's head. She kicked the other spear over to Lovise, who turned around and aimed into the tall man's shoulder.
"Follow me!" Mathia yelled, yanking the spear out of the short man's head. She held it in her hand as she followed a trail of pebbles leading to the exit. Lovise ran as fast as she could, diving into the pool of water at the exit after Mathia. She followed the mermaid behind a large boulder, where they sat to catch their breath.
"I told you to trust me." Mathia said, fiddling with the end of her now-appeared tail.
"Is now really the time?" Lovise stood up, twisting her hair out. "I need to dry off before heading back to the house…fuck me!" She yelled in exasperation, pulling off her shoes, socks, and pants. She draped them over the boulder, using her boots to keep them secure.
"You can take the rest of your stuff off and wrap this around you." Mathia, still sitting, lifted up a long and wide piece of seaweed. Lovise sighed, but nonetheless nodded.
"Thank you, Mathia. I'm sorry for not listening to you, I was wrong and you were right." Mathia smiled smugly as she spoke.
"I know I was right. Just make sure to listen to me next time and stay in the cavern." She handed the piece to Lovise, who had already stripped down completely. Lovise wrapped the piece around her bottom.
"Next time? Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but there won't be a next time; after this whole fiasco, I don't intend on seeing another merperson again." Lovise lifted herself onto the rock and sat down, letting her blonde hair blow in the wind. Mathia pulled herself up next to her and leaned back on her hands.
"Could I make it up to you sometime? I make a killer tuna roll, minus the rice and other non-aquatic ingredients." Mathia laughed and nudged Lovise's rib, emitting a small giggle from her.
"Maybe some other time; mind walking me back to the house?" Lovise gathered her clothes in her arms, leaving the seaweed on. "We need to be quiet though, and stay in the shadows since my roommates are likely looking for me." Mathia's eyes lit up, using her arms to pull her body on to the shore.
"We'll need to sit here for a few minutes while my tail goes away." Lovise sat down next to Mathia, staring at the full moon.
"So, what's mermaid life like? We've been through a helluva night together, we deserve to know a little about each other." Lovise lifted a handful of shells in her hand and sorted them next to her.
"Well, I don't really know anything about my family; I was abandoned in a reef when I was a few hours old, my eyes not even open yet. I grew up an independent mermaid, a loner as well. Anyway, I learned about humans for the first time when a family moved into the house you're staying in. They had a girl who was close to my age, and she wasn't scared when she met me…I loved her a lot. I wanted her to stay with me, so one night she snuck out of her house and I brought her underwater with me. If I had worked faster, if I had kissed her fast enough, she'd still be here." Mathia wiped her eyes with her arm. "When her parents realized she was missing, they spent months looking for her. I didn't want them to discover us on accident, so I took her body to the shore and wrapped a piece of seaweed around her neck. It looked like she had killed herself, and her parents left and never came back." More tears spilled from Mathia's eyes, shining in the moonlight. Lovise wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her gently so her head rested on her shoulder. "Anyway, I think we should head back to your house now." Mathia stood up and held Lovise's hand tightly as they walked along the shore. As they reached the driveway, Mathia's hand dropped.
"Stay safe, okay?" Lovise said, rubbing her neck. She hesitated for a moment, before placing a small peck on Mathia's forehead. "I'll meet you at the rock tomorrow so we can talk more." She said, stepping in through the front door.
