"So… This is it?"
Francesca frowned at the pool of water ahead. From all those days reading books about the Fountain of the Weeping Queen, this wasn't what she was expecting. Then again, no one has dared entered the cave which it lies at, and those who did never returned. There were hundreds of pictures in books, while some people imagined it was dark as night, some imagined it was shining with golden light, and no one expected it to look so… normal.
"Well, we didn't see any other cave on the way here, did we?" Aqua whirled around to glare at her, a hand placed on her hip. "This is our best option. Our only option. Now do you want to just sit there and wait for some other pool of water to appear, or do you want to go?"
"There's another way, remember?" Her younger sister muttered. She didn't want her sister to hear, but she was right. There was another way. If you considered digging underground for the rest of your life, then there was another way.
"Well, then you go ahead. I'm jumping in." Aqua looked down. She had to admit, it was pretty scary. No one knew where it exactly leads to, or if It even works. Plus it was water. As far as Aqua remembers, she was constantly at the beach, controlling water. But this one... it didn't move. It just sat there, no matter how much she tries to make it move, or at least ripple. Aqua looked back to see her sister staring at her. "What?"
"Well, you've just been standing there… and uh… never mind. Are you still going to do it?"
"Of course I'm still going to do it." She thought for a moment, and cursed. "Damn this dress. I can't even move in it!" She reached into her satchel and grabbed a knife. Without thinking, she ripped the bottom until it was above her knees. "There. Better."
Aqua bit her lip. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and dove gracefully under the water. Then… she felt something tugging on her dress, on her legs. Making her go under. Into the deep, dark unknown. The princess let out a cry for help, and as soon as she opened her mouth, all air escaped her lungs. This had never happened before, and for once in her life, she felt the terror of drowning. Aqua kicked, and squirmed in the water trying to be rid of the strange current pulling her under, trying to do it before her heart runs out of oxygen and stops.
This couldn't be happening. She was princess Aqua. She controlled tsunamis, she ordered ocean waves, and she couldn't die. Not now. Not like this. She gave one last kick, using what's left of her energy, and the tugging stopped. Aqua raised a hand to the shimmering light above the water, hoping to reach the surface fast enough. But she couldn't kick. Her energy was gone. The princess gently closed her eyes. This was it. Aqua sank in the water, dreadfully knowing in her heart that after all, this was how she would die. She sank, with her eyes closed, seeing nothing but pure black. Then she felt like she was floating… not sinking anymore.
The princess felt calm, and a warm breeze rushed past her ear. She opened her eyes slowly, flinching as bright white light filled the entire room. She lay still. Was this what it felt like after you die? Aqua let her hand down, and her senses tingled. She sat upright suddenly, and lifted her hand up. It was wet.
Water?
Aqua squinted and her eyes became used to the harsh light. She was near a pool of water, identical to the one she dove into. She leaned towards it. It looked normal. She didn't see the bottom. There all there was was darkness after a couple of feet down. Then she saw it. A blue dot is in the middle. Too small that you would miss it if you hadn't looked carefully. There was light from it too. It wasn't a reflection. There was another side to the pool. There was no bottom.
She had survived.