Chapter 9 - Nothing Good Can Last Forever

The next day, Anna drove out to a café in town to meet Rapunzel. She had texted her friend earlier to arrange a lunch for themselves, so that Anna could tell her the good news. The town itself was not far from the resort, as it was a rather built up place, no doubt due to the increase in tourists and residents over the past few years.

Anna sat down at a table and ordered a cup of herbal tea. Coffee had never really been her thing; she just didn't enjoy the way it tasted.

As Anna sipped her healthy blend, Rapunzel soon arrived, skipping over to the table. "Sorry, if I'm late!"

Anna smiled as she saw her friend. "Oh, hey Punzie."

Rapunzel sat down across from Anna. "So, what's this news you wanted to share with me?"

Anna grinned. "Elsa and I are in love. We're officially a couple now."

Rapunzel's face beamed. "Oh my God! I knew it! You were so meant for each other!"

"I guess we were," Anna said. "In fact, last night...we had our first kiss."

"Awwww, this is too cuuute!" Rapunzel squealed in delight.

"Yeah. It was...it was magical."

"Was someone singing Kiss The Girl in the background?" Rapunzel teased.

Anna rolled her eyes. "No...although come to think of it, that would've been surprisingly appropriate."

"So... where is your Norwegian girlfriend right now?"

"Oh, probably doing some chores back at her place," Anna excused. In actuality, Elsa had gone to collect seashells on the other side of the island.

"All right," Rapunzel replied. "I'm just so happy for you, Anna!"

"Me too... I guess all that hinting you did about me and Elsa really paid off."

"No problem," Rapunzel agreed. "Man, I wish Cass was here to enjoy this."

"Where is she, anyway?" Anna wondered. "You two are practically inseparable."

"She said she was gonna go out to the cliffs on the other side of the island," Rapunzel answered. "I don't know what she was gonna do out there though; I wasn't really listening."

"You, not listening?" Anna asked, surprised.

"Well, when you're watching reruns of that Avatar cartoon on TV, you tend to not pay much attention to other stuff."

"Granted, a show as awesome as Avatar does deserve attention," Anna admitted. "I kinda used to have a crush on Katara when I was little."

"I liked Toph more," Rapunzel said. "I always thought it was super cool that she was so strong, even though she was blind."

"Toph was a favourite of mine too," Anna remarked. "By the way, you want anything to drink?"

"Yeah, sure. A nice cup of hot chocolate."

"Coming right up!" Anna acknowledged.

xXx

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of Motunui Island, Cass was scaling her way down the cliffs. This was her comfort zone, among other things. Growing up with a family that put hard pressure on her often meant she needed to do rather extreme things to de-stress herself, and such things often involved the outdoors and doing things most people would be suicidal to try, like scaling a windy, ocean cliff.

But it wasn't just the thrill of the climb that made Cass happy. It was the thought of the beach that was waiting below, which she had a feeling had never been used by anyone before.

As she leapt down a few rocks, she spied a small birds nest and took a picture with her phone. "Well, now I know where seagulls live," she remarked.

Unbeknownst to Cass, Elsa was swimming around in the ocean, gathering new seashells for her collection. She had been busy with Anna the past few days, so she was happy to get back to her scavenging duties.

She brought up her shells, which she had stored in an old fish net that she'd found, and laid them out on the beach. She started to examine them closely, to see if she had collected any similar shells before. "Hmm, don't think I've got that one yet," she mused, picking up a small white shell and laying it to one side.

Cass, meanwhile, had landed on the beach. "Phew," she said to herself. "It's nice to have solid ground under my feet again." As she took the scenery around, she then noticed Elsa on the other side of the beach behind some rocks, examining her shells. "Huh? How did she get here?" she wondered. There was no other way of getting to this beach without scaling the cliff she had just climbed down, so how on Earth had Elsa gotten there?

As she examined Elsa's figure, she caught sight of what looked like scales shimmering in the sunlight. "Wait-what the hell...?" She rubbed her eyes for a second, then looked again: scales. On a fish tail. Which was attached to Elsa.

She scurried over behind a rock. She needed to get a closer look, but she didn't want Anna's friend seeing her.

Elsa smiled as she picked up a seashell. "Oh, you're a perfect one to give to Anna," she said. "I'll be keeping you."

Hearing footsteps on the sand, Elsa looked up quickly. "Huh?" She looked around, but there was nobody there. After a few seconds, she shrugged. "I'm just jumping at shadows," she remarked. "I need to quit being such a guppy." She giggled. "Oh, Mom, you and your silly phrases." She then went back to examining her shells.

Cass looked out from her hiding place, eyes wide in disbelief. They're real, she thought. Mermaids are real.

Elsa tucked her shells into her net. "I'll show you all off to Anna," she stated before diving back under the water.

Once Elsa was gone, Cass stood up, taking out her cell phone and calling Rapunzel. "Come on, Raps," she hissed. "Pick up."

After a few rings, she heard Rapunzel's voice say, "Hey, Cass! What's up?"

"They're real, Raps," Cass said. "Mermaids exist."

"Wait, what?" Rapunzel sounded confused. "Cass, did you hit your head or something?"

"I saw one," Cass insisted. "I'm not joking. I saw a mermaid. And you're never gonna believe who it was."

"Let me guess," Rapunzel sarcastically replied. "It was Ariel, and she was with Flounder and Sebastian."

"Very funny. But seriously, Raps." Cass took a deep breath. "Elsa is a mermaid."

"You drank the seawater, didn't you?"

"I'm serious, Rapunzel!" Cass insisted. "Anna's little girlfriend is a fucking mermaid! She was just here, with a net full of shells. She said she was gonna give them to Anna."

"Assuming you're not crazy, what do we do?"

"I don't know," Cass sighed. "But we need to warn Anna. She might be in trouble."

"Why? Mermaids are harmless, right?"

"Not according to the stories I've heard," Cass said. "Apparently they entrance people to be with them, and then they kill them."

"Cass, that's ridiculous. Elsa's a shy, blonde dork. She'd never hurt Anna or us."

"It's called a trap, Raps. And Anna fell for it like a world-class sucker."

"Cass, I love you, but you're kinda talking bullcrap here," Rapunzel argued.

"When have I ever lied to you, Rapunzel?" Cass asked.

"Never, but you can't just accuse Elsa of trying to murder the woman she's clearly in love with."

"You don't know what she's capable of."

"Well, neither do you!"

"Just listen to me, dammit! Elsa is dangerous! And if we don't confront Anna about it, she could be killed!"

Rapunzel sighed. "Alright, alright, we'll go. But you promise to act like a decent human being around her. We can't just go around insulting our friends because one of them is a mythical creature."

Cass groaned. "Fine, fine. And Rapunzel, whatever you do, DON'T tell anyone else. Regardless of whether or not Elsa's a threat, I don't want her being taken apart by some government creep. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Cass hung up and put her phone down, sighing. "Please forgive us, Anna."

xXx

Over by her condo, Anna was sitting on the beach near the water, a glass of orange juice in hand as she watched the waves.

"Anna Baker, you've made one hell of a life for yourself," she told herself. "Lovely house, beautiful girlfriend, and a whole beach to yourself." She sighed. "Yep, this sure is the life."

She saw Elsa coming up out of the water, her fins turning into legs. She was carrying her scavenging net, which was full of shells. "Hi, Anna!" the mermaid called, waving to her.

"Elsa!" Anna called back, grinning at her beautiful girlfriend. "You look beautiful as ever."

"You look beautifuller," Elsa responded with a giggle as she sat by her. "I have some things to show you from my scavenging."

"I can see that," Anna said. "More shells for your collection?"

"Yep, and a special one indeed." Elsa held out a small shell that was the same colour as Anna's hair. "I found this, and it reminded me of you." She placed it in her hand. "I want you to have it."

Anna smiled. "Wow, it's so pretty! Thanks, Elsa!"

Elsa was about to lean in to kiss her girlfriend, when the two of them were suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Anna wondered.

"Were you expecting anyone?" Elsa asked.

Anna shook her head. "No one except you."

She walked over and opened the front door, seeing that Cass and Rapunzel were standing outside. "Oh, Cass, Punzie, it's you!" she greeted them. "Come on in. Elsa just got back from her afternoon swim."

Cass and Rapunzel both walked in, Cass giving Elsa a very cold glare.

Elsa looked at Cass, confused. "Why are you looking at me like that, Cass? Have I done something wrong?"

Cass didn't respond, turning her attention to Anna. "Anna, we need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Anna asked.

Cass sighed. "I was out rock climbing at the cliffs today," she explained. "And when I got down to the beach...I saw her come out of the water."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Saw who?"

"Elsa." Cass cocked her thumb at Anna's girlfriend.

Elsa's eyes widened, and she shot Anna a horrified glance. Anna swallowed. "S-so?" she said, a bit nervous. "You saw her on the beach."

Cass frowned. "I know her little secret, so don't try and cover this up. It's too late for that."

"Cover what up?"

"That your girlfriend is a mermaid."

xXx

Author's note: Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, but in hindsight, it's probably quite fitting that it ends the way it does, with Cass calling Anna out like that. How will all this end? I know, but I'm not telling you lot am I? ;) That would be spoiling.

See ya next time!