(Quick break from The Wedding. Expect more updates soon. Thanks to everyone still reading this and leaving reviews! :D )
"They're still here." Lucinda whispered, her voice the only sound that carried through the cavern apart from the steady drip-drip of water falling from her hair and pooling on the stone floor. Sofia was huddled close, her wand in one hand, her amulet clutched in the other. Her heart was beating fast, her adrenaline high, and she was tense, so tense, and ready to act. But Lucinda was cautioning her, trying to get her to focus. Cedric had cast the transformation spell on himself before the kelpie had dragged him into the water. And if he'd failed, then there was always an underwater breathing spell, or a floating spell- something.
"I'm going in." Sofia said, and Lucinda shook her head, her navy hair flinging water and slapping her damp cheeks.
"No. No! They'll come for us soon enough." She hissed, touching her friend's shoulder with trembling fingers. The women regarded one another. Shining crystals, set deep in the walls of the cavern, let out a dim light that cast ominous shadows against the walls. It wrapped around the rocks and boulders, and gleamed off the surface of the hundreds of pools in the cavern floor. It didn't reveal how shallow some were, not even deep enough to wet your boot. It also didn't reveal the deep ones, and that's what the creature had crawled from, gaining the upper hand.
Sofia had seen a horse, half in the water, half out, calling to her. And in her moment of ignorance she'd reached for it, and Cedric had pushed her out of its grasp. It had bit him, snorting and stamping its front hooves, pulling its back end from the water, revealing a twisted spine and a fish-like tail, and the Sorcerer had time to utter one spell before it dropped back, drenching the girls, and they both disappeared into the darkness.
"He's going to drown." Sofia insisted, and it was her raised voice that started the chain reaction.
The cavern filled with song, and she paused, barely breathing, shifting her eyes around, watching shadows move in the pools.
'Come swim with me...'
'Come frolick and play...'
'You can meet the Queen of the Ocean this way.'
Their song filled the cave, and Lucinda shivered, only able to make out sloshes of water and heavy groans from below.
"They want us to get in the water." Sofia said, shaking her head, wishing the Amulet for once would block out the sound of their voices. "They want us to meet their Queen?"
Lucinda snorted incredulously. "The fuck we will."
Sofia nodded, before she shook her head. "No, wait. That's not a bad idea."
Lucinda stared at her before punching her shoulder, ignoring her yelp of pain, pulling her close so that the Princess could see her expression.
"No. Whatever you're thinking. No. I'm not going in the water."
Sofia pushed her away roughly. More like a shove. There was something tense between the two, more so than normal. Lucinda was afraid of the water. Terrified of what they'd stumbled upon. This is what was happening to the missing fisherman. These creatures were attacking their people. They were the reason they were even in this cave. But the witch, so used to flying free and spreading her wings, couldn't dive below to fight.
So Sofia gripped her shoulder, and nodded. "I need you to stay up here, and warn someone if I don't come back."
Lucinda was reaching for her, eyes bulging, panic and begging on her lips. But Sofia broke free and stood and ran towards the biggest pool, the one that held her Sorcerer and she whispered a wish to her amulet, and with one big breath, she dove in.
All around her was darkness and cold, and muffled movements through the water. She couldn't see the shadows, but she could feel them move, shifting the water, pushing her one way or another.
When her amulet lit up, surrounding her in soothing magic to change her form, the pool lit up as well, and air escaped her in a giant cluster of bubbles as it illuminated the numerous creatures that surrounded her and reflected against their glowing red eyes.
Her legs fused and covered in scales, her gown melted away and a band of seaweed and pearls covered her breasts, and she righted herself in the water, took a deep breath, now able to breath, and held her wand up. The muffling ceased and now she could hear them. Breathing and tossing their heads, and their tails beat against the currents, keeping them floating around her. Her spell lit up the pool with a ball of white light, and she watched the first, the one she'd watched take Cedric, circling her, nudging her side, curious and frustrated.
"You aren't a human, anymore." She hissed, "Neither is the one I took."
Sofia took a shaky breath, relieved beyond words. "Where is he?"
The kelpie came to face her, turning its horse-like head to regard her with its crimson eye.
"He is with our Queen."
Sofia brandished her wand, dragging it through the water, leaving a hissing stream of bubbles as the tip glowed with a scorching spell. The kelpie pushed back and kicked gingerly against the water.
"Take me to them. Now."
The pool ran deeper and further than she could imagine. They dove until they hit the bottom, a stretch of rock, littered with bones and pieces of debris that lacked the buoyancy to rise. She followed the kelpie, who led her through a tunnel of pitch black, that opened into a massive cavity, lit by glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling. Sofia could see that water filled the whole chamber, and there was no surface to gather a breath from.
In the light she could see more bones, and she raised her hand to push away a shred of red cloth that swam in front of her face. She swallowed everything down, her fear, her uncertainty, and the bile that crawled up from her stomach. The kelpie queen was stunning from far away. Pristine and white, her fish tail was opalescent, and shined a multitude of pale colors as it flicked lazily against the mound of skulls she rested on.
More kelpies lined the walls, and amongst them was a massive tentacled creature, inky black and dashed with purple. As she got closer her heartbeat sped up, and she couldn't help her outrage.
"You!" She screamed, and all attention turned to her. "You're the monster that attacked me as a child! You tried to take the Mermaid Comb of Merroway Cove from Oona!"
She swam forward, holding her wand high, and the creature turned to her, his features twisted in concern.
"Sofia! Wait, it's me!" Came a high pitched plea, one that she instantly recognized, and as her rage fizzled out and into confusion, she floated closer. He moved to touch her and she let out a trembling breath.
"Cedric, it's you?" She shook her head, betrayal rising and twisting in her stomach. "But you-"
"We'll talk about it later." The creature soothed, looking around them hesitantly. "I promise. But now-"
"You are both foolish." Came a rich voice, steady and beautiful, and it called so strongly to Sofia she began looking away from Cedric to the Queen. With her front legs she pushed from the bones, and her tail moved elegantly, propelling her forward towards them.
"A mermaid, and a monster. I've never had such treats."
Her body language was calm, and when she tilted her nose forward Sofia caught Cedric's tentacle as he raised it to pet her.
"Don't touch her." Sofia warned, and the queen shook her head in surprise.
"Oh, dear. You can understand me, can't you?" She purred, amused.
"I can." She drew her wand between them, the magic sparkling in the water. "You'll find us a little tough for your taste."
"What a conundrum." The queen sighed, batting her long lashes over her incandescent blue eyes, "You are greatly outnumbered. But you wield strong magic. Stronger than that little stick in your hand."
Sofia tensed, and felt Cedric's tentacles wrap around her middle, drawing her back. The water in the chamber was shifting, pushing them along as the other kelpies began drifting closer, creating a ring around them that didn't seem to have a weak point.
"I wonder.." Whispered the queen, whose mouth opened, revealing dull yellow teeth, "What your magic will taste like."
Her whole body gave a great thrash as her tail drove through the water, her beautiful features melting away in an instant to reveal dark scales over gaunt, decayed flesh and a matted mane. Sofia drew a shield spell that the creature smashed through with ease, and with a second flick of her tail, her mouth came inches from Sofia's arm-
Before snapping over the bit of a gold bridle that appeared in the water. It caused the queen to jolt back, her beautiful features reappearing with a shimmer. On her back, tugging fiercely against the reins, yanking the nose band further up the Queen's muzzle, was Lucinda. Her arms and legs were finned, like a frog, and a large clear bubble surrounded her head.
"You ugly bitch!" She roared, tugging the reins so hard that the Queen's head snapped back, her front legs kicking desperately. Cedric curled Sofia back and against him, moving them out of the way with several pushes against the water.
"Stop moving, damn it!" Lucinda screamed, and like magic, the queen stopped, going still, her body frozen as she panted in anger.
"You DARE bridle me!" She screamed, still unmoving, and Lucinda jerked the reins.
"I dare as I please! Tell your other bitches to back down!" She commanded, looking to the other kelpies who were hesitant in their actions. The queen shook her mane, and huffed. One by one the kelpies began to filter from the chamber, their beautiful bodies disappearing, revealing their skeletal figures and dead flesh before they disappeared into the dark tunnel.
"Good. Now, get us back to the caverns, pronto." Lucinda commanded, and when the queen faltered, the bridle lit and the sizzling sound of heat against flesh echoed in the room. She groaned in pain before striking out with her tail and moving through the water.
Sofia allowed Cedric to lead her through the darkness, the Sorcerer mumbling something about being able to see in the dark in this state. At the surface of the pool, Lucinda stopped their progression. Leaving the bridle on, she kept a tight grip on the reins as she motioned for Cedric and Sofia to leave the water. The two of them climbed out quickly, their aquatic forms disappearing, leaving them dripping water and shivering against the rocks.
"I command you to stay away from our ocean. Leave our waters." Lucinda spoke, her voice unfaltering and loud. It carried to the queen and her gathering of creatures, and the water shook from the sound. "If I see you here again, I'll ride you through the fields until your limbs snap off, and serve your tail to my coven."
With that she made a swipe of her wand through the water, and a leather band appeared around her wrist, glowing with the same magic as the bridle surrounding the queen's head.
The lesser kelpies swam away, making noises of disappointment and rebellion, but listening regardless to their queen's dismissal before she turned back to Lucinda.
"You've played well today, witch." She tossed her mane and turned, drifting away into the darkness. "But your magic will wither and die someday, just like you. And we... we are of the ocean. We'll be back..."
"Bring it." Lucinda growled, before two sets of arms dipped into the pool and yanked her up.
The trio made a fast escape from the caves and into the night, each one hitting the sand of the shore in earnest, none of them stopping until they were far away from the beach and the cliffs and up on the grassy bank. Lucinda flung herself down first, curling her hands into her hair, her hat pulled over her face as she hyperventilated into it. Cedric slumped in his soaked robes, speechless, and Sofia stood strong, looking out over the water, watching the ocean rush against the shore in silence.
"Oh, maker." Lucinda finally croaked, rolling onto her back, her hat still over her face and her arms still finned. "I quit. I quit."
Sofia shrugged, eyes still skating over the black water. "Think they'll come back?"
"Oh yeah." Lucinda groaned, holding up her hand to show Sofia the band. "When I die."
Sofia smirked, despite the panic still clawing at her heart. "So what? Five, six more years?"
"Sofia!" Growled Cedric, but Lucinda drowned him out with her cackle.
"Sofia, with you as a friend, give me three."
Sofia nudged Lucinda's foot with her toe, forcing the witch to push her hat away so that she could see.
"You saved us." She said, and Lucinda shrugged.
"Don't mention it, babe. You'd have done the same crazy crap for me."
Cedric groaned and stood, gathering giant handfuls of his robe to begin wringing water from them, shaking from the cold and from lingering fear.
"Get a room, you two." He snarked. "You two are nothing but trouble! Always roping me into your dangerous undertakings." He threw up his hands and cried dramatically, "We all could have died today!"
Sofia caught up to him in two strides as Lucinda rolled to her feet.
"Don't think you can get away so easily-"
"I've already apologize for my past transgressions, woman."
"You never told me YOU were the monster!"
"You never asked!"
"What a sneaky thing to do! Omitting the truth is still lying, Cedric!"
The witch hung back, pulling on her hat with oomph as she watched the two of them go at it across the grass.
"Should have went with the kelpies..." She grumbled sarcastically, before magicking her pointy-toed boots back on and marching after them. She didn't look back at the ocean or stop, even when the band around her wrist tingled with the knowledge that its matching bridle swam further and further away.