An unplanned update, but an update nontheless.
Summary: Old feelings burn bright and the countdown to Moonrise begins.
The water splashed up against the ledge as Nixie slipped under the surface, disrupting the water. The younger Mermaid disappeared off through the sea entrance in a flash of orange. The water was still settling when more footsteps came down through the tunnel to the cavern.
"Did Nixie come this way?" Veridia stopped in the doorway.
"She did, she just left and she didn't look too happy," Rita said. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Veridia shook her head slightly. "She's just worried. It's been a difficult week and Nixie's been so great. Everything's just getting to her."
"She told me what happened," Rita said, "when you left."
"Oh." Veridia didn't look away, but her eyes definitely shifted to the side, not quite meeting Rita's gaze. "She doesn't hold back does she?"
"It's a good quality."
"In small doses," Veridia added. She left her position at the doorway and sat down by the edge of the pool, her turquoise dress flowing like water around her.
"Isn't everything?"
"I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything," Veridia apologised, "but I needed to see Kelpie."
Someone told her once that any apology that began with 'I'm sorry, but' wasn't a real apology. Veridia meant it though. She left to get help.
"Even if you had I wouldn't have remembered. I barely remember anything from this week. It's all blurry."
That's not to say it didn't hurt, but that was from knowing that Veridia had been here and gone. What good would a goodbye have been, when she couldn't remember anything.
"How's your memory been since the fever?"
"Alright. I think." It's not like she would know if she'd forgotten anything, but when she thought back over the past day - it was clear tapes playing in her mind, not the fog from the past however many days it was now.
"It shouldn't be a problem, but you should keep an eye on that in case you have any issues."
"Okay."
'You.' Veridia had said. 'You should keep an eye on it.' Which meant she wasn't planning on staying. It shouldn't have come as a surprise but Veridia's confirmation cut like a knife. Rita did her best to swallow the lump that had grown in her throat while the soft waves kept the silence at bay.
"Well it's a few hours until it's dark," Veridia broke the still, "do you want to try Kelpie's salve now? That way if there's any ill effects there's time to overcome them before we have to leave."
Ill effects? From a healing potion?
"What kind of ill effects?" Rita voiced her thoughts, "it's a healing potion."
"New recipes aren't always accurate," Veridia words came out faster than seemed normal. "Better to be overcautious."
"I guess." She wasn't convinced though.
Veridia lifted a small silver container, that Rita's never noticed, from the ledge in the pool and cast the water off it with her power. She should have noticed that. The water droplets created small ripples across the surface of the pool.
"I'll give you a hand getting out the water," Veridia offered.
"You'll end up with a tail too," Rita pointed out.
"It takes two seconds to dry off," Veridia held out her hand.
Rita reached out her uninjured arm and took Veridia's outstretched hand.
The end result was exactly what she expected. The both of them on the ground with tails, her lying on her stomach, Veridia right beside her on her back, propped up on her elbows. The laughter though - that was unexpected. It felt so good to laugh. To let her walls down and just be, just for a second, without worrying about anything.
"I still think we need to be with Lyla tonight," Sirena said. Nixie sighed and turned around, walking a couple paces back to Sirena, back along the jetty that held the Ocean Cafe.
"You promised David you'd sing," Nixie reminded her, "You want to let him down?"
There was some party on at the cafe and Sirena had agreed to sing, until Nixie informed her the party was on the night of the Full Moon. The first Full Moon since Zac almost got the Trident. And now the Full Moon that could finally end this awful week.
Sirena had tried to back out, but the Mermaid was too soft and ended up promising David she'd be there no matter what. Then Lyla went and wrecked it by declaring her plan to watch Zac and immediately coming down onto Nixie for not going along with it.
"No," Sirena admitted, " but I feel bad leaving Lyla on her own."
"It was her choice. We'll go to the party and once it's done we'll find out how Rita is. Lyla can handle Zac. She doesn't want us with them anyway."
"I still feel bad."
Nixie hooked her arm around Sirena's.
"Even if we just go for the start of the party, how about that?" Nixie suggested. "Sing until moonrise and then say you're sick and we can go check on Lyla?"
"Okay," Sirena grinned.
Veridia helped Rita to her feet, stepping away once she had gotten her balance. On instinct Rita put a hand to her neck to touch the seahorse pendant she always wore and found her neck bare.
"Do you know where my necklace is?" Rita asked.
"Which one?"
"The seahorse," Rita said, dropping her hand from her neck. "The one you gave me."
Mermaids were gifted pendants once they reached a certain skill level in Apothecary, a different pendant for each level. She had been given the seahorse pendant, one of the highest levels. Veridia had been the one to give it to her, because of that she'd never been able to bring herself to take it off the way she had her Moon Ring.
"I haven't seen it." Veridia paused "You still have it?"
"Of course," Rita said, meeting Veridia's eyes. "I wear it everyday."
"One of the Mermaids might know," Veridia said quietly, looking away.
"I'll ask them when I see them."
Veridia nodded. "Are you alright to walk through?"
"I don't think so," Rita admitted. She was managing to stand alright but she didn't trust that would last more than a few steps.
Veridia slipped her arm around Rita's waist. She probably didn't need Veridia's support quite as much as she let on, but it was nice having Veridia's arm around her. Rita kept that thought until she tried to take a step on her own once they made it to the grotto and her knees buckled under her.
"Sit."
Rita sat at the table as Veridia busied herself opening the silver jar. More often than not this table ended up serving as her desk for work besides potion-making, despite having her office upstairs. It was easier to focus down here, amongst the natural stone and the soft waves lapping in the pool that you could only hear during the silence.
"Kelpie said this should help fade at least some of the scar."
Rita nodded. Some is better than none.
"Can I see how bad it is now?" Veridia asked cautiously.
Rita's stomach turned but she nodded anyway. "Okay," she said quietly.
Rita pulled her t-shirt up over her head and held the material against her chest. The cool air of the grotto tingled against her skin.
Lines of harsh red and white, like branches, spread out from the centre of her chest in all directions, fading out up at the base of her neck and curling harshly down her stomach and over her side stopping above her hip.
"Does it still hurt?"
"A bit. Mostly when I move."
Veridia lightly touched the scar over her collarbone. Rita hissed sharply. That hurt.
"Sorry," Veridia withdrew her hand, "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's okay," Rita placed her hand on top of Veridia's. She needed to focus on anything other than the situation she was in, sitting shirtless, clutching her top to her chest with butterflies fluttering away in her stomach.
"Here," Veridia held out the silver dish, "I'll let you put it on."
"I can't see, especially not my collarbone."
Veridia laughed and placed her fingertip under Rita's chin.
"Chin up."
The fluttering moved down in her stomach and the cool touches on her collarbone and the base of her neck from Veridia applying the potion did not help. The pain disappeared as the cream touched her skin.
"Does that hurt?"
Rita shook her head, "not anymore."
Veridia lightly placed her hand on Rita's cheek. Rita rested her hand on top of Veridia's.
"I'm sorry," Rita said softly.
"For what?"
"For how I left you. I can't change it but I'm sorry."
Veridia slipped her hand off Rita's cheek and took her free hand into hers.
"Don't. Not now. That wasn't your fault."
"It was my choices that led to it."
Veridia's hand was back on her cheek and her forehead pressed against hers.
Through closed eyes, Rita tilted her chin up and felt Veridia's lips ghosting against her own. There was nothing more she wanted than to break that last bit of distance
A loud clatter sounded behind them and the moment was gone. Veridia stepped away and let her hand drop.
"I'll leave you to do the rest. I'll go see what that was."
There was a soft breeze as Veridia brushed past her and then she was alone once more.
"Is Veridia here?" Nixie tentatively looked around the pool cavern, but it appeared only Rita was in the water. She'd kept herself cloaked all the way through the house just in case, checking each room on her way down to the grotto.
"No, she left a little while ago."
Seriously? Again?
"Where to?" Nixie asked. If she said 'the Pod' … Why come all the way back here, just to leave again?
"Mako. She's been going back and forth all day."
"Doing what?" Nixie scrunched up her face.
"Not sure," Rita shrugged slightly, "she did say but I was half asleep."
"Hmm." Nixie leaned against the stone wall. She didn't really care but it would be rude to say that.
"She'll be back soon, not too long until Moonrise now. She said she'll be back before then."
Once the Moon rose that would be it. Everything would begin to come to a head. Come morning everything will have changed. For everyone's sake Nixie hoped it was the best. Rita would be better, Zac would no longer be a problem and the Trident would still be safe on Mako.
"How are you feeling about it?" Nixie asked.
"I want this over with."
She'd never agreed with the older Mermaid more.
"Me too."
Zac finished taping over the last window when Cam threw open the door dramatically and terribly singing 'spooky scary skeletons.' He stopped when he saw Lyla sitting on the couch, holding out the roll of cellotape.
"Where's your costume man?" Cam threw out his arms, "we're going to be late! I told Carly we'd be there for half past. Lyla, glad to see you've made an effort to dress up. Looking real scary, I dig it."
"I'm not going anymore Cam," Zac turned to face Cam. "Lyla's going to help me control the Moon Spell."
"Right." Cam nodded slowly, pursing his lips.
"It's what's best," Lyla said.
"I'm sure Evie will see it that way when you let her down again. Have fun," Cam stalked out and left the door open behind him. Lyla darted across and pulled it shut.
"Zac?"
"It's fine."
"You're making the right choice Zac."
Veridia surfaced in the grotto pool in front of Rita.
"Are you ready to go?" Veridia asked.
"Yeah."
Rita slipped forward off the ledge and under the water, surfacing again without wasting anytime. That last time she went under had brought back the memories of that place, something she didn't want to repeat.
Her tail felt stiff and almost useless as she treaded water at the surface. She hadn't swum and hardly even moved in days. And now she was going to swim to Mako. How Veridia thought this was going to go well was beyond her. She was as likely to drown on the way over as actually make it there.
"Come on," Veridia ducked under the water and dove down, her tail just breaking the surface and no more. Rita took a breath and followed her, diving under the water and stretching out her tail properly for the first time, swimming out into the sea tunnel.
This was originally part of a much longer 4,000 word chapter but I decided to split it (again) just so a) I could actually get something posted, and b) it makes it easier to focus on writing when it's smaller pieces. Plus work is draining me right now so I don't have as much time to write as I want to.
Chapter 17 is a completed first draft so hopefully it won't be too long until it's done, I've got a few days I'm only doing breakfast shifts, leaving me free the rest of the day to actually do writing stuff.
Also I keep forgetting to mention - if anyone notices any grammatical errors, feel free let me know :)
Until next time!