Chapter Six: Her

I've found my mate. My mate is not Fae. My mate is human. My mind repeats over and over again as I stare at the beauty in front of me. I take in the sight of her smooth olive skin, her damp chestnut hair, and the enchanting chocolate eyes that tied me to her.

"Are you okay?" She asks, snapping me out of my dreamy daze.

"I…I…uh…" I struggle. Say something! I internally shout at myself. You're making a fool of yourself in front of your mate! Say something now! "Hi!"

"Hi." She smiles. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I forgot my bag in the locker room. I didn't think that anyone would be here." My eyes drop to the small red gym bag on the floor. I crouch down and pick it up, handing it to the girl. "Thanks." She slings it over her shoulder.

I smile at her. "You're welcome. And no need to apologize. It was my fault; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." There! I spoke to her!

She narrows her eyes at me for a moment before they widen in realization. "I know you!"

I look at her in confusion. "You do?" How does she know me? I've never met her before. I would know if I met my mate.

"Yeah." She nods. "You're from the vlog that one girl posts."

"Laura." I provide. "You watch the vlog?"

She shakes her head. "No; but a friend of mine does. I remember seeing you in one of them."

"Oh. Well, my name is Trinity." I hold out my hand. Please take it, please take it, please take it. Sparks run through my body when her soft hand takes mine.

"Mia." She tells me. I shake her hand before reluctantly letting go. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking; but what are doing here? I've never seen you around her before and you're not really dressed for exercising."

I look down at my blue flower print sundress and strappy silver sandals before looking back up. "I uh, just got a little turned around."

She raises an eyebrow "So, you help your friend with a vlog about missing girls, but you walk around by yourself at night and get lost?"

Well, that makes me sound stupid. "What about you? You know that girls are going missing and you're here too."

"I can take care of myself."

"Well so can I." I defend.

"Okay." She says, but I can see a hint of skepticism in her eyes. "Why don't I show you the way back to the dorms." She suggests."

I smile at her again. "Thank you."

"No problem. Let's go." She guides me out of the gym and we leisurely make our way back to the dorms. "So, is this your first year?"

I nod. "Yeah. I major in computer science and technology. You?"

"I'm a freshman too; majoring in pre-med."

Freshman. Great, that means we're in the same dorms. "You want to be a doctor?"

"Mmhmm. My dad's one. He used to take me to work with him all the time when I was a kid. Pretty soon I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. What about you? How did you get into computers?"

"I grew up very…sheltered. There was only a small library in my town. I've read every book in it. I wanted to know more, to learn more. I learned how to use a computer, which gave me access to an extreme amount of information. I've loved them ever since."

"Why do you want to learn so much?" She asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't really know. Ever since I was young, I was always curious about the world around me. The history, the culture, the people…it's just how I've always been."

"What do you want to do when you graduate?"

Now that's a question. My parents expect me to go to University and return home, but to actually pursue a career or start a life? Then again, with my mate being a human; it's something that they will have to get used to. "Maybe a data analyst or a software designer." I answer. "What medical field do you want to work in?"

"I don't know yet. So far, I'm leaning towards general but that could change over time."

I hold in a sigh as we finally approach the dormitory. "I guess this is our stop." I pull open the door and let her walk in before following after her.

"I guess it is." She turns to look at me. "What dorm do you stay in?"

"308."

Her eyes widen a bit. "Really?"

"Yes." I nod.

"But uh…I heard…" She falters.

Oh. "You heard about all the transfers." I surmise.

"It's just…you seem so different from what I've heard."

"Thank you, I guess." I tell her. "People don't really seem to get along well with me. I didn't have a lot in common with my previous roommates and we just clashed. Now I stay in the dorm by myself."

She nods. "Cool. That you have a dorm to yourself I mean, not that people don't get along with you."

"Yes."

She looks at one of stairwells before looking back to me. "I guess I'll see you around sometime?"

I nod. "Sure. Thank you for walking me here."

"No problem." She adjusts the strap of her bag. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She turns away and begins walking up the stairs. Once her figure disappears I turn and begin walking up the stairs leading to my dorm hall. Once I'm in my room I drop into my desk chair and place my head in my hands. I've found my mate. Her name is Mia.

I only then realize that I never asked for her full name, or her dorm number, or her favorite color, or food. I need to find out more about her. I boot up my computer and hack into the student directory. I pull up the freshman files and see the long list of names. I met her in the gym and her hair was still wet. She must be on the swim team. I narrow my search down to first year athletes and pull up the women's swim team roster; luckily for me it includes pictures. I scroll down the list and stop at the sight of Mia's image. My brows furrow in confusion at the name though; Candace Pierce. But she told me that her name was Mia. I click on the picture, which brings up her stats.

Name: Candace Pierce

Year/Class: Freshman

Event(s): Freestyle

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

Height: 5'6 (168 cm)

Weight: 55 kg (122 lbs)

There must be more information than this. With her full and apparently real name I'll be able to find more on her. I bring up a new window and begin to type before my fingers freeze. Should I be doing this? It would be an invasion of privacy to look up everything about her. She's my mate. Should I find out everything I can now and charm her with my knowledge or let her tell me everything herself? If she even wants to talk to me again. Not only did she lie about her name, but now she knows that I'm the dorms resident 'weirdo'. Who know what people have been saying about me? I rub my eyes before closing the windows and shutting off my computer.

I stand from my seat and walk the short distance to my bed before lying down. I stare at the ceiling, thinking of the beautiful brunette that has enchanted me. I am snapped out of my thoughts by the sight of sunlight beginning to trickle through my curtains. I stand up and pull them open before taking out my watering pot and tend to the plants at the window sill. By the time I'm finished, the sun has completely risen.

After freshening up, I hastily throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt before striding from my room in determination.

I jog out of the dorms and towards the gym. I push through the doors and run the saltwater pool. Once again, I drop to my knees at the edge of the pool and stick my hands into the water.

"Conventina I call to thee; for the matter of colloquy be presented unto me."

The water bubbles and glows before the image of my grandmother appears. "Trinity." She greets. "You must be calling to inform me of your leave. I know you do not wish to, but it is dangerous to interfere in the matters of other supernaturals. You will understand in time-"

I cut her off. "I'm not leaving."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not leaving Silas University."

"I did not order you to leave as your grandmother but as your Queen. Do you understand the consequences of disobeying the order of a-"

"I know the consequences. I also know of the Joining Clause; I am not bound to or by anything that leads to potential endangerment or harm of my mate."

My grandmother's face twists in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I've found my mate Grandmother."

Her eyebrows rise in shock. "You found another Fae there? Never the less; you must still return home, your mate will be welcomed as well."

"My mate will not be welcomed." I argue.

"Nonsense." She dismisses. "If they're from the kingdom of Fire or Air, Earth is your home. They cannot refuse your mate entrance into their territory."

"My mate is not fae!" I tell her.

She looks at me, mystified. "What?"

"My mate is human." I reveal.

"That can't be."

"It is. My mate is human and I am not leaving her here. You and I both know that she will never be welcomed in any kingdom and that I will never abandon her, even if it means risking my own life."

"A human?" She shakes her head. "No one has ever mated outside their species. Outside their element yes, but this is unheard of."

"Maybe this is why I wanted to travel into the human world so much. I was meant to meet her. It was fated." I say. Coventina closes her eyes and stays silent. "I'm not leaving her and I'm not forcing her to leave either."

Coventina opens her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"Because I've only just met her last night, after our conversation."

"How did she react? Did she feel the bond as well?"

I shake my head. "No. But she's human; it seems that they react differently from the Fae. They don't recognize their soulmate at first sight. It must be a thing that happens gradually."

After a moment my grandmother sighs. "There's nothing I can do to convince you to leave is there?"

"No. But you can help me find a way to protect her from whatever is happening."

My grandmother nods. "I've never heard of what you described to me, but I will send what I can. Give me time; I will have something for you when we speak again."

"Thank you Grandmother."

"Now, tell me the name of my future granddaughter in law."

Which one? I think sardonically before speaking. "Mia."

"Is she beautiful?"

"Very." I smile for a brief moment before it dies. "What if she rejects me?"

"It was fated that you be together. Do not fret."

I nod. "Okay. Thank you Grandmother."

"Think nothing of it. I apologies for my behavior the last time we spoke. I only want you to be safe."

"I know. But I can take care of myself, you taught me how to."

"That I did." She smiles. "Goodbye Trinity."

"Goodbye Grandmother." With that, her image dissipates. I stand up and walk back into the hall. As I begin to make my way out of the building, I hear someone call my name.

"Trinity?" I turn around and see Mia or Candace standing by the locker room entrance, her gym bag slung over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"I…uh…" I shrug. "Just walking around."

"In the gym?" She asks skeptically.

"I like the water."

"But you don't swim?" She looks at my outfit.

"I don't have a bathing suit." I hold up my slightly wet hands. "But I still like the feel of it." I dry my hands on my shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I wake up early to do a few laps before class." She says.

"Oh." I struggle to find something to say. "Um, have a good day then." I turn to leave.

"Hey!" She calls, making me turn back. "If you have time, I have an extra suit in my locker…maybe we can swim together."

I actually have a class in half an hour, but if I have to choose between spending time with my mate or math 101; it's obvious what choice I'd make. For the first time in my student career, I'm skipping class. At least I'll be the only one who knows I did. I'll change my attendance log later. "Sure." I say. "I'd love to."

She smiles at me. "Cool." She opens the locker room door and holds it open.

"Thank you." I walk in and she follows after me. She leads me through the rows of lockers and stops at one. I look at the tag above it and see Candace P. "Candace?" I ask, wanting to know why she told me her name was Mia.

She grimaces. "It's my first name but I don't like it that much. The only people who call me that are my family. I go by my middle name instead; Mia."

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. She wasn't lying to me. "It's a pretty name. Both of them are."

Her eyes shine as she smiles again. "Thank you, Trinity; if that's your name?" She jokes.

I nod. "Trinity is my first name. My middle name is Ava."

"Pretty." She nods before sticking her hand out. "Let me reintroduce myself. Hi, my name is Candace Mia Pierce, just call me Mia."

I take her hand and shake it. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Trinity Ava Clairborn, just call me Trinity."

"It's nice to meet Trinity." She grins before dropping my hand and turning to her locker, twisting the combination in and opening it. After a few moments of searching around she pulls out a red one piece swimsuit. "Here." She holds it out. "We look about the same size, it should fit."

I take the bathing suit from her. "Thank you."

"No problem." She says before pulling her shirt over her head. My eyes widen at the sight of her tan stomach and purple bra. I quickly turn around, looking away from her. "What's wrong?"

I stare at the end of the hall. "I don't to intrude on your privacy."

I hear her chuckle. "Trinity its fine, we're both girls; it's okay to change in front of each other." I nod but continue to face away. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can change around the corner." She suggests.

I slowly turn around and my eyes dart between her body and the walls of the room. "No, it's fine."

She tilts her head. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm sure." I say before beginning to undress.

"Okay." Mia says before she continues undressing as well.

I change as quickly as possible since I can't seem to keep myself from stealing glances of Mia's body. Once I'm finished, I fold up my clothes and place them on the bench.

A warm tan hand bumps into mine. "Here, let me take those." Mia picks up my clothes and places them in her locker.

I look at her and see that she is wearing a matching swimsuit to the one that she gave me. "Thank you."

She closes the locker. "Let's get going." She says and we walk out of the locker room. "Were you a swimmer in high school?"

"No. I was homeschooled, but we had a lake nearby. I would swim there during the summer." And during spring, summer, and winter, considering that I needed to enter the lake to get to my house.

"Have you ever been in an Olympic pool?"

I shake my head. "No, is it different?"

"It's chlorinated." She says. "It's a little harsh on the skin at first so you'll have to shower after swimming in it, but we can use the freshwater pool if you want to?"

"Which pool do you use?"

"We use the chlorinated pool for practice and meets."

"Then that is where we will swim."

Mia nods and leads the way to the chlorinated pool. I look around the larger room, seeing the rows of stands that line the walls opposite to each other. "What pool room were you in earlier?" Mia asks.

"Saltwater."

"Why?"

"I like the smell. It reminds me of my grandmother's home."

"Where does she live?"

"Bermuda." Kinda.

"Really? It must be beautiful there."

I nod. "It is. Where are you from?"

"I was born in America. I lived in Virginia until I was thirteen before my dad was offered a job at a hospital in Germany. What about you? You have such a pretty accent."

It's the language of the Fae. The dialect of the Water sprites sound musical compared to others of our race. "I was born in Bermuda. My mother happened to be visiting while she was pregnant, but my home is here in Austria. I guess I get my accent from travelling back and forth while I was growing up."

"It's nice." She smiles and stands at the edge of the pool. "Do you just want to do your own thing or race?"

"Do you want to race?"

She looks at me with a glint in her eyes. "Do you think you can beat me?" She teases.

I dip a toe into the water and hold back a grimace at the feeling of chemicals. "Let's see." I accept the challenge. We take our place on the starting board.

"To the end and back?" Mia offers. I nod in agreement and we both bend down. "Before you reach the end of the pool, flip forwards and kick off the wall." She advises. "3…2…1…Go!" We launch ourselves into the pool.

I smoothly glide through the water, the end of the pool quickly coming closer. I flip forward and push my feet against the wall, propelling my body forward. I make my way back to where we started touch the wall before surfacing. I look back to see Mia in the middle of the pool, quickly swimming back towards the starting point.

Mia surfaces when she reaches the end of the pool and looks at me with wide eyes. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" I asks, confused.

"Are you kidding me? Do you realize how fast you went?"

I was fast? But I was holding back. "I was just swimming."

"Trinity, I'm the second best on the team and the captain barely beat me. Why don't you join the team, they'll have to let you after seeing you in the water."

I shake my head. It wouldn't be fair of me to join; I would beat everyone I go up against easily. "Swimming is just something I like to do in my free time."

"Are you sure?" She asks.

I nod. "I am. I just like being in the water. It's like being-" I stop myself but Mia fills the silence.

"Home." She says, making me look at her in surprise.

"Yes. It's like being home."

"That's exactly how I feel." She says with a soft smile on her face. "I don't know why, but something about water always seems to make me feel better, like I was-"

"At peace."

She nods. "Yeah." She stares at me for a moment before shaking her head. "Best two out of three?"

"Do you think you can beat me?" I repeat her tease from earlier.


After swimming a few more laps we return to locker room to shower, fortunately for me, there were private stalls. Once we're dressed, Mia and I make our way out of the gym.

"So, uh…do you want to do this again tomorrow?" She asks.

"I'd love to." I nod, beaming at her.

She returns the smile. "Great. I guess I'll meet you say about…6:30?"

"I'll be there."

She begins backing away. "See you then." She says before turning around and walking off to class.

I guess I better get used to skipping math. I think. I'll make sure to get whatever homework and test from the teacher's file. I know it's wrong to you my hacking abilities in such a way, but it's my mate and she's so much more important than some silly numbers.

I need to get my things for English class. I walk back to the dorms with a blissful smile on my face, counting the seconds until I could see Mia again.