The Windflower Chronicles is being written as part of Elenaomi Week! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology. While some can be considered in the same continuity, they're not strictly connected or even sequential.
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Day 2 – Mermaid AU - "Catch Of A Lifetime"
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The stillness of the open sea usually calmed Naomi Turner's heart, but on a day like today, only sadness accompanied the young sailor's journey. It had been three years since the death of her father left her alone in the world, her only source of income being what she could pull from the water... and the sea had not been kind.
She sat against the side of her boat, glancing at the net that dangled into the water. Most days, she only managed to pull up a few useful things. Some fish, lots of trash, never anything valuable, never anything that would stave off bankruptcy... and this boat was the last thing she had left.
"If only I could sail without having to worry about paying the bills," Naomi sighed. She loved the ocean, she wanted more than anything to sail the waves just as her mother, the legendary Captain Scarlett Turner, had done. She didn't even like to fish, she just wanted to sail... but she didn't even own the boat she was sailing in. Her mother had owned the boat... and thousands of doubloons in debt, debt that Naomi could never hope to pay. She'd been able to hold off the creditors for the past few years, but since her father's death, she'd had to take up the burden of paying off those debts... and had failed to do so. "If I don't catch something valuable today, that's it... I lose my boat... I lose everything."
Naomi stood up and walked over to the net. She hoisted it up out of the water... there were three small fish flopping around inside, but nothing else. She sighed.
"That's enough for supper, I guess," said Naomi, pulling the fish out of the net and dropping them onto the deck. She watched them flop around for a few moments, gasping for air, and drew her knife from her belt... but didn't have the heart to stab it into them. Most days, she would have, but those fish flopping around reminded her of herself, and instead of gutting them for her meal, she picked them up and dropped them back into the ocean. "Looks like it's your lucky day... I just wish it was mine."
Naomi dropped the net back beneath the water. She looked up and watched as the sun began to set. This was probably the last chance she had... if she didn't catch something big, this would be the last time she'd get to watch the sunset as captain of her own ship. Her stomach was growling, but she cast her hunger pains aside and sat back down, waiting for the inevitable disappointment of another day without a big catch.
"Guess I'll just enjoy the sunset," Naomi said to herself, bowing her head. She wiped away a tear that came to her eye, thinking that not only was she about to lose her mother's beloved ship, but she'd failed her as well. Mom, I'm sorry. I'll never be as good a captain as you were... I lost everything you left me. I don't deserve to be a captain.
Naomi could then see out of the corner of her eye that her net was shaking, and rather vigorously at that. She'd seen this a couple times before, and both of those times it was because she'd snagged it on a big piece of driftwood... the second time she'd done that, the net had gotten torn and she'd had to replace it. However, the net was still wriggling as Naomi walked over, even after the ship had been sailing for several seconds. Something was inside it... something alive... something big!
"What if it's a shark?" said Naomi, walking over cautiously. "Shark fins and skins bring in big bucks, not to mention the teeth... it'll keep the creditors away a few weeks at least!"
Naomi began to pull up the net, careful to hold it far enough away that she wouldn't get bitten. However, instead of a shark fin, she saw a ruby red tail flopping wildly back and forth. It was shimmering like a jewel... maybe the most beautiful thing Naomi had ever seen. As she continued to lift it up, however, the ruby red color of the tail slowly faded to reveal brown skin and ornate jewelry... then, what looked like a silken swimsuit top... and then... a human-looking face.
"Let me go!" shouted the creature inside the net, continuing to wriggle wildly. Naomi gasped, dropping the net and its wriggling occupant onto the deck.
It... can't be! thought Naomi, placing her hand to her mouth. The creature was a young woman... the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, with long black hair done up in a ponytail. Above her waist, she appeared human, but below was that ruby red tail in place of legs. A... a Sirena!
Naomi knew that Sirenas were real, but she never imagined she'd find a real live one, especially not after the conflict between the creatures and humans that had ended seven years ago. The last she'd heard of Sirenas, they'd been banished to the most distant seas, but here one was in the flesh... and an absolutely beautiful Sirena at that.
"You need to get this net off me right now!" shouted the Sirena, her tail starting to push its way out of the net. "Release me at once, or you'll be sorry!"
For a few moments, Naomi was stunned, not knowing what to do next. Then, she sprung into action. She grabbed her trusty lasso and secured it around the end of the net, then tightened it, pulling it closed around the Sirena's tail.
"Hey!" the Sirena shouted as the net was pulled tightly around her. Her tail continued to flop, but as the lasso squeezed around it, she grimaced in pain and her struggles grew much more futile. "That hurts, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm capturing you," said Naomi, who then tossed the other end of the lasso around a wooden overhang dangling above the deck of the ship. With a strong tug of the rope, the captive Sirena was hoisted up into the air, dangling upside down from her tail, trapped securely inside Naomi's net. "I thought you were a shark at first, but a Sirena? Do you have any idea how much the king will pay for a live Sirena?"
"Yes, in fact, I do," she replied, glaring at Naomi as she continued to wriggle back and forth. "And you can't do this to me! I'm not just any Sirena, I'm Elena, the Queen of the Sirenas!"
Naomi's eyes grew wide with surprise, and she took a moment to mull this fact over... then her smirk grew even wider.
"The Queen of the Sirenas? So in other words, you're the best Sirena of all, right?"
"No one Sirena is better than any other Sirena, but I am the ruler, so that makes me very important, yes," Elena told her. "You have to let me go, my people need me!"
"And I need you more," said Naomi excitedly. "Once I turn you in, the king will pay me whatever I want... I'll never have to catch fish again! I can just sail the seventeen seas, living my dream and doing whatever I want for the rest of my life!"
"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" asked Elena, whose struggles had slowed somewhat as she realized that she wouldn't be able to break out of the net, and instead decided to try and reason with her captor. "I'm not some fish, I'm a Sirena... I'm a person! You can't just capture a person for money!"
"Sirenas aren't people, they're dangerous monsters who take the appearance of people to lure them into traps," said Naomi, her voice lined with a hint of bitterness as she spoke. Elena gasped, both offended and genuinely hurt by Naomi's words, but Naomi continued, undeterred by the Sirena queen's reaction. "I know all about your 'people'. They sunk countless ships and doomed thousands of innocent humans to the depths of the sea!"
"...yes, we did do that," said Elena, looking away slightly. "But humans attacked Sirenas as well, they slaughtered us by the thousands... we were only defending ourselves!"
"Liar!" Naomi shouted back, her voice rising with her anger. "You enjoyed it, I've heard the stories of groups of Sirenas taunting humans as they drowned, laughing at them as they lured them to their graves! And you're the queen, so that makes you responsible for every single human life your people have taken."
"I wasn't the queen back then," replied Elena. "I only became the queen a few years ago, after the conflict, after my parents were..."
Elena sighed, looking back at Naomi, who was still furiously staring at her.
"Please, think about what you're doing," Elena pleaded, still trying to reason with the young sailor. "This isn't worth it, even for all the money in the world."
"Says the queen of the Sirenas, who probably has all the money and treasures and jewels she could ever want. I have nothing."
Elena continued to sway in the light wind as the ship sailed in the direction of the Avaloran coast, where Naomi would be able to bring her to shore, delivering her to the king and a life of having her Sirena powers drained, most likely painfully. She tried struggling again, but the net was tight and strong, strong enough to keep a great white shark or even an orca trapped, and Elena, for all her powers, was only a Sirena, not much stronger than a human, especially out of the sea. Naomi tried not to look at her, not just because she didn't want to talk to a Sirena, but because this particular Sirena was beautiful... easily the most beautiful woman Naomi had ever laid eyes on. She'd never thought about romance very much, her mother's death when Naomi was just 12 had re-directed her focus to more important things, like keeping the family legacy alive. She'd noticed both boys and girls, and once had even flirted with a beautiful noble girl who'd come visiting the port, but the girl had sternly rebuked Naomi, telling her that she 'stank like the ocean', and that rejection had pretty much turned Naomi off entirely from romance, to the point where she tried not to even look at anyone who she thought she might like. She enjoyed the solitude of the sea, and she hoped that once she turned Elena over to the sea, she'd never have to deal with another human being or Sirena again.
"What's your name?" asked Elena suddenly.
"Huh?" Naomi replied, not even turning her head.
"I just want to know what your name is, that's all."
"What do you care? It's not like we're even going to get to know each other," Naomi said bitterly. I'm onto you. You're trying to get close to me, trying to make me feel sorry for you. It's not going to work.
"...before I'm locked away, I just wanted to know the name of the last person I might ever get to talk to, that's all," said Elena, more sad than angry, and sounding genuinely interested in who Naomi was.
"...it's Naomi. Naomi Turner."
Naomi didn't know why she'd felt compelled to give her name to Elena. She dismissed it as the effects of some Sirena mind softening spell, though Elena didn't possess such powers, and even if she did, she'd never have used them to influence the mind of a human. Elena seemed to recognize that name for a moment, and her mind began to flood with emotions. Naomi looked back and could see the conflict in Elena's face.
"Does that name mean anything to you?" asked Naomi, looking back at Elena with a hint of curiosity.
"It's... nice to meet you, Naomi," replied Elena, managing a slight smile.
"Even if I'm the one who's going to turn you over to the King of Avalor and trap you forever?"
Elena sighed. She knew she didn't have much chance of convincing Naomi to let her go, but she still wanted to know just why Naomi was doing this, even if it wouldn't change anything.
"Naomi, before when you said you had nothing, what did you mean?"
"I meant exactly what I said. All I have is this boat that my mom left me after she died. I started sailing, trying to become a great sea captain like her. My dad worked on the shore, I learned to sail... tried to catch fish, transport goods, tried to make money to pay off mom's debts. We were able to tread water for a while..." Naomi's voice trailed off, as if she didn't want to speak about what happened next. Elena asked her anyway.
"What happened?"
Naomi sighed, but continued her story. Even if she was talking to a Sirena, someone she didn't even care about, it was nice to get to tell this story to somebody, and Elena seemed as receptive to it as anyone.
"Then a plague hit. A bad one. Dad died... he was the one bringing in most of the money, so after losing him, I lost... almost everything else. I had to sell everything just to keep making payments on this boat, but the debt was so big that I couldn't keep up... now, I owe a ton of money tomorrow or they'll take the boat too and I'll be left with absolutely nothing. I'll have to go back to Avalor, go back to the harbor... work down at the docks hauling cargo, and failing that..."
Naomi shuddered, imagining her only other alternative for making money in Avalor, and it wouldn't be pleasant. She held her arms tightly to her chest, and looked down sadly. She wanted to cry, but wouldn't dare do it in front of Elena. She didn't want to get attached to the Sirena, and she definitely didn't want the Sirena getting attached to her.
"I'm sorry," said Elena, who would have reached out to touch Naomi's shoulder had her arms not been trapped inside the net. She could see the genuine sadness on Naomi's face, and despite her slight rugged appearance, Elena could see the beauty in her features as well. Her eyes, despite everything she'd been through, shone with the light of courage and optimism, even in the face of oppressive poverty. She was a proud young woman who didn't want to give up her life of freedom and independence on the sea for one of menial labor. Elena felt genuinely terrible for Naomi, despite all of her cruel words and despite the fact that she didn't seem to mind turning her over to the king. She wanted to comfort her, but she didn't know how. "I... I lost my parents too, you know."
"Serves them right for starting the war," said Naomi, turning and glaring fiercely at Elena.
"How dare you!" Elena replied, horrified that Naomi would imply that her parents deserved their deaths.
"How dare I?" Naomi shouted, standing up and walking toward the net. "My mother was murdered by Sirenas! They surrounded and sank her boat, killing her and her entire crew! And I was supposed to be on that boat with her, but I backed out at the last minute so I could help my dad with his work, or I would have been killed too!"
Naomi had tried to hold her tears back before, but now they were rushing to her eyes, and she couldn't stop crying as she continued to jab her finger at Elena, poking her several times as Elena squirmed inside the net.
"Your people started the war, don't lie and say they didn't! Sirenas wanted the ocean for themselves, so they attacked every boat that came through to try and scare us off! You lost because there are more of us with more powerful weapons and you were forced to the darkest oceans, which is exactly where you belong! All you do is hurt people, just like my mom and just like me! I lost EVERYTHING because of you! And now, you're going to lose everything too! I don't care what the king does to you, because as far as I'm concerned, you deserve everything you get!"
Naomi was shaking with rage and grief by the time she finished her rant. Her eyes were gushing tears, and her hand was barely able to move without trembling. Elena watched as Naomi spoke, and though she wanted to react with anger to her captor's hateful words, she found herself wanting only to comfort her... wanting to forgive her, having learned the value of forgiveness after she herself had harbored hatred for humans because of what they had done to her parents. She couldn't respond to Naomi's speech... there wasn't anything she could say.
I know it isn't right for Naomi to feel this way about the Sirenas... it was humans who started the war, wanting our powers and wanting to clear us out of our own territory. We had come to them in peace, and they attacked us... in fact, my parents were killed by one of the humans and her crew...
But Elena's heart went out to Naomi... she was as concerned for Naomi as she was for herself. Whatever hateful feelings Naomi had for the Sirenas stemmed from events that took place long before she could even do anything about them. Alone on the sea, alone with her thoughts, Naomi had been consumed by her grief, with no one to comfort her or teach her differently... and Elena didn't know what she could do for her other than try and listen.
And as Naomi sobbed, she looked back at Elena and saw the concern and sadness etched on her face. She sniffled, and wanted to yell at her some more, or at least shout 'what are you looking at?', but whenever she tried to speak, she got choked up again.
What am I doing? thought Naomi, looking down at her shaking hands. What happened to mom wasn't Elena's fault, was it? Mom died seven years ago, Elena's... barely older than me, right? Do Sirenas even age the same as human beings?
Naomi thought about what she'd said, then she remembered her dad... her dad, who never blamed the Sirenas for Scarlett's death.
Dad said not to be bitter. Dad said not to hate the Sirenas, that it was way more complicated than what everyone had told me. I almost believed him... then he died. Then I was alone.
Naomi looked at Elena again.
"Naomi..." said Elena softly.
I'm still alone.
Naomi could see out in the distance the looming landmass of Avalor, and the shore of Avalor City.
We're almost there.
"Naomi, I'm so sorry about your parents. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. I'd give anything to bring them back. It hurt so much to lose my parents and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else."
Naomi looked back out toward the city, its lights gleaming in the setting sun. She felt the wind in her hair and the ocean spray on her face, and she knew what she had to do.
"I know it wasn't your fault that mom died," said Naomi, wiping the tears from her face. "But if I don't turn you in, I'll never be able to sail on the ocean again."
Naomi swallowed, choking back a sob. She remembered what she'd just said to Elena, and she could hear her dad scolding her. She could hear her own inner voice scolding her.
Before the war, mom was a noble, honorable captain. She would've agreed with dad about the Sirenas. Then came the war, and she lost so many friends... she was hurting every day, just like I was. And... it doesn't justify what she did... or how I feel.
Elena could see the shoreline approaching as well, and she trembled in fear, feeling her freedom slipping away. She was afraid... she'd been so caught up in her concern for Naomi that she'd forgotten how scared she was of the idea of becoming a prisoner of the humans, of being locked up in some tank for the rest of her life, all alone. She'd lose her people, she'd lose her home... and she too shed a tear, a tear that Naomi could see falling from Elena's eye as she turned to face her.
"I'm sorry about what I said before," said Naomi. "And I'm sorry for doing this. I really am."
"I... I really wish you wouldn't," Elena replied, allowing her fear and sadness to show.
"I don't have a choice."
"Of course you do."
"If I don't turn you in, I'll lose the last thing I have from my mom! This ship... my freedom!"
"What about my freedom?!"
Elena was right... Naomi knew it, and clutched her hand to her chest again. She tried to fight the thoughts away, tried to imagine the riches she'd have once this was over... a life of sailing the seventeen seas, just like her mother, a chance to live up to her mother's legacy.
She could still hear her voice, and see her face... Scarlett Turner, holding young Naomi in her arms, telling her stories of the sea, of all the wonderful sights and places and people.
I'm doing this for you, mom... so I can carry on your legacy. I know imprisoning the queen of the Sirenas isn't the most noble thing to do, but you did your fair share of morally dubious things in the war...
Naomi remembered her mother's stories from the war, the ones later in her mother's life. She tried to hide the grim details from her daughter, but one night, she overheard Scarlett retelling a particularly sad tale of how she'd been ordered to fire upon a Sirena gathering, one of great importance... it was thought to be a war council, but had actually been a sacred ceremony... one headed by the king and queen.
My mother... killed Elena's parents.
Naomi's heart dropped to her stomach, and she clutched her chest even tighter. She looked at Elena.
"Did you know?" she asked, almost in a whisper.
"Know what?" Elena replied.
Naomi didn't want to say it, or even think it... didn't want to cause Elena even more grief than she was already feeling. Losing her freedom was bad enough... losing the chance to avenge her parents might be more pain than she could bear.
And as Naomi hesitated, Elena knew what Naomi had just come to realize.
"I did," said Elena, causing Naomi to let out a quiet gasp.
"You knew? You knew that my mom killed your parents?"
"I knew from the moment you said your name..." said Elena.
"You knew, and you didn't say anything? You knew, and you're not furious with me?"
"I used to be, a long time ago. But then I realized that I had to forgive her... not for her sake, or your sake, but for mine. Once I forgave her, I was able to move on. Once I forgave her... forgave humans, I could heal. I just wish I could heal you."
"...why?" asked Naomi, wiping another tear from her face.
"Because you're still hurting," replied Elena. "And I don't think that money that the king's going to give you for me will help... but I hope it does, because then at least I'll know that losing my freedom meant something."
Naomi could hear Elena getting almost as choked up as she was, and was stunned into silence, unable to do anything but stand there looking at her and wondering how she could ever be so forgiving that she wasn't even upset anymore about the death of her own parents, at least not upset enough to be angry anymore. Naomi still felt the bitterness of her mother's death, but Elena was calm, kind, and brave in the face of what was about to happen to her. She felt more tears come down her cheeks, and didn't bother to wipe them away. She looked back out toward the shore, as Avalor City continued to get closer and closer. Then, she turned back to Elena.
"I... I..."
Naomi took out her knife and reached up, cutting the rope that held the net that kept Elena dangling from the pole. The net fell, and Elena fell with it, and Naomi began to cut the net as well, until Elena was entirely free. Elena lay there on the deck of the boat, stunned with Naomi's sudden change of heart, while Naomi stood before her, knife still in hand, not knowing whether to be proud of herself or aghast at having given up her final chance to keep sailing.
"...go," said Naomi, turning away and dropping her knife. "Swim away, swim back home as fast as you can, before I change my mind..."
Naomi sighed. She wouldn't change her mind, even if she could. She knew she had no right to trap Elena... she never should have strung her up in the first place. She was going to lose her ship, her freedom, her chance to build on her mother's legacy... but she had done the right thing, even if no one but Elena would ever know.
And when Naomi heard a loud splash behind her, she knew she'd never see Elena again.
Guess that's it then, thought Naomi to herself.
"Naomi!" shouted Elena's voice from beside the boat. Naomi turned and saw Elena floating there, looking up at her.
"What are you doing?" Naomi shouted, pointing at Avalor City. "We're really close to land, there are probably tons of sailors out here who aren't nearly as nice as I am! You need to go! I have to go too, maybe I can steal some drunk guy's change and have enough to keep the boat a few more days!"
"Naomi, what are you going to do?" asked Elena, not deterred by the young woman's warnings.
"I already told you!"
"No, I mean what are you going to do, is there anything else for you here?" Elena asked, still looking up at her.
"...you know the answer is no!"
"...then why not come with me?"
"What?"
"Turn the ship around and sail out with me and I'll show you!"
Naomi sighed. She'd already thought of taking the ship and running as fast as she could, but the people who owned her debt used pirates to collect, and they tended to collect with interest. When, not if, but when they found her, they wouldn't just take back the ship, they'd take Naomi too. She was brave enough to try running, but she wasn't stupid enough.
"If I don't come up with the money by tomorrow, and I don't bring back the ship-"
"Just sail out with me, you can go back to Avalor as soon as I show you!"
Naomi shrugged... this had all the makings of a Sirena trap, the ones they'd used so often to lure human ships to their doom... but she also didn't have anything to lose, so she decided to turn her ship around and follow Elena. She sailed out with her for several hours, under the stars and the moon, enjoying the night air and also enjoying the view as she watched Elena gracefully skim across the water's surface.
She really is beautiful... thought Naomi, before quickly dismissing any such thoughts. What am I thinking? She's the Queen of the Sirenas and I'm just a failed sailor... and besides, I tried to capture her and I said all those horrible things... she'd never go for me... and I'm a human, too. Humans and Sirenas can't... can't be together.
Finally, Elena stopped, and Naomi took the sails back down and slowed her ship.
"Wait here, I think what I need is right below..."
Then, Elena dipped under the water and disappeared. Naomi ran to the side of the ship and looked for her, but saw nothing. Once again, her mind drifted to the thought that this might be a trap and that dozens of Sirenas were about to come out and sink the boat, but she scolded herself for imagining such things, and made herself a promise that she'd try her best to keep.
From now on, no more bad thoughts about Sirenas. I was wrong to hate them before, and that stops right now. Elena forgave me after everything, and I didn't deserve it. I can never repay her for that... and I have nothing to give.
Naomi waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever... and in the meantime, she took one last look at her ship... her beautiful ship, her mother's legacy... which was about to become property of the scoundrels who'd trapped her mother beneath tons of crushing debt.
If I should hate anyone, it's the bastards who shackled my mother to all that debt. She never would have taken those Sirena hunting missions otherwise. She was wrong to take them regardless, but I can still hate them for twisting her into what she became before she died.
Just as Naomi started to ruminate on the sadness of losing her ship, and just as a tear formed in her eye, Elena came back up from the water. She was holding what looked to be a large clump of some plant-like substance, which almost looked like a blanket in her hands.
"What is that?" asked Naomi. She wondered if the plant might be something she could sell to get the money to pay for her ship, and began to feel guilty... even if she desperately wanted and needed the money, she felt awful taking it from someone she'd been so cruel to. "If it's a gift, I don't deserve it."
"It is a gift, and I don't care whether or not you deserve it, I want to give it to you... that's what friends do."
"Friends?" said Naomi, her voice trembling slightly. I haven't had a real friend since dad died...
"If you want to be," replied Elena with a smile.
"I... I do," said Naomi, her voice breaking slightly. Another tear slid down her face. "Is that to pay for the ship?"
"No," replied Elena, "though I could give you some pearls that would bring in enough to pay for it if that's what you want."
"...what is it?"
"This... this is Maligras. It can turn a human into a Sirena... it would allow you to live underwater and come live in my kingdom."
Naomi was taken aback by Elena's offer. Become... a Sirena? She wasn't sure... how could anyone be sure?
"It would change you permanently and completely... you wouldn't be able to return to your old life as a human. You wouldn't be able to go back to Avalor, or even sail again. It would be a big change... you'd be giving up a lot."
I'd be giving up on mom's dream... thought Naomi. I could take the pearls instead, pay off the boat and live free... but I'd still be alone.
No one had ever been as kind or as generous to Naomi as Elena had been, at least not since her parents had died. No one had ever shown her such forgiveness or compassion. She'd had friends before, but none as caring as Elena, and the connection she felt to her was so strong for someone she'd only just met that day.
"But you would always have a home at my palace, and you'd have plenty of room to swim and explore. You could have adventures untold beneath the sea, and I could introduce you to so many people. Naomi, the truth is... even though you captured me and tried to take me back to give to your king, I could see a spark of bravery and kindness in you. It was hidden under all of that sadness and bitterness, but when you had to make a decision, you made the right one, and I felt your true spirit shining through. I want to get to know you better... I know we've only known each other for a day, but I have a feeling that we can be friends for the rest of our lives. I've never felt this kind of connection with anyone before... but it's entirely up to you."
Naomi could clearly hear the affection in Elena's voice, and though Elena had only mentioned the word 'friend', she could tell that there might just be the potential for something more, if Elena felt the same way about Naomi that Naomi was rapidly starting to feel about her. She felt her heart beating so fast, but whether that was nervousness about abandoning her old life as a human, or whether that was her connection to Elena growing by the second, she couldn't tell... but knew what she desperately wanted it to be.
"Elena, I'm not sure..."
"I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this, asking you to abandon your life as a human and come live with me..."
Elena too wasn't entirely sure about any of this... this human who'd tried to capture her, now making her a Sirena and bringing her back to live in the royal palace? This human whose mother had killed her parents? Was she just making a fool of herself, falling in love with the first human she'd seen? She wasn't sure either, but she was taking a leap of faith... and hoping with everything she had that Naomi would make the leap with her.
"Elena... I... I'll do it."
"Then come into the water with me," said Elena, reaching out her hand.
Naomi looked up into the sky, the starry sky above, looking at the stars and the moon just as she and her parents had done when she was little.
Mom... dad... this isn't the dream you had for me, and before today, it isn't the dream I had for myself... but I've been so lonely without you, and now here's someone I feel a real connection to. She forgave me... she trusts me, and I'm going to trust her.
And maybe, someday, I'll even love her.
Naomi leapt into the water, and swam over and took Elena's hand.
"Close your eyes, and float on your back," said Elena. Naomi did so, and Elena gently wrapped the Maligras around her. It began to glow, and Naomi could feel her body transforming.
It feels like a dream... but I don't want to wake up.
When Naomi opened her eyes again, she was being pulled gently under the water by Elena. Instinctively, she took a breath... and the water felt like air. She looked down, and could see a tail where her legs used to be. Even her clothing had transformed, into a top made of a soft, scaly material, a bit less revealing than Elena's, though tight enough to feel like a second skin. She looked into Elena's eyes, and Elena took her hands and smiled at her.
"Is this real?" asked Naomi, her voice as clear as day even a hundred feet below the surface of the water.
"As real as I am," Elena replied, clasping Naomi's hands even more tightly. "How do you feel?"
Naomi began to flap her new tail, which swished softly back and forth. It felt awkward, but also natural, and she blushed a bit as she looked back into Elena's eyes.
"I feel... a bit strange, to be honest," said Naomi. She looked up and could see her boat rapidly disappearing as she and Elena drifted below the surface. She wondered if the debt collectors would ever find it... but strangely enough, she didn't care. They couldn't find her, and that was all that mattered. She didn't have any more debts... any more obligations, any more worries... all she had now was Elena, and her new life as a Sirena in the royal palace... an upgrade from nothing. "I feel... lighter."
"Yeah, that'll probably pass once you get used to having the tail," said Elena. "Plus, the water's heavier the farther down we go, so-"
"No, I mean... I feel like a weight's been lifted off me, you know? I don't have to worry about anything anymore."
"Well, there are sea monsters to worry about, and at least one rival kingdom... and now that you're a Sirena, some humans probably will want to hunt you, so-"
"Don't ruin this," said Naomi, gently placing her hand to Elena's lips. "...besides, sea monsters are way less scary than debt collectors."
Elena smiled, then planted a gentle kiss on Naomi's fingertips. Naomi blushed and looked surprised... and then Elena leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
So she does feel the same way... thought Naomi. She didn't return the kiss, and it didn't last very long, but when Elena parted, she felt lighter than ever... and she knew that no matter what happened to her now, everything was going to be all right.
And as the two swam together, back to Elena's palace, every regret that Naomi felt about giving up her humanity drifted away, like bubbles lifting in the ocean depths.