Authors Note: Hello my two followers! I'm so sorry about not posting yesterday, I have no idea what happened. Please forgive this chapter. Fight scenes are hard.
The chill water closed over her head.
Fear jolted through her, and she jerked reflexively backward toward the shelf she had just fallen off of. She stood quickly. The rock was deserted, and the surface was unnaturally still, ripples from her standing the only marks upon it. She could see nothing beneath its surface.
She paused, then dropped back under the water, forcing her eyes open. With the salt she had smelled, she expected it to burn, but her eyes felt no pain. The lake was impossibly clear, though dimly lit. She could see the stones beneath her feet. She could see the drop off just in front of her. She could see the walls of the lake as it went down, down, down, and just barely the bottom, far, far, away. She could see the spire of dark rock rising from the center of the lake. She could not see the maiden.
Whirling around, she glimpsed the maiden less than ten feet away, teeth bared, moving toward her with impossible speed. The maiden's teeth were longer and sharper than hers. And far more numerous.
Snow jerked sideways, pushing away the hand that grabbed at her. The maiden spun in the water face contorted into a snarl. Snow decided she was not so beautiful after all. The maiden rushed her again, Snow dropped low and the maiden passed above her. The long tail whipped past her and caught Snow across her shoulder blades, knocking her even flatter onto the lake bed. She struggled to her feet just in time to see a mouth full of teeth inches from her face. Once again, she dove aside, but just a little too slowly, and the maiden managed to sink her teeth into Snow's left shoulder.
Reflexively Snow attempted to push her off, hands braced against the bottom of the maiden's neck. Her blood clouded the water and made it difficult to focus or see, but as she pushed she felt something give way beneath her hands and fresh blood, deeper and saltier than her own, spilled into the water.
Distracted by pain and ruled by instinct, Snow snapped forward and sank her teeth into the maiden's neck, guided by the wound she had made. The maiden jerked beside her, teeth still imbedded in her shoulder, before she began trying to push Snow away. It made no difference, and the maiden gradually stopped struggling.