A/N: Wow! I'm back and with a new chapter at that! I'm excited to be out of school (for now) and return to this gem. I'm having fun writing it, so let me know if you like it! enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own glee or any of its' characters. ALL MISTAKES ARE MY OWN
Damp sand nestled between my toes. My cheeks and nose are chilled from the salty breeze. All around, a blanket of fog is laid across the sands. In every direction is an empty, quiet space. Standing in the shroud of fog, all that is heard is the roaring waves, unseen in the endless mist. No footprints embedded in the sand. Like a fresh snow the sands are blank with small rocks and broken shells littered around. Marking my first steps, the sands shift under my weight as I walk to the waves. Goosebumps erupt across my skin with each passing step to the water.
Pausing.
Breathing.
Realizing, I'm alone.
Alone and cut off from whatever once was and what will be. Time has become irrelevant and all that remains is the fog, sands, and sea. Ice crawls over my toes and feet as I feel the white tides breach the shore and meet me. It's uncomfortable and numbing, but I grow to welcome the soothing waves after my skin has become angry and red. Each wave moves differently from the last. Washing up and being pulled back to where it came from. Shivers wrack through my body from the different sensations around me. The ice water coating my feet, the chill wind kissing my nose and cheeks, and the lingering fog surrounding me.
I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to find comfort and escape from an unspoken loneliness lurking in the fog. I called out into the void, waiting for any sort of response, but my weak calls disappeared into the fog as if they were forgotten whispers.
I sat down feeling utterly alone and disconnected. Brining my knees to my chest and resting my head on them. My body burned from being so cold, losing feeling in my extremities. I let one tear fall, then another, and then another. I let them continue to fall until they came streaming down my face, plopping into the damp sand below me. Washing away with the tides.
"Santana? Santana? Can you hear me? Oh please wake up Santana."
I heard it. I heard a voice. I leaped off the ground chasing after it.
"Hello!? Hello!?" I holler in the direction I thought it came from.
No response. I spin around wildly trying to find a hint of a person shrouded in the thicket of fog.
"Santana, that's it! You're okay. Come back to me."
I ran again. I could hear my feet pounding against the sand as I sprinted hard, nearly out of breath. It was then I began to see rays of light breaking through. They were so small I almost couldn't see them.
"Please! Is there anyone there?!" I yell exhausted and eager to find anyone.
"Santana, there you are. I'm so glad you're okay." Said a voice as sweet as honey.
The small rays of light blossomed into blinding light, forcing me to shield my eyes. It had become so bright I no longer could see, but I saw a figure coming into view with their hand reached out towards me. I cautiously reached my hand out to meet theirs and the moment our fingers brushed against one another, the fog dissipated.
I could feel fingers running through my hair gently, taking their time running the length of each hair, almost as if they were fragile. I could also tell there was a warm palm cupping my cheek, cradling my head. I gingerly opened my eyes and my breath hitched seeing Brittany leaning over me. She looked stunning and graceful, quite simply magnificent. Her hair was flowing freely in the gentle wind, little wisps sprang out from odd places. Her eyes were a bold blue and held an intensity so strong I couldn't pull my gaze away. Her lips spread slowly into an endearing smile as she looked down at me.
"Hey there cutie, I am so glad you're okay." Brittany said running her fingers lightly over my forehead."You had me worried you know?" She asked with a small giggle.
"Wh-what happened?" I asked thoroughly confused.
"Well you passed out in the water and I brought you to shore to save you, again. Then I think you were dreaming for a while, you were mumbling while you were out cold."
"Excuse me, again?" I asked roughly, tasting salt in my mouth.
She looked down and away from me. Over her shoulder a large object was lying in the sand. It was the green and blue fish tail I had seen in the water. I felt my heartrate pick up again and I felt like I was having heart palpitations.
My eyes grew wide in remembrance and now seeing it fully attached to Brittany's lower abdomen makes me feel certainly insane. Brittany looked back to me with a worried expression, biting her bottom lip in what I presume to be my response.
"Brittany…" I start slowly. "What. Is. That?" I ask pointing to it. It swept left and right across the sand with ease. It scales shimmering brilliantly in the sun.
"It's my tail Santana." She replied quietly.
"What do you mean your tail? You had legs, where did they go!? Are you those nut cases that pretend to be mermaids or something? If so, I don't want to participate in your weird fantasies." I exclaim wildly.
"No, Santana wait let me explain please!" She pleaded and reached out towards me, causing me to retract backwards.
She looked hurt by my action, but I cannot protect her feelings when I've got to handle this kind of bombshell right now.
"Go on then explain." I snap at her.
"Please don't be feisty, calm down. It's really not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal!" I holler. "You have a tail for crying out loud! How else am I supposed to react?!"
"Not with fear." She responds calmly and firmly, staring me down.
I stand my ground with my angry facial features, but give in to her forceful stare and scoot back the smallest of smallest inches towards her to show her I am willing to listen and communicate with her maturely about this thing.
"Santana I know this is hard to believe, let alone understand, but I am what most humans think is a myth. A mermaid."
I sit quietly, waiting for her to continue her explanation.
"The day you found me on the beach, in the tide pools, I was never supposed to be there. It was an accident that I ended up on the beach."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I had a fight with my father and swam away from him. He hates when I come to the surface and I knew he wouldn't look for me on a rock above the water. I rested on a large rock and fell asleep. The next thing I knew you and Kurt were beside me."
I blushed thinking about the memory.
"Anyway, I was terrified I had lost my secret to the world, but when I saw I had human legs I was elated with joy! I could walk and run and do all the things humans do! It was like a dream come true." Brittany explained happily.
"I still don't understand. How? How is any of this even possible?" I ask shaking my head and staring at her with awe.
Brittany opened her mouth for a moment to say something, then abruptly closed it. She looked around her in search of something. Her face lit up when she found what she was looking for, lunging to the side to get it.
"This." She points to the book I had given her to read for the day. I stare even more confused.
"This does explain some things about mermaids, most of it is just snail poop, but there are some valid points."
"Britt.. I am still so lost."
Brittany sighs in defeat and plays with the sand in between her fingers. She looks up cautiously and stares hard at me thinking.
"I should be honest with you then. Start from the very beginning."
"Okay?"
"I can't promise that you'll remember this though."
"Remember what?" I asked startled.
"It happened a long time ago. I was little at the time, maybe five years old. My father was moving my family a lot during those times, visiting different parts of the seven seas. We had come to the Pacific Ocean after visiting some friends down in the Atlantic ocean. It was our first time visiting and we were all very excited. "She paused momentarily to read my facial expression, which I left blank.
"It was my mother, father, and two sisters. We were exhausted from travelling and had decided to take a break and enjoy the coastline of California."
"How did you know it was California and not Mexico or something?" I asked curiously.
"Mermaids are resourceful for information and knowledgeable in travelling the seas and exploring coastlines. Plus my father heard from word of mouth the waters in California are perfect for mermaids."
"Oh." Was all I had to say.
"So we stopped and my parents spent time resting and thinking of where to wander next. They told my sisters and I we could go venture around and play, but we had to stick together. We swam for miles giggling relentlessly and enjoying the aquatic life. It was then that we noticed that the waters had become shallower and we were swimming towards shore. My sisters became fearful and said we needed to turn back." Brittany paused again, this time though to take a deep breath.
"I was too curious what it was like above the water. I had heard stories of humans and what life was like on land from my mother. How she knew so much was beyond me, but she spoke about it as if it were magical. I was so young and loved anything out of my world. So my sisters turned back and I continued to swim, they were little cow fish and too scared."
"That's when I saw you." Brittany said looking deeply into my eyes. I felt my heart plummet to the bottom of my chest.
"What?" My voice cracking.
"You were being rolled around in the waves, helplessly trying to fight them with no avail." She spoke softly as silent tears trickled down my face.
"My father told me never ever to go to the surface under any circumstances, but I couldn't stand by and watch you die. So I intervened and pulled you from the water. I knew my father would be furious but it didn't matter to me, you just needed to be safe."
I sobs finally broke out past my lips as I listened in shock. Memories flooded the front of my mind as I recalled that horrible day. How the salt water burned my throat and being so close to shore, but so far from my parents terrified me. My dreams were flashbacks I had to relive over and over every week of my life.
"I pulled you onto the sand and saw your chest wasn't moving. I didn't know what to do, so I pressed down on your chest and saw it helped. You spewed water all over the sand and coughed for a long time, but the color to your cheeks returned and I realized you looked like me."
"My father always said humans were monsters and hideous creatures, but I was a child when I saw you and thought you looked exactly like me, if not more exotic and mysterious."
I used one hand to cover my mouth and the pathetic sobs escaping and another to curl my knees towards me.
"Santana please don't cry." Brittany said putting a hand on my shoulder. "Do you remember what I had asked you that day?"
I looked into eyes that held the same compassion and kindness in them as they did fifteen years ago.
"You asked if I w-wanted to be friends with y-you." I replied shakily through hiccups.
"Exactly. That hasn't changed. When I saw you that day on the beach with Kurt, you looked incredibly familiar and it wasn't until the next day I thought maybe it was you. The little girl I had pulled from the ocean all those years ago."
I sniffed a few times, wiping my tears away, taking a number of deep breaths over all the information that is being given to me.
"I didn't know how to pry into your past to be sure, but when you told me of your near drowning experience, it just confirmed what I thought." She said smiling widely.
"I can't believe it. I-I wasn't insane? I didn't make it up? I actually saw a mermaid- you, in the water that day?" I asked bewildered.
"Yes. It is magical how this has all worked out." She said beaming happily.
I sat utterly still trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. This creature, person-thing, just told me I wasn't making up my savior from my near death experience. I wasn't wrong about the fact something actually saved me that day from drowning. All the years of self-doubt and questioning vanished in a moment's notice. I felt a load fall of my shoulders and chest, allowing me to really feel like I was coming up for air for the first time in years.
"Brittany.. w-what happened then afterward?" I needed to know why I never saw her again.
Brittany eyes shifted from a bright blue to a sadden dark swirl. She started drawing circles in the sand to distract herself.
"When my father saw me, he yelled until his ears were red for me to return. When I did, it wasn't all that far from you, he wasn't paying attention to the fishing boats that were lurking around my mother and sisters a few miles from where we were. "
"When my father had realized how much danger the rest of my family was in, he raced back to them. But it was too late. He watched as they were pulled up and out of the water in the fishing nets they had gotten caught in." Sadness laced her voice as she continued.
"It devastated he and I to lose our family like that. Afterward, he declared that the rest of our travelling party for the kingdom would remain in a secluded area, unseen to humans and creatures alike. We've basically been in hiding ever since."
"Oh Britt, I'm so so sorry about your family." I say sympathetically, reaching forward and grabbing onto her fingers and squeezing gently.
One lone tear twinkles on the edge of her eye. I gingerly brush it away with the pad of my thumb and look at her. She can barely pull the corners of her mouth up to manage a smile for me and I pull her into my chest and hug her with all the strength I have. She returns the hug with a firm squeeze and pulls back a bit to look at me.
"Things weren't ever the same after that. My father became cold and detached. No matter what I did, I could never get the loving father I had before. It's because of that we fight so much and it has lead to this."
"Did he, um, kick you out or something?" I asked wearily, unsure if it's possible to kick someone out of the ocean.
"We had a fierce disagreement about marriage." She said looking away from me and at the ocean.
"Oh." I reply, unsure how much I am going to like this conversation.
"I told him I was free to choice who I want to love. I can't do an arranged marriage like he wants. He was able to choose his wife, why can I not choose who to love?" Brittany asked nearly agitated, fire burning in her eyes as she snapped her gaze back to me.
"I agree with you, whole heartedly." I say, raising my hands up defensively.
"That day after the fight, I swam to the rocks above the water and slept. Thinking after my nap I would apologize to him and give in to the arranged marriage, because I am done fighting."
"So why don't you go back then?" I asked and she looked hurt for a moment before I listened to what I actually said. "Not that I don't like you here, I do! But won't he be worried?"
"Most likely. He has probably sent the sea-horsemen out to look for me, but I will make him sweat some more. Plus I am determined now that I am on land."
"Determined?" I ask questioningly.
"Determined to find love. That's how my father met my mother. She was a human before she was a mermaid."
"Wait, what?! You're telling me that is possible?"
"Very rarely does it happen, but yes in very special situations and with great power. That's why I clung to my mother's story of the land, she knew the best of both worlds."
"I think my mind just blew a fuse. I can't even think anymore." I remark, rubbing the temples of my forehead.
"Can I ask you a favor Santana?"
I glance up and see Brittany quietly begging and pleading me to answer yes. Instead of a verbal response I give a nod for her to continue.
"Can you help me find love here, on land I mean? So I can prove to my father that all humans aren't atrocious beings and that love can be beautiful and magical."
I was paralyzed with nerves. I thought maybe her and I could develop something. I thought we had made a connection since I've met her, but it seems to have been much deeper than I thought. I know I don't love her, but I could if she'd let me. But how on earth do you explain to anyone that you've fallen in love with a mermaid. It sounds like a story out of Pirates of the Caribbean.
"Uh, sure." I say, uncertain if there was any enthusiasm in my tone.
"Thank you Santana! Thank you!" She exclaimed leaning in to hug me tightly against her.
It came to my attention now that she was actually topless with only 2 shells covering her chest. My face felt boiling lava hot and could melt off my face feeling her bare back with the palm of my hands. I cleared my throat to get my bearings together but had trouble focusing on anything else but that.
"Oh look just in time!" Brittany cheered excitedly, jumping up from the sand.
She was standing on her two feet again, her tail completely vanished from the sand. Her shorts reappeared out of thin air. I scanned around looking for any scales that may have fallen off or at least some evidence it was there and I wasn't again crazy.
"What happened to your tail?"
"Oh that, I'm not sure how it works exactly. I think it has something to do with my mom." She said, reaching a hand down to pull me back up.
I bounded up and stood next to her and her lanky frame. She was still topless and I needed to not stare at the ridiculously small shells covering her. I unzipped my soaked and sandy jacket handing it to her.
"Here, you may need this." I say avoiding eye contact.
"Oh thanks. This is a lot warmer than seaweed blankets." I stare blankly at her, slightly tilting my head in yet another bout of confusion.
"I'm not even going to ask." I wave my hand in front of me and start walking back to the shack.
"So the tail thing." Brittany starts, "I think I can walk on land once every single scale is dry and acquire legs, however I can only get my tail back when I return to the water I had originally came from. So as long as I stay away from the ocean here, no one will ever discover I am a mermaid! Well, unless you tell someone. You won't tell anyone, will you?" Brittany asked timidly.
"No of course not." I replied. "Like anyone would believe me." I whisper underneath my breath.
My brain fired into a messy storm of processing. My whole world of what I knew is gone. It's been replaced with a simple and beautiful person that is walking alongside me right now, talking merrily as if the fact she's supposed to be a mythical creature doesn't faze her or change our friendship it shouldn't really. Our friendship began fifteen years ago and now we've become reunited.
I suppose fate has laid a hand.
A/N: More to come lovelies! I have hopped back on the writing train and finally have a schedule that permits me to write more often. So updates will come much faster than every few months, I assure you ;)
Thank you for being so patient and supporting the story.