Sink or Swim: Naida's Story

The day I began to believe in karma was the day we learned my little sister Nerine had become a nymph, a nature spirit.

Most people at my home in Thessaloniki hadn't believed in nymphs, until they were proven to exist about a year ago. There were still many elders who believed in the nereids, beautiful trickster nymphs of the sea, but for the most part, science had taken hold. I mean, it is the big city in modern day Europe, after all. In my opinion, it was a good thing.

Then, of course, it was revealed that there were actually nymphs hidden away in the ancient queendom of Tir Nan Og. And the elders now walked around with a special sort of air, as if they were wordlessly reminding all of us that we were wrong, and they were right. I could get over that. But when Nerine turned out to be an ice nereid herself, that was too much to handle.

I had never been the best elder sister. Of course, it was one flaw to many perfections. I was- I am- beautiful, with a tall, slim figure, curly dark hair, and chocolate brown eyes. I was talented in school. Plus, I was athletic, proficient at every water sport that could be dreamed up. Nerine, in comparison, was just the compassionate one. And then she was the one with magical talents.

"Naida, are you hot? I can cool you down," she said as we hopped off the bus and began to walk the rest of the way to the nearest beach. I was planning to meet Hallie, Eileen, and Casta there, but my parents had insisted that I watch over Nerine. Like she couldn't watch over herself, now! With a thought, she could summon water and change it to ice, even in the summer heat.

"I'm fine," I said. "We'll be at the beach soon." And then you can play with the water and get out of my hair.

I fingered the sheer brown cover-up I was wearing over my brand new monokini. I looked great. As always, I mean... but I knew today I was particularly beautiful, and fully expected my friends to notice.

After a brief walk, I saw Casta and waved. She waved back and called me over. "Naida!"

I looked at Nerine. "Anyone you wanna hang out with?" So maybe you can get out of my hair?

"Actually, Damien and I were having this really interesting conversation I want to continue," she said with a blush.

I looked towards my group once again. Sure enough... Damien, Hallie's older brother and the hottest thing to strike Thessaloniki since the smart car, was hanging out on a beach towel and laughing at one of Casta's famous party stories. "I'm sure he's really busy, Nerine," I said.

"Oh! But he told me we would definitely pick up our debate the next time we met."

"Well, you can try," I said, letting a proper amount of doubt creep into my voice. "Just... well, you're still in middle school. Damien and I are in high school- I mean, we don't even have to go to school anymore! We're educated. You're planning on stopping your education as soon as you hit fifteen!"

"So I can go to the Institute of Magic in America," Nerine said defensively. "Just because I'm not going to high school doesn't mean I'm being stupid."

I shrugged. "Whatever. I'm just saying that Damien is highly intelligent, and your debate attempts with him are futile."

We walked the rest of the way to the group in silence, but as soon as we put down our towels, we were swept into conversation. "Oh my god!" Casta exclaimed. "Naida, your suit! It's extraordinary! Is it... Orchid Label?"

"Paradizia. Beautiful, no?"

"More than. It's so marvelous!"

Hallie scooted over next to me and took a handful of my dark, curly hair to braid. I sighed, content. "What were you all talking about before I arrived?"

"I was telling Damien about that one time at the bouzoukia, with the crazy tourist. Remember that? And how..."

"Save it," Damien interrupted. "I think I have the gist of the story... and anyway, the fair and magical Nerine and I have much to talk about."

I tried not to pout. Nerine didn't say "I told you so," or even shoot me a victorious glance. She was too kind for that. In a way, that made the fact that my crush was choosing to willingly interact with my little sister even worse.

"So," Damien said. "How are your powers developing, my ice nymph?"

"Just fine! I looked into that school in America you told me about. My grandfather and father say that they'll make sure I can attend as soon as I'm finished with my compulsory education here."

"Wonderful! And did that trick with the lemonade work?"

"Oh, did it! Lemonade flavored ice! It's a perfect treat for summer."

"I agree. I love making it, of course, it is not so easy for me without magic powers, little nereid!"

I tried not to throw up a little in my mouth at the blatant flirting. Standing, I announced, "I'm going to go swim a bit. Anyone care to join me?" The entire group shook their heads, and I couldn't stop myself from pouting that time. Some friends they were!

Some of the feeling of betrayal lifted when I got into the water. Swimming, surfing, water-skiing... I always felt more at home in the water, or even at the beach in general. Water sports were how I stayed so beautiful, as they both tanned me and kept me fit. Right now I wasn't in the mood for a vigorous workout though. Flipping onto my back and closing my eyes so they weren't irritated by the bright sun, I began to float lazily, contemplating all the things that had gone wrong in my previously perfect life.

Is Damien crushing on Nerine? Because she is five years younger than him. And I know she doesn't care, and that he is a good person who would not take advantage of her... but still... And her magic! Why did she end up as Nerine Athena Geragos, an ice nymph, and I am still the human Naida Callidora Geragos? Is this because I already had too much, and God decided to take pity on my sister and grant her powers? Well, God, it doesn't make me any less jealous! All the people who should pay attention to me are now paying attention to her! Even Casta and Eileen and Hallie! They used to worship me! And...

That thought didn't get to be completed. Something grabbed my leg, and I shook it off, irritated. Silly boys. Why can't parents control their brats?

Then, when it grabbed again and began to pull me under, I screamed.

My mouth, having opened too late, was flooded with sea water. I began to kick, punch, do anything I could to get out of the grip of what had grabbed me. Though I knew it would burn, I opened my eyes to see a man with long, platinum blonde hair and a terrible look of anger. I did the only thing I could do, and swam away from him as fast as I could. I was halfway to shore before I popped up for air.

As I did, I noticed that the previously cloudless, sunny day had turned dark and stormy. I looked at my parea, only to see Casta, Eileen, and Hallie huddling behind Nerine and Damien, who looked scared, but ready to face the storm. Which was crazy. Face a storm, as if it could be defeated? Everyone sane was running towards cars, and scooters, and the bus stop. Or, even better, the nearby buildings!

Then, I saw another group of people who were not running. Instead, they were helping people towards buildings, shouting words of encouragement- two of them in Greek, one in English, and one, motioning frantically with her hands... sign language?

I hadn't realized I had stopped swimming until the creepy man grabbed at my leg again. Luckily, I kicked him off easily, and managed to swim the rest of the way to shore, thankful that I had kept in good enough shape to be able to swim as fast as I could. As I exited the water, I felt the sting of cold wind all over my body. I began to run up to my friends. "What is going on?" I screamed.

"I don't know!" Damien said. "A freak storm, it seems... but I think there's more to it than that."

"Definitely," Nerine said. "I feel it. This storm is magical!"

"Oh, worried about our little storm, are you?" Someone behind me said... in English. That hadn't been the end of their sentence... there was another word that I wasn't quite sure how to translate. Damien was looking as confused as I felt- well, we were about the same level of English. Nerine, who only spoke Greek, looked confused.

I turned. Standing there, soaking wet, was the man who had grabbed me, plus three others. "Run!" I told Nerine. "These guys are bad news. You have to get out of here!"

Damien seemed to assume that my advice was only intended for my sister. Lightly pushing me out of the way, he charged the men with our beach cooler, ready to knock their heads in. He was only an inch away when one of them, with a purple mohawk and an eyebrow piercing, raised a hand and lazily thrust it to our left- and Damien flew that way, his head hitting a beach umbrella about ten yards away. His body slumped limply in the sand. "Damien!" Nerine and I yelled in unison.

My little sister was raging. She had always been the kind one- I had never seen her so angry. With a wordless scream, I saw her suddenly disappear into a flash of light. One of the strange men charged at it, but the light knocked him flat on his butt, as if it were a shield. I smiled. "Go, Nerine!" I yelled.

"Oh, such love for her sister," said the one with blue hair.

The redhead grinned. "I bet the love is returned." And with another word that I didn't understand, I felt myself flying towards these men... sorcerers, it seemed. Evil sorcerers. Two of them, the blue-haired one and the creepy blonde, restrained me, holding me so tightly that I could barely breathe, let alone move. I could still watch the light that Nerine had created fade... I could still watch my friends (well, the conscious ones, anyway) run for cover.

Nerine burst from the light. "I am Nerine Geragos, and I am a nereid," she said. "I have magical powers. So you should run and never come back to Thessaloniki!"

I looked at her. She was brave, standing up to four men twice her size, and probably twice her age. Her face showed her courageous expression, and her swimsuit had faded and turned into a floaty light-blue top and skirt set that reminded me of the clothes an ancient nereid may have worn. Her feet were bare, and lavender ribbons were woven into her thick, dark hair. But the thing that I noticed the most were the soft, silken wings that looked like aqua-colored fins. My baby sister... she was majestic. Not more than me, though.

Well, okay, if I'm being honest, yes. She was more beautiful than I.

Like a dancer, she gracefully moved her hands, summoning water from the sea and turning the water she drew from its source into ice, which she then hurled at the men. One of them, the redhead, waved the ice off, sending the shards flying every which way. But the other man was hit, and the ice stuck into him... in a manner that looked very painful. He yelped as he noticed blood around the wound.

The redhead hurled what seemed to be a ball of pure energy at Nerine, but again she called the water from the ocean, and froze it, this time making a shield in front of her. The energy bounced off, and hit the guy who had been hit by the ice the first time. "Oh, come on!" he yelled.

"Shush, Gunner!" said the redhead, and this time he picked up an abandoned chocolate wrapper and ignited it with magic. Then, he hurled it towards Nerine's shield. It melted quicker than I would have expected, and before she could react, she was hit by an energy ball. She crumpled.

The redhead smirked. "She put up quite a fight for someone so untrained. Black Circle! Let us form!"

The two men holding me released me and walked over to the man who must have been their leader. Even the injured Gunner joined in. They touched their fingertips together and began chanting in a low voice, I couldn't hear. Purple energy whipped around them, growing into a strange tornado that picked up my little sister and began to pull her in.

Oh, no you don't!

The beach was suddenly bright, covered in a pale green light... that was coming from me! My monokini turned into a flowy minidress that was seafoam green. My feet, like my sister's, were bare... and a crown of white pearls decorated my mane of dark curly hair (the braid that Hallie had woven had come loose). A pain, both sharp and wonderful, came from my back, and I knew that my wings matched those of my sister, but in a deep green, like seaweed.

When the light faded, I saw five people staring at me. The four sorcerers, in awe and anger. My sister, looking proud.

I glared at the sorcerers. "You want to pull something into your evil circle? How about this?" And, summoning the sea, I bombarded them with gusts of salty water that poured onto them, stinging their eyes. "Water, wash them away!" I said, and the sea even obeyed that, using its power to thrust them into the deep ocean. My sister, who had created a bubble of ice around herself, was thankfully untouched.

With the sorcerers gone, the sky lightened. I raced over to Damien, who was still limp. "Call someone!" I yelled to Nerine.

"He'll be fine," said another new voice, and I automatically raised some of the ocean. "Whoa, wait!" she said. Yes, this time, it was a she... I turned to see a dark skinned girl speaking perfect Greek. "I'm a nymph, just like you. Actually, we call them fairies. But that is where I am from... you call them whatever you want. I'm sorry we couldn't help, but the smaller fairy looked like she was handling it, and we had to get everyone off the beach. We've never dealt with a public attack before."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Safeyah Hafeij. I'm from the Institute of Magic in the United States. And... well, we came to protect your sister. But it looks like you two have it covered. You're lucky to have each other."

I thought for a moment. "Yeah," I said with a grin. "We really are."

Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter with the two new teams! How'd you like? Character credit goes to Akela Victoire.

Next up is Alexa, Authoress-in-training's character!