Chapter 3
Why is Mum doing this? She's betraying Dad's legacy. I already have a little brother anyway. Why would I-... I couldn't said that back there… Did I really mention Mordowrgi? ...That's going to complicate things…
'You did WHAT?!' Faro said into my mind, making me wince.
'If Elvira suddenly said that your parents split up, left you guys, and had a half-sibling and expected YOU to be friendly to it, would you?' I threw back at him. I felt bad… Faro was just trying to help get me out of here.
As we approached the current to Saldowr's cave, we joined hands. It had been a bad enough day already. If this turned into a rouge current, we'd be screwed.
'I'm sorry Faro… I must be a burden on you.' I whispered into his mind once we were in the current. My hair clouded around my shoulders, framing my face. Conor was right about me looking like one of the Mer. It's really fun to be here, I guess that's why I feel so guilty about slipping up about Ingo to Mum and Roger.
Slowly, I curled up against Faro's strong bare chest and he carried me along the current, making sure not to let me go. The world seemed to blur out as everything eventually turned into a pitch-black darkness. This time however, I wasn't in the deep. I glanced at my watch before I drifted off into a deep sleep. 7:00 pm on Wednesday night.
I must've been out for a while, because when I woke, I was in one of Saldowr's caves with a sleeping Faro next to me. It always felt strange, in a good way, to wake up in Ingo. It's similar to a feeling of deep relaxation. A calm and soothing ocean protects and cradles you from harm… This was part of the reason I love Ingo so much. It's a glorious and wide-open being-like environment where everything feels like home. Except the Deep.
Faro starts stirring and puts his arm on my lap, and in return, I curl up next to his side. It's really nice to not have to worry about things like school, my GSCE's or anything. I was here, in the present, in Ingo.
Soon enough, Faro and I were up and swimming around. Time had sped up a lot over night, and it was now Monday of the next week. Faro and I swam out to the Lost Islands because he wanted to show me something.
As were searching through the rubble of the abandoned village, we heard a 'whirr' approaching. Strange.
I guess we lost track of time because before I knew it, the strange noise was above us. Being who we are, Faro and I went out of the houses to investigate.
What we weren't expecting was the bottom of Roger's boat. I tightly gripped Faro's hand as we swam up next to it.
'KERPLOOSSHH!'
Before I knew what was happening, Roger had grabbed ahold of me and hoisted me to the surface, tossed me over the side of the boat, and Mum and Conor cornered me.
"Sapphire?! How did you?!" Mum was flabbergasted.
As I was about to reply, my lungs started convulsing and I started coughing and spluttering up large amounts of salt water. Every breath of air stung like a thousand bee stings piercing my lungs and throat.
"Oh my god… Sapphire, you were drowning!" Mum shouted and clapped me over the back.
I started coughing up more water, and for the first time, I coughed up blood. Soon after, I vomited all over the deck.
"Faro… help me…" I rasped through my sore throat. Glancing to the side, I saw Roger climbing up into the boat.
"Jennie, give her some space. It's the middle of February and that girl clearly shouldn't be alive right now." Roger was taking my side?! That was unusual. Then again, he was the one who got me Sadie.
Soon I gathered my strength and shoved away Conor and Mum. I ripped off the foil blankets and tried to dive off the boat again.
"Jennie, grab her!" Roger shouted as he and Mum pulled my arms back. Conor had to pin me against the floor.
"Sapphire! Stop it! You're going to hurt yourself!" Roger shouted. They pulled me inside and put me in a chair.
"Sapphire Trewhella! Stop this absurd behavior!" Mum demanded.
Everyone lectured me for a while, and then when they weren't looking, I ran back outside and leaned over the deck. Gathering every bit of strength that I could before I collapsed, I screamed.
"FAAARRRROOOOO!" It was an ear-piercing scream that I put all my effort into. Mum, Roger and Conor were dragging me back inside again, for what looked like to be the final time before they would physically bolt me to the chair, when I saw Faro launch himself out of the water, over the edge of the boat, and straight into me.
Faro knocked me over and we rolled over each other from the force of the collision. When we stopped moving, Faro and I were side by side, with his arm around me, and his hand on my thigh. I curled into his chest and he cradled me close, as he coughed up water over my shoulder.
"What in the world…?!" Roger managed to say as Faro and I were lying side by side on the boat's deck.
"Heheh… Mum, Roger, meet Faro. He's one of the Mer." I managed with a smile.
"A, A what?!" Mum gasped out.
"A Mer. Like a Mermaid or Merman. But they don't like to be called that, so we call them Mer. Right, Conor?" I wasn't going down in this battle alone. I'd drag Conor with me.
"Conor, you too?" Roger asked. Conor had his head bowed in shame, but nodded.
"Dad was part Mer. That's why Conor and I knew he didn't drown. Dad's dead now, but he was killed in front of us a few years ago. Dad turned into one of the Mer, and the only reason he was able to do that is because he had inherited Mer blood and human blood. Which got passed onto Conor and I. We are half Mer. You won't ever have us die to the ocean. We won't die because of Ingo." I decided to come straight out with it. It wasn't much of a secret anyway with them having found Faro and I anyway.