"So magic lessons?" Marcus asked. He was sitting on the stone bench that sat before a large stone table. On the table sat a large amount of glasses, all filled with water. Rita stood behind the table, her hands clasped in front of her as she waited for her students to take their seats.
Rita smiled at him, not at all upset at his presence. Evie had taken her aside when Marcus appeared with them, quietly informing her of what his true purpose there was. Evidently Rita completely agreed with the idea as she welcomed Marcus warmly into the lesson. "Marcus, Ondina, would you mind assisting me with this first lesson?" Rita asked, gesturing to the two young people.
Marcus shot to his feet, all too eager to be of help. The fact that he already had a chance to antagonize Ondina seemed to be the icing on the cake. Ondina seemed wary of him as they took their sides on either side of Rita. Marcus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and grinned mischievously, though he had no idea just what the lesson would be. He was confident he could find a way to twist it to suit Evie's request of him. "The other day, Marcus inadvertently exposed a flaw in your teaching." Rita began, folding her hands together. "He stumbled onto our secret because you were ill prepared. Today's lesson is water manipulation. Marcus, would you mind grabbing a glass of water?"
Marcus picked one off the table and looked back to Rita for further instruction. She stepped back several feet and continued speaking. "Now Marcus, I want you to throw the water in that cup at Ondina-." Marcus needed no further provocation. He tossed the water at the blonde mermaid, Ondina shouting in surprise. She stood there for several seconds, her mouth open as she looked at Marcus in disbelief. "When I say 'go'…." Rita finished, her voice trailing off as Ondina fell to the floor with a tail.
"Woops. Sorry." Marcus told Ondina, not sounding sorry at all. He thought for a moment and then rescinded his statement. "On second thought I'm not sorry. That was funny."
Ondina extended a hand towards her tail while she glared at Marcus. The others, who were stunned at the suddenness of Marcus's action, now were only partially concealing their laughter. Rita was smiling, but she still gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head at Marcus. He grinned back at her and shrugged. "I'm just so eager to help," He explained. "I just couldn't help myself."
"I am glad for the enthusiasm," Rita admonished, not fooled for even a moment by Marcus's reasoning. "Please, let me finish speaking or this lesson might take all night."
"I have time." Marcus mused, chewing at his lip. "But I guess the others might enjoy going home to their families."
Ondina's legs returned and she sprang to her feet, raising her hand and pointing her ring at Marcus. "Uh oh." He said, grabbing another glass of water and holding it ready to be thrown. Ondina grinned at him and Marcus was suddenly aware that the glass seemed lighter than it had a few second ago. He glanced at the cup and his face paled when he saw the water floating in the air. "Now Ondina, I know that we have had our differences." Marcus kept talking as he inched away from the water, backing slowly into the table. Discreetly, he reached down and grabbed another glass of water. He kept his hands behind his back, not letting the blonde see his machinations.
"Ondina…" Rita said warningly, crossing her arms and staring down her disobedient student. "Put the water back in the pool and let us begin the lesson."
"He started it!" Ondina said, sounding very much like a petulant child.
"Yes and I am very sorry." Marcus said, but the insolent grin he wore on his face like a trophy told another tale. "Sort of."
He had inched his way away from the water that still hung suspended in the air and made his way to being within only a couple feet of Ondina. He was fairly certain that the other students at the table saw his plan, they would have to be blind not to. He wasn't certain that Rita was aware, but he had the sneaking suspicion that she knew. "Fine." Ondina said glumly, tossing the water back into the cavern's seawater pool with an annoyed flick of her wrist.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Marcus brought the glass of water from behind his back and raised the glass as though in toast. "Cheers to getting along." He said, smiling wickedly. Ondina glared at him but she said nothing, not unless tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flip of her head could be construed as an answer. It possibly could. Marcus was not the best at interpreting body language.
"Now, Marcus, when I say 'go' I want you to throw the water in the glass at Ondina." Rita told him. "Now back up a few steps."
"Sure thing." Marcus said. As much as he enjoyed messing with Ondina his true motive for showing up at the magic lesson was to learn. Going by legend alone was not an effective tutor. Learning, albeit underhandedly, from a wiser mermaid would be the most effective way for him to gain a handle on his new powers.
"Now then," Rita said, folding her hands again. "Let's begin."
Much later, the lesson concluded. Rita praised the progress that the mermaids and Zach had made in so little time. There had been failures, more than once had a tail been grown in the course of the lesson, but there had also been far more successes. Marcus watched each time that the mermaids or Zach used their power, memorizing everything they had done. He found it odd that only the mermaids had the odd blue rings whereas Zach was forced to use only his power. As near as he could tell the Moon Rings as they called them were conduits for the mermaids to channel their power through. He had examined the stones as close as he dared, but for the life of him he could not recognize the type of gemstone that they were made from. Sapphires came close, but the Moon Ring's stone seemed to possess a depth that was as deep and blue as the sea itself.
"Well, that's good for tonight." Rita told them. "Same time tomorrow. Have a good night."
The students bade the teacher farewell and began to filter out their separate ways. The mermaids, Evie excluded, dove into the pool of water and swam out, presumably returning to their home on Mako. "Marcus, a word please?" Rita asked as Marcus began to ascend the steps of the grotto.
Zach and Evie glanced back, a question in their eyes. Rita smiled at them encouragingly and shooed them away, waiting until the door to the house closed shut behind them. "Marcus, would you mind grabbing that green stone container from the wall there?" Rita asked politely, busying herself with tidying up after the lesson.
"Yeah, sure." Marcus said, puzzled. He glanced for the wall and saw the aforementioned container sitting on the shelf. He grabbed it from its pedestal, whistling slightly at the little box's weight. He turned back to Rita just in time for a glass full of water to splash him in the face. He staggered back, sputtering and cursing, placing the green box on the shelf. Then it hit him what Rita had just done. He looked around desperately for a towel or anything of the like to wipe off his face, but it was to no avail. Rita, who had been standing in front of him watching intently, stepped back when Marcus pitched forward as his legs were replaced by his tail.
Rita nodded several times before sighing and giving her head a shake. "I thought as much." She told him.
"How did you know?" He demanded hoarsely, unable to see where he had messed up.
"I've been around this sea for much longer than you, Marcus." Rita told him. She must have seen the horrified fear that was blatant on his face as she quickly added, "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell the others. This is for much longer than you, Marcus." Rita told him. She must have seen the horrified fear that was blatant on his face as she quickly added, "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell the others. This is your secret. But I had to be sure."
"So you guessed." Marcus sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Great. All that work for nothing."
"Not for nothing." Rita corrected, handing him a towel, which he accepted gratefully. "The others don't suspect anything, not even Ondina."
"Small mercy." Marcus muttered, getting to his feet and brushing off the front of his pants.
"And it wasn't quite a guess." Rita told him, suddenly serious. "I thought it was odd how adverse you were to Ondina throwing water on you. That aroused my suspicions."
"You can't tell anyone." Marcus told her, suddenly desperate. "Please. I'll pay you….." He looked around the cave, finally noticing all the riches that were strewn casually about the cave. He quickly surmised that if Rita sold everything in the cave she would skyrocket to one of the wealthiest people in Australia, certainly within the top ten.
"I don't need money, Marcus." Rita told him. "But what I do need is to make sure that all the young mermaids and mermen under my charge are able to keep our secret. I won't tell the others so long as you keep coming to the lessons."
Marcus sighed and put a hand behind his head. "I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"