Olivia landed on the ground by her house with a solid thud, thanks to her unusual teleportation position. She groaned as she shifted to lay on her back and pulled off her mask to take a full and deep breath of fresh air.
"That was too close for comfort," She muttered as she allowed herself to stay there a while longer and process everything that had happened. It had been terrifying. Nerve wracking and distressing even to hear that count down to potential suffocation. Yet somehow, someway, she still wanted to go back.
There were people who needed her to go back. The museum. The Inn. Hell, if what she heard and saw was true, everyone in that underwater village needed her to go back too.
She allowed herself another deep breath as she closed her eyes. What time was it… What ever time it was, she needed to get inside before she passed out. As she pushed herself to get up, some of the chatter she'd previously ignored on the way to the barracks played through her mind.
"This is where soldiers stay. We have many empty rooms now."
Many empty rooms… now. Meaning they previously were not empty. So what happened? She thought as she closed the door behind her and began peeling her way out of her scuba suit.
Olivia's mind felt stuck on this detail as a little nagging at the back of her mind had a solid guess. The oil spill did more harm than anyone on the surface knew. Why else would a princess be a messenger and a stranger given access so freely?
Even she had to admit that the queen made a decent point. For them to have such horror stories of land-dwellers, only to allow one to access an area otherwise deemed sacred when one of their own would have been just as qualified.
They're running out of options.
They're running out of people. If the coral tree's reaction to the oil was to blockade paths and cover any surface it could reach, all the way to the beaches. How long had they been stuck like that? What other resources had they been barred from?
"Yeah. Don't worry I'm good at giving up if things get rough,"
Her past words echoed in her mind as she curled up in her bed. "Not this time." She whispered as her eyes drifted shut.
In seemingly no time at all her alarm's screaming wails announced morning's arrival, earning the small device a none too gentle swat to get it to stop. While her eyes stayed shut she allowed a slow deep breath as she prepared her mind for the day to come.
As she pushed herself to get up she winced as a stinging feeling caused her to look at her arm, finding a decent size bruise forming. "Well, he's got a good grip. Best avoid giving him a reason to use it further." Olivia muttered as she groggily shuffled around her small home to get ready.
Her still damp and now chilled scuba suit caused her skin to crawl as she forced herself back inside it. With the oxygen tank replaced and her mask on her face once more, she made her way over to the pillar by her home.
3. 2. 1. She mentally counted down before reaching out to it.
The open expansive feeling of air around her was replaced with the gentle pressure of water as vibrant saturated hues of coral constructs stood before her.
As she turned to go on her way that view was blocked by a toned ivory chest.
"Oh boy…" Olivia hesitantly looked up to find one very tired and equally cranky fish man glaring down at her. "Good morning?"
"Good morning?" He parroted back as a disgusted sneer contorted his already less then pleased expression. "Your existence in this kingdom is unsettling at best and was already causing unease and chaos. Yet you sneak off in the night unattended, No explanation, and disappear for hours on end." Semeru listed off her sins against his mental health. "And all you have to say is, Good morning?"
Oooh gosh that's right. She's basically the merfolk equivalent of the boogie man. "Look I know it seems bad. I can explain. "
"Oh suddenly now you can explain when you couldn't before and had to sneak around?" The grumpy captain quipped while fixing his grip on his spear.
"Technically yes," She replied as she moved to hold the side of her head. Her odds last night where not looking good. It didn't make sense to waste air talking and using more of a limited resource instead of going for a hail mary that had a much higher chance of her not dying.
Before he could argue further a glint of soft rose gold scales reflected in the light.
"Land-dweller, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you," Greeted the princess who seemed to be struggling with her effort to hide her smile behind a more neutral expression. "You will follow me. There's much to discuss." She ordered giving a moment of pause. "Please."
Oh gosh she was supposed to be working but there was a sharp object in the vicinity that might stab her if she spoke out of turn. "As you say, your highness."
"Your grace, having been charged with your protection, I highly advise against this," Semeru insisted as a barely audible crack in his words betrayed a sense of worn-down defeat. As if he's had to repeat this many, many times throughout his career for various reasons. Only for it to never work. "I understand your curiosity with the surface, but this land-dweller proves untrustworthy. If not for your safety, then for my peace of mind, reconsider."
"She's hardly been here a night to earn such distrust. You heard Cho Oyu as well as I. The Ocean has spoken. Furthermore I have my right to speak to the surface dweller. I, like you, was among those approved to speak with them. And so I shall, "Princess Miranjani insisted before looking back to Olivia expectantly. "Come along."
Semeru held out his spear to block Olivia's path. "Less time than that even," He grumbled while glaring at Olivia. "This one snuck off in the night. We do not know who she's contacted in that time. She could be a spy. I was about to escort her out considering the king's order. She failed to follow instructions. I urge you, reconsider."
"Hm? Land-dweller you will answer me truthfully. Why did you leave?" The princess ordered.
"Because I was about to die." Olivia answered bluntly. "I can not breathe underwater on my own. I have a small amount of air that I can bring with me and I was nearly out. I would have suffocated and we would not be having this conversation. Speaking uses more air and I couldn't risk an argument on what I was and was not allowed to do." She further insisted before turning to look at Semeru. "I left to survive, but I came back to help."
"I see. That thing on your face. It lets you breathe?" The princess asked while curiously moving a little closer to get a better look at it. "I would like to try it on."
"Nope!" Olivia quickly answered as she moved a step back to avoid any unexpected reaching. "Bad Idea, very, very bad idea."
"It would just be a moment," The princess insisted as she crossed her arms.
"I understand but," Olivia hesitated a moment thanks to the continued glare she was receiving. "Okay so, Land-dwellers don't have gills. Merfolk, judging by the look of you, Do. You breathe in water through your mouth, it passes through the gills which separates the oxygen from the water and expels the rest through those slits along your side. If you breathe in pure oxygen, I am terrified to imagine the pain it will cause you."
The princess knowingly smiled. "I'm aware." She admitted before looking to Semeru. "So untrustworthy that she stopped me from causing harm to myself? If her goal is to hurt us. Why would she not let a member of the royal family bring on her own downfall?"
Hearing this caused Semeru to pause.
"Land-dweller, I've not forgotten why you're here. I would however ask for an hour of your time every other day starting today. I want to learn as much as possible," She explained before shifting her attention back to Semeru. "Consider your hesitation noted though. For the sake of your peace of mind, I will agree for you to accompany the two of us during these meetings. Are you more amenable to this?"
"Yes your highness."
The princess waited for Semeru to move his spear out of the way before speaking again. "Land-dweller, is this agreeable to you as well?"
"It's fine by me," she internally winced at the more casual nature of her own vocabulary compared to the princess's. "I will need to leave each night. If it helps the people feel more comfortable I'll agree to an escort to and from this point when I need to come and go." Olivia added earning a short nod of approval from Semeru. "Though, For what it's worth. I prefer being called Olivia."
"Olivia, right. I'll work on that," the princess agreed before once more motioning for Olivia to follow her.
As the three entered the castle Olivia had to stifle her chuckling as she noticed Semeru doing everything in his power to make sure he stayed in between Olivia and the princess. He was certainly a stubborn one but, she couldn't argue that his mistrust was unfounded based on her prior actions.
"I see you've found the land-dweller," Greeted the queen upon noticing them. "Mira, Surely there are better uses of your time." She shifted her attention back to Olivia. "You intend to enter the deep sea, yes? Why not have Semeru as your guide? He would be more then willing to provide a tour."
"Of course your highness," He answered and gave a courteous bow that conveniently hid the tension in his cheeks.
Olivia barely had time to answer before she felt a tug at her hand that effortlessly dragged her through the water.
"He'll wait his turn then," Miranjani happily called as she hurried up the stairs of the castle.
"Princess-," Semeru started only to stop and look over to the queen. "I'll be keeping an eye on them."
"Thank you, I know I can trust you," The queen replied before motioning for him to hurry.
By the time he caught up he found that Miranjani had rather unceremoniously carted the land-dweller to her room Leaving him to stay by the doorway and observe.
"I found this one closer to the coast. I'm not sure what it is though. What is it used for?" She asked while showing one of her unusual nick knacks to the land-dweller.
"Ah. Well. That's chap-stick," Olivia answered. "It's a container that holds a balm for skin irritation. Kind of. The air can cause our skin to dry out, so that helps."
"I see. So you open it and apply the balm like this?" She asked and opened the container to gently rub it on the back of her hand, only for the overly bloated contents to disintegrate the moment she tried.
"Yes and no. That's only for your lips but please don't actually use that, you don't know where it's been." Olivia replied while very quickly adding her warning after.
"I. hm. So then the rest of your skin does not dry out. Just around where you breathe in air?" She asked as she tried to understand.
"No, skin dries out regardless. We just use lotion for the body. What we put on our hands would not do well on our face and similarly what we put on our face we wouldn't put on our mouths because it might not be safe to consume." Olivia answered as best as she could.
"But why make something meant to soothe out of something that could cause harm?" She asked with an attempt at a smile. "land-dweller logic is quite. Unique."
Seeing that things were going well enough, Semeru moved out of the doorway, choosing to stay outside of the room to respect the princess's space while staying close enough that he could still hear them and he'd be able to intervene if needed.
Olivia muttered under her breath as she left the lab. Yet again Professor Ling just so happened to not be around when she came to visit. How convenient.
"Well, one more stop for the day," She grumbled as she made her way down a sloping path towards the center of town. Stone walkways were replaced with marble flooring as she entered the museum. The employee's only sign was ignored as usual and she made her way back to the decent size research room.
"Hey Scott," She casually greeted while walking over to where she knew he'd be. By a pile of bones that was slightly less covered in dirt. So much for being done in a few weeks.
"Hey, I've been wondering about you. Haven't seen you in a few days," He replied as he pushed himself to get up and leave his work. "Crazy summer?"
"You have no idea," She laughed before digging through her bag to pull out a dingey golden hair pin. "This one looked pretty old, figured it was worth dropping off."
"Thanks," Scott gingerly accepted the relic before placing it on a nearby table. "I'll check it out in the morning. I was actually just about ready to leave." He admitted as he gathered his messenger bag from a near by chair.
"I'm heading out Eleanor," Scott called over to the older co-worker.
"You two have fun," She replied with out looking up from her work.
Olivia chuckled at that before walking alongside Scott. "So my summer has been crazy. How has yours been?"
Scott grimaced. "My Summer did not start out great, but thanks for asking. I woke up yesterday with bug bites on my ankles." He gestured down at his legs while walking, causing her to laugh. "Ankles, Olivia!"
"See that's why I'm diving so often. You can't get bit if you're under water," She joked as the two exited the building.
Hearing this caused him to shake a finger at her. "Clever. So where are you heading? I'll walk with you."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm just heading back to the farm. There's no rest for the wicked after all. Where are you off to?" She asked as both of their walking stalled for the time being.
"Fishensips. Have you gotten to visit there yet?" Scott asked as he raised an eyebrow. He certainly hadn't seen her there if she had.
"Not yet. That's the tavern right?"
"Yeah," after a moment of thought a short chuckle escaped him. "Did you hear what happened at the Tavern last week?"
"No what happened?" Olivia asked as she shifted her weight, preparing to be there for a while.
"It was wild. Pablo did a cartwheel off the counter, and everyone cheered. You gotta come hang out with us one night. It'll be the time of your life, I promise!" He placed a hand over his heart while staring at Olivia hoping for a yes.
"That's quite the promise,"
"I feel confident I can keep it. Frank made us one of his experimental recipes last weekend. Heh heh… Wowza!" Scott made a wide gesture before nudging her shoulder. "You, need to try it. Even if it's just this once. Tick it off your bucket list!"
"Hmmm you know what. Sure, why not," Olivia agreed as his playful mood was infectious as usual. "The farm can wait for a night if that offer stands."
"Absolutely." Scott took half a step as his shoulders relaxed. "Though, maybe remind me later. I should try to be quiet when I get home tonight. Last week Charles got mad. Apparently I was 'too loud' when I came in." he shook his head. "It's not my fault Charles was in bed at eleven o'clock on a Friday."
Oh gosh. "Hm. You don't say. What is he doing with his life," Olivia sarcastically agreed as the two of them made their way through town.
"I know! He needs to get back out there. Have some fun." The sarcasm seemed to have been missed. "I've tried to get Charles a date, but I struck out. He just wants to sit at the bar and give unsolicited medical advice…" His previously jovial expression fell to more concerned contemplation. "He's never going to find a partner like that."
"Ehh, maybe you're pushing the guy too hard." Olivia cautiously warned. "Didn't he only just call it off with his fiancé like, a year ago? Relationships like that are hard to bounce back from." She took a second to think on her words a bit longer and bobbed her head. "When someone promises you 'forever', only to find out forever isn't really that long. It can take a lot out of you."
"Yeah... Speaking of, I kinda feel bad for Suki. She seems to be doing well with her ex, but she still had to go through a divorce." At this point he pushed for his usual carefree tone to return. "Can't get divorced if you don't get married! That's my philosophy."
"So basically, you can't fail if you don't try," She teased before giving him a nudge as they approached the pier that housed the tavern. "That doesn't sound like the Scott that's trying to build a bigger better museum on a hope and a prayer."
"Well that Scott isn't going to end up eating Pen and Perry's from the tub with a serving spoon if the pickstarter fails." The certainty of his words while expressed in a joking light suggested otherwise. "Not that that's going to happen of course."
Is he talking about Charles or is that from experience? "Alright, fair enough."
A doorway later and the two were inside a surprisingly large bar. To the far left of the building there was an area for billiards and darts. There was plenty of table seating from there to the bar, and a stage gave visitors a place to listen to music. One of the island couples were currently on stage dancing as the local musician, Theo, played cover songs and sang.
"Hey Scott! What took you so long!" called a voice that Olivia recognized well enough, as the blacksmith sauntered over. "And the farmer? I was wondering if we'd ever see you around here, What's the occasion?"
"Hah, Good to see you too Pablo. Just felt like it," Olivia shrugged.
"Fair enough, Do you play?" Pablo pointed over his shoulder to the pool table where the rancher's son, Kenny, was in the middle of setting up the game.
"Not really, I take it you two do?" She asked as she walked with them over to the table.
"Just when these guys show up," Pablo admitted before waving to Kenny. "Hey Kenny we're doing teams. It's you and me bud."
"Are you sure. I'd be giving Scott a pretty bad handicap," Olivia pointed out as she looked over to Scott when she heard him laugh.
"It'll be fine. You might not know this, but I was captain of the billiards team when I was in college." He boasted as he went over to a collection of pool sticks and picked one up. "They called me Scott the Pool Master." With that he offered the shorter stick to Olivia.
"I didn't realize I was in the presence of a legend," As she said this Scott jokingly bowed.
A nudge from Kenny brought him back to the room. "Right, do you guys want to start?"
"Probably should. Scott the Pool Master, seems distracted," Pablo winked before making his way over to the table.
Hearing this caused Scott to roll his eyes. "I'll start. Hey Frank, can we get a few drinks over here?" He called as he waved to get the bar tender's attention.
"Coming up!"
"Prepare yourself, you're about to see something amazing. Just wait," Scott insisted as he made his way over to the table and started explaining the rules. "Now while you keep that in mind, you line up your shot, Lean into it aaaand," Olivia watched as one ball rolled around the table and collided into a few others.
"Oooh shoot," Kenny laughed.
Pablo winced. "Well that's a pickle. Guess you play well enough when you're motivated."
While she wasn't sure what just happened, she clapped in approval.
"Thank you, thank you. Please you're too kind. Hold your applause," Scott's wide grin said otherwise as he seemed to soak in the praise.
Pablo started pacing around the table, looking for the right angle when Frank came over with 4 beers.
"Here we go, first round's on you right Scott?" Frank asked while raising an eyebrow.
Scott accepted one of the offered drinks. "Yeah put it on my tab. I'll close it out later."
"You didn't have to do that, thanks," Olivia replied as she accepted a drink as well. "Next round's on me then."
Pablo pointed over to her. "I heard that."
"You, I definitely owe a drink to, considering how many of those coffers you've opened for me," upon saying that she looked around with mild confusion. "Where is your brother by the way?"
"This isn't his scene, prefers to be by himself," Pablo waved off the question as he accepted the offered drink from Frank and went back to checking the table.
"Do you need to tap me in for this one?" Kenny asked as he took his drink as well.
"You'll get your turn, hold your horses," Pablo grumbled.
"This might be a while," Scott admitted as he shifted to lean against a nearby table. "I gotta admit, I cut through your farm on my way to the cavern the other day and saw how much work you've put in." He shifted to hold out his beer bottle in a cheer's motion. "Those sprinklers of yours are pretty clever. I have newfound respect for you."
"Aw thanks," Olivia clinked her bottle against his before taking a drink.
"So have you always been a tinkerer?" Scott asked as Pablo changed his position around the table for the 4th time now.
Olivia bobbed her head as she thought over how to answer that. "Mighta took the toaster apart once or twice as a kid, yeah."
The answer caused Scott to laugh while trying to imagine as much. "Your poor parents."
"What?! I put it back together when I was done," She insisted, her face grew flush while waving off his concern.
Amusement turned to curiosity. "And it worked after?"
Olivia took a swig of her drink "... I didn't say that."
A soft snorted laughter erupted from Scott as he moved to cover his mouth. Luckily for him the clatter of billiard's balls announced that Pablo had made his move.
"Finally," Kenny teased.
"You can not rush perfection," Pablo insisted as he stepped back to enjoy his drink. "You're up Olivia."
"Oh gosh," She hesitantly walked forward.
"Just hit the cue ball don't worry about what happens after." Scott coached only for Olivia to barely move the cue ball due to hitting it at a bad angle.
"That counts," Pablo insisted and motioned for Kenny to step forward.
"I'm warming up is all. I'll figure it out," Olivia insisted.
However, this trend continued. Scott would take his turn, living up to his proclaimed reputation. Followed by Pablo who would take a little too long, Olivia would flub the ball and Kenny would set up a good shot that would get destroyed the next second.
A second and third round of beers arrived as the pool balls plunked into pockets one by one.
"Alright, neighbor you're up," Kenny announced as Pablo stepped away from the table.
"Yeah, yeah, Like we're all curious to see how this goes," Olivia waved off the reminder as she walked up to the table. To her surprise, Scott got up as well.
"Want some pointers?" He asked as he put his latest drink down on the side of the table.
"Sure, If you're offering it cant hurt," She agreed.
"Alright, there's not much left on the table. You got to pick which one you want to hit and where you want it to go," He instructed as he moved to stand behind her.
"Got it."
"Lean into the table, it will keep you steady," As he spoke softly his hand move to put a bit of pressure on her hip and he leaned in with her. "Rest the stick on your middle finger, and put your index finger on top to keep it from sliding off your hand." With that he reached out his other hand to help Olivia get situated. "Tilt your head a little to see where you're aiming."
"Okay."
"You know where you want it to go?" He asked again to make sure she was sure.
"Mhm."
"Alright pull back slowly and when I say 'now' hit the cueball as close to dead center as you can," Scott shifted his weight to look over her shoulder and double check the shot. "Slowly. Aaaand. Now."
Clink!
Olivia stared in wide eyed aw as the ball actually when where she wanted it to go. "Oh my gosh. It worked!" She happily cheered as Scott moved away so she could face him.
"You did great," Scott praised while he tried to avoid reacting to the taunting of the other two, upon noticing Pablo making exaggerated kissing faces and Kenny drunkenly attempting to wiggle his eyebrows.
"Alright I'm thinking it's safe to call it here," Kenny spoke up next. "That pretty much wrapped up the game."
"Yeah, we're not catching up now. We'd need three points but there are only two left on the table." Pablo reluctantly agreed. "Thank you for the drinks but I'm going to go pay for my round. I told myself only one game tonight."
"Yeah, it's getting late. No thanks to someone taking their time," Kenny shifted to stretch. "I think I'll head out too." Not like he wanted to stick around and be a third wheel after that.
"Ah you guys are no fun. Same time tomorrow?" Scott asked and both nodded in agreement.
"What time is it anyways?" Olivia asked before checking her phone. Nine in the afternoon. Almost ten. She tapped her thumb against her phone. "I should get going too, I still need to walk back to the farm."
"No use in me staying here by myself," Scott shrugged and followed the other three. Each one paid for their round of drinks before heading out. Though Kenny and Pablo had some extra motivation to get out of there first.
Once they got out side Scott glanced up at the sky. "It's pretty dark out. Do you want me to walk you home?"
"You live practically around the corner, don't you?" Olivia rhetorically asked in return before shaking her head. "You don't have to do that. I'll be fine."
Scott watched as she started to walk away. "Alright, Have a good night then. Don't be a stranger. That was fun."
Her steps slowed to a stop so she could face him once more. "I'll definitely have to stop by again," she agreed before a dawn of realization set in. "Oh, I almost forgot."
Scott's face started to turn a light pinkish hue. "Hm?"
"Don't forget to be quiet going home so you don't wake up Charles. You said you wanted me to remind you. Right?" Olivia proudly smiled, simply happy that she managed to remember the request.
His shoulders slowly dropped. "Oh...Right. Yeah. Thanks for the reminder." With that he took his chance to leave. "Have a good night."
