Beneath the surface: Forbidden love

Marisela

''Marisela, sweetheart,'' I groan when I feel someone shaking my arm. "Come on, you have to wake up.'' Her voice sounds very familiar. I could hear the feint sound of water running. I slowly struggle to open my eyes. I felt like my lower body was floating. The voice tried to wake me up again.

''Princess, please, you have to wake up sweetheart.'' My eyes slowly start to open.

Rosa?

When My eyes fully open, I see Rosa lying down in front of me.

''Oh thank goddess you're awake.'' she sighs in relief. I look around, finally taking note of my surroundings.

"Where are we?" I ask, my voice sounding hoarse.

"It looks to be some kind of underwater cave." Rosa responds. I look around once more and see she's right. I turn back to Rosa who watching me with an incredulous look. I look down at myself and realize what she is looking at. My lower body was submerged in water.

I immediately gasp. I have a tail. My fingers instantly go to pull a strand of my hair and all thoughts confirmed, its glowing.

I take note of my surroundings once more avoiding Rosa. Its a bit dark but there was a little light coming in. Good, which means the surface isn't that far up.

The walls glisten from the light. The air smells of rotting seaweed. There were small cracks in the walls bringing in water.

''Does it hurt?" Rosa asks. I look at her a little confused. Her eyes look down at my tail, and a silent "oh" escapes my lips. Right- that.

"No, it doesn't hurt," I tell her. "It's like having a pair of legs stuck together." I jokingly try to explain. Rosa let's out a quiet laugh.

"You look different. Your hair-" she points to her own hair, "is glowing. How does that happen?"

"I honestly wish I had the answers for that, I have no idea why it does that." I tell her. Rosa nods her head in understanding but still has a look of bewilderment.

''Rosa.'' I speak after a few moments, ''What happened?'' her face instantly drops and a frown appears.

''Cory betrayed us Marisela.''

what?

Then, as if a switch was turned on in my head, everything came rushing back to me.

He was compelled.

I quickly shake my head at her, ''No, he was compelled.'' I tell her saying my thoughts aloud. This only catches her by surprise.

''What do you mean?'' she asks as she sits up her on her knees, eyebrows raise in confusion, ''What are you talking about?''

''Cory was compelled,'' I repeat, ''by a Siren. He didn't know what he was doing.'' I finish and she gasps.

''Compulsion?" she mutters to herself in disbelief. "Cory is working with them?"

" Whoever compelled him, must be an old Siren, only ancient ones are capable of compulsion.'' I tell her, a look of disbelief still evident on her face. "I don't think he was working for them."

Then I remembered being drugged and blacking out.

''How long was I out for?'' I ask her.

''I only woke up not so long ago, I don't know how long we've been out.'' she says.

She was out too?

"Are you okay?" My eyes instantly roam her body to make sure she was not hurt. She looks okay, but I had to be sure.

"Im okay," she nods.''After they got you, someone came up behind me and covered me with the same thing, whatever it was, they must've used a lot more on you.'' she says worriedly. "I've been awake for about an hour, I think."

''Have you seen anything since you've been awake?'' she shakes her head no.

I look around the cave again trying to find a way out. Realizing that there is only one way out, I turn to Rosa.

I only hope that the cave isn't too far down into the ocean.

''I'm going to get us out of here okay?'' I tell her.

"How are you going to do that?" She asks.

"There's only one way out," I sigh, '' but I will have to leave you for few minutes.''

"No, you can't go down there," she argues, ''Marisela you don't know whats out there!''

''Its the only way out.'' I tell her. She looks around the cave and a look of defeat covers her features.

''I have to, the only way out of here is the water, I need to try and swim to the surface to see how far it is for you to swim.'' Realising what has to be done, she gives a quiet ''okay.''

''Be careful.'' she tells me and I give her small smile. I squeeze her hand, before diving under the cold water.

My tail propels me forward almost instantly. The cave was much larger than I thought. It took a while for me to find the way out, eventually I see an opening and push forward.

I am greeted by the colourful coral reef embedded at the bottom of the sea floor. The reef was an underwater paradise. I could identify some crimson-red anemones that swayed from side to side as waves pf current surged through the ocean floor. A sea turtle gracefully swam up behind me. A sting-ray had meticulously camouflaged itself under the fine grains of sand, waiting in ambush as a silvery-grey salmon mindlessly drifted too close. A smoke of dust and the salmon lied convulsing in the sand, electrocuted by its deadly sting.

As I continue to swim up towards the surface, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. This only made me push myself faster towards the surface. As I reach the surface, I was greeted by the welcoming warmth of sun rays hitting the water.

Five minutes to the surface, could Rosa hold her breath that long? No human could, but a werewolf, much less a Lycan? I don't think so either. Damn it.

Think Marisela.

Then suddenly a thought came to mind. I quickly dive back under water and swim towards the coral reef.

Come on, there has to be one around here. I instantly spot what I was looking for and grab it.

As I start to swim back to the cave, I notice something in the corner of my eye. As I turned to the direction of whatever it was, I got a short glimpse of a tail.

There was another Siren down here with us.

I quickly swim to the cave, and soon enough I was emerging from the water. Rosa immediately crawls to me.

''Marisela!'' she says in relief.

''Here,'' I hand the item, and she looks at it in confusion.

''A shell?'' she asks and I smile at her reaction.

''Its to help you breathe.'' I tell her.

''Is the surface far?''

''Its about five minute swim to the surface, the Shell will help you breathe.''

''Come on lets go.'' I tell her and she cautiously jumps into the water.

''Goddess its cold!'' she shrieks as her body is fully submerged by the water.

''Here, put your arms around me, so I help you swim to the top.'' she hesitantly puts her arms around me. I look at her over my shoulder.

''Ready?" I ask and she nods. She places the shell on her face, covering her nose and mouth. With one last nod at her, I dive underwater.

While swimming to the surface, I couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching us. The escape was way too easy. I knew someone was down here, but why aren't they trying to stop us?

In no time we had reached the surface. I swim towards the shore. Rosa jumps off of me and is able to stand and walk as soon as the water reaches just below her knees. She stops and turns around when she notices that I wasn't following her.

''Marisela come on lets go!''

''There's someone down there,'' I look to the ocean and turn my gaze back to her, ''I have to find out what they want.'' I tell her and she looks at me as if I grew a second head.

I knew what I was about to do was risky and dangerous. but hell, something is telling me to go back.

''No Marisela, you are not going back there!'' She says struggling to walk back to me.

''I have too, I need to know why we were taken. For all we know it has to do with the damn prophecy."

''Marisela-'' she stops walking now looking torn, the small waves lapping around her, ''Please, if anything happens, Kael will-''

''I'll be okay,'' I reassure her cutting her off, but she isn't convinced, ''Go back to the castle I'll be back soon.''

Before she could say anything else and stop me, I quickly dive back under the water and swim towards the cave. I knew that whoever was here with me was following me. Hopefully they will follow me to the cave.

As soon as I find my way back to the cave, I quickly get out. Whipping my tail out was a bit of a mission. When I was fully out of the water, I waited.

After sometime, my body started to dry, soon my tail started to turn into a pair of legs. I immediately stand up and move further to the corner of the cave. My arms wrapping around my naked self.

I was about to give up and dive back in when I saw small bubbles rise to the surface, I slowly crept towards the opening and immediately saw a shadow swimming up towards the surface.

I gasp when a woman submerges. She had dark chocolate skin, with grey eyes and silver hair.

A siren.

I watch her as she tilts her head to the side watching me, her tail bopping up and down under the water,

"Who are you?" I ask her. Something about her looked very familiar but I couldn't put a finger on it.

"Iv't siemmz zua" she spoke. (It's really you.) I was taken aback by the language in which she spoke in.

Aquan.

She's an ancient one.

"How do you know who I am?" I ask her. No response.

"Why did you take me?" I ask another question. Her grey eyes narrow at me before she dives back under water.

"Wait!" I shout. Without thinking I dive into the water and follow her. My tail instantly growing back.

When I couldn't find her, I was worried that maybe I had lost her and she got away, but I was surprised to see her waiting for me by the exit of the cave.

She wanted me to follow her.

And I did.

Eventually I caught up to her, if she noticed she didn't bother to look at me, instead she continued to swim.

Where was she taking me?

We swam quite a distance, wherever she was taking me was far. She started to slow down and I followed, eventually she stopped swimming and I did too.

But there was nothing around us, it was the open ocean. I knew we were deep under water, but even then I couldn't see the ground. We were surrounded by blue waters.

I look at her only to find her watching me. Her hair surrounded her entire frame. I noticed that her hair wasn't glowing like mine was. Her tail was exactly the same as mine.

Silver scales lined her tail with blue and green crystals.

She was beautiful.

Her eyes soon leave my face and turn to something that was behind me. I immediately turn around and there in the distance was another siren swimming towards us from below the dark blue waters.

However this one was different. It was a male siren.

I had never seen a male siren in my life.

Then again, I have never met any other siren in general.

As he swims closer his features start to become clear. When he was in front of us, his eyes were on me. He had grey eyes and silver hair like any other siren, he's skin was pale in colour. I noticed how he's hair was glowing, just like mine was.

My mother never told me that there were male sirens. In fact she never really told me anything about sirens.

The male siren in front of me was older. Like the other Siren beside me, he too looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't figure out how or why!

He's eyes were on me the entire time, I tried so hard to figure out where I had seen he's face before but nothing came to mind. He however, looked at me as if he knew me. He's eyes were hard, but deep within them, there was something else.

He turns to the woman beside me and nods. With one last glance at me she swims away, leaving me alone with the male siren. He looks at me and nods in the direction he swam from, telling me to follow him. Hesitantly I nod at him and I follow him to wherever he came from.

This is a stupid idea, I should really just turn back.

Ignoring the voice inside my head I follow him. Eventually, I see something ahead of me, as we get closer, I notice what it is.

An abandoned ship.

He swims to the ship and I continue to follow him.

The ship was old. It had become a gallant grand dame of the seabed, a home to so much life, a support structure and thing of beauty.

I gasp when I see a huge shark swim out of the ship.

Every time I would sneak out into the ocean, I wouldn't swim far off from the shore, I never got to experience the deep water because I was afraid of my mother finding out.

As we entered the ship, it was rusty and old. Its must've been over a century old. The man stops swimming and I follow, floating a few feet away from him. He turns to me, cocking his head to one side. And with one swift movement of his hand, the water around us starts to swirl, it circles around us as I watch in astonishment.

Suddenly the water clears out and my body drops to the floor of the ship. My arms sprawled out In front of me stopping me from hurting myself.

We were in some sort of air bubble.

How did he do that?

"Who are you?" I ask coughing up water. He was watching me, and made no effort to respond.

"Who the hell are you!" I speak a little louder. His brows furrow as he looks at me.

"I en zuas gevjis." He replies in Aquan.

My face drains of all colour at what he said.

No.

That's impossible.

This man is not my father.