Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

After learning that he was to be her new bodyguard, Alizarin had shown up outside Sapphira’s window for the last time.

“I shouldn’t come to see you like this, anymore,” he said. “It would be too much of a risk with everything happening.”

“Nobody’s caught you, yet.”

“And that has been fortunate, but we can’t risk people asking questions about my presence here, especially with you officially agreeing to the treaty and your marriage. I may consider you my sister, but I doubt others would see it that way.”

“But I won’t be able to talk to you, anymore if you don’t come. You’re the only person here who really listens to me.”

“I’ll still listen,” he promised. “I’ll be your bodyguard, right? You’ll be able to talk to me, plenty.”

“But not like we do, now,” she said. “There will always be a risk of someone overhearing our conversations anywhere else.”

“That was always a risk, here.”

She frowned at that. “Will you still talk to me?”

“Of course.”

“But you won’t be able to tell me what’s on your mind like you do, now.”

“I expect you will have difficulty expressing yourself, as well,” he commented. “After all, you can’t be seen acting friendly towards a red tail.”

“Exactly,” she said. “What if I say something that upsets you? You won’t be able to tell me.”

He paused to consider that. “It would probably be inappropriate for me to call you by your name when people might hear.”

“You’re not making this sound any easier.”

“Well, I was thinking I could use your titles to let you know what I’m thinking. I’ll call you “princess” if everything is okay and you aren’t upsetting me. If something’s wrong, I’ll call you “my lady”.”

“What if I make you angry?” she asked. “What if I accidentally say or do something really hurtful to you?”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m not a nice person, Alizarin,” she argued. “If I am focused on keeping up appearances, I may get pushed into saying something really hurtful.”

“I doubt that will happen,” he said. “Of course, if it will ease your mind, then I will think of something to let you know.” He took a moment to consider it. “Alright, if you ever say something truly terrible and I become angry, I will call you “your highness”.”

Since they’d made that promise, he had never called her “your highness” until that night.

Sapphira sat down on the beach, not knowing what else to do. She wasn’t crying, anymore, but she didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She figured her royal guard would find her, eventually. They were surprisingly easy to ditch, but they would always find her, later.

“Are you alright?” a voice asked from nearby.

Sapphira looked up to see Idun watching her. “I’m fine.”

“Want to know how I can tell that’s a lie?” the dryad asked, taking a seat beside her. “Because you are a princess, sitting alone on a beach while everyone else has fun.”

“Maybe, I just wanted some peace and quiet.”

“Maybe,” Idun agreed. “However, your expression says otherwise.” She cocked her head. “Care to talk about it?”

Sapphira had nearly perfected the cold, blank stare, but she couldn’t seem to manage it, right then. “You and the other nymphs are like siblings, right? I mean, you’re really close and would do anything for each other.”

“Of course,” Idun said with a smile. “We’ve been together a long time and will likely remain together for years to come.”

Sapphira nodded her understanding. “So what would you do if you said something really hurtful about one of them and they heard, but you couldn’t apologize for it, properly, even if you knew you’d hurt their feelings?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to apologize?”

Sapphira shrugged. “Maybe, something’s stopping you. Maybe, people would think less of you for it or it might cause an issue with other people.”

“The other nymphs are the most important people to me,” Idun stated. “If one of them is hurt, I will try to fix it. Why should I care what other people think?”

“It’s not always that simple.”

“Then simplify it,” Idun suggested. “Decide what is most important: the feelings of the person you hurt or your reputation among others.”

Sapphira remained silent as she considered that. “I’m not sure I can even talk to him, right now.”

“Well, that does present an issue.” Idun stood. “Come on. I know a candy shop nearby. I don’t guess you’ve had candy before, but it might make you feel a little better and help you think about what you want to do.” She held her hand out to the princess.

After a brief hesitation, Sapphira took the hand and allowed the nymph to help her up. “Why are you always so nice to me?”

Idun shrugged. “I’m a nice person.” She smiled at the girl. “Also, I find you oddly endearing.”

Sapphira stared at her. “You’re the first person to ever say that.”

Idun laughed. “Well, then, I suppose I’ll have to say it a few more times to make up for that.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Eric asked as he flew next to Angela.

“I will be,” she promised. “I feel better, already, just having you beside me.”

He felt his cheeks flush and looked straight ahead. “I’m glad I could help.”

“You helped more than you know,” she said. “I was really freaking out when you found me. You calmed me down.”

“I’m sure Astrid could have managed that much,” he argued.

“Maybe, but I’m glad it was you.”

He found himself smiling, a little. “I would never let anything happen to you, you know. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you from that.”

“It’s really not your fault. I was too trusting.”

“I like that about you, but you should be more cautious.”

“I will do my best,” she promised. “Now, that’s enough talk of unpleasant things. Let’s fly and leave unpleasant thoughts until tomorrow as Freya suggested.”

He smiled, brighter. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“I want to talk to Rin,” Aria argued as Freya dragged her down the beach. “He looked really hurt.”

“He’ll have returned to the twins, by now,” Freya pointed out. “They won’t let you talk to him.”

Aria frowned, knowing that was true. “I don’t like leaving things like that.”

“We have little choice.” Freya sighed. “The best thing we can do for Alizarin is to find the necklace, so we can make the twins accountable for their crimes.”

“They won’t be punished for anything they do to him, though, will they?”

Freya stopped walking. “You know the answer to that.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I’d be disappointed if you did.” She looked at the girl. “Would you remain human if he chose to become one?”

“What’s with that question, all of a sudden?”

“You were the one who was talking to Sapphira about staying near him. If he became human, would you remain by his side?”

Aria pause to think about it. “I don’t know. Maybe.” She frowned. “The decision will not be an easy one, whatever the others choose. I can’t make my decision based on theirs. I have to decide for me.”

“A wise answer,” Freya decided. “Never let a man be the basis for major life decisions.”

Aria smiled at her friend’s typical advice. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Aria!” Kai called as he and Echo came toward her. “Did you find your friend?”

“We found her. She’s with Eric, now.” She decided not to trouble them with the details. “I hope we didn’t worry you.”

“I’ll always worry about you,” he said with his usual charming smile.

“Always with the cheesy lines,” Aria commented, returning the smile as well as she could. She was doing her best not to be stressed or, at the very least, not act as stressed as she felt. She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go back to the party. I want to blow off some steam and I think dancing’s just the thing for it.”

“Well, I would never deny you that,” he assured her as he allowed himself to be dragged back to the party.

Aria and Kai danced until early in the morning, when Aria had to admit she was too tired to keep going. Between the stress and the physical exertion, she had pushed herself as far as she could go.

Freya helped the exhausted girl back to the car and drove her home, glad she had been able to relax for one night. Freya knew things would become chaotic again in the morning. She wanted Aria to have this chance to rest. At their apartment, she smiled a little as she watched the girl stumble into her bedroom, knowing she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next day, they got the flyers printed off for the necklace. Their rough sketch wasn’t much to go by, but the description was specific enough that they figured anybody who saw the necklace would recognize it as theirs.

“You think this will actually work?” Aria wondered as they posted the flyers around town.

“I think it’s as promising as anything else we’ve done,” Freya answered as honestly as she could. “There’s no reason to give up hope, yet.”

“We can’t give up hope,” Aria pointed out. “We need the necklace back if we want to avoid a war.” She frowned. “How do sirens and merfolk fight, anyway?”

“It’s not easy,” Freya admitted, “but there are weapons the merfolk can rig up to shoot out at them. They can also set traps for when they land. Sirens use similar methods, including fishing nets. Unless merfolk are prepared to hid in their cities and Sirens are content to stay away from the oceans, they will find ways to hurt each other. These acts also risk exposure for both groups since they are trapping each other and humans can find them like that. There’s only so much Idun can do when the evidence is that close.”

“That sounds pretty serious,” Aria commented with a frown. “So, the key to preventing this war lies in me finding a necklace I haven’t had any luck finding for months.”

“Pretty much.”

“Fantastic.” Aria sighed and stuck up another flyer. “Well, here’s hoping this works.”

Freya looked at her. “Are you alright?”

“The fates of two races rests on my shoulders, so that’s a little stressful.”

“I meant about Eric and Angela,” Freya clarified. “You seemed a little bothered after you saw them together.”

Aria paused to think about that. “The truth is: I did feel a little troubled because of it, but it’s not for the reason you think. I wasn’t jealous or anything. In fact, that’s why I was bothered.” She managed a little smile. “It probably sounds silly, but I feel like I should be upset about him moving on. Either that or I should be relieved. In truth, I just don’t feel much of anything about it. I’m not upset and I don’t feel particularly good. It could have been any guy that flew off with Angela and I would have felt the same way.”

“Any guy but Kai, you mean?”

Aria paused before nodding. “Of course.”

“Aria!” Eric caught up with her before work the next day and smiled. “Hello.”

“Hello,” she replied. “You look happy.”

“I had fun the other night. You really can’t imagine the feeling of flying like that.”

“I’m sure I can’t,” she agreed. After a moment’s thought, she pulled a flyer out of her bag and handed it to him. “We put a description of the necklace here, so could you keep an eye out for it? There’s no telling where it might have ended up.”

He nodded as he took it. “I’ll do my best. It’s really important, right?”

“Ridiculously so.”

“I could pass out some more flyers, if you want.”

“Sure.” Aria figured it couldn’t hurt and handed him a few.

“I’m going to head on to the dressing room,” Freya said, figuring she should give them a minute alone.

Eric watched her go before saying, “About the thing with Angela…”

“You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“I feel like I do,” he told her. “I know we’ve been on a break for a while, but still…”

“Eric, you are a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have you.” She ran a hand through her hair, pushing t back from her face. “I feel like we were just not a good fit. It doesn’t matter how much we like each other. I think we’re better off as friends, don’t you?”

He frowned and looked at the floor. “Here, I thought I’d be giving the friends speech.”

“You’re welcome to do it, now, if you want.”

“I don’t think it would have the same effect.”

She smiled. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t.”

“I really did like you, you know.”

“And now, you like Angela. That’s okay. It’s normal.”

“I’m not sure much of what’s been happening around us would be considered normal.”

“But moving on is,” she pointed out. “I need to go get changed, now, but I don’t want you worrying about this, okay? Just be happy that you found someone amazing like her.”

“I’d really like you to come flying with us, sometime.”

She gestured towards the flyer. “Maybe, once we get that sorted out.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” he promised as he watched her walk away, feeling both relieved and a little sad that things seemed to finally be over between them. Once she was out of sight, he made his way to the lab.

“Morning,” Adam said over a cup of coffee.

“Morning.” Eric handed him a flyer. “The girls are looking for a necklace, so let me know if you see it.”

“Sure thing.” He barely glanced at the paper before setting it down and looking back at his work.

As Dr. Grey came in, Eric handed him one, too. “Freya and Aria are looking for this necklace.” He didn’t really expect much from the absent-minded scientist, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to give him a flyer anyway.

Grey looked at the flyer and walked into his lab without a word.

Eric sat at his desk and began going over some lab reports, doing his best not to think about the next full moon and how it would feel to fly with Angela, again.

“So, it’s really over,” Freya commented as she put her clothes in her locker. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed.”

“Don’t you have more important things to worry about, right now?” Aria wondered.

“You’re underestimating my ability to multitask.”

“Ah.” Aria smiled. “How could I have been so foolish?”

“Seriously, though, I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

“I know,” Aria assured her. “I appreciate that. I just don’t feel like there’s anything to talk about, now. I made a decision, finally.”

“You’re choosing Kai, then?”

Aria paused to consider that. “I’m not choosing Eric. Past that, I still need to figure things out. It’s complicated with Kai, after all. I don’t want to rush into anything that’s likely to end badly.”

“When did you get to be so smart?”

“I guess I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking, lately,” she said. “I’ve been trying to figure out what I want. I don’t just mean romance, either. I know becoming a mermaid or staying human is a big decision that I have to make for myself. Honestly, I don’t feel right choosing a guy until I know what I’m going to be at the end of this. After all, if I become a human and Kai remains a merman, we can’t be together, right? Also, if I become a mermaid and he becomes human, it won’t work. I can’t ask him to base his decision on mine any more than I can base my decision on his.”

Freya stared at her for a moment before wrapping her arms around the girl and pretending to cry. “My little baby’s all grown up!”

Aria laughed and pushed her away. “It’s time you grew up, yourself.”

Freya gave her a shameless smile. “Now, why would I want to do that?”