Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

Aria removed the pendant and held it up. She knew they had to have seen it and figured everyone was just waiting for her to acknowledge it. “I have found your necklace. It fell into the hands of a curious scientist on land. He found it on the beach. As there is no proof otherwise, I am forced to accept that it may have been left there by accident.” She looked at the twins. “I suppose you dropped it, somehow.”

“Liar,” Alyssa declared.

“I will vouch that she is telling the truth,” Freya said. “I was there when the scientist returned it and I heard his story.”

“Then she left it on the beach for him to find.”

“That seems rather far-fetched,” Freya commented, keeping her gaze fixed on the king. “They have been making accusations with no proof. As the necklace is being returned, it seems to me there is no reason to allow that to continue.”

He was silent for just a moment before giving a brief nod to a guard, who took the pendant from Aria. She didn’t put up a fight and watched him hand it to Alexander, who took it without a word.

“As the necklace has been returned, I will consider this matter settled. You may return to the sea without fear of being attacked. I will make sure that is known after you leave.” He looked at Freya. “You mentioned there might be another matter of interest to us.”

“Yes, your highness.” She looked at Angela, taking her hand and pulling her forward. “This girl is a siren. As you know, there has been peace between the merfolk and the sirens for centuries. Anyone who risks that peace by assaulting a member of the other race would be guilty of treason. I assume that law still stands.”

“As it has for generations.”

She looked at Angela, expectantly and the siren swam forward. “On the night of the last full moon, I was attacked by two members of your kingdom. I was locked in a shed and several of my feathers were plucked.”

“These are very serious accusations,” the king said.

“And I do not make them, lightly,” she assured him. “There were cries for the sirens to go to war, but Freya and Astrid, our aurai, came to an agreement. If the guilty parties are brought to justice before the end of the night, the peace will be maintained between our races.”

“What did your attackers look like?” he asked. “I can have people searching for them.”

“No need,” she said, pointing to the twins. “They are here.”

There was a long silence after the words were spoken. Alyssa was the first to break it.

“Liar!” she said. “You’re only doing this because the human girl has a grudge against us!”

“Why would she have a grudge against you?” Proteo asked, calmly. “Have you injured her in some way?”

Alyssa paused. “No, but she sympathizes with your red-tail. She disliked the way we treated him.”

“You believe she would begin a war over such a thing?” His voice never changed and was impossible to read.

“There is no telling what a land girl might do.”

Proteo looked back to Angela. “Do you have any evidence that it was them?”

“None but my word,” she admitted, having been prepared for this. “However, that is good enough for my people. There is no question that I was attacked. I saw my attackers, clearly. I have no trouble recognizing them and war will break out if you choose not to believe me.”

“A convincing argument,” he admitted.

“Are we to believe a siren and a land girl over our own people?” Eldoris wondered. “You would have us punish the children of a prominent family on the word of some strangers?”

“That is a fair point,” he said before looking at Sapphira. “You know these two well. Do you believe they are capable of such actions?”

Another hush fell over the room and all eyes turned to the princess who didn’t look at anyone. It took a few minutes for her to respond.

“I think they are capable of a great many things,” Sapphira replied. “I know their whereabouts are unaccounted for during the time of the attack. I, also, know they had a grudge against the sirens for a minor prank that was pulled the previous month. Of course, that one was harmless, but Alexander and Alyssa seemed to take great offense.” She paused. “After the years we have spent together, I have come to know their personalities well. They have never cared for consequences and they often take things too far.” She looked at her father. “Not only do I believe they are capable of such an act, there is no doubt in my mind that they did it.”

The room fell silent, once more, and her words hung heavy in the air. Proteo looked at the twins. “Do you have some evidence that you are innocent of these crimes? Is there a witness that could verify you did not do it?”

“This is ridiculous,” Alyssa said. “We shouldn’t have to answer to some siren.”

“You are not answering to a siren,” he pointed out. “You are answering to me and you will answer. Provide some proof of your innocence or I shall be forced to assume you are guilty.”

Alyssa stared at him with an open mouth, her gears clearly turning, but coming up with nothing. “We are innocent.”

“That is not proof.”

She frowned and couldn’t hold his gaze. Alexander didn’t say anything, either. Having no way to prove they were not guilty, the pair remained silent.

Proteo sighed. “You leave me with little choice, then. As punishment, you will be stripped of your noble status and be forced to leave the city. After this moment, I do not wish to see either of you, again.” He looked at the guard, take them back to their house. They may have the night to pack, then you will escort them out of the city.”

The guard nodded his understanding and led the shocked twins out of the room.

“Be reasonable,” his wife said as she watched them go. “They are just children.”

“That is why I am simply banishing them,” he replied. “They have committed treason and we cannot allow a war to break out. For the sake of our people, this must be done.”

“That’s not enough,” Angela said, surprising everyone.

Proteo looked at her. “You asked for justice and I am providing it. What more do you want?”

She bit her lip, nervously, but forced herself to continue. “I have been injured and humiliated by your people. I demand compensation.”

“Compensation?” He looked at her, but his face was as indecipherable as his tone. “How much are you asking?”

“I do not need much from you, but I heard about a boy who has also been abused by these twins. I believe his name is Alizarin.”

“She is another sympathizer,” Eldoris commented. “We should have guessed.”

Proteo ignored his wife, keeping his gaze fixed on Angela. “What is your demand of us?”

“You keep Alizarin locked up, correct? I am given to understand he can only even step ashore in the company of the princess.”

“We do what we must,” the king replied.

Aria stared at Angela, unable to guess her plan. She had told the girl quite a bit about Alizarin, but she hadn’t expected him to come up, now.

“As compensation for my injuries, I wish for him to be given his freedom,” she said. “He should be free to come and go as he wishes and be allowed to walk ashore by himself.”

“We keep him locked away for his own protection,” Eldoris protested. “We can’t expect a siren to understand.”

“Even so,” Angela kept her voice firm, “this is what I ask of you to make up for what was done to me. It seems a small penance on your part, as you have enabled their behavior for so long.”

“She’s not wrong,” Sapphira commented. “If she wishes such a thing, it is a small price to pay to keep the peace.”

“You will have to agree to a regular bodyguard,” her father pointed out. “If he is not to stay by your side, you will have to allow the royal guards to follow you and I expect you not to run off on them.”

Sapphira stared at him, but nodded. “I will agree to that for the sake of the peace.”

“You can’t really be considering this,” Eldoris said. “You can’t trust him.”

“We have trusted him with our daughter and he did not harm her,” Proteo reminded her before looking back at Angela. “This is truly the compensation you want?”

“Yes.”

“Very well,” he said. “I will allow it.” He looked at Freya. “Was there anything else you wished to discuss?”

“No,” Freya replied, as stunned as anyone else. “I’d say that covers it.”

“Then go in peace,” he told her, “and assure the aurai that the matter is settled.”

Freya nodded and led the two girls out of the palace, not wanting to wait around for any more potential surprises.

Once they were out of the city and could think clearly, Aria turned to Angela with wide eyes. “You helped Rin.”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” Angela looked at her. “I mean: I’m sure you were genuinely concerned and wanted to help me, but you were thinking of him, too, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes,” Aria admitted, “but it never occurred to me to try something like that.”

“Because you didn’t realize it was an option,” Angela pointed out. “Why would you? Humans don’t handle things like merfolk do. Sirens don’t, either, but I’ve heard more about them than you have.”

“Even so, that was impressive.”

“It was risky,” Freya pointed out. “It could have gone horribly wrong.”

“But it didn’t,” Angela said with a smile. “I was able to do some good and everything worked out for the better, right?”

Freya considered her words, carefully. “We shall see.”

“Since when are you so pessimistic?” Aria wondered. She looked at Angela and smiled. “You did something amazing in there. I’m sure Rin will appreciate it, as well.”

“I did it for you,” the siren told her. “I knew it would make you feel better.

“Well, let’s return to the surface,” Freya said. “You two have a date with a perfectly sweet guy up there.”

“You’re making it sound weird,” Aria complained, but they resumed swimming towards the surface.

It was just past sunset when they reached the shore, where Eric was waiting, as he had promised. He’d sat down to read a book, but he stood as he saw them and smiled. “That didn’t take as long as I had feared.”

“It’s been hours,” Aria pointed out.

“Even so…” he shrugged. “I’m glad you came back alright.” He held up the book. “Let me just put this back in my car and we’ll be ready to go.” He took off towards the parking lot.

“He’s really adorable, isn’t he?” Angela commented as she watched him go.

Aria looked at the girl’s expression and smiled. “He is, indeed.”

While they were waiting for Eric to return, the girls put on their dresses and transformed into their usual states. Aria decided she would sprout her wings when Eric got back. She figured his presence would make her less nervous.

“Aria,” someone called from nearby.

Aria’s smile widened as she turned to face Alizarin. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I came as soon as they told me I could,” he explained, turning to Angela. “I wanted to thank you for what you did.”

“You are most welcome.”

Eric walked over, then. “Are you two ready to go?”

Angela took his arm and looked at Aria. “We’ll give you a minute.” She dragged him away, whispering as they went.

Aria watched them go and turned to Freya, but the nymph was walking away without a word, leaving her even more confused.

“Did I make them uncomfortable?” Alizarin wondered.

“No,” Aria assured him. “They’re just weird.” She offered him a smile. “I take it you didn’t waste any time before trying out your newfound freedom.”

“I’ve been able to escape my room for a while, now,” he pointed out.

“But, now, you won’t have to worry about getting caught.”

“That’s true,” he admitted. “I don’t expect I’ll ever be able to repay your friend for that. I can’t imagine why she did it, though. She doesn’t even know me.”

Aria gave an awkward chuckle. “Well, I’ve told her some about you, recently. I guess she just understood that you are in a bad situation and need a break.” She looked at him. “You certainly deserve some happiness in your life.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The same things that convinced Angela of it, I guess,” she replied. “You are kind. No matter what people do to you, you never seem to hold a grudge. Even if the king and queen treat you badly, you act like you are grateful to them for the few good things they’ve given you and those are very few.”

“They gave me a place to live,” he argued.

She nearly laughed. “You’re proving my point, you know. You really are incredible. I just wish there was something more I could do to help you.”

He stared at her for a moment. “You’ve done more than you could ever know.” Before she could respond, he leaned forward and kissed her. Aria was too shocked to react. Before she could remember how to speak, Alizarin said, “Sorry,” and jumped into the ocean, not even bothering to strip off his clothes, first.

Aria stood on the beach, dumbfounded and unable to think of a reaction. Angela and Eric returned a few minutes later.

“Did he take off?” Angela asked.

Aria nodded, unable to do anything else.

“Well, shall we go, then?”

Aria nodded once more and turned to face the girl, prepared to accept her wings and, hopefully, clear her head.

Alizarin watched from the water as the trio ascended into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness.

“You left, quickly,” Sapphira commented as she swam to his side. “I was a little surprised.”

“I had something to do,” he replied without looking at her.

“Is it done, then?”

He continued to stare at the sky. “For now.”

“Would you like to go ashore, tonight?”

“I already stepped ashore for a moment,” he said. “Right now, I don’t expect there’s anything there for me.”

“I might be there.”

“Do you intend to command me ashore?”

She paused. “You know I would never do that.”

“Why not?” he asked. “I belong to you, after all.”

“I know that sounded bad, but I didn’t mean it like that. I was simply trying to get her to leave you alone.” She looked at him. “I guess I got a little possessive, but I don’t really see you as a possession. I hope you realize that.”

He remained silent, never meeting her gaze.

She sighed. “Hopefully, you’ll stop being mad at me, eventually.”

“I’m not mad at you, my lady.”

She looked at him in surprise, trying not to get her hopes up too high at those words. “I’m going ashore. You may make your own decisions for what to do.” She swam away, not wanting to risk saying something that would make the situation worse again.

Aria breathed in the cool night air as she flew through the sky. The other two waited for her any time she fell behind and she managed to smile, deciding her issues could wait until the morning.