Sprite

“Rainbow!” Norah threw her arms around the horse’s neck. “I missed you so much!”

Adam snorted, as the old horse patiently endured Norah’s affection. “What’s to miss? She’s a horse. Besides, I’ve been riding her every day so she gets her exercise.”

Norah shot her little brother an exasperated glance. “You have no idea how lucky you are.” She frowned. “What do you mean, riding her? Do Mama and Daddy let you take her out by yourself?”

“Of course!” Adam, at eight, was indignant. “I’m not a baby.”

“Then they won’t mind if I take her out,” Norah reasoned, already starting her preparations. “Tell Daddy I’ll be back in time for dinner. On second thought, don’t tell him. If anyone asks, I’m up in my room, all right?” She winked at her little brother.

“Sure,” Adam replied, helping her to get Rainbow saddled and ready. “She likes to run to Black Pond, so be careful when you get to the cut-off.”

“Black Pond? Where’s that?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Don’t you remember?” he asked. “Black Pond is where we go swimming when it’s hot.”

“Oh.” Norah smiled weakly. “I never really went swimming that much when I was your age.”

“Girls.” Adam replied, shaking his head. “Well, don’t let Rainbow go there. Even I’m not allowed to go swimming by myself.”

“All right.” Norah swung up on Rainbow. “I’ll be back soon.” Swimming by herself was the only way Norah could go swimming and not be branded a mutant. Daddy would understand, even if Mama wouldn’t. When she had first gone out to visit Rainbow, swimming had been the last thing on her mind. She had only ever been allowed to ride the horse up and down the road by the main house. Adam really didn’t know how lucky he was.

She let Rainbow set the pace, trusting that the horse would lead her to Black Pond. In her pocket, Norah carried the small box with her razor. She never went anywhere without it anymore. It was a good thing Grandfather was tied up in meetings with Mama and Daddy this afternoon. If anything, Grandfather was even more controlling than her parents. He allowed her to come on this visit to them, but made it quite clear that she was his charge and would be returning with him to Datro at the conclusion of his business. The hunters who had accompanied them as far at the property gates were long gone now. Daddy had a policy of not allowing hunters onto the Hanan property, whatever the reason, and his men would not budge on that point, even with all of Grandfather’s blustering.

“I’m sorry, they can wait here,” one of the gatekeepers had said. “or they can leave.”

The leader of the hunters had assured Grandfather that they were not offended. Everybody knew Hanan’s lands were off-limits to hunters and mutants alike. As far as the hunter was concerned, he had done his duty and escorted them safely to the edge of the Hanan property.

Grandfather, however, had been furious, and he made sure his daughter and her husband knew it when he arrived at the house. “There was an escaped mutant—a sprite! What if that creature had somehow gotten ahead of us and on Hanan land? We could have used those hunters to protect us!”

Mama had paled when her father mentioned the sprite. She wanted to make sure Norah was all right, and only calmed down when Grandfather told her that Norah had been nowhere near the sprite.

Norah’s father tried ease the tension. “Our land is safe,” he had said. “No one can get in or out without our knowledge. That’s thanks, in large part, to the fencing your company provides. You’re quite safe, here.”

That had not gone over well with Grandfather, either. Norah knew he considered Hanan’s lands to belong to him, as the husband of Hanan’s only daughter. He did not like being told what to do by his own daughter’s husband. Over the last few days, they had been ‘discussing’ the matter as only grown-ups could, which left Norah to her own devices for a change.

Rainbow trotted swiftly up the road and turned off on a well-worn path, but one Norah had never been on. A little while later, Rainbow turned again, and suddenly there was the pond, black as Adam had said it was, but tiny compared to the river in Datro or even the lake where Norah’s father had taken her swimming for the first time two years ago.

“Oh!” Norah breathed, sliding off and looping the reins around a branch. “Stay here, Rainbow.” The horse seemed used to the routine and stood contentedly in the shade not far from the pond.

Norah quickly shed her outer clothes until she stood only in her under-things, and slipped quietly into the dark water. It was cold, but so was her river. She tested the boundaries of her new world, feeling the tingle as her webbing formed between her fingers and toes, and the delicate fins sprouted out from behind her ears and on her ankles. She swam round and round in tight circles, brushing the bottom of the pond and arching around to the other side. Her braids became unbound, and her red hair streamed out behind her like a banner, had anyone been able to see it. She dove down as deep as she could, and immediately arrowed up, shooting into the air with the force of her exit. With a splash, she fell back into the water and laughed delightedly, floating on her back and letting the warm sun kiss her face.

Norah immediately wanted to try it again. This time, she dove down deep and came up facing the shore. When she shot out of the water, she tried to land upright, but succeeded in landing on her belly half in and half out of the water. Laughing at herself, she twisted around and went back in, circling around and doing it again and again until she finally figured out how to land feet upright on the shore. With a triumphant grin, Norah dove back into the water one last time. She hated to leave, but she had to get back before she was missed.

Black Pond was small, but deep. Norah followed the contour of the pond as far as she could go. At the very bottom, where it was coldest, there was an opening between two rocks that was barely big enough for her to fit through. She hesitated. What if she got stuck, and then couldn’t turn around? She wasn’t afraid of drowning; swimming in Datro’s river had taught her that she could stay underwater for long periods of time without needing to come up for air. Reluctantly, Norah left this new puzzle for another day and took one last circle so that she could leap out of the water directly on to the land. She felt like she was flying!

“Come on, Rainbow,” she said, gathering up her clothes in one hand. “Let’s walk for a while so I can dry off.” She led the horse for the few minutes it took her body to dry, then found a convenient rock where she could cut away the visible signs of her adventure. It was almost worth it.

No one had even realized she was gone. Norah took care of Rainbow before she went to Papa’s library, where the grown-ups were still ‘discussing’ something important. She wanted to tell Daddy about her new accomplishment. She wanted to tell somebody! Daddy would understand, and he would share her excitement, she knew he would!

Grandfather saw her first. “Come in, Norah,” he said, beckoning her. None of them sat behind Papa’s big desk. Instead, all three grown-ups sat in chairs on the other side of the desk, in a rough semi-circle. “We were just discussing your future.”

Norah took Papa’s seat behind the big, empty desk. “My future?”

“Yes. I’ve been telling your parents how well you have done at school. You have made friends and adjusted to life in Datro admirably. We think it’s time for the next step.”

Norah glanced at her parents. Her father sat, stony-faced, and her mother looked resigned. What was the next step? Norah already knew she would be going back to school in Datro in the fall. “What is it? Is Adam coming to Datro too?”

Her mother shook her head. “Not yet. We decided to wait a few more years. Adam has a lot to learn right here, so Daddy is going to teach him about running the Hanan estate.”

Norah’s stomach clenched. Did that mean she wasn’t ever coming home again? She glanced at her father, but his face still showed no expression.

“You’re going to start learning about the business end of things—in Datro,” her mother went on. “Your grandfather will start giving you some responsibilities at the factory, when you have time off from school. That way, you’ll be in a position to take over running the factories when you’re grown up.”

Norah glanced around the library. Books still lined the walls, but the fanciful books, the ones about happily-ever-after and magical creatures that Papa used to show her were no longer in plain sight. She sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go back to Datro—she wanted to see Roselle and especially Will again. “Will I ever get to come home?” she asked in a small voice.

Her father’s head shot up. “This will always be your home,” he growled, his voice rough with emotion.

“Of course you’ll come back here,” Grandfather said, carefully avoiding the word ‘home.’ “When you’re older. For the time being, we all agree it’s for the best if you remain with me in Datro.”

Mama smiled, although her eyes were suspiciously bright. “You’re here now, and we have a few weeks together where we can do all the things we used to do. Won’t that be fun?”

Norah pushed her chair away from the desk and stood up. “Sure. Can we go swimming at Black Pond, like you do with Daddy and Adam? I’d like that.” She watched her mother’s face turn stark white, but she didn’t care. It was true, wasn’t it? Mama would never allow Norah to swim. Mama knew what Norah was, and Mama was afraid somebody would find out. “Never mind,” she said airly, waving her hand in dismissal as she stomped out of the room.

“Norah!” Her grandfather’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Yes, Grandfather?”

“You have not been given permission to leave.”

“May I go, Grandfather?” Norah wouldn’t look at either of her parents.

“You may go.”

She ran up to her room and slammed the door behind her, burying her face in her pillow. The door opened a few seconds later, and her father came in. “Norah, Norah look at me.”

She turned her head. He had the most incredibly sad expression on his face. Norah’s lip began to quiver and she started to cry, quietly. Her father put his arms around her. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Norah said.

“I’m sorry, truly I am,” her father said. “Your mother’s sorry, too. But your grandfather is right. We need somebody from the family to take over the business. Adam’s too young. It has to be you.”

“But—but I’m a mutant! How can I run factories that do such horrible things to my . . . my own kind!” Norah sobbed.

“Don’t say that,” her father said, patting her back awkwardly. “Don’t ever say that. They’re not your kind. You’re our Norah. Nothing else.”

Norah bit her lip. Then what was Will? “I’m sorry I upset Mama,” she said.

Her father hugged her. “I’ll talk to her. Norah, be careful. I won’t try to stop you from swimming, but you know what will happen if you get caught. I don’t think even we would be able to stop it.”

“I know.” She grinned. “I won’t get caught. I’ve been swimming all along.” She laughed at the expression on her father’s face.

Grandfather left for Datro the following morning, borrowing two of the Hanan guards to accompany himself and the two guards he had brought with him. Norah was allowed to stay until the end of the summer, a concession her mother won for her. Norah found out that her mother was going to have another baby, but instead of feeling like she was being replaced in her mother’s affections, it actually made her feel a little closer to her mother. She regretted making her mother worry. If Norah’s mutation ever came to light, it would affect a lot more people than just Norah herself.

Still, Norah couldn’t help sneaking away to Black Pond every chance she got. She didn’t think she was fooling anyone, since she was the one who had brought up Black Pond to begin with, but neither her father nor her mother questioned where she rode off on Rainbow every day. Adam was in his glory because his father allowed him to come on his patrols.

One afternoon, when Norah shot up out of the water to land on the grassy shore, she nearly fell back in shock as her mother stared blandly at her. “That’s quite a trick,” Mama said quietly. She had a picnic lunch spread out on a small blanket. “Sit down, have something to eat.”

Norah cautiously sat. “You know?” she asked, taking a peach and biting into it. Since her first unexpected trip to Black Pond, Norah had taken to wearing her bathing suit under her clothing because the bathing suit dried a lot quicker than her underclothes did. She squeezed water out of her hair self-consciously, knowing her mother could see the webbing between her fingers.

“I’ve always known,” Mama said, handing her a napkin. Norah wiped her mouth and shot her a grateful smile.

“You don’t mind?”

Mama smiled, too. “It’s safe here,” she said. “I found this place years ago. As long as you swim here, I don’t worry about you. I want you to be happy. You’re almost all grown up. You’ll be going away soon, and I didn’t want you to think I don’t love you or want you here with us. Of course I do.”

Then Mama did something Norah never would have believed. She shed her outer clothing and, in her swimsuit, jumped into the water. “Take me swimming with you,” she dictated to her daughter. She had Norah swim just under the surface as she held onto Norah’s shoulders. “Now, under!” Norah could hear her, and felt it when her mother took a deep breath. With a flick of her wrists Norah plunged deeper into the pond, towing her mother along with her. It only lasted for a minute, perhaps less, when Mama let go and struck out for the surface. Worried, Norah surfaced right after, only to see her mother’s face lit up in a great smile. “Again!” she said, and Norah complied.

Later, as they both lay on the picnic blanket, Mama said, “Thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like that.” They both walked back home, leading Rainbow, and talked like they hadn’t talked in Norah’s whole life.

Summer was almost over the last time Norah visited Black Pond. She had finally gotten the courage to try swimming through the narrow passageway deep underneath the pond, and it brought her out miles away from Hanan’s forest into a river not unlike her own in Datro. Over the course of the summer, Norah had ridden around the entire Hanan property, so she was fairly certain that this stretch of woods wasn’t part of it. It wasn’t anywhere near Datro, either.

Norah enjoyed the feeling of being in a totally new place, although she didn’t want to stray too far from the river. She would have to retrace her route in order to get back, but she had no doubt that she could do it. Ahead, the tangled woods thinned out, and the air seemed brighter, clearer. Norah walked towards the brightness, knowing that the river was somewhere behind her. She rubbed her eyes, because the brightness had suddenly gone blurry. It only lasted a few seconds, and when Norah could see clearly again, she gasped. Before her was another pond, green instead of black. The air around the pond shimmered, but the brightness of a few minutes ago seemed more muted now, glowing rather than shining, and not only the air glowed, but the pond did as well. Norah took a step forward, drawn to the still, green water. She wanted to feel that soft glow on her body as she sank into its depths. One more step, and she would be there.

A beautiful woman stepped out from behind the trees on the other side of the pond. Her long, golden hair was her only adornment, and her eyes were the green of the pond. She regarded Norah across the pond. “Red,” the woman said thoughtfully, then touched her own golden hair. “It’s lovely.”

With that, the woman dove gracefully into the pond. Norah could see the faint ripple across its surface moving directly toward her. Stumbling back, Norah ran, through the blur, through the bright forest, until she came to her river, ordinary in its darkness, without any hint of green or glow. She dove in, swimming faster than she had ever swum before, heading unerringly for the gap in the wall that marked her passageway back to Black Pond.

The woman Norah had seen was like her. She had the same webbing, the same delicate fins, yet she possessed an ethereal beauty that could not be human. No human being had hair quite so gold, or eyes so green. No mutant, surely. But that was impossible.