The red headed girl with her rusty, glistening tail led me by my arm from the open sea down to an opening in a wall of rocks and corals. I watched as her tail flexed and contracted, with a snake-like flow and tried to mimic the movements. We wound through the vast network of tunnels, tails flowing behind us all the while.
The darkness that had surrounded us began to clear. Beneath us, I saw lights - a city full of lights - stretching far into the distance. My jaw dropped. It was beautiful. A domed tower stood in the middle of it all; everything followed its curve, the whole city putting rings upon rings around the focal point. We began to swim over it, and below, I could see small figures idling through the streets, flicking their tails behind them. "W-what - " I stuttered. "What is this place?"
The girl on my arm, who had stayed silent spoke up, a soft gaelic lilt to her tone: "It's Atlantis, home of the merpeople. Or - well - most of them. Some ventured out to see if there were other populations, but we've never seen them since." She spoke as if this was the most normal thing, as if 'Atlantis' and 'merpeople' weren't just myths and legends.
"Atlantis?"
"Yes, Atlantis, the lost city." She rolled her eyes.
"Go easy on her, Rosalind. She could be a New-Turn," the blonde said, causing the red head to snort and mumble something under her breath.
"Let's just get her to the Queen already," the black tailed merman snapped, flexing his tail and pulling ahead of our pack.
*****
"Your majesty, your son and his companions," a guard announced, his voice booming. The grand wooded doors swung open, revealing a grand room lined with golden pillars and statues, leading to a grand throne. The queen sat, her golden tail curved elegantly around the throne. Her hair sat in complex braids and twists, and upon the nest of hair, a crown twinkled. She was stunning. I couldn't help but wonder how one of these merpeople was her son - she only looked about 30. My question was answered in part when the blonde haired boy swam forward, bowing and kissing her hand.
"Hello, mother,"
"Oh Allessandro, my dear boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The boy leaned in, speaking in hushed tones before straightening and gesturing in our direction. I cowered a little as the queen swung her gaze towards our little cluster;
"Go forward!" The raven haired boy whispered, gently nudging me. I was bewildered. I glanced at him again, and he shooed me forward. Numbly, I complied, bumbling forward with disjointed movements to the base of the steps.
"Hmm, I've not seen her before," she said as she looked down her nose at me. My hair drifted across my face, and so I hurriedly pushed it out the way, feeling her scrutinising gaze.
"Where did you find her?" She asked the black haired boy, never breaking her stare on me. He swam forward with ease and came to a halt just beside me. His back snapped straight to attention. "She was with another girl, your majesty - a human. We found them three or four miles from the coast. They were being circled by sharks; her friend had lost a lot of blood. We only just got there in time," the black haired boy replied. Meanwhile, I stood there, beginning to become antsy.
"Well, you know what to do, Christopher, take her for questioning," she said, turning to the man beside me.
"Yes, ma'am," and with that, he took my arm and pulled me out of the grand room.
YOU ARE READING
Deep, blue secrets
Fantasy"You don't understand!" "What do you mean? What's the big deal?!" "We haven't had a new mermaid in nearly 50 years; people don't exactly do the whole 'walk the plank' thing anymore, you know. Amelia and Rachel are just two girls enjoying a week awa...
