Water Maiden

Chapter 2

                       Chapter 2

         I sat numbly in a comfy burgundy recliner sipping some jasmine tea from a white mug. I looked around the small living room full of pillows and over stuffed furniture. Pictures of Arica and her friends cluttered the walls. I adjusted my long white t-shirt over my knees stared at the light blue box that sat on the coffee table. “Sorry it took me so long. But finding cookies in my cluttered kitchen was pretty hard if I do say so myself. The only things in there really are just for my restaurant I run downstairs.” She sat a plate of old hard cookies in front of me on the coffee table. “Alright let me explain. Hmmm…where do I start? As I’m sure you already know you are not allowed to tell a human your identity or confess your love to one. If you do you will turn into foam. Rule 2: You must keep your Pearl with you at all times.”

          “Rule 3: Never get around water when there are humans around. If even one drop touches your skin you will turn into a mermaid. So don’t worry you’re not a human. When you’re out of water and dry then you take on the appearance of a human. Only royals and a few other mermaids, such as myself, can shape shift.  Rule 4: Never show your Pearl to anyone. Rule 5: If you go swimming never let a human see you. Rule 6: While you are here your sole purpose is to look for the four other Pearl Princesses. After that we can mount an attack on Pavane to save the other Pearl Princesses. Also your full name is now Hime Kollans. Whenever people ask you who you live with you will tell them with my Aunt Arica. Your mother and father are well known scientists who live back in Arizona with your three older sisters. They decided to let you move here because you’ve been having a hard time at home.” I nodded while I studied Arica. She had dark brown hair that was pulled into a messy bun with chocolate brown eyes and dark tanned skin. She looked around the age of twenty-eight or thirty. Judging by her plain blue t-shirt and gray draw string sweat pants she went more for comfort than style.

     “I understand.” I finally said quietly looking down into my now empty mug. Her brown eyes softened with pity as she said, “You’ve had a long day. Why don’t I show you where your room is so you can take a shower? We’ll go shopping tomorrow so you can have some clothes.”

     I let her take the cup out of my hands and grabbed onto the arm of the chair for support as I stood up. My legs wobbled and the world began to spin around me. Arica caught me with grace and said, “You should practice walking. After all you’ll be doing a lot of it going to school and all.” She leaned me against her like she did on the beach.

    “School?”, I asked as she helped me up the blue carpeted hallway. “Well yea.” We stopped in front of a light wooden door. “You have to go. You’re only fifteen. But human school is a lot of different than having a royal tutor.”  She opened the door to a small plain room with a twin sized bed and an amour made out of the same wood of the door. “Sorry the rooms so small. But this is the only room in the house besides mine. Here’s the bathroom.” She sat me on the bed then opened a door that connected to my bedroom.

      The bathroom was small but it looked a lot better than my humdrum bedroom. The floor was gold marble tiles while the walls were painted a similar gold. There was a large bathtub on the opposite side of the bathroom from the door with a low double window so you could look out onto the ocean. She sat me on the side of the bathtub and ran the bath water. “Anything else? Do you need help getting into the tub?” I shook my head a bit embarrassed by her question. “Alright shampoo and soap are on the side there. The towels are on the sink. Make sure you dry off good so you can turn back.” She closed the door and left me alone.

     I threw the shirt that Arica loaned me onto the ground and slipped into the bath. My feet began to tingle and a sharp pain shot through my legs. I gasped but when I looked down instead of two legs I saw a light blue tail in their place. I smiled and looked out the small window. My sisters- no, my kingdom was counting on me.