Fins (Transformations: Book 2)
Chapter 18

Kai held out a hand to Sapphira and she stared at it, blankly. “What are you doing?”

“I thought you might like to dance,” he explained. “Apparently, this is a time to be charitable to everyone, so I figured we should get along. I’m not very good at dancing, so I don’t care whether or not you are.”

“Who says I’m not good at it?” she demanded.

He gave an exasperated sigh. “You’re a mermaid. We live in the ocean and don’t spend much time on these legs. When would you have learned how to dance like a human?”

She frowned and didn’t respond.

“Look, I’m not doing this to embarrass you or anything. You never seem to have any fun at the parties and I thought you might try to have fun tonight. It won’t kill you, after all.”

She continued to stare at him without responding for a minute.

“You should do it,” Alizarin suggested, surprising both of them. When Sapphira looked at him, he explained, “You might enjoy it, after all.”

“Since when are you on his side?” she wondered.

“I’m on your side, as ever, princess. If you do not wish to dance, that is your decision, but you may wind up missing out.”

She looked at him a moment longer before taking Kai’s hand. “One dance and you had better not step on my toes.” She dragged him into the fray and did her best to copy the moves of the humans.

Aria had noticed the interaction and she stood beside Alizarin. “Did you just convince her to dance?”

“The prince asked. I merely suggested she might enjoy it.”

“And she listened to you?” Aria stared at him, scarcely believing that.

“I suppose,” he admitted. “She may have just realized it might not be so bad.”

“I doubt Sapphira often realizes things on her own.” She considered him for a moment. “I don’t get it.”

He looked at her in confusion. “Don’t get what?”

Aria looked at the princess. “She treats you like a servant, but listens to you more than other people, it seems. Sometimes, I think she might even care about you.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he argued. “After all, it would not be appropriate for a Glemoran princess to show affection for a red-tail, such as myself. People would surely frown upon such a thing.”

She stared at him as a thought occurred to her. “What would happen if she was nice to you in public?”

“It’s hard to say.” He looked away from the girl. “I suppose I would no longer be able to guard her if her parents felt we were growing too close.”

“So, she has to act like she doesn’t care about you if she wants to keep you by her side?”

He was silent for a minute, clearly choosing his words with great care. “Why would a princess care about me?”

“Right…” She continued to stare at him, trying to read something from his neutral expression. “I guess I just really don’t know the first thing about you two.”

The song ended and Sapphira made her way back to Alizarin, giving Aria the usual death stare. “Don’t you have something better to do than distract my bodyguard?”

“Not really,” Aria replied with a smile. “You looked like you were having fun out there.”

“It’s tiresome,” the princess said. “How do you humans not wear down from such a thing?”

“Here.” Aria grabbed a drink from a nearby table and offered it to the girl. “Rehydrate and you’ll feel better.”

Sapphira stared at the cup. “Is it poison?”

“It’s punch,” Aria explained. She was really feeling the Christmas spirit and decided she may as well be nice to the bratty girl, at least for the night. “I won’t force you, of course. I just thought you might like it.” She looked at Alizarin, deciding to test out her new theory. “You know I wouldn’t hurt her, right?”

“I have no reason to believe you would.”

“Don’t go dragging him into your arguments,” Sapphira commanded.

Aria raised her hands in a peaceful gesture. “Look, it’s Christmas time and I’m just trying to share the spirit of the season. For one night, can we just be nice to each other?”

Sapphira stared at her for a moment. “This is a strange holiday.”

Aria shrugged and held the drink out to her. Sapphira, begrudgingly, took it. She took a sip and stared at the drink for a moment.

“Do you like it?” Aria asked.

“It’s good,” Sapphira replied, taking another sip.

“I was worried it would be too sweet,” Ashley said as she walked over.

“I told her there was no such thing,” Megan added. “I’m glad to see you all are enjoying yourselves.”

Sapphira looked like she was about to respond, so Aria spoke up before she could. “We’re all having fun. This is a great party.”

“So, you’re not mad at me about earlier?” Megan wondered. “I know I probably pushed things too far. I wanted to apologize.” She looked at Alizarin. “To you, too. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just got hyped up with the party and all.”

Sapphira looked at her bodyguard. “What happened earlier?”

“Nothing,” he said, looking at Megan. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

She smiled at that. “I’m glad you’re not mad. You’re not, either, right, Aria?”

“I’m not mad,” Aria assured her. “It was awkward, but I’ll be fine.”

“What happened?” Sapphira demanded.

“We should be going, soon,” Freya broke in. “Our friends need to be getting home before it’s too late and it’s already well past midnight, now.”

“Yeah, my parties do tend to run a little late,” Ashley admitted as she smiled at Aria. “I’ll see you on Monday, then.”

Meanwhile, Eric was stretching out his wings and flying high over the ocean. He’d been nervous, at first, and could only fly a few feet high, but he soon got over that and took to the air like he was born for it.

“You’re a natural,” Angela told him over the wind rushing by them. “It’s like you have always been a siren.”

He smiled more brightly than he had in his life. He could remember ever feeling so free. As he soared through the air, it felt right. It felt like this was what he’d been reaching for his whole life. Hang-gliding and parasailing just couldn’t compare.

“It’s incredible!” he called, looking out over the sea.

She smiled as they flew side-by-side into the night.

Freya drove them back to the beach and let the group out. They had all been silent for the whole trip. The fact that her car was barely big enough and everybody wound up squished together didn’t help with the discomfort.

“Let me deal with Alyssa and Alex,” Sapphira commanded as they climbed out of the car. “I don’t want this turning into a major incident, so I will smooth things over.”

Aria thought about it for a second before agreeing. “As you wish. Just try not to get Rin in trouble, if possible.”

“His name is Alizarin and if he gets in trouble, it will be your fault, land girl,” the princess argued.

Aria frowned, but couldn’t argue. She had been desperate to give Alizarin a little freedom and hadn’t thought too much about what would happen afterward. She gave him an apologetic look. “I can take the blame for it. They already hate me and we can say I kidnapped you or something.”

“No one would believe you could manage that,” Sapphira told her. “Just leave it to me, alright? Just this once, I’ll clean up your mess.” She stopped walking and looked back at the group. “You three should stay here. I’ll take him back and deal with the fallout, but you would just get in the way.”

Aria made a great effort not to be offended by the statement. She nodded, hoping the princess could help Alizarin avoid punishment. “We won’t interfere.”

“Then let’s get this over with,” she spoke to Alizarin and led him away from the group. Once they were out of earshot, she asked, “What happened at that party?”

“I told you it was nothing important,” he tried to assure her.

“You don’t want to tell me about it?”

“It’s not important enough to concern you.”

“I could order you to tell me.”

“You could.”

She stared at him for a moment before shrugging it off. “Keep your secret, if you like, then. It’s of little concern to me.”

The pair walked in silence to the beach where they quickly found Alexander and Alyssa. The twins caught sight of them and hurried over.

“Your highness.” Alyssa looked at Alizarin. “Did he try to run away?”

“Nothing of the sort,” Sapphira said, calmly. “I caught some sirens trying to steal him away. I suppose they thought it would be a fun joke. I believe one of them managed to distract you while the others kidnapped him.”

The twins frowned, clearly unconvinced, but not willing to argue with the princess. Alyssa looked at her, skeptically. “So, you stole him back for us?”

“We can’t have sirens doing such things,” Sapphira explained. “I already talked to the sky nymph and she assures me they will be dealt with, so nothing like this will happen again.”

Alyssa continued to frown, but shrugged. “No harm done, I suppose.”

Alexander quickly retied Alizarin’s wrist. “We’ll just be more careful in the future, I suppose.”

“He won’t be able to protect you very well if he’s tied up,” Sapphira pointed out as she stared at the bound wrist.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Alexander commented. “Besides, it will make it more difficult for anyone else to kidnap him, right?”

“It didn’t seem to help before,” she pointed out.

Alexander just shrugged. “You said no more nymphs will try and I doubt anyone else will manage it if he’s tied like this, so it’s fine.”

Sapphira stared at the rope a moment longer before shrugging. “Suit yourselves. I was just making an observation.”

“Your highness!” A man came running up to them, clearly out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Did you get lost?”

She looked at him and frowned. “You’re not much of a bodyguard if you lose me so easily.”

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I turned around and you were gone.”

“I could have been kidnapped with how little attention you pay. What would my parents say if they found out about this?”

“I didn’t mean to let you out of my sight,” he insisted, nervously. “I won’t let it happen again.”

She sighed, thinking he was a major pain. “If you say so.” She looked at Alizarin once more before walking away with the guard in tow.

“Will they really be alright?” Aria wondered as she walked beside Kai down the beach, away from the other merfolk.

“Do you trust Sapphira?” he asked.

“No,” she answered immediately, looking towards the sea. “Even so, I’d like to think she doesn’t want him getting hurt.”

“I don’t expect she does, since she intends to have him back as her bodyguard when all is said and done,” he pointed out.

Aria frowned as she considered that. “You don’t think it’s possible she cares about him as a person?”

“I doubt she sees him as a person,” he replied. “He is just a convenient tool for her to use to her advantage.”

She looked at him. “And how do you see Rin?”

He paused for a minute before replying, “I think I don’t know him very well.”

Aria smiled, feeling a little relieved. “Well, you can always get to know him. I’m sure he could use another friend.”

“That will be rather difficult while he’s attached to Alexander.”

“True,” she agreed. “But I don’t intend to leave things like that. I will replace that necklace and set everything right. Just you wait and see.”

He smiled at her. “I look forward to that.”

“We should get going,” Freya commented. She had hung back to let them talk, but walked over, then and looked at Kai. “You should get back to your party. It’s not wise for you two to spend so much time together right now.”

“Fair enough.” He looked at Aria. “Be careful. I know you intend to replace that necklace, but you have to watch your back until you do.”

“Don’t worry.” She offered him a smile. “I’m always careful.”

They said their goodbyes and Aria yawned as she headed back to the car with Freya. “Do you think I really have a chance of replaceing that thing?”

Freya gave the question careful consideration before responding, “I think you are capable of anything you put your mind to, Aria.”

“Won’t people see us?” Eric asked as he watched the sun rise.

Angela shook her head. “The people who helped you unlock this power are nymphs. They make sure the humans can’t see anything they shouldn’t.”

“Like mind control.”

“More like…hypnotism, I guess,” she said. “It keeps us safe and it’s rare that a person can see us unless the nymphs allow it or we do something foolish. If a girl with wings is standing right in front of you, there’s little that can be done to hide that. However, from a distance like this, they’ll just think they saw some birds.”

Eric nodded his understanding, wondering how many times he had seen a siren and not realized it. “How much longer can I remain like this?” Angela had made it clear he’d only have the wings, temporarily. He suspected it wouldn’t be much longer before he had to return to being human. He could almost cry for that thought.

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “The magic will last until the evening, if you want. Of course, you may grow tired and need to rest before then. You’ve been up all night, after all.”

He smiled at her and shook his head. “I feel like I’ll never be able to sleep again.”

She returned the smile, easily. “In that case, catch me if you can.” She flew away and he followed, never letting her out of his sight.

“You look exhausted,” Freya commented when they got back to their apartment.

“It was a long night.” Aria flopped down on the couch, not ready to sleep, yet. “Do you think Rin will be okay?”

Freya sat beside her on the couch as she thought about the question. “I think he is strong to have survived as much as he did and not even be angry about it. If he can manage that, I’m sure he can manage just about anything.”

Aria smiled at her, wanting to believe that was true. “I’m afraid of what they might do to him, though. You’ve seen how they are. I don’t like the idea of him being at their mercy.”

Freya stared at her, thoughtfully. “You think they are so much worse than Sapphira?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Aria said. “Sapphira’s a total brat, but she doesn’t seem interested in hurting him. She’s spoiled and self-absorbed, but not a sadist. I saw what Alexander did to Rin before. You’d have to be pretty sick for something like that.”

“That make sense,” Freya admitted. “For a moment, I thought you were warming up to the princess.”

“Never.” Aria looked at her friend. “She shouldn’t have let him be attacked in the first place. She’s their princess, so you can’t tell me she couldn’t have stopped them.”

“Without showing affection for him?”

Aria paused at that. “What’s that got to do with it?”

Freya shrugged. “If she ordered them not to hurt her bodyguard, people might wonder why she is protecting him, instead of the other way around. If they were to come to the conclusion that she cares for him as a person, he may no longer be permitted to guard her.”

“You think she cares about him that much?”

“He’s always at her side,” Freya pointed out. “Perhaps that is because of something more than convenience.”

Aria gave that thought some consideration. “I wondered about that, but I just don’t buy it. She’s so full of herself and always has to be the center of attention. She’s not the type to go against the tide and befriend someone who is seen as being beneath her.”

“Perhaps not, but one could argue that they are basically siblings. Even if all of Glemora pretends otherwise, they were brought up in the same place by the same people, even if they were raised quite differently. Maybe, the cold-hearted princess feels a connection because of that.”

Aria stared at the ceiling as she thought about that. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get me interested in their affairs.”

“Of course not,” Freya rushed to assure her. “You know I would never encourage you to get involved with anything merfolk-related. I was really just thinking out loud.”

“Right.” Aria yawned. “Well, I should get to bed. I am thoroughly exhausted after tonight. We can talk more about this later, if you want.”

“I don’t think there’s a need for that.”

Aria shrugged and disappeared into her room, leaving Freya to wonder about why she had said all those things to the girl.

Eric managed to make it to the afternoon before he wore down and they alighted on the beach. He glistened with sweat, but wore a bright smile.

“You seemed to enjoy yourself,” Angela commented as she looked at him. “I’m glad.”

“I wish it didn’t have to end.” He looked at his wings, sadly.

“Meet me here next month,” she told him. “You’ll be able to transform again.”

“Really?” His smile returned at that and she nodded.

“Every full moon, we can fly together, if you want.”

“I do,” he replied, immediately, stretching his wings out. “More than anything.”

She took a step closer and kissed him. “Then I will see you next month.” She flew away before he could respond.

Eric stared after the girl as she disappeared into the horizon and he felt his wings return to being arms as the magic of the night faded away.