Maggie entangled her fingers around Peter’s beneath the waves, the firmness of his touch enough to give her the courage she needed. She gave the mermaid sisters a nod. “We’re ready.”
Selina breathed in deeply as her fingers began to glow with a dark blue magic. Words Maggie could hardly understand leftthe Princess’s lips as she worked her spell, the power visible in her growing aura. Maggie remained as still as possible as the bubbles began to form along her frame. They weren’t like the bubbles Maggie thought they would be – round and buoyant. Instead, the magic danced around her limbs, skimming over them in quick, shimmering loops before enclosing her in a shimmering blue translucent bubble. The bubble gleamed across her vision – the only hint that told her it was actually there.
The Princesses didn’t wait for a second longer. They dove through the surface of the water, disappearing beneath the waves with a quick flick of their tail. Peter tugged on Maggie’s hand and they quickly followed, the world becoming a deeply aquatic blue in every direction.
At first, there was nothing at all. Maggie simply held her breath as they dove deeper and deeper, but then she got to the point where she couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She jerked on Peter’s grip, motioning for the surface. He shook his head, showing her that she needed to take a breath. She was afraid, but desperate for air, she took a risk. And… it was like breathing above the surface. She smiled, and they continued swimming further down.
The ocean was a vast and empty space, with a growing darkness that stretched out for forever below. Maggie was overcome with an overwhelming fear the moment the water settled all around her, instinct immediately commanding her to return to the surface. Claustrophobia was never a fear she had to deal with, but the moment she entered the ocean’s treacherous waters, Maggie was sure to succumb to it.
Peter gripped her hand.Relax,his eyes seemed to say.Let go.
She shook her head.I can’t.
Just look around.
Maggie let her eyes shut before she dared to look around her another time. But when she opened her eyes, and the reality of itall washed over her, her breathing evened out as she took in the wonder of it. It wasn’t an empty space at all. Perhaps the ocean spanned on for much more than she would’ve ever realized, but she could hardly be afraid of something so beautiful. An entire world, one that she would never be able to see every inch of, existed under the waves all the time.
The water might’ve been murky, but the sealife was nowhere near that. The mermaids led them deeper and deeper into the ocean, and the further they went, the more life they were able to see. Creatures Maggie remembered from her first visit beneath the waves coursed by them. A whale as long as the island itself rode the streams as it shone a brilliant light off the stars tattooed into its body. Constellations were imprinted onto their skin, letting out rays of light that penetrated even the darkest reaches of the expanding ocean. Alongside them were horses Maggie recognized from the land though these ones housed long gills along their neck
The seahorses galloped on the waves before turning into the far darkness, disappearing into a place Maggie would never be able to follow. Dolphins burst through the depths before streaking by them in bursts. Each dolphin was colored a different shade of pink, almost matching Selina’s rippling tail. They let out their shrill songs as they went by, eyeing Maggie and Peter peculiarly as they swam past. Maggie wanted to reach out and let her fingers course by their pink skin, but held herself back. It probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to reach out and touch the unsuspecting wildlife
Tall tendrils of moss extended out from the dark depths below them. Maggie forced herself not to look down below, for it was only a mess of shadows her eyes could not penetrate. Whatever lies below them remained in the darkness. Jellyfish lit the path forward, and Selina and Coralyn readily followed. Each jellyfish lit up as a different color when they passed themby, their electrifying tentacles tempting but far too dangerous to actually touch. A few smaller ones, juvenile creatures Maggie assumed, swam alongside her and Peter for a few moments. Their pale blue coloring lit up her protective bubbles until they took a different turn, and rejoined the rest of the color-changing jellyfish.
Their destination was quickly coming upon them.
As the wildlife thinned out, a gorgeously ancient city appeared ahead. Tall structures that looked to be made from stone rose up from the sandy ground. Each pillar was covered in brown moss and underwater greenery, oceanic flowers sprouting at the bases. The structures turned into buildings the closer they came, though the signs above the doors were in a harshly archaic language that Maggie could barely stomach looking at.
“Mermaidic languages,” Coralyn pointed out, as if she noticed Maggie’s twisting stomach. “They aren’t meant for land dwellers.”
Maggie opened her mouth, but paused. Was it safe?
“It’s safe,” Selina said, seeming to read her thoughts.
Maggie half expected water to rush in still, but found nothing out of the ordinary happened. “We can talk underwater?”
Selina grinned. “The beauty of my invention, don’t you think?”
They came to a pause at the front gates to the city. Statues of mermaid people Maggie did not recognize stood on either side of the gate, their hands extended as if to stop anyone from simply entering the wide city. Maggie gazed up at the beautiful work, entirely admiring the artist's craftsmanship.
“Somehow,” Maggie murmured, “this is more beautiful than I thought it was going to be.”
Selina sighed, not at all looking as wistful as her. “Sure, it is beautiful. But don’t let it trick you.”
“What?”
“Haven’t you ever heard of poisonous frogs being some of the most beautiful creatures around?” Selina raised a brow, laughing shortly when Maggie looked as clueless as ever. “What looks pretty to you is actually a bright flashing warning to predators. You can call the city as beautiful as you’d like, but let’s not forget the most important thing.” She leaned forward, her eyes taking on a certain redness. “To call it dangerous would be an understatement.”
Maggie knew there was little she truly knew about the magical world she was living in, and the more she did learn, the more clueless she realized she had been before. The city was beautiful, but it was beautiful in a historical way, a haunting way, an ancient way. Maggie only wanted to find the knowledge it held, though she was beginning to realize that knowledge might just be a dangerous thing as well. Maggie forced a smile on her face before she gathered the willpower to speak again.
“Lead on!”
10
Maggie
“Anything a mermaid could ever wish for is in Atlantis,” Selina announced as they passed beneath the ancient city’s stone arches. The moment they crossed the threshold, the city transformed into a bustling and active center for mermaids and mermen alike. “From tail shiners to the famous SeaShell Mall – we’ve got it all!”
Maggie frowned and spoke out the corner of her mouth to Peter, the bubbles rippling over the surface of her skin. “Are we stealing back a statue or getting a sales pitch about moving to Atlantis?”
