Daughter of Water

Chapter 6

The mansion was much bigger on the inside than on the outside. The outside seemed condensed, like someone trying to hide it but on the inside, it was like it was pouring its secrets out to me. All around me, candles were lit and set about in an almost sloppy yet organized way.

A candle would be set about randomly, yet precisely so that most of its light was of use. For being so grand, the candles really gave it a touch that it seemed it needed.

"This way, my lady," Sir Clarence said as he led me up a spiral staircase. I felt like there may be more that what was shown on the outside. As we neared the top of the staircase, the sound of footsteps brought me back from my numb like state.

Little Arlo strode next to me, trying hard not to glance over at me and my attire. I knew I looked like I just went for a dip in the back yard's pond but I felt refreshed. The salt water on my skin was almost like rejuvenating moisturizing lotion. For some reason, I could tell that those that I was with right now probably didn't feel the same as I did about water.

"Are you okay Arina?" Arlo asked me. Clarence turned around and looked at his grandson with a sour face.

"That is Lady Arina to you Arlo," Clarence said before turning and continuing up ahead. I watched curiously as Arlo turned to me and bowed.

"Sorry my lady," he apologized. I smiled and bent over to look into his eyes. I put a hand on his shoulder, his posture telling me he was nervous.

"It is okay Arlo. You can call me what ever you wish. Just no pet names, okay?" A glimmer of something unreadable passed into his eyes before he lit up like the fourth of July. He grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs. At the top was a door made of what looked like it might be wood but I couldn't tell for sure.

Clarence opened the door to reveal a sea blue room that was so many shades of blue that some of them I had never seen up on the surface. I was no more than a step in when a girl looking about my age with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Her pale yellow dress was quite fitting on her and it seemed that with the floor being stone, she wore a type of slippers on her feet.

When her eyes laid upon me, her head bowed.

"Welcome home my lady," she greeted and look back up to me. I nodded to her and bowed a little too, although, I haven't the first idea on if it was right or wrong. She took in my attire and ushered the two males out and closed the door, much to Clarence's displease.

"He may seem intimidating miss Arina but Clarence isn't all that bad." I smiled at her and shivered a little. It was definitely cooler under the earth. She took notice and hurried along a closet looking room. Within moments she was setting a royal blue dress on the bed along with a pair of white slippers and something relative to old women's underwear.

"Alright my lady, let me get you changed." My eyes widened. She was going to change me? My arms went protectively over my chest as a small frown appeared on my face.

"Could I change myself?" She smiled at me and nodded before wandering off into another room connected to this one. Without her here to notice, I took off my drenched white sundress and draped it over a nearby chair. I figured that my swimsuit was the closest clothing here that was underwear so I kept them on as I tried to remember from my history classes on how to put on these clothes.

"My lady, if I may," I heard her voice say from behind me. I jumped a bit on how she seemed to materialize out of no where. I covered my chest and nodded, really just wanting to get warmer and covered. She put her hands up as if coaxing a dog and approached me closely.

"Unfortunately, these will not fit under your clothing. Though I admit, I like the style. Is it underwear from the surface?" I shook my head no as she untied the neck strap to my top. One more strap and I'd be left in my bottoms.

"It's a swimming suit." She paused and looked at me incredulously.

"What is a swimming suit?" I giggled a bit and felt the last strap drop. I covered my chest on instinct and shivered again.

"A swimming suit is like underwear that you wear only for swimming." She nodded curiously and gathered the corset pieces and strings. Oh boy.

"Please lift your arms my lady?" I hesitated but knew that they would be covered in no time.

"You don't have to keep calling me that. You can call me Arina," I said as I lifted my arms away from my chest and before I knew it, my breasts were covered and tucked into a pale blue corset. Man was I glad I decided on a simple dress for that party.

"Thank you miss Arina. You may call me Mary." She moved to the bottoms for underwear. I looked at them incredulously. I was not wearing those.

"Nice to meet you Mary, but I think I will just stick with what I have on for under the dress." She looked at me as I grew wings.

"How could you not wear them? They are underwear, miss Arina." I knew what they were but they looked like a pair of men's swimming trunks that were extended and squeezed into the calves. Definitely not happening.

"I know what they are. I have just never worn something like this before." Her brows furrowed. I'm sure she grew up knowing that if you didn't wear what she was trying to put on me, you were probably a hooker. What do they call hookers in the old days?

"Well, for this outfit, unless you want men looking at you the wrong way, I insist that you put this on." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Fine," I said, defeated. She squealed and went to work on the strings around my waist. I gasped and backed away just as it fell to the floor. I covered my bare bottom and crotch and grabbed at the 'underwear' myself and hurried to get them on. This is the most embarrassing moment of my life. Both the top and bottom of my suit off, she set it with my sundress and moved to the blue one on the bed.

I felt like I was forced back into an old movie that I couldn't look away from.

"Raise your arms please?" I did as she said and raised them. She slipped the dress over my arms and down my body. The floor-length material wasn't all blue but had a bit of white for the arms and shoulders that let air flow freely and the cleavage I didn't know I had to present its self. It hugged my curves nicely and let my natural form show. Then there was the corset issue.

Mary began to lace it, air escaping my lungs. I grasped at the bed post we were next to and held on for dear life.

"Almost done," she announced. Then her torture stopped and the dress was laced up and tied off. I flipped my bright blonde hair over my shoulder to cover the strings and looked into a nearby mirror.

What I saw was not Arina who was on the swim team and was now sixteen but a young girl who looked like a great Lord's daughter.

I looked like a princess of the ocean.