Our Forbidden Love 2

16: Alexander

Starley drew a map, went to collect necessary files from the Records Room and has all her Scout weapons sitting together on her dressing table. The map and files are in a small bag but the weapons are sitting outside the bag. She mustn't have gone back to sleep after she completed the vision last night like I did and instead prepared all this. I don't know where she is at the moment. I get up, she should be here soon. I look at myself in the mirror and run my hands through my hair. At that moment the door opens and Starley swims through.
"You're awake!" she exclaims and swims forward to hug me. I hug her back, wrapping my arms securely around her small body. How does her hair always smell like coconuts? It smells so good. "And alive," she adds, hearing my heartbeat through my chest. I'm surprised she can't hear the incessant flapping of the butterfly's wings in my stomach that are always there when I'm near her.
"You all ready to go?" I ask her and she nods against my chest.
"Are you? You seem quieter than usual," she says, looking up at me, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, I'm ready. This is all for you," I reply and instantly she breaks out of my hug.
"You don't have to go and do this," she says.
"Yeah, I know."
And together we head out of the city, Starley's quiver secured around her waist, Defence Bow in right hand and the small bag worn around my waist. I reach out for her hand and she slips it in mine.
***
Once we are out of the city, Starley teleports us to New Zealand, which is so much easier than when Weedy made us swim. I feel her magic open the space around us and engulfs us in it's darkness. We spend not even a second there as the space opens again and pushes us out. I look around, we're outside the New Zealand city.
"Kiwi Civitatem," she says and I look at her confused. "It's the name of the city."

Starley doesn't speak after she's told me the city's name and I know that she's remembering what I said to her last time we were here. I keep running my thumb over her hand, trying to comfort her. Paranoid, I look in the bag that I'm carrying. Good, the shell is still there. I'm so worried that I'm going to lose it and then the whole trip will be useless.

We approach the gates of the city and unlike Oceanum Villa there is a visible barrier that runs the perimeter of the city. She lets go of my hand and speeds up a bit to get to the gates quicker. I follow her, speeding up too. We can see a merfolk standing at the gates, holding what appears to be a trident. When we get there, Starley bows to the merfolk at the gate and I mirror her actions. The official merfolk is a woman. Her hair is a pink and grey colour and it falls down to her waist in two plaits sitting over her shoulders. Her tail looks like denim jeans, but I know it isn't. There's a crop top and then a gap for her stomach and then the tail continues from her waist down.
"State your purpose," she demands. I look at Starley, expecting her to do that talking.
She holds out her right hand to the merfolk, showing her symbol.
"I'm Starley Star-Bub from Oceanum Villa. I'm their Scout-Keeper and I'm here for business with your Government."
The official raises their eyebrow at me.
"He's with me," she says and I feel a strange wave of magic wash over us before the official reluctantly lets us through the gates.
"You enter at your own risk," she warns us.

"She's a Flicker," Starley whispers to me.
"That's what the wave of magic was?" I ask and she nods in response. We head down the centre aisle of the city towards their Government House. When we go through the doors, the first thing I notice is that there's no reception desk like in Oceanum Villa. Instead there's a small round table about the size of a car tire and in the centre of it, there's what looks like a small cake stand. Starley and I stand around it and then she looks at me.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"The Shell, Alex." I open the bag and take out the Stonal Shell.
"Here, hand me the bag," she says and I do. I reach over with two hands and place the shell on the little cake stand. The shell sinks into the stand and it begins glowing purple. Then a hologram appears in front of the round table and words begin to write on the purple screen.
"Say them aloud," Starley instructs.
"I'm a human and a merfolk; both by blood.
I'll leave one for the other; alter my blood.
Want to live with my girlfriend; with same blood.
I call on Fate to make it happen; change my blood."
The purple light coming from the hologram glows brighter and I feel myself being pulled closer to the table. I push myself up to be above the round table and purple light shoots up from its circumference and soon it grows so bright I can no longer see Starley standing on the other side of the light. The light gets closer to me and I feel it begin to burn my skin as it touches me. I scream out in pain; the purple light is burning my skin fast. The light swallows me whole and I feel myself float upwards, though I'm not moving. The purple light then suddenly stops burning me, and just holds me in the air, wrapped up in a sort of cocoon. Then a singular spark flies from the light and lands on the inside of my right wrist. Then it traces a rectangular shape on my skin, burning the shape into it. The pain is unbearable and I'm continually screaming hoping that it's going to reduce. But it doesn't, if anything it gets worse and the light burns through my veins and straight to my head.
"Starley!!!!" I scream out but all that greets me is darkness and silence.