Making a Splash

Half vs Pureblood

It was the middle of the morning as Lily made her way to the hidden cove. Yesterday had been surprisingly hectic with her and Emma learning of the existence of the mermaid kingdom of Aquaria, and meeting its princess on top of that. Unfortunately, the encounter hadn't been entirely pleasant, as Lily couldn't stand the views the princess known as Elizabeth had. Not only did Elizabeth hold bias against Halfs like her and Emma, but she also believed Lily had made a mistake in saving a drowning child the other day. So today was going to be Lily's chance to prove herself to the arrogant mermaid princess.

Marie had tried to warn Lily against it, but for Lily there was no backing down from this. It was true Elizabeth lived in the ocean unlike her, so she likely had significantly more experience moving around as a mermaid. But Lily considered herself a strong swimmer, even able to keep up with the likes of Marie after months of practice. She wouldn't go down easy.

Neither Marie nor Emma would be with Lily for this test. Elizabeth had insisted on it just being the two of them so she could properly test Lily's abilities as a mermaid. The only part about it that mattered to Lily was that she would be the only one to see the princess proven wrong.

Finally, Lily arrived at the cove. She moved through the crack and entered, finding Elizabeth already waiting there for her.

"I'm glad to see you didn't run away, Half." Elizabeth smirked.

"And miss the chance to humiliate you? As if." Lily countered.

The two girls didn't waste anymore time with words as they undressed. Once they were ready, both of them stepped into the water and transformed into mermaids. It was Lily's first time seeing Elizabeth in her mermaid form. Her tailfin was a shimmering light blue color.

Elizabeth took the lead as she made her way through the tunnel, with Lily following close behind. Once the two made it out into the open ocean, Elizabeth motioned for Lily to follow her. "Try to keep up."

With that, Elizabeth kicked off with her tailfin and began swimming away. She knew there was no way Lily could cut in as a real mermaid compared to her. This would teach her to think that she was her equal when she was only a mere Half, a human impersonating as a mermaid. Elizabeth kept up her pace, figuring Lily would be a ways behind her by now.

The princess called back to her. "Don't feel too bad if you're falling behind. I can slow down if you need me to, Half."

"Well aren't you courteous?"

The closeness of Lily's voice caused Elizabeth to widen her eyes as she glanced behind her. Lily was a bit of a distance back, but not nearly as far as Elizabeth had anticipated. The princess frowned slightly when she saw the smug grin Lily was wearing as she looked at her. "Hmph. Don't get cocky."

Lily watched as Elizabeth kicked up the speed, likely going as fast as she could. Lily hated to admit it, but Elizabeth really knew what she was doing. She had never seen any mermaid swim so fast. But she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Lily carefully watched Elizabeth's movements and tried to mimic them as best she could. It seemed to help as her speed increased, if only a little.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth stopped near a coral reef. She and Lily both caught their breath, a little tired from how fast they were going.

"That wasn't too bad, I suppose." Elizabeth admitted.

Lily showed a smirk. "Well I may be a bit new to having a tailfin, but I've been swimming practically my entire life. I know all about how to move underwater."

"You may be able to swim pretty fast for a Half. But being a mermaid is about more than just speed." Elizabeth told her. "Let's see you match my movements."