Violet
One month later...
The tension had only grown. Day by day, hour my hour. We would sneak glances at one another every chance we got, and soon those glances turned into sweet words and then small brushes of fingertips on a hand. Each exchange sent jolts of electricity through my body. The suspense, the build up of emotions, not matched with actions only accelerated the passion I held onto. It was making me feel wild again. It was the same feeling that I had when I traveled out of Islanda - only I couldn't do that anymore and this was a nice substitute. I wanted to kiss him wildly, passionately... I wanted to feel his hands in my hair... the slight pull of his fingers as they got caught in the fullness of my tresses.
Of course, this is just how I imagined a kiss to be, the many times I spent awake at night thinking about him and the make believe situation that we were together. Only one night it was different. Like any other night, I returned to my bedroom, stopping at the door and letting my hand trail the ridged edges of the wood panelling. I stared at my bed, with its purple coverings and sighed. How much more could I take of this suspense? I wanted him to love me.
I thought about the way he stared at me. Sometimes he just stared and wouldn't look away for several beats of a heart. He wasn't ashamed or worried about who was looking, or if it would make me feel uneasy; He just stared, unapologetically with his deep blue-green bullets. I felt prickles on my skin at the thought. The prickles were accompanied by a warmness in the water. When the prickles dissipated, the heat did not. I turned around to find him. He was close. Close enough that his body was dangerously close to making contact with my own. My heart pounded in my chest and I placed a hand upon it to try and settle its erratic behavior. He placed his hand over mine and we looked into each other's eyes. The air grew thick and his lips twitched ever so slightly, but my focus was so focused on him, I caught it in a fleeting moment. His hand reached out and grazed my own. I didn't even see it - my hand slack against the side of my tail - but I felt its effect everywhere. My tail, my skin and my hair lit up in an iridescent blue glow. Normally it would embarrass me that he caused the effect rather than me turning it on, but I didn't care. My left hand found his hair and my right, his shoulder and I pulled him to me so that our bodies were so close, I could feel the rhythm of his chest beating against mine.
When we kissed, lights floated around us in agreement, little seahorses swam by, flicking up my hair as they went. They were attracted to love, and that's what this was - love.
When I went to bed that night, it was with an enormous smile on my face. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep.
I awoke, stretching my arms above my head and losing my fingers in my hair. Butterflies erupted in my belly when I remembered the events of last night. I'm glad I now knew what butterflies were from my time in Sugar Land, because they perfectly described this feeling. That was probably the only thing I was grateful for after my time abroad.
I took my time combing through my hair. I wanted to look beautiful for Louie. My reflection in the broken mirror that hung opposite my bed, showed glowing ivory skin. His kiss must have put some kind of magic on me.
When I emerged, I hung in the door frame for a moment before leaving. Only when I went to leave, something shiny caught my eye in the sand. My heart completely stopped beating for a long moment before it kicked itself into overdrive. Esmeralda's necklace. I snached it up, turning it over in my hand. My skin glowed iridescent. The blood ran cold. Louie had had it when we kissed. That's why my skin glowed without my consent. It was magic. It was Esmeralda's magic. My eyes narrowed and my skin glowed, only this time it was red. Finally, my red glow had kicked in, a little too late. And it was aimed at Louie.
"Louie," I roared, the kingdom coming to attention. A crowd had emerged before Louie did, and I was ready for an audience.
"Good morning." He quipped, a dreamy smile on his milky skin. No. I would not let him get out of this. "Why do you have Esmeralda's necklace?" I was ready for blood. Now everyone's eyes were narrowed and their blood boiling... I could feel it. Our rage united and stronger together.
"Who?" He looked genuinely confused. Could he be that good of a liar? "I found it outside my door. And unless Esmeralda herself has come back, then..." I turned my words down in volume and joined him at his side, looking at my clan, who dissipated when I gave them a look, "That glow I had last night was from this necklace."
He didn't respond, he just held my gaze. Biting his tongue.
"My glow has never been triggered by anyone but me and this necklace holds dangerous powers that no one should be handling except someone who knows how to use it."
He looked genuinely taken aback. "I found that necklace in the sand on my journey through here."
My heart beat slowed. If that was true, that meant Esmeralda didn't have her powers. I felt stronger just knowing that. His eyes followed my actions as I fastened the necklace around my neck to join my own. My body tingled and my joints twitched. I turned my back at him to clench my fists. I had a theory and I wanted to test it. My fingernails dug into my palms with more strength than I was used to. My chest rose and fell excitedly. I turned back to him, "Okay. Thank you for telling me. I will hold onto it. I need to go and... uh... check on something. I will see you later." I gave him a quick smile and left him standing in the explosion of sand as I catapulted through the water to my room. My speed had immensely fastened.
I got to my room and shut the door, the force broke it off its hinges and into the sand, which blew up around it. My breathing quickened again but for a different reason. I was the most powerful mermaid in the vicinity. If Esmeralda came back, I would be ready.
