Beneath These Waves

Chapter Twelve

Amphira shows up at the door two days later, right when Cal and Ser and I are about to leave for a trip to the submarine, a promise of nostalgia. Our faceplates are already on. Amphira actually has the nerve to come up and pluck Ser's right off of her face, and she does it with a smile.

She hands the faceplate back to Ser. "Take yours off." she looks at Cal and I. At first I don't listen, but then I realize the sooner that I comply, the sooner she'll go away. It feels cold in my hands.

"You're not going anywhere today. Because things worked faster than scheduled-" she holds onto the dramatic pause for way too long, especially considering that we know what she's going to say. We don't want her to say it, because even this in-between time is better.

"The second task is commencing!"

I notice that the guard from last time isn't here. Does Amphira really feel brave enough now to waltz into the tower and steal us away?

Juno comes down from the stairs where I assume she's been waiting, listening in. "That is unexpected. But isn't that nice, girls? If you finish it today, you'll only have one task left."

"Sure." It doesn't mean anything. It's just a word that fills up space.

"Well, we have to get going," Amphira says, turning around. There are tangles and snarls at the back of her head, probably from leaning back in her throne for hours at a time.

"Can you wait a moment? Venus should be downstairs any second now"

Juno looks around, gazing at the stairs. It takes Venus a good five minutes to be present, and her face is bewildered at the sight of the five of us: one urgent looking mother, three girls holding onto their faceplates, and a loopy looking queen. She bats her eyelashes a few times before shaking her head slightly and joining our little cluster.

Amphira doesn't even turn back around. She just starts swimming, slowly, to allow us to follow, but still faster than us, keeping a ten foot gap. Venus and Juno stay somewhere in between, at about five feet.

Ever since the first task, the mermaids have been getting nicer and nicer, I don't know whether to hate it or not. As we walk, I count fifteen smiles, twelves waves, and four shouts of greeting. I answer to all of them, because it feels rude not to, like an obligation.

We don't go to the castle, like last time. Instead, to my surprise, we veer towards the submarine, but turn back at the last minute. I almost reach my hand out for it, almost beg to take a little detour so I can go press the metal, if only for a few seconds.

We arrive at what is possibly the smallest building in the city. It's more like a shed than a building, and even that is being pretty generous. It has a thatched roof that is starting to fall apart, and the stone is grainer than that of the other buildings. It's like its structure is blurred, as if you were looking at the bottom of the sea from above the water. It doesn't even have a door, just a space that leads to darkness.

I expect for Amphira to press some buttons, to do something that reveals more metal, more modern snippets in this antique looking place. Instead, she pulls a tiny lantern out of the pouch on her waist and hangs it on a small hook that juts out of the inside of the door, softly illuminating the space inside the pseudo shed. The floor is empty. There's nothing.

Is this our task? To make something out of nothing?

But then Amphira locks her fingers through two tubular gaps in the floor, unnoticed at first. She swings her arm, moves it in a half circle, and part of the floor gives away, sliding under itself, revealing a staircase.

"Come on," she says. "Time is of the essence."

The mermaids go first, sliding down the water, as if the steps don't even exist, as if the way down is completely smooth. I, on the other hand, have to take the stairs one step at a time, falling behind Cal and Ser, my head almost hitting the ceiling. This is the one time I despise being five foot eleven, our submarine was built for tall people and so it was never a problem, always a convenience.