A Miraculous Mermaid Tale

Chapter 17: Dark Depths

I think I'll start updating this story more regularly, probably on Wednesdays and Saturdays from now on :-)

"How long will it take us to reach the guardian?" Marinette asked.

"We should arrive in the next few days. As Plagg and I said before, we'll want to stay closer to the surface at night. The higher up we stay, the safer we'll be," Tikki said.

"What kinds of things are down there?" Adrien asked, warily staring down a dark ravine.

"We don't know much. There may even be more mermaids, but I doubt they're friendly."

"Has anyone ever seen any . . . creepy things?" Alya asked the group.

When no one answered, Nathalie said, "I was attacked by something, once, though I couldn't see it because of the time of day. I believe it might have been a creature from the deep, but it's possible that it was only a shark."

"I remember that! You still have the scars, don't you?" Adrien said.

She nodded.

Tikki swam to her eye level, looking thoughtful. "I might be able to tell what it was if I see the scar."

Nathalie gestured to her shoulder, where Adrien caught sight of the faint bite mark. He winced.

"Well, it definitely wasn't a shark," Tikki said after a moment. "But beyond that, I know nothing."

"Hate to break up the info session," Plagg interrupted. "But we should go if we want to get to a good place before dark."

Now that they were moving, Adrien had a mission. He went to Nathalie and tapped her on the shoulder. The one without the scar.

"What is it?" she asked.

He waited for the others to move a bit farther before he spoke. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"What about . . . you know."

Her cheeks were turning purple, which he realized was a blush in her mermaid form. "Yes, Adrien," she sighed.

"Okay."

Though he would stop questioning her for now, he definitely wasn't finished.

Adrien's words must have ingrained themselves into his head because Gabriel's thoughts were racing. Why did his son ever have to think that Gabriel had feelings for her?

That was the reason he kept thinking about her, it had to be.

But Nathalie was his closest friend, so that warranted him the right to think about her from time to time. To be fair, they didn't have the most normal friendship. And there was clearly something between them, even Gabriel could see that. But it was better for both of them if things stayed the same, at least for now.

The mermaid transformation had been necessary and he was rather fond of his new appearance, but it made things awkward between them. The kiss still lingered. And why did he have to go and make things worse by calling her pretty?

She was, it was obvious, and he'd never clearly seen her full mermaid form before.

Going over and talking to her like normal seemed like the best option.

A high-pitched squeal reached his ears, freezing him before he could do so.

"That's Duusu!" Tikki cried. "She must be in trouble!"