Beneath the Waves

The Rite

The day arrived and both Chris and Ria were quieter than usual. The air was heavy with anticipation and nerves. Ria couldn't believe that she was about to do this and Chris felt guilty that Ria was giving up such a big part of her. As they pulled into the parking lot of the hiking trails, they both knew there was no turning back. They hiked to their spot in silence, the tension almost tangible.

Setting up camp, they paused for a moment and just looked at each other. Ria thought about how far they had come and everything that they had now been through.

"I love you, regardless of what happens tonight, just remember how much I love you", she said

Chris smiled her reply "I love you too, more than you'll ever know".

They finished setting up camp and started preparing for Ria's ritual. The sun was dipping beneath the pines, casting long shadows as they worked. They needed to grind up and mix each of the minerals with Ria's blood.

They had three stone bowls, filled with each of the ground up minerals. Amazonite, Alexandrite and the Painite. Ria grabbed her knife and made a cut across her hand. Blood pooling she let it drip into each of the bowls. Not too much. Just a few drops the rite had read. Enough to mix and form a paste.

They started on the part that would be the most time-consuming and the most painful. The symbols on her knife had to be carved into her skin. Both arms. Down her chest there were another set of symbols (same language as that on her knife, but new words she didn't understand). All the way down to her navel they would be cut into her virgin skin (she didn't even have a tattoo). Then the hardest part, the same symbols running down her chest were to be carved into her back. The same exact spots on opposite sides of her body. By the time they were done, it was dark and the moon was out. Ria was shivering in the cold night air, blood running down her body in what looked like tears. Her entire body crying about what she was about to do.

They drew the symbol shown on the piece of paper in the soil beneath their feet, filling it with water so as to make a little symbol-shaped moat around where Ria would be standing. The Alexandrite paste, which meant good luck and fortune, was spread out in the little moat of water. Tiny specs of mineral reflecting purple in the moonlight. The Amazonite paste (the good hope stone) was to cover Ria's hands, so this she would be doing last, and alone. The Painite paste had to be spread over her gills. The painite was the most important. It was one of the rarest minerals on Earth and it's importance was due to it containing the chemical elements zirconium and boron, which do not normally associate with each other in nature. To represent her two opposite sides. The last two pastes would be applied when Chris was gone.

Chris' part was done and she knew she had to get out of there before Ria could continue. She didn't want to leave her girlfriend like this. She also didn't have a choice. She kissed Ria on the lips, avoiding touching her as to not smear any of the blood or interfere with the markings. She stepped back, took one last look at her girlfriend covered in blood (it looked almost black in the moonlight). She turned and ran into the woods. She had to get as far away as possible before Ria transformed.

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Ria stood, naked, in the moonlight. Blood shining black covering what felt like her entire body. It looked kind of beautiful like this, crazy, but beautiful. She moved to stand in the water, getting the kife and started cutting her gills. Suddenly she felt the overwhelming urge to cry. She didn't want to do this. She wanted to stay who she had become. Looking towards the woods, she knew that she didn't have a choice. She finished the last cut, and for the last time felt her transformation take effect. She was overwhelmed with emotion. Like she was on the verge of a great personal death. She already mourned her loss. She made sure the water didn't touch any of her cuts, the last thing she wanted now was to heal.

She stepped into the center of the symbol drawn on the ground and reached for the Painite. She put it over her gills. It felt gross. Like putting a grainy substance up your nose. Next she went for the Amazonite and covered her hands in it. She thought of the words she had memorized. A whole paragraph of words she didn't understand. They were written on the paper in the symbols carved all over her body, but luckily someone had translated it, or romanized it, on the ripped-out page.

She breathed in the night air and started, "Caregho unito felth. Gerigh felth omerit. Tremito indule gerigh. Proste gha..." the next word stuck in her throat as she heard quick footsteps approaching her, before she could turn to look, something made contact with her, knocking her into the water. For a second she thought she would be gasping for breath, but then remembered she was in her monster form. She swam back to the surface just in time to catch the last moment's of Chris' transformation.

"Fuck!"

She dove underwater, trying to get as far away from Chris as possible, but the crystal pool was only so big, and only so good at hiding her moving form from the surface. She saw Chris' blade slice through the water behind her, Chris gliding on top of the water like some supernatural being (which she was).

Ria had the upper hand this time, she was faster in the water and managed to outmanoeuvre Chris and her blade. She looked back, not seeing the blade, just Chris' form floating still above the water. Ria chanced a look back at her, popping her head out of the water she saw, not the black ink eyes, but Chris' eyes staring at her.

"Turn back... in...into...a huma..." before she could finish the word the black eyes were back and Chris launched at Ria, sword first.

She narrowly missed her this time, but Ria turned around quickly and launched herself out of the water behind Chris. She kicked her square in the back and Chris lost her balance, falling into the water with a splash. For a moment there was silence, Ria dove under the water to check if Chris was okay (she knew this was stupid, but it WAS still her girlfriend in there). She couldn't see Chris, but instead of hanging around she decided to do as Chris said. She crossed her arms, covered her gills and said the magic words. As she started to turn back, Chris suddenly came from below and grabbed her around her neck, sword nowhere to be seen, but grip tightening.

"Got you now" said her ghostly voice (somehow they could both speak underwater)

"Chris... Chris can you hear me?

Nothing but ink-black eyes stared back at her.

Chris' grip tightened until Ria couldn't breathe anymore, and for a moment she thought that this was how she would die. She closed her eyes, almost out of breath anyway, and stopped struggling.

Just before slipping into complete darkness she felt the pressure on her throat let up. She opened her eyes and instead of a terrifying ghost nun, she saw her girlfriend. Beautiful, perfect Chris staring back at her.

She registered her safety as the edges of her vision started going black.

"Ria!!" she heard Chris shout as she fell into complete darkness.