𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 | Bianca Kane

Elara & the Ocean

A perfectly sunny morning was rare in the capital city of Etherea. In fact, it snowed almost year-round in Cyrria.

It didn't bother any residents unless their coats weren't ready before the snow started up again, or they had lost their snow boots, or if the stores were sold out of hot chocolate.

There was no need for any of those things. Today was warm, and it was truly active around the outside of Cyrria for the first time in a while.

Many citizens had taken the opportunity to sit on the grass and stare at the clear sky and guess the shapes of the clouds. They had prepared ice-cold lemonade and brought out a cooler with frozen treats.

Yes, it was quite warm in Cyrria today.

Perhaps this was the reason that school had been canceled - it was a beautifully warm day, and nobody wanted to be kept inside to learn.

Perhaps they should have been kept, though. Maybe that would've stopped the summer's events from unfolding.

You couldn't just wait another day, could you?

. . . .

Elara didn't want to meet up with Taro today. She knew that he was a dangerous person to be around - one wrong move and she would be caught by the town. And then, her family would know.

So as she walked down to the ocean, she frowned. She frowned because it was a beautiful summer day, and now she was stuck meeting up with Taro.

Elara couldn't breathe. Partly because she was so infuriated that she wasn't here under any good circumstances, and partly because she was now under the water.

Elara was no mermaid, after all. Taro was, and he could turn into a human. But for some reason, Elara would not have the privilege of seeing Tara's human form today.

Minutes passed, and Taro still was not there. Elara was beginning to panic. She still could not breathe, and Taro was supposed to be here before she'd even arrived.

Was he trying to kill her? It was certainly like Taro to do something so terrible. Elara had known she shouldn't get involved with him or anything he stood for. . .

But she had not been able to help it.

Poor, lovestruck thirteen year old Elara, obtaining a crush on a man two years older than her. On someone who would never spare her a passing glance until he needed her.

She was so stupid to ever have believed in anything about him. He had no morals, and no feelings.

He had been using the poor girl for years now. Of course, present-day Elara knew of this betrayal; she had found out two years ago.

His father had wanted Elara captured. He admitted that he had never been her friend the moment he had her locked in the Underwater prison.

Elara did not remember when she had escaped the terrible place. . . She had not been able to breathe, and so she had resorted to sleeping.

When she awoke, her body had been stiff. She coughed out see water, and she frantically sat up and looked around.

Taro was not there. . .

But his sister was.

The way Elara saw it, she would die here in the present. He had said he truly wished to be her friend now, but she did not trudt him.

Now, stuck in the water and unable to breathe, Elara regretted ever accepting his invitation today.

He had not been able to keep her locked up, and surely, she would be punished severely.

Perhaps she should have never been born at all. That would have been a decent solution to her current problem.

Just as Elara began to black out, a face came into view. Not Taro. . . someone vaguely familiar. . .

Oh.

Elara's eyes fell closed, and she made a tiny squeak. This new person would either save her. . .

Or he would bring her to her family ans condemn her.

. . .

Elara drifted off into nothingness, hoping that she could trust her savior.

Verity.