Sea Blue Eyes {Narry}

Chapter 4: Underwater Adventures

"This necklace's magic will last for three days and then it's nothing more than an accessory."

Niall sat on the rock, waiting for Harry to come. He spotted the brunette, his feet stumbling as he tripped over driftwood, causing Niall to erupt in a fit of giggles. His Harry was so clumsy - Niall considered Harry his for he met the human. Therefore, Harry was his human.

"So, what did you want to do today?" Harry asked as soon as he reached the infamous rock.

"We are going for a swim." Niall replied, holding the necklace behind his back.

"Uh... I don't know if that's the best idea." Harry was a little unsure, but he did trust Niall. After all, it's because of Niall he's still alive.

"Put this on." Niall handed Harry the necklace, a blue swirl carved into the opal stone piece hanging from the thin rope.

Harry took it from him, placing the necklace around his neck. Instantaneously, a bright glow started under his bare feet, working it's way up to his waist. "What the-" A splash interrupted Harry's sentence as he fell into the water.

Harry now had a shimmering green tail instead of two legs! He surfaced, his long brunette hair curling in the water. "Surprise!" Niall swam up to him, eyes nervous as he stared at Harry's shocked face.

"I've got a tail, Niall. A fucking tail." Harry pulled off his wet shirt, laying it down on the rock to dry.

"Isn't it great?"

Harry was silent for a little bit before he ducked his head under the water, surprised to find he had gils behind his ear! He could feel the water seeping into the gaps as the gils slowly began to filter air into his lungs. Niall soon joined him, lips curled in a shy smile. "This is amazing!" Bubbles erupted from Harry's mouth as air left his lungs. It weird, his body not used to the sudden pressure under the waves.

"You're a temporary merman!" Niall's voice was crystal clear in Harry's ear, not sounding muffled like he expected it to.

"How long?" Harry asked, minimal bubbles escaping by now. He felt a bit awkward as he tried to manuveur underwater, his tail feeling like dead weight.

"Three days." Niall replied, trying to muffle his giggles when Harry nearly bumped into a rock as he tried to swim. "Just watch me."

Harry stopped moving, comfortably floating in place as he watched Niall pump his tail. His fins moving gracefully, arms steering in the direction he wanted to go. "You had practice." Harry joked when he failed at swimming. "I'd like to see you try walking if you could."

"Yeah," Niall laughed before he frowned. He kind of wishes he could walk. The land area seems so much more adventurous than the water. "You're too slow."

Niall grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him along as he swam back to civilization. The open sea slowly began to minimize as Niall swam deeper and deeper, the water getting colder and darker. Surprisingly, Harry wasn't shivering in the cold water, his skin adapted to the pressures of underwater life. "This is where you live?" Harry asked when he no longer could see Niall's shimmering tail.

"No, silly." Niall held tighter to Harry's hand, knowing that if he let go, Harry would be unbelievably lost. "Just a few more meters and we'll be at the entrance."

Slowly, Niall's eyes began to glow brighter, as did Harry's. "Woah." Harry could finally see in the darkness, jagged rocks and creepy looking fish filling his vision.

"Here." Niall swam into a cave, Harry being dragged in reluctantly. After a few sharp turns, Harry could finally see a light emerge. Harry felt conflicted. Technically, people tried to steer you away from the light at the end of the tunnel, but Niall was swimming into it. Would death await in the end or is he being overcautious? "Welcome to Atlantis!"

"Holy hell." He remembers back in his childhood, reading a book about myths. In particular, Atlantis; the fabled city of advanced technology and to have sunken to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. "This is Atlantis?"

Just like in his imagination when he was ten, the architecture of the city was beautiful. White stone shining in the huge underwater cave, fluorescent plants hanging like stalactites from the top of the cave lighting every nook and cranny. Seaweed grew upwards, wrapped around pillars like vines, corals creating colorful sceneries, and sea animals thriving alongside the merfolk. Everywhere Harry looked, tails were flocking and spinning, shimmering scales under the glow of their own personal sun.

"You've heard of it?" Niall was curious. The way Harry was talking, sounded like he'd heard of it before. Niall guided Harry down to the sea floor, sand leading to different areas like streets, their hands still tangled together.

"It's an old myth. A city sunken to the sea floor." Harry was mesmerized at his surroundings. He just can't believe what is happening to him today! "I can understand why nobody's ever found it, it's covered up! But how?"

"Dunno, but that's not important. I want to show you around!" Niall was ecstatic as he acted like a tour guide, showing this and that. "This here is the castle. The king lives there." It was a large building, gold carved within the white and pink stone, very few barnacles gracing the outerwalls.

"Where do you live?" Harry has received many strange looks from civilians because he was a new face. He was feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny and wanted to just rest for a little bit. His arm was growing tired from being dragged around. He still hadn't got the hang of swimming with a tail!

"Oh, that's on the other side of the city. I suppose we can take a shark there." Niall guided him to a rock carved like a bench, sitting down on the surprisingly soft seat.

"Did you say a shark?!" Harry asked with wide eyes. "Don't they eat you?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to draw more attention to himself.

"No, they only eat fish." Harry gave him a look that could be translated as 'we have fish tails, we are fish.' Niall rolled his eyes, but said nothing, just waited for the shark pulling a carriage to arrive.

"Niall..." Harry was uneasy as he sat down beside said merman, the carriage instantly beginning to move after hearing the destination.

"You're fine, Harry." Niall laughed, head thrown back in pure joy. "I'm thinking tomorrow we should go to the shopping center and buy you a gold bracelet."

"Why?" Harry asked, turning his head to look at Niall, his bright blue eyes shining under the glow from above.

"A souvenir, of course." Niall answered, laying his head down on Harry's shoulder. It was quite comfortable, the soft muscle like a pillow.

Harry felt his chest tighten, his heart skipping a beat and he silently hoped Niall wouldn't hear it. That Niall won't feel the skin go warm under Harry's blush. "You don't have to."

"But I want to."

~.~.~.

"This is my home." Niall gestured to a tall rock building-like cave, seaweed covering several openings which Harry can only guess as doors and windows. A sandy path led to the door, purple and powder blue corals framing the walkway.

"Cool." Harry commented, his eyes never leaving the small shark tied to a rock. "What is that?" He pointed to the shark.

"Our pet dogfish, Oliver." Niall said after placing the owed sand dollars in the shark's mouth, the carriage slowly being dragged away. "He's friendly, don't worry."

"Sure he is." Harry replied sarcastically, making sure to stay away from the pointy-teethed monster.

"The only thing you should beware of is my dad." Niall chuckled, although dead serious. "Before we go in, remember that you are an orphan and that you come from the open sea."

"Why?"

"Because you know nothing of underwater civilization. It's easier for you to be realistic if you came from the wild." Niall answered. "And sit down on the bench as soon as possible, you're swimming will give you away."

"I'm trying not to be offended right now." Harry chuckled uneasily before Niall pulled him inside, letting go of his hand when he made it past the seaweed. Slowly, he swam quite awkwardly to the bench, sitting down carefully as Niall left to round up his parents.

"You must be Harry."