Tails (Transformations: Book 1)

15

"So how do you keep people from seeing all the mythical beings?" Aria asked as the girls stood in the changing room, away from prying ears. "I mean, I get that the beach isn't that busy at night, but flying people seems pretty noticeable to me."

"Idun can keep land beings from seeing things she doesn't want them to see. Any sort of land nymph can and she's a dryad, as you may recall."

Aria nodded. "So why was I able to see them?"

Freya sighed. "I guess she dropped the veil for you. It seems they wanted you to find out the truth."

Aria stared at her, confused. "Why would they want that?"

Freya shrugged. "Nymphs like to play jokes on mortals. I suppose they saw it as some sort of game. I fear I may have unintentionally encouraged them by trying to keep you from learning the truth. They probably saw it as a competition."

"Well, it's not that big of a deal." Aria assured her. "I know the dangers, so I won't do anything stupid."

Freya gave her a skeptical look. "I really hope you're right about that."

"Have a little faith." Aria smiled at her as they headed to their tank. She felt giddy through most of the day, imagining herself swimming with a real tail. She was more energetic as she swam under and performed the routines with Freya. She had always dreamed about what it would be like to be a real mermaid, but that had never seemed possible before.

Eric came by to see her late in the morning. He smiled as he caught sight of Aria. "You're looking particularly cheerful, today."

"Am I?" She easily returned the smile. "What brings you to our little pond?"

"I was just wondering how your studying was going." He replied with a shrug. "I thought I might offer to help if you were still having trouble. After all, you are doing us a big favor and I would hate for you to feel overwhelmed."

"Studying?" It took Aria a few seconds to figure out what he meant and her eyes widened. She had, briefly, forgotten all about the birds and their mission to save them. "Oh, no, it's alright. I can handle it." She smiled, again. "It's sweet of you to worry, though." She glanced around and whispered to him, "You probably don't want to hang around, too much. People might talk."

He grinned. "Let them talk. We just won't listen."

"You're ridiculous." She told him. "Get back to your lab before one of us gets reprimanded."

He continued to smile as he took off.

"I doubt he would want to be a merman." Freya commented as she watched him go.

Aria looked over at her friend, a little confused. "What?"

"If you want to live under the sea, you would likely have to give up the great guy you've found on land." Freya wasn't overly concerned about people overhearing, since they would probably assume it was part of the act.

Aria frowned at her and shrugged. "It's not like I'm rushing to do that, anyway." She heard the music for their routine and slipped underwater, cutting the conversation short.

Freya sighed, but followed her, realizing she couldn't have a proper discussion about it in front of the guests, so she may as well wait for a more convenient moment.

"What was that about, earlier?" Aria asked as they changed back into their regular clothes. at the end of their shift. It had been bothering her for most of the day, but she couldn't talk about it in front of the customers.

Freya shrugged, pulling on her dress. "You were talking about becoming a mermaid, before. I just wanted to make sure you were fully aware of what that would mean. If you lived under the sea, you'd have to give up Eric and I like Eric, so I wouldn't want to see him get hurt like that."