Unnatural// 5SOS & 1D

Breathe// part six

l.h: Underwater City

"I have a surprise for you." Noella said excitedly, taking my hand. I glanced down at her slender fingers wrapped around my wrist and then back up at her.

"What's the surprise?" I asked. It was Sunday afternoon and we had just met up with each other. She seemed unusually excited though as we swam away from all the nosy people on the beach. Avery was there again, at a distance watching us. Noella had whispered an explanation to me about how it was the only way she could see me.

"If he wasn't here with me, he would have told my father. We came to this compromise."

"Couldn't your order him not to?" I asked her, glancing back at Avery.

"I did but he said he doesn't just have to obey me but my father and he's supposed to report to him every time I leave. So I told him that he could come with me every time I go see him so he would know that I was safe." I shrugged.

"Better than nothing I guess." Noella had laughed as we reached our sandbar and that's when she told me she and a surprise.

"Close your eyes." Noella instructed. I narrowed my eyes, looking at her suspiciously which made her laugh. "Come on, just do it."

"You're not going to do anything weird are you?"

"No. What would I do?" Noella asked, offended. I shrugged, closing my eyes as she prayed open my right hand. I held it out to her, palm up and she delicately placed something inside of it. "You can open them." She declared. Opening my eyes, I glanced down at what she had placed in my palm. It almost looked like seaweed but it was a funny color and texture. It almost felt like rubber but more pliable, maybe like playdough.

"What is this?" I asked, rolling it around I my hand. "Some sort of dough?" She stopped my movements.

"Don't play with it, eat it."

"Eat it?" I questioned. Noella nodded. "Well am I going to grow gills if I do?" I joked. Noella pursed her lips, trying not to smile and my jaw went a little slack. "Noella, will I grow gills?" She laughed.

"Not exactly. It will allow you to breath underwater though and give you a tail but only until.." She pauses and pulls out a necklace from a small cloth bag she had brought with her. "All the pearls turn black." She hands me the necklace of five perfect pearls.

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm not understanding this here. How will this.." I said, holding up the gooey stuff in my hand. "Turn me into a mermaid and how is it linked to this necklace?" Noella scratched the back of her head.

"Would you believe magic?" She asked.

"Um, probably not." Noella shrugged.

"Well that's how it is. That Ariel and I have a lot in common actually. I went to the sorcerer and she helped me. I had to tell her about you and what it was for of course otherwise it wouldn't have made sense and.."

"And this works?" I interrupted. "It actually works? I'm having a little trouble believing that."

"It does. It should. Well.." Noella paused. "I've never seen a human take it before but according to her, it has happened. I'm not the first mermaid to.." She stopped talking and blushed pink. "Well, its just happened before. Trust me."

"Oh, I trust you but I don't exactly trust this pile of goop you just gave me." Noella shook her head at me and closed my fingers around the necklace.

"Just try, please. I want to take you to my kingdom." I glanced down at the pile of magic seaweed in my hand and then at the necklace with its perfectly white pearls before sighing.