Ethereal

15

Danny snapped awake, his eyes opening in panic. He would've been covered in a sheen layer of cold sweat if not for the water around him.

Mermando was standing beside his bed, the boy's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, rubbing his eyes. He felt as though he had gotten no sleep at all.

"I heard you speaking in your sleep," Mermando answered simply. Danny watched as his eyes shifted from one place to the next, avoiding Danny's face.

With a groan, he pushed himself off the bed and floated in the water. "How bad is it?"

Mermando finally looked at him, his eyes fearful. "Very bad."

"Wonderful."

"It seems you did not get much sleep," Mermando stated, studying Danny's figure. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"It was just a bad dream," he assured. "I get nightmares all the time. I'll be fine."

Mermando seemed hesitant but slowly left the bedroom, gesturing for Danny to follow. A large door opened and closed, and Danny's breath hitched in his throat.

The castle dining room was breathtaking.

Much unlike the abandoned throne room, the dining room was aglow, sparkling jewels catching the sun's light and reflecting them throughout the vast room. Clamshell seats surrounded a large coral reef-themed table, and the blue hues matched so well with the water, it made the room look bigger than it truly was. 

Upon sitting, merpeople rushed forward to set down their food. Danny leaned forward at the sight of Mermando's catfish.

"Look good?" Mermando inquired, taking a bite. "We do eat human food, but fish is just. . . better."

Danny licked his lips as his own plate of fish was set in front of him, and with a swipe of his fork he began devouring it. The food was gone faster than Mermando could set a napkin on his lap, and with a smile Danny looked up. "Two more, please."

The merlady made a face and excused herself as she made her way towards the kitchen.

"So, how is Mabel?" Mermando inquired. "I've only heard from her in her occasional letters, and I thought that I might visit her on our vacation here."

"You mean you don't live here?" Danny looked befuddled. "This place is ginormous!"

"Ah, we live in the ocean. No sense in living in this small lake. It's just nice to get out of the bustling ocean every now and then."

"You breathe both fresh and salt water?"

"Of course. Merpeople have adapted to all kinds of environment."

"But no air?"

"Gills are made for water, Danny."

He rolled his eyes at Mermando's sarcasm as another plate was set before him. He made quick work of that plate as well.

"Hungry, aren't you?" Mermando questioned. "That usually happens during the transition, but, my heavens."

"Transition?" Danny wiped at his mouth.

"I, obviously, do not look like you or my father. There's a certain stage in a merperson's adolescence where they begin developing fangs and scales, quite like you are now."

"I'm assuming it usually doesn't happen this fast," Danny stated, picking some fish out of his teeth.

"Precisely. The transition usually takes four to five years; not a few days and a couple hours."

"What about Serafina?"

"What about her?"

"Did she transition quickly?"

"I'm afraid so." Mermando dropped his head. "I don't know much about her, but she wasn't always a mermaid, quite like you. My father and I found her roaming the sea one day when I was very young, and she just. . . changed."

"How?"

"Her eyes, much like yours. They do get more of a yellow tint, but the pupils never slit. They just don't look as, how you say—"

"Evil." Danny's shoulders tensed.

". . . Yes."

Danny shot up from his seat. "I have to go warn my friends. Mermando, you stay here."

"Danny, I'm not sure that's a good ide—"

"Just listen to me. I promise I won't get into any trouble, all right?"

Mermando made a face but stayed, frozen in his seat.

"Much luck to you, Danny. Say hi to Mabel for me, all right?"

"I'll catch you later."

Mermando's mouth twisted up in a grin. "Fish pun. Nice."

Danny chuckled to himself as he swam out of the castle and towards the surface.

* * *

Wendy stumbled out of the forest and towards the lake, holding her head. She was no longer in her full-wolf form, and frankly, she didn't remember most of the night. With a groan, she leaned down and splashed some lake water onto her face. Her hands came away red.

With a disgusted sigh, she washed her hands in the lake water once again. Had she awoken next to a dead, mangled rabbit? Perhaps. However, if anyone asked her about it, she would say the thing she had been repeating over and over in her own mind.

It wasn't my fault. I wasn't in control.

She shook her head and walked along the lake, her clothes tattered. She thought that, just maybe, her clothes had become part of her fur when she transformed. She hadn't had a chance to change since the incident (she was probably smelling rather terrible by now) and she had worn her clothes in the water. Of course, that was the only theory that made sense.

There was a rustle in the bushes beside her, and she jumped. Turning, she heard a small hiss and a bright yellow color.

"Pacifica?"

"Wendy?"

The girl stepped out, or rather, slithered out. From what Wendy could see, her entire bottom half had been replaced by a snake's yellow tail. Her hair was a wad of yellow snakes, much like Medusa's, and they hissed and squirmed uncomfortably. She clutched a leather book in her hands.

"Pacifica, what the hell?"

"You need to get this book to Dipper." Pacifica's eyes were wide and her pupils were slitted. "He can fix this."

"Pacifica, how did you—I mean, what did you. . .?"

"The other night, I left home. Sometimes I go into the woods at night, because, well, it's all just so peaceful. My parents are always yelling at me, and sometimes it's just nice to get away from them. I found this dumb book in the place where I always sit," she lifted the book from her chest and threw it onto the ground next to Wendy's feet. Her snakes swayed, as if hypnotized by the book's appearance, "and then I took a chance and drank some of the water. Just a sip, I swear. I must've fallen asleep, because when I woke up, well. . ." She gestured to her own body and tears began to well in her eyes. "I guess the same thing happened to you."

Wendy sighed and studied the preteen with tired eyes. "Come on, Pacifica," she said. "Let's go get our lives back."