What Lies Beneath the Water

Date (18)

 *Aqua's POV*

Slowly but surely the days started blurring together as the Eclipse Ball approached. Teachers had already established a regular schedule of what they did in their classes, and it was safe to say that I was thoroughly acclimated.

As time went on, I found myself spending more and more time in Tyrus and Kal's dorm with them. It was just livelier than mine, and it felt homier. We would play these wonderful things that we discovered as video games, and it was spectacular! I had to pretend I knew how to work them and played fake it until you make it and it worked! I have been able to dominate both Tyrus and Kalen in this wonderful game called Mario Kart.

"Aqua, you are going to the Eclipse Ball, correct?" Tyrus asked, and I said yes.

"Well Darling, I do believe that we have a predicament. There is only one of you and two of us. Only one of us can take you to the Eclipse Ball." Tyrus said, and honestly, I hadn't thought much of it until he brought it up. I knew that I was going to go with either Tyrus or Kal since I had gotten so close with them, but I never paid any attention to which one.

I looked at Tyrus and then at Kal and then back at Tyrus again. "Nuh-uh! I am not choosing between the two of you! You two have to figure it out yourselves or else I'm going single!" Tyrus and Kal looked at each other and then at the game controller.

"OH IT IS ON KALEN!" Tyrus shouted and grabbed his pink controller. Kalen quickly grabbed his royal blue controller, and they quickly turned the TV on and set up the game.

Tyrus went with the character Rosalina because he claimed that he "vibed" with the character. Kalen on the other hand chose Bowser simply because, "He looked badass." I rolled my eyes at both of them. THEY WERE PLAYING A GAME TO FIGURE OUT WHO WAS GOING TO TAKE ME TO THE BALL!

My eyes were glued to the screen as the game started. They were quickly working their way up in the ranks until they went over to the mystery boxes and Tyrus got a spikey blue shell, and Kalen got the Bullet Bill, catapulting him to first place. Tyrus was right behind Kalen in second place for a majority of the race, being careful to keep ahold of his shell. Finally, half-way through the final lap, Tyrus launched the shell at him, stopping Kalen right in his tracks and knocking him all the way down to last place. Tyrus crossed the finish line in first place and threw his control down on the floor in happiness.

"HAHA MOTHERFUCKER! I GET AQUA AND YOU DON'T! SUCKS TO BE YOU!" Tyrus stuck his tongue out at Kalen and started dancing around the room.

A few minutes after his win, he sat back down next to me and said, "I will have a sketch sent to one of my favorite designers. I'm thinking a light blue, off the shoulder, short high-low with little lace details. I'll make sure that you look absolutely stunning, so don't you dare worry about a thing, Honey. We are going to slay these hoes, as you humans say."

I didn't worry about a thing, just like he said. I knew that I was in highly capable hands, so I just let the process happen. And one day while I was hanging out in their dorm with just Tyrus, Tyrus pulled out a dress bag. I immediately went to the bathroom to try it on and came out and did a spin for him. I swear his jaw hit the floor. He showered me with compliments, and I think it was to butter me up for his "ultimate accessory" as he calls it. I prefer the term death traps, but they are called five-inch nude platform heels. Two steps after putting them on, I tripped and fell flat on my face. I had to ice my nose!

Tyrus was persistent with me wearing heels, so he would make me walk to my classes in those death traps. I maybe fell seven times, on a good day. I cannot even remember how many classes I was icing my feet in, and Tyrus would still not give up!

The only reprieve from all the aching and stress was being able to write my song for the ball. I had remembered a song that had written in one of her diaries and used it as inspiration for my own. When I sampled it for Tomoe and Kou, the waterworks wouldn't stop coming down from their eyes. They had recognized some of my mother's song in mine and accompanied with my playing, they just cried like babies.

Everything seemed to be working out just perfectly. Even Her Royal Pain in the Ass had been keeping to herself and started using some pleasantries with me. I mean a good morning isn't anything big, but beggers can't be choosers.

The only thing that wasn't going my way was finding my mate, but there was a valid reason for that. Mermaids only have the power to recognize their mates on a full moon because the tides are swayed by the moon, and we are swayed by the tide. I had roughly nine tries to find my mate, and once those were up, there was not much else that I could do.

Many nights I stayed up just thinking about what would happen if I went home empty handed. I would be married off to some Lord and have to perform my marital duties and have kids. Each time I would think of that, a shiver would run down my spine. That was not something that I was going to let happen. I was going to find my mate.

*Dahlia's POV* 

I was constantly feeling like I was sleep walking for every moment after we started our break. I was conscious of every movement and thought that I was making, but it all felt so dull. The only moments that I would forget was when I was in class. My mind had grown much sharper and clearer to most concepts in War Magic. I was learning to look at the bigger picture rather than just a little pixel. Even in my divining class with Tomoe and Kou and Santino, I was able to start making progress and had mastered gaining visions about unimportant things like what Tomoe and Kou were going to eat later that day. Despite my new ease in certain classes, every class that I had with Tomoe and Kou other than diving was impossible to pass. They expect so much without even teaching it, and I was struggling to say the least. I would usually get Santino to help me, but I was in no mood for that, so instead I just struggled.

Uncle Vladimir had significantly increased the security in the Academy and even had two guards posted outside the 241-dorm room door, which belong to both Aqua and I. There hadn't been any incidents after the shapeshifter, but they were unable to find the culprit behind all of the attacks.

There was one other situation that was beginning to improve, and that was the relationship I held with my roommate. I had taken Santino's and Her Majesty's advice to heart and tried to be kind to her.I had stopped calling her a gruesome human and started calling her by her given name. She wasn't a horrible roommate. She kept her side of the bathroom very clean and always offered me these things called bath bombs when she bought a couple. I wouldn't call us even close to friends, but we were acquaintances.

I started to enjoy some extra time to myself, and I would often find myself walking through human society. Sometimes I would go to stores and sometimes I would go to the beach, but no matter what I did, at least one human stopped me to take a picture. They seemed to be fascinated with my physical appearance and the fact that I went to the Academy.. It was all completely harmless, so I just smiled while they held their cellular devices out and took a picture.

I had stumbled upon a dress making store where I made an appointment. I met with the dressmaker, and she made me a sketch that looked very similar to Her Majesty's coronation dress, just as I had wanted. It was a black lace, dramatic high-low that was completely off the shoulders. She made it within the next two days and almost passed out when I paid her the equivalent to thirty-thousand dollars for the dress. How was I supposed to know that this wasn't the correct amount in the human world. That was the typical price of all of my dresses back home.

I had never intended for things to go the way they were going, but I had learned to cope with it. I was determined to make myself better for Santino and myself. We both deserved it, and I was going to make it happen.

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