The Little Water Elf

3- Back to the Border

「 my heart's been pierced by Cupid,
I disdain all glittering gold,
there is nothing can console me,
but my jolly sailor bold. 」

The swim back to the Xadian side was surprisingly long, and it was almost noon by the time she made it back to her city. The waters were crystal clear and bright here, with fresh, lively coral forming several small domes. Countless merfolk swam in and out through windows and doorways as they pleased. Multiple elves greeted the young mergirl, and she cheerfully replied — as casually as she could possibly muster.

They didn't need to know she'd been on the human side of the sea all morning. If she knew anything about the other merfolk, they hated anything that was different from what they were used to.

Rayla swam through the streets and caverns, diving in and out of hollowed rocks and riding the riptide over several shops and stores. She passed by a group of younger elves — not yet old enough to study magic but old enough to get on shopkeepers' nerves as they ogled and gawked at the many mirrors for sale.

It always baffled her how narcissistic several of the others could get, spending their time prettying themselves and their homes with jewels and rare materials found near the sea-shore, where a few land elves had taken to dropping trinkets for the cute mergirls to find.

No one ever told the land elves that the mergirls weren't really interested in them, they just liked shiny things.

She finally reached the building she lived in — a wide, castle-like system of caves meant to serve as a school that taught young ocean elves magic and siren songs. Her legal guardian, Runaan, was one of the head instructors there, and one of the only merfolk in the city, along with four other elites, who had actual combat experience. There had once been more, her two parents, but they had been killed by humans long before she could remember.

So, when she snuck skillfully in through her open window, she was not expecting Runaan to be waiting by the doorway.

"Care to explain why you've been missing since yesterday afternoon?"

Well, shellfish. She was as dead as sashimi.

"Runaan!" Rayla squeaked, "What are you doing here? Don't you have classes to teach?"

"Morning classes ended an hour ago," he replied, "classes that you conveniently failed to show up to."

"Oh, we're those today?" she asked, a hand reaching up and absentmindedly playing with the sole braid in her hair.

"They're every day."

"Right..."

Runaan sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he let the fluke of his tail rest on the smooth, weathered away rock that was her floor.

"Rayla, did you go to the human side again?"

She froze, "Absolutely not."

"Telling lies, again?"

"Nope! Didn't do it, you can't prove anything."

"Rayla," Runaan snapped, and that silenced the young girl.

"Do you realize the severity of trouble you'd be in if ever caught?"

"That's why you don't get caught!"

Runaan groaned, letting his head fall back and bang against the coral wall.

"You're ridiculous."

"Your point?"

Runaan bit his lip, and in one swift flick of his tail he was upright, floating in front of the mergirl at his full height.

"You're grounded until further notice. You are not to leave this room, and your lessons will be sent here, along with your food."