The Little Water Elf

11- Kiss the Girl

「 As the days passed, she loved
the prince more fondly. 」

The lagoon was tucked away behind the palace, hidden in a grove of trees and stone walls. A single waterway to the ocean branched off from the area, and light from the setting sun gleamed into the small lagoon.

It was beautiful.

Rayla had never been to one before, only having heard of them from those who traveled near the shore for trade. It was even more beautiful than she could've ever imagined.

Callum helped Rayla into a small boat that was tied to a dock hidden away within the seagrass and overgrowth. He took the seat across from her, starting to row the boat out into the clear, shallow waters.

The little elf moved to look over the side, where she could see several small fish swimming around down below. She didn't recognize any of them, and it occurred to her that they were freshwater fish. Callum had mentioned a small stream that fed into the lagoon, perhaps the current flowed to the ocean and didn't allow the salty water to enter.

Rayla reached her hand down to the water, letting it flow over her hand. There was a splash to the side, and the elf looked up to the side of the lagoon.

"Hey, look, ducks!" Callum called, pointing to the strange creatures.

That's what they were, ducks!

"I wish I'd know there were some around here, we could've brought stuff to feed them."

Rayla leaned out over the water, ignoring the way the boat dangerously rocked to the side and Callum's small warning. She reached out her hand, beckoning the ducks to her.

The animals swam off.

She let out an annoyed huff, returning to a sitting position in the boat and resting her arms on the side of the canoe.

"Hey, are you ready?" Callum suddenly asked, and Rayla turned to face him with a questioning look. "The sun's set, it won't be long before twilight passes and the sky is dark."

Callum reached under the sea, pulling out small square of paper. He began unfolding it, to reveal a large rectangular shape. She noticed a circular rim of metal underneath.

"My mother used to take me and Ezran out to do this every now and then. Ezran doesn't remember much of it though," he explained.

He handed her the paper, before pulling out two small rocks.

"Here, hold it up by the top of the shape."

Rayla complied, and Callum began quickly striking the rocks together underneath it, when a small flame suddenly lit underneath.

"Have you ever released a flying lantern before?" Callum asked, taking the object from Rayla.

She carefully signed what he had taught her to mean 'no'.

The prince smiled, "I think it's dark enough now. All you have to do is carefully push the lantern into the air, making sure the flame inside is large enough and the paper is smoothed so that it won't burn mid-flight."

Rayla nodded, carefully holding half of the large lantern while Callum took the other half. They both gently brought their hands up above the water, and Rayla watched in awe when — as promised — the lantern began slowly rising and floating away.

They both sat in silence, staring out over the water as the gentle glow seemed to steadily grow out over the lagoon as the sky began filling with stars. Rayla turned to Callum, who seemed to sense her movement and looked her way.

Their eyes met, and it was suddenly clear how close they were to each other.

This would be the perfect opportunity to kiss him, Rayla thought.

The two of them seemed to lean forward in perfect sinc, and Rayla closed her eyes as she thought of all of the events of the past days. With the starlight reflecting off of the water surrounding her, and the moon's rays shining on her skin it was as if nothing had ever been wrong. She would soon become human, as Viren had promised. She would no longer have to worry about the thought of death, or be plagued with constant presence of—

Pain shot through her legs as it had before, and once against she felt her energy fading. It started her out of the trance, her balance suddenly thrown of as she reached for the side of the boat to steady herself. Her hand only found open air.

It happened in an instant, and she found herself unable to stop the fall that pulled at her. A second later she found herself submerged in water. For a split second she was completely relaxed, she had no reason not to be. The water felt strange against her skin; she'd never been in freshwater before. The baths that the maids drew for her were always filled with salts that were meant to sooth her dry skin.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the surface above her, so close compared to what she usually saw in the ocean, and a golden light was visible, casting a glow throughout the water.

It was then that she realized she had no idea how to swim with feet, and that her lungs were beginning to burn.

She tried kicking her legs, moving her body in a way she normally did with her tail, but found that the dress she wore weighed her down.

There was a splash from above, and a figure appeared before her, arms wrapping around her body and pulling her upwards.

They both sharply inhaled as they broke the surface of the water, and when she opened her eyes she found herself staring into Callum's. They sat there for several seconds, Rayla held protectively in the arms of the prince, before Rayla found herself laughing.

It was so ironic, how she had been the one to originally save him, and now here they were. Rayla had been saved from drowning by the very one she had done the same for.

She found herself wishing the moment would never end.

•  •  •

Shortly after Rayla returned to her room, she was hit with another wave of strange, weakening pain. Her vision blurred, and she had to brace herself against the wall in order to keep herself from collapsing onto the floor. After the worse of the pain passed, she managed to pull herself up. When she saw her hand, she froze.

There, in faint, intricate patterns across her skin, were the distinct shapes of shimmery, blue scales.

_____________

What's this?? A Tangled reference??????

Actually, it's actually more of a reference to a scene in The Legend of the Blue Sea, where the mermaid tells the human that, whenever they want to meet, he should light a flying lantern and send it into the sky, that way she'll be able to see it from under the water and meet him. It actually ended up being more of a Tangled reference though😅

Also, sorry I haven't been putting many author's notes here. I've been doing them on AO3, but I usually place them before the chapter, and it would mess with the formatting for the story on Wattpad.