Eyes of the Sea

Chapter 5

I stopped what I was doing and stared at Will. My mouth parted and a small gasp came out. "W-what do you mean?" I stuttered.

Will still looked serious when he said, "Gullible! Like seriously, you should have seen your face! You looked as if I just discovered a huge, hidden secret." He cracked a smile and laughed heartily. He gestured to my unpacked lunch on the table. "Are you going to take it or what?"

I looked at the table, now red faced. I was so stupid to think that he actually knew what I was. I packed my lunch and held it in one hand. "Ha ha, you got me!" I said sarcastically, playfully rolling my eyes. "Well, I have to get to class now. I'll see you around, okay?" He nodded.

I meant what I said. I really enjoyed his company. Before what just happened, I was having a lot of fun, and I even forgot about my dilemma for a while. Something about him made me at ease, which was what I needed at this point.

I left the cafeteria, looking back once to see Will smiling softly to himself as he threw out his leftovers. Before I knew what I was doing, I was smiling too as I left. Now I had to decide whether I was actually going to go to class or not. I didn't usually skip, but today wasn't a normal day.

I didn't get to decide what I was going to do, because just as I left the cafeteria, Coral appeared by my side, linking arms with me and dragged me to a less crowded hallway. I started to protest, but she gave me a look that said no nonsense.

I willingly let myself be led across the school. By this time, everyone was in class already, except for a few stragglers. Finally, she let go of my arm.

"Listen," Coral said breathlessly, "You can't just run away from your problems. Just let me explain. I'm on your side, remember?"

I sighed, exasperated and threw my arms in the air. "No, you listen. You told me my mother -my dead mother- is going to kill me, and you still expect me to believe you? Oh no, siree. You're crazy! Ever since you showed up, my life has been a mess!"

"Stop over-exaggerating. Before you make another dramatic exit, I just want to let you know something. The dream your mother sent you was a prophecy showing your death. It's true that your mother will kill you, but not willingly. In the sea, we have the good and we have the bad. Not everything is as magical as you think it is. A very powerful man by the name of Cain Onyx spent his whole life trying to take down the daughters of the sea and no one knows why. Apparently, he had a feud with the first daughter of the sea, and ever since then, he's been against us. He recently found a way to control some daughters of the sea. He can only control them if they are weak, which your mother is as she gave you all her strength and power." Coral paused, then looked me straight in the eye. "Hazel, Cain has your mother."

"What? But my mother's dead! How can this Cain dude all of a sudden have her?" I took a shaky breath. "Tell me one thing: is my mother actually dead or not?"

Coral hesitated before answering. "Your mother is dead, but only in this world. In the sea, we do not die, but our spirits can fade over time. When we die in this world, our spirits transfer to the sea, where we stay until we fade away. If you give someone your power when you die, your spirit is weaker than if you keep your power. That's what happened to your mother. She is a weaker spirit and she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, she's Cain's hostage. She has to abide by his command, she has no choice. Do you understand that, Hazel? She has no choice."

I took a moment to take everything in. I just found out that my mother is dead, but not dead, and that she's being held hostage by the daughters of the seas' enemy. Whoa.

I looked at Coral, and decided right there and then that this was real. Coral was telling the truth, I could see it in her eyes. "I have to save her then! I can't just let her be controlled by Cain. We have to go into the sea. But how?"

Coral sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this? The sea can be a dangerous place, and even though you have your mother's power too, you are still unskilled and unprepared to use them properly. By doing this, you would need extensive training, which I can provide, before we go into the sea. I need to be sure that you can protect yourself, for I might not be there to protect you."

I stared at Coral for a long time, making my decision. Finally, I whispered, "I'm sure. I have to save my mother." Coral saw the determination in my eyes and nodded. She gestured for me to follow her.

Silently, we made our way out of the school and down the street. It was a peaceful quiet, almost like we were having a moment of silence for my mother. Even the birds seemed to stop chirping as we walked by. It was beautiful. I had to force the tears back. Blinking quickly, I looked up at the sky until the tears left.

A few minutes later, we were still walking but I didn't know where we were. "Coral?" I called softly. She turned towards me, and for a moment, I saw the vulnerability in her face before it changed into her usual blank face.

I was sure I had the same vulnerable look on my face too. She felt this peacefulness too. Just that small show of emotion made me like her more. I wanted to get to know her and her past. I wanted to know her well enough so she didn't feel like she had to hide her feelings from me.

I know she's trying to be strong and stay the leader, but I wondered if she knew my mother from before, and what it's like for her to be put on this journey that my mother herself requested.

"Where are we going?" I asked once I realized that she was still waiting to hear what I was going to ask her. "This place doesn't look familiar to me."

"We're going to my house." Coral replied. I noticed that she said house, and not home. That small word choice made a huge difference to me. The sea was her home. "I have everything we need there. I can start training you there." She turned around and kept walking. I followed her a few steps behind. I felt like we both needed some space alone with our thoughts.

Part of me encouraged me to keep going, but part of me whispered doubts in my ear. I tried to ignore the whispering and focus on why I'm doing this. After all my mother has done for me, I had to repay her. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

"If my mom gave me her power, she must've known that she would be vulnerable to Cain. She had to have known that by helping me, she's putting herself in danger. Even after she died, she's still looking after me."

Coral stopped in her tracks. Slowly, she turned around to face me. "Yes, she knew what she was doing. But she didn't know that Cain would make her attack you in the near future until it was too late." I didn't even notice I said that last part out loud until Coral responded.

"But how did she know what Cain is going to make her do? That part doesn't make sense. Can she read minds?" I asked, curious.

"No, she can't read minds, Hazel. When she first got captured, she overheard Cain talking to one of his servants and quickly sent a message to me by fish, telling me everything from her dying to giving you her powers to getting captured to hearing Cain's plans. Her only request was to protect you-"Coral choked on her own words.

She cleared her throat, wiping away a stray tear that fell down her cheek. "Her only request was to protect you from her."

Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know in the comments what you think of Coral? Do you like her or not? I would love to hear what you think. As usual, like this chapter! Thanks! :)

-Bookworm9173