What Lies Beneath the Water

Flying Arrow (53)

**Aqua's POV**

"Vladimir knows." The two words that Dahlia wrote on a page in her notebook that I couldn't get out of my head. Vladimir knows were two possibly detrimental words that could've gotten me taken out of Black Stone Academy where my friends were. I hated to think of what would have happened if they weren't at my birthday celebration. I couldn't imagine in good health what would've happen if I was permanently away from them.

The Vladimir situation was just giving me more of a headache than what I had started with. I knew that I was going to get the Mermaid Sickness when I came back, but it was just as worse as the first time I got it. The situation was worsened by the fact that my nausea bracelet was missing.

"Can anyone answer who are the four guardians of Avalr?" He asked and the entire classroom stayed silent. "Are you kidding me! I just taught this, but all of you slobs are just too concerned with eating to focus!"

"Iljuin, the Lion of Compassion who has chosen Professor Leo Sinclair. Nyoka, the Serpent of Intelligence who has chosen Princess Seraphina Sinclair who is married to Prince Leo Sinclair. Harimau, the Tiger of Love and Loyalty who has chosen King Terrance Sinclair. Lastly Zmaj, the Dragon of Power who has chosen Queen Skylar Sinclair." I said, and his eyes just peered into me.

He looked intrigued and crossed his arms. "And the prophecy?"

"Which one?" I asked, and he was impressed that I knew what I was talking about.

He asked me for the first prophecy, and I said, "The Lion, Serpent, and Tiger will bind together with the Dragon in times of great need and expel the darkness. They have only bound together twice, once at the beginning of Avalr and recently due to Tenebris."

"Correct, and what about the second prophecy?" He asked.

"It was an ancient tale written in the books of the creation of Avalr. It said that the Sky will give birth to the Sun and the Moon, and they will have the power to banish the darkness. Because it was written in a book of creation, it was thought of a part of the creation story. It was not, and Skylar Sinclar, the Dragon, gave birth to two twin girls named Lux Sinclair and Luna Sinclair. In the large battle, the four guardians distracted Tenebris while Lux and Luna banished the darkness inside of Tenebris into a necklace that was given to Lux by Tenebris. Now Tenbris is happily married to Lux with several children, and Luna is married to you." Truthfully, I had been taught this when I was twenty years old. My father wanted both of his children to have encyclopedic knowledge of all of the kingdoms so that, Ancestral Dragons forbid, if we were in war, we would know the best way to take down our opponent.

He smiled, "Class, thank Ms. Gray. If it weren't for her, I would have given you your test on Avalr today." I blushed as the entire class, except for Tyrus clapped. Instead, Tyrus gave me his ear-piercing whistle.

Vladimir dismissed the class early but asked me to stay behind. I obliged of course, but that didn't stop my heart from pounding out of my chest with adrenaline. There was no doubt that Professor Vladimir could hear the rhythmic lub-dub of my heart.

He held a full cup of water in his hand as said, "Seeing as you have been gone for almost a week, you have acquired quite the stack of homework. Let me go get it, and you can be on your way." I nodded politely.

Professor Vladimir turned around using his vampiric speed, causing the glass of water to pour all over me. It took me maybe a second to go into silent chanting mode to keep my blue hair at bay, but silent casting was no easy task. It was one that only masters of magic could successfully perform.

"You see, Aqua, I've caught on to your little act. You are no random human who was invited to the Academy due to luck. You are the Mermaid Princess, and your father pulled his strings to get you in here." His eyes held such ferocity.

"Professor, I do not know what you are talking about. My father is a sailor and Professor Kai helped me to get into this school because of my musical talent. He thought that since the Academy customizes schedules based upon the students' strengths, I would excel here." I said as I continued to chant over and over again in my head.

He crossed his arms and said, "But I don't buy it. I am many things, but I am not stupid. I know you are a princess."

I had two options in front of me. Number one, admit who I am and have my father drag me back home to "safety". Number two, prove my lie and stay here where I am safer. The first option would obviously be the easiest, but my life was something that I valued too highly to give up. The second option on the other hand was much harder, but worth it.

I went to ask him how I could prove that I was Aqua Gray, but I sensed dark magic in the air and heard an arrow being shot. In a split second, I came up with an equation to disarm the spell while I continually chanted. I scratched my thigh which made it so that my body would disarm the spell and I pushed Professor out of the way and took the hit for him.

I continually chanted with the arrow in the middle of my chest, but luckily my disarming spell made it so that it was just a normal arrow.

"Oh my God! Aqua, are you okay?" His eyes were as wide as they could possibly be.

I was about to speak when a cough came out of my mouth. Instinctively I covered my mouth, but when I pulled my hand away, it was filled with blood.

"KAI! TOMOE! KOU! LEO! SOMEONE!" He yelled and Tomoe and Kou came running in and their mouth were wide when they saw me. I saw fear flash in their eyes and they ran my way. Tomoe picked me up while Kou went up to Vladimir.

"How dare you let her get this way!? You are the professor! You are the teacher! You are supposed to protect the students and yet the one student that I have respect and admiration for, is now hurt because you didn't react fast enough so she had to! If that arrow left any ounce of magical poison in her body, I will rip your immortality from you." He threatened and I could see Kou's hand going from skin to scales and back to skin again. He was struggling not to show his true form.

"Kou," I coughed, and some blood left my mouth, "Stop." He looked back at me with soft eyes before turning back to Vladimir with true ferocity. "Count yourself lucky." 

**

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