Stolen Scales

Chapter 24

"Alai?" Alai spins around to look at Kyma, her eyes wide. When her eyes lock onto Kyma's, she relaxes, practically melting into the water in relief. Kyma frowns at her in confusion, "Alai, are you okay?"

Alai nods."Yes, sorry. I was just worried, and nervous."

"Why?"

"You were in the house for a long time, Kyma."

Kyma frowns, not having been aware of the length of time she was in the home. "How long was I in there?"

"About an hour, Kyma. That's far longer than we spent in my home, and I may not have been inside, but I know the Queen's home isn't that big. What were you doing in there?"

Kyma gives her a small smile. "I'm sorry Alai, I didn't realize how long I was in there. I didn't mean to worry you. I was just distracted by some things while I was in there. But why are you up here?"

"I needed air, Kyma. I apparently can't hold my breath as long as you can."

Kyma frowns as Alai's harsh response. "Alai, are you jealous?" Alai turns away, confirming Kyma's suspicions. Kyma moves closer and puts her hand on Alai's shoulder comfortingly. "Alai, I wasn't holding my breath that whole time, I promise. I was just really interested in something in the sleeping chamber, so I had air in there. And even if I could hold my breath for longer than you, it would take a long time to reach that point. I've only had my tail for a week, remember? You've had yours for your entire life! You've had practice holding your breath for a long time, I haven't. So you'll be able to hold your breath longer than I can for a long time."

Alai nods, and turns around to hug Kyma. "I'm sorry, Kyma."

Kyma smiles and pulls out of the hug slightly to look at Alai in the eyes. "Don't be sorry. No one is perfect, and we've only known each other for a day or so. You were bound to get angry, or worried at some point. That's part of the growth of all friendships. Disagreeing about things and learning together."

Alai looks at Kyma, her eyes watering. "You think I'm your friend?"

"Of course! Maybe not at the level of Nami or Fala," Alai looks down, dejected. "Not yet, anyways. It took a long time for us to get that close. We will be that close in no time at all."
Alai nods, smiling once again. "I'm surprised you haven't asked what we're doing next. You're a very curious merrow."

Kyma laughs. "I know, I've always been curious about things." She grins mischievously. "So, what are we doing next?"

"We don't actually have anything left on the tour, so we will probably go through the city tunnel to the throne room."

"City tunnel?"

"It's the tunnel in the city cavern. When I first brought you to the Kingdom, we went through the reef tunnel."

Kyma nods. "Let's go then!"

Alai laughs, and dives, quickly followed by Kyma.They go through the small tunnel out of the living city and into the main city, which is bustling with merrows in contrast to the silence of the living city. Although, there are more merrows in the living city now then there were earlier, causing Kyma to wonder what time it is. They swim towards the tunnel to the throne room, with Kyma stopping every so often to wave at merrows and dart off to weave in between buildings. Alai follows, looking like she is trying harder and harder to refrain from bursting into laughter.

Finally, they reach the tunnel, and Alai spirals up and up the incline, zooming easily past the stony walls. Kyma, by comparison, is much slower, bumping into the walls every so often as she swims up. Finally, they break through the surface. Kyma looks at Alai, frowning slightly.

"How do you do that so easily and smoothly? I was bumping into the walls!"

Alai laughs. "Practice, Kyma. You're still new to your tail, and you aren't very familiar with the area either. You're bound to swim into things."

Kyma frowns. "Dang it."

She hears soft footsteps, and looks up to see her mother walking towards them, two Crownguards flanking her on either side. As Lahira gets closer and closer to the two girls, the guards move to step in front of her, keeping themselves between Lahira and the girls. Lahira snaps at them.

"Move aside, they mean no harm. Besides, one of them is my daughter."

Their faces show momentary shock, but they bow and step aside, allowing Lahira to walk to the very edge of the pool. She smiles down at the two of them.

"Did you have fun?"

Kyma nods, grinning. "We saw lots of things! I saw both of the houses, too. Do all merrows have two?"

Lahira nods. "Yes. Did you go inside the house?"

Kyma nods. "I went inside the one that is in the underwater part of the city."

Lahira smiles. "As nice as it is to talk like this, would you two like to get out of the pool?"

The girls nod and approach the incline out of the pool, shifting and rearranging their clothes to accommodate legs. This time, Alai pins the flaps of fabric into pants, while Kyma leaves it as a dress. Throughout the process of shifting, Alai's eyes are as wide as saucers.
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Hi guys! I don't have many questions for you to think about this chapter, but what do you guys think will happen next? When will Kyma learn the importance of the dagger? Tell me your thoughts and questions!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.