Celeste

26.

I held the dress in my hand, feeling hollow, detached. It trails prettily down to the ground.
"That time already, huh?" I attempted to joke, swallowing the hard lump down my throat.

Mitch smiles "yes, Celeste. The turtle is waiting." He says, holding his own tunic and trousers. He seems worried.

I get dressed quicky, sliding the thin material over my tail, doing up the buttons. I also put on my father's coat, which looked worse for wear, but could still be worn.

I tied a ribbon to my hair, sighing at myself in the cave mirror.

Bright eyes glowed out at me, like twinkling stars. The skin I could see seemed paler, translucent as blue and purple veins twisted through.

The tail swished harder under the weight of clothes, and I admired it's flexibility as it shot rainbows about the room.

"Ready to go, beauty queen?" Diamond asks, "I'm so excited!"

I smile at her giddy expression before leaving the cave. Nina and Sam console eachother, sending sad squeaks, and anxious chitters my way.

A few mermaids gather around, Benny and Merida give me a big hug, and sapphire pins a brooch onto my dress. Emerald and ruby send cool smiles my way. Im nervous all of the sudden, half hiding behind Mitch as he leads me to an even bigger turtle, this one with a building of wood and stone on top.

"We have to get used to legs first, so no one sees us on land when we turn." Mitch whispered in my ear. I give a nervous wave before settling on its back, and, with a cheer, the turtle makes its way up in slow, wide strikes of its flippers.

"It'll be a while till we surface, you ok?" Mitch asks, wrapping an arm about my shoulders. "I'm fine... Just nervous." I say, settling into him as the turtle carries us ever higher. Towards home.

I suddenly feel like no air is anywhere, and my breaths come sharp and short, in never ending waves of panic. "Easy, cel. Breathe deeply." Comes Mitch's voice in my ear.

I can't. "What if... what if father thinks I'm a monster and chases me away!? The whole town will be shocked, I mean... I look different." I shudder at that dream again. The rage and fear in fathers face...

Mitch kisses my cheek. "You look beautiful. And, right now, if you wanted to, we could go somewhere else. Anywhere. Hot coasts, big cities... it's up to you. You don't have to go home." He says.

I imagine if I went somewhere else, where I could explore to my hearts extent. All the exotic lands and new experiences...
My father would be devastated if he thought I was dead. It's likely he already thinks that, what with my blue dress being up on land before I was. He would be shocked to the bone if he saw me now, all cheekbones, dark hair and pale skin. I would tell him...

What? Mitch said to say I was stranded on a spit of land, but how could I explain my paleness and dark hair? He might not even recognise me...
I shuddered at the thought.

But I could prove it somehow, say I loved him and one day the jacket washed up and I knew there was hope. Then he would be so happy...

I can't deprive a man of his daughter.
"We're going to rosewood. It's about time I was bought back to life."

He nodded. "Okay. We're near to the surface anyhow. It should take a hour or so from there." He took a breath. "I'm not going to lie, cel. It's going to feel like your insides are outsides for about a minute when fully out of the water." He said seriously, head tilted upwards.

I followed his gaze, gulping. The blue of the sea, usually a deep navy, had shifted to a royal blue, and was rapidly getting lighter. It became a pastel before Mitch counted down. "Five... four... three... two... one!"

The water leeched away from my body, and I screamed as my innards seemed to shift about, gills slamming shut and fins disappearing once it reached my toes. The tail did not skin off, but separated harshly, a million tiny knives dancing along my newly formed legs. I was reminded of the time I slipped on ice, landing on a broken bottle at a Christmas fair.

The glass that imbedded itself deep into my skirts were painful to say the least, and at the time I thought it the worst pain ever, grimacing as Eli plucked shards from my skin.
This was worse, like being possessed through a meat grinder and being sewn back together with hot glowing silver threads.

It felt like an eternity before it stopped abruptly, and I sighed, shoulders slouching with relief. A cool breeze slithered across my skin and I shivered with delight. "Oh, much better."
I laughed, hearing my normal tone for the first time in a year.
A thought occurs. "Does it hurt when I change back into a mermaid? What about baths? Will I be stuck?"

"No. It actually isn't too bad, but just hurts less and less the more you do it. You need sea water to change, and you must be at least half submerged to change completely." He explains, dressing in his trousers.

I turn away, cheeks burning.

"Cel, there's a shortcut, you know. We'd have to swim, though." Mitch says, stretching his toes.

"Ok, I trust you, I suppose. Wouldn't it be suspicious if we beached ourselves?"

"Er, no. It's a private beach. No one ever goes there."

"I don't kno-"
Mitch grabs my hand, and pulls us into the water.

The change still hurts, but Mitch just pulls me along, until we reach a hole in the rock. It's smoother than most, and something about it seems familiar.

"Go on, cel. I'll follow." Mitch says, nudging me forward.
I try to enter, but my dress gets stuck. I take it off, leaving only the jacket.

I cautiously swim into the darkness, confused. The tunnel curves upwards and is much smoother than it should be. I reach a dead end, feeling around. Smooth, cold. With four sharp corners.

I hear a twist and clunk of machinery and I panic. My tail hits the trapdoor as it closes, and I shout in fear. "Mitch! Mitch!"