(Also posted on Royal Road)
Even in a world full of magic and wonder, no one can escape dealing with very human problems.
Claire, the outspoken witty new kid mermaid is fearful of being alone and separated, and just wants a group of friends to call...
The forest surrounding the outer parts of the campus grounds were home to the most beautiful coniferous trees. Legends claimed they weren't just trees, but living conduits of magic itself, their roots woven into the fabric of the school's very foundation. Not only did they serve as natural beauty, but the trees themselves were an embodiment of the magic that fueled the school. One could feel the energy altering the soul after taking a short stroll through the branches. They whispered to each other in ways only the most attuned could hear.
Claire never knew if she believed that. Yet, walking among them, she felt it. The crisp scent of purifying pine filled the air, curling through the branches like unseen fingers. A hush settled over the forest, not eerie, but calm. Deep. Alive.
She hadn't planned to come here, but something pulled her forward. Then she saw it.
A dark turquoise pool, its surface smooth as glass, framed by obsidian-black rocks. The water pulsed with a soft hum, like the echo of a distant song only she could hear. Home.
Claire didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, and the water welcomed her.
The moment her foot broke the surface, her body remembered. With each step, her muscles loosened, her weight shifting in ways it shouldn't on land. Her skin tingled—not in fear, but in recognition.
Her legs gave way. Not in weakness, but in return. The smooth, silk-like veil of her cerulean tail unfurled beneath her, stretching in the current, weightless and right. Her toes were gone, replaced by a delicate fin that swayed like it had always been there.
She floated, her body light, whole.
It had been weeks since she last felt like this. Since she last felt herself. The school's artificial pool never had this effect. The chemicals made her itch, the water felt flat, dead. But here—here, she belonged.
Claire exhaled, letting the salty water wash over her.
Snap! A sharp crack of a twig.
Her body reacted before her mind caught up. She twisted, diving down, her tail slicing through the water.
Below the surface, everything was quiet. She hovered just beneath the rippling barrier, looking up through Snell's Window, the way water bent the world above.
A figure stood at the bank. The slanted light caught on platinum blond hair, too bright, too perfect. A hand hovered over the water.
"Ascenda."
The spell hit the surface like a punch. A violent geyser of bubbles erupted around her, forcing her upward. The water churned, dragging her against her will.
Claire broke through, gasping. She barely had time to blink before she saw him. Niccolo Quire.
The golden light hit him at an angle, casting him in an almost ethereal glow, like something otherworldly and out of place.
His smirk widened. "Nice tail, Fishsticks."
Claire inhaled sharply, snapping her tail behind her, just out of view. "What's it to you?" she shot back, her voice flat.
Nick shrugged, fiddling with the ring on his finger. "Nothing. Just saying. Volk will have your head for going outside the wards."
She arched a brow. "Well, you're out here too."
For half a second, he hesitated. Then his expression closed off. Without another word, he turned, striding back toward the academy.
Claire expected him to look back.
He didn't. Nick told himself he didn't care if she followed.
But still, he half hoped she would.
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