Love On the Water

Chapter Five

We swam deeper through the steadily darkening water and I couldn't help but still be shocked at the fact that I was breathing underwater. Looking up at Nixie her bright red hair flowed behind her as though it was simply blowing in the wind as it did on the surface of the water. Still gripping my wrist she steadily propelled us down to the seabed where I could barely see the light of the moon but it wasn't so dark that I couldn't see at all.

"Troy, are you alright?" I heard Nixie's voice behind me and realized she had let me go and started swimming down a path that was lined with small stones.

"What? Oh, I'm coming Nixie." I said as I tore my eyes from the small spot that held the moon above me and filtered light through the water.

I turned and walked across the sandy ocean floor to where Nixie was waiting on the path and followed her as she turned in the water and continued swimming down the path. It seemed I'd followed her for forever down that small path when I started noticing that the water was getting brighter around us as I noticed large shimmering stones that appeared to be where the light was coming from. Then I saw it; the biggest castle I'd ever seen began slowing appearing as though we were traveling through some barrier that kept it hidden. I later found out that was exactly what had been happening. I kept following Nixie until when I passed a reflecting surface and saw that I had a tail. I had a freaking tail! A freaking fish tail! Well fin really I guess but still!

"Holy hell!" I yelled which resulted in Nixie rushing back to me and slapping her hand over my mouth,

"Quiet! It's just an illusional spell so no one knows you're human your legs are still perfectly intact I promise. Now are you going to yell any more?" I shook my head and she moved her hand from my mouth and looked down to see that she'd been telling the truth, although the mirror thing showed me as having a tail similar to her's my legs were still there perfectly fine.

I couldn't help the rush of air that left my lungs in relief as I ran after Nixie's far away figure. I finally caught up right as she took a turn that left us surrounded with hundreds of merpeople. Striving to keep up I ran twisting and curving after Nixie who was only about four or five feet in front of me but the way she wound around the people made it difficult to keep up. This lasted for maybe five minutes before she turned again and started down a little path that led further away from the city. I followed her to the small structure she appeared to be leading me to until we were close enough to see that it was a little house, not like ours of course more like something from the Flinstone's I guess just underwater.

"This is my house, my father has me here so I don't cause trouble. You could say I'm the mischievous one of my siblings." Nixie said as the door mysteriously opened on its own and she swam through with me right behind her.

"You have siblings?" I said jumping when the door closed behind me.

"There's ten of us I have four sisters and five brothers but I'm the youngest." She said as she sat down on what I could only assume was her bed.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you have nine brothers and sisters?" I said.

"Yes, don't you have any siblings?" She said as she pulled me where I was sitting next to her.

"No, I'm an only child." I said.

"Really? You must have been lonely." She said as she cuddled up next to me.

"Not really, you get used to sort of playing alone when you had to your whole life." I said as I slowly slipped my arms around her.

"Well you're not alone now." She said as she laid her head against my chest.

"No, I'm not but don't you think I should get back?" I said.

"Yes, I know but I don't want you to go."

"I honestly don't want to either Nixie but I have to."

"I know," she sighed, "let's go." she slipped herself from my arms and went swimming out the door with me following right behind her.

"Let me see your hand." She said turning to face me and I could see the sadness in her eyes.

I took her hand but before I could say anything to her she'd went barrelling up towards the surface with me in tow so fast that I never got the chance. Water pushed against my face making it hard to keep my eyes open. Then just as soon as we had started upwards we broke the surface of the water right next to the boat.

I turned to talk to Nixie but she'd already gone and upset that I was the reason she looked so sad I climbed up the ladder to the boat and pulled the innertube I'd been on before back to the boat and stored it. With that done I went to my room and stripped out of my swimming trunks and put on boxers and fell on my bed asleep in seconds right as the sun began to break the horizon and pour its light over the water.