Hearing their names caught me by surprise. It had been so long since I had heard my mother or grandmother’s names spoken out loud. “Did you know my mother?”
“I only met Isla a few times, your grandmother chose a path that took them far from me, but I never held it against her.” The queen reached her own hand out to the water and it seemed to reach back, rising up and meeting her hand. She turned her hand over, palm facing the sky and the water climbed over the edge of her outstretched palm and pooled there. “I was present for your parent’s wedding. That was the last time I saw either of them. Your mother seemed to follow her mother’s example in making unorthodox choices.” The queen smiled and the water began to wind its way like a snake around her arm reaching up toward the flowy sleeve of her pink blouse and stopping there. They died when you were so young. Did you your father teach you how to use your abilities?”
“As far as I know my dad was fairly clueless about all of this.” I answered. The queen’s brow furrowed and she turned her gaze to my face seeming to try to read something there.
“I see.” And after a brief pause, “Iolanthe. You may call me Iolanthe.”
My mouth tightened. Even her name sounded formal. I hadn’t expected to call her gran, but I had hoped for something that felt familial.
“No?” She asked, no hint of annoyance on her face.
“If that’s what you want me to call you.” I tried to undo my blunder.
“It’s a mouthful isn’t it. And I really do want you to talk to me, so, how about just Io?”
“I could do Io.” I nodded.
“Good. Now stretch out your hand.” I did as she had directed holding my hand a few inches from hers. The water stretched and covered the distance from her hand to mine, enveloping my hand. I huffed out a small laugh. This was new.
“Can you hear it?” Io asked and I tried to listen for whatever she was talking about. She saw the confusion on my face. “The water. She likes you.”
“She?”
This was the queens turn to laugh. A musical sound. “Yes, she. Water is distinctly female.” This was a foreign concept to me. “You should learn to talk to her. She knows all your secrets and you will want her to keep those to herself. Or at least not share them with the wrong people.”
“Can all the mer hear water talk?” I asked.
“I am not mer, Cora.”
“Oh, right. Just ondines then?”
“No, there are a number of us who can hear the water's whispers. Mostly ondine and naiads. I was sure that Proteus could also. Perhaps you haven’t learned how to listen. We’re you raised near the water?”
“I grew up in the woods.”
“Lots of streams, lakes?” It was more a hopeful statement than a question.
“Not near me. Mostly trees.” I felt like I ought to apologize.
“It is a wonder given your ancestry that your parents kept you from the water.” She seemed disappointed. “I’m sure they had their reasons though.” She continued thoughtfully. “You should make a point to listen to the water. Impressions, feelings, ideas even, and later when you are more skilled, pictures in your mind. It is an invaluable connection for us. I’m sure it is listening to you. Try.” And as she spoke the water that she had extended out to me pulled back into her hand releasing me completely. “Reach out.” I did as I was told, stretching my hand down again toward the pool of water. Here, water, water. I felt silly and the water didn’t seem impressed. Could water be impressed? “It’s not a dog.” Io interjected. “It is sentient, and intelligent. Just because you haven’t been listening to it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been listening to you. Watching you. Talking to you.” Great the water was stalking me.
I tried again. Hi. I didn’t know what to say. Do you remember me? I remembered touching the water only a moment before and the reassurance that I had felt. Or maybe, maybe it wasn’t my memory. Io said that could give impressions and feelings. Maybe that was it? Words felt silly. Instead I imagined the water reaching out for me like it had for Io. Reaching up to touch my fingertips. Slowly, very slowly, the water began to rise. It rose up and reached out. My mouth hung open gracelessly in amazement. And there it was the water touching my fingers like I had imagined. I pulled back and the water dropped with a splash back into the pool.
Io smiled brightly and reached out her free arm to hug me. “You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for, Cora. You are capable of great things.” She kept her hand on my shoulder, holding me at arm’s length and looking up at me, she was as short as Zoya. “My husband is a good man. And he does what he thinks is necessary to take care of his people. However, “she continued, her eyes full of meaning, “it may be in your best interest to keep a few tricks up your sleeve so to speak. You are your own person. Your family has sacrificed a great deal for that. Don’t throw it away.”
I nodded. She seemed to hold Fynn’s same opinion about me keeping the extent of my abilities to myself. Behind me footsteps approached.
“Please forgive me, your majesty. I need to discuss plans with Cora.” Fynn’s greeting was formal, but his voice held all the warmth it had always had. Io smiled knowingly at me and slowly the water uncoiled itself from around her arm and descended back into the pool. She patted my shoulder once more and walked back past Fynn, nodding some unvoiced comment to him as she passed. He bowed as she left us alone in the courtyard, the only sound the gentle bubbling of the water.
When he was sure that she had left and that we were alone he turned back to me. He smiled, a tangle of his unkempt hair falling into his eyes. He looked more sincerely relaxed then I had seen him since we arrived.
“It’s not ideal, but we can make it work.” He said as he walked toward me. He continued walking past me to a stone bench where he sat and patted the empty space next to him. As I approached to sit next to him I thought I saw the briefest flicker of nervousness across his features, but it was gone in an instant and I wasn’t sure that I had actually seen it. “The good news,” he continued, “Is that I don’t have to keep so much from you anymore. The king basically released me to tell you everything that I will need to.”
“No more secrets?” I asked hopefully. A crease formed between his eyebrows.
“Less secrets.” The admission seemed to pain him. Even knowing that I would be getting some explanations, I couldn’t help but be frustrated to know that there were yet others that he was still keeping from me. How many secrets could he possibly be keeping from me? I tried to take comfort in the fact that he was admitting that there were some things that he wouldn’t be telling me. He was being up front about it. I laughed internally. Yea, Cora, he’s being upfront about the fact that he’s not being upfront with you. Fantastic. So, it wasn’t exactly a win, but less secrets was a move in the right direction.
“I guess I’ll take it. For now.” Eventually we’d have to clear the air of whatever he was still hiding. He smiled his crooked smile; he didn’t seem annoyed that I was planning on getting the rest of his secrets out of him.
“For now,” He said repeating my words, “I can tell you that in addition to manipulating the masses in the name of the king I also do a fair amount of spying. Gathering whatever information may be useful for the benefit of the kingdom.” His black eyes seemed to grow darker in his expression. “That’s why you were right, when you said this business with Blake and Naida was my fault. I was supposed to be keeping tabs on him.” His hands clenched at his sides. “But my attention was elsewhere. I was split too many ways.”
He didn’t say it, but I felt sure that his split attention was my fault. I could almost see the weight on his shoulders. How much of that weight was me?
“It’s no excuse. This is the life I’ve chosen; I can’t make those same mistakes again.” Was he talking about me? Was I the mistake that he needed to avoid in the future? I was afraid to ask.
“Whatever others expect of you, Fynn, what Blake has done was not your fault any more than it was mine. I had been having these d
reams and was choosing to ignore them.”
“Cora, don’t…”
“I’m not, not anymore. I did blame myself for a while and I tried to blame you too, but that’s the thing. I didn’t make Blake do those things and neither did you. He’s made his own choices. And his choices have been horrible. Now it’s time for us to do what we can do to fix it. We don’t get to pick what he does, but we get to pick what we do.”
Fynn smiled looking into my eyes. “You sound so much like… like someone I know.”
“I sound like my dad.” I smiled to myself. “I guess some of what he was always saying has finally sunk in.” I considered telling Fynn about my dream, but it was such a special moment, I was afraid that talking about it would spoil it in some way, and beyond that I was not interested in crying right now.
I looked up at Fynn again and his smile was tight. Secrets on his lips. “Alright, you’ll be working with Ell, and as much as she and I don’t get along, she is reliable and should keep you out of any real trouble. Amari isn’t my favorite person. Honestly, Cora.” He reached out and took hold of my hands. A barrier that I hadn’t realized was even there came down, and I was grateful for the comfort of his warm hands on mine. “I wish I could keep you out of this. All of it. I’m no better than Oran, wanting to put you in a bubble. Except I have the sense to know that it won’t help. There are too many things at play. I’d rather have you on my team. Unfortunately, the king's first job for you doesn’t involve me, but I’ll do anything I can to help you be ready.”
“Ell’s going to be doing most of the talking right? I don’t know anything about Egyptian antiquities. Or making deals for the king, or…” A sudden wave of panic came over me. I didn’t know anything about any of this. I was completely unprepared and I knew it. Fynn ran his thumb over the back of my hand in circles.
“It’ll be ok, Cora. Yes, Ell with be doing all the talking. Your only job will be when he’s asleep. And even then, you don’t need to know anything about the details of the deal the king wants to make. All you’ll have to do is make him feel like it’s a good idea and make the feeling strong enough that it sticks. You won’t even really need to use words if you don’t want to.”
My breathing picked up. What on earth was I getting myself into? I had chastised Fynn once. What was he expecting me to do? He seemed to see my panic.
“No! No! Not… Cora, dreams are more feelings than words or actions. Nothing at all can actually happen and you can wake up remembering all the feelings and emotions of it. He’ll see you, because you’ll be there and he’ll need to associate those feelings with the deal that you and Ell are making.”
“Why don’t I just bring Ell into my dream and he can see her? Instead of me going into his dream. I’ll just pull in Ell and him. For that matter why can’t you bring them both into one of your dreams? You can hide behind a tree or something. Then he doesn’t have to see you.” Hope sprung up in my chest. This was actually a good idea.
“Cora, I can’t pull more than one person at a time.” Here he looked at me meaningfully after scanning the courtyard. “And neither can you.”
“I mean, I haven’t tried it.” Except, maybe I had. Weren’t Ophelia and that little mer girl there that day when the syphon had attacked me? Fynn scanned the courtyard again and squeezed my hand.
“Remember what I said before? Cora, there are certain things that very few people can do. If you were able to do that, it would make this easier for you right now, but the revelation would come at a cost. You don’t want anyone to know the extent of what you can do.”
“I thought that you said that Ell was reliable?”
“She will help you complete this mission successfully. She will also report every detail of it to the king.” I nodded thoughtfully.
“So, feelings? Strong emotions and mental images and such?”
“Yes. Once you’ve met him you will have no trouble making the mental connection once he’s asleep.”
Another thought popped into my mind
“Didn’t you get into my dream that one time, before we ever met?” I asked. Fynn smiled patiently.
“I was there, that’s true enough. But that was all you Cora. And,” he glanced around again lowering his smooth voice, “that dream was of things to come, and you pulled me into it without having ever met me. All things that most cannot do.” He straightened up slightly. “It would definitely make this task easier if you could do those things, but it would only make this task easier. It will complicate everything else in the future.” His eyes continued to dart around the empty courtyard, clearly, he was worried about being overheard. He leaned close enough that I could feel his breath against my ear. “Please trust me. Only let them know what you have to.”
Dylan
The water felt colder than usual, but maybe that was my nerves. I wasn’t really sure what I was hoping for. My heart had gone out to Fayre. She looked so heartbroken when I saw her last, when I told her I was leaving. I hadn’t seen her since. I swam deeper down making the now familiar trip to Fayre’s home. I had to fight the temptation to knock on the doorway. Knocking on doors ways a human habit and I felt like it might be in my best interest to avoid everything that might remind her father that I was human in any part. Instead, I called from the doorway. It may be more mer to sing, but I had never been a singer. Fayre’s mother came to the doorway. She looked behind and around me, her smile fading.
“Fayre isn’t home.” She said with a look of confusion on her face. I nodded.
“Actually, I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Myrnuien.” I offered. She smiled again and seemed pleased.
“Come in.” She gestured to the room behind her and I followed her inside. I floated there, hoping I wasn’t about to make things worse for Fayre. Or for me.
“Ehem.” Behind me Levenic cleared his throat, a bubbling sound underwater. I turned to see him there, floating at the other end of the room, his hands folded across his broad chest and a scowl on his face.
“Hello.” I began, hoping to sound confident. “I was hoping I might have a chance to speak with you, we didn’t have a chance the other day.”
“We didn’t have a chance, because I didn’t want to speak with you.”
“Right. Well, I was hoping I might get to before my sister, Lady Reed, comes back. I’m going to be going away with her for a little while.” I hoped that the title was right, I had gotten the news from Oran only that morning, and he hadn’t been entirely confident about it.
“Lady Reed?” He asked. “I am unfamiliar with her.”
“Oh, she was only recently given a title. She’s been visiting our relative, the queen these past few days.” Would I need to get into my complicated family history?
“You’re related to Queen Iolanthe?”
“On my Ondine side.”
He nodded thoughtfully and then furrowed his brow. “Would you tell Fayre to come in please? She shouldn’t have sent you in by yourself. I thought she was braver than that.”
“I didn’t come with her. I haven’t seen her for a few days.” I answered truthfully.
Levenic become thoughtful again, his face concerned. “We assumed she was off with you. Angry at me. She hasn’t been home in three days.”
Cora
Fynn had left me to my own devices while he busied himself with business that was still a secret to me. So, I was left to follow the direction of the king to be seen around the castle. Even Ell had been too busy to keep me out of trouble and so I was left with Dorian as my escort around the castle for the day. I had run into Dorian while wandering aimlessly around the enormous castle and he had attached himself to my side seemingly as aimless as I was. His wavy blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and his face hadn’t been shaved recently leaving a light stubble over his chin. Thankfully he knew his way around the castle and was more than willing to give me a tour while I was busy being seen.
We walked out through a high archway and into the bright cloudless sunlight. I wo
ndered if Oran’s father had the same talent for weather as his son. The wide-open area was surrounded by a low rock wall, covered in flowers and clinging vines. Outside the wall was an unmanicured jungle, out of the corner of my eye I was sure I say a flash of green as something ran through the branches of the trees. The aged stone of the wall was contained on the walkway that surrounded the immense pool, but to call it a pool was almost an insult. Large round river rocks paved the pool floor and rough stones climbed out one side creating the height from which clear blue water tumbled over two lower tiers in a bubbling cascade down into the pool. A stepped stone path led up through tall grass in an arch around one side of the pool up to a smooth rockslide. In the center of the enormous pool sat a small island, adorned with a firepit that was yet to be lit. The far edge of the pool was lined in stone, skirting the cliff that dropped straight down to the green blue of the ocean water. I couldn’t imagine the Garden of Eden could being more serene.
I hadn’t prepared to swim, but I had no desire to see anything else. How could anyone, mer, ondine or otherwise, resist such a temptation? I wondered at the general desolation of the pool area.
“It will fill up soon enough. Most of the dignitaries and such like to at least pretend that they are working, so they avoid the pool until after lunch most days.” Dorian had laughed. Eventually, in the name of being seen, allowed Dorian to show me more of the castle grounds. There were stables on the inland side of the island, and I had taken pleasure in being able to pet the velvet noses of a few of the tenants there. I stood petting a tan mare with a black mane enjoying the comforting smell of the straw when Dorian chimed in.
Then We Fly Page 17