Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

“I—I need some money.”

  “Right. How much are formal dresses nowadays?”

  Honestly, I didn’t have a clue. “Like a hundred or so—?”

  “And shoes, I imagine.” Her eyes glazed over as she mouthed something inaudible. I braced for a discussion when she walked over and opened the cash register. “Here’s two hundred. Spend it wisely. Oh, and don’t forget to order your date a boutonniere.”

  I blinked at her as she put the bills into my hand and went back to arranging the display. Whatever Dad said to her yesterday had worked. This was much less painful than I expected.

  “Thanks, Mom.” I left before she could change her mind.

  14 - FIN

  I paced the length of our small living room, checking the sun clock yet again. If Tatch didn’t hurry, I’d be late to the practice field. “Come on, Tatch. It’s all going to wash off when you get in the water anyway.”

  “Shut-up, Fin. I’m almost finished,” Tatch yelled from her bedroom.

  I blew out a gust of air and sat on the couch. For me to get ready took all of two minutes. There was no need to get dressed or take a shower and the bathroom was technically outside, which grossed me out at times.

  After ten more minutes passed, she finally walked into the room, looking no different than she had at breakfast. “Finally.” I shook my head.

  She glowered and stuck out her tongue. “Stop being such a stickleback.”

  I ignored her and marched over to the new privacy curtain mom just hung up that partially obscured the porthole entry. As I took off my shorts, pulled back the rock door, and dunked my legs into the water, little bells tinkled from a string that fed through a pipe in the floor I’d never seen before.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “The door bell,” Mom called from the kitchen.

  “Sea stars, it’s Azor!” Tatch gasped. Her feet slapped the smooth rock floor as she retreated back to her room. “Tell him I’m not home.”

  I sat on the rim of the porthole and pulled back the curtain, unsure if I should phase back into my legs or not.

  Mom walked around the corner, looking as angelic as ever with a beaded skirt and tasseled fringe top. “Invite him in,” she said, her voice filled with posture—the tone that said she meant business.

  I quizzically studied her confident demeanor, confused at the change from her normal insecure manner in the presence of the pure-born, then shrugged and dove underwater to find Azor waiting outside.

  “Azor,” I said with a nod.

  “Finley, I was hoping to escort your sister today. Is she at home?”

  Conflict erupted inside me, unsure what to tell him. I could lie like Tatch wanted and protect my mom from the confrontation, or follow her orders and invite him in. I glanced up at the one-way window, knowing Mom probably watched us from the other side.

  “Yeah, come on in. I hope you’ve brought something to cover yourself. We’ve had the air interior installed.”

  “Oh, really?” He looked upward and noted the bubbles escaping from our rooftop. “I do,” he said smugly, placing his hand on a small rectangular box attached to his utility belt. My leather waterproof one was much cooler.

  “You’re welcome inside then.” I held out my hand to lead the way.

  Azor swam up through the porthole and disappeared into the house. When I surfaced behind him, he’d already phased into legs and wore a black man-skirt and matching sock-like boots. I tried not to snicker. He didn’t pull off the kilt look like Badger did.

  “Why hello, Magdelene,” Azor said, his voice laced with charm.

  Mom smiled sweetly but gave him a stern look. “Azor, I’d like to be called Mrs. Helton, if you don’t mind. And while you are here, please—” she motioned towards our moss covered couch, “have a seat.”

  Azor grimaced slightly before following her instructions. I guessed it wasn’t often that someone corrected him.

  Again, I chuckled on the inside, but sat on the porthole rim, still finned up, uncertain what Mom wanted me to do. She gave me the “stay put” look as she took a seat in a chair on Azor’s left hand side.

  “Tatiana, please come here,” Mom called over her shoulder.

  A smile spread on Azor’s lips. I squinted, unsure what Mom was up to, but I knew it wouldn’t be in Azor’s favor.

  “Yes, Mom?” Tatiana said timidly as she came around the corner, but didn’t make eye contact with Azor—pretending he wasn’t there.

  “Your brother has offered to escort you today and Azor has conveniently stopped by. I need to discuss a few things with him before I join you at the palace. Is that all right?”

  “Oh … okay, I guess.” She gave Mom a kiss on the cheek, then turned towards Azor with a fake look of disappointment. “I didn’t see you there. Hello,” she said curtly, then pivoted towards me with a huge grin on her face and plunged into the porthole feet first.

  As soon as I was underwater, all I could hear were peals of laughter in my head.

  “Did you see his face? Sweet urchins! Mom is going to let him have it.”

  I laughed back. “I know. He thought Mom was calling you out to see him, not to get a lecture. And she is on a roll today.”

  “This day has totally turned around,” she said, sounding jovial for the first time since arriving. “I’m going to be laughing about this for days.”

  “Me, too.”

  With a hard flick of our tails, we sped off towards the palace, laughing like we use to in Tahoe.

  15 - ASH

  I spun around in front of the mirror, wearing my new emerald-green gown. A solitary sequined strap crossed over my collar bone and looped around my neck, hugging my shoulder like a big hook. Never did I imagine a sleeveless dress would complement my overly muscular shoulders, but it did. The soft silk against my skin and the elegant way it hung to the floor made me feel like royalty. For a moment, I wished Senior Ball could have been tonight—not in two weeks.

  The girls waited noisily downstairs for the fashion show as I slipped on my shoes. With small steps, my ankles wobbled as I traversed down the stairs. When I came into view, Mom brought her hand to her mouth and Lucy gasped.

  “Aye, aye, aye,” Gran said with a golden gleam. “Aren’t you a picture?”

  I smiled—just the reaction I’d hoped for.

  “So who’s your beau?” Gran asked after I came into the room and twirled a few times.

  I twisted my lips and looked at Mom. “Bow?”

  “Beau is another word for your date, or guy friend,” Mom said, as she walked over and tugged on the seam under my armpit. “Is that comfortable?”

  I nodded and she inserted a straight pin from her pincushion.

  “His name is Callahan. He’s the pitcher on our baseball team and a really good snowboarder.” Joy burst from my heart as my feelings flowed freely from my mouth. For once the conversation revolved around me and not Lucy, who was still mute at the moment. “He’s got brown hair and big brown eyes—” I daydreamed for a second, imagining us dancing together in the center of a dimly lit room.

  “Well, in my day,” Gran said with a sparkle in her eye, “things were very different. My parents were strict. In high school, they wouldn’t let me go to a dance alone with a boy, but I could tag along with my older brothers.”

  I looked at Lucy and smiled evilly. She’d die if Mom and Dad did that to her when it was her turn.

  Gran put her hand on Lucy’s knee and squeezed. “So, I’d go with my brothers and meet up with your grandpa at the dance. We didn’t do the wild moves you kids do now, more like dancing cheek-to-cheek or jitterbug. I was pretty good, but your Grandpa … he wasn’t coordinated. Maybe it was his big feet, but we’d have a good time anyway.”

  “I’ve never heard this story,” Mom said, pausing from pinning up my hem.

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ve told it before,” Gran laughed.

  And this is how her stories surfaced. Out of nowhere Gran would pop out a story none of us had heard before, as if
she kept them for special moments such as these. I’d resorted to studying the pictures scattered around the house to fill in some gaps of what their life was like together. The sparkle in their eyes told me they loved each other very much back in the day.

  “Did you ever wear any pretty gowns like in the movies, Gran?” I asked while eyeing a particular picture where Gran pushed Mom in a baby stroller while Grandpa walked next to her, arm draped over her shoulder.

  “Oh, no,” she said with a chuckle. “We wore our everyday dresses and saddle shoes, not those—” she waved her hand at my strappy ones. “But I would have loved to. Boy, are you stunning.”

  I felt my cheeks grow hot. “Thanks, Gran.”

  “Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you.” She rose from the couch and headed toward her room.

  I looked at Mom who smiled knowingly. She returned with a brown garment bag. From inside she pulled out a white fox stole. “It was my mother’s. I’d like you to wear it on Saturday.”

  My mouth dropped open as she draped the soft silky side over my shoulders and fastened the jeweled clasp front. I rubbed my cheek against the luscious fur, instantly enveloped in warmth. “Really?”

  “Of course. The weather is supposed to be dreadfully cold, so it’s perfect.”

  “Can I wear it?” Lucy asked, standing up and dragging her hand across the front of the stole.

  “When you have a special occasion, darling, I’ll let you borrow it as well.” Gran took her arm and guided her back to the couch. They sat and she pulled Lucy into her shoulder. “Isn’t your sister lovely?”

  Lucy’s sallow skin matched her sour expression as her eyes raked over the fur. She reluctantly nodded. I held my shoulders up and smiled, enjoying every second of the attention.

  “I’m done,” Mom said. “Go ahead and carefully take off your dress so I can sew it before the weekend.”

  I gingerly pulled the edge of my dress off the floor and did a Miss America wave. “Thank you everyone for voting for me.”

  Mom chuckled and looked to me with pride. “I can’t wait for your father to see you.”

  “Me, too.” And Callahan. I bit my lip and grabbed the garment bag before floating upstairs on a cloud of glee. Would I really be doing that the night of the dance? Did I have a chance to win?

  In front of the mirror, I held up my hair to simulate an up-do. Georgia had offered to practice hairstyles on me Friday night since my little stash of cash was all gone. “Tiara hair” she called it.

  What would Fin think of me now? No longer the plain girl next door. I smirked, wishing he’d be home when the limo pulled up and I walked out, drop-dead gorgeous on another guy’s arm. I peered out the window towards his house, plotting my evil deed and spotted Colin pacing back and forth in front of Fin’s Jeep, tapping something on the palm of his other hand. I gasped as he shoved the tool down into the window slot and pulled upward, a Slim Jim. With a flip of the handle, he opened the door.

  “Don’t you dare mess with Fin’s Jeep,” I said and positioned my index finger and thumb so I could pretend to squish his head.

  He turned, looking down the street toward my two-story window as if he heard me. The hair prickled on my neck as I moved out of view. Through my chiffon curtains I watched him stare with a peculiar smile. He proceeded to crawl inside and dig around for something on the floor boards before he slammed the door and walked back into the house.

  My breath came out choppy for a moment, feeling caught. How could he have heard me? I stayed rooted to my spot, wondering why he was breaking into Fin’s Jeep. What was he looking for? If Fin knew he’d touched his Jeep, let alone broken into it, Colin would be dead.

  I bit my lip, remembering how beautiful his eyes were—clear and blue like Fin’s. And that an overwhelming desire to kiss him had flooded me. How could that have slipped my mind so easily? But did he actually say he hoped Tatchi didn’t come back?

  Suddenly, my blood boiled and I wanted to smack his sassy smirk right off his face. He knew where the family was and if I didn’t hear anything from Tatchi tonight, I’d be paying him a visit tomorrow.

  16 - FIN

  I dropped off Tatch and headed straight over to the practice field. Chauncey mentioned yesterday we’d get to drill with actual weapons today and I needed to hurry before everyone picked over the armory selection. My chances of defeating Badger could improve with something like a sword in my hand.

  I tried to clear my mind and think only of the upcoming duel like Badger had instructed, but Tatch mentioned wanting to tell Ashlyn about what happened with Azor, which ended our jovial morning. At the mention of her name, my craving rekindled for the outdoors and the sun along with the desire to go home.

  “Aye, yer late. Get over here before I give you a wallopin’,” Badger said and threw me into a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into my skull.

  “Hey.” I wriggled free and took a fighting stance, barbs out. “Who made you my keeper? I had something I had to do.” Like babysit my sister.

  “Yer da’ would want me to be keepin’ watch over ye, and I don’t want ye to be gettin’ no demerits.”

  “Demerits? Ha! I wouldn’t worry about that today.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a black tail zip by—Azor returning from our house with a wounded ego, no doubt. “So where are the weapons?”

  Badger winked at me and took out a trident from behind a nearby rock. My smirk disappeared off my face. He continued to grin as he pulled out a golden javelin too. He snagged two? My hands ached at the sight of such fine pieces of workmanship, surprised the armory held weapons of such caliber.

  “Aren’t you a greedy charlatan,” I said quickly, while clenching my jaw, figuring I’d probably end up with a wooden sword or worse—nothing, if everyone took more than one.

  “You underestimate me, lad,” he said, holding both pieces out toward me. “Pick yer poison.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “What?”

  “I got two so ye could choose yer favorite.”

  “Really?” My smile returned. “Yer a good man, Badge.”

  “I know.”

  Grommet, the youngest of our group, sang a high pitched series of notes to signal the army to move into ranks. Azor hovered close by, stoic and visibly pissed off as the excitement heightened from the group. My enjoyment of his earlier tongue-lashing from Mom was hard to contain; I couldn’t wait to tell Badger what happened. Azor impatiently flipped his tail a few times, stirring up the current to get our attention. The group silenced.

  “Mermen,” he said after clearing his throat, moving to float a few feet higher so we had to look up at him, “it is time we learn how to fight and defend our city!”

  Everyone erupted into a sudden cheer, startling me. Was this the first time they’d ever had access to the armory?

  “They say you can tell a lot about a merman by the weapon he takes into battle.” Azor’s scowl fell on me. “And we are at battle, gentle-mermen, don’t be deceived. Man may look like you, he may sound friendly, and he may even give you the promise of his word, but never forget that his ultimate desire is to kill, destroy, and steal what is rightfully ours. Humans are never to be trusted. We must always remember that they are our enemy!”

  Badger joined the hoots and hollers, beating his fist against the metal breast-plate over his chest. I stayed still, content to observe with my javelin in my hands behind my back. His agreement surprised me. He of all people, who once was a man, didn’t strike me as one so apt to condone blanket condemnation of his previous kind. Before I could mention something, Azor continued.

  “We must defend our city to the death. For here in our utopia, we have the delicate balance of peace, love, and happiness that the humans cannot understand. They do not have the capacity to progress to this level and never will. So, take your weapons and master them. Make them become an extension of you! Of us! Of Natatoria! For we are the master race!”

  More hoopla rang out from the group as mermen clashed their weapons against
one another’s in a chorus of thundering metal. Badger raised his trident toward me.

  “Look the part, lad. Someone’s watchin’ ye, thinkin’ yer gettin’ soft on the human folk.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Azor’s glare. Instantly, I raised my javelin and clanked it against Badger’s, growling on the exterior, but disagreeing in my heart. There were plenty of virtuous men on land, like Ash’s dad who was a fireman. Not all of them were lost to greed. Unfortunately, Azor never had an opportunity to find out himself, being a snob in his underwater kingdom, content to preach fear.

  “Come, lad. Let’s get to fightin’,” Badger said quickly, gaining my attention.

  “But you don’t—”

  He grabbed my arm and shook his head. “Not here. Come.”

  I followed him to our dueling spot, feeling slapped for doing nothing wrong. Once we were out of earshot he turned abruptly with fire in his eyes. “Son. A word of advice. Don’t be gettin’ bold and assertin’ your displeasure of what Azor be sayin’. For the most part, he be talkin’ just to hear hisself talk, but you don’t want him on your bad side. Ya hearin’ me?”

  I backed away. “What’s the big deal?”

  Badger got back in my face. “The deal is, he’s royalty and if they suspect you’re gettin’ soft on the humans, they’ll yank yer chain so fast yer head’ll spin. I don’t think you’ll be takin’ too kindly to stayin’ here the rest of yer life!”

  “What?” I rolled my eyes. If that were true, we’d have been grounded a long time ago. Dad was a total rogue.

  He sighed and pawed his hand through his wild hair. “Aye. I wouldn’t be tellin’ ya if I didn’t know so.”

  “But you don’t agree with what he’s saying, do you?”

  “Of course not.” Badger took his hand and splayed it against his forehead. “I knew men that would cut their parts off to save me life. All he knows is he needs to keep peace and doesn’t want another uprising like they had in ‘93.”

  “Uprising?”

  He looked up toward heaven. “Oh, dear Lord of mercy, don’t ya be knowin’ your own history? I’m goin’ to have a talkin’ to your da’ once he gets home fer not teachin’ ya the important stuff of our ways. You don’t know about Montauk and the massive town mind-wipe?”