Chapter 1 - The First Swim

“I don’t think you understand!” I protest wildly, making wide gesticulations with my thin hands, “If my Mistress finds out about this, I could be in serious trouble!”

The male whom I am addressing looks at me in slight annoyance with hardened violet eyes, “Honestly, Rhubarb, does it really matter what she thinks? You never obey her in any OTHER case…”

I snort in aggravation as I flex my fingers in a strangling motion, “This is DIFFERENT! I could be called a traitor for this! Don’t be an idiot, Copper, you could get a punishment just as bad if your master knew.”

Looking up at me from where he leans on a smooth rock on the bank of an infinitely deep river, he rests one cheek on a palm and asks, “C’mon, you love me don’t you?” As though in beckoning he slaps the end of his lengthy angelfish mer-tail against the clear water, “I just want to introduce you to some friends is all, is that so bad?” He dangles a little brown pouch from his fingers, “Trust me, the transition doesn’t hurt!”

I narrow my tangerine-colored eyes suspiciously, holding my arms around myself as though in protection, “Copper, I honestly think this is a stupid idea. If you want me to meet some friends, just bring them to me!”

My suspicion increases as a guilty cough escapes his throat, “About that...”

“... What?”

“I...,” he averts his eyes away so as not to meet mine, “I kind of didn’t tell them I was... you know... going out with a faerie...”

I stare at him in disbelief, my maroon wings fluttering quickly in anger, “So they all think I’m a MERMAID? Are you KIDDING me?!” He smiles, nodding sheepishly and I clench my fists, “You are so UNBELIEVABLE!”

He instantly throws his hands up in defense, “I’m sorry, really! Just... please?”

My heart breaking at the sight of his pitiful purple orbs and I sigh in defeat, “Alright...”

Perking up instantly, he holds the pouch out to me, and grins cheerily as I take it reluctantly.

Gently pulling a small blue pill with bright white speckles upon the outside, I roll it in my mouth and swallow it disdainfully, “”What now?...”

Squeaking as he grabs onto my wrist and drags me into the water, I cover my mouth with my free hand and try desperately not to giggle at the tingling sensation all along my wings, legs, and neck.

It stops after a moment, and I hear Copper’s hearty laugh as he says, “Hey, Rhubarb, you can uncover your mouth now!”

Opening my orange eyes, which I had locked tightly before in fear, I blink as my breaths steady and my hand slowly floats to my side. I actually felt relaxed, gentle foam from the water climbing up my form, the cool temperature soothing my sun-drenched skin.

In realization my eyes shoot down to look at my lower body. No longer was a skirt of autumn leaves and tiger lily petals strewn around my waist, but a long tail, much longer than Copper’s, make up my form. The color is identical to my faerie wings, a deep red, but my body is not that of a fish like Copper’s, it is more... snake-like.

He smirks and says with a chuckle, “Will you look at that? You’re an eel!”

My eyes widen, “An eel?!” I moan in exasperation, reluctantly swiping my fingers along the crimson scales. Copper, in addition to everyone in the FaerieValley, knew of my paranoid and extreme fear of the creatures.

Copper’s laugh cuts off as he notices my look of utter devastation, “Aw, Rhubarb. Don’t feel bad! At least your tail can’t eat you!”

Knowing he simply made it worse by my distraught expression, he rubs his arm nervously and mumbles, “Ah, well... let’s go then...”

Gently taking my hand, he begins swimming downward, slowly to let me adjust to the motion necessary to effectively move around with this form underwater.

I watch him as we go down, I had never seen him move like this from an angle where I wasn’t just looking at the disappearing end of his fin.

His hips move gracefully, rolling back and forth to transfer the motion to the rest of his gleaming silver tail. I stare at him, almost hypnotized by his looks. His body is lean, not too muscular, but not utterly scrawny like many of the faerie males. His hair is neat, even at its shoulder length and the color is a brilliant blue, offsetting the silver of his tail and the violet of his eyes. His skin is pale, like most of the mer-people from lack of sunlight, and it must look odd near my flesh, which had been tanned dark from so much light exposure.

Broken out of my trance by his amused voice, I look to Copper as he asks, “Like what you see?”

I roll my eyes playfully and break my wrist away from his hand, delving deeper into the ocean. He blinks his amethyst eyes in surprise, then grins and follows with a powerful snap of his tail.

“Don’t you go too far!” he shouts to me, “You don’t have any idea where you’re going!”

Realizing he was right, I stop abruptly and barely move out of the way as he goes tearing past me through the water.

After a moment, he makes a sharp U-turn and glides up to me, amusement glittering in his purple eyes, “Thanks for stopping, Rhubarb, but try not to get run over or something.”

I giggle nervously, “Heh heh... sorry...”

His eyes roll and he grabs my wrist, “Willing to STAY with me this time?”

Shifting my orbs to the left and right, I wrap my arms around his elbow, “I suppose I can go at a slower pace; if you can’t handle my speed.”

“So is THAT how you let your girlfriend talk? What is SHE the dominant one?”

Copper and I both turn our heads and see another merman swimming towards us, and amused grin curving his thin lips.

Copper laughs and swims to him, slapping him playfully upside the head, “Don’t be an idiot, Chrome, do you have to make EVERYTHING sound like it originally came from YOUR mouth?”

Blinking my orange eyes in puzzlement, I ask, “Uh... Copper? Who is this?”
Returning his attention to me, the purple-eyed male gestures to the other, “Rhubarb, this is Chrome, my best friend. Chrome, this is Rhubarb. I’ve told you about her before.”

Chrome affectionately pats my back, “Nice to meetcha, Ruby!”

Chrome is a muscular boy, with about the same basic figure as Copper, short, choppy blonde hair dotted with spontaneous red splotches hangs off his head. His mer-tail is mid-length, and a gorgeous forest green to match the trees in the Valley. He looks at me happily with his bright green eyes, and even without looking closely I can see the golden specks spotting his iris.

Chuckling nervously, I reply, “Ehm, nice to meet you Chrome...”

“Where is... you know who?” Copper inquires, pulling Chrome’s attention to his question.

The blonde shrugs, “Dyna Mae?” Chrome asks, and then blinks in apology as he realizes he wasn’t supposed to say her name due to Copper’s annoyed expression, “Haven’t seen her all day. Why? You wanna introduce her to Ruby? Do you really think-“

“NO Chrome, I just want you to make sure that she stays AWAY got it?”

“Why?” Chrome asks, raising a thin yellow eyebrow, “She IS your-“

“Just DO it,” Copper growls, grabbing my hand and swimming away.

I look to him in confusion. Who was this ‘Dyna Mae’? And Chrome’s cut off sentence… Copper’s WHAT?

As these questioning thoughts distract me from the rest of the world, Copper notices my puzzled look and tilts his head questioningly, but says nothing to me.

I wave off his questioning stare and quickly glide ahead after pulling my hand from his.

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