The Prisoner Princess

Humans

"Even if she was here, why would she still be here?" Sabina asked, peering at every nook and cranny under the water. "I mean, it's been days."

Loch answered, "Because," her eyes met hers, "This is the last place we know for certain Nereida was."

Sabina huffed, "All we know are the words of a hermit crab. Nereida met Vidarr at the docks- so what? They used to do that all the time."

"That was before he changed and you know that."

She looked down, ashamed. "I know, it just-" she gasped, picking something out of the sand.

"What is it?" Loch swam over. Her eyes widened, "Nereida's circlet," she breathed.

"She never takes this off."

Loch was quiet for a moment. "Vidarr must've taken her." They rose to stare at the water-logged wood of the docks. "Somewhere inland. He's known Nereida too long to let her near water when she's this angry."

"But why?" Sabina asked, scanning the treeling of the forest that was next to the pier. "After all this time, what could he want with her?"

"Same thing as last time." Loch murmured.

"But I thought Nereida didn't return his feelings."

She closed her eyes, annoyed. "Think, Sabina. He fell in love with her, but that didn't end their friendship. It was the war. He was different after that."

"He wanted the ring." Sabina said slowly. "Do you think he wants it again now?" Loch said nothing, which was answer enough. "We've got to find her." She said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"We will find her," she answered determinedly.

Just then they noticed a bird watching them from the treeline. Some sort of falcon, or hawk, it was hard to tell from this distance. But that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that the second they locked eyes it started and flew away as if it had been caught doing something it shouldn't have been.

"Vidarr was always good with birds." Sabina remembered, watching it fly away, deeper into the forest. "The herons defended his absence, and the crab said some sort of hawk told Nereida to come here, then ate the only means of communication she sent out."

"Humans can't talk to animals though." Lock reminded her, though she sounded uncertain. "And aren't birds loyal to the sky?"

"Like you said, they also have land ties. What if they're stronger than we realize?

The bird was only a speck in the distance now. Loch broke her stare, pulling herself out of the water and onto the docks. Her legs felt unsteady at first, but the sensation of walking soon came back. "Come on then," she called.

Sabina gaped, "You can't be serious."

Loch turned, giving her a look that said she totally was. "Nereida's on land somewhere. We're not going to find her in the water."

Her friend grumbled, pulling herself up. "I stand out too much," she complained, "We both do."

"Nonsense," But Sabina was right. The closer they got to the shipping town, the more people stared. Maybe it was their shocking beauty, making even the most attractive humans look like hags. Or maybe it was their bare feet and sopping wet hair, pointed ears, and Sabina's almost translucent skin. Or maybe, perhaps, it was the way light and dark trailed behind them like the train of a bride on her wedding day. "Ok, so maybe we look a little out of place."

"You think? We need to disguise ourselves somehow." They ducked into an alley. A clothesline was strewn across it. Almost like an afterthought she snatched the articles hanging there down.

Loch looked at the clothes in her hand. Human clothing was restrictive in ways that Naiad clothing was not. She hated it. Reluctantly, she put it on. "For Nereida."

"For Nereida." Sabina repeated.

And with that, they shed their Naiad bodies to become humans.