To Drown In Icy Depths

The Stairs of Abluvion

I take another step down the staircase, the icy water chilling me to my very bones. It's ankle deep now, and the hem of my dress is floating around my heels.

I take another step, and another. The freezing temperature of the water is almost unbelievable, but for some reason I don't get goosebumps and I don't shiver, just feel the aching cold seeping into my body.

The water is knee deep now, and my stockinged feet and legs are visible beneath my billowing skirts. Very improper, but Lord Merikh does not seem to notice.

"It's so cold," I say.

Lord Merikh looks at me pityingly.

"You get used to it." Is all he says.

The water is now up to my waist, and to distract myself from the cold that seems to be seeping through me I ask;

"Tell me more about the selkies,"

Lord Merikh suppresses a chuckle.

"You know That Elide," he says, "You're awfully curious for a noblewoman,"

What's that supposed to mean?

"I didn't get the same kind of schooling as my sister." Is all I say in reply by to his comment.

He does not suppress his chuckle this time.

Laughing at my sister, my poor dead beautiful sister.

I slip my hand out of his and his laughter stops abruptly.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he says sincerely, taking my hand once more.

The water is up to our necks now; soon we will be submerged...

I'm cold, so very cold. I feel as though I will never be warm again. I take a deep breath as we descend a step lower.

"No need for that," he tells me. And then we're underwater.

Except I can breath, perfectly well, the air just has a strange consistency. Heavier and more humid than the air in Elysian, and tasting slightly of salty water. It feels different in my lungs as well, more liquid.

And the water around me, like a dark blue shadow, almost easy to forget about. Gravity is still fully operational, and though my hair and dress float and billow around me, my feet stay firmly on the stairs, and I can move just as fast as on land.

It's...Strange...

We continue down the steps.

"Selkies," says Lord Merikh. He hums a little to himself, holding his chin with his fingers as he thinks.

He's young. Much younger than everyone thinks. The Lord of Abluvion can't be too much older than me, maybe in his twenties.

"Well," he muses, letting his hand fall by his side, his other hand still entwined with mine, "They're the ones who originally made the city of Abluvion, all those years ago..."

Speaking of Abluvion, it was coming into view, as was the bottom of the seemingly never ending staircase.

I could see winding turrets and algae covered castles and ancient crumbling stone buildings, all of it clustered together in a maze of back alleys, colourful shoals of fish and people weaving through ornate doorways and streets, their clothes and hair floating around them.

"They have sea magic you see," Lord Merikh tells me as he leads me down the stairs, "And although most Abluvions can breathe underwater, it's just inconvenient for everything to be wet all the time. The selkies' used their powers to make what you see today." He gestured widely at the city below, which was rapidly becoming clearer and clearer.