Secret tails and eclipses (reylo)

4

All day there had been no escaping her uncle's watchful eye. Now as she dressed for the party she found her hope of getting away that night dwindling. Even if she did get away, it wasn't likely this mystery man would be there waiting for her. But she did cling to the idea that maybe he left something for her.
The dress she had bought for the evening was a deep purple. She liked the way the color seemed to pop against her sun-kissed skin. She was not on the other hand looking forward to the heels she had gotten. They had seemed nice at the time, but as she slipped them on she could feel the blisters the night would ultimately give her. She let down her hair from her typical three buns to one, leaving the rest to fall around her shoulders.
Lastly she clasped the silver pendant she had had for as long as she could remember around her neck. She cradled the pendant in her hand for a moment. The silver was elegantly wrapped around a single white pearl. The beauty of the necklace had always left Rey wondering if her parents had been well off, but if they had been, why would they have left her at an orphanage?
The piercing sound of a doorbell alerted her that someone had arrived. It was time for her to leave the sanctuary of her room and join the people down stairs. Once downstairs her uncle immediately caught her attention.
"Ah! Rey! Come here. I'd like to introduce you to a few people."
It was only after an hour of small talks and introductions that Rey got a moment away. She wasn't able to get far.
"Why aren't you a sight," said a tall red headed man. Rey stopped and looked up at him with a sheepish smile. He had an intimidating military look about him. She could tell he was a man used to getting his way. "My name is Hux. And you must be Kenobi's niece."
"I'm Rey," she said politely.
"Hello Rey. Here have a drink." He offered her a glass of champagne. After a glance at her uncle she accepted.
"Thank you." She took a sip of the sweet alcohol.
"No thanks needed my dear." The smug smile on his face was giving her the creeps, but he didn't seem content at just the simple introduction. "Your uncle and I don't exactly see eye to eye but I'm working on bringing him around. I'd love to get my hands on that lagoon out there but he seems pretty hard pressed to keep it. Any idea why that might be?" Ah so this was the man's game. Trying to get information.
"No idea. He doesn't like anyone to go out to it," said Rey.
"He doesn't now? How odd. Why might that be?"
"All he ever talks about is fairy tales and tragedies you'd have to get him to tell you." She drank more of the champagne, hoping the effects would kick in to help her deal with the annoying situation.
"What kind of fairy tales?" Hux had moved closer with each question, backing her away from the party and into the corner near the back door.
"Mermaids and sea monsters." He smiled at her and looked her up and down. His gaze was making her incredibly uncomfortable and causing her to think he had darker intentions than obvious.
"Hmm. Pretty Rey." He licked his lips. "Have you ever seen a sea monster or mermaid in that lagoon?" he swept a piece of hair behind her ear. She was thoroughly creeped out.
"There are no such things as mermaids or sea monsters Mr. Hux." She downed the rest of the glass of champagne and pressed it back into his hand. "Now please excuse me."
She pushed past him and quickly exited out the back door. She made her way down the path to the dock and away from the house as quickly as she could. As she moved further away from the house she felt off her balance. Assuming it was just an effect of the alcohol she kept on and did her best to ignore the oncoming dizziness.
It was only once she was standing on the dock that she realized she had been followed.
"You're even more beautiful by moonlight," said Hux. He started towards her.
"Leave me alone." She had meant the statement to come out harsh, but it, like her body was wobbly. They were out of sight and sound from the house. She took a couple steps back as he neared her, but any farther and she would fall in the water.
"Oh sweet Rey don't be that way." He brought up his hand to touch her face and she made a feeble attempt to swat it away.
"You did something to me," she said.
"Shhhh dear." He pulled her against him and ran his hand down her back. With his lips pressed against her ear he whispered, "I promise you'll enjoy yourself." He slipped his hand under her skirt. "If not, well you won't remember anyways." He stopped and looked at her throat for a moment. "Well this is pretty," he reached up and unclasped her pendant. "I'll keep this as a memento of our time together."
Through the fog in her mind, Rey had one thought: Get away. With his hands off her for a moment she shoved and spit in his face.
"Why you!" He grabbed at her. The force of it sent her off balance. She took a step back to regain it and caught her heel on the end of the dock.
"AAAGGGHHh!" She screamed.
SPLASH!!!
Rey flailed in the water, trying to bring her head above the surface. She breached for a moment and saw Hux staring down at her. He turned. Her head slipped back beneath the water. She tried to hold her breath, but the inevitable urge to breathe hit and she sucked in a lung full of water.
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Kylo had spent the whole day preparing for the alignment. He had barely had a moment to think about Rey. But now that his preparations were ready and he was only biding his time, she crept back into her thoughts.
He hadn't left anything for her the day before. He didn't know if she had come there that day or not. He would watch for her tomorrow.
He was becoming impatient as he waited for the alignment. Patience has never been his virtue, so waiting on the movement of celestial bodies was unpleasant. At that point in the eclipse he could not see it above his cave. He decided that to help him satiate is his impatience he would go outside the cave into the lagoon to check the moon's progress.
Once outside it was easy for him to determine how much longer it would take for the alignment to pass over. He had about an hour before it began to move over his cave. Before he dove back to return to his cave, he spared a glance at the dock.
There she was! She had never been there so late at night. He spared one more glance at the moon before swimming closer to the dock. She wasn't looking at him, but he made sure to bring only his eyes above the water. The full moon gave much light by which she might see him. The moon also gave him light to see her by, and in the moonlight he found her to be much more alluring. Her skin seemed to glow softly in the silvery light and her hair was blowing gently in the salty breeze.
As he moved closer he felt a slight twinge of anger, when he laid eyes upon another human, this one clearly male. He was walking towards her. And something about her seemed off. She seemed weak, and as though it was hard for her to stand. The man walking towards her was large and had hair like fire. The smirk on his face hinted to Kylo of ill intentions.
"You're even more beautiful by moonlight," said the man. Kylo's tale was flicking angrily beneath the water. He had never spoken to this girl, but he knew he wanted her.
"Leave me alone," said Rey. Her words were weak. She had never sounded weak before.
"Oh sweet Rey don't be that way." He brought up his hand to touch her face and she made a feeble attempt to swat it away. Kylo ground his teeth. How dare he touch Rey.
"You did something to me," she said.What did the man do to Rey?
"Shhhh dear." The man pulled her against him and ran his hand down her back. With his lips pressed against her ear he whispered, "I promise you'll enjoy yourself." He slipped his hand under her skirt. "If not, well you won't remember anyways.Well this is pretty, I'll keep this as a memento of our time together."
Kylo  couldn't help the growl that escaped his lips.
"Why you!" The man grabbed at her. The force of it sent her off balance. She took a step back to regain it and caught her heel on the end of the dock.
"AAAGGGHHh!" She screamed.
SPLASH!!!
Kylo watched waiting for her head to come back up. He knew humans could swim. Her head wasn't coming back up. Panic gripped. Could she not swim? The man on the dock turned and began walking away. He was going to let her drown. Kylo couldn't let her drown.
It took him seconds to reach her. She had already sunk to the sandy bottom. She wasn't moving. Her body was limp and her eyes closed. Her hair floated around her face and her skirt billowed out around her. He grabbed under her arms and just as he is about to pull her towards the surface he notices something odd. She was breathing.
The human was breathing underwater. He gave a flick of his tail and pulled them to the surface. He held her head above the water, and she continued to breathe, but not wake. Her whole body was still limp. Her head lulled and rested against his broad chest.
Being this close to her, holding her against him, he could feel the strange power that emanated from her. It felt so much like his own. She was powerful. And there was something else around her. It was locking away the power. A curse upon her, hiding what she had. It finally clicked for Kylo. She was no ordinary human. In fact he doubted she was human at all.
He looked up at the moon. The alignment would break any curse. He gripped her tightly in his arms, hooking under her legs and supporting her back. He held her tightly against his chest as he made his way back to his cave. While underwater she continued to breathe without waking.
Her breathing is what proved to him she could not be human. Kylo brought her up so she floated on the surface of the water. He trailed his fingers down her neck. There was no sign of gills like what he had when he took human form. The gills can lay flat where they are not visibly noticeable but one could still feel them by touch.
"How strange," he said. He could not feel the ridges of gills, but he could sense a strong concentration of magic. "Who cursed you?" Personally he could think of no worse fate than for a mer to be cursed and locked into their human form. It was fine to take it on occasionally, certain things required the change, but they were creatures of the sea. They were meant to live in their mer form.
Being so close to her, Kylo couldn't help but marvel at her beauty. Her features looked delicate but he could see the hardness in her being, even while she slept. Her skin was kissed by the sun, something he didn't often see. Most mer lived deep enough in the water that the sun had little chance to darken their pale skin.
Watching her sleep brought temptation. He wanted to see what she knew. If she knew she was cursed. Who was she really? He could take any information he wanted to. While asleep she wouldn't even feel it. He brushed his fingers over her forehead and suddenly he could see into her mind.
Everywhere he looked he saw desert. She had lived far from the ocean. She never went into the water. Her life was based on land, no water. He could see where she had imagined an ocean. Wondering what large bodies of water would be like. He could feel how the ocean has been calling to her. But she had not dared touch it.
And there was something. Something he could not quite grasp ahold and see properly. He caught glimpses. She was underwater wearing a crown. There was a whisper he couldn't make out.
Kylo pulled back from her mind. He stared down at her seemingly lifeless body. Who was this girl?
The water around them began to shimmer and humm with energy. Kylo looked up and saw the moon beginning to pass over the cave opening. It was time for him to begin his enchantments. He looked down at Rey again.
Her body too was beginning to glow with a silver light. He moved back from her, so as not to be caught in the spells wake. As the moon came directly overhead the light became blinding. Kylo shielded his eyes and turned away.
The energy in the water was unlike any he had ever felt before. And it was all being drawn to her. It was swirling all around her body, pulling her under the water. He tried to move towards it, but it was too strong and pushed him back.
Kylo couldn't see her through the light and swirling water. It was moving faster and faster around them. He couldn't fight against the current and found himself being pulled along, circling the cave. His body was limp as the water pulled him.
Suddenly the swirling ceased and Kylo was flung against the cave wall. The sudden impact scratch him up, but otherwise left him unharmed. Floating in the middle of the cave was Rey, but instead of legs, she now had a long silvery blue tale.
The moon had now passed. Kylo had lost his chance to collect the power of the alignment. But the curse upon the girl was broken. She was no longer locked in her human form. But what would he do with her now? She had no idea she was not human. She was also still unconscious. It wasn't magic keeping her asleep. The man must have done something to her.
She would certainly not react well if she woke up in the underwater cave with a tale. He thought it best that she wake in her human form. Normally a mer changed themselves, but due to her unconscious state and a lack of know how on her part he would have to change her himself.
Kylo went to the lip of the outcropping where he kept his ingredients. He mixed together a combination of squid ink, powdered moon lily, and crushed whale bones. He put the mixture into a bottle and sealed it. He placed the bottle, a small bowl, and a silver knife into a bag which he slung over his shoulder.
He carried Rey from the cave back up into the lagoon, and dragged them both up onto the beach. Kylo poured the contents of the bottle into the bowl and added to it a handful of earth from the beach. He plucked a hair from Rey's head and added it to the bowl. The last thing he needed would come from him. Using the knife he cut across his palm and let the blood drip. He mixed it into a thick paste.
The spell acted like a mirror, transferring what he would do to himself to Rey. He smeared the past onto the end of both his tale and Rey's, and used it to mark a magical symbol upon both of their foreheads. With this done, Kylo began to focus on his human form. As he changed, the balm would transfer his change to her. His skin tale and neck began to itch and glow. He flexed his tale feeling it split into two parts.
The change took mere moments to occur. A nude, human Kylo Ren now sat beside Rey who had also regained her human form. Her wet dress clung to her body, providing to her a modesty Kylo did not have the luxury of, not that it bothered him. He stood and wipe the paste from his body. If he left it on when he changed back she would change as well.
Kylo looked down at her. He didn't want to leave her just yet, but she was beginning to stir, and he thought it best not to be there when she woke. He would come back. He wasn't going to stay in the shadows and hide. He had to know her. He wanted her. He would find out who she was, and bring her back to the ocean where she belongs.