The Ring

0023

All four of them had been walking towards what looked like a village.

They'd reached the southern lands successfully, and were about to be near the ocean in no time. The air felt cool, and smelt of salt and freshness. The ground had become sandy, as shells and different colored glass had littered the ground beautifully.

In the village ahead the houses were made of colorful, iridescent stone, and were sculpted in a square shape, with seaweed, plants, and sweet smelling flowers that hung from the roofs of them.

In the near distance existed a giant cave which led to the sea underground, where the city was. It was the land of the Seafolk; which included mermaids,mermen, sirens, water pixies, and of course sea goblins.

Chrissa had never experienced that part of the Mystical world in which she lived. She had often read about the Seafolk in school, but it was nothing like how she'd imagined it.

The dark haired girl suddenly looked over at her friend who'd grown awfully quiet. She seemed to be lost in thought. Instead of engaging in Michael and Kandor's pointless banter, she turned to her friend. She still felt somewhat guilty about the letter.

"Mars—perhaps once this is all over and done, we could have our nails painted together," Chrissa said, as they met eye contact and walked through the village. The villagers didn't seem to mind as they passed them by.

She shot Chrissa a small smile, "you know...we're already friends. No need to kiss up to me," she bumped shoulders with her gently, "I already like you. You're cool."

She crossed her arms, "I-I suppose we are...but really. I feel bad about all of this. Dragging you into my own nonsense," Chrissa ranted.

Mars raised a brow at her, "uh...what nonsense?" She chuckled slightly, "cause I dragged you into this, actually. You know, you should relax, C. I mean it. Max would want me to be strong, anyways. Plus I'm super pumped that you're helping me."

"I suppose you're right..." Chrissa trailed off as guilt washed over her expression. She wanted so badly to tell Mars the truth, but she didn't want to lose her only friend.

"Isn't it strange?" She said, after a while.

Chrissa's head shot up, "hm?"

Mars shot her a knowing smile, and rolled her eyes at Chrissa. Both Michael and Kandor had been in a relentless argument, and neither Chrissa nor Mars felt like being the mediator.

"Seeing the two of them...together," Mars said, and then looked back at Chrissa. "Like, it's obvious they both care about you. I mean, Mr. Snowflake is obsessed with you and stares at you like you're his most prized possession, and the other one is like your own personal guard dog. If you're into polyamory I guess that's cool—but do they know that?"

Chrissa shot her  a pained expression. "Is it that obvious?" She asked in slight panic and lowered her voice,  "while I do admit it's strange, I've never felt this way before. It's very stressful..."

Which was a fact, Chrissa thought. The entire situation put her in a place where she felt her heart had been split in half. She loved parts of Michael, but she also was drawn to parts of Kandor. Even though she pushed the Vampire king away, something inside of her had felt something different for him all of a sudden. She wanted both of them.