Marina

Part Seven

Even though Marina had decided on what she must do, the very idea of doing it made her fidget. Still, she tried her hardest to hide what was on her mind from Caspian. She didn't want him to suspect that her heart was likely beating twice as fast this morning.

"Do you have everything?" Marina asked as she helped Caspian load up whatever he needed to take to the open market.

"Mhm," the man replied as he secured his wares in the cart. "Fresh fish in the buckets, dried ones in the baskets, and change in my pockets."

His easygoing smile almost made Marina feel guilty. She supposed she could tell him about her plan, but she was sure that he wouldn't hear any of it. She needed proof that she could do it first, and maybe then he'd agree.

"Good luck."

"Don't worry, Marina," Caspian said. "By the time I'm home, all these will be long gone."

"All right." She had faith that he could do it. Caspian was one of the hardest-working people she had ever met, both on land and underwater.

Caspian came to her and kissed her cheek without fuss. She would've blushed if her mind wasn't focused on her little secret. "I'll bring home a nice, fat chicken for dinner. You'll see."

Marina wished him luck a second time before watching him go.

She rushed back into the cottage not long after Caspian's cart faded in the distance.

Her husband usually spent a good part of the late morning and early afternoon going around the village to sell fish. This meant that she had a few hours to execute her plan before he came back for dinner. She hoped to return to the cottage by then.

Marina found a piece of scrap parchment which she used to scribble her message on. She relayed how long she might take and what time she might come back, taking care to emphasize that she knew what she was doing. Surely her note would reassure Caspian that she was safe.

The ink from her quill hadn't dried yet, but she was already out the door before she could change her mind. Marina descended to the beach, down to the dock where Caspian had moored his fishing boat. After making sure that no one was on the beach or atop the overlooking bluffs, she loosened the ropes securing the boat and hopped in.

It wasn't long before she was paddling away from the shore as quickly as she could.

Thankfully, the seas were calm and the sky showed no signs of a coming storm. It would make her journey to the Mystical Reefs easier. Her sister had shown her the area before, and together, they'd marveled over the many sea creatures that had made their home there.

Marina rowed along the coast until she felt the first ripples of magic. She steered Caspian's little boat towards what would have looked like a cramped, empty cave to most humans. In truth, though, an invisible barrier protected the bigger chamber beyond.

Marina's merfolk origins allowed her to slip past the magical barrier and reach the half-submerged reef structure.

The cove looked just as it did many years ago. Its marble-like walls reflected the bright blue light coming from the water, and its high ceiling featured a dizzying variety of stalactites. Just beneath the crystal clear surface grew colorful corals that housed fish, anemones, urchins, seahorses, crabs, and all kinds of mollusks.

A giant clam grabbed Marina's attention.

As soon as she realized that she could get to it easily enough, Marina stripped down to her underthings and waded into the water. She didn't cast her magical essence on the reef until she was submerged to the neck. Roughly half an hour passed before it affected the clam, causing it to open its shell and show her what she had come here for.