Turning Tides

Chapter Eleven: Rip Current

"Successful ladies don't dress up as pigs. Pigs are animals. Are you an animal?"

"... I decided on something else," Malia continued a split second later. "Probably a... princess or something."

If Beatrice noticed Malia's hesitation, she didn't show it, her gaze unfocused at the distant waters. "Books... I haven't read a book recently either."

Before Malia had a chance to express her surprise, common sense hit her. "I guess paper doesn't last that long underwater, huh?"

"Unfortunately not." Beatrice sighed softly, and her eyes drifted downwards. "Maybe a century ago, we had a small stash on a deserted atoll south of here, but years of storms destroyed what's left."

"Would you..." Malia began before she could stop herself, then quickly cleared her throat. "Nevermind."

"Want to go back to land?" Beatrice said, and when Malia responded with a meek nod, Beatrice went quiet.

"I don't have fond memories of land," Beatrice finally whispered. "Of the people."

The hint of pain in Beatrice's voice made Malia's own heart ache. After all the times Beatrice comforted her, Malia wanted to reach out and provide her with the same reassurances.

Malia hadn't realized she had done just that, her hand reaching for Beatrice's shoulders like the woman hand done for her. But just when her fingers were an inch away, she was engulfed by Beatrice's energy, and it wasn't the soothing warmth she remembered.

Instead, she felt an overwhelming chill shiver throughout her body, like she was swimming in a pool of ice. A sharp pain blossomed from her gut, the intensity making her eyes burn and muscles tense. Her lungs felt that infamous burn, and Malia could already hear the echoes of the screams that would inevitably follow.

Until a firm grip on her wrist jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry!" Malia immediately said, still frantically blinking her vision into focus. "I didn't mean— I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"Malia, it's not your fault," Beatrice's soft voice calmed Malia's racing heart. "I... I may have felt similar sensations. From you."

Malia's shock was enough to confuse her into tranquility. "Huh?"

At last, Beatrice's face was clear. They had stopped swimming, and instead floated steadily in the still blue waters. Beatrice had Malia's wrist in hand, and she gently released it with a soft sigh.

"Your energy... When you panic, I feel it," she said quietly, her gaze still on Malia's hand. "It can't really be helped, not when we have to be aware of all the energy flowing through the water, but still... I should've told you. I'm sorry."

At first, Malia wasn't sure what to think. Embarrassment and self-consciousness won out amongst the popular contenders, and she began to scour her memories for all the potentially shameful emotions she felt while in Beatrice's presence.

That moment only lasted for a second before Malia realized that she didn't mind. Beatrice knew of her emotions, but she didn't refer to them as shameful or weak. She didn't ridicule Malia or berate her for being so sensitive. Instead, she would commend Malia's efforts and had faith in her even when Malia herself did not.

"Can you teach me?" Malia asked, then clarified at Beatrice's confusion. "How to feel the energy around me. Like you do."

After a few seconds of silence, Beatrice nodded. "Your way may need to be different, but I spread my energy throughout the water in all directions. If I sense something odd in one location, I move the rest of my energy there to gather more information about what it is."