Water and Air: A Waterfire Saga reincarnation fanfic.

Plans Heading for a Whirlpool

The first we saw of the Matalin royals was when I had just turned seven.

Neela was Serafina's closest friend in the books, and this piqued my curiosity. At this point, people had already begun to talk to me about the Permutavi, which meant that they were beginning to prepare me for leaving.

Sera was heartbroken and sad, and I felt agonised about leaving her. I didn't want to leave her amidst a nest of venomous sea snakes they called a court. But I also worried for other reasons.

Sera had the sweetest, most loving, loyal and caring heart I had ever known in either life. But I knew her very well in this life, since she was my sister, and I also knew her from reading the books in the first life. She was strong, Sera, surprisingly so, but it was a miracle she even discovered her own strength. Her reported strength- love- might compel her to do outstanding things, the same way Merrow did for the Atlanteans, turning them into mer, but I also knew that Sera's heart had nearly not only cost the Black Fins their chances of victory a number of times, but also nearly ended up with her dead. I mean, I had been frustrated, just as Precious was, when we read her thoughts about Vallerio during Lucia's Dokimí. She would never have accepted to even consider Vallerio as a suspect until she heard him and Portia talking to one another. Of course, Serena, as I am now, has to defend her in this. Vallerio was our uncle. He played with us, chasing us like a sand shark, we ran to him every time we were upset and Mum was too busy or Dad wasn't there for some reason (we usually ran to him), when we needed answering to complicated questions or help with our homework. Vallerio was our second father.

But the rational, formerly human-reader part of me saw the flaws in Serafina all too clearly. She was too soft. What did she nearly do in Rogue Wave? Despite the incredibly hostile Feuerkumpel goblins harassing the crowd, the calmness of Portia Volnero when observing the blooding ceremony, and the very obvious Death Riders' presences, she had been all to ready to jump out and leap into the opening, proclaiming her survival. If it was me, I would have shot or ordered Vallerio, Portia and Lucia's deaths along with Traho. Without those three, the Death Riders would have scattered, without Orfeo there. I would have signalled the order for an assassination with the Black Fins. Worse still, in Sea Spell, what did Serafina do? She wasn't able to send her mer into war because she couldn't bear the thought of any of them being killed or losing a loved one, never mind the fact that if she didn't, everyone would die and there would be no hope of saving the mer realms. And then, there was the time when she without thinking, without even considering that it was highly unlikely that Mahdi would have told her to do such a thing, to rush off without thinking or any bodyguards and weapons, without telling anyone, even Neela, to meet with him. Oh, Sera.

This was exactly the sort of thing my sister would have done. And the sort of thing I was desperate to prevent.

Artemisia had died around my sixth birthday. Sera and I were heartbroken and devastated.

I remembered the last conversation I had with her. I asked to speak with my grandmother alone. When the Medicine Magus had protested along with various others when I said it was urgent, Grandmother had ordered them out of the room.

There, I had blurted Vallerio's secret to my dying grandmother.

A few years back...

"What is it, child?" Artemisia's voice, usually so commanding and impressive, sounded hollowed.

After casting a songspell that prevented eavesdropping, I spoke to Artemisia.

"I know about Uncle Vallerio and Portia Volnero." My grandmother went very still.

"Is it the gossip?" She asked wearily. "And the way they looked at each other," I said casually, floating very still in the water.