Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

5: Under the Sea

"Mom would blush if she were here."

"Be glad she isn't. She and my brother used to be an item, and he still flirts with her whenever he gets the chance. Playful, since he knows we're married---but Poseidon is a terrible flirt."

"Seriously, what god hasn't Mom dated?" I demand. 

Dad's gaze turns skyward like he's thinking. "Apollo. She never dated Apollo."

"She dated ZEUS!?"

"Well.... your mother is quite beautiful."

"Aww... That's so CUTE!" Ceru squeals. "Anyway, we better get going, yeah? My dad's waiting."

"Lead the way." My dad invites. She nods, and our bubble disappears. She swims off, and my dad and I follow her quickly as we can. Normally, it's kind of hard to move in water, but here it's like I barely have to think of what I want and I'm moving in that direction. 

We follow Ceru for a while, mostly seeing black nothingness, until we're directed through a cave, and suddenly we crest over a sand dune and we're met with the golden glow of the kingdom of Atlantica.

"Welcome to my home." Ceru says, her voice practically shining with pride. 

There's no right way to describe the underwater kingdom. Each spire of every building is filled with it's own unique design, no two carving looking exactly the same. Everywhere I turn, stone shines with gold and pearls, seaweed that seems to dance in the water, and merfolk that turn and wave cheerfully at us as we pass. Everything, even the merfolk, even us, seems to suddenly glow with it's own natural light, each with a different shade of light. Ceru's I notice is a faint sheen of blue-gold that melds perfectly to her glistening tail and eyes. Dad's is more electric, like his eyes, and when I raise my hand I notice that I seem to send off a shade. Not a light. A shadow seems to follow me.

My heart sinks, but nobody seems to notice the glow but Dad. He smiles at me sadly before taking my hand and following Ceru to what I assume is their gathering hall of sorts. Seated there is a man with a stark white beard and a radiant golden glow, one hand holding firmly to a trident. Seated beside him is a woman with a familiar green tail and scarlet hair, her glow matching her fathers. Beside her is a human man with happy blue eyes and deep black hair that his wife is trying and failing to tame. 

"Dad! Mom!" Ceru swims forward eagerly and hugs Ariel and Eric, who greet her with enthusiastic yells. 

King Triton leans forward. "So you're Princess Elicia, I presume?"

"Yes." I float there, unsure of whether I'm supposed to bow or something. 

"And... Poseidon's beard, Hades is that you?"

"Hello, Triton." Dad says, smiling slightly. "Long time no see."

"Why, it's been too long!" Triton nods to him in respect. "Heard what happened up above. I'd've loved to help, but..."

"You have a kingdom to run." Dad finishes. "I get it. It's fine. It all worked out in the end." he smiles at me and I do my best to smile back. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Peru, why don't you show them to their rooms? Elicia---" he speaks directly to me. "---Don't worry. We had your father set things on fire when he stayed here years back. So even if your powers aren't dampened here, at least we have the means to help contain them."

His tone is so kind, so gentle, I can almost imagine why Ceru loves living here so much. I never had any doting grandfather or anything like that. 

"Thanks." I finally say. Dad squeezes my hand and we follow Ceru out of the room. Ariel smiles at me but then goes back to talking to her father. Ceru beckons to us and we follow her down a few hallways before she stops.

"Here. Hades, your room is there---" She points to a blue-coral door, "---and Ellie, yours is this one." She gestures to a green door. then she swims off, yelling behind her, "If you have any problems, ring the bell in your room and we'll  come if we can!"

"Well." I say in the silence that follows. "They're friendly."

Dad chuckles. "Well, merfolk never were poisoned by the ways of humans. Are you going to be okay?"

I rub the back of my neck. "I won't be going to sleep anytime soon."

He smiles and hugs me tight. "Just busy yourself. Practice your powers. Your ice ones should be multiplied down here, with all the---"

"--Water elemental magic, I know." I say, smiling weakly. "I'll try."

"I love you, Liss." Dad says, cupping my chin. "But---being down here isn't exactly good for me. It supresses what powers I do have left."

"What? Then why did you come down here?" I cry.

"Because A) I love you, and you're my daughter. B) I am not letting your mother down here when she's just getting a grip on her newfound powers. C) I am not letting you down here by yourself."

"Dad, I'm eighteen!"

"So? Gods don't really mature until they're three hundred."

"Gods, you're annoying."

"You've been reading too much Percy Jackson." Dad decides. "Bah! Authors always get it wrong. We'll fix that later. Now, I really must rest. I'll be back up in about an hour, all right?"

"Dad, seriously. Nap as long as you want. I'm fine." I promise. 

He smiles and hugs me one more time before drifting into his room and shutting the door. I sigh and open mine. It's... well, normal-looking. For an underwater kingdom, that is. A coral-made bed with fluffy blankets, and a wardrobe that I'm tempted to check if there's a Narnia hidden behind since it's so big. 

But instead, I toss my (for some reason) still-dry backpack onto the ground and flop onto the bed. It's a weird feeling to get used to being comfortable on a thing that moves under your every move, but I manage. 

Can't sleep. I remind myself. Don't sleep.

I sit up and lean against the coral headboard. This whole room kind of reminds me of a shipwreck. A nice, cleaned-up shipwreck. (Author's note MAYBE SHE'LL FIND HER GRANDPARENTS DOWN HERE HUUUUUHHHH? JK JK JK TOTALLY JK)

I raise my hand into the air and twirl my fingers around in my fingerless gloves from my friends. Sure enough, I barely have to call it before I feel a cold chill crawl from my spine into my fingers, twisting itself into snowflakes that dance across my fingertips.

I smile, snapping my fingers and weaving the snowflakes into a simple circlet that lays itself delicately on top of my head. Conjuring some reflective ice, I look in the mirror and see with a flush of pleasure that I almost look like my mother. Minus the black hair. 

Just to test it, I gather all my black hair away from my face, leaving only the chunk dyed blonde. 

I've been told I take after mom, but I never really saw it before now. 

But she's right there in front of me. 

Inside of me too, I guess.

If mom got control of her fear and her powers---why can't I?

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Couple things---I just saw Kim Possible last week, and it was AWESOME. Like, I'm geeking out just thinking about it right now!

2) WE ARE ONE DAY AWAY FROM HTTYD #3, THE FINALE TO THE BELOVED SERIES!!!! AH!!! CANNOT WAIT TO SEEEEE ITTTT!

3) We are fast approaching---scary thought---the ONE YEAR anniversary of Elicia's Ice!! AH! I don't know exactly when, but I'll be posting a special chapter that day. Look out for it!

4), and FINAL THING. Promise!   this is for one person in particular, Meloetta246. I just wanted to say that your thing really turned my day around. I've been kinda battling with myself on whether I should give Ellie up, since I've been dry on ideas that I think are okay, and I've been feeling like my quality has been going down a lot. But I'm really happy you still love it. You reminded me why I started, and how much I still love it. And however goofy my ideas are, people actually like them! So thanks!!!