A World No One Knows (bxb) [editing and rewriting]

Chapter 2

It's quiet when I wake up. The world around me looks fuzzy until I realize that the world around me is covered in water. I bolt up. I'm underwater, and I'm not drowning. I can't tell if this is freaky or cool. I look around. I'm in a cave of sorts with rock walls to both my sides and my back. Glow-in-the-dark plants cover the ceiling, casting the room in an eerie glow on everything.

"You're up. How are you feeling?"

Casmir floats at the entrance to the cave.

I glance at his tail before answering. "I'm breathing. Underwear. How is that possible?"

"The same way it's possible that I'm breathing underwater. You're a merman."

I laugh. "No, I'm not. I can't be. I don't have a tail."

"You will." He puts down whatever he was carrying on some rocks. "Trust me, only someone of mer descent could do what you did up there."

"Up there? You mean..."

He nods.

"How long have you known then? About me."

"I had my suspicions, but it was confirmed when I saw you using your powers. All mers have abilities."

"So you've been lying to me? About who you are-- what you are. Was anything you told me the truth?"

He looks at me in the eyes. "Everything I ever told you about how I feel for you is the truth."

"Is your name even Casmir?"

He nods. "My name is Casmir, and I'm a mer from birth. I was born and raised in the Meridian Kingdom."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

He sighs. "I guess not." He picks up whatever he was holding and swims closer to me. I back away until my back hits the rock. "Stop moving. You're making your wounds worse."

"Wounds?" I look down at my arms and only now realize the stinging pain that comes from them. I poke one of the cuts and hiss in pain. "Huh. Not dreaming then."

He reaches out a hand towards me, but I flinch away.

"I won't hurt you, Blaise. I'm the same person I was before. I now just have a tail."

I look away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm going to clean your wounds now. Are you okay with that?"

I nod, and he reaches out again to hold onto my arm. He touches one of my cuts, and I jam my nails into my palm. He grabs one of the rocks and the pain goes down, but not nearly enough. I try to distract myself, and eventually, the pain lessens. Only after a few seconds do I realize the burning pain in my wrist is getting worse. I look down and see a black bracelet on my wrist.

"What is this?" I ask and pull at it. "It's hurting me."

Casmir looks up and shoos my hand away. "It's a bracelet. Stop messing with it. I put it on your wrist in the middle of your freak out this morning. It manages your powers for you. I've never seen powers that powerful before. It's no wonder you lost control."

"Oh." I look at it. "Thanks, I guess." Casmir continues trying to clean my wounds, and I try to put the pain in my wrist in the back of my mind. There are more pressing matters to talk about. "If I'm a merman, then why was I living on land? Does that mean my mom is a mermaid? What about Jes? If she's a mermaid then why did the water hurt her so much?" I mumble the last part to myself, but Casmir looks up.

"What was that last part?"

In a hurry, I make something up. "Can I touch your tail?"

Casmir stops what he's doing and looks at me. "If you want."