Iᴍᴘᴇʀɪᴜᴍ (Bᴏᴏᴋ 1) (editing)

Chapter 16- Leap of Firth (Part 2)

Rayna sighed, rolling her eyes at them. "I was thinking that I needed to get away from the soldiers before they captured me and killed me."

Both mermaids were silent at that remark, the light blue-haired one spoke, "Still. It was not safe. Luckily you are a Mare Pythonissam or you could have died from the impact."

"And luckily King Silas was able to warn us you were coming." The white-haired one said.

Rayna shuddered at the thought, knowing the stories of the many folks and creatures that used that very cliff to take their own lives. It wasn't the first time she had heard the stories as the mermaids continued to speak, and once they reached close to shore, she knew it wouldn't be her last.

"What are your names?" Rayna asked once they grew silent of their ranting. They were swimming slowly with her in their arms. No doubt not wanting too accidentally pull her under the water and drown her.

The white-haired mermaid spoke first once again, "I am Neva and this is Jaylin. And the two who are under the water are Blaze with the red hair and purple tail and Griselle with the gray hair and blue tail."

Rayna smiled thinking of how their names came from the hair they were born with. She wondered if all of the mermaids were named that way. "You all have such beautiful names."

Neva smiled showing off her pointy sharp teeth, "Thank you, Queen Rayna. We are sisters you see. Our mother loved the idea of naming us after our features. She said it makes us more unique."

"It truly does." Rayna smiled at the mermaid. She looked young, but you could never really tell how old a mermaid truly was. They all looked forever young. As they got closer to the shore, Rayna spotted the rest of the mermaids that came searching for her. One was perched on a rock and she gasped at the sight of her. She was the most beautiful mermaid she had ever seen. She was pale as the others, her eyes as the others, but her hair color made her stand out from them all. It was a jet-black color, with beautiful hues of violet shining through in the sun, her tail gorgeous shades of green. A color Rayna had only seen once before. She had on top of her head a crown made of one large seashell in the center of her forehead, then a trail of pearls surrounding the sides of her head and one connecting the seashell to the back, small little seashells randomly placed throughout the pearls.

Queen Firth.

Rayna gulped as she noticed the passive look on her face. So it wasn't just the land walkers she was going to be getting an earful from she thought to herself.

The four mermaids helped her up onto the rocks next to the queen, handing her, her cloak.

Rayna looked to the Queen of the sea and held up her hand. "Just one moment, so sorry." She placed the cloak on the nearby rock and took a deep breath waving her hands over herself slowly pulled the water from her clothes that clung to her body. Slowly she felt the weight of her clothes go away, feeling them dry. She opened her eyes and saw the water floating overhead. She smiled; seeing the looks of awe on the mermaids' faces. She separated her hands apart, "Evaporo." She did the same for her cloak, putting it back on once it was completely dry.

Once all settled and dry, Rayna turned to the queen of the sea and knelt before her the best she could on the rock. "Queen Firth of the Perpetua Sea, I can not thank you all enough for your kind rescue. I am forever in your debt. Please forgive me for the disturbance."

She heard movement as she kept her head bowed. Suddenly a cold hand was touching her under her chin, lifting it so she was looking up. The queen was smiling down at her. "You are just as I remember, Rayna Imperium. It is so good to see you again, dear friend." The queen pulled Rayna into a hug trying her best not to knock her into the water.