As much as I wanted to stay in that room with Eve forever, the next few days flew by. Before I knew it, Eve was crowned Queen, making me a Queen. It was so strange to think of myself as a Queen. I was the youngest of 7 sisters, I was never supposed to get the throne. But here I am, on land, married to a woman, and Queen. It felt unreal but every time Eve kissed me, I was reminded it was. This wonderful life was my reality. I couldn't be more thankful for how everything turned out. Every day was some sort of new adventure whether it be discovering a new place in the palace, exploring the markets in the nearby villages, or finding out new things about my wife. I kept in contact with my family and saw them on a regular basis. Everything was absolutely perfect.
I was rushing to Eve's room, having just gotten back from visiting my family. There was some exciting news that was shared that I couldn't wait to tell her.
"Eve!! I have important news!" I called as I ran into her room.
"What is it Audrey?" Eve replied, closing the book she was reading.
"Well, I was talking with Aunt Uri. And you know how you haven't really seen my family again since the night of our wedding? Well, we realized something! When I was first transformed, I lost my voice until I kissed my true love. And now I can be transformed without losing anything. If you get transformed into a mermaid, you'll be able to transform and come with me! And it's not like you'll really lose your voice, I'll be with you and we already know I'm your true love!" I explained, my words coming out faster and faster as I got more and more excited. Eve smiled and laughed, walking over to me.
"You're adorable. I'd love to come with you to see your family. And I can see where you grew up! Oh, this'll be so much fun! I'll have Gale take care of the castle while we're gone. I'll arrange for my meetings in the next 3 days to be rescheduled so we have plenty of time with your family. You go tell Aunt Uri while I do that, ok?" Eve agreed, kissing my cheek before walking out of the room. I squealed in anticipation, absolutely thrilled that my wife was going to be able to come underwater with me. I called Shelly and told her to tell my Aunt that Eve agreed and we would be at the shore in an hour.
Before I knew it, Eve and I were walking hand and hand onto the soft sand, quickly moving behind the rock we had claimed as our own. Sitting down, the two of us leaned into each other, waiting for my family.
"You ready Eve?" I asked, rubbing the back of her hand with my thumb.
"I'm ready Love. I can't wait to spend time with you and your family and see where you grew up. I am a bit nervous to turn into a mermaid, but you'll be right next to me so I know I'll be ok." Eve responded, kissing my forehead. I smiled, closing my eyes, deciding I would spend our alone time relaxing. Before I could fall asleep, the sound of the water moving caught my attention. Opening my eyes, Eve and I looked at the water, watching as Uri rose up above the surface.
"Hello girls!" Aunt Uri greeted, a smile on her face.
"Hi Aunt Uri!" I replied, standing up, never letting go of my wife's hand.
"You two ready for the transformation?" Aunt Uri asked, double checking one more time that we wanted to go through with this. Eve and I looked at each other and nodded before walking about knee deep into the waves.
"Ok, Audrey, you know what this is like. Eve, it may feel a bit strange but it'll be over before you know it." Aunt Uri explained, casting the spell. I didn't let go of Eve's hand even as a bright light blocked her from my view. Not wanting to go blind, I closed my eyes. When I reopened them, my tail was gently swaying with the tides. Immediately looking at my wife, my breath left me. Her tail was stunning. A shimmering lavender tail was floating behind Eve, the color bringing out her stark black hair.
"Wow....Eve you look....wow" I breathed, unable to take my eyes off her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the tail behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Quickly, I kissed her, trying not to look away.
"I have a tail." Eve whispered, still staring at her tail.
"You do, and it's stunning." I answered, kissing her again. I could see the awe in her eyes as she moved her tail up and down, watching as the water swirled around her fin.
"And this is just the beginning. You ready to see our world?" Aunt Uri asked, gesturing to the depths.
"I think I am. If I'm already shocked, I can't wait to see the rest of it." Eve answered, squeezing my hand. I smiled, diving deeper into the water, pulling Eve behind me. Hearing her laugh made me go even faster, spinning and flipping around.
"Love, I can't! I'm not used to this like you are!" Eve called, the laughter softening the words. As fast as I could without coming to a screeching stop, I slowed down so Eve could breathe.
"Sorry, I forgot." I said, grinning sheepishly.
"It's ok Audrey. I will gladly watch you, I just can't do all the flips and spins. I'll throw up." Eve laughed, letting go of my hand. I smiled at her before continuing to do spins and flips through the water.
"She really is something, isn't she?" Aunt Uri asked Eve, their conversation barely in earshot.
"Yeah...she is. I'm so lucky to have her in my life." Eve replied, her eyes never leaving me. I smiled to myself as I spun around, elated to have the love of my life with me, even when we're in a new world.
After I grew tired of flipping, the three of us swam to the castle. Eve's face was constantly shining in amazement, her eyes trying to take in every little detail. We spent the next several hours hanging out with my sisters and showing Eve around the kingdom. Finally, the two of us retired to my room.
"I can't believe this is where you grew up. Everything down here is stunning." Eve sighed, collapsing on my bed.
"So is everything in your world. Including the love of my life and the woman I'm lucky to call my wife," I replied, laying next to her, "Tomorrow, I want to show you somewhere that's really special to me. The only person who knows about it is Fin, Sal, and him." Eve squeezed my hand as she heard my tone change when I mentioned my father. I had taken to calling my dad 'him', deciding he didn't deserve for me to refer to him as a parent. He didn't deserve to play the role in my life.
"I can't wait. For now though, let's sleep. I'm exhausted after today." Eve said, snuggling closer to me. Smiling, I ran my hand through her hair as we both drifted into dreamland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not wanting to rush things, Eve and I slowly made our way to my secret cove. Before we got to close, I stopped, pulling Eve onto a nearby rock.
"Before I show you this, I want to say something. Even though my life was flipped upside down less than a year ago, I can't imagine my life had it not happened. I wouldn't be with you or have the incredible life I'm living. I would be down here, lying to myself and everyone else about who I really am. Thanks to you, I get to be true to myself and I never have to hide. I haven't been here in a long time so I don't know the condition it will be in. But before I came to the surface, this was my safe space. Like I said last night, I've never shown it to anyone except for Fin. I'm so lucky to be here with you. Thank you for agreeing to come here with me. I know that with you, I'll be able to do anything." I explained, staring directly into Eve's eyes. I could feel the tears in the corner of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I couldn't cry now, not in front of Eve.
"Love...I'm the one who's lucky. If not for you, I would be married to some stranger. You've made life in the palace so much better. I would agree to go anywhere with you. As long as we're together, I'm happy." Eve replied, kissing my nose. I smiled and straightened.
"Now that we said that, let me show you my cove." I said, pulling her into my secret cove. I froze, seeing the devastation that had wrecked what was once so dear to me. All the flags were torn to shreds, even more than they were before. My collection of pins were scattered all over the place, many of them dented and scratched. My most prized possession, other than the flag Fin found, was shattered on the ground. I sank down, picking up the broken pieces of my glass ball. The glass ball had once proudly born the lesbian flag, the entire thing able to light up. Of course, it didn't work underwater but it was still beautiful. Now, it was destroyed. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I saw Eve position herself next to me.
"Oh Love...I'm sorry this happened. I can tell how much work you put into this place and I'm sure that it was stunning." Eve apologized, her thumb wiping away tears I didn't realize fell. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand over hers.
"It's ok. This place was where I hid myself away. I don't have to hide anymore. It's only fitting that my hiding place is broken, just like the mask I used to wear." I answered, a small smile appearing on my face.
"You're so strong, Love. Seeing the positive in this. That's one reason why I love you." Eve told me, kissing my nose. I smiled and rose off the ground, Eve following suit. I let the shattered glass sink slowly to the ground. Taking Eve's hand in mine, I smiled once more.
"Let's go home." I declared.
Eve nodded and together, the two of us swam away from the broken cove, my broken self who was afraid to be true to herself, and towards the future. Towards the beginning of the best life I could ever imagine. A life that included both the place I grew up and the place I became myself. A life that had the love of my life always by my side. The life I lived above the sea.