Samara
Anisha sauntered towards the sea.
"Where do you think you're going?" Aryan asked with notably less hostility than moments ago.
Anisha seemed to notice it too and smirked, crossing her arms almost playfully. "To prepare. Samara can't move for a couple more hours, and if this is going to happen, then I need to make sure the traitors under my care don't catch on."
"How do you plan to get us to Opal City anyway?" I wondered, curiously.
She grinned. "You can swim, right?"
"Seriously, you think we're going to be able to keep up with you?" Aryan asked incredulously.
"I'm sure your goddess will find a way." She shrugged, walking back towards the ocean. She dived in, her feet shifting into cerulean blue scales as her fin glistened briefly against the afternoon sun.
"Your hand." Aryan pointed at it. "Why's it shimmering?"
"The Opulent Glow." I murmured.
"Think that's a good thing or are we completely screwed?"
I lifted my hand, thankful that I could move that much, but my legs still wouldn't budge. That glow dissipated slowly, but a warm feeling went through me. "I'm not sure, but I think it's going to be ok."
"Yeah, if we can hold our breath long enough to reach Opal City." He scoffed.
"Technically, I don't need to hold my breath." I smirked, good-humoredly.
He rolled his eyes at me. "What a surprise. Well, some of us are aquatically challenged."
"Aryan," I asked, raising an eyebrow playfully. "Can you swim?"
"What?" he asked, like I was the most unintelligent creature he's ever met. "Of course, I can swim. How do you think we managed to make it to the Oasis after you KO'd?" he got up, pacing as he began to think. "I can't hold my breath long enough to get to Opal City, though. And you're not going without me. So don't even think of it."
"Hmm..." I nodded—glad I was beginning to feel a bit lighter. "That's a good point. We'll have to come up with some sort of solution." We pondered wordlessly for several minutes before it was like a lightbulb went off in my brain. "What if—Ahh..."
I placed my palm against my head. That familiar pain shattering my brain.
"What's wrong?" Aryan asked, kneeling in front of me as he placed his hands on my face to look at me.
My breath caught as it took me a moment to remember that I was not underwater. And as Aryan disappeared from my sight, I dived headfirst into a living dream.
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Anisha was swimming, and quickly at that. She was so deep in the ocean that it was like she had been swimming for several hours rather than only several minutes. It made Aryan's concern that much more legitimate. But it wasn't something I could think of right now. Swiftly, she swam through the window of her chamber, she was searching for something in her armoire.
The mermaid paused for a moment, her hands lingering on her cerulean armor—flecks of gold smattered throughout the thickly scaled material. She sighed, pulling out the chest armor. "Maybe I have been hiding." She mumbled to herself. Without a second thought, she took off her crop top and replaced it with the armor.
She closed one of the wardrobe doors, looking at herself in the mirror. She twirled, her platinum blonde hair floating gently around her. Anisha's hands slid down the armored scales, and a newfound confidence went through her. She nodded at herself—resolute in whatever decision she had decided upon.
Opening the wardrobe door again, she rummaged faster, until finally she found a small jewelry box. She opened the bejeweled container to reveal an ornate golden key. She closed the doors and swam over to her nightstand, grabbing a book that was sealed within a bubble. When she put her hand inside, it dried immediately. She didn't pause to admire it in the way I was as she opened the book with one hand, placing the object in a designated key-shaped hole.
She closed it, pulling her hand out and delicately holding the bubble carefully before swimming for the door. I followed, keeping up, and whenever she moved too far from my line of sight, the vision kept up for me, moving me towards her. It was almost dizzying, like I was being shaken so firmly that my brain felt somewhat rattled.
She kept moving until she had reached these tall and wide white opalescent doors. They nearly shimmered in the sunlight that radiated from above the sea. Anisha opened one of the doors towards her, and immediately, a wall of dense water obscured what was inside. Anisha held her breath as she transformed her fin into legs, but what once looked like leggings seemed to change into thick yet flexible pants and boots that matched her chest armor. The boots were dark and went up to her shins. The part covering her legs was also armor-plated in the same way as her chest. In that moment, she looked more like what she was supposed to be rather than a bereaved girl. She looked like a leader. It wasn't difficult to understand why Fausta left her in charge.
Anisha stepped into the dense water and I followed, watching as she instantly dried on the other side. She began to walk down the aisle, giving me the opportunity to check out our surroundings. I marveled at the scale of this room. It had ceilings so high you couldn't easily reach them even with a ladder, and at the top there were several holes that seemed to be some sort of skylights, but there was no window holding back the water—just like the door. Large pillars made of the same material as the doors held up the ceiling, and while they were lavishly decorated with pearls and seashells. They even seemed to eminent a soft lighting that I found both inviting and comforting. But the most wonderful thing about this place was the dark shelves around the entire area filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of tomes. Everywhere you turned, you could find books. It made me homesick for my own little library. A library I no longer owned. And would no longer need.
Anisha took confident strides down the aisles passing women—I assume to be other mermaids—and men with a green-skinned complexion, and if I wasn't mistaken, webbed feet. It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't seen a single mer-man or even a green-skinned woman. But I didn't have time to ponder on these beings as Anisha was swiftly twisting and turning through this vast library. After several more minutes, she finally came across a circular desk with only one person around. The librarian. Like the men I noticed earlier. He had a green hue to his skin, but instead of casual wear, he wore darkly opalescent robes that covered his webbed feet. His eyes were big and set far apart with a horizontal dash where his pupils should have been. He had black, wavy hair, thin lips, and looked to be about in his thirties. Despite him being moderately attractive, he still reminded me of a frog.
The thought made me smile until I recalled Aryan mentioning that Fausta's Jauni were frogs. Oh, so this is what he meant. I thought. We hadn't come across her Jauni yet despite going through Laurels. Maybe they just liked being here in Opal City.
The frog man glanced over at Anisha. He was, at first, expressionless until he recognized her face. "Anisha..." he said slowly—his voice coarse yet deeper than I imagined it to be. His lips curled into a brilliantly wide smile as he took in her outfit. "Or should I say Captain?"
She smiled back, almost shyly, but then returned to looking refined. "Raff, I'd like to return a book. She said, holding the book she took from her room that I only now realized was no longer in a bubble.
Raff glanced at the green hardcover—eyebrows raised in surprise before he composed himself. "Of course, Captain." He spoke clearly. His orange-nailed fingers brushed against Anisha's lightly as he whispered, "I'm glad rumors of your disinterest have been just that."
Her mouth twitched downward—a brief sadness in her dark eyes. "I just wish they weren't true for quite so long."
"Nobody blames you for what has happened all this time." Raff spoke gently. "Certainly not those who care for you."
"Cordelia and her traitorous cohorts do." Anisha said, bitterly.
"They're fools." The librarian retorted. "But I see you have a plan." He looked around carefully, but there was no one in sight. "If you liked this book, I have another I can show you that might be of interest. If you'll follow me." Raff lifted the top of his entrance in and out of the circular desk—carefully closing it so as not to make noise within the library.
Anisha followed, walking beside Raff like she's done it a thousand times before, and for all I knew, she had. They seemed quite... intimate, somehow. But whether they were just great friends or something more, I couldn't tell.
After a few minutes, he led her to a back room, locking the door behind him. Then, he turned on his heels to stare at the captain. He held up the green book, almost pointedly, at her. "Anisha, what are you thinking? No one has used Fausta's entrances since, you know." He was suddenly much laxer around her.
"I have to do something, Raff." She replied, trying to maintain the appearance of control. "I know Cordelia is planning something. After I confronted her, it's been nothing but whispers behind my back. I can hardly rest without my weapon beside me at night. Rafferty," she took his freehand earnestly. "I know the truth now. The truth about what happened to Lord Nolan. Everyone blames that girl, but—"
"You mean, the cursed goddess." He responded, his mouth a hard line. "You sound like you've spoken with her." Anisha wordlessly gripped his hand, and his expression changed once more to disbelief. "Is that where you've been all morning!?" he croaked. "And you believe her?"
"I do." Anisha nodded. "You didn't see her, Raff. I could feel Fausta rolling off her. She has the Opulent Glow. She can breathe underwater. She can even conjure it—though I haven't seen this yet for myself. And she's so..."
"So, what?" Raff asked, both curious and skeptical.
Truthfully, I wondered what she thought of me as well. It was strange to overhear a conversation about yourself. Though, there have probably been countless opinions on my character since I entered Arcanum. But the only one I truly cared to know about was...
I regained focus when Anisha spoke, releasing Raff's hand. "She's so strangely sincere. She's not the killer Soren has made her out to be."
"And what of her companion. The dragon." Raff countered. "Is he also harmless? Did you know that he used to be Neri's familiar? At least, that's what I've heard."
"I wouldn't say he's harmless." Anisha admitted. "But he only cares for her. It's clear where his loyalties lie. And honestly," she stood straighter as she spoke. "I'm not surprised if he was Neri's familiar. He's the perfect type to be one. Just like you were for Fausta."
At her words, Raff became tightlipped, but only for a moment. "Fine," he sighed. "What exactly is the plan here? I'm assuming you want to bring them to Fausta. Especially since there's talk about this woman's ability to bring back the goddesses. There's no way you can walk them through the front door."
Anisha smirked. "Well, that's where you come in."
I wanted to hear more. To see more. But as suddenly as the vision had started, I was yanked away. My head ached as I stared into the warm amber eyes of my companion.