Hey guys, got inspired to do chapter 17.. it will be in Emmets view and I will deliver some of what you guys have been asking for! Hopefully I will be able to meet your demands ;)
Enjoy
Chapter Seventeen: Emmet's view
Dumbfounded, my mouth drops open, completely shocked by my mother's words. "You cannot be serious! Why me? Why can't Aurora do it, she's the one with the bond!" I plead, not wanting the responsiblity of a human!
My mother sighs, turning her back to me, gazing out the window to the open sea. "She is nothing more than a friend to her now. Aurora is not mature enough to teach," She pauses, "Shimmer, our ways. Who picked that name for her? It suits her well. Never mind the name, you must be the one to teach her. After much praying to the Elder, I feel as if only you can do it, my son."
"Aurora did." I sourly mumble, unable to argue with my mother's wisdom. I always admired my mother and the way she speaks. Her voice remains amazingly soft and gentle, but also speaks with such authority that cannot be argued with. Like now.
Although her back is turned to me, I hear my mother's smile through her words. "Aurora is such a special talent, being able to save that human girl's life."
"Yes, she truly is." I nod in stiff agreement.
"Now go find Shimmer and teach her what you know. Also," she turns to face me, "study her markings. They are quite unusual and I find myself often wondering about them."
I silently bow to my mother, showing her my respect, and then leave the room to find Aurora and Charlie. I silently wonder how Radiance is getting along with my sister and Charlie, knowing that she was quite nervous to leave with them early morning.
As I traveled down the hall, I happen to overhear two servants gossiping about the new mermaid, Shimmer as they know her. They too have noticed Charlie's unusal tail and worry grows in me, fearful that my father might discover her. I breathe a sigh of relief as I realize the servents only suspicion of Charlie is which Royal Clan she comes from and they both seem to drop the subject.
It was not hard to find Charlie, as I sensed her in my sister's chamber. However, I was surpised to see her alone with her head bowed, looking crestfallen. As I appeared in the archway, she seems to not know that I'm here, or she made no movement to say so.
Her black hair is spilled over her shoulders in silky waves that end at her midwaist. Her shoulders are slumped forward and tense, looking beaten and defeated. Her golden eyes, rimmed with thick long eyelashes are in a permant stare at her interlaced hands that are placed in her lap. Even her tail looked lifeless as it lays on the floor like a streak of sunlight contrasting sharply with the dark stone. The only clue that she was even alive was her steady breathing, otherwise she looked like a statue.
I start to pick up traces of heavy saddness blended together with strong, confused questions. I notice her shoulders are tembling now, and realize that she is crying but the water erases any evidence of tears. Her face is so soft looking, fragile almost, without the cloak of secrets she usually wears in front of us. She looks completely broken, not realizing that I'm watching her.
Why me? Her voice slips into my mind, leaving an echo of her question ringing in my ears while a surge of saddness overwhelms me. My heart suddenly leaps towards her, wanting to comfort her but all I do is clear my throat awkwardly.
Her head snaps straight up, the softness immedately gone. "Oh!" The usual guarded look returns to her face but her eyes betray her, still holding her broken spirit inside of those pools of liquid gold.
"Why are you alone?" My voice came out more harsh than I intended it to be. She blinks rapidly at me, then bites her bottom lip looking away. "Why are you alone?" I press on.
"Your gilfriend doesn't seem to like me very much so Aurora went to talk to her alone." She says, her voice bitter and hard.
"Girlfriend?" I ask, stunned at her harsh tone.
She rolls her eyes, still not meeting my gaze. "Your mate. Also," she bites her lip again, a nervous habit I realize. "Radiance's mother is here and she's uh-" she trails off, still biting her lip.
I raise my eyebrow at her, giving her a pointed look telling her to go on. "Her mother is nice." She finishes quickly.
I start to ask her another question but notice she too, has raised her delicate eyebrow at me. My face falls into a frown and her face follows mine. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" She copies, trying and failing to mimic my voice.
Stunned, my frown deepens and so does hers. "Stop it!" I growl at her but she continues to mimic my movements.
"Stop it!" She whines still imitating my voice but changed it to be higher pitched. I gape at her, unsure what to say next knowing she would only then copy that too. Finally, her frown crumbles away into laughter.
"What is this foolishness." I demand but she only continues to laugh, completely forgetting her troubles. I find her laugh to be enjoyable and a sweet sound with her eyes lighting up in a remarkable way.
After a few moments she stops laughing, disolving into a small giggle. "You're so serious, like Nate. I copy him because it makes him annoyed but breaks down his oh-so-serious attitude."
I shake my head, "You continue to confuse me with your human ways." My voice came out to be cold and unforgiving and I'm taken aback at my own words.
Her smile vanishes, humor gone from her eyes returning to a dull saddness. "Why are you here?"
"My mother, the queen, " I added, "has asked me to teach you our ways." She nods slowly, clearly not wanting to say anything more, so I decide to ask another question. "Why doesn't my potential mate not like you, as you say?"
She shrugs and makes a "humph" sound with her throat. "How do I know? She told me to stay away from you and said she didn't like how I had similar markings to her tail on mine."
Stay away from her? My heart seems to cry out against that idea, as if it is the most unbearable thing in the world. My eyes fall onto Charlie's tail which shifts uncomfortably under my stare. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes finally see what was so clearly laid out infront of me. Charlie did indeed have very similar markings to Radiance, however Charlie's is much more intricate looking. The pattern is there, shared between two entirely different clans, let alone Charlie being human!
Charlie meets my gaze looking down at her tail. She strokes her fins softly, almost nervously as if she didn't want to touch it. The feeling of fear starts to grow deep down in my stomach, like a small flame that grows with each passing thought, but the fear is not mine. Charlie grumbles to herself and her hands curl up into tight fists and the fear fades away, lying dormant.
Her liquid gold round eyes meet finally meet mine, holding a painful secret that I'm unable to figure out. Her eyes are decorated with small flecks of a darker gold that seems to have been sprinkled across them in the most beautiful way. Her elegant high cheeks are growing flaming red as we are mere inches away from eachother. An explosion of mixed emotions, coming from her and me, melt together with many new unanswered questions coming from them. Fear, confusion, sorrow, happiness, and love are all coursing through my veins.
My hands tremble with the powerful urge to brush away a stray lock of hair from her face. My skin burns with the desire of touching her own skin. My heart seems to be crying out, pleading for me to take her into my arms and stroke away all of her troubles. I am frozen looking into her eyes, watching my reflection as her own eyes seem to be unable to break away from my gaze as well.
Her pink lips part slightly, taking in a shaky breath then blinking once, she moves away from me. My heart shatters, scolding me for my idotic actions. Well, rather scolding me for not doing anything. All emotion has lifted, leaving behind only one, regret. Regret what! I angerly scream inside of my head.
I hope the Elder knows what she is doing. Making my sister, Charlie, and me all connected should mean there is a plan for us but of what? What purpose is this, bringing another human down into our kingdom. I desperately cling onto the little faith I have in the Elder to give me enough strength to get through this.
Charlie has settled back down on her bed, staring out of the window. The saddness has returned to her eyes, and I can't help but feel she's keeping something from me. A secret that seems to hold the power to change everything.
Happy? There's SOMETHING going on between them ;) Hope you liked it.. I thought it was alright!