Water Hole

Ava gets herself into some trouble.

Navigating the tunnels with ease, I walk until the thunderous roar of the waterfall fills my ears, and I can see the wall of water cascading down past the mouth of the cave.

After traveling down the outcropping, I sat down to rest in front of the pond. The cool night air settled on my skin, and a light mist from the falls made my hair slightly damp, making me shiver and draw up the hood of my cloak.

Then I noticed that the water was glowing.

From the depths of the pond, something was emanating an intense, white glow, making the entire body of water shine with a ghostly hue.

Peering into the pond, I realized it was much, much deeper than I thought; the shore gradually declined into the water about five feet before dropping off into a hole. I stood up, and tried to estimate the depth, then, deciding it was impossible, went over to the trees and fetched a good sized rock to drop in the hole. I pulled off my boots, socks and vest, leaving me in my leggings and shirt, then sloshed into the water, clutching the rock.

The water was surprisingly warm, like a heated bath, and I relished the warmth as I approached the edge of the hole. The light was so intense, that I couldn't see very far into the hole, but I hoped that I'd be able to watch the rock fall. I held the rock over the surface of the water, about to drop it, when the unthinkable happened.

The edge crumbled, and I slipped.

Immediately, I began to sink, like, well, a rock, as I was still holding onto the heavy stone. I released it, and watched it fall faster than me, and began paddling back up towards the surface as best I could. I never was a superb swimmer, but I was making progress.

"Zøå." I said.

Gills.

My words were lost in the water, but somehow, the spell still worked. Gulping in water, I found that I could breathe again, thanks to the new slits on the sides of my neck. Paddling resolutely, I reached up to grasp the sides of the hole.

A hand suddenly grabbed my ankle.

Screaming with terror, I whipped around to see a blue, webbed hand gripping my ankle, and panic clawed at my heart as my eyes stared at the entirely blue creature, with a scaly fish tail that ended at the waist. From the waist up, the skin was still a creepy blue color, but the skin was smooth, like a humans. Green hair floated around the face like an evil halo, and her face appeared fish-like and distorted. Her red eyes stared at me, and her lips spread into a wicked smile, revealing pointed teeth.

I tried to scream again, and fought furiously to be rid of the hideous creature, but to no avail. Its hand firmly clamped around my ankle, it swam towards the bottom of the pond, dragging me deeper and deeper, and even with my gills, I had difficulty breathing. Panicking didn't help at all.

A sharp pain cracked against my head, and everything went dark.

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Ven emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a simple nightgown, her eyes looking sad and lonely. Realizing that Saol was sitting on the armchair, lost in thought, she quickly erased the sadness and forced a happy expression.

"Why, hello." she chirped. "Saol, is it? I'm so pleased to meet you."

"Oh, uh, hi." Saol looked up in surprise, as if he hadn't noticed her entrance at all.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, more to break the silence then out of curiosity.

"Ah, nothing." his quick reply actually attracted her interest, and she tilted her head slightly, studying his look.

"Ava?" she guessed, and Saol jerked his head up.

"How did you guess that?" he demanded.

"Oh, please. I'm a unicorn. I'm pretty adept at reading human emotions." Ven pointed out.

"Oh." for some reason, her comment about reading human expressions comforted him somehow.

"So.....?" Ven trailed off, expecting elaboration.

"Nothing." Saol squirmed under her intense gaze. "It's nothing." he insisted, and Ven raised her eyebrow. Saol sighed.

"It's just.......she seems so......brave, and strong, but I don't know if she's strong enough, to go and attack an entire castle. I'm......." he stopped.

"Worried about her?" Ven guessed, and he nodded.

"And I don't even think that I would be able to help, anyway, being......me." he gestured at himself.

 Suddenly, his shoulders sagged, and Ven was a little bit surprised by the acute change of demeanor. From the moment she had met him, he had been quiet, guarded, and solemn under the joking and light mask he wore. Layers of emotion shielded secrets, secrets he knew, secrets he didn't know, and secrets he didn't want to know. Now, he looked tired, defeated, lonely, and just sad.

"If she won't let me go, I wouldn't blame her. I wouldn't go with someone like myself, either." he said hollowly.

"Saol! You can't talk like that!" Ven said, disgusted.

"Why not?" Saol demanded, suddenly truculent. His belligerence, however, was directed at himself. "I can't help her; I'll slow her down, keep her from reaching her full potential. I'm a loose cannon that she found in the woods, I almost killed her, I have no past whatsoever, and I'm absolutely useless to her with her mission! I don't deserve to be here, and I most certainly don't deserve her!" he jumped up and stalked to Ava's bedroom, laying down in his cot immediately, too worked up to even spare a glance at her bed.

Ven sat sadly, before laying out the blanket on the couch. She could've told Saol that Ava needed him, but she knew that Ava had to tell Saol herself. She could only meddle so much.

All unicorns, even in their human state, possessed unicorn magic, which came with an innate ability to read facial expressions and emotions. From an early age, being royalty, she had been tutored by one of the most skilled unicorn magic, or qïtæ, holder, and now prided herself on an impressive array of magical talents. She was told that her emotion reading skills were her best talent, but to her, it all got much more complicated when it came to her own emotions.

Spreading out the blanket on the couch, Ven was reminded of how plain it was, compared to her old möñyö, back at home.

Home.

She wondered if she'd ever see it again.

If she'd ever see her father again.

She missed him.

But it couldn't be helped. When he told her of the arranged marriage, she almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ever since her mother's death, they had become very close, and he knew that she did not love Jakin. He was fully aware of that fact, and yet, as soon as she professed her love for another, he set up the forced nuptials.

So she ran away.

She wondered if her father had sent out search parties yet. The royal contãk was permanently settled in the Forgotten Forest, but almost on the opposite end of the vast woods.

Ven knew that Ava was in a similar situation, that she had run away from home, and she was almost positive that the girl was of nobility.

Speaking of Ava, there is something different about her.... Ven thought as she crawled underneath her covers. Something about her aura, was just a little off, compared to others. It felt different, but in a good way.

Once she covered the glowing orb on the table, darkness descended on the room, and Ven fell asleep immediately.

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Tiran smiled to himself as he reached the clearing, lost in thought. Nothing could ruin my good mood today, he thought confidently. He was going to instruct Ava, and catch up with Estïqiã. Perhaps today would be the day that she realized that Jakin wasn't for her. See him for the jerk he was.

Hey, it could happen.

Plus, Ven was here now. The quiet, petite, shy, and pretty girl had been one of Tiran's closest friends, before her father locked her away.

Tiran suddenly found himself flailing his arms, and plummeting towards the ground, his hands barely catching him. Muttering an involuntary curse, he scrambled back up onto his feet, brushing himself off, and glanced fleetingly back at the object that had caused his fall.

He did a double take.

There was a pair of boots, sitting next to a bundle of clothes, by the pond.

Ava's clothes.

An icy claw of fear curled itself around Tiran's heart, and he started up the outcropping, then into the tunnels, gradually increasing in speed until he was sprinting down the rock hallways. When he burst through the door, Saol, Ven, Pandorå, and Estïqiã all looked up at him with alarm.

No Ava.

"Where's Ava?" Tiran demanded, his face flushed and panicked.

"What do you mean, where's Ava?" Estïqiã asked, irritated. "She left early to have lessons with you."

"Did anybody actually see her this morning?" Tiran felt sick to his stomach when nobody volunteered any confirmation. "Pandorå?"

"I assumed she blocked me out on purpose." the dragon replied. Her size was now quite large, bigger than Peeka, and she was enjoying a red mess of something Tiran didn't recognize. He didn't want to find out.

"Tiran? What's wrong?" Ven inquired tentatively.

"Ava's clothes.....they're.....they're in a little pile, right next to the pond. I don't know where she is." Tiran choked out, and Estïqiã immediately stood and began towards the doorway. Saol and Ven followed behind, while Pandorå quickly moved into Estïqiã's bedroom, probably to exit through her room's ceiling hole, as the normal door was a tight squeeze.

Estïqiã, Saol, Ven, and Tiran reached the pond in record time, powered by fear and anxiety. Pandorå glided in, landing gracefully next to them.

"How could she drown? The pond is only a few feet deep." Tiran waded in, glancing back at the others, when he suddenly disappeared, leaving only some ripples in the water.

"Tiran!" Estïqiã screamed, and was just about to jump in when Tiran bobbed back up, treading water.

"Whoa." he spluttered, spitting out water. "It drops off here. Deeper than I can see." Anxiety was evident in his voice as he scrambled back onto dry ground, dripping and shivering.

"Can't you guys use magic to breathe underwater or something?" Saol asked, looking like he was going to start panicking any moment.

"Something would take an enormous amount of magic, and we don't know how long it would take to find her body." Estïqiã pointed out. Saol turned white.

"B-body?" he choked out, with a contorted expression. Estïqiã and Tiran exchanged looks.

"The chance of her surviving are slim." Estïqiã started gently, fighting to keep a calm demeanor, while inside, her heart was breaking. Pandorå let out a whimper, and Ven was crying silently. Tiran hugged Ven, and she cried into his shoulder. Saol pulled off his shirt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Estïqiã snapped.

"Going to rescue her." Saol tugged off his boots.

"Don't be an idiot." Estïqiã put herself between him and the water, but her orders fell on deaf ears. "Stop!" Estïqiã shoved Saol backwards, and tackled him to the ground. With a fluid motion, Saol pressed a spot on her neck, and she suddenly collapsed, unconscious. He laid her down gently, and started into the water.

"Saol!" Tiran charged at him, but Saol simply flipped into a spinning kick, right at his chest, and Tiran fell his knees, winded, and unable to move. Pandorå roared, and reached forwards with her claw to hook Saol's clothing, but Saol nimbly dodged the grab, and stood in front of the hole, sparing a wan smile, before diving down into the hole.

Author's Note

This chapter certainly has a lot of different POVs:) So, uh-oh for Ava! As for Ven, she deserves better treatment than the one Estïqiã's giving her, yes? Problem is, Estïqiã holds grudges, and she doesn't know that the arranged marriage is the reason why Ven ran away in the first place. They're going to have some problems in the future, until that's all solved.