Chapter Text
The water seemed brighter in the Xadia side of the sea, with kingdoms near the surface, so close to the shore that there were even several coral-stone buildings peaking out above the waves, with glass roofs to let in the bright sunlight. Reefs of rare and magical fish filled the waters with bioluminescent lights throughout the nights so that the cities were never dark, and any creature present was always friendly and bursting with curiosity. The waters were warmed by the magic the ocean elves possessed, and all throughout the year. Even when the surface became laced with frozen snowflakes and ice began weaving into the sea foam, flowers continued to bloom below the wave break. Endless mixtures of colorful coral gardens filled the yards of each merperson.
It was paradise, the thought of leaving as foolish a thought anyone could ever have.
It was forbidden to cross the border to the human side. Rayla didn't care.
Fishing boats were commonly found on that side of the rift, and a giant trench marked the boundary that cut off the ocean's elf kingdom. Rough sharks were said to roam those waters, and magic had long been stolen from its vaste emptiness, the only fish were large and dangerous, incapable of being domesticated, shipwrecks littered the floor, almost as common as the reefs within the merfolk cities. Each rotting hull was filled with weapons and rusting objects meant to kill her people. The forbidden seas held an air of danger, of risk. For someone who couldn't leave the safety of the sea, and craved adventure, it was an endless joyride.
Her kingdom was peaceful, and even if full-out war broke out on the surface, the "merfolk", as they referred to themselves, could always journey to the deep, away from any harm and violence.
That's what drove her to constantly cross the rift.
The water here was cold, and the surface seemed so far away. Rayla kept her small, empty, sea-silk woven bag clutched close to her chest, her eyes scanning the sea floor for anything of interest. She passed a small, dying reef, and found herself face-to-face with the largest human ship she'd ever seen. Rayla's eyes widened at the sight. The hull was caved in, large splintering chasms easily visible through the clear, silent water.
A small grin stretched across the mer-girl's face, and, without another thought, she dashed out downwards, to where the boat sat in a half buried state.
She entered the wrecked boat quite easily, her eyes gleaming as she made her way around broken furniture and rusting coins as she searched for anything to add to her collection.
Rayla moved a broken mirror to the side, barely looking twice at the reflection of her sea foam-white hair and coral colored eyes. Behind it was a glimmering box, shut and locked.
Humans had an obsession with locking their treasures away, it was quite annoying.
She stowed the box away in her bag, proceeding to search for the small key that would unlock whatever it was that happened to be in the miniature treasure chest.
It was in the next room that she found the first skeleton.
Rayla nearly let out a scream at the sight, and instead forced the repulsion of seeing the bones of a human down, and started rummaging through the pockets of the tattered clothing that still clung to the corpse.
Her clothing was extraordinarily fancy, gems and gold sewn into the hem of her dress that was slowly becoming covered in holes and tears.
Rayla's hand gripped a short, thin rod of metal, and she smiled in success.
Gripping her newly found key, she took the box and fit the piece of metal into the keyhole. It opened with a click and Rayla excitedly pried the box open.
A burst of air flew out, leaving Rayla startled at the revelation. It had been well-made enough to keep any water out, even after several years.
What confused her was the the only thing inside was a golden ring, with two uneven lines preventing it from connecting.
Biting her lip, she stuck the strange object in her bag just as the dim light seeping into the shipwreck faded.
Rayla froze, her eyes shooting to look out of the broken hull. She quickly left the ship, her eyes peering upwards at the shape slowly making its way across the surface.
Eh, she hadn't had enough adventure for the day.
Rayla made her way to the surface.
• • •
Callum honestly couldn't understand why they were suddenly going to the Atlantis lodge, not when the last time they went had ended in tragedy. Not when the last time they went, mom had been with them. Ezran was nowhere in sight, no doubt raiding the kitchens and gobbling up any jelly tart he could find before they reached shore either that night or tomorrow morning.
The sun had begun setting a while ago, and the last bits of sun were starting to sink beneath the horizon as dark clouds moved dangerously near. The air seemed to hold the scent of cold rain, drawing closer and closer, just like it had on that one day.
He sighed, turning to lean his back on the ship's railing as he opened his sketchbook. His pencil rested on the blank page, and he found himself stumped on what exactly to draw. Groaning, the boy slumped down into a sitting position, his eyes drifting to the small opening in the railing, the one meant to let out any water that might've fallen onto the deck. The water was a light sea-foam green, a much bright color than the murky color further west into the human territory.
Something flashed in the water, and Callum quickly shifted to look over the side. The faint figure of... a fish? A human?
His boredom was now causing hallucinations.
Great.
Without any other ideas, he decided to draw just what he saw. A fish-girl.
His pencil moved across the paper in similar, rhythmic motions. He was lost in the drawing, sketching various versions of people with fish-tails. He believed they were called merfolk in old human legends, but he also knew that water elves resembled them greatly.
Before he knew it, the sun set, and the candlelight began flickering as raindrops started to fall, the drops leaving small, intricate patterns on his notebook.
• • •
Rayla was fascinated. Her eyes were fixed on the one human boy's book as he drew. In her city, most things were either enchanted to resist water or simply carved into stone. Drawing would be a very complicated pastime, if anyone even wanted to waste the resources on pictures that could simply be imported and enchanted from the land above.
When the storm first hit, Rayla dove back into the water, shocked by how cold it felt after staying in the warm dryness of the surface. Looking down at her hands, she was surprised to see that the faint, almost unnoticeable scales on her hands had grown prominent and dry, several of them flaking off into the water around her.
So that's what happened when you stayed above water for too long.
She dismissed the gentle pain in her hands to the back of her mind, slowly letting herself fall back to the bottom of the sea floor.
Rayla simply floated there, realizing with a sudden embarrassment that she had to be miles away from where she'd first encountered the shipwreck, and even if she left for the border right at that moment she wouldn't cross back into elfin territory until early morning, possibly sunrise. She was positive she'd be getting an earful from Runaan.
A sudden crash of thunder sounded from overhead, the sound shooting through the water and filling Rayla's entire body with dread. Her heart-rate quickened, and Rayla could only pray that what happened wasn't what she thought had happened.
She waited for a few minutes. Judging from the steady slope of sand, the shore was only a few miles away at this point. If they were almost there—
Rayla spotted a glowing red, and several smaller ships floating away from the larger boat. What made her move — what made her risk being spotted by humans of all people — was the small shape that fell into the water.
The mermaid wasted no time in rising to the surface and griping the quickly sinking figure in her arms. By the time she made it into the air, the waves were so large and violent and the rain so heavy that she could no longer see the human ships.
With no other solution in mind, she began the swim to the human-claimed shore.