After changing into her new bathing suit, then covering up with a coat, Meeshell told Farrah that she was going to take a walk. As she made her way down the hall, she stepped over a hedgehog who was waddling along at a leisurely pace. The Common Room was empty, except for a girl sitting in front of the fireplace, a book nestled on her lap. The girl looked up at her. “Did anyone tell you about curfew?” she asked.
Meeshell halted. “Curfew?”
The girl set a bookmark in place, then closed the book. She had lovely dark hair and matching dark eyes. Her dress was black and purple with silver lacework at the edges. “If you leave campus, you need to be back by midnight or you won’t be able to pass through the wall of thorns. It’s a magical wall that Headmaster Grimm uses to protect the school.” She glanced up at the wall clock. “You have an hour.”
“Okay, thanks for the warning.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask what you’re doing,” she said, which was a huge relief to Meeshell. “By the way, I’m Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen,” she added with a wry smile.
Meeshell’s shoulders stiffened. Daughter of the Evil Queen? Wow! Of course she’d heard about Raven. Everyone had heard about Raven. She was as famous as Apple.
Raven waited patiently for Meeshell to introduce herself. “I’m Meeshell. Daughter of…” She paused.
Raven raised an eyebrow. When no answer came, Raven sat back in her chair. “You don’t have to tell me. I get it. Sometimes it’s nice if people just know us for ourselves and not for our families.” She picked up her book and started reading again. “Good luck with whatever after you’re doing.”
“Thank you.” Meeshell hurried down the stairs. Just from that short encounter, she got the feeling that Raven was much nicer than her family’s reputation.
She only had an hour to swim and get back. Would that be enough time? She didn’t want to get into trouble; that was not the best way to start her first week. Behind her, the dormitory windows shone brightly against the twilight sky. Most students were studying or getting ready for bed. Was she the only student out and about? She hesitated, but the need to swim was stronger than her fear of getting caught. She gripped her bag. She’d stuffed a towel inside. And onward she went.
She crossed the quad, then a footbridge, passing a sign that read:
She hadn’t noticed that on the map. Swimming in a swamp didn’t sound like much fun, but she’d keep it in mind as a last resort. Soon she came to another sign:
The path was narrow but well groomed, with broom marks in the wood chips. Ashlynn’s Forest Club did a lovely job. The path was also well lit, thanks to the full moon. Even though Meeshell wasn’t breaking any rules, she felt nervous as she walked. I’m not doing anything wrong, she told herself. This is my nature. I need to swim.
An unsettling thought popped into her head. Once she became a permanent land-dweller, would she lose her craving for the water? How odd that would be.
After a few twists and turns, the path opened onto a clearing. Tall willow trees grew around the perimeter and in the center was a small lake with water so blue, it had to be enchanted. The moon reflected on the lake’s surface. The only movement came from a pair of golden cranes who stood in the shallows, between large lily pads. They turned and nodded at Meeshell, not seeming upset by her arrival. She knelt and touched the water. It was perfect: not too warm, not too cool. Her toes wiggled excitedly, as if they were really looking forward to turning into a tail. She tossed her coat aside, adjusted her bathing suit straps, and dived in.
Water! How glorious! She kicked once, twice, and her legs became a tail. Joy flowed through her as she swam beneath the surface. Then she leaped from the water, flipping into a forward roll. She leaped again, this time soaring through the air in a backward arc. Oh, the freedom! She swam the entire circumference of the lagoon, around and around until she was breathless. The cranes watched with curiosity. Then she floated on her back, looking up at the twilight sky, the water cradling her. All was still. All was good.
The cranes made a sudden screeching sound. They twisted their long necks, staring warily at the path. Footsteps. Someone was coming! Meeshell sank until her shoulders were under the water, then she slipped into a shadowy place beneath the boughs of a weeping willow.
A person appeared around the corner. It was Humphrey. What was he doing out here? He wore a pair of checkered swim shorts and little flotation devices around his arms. Meeshell had seen kids wearing those on beaches. He stood at the edge of the lagoon, staring at the water. “You can do this,” he said to himself. He put one foot in. Then the other. Ever so slowly, he waded up to his ankles. His brow furrowed. Was he scared of the water? He waded up to his knees. Then up to his waist. “You can do this,” he said again. Meeshell didn’t really know Humphrey, but she wanted to encourage him. Go ahead, she thought. It’ll be okay. The water will hold you up. Well, at least it does for mermaids.
As if hearing her thoughts, he tossed the floaties onto the shore. And that’s when everything went royally wrong.
Humphrey disappeared under the water.
Little bubbles appeared at the surface, but Humphrey didn’t come back up. Meeshell waited. How long could a land-dweller hold his breath? She wasn’t quite sure. Even the cranes watched nervously. And then the bubbles stopped.
Uh-oh.
Meeshell dived, swimming as fast as she could. She found him, struggling at the bottom of the lake. His back was to her, so she put her arms around his waist and pulled him to the surface. He took a huge gasp of air. Once she was certain he was breathing, she gave a strong push with her tail, sending him onto the shore. Then she swam into the depths so he wouldn’t be able to see her tail. “You okay?” she asked.
He sat up and coughed a few times. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, I’m okay.” He looked at her. “You… you saved me. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She swam a bit deeper, worried the full moon would give her away.
Humphrey coughed again. “I didn’t know anyone was here. I… I thought I was alone.” He was still struggling a bit to catch his breath.
“Maybe you should take some swim lessons,” she said. She was trying to be helpful, but he looked insulted.
“Swim lessons?” He scrambled to his feet. Water dripped down his legs. “I don’t need lessons. I can swim. I’m not afraid of water. What gave you that idea? I… I swim all the time.”
“Uh, okay, I didn’t mean to—”
“I came here to get some exercise, because I’m not afraid of the water. And because I can swim. But then I got a cramp. In my leg. That’s why I sank to the bottom.”
He wasn’t going to admit that he couldn’t swim. As if he was ashamed of that fact. She wanted to tell him it was no big deal, that everyone has something they can’t do, and that she of all people knew how embarrassing it was to have people think you’re afraid of something most other people aren’t afraid of… but she felt too shy to tell him something so personal. Plus, she knew he was trying to teach himself, and she’d been a witness to something he’d wanted to keep secret.
A chime sounded. Humphrey looked at his watch. “Curfew. We’d better go.”
She couldn’t get out of the water and let him see her tail. “Um, could you turn around? I need to change.”
“Of course,” he said, turning his back. She pulled herself out, grabbed the towel, and dried quickly. Her legs returned and she slipped her coat back on. Then together, they hurried down the path. He didn’t say anything else, nor did she. But as he headed toward the boys’ dormitory, with his floaties in hand, she realized something.
She’d saved a prince from drowning, just like her mother before her. Did this mean that Humphrey was her destined prince? No way. She and Humphrey seemed to have nothing in common. Except for the fact that they were both shy. And everyone knows that two extremely shy people could never work together.
Could they?