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The next morning, I breakfasted on odds and ends I’d gathered, nourishment provided by the creek. Small fish, mainly, but also roots of plants that, while bitter, managed to fill my stomach. I needed all the energy nature could provide to undertake the journey home, without being accompanied by L’even pearls.
I was nearly ready to depart when a voice called to me from above the water. I rose for a better look.
“Kai!”
Hazel was running toward me, the bag she wore on her shoulder bouncing along with her. I felt the L’even pearls’ power before noticing that she wore the wrist cuff.
Stunned, I waited for her to stop and regulate her breathing.
“Good morning,” she said. “I’m so glad I was able to catch you before you left.”
I raised a brow, wondering what this was about.
“Mom and I will be visiting the lake this weekend. We’ll be there on Saturday.” She drew in a breath. “After what happened last night, I talked to Pap—Grandma’s husband who still lives by the lake. I think he knows something that would explain why the pearls reacted to Mom that way—the way they glow for you. He could have the missing nugget of information we’ve been looking for.”
I doubted another human could further assist in this matter, but I was certainly willing to see Hazel again and hear what her family member had to say. Perhaps he would share more about the contents of the receipts Hazel had shown me. The more I learned about what her family had kept, the better for me and my kingdom.
I pressed my palm to my chest and nodded my assent.
“Okay, great. I’ll see you Saturday, then!”
She stepped away as if preparing to leave. I waved my hands and shook my head to keep her attention. And then pointed to the water. I, too, had something to say before we parted.
Her eyes widened. “I don’t have my gear with me. Is it important?”
With a serious frown, I bobbed my head. This was very important.
“Okay, but I don’t have much time. I’m headed to school after this.”
She pulled a looped piece of fabric from her bag, and then used it to tie her hair in a knot at the top of her head.
“I guess we’re going with the wet look today,” she muttered. “No worries, I’ll just look like I went for an early morning swim.”
I smiled as she dipped her head into the water. The hairstyle—the look—suited her well. Loose strands of hair floated around the severely tied knot. I found the effect to be both soft and regal.
“Before we part, may I draw strength from the L’even pearls for my journey home?” I said.
Hazel rose to the surface and wiped water droplets from her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need to take the bracelet with you to make it home?”
Her offer was tempting. But even as I considered accepting it, I felt the impact of her mother’s demands and insistence that the diadem and wrist cuff belonged to Hazel now.
She followed me into the water for my answer, which I intended to keep brief.
“I will be able to return without it.”
She gave me a doubtful look before sitting back again.
“Okay,” she said, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “Absorb all the energy you’ll need. Don’t just take a little. I want you to be safe, all right?”
I nodded, grateful for both her generosity and her concern.
Hazel stretched her arm to me. She was so close that the blue light of the L’even pearls came in contact with my skin. I drew in as much energy and power as I could. She wouldn’t need it, whereas I most certainly would. Transformation and travel through the small capillaries would be draining and difficult.
I spoke the words thank you into the air, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me. My head spun from the amount of energy I’d absorbed. The glut of power was more excessive than I’d been used to. Especially given how long I’d tried to conserve the energy from the remaining L’even pearl pieces of the kingdom.
Something inside her bag made a buzzing sound, followed by a series of chirps.
“I have to go.” She looked into the creek and wiped away droplets from her face with her sleeve. She untied her hair, squeezed water from it, and tied it back up again before standing and scooping up her bag.
“See you again soon,” she said with a wave.
I returned the gesture and watched as she walked away.
Once Hazel was out of view, I receded into the water and prepared to swim home.
***
INSTEAD OF GOING THE same way I’d traveled from the lake to the creek, I opted for a different route for the return trip—one with longer stretches of underwater streams that my body could fit through without the need to transform. The less of a requirement there was to remain in my transformed state, the more I could conserve the power I’d drawn from the wrist cuff’s pearls.
The alternate route also had its drawbacks. The course was less direct and, therefore, the journey would be longer, at least double the distance. Still, I could save energy by swimming more slowly, and allowing the currents to carry me. I also planned to eat more often and spend less time in my transformed state. Hazel would not arrive at the lake for several days, which gave me plenty of time.
As with the beginning of most long journeys, the first leg of the trip was fueled by novelty, freedom, and the excitement of exploring new places. While I had a special internal mapping sense of where I was going, the tunnels and bodies of water I swam through were all new to me, each offering different experiences of water salinity, mineral contents, marine life, and vegetation.
From time to time, the liquid spaces opened to where I could poke my head above the water. Even the sun and wind felt changed when experienced in different places. I felt changed—more alive. Perhaps even more hopeful for myself and my kingdom. I recalled having gone on journeys with my mother, father, and brother. But not for as long, and they were nothing like this.
While the journey was restorative to a great degree, after some time the act of swimming seemed to go on and on. I began to grow bored, which made each stride toward home feel that much more laborious. Despite taking time for occasional periods of rest, I also began to feel myself weaken. I pushed on anyway, through the drain on my energy and the soreness spreading along the muscles in my back, arms, and fins, reminding myself that there was strength in discipline and perseverance.
I felt a measure of gratitude for all of it—the good and the bad. The wondrous and the mundane. As well as the circumstances that brought me here. If the humans hadn’t taken and hoarded the L’even pearl pieces, I may have never met Hazel. And if I hadn’t met Hazel, I likely would have remained inside my kingdom until my dying day. Deep down I knew that, no matter what happened, even if our supply of L’even pearl pieces had dwindled to nothingness, I would have been the last of the Perlnauts to stay.
***
I ENTERED A QUIET KINGDOM, its familiarity welcoming and serene. I wanted to wrap myself with pieces encrusted with L’even pearls and go straight to bed. But my stomach growled furiously. Despite having eaten what sea edibles I’d found during the journey, I was starving.
I sought out the kitchen and dining hall, finding my counselor at one of the tables. He rose and hurriedly made his way toward me.
“Welcome home, your majesty!” He squeezed my shoulders with his hands. “I want to know all that you’ve discovered, but first you must eat.”
I smiled and followed him to a table filled with our usual courses. I slurped up dish after dish, leaving a massive pile of empty shells on the table. I’d never tasted anything so delicious since running out of the server’s provisions.
I told Lorcan of how Hazel had tried to feed me a substance she called fish sticks. The memory of it made me smile. They weren’t shaped like any fish I’d seen. I then proceeded to tell him about all the other happenings, including my encounter with Hazel’s mother, the woman named Cari.
“How unusual,” he said. “Though there are legends written in our ancient texts about Perlnauts who took human form and haven’t returned to the water.”
“Are you suggesting Cari is one of those Perlnauts?”
“I know it may seem far-fetched, but it is a possible explanation.”
I shook my head. “If so, I would expect Hazel to have known about it. She seemed surprised.” I grinned. “If she had such knowledge beforehand, she would have made a strong argument of her mother’s ownership of the jewelry based on having been of Perlnaut ancestry.”
“And she has made no such claims?”
“Correct. She and her mother appear to be as puzzled about us as we are about them.”
***
AFTER DINNER WITH LORCAN, I retired to my room. It was earlier than usual, but the return trip from the creek had taken more out of me than I’d expected. Hazel and her mother would soon visit me, and I looked forward to seeing them again. Something about them felt familiar, somehow. I hadn’t noticed it earlier when Hazel was alone—I’d been so distracted by the L’even pearls’ power. But her mother— When the two were together, it was unmistakable. Almost as if I were with my own family. I hadn’t mentioned this detail to Lorcan because I still was not sure what to make of it, or how to explain to him the feelings that I felt.
I floated lazily to my bed, eager to crawl beneath its cover and rest my head on my pillow. But it seemed someone was already there. His head squashed my pillow, pieces of cattail fluff escaping its casing. His body sprawled across the bed cover woven of soft grasses, stems, and threads of fine silk.
Never had any member of my kingdom done such a thing. The intruder’s anatomy was undeniably Perlnaut, his height and weight comparable to mine.
“What is the meaning of this?” I said.
Eyes snapped open—in every way identical to mine. Familiar lips curved into a smile.
My own lips dropped open. “Acai?”
In a swift motion that I had no strength to counter, the intruder—my twin brother—flipped me over. His tail fin dug into my abdomen. The sting of sharpened bone pierced my neck.
“Welcome home, brother.” He sneered. “I was hoping you’d return to my kingdom.”