“Yes, Adrian is correct. But Annabelle, we don’t believe that you are just any type of sprite. We believe that you are part of the Aba race.”
“That’s absurd.”
“The prophecy says—”
“The prophecy!” I cut in. “I need a little more than just some prophecy to believe that I’m the only person, I mean sprite, or whatever I am, that can restore order to the Tritons.”
“The prophecy says…” she continued with an even tone, “…that the ‘Second Alpha’ would not fully develop his or her affinities until he or she is eighteen years of age.”
“What affinities?!”
“The ‘First Alpha’ and ‘Second Alpha’ are said to display affinities for earth, fire, wind, and water.”
I learned that the affinity for earth came from the blood of Arethusa, a water fairy. This was because the fae were known to have a strong capacity for healing and medicine from the earth.
The remaining affinities… fire, wind, and water… were attributed to Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon.
Since the Aba were the only ones with the same blood that flowed through their veins from both the Olympian gods and the fresh water sprites, they were the only ones who could breathe in all types of water and possess all four affinities.
Impatience overflowed from my voice. “Okay, whatever, the Aba people had these affinities. So what?”
“Ever since Abas turned his back on the water, his future descendants have been unable to breathe underwater. You clearly have developed that trait,” she said, gesturing her arms to showcase the water surrounding us. “It is my guess that only a few days ago that would not have been the case.”
“It’s true, Annabelle,” Adrian said with a comforting edge to his voice. “Think about it, you already started to show some of the affinities before your eighteenth birthday.”
“Yeah, like what?” I objected, folding my arms in defiance.
“Well, my dear,” YaYa cut in. “If we are not mistaken, you once had plans to start at UCLA to pursue a career in medicine. That is a sign of your early affinity for earth. Your affinity for water developed at a young age as well. You are the star swimmer on your team, are you not?”
“Yeah, but I’m sure there are tons of people who want to be a doctor and who can swim!”
“Yes, of course,” YaYa agreed. “However, your affinity for fire has also been developing. Do you not recall the incident you had in Chemistry the other day?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I said, rolling my eyes before I shifted my gaze to the fading fire. “I just used too much methyl alcohol and, besides, no one was hurt.”
I heard insistence in her voice. “No, Annabelle, the correct amount was administered.”
“What? How would you even know?”
Adrian’s face gave him away. A simple look in his direction made it clear he harbored guilt. “Spill it, Adrian.”
I wasn’t in the mood for games.
His hesitation couldn’t be missed. “We’ve been watching you for years to see if you could be the ‘Second Alpha.’”
My words came out very slow, very deliberate. “What do you mean you’ve been watching me?”
“Well as Guardians we imprison those caught doing wrong to try to keep the evil sprites in line. But we also scouted out humans that could’ve been ‘the one’ to protect them from the Trackers.”
“What? The Trackers watched me too?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, we weren’t ever going to let them hurt you.”
“All right, back up,” I said raising my hands. “You’re telling me that both Guardians and Trackers creepily watched my every move?”
“Why, yes, Annabelle,” YaYa responded, taking some of the heat off of her grandson. “The Trackers have an interest in finding the conch shell as well. They knew we were in pursuit of it to restore order. This is an outcome they wish to avoid at all costs. Their end goal is to destroy the conch shell once and for all. If this happens, mankind will never stand a chance against them.”
“Okay, but why do you need to protect this so-called ‘chosen one’ from the Trackers?”
For once, her eyes didn’t look solely serious. Sympathy lurked in the depths as well. “For many years, the Trackers sought to identify the ‘Second Alpha’ in a not so civil way. They simply kidnapped anyone who they deemed as ‘the one,’ luring the unsuspecting human to the water. There, he or she drowned. The Trackers had one goal: see if the man or woman breathed the water. Of course, none of them did. Many innocent were lost.”
“How were you guys more civil? I do recall Clemente kidnapping me and trapping me in a net before that whole drowning thing.”
With a sigh, YaYa continued, “Yes, Clemente’s actions were somewhat severe, but the circumstances were different this time. He had very little time to react.”
I opened my mouth to speak.
“Ordinarily…” she quickly continued, “…we try to befriend the human to better scout if he or she displayed any developing affinities. This is something the Trackers adopted over time as well. For us, it was to make sure that we were not going to hurt the innocent. For the Trackers, they wanted to draw less Guardian attention to themselves.”
“I don’t recall anyone befriending me though.”
“But, Annabelle—” Adrian started.
“Adrianus,” YaYa said hastily. “I am sure Annabelle has learned a great deal today and she must be hungry and tired. Tomorrow will be a busy day and she needs her rest.”
I really was, I thought. I hadn’t realized it before with all the commotion of the day, but as Adrian led me out of the room it really hit me.
A lot had happened today: I arrived in Tritonis, I caught pieces of my first merfolk football game, there was a lesson on the different types of sprites, I was given a quick look into Greek mythology and this prophecy, and to top it all off, I was bombarded with the fact that I may be this so-called “Second Alpha.”
I understood what the prophecy was saying. There was the first dude, who hid the shell so he wouldn’t be controlled, and then things got crazy with the malevolent sprites, and now there was a second person that could help find the shell again. But it was the part about me being this second person that I wasn’t convinced of—at all.
I accepted the fact that I was some hybrid between a human and a sprite. That part was undeniable due to the fact that I didn’t drown, but I needed more proof before I believed my involvement in this crazy prophecy.
I guess I’d just have to wait and see what tomorrow would bring.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I woke up feeling fresh but still skeptical about this whole prophecy thing. I also woke up with someone else in my room.
“Hello?”
“Oh hi. I’m sorry if I woke you,” the mermaid responded in a quiet voice and a quick bow.
“Um, no. Don’t worry about it,” I said, climbing out of bed. I nonchalantly assessed my appearance in the nearby mirror.
Shutting my wardrobe doors, she added, “I was just checking to make sure you have everything you needed. How do you like your clothing?”
She gave off a practical vibe. She had dark hair and serious looking eyes, a similar height to me, and she was around my age, too. She didn’t wear any type of jewelry, only a shirt that covered her torso. At first glance, it was probably the same type of material that I wore.
I felt the need to reassure her. “Oh it’s great. Really comfortable. Almost feels like I’m not wearing anything at all.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“That’s good to hear. I was responsible for figuring out what you’d wear. It’s a little different to make clothing for someone who doesn’t have fins,” she said, looking down at her own.
With that, there was a quick knock on the door before it flung open.
A smile spread across my face at Adrian leaning casually against the doorframe.
After a quick scan of the room, he said, “Oh, hi Natasha.”
It was weird, b
ut Natasha didn’t say anything. She just quietly bowed then backed towards the wall until she became part of the decor.
Adrian didn’t acknowledge her movements as he darted across the room and onto my bed, pushing aside my canopy.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said with a jovial tone to his voice.
I crossed the room to the window, rays of light streaming in. “What time is it?”
“It’s pushing eleven. Guess you really needed your sleep.”
He was right. I was normally a morning person.
“Are you ready to get our day started?”
“Do I have a choice?” I joked.
“Nope. It’s your first day of training.”
“Training?” I said with a laugh as I swam back toward him. I didn’t see why that was necessary.
He eyed me oddly. “You don’t expect to go in pursuit of the coins without preparing first, do you?”
Ugh.
There was that prophecy again. I really thought they had the wrong girl. Besides, I didn’t even agree to go on this mission.
Adrian touched my arm as an attempt at solidarity, perhaps. “I get it, Annabelle, we dropped a lot on you at once. How ‘bout this? We’ll spend a few days training while you wrap your head around all of this stuff. Then we’ll see where you stand. We really need you, but we also want you to help us.”
Of course I wanted to help them, but I didn’t know if I could help them in the way they thought I could. This also jogged my memory on something YaYa had said yesterday.
I settled next to him on the bed. “What had your grandmother meant when she said that I once had plans to go to UCLA?”
Adrian paused a moment. “Well, things may get pretty dangerous. That’s why we gotta prepare. Although, I think what YaYa really meant was that she hopes you’ll decide to stay in Tritonis even after you recover Triton’s conch shell.”
“Stay here?! But what about my family?”
“I’m not telling you that you need to stay. YaYa is just concerned about the future of Tritonis.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s kind of hard to talk about. It’s about my family.”
In response, I sat quietly and waited for him to go on. I didn’t want to pressure him into talking about something that was too difficult for him.
He collected himself first, eyes downcast. “When I was just a boy the Trackers attacked me and my family while we returned from a trip to visit the Mami Wata. Even though we were protected my little sister and my mother were both captured.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks, like I said, it was a long time ago.”
Even still, I saw the hurt in his eyes as he continued. “Normally, the rescue party wouldn’t include the King and his son, but my grandfather and my dad insisted on going due to their grief.”
This time, it was my turn to show my solidarity. Just like Adrian, I rested my hand on his arm.
“I wanted to go, too,” he added. “But my family told me that I was too young.”
So kicking and screaming, YaYa forced Adrian to stay behind. He watched the others leave. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t ever watch them return. Adrian soon became the last male left in Triton’s bloodline.
I really had no response. Watching Adrian’s face as he told the story was almost unbearable.
Finally, I was able to muster a quiet, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Really. I’m just happy that I’ll now have the opportunity to avenge my family. YaYa hopes one day I’ll start my own family with someone who can help strengthen our bloodline. Someone like… you.”
“Me?” I said, with a choked laugh. “Not only do I have a boyfriend, but I’m still not convinced I have any of the affinities you guys say I do.”
“I guess we shall see,” he said confidently, ignoring my reference to Blake. “How ‘bout we get started before YaYa has someone track us down? Besides, this convo is too heavy for the morning hours.”
I readily agreed, happy to put an end to our now awkward situation.
It was odd though; as we left the room I realized that Natasha had slipped out quietly at some point.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Day one.
When we first got to Tritonis I saw the horse ring and stables, but I hadn’t noticed the obstacle course that extended behind it.
I was an adventurous girl. I liked a challenge. I actually enjoyed swim practice, pushing myself to the limit. I figured even if I didn’t quite believe in all this mumbo jumbo, I could still have some fun with the training.
Before we got started, Adrian wanted to slowly swim through all the points in the course. I wanted to just give it a try, but he insisted I followed him first.
The start reminded me of a fifty-yard dash: just a straight swim to the second obstacle.
Here, there was a wall with a hole about chest-high big enough for an average-sized merman to fit through. Once through that hole, another wall waited about two feet away with another hole on the far side. In total we zigzagged through four walls with holes at varying heights.
After we emerged from the last hole, Adrian demonstrated in slow motion the sharp left turn. He exaggerated what’d happen if I wasn’t quick enough as he dramatically bounced off the large rock on the other side. I tried to hide my smile from him.
We moved straight ahead to the third obstacle. It looked like a huge boulder. But right before we got to it, the earth cut away for us to swim underneath. The thing was, it was a tight squeeze, even for a girl my size. It was definitely a one merfolk at a time portion of the course. Adrian led the way, taking his time. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew a grin stretched across it as I pushed him from behind. Tight spaces were not my friend.
Next, we swam toward the right about ten or so yards before we entered a jet stream. It shot us forward another four hundred yards before we rolled out to the right. The key was to time this perfectly so we weren’t thrown off course.
The fifth obstacle consisted of five hurdles about three feet apart. The idea was to go over the first one, under the second, and so on until through them all.
Leading up to the sixth point, we caught our breath as we made a wide right turn around a bunch of reef. Once at the straightaway, speed was crucial and break time was over.
A solid pace was necessary before cutting across the jet stream. Adrian said otherwise I’d get sucked back into the current and right back to obstacle five. In fact, he said some merfolk got stuck on obstacle five and six multiple times, which sounded exhausting.
For the sake of the demonstration, Adrian suggested we just swim under the jet stream. It worked for me. Finally, we reached the final obstacle. A cliff-face stood tall on either side and above, forcing us forward. It wasn’t a direction I wanted to go because Diving through a hot spring provided the only exit from the narrow passageway. A non-stop stream of geothermally heated bubbles spewed from the ocean floor, creating a wall. It looked terrifying.
The one positive… it took only a split second to swim through. Still, knowing I was about to scorch myself was nerve wracking. Of course, Adrian didn’t help. The guy had no compassion and pushed me into the bubbles when I hesitated.
Thankfully, the finish line was on the other side.
Call me crazy, but even after Adrian and I swam slowly through the course, I was eager to try it on my own.
I felt secretly relieved that I’d already mastered the jet stream and I wouldn’t embarrass myself the first time through the course.
Turned out, embarrassment came in other ways. A lot of ‘em too.
Although it took some work to perfect my swim stroke, I eventually achieved an impressive time in the fifty-yard dash.
The second obstacle gave me a little more trouble. I moved through the holes too quickly and wound up bouncing into the next wall.
I also learned to take the last hole a little slower after I smashed into the rock on the other side (multiple times).
S
wimming under the boulder turned out to be less scary by myself. In fact, I self-taught myself a great technique where I propelled forward with my hands against the sand. I think my smaller size helped as well.
To my relief, I handled the jet stream like a pro. Getting out took a little more work. I overshot my exit a few times and was too quick to roll out a handful of others. Soon enough, I recognized my sweet spot.
Now, the hurdles I liked. I enjoyed swerving up and down to navigate the fifth obstacle. Good thing, too, because it took more attempts than I liked to admit to gather enough momentum to shoot myself through the jet stream. Each time my lungs heaved as I made the long turn around the reef.
Then, came the hot spring. In my mind, I heard the four-note opening sonata of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The sounds of his piano forced me forward. I literally emerged from the bubbles with tiny singe marks on my bodysuit.
We were at it for hours, frustrating myself with a different portion of the course each try. Adrian and I alternated turns to give each other a much-needed breather and a chance to fuel up.
Finally, and I mean, finally, I completed a perfect run through the course. After I proudly swam back to Adrian, I asked him for my time.
“One minute, fifty-nine seconds,” he said. “Your best time yet. Good job.”
“Thanks. So, what’s your personal best?” My competitive side was bound to surface.
“One minute, fifty-two seconds,” he responded, smugly.
“All right. We’re racing.”
With a chuckle, he immediately headed to the starting line.
Once in position, he looked me up and down. “You sure you wanna do this?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
He waited for me to join him. By the look in his eyes, I could tell the wheels spun in his head, trying to think of an insult, a jab, a macho remark… something.
“I said I’m ready.”
“All right then. Get ready. Get set. Go!”
We were off to the races.
Thanks to my perfected stroke, I kept up with Adrian throughout the fifty-yard dash. Just a few days ago, this wouldn’t have been the case.
Sprite (Annabelle's Story Part One) Page 6
