Our Fated Tail

Seren

She looked at me expectantly. Like I was just supposed to let her go off on her own like this. She didn't even have control of her own body. My arm shot out and held her waist. She stiffened and her glow dimmed down as she looked into my eyes. Her beautiful green eyes were now completely white. Nothing but white and it made me sad. I loved her eyes. Her hands rested on my shoulders and she shook her head. 

"I have to go now Eren," she whispered. I stood there motionless as she pulled away from my arms. A smile graced her face. "You'll be seeing me again. Goodbye." 

The glow around her intensified and I watched her bolt back down into the cavern she had come from. There was a burst of light from the bottom then nothing. I could've sworn that I heard her cry, but by then, Father and Cobius were dragging me back towards home. She had just left. Just like that. Couldn't I have helped her? Did she not trust me to try?

The next few days were hard. I woke up every morning to Georgia knocking on my door and giving me breakfast. Then I would make my way to the throne room. Where I sat in my throne next to my father and tried not to stare at the stool in between us. It was ridiculous, because I wasn't courting her. She wasn't my property. Yet, I couldn't help but miss her so much. Seeing Cobius kiss her... I don't know why it made me so angry. Shelby sat every day on Father's other side and was a good little girl. She was such a pain in my tail. Whenever I looked at my father, he gave me a pitying look before turning back to his subject. 

Currently, I was swimming around outside of the castle for some fresh water. It was intoxicating in there. The guards who were told by my father to watch me when I was alone were playing around and not looking at me. I took that chance to bolt. 

I shot through the water with strong flicks of my tail. I pushed as hard as I could go. In no time, I found myself in front of the cavern. It was black and ominous looking. A sinking feeling was in my gut, telling me this was a bad idea. As I stared into the abyss, the feeling got worse. Then there was a bright flash of light. My heart stopped and I moved towards the entrance. Then I went in. 

It was dark and cold down there. I could feel the goosebumps covering every inch on my skin. I swam around jutted rocks and tangling kelp patches. At the bottom, I saw her. 

She was laying on a rock outcropping and her hair splayed everywhere around. I swam down to her and touched her shoulder. There was a flash of light and a tentacle wrapped around my throat. Venenifer glared down at me with contempt. Her lifeless white eyes pierced into me and I felt the tentacle tighten around my throat. There was a glow around her that dimmed suddenly. 

"Eren?" Anilena's voice mixed with Venenifer's made my ears tingle. "What are you doing here? Why did you come here?" 

"You have to come back. Please?" 

"I can't. Eren, I...I killed two people! I don't have control of my powers yet," she whispered. 

I watched as she changed. Her hair shortened and returned to its original brown. Her eyes turned back to green and then I saw her tail. The tentacles all retracted and her tail formed as she stretched her body. Anilena fell against my chest and I had to sit her away from my skin. She was burning up. There was a dullness in her eyes that broke my heart. I wanted to tell her about my mother but I didn't think that she was ready for it yet. I didn't think I was ready either. She gave me a shy smile and let out a deep breath. 

"So you came here because...?" She asked in a slow and distant voice. As if she didn't want to have to talk to me. 

I sat up and scowled at her. "You left. I came to take you back." 

This in turn, caused her to get off the rock and glare at me venomously. "I can't go back there Prince Seren," She hissed. "I can't control myself and I've already killed three people in my life. I'm not going to kill anymore. Now go away. Don't come back." 

She took my silence as an opportunity to escape. Or try. She shot past me and my arm went out to catch her around the waist. Her body was still warm as my skin touched her soft scales. Her skin was like silk. I shook the odd thoughts from my mind and pulled her back to me. She looked so upset that I almost regretted not letting her leave. But I took one look into those emerald eyes and I didn't regret anything. Anilena was probably worth the now burning sensation in my arm that was wrapped around her heated skin. She pushed against my chest and swam to the other side of the cavern. There was a guarded look in her eyes that twisted my heart. 

"Please," I begged. "Please come back with me Anilena. We can help you. We've been in this situation before. Just let me help you." 

Those white eyes were there. But everything else was Anilena. Venenifer had taken over the conversation. "You are not welcome here prince. She doesn't need help. She needs people to understand. What happened with Clarissa and Medeis was tragic. You all were very welcoming until she got too angry and injured a couple people. Nobody tried to keep her from swimming towards that cavern to face those guards.

You all knew what would happen. She was weak so they locked up your king and your sister and you. She died at the hands of several of your precious Royals and you did nothing to punish them. I will not take that chance with Anilena. She is special." 

I swam across the cavern up close to her. Anilena's eyes flickered as she stared at me. She was arguing with Venenifer. I could tell. The water around me began to warm up and I back pedaled as fast as possible, ready to bolt if needed. Her body began to glow and she held her head in her hands, tail flicking to keep off the ground. My body subconsciously moved to the entrance of the cavern, knowing how bad this could get. When I saw her struggling, it reminded me of my mother. Whenever she was upset or her other half thought she was in danger, she would excuse herself and bolt out of the castle. Looking at Anilena, my heart constricted painfully. As soon as I was about to bolt from the increasing temperatures, it cooled down. Anilena fell to the ground and she was shaking like kelp in a hurricane. Immediately, I rushed to her side. She struggled to lift her head. Her hair was floating everywhere and I moved it from her face. 

Anilena's lips pulled up into a faint smile before her green eyes rolled up into the back of her head. As I lifted her body gingerly into my arms, I gasped at the heat of her skin. It was still warm from her fight with Venenifer. I flicked my tail and shot out of the cavern, slowly and steadily making my way back home. Anilena would roll slightly in my hold and I would have to stop and shift her around. Then we were followed a few minutes by a school of tuna, until a shark went past us. The water around was clear and beautiful. I could see rays of sunlight piercing through the water as I continued towards the castle. Seaweed swayed on the ocean floor and Anilena started murmuring in her sleep, clutching my torso. 

Finally, we approached the castle. Only to be bombarded by guards. They were yelling and I felt Anilena's skin warming as she began stirring from her sleep. 

"People! Stop!" I ordered. Everyone went silent. "I am holding a woman who, when she feels threatened, will boil the water around her and I do not want to be burnt to a crisp. So shut up and let us through before she wakes up." 

I was given space to pass and I went straight to her room. Georgia was sitting on her bed, holding some of the things Anilena had in the room. I noticed the silver ring on a chain in her hand. It looked familiar. Before I could think hard about it, Georgia sprung up and rushed to me. Anilena was ripped from my grasp and laid on her bed as the maid zipped past me. I was ordered to watch her with a playfully stern glance before she left. 

I sat next to Anilena and brushed her hair from her forehead and leaned down to her ear. "Anilena? Can you hear me?" 

"I don't want to go to school today," she groaned and turned away. 

I shook her lightly. "Wake up, Anilena. Come on," I urged. 

"What...?" 

She looked at me then around the room. She sat up just as Georgia rushed back in with a cloth and some food. Anilena's stomach made a gurgling noise and her cheeks flushed. I spent the next hour or so watching the maid fuss over her and scold her for leaving. Every once in a while, I would catch her staring at me or she would brush her arm against mine. Each touch or look would leave a warm feeling in my body or a flutter in my gut. Georgia finally stopped and thrust the food at Anilena and she ate it silently. I was worried when she only ate half of it and slid it away. Until she got up and grabbed something off the top of her dresser. She tied her hair back and came back to continue eating. 

As soon as she finished, my father came in with a grin. Shelby was behind him with a deadly glare. Anilena swam forward to him and he grasped her in a hug. My eyes bulged out of their sockets at the sight. Father has never hugged someone who wasn't his child. Shelby was practically breathing fire. Anilena back away and gave a polite bow. Her hair covering the red tint of her cheeks. I grinned and went over to her side. When I placed my hand on the small of her back, her body tensed up and she shivered. Father seemed to have noticed and his grin grew wider. 

"Ray! Welcome home child," Father said gently. "We've missed you. Why don't you come with us to the throne room. We have much to talk about." 

She nodded shyly and followed him down the hall. Shelby and I followed behind. I looked at my sister to see her glaring at Anilena. Her hands were fisted so tightly, I could see the tendons in her hand. If she hurt Anilena in anyway... 

"Eren!" 

I looked to my father. "Yes, sir?" 

"You are taking Ray up to the surface." 

Shelby stopped moving and looked at me. She opened her mouth to say something but shut it. Then she turned around and fled to her chambers. Anilena looked at me worried and I came to her side. "Of course, Father. If we leave now, we can get there before the sun sets." 

With a nod, we were dismissed and Anilena fled to her room. Following concerned, she came back with the chain and ring. As she put it on, I saw a long jagged pink scar on her forearm. I gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me to examine it. She tried to pull her arm away and I held on tighter. The scar was an angry pink, as if it were just healing completely. It was so long and I didn't like how it looked. 

She pried my hands off. "Eren, I'm fine. I scraped my arm, I'm not going to die. Let's just go." 

I gave her a look and stood in front of her. "What happened to your arm Anilena?" 

"Nothing! I don't have to answer to you. We aren't dating so what I do isn't any of your business," she spat. 

I watched her zip past me, her tail slapping into my side. This caused me to lurch to the side and I just stared after her. Where did that come from? My mouth was stuck in a permanent frown as I followed her through the halls of the castle. People that passed us gave her looks of contempt and shied away from her. I responded with glares that made them turn their heads from us. As we left the castle, guards went to follow us but I waved them off. Anilena obviously didn't want to be around any of us right now. Speeding up, I moved to swim up next to her so that I could show her the way to the surface spot our people went to. It was a small dock area that was secluded and had a small boat with money and clothing. As we swam to the top, I pulled her to a stop about twenty feet from the surface. She looked back at me with a severe expression. Her eyes flickered to my hand wrapped around her biceps so I let go. 

"I have to go before you, Anilena." 

She snorted. "And why is that?" 

"Because once we get so close to the surface, we change into our human forms. Usually when we get about five feet away so that we can swim up to the docks," I explained. 

She blushed and I blinked. The blood was pooling in beneath her cheeks, making her look away from me. With a nod, I was dismissed. So I quickly swam towards the surface. I felt the numbing feeling of my tail splitting and morphing into a pair of legs. I kicked to the docks as fast as I could before pulling myself up. Nobody was around and I sprinted to the boat, my legs wobbling slightly under me. It had been a while since I had been on land. The boat was unlocked and I got in without a problem. Being stealthy, I slipped on a pair of black swimming trunks and a red t-shirt before grabbing a towel for Anilena. Grabbing a rock from the ground on the way to the edge of the dock, I tossed it in and hoped that she realized that it meant to come up. I set the towel on a post and went back to the boat to wait. I heard a splash and Anilena grumbling. Smirking, I looked up as she came into the boat. Her hair was pulled to the side and she was wrapped in the long beach towel. There was frustration and humiliation in her eyes as she glared at me. 

She pointed to the outside and I was shoved out of the boat so she could change. I laughed as I heard her trip and let loose a few words. Then it was silent as she looked for her clothes. The heat was a little suffocating, but the sky was a brilliant violet and orange as the sun began to set. Birds were squawking at each other and a few critters skittered around at the edge of the woods towards the south where a thickly wooded area was. Everything was beautiful. I smiled at the briny smell of the ocean as the wind blew in from the waters. The door opened.