Heyyyyyyyy! I just finished the artsy stuff ^_^
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If I had to describe my morning with one word. It would be nauseous. Before I won the art contest, before I went to the aquariumâI had a routine. Get up, work out, wash up, eat breakfast while catching up on my favorite tv show, draw, help my dad out at his photography studio, look for a job, dinner then bed. Next day would repeat. Now, I don't even know how my day is going to go every morning.
And that part freaked me out.
I didn't know what's going to happen and I try not to think too much about it. How did I I get here? I recalled all the choices I made; writing my first message to Tristen, drawing Tristen, opening the secret door and returning to the aquarium nearly everyday. All because I waved back to a merman. What have I done? I looked to the right, one of my many sources of my internal chaos.
Bodhi happily bounces along to the music playing from my radio as I drove.
And befriending a crazed mermaid. I mentally added that to my list of choices I made as well. I still couldn't believed I met her twenty four hours ago. It feels like I've known her forever.
I sighed, remembering my parent's shocked face when all the boxes showed up with Bodhi's stuff from the hotel. I spent all morning helping Bodhi moved her shoes to the guest house, trying to not puke. Bodhi made me sit whileâwith her mer super strengthâcarrying three large boxes stacked at once. My eyes had boggled at that and hissed at her to not do that since my mom was home. My dad left to his work.
I restlessly drummed my fingers on my steering wheel.
"I have a theory!" Bodhi shouted over the music.
I turned the music down while the squelching the nausea down. "What?" My skin pricked in nervousness. Was my world about to flip on me again? What's next, vampires?
"Since you're immune to the glamour, maybe you can see through it?" She suggested. Once we made it to the dreaded parking lot of the aquarium, I parked and turned to face her. What did she mean if I can see through it?
"See through what?" I asked.
"The glamour."
Exasperated of not knowing things and disliking how this was becoming an occurring thing. I'm not a fan of surprises. "What is a glamour specifically?" I clarified. "You mentioned it earlier and I thought it was like a spell with no form."
"That's the thing though, glamour is much more complex than a spell." She scoffed. "We're not witches with magic. It's simple science."
More intrigued, "Science?" Finally something I can understand.
"Simple bending of the air, or rather atoms." She shrugged. "I didn't really pay attention in my classes so I couldn't really give you the specifics of how glamour works. To simply put it, we can bend the air around us to alter our appearance as well alter memories."
"We?"
"Beings that are not of the human race, but of sidhe raceâlike the mers, fay, pixies, goblins, incubuses and more."
I stilled. "Pixies are real?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, anyway..." She continued talking, but I didn't hear a single word after that.
"Goblins are real?"
Bodhi stopped. "Meredith, are you listening?"
"Incubi, also known as sex demons... They are real?"
"Shit, are you panicking on me?"
My breathing had increased on me and my truck felt a hundred times smaller. It was too tight in here. My seat belt pressed down on my chest, the belt had become a live boa constrictor, strangling my chest.
"No, no, no. Don't panic." Bodhi unbuckled herself and reached over to unbuckled me as well. "You have to be the sane one, 'cause I can't be the sane one at all."
I whispered. "Are vampires real?"
Bodhi frowned. "Get out of the vehicle now." She opened her door and closed it behind her as she got out. Bodhi darted around the truck and opened my door. Despite her small frame, she managed to carry me out and set me on the ground. She closed my driver's door and opened the back trunk of the pickup. She lifted me once more and sat me down on the trunk door. I gaped at her. She wasn't even breathless from lifting a nearly six feet tall girl like me.
Jesus Christ.
She pointed at me and demanded. "Breathe."
I stared incredulously. "Did you just pick me up and carried me?"
She blinked at me. "Are suffering from memory loss too?" She ran her hands through her hair and wailed. "Oh no! You lost your immunity!"
"What, no!" I yelled. "My memory is fine."
"Oh." Bodhi instantly calms down and she smiled freakily.
I ran a hand down my face. "Why are you so... extra?"
She shrugged. "Maybe to compensate for my petite stature."
I giggled. My breathing returned to somewhat steady.
She exhaled in relief. "Good, you're smiling again. I couldn't have Tristen kick my ass if I broke you."
I rolled my eyes. "He wouldn't do that."
"Of course you would say that. He's your lover." She waggle her brows.
I choked on my spit on mid-swallow, 'cause honestly, how many people can say they start choking on their own spit. I coughed, clearing my throat. "He is not!" I fired back.
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Isâ" I stopped when I realized that I dropped my pride on the ground. It was crying in disappointment at my regression to a five year old. I jumped off my trunkâpicked up my prideâand closed my truck's door. "You're driving me insane."
"Insanity is better than panic. It's much more fun." Bohi grinned madly.
I just shook my head and neared the aquarium. "After that madness, I feel like I can deal with whatever happens inside there."
"That's the plan." We stopped before the aquarium. Bodhi spoke. "Now I want to try something."
Once I was able to have the time panic earlier and get it out of my system. I was prepared for anything. "What is it?"
"Do you see anything around the aquarium?"
I looked at the aquarium. The wide, stout building shine glaringly under the morning sun. The glass dome shimmered from the top of the white building. I shook my head. "No, just the building."
"Hmm... so you're not one of those rare humans who can see past glamours."
"Like psychics?"
Bodhi nodded. "Something like that. But in the Sidhe world, we call them Clovers. That's a story for another time. Right now, we only know that you're not one. That makes it harder to find out why you are immune." She tapped her chin. "Let me see you go through the door."
I reached out to pull the glass door and stepped over the threshold.
Bodhi's eyes boggled. "Whoa."
I jumped back from the door. "What? What is it?" I asked as I searched around me. There was nothing but Bodhi was still staring at the air before the door in awe.
"The glamour moved... Like you made a Meredith shaped door and it didn't even touch you." She exhaled in disbelief. "That was the coolest thing ever!" She waved me away. "Do it again."
I stepped over the threshold of the glass door once more and Bodhi squealed in delight. I returned to Bodhi. Bodhi was jumping up and down in excitement. "That was awesome! It's like you're untouchable!"
I rolled my eyes. "It's kinda cool to think I have a super power." I smiled at such a possibility. "It's too bad it's not super strength."
Bodhi chortled. "But this is handy! Having the ability to crush rock is not." She looked longingly at the aquarium. "I can't go in with you since the glamour would force me to reveal my identity to the dark fay in there." Bodhi smiled sadly at me. "Say hi to Gale for me." Then she narrowed her eyes. "But hands off my man." I rolled my eyes at that. Finally, with her famous grin, she said. "I'll wait for you in the car."
I nodded. "Okay." I waved. "Be back soon." Then I glared in warning. "Don't you do anything to my truck."
"Whelp, there does my plan to take it out for a joy ride." Bodhi said over her shoulder as she walked away.
I shook my head and turned to the glass doors. I took a deep breath, exhaled. Yesterday, I left the aquarium with no knowledge of the sidhe world. And now... I opened the glass door.
Time to face the music.
I cross the threshold and went up to the check in desk. I reached for my wallet to take out the cash. "One ticket please."
"Ms. Meredith."
I jolted at my name and looked at the receptionist.
It was Mr.Grey.
I realized three things at this moment. One, he knows me and my name. That was not good. That means I had his undivided attention, attention that was not to my favor if I were to free the mers. Two, he was not human. He's dark fay. I may not see through glamours but my intuition is telling me he is not mortal. Three, I can't reveal my immunity to glamours, so I must pretend I have memory loss. As if glamours worked on me.
I tilted my head and asked. "I'm sorry, but have we met?"
Mr. Grey sat back in his chair and stared at me. To anyone, it may look like he was getting comfortable, but he looked as if he was... stunned. This really nailed it home for me. Bodhi was right about two things; the memory loss and that he really was a dark fay. Mr. Grey narrowed his eyes. "No..." He said as he leaned forward and smiled. Chill went up my spine but I kept my face neutral. "We have not met. I was mistaken." He gave me a ticket and a receipt. "Enjoy the aquarium."
I nodded politely and scampered out. "Ugh." I ran my hands down my arms, attempting to rid his creep off my skin as if that was possible. I knew he was a creep. Now, he was just a fay creep.
I kept my head down when I walked through the tunnel. At that moment, my stupid brain decided it was a good idea to replay my embarrassing moment that happen in my last visit. My stomach roiled at the memory when I recoiled from Tristen and his stricken face. I hadn't meant to recoil from him. It just that when he reached for me, there had been water dripping from his fingers and I didn't want to come in contact with the droplets.
I groaned as I drag my feet across the merglobe and I heard banging. I turned to the source and Nixie was grinning at me from behind the glass. She waved excitedly at me. Her long blonde hair floated from her crown like little sun rays. Unconsciously I smiled big and waved back. She squealed in excitement and quickly swam back until she vanish completely from my sight. Where did she go? Oh god... did she go and announce my presence to Tristen. I sighed, looks like that little moment I could have to myself while I waited for Tristen was gone. I braced myself and before I went to open the secret door, I made sure I was the only here. I snuck in when I learned that I was safe. I went up the stairs and just before I opened the final door that would lead me to the white room with the water and skylight, I took a breath then twisted the knob.
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