Sprite (Annabelle's Story Part One) (8 page)

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).

Swimming 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.

He made it through the hole first, with me close behind. Adrian led the way into the second hole too, but once I emerged, I cut inside of him and took the lead into the final two holes.

After I popped out of the last one, my body angle stopped him from getting around me on the sharp turn and I dove beneath the boulder.

Even if more than one person could’ve fit side-by-side, I was proud to say my technique outmatched Adrian’s and I gained a bit of a lead.

This lead continued into the jet stream. Here, my small size worked to my advantage again as I streamlined my body and went even faster.

I entered the fifth obstacle with a solid two-second advantage over Adrian. To my dismay, the boy mastered the hurdles and we were neck and neck as we rounded the reef. I stole a glance at him. It was a mistake. As he inhaled and exhaled, it defined his abs even further.

I shook my heads to concentrate as he accelerated into the thirty yards to the jet stream. Here, both our competitive streaks were at their peak. While we swam, Adrian bumped into me. I knocked back, jockeying for the best position to enter the jet stream.

As we closed the distance, I had doubts that I moved fast enough to clear the stream. This was where Adrian’s bigger size worked to his advantage. It was easier for my body weight to get swept away into the current.

Before diving through, I closed my eyes and gave an extra kick. I felt the current’s pull on me, but before I knew it, I popped through the other side.

It took a split second to right myself… all the time Adrian needed to pull ahead. I feverously tried to reverse our positions in the final seconds, but he was ahead of me by literally a nose.

In the end, not only did the hot spring scorch me, but Adrian also crossed the finish line by a millisecond.

Talk about kicking a girl when she was down.

I collapsed onto the sand. At least Adrian huffed and puffed beside me.

“One minute, fifty-four seconds,” I heard from behind.

“It is nice to see you both working so hard,” the voice said again. This time I recognized it as YaYa’s.

Rolling over, I slammed my hand against the sand. “Adrian cheated, otherwise I’d have beaten him.”

“What?! No way. I had you the entire time.”

YaYa couldn’t help but laugh. I mean, a laugh where her hand didn’t cover her mouth. It was a rarity.

“I think it is time to go inside,” she said, regaining her composure. “It has gotten dark and tomorrow is sure to be another busy day.”

I hadn’t noticed the darkness until she pointed it out. Above ground, the rising and setting sun determined night and day. Down here, the glowing corals waking up and alternately sleeping caused light and darkness. As I scanned the area, the palace was barely visible in the distance. The corals had called it a night.

I was certainly ready to get something to eat then head to bed myself.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Day two.

I woke up sore. I’ve spent years swimming, but it was different down here. My arm didn’t break the surface with each stroke. Instead, I was forced to adjust to the constant resistance of the water to avoid moving in slow motion. My actions gradually became more natural as I practiced the obstacle course. I suppose it was similar to how I jumped, kicked, turned, or whatever above ground. The thing was, my muscled worked harder to achieve this sameness. I reveled at how seamlessly the merfolk threw the football the other day. I was in awe at the power it took to create that type of trajectory.

My muscles tightened just thinking about it. I already felt bruised and yearned for more sleep.

And, of course, someone knocked at my door.

I sat up in bed and pulled my quilt higher. “Come in.”

Just like yesterday, Adrian burst into my room.

I don’t know how, but he looked like he’d slept for days.

“No fair.”

“What?”

“I feel like I’m eighty years old, and you look perfect.”

“Perfect, eh?”

I shouldn’t have acknowledged his response, but I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, shut up.”

“What? I just wanted to clarify what made me so flawless.”

This time, I ignored him as I climbed out of bed.

Looking down, I cringed at the torn areas and singed marks all over my bodysuit. After training yesterday, I didn’t bother changing before I collapsed into bed.

“Clearly you could use a few minutes,” he commented. “I’ll meet you downstairs?”

Agreeing, I leisurely put on a new bodysuit and headed to the first level.

“Better?” I asked, as I turned the corner into the foyer about ten minutes later.

“Much. Nice sea foam color.”

“I’m sure Natasha would appreciate your use of sea foam instead of simply calling it green.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “Ready to get started?”

“I guess so, what’s in store for us today?”