**hope y'all like this chapter! it's a fun one... **

Chapter 30

"I can't stay long," Eli said, his hand flying out to stop the door before Aveline could close it on him. "May I come in? Please?"

Aveline cast a glance to the dark, cranberry-colored cloak she'd laid out on her bed. It was still early. "Fine."

Slowly, Eli strolled into her bedroom, folding his hands together behind his back as he carefully scanned the space. "Are you going somewhere?"

Perhaps Eli was more observant than she gave him credit for, Aveline thought in mild frustration. "Nothing. A walk."

He pivoted on his heel to face her, a dimple forming in his tanned cheek.

After their conversation with Lord Guernot, Aveline had went right back to her room; she had her own research to do, and she hadn't particularly wanted to be around anyone. Not that Eli had allowed this; he'd come knocking only a few moments later.

Aveline looked at him now, reluctantly. When he angled his head to give her a knowing stare, a blonde lock of his hair fell messily to the side, and Aveline swallowed.

Eli couldn't stay here another moment. Any longer, and Aveline would push him up against a wall and kiss him senseless.

The thought made her blink. She wasn't normally a reckless person. Lately it seemed like her impulses were controlling her, not the other way around.

Eli collapsed onto her sofa and let out a frustrated groan.
"Look, Aveline, you're upset that I didn't tell you about my father, I know that. Can we at least discuss this?" He extended a hand for her to join him, the gesture soft and almost pleading. Aveline sucked in a nervous breath. Dammit.

She took his hand and, as he pulled him towards her, she slid onto his lap— not because it was necessarily the wisest decision in that moment, but because she wanted to.
Eli closed his mouth with a snap, his hands clasping almost mechanically around her waist.

Aveline let her fingers tangle into his hair.
"I don't want to talk about that."

Eli pushed towards her before she could say anything more, and as she let her lips skim lazily over his, Aveline wasn't thinking about the ever-present unsettled, borderline nausea she'd been experiencing in her stomach, or the jumpiness she felt whenever she heard a noise. Finally. She sighed, like a release, at his mouth moving under hers.

For just a few short moments, Aveline let Eli take her breath from her in a tangle of messy, desperate kisses. His stubble scratched lightly against her skin, and she dug her nails into his scalp.

She knew she was making a mistake, she knew it because she wasn't thinking, about anything other than how good he felt, and how he tasted, like wine and something sweet, and-

A knock sounded at the door, yanking Aveline out of her haze. She hastily pulled away from Eli as he froze under her.

Aveline wiped her mouth self-consciously, sure her lip rouge had smeared to nonexistence. "Who is it?"

"Eli?" Someone said uncertainly.

"I know, Jack. I'll be there in five minutes." Eli sighed, his eyes closing in exasperation, and then opening again. "Guernot called a meeting about this whole Verignes drug business."

"That's alright. I have to go, anyway, I'm meeting Ari." Aveline's hands fell from Eli's shoulders, but he tightened his grip on her waist as if to secure her there.

"I wish I could just keep you here, with me."

Aveline leaned forward to steal a kiss on his nose, and was rewarded with a lopsided grin.
"I am here." But she knew what he meant, and her stomach tightened at the thought.

She climbed off of his lap and straightened her dress. She glanced once in the mirror at her mussed hair and exhilarated expression, and made a face. "You should go."

"I suppose so. I'll find you after."

To her surprise, a whole group of guards waited for them in the hallway, including Princess Camille. Aveline lifted her chin, hoping she didn't look too flushed.

"I'm coming!" Eli called, laughing as he, hurried to catch up with his group, and Aveline watched him go, a fond, sad sort of feeling pulling at her.

"Aveline," Camille greeted. Aveline was surprised she had even remembered her name.

"Your Highness."

"You are having a fine evening, then?"

Aveline replied with a few relaxed pleasantries, smiling politely as if she hadn't just been kissing one of Camille's guards in her bedroom.

"I was just telling Lyla that you all need to visit more often. Verignes hosts the best parties, do we not?"

"Naturally." Ugh, she had enough to deal with right now than to have to worry about putting up a front for the princess. Normally, Aveline was good at this sort of thing, but she'd felt so erratic and out of control lately, she couldn't bring herself to say anything else.
Instead, Aveline simply locked her gaze on the marble floors. Perhaps Camille would think she was tired, and take the hint. But the princess only pressed further.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

Before she could stop herself, Aveline's eyes automatically darted to Eli as he dutifully led his guards back down the corridor.
She bobbed a quick curtsy in place of an answer, but the princess had already followed her gaze.

"I see." Understanding soaked her tone. "You know, Aveline, you don't strike me as the type to let your emotions affect your judgement."

It was such an un-Camille like thing to say that Aveline was almost stunned.
"I'm not."

"Fine, then." The princess tossed a layer of shimmering red hair over her shoulder, something like defiance sparking in her blue eyes as she called to the guards over her shoulder. "Eli, darling, don't forget your princess!"

"We're waiting, Highness," came his echo from somewhere in the hallway, and triumph flashed across Camille's pretty, aquiline features as she pointedly faced Aveline.

If the princess had been searching for a reaction, she wouldn't find one. Aveline pivoted on her heel and calmly returned to her room.

She ignored Camille's stare boring into her back and pushed down her rising bitterness. Right now, she had other problems to take care of.

-

Aveline snuck out of the palace just before dawn.

It was much easier to slip in and out of the dark hallways without an entire group tailing behind her. She spotted Guernot murmuring with a few palace guards in the parlor; they didn't notice her pass by.

The sky remained the speckled violet color of twilight as she left. The evening left a slight chill, and Aveline folded her arms over each other inside the velvet of her cloak.

She paused once at the edge of the woods, peeking over her shoulder at the palace behind her. All was still, soundless.

Finally Aveline took a breath, pulled her hood over her head, and ducked into the forest.

It was a bit more difficult to navigate her way without Kai as a guide. Aveline didn't bother looking where she was going; the witches likely knew she was here the second she stepped into the trees.

Her hands trembled— but not because she was frightened. Aveline suspected she could run around the island three times and still feel the need to let off steam. She counted her breaths as she walked.

When Aveline had wandered deep enough that she couldn't see the path she walked on, she stopped. Lifted her hood off of her hair. The sounds of early birds in the forest echoed around her, occasionally the snapping of a twig.

"Dahlia?" Aveline's hands balled into fists. "I know you're there."

For a moment, there was only the rustle of leaves through the evening wind, and Aveline thought she was alone. A breeze tickled one of her curls, winding it around her neck, and she jerked it back.

Finally the young woman materialized from behind a tree trunk, her long, dark hair blending in with the night.
"Miss Dimitri? What are you doing here?"

Aveline whirled towards her.
"What the hell did you do to me?!"

"I don't understand-"

"Did you know? Is that why you gave us the tea? What are you playing at?" She demanded, her hands tingling; she wanted to hit something. Anything. Maybe even Dahlia, who was leaning backwards, alarm written clearly across the pale, almost translucent planes of her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly.

"The tea. What was in it?"

"It's only medicine, Aveline, it keeps your system in its natural state-"

"Stop saying that. Stop." Aveline stepped forward, intending to grab the woman by her collar and shove her backwards. A rustle in the bushes stopped her.

"Miss Aveline?" The soprano, youthful voice made Aveline's adrenaline freeze in her veins. Marcie cautiously stepped out from behind a blackberry bush just a moment later, her small hands curling over each other. "Is that you?"

The sight of the child vanished Aveline's temper as soon as it came. What the hell was she doing?
"Marcie?"

"Is everything alright?"

Aveline was left with shame and horror as she watched alarm play across Marcie's childlike features. She stumbled back, catching a tree trunk with one hand to steady herself. The quiet sounds of the forest seemed to roar in her ears until she could barely hear anything else.

"You're unwell," Dahlia seemed to realize, then.

Aveline gave a bitter laugh. "I'd say so." She unclasped the bronze button on her cloak and rolled up her sleeves. She still couldn't hear anything. What was wrong with her?
Her voice fell to a whisper. "Come with me. Please," she pleaded, tears pricking the back of her eyes, "I need help."

The shoreline was barely five moments out from the forest. The sun just began to burst over the horizon as they approached the sea, and Dahlia silently followed her to the rocks with Marcie trailing just behind.

Finally Aveline plopped herself down on one of the mossy boulders, just by the water, and plunged her foot into the ocean. Droplets splashed onto her cheeks, stinging them like fiery sparks, and she gritted her teeth.

This time it didn't take long for her feet to discolor. Her toes began to numb and stiffen together, and Dahlia, who had crouched down beside her, gasped.

"Y-you're glowing, miss," Marcie stuttered, pointing at her foot. Aveline yanked her leg back up onto the wet stone before the pain could worsen, and the three watched in silence as her mangled foot rearranged itself back into place. The pain hadn't gotten any easier, either. It felt as if someone had broken her bones, one by one, then somehow mashed them back together.

"Ah." Dahlia's reaction brought Aveline some comfort; she peered over her horrific morphing limbs as if scrutinizing a fascinating scientific experiment. "You're not entirely human, are you, Aveline?"

-

"So you're a mermaid?"

At least, out of this mess, Marcie seemed to be ecstatic. Dahlia had Aveline sitting on a wooden table near her cabin as she examined Aveline's legs, while the young child hopped about and tittered excitedly.

Dahlia exhaled and removed the round spectacles that she'd stuck on the bridge of her nose. "Yes, Marcie, she is. Now put your energy to use and pass me that water pitcher."

Aveline, for once, couldn't think of anything to fill the silence. She wondered if she was in shock, or maybe she was just numb. Her legs still felt all tingly.
After a moment, Dahlia spoke again.
"Do your friends know you're here?"

"No," Aveline said shortly. Lyla and Jamie would ask questions, Eli would insist on coming with her, and Ari already had enough to worry about. "They don't know anything about this."

"Are you going to tell them?"

Aveline tucked her cloak tighter around her and shivered in place of a response. The quiet returned for a brief moment.

"I hope you can forgive my behavior. It was inexcusable." Shame burned onto Aveline's cheeks. Her actions had been so impulsive, so wild; resembling an Aveline from years ago who she'd thought was buried and gone. Even now she couldn't understand how she'd lashed out so brazenly.

"It is of no consequence." Dahlia didn't appear to be harboring any concern as she took the pitcher from Marcie and scrutinized it with narrowed eyes. "Aggression is an expected symptom of the strenuous changes your body is experiencing. Careful, this may be cold."

Aveline focused her nervous energy into twisting her hands together as Dahlia dumped a bit water onto Aveline's bare calves. The chill prodded goosebumps on Aveline's arms.

"I am curious, however," Dahlia added, her focus on her work, "how you are able to maintain a human form."

Aveline wiggled her toes. She could still feel them. "I was given a formula that changed my body composition."

"Interesting. I did not think such a thing existed." Dahlia sounded fascinated. "And you don't recall what sort of substance this was?"

"I hardly remember. I was a child when it happened." Aveline shifted uncomfortably; speaking of her sometimes muddled past always unnerved her. "The man who gave it to us was wealthy. Privileged. I imagine he had the sort of resources to acquire rare and exotic things."

"So you've functioned as a human ever since?"

"More or less."

"And then my medicine, intended to protect you from invasive substances, reversed the effects." Dahlia shook her head. "Extraordinary."

It wasn't the word Aveline would use, but she said nothing.

"Well, your feet appear to be normal." Dahlia stood back, planting her hands on her hips. "And you've been taking your baths as usual?"

"Right."

"With none of the symptoms?"

"I take this to mean that you don't know how to stop it from happening."

"No, I'm sorry. Such things are beyond our skill."

Aveline let out a shaky breath, pushing her hair back from her face. "That's alright. I suspected as much."

"If it helps, it looks as if the transformation won't complete until you immerse yourself into the sea properly," Dahlia offered. "That's why your skin appears fluorescent and hardens when you touch saltwater; your body is attempting to change."

"I could just never swim again," said Aveline, not really sure she was joking, and Dahlia gave her a quick, sad smile.

"A pirate who can't set foot in the ocean. Such an ironic circumstance."

"Better than a pirate mermaid."

"If I may ask," Dahlia began politely, "why do you despise your inherent form so much?"

Aveline looked away. "You don't know what it's like."

Dahlia didn't press her further. She helped Aveline down from the table, then began rummaging around in one of her wooden cabinets. Marcie finally seemed to grow tired of running among the trees but refused to return to her own bed and instead curled up in a contented ball under an oak tree.

"I'm not sure about the lasting effects you'll have from stalling the transformation, but I do have something that can counteract the physical agitation and mood changes." Finally Dahlia resurfaced with a small vial. "Care for more of my medicine? This one I can promise won't turn you into anything."

Aveline let her shoulders fall back down. "Thank you, Dahlia."

"Just take a little every day with your tea-"

Two figures burst through the trees before Dahlia could finish her sentence. Aveline jumped, her hand automatically shooting to the dagger at her hips, but it was just Kai and Eli. Both were panting, as if they'd been running.

"Aveline!" Eli jogged the last few feet up to her. "What are you doing? I was worried!"

"Worried?" Aveline looked at him blankly. "I don't understand."

"I've been looking for you everywhere." His tone turned urgent. "Ari and Lyla are missing."

**I'm not really sure what to say, tbh. I hope that answered some questions.**