A V I V A

All I see is blue.

It's an icy blue, with specks of cerulean splattered here and there. Swirls of azure mixed with cyan and droplets of sapphire engulfed within the depths of indigo fractals. Waves upon waves overlap above my small, fragile body. It is not water, nor is it ice, but it's something more than that of mist.

The dome of blue acts as a shield, protecting me from what's beyond. Even though it's vibrant, the brightness is not enough to blind me.

Wait . . . I'm alive?

What's happening? How am I still alive? Where did the dome even come from?

One glance down at my arms and I get my answer: me. Beneath my skin, something surges through my veins. Something that is the same colour as the dome sheltering me-something that resembles blue lightning but is not. Underneath the torn tunic, the left side of my chest glows like the rest of my surroundings, except it is the most luminous.

I look to my once crippled leg to see it now laced with electric blue thread before it fades into beige, blending in with the tone of my blood coated skin. Besides the red splatter around it, there is no proof the wound ever existed. With as much courage I can muster, I lift my head and lock eyes with the large, bony creature, only to find every other Vampire surrounding the shield from top to bottom. Every one of them shrieks, but the sounds are distant to me. I watch as they claw and throw themselves at the barrier, baring their fangs with the blood from the Dwarves sliding off the tips.

Nothing happens.

The bloodsuckers grow tired, but some still attempt to stab their fingernails that resemble long talons. The dome doesn't crumble, but the ground is about to.

I notice the cracks between the surface shine first. I feel the ground rumble. I see the gaping hole forming in the terra firma, revealing nothing but an abyss of darkness. The thousands of blue kaleidoscopes dissolve into thin air, and then I fall.

I fall into the darkness with nothing and no one to hold onto except for myself. I do not scream. I do not breathe. I do not close my eyes-it wouldn't make a difference if I keep them shut. I let myself fall into the unknown, not having any idea when I'd stop. Maybe it's seconds. Maybe it's hours. At the moment, they are all the same. I can only feel the rush of wind and the occasional bits of debris that manage to get into my eyes, which makes the whole experience a lot more unpleasant than it already is.

Years ago, when I asked my mother how it feels to fall, this wasn't what I had in mind. However, she did tell me about the butterflies tickling her insides and the hammering of her heart included with a blank mind, all of which I'm feeling right now, so maybe I'm not too far off.

I've been given so many chances at life within the past month alone that I have no idea what to expect anymore. Below me could be the solid ground, where I am most definitely not going to survive, or something else. Maybe I won't even stop falling.

I chuckle humourlessly as my own heart rolls into the pit of my stomach and my entire body becomes numb. I let tears escape my blurry eyes, but they are washed away when my body collides with gleaming turquoise water, sinking to the bottom of the lagoon before breaking through the surface. I gasp for air, pushing wet strands of my short hair out of my face.

The stunning, luminescent water is the only thing lighting up the crystallized cavern. There is no crumbled hole above me, and from the looks of it, there is no way out. It's as if I just fell down the rabbit hole, except this place is anything but Wonderland.

Rubbing my eyes, I swim to the shore and sit down on the black sand with my arms wrapped around my legs while I let my brain register everything that just happened in a few moments. My chest is no longer glowing, and neither are my veins. My toes dig into the dark grains and my fingers weave their way through my tangled hair while I curse myself.

"Why did I have to be so stupid and fall into that portal?" I sigh. Now I have no idea where I am-or what I am-and I have no idea how to get out.

A strangled sob escapes my lips. I am lost in every way possible. I don't know if I'll ever make it back home. I don't know if I'll ever see my little sister and parents again, or even my friends. I am lost in a world I know nothing about, with strange abilities I didn't know I had. I've never felt so helpless in my entire life.

Other than the massive crystals surrounding the lagoon, something else glistens in the water, catching my attention. I draw my brows together and squint, hesitantly swimming to the small object. My jaw drops when I realize it's the vial of powdered Unicorn bone, completely intact. How is that even possible? I thought all of the vials were destroyed in the fall. Maybe I'm hallucinating? At this point, anything seems possible.

My body goes still and goosebumps rise on my arms when a muffled sound echoes through the cavern. The water around me ripples like I just threw a pebble in. It's silent for a few moments until another sound reaches my ears, except it's clear this time.

A giggle.

Even though it's soft and harmonic, something about it sends shivers down my spine. My instincts kick in and I reach out to snatch the vial of powdered Unicorn Bone, but before my fingertips can even graze the cork plug, the water swallows it with a plop! and I'm left confused and desperate.

"Where . . ." I trail off, swishing my hands underwater in hopes of finding the vial. Another giggle erupts, this one is even louder than the last. I ignore it and dunk my head into the water, cringing at the thought of losing the most important and only vial that didn't shatter.

From the surface, the water is a beautiful turquoise. But underneath, the blue and green tinge barely exists and instead, it's almost entirely iridescent.

I'm so distracted by it all that I don't feel something graze my ankle until it wraps around my foot and pulls me down further into the lagoon at rapid speed. Panic takes over me as I struggle to release myself. My eyes grow wide when I fail and I realize I can't hold my breath any longer. Oh, Nymphs, I'm going to drown.

Just when I think this is the end yet again, I come to a stop as my feet touch the ground and my toes wriggle through the silt. Beyond my blurry sight, a blob of pink moves through the water. I soon realize it's hair when the creature makes its way towards me until it's face to face.

"Breathe," Its voice is soft and elegant, matching the pale blue flowing dress it wears.

I look at it in confusion. It wants me to breathe? I'm underwater! Why does everyone and everything I come across want to kill me?

The creature giggles. It's the same sound I heard earlier, which only makes me back away.

"I'm not going to kill you, Aviva. You can breathe here."

Normally, I would be freaking out at the fact that this thing just read my mind and knows my name. But since I'm out to pass out, that's all I can think of. Breathe. Should I take my chances and trust this creature? Farren's warning is faint, but it's most important.

"Breathe, child, or you will die. Isn't that how it works? Breathe!"

And so I do.

I wait for the water to fill my lungs, but nothing happens. It's like I'm on land. Am I a Siren now, or something? Is this a joke?

"How . . . How am I breathing? Who are you? What are you? What is this place? How do you know my name? Why can you read my mind? You don't look like a Telepathic. Why are your eyes pink? Why is your hair glowing? I didn't know this was Tangled." The questions roll off my tongue like I've been waiting for centuries to ask them.

The creature giggles again. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Aviva Marieur. I am Naida, a Water Nymph. I hope that explains a lot of your questions, including the one about telepathy. Tangled is that film Humans created, yes? Pathetic. They should have used a real Supernatural power."

I fall into silence with my jaw hanging open while I stare at her in awe before bombarding her with questions again. "No, now I have even more questions! You're a Water Nymph? Wha-how? Your species is supposed to be extinct!"

I only just learned I can breathe underwater, and now this?

Water Nymphs had once dominated their species. From seas to low tides, they controlled not only water, but the action of other Nymphs as well. Two billion years ago, there was a war between them: Land, Celestial, Wood, Fire, and Water. The ruler of the Water Nymphs, Nereida, was beloved amongst all Supernaturals.

She carried the most power, with the ability to adjust the weather to fit her mood. When she was sad, it would rain. When she was in pain, thunder roared and lightning struck. When she was happy, there would be no clouds in the sky, exposing the sunlight provided by the Queen of the Celestial Nymphs, Miyu. Of course, it was most frightening for both sea and land dwellers when Nereida was mad. Tsunamis would demolish cities all over the world, stranding Merfolk, Selkies, and other creatures on land. The strongest of hurricanes would swallow anyone who was unfortunate enough. Yet, Supernaturals and Humans alike were mesmerized by Nereida.

Jealous of all the glory the famous Queen was receiving, the other leaders claimed they wanted her and her classification of Nymphs gone for good. All alliances with Nereida were broken as they went to war, destroying the Water Nymph species altogether millions of years later.

Of all Supernaturals I could have thought of or made up in my stupid brain, I never imagined to stumble across a Water Nymph.

Dammit, I really wish I had my phone to take a picture.

Naida's smile is warm but sad. From this close, I notice how much her hair looks like cotton candy. Her pointy ears wiggle underneath, and her blue skin pales a bit. She pushes her way through the forest of kelp slowly and throws a glance over her shoulder.

"Follow me,"

♡♡♡

Hai!

Yes, yes, I know. It's been like two months since I updated, and I swear, for the first time my laziness isn't why I have kept you all waiting so long. Some of you probably already know that I had exams in January, and after that writer's block caught up with me... and after that something else happened which totally destroyed any bit of motivation and inspiration I had to keep writing any of my books-even now I just want to drop everything and delete all of them. Lately I haven't been enjoying things I loved doing, including writing. It's just... Ugh, I'm so sorry for this mini rant. I'm going to shut up now and give you guys information that will actually help you out a little XD

First, any theories you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them all :)

Second, I drew Naida a few months ago. I particular hate this piece because the more I look at it, the more mistakes I notice and I can't unsee em, so it looks cheap af. Those of you who have checked out my tag book have seen this already:

Oof, I was going to add a glossary here for some stuff but I forgot what needed to be added to it, so if you have any questions about anything just ask me lmao.

And, one more thing, I want to thank you all sooo much for getting this book to 10k+ reads. Out of all of my books, CC had the slowest progress, but I'm so happy to know you guys actually like this. I love you 😭❤

One more one more thing:

Thank you to aayushi_the_Moon for these beautiful covers! <3

Chloe ❤