[PRV] S.H.M & Aphrodite

A smile crosses his lips at Siennas answer. "I am glad to hear it, Clara will be too" He kisses her hand hand and bows. "Good night , My Lady" with that he waits until her door has closed before making his way to his own chambers, still keeping a small smile.
The remainder of the evening and night were fairly uneventful, Jacen removes his doublet and just stays in his breeches and the loose shirt as he lays down on the bed to read. The book consists of stories from other lands, mayhaps for children but it is entertaining in its simplicity , the horror elements of it livens up the quiet night save from the crackling of the warm fire and some dog barking in the distance.

In the morning he prepares to head for the beach, grabbing a roll of bread and an egg from one of the servants who's carrying a tray. "Thank you" the joyful tone in his voice is difficult to miss, he eats while taking the shortest route to Clara's chambers which is on the bottom floor. At first that had his mother going mad as she went on about her precious daughter living on the same floor as the servants. After stopping at the familiar door he knocks and waits for an answer, finishing off what bread he has left.

Sienna lied in the water for a while, trying to sleep. She listened for footsteps, but after a while she let go of the fear, and slowly drifted to sleep. It wasn’t very comfortable in the tub, but at least she had water to rehydrate, which she needed.

She was woken up by a warm feeling moving down her legs. Sienna opened her eyes just in time to see her beautiful, red fish tail turn into the human legs from the day before. Sienna sat up and climbed out of the tub. She was standing steadily on the floor, which was a good sign that she remembered how to use these human legs. She noticed how the scrape wound on her knee from yesterday was gone, it had healed during her night as a mermaid.

Sienna pat her body dry before walking into her chambers. She was still a bit unsteady, but it wasn’t that bad. She reacted when a knock on the door was heard, and the door opened. Alys came inside, surprised to find their guest naked in the middle of the chambers.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my Lady” she said, quickly looking down. Alys helped Sienna get into a blue dress Alys had taken with her to the chambers, and she braided her hair. As she did, Sienna got offered food which she ate; luckily it was food that she could eat with her hands.

Sienna looked at herself when she was finished before Alys spoke up.
“Lady Clara wants you to come to her chambers when you’re ready” she said as she held out similar things to what Sienna had had on her feet yesterday. Sienna shook her head.
“They were uncomfortable yesterday, I’d rather just go like this” she said, wiggling her feet. Alys looked at her surprised, but didn’t say anything. She knew their guest was a bit strange.
“As you wish, my lady” she just said before escorting Sienna downstairs. She knocked on a door and opened it. The chambers inside was bigger than the one Sienna stayed in, and beautifully decorated. A lots of books were neatly stacked in bookshelves around the room. In the corner, Clara sat on a chair as her handmaiden finished her braid while she was eating breakfast. Clara looked at Sienna.
“Hi, Sienna!” she said with a big grin. The handmaiden who had braided her hair now bent down and easily picked the young girl up. Clara held her hands around her neck before she was put down in the wheelchair. Another knock on the door was heard, and Alys opened it.
“My lord” she said and curtsied before moving away from the door.

Jacens morning routine is usually nothing exciting but this morning he must admit to being nervous, not certain of the reason, none that he would confess to. The castle was already bustling with life in the early morning, the young lord was awake as well, since he had woken up much earlier and trained on his swordsmansship before dawn, his current state needed some looking after. disheveled and sweaty he prepares for his bath, undressing without care of the maid in the room currently filling his tub.

After the bath and fresh clothes he heads towards Clara's room as they agreed to meet there when they were all ready and one should never keep ladies waiting. The halls were filled with servants who curtsy and bow as he walks past, reaching the first floor , he spots the guards that are stationed outside his sisters room, as all who work here they greet him with deep voices and a short "My Lord before allowing him to pass.
He's greeted by Alys at the door, he's known her for a long time, they're close in age, even spent some time as friends in secret when they were younger. Jacen greets her with a smile and steps fruther into the room. "Good morning , Ladies" he says with a smile "I hope that you are ready to swim" a few quick steps later and he's kissed Clara's cheek and Sienna's hand.

Clara smiled as her brother entered the room.
"Yes! I'm really excited!" she said with a laugh and leaned back in her chair. The handmaiden named Mira pushed Clara out the door, and Sienna followed them. Together, the four of them walked down to the beach. As they reached the sand, Mira stopped. So did Sienna, and watched as the handmaiden picked up Clara once again. As they walked down to the edge of the water, Sienna looked at Clara's legs. One touch as a mermaid, and Sienna would be able to fix her legs. But of course she couldn't to that, not only would it reveal her people's existence, it would probably be seen as witchcraft.

As Sienna's bare feet was washed over by the sea water, she felt her heart ache for Atlantica. She had been a human for a day and she was already missing it. Sienna looked to her side, where Mira had put Clara down on the sand. Mira removed Clara's dress to reveal a bathing suit. Sienna had been dressed in a similar one which was underneath her dress, too. Sienna didn't really understand why, but she had just gone with it. Sienna removed her dress and walked out in the water. When it was deep enough, she turned around and looked up at the sun. She leaned back, floating on her back. It was harder with human legs, but she managed to keep herself floating. She turned over and started to swim towards the others again. It was much, much harder with legs, but she managed to put the feet together and move them like she would have moved her fish tail. She was much faster as a mermaid, but this would suffice until she was turned back.
"The water is lovely!" she exclaimed with a grin.

The trek to the beach is a short one but the steps do make it more difficult for someone like Clara, so their father has had a ramp built to aid the movement of the cumbersome wheelchair.
Jacen turns the other way as the girls undress, even if they are wearing the suit, it seems strange to look at something like that. He undresses as well, sporting a similar garb underneith as he is in the company of ladies, he can not swim in the nude as he usually does.

He bows to the girls and smiles. "My Ladies" before rushing into the water and dives , swimming a good bit away from them only to emerge about 20 meters ahead. "You were right, the water is lovely" he dives again, swimming near Sienna, reappears with a dramatic breaking of the surface while pushing some lose strands out of his face. "You seem to feel right at home here, Sienna, that's good, I was worried that castle life was not for you"

Sienna looked at Jacen with a smile. It felt good to hear that he believed that she seemed to fit in. She felt everything else but at home here, but she had to keep going or her kind would go extinct.
"Thank you" she said, hoping to sound steady on her voice. She turned her head and watched Clara who now was floating on her back, and Mira was supporting her back and legs by holding her hands underneath. The pair came out to Sienna and Jacen. Sienna was just about to say something when something caught her eye. It was huge, and something she had never seen before. It glided on the surface of the water, towards the beach. Behind it was a huge net, which sent shivers down Sienna's spine. She had seen those nets before, and she had almost been caught by one, too.
"Look at the ship! It's enormous!" Clara exclaimed. Ships. So that was what they were called. Sienna hadn't known that before, only that they should stay as far away from them as possible. They were not only dangerous, they were carrying death and pain. Sienna backed in the water, even though it was far between her and the ship. What if it turned and went straight towards her? Could the humans on this ship sense that she didn't belong with them? Her eyes landed on the net, which was filled with fish. Her eyes widened. All this fish, struggling for their life as the net was lifted into the air. Sienna felt sick, but she knew she couldn't react the way she wished; she wanted to swim to the ship and save the fish that was going to suffer a painful death.

"It's just a fishing boat, nothing too special" Jacen says as he swims back and forth between the girls, diving a few more times as well. He stops and looks at Sienna, touching her arm when he notices the change in her expression. "Are you well? it won't come here, besides, I doubt that they fish people, that would be horrendous, who would want to eat a person? perhaps a savage but luckily we are not" he chuckles softly, trying to ease what ever worry Sienna has.

The ship keeps it's distance, hauling up fish. Some of the men on the boat seem to be diving for something, resurfacing with large nets, filled with what appears to be clams and oysters. Jacen pushes his blonde hair back and speaks again with an amused tone in his voice. "Do you think they've actually caught a mermaid in those net? I've heard stories but fishermen always tell such strange tales"

Sienna was too focused on the ship, she picked up on Jacen speaking after half his sentence.
"Oh - um - it just surprised me" she said and looked at the ship. To her horror, some of the humans were jumping down in the water, collecting clams and oysters. Sienna felt how her face was drained of blood when Jacen mentioned mermaids. Could that be true? Could these humans have caught a mermaid in those horrible nets? Did they go deep enough to touch Atlantica? Sienna had never heard of it before, only that they touched the surface and a few feet deep.

Clara laughed, turning her head to the side to observe the ship, too.
"You're silly, Jacen!" she said and smiled.
"I wish they had caught one - that would prove that mermaids are real! If they were, I would ask them to teach me how to swim" she said and looked at Sienna.
"I've never heard of mermaids before" she said, looking at Jacen with a puzzled face. Sure, she was unsure about the life on land and how to behave as a human - but she wasn't stupid. This was her opportunity to actually find out what humans believed about her and her kind.

The divers go up and down in quick succession, gathering what they can while the ship sways gently on the surface. Her sails are simple and white but the hull seems to be painted in a dark and dull green like moss.
"They're good men, only wanting to feed their families, not everyone is as fortunate as us" Jacen shrugs and watches the ship and men as they work before looking down at his hands, the only calluses he has are from the sword and quill, not proper work.

He turns his attentions towards Clara. "Grandfather said he saw a few , even caught one, remember? most beautiful thing he's ever seen, until she bit him" He laughs and shakes his head. "you would most likely need fins for that, little sister and from what I can see, you only have legs. Jacen looks at Sienna with a surprised expression. "You haven't? well , as far as I know, they're these otherworldly beautiful women that have a fish' tail instead of legs. Lovely voices that enthrall a man to dive into the depths of the sea to join them, they take their seed and then their flesh, which is why no bodies are ever found near the surface" He explains with a somewhat amused look on his face. "If they're human like I doubt that they are anymore cruel or kind than we are" The tone of his voice seems to have changed, turned it deeper , if not brooding of a sort.

Clara giggled.
"Father says that Grandfather likes to exaggerate his stories to make them more interesting" she said, smiling.
"I would have to ask for a fin of course, silly" she said, her grin turning even wider.
"Jacen, you can dive really good, you would be able to find one, wouldn't you?" she said and splashed some water with her hands.
"I would love to have a mermaid friend" she said, looking out at the horizon with a dreamy look.
"And she would be able to talk to fish" she added, laughing.

Sienna looked at Jacen. Was that really what humans believed about her kind? That they ate humans? Why on earth would a mermaid eat a human being? She cleared her throat.
"They definitely sound like something that doesn't exist" she said, nodding towards Clara, agreeing with her story about their grandfather exaggerating his stories. Although, it could be true; there had been some mermaids that had been caught by humans, but it had seemed as if the humans stories had been met with skepticism and doubts, at least if everyone thought as Clara did.