Water is rushing past me. I am speeding through the darkness, weaving in and out of the rocks inhabiting the sound. It is a place I know well. But something is wrong.
I can’t stop.
I have no control over where I am going but I know exactly where I am and any moment I will exit the sound and hit the open ocean. The big blue space ahead is not as familiar and I can easily be lost in the vast darkness underneath the surface. As I near the vast space in my sight a figure appears. Suddenly I stop.
I cannot move, only stare at the figure. Everything about the figure is hidden in the shadows of the dark underwater world. I can only notice three things before I wake. The first is an object he holds to his side which is a three-pronged trident made of a shining bronze metal. The second are his bright piercing blue eyes. The third is that he is speaking to me.
“Meredith, you must hurry. You’re father, my son is in danger. Go to the camp. Receive the prophecy. Save him or all you know and love will be lost.” He speaks quickly and even as he speaks his voice fades. As soon as his last word is spoken I am pulled back into consciousness.
I sit up in my bed and slowly open my eyes to the blinding light coming through my window. I squint over at the clock on my bedside table and It reads 9:27. It’s summer so I don’t technically have to be anywhere but since I’m awake I get out of bed to get dressed. I look in the mirror of my light washed, wood vanity. As I attempt to tame the mess that is my hair I look at the photos wedged into the side of the mirror. Along the edges are pictures of my mother my age, us together, the beaches along the San Juan coast on which we live, and some underwater photos which only someone like me could take.
Maybe I should explain. Growing up my mother always told me she had named me Meredith for a reason. She told me when she was pregnant with me she had a dream I would one day be involved with the ocean. So she named me Meredith which meant “Guardian of the Sea”. She had a love for orcas and I think she secretly just wanted me to work at SeaWorld. Although knowing what I know now that would probably be a bad idea. You see, I’m kind of… a mermaid.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because my dad is one too, a merman that is. My dad is named Triton; he is a minor god and the son of Poseidon. It was right before I entered first grade when my tail first appeared. My mom decided to home school me (considering the fact that I now turned into a half fish anytime my feet or legs came into contact with water). I wasn’t all that upset. School just meant I had to spend 8 hours a day in a small building with girls asking me about things I cared nothing for like barbies and my little pony. To be honest it meant I could spend more time on the beach outside my house which is what I would always prefer to be doing. Once my tail was revealed my mother became very protective. But hey, who could blame her? If anyone found out I was a mermaid they would ship me off to some facility and poke at my fins all day.
I looked at myself in the mirror. The only part of my looks that followed the whole blonde beach bunny stereotype would probably be my slight tan. Other than that I had an average body. If anything I was thicker than average with curves that had started to show since my 15th birthday. I had brunette hair that I dyed to fade into blue and then green at the bottom setting off the green in my hazel eyes. My hair was not very long, barely to my shoulders but long enough to braid so I decided on a French braid down the side of my neck. I put on my usual dolphin studs under my other ear piercings and matching dolphin necklace. It was the only thing I had from my dad. He had given it to my mom during their relationship and she had passed it on to me with the matching earrings when she discovered just how much I took after my Dad. It was kind of like when you get ice cream after going to the doctor for being good only it was more like, "Hey, here is some awesome jewelry! Also, by the way you're a mermaid and your Dad is too..."
It was Monday and my mom was already at the animal shelter where she worked on a nearby island. I yawned as I walked into the kitchen to find breakfast. These dreams had taken their toll on the energy I usually lacked in the morning. I made a mental to ask my mom what she thought when she came home. Despite being slightly overprotective at times my mom was my best friend. She knew that I had learned to protect myself from exposing myself and trusted me to be careful.
I finished my breakfast and walked down to the beach around the back of the house. I was hit by the scent of the sea and took a minute to take it in. It was an amazing day outside with just a few white puffy clouds in the sky which was unusual for Washington.
I walked slowly to the edge of the waves soaking in the sun. Growing up I had learned to control my powers somewhat. I could hold back my tail until I was about up to my waist in the water or long enough to dry myself off if I spilled some juice or while washing my face. It was while learning to control my tail that I discovered what other things I could control. I found I had the ability to move and control the water around me. Not large enough quantities to sink the titanic but enough that I could propel myself through water or move small amounts.
I dipped my toes in the water and felt immediately more energized. I waded in and felt the tingle around my legs as I felt my powers strengthen and dove under the waves before her change was complete. The bubbles around me dissipate and I looked down at my familiar changed form.
My tail flowed from sea green up to blue and the scales rose dissipated around my stomach and resumed around my chest and scattered back out over my right shoulder like a scaly strap. The way my scales flowed from blue on top to green on bottom had inspired my hair color. It was my way of keeping part of myself with me when I wasn’t in the form I loved. I swam around to my usual rocky reef and relished in the water which was warmer than usual. Not that I couldn’t take the cold (being half fish helped a lot) but it was a change of pace which was refreshing.
I silently wished for the weather to last through tomorrow so I could have a nice day like this with her mom on the beach. Tomorrow was my 16th birthday and mom always took off work so they could have snow cones and a picnic on the beach. I didn’t seem possible that I was already 16. To be honest I couldn’t believe I had stayed under the radar this long. Mom was always warning me about the monsters that could come for her and that as a demigod she was always in danger. But I figure the reason none ever came for me was because being half fish I probably didn’t smell like a normal demigod and therefore was mostly safe. Occasionally a monster would pass through the sound but my marine friends (granddaughter of Poseidon remember?) warned me and I made sure to steer clear or even intervene if necessary. My underwater friends were basically my only contact besides mom. There wasn’t any real reason to leave our isolated beach house with its own little cove.
Shifting around looking at the shells on the sea floor I saw a dolphin speeding towards me fast. It was my closest friend Bella, a pacific white sided dolphin. She raced over to me and started squeaking so fast I couldn’t understand her at all.
“Calm down Bella! Slow down and tell me what’s wrong.” I quickly stroked her until she slowed a little.
“There’s a young hippocampus trapped under a rock deep in the sound!” she squeaked quickly.
“Okay just give me a minute to grab some things.” I replied before heading over to my cave on the side of the sound. It was a good thing I hadn’t wandered far. I broke the surface and scanned the make-shift shelves along the walls. This was the cave where I kept all of my treasures. Shells I had found to be beautiful, weapons I had created, objects that had been lost forever to the sea. To me it was like my own personal collection, like in The Little Mermaid.
I spotted my bow and arrows made from strong wood and rope from the nearby forests along the coast. Archery was one of the things I had found calming and had taken to quickly. I knew this bow better than I knew the back of my hand. I strapped on my bow, quiver, a line of rope, and followed Bella to a deep ravine in the sound. As we approached the big opening I saw something shining on the edge on the underwater cliff. I realized this was the hippocampus that was trapped. The creature was clearly in pain, its tail caught inside what I assume used to be a cave opening. Rocks have fallen, closing the opening on the animal’s tail.
I look at Bella with a smile on my face and say, “Well now, let’s see what we can do to help shall we?

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