ELEMENTS: Acquiesce Read online

  A pale silvery glow appeared in the water below them, lighting up the cave.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just Nixie,” said Lana.

  The girls sat quietly for a few moments and watched Nixie glide about under the water.

  “What happened to your parents?” asked Lana.

  Cordelia hesitated before answering. “I don’t know. I have no idea who they are. Flynn raised me but he wasn’t my real father. He found me in the sea near the islands.”

  “The islands?”

  Cordelia nodded. “I’ve no idea what I was doing there. Must have something to do with being a mermaid. I’ve always wanted to see the islands but Flynn wouldn’t let me. He said it was dangerous.”

  “You know the Sirens live there, don’t you?”

  “Sirens?”

  “Bird women. Vicious beings. You’d do well to stay clear. Flynn’s lucky he wasn’t eaten the day he found you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s Merfolk law that we cannot mix with Sirens. They trick sailors with their beauty and singing, then drag them to the bottom of the ocean to drown. If they’re hungry they eat them.”

  “That’s terrible,” said Cordelia.

  “The Merfolk Kingdom have tried to reason with the Sirens but it’s no use.”

  “Have you ever been to the islands?”

  “I swam close to them but I’ve never been on the islands. Zamira would’ve eaten me for breakfast.”

  “Zamira?”

  “Leader of the ravens. They live on Slate Island.”

  “And Bishop’s Island?” asked Cordelia.

  “That’s where the gannets lived, they don’t seem to be there anymore.”

  “Where did they go?”

  “We don’t know,” said Lana. “They say a feud erupted between the two groups because the gannets had vowed to live a peaceful life, feeding only on small fish, but the ravens refused to change their ways. I wouldn’t trust any of them.”

  Cordelia thought for a moment. “Do you think they could’ve had something to do with my parents?”

  “It’s possible,” said Lana. “I wouldn’t put anything past Zamira.”

  In the time the girls had been chatting in the cave, the tide had risen and the water was now lapping at their feet.

  “Come on,” said Lana, “I doubt she’s still looking for us now.”

  As dusk turned to night, they followed Nixie’s glow out of the cave. Carrying their boots and dripping salty water, Cordelia and Lana tiptoed back to their chambers. Cordelia changed into her nightdress, hung her clothes by the fire and slipped into bed where she lay awake listening to the waves breaking on the rocks outside. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her parents, ‘Did Zamira have something to do with it?’

  FOUR

  A NEW BEGINNING

  At breakfast the next morning, Cordelia was aware of the students staring at her as she entered the room. Her fashion sense was causing quite a stir and Morwen Vanora almost spat her drink across the table.

  “Heavens child! What have we here? What’s happened to your clothes?” barked Morwen.

  “Where did they find her?” whispered Max in Rafe’s ear.

  Rafe stared at Cordelia intensely as Max nudged him with his elbow, expecting him to join in with the jibes.

  “I made some alterations.”

  Cordelia stood boldly, unwavering, but inside she was a bag of nerves, wondering what Morwen’s response would be.

  “All the other girls seem to manage just fine in their attire, I don’t see why you should be any different.”

  “With all due respect, I intend to do better than manage.”

  Cordelia wasn’t entirely sure where her boldness had come from but she knew what she liked and she knew what she didn’t. The students waited on tenterhooks for Morwen’s response.

  “My office, now!”

  Cordelia followed Morwen as she marched through the tunnel to the lighthouse. This, it seemed, is where formal matters were dealt with, including student conduct.

  “Remain standing,” ordered Morwen as she took a seat at her desk.

  Cordelia rolled her eyes.

  “And there’ll be no more of that!” snapped Morwen. “Do you know how lucky you are to be here? This school is for the elite, the elite. Triton found you on the seabed and here you are. No references, nothing. I have no idea where you’ve come from. We have pedigree merstudents here, all with the correct paperwork to show they’ve come from a long line of pure merfolk. We accept nothing but perfection. The Kingdom of Meren will only be guarded by the best.”

  Cordelia stood silently, holding Morwen’s stare. She still knew very little about the Kingdom of Meren. ‘What if I don’t want to guard it? What if I just want to be normal?’ Cordelia decided to keep these thoughts to herself as deep down, she was more than grateful to have somewhere to live and she knew such a remark would mean the end of her stay.

  “What do you have to say for yourself? You could at least show some gratitude. What will Mazu say when she sees what you’ve done to these clothes?”

  Cordelia inhaled deeply and slowly released the air. “I know the rugged rocks like the palms of my hands; long dresses and skirts aren’t practical.”

  “What is it with you youngsters? Why can’t you follow the rules?”

  “Nobody told me the rules.”

  Morwen scowled at Cordelia, “Very well, you leave me no option but to speak with Triton and Mazu. Perhaps they will reconsider your placement here.”

  Cordelia left the lighthouse and fought her way through the crowds of students in the tunnels making their way to their morning lessons, stopping briefly at her chamber where she changed into a bathing suit ready for diving practise.

  Cordelia squinted as she emerged from the tunnel, the low sun blinding her eyes. She inhaled deeply the fresh Atlantic air and walked barefoot across the rocks to the amphitheatre where her class were already seated, listening to Irvin Seymour. Knowing she was new and also a friend of his daughter, Irvin decided to be lenient about her lateness.

  “Hurry up Cordelia, you don’t want to miss this. Young Rafe’s going to demonstrate a reverse dive.”

  Cordelia’s face fell. ‘Can this day get any worse?’ she thought.

  “Hey,” said Lana as Cordelia perched next to her on the rock. “Okay?”

  Cordelia nodded. She was lying. She wasn’t okay. How could she be when her world had been turned so spectacularly upside down? Without wanting to ruffle any more feathers on her first morning of lessons, Cordelia sat quietly and watched Rafe perform his dive. He was quite the peacock. Cordelia hoped that he would slip and mess it up but then remembered how Nixie had died. She grimaced as Rafe descended into the water, his head dangerously close to the rocks. The class cheered and clapped at Rafe’s perfect reverse dive and his eyes darted briefly in Cordelia’s direction. One by one they took their turns.

  “I still don’t understand,” said Cordelia.

  Lana turned towards Cordelia.

  “All this in and out of the water and I still haven’t seen any tails.”

  “We have to earn our tails,” explained Lana. “Some of us have them already but we must prepare for and accept the day to day challenges of the sea before we can use them freely.”

  “Wait until you see Mazu’s tail,” gushed Nerissa. “It’s the envy of mermaids everywhere.”

  “What’s it like?” asked Cordelia.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Nerissa. “Every shade of pink imaginable, from coral pink, to dusky pink and every shade in between.”

  “It all comes with age and experience,” said Irvin, standing beside them, “sixteen’s the magic number. You’re up next Lana.”

  Lana made her way to the diving rock, the skirt of her swimsuit billowing in the breeze. Cordelia watched anxiously, unable to shake Nixie from her mind. Knowing it was her turn next, she trod cautiously across the wet rocks, avoiding the patches of algae. Lana’s dive was
effortless, well executed with hardly any splash. Masika and Nerissa clapped, their smiles wide and beaming. Cordelia shuffled to the rock edge and she stared blankly at her unsmiling reflection in the water. She loved the water but she had never really practised diving, not properly. Joining the class several years after everyone else meant that she had missed all the training for the basic dives, Cordelia hadn’t even learnt how to do a front dive properly, never mind a fancy reverse dive. Her heart beat fast as the class cheered her on. Rafe didn’t take his eyes off her, not for a second. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, Cordelia summoned the courage to take her turn but never having practised flipping herself backwards, Cordelia found herself in mid-air, facing up to the sky, limbs flying in all directions and then the inevitable happened; Cordelia landed flat on her back and salt water was propelled onto her classmates as she plunged beneath the surface. For a few seconds, Cordelia wanted to stay below the surface and swim away, never to return, but she was not the type to give up so easily. For now, she would just have to grin and bear the teasing. With water still trickling from her nose, Cordelia pulled herself out of the water.

  “I told you she wasn’t a mermaid,” gloated Rafe.

  The students laughed, all except for her friends. Lana glared at Rafe but Cordelia averted her eyes as she walked past, head held high and choosing instead to look up at the twins who were making their way towards the diving rock. They did all their activities together, including synchronised diving. Cordelia knew people were still whispering about her; their hushed laughter rippled around the amphitheatre. Her dislike for Rafe was growing stronger by the minute but Cordelia wasn’t going to let him know that, her gaze was firmly fixed on Masika and Nerissa who, without saying a word to each other, performed a perfectly synchronised reverse dive which briefly took the attention away from Cordelia’s unfortunate back flop.

  “Don’t let it get to you,” said Lana.

  “I won’t.”

  “I’ve got some books you can borrow if you like, to help you catch up with the things you’ve missed.”

  “Thanks.”

  When the class was dismissed, Cordelia picked up her towel and was up and over the rocks towards the tunnel before anyone else was out of their seats. She wasn’t going to hang around and risk Rafe irritating her further.

  “Wait for us!” called Lana.

  Cordelia hesitated by the tunnel entrance, willing her friends to hurry up.

  “What’s the rush?” asked Nerissa as they got closer.

  “No point in sitting around in wet clothes is there?” said Cordelia.

  “True, but you’ll get wet in the next lesson anyway,” replied Nerissa.

  “What’s the next lesson?” asked Cordelia.

  “Water control with Morwen and Marilla,” revealed Lana.

  “Not here though, we meet at The Bridges of Ross. There’s more room for us all there and it’s more secluded,” said Masika.

  Cordelia raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Less likely to draw attention,” added Masika.

  “You’ll see,” said Nerissa.

  “This way,” said Lana as the rest of the class approached.

  With their towels around their shoulders, the class piled into two horse drawn wagons, the girls in one and the boys in the other.

  “We take the country lanes,” said Lana.

  “Wouldn’t it be quicker to swim?” asked Cordelia.

  “Not really, this way we can cut straight across the land and miss off a large part of the coast,” explained Lana.

  “Besides, if we swam we’d have to swim close to the islands which is forbidden,” said Nerissa.

  “We’d have to swim further out and that would take too long without our tails,” added Masika.

  Cordelia nodded, pretending to understand their theory, quietly thinking she’d better get on and read the books that Lana had offered to lend her. She sat silently, squashed between her classmates like sardines, which was just as well as the lanes were full of potholes and the bumpy ride would surely have catapulted her into the air had she not been so firmly wedged in. Rafe and Max were showing off as usual. She watched them for a few moments from the corner of her eye, looking away quickly when Rafe glanced in her direction. The other boys laughed at their jests, which encouraged them to carry on. Cordelia studied the girls one by one, testing herself to see how many names she could remember. Until she’d joined the School of the West, she’d never seen such a diverse group of people all in one place. There was Kendria and Genna from England, Sequana from France, another set of twins from Germany named Lorelei and Genevieve, Vivien from Italy, a Spanish senorita named Luna, Astrid from Norway, Tallulah, a Native American, Lana who was Irish and Nerissa and Masika who were part Irish, part Egyptian. Their mother was from Egypt and had met their Irish father when they were both students at the School of the West many years before. They were all so different and yet so similar. None of them looked as though they had suffered any malnourishment during the great hunger; they all had impressively athletic physiques. They were the best, or as Morwen Vanora had put it, they were the elite. Cordelia wondered how she would ever compare as Morwen’s earlier comments echoed in her head. She couldn’t help but wonder if she really belonged here.

  The two wagons continued along the bumpy tracks, hidden between hedgerows of purple and orange flowers. Cordelia loved the colours and closed her eyes briefly as she inhaled the sweet scent. Before long they reached their destination.

  “You’re very quiet,” said Lana as they walked down the slip way to Ross Bay.

  Cordelia smiled. “I was just taking in the scenery. It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

  “The most beautiful place on Earth,” replied Lana and she ran ahead with the other students. “Come on Cordelia!”

  Ross Bay was well secluded by cliffs and the bay itself was made from a large area of glistening rock which jutted out in rugged succession into the water like sea breakers. Cordelia couldn’t believe her eyes; this vast rock formation was literally shimmering in the sun as though it had been sprinkled with stardust. Max picked up a large grey pebble and threw it against the rocky floor. It broke in two to reveal a mass of sparkling crystals.

  Cordelia’s eyes widened and she turned to Lana. “Are they all like this?”

  “Most of them. See for yourself.” Lana picked up a pebble and passed it to Cordelia. “Save it for later when Morwen’s not watching,” she said, placing a hand on Cordelia’s shoulder.

  Cordelia followed Lana’s eye line to the top of one of the bridges; a natural sea arch formed in the cliff wall, looking out on the ocean that carved it. She could see Morwen standing there, her long white hair blowing in the wind as she watched their every move.

  Marilla was waiting on the rocks near by. “Gather round,” she called. “We haven’t got all day.”

  Marilla was a similar age to Morwen, probably in her sixties at least. Her emerald eyes twinkled in the sun as her long brunette locks danced around her head.

  “Are we all here?” she asked. “Ah, I see we have our new student with us. Welcome Cordelia.”

  Cordelia wasn’t keen on being singled out in front of everyone but managed a half smile.

  “Be glad you’re here,” said Marilla. “You won’t want to miss this.”

  Marilla turned towards Morwen as the class edged forward to get a better view. Morwen stood silently looking at the water below then raised both hands slowly in the air. The water began to rise and a great rolling wave appeared at the mouth of the bay. It wasn’t going anywhere; it remained in the same place rolling over and over.

  “Incredible,” said Rafe.

  Morwen raised her left hand higher and the wave grew taller, she moved her right hand quickly towards the class, directing the wave towards them.

  “Oh, yes!” cried Max. “Come and get me you beauty!” He stretched his arms wide, inviting the wave towards him.

  Cordelia stepped back as thoughts of the storm raced through her
mind.

  “Be strong,” said Marilla, quietly and she placed a reassuring hand on Cordelia’s back.

  In that split moment, where things could have gone either way, Cordelia decided to stand strong and battle her worries about the storm. The wave built up speed as it drew closer, until Morwen brought her hands back together in a circular motion and then quickly drew them apart, dispelling the wave to the sides of the bay where it broke against the cliff walls. The class clapped and cheered, their faces wild with excitement.

  “Settle down, settle down,” said Marilla. “Remember, it’s all in the mind. All you have to do is focus.”

  “Morwen really is the best when it comes to water control,” said Lana quietly.

  “Is it magic?” asked Cordelia.

  “Mind control. Use your mind to think about what you want the water to do. If you concentrate hard enough it will happen. Use your arms to direct the water.”

  “Now, who wants to go first?” asked Marilla.

  Every hand shot up apart from Cordelia’s.

  “In that case we’ll have ladies first.”

  The class watched in silence as Tallulah created her wave, the water slowly rising, shaky at first, the wave threatening to tumble.

  “Focus,” said Marilla.

  Tallulah’s hazel eyes looked fierce as the wave grew stronger and her long talons beckoned the wave to shore.

  “She’s doing it,” whispered Nerissa, “it’s actually working.”

  “Of course it’s working,” said Lana. “it’s not the first time we’ve done something like this.”

  “Not on this scale,” replied Masika.

  Adrenalin rushed through Cordelia’s body at the mere thought of controlling the sea.

  Tallulah continued to beckon the wave, her eyes transfixed as it hurtled towards her.

  “She’s not stopping,” said Rafe.

  The students stepped back.

  “Tell her to stop!” cried Max.

  Marilla held up her hand, signaling for the students not to interfere. When the mighty wave reached the tip of the sea breakers, Tallulah’s hands parted and the wave dispelled, throwing nothing but a few drops of salt water at their feet. Tallulah half curtsied before returning to the group.