Liriope never swam far from the colony. Besides the Wrens, King Glaucus forbade it. But there she was, swimming with Aoide, the furthest from her home she had ever been.
For the first stretch, it was just darkness. But slowly, life appeared. The first group of fish to cross their path was as a school of herring. Traversing this deep in the open sea could mean they were migrating to another colony. Liriope resisted the urge to swim up to them and ask them what it was like being so small in such a large place. She knew they couldn't speak as she did, but they could communicate through telepathy. She was taught schools of fish share a basic conscience and she very much wanted to pick their collective brain, but she dared not do anything without being asked to. She said a silent hello to a barracuda and got the stink eye from the Wren. She decided not to think anything at all when they passed a small family of orchid whales.
They swam for quite some time and Liriope started to wonder where they were heading. She didn't dare ask, but something in the distance caught her eye; a light. As they moved closer to the light she realized they were swimming in an upwards direction. It was a very subtle climb, and a young mer like her would not be able to tell the difference in pressure at the slow rate they rose to the surface. But it was the surface. Was it? She thought it had to be, what else could it be? Her heart began to race, her tail suddenly became hot and heavy but she pushed on even harder than before.
Above her, she could see what she learned were clouds peeking through the glistening exterior of the sea. She counted ahead of herself, just a few more strokes until she was at the surface. She gave herself a quick boost with a flick of her tail but she was instantly stopped short. She felt a hard tug pulling her in the opposite direction and realized it was the Wren.
Aoide had stopped swimming and Liriope hadn't noticed. The Wren reached out just in time to grab Liriope's tail and reamed her backward, taking her hair in her hands and squeezing with all her might, choking the gills that were interwoven in her golden locks.
Aoide pulled her close enough so their faces were inches apart. Liriope couldn't breathe, her eyes widened with shock and terror until she could feel herself giving way to slumber, but she fought it off when she heard Aoide's voice.
"Do you think any of this is for you?" Aoide asked her with her teeth clenched. "For generations, you have been nothing but a thought in the current, you are still nothing less. All we do, we do for the King, without him, we don't exist. Without us, the Nereids will perish. You. Are. Nothing. Yet you are everything. Am I clear?" With her free hand, she smacked the young mermaid in the face as hard as she could so blood spilled out her nose. "Do not ever swim to the surface so haphazardly again. She released her hair and Liriope gasped, trying to catch her breath. She began to weep as she held her nose to stop the bleeding. She looked up towards the surface, she was so close.
Aoide cursed under her breath. "Come, we must go." She began to lead Aoide back down into the deep blue but she kept looking back over her shoulder and scanning in all directions. That's when Liriope saw them.
Sharks.
They were swimming just a few leagues away, but close enough to catch the scent of Liriope's blood. They locked on to both mermaids who became instant prey.
"Looks like they want a meal, can you out swim them, small fry?" Aoide said as she took off at super speed leaving Liriope suddenly alone. She was still shaking from Aoide's scolding and now she had four or five meat-eaters on her tail. Her heart raced and she swam as fast as she could, nowhere near the Wren's speed. How did she do that? Liriope wondered.
Use your brain, think! She heard Aoide's voice from the depths below, but not through her ears, it was a telepathic message. Remember, the sea is alive, let it be yours for the taking.
Liriope swam and swam; the sharks were closing in on her. She wondered what Aoidemeant, 'the sea is alive'. Yes, the sea is alive. Help me. She envisioned the sea around her, the molecules it was made from and the organisms living within it. Help me swim faster, she begged the sea. She felt tickles run down her back and arm and down to the bottom of her tail, like thousands of tiny little claws took hold of her and jettisoned her forward. Again they grabbed her and threw her with all their might until she was swimming faster than she ever thought was possible. Again and again, she flew through the currents.
After a time, she looked behind her and the sharks had lost interest at her sudden speed, found another target off to the west of her. She slowed when she saw Aoide waiting for her close to the bottom of the sea bed. The Wren looked like she actually had a half-smile on her face.
"Good thing you're a fast learner." Aoide teased.
"Thank you, Mistress."
"Now, tell me what you did."
"Nothing, Mistress, it was the sea, it helped me."
Aoide's smile faded. "Stupid maiden," was all she said before she turned and began to make her way back home.
Confused, Liriope could do nothing but follow, and ponder what she had said wrong.