"So, how does it feel to drown ?" Aspen asked if I were okay when we were nearing the shore.
"B-brrr" I answered a quiver. The cold air in the dead of the night did not scape me, especially now that I am wearing a very thin silk from Sai.
He was reluctant to even give it to me even though it was a spare, he just did not have a choice.
His magic cloak, automatically fixed itself on me to suit my size and even my chest, it even extend all the way to fit my height.
I thought back a while ago; I was literally wearing nothing.
And as shameful as that is, nothing shames me more knowing that Aspen saw me like that (although he keeps on insisting he saw nothing but bubbles, I don't buy that.), while he rescued me from the waters.
When the small boat made it to the shore, I excitedly stepped on land only to stumble pathetically and roll over the rough sands.
Although there was no harm done on my breathing and I can gallop air as naturally as I can breath in my gills, walking was not as easy like breathing—so it seems.
It took us a gallant amount of time before I can walk on my own.
I was gleefully stepping on the rough sands against my feet. I stuck my hand on the ground, and filled my face with amusement as some bits of sand were stuck on my skin.
I've never been so fascinated...
"Ready to walk, yet? I am tired guiding and teaching you on how to walk like a child." My twin brother openly voiced out.
He has been holding me for support since we came.
And not even a minute came without him voicing out his complaints at how slow of a learner I am while he err-- nicely taught me how to walk properly.
'Its not like I was born with feet that I know how to use them.'
And he must've forgotten that I am (or maybe, I used to be?) a mermaid.
One thing is for sure though.
'Sai will suck at teaching.'
And he should not even consider the idea. He might murder someone else's child.
Being a mage fits him best.
It could have been even better if there was a spell to make me a pro at using my legs like magic.
"Whatever you're thinking, snap out of it before I toss you back to the ocean", Sai snapped.
That made me look at him, confuse.
"How did you know I was thinking terribly of you?"
He smirked elegantly while the wind sweep his hair from his eyes. "Common sense and brain, dear."
He pointed a finger to his head, "too bad you have neither." He brushed me off.
I rolled my eyes. "I cant believe how nasty you are."
Which he returned with, "I prefer the word 'Honest', sister."
He rolled his eyes too and let go of me. I tried stepping again and again.
...
After a while, I finally got this perfectionist' passing grade.
"Finally!" He said dramatically, almost kneeling to pray and thank whoever made me walk like a normal being.
'Why is he so dramatic?'
I turned to Aspen who was leaning on a Rock, facing the moon.
"Are you not coming along with us?" I asked.
"No, I'm good" he glanced at me.
"You'll get bored waiting here. Come on Asp, you're boring, tch. I can't make you legs like this one" Sai pointed to me, "But I can resize you so small, and bring you while you're in an aquarium." He gigled and eyed Aspen from the back.
"Why don't you just transform me yo a fish, why don't you?" Aspen talked back with which Sai responded annoyingly, "Can I?"
Aspen glared at him. Sai widened his childish smile. "Careful what you wish for, Asp."
Aspen shook his head chuckled at his playful friend.
'Why is this guy so full of life right now? He was always stoic under the sea, hmmp.'
"Do me a favor and be quiet at the night bazaar...." Aspen paused, then looked at me, "and take care of your sister, careless wizard".
I gulped. But then he added, "I might get blame if something goes wrong".
I sighed and turn my back away.
I almost thought he was worried about me. It was my fault thinking he meant something else. I started walking on my own-- with difficulty.
Soon after, Sai started walking besides me. He was taller than me. And I can clearly see our resemblance.
I feast my eyes with all the houses that we passed by. They were a lot different from our underwater homes. A lot firmer, rough and woody unlike our smooth corals and giant shells in Trivadocea.
The plants we passed were also a lot beautiful, although I could not see its beauty in all of its form, at the very least I got to admire it through the moonlight.
I did not meet too many creatures on the way but I had seen a few.
It's almost strange for an Island to be filled with different kinds of creatures.
They were also walking down the night street, all the passersby coming from one direction, and I could gaze at them up close this time.
It made me wonder more about the life on the outside.
A Werewolf passed by, and I could feel its amazing power brimming. He looks happy like he won in gambling.
The same feeling was evident when I spotted a bat, that was obviously a vampire on his night flight. The bat even reeks alcohol. 'It must be a happy night for them.'
The full moon was incredibly affecting them and I was grateful that were no longer at war.
A smiling human came across us halfway our journey, she was an old lady who kindly greeted us a "good midnight".
Sai sharply eyed the old woman though. I bet he's got some issues with socializing. Poor woman.
"Ting, ting!" The bell rang from a tall building.
'It's midnight.'
Our birthday has ended. But not the fun.
I looked at Sai, who ignored everything else but continued climbing the hill. I secretly smiled and looked down my feet.
After a few more steps, a lively market place was bestowed before my bronze eyes.
"Welcome to the night bazaar, Sis" Sai finally said something with a huge grin plastered on his face.
He was grinning yet he lifted his cloak to hide his face, "You should do the same," he sheepishly suggested.
I raised my eye brow, "why is that?"
"The villagers here aren't very friendly to strangers...well, unless your an easy-going wonderer idiot vampire-elf."
He sounded like he was cursing someone on his last words.
I did not do as I was told. Lifting the cloak seems like a terrible idea for someone like me who wanted to see the most out of this Island.
'Although, I am curious why he needed to hide his face..'
Krkkkik, kkrrrikkk...
"But Sai, this place doesn't seem that wary of strangers." We just pass a horde of goblins playing by the sidewalk, and they just ignored us. One even beam me a smile.
"That's because it's the full moon." He glanced at the small goblin children. "Visitors, well, costumers to be exact, are welcome around this time of the year."
That reminds me, this island is a bit odd. I never knew a lone island stands in the middle of Trivadocea for all the times I've wondered outside." I held my chin to think a bit.
He nodded. "This island is a bit special. It is a hidden island, that only shows itself around midnights of full moon."
"But why only on full moons?"
He just shrugged me off as he picked up his pace and I had to catch up to him.
In the end, I choose to ignore that ominous feeling and didn't cover my face with the hood. I allowed my eyes roam around when we finally arrived.
It was a night market.
It was bizarre. It was unique. It was none of that I've ever seen before. Small light bulbs of different appearance glimmering in gold glitters in each stall.
All stores with different variety of things that I don't know what was made of; Diverse creatures haunted and manage their stalls.
I saw the nearest stall in my far left. The booth's bulbs were small and almost dim, inside is a square table with a crystal ball placed in the middle-- which I could only guess to be an oracle ball. Half of it's lights were gold and circular, half were glittering gold lights.
I leaned to see the lady who manages the booth.
She have a purplish blue embroidered shawl all around her curly long hair, earrings long that it touches her nape, and a long necklace of quartz.
Even I have no doubt, that she is, in fact, a witch.
We continued to roam the night bazaar.
Every minute was fascinating, even when Sai sardonically grabbed my cloak and dragged me in front of a stall of silks and fabrics.
I was bewildered and amazed at both moments.
The stall oozes mystic and mystery. Starlights had been hanged all around its corners and I saw different fabrics made out to different types: Midnight Vampire cloaks and suits, minotaur horns and ornaments, pixies' little dresses, mages' hats, and threads embroidered that fits fashion of humans and creatures as well as the curious evening gowns made of mermaid-like scales.
The stall wasn't exactly big but it looked as though it had everything for all creatures.
With Sai's eyes covered, he spoke to the small man of the booth, a dwarf.
"Give me a set of clothes for her and a gloves. That too." Sai pointed to a comfortable looking sandal.
The stern dwarf knitted his forehead, "D' y'all have ey penny?"
These words immediately found the way to boil my twin brother's blood.
I felt my companion slightly offended as he sarcastically pulled his lips into a crazy smirk.
He annoyedly grabbed something beneath his robes.
Sai put fourth a bag of coins, and uncovered them.
The dwarf was of course delighted. Even I was delighted to see that, to be honest. It was a bag teeming with golds and silvers, and it was not something ordinary creatures can have.
I looked up at the hiding face of Sai.
'What's hiding behind your facade?' I asked myself.
"E're a'y go, young' lad!" The dwarf came back with the products wrapped in fancy black paper on his arms, extending this with a wide bright smile that even his uneven teeth glittered.
I felt that somehow Sai was still pissed. So I did the honor to take them.
"4 bronze remus" asked the small dwarf as payment. Sai took out 4 bronze coins to give the little man, but he retreated his arms halfway and changed it to a gold, then finally gave the payment.
The dwarf scratched his almost bald head, "Yo'give me a sec'ond for 'ey chan—"
"You can have the change little man. I'm rich. I could even buy you." Sai unnecessarily provoked, as he turned his back and the wind blew to flip his hood from the now frowning dwarf.
He went ahead of me.
I bowed to the dwarf to thank him and immediately went to change my clothes inside the cubicle of the booth.
When I went out, I found Sai waiting for me at the far corner of the market. He is sternly looking at his palm as he clench and unclench his fist.
When I arrived, I greeted him. "What's wrong?"
He froze for a second and glared at me.
He snatched his magic cloak that he lent me along with the single glove he ordered.
He gently grabbed my hand that he held when he chanted a spell for my legs and covered it with the glove.
'Now that I see it, the back of that hand seemed to have a few lined engraved...'
"There." He let go of the hand after that, without answering and explaining, he started walking first.
Tap, tap.
"What was that attitude for? That was rude." I asked, pertaining to the dwarf incident.
'Although I understand that the dwarf was rude first.'
He turned to me, "What do you mean? I just said I was rich."
"Uh-huh..."
"You are very blunt and you called him little." I added
"Well, not to brag, but I am bestowed with such incredible character of honesty."
I moved my head, pretending I didn't hear him. I had come to the conclusion, that its pointless to listen to him or nag him.
My eyes caught a white haired wizard who is ecstatically showing off his bluish-yellow fuming potions in front of his crowd.
"Come! Come! But the magnificent quality potions of the land of Eumadory! These are classics and none like its counterparts!" he advertised. His booth was full of glass and potions with fragrance travelling like charms.
He then drop a bit of some red liquid in the cauldron, and the mixture of bluish yellow turned to a grand gold.
As if by some magic, suddenly that specific stall was fermented with fragrant of sweet citrus tropics and it was alluringly pleasant to the nose.
My brother dragged me to an intersection before I can follow the potions.
Sweet and delicious aroma then filled my lungs. We had entered a section where foods and delicacies lies.
I see munch muffins and butterscotch caram-elite sweets.
It was owned by an old lady, wearing a nicely printed apron of fruits with 'pumpkins' carved and her store was very popular among the ladies.
Another stall next to her sells flowers of extensive selection, pretty, wondrous and yes, a bit lustful.
The shop seems a bit out of place compare to the booths selling food, but it is still fascinating.
I know a handful lot about aquatic plants and seaweeds but I am ignorant of the surface's flora. I was thankful I could read and therefore able to read the flowers' name below its tag and description.
One flower was a combination of lily and Juliet rose, glowing with a different light, it was called 'Jullya'; Then a pot was planted with wild red spider lilies with sharp thorns; A glittering star flower was named 'Amarista'. There were a variety, and I couldn't get enough of it.
There is even a crystal flower named as "teardrop".
"Come~sss, taste a fruit, unlike any other~tsss" the serpent called out my attention.
I titled my head to see the booth not too far. I stared silently at what it was selling and found very confusing fruits.
Some looked like pears with growing white flower on its top. A red apple looked tasty although it also look like an avocado, as humans call it. The serpent also sells purple flower nectars and darkish green substance which the serpent said was honey.
I was about to pick the strange bottle of honey, when Sai snatched my hand.
He cheerfully confronted the talking lady serpent to bargain.
'Although, it's more like a threat than bargaining.'
"Take my word for it, how much do you need in exchange for the herzel honey?" He mockingly asked the serpent. "I'm playing along, so I'll do you funny. I shall be hilarious."
Sai then advanced two steps to whisper, "I can smell your murky venomous plot, you snake."
The smile from the serpent's mouth, faded.
"You~~~sss", slowly she formed a creepy smirk, "sss~~I know you~"
My twin stood frozen, and unmoving.
"No, you don't." Argued my brother like a dumb record.
"Yes~sss, I~sss do."
"No, I don't think so." He played again.
"I do ~sss"
"You don't."
"I do ~sss"
"Fine. You do." He smirked.
"I dontssss---You tricked me~sss!" The serpent hissed.
Sai broke into a fit of laughter, enraging the serpent even more.
"THE -SSS WIZARD'''SSS HERE! THE LONGSSS HAIREDD WIZSSSARD ISSSS HERESSS"! It shouted.