May had another realization and tilted her head. "Oh yeah, back in the labyrinth you were able to deflect the arrows that were said to be unstoppable. How was your sword able to do that?" I turned my head down to look at the perfectly engraved hilt of my blade. "It was made from a meteor that contained the strongest metal ever known. There was only enough to make one sword and it took a year to complete. It is one of a kind and it was made especially for me."
May's eyes sparkled with intrigue, and she smiled brightly. "That's so cool! I guess that's one of the pros of being a prince! I wish I had something that amazing!" I stayed silent and returned my line of sight to the view in front of us. After a while, I told Saniel to land early on account that I didn't want to answer any more questions. She'd already squeezed my favorite color and my dream vacation spot out of me, and that's where I drew the line. I hoped that black and deserted island would be the last things she'd learn about me, although I knew that it wouldn't.
By now it was nightfall, and the sky had become pink as we landed in a clear area amongst the trees. "We're within walking distance so we won't have to fly tomorrow. I'll start a fire." After I jumped off of Saniel's back, May followed behind and slid down the side. "And I'll make dinner!"
After we ate we soon fell asleep, and the morning came once again. The sun shone brightly across the clear blue sky, and birds chirped as they flew across it. I awoke to the brightness and sat up slowly. I turned to look beside me to see May already making breakfast. Once she noticed me she greeted me with a smile. "Good morning!" I didn't say anything and she handed me a fruit bowl.
There was no need for me to speak while we ate because of May's constant chatter, and after we were done she told Saniel to wait here before we left. There was a faint breeze through the air around us as we walked, and soon we reached a clearing where a lake resided. The lake spread throughout the valley and continued through the mountains behind it as a river. The water was calm and shined blue as it reflected the sky.
I turned my head to see some plants along the shoreline and approached them. May had a hint of worry in her voice as she stood next to me. "Are you sure you want to continue the quest this fast? Are you well enough? I know Theodius healed you, but you might still need to take it easy." I knelt in front of the plant bed and wondered which one we had to eat in order to breathe underwater. "Which one is tideweed?"
May's attention shifted to the plants and she picked two stems of a plant with green bulbs sprouting from the top. "I think this is it." She handed one to me and I raised an eyebrow. "You think? If we drown because of you I'll kill you." May shrugged. "That's fair." She then took a bite and ate the whole stem. I did the same and after a second I started to have trouble breathing. I could still breathe, but it felt like I couldn't inhale as much as I needed. "Let's go now."
I turned to the water and started to walk into the lake and May followed me. She seemed worried as she went deeper into the water, and she folded her wings behind her. "At least the water's warm. The effects of the tideweed will wear off after a couple of hours, so hopefully we'll make it back in time." I rolled my eyes as I became neck deep. "Now you tell me."
I went fully under a second later, and I stopped to the feeling of water filling my lungs as I inhaled again. It satisfied me as much as oxygen, and I exhaled without any trouble. I was also able to open my eyes fully without irritation. I was impressed that it worked and swam further out so my feet were no longer touching the floor. I realized that May hadn't followed me and was still only waist-deep. I rolled my eyes and swam back over to her to yank her down by the leg. "Ahhh! Don't do that! I thought you were a shark!"
I paused in surprise. "Wait. We can talk underwater?" May nodded. "Yep. Now that we breathe water we can speak like we do when we breathe oxygen." I then grabbed her arm and started to swim out into open water. "Okay. Let's go." May looked around at all the brightly colored coral that was around us as we swam, and pointed to the schools of fish excitedly. "Look! Everything down here is so beautiful!"
I didn't pay her any mind and continued looking for a mermaid. Not long after searching, I saw a few mermaids in the distance, swimming around and playing games. I'd never seen one up close before, since they'd usually swim away as soon as they saw me. Their tails were of all different colors, and their scales shined like metal along with their fins. They wore golden jewelry, and the women had either shells, seaweed, or sea stars covering their chests. They also had gills on the sides of their torso, and their skin was glossy even when underwater.
Once we approached them I drew my sword to get their attention. "Hey! Give me your pearls now before I hack myself some sushi!" They all stopped what they were doing and screamed as they swam away in a flash. Once they were gone I lowered my sword and May swam in front of me. "Dedrin, the test was to get a mermaid to GIVE you their pearls, not to rob them."
Before I could respond I heard someone laughing next to us. I turned my head to see two mermen. The one who was laughing was slender and had a blue tail and long light blue hair. His eyes were blue as well and he wore a seashell necklace. The other was more built with a maroon tail and hair, along with red eyes. He had gold armlets and had his arms crossed, smiling as if he was about to laugh as well.
The blue one calmed down and gave me a look that said I was an idiot. "Silly human. Don't you know that the only way to get a mermaid to give you their pearl is if you impress them? Hahaha." I glared at him and swam closer to them. "Then tell me how to impress you." May followed me and waved to them happily. "Hello, pardon my friend here. What he means to say is nice to meet you. What are your names?"
I then pushed her back by the face and she flipped in circles behind me. "Ah!" I turned back to the mermen and sighed. "No time for that. Just tell me what I have to do." The blue merman looked to May behind me who was continuing to flip in the water with a surprised expression. "You and your girlfriend aren't very compatible, are you?"
My face became disgusted at the thought. "Ew. That's not- Ugh! Gross! She is not my girlfriend!" The red merman looked over to her as well and raised an eyebrow. "She's single, huh?" I caught his attention again and pointed to him as I yelled. "Hey! Don't even think about it!!"