Sky and Water Meet

It was not the first time that Eretria had been followed, nor was it going to be the last. She had purposely left the ocean and all that she knew behind for what she hoped would be a better world. As a sea spirit, Eretria’s beauty had been known in the Oceanworld for being simply stunning and radiant. Having left her home, it was now up to her fiancé, Erik, the god of the Black Sea, to get her back. Eretria had not chosen her fiancé, rather he had chosen her for her powers instead. Sea spirits were never meant to possess as much power as Eretria, but luck had it that she had proven to be the opposite.

Raised in solitude out of fear that her powers would be exploited, Eretria had not much experience with the Oceanworld. Even less with the world above her that offered countless ideas and possibilities. Luck had it that when Eretria was twenty years old, she heard the mention of the Sky God, Nebu, searching for his water bride. Her curiosity proved to be her undoing.

Living in solitude proved to have its benefits, and one of them was that more often than not, the sea spirit was alone. It was one particularly dark ocean night that Eretria decided to leave her shipwrecked home, head to the surface, and find out more about Nebu. She left her home in a rush, leaving no bubbles in her trail. Making her way to the surface, Eretria realized that she had no idea where to start looking for this strange god. As she swam to the surface, the pressure in Eretria’s chest eased and for the first time in many years, she felt like she could breathe normally. The sea spirit reached the surface and as she broke the surface of the water she took a deep breath of sea water noting that she would not be able to be able to breathe the air above the water.

The full moon greeted Eretria’s eyes and she could not help, but breathe a sigh of relief at the beauty that awaited her. As she did so, she realized her mistake, expecting to start choking on the poisonous air. The unexpected happened when no pain came as Eretria took more breaths. A huge smile broke across her face and she could not help but laugh at the situation. A lovely breeze stirred her hair as she did so bringing with it the smell of home. Or what home should smell like.

Turning around, Eretria found herself looking at the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, sitting on an outcropping rock in the middle of the ocean, looking at her with tears in his eyes. He was bare chested with black pants rolled up to his ankles. His dark wavy hair moved even though there was no breeze present at the time. Startled by the strange man, Eretria splashed backwards, ready to dive back below the ocean’s surface when the man spoke.

“Wait… Please don’t go,” he replied in a silky voice.

The force and tone of his words stopped Eretria on the spot and she looked at him more closely.

“Are you Nebu? The Sky God?” She asked in a small voice.

“Yes, how did you hear about me?”

Eretria then proceeded to explain to Nebu about what she had heard down in the deep and that her curiosity had gotten the best of her. With prodding on Nebu’s part, the sea spirit explained who, what she was, and how much her life was isolated.

“You have still no idea how I am related to you, right?” Responded the god after her speech.

With confusion written all over her face Eretria replied, “No, should I know?”

“You are my mate, dear sweetling. And I have been looking for you for countless years. It was only by chance that I managed to catch your scent, however faint it was.”

Throughout their conversation, Eretria had approached Nebu, entranced by his voice; however, at the mention of the word “mate”, Eretria swung her arms out, splashing water, her eyes filled with panic.

Leaning forward, Nebu reached out his hand, and once contact was made between the two of them, electricity jolted their bodies, and the mate connection was established.

“How is this possible? I’m suppose to marry Erik, the god of the Black Sea. Why me? Why you?”

“Unfortunately, those are matters best left to the gods. However, I can tell you that I am saying the truth.” Nebu then proceeded to explain how he had heard that his mate might be a powerful water spirit. Travelling everywhere around the globe, he had spread stories, hoping that they would reach the Oceanworld. Only his water spirit mate would answer the call, find out his exact location, and join him for eternity.

“So, you see, sweetling, the reason that you are able to breathe as you currently are doing can only be due to the fact that you belong to me, and I belong to you.”

Processing this sudden influx of news, Eretria swam around the rock Nebu was sitting on. Coming to a conclusion, she stopped swimming, faced him, and declared, “Can I leave with you?”

Shocked by the sudden response, Nebu lay there, frozen, nodded, then say, “You can, but not now. Water spirits are only the most powerful during the full moon, and that is in two weeks. Until then you have to stay in the sea. Once the time is right, all you have to do is swim to land, and you will know where to find me. Are you willing to leave everything behind for a man you only just met?”

“Yes, I have to leave. I have never been welcomed in Oceanworld’s society due to my extensive powers. With an unwanted marriage in the way, I have to leave. I want to explore the world and I will never get the chance to do so if I stay where I am now.”

“You know where to find me, my sweetling. I hope I won’t disappoint you.” With this said, Nebu took to the skies and in a few seconds he was a dot on the horizon before disappearing from view.

Without wasting any more breaths, Eretria ducked in the sea and headed back to her isolated home. The swim home seemed shorter as Eretria recalled what Nebu had told her and that soon she would be able to leave her prison. Setting down in her kelp bed, the water spirit had never felt so content. Dizzy with joy, she barely managed to catch some sleep before sun’s rays greeted her. While Eretria thought that no one would come to bother her, she was proven wrong in the early afternoon when a procession of sea people arrived close to her home and stopped suddenly.

Out of that procession, Erik, King of the Black Sea emerged and directly made for her. Backing away as slowly as she could, Eretria hid in the kelp forest, but it was no use. Erik found her, with a big grin on his face.

“What are you doing there? Don’t hide, you should be with your fiancé instead. Come out.”

Having no choice but to obey, the shy sea spirit came out, hands in front of her, eyes looking down. “How may I serve you?” She whispered in a tiny voice.

“Serve me? No, not today. I am here to tell you in person that in two weeks from now, you and I will be joining powers in the celebration of matrimony.”

Trying to keep her features neutral, Eretria answered, “I will be delighted to become your queen. But may I ask, why so soon?”

“Soon? What do you mean? I want you to become mine and the full moon provides the perfect occasion for this. Aren’t you thrilled?

“Yes I am, do not presume to think otherwise. I am just baffled at how soon the wedding is.”

“Good, it is good to know that you won’t think of swimming away.” Erik said, before laughing.

Having no choice to join in, Eretria laughed uneasily. After Erik had left, servants came to her, took her body measurements and announced that they would be back in a little less than two weeks to bring her to the Palace of the Black Sea. The procession left and Eretria was left to her dark thoughts. Nebu. She kept on thinking about Nebu and how she could warn him, but found no answers to her many questions.

The next week passed slowly and it was during this time that Eretria devised a plan on how to leave the Oceanworld early to go on the mainland. There, she would find refuge until the full moon and she and Nebu would be reunited. A few days before the royal servants were to come back and get her ready for the wedding, Eretria left in the dead of night. So quiet was the ocean that no swells disrupted it, and no whales made noises. Having packed only what we could carry, Eretria left in a hurry, hoping that no one would catch her leaving. Using her ocean powers, she propelled herself to go faster and her powers responded easily.

She swam all night and into the next day when the ocean floor’s sand turned a light shade of color. Swimming accordingly, Eretria soon found herself in a small cave that led to land. Donning some old clothes that she had found floating in the sea, Eretria quickly left her hideout and walked on unsteady legs to the small city she saw in the distance.

Walking proved to be harder than she thought, but with the help of strangers, she finally made it. As she was settling down to sleep in a dark alley, she felt it. Deep in her bones, she felt that he had come for her. Not Nebu, but Erik. Keeping hidden in the shadows, Eretria tried to shut out her thoughts and control her breathing.

She knew that if Erik got hold of her, then she would be made a prisoner and she would be his forever. She did not care if she had to run all her life. All she cared about was getting away from him.

With these thoughts in mind, Eretria summoned her powers and whispered, “Nebu, where are you now? If you can hear this then please come save me. I don’t have a lot of time left.” Her prayer flew away in the wind and she hoped that Nebu would answer her call.

Standing up on weakened legs, Eretria made a run for it. As she ran, she turned left and right until she completely lost herself in the city. She looked behind her multiple times to see if she was followed and when she wasn’t paying attention, she ran smack into someone’s hard chest.

She looked up, her head spinning, and her blood went cold. Erik was there, gripping her arms so hard that his knuckles had gone white.

“Didn’t I tell you not to run? Look now what you have made me do. I have to punish you for the hateful deed you have done.” Saying this, Erik pulled a long knife and as he placed it next to her cheek, Eretria heard someone land behind her.

The smell of home filled her nostrils and she breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“What are you doing to my mate?” Came the booming voice of Nebu. “Hand her over to me right this moment.”

The knife lowered, but Erik swung Eretria around, with the knife poised at her throat. “Your mate? Your mate? She is mine and she is about to head home right now where she will stay there forever. And who are you anyway to declare her as your own?”

“I am Nebu, Sky God. I will not say this again, release her right now.”

“Sky God? Of course. Your people have stolen from my family for centuries. It makes sense that you would steal Eretria from me.”

Eretria croaked out, “Erik, he is saying the truth. Release me.”

“No, I won’t lose you too.” Erik said, as he pressed the dagger deeper against Eretria’s throat.

“Erik, I can’t breathe.” Eretria whispered.

From her angle, she could see that Nebu was getting more and more worried about the situation. With the dagger pressing more closely, Nebu took a step forward, fear in his eyes, and the wind started to pick up.

As Eretria’s vision started to go black from lack of air, she pushed against Erik, propelled her magic into him, felt the dagger bite into her, and fell into Nebu’s awaiting arms. She heard a terrible scream as the wind tore at her and her vision went black.