The Ocean is Alive

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat, Indra,” Thalassa was completely drenched, her hair matted clumsily to her neck. She did not look like the picture of triumph, but a foolish grin was plastered over her face.

“It’s not worth it. We both know that,” Indra stood and stretched, emotionless. She seemed utterly apathetic about the idea of becoming Crown Princess of Icilus. 

Thalassa heaved a deep sigh. This was not the first time she’d dealt with her sister’s insolence, she told herself, and it wouldn’t be the last. A soft green wave washed up near her feet, inviting her into the ocean. It was where she needed to go, after all.

“Stop being so stubborn,” Thalassa pulled Indra up by a limp arm and stepped knee-deep into the ocean. She unstrapped a small vial from her belt and inspected it briefly. Unscrewing the cap quickly, she downed the effervescent, turquoise liquid contained inside in one gulp. Indra reluctantly followed suit.

“It’s been a while,” Thalassa managed to say before ducking her head under the sea foam and disappearing into the expanse of water. Indra was about to plead otherwise, but stopped herself. Her sister wouldn’t listen anyway.

Indra inspected her hands slowly, rubbing her ever-so-slightly scaly palms. They’d always been like that. Especially when she got near the sea. No, she was not afraid. Indra had been spending time both over and under that ocean for her entire life. 

Yes, she did wish to become Crown Princess of Icilus. She shook her head. If anything, she might as well watch her sister win the crown and keep her from drowning in the process.

Indra took a deep breath and gave in to the ocean, allowing it to wrap its cool waves around her arms. She propelled herself towards the vague shape of Thalassa, who was darting from one cave to another in search of The Pearl. 

“Oh, good work girls!” A cloyingly sweet voice crashed into both Thalassa and Indra’s heads at the same time. Indra immediately identified it as that of Queen Aria.

“I see that you’ve found nine out of ten pearls. Just one left. I know you can do it!” The same voice continued.

Indra swore she could see Her Majesty winking as the message ended, a feeling that made her only slightly unsettled.

Thalassa had just darted into a nearby cave, and Indra followed, effortlessly floating through the ocean. Seaweed and moss covered the interior. Indra noticed a small hermit crab dragging a piece of bark from one end of the floor to the other as though it was the most important object in the world. 

A faint blue glow illuminated the cave, and Thalassa had already begun searching for the source of the light, frantically disrupting the surrounding foliage. 

“Shit,” Thalassa swore, a small bubble of air leaving her mouth and bursting at the roof of the cave, “Nothing but bioluminescence.” 

Indra moved out the way as Thalassa swam frantically to the next cavern. She watched as Thalassa kicked the piece of bark away from the crustacean in her haste to leave. 

“Slow down,” Indra telepathically said, calmly but firmly.

“Don’t you want to win? You’ve given up already,” Thalassa replied, a fierce whisper in Indra’s ear.

“We can talk about this when we get to the surface. Now slow down,” Indra repeated, this time more insistent. 

“Ugh, get down here,” Thalassa snapped.

Indra followed her sister’s orders, swimming further into the darkness which was only occasionally punctuated by the cool glow of deep sea creatures. An anglerfish swiftly made its way past Indra’s face, towards some unknown destination, its dead eyes gazing somewhere off into the distance. 

“I think—“ Suddenly Thalassa’s voice was in Indra’s ear again, this time louder, “I think I found it!”

Indra bit her lip and forced her way through a crack in the side of a monolithic stone. 

“I found it!” Thalassa was practically yelling at this point.

Indra planted her feet on the algae-carpeted floor of the cavern and examined the walls slowly. She savored the salty ocean on her skin for just a moment before Thalassa was in her ear once more.

“C’mon!” Was all she yelled this time.

“Coming,” Indra’s voice remained monotone. Her sandals were beginning to slip off her feet, as though being swallowed by the plants underfoot. Indra cautiously continued. A stark contrast between the area she’d just been in, suddenly it became dim and a warm luminescence flooded the room. Indra was standing in a corner, in complete awe.

In the center of the room, a golden pearl the size of Indra’s head floated above an ornately carved pedestal. Indra stepped towards Thalassa.

“It’s beautiful,” Thalassa gasped, another air bubble escaping her mouth.

“Well? Do you want it?” Indra asked.

“We need it to win,” Thalassa said, “Of course I want it.”

“Go ahead,” Indra gestured towards the pearl.

As Thalassa began moving closer, the room felt as though it was contracting ever so slightly. The walls pulsated at a regular rhythm, the soft whooshing of fluid filling the tense silence.

Thalassa touched the pearl. The entire cave convulsed. She appeared unfazed, and yanked it away from the pedestal. A deafening ripping noise rumbled through the water. The ground shook.

Above the water, a small crowd of girls who looked not much unlike Thalassa and Indra had gathered. At the front, a tall, prim woman wearing a crown. They sat upon the decks of boats and upon shoddily constructed rafts, waiting in stale anticipation for the last pearl to be found. They knew that the time had come. The swells in the ocean were getting bigger.

“We have to go,” Indra didn’t plead, she didn’t beg, she simply repeated that phrase until Thalassa had wrapped her arms around the vibrantly glowing orb and followed the directions.

“We have to go,” Indra said definitely, after her sister had left. She looked back at the walls, which had begun to pulsate faster. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I’ve let you down.”

A low growl filled the room, and she left. The ocean was alive, and it was angry.

Thalassa clutched at the pearl, which didn’t resist, and pulled it to shore. The group of girls and women, which had now multiplied tenfold, made its way towards Thalassa as quickly as possible. Thalassa was suddenly the Crown Princess of Icilus. 

Indra resurfaced hours later, her hands now slightly more scaly, her hair now caked with salt. She dragged herself to shore and sat solemnly, her hands wrapped around her knees. They had robbed the ocean of its treasures. They were thieves. 

Later, at Thalassa’s coronation, Indra reappeared. Her skin had taken a bluish tinge, and her eyes were pale and dead like that of the anglerfish. The ocean had lost its treasures, and Indra had always felt a connection to the sea.