Sea Lily Chapters one and two

Chapter One: Into the Water1

Nine-year-old Ella stood on one leg with arms held out straight. She brought her other leg out in front of her, placing her foot in front of the other, balancing. She repeated this, until she reached the pond in the backyard. In the distance a lawn mower was softly humming and the smell of fresh cut grass drifted on the breeze. Her jean shorts and blue tank top were covered with dirt and grass from when she rolled down the hill. A lone jay called, while pulling grass up for his nest. Finches and sparrows flitted in the nearby trees. Stopping by the lady ferns, she threw a small flat rock towards the pond. It skipped three times before sinking, leaving rings rippling outward. Her mother and she had planted red roses a couple of years ago near the pond and they were giving off a sweet aroma that mingled with the cut grass that afternoon. Ella noticed Old Gray, the neighbor’s chocolate lab, was barking at Mr. Simons, the neighborhood tabby cat, up in a tree. Glancing along the ground beside her, she looked for another stone to skip in the mottled gray and black rocks. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement on the pond. She squinted as she looked up. There was no duck or other bird on the surface and she knew there were no fish under the water. “What was that?” she asked aloud.2

Ella leaned over and peered into the calm water, seeing only her reflection. Shrugging her shoulders, she stood up. Suddenly her image on the surface changed. Instead of her mousy brown hair, she saw sunshine blond and turquoise eyes where her maple brown ones had been. Startled, her hands slipped off the slimy rocks only to splash into the water. Her arms sunk up to her elbows before she could regain her balance and scramble out.3

A pale face popped out of the water, with blond hair raining down it's cheeks, and water dripping off its small nose. Ella stood stunned, mouth hanging open, until she heard Old Gray’s barking. She took a deep breath, screamed and ran into the house yelling for her mother.4

* * *5

“Ella, you can’t stay inside forever.” Her mother’s voice was filled with concern.6

“You wanna bet.” Came Ella’s retort.7

Her mother shook her head, “I had your father go out there. He search in the pond and around it and found nothing. I’m not sure what your think your saw out there, but I don’t think there’s any reason for you to stay inside.”8

“Any reason, any reason! Mom there’s a monster living in our pond!” yelled Ella. She had clenched her hands at her sides to keep from throwing them.9

“Ella, calm down.”10

“No!” she shouted.11

“Listen, if you’re that frightened stay away from the pond.” Gently Ella’s mother rubbed Ella's arms.12

Sighing Ella nodded and walked away towards the glass doors. The rain that had started out as a drizzle this morning, had turned into a downpour, complete with a whipping wind. She stood watching the branches of the oak sway its leafless arms skyward, only to be distracted by the streams of rainwater running down the glass. The pitter-patter of the rain that fell on the roof relaxed her. She could hear her mother opening and closing the oven door in the next room. Then the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies came floating in.13

With the comfortable sounds and smells of home, Ella sighed and looked past the rain to the pond. Movement off to the side caught her wandering eye. A flash of red, shaped like a small triangle, moved between the shrubs framing the
back of the pond. Leaning over the rocks looking into the water was the distorted image of a small child with long green hair, “Green hair?” Ella whispered stunned. Quick movement behind the child drew Ella’s eyes to wings.
“Purple wings?” A large fin, that looked like a small whale’s fin, appeared and slipped under the water.14

Ella rubbed here eyes in disbelief and again she looked out at the scene before her. She had been through every shrub, turned over every rock, at least once if not more times, since she could walk. She lived in this house all her life and nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing now.15

Quickly she put on her yellow raincoat and rain boots. She ran outside while the rain beat down, soaking her thin body instantly. Down the hill she trotted to the water’s edge. And there she stood, watching the raindrops bounce off the stormy surface of the pond. Whatever was there was gone. The red triangle-shaped hat, the small child with purple wings, tail in the water, all gone. Ella wondered if she had imagined it.16

Taking a deep breath, “Ummm… My name’s Ella. If anyone or anything is out here, I just want you to know, I won’t hurt you.” She stood there listening to the rain hit the leaves and watched the ripples in the pond again. Ella heard no response. After a few minutes she went back inside disappointed and dripping
wet.17

18


* * * 19

20

The next day, Ella stood at the sliding glass doors. She was staring at the pond at the bottom of the hill. Every few minutes Ella unfolded her arms and reach for the handle that opened the door, only to pull it quickly back. Ella knew she needed to go back there, but wasn’t sure she was up to it. What if she was crazy? What if there was nothing out there? Could she be losing her mind? And if there was something in the water, what could it be? These questions were running in circles in her brain. Last night while lying in bed she had decided that what she had seen was real. She had also decided that she had seen an elf or fairy (she wasn’t too sure about the difference), a gnome and maybe a sea serpent or mermaid. “Stuff out of fairy tales,” she muttered to herself. Squeezing her eyes shut she wanted to forget any of this was happening. As the rain tapered off she drew in a deep breath and opened the door.21

22

* * *23

Ella cautiously approached the side of the pool. The roses were in full bloom and smelled strong, mixed with the earthy smell of soil and algae. Drops of rain fell from the foliage in the backyard. She could hear the frogs croaking
out their throaty melody from behind the reeds at the far end, as a subtle breeze ruffled her brown hair. She searched the surface of the water, hoping to find some sign
of the face she thought she saw the day before. After staring for quite some time, without results, she started looking around the shrubs and ferns for footprints. When she did not find anything but animal prints, she turned to go back inside. As she turned she caught sight of what she thought was a white rock.24

A white rock among the gray rocks was unusual. Once she picked it up she found that it was a shell, and not a stone at all. Not quite sure what kind of shell it was, she turned it over for a closer inspection. Underneath on the pale belly leading into the shell were strange markings, almost like writing. Ella sat down to study it more. The ground beneath her was littered with small smooth rocks worn by time, making it fairly comfortable to sit. Ella ran her finger over the markings feeling the rise and fall of the…words?25

Ella looked up from the shell just in time to see a shimmering tail slip beneath the water, leaving rings rippling to the edge. She leaned over the water as the rocks bit into her knees. A rock or some other pond material glimmered beneath the surface catching her eye. Putting the shell in her short’s pocket, Ella reached down through the water, feeling the cool liquid encase her arm. Ella should have felt the bottom, but her arm continued to sink further in. The water crept past her elbow and headed for her shoulder. A pair of sparrows called from a distant tree, while Old Gray barked in the distance. The smell of algae and roses continued to filled the air. The water had reached her shoulder. Ella pulled out her arm and stared at it in stunned disbelief. Streams of water ran down her freckled arm as she stood rooted in place. She stuck both her hands in at the same time stopping only when her shoulders went under. Holding her breath Ella plunged her head in, shaking off the fear. The water was shockingly cold on her freckled face. She opened her eyes and saw the same shiny object that drew her attention the first time, only it was a distance away from her hands. Pushing with her feet against the loose rocks surrounding the pond, she reached for the item.26

Pale hands grab Ella’s forearms tightly, tugging her gently down. A sense of panic gripped her, squeezing her chest, and Ella kicked her feet, stirring up sand and silt from the slopping sides. She thrashed her arms trying to break free from the vise like grip holding her. Her jean shorts were saturated, weighing her down, causing her to lash more. Further and further she went under the surface of the pond. The pressure on her lungs became overwhelming as she fought against the hands holding her. Bubbles whirled around her clouding her sense of up or down. Her lungs were screaming and her heart beat in her ears, drowning out the calm voice of her captor.27

“Take a breath. Ella…breathe. Ella,” cool hands let go of her arms and took a hold of her face, “Ella, look at me. Breathe."28

Ella stopped struggling long enough to look at the face in front of her then began to scream. 29

A hand clamped down on her mouth. “Shh! I’m not going to hurt you.” Ella stopped shaking her head but her eyes were still wide with fear. “I’m going to take my hand down now. Don’t scream.” Said the girl or what Ella thought was a girl. On a second glance she noticed it wasn’t a normal girl. Framed by a backdrop of beige sand and brightly colored coral stood or floated a mermaid. She had sunshine yellow hair, free floating around a square face. Her turquoise blue eyes sparkled with merriment as her mouth turned up into a brilliant smile that held pointy teeth. Ella caught her breath at the sight of her teeth and realized she could breath.30

“How, how can I breath?” She brought her hand up to her throat. When Ella had fallen in the pond the water was frigid, but she noticed now it was comfortably warm.31

The mermaid flipped her tail, and the light reflected every color of the rainbow, “I’m not sure. Something to do with you being with me. They explained it in class once, but I didn’t pay attention.”32

“Who explained it?” Ella asked.33

“Some teacher, I don’t remember.” She answered, “my name’s Tearuslee, lady-in-waiting for Princess Gianna.”34

“Pleased to meet you,” she curtsied and stumbled because it was awkward underwater.35

“Oh, don’t do that!” Tearuslee pulled Ella up by her arm, “I’m just a servant.” Tearuslee exclaimed. “And this is Antanego, city of the merpeople.” She turned to show Ella a vast array of caves covering an ocean guyot. Brightly colored coral and sea grass covered most of the space between openings. Small paths meandered between clumps of coral and tan boulders. Colorful damselfish swam above sea worms and eelgrass.36

“Wow,” Ella breathed, “It’s so different than what TV makes it out to be.”37

“What is TV?” asked Tearuslee. 38

Ella thought for a moment, “a box with pictures that move.”39

Large turquoise eyes stared at her, “pictures that move, wow! You must tell me more.”40

“Well,” said Ella, “people in a place called…”41

“Excuse me Tearuslee,” a small blue crab interrupted from a boulder off to their left, “but aren’t you forgetting about why she’s here?”42

“Oh yes, thank you Hermie.”43

Ella watched as the crab scuttled off the rock, “does everything talk down here?”44

“Every animal has it’s own language. You just have to listen for it.” She shrugged.45

“Oh.” Ella stood dazed. All the stories she’d been told or had read could not do justice to the real thing. The coral were in such fantastic colors of blues and greens, oranges in clumps with fiery red. She could see pipefish swimming in and out and one fiddler ray burying itself in the sand.46

“So why am I here?” Ella asked Tearuslee. Tearuslee avoided Ella’s eyes as she tried to figure out what to say. She wanted to put it in a way that wouldn’t scare Ella, but that she would understand the urgency of her part.47

Ella waited as patiently as a nine-year girl could. But finally she could no longer wait. She stomped her foot, only to stir up silt from the bottom. “Hey, just tell me.”48

Tearuslee held up her webbed hands. “Ok…a special shell was taken from Princess Gianna’s cave. This shell is a map that leads to a place that holds a rare flower. We need that shell now, so we can find the flower!” She passionately replied.49

“But why me?”50

“We’ve found that our only whirlpool leads to your pond.” 51

“Whirlpool?”52

“Yes. To get to distant places or different waterways we use whirlpools. Our last surviving whirlpool leads to your pond.”53

Astonished Ella said, “my pond?”54

“Yes, your pond.”55

“And what do you mean by last surving whirlpool?” Ella asked.56

“Our whirlpools suddenly started disappearing or would die. We’re not sure which.” Tearuslee answered. “Are you going to ask a question after everything I say?”57

“Probably.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry go on.”58

“So this leads us to believe the shell is in your pond.” 59

Ella stood thinking about the whirlpools and how strange that they were in danger, and then asked, “Why are the whirlpools dying or disappearing?60

Tearuslee shrugged her bare shoulders, “I’m not sure. The rumor is that the merpeople and whirlpools are connected and when we start dying so do they.”61

Ella floated quietly for a while digesting what she had learned, when Tearuslee broke in to her thoughts.62

“Soooo…have you seen anything strange at your pond?” She bite her lip and waited.63

Ella floated in place thinking about what has happened the past week. She remembered the purple wings and the red hat. 64

Then it dawned on her. “The fin.”65

“What?” asked a startled Tearuslee.66

“The fin. I’ve seen a fin twice now and your face. Plus a couple of other things but…but they don’t matter.” She threw up her hands. When they were coming down she hit her pocket and felt a lump. “Oh my gosh! I found a shell right before your pulled me through.” She pulled it out. “Is this it?”67

Tearuslee snatched it out of Ella’s hand, “let me see! Oh my gosh…this is it! How did you find it?”68

“It was on the shore of the pond, mixed in with the rocks. I found it right before I fell in the water.” She explained again.69

Tearuslee swam off a little ways, “come on. We have to get started.”70

Ella swam after her. “Hey wait.” Tearuslee slowed down for her. “What are we doing? Where are we going?”71

Sighing Tearuslee turned and held out the shell. “This shell is a map. It’s a map to the Sea Lily.”72

“And why do we need this Sea Lily?” She asked.73

Tearuslee looked sad. Casting her eyes towards the sea floor she said in a small voice, “The Creeping Crust. The Creeping Crust is making the merpeople sick.”
E
lla glanced at the caves over Tearuslee’s pale shoulder. The paths were empty. No one was out running errands. No merchildren were playing. “It looks deserted, “ Ella whispered.74

“The healthy are taking care of the sick. Even King Portius the 7th is helping. You see even Princess Gianna has the Creeping Crust.” Tearuslee said solemnly.75

Touching Tearuslee’s arm Ella asked, “please, tell me what the Creeping Crust is.”76

“It is a disease. It’s a crust that grows on our tails, making them too heavy to swim. And we must swim to live.”77

“Ok, so now that we have the map what are we to do with it?” Ella asked.78

“We must follow the map to find the Sea Lily.”79

“Just the two of us? By ourselves? One girl, one mermaid?” She asked frightened. When Tearuslee nodded, “are you crazy? I know nothing about the sea. We could get hurt or lost. Or even eaten!”80

While Ella was ranting Tearuslee had already started to swim away.81

“Hey, wait for me.” Yelled Ella. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She muttered under her breath.82


Chapter Two: Meeting 83

When they’d gone a ways, Ella pulled on Tearuslee’s teal green tail fin, “hey, lets stop. I’m getting tired. I’m not use to all this swimming.” Ella put her hands on her knees and slumped over leaning against a beige boulder.84

Tearuslee stopped in front of a sandy hill littered with rocks and clumps of sea grass. At one side sat a dark cave entrance. A brightly colored school of angelfish gracefully swam by. Clumps of seaweed swayed before them, reaching their spindly arms towards the surface as if trying to grab the clouds in the sky. 85

“Where does the map say we need to go first?” Ella asked breathless. Tearuslee looked towards the cave entrance; back down at the map and then to Ella. Ella got the hint. “You mean we have to go in there? Oh no, I am not going in some dark cave!”86

"Ella, we must go in there. If I don’t find the Sea Lily my people will die.” She said grimly.87

Ella floated for a moment weighing the pros and cons of this adventure. She really wanted to help this mermaid who had dragged her to this watery world, but she also wanted to go home where she was safe from harm. Finally she decided she couldn’t leave Tearuslee on her own to find this special plant. Ella decided to stay. She nodded her head slowly. 88

After they had rested for a bit they swam into the cave. It grew dimmer the farther in they went but still they could see enough to get through the bumps in the path. They came to where the ceiling dipped before a corner.89

Crash…90

Roarrrrrrrr…91

Crash…92

“Tearuslee, did you hear that?” Ella asked as they peeked around the corner. The sounds were coming from somewhere in front of them. The cave became unusually bright. Small yellow sponges hung from rock ledges and small depressions, giving off a soft glow, like a weak candlelight. Before them on the cavern floor slithered a huge gray eel. Its head was looming over two figures watching them with enormious liquid ink eyes. One figure was an uncommonly large damselfish, about the size of a child of two. In the strange yellow light it looked dark pink, with a white band behind its eyes and one down it’s back. 93

Next to it stood an incredible sight, one out of a fairytale or myth. The second figure was a half man and half crab. His head and body were that of a middle aged man. He wore no clothing except for a strap the held his satchel full of spears. His hair was a brown mass floating around his bearded face. He looked strong with muscular arms and chest. His lower half was that of a crab. Eight legs held up his red and white speckled shell while his two pinchers snatched in and out at the eel. 94

“I have never seen anything like that.” Whispered Ella.95

“He’s very rare. It’s fortunate we ran into him. Look at the size of the eel.”96

“It’s as big as a school bus.”97

Tearuslee looked at her surprised, “What is a bus?”98

Ella whispered in Tearuslee’s ear, “it’s big. Let’s just leave it at that.”99

They watched as what Ella considered to be a mancrab darted in and threw a long spear. The spear bounced harmlessly off the eel’s tough gray hide, and then he scuttled back out of range of the eel’s jaws. The eel snapped at the exceptional creature, as he shuffled away, only to pull back before the mancrab got out a new spear. To Ella, it seemed as if they were engaged in a dance of sorts. Each one followed their own music and steps. The mancrab repeated this dance while Tearuslee and Ella continued peek around the corner. The damselfish held out the mancrab’s last spear, but before he could grab it and throw it, the eel retreated down a large cave off to the left of the warrior. 100

The girls came swimming out clapping their hands. The mancrab turned towards them, spear aimed. The fish darted behind him, peeking out around the mancrab’s thick back. When the mancrab saw who they were, he dropped his arm and bowed. Holding out his other hand, he said in a deep raspy voice, “Tearuslee, how good to see you.”101

“Sir Clay,” she grabbed his hand, “you too.” She turned to Ella, “and this is Ella. Ella is a human from up there,” and she pointed towards the surface with a smile. “Ella this is Sir Clay Crabson, weapons master of Antanego.”102

Ella swam shyly forward and tried to curtsy again. “Nice to meet you.”103

Clay bowed low, scraping his hand on the hard cavern floor. “So very pleased to meet you human Ella.” Motioning behind him. “And this is my apprentice, Tad.” Tad peeked from behind him, “Tad, come out here and greet our guest properly.”104

Slowly, Tad the damselfish, swam out from behind Clay and squeaked, “How d-do you d-do?”105

Ella and Tearuslee giggled behind their hands, one webbed and the other not, at his shyness. Tad blushed and darted back behind Clay.106

“Not very brave is he?” asked Tearuslee stifling her laugh.107

“You must forgive him. He is young still and learning.” Stated Clay.108

“Clay,” Tearuslee shuffled in uneasiness. “Clay? I need to ask you a something.” She clasps her hands together and scrunched her shoulders. Clay nodded and she went on. “Ella and I, well Ella and I are off to find the Sea Lily.”109

“But the Sea Lily is hidden and the map has gone missing.” He plainly stated.110

“But Ella has found the shell,” she rushed “and we are going to find the flower and cure my people!”111

Stunned Clay asked, “and what is it you need from this humble servant?” Tad chose this moment to pop his pink head out from behind Clay.112

“We need you to join with us.” She blushed and looked down.113

Clay was obviously taken aback, for his blue eyes grew wide and his shoulders straightened. He looked at them for a time. “And what do I get out of this?”114

“I’m sure King Portius will give you something in return for your help.”115

“Is it d-dangerous?” Tad asked from underneath Clay’s arm.116

Leaning over to her right to see around Clay she answered, “I don’t know. We have to go through this cave. And from what I saw a few moments ago, it just might be.”117

During this conservation Ella had grown tired of floating in one place. She had wandered near the cave the giant eel had disappeared down. Trembling with fright she peered down the dark tunnel. Near this, off to one side was another tunnel. This one smaller, and with the same brightness as the cavern had been. Ella called, “hey guys, come look at this.”118

The other three swam and scuttled over to look down the tunnel. “What does the map say?” asked Clay looking over his shoulder towards Tearuslee.119

Tearuslee ran a webbed finger over the strange symbols, and glanced at the opening Clay was standing in front of. “It says we must take the one that glows like fire from above. I would guess it would be the one we’re standing in front of.”120

“Well human Ella,” Clay said turning to her and holding out his arm, “shall we get on with this mission?”121

Ella nodded her head, took his offered arm and kicked her feet.122

Tearuslee called after them, “so does that mean you’re in?”123

Laughter came floating back to her and she glanced at Tad, shrugging her shoulders they followed behind them, swiftly closing the distance in no time.124

* * *
After some length of time and distance the water started to get difficult to swim in. It seemed to Ella that the water tried to push her back the way she had come. Struggling against what seemed to be a strong current their momentum slowed considerable. “There shouldn’t be a current in a cave!” Exclaimed Sir Clay.125

“What do you think it could be?” asked Ella.126

“I do not know, human Ella,” Clay stated nervously.127

All of their limbs dragged, weighing them down from working hard against the current. Ella’s arms felt as if weights had been tied to them. Her breath came in gasps and her feet could barely kick. She fought to hold on to Clay’s carapace.128

Just when it felt that the little group could not wrench their fins or legs any farther, they came to an ample opening with a pit spanning the width of the tunnel. From wall to wall the mouth of this hole yawned at them, as the water was pushing them away from it. At the edge stood an outcropping of rocks. They looked as if they were growing out of the ground, almost like a garden of flowers. Some were the size of a bike while others were smaller like dogs. Each of them grabbed on to a medium sized boulder.129

“Tad?” Clay called, ”can you swim across?”130

Tad swished his tail and fought against being pushed away. Tearuslee caught his tail fin as he started to slip past her. Tad shook his finned head.131

“Let me try,” said Tearuslee, squaring her bare shoulders, “I’m going to go a little higher. Maybe this current doesn’t reach very high.” Tearuslee tried to get a little further up. Although she did get further, like Tad she was repelled back. She stopped herself by grabbing a rock ledge sticking out. “It’s no use!” she panted.132

For a long time the four of them, one human and three creatures of the deep, held onto the outcrop, feeling defeated. Each one took the problem to heart and was determined to figure out how to swim across. At one time Tad’s face lit up like he had an idea only to drop his half formed idea before it even left his mouth.133

Finally Ella turned towards Clay. “Clay,” she called pointing to his back, “could you use those to hold on to?”134

Looking bewildered he asked, “What do you mean?”135

Sighing Ella strained to get her idea across to him. “Could you throw your spears up towards the ceiling?”136

“Yes, but why?”137

“Did you see how far Tearuslee got compared to Tad?” Ella asked.138

“Yes, yes! I see. Maybe further up there is less thrust. Yes, lets try it.” Clay took one spear, balanced it and heaved it up towards the ceiling. The spear bounced harmlessly off the rock.139

“Darn!” he exclaimed.140

“There’s got to be away. Think, think, think.” Ella wanted to pace but she held on tightly to Clay’s back and a rock the size of Old Gray back home. She looked at his spears sticking out of his case. They were long sticks of deadwood with shells attached to the end. “Clay how do these work? They don’t look like they could stick into anything.”141

“Oh they’re only supposed to hurt and scare off creatures, not draw blood.”142

“No wonder!” Ella slapped her forehead almost losing her grip on Clay’s back. “We must sharpen the shells.”143

“With what?” asked Tearuslee baffled.144

Tad held out his fin, and in it he held a piece of red coral. 145

“What am I suppose to do with that?” snapped Tearuslee.146

Tad made a sweeping motion with the coral, back and forth.147

“Human Ella, take the coral, break into two and run it across the shells. You too, Tearuslee.”148

Ella and Tearuslee scrambled to keep hold of the spears as they sharpened the shells. With the spear’s handle wedged between Ella’s knees and Tearuslee’s fin and a rock, the sharpening seemed to drag on.149

“Hurry lassies! I’m losing hold!” Exclaimed Clay loudly.150

“Here!” Called Ella. Tearuslee also handed hers over. There were six sharpened spears in all.151

“Thank you ladies.” Turning once again he heaved one spear extending his powerful arm. Holding their collective breaths, they watched as the sharpened shell imbedded itself in the cavern wall. Joyous cheers went up from all and Clay set up for another throw. One by one the spears stuck showing a clear path across the ceiling, like monkey bars. Each one met with cheers of triumph. 152

“Everyone climb on.” Called Clay. They scrambled up as Clay pushed off the floor towards the hanging spears. Clay fought with the handholds, each one becoming shakier than the other. His arms were rapidly losing strength with each passing moment. With determination he pushed on, grunting with every swing.153

Towards the middle of the hole, the tremendous push became a pull. The drag caught them all off guard. Tad and Ella started to slide off Clay’s shelled back. Ella managed to grab the strap of Clay’s spear case with one hand and grab Tad with the other. Tearuslee tail fin beat furiously to keep her on Clay’s back.154

Clay strained to keep his grip. He fought against the drag, and little by little he made it to the other side gasping for breath. With sides heaving, he shook out his overtired arms.155

“There’s,” panted Ella, “there’s no push or pull over here.” The three slide off Clay’s back and swam over to the edge. They could see nothing but dark empty water.156

“Let’s rest here for awhile.” Tearuslee said panted.157

Clay just moaned, as he sunk his carapace to the floor. Tad hung suspended, gills flaring and fins slack. His eyes darted here and there searching everywhere. Both Ella and Tearuslee leaned back against the hard cavern wall. Ella dropped her head into her hands while Tearuslee and Clay stared off into space.