“Ooh,” exclaimed Fiona as she drifted into the lake. “It’s not cold at all.”
“Not too cold, not too warm. Everything about this world is perfect.”
They led each other deeper into the lake, around outcroppings and into the crannies where the water rose to their shoulders. Loons and other water fowl nestled in the overhanging branches. From the shore Lady Esme called to them. Moth held tight to Fiona’s hand.
“That way,” he said, guiding her farther around the bend. Fiona kept hold of him.
“Don’t go drowning on me,” she warned.
The lagoon extended long past the rocks. They could see now how it twisted into a river that headed toward the hills. Moth ventured out a little further, until the water was around his shoulders.
“We can follow the river all the way to Merceron,” he said. “All we have to do is make our food last.”
“You like soggy meat pies?” Fiona asked. “Yours were in your coat. Remember?” She pulled on Moth, wanting to go back. “We shouldn’t have left our things,” she said. “It’s too deep here anyway.”
Moth took one last look at the winding lagoon, until a flash of golden hair snagged his attention.
“Come on,” urged Fiona, dragging him away.
“Shh!” Moth ducked down until the water was up to his chin. “Fiona, look…”
There, lying against a giant rock, was a woman, her bare back soaking up the sun, her entire lower body submerged in the emerald water. Her head rested on her arms, turned to one side. Her face held an expression of utter contentment, her eyes closed.
“She’s… naked,” Fiona whispered.
Moth tried to hide his grin. “Yeah…”
She was like the storybook princess Moth had imagined Lady Esme to be, her hair so impossibly golden it rivaled the sun. Her peaceful, porcelain face showed no trace of fear or shame. Like everything they had found so far in this world, she was perfect.
“Go on, put your eyeballs back in your head,” scolded Fiona. “Haven’t you ever seen a woman before?”
Moth shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
Fiona frowned, not getting his meaning. “Just don’t stare like that, okay? Maybe she can help us.”
To Moth’s surprise Fiona trudged toward the rock, pulling him along. “Excuse me,” she called out. “Hello?”
Moth felt like a little brother being dragged around. He snatched back his hand, taking his chances in the deeper water, trying to look older than his thirteen years.
“I think she’s sleeping,” said Moth. “Maybe we should just leave her alone.”
“She’s the first person we’ve seen here,” said Fiona. Louder this time, she shouted, “Ma’am? Excuse me, ma’am? Can you help us?”
At last the woman’s eyes fluttered open. They were close enough now for Moth to see how green her eyes were, the same jewel color as the water. She rolled onto her side to watch them.
“Oh…,” gasped Moth, stunned by her nakedness.
“I’ll do the talking,” said Fiona. She smiled like a politician as they approached the woman. “We’re sorry to bother you,” she said, “but we’re sort of lost. My name’s Fiona…”
“I’m Moth,” Moth interjected. He put up a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
The woman returned a dazzling smile. Once more she turned, sinking a little in the water to recline against the smooth rock. “Where are you from, young ones? I don’t know you.” She studied Fiona in particular, seeming perplexed. “What a color your hair is! And your wrappings—why?”
“You mean our clothes?” asked Fiona. “It’s what we wear. We wear clothes where we come from.”
Clearly the woman was confused. She leaned closer, eyeing Moth. “These waters are Shelian,” she said. She pointed to where the waters wound toward the mountains. “Where is your clan? In the Tiger Teeth?”
“Clan? No, ma’am, we don’t have a clan,” said Moth. “We’re looking for someone.”
“A Shelian?” asked the woman.
“Uh, we’re not sure,” mused Fiona. “We’re from—”
“From somewhere else,” Moth said quickly. “Someplace far away from here.”
The woman tried to be accommodating. “These are Shelian waters. Do you know that?”
As the woman waited for their answer, she pulled herself onto the rock, up out of the water. Moth braced to see the rest of her, shocked by what he saw. Next to him, Fiona’s jaw fell open.
The woman’s lovely human flesh disappeared beneath her torso, changing into the glistening and scaly body of a fish. The enormous tail undulated as it helped her onto the rock, its multicolored fins shining like a rainbow. Casually she tucked her tail beneath herself.
“Younglings?” she queried.
Moth couldn’t speak. The woman—the mermaid—blinked in puzzlement.
“You are lost?” she asked them. She patted the rock beside her. “Come sit with me. The sun is good today.”
Moth shuffled closer to Fiona, realizing that the woman thought they were just like her. “Uh, Fiona…”
“You’re a mermaid!” Fiona blurted.
Moth took Fiona’s arm. “That’s right,” he chirped. “A mermaid. Nothing unusual about that, right? Let’s just go now…”
“Moth, look at her!” Fiona sputtered.
Moth turned toward the woman and said, “We’re sorry we bothered you…”
But the woman looked alarmed now. She squinted down into the water. Her eyes widened in something like horror as she realized there weren’t tails beneath the strangers, but legs.
“Who are you?” she asked. “Where are you from?”
“Look, we don’t know anything about your people,” said Moth, knowing he couldn’t lie. “We’re from across the Reach. We’re looking for a wizard named Merceron.”
The mermaid slipped back into the water. “You’re humans!” she gasped. “Humans can’t be here. It’s forbidden!”
“But we had to come,” said Fiona. “We have to find Merceron.”
“We’re not here to hurt anyone,” added Moth quickly. “Really, we just need some help. Do you know Merceron? Does he live in those hills?”
The mermaid seemed genuinely frightened now. “I cannot speak to you,” she told them. “Go and forget this place. Go now, please.”
Like a porpoise she dove into the water, speeding away into the emerald lagoon. Moth and Fiona watched her go, stupefied.
“She was afraid of us,” said Fiona. “Why?”
Suddenly, their perfect world didn’t seem so perfect anymore.
“My heart’s thumping in my chest again,” said Moth.
Fiona took hold of his hand. “Mine too.”
A DIFFERENT SKY
EVEN AFTER A LONG DAY of walking, Fiona doubted she could ever fall asleep. With their long coats for sleeping bags, she and Moth lay beneath a carpet of stars, gazing up in wonder. Fiona had seen stars at home, of course, but the gray skies of Capital City had never looked like this, and she knew that counting them all would take the rest of her life. In this world—whatever this new world was called—the stars actually twinkled. Some even streaked across the night, leaving a dusty, fading trail. Wide-eyed, too excited to sleep, Fiona imagined she and Moth were in a safe place, where none of the strange creatures of this world could find them.
In truth, they were not very far from the place where they had seen the mermaid. After that odd encounter, they had somehow found the strength to hike an hour more, but with little progress. Feet aching, legs aching, they found another solitary nook along the bank of the sparkling river, spreading out their coats and settling down for the night. Lady Esme stayed close to them, descending from the sky as darkness fell. Moth used a single, precious match to start a fire, just big enough to warm a meat pie for the three of them to share.