UNDER THE SEA

Lia saw things get worse. The peaceful land that they prided themselves with was now shaking with cries. The worries and doubts that glided through the water were forced upon her ears.

Lost in her thoughts, Lia didn't give any attention to the stares she got when she joined the crowds and ignored how they had parted ways to give her space. The momentary silence had provided her a chance to organize her thoughts, and when she snapped out of it, she saw that she was in the middle of a circle.

Lia looked around and found that there were at least twenty mermaids and mermen gawking at her, assessing her every feature and move. They had a gentle smile that didn't fit with the way their eyes bored into her.

She kept on a strained smile and blinked slowly, knowing exactly what was about to come. The discomfort that filled her only got worse when a senior swam toward her and took a hold of her hand before slowly touching the scales on it.

Lia instantly built up walls mentally, blocking everyone from hearing her thoughts.

She merely nodded at the greeting and said nothing. She didn't dare to meet anyone's eyes, in fear of them coming forward and greeting her one by one. If that were to happen, they wouldn't finish until tomorrow, and even then, she feared they would take just as long, if not longer, to convey their wishes to her.

Her sole hope, for now, was for someone to help her out of this situation. But, seeing as the circle was only getting larger, she doubted anyone would step forward to stop them.

Lia sighed, it seemed she had no other choice.

Her charming blue eyes met with the senior's gray ones and she held her gaze for a few seconds, almost mesmerizing the elder. Her eyes sparkled with kindness and utter loveliness that could be found in no one other than Lia. "These past few days have been hard, haven't they?" Those words were uttered elegantly. The moment her voice fell into the audience's ear, all of them looked at each other in awe.

'Did you hear her?'

'Yes, yes!'

'Me too!'

'As expected of Ster's daughter, she is able to send her voice to everyone!'

The murmurs around her only got louder as her voice reached further and further. She sighed internally as she watched them get excited by this. Lia knew that she could've ignored this step and communicated with the elder only, but that would only give a bad name to the family.

The ability to pick and choose who to hear, and who to let them hear you, was a unique ability that only selected families had. She was both lucky and unfortunate to have it.

The senior that stood in front of her took a few seconds to snap out of her daze, and the smile on her face got larger. She held onto Lia's hand tightly and nodded her head in silent confirmation.

"Please help us, Lia," with a cracked voice, the mermaid said. "Your blessings can aid us and can push us through such dark times." Hearing such words, Lia bit down on her words of denial, knowing that it would only add to the fire.

Those who were close by only got the message after several minutes, and some of them weren't able to interpret what she said. But when one of them cheered in agreement, the rest followed, almost urging her to answer faster. Some of them had their fists up, and others kept nodding their heads at her.

She even saw a few younger buddings looking at her with sparkling eyes and hopeful expressions. It was as if they saw a hero in her or an idol that they couldn't believe was true.

Facing such a situation, Lia had only one choice.

It physically pained her to agree with the elder's wishes. She felt her free hand clench, and she forced back a frown from appearing.

Seeing that she took her time to reply, the joyous expression on the elder's face slowly disappeared and was replaced by a confused one. "Is there anything wrong?"

The mermaids and mermen who heard her, all looked at each other in confusion and repeated 'Wrong?'

Lia knew the signs of upcoming trouble, so, she only chuckled and pulled out an even bigger smile while shaking her head. "No, no. There is nothing wrong, I was thinking of which blessing to give." There it was. She had just sold her fate.

The cheers that followed were too loud for Lia, that she had to shut them off. She blinked her eyes at the happy faces that surrounded her and smiled at the sweet words that were thrown at her, but she didn't hear them.

Lia knew she had to give up and surrender to her fate. If she started now, that would mean she could finish faster. Her free hand slightly trembled as she raised it and pointed it at a pressure point on the senior's forehead.

Everyone was anticipating this moment, and the crowd got closer to watch the process. They were too close to the point she could touch them if she wanted. In normal cases and if they were in their right minds, the way they were acting would be rude. But, she knew that they were merely fascinated by the myths they had heard.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Her hand circled once around an imaginary point and she was just getting into her act when she heard a dignified voice say, "What is going on here?"

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"What is going on here?" It took moments for everyone to realize whose voice was that, but for Lia, it was instantaneous and the relief that washed over her was unexplainable. Her hands left the elder's and she swam directly toward the familiar figure, dodging everyone in her way.

She looked at the golden mermaid with tear-filled eyes and stopped right in front of her. She purposely ignored the audience's shocked eyes as they watched the scene, and shouted, "Mom!"

The way her daughter looked at her in relief, gave the mermaid a clear idea of what was happening. Instantly, her golden eyes moved through the crowd, intimidating everyone into looking away. No one dared to move an inch from their place. They all kept their thoughts to themselves, afraid of thinking something wrong and for it to accidentally fall into her Excellency's ear.

All of the surrounding mermaids lowered their heads. "Your Excellency," their voices merged into one.

But Lia's mother paid them no heed and only looked at her daughter, running her hands through Lia's pink hair and watched as the strands of hair floated freely in the water. "What is wrong?"