Sebastian wouldn’t let me out of his sight. Apparently I was ‘unwell’ and he had to take care of me. Ava had left him instruction to redress my cuts, and I had avoided it for most of the morning.

“Aubrey let me do your bandages,” he said. I shook my head and pointed at the neat kitchen.

“I need to clean the kitchen,” I tried explaining but he wasn’t convinced. I had cleaned the entire house twice over and washed, folded and returned all the clothes, even the clean ones. That also went for the plates, ornaments, pictures and even the windows, the house had never looked better.

“Aubrey now,” he said sternly edging closer.

“I need to ah…go shopping?” I said hesitant. He lunged at me and I swiftly dodged. “I have to do some gardening,” I tried again.

“We don’t have a garden, now stop moving.” He took another lunge at me but missed.

“Well maybe we should get one.” he chased me around the house for several minutes that to anyone watching would think we were playing some sort of game.

“Why do you only swim well when you want to avoid me?” he finally grabbed me by the tail and reeled me in. “Now I’ve got you, ma ha ha, your mine” he said dramatically. He pulled me downstairs wrapped his tail around my waist, holding me captive on the couch while he got out the medical kit.

“I’m completely fine, you don’t need to do anything.” I squirmed in his grasp which only tightened. I felt his hand rest on my shoulder steading me.

“Then there should be no problem with just a checkup. If you had let me do it sooner you wouldn’t have had to clean the entire house as an excuse.” He laughed. “Now do you want to take your top off or should I?” he asked rather smug. I thought I was smart by wearing a slip on as that way he wouldn’t be able to take it off, how wrong I was. I glanced over my shoulder at him shocked.

“How about neither.” I snapped. I felt his hand slid up the skin of my back making me jolt and twist to hit him. A sudden pain stretched across my back. I clenched my mouth shut. Sebastian twisted me around.

“Stop being silly, I’m going to see your full glory eventually,” he mused getting very dirty thought. He flicked his attention back to the problem at hand. “Lay down before you do more damage to your back.” He carefully but forcibly pushed me onto my stomach across the length of the lounge. He slid my top up so it was pulled right up under my armpits and scrunched against my neck. It was a bit awkward to unravel the bandages, given my current position. “You’ve reopened some of you cuts, do you know how much slack Ava is going to give me.” I felt him dab some sort of antiseptic on my cuts. “You must have a high tolerance to pain,” he commented. I shrugged and instantly regrating it. “So what’s the deal with this scare?” he asked running his finger across the mid right over my scare.

I instinctively attempt at covering it, trying to pull my shirt down, that the annoying mer held it as well as me in place. “I literally have all day honey,” he said.

“Don’t call me honey, sweetie,” I growled back at him. He simply smiled, tilted his head and waited. If he wanted to wait all day then we’d all day. He redid the bandages up to prevent parasites nibbling their way into me, but left me top up as he knew it would keep me in place. “So…” he asked waiting for the answer. I remained silent. He was the one who started it but I was the one going to finish it even if it took literally all day.

***

Ten minutes in I was bored out of my mind, the clock tick slower and slower. I could tell Sebastian was on his last fins with patients. I would only have to wait a few minutes more and he would surly give up…Another ten went past and I didn’t know why we were even doing this. I was being stubborn not to mention childish with this silent treatment. Was it even a big deal if he knew? I took a breath in ready to give up and tell Sebastian, but he suddenly jumped in ahead of me.

“Don’t worry about it, I understand you don’t want to talk about it.” He slid my top down and got up and swam into the kitchen. What was that all about? I pulled at my top so it was fully down at the front covering my ‘full glory’. I was about to tell him and then he suddenly doesn’t care. What gives? I swim over and peep around the corner to see him munching away on my biscuits making sure to get ever last crumb. I giggled, his eyes darting up to meet mine with a smile. That one look told me that all he wanted was, for me to want to tell him a secret. It didn’t matter what it was about or if actually heard it, he just wanted me to trust him.

He opens his arms for me and I swim over to fill them. I always feel better when I’m in his arms. I feel his hand lightly brush against my face down to my jaw line. He lifts my head his hot lips are one mine searching them leaving me breathless.

“I think you’ve improved,” he grinned. I hit him instantly leaving his arms to go read a book. “Weren’t you going to some gardening,” he called.

“Don’t be stupid, we don’t have a garden,” I said taking a book off the shelf.

“Maybe we should get one,” he chuckled until a book smacked him across the head.

“Don’t be a smartie pants…ah I mean scales” I went and sat back down on the couch. There was suddenly a knock on the door and Ava came in before Sebastian could get to there.

I knew I wasn’t going to like Ava’s plans. She didn’t say anything but dressed me up in some frilly white top and pinned back my hair. Viola, the musical one had also tag along unwillingly and was dressed in a similar fashion.

“Now come, there is only one more stop, before we leave, and I see this last stop is going to take effort”.

“Wait leaving to where?” I asked. I turned to Sebastian who had a sadden look in his eye. This couldn’t be good. She dragged us to what no one could describe as horrifying. The sea floor surrounded by ridged decaying shipwrecks were piles of bones of various creatures layed scattered and piled on any large enough surface. Clanging of bars and screams of criminals echoed out. Viola held onto me and vice versa as we approached not daring to get any closer than twenty meters of the entrance. Ava just chuckled making us jump, she returned sometime later with Effie at the end of her arm her eyes shut tight, her face red as if she had been crying.

Here put this on, no one’s looking” Ava held out a neat white top to her. That’s when Effie finally looked up and saw me, her entire demeanour changed.

“You again!” She screamed ready to claw at me again. Flinching back, Ava relentlessly tugged her back by her ponytail.

“I guess your little slumber party didn’t teach you anything,” she hissed annoyed. This was the first time I had seen Ava so fierce. Effie quickly snatched the top from her silvery claws and plodded behind a rock struggling. Ava crossed her arms and rolled her eyes and if she could, would have been tapping her foot. As soon as Effie returned we were all grabbed and raced off to the portal rooms.

There were some more girls our age, all seemed to be scrunching their noses and hating that they all had to be there.

“What the hell is this place and why are we here,” Effie growled crossing her arms and sitting on the ground. I’m guessing she had never used the portals before.

“I’m sending you three to the place where ladies are born,” she and handed us each a letter. I looked down at the letter with my name beautifully inscribed. Undoing the seal I glanced over the document.

“You can’t be serious. Your sending us to school?” Effie asked annoyed. “I’ve already spent at least twelve years of my life it one.”

“It’s a finishing school, actually. I think you should find it very educational, the both of you should.” She smiled wickedly. Why would Viola need finishing school for? She was practically brought up in one right? I glanced over at her who remained quiet and joyless. Something bad was coming our way I could feel it. I wanted Sebastian.

_________________

Ok so now we have finally established some of Aubrey’s feelings for Sebastian(about flipping time)

Ok so the next chapter will probably be Sebastian’s letter (trying to keep it ever fifth chap with an exception to this one)

Now I have a problem, I know very little about finishing school, so do you (the reader) want me to go into to detail about what happens at finishing school, like every lesson, learn to swim, learn manners blab bla bla (it might take a few chaps, might and a bit boring) or should I just let Sebastian summarize it all in his letter?( also a bit boring but it get them back together quicker?) or do YOU have a better idea on how to tackle this little problem.

I'm going to leave it a week and see what all you think

Anyway leave a comment the more the better. Vote Fan. Smile.