If my hand hadn't been leaning on my mouth, my entire jaw would've been hanging out. Hesitantly, I asked.

"W- who's the b-bride?"

Taylor looked out into the horizon, avoiding my eyesight.

"Some girl from another kingdom."

"Wait, what?"

"I said so-"

"No! I mean, you don't even know who she is?" I interrupted him as his eyes sparked back to life.

"I- I have to go." He got up and made his way back to the dining hall.

Guess I have to manage by myself

I thought. Out of nowhere, there was a menacing growl. The garden all of a sudden looked like a forest. But just as fast as it came, it left. Then, something really scary caught my eye. A silhouette  was advancing towards me, with sharp claw-like shadows growing from its hand, or whatever they were. I began to run, probably a really bad idea since my wedges wouldn't last me long. My calculations were correct. I tripped over a root,slipped, and then fell onto the ground. I braced my self for death.

"Jennifer?" I could make out the worried voice of Niko.

Looking up, I winced at the sight of him. His once-so-neat jet black hair was in tangles, full of twigs and leaves. His suit was almost in tatters, just like his pants.

"Are you okay?" Niko said, eyes wild and crazy looking. He was beginning to scare me. Then, he stopped.

Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you like that.

His breathing suddenly wasn't as heavy anymore.

"Are you hurt?" Niko asked

Don't think so.

I examined my self. Arms first, then  down to my legs. I could see what seemed to be a cut near my ankle.

"I'm fine"

I lied

You know you can't lie to me.

I blinked back in surprise

I forgot you could do that.

He smiled and then offered his hand. Gladly taking it, I forgot all about my ankle. Wincing in pain, I leaned against Niko for support. Slowly at first, it began to drizzle, decorating his hair with tiny transculent beads of water. Not long after, it began to pour, causing us to have to jog lightly. When we finally reached the dining hall, we were drenched from head to toe.

"Oh my goodness! Where were you guys?" It was Bree. She was impatiently tapping her foot on the wooden floor. 

"I- I got lost. In the garden" I said, a bit shaken up

"And I brought her back." Niko chimed in.

Then, as if out of thin air, Myra appeared, her entourage close behind. She scowled at Niko and I as she passed. Then she stopped to glare at me.

"I'm sorry, but since when do you have permission to be with my boyfriend?" She said, still glaring at me.

"Since I have been assigned to be her mentor" Niko snarled back.

Myra looked at first surprised, but then just shrugged it off and grinned. Like you know the evil kind of grin that a bruja (witch) would give someone? Yep, that's the one.

"Keep your mouth shut wolf boy. I didn't need your opinion." She snapped coldly.

Wolf boy? What does that mean?

I thought to myself. Also, I felt like stuffing churros her mouth, putting something sweet in that rotten mouth of hers for once. A low resounding growl brought me back to earth. Niko was angrily making his way towards Myra. This time though, I could actually feel his anger. It was radiating  from his body. I resisted the urge to back away. I couldn't make him feel like I was was actually afraid of him.

"Whoa, calm down Rufus. You don't want everyone to know your little secret do you?" Myra sneered. I could tell she was a bit alarmed though.

Finally seeming to register the words, Niko stopped in his tracks and turned towards me.

Lets go clean ourselves up shall we?

I took his message and walked back to my dorm, surprised to find Bree, all by her lonesome. Her mishievious eyes sparkled with delight as they landed on me.

"Did you hear about the wedding?" She said, probably thinking about all the dresses and hair options.

"Yes, I'm the groom's childhood friend."

She looked up at me from head to toe. At first I thought she was was going to be really mad for me ruining her dress, but instead, she went on and on about what different types of clothes and things I should wear and how I should have my hair. In the end, I finally chose my outfit for attending the wedding. It was a meduim length blue dress laced with a gorgeous baby blue intricate design, finished in pearls as white as milk. My shoes this time were just pearly white ballerina flats, with a bright blue bow on top. Bree's dress was a long, silky, green dress that complimented her hair perfectly. My hair was in loose curls that fell down to the lower part of my shoulders. Bree's hair was long and silky as usual, held up by a turquoise pin. Her shoes were cute green stilettos, not too high, or else we both knew what would would happen. Laughing the rest of the night off, we proceeded to leave our dorms and head to the ceremony. It was just about 10 o'clock when we got on the main path. I was told the bride wanted to have the ceremony exactly at 12 or she would cancel out everything. She seemed very... nice?

"Are you sure this is the place?" I asked, trying hard to keep to the pathway ahead of me.

"Yes, I believe so." Even Bree had trouble navigating in the night, being cousins to the vamps and all.

It was so dark that we didn't even notice the dark figure emerging from the shadows.

"May I assist in helping you?" We both jumped at the familiar voice.

I immediately could strongly make out the scent of lavender and the ocean.

"Marc?" I faintly whispered his name.

"Bingo." the figure said, turning to face me.

I sighed, my shoulders finally relaxed.

"Are you two lost?" His dark green eyes twinkled for an odd reason.

"Y-yes." I said, wanting badly to hide under a rock. I had just showed him how vulnerable we were.

"It's okay. Just follow me." He said, still smiling

As we walked, I began to notice more about Marc. His body wasn't that athletically built, like Niko's, but he had his own graceful style. His broad shoulders fit perfectly in his suit, showing his rigid back. His blonde curls were long and shiny, bouncing a bit as we walked. When we finally reached our destination, I couldn't help but admire the view. The runway was decorated with millions of while petals, also accompanied by candles flickering softly. Beside it, there were millions and millions of rows of chairs covered in a soft and silky fabric. Something about it made Bree shiver uncomfortably. The arch was painted white, even whiter that my own shoes and dress. It was also encircled in vines and daisies that oddly shined.

Even in all the beauty of it all, some thing seemed wrong. Even Marc was displeased. He then looked towards the arch and his face turned pale. I followed his gaze and my eyes set on exactly what he was looking at. All I saw was the bride and groom standing across from each other. I could make out the uncomfortable figure of Taylor shifting from one foot to another. The other girl however, was staring intently at his eyes, smiling a bit too much. Her dark brown locks fell to her shoulders, making her looked even prettier. A small part of me envied her, but then I remembered something. They didn't even know each other at all. Taylor and I were like best buddies from the start. I had nothing to be jealous of. Sighing, I turned away and went to look for a chair to sit in. At last minute, someone caught my arm. I looked up and noticed it was Marc. He was looking at me intently, as if noticing that something was wrong with me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"Y-yes. I'm fine." I lied.

Marc's expression softened, grabbing my arm with less tension. He slowly took in a breath of fresh air.

"Can I show you something?" He asked, eager to leave the place soon as possible.

"Sure." Within seconds, we were out on the side of a nearby lake, running around and throwing things at each other like kids.

"This so much fun!" I exclaimed, moments before getting hit by a small pebble.

"Oh it's on!" I said, grabbing a bunch of rocks and hurtling them at Marc.

   Laughing like crazy, we stopped for a moment to stop and admire the lake. It was dimly lit by the full moon stationary over the night sky. While sitting, we began to name some of the constellations in the night sky. When we finally got bored, we both agreed to dip our feet into the water. Getting in first, I gently took off my flats and left them to the side. Holding my dress up, I slowly walked into the water. Realizing it was cold, I quickly jumped out and looked for my flats.

"Looking for this?" I turned around to see that Marc had my flats in his hands, waving them over the water.

"Come and get them." he said, grinning mischievously.

Rolling my eyes, I lifted my dress up again and began to make my way towards him. Once I was close enough, I reached out to grab my shoes, when instead, Marc grabbed me and began to push himself backwards, purposely sinking into the water.

"Marc! No! My dress" I shrieked, but he was calm as always.

Once I was underwater, I noticed something. My dress wasn't  wet. Neither was my hair nor my skin. I was breathing under water. I slowly began to panic. Where was Marc? What is happening? Something suddenly grabbed onto my hand and pulled me up. Suddenly above the water, I noticed I was in some sort of magical bubble. Marc was right in front of me, smiling.

"Did you like that?" He asked, his hair dry and untouched.

Smiling like an idiot, I was just about to reply when something caught the corner of my eye.

"Crocodile!" I nearly yelled, scaring Marc for a moment while pointing at something moving across the water.

With swift movements, he grabbed on to my waist and began to swim to the shore. His legs must be powerful, I thought, judging by the speed he had been swimming at. By the time we reached the shore, I was gladly realizing that the ceremony was just about to begin and we were just about on time. Grabbing my flats, I quickly changed into them and began to run back.

"Come on!" I said, motioning for him to follow me.

Laughing, he held on to my hand as we both ran. As we arrived, I noticed that not much people were at the ceremony. Sitting down, I reassured Bree by telling her that I wouldnt leave her again like that. Doubting me, she sat between Marc and I, making us both laugh. Out of all the people at the ceremony, not many of them seemed to be interested. Most of them looked to the side, or just talked to someone near them.

Noticing this, the bride looked around and gave a death stare to all who didn't look at her. Even me. She then just smiled sweetly and went back to staring at her future husband. Right when they were about to say their "I do's," it began to heavily rain.

"Curse nature!" The bride said, making it only pour harder.

"Ugh. Cancel! Cancel it!" The bride looked around and ran back to her parents,them obviously being scared of her.

"I want it canceled! Now!" She barked at them. As if it were magic, everyone began to leave, scrambling away from the chairs, glad to have a reason to leave. Marc seemed to be fine, enjoying the rain.

"Let's get out of this place." Bree said, also willing to leave.

Gladly, it only took us a few minutes to reach our dorms. We all entered mines, too lazy to currently separate in the rain

"They say her name is Cheryl." Bree said, trying to break the silence

I decide to talk to Marc. I get straight to the point.

"Why didn't I get wet?" I say, in a demanding way.

Marc looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"When we went in the lake, don't you remember us being underwater?"

Seeming to understand what I was saying, he shifts uncontrollably in the armchair.

"I-I have a secret." He said, not meeting my eyes.

"What? I asked, suddenly sounding like an idiot.

"I'm not h-human." He stuttered

It was my turn to be confused.

"Ok, look I am a Diginö, Meqine for merman. That thing I did, it shrouds your body and allows a thin line of oxygen to cover your body, keeping you dry. My species does grow tails underwater, but only royal blood can willingly grow and shrink away their tails quickly." Marc slowly caught his breath, looking at my confused expression.

"Maybe this'll help" he said, pulling me closer, till our foreheads touched, his hand on my neck. Seconds later, my mind went blank. That was the first time I ever shared a vision with a merman. A real one.

Wow. This took me a very long time to do. I hope you guys all enjoyed. I tried to make this seem much longer than my usual updates. Here are your questions!

1. What do you think is up with Myra and Niko?

2. What was your favorite moment?

Thx4 Reading!