Chapter 10 - The Sea Witch

I didn't faint. But the news hit me like a bomb.

I am not the Chimera of Thundervale.

Twyla helps me to stand. My hands are shaking, and I feel like crying. I sense that everything is my fault, that if I had tried harder, I would be the Chimera of Thundervale.

— This is not the end, Thalassa. You still have a grand future. You don't need to be Soren's chosen one to be a great woman. — Twyla whispered to me. — You are a Chimera.

Yes, one of the rarest magical creatures. Twyla has told me many times that no Chimera has ever been an ordinary person.

But I have always been an ordinary person. There is nothing special about me. Until Soren showed interest in me, I was always ordinary.

— We better leave here. — She helps me lean on her, and we head back down the corridor.

I let tears roll down my face as I walk beside her. When we reach the room, I go straight to bed and lie down. My whole body aches, and Twyla helps me wrap myself up. She talks to me but I can't understand what she's saying. Everything becomes blurry, and for three days, I am tormented by nightmares and terrible visions.

———————————✨——————————

I walked among the trees in the castle garden. The flowers that were there the first time I walked in it are now gone. The dried-up grass looks dead, and on the trees, leaves lie wilted and colorless.

The heat burns on my sweaty, sticky skin. I feel so thirsty that my head hurts. I walk hurriedly to the lake. It is much drier than I remember. The shores are now far from the gazebo where Twyla and I sat that afternoon. The dry mud is now the new edges of the lake and breaks when I step on it. I try to quicken my pace to reach the water I need. If I don't reach it, I know I will die.

But with each step, I feel like I'm walking too slowly. The lake water seems to disappear before my eyes. I give up walking and start running. But no matter how fast I run, I can't reach the water. I need the water!

I stumble on the dry mud, and I fall to the ground. I feel my knees and hands scratch on the dry earth. I don't have the strength to get up. I lie on my back, and the sunlight blinds me. I'm going to die here.

Then I remember the sea. I've never seen it in person. Only on television. At Simon and Edith's house. It seems so distant to me.

Something cold touches my hand. I try to grab it, but it slips through my fingers. I try again, but it doesn't seem to have a form.

I turn my dusty face, the sunlight blinding me. I can't grab it, but I feel something there. I grab it, but it slips through my fingers like water. Water...

I can't see, but I feel that my hand is wet. I make an effort to lie face down on the ground, and I feel the fabric of my dress get soaked with invisible water.

I see a little ahead, foam coming out of the ground. I crawl to it. It looks like a water fountain emerging from the earth. But it's not ordinary water; it's water full of air bubbles. As if it were a fountain of waves. The waves break the ground and come out stronger and stronger. Shooting jets of water higher and more forcefully.

The water falls on my back, and I turn my face upward to receive it. Immense joy takes hold of me. I'm laughing and crying at the same time.

The water reaches such a large amount that it begins to submerge the plants and trees in the garden. I try to swim, but the force of the waves won't allow it.

They take me to the bottom, and I swim back up, trying not to drown. But when I put my head out, the waves push me back to the bottom. I go so deep that I no longer know which way to swim to reach the surface. And then something occurs to me, I don't know how to swim. I never learned, never been in the sea, not even in a lake.

But here I am, swimming perfectly. At no point did I feel short of breath. I decide to take a risk and open my eyes, hoping to see the direction of the surface. My eyes don't burn, and I can see well under the water. I follow the light towards the surface. This is incredible!

When I reach the surface, I see that the garden has disappeared under the water. But Soren's castle is still there. Through the windows, I see dozens of people pointing at me; they say something, but I'm too far away to understand.

I swim to the castle.

— A sea witch! It's a sea witch!

People and the castle begin to disappear. I only see the sea. Then I hear Twyla's voice shouting with excitement.

— It's a sea witch! Thalassa, you are a sea witch!

I open my eyes and see Twyla and Einar looking at me. They smile.

— Thalassa, you are the first sea witch since Queen Marina Nocturna!

I'm lying on the beach, and the waves touch me up to the waist in their endless ebb and flow.

I am a sea witch.

——————————✨————————

I left the sea only after the sun set. Twyla, Einar, and I walked on the beach for a while and watched the night fall.

— Why did you bring me here? — I ask because I'm definitely not in Eldoria. There is no sign of the castle or the city.

— We didn't bring you. — Twyla clarified. — You got very sick after...

She didn't seem to know how to say it.

— I understand. — After I found out that Soren was destined

for another woman.

— It was terrible days; no potion could lower the fever. You were delirious, and I feared we would lose you. — Her voice sounded genuinely sad.

I touch her shoulder, a caring gesture. Twyla has become a great friend.

— Soren called everyone who could help. But nothing we tried worked. Then Eldritch, the oldest advisor in the kingdom, asked Soren to release you from the prisoner status. And when Soren did that, you simply disappeared.

Magic surprises me every day.

— But Soren could still track you. We arrived here a few hours after you did.

I spent months feeling bad for not knowing what kind of witch I am. And I receive the call after getting the worst news of my life.

— Yvonne didn't have such a dramatic call. — My sister just knew within herself that she was a solar fairy. Everything she does in the sunlight is much better.

— Yvonne will be a great fairy because she works very hard. But she is absolutely ordinary. — Upon hearing this, I feel a bit sorry for my sister. She has been trying so hard to be great. — But you went through a great disappointment; this may have accelerated things for you.

— And how will things be from now on? I am a sea witch; should I stay here, close to him?

— I think you will have to make frequent visits to the sea to enhance your powers. Besides, your magic will be even more effective if you are near the sea. But Eldoria is the best place to learn what you still need to learn.

I would prefer never to see Soren again. Never meet the woman destined for him.

— Besides, we have more problems in Eldoria. — Einar spoke for the first time since I saw him. — You unlocked your sea powers and are more powerful. This makes Malachai an even more powerful fairy.

My jaw drops.

— What? He can use my sea witch powers? — I am truly outraged. That damn fairy!

— Not only can he, but he already has. While you were here, he tried to escape from prison. And it was very difficult to stop him. — Einar seems quite concerned.

This is so unfair; I barely know how to use my powers, but Malachai can use them against Eldoria and against me. If Soren and the counselors can't free me from Malachai soon, I know he will destroy me. If he stole me and erased my past to the point where it's so hard to discover my origins, he would certainly destroy me to keep my powers.

— Isn't there something I can do? — I see Einar and Twyla exchange a dark look.

— Soren wouldn't allow it. He didn't even want to discuss the possibility. It's too dangerous. — Twyla says.

This makes me furious. Soren and I need to go separate ways. He can't protect me forever. He needs to focus on his mission, and I need to defeat Malachai.

— I want an audience with King Soren. I am grateful for everything, but I need my freedom.