Page 56 of Monster's Pet

Aiden took my hand and smiled, his eyes sparkling with the familiar fire I knew and loved.

I flicked my tail through the water in happiness, sending my body upward with the small movement. Aiden kept me tethered, his amusement visible.

“Now Atlantis,” Aquilia signed, gesturing behind the portal. “Swim slow.”

I appreciated that we didn’t have to rush, both because I needed to get used to swimming with a tail and because I wanted to look at everything.

The ground cover stayed long sea-grasses, but the further we swam, the more I could see the subtle changes in coloration.There were different species of grass in different sections, and I thought that if I swam a little higher, the patchwork of it would be similar to our crops on farms.

Aquilia swam up a small hillside and paused, turning to face us with Merle at her side.

We stopped as well, some more successful than others. After we’d untangled ourselves, laughter bubbles coming from our mouths, we focused on what Aquilia was going to say.

“Atlantis far from portal. Protection. Safety. Trust.”

I nodded sympathetically. I could see how hard it was for them to trust outsiders, and I was grateful that they were still willing to allow us into their home.

“Hill last moment before Atlantis. Ready?” She smiled when we all nodded eagerly. “Come.” She advanced slowly, rising high above the hill so we could see without obstruction.

My heart pounding in my chest, my excitement brimming so much I could barely contain it, I swam the last few feet up the hill.

I wasn’t sure what I had expected to see, perhaps a giant castle like the one inThe Little Mermaid, but instead, a town of living coral stretched out in front of us. The pinks, oranges, and greens blended together to create a riot of color. Far in the distance was a larger mound of coral, obviously the home of the leader of the community.

I remembered from our lessons on Atlantean society that the main leader was called Queen or King, depending on preference, and that their home was the community gathering space, always open. We would be taken there first, to meet the leaders, before we were split into smaller groups to learn about different aspects of their society.

I could see Atlanteans swimming around the town, but what threw me was the number of sea creatures with them. Swarms of colorful fish danced around and above the town, so much likebirds, but I also caught a glimpse of a dolphin pod and a few stingrays. There were more fish than I knew the names of, and I couldn’t help but feel amazed at the view.

Aquilia sank down in front of us again. “Swim through, not over,” she signed. “Impolite.”

I nodded. It would be like flying over a town instead of walking through it.

“Stay together,” Professor Akhtar signed, joining her. “Pairs.”

Aiden’s hand found mine and he squeezed it gently.

After waiting a moment to make sure we were all organized, Aquilia took Merle’s hand and led us down the hill into the town at the base of it.

The grasses here were different, shorter, from what we had seen on the way, only reinforcing my thought that the others were purposefully grown that way. As we got closer to the coral houses, the grass became full of underwater blooms.

The coral houses themselves had anemones and other living things covering their surfaces. The buildings didn’t seem to be carved out of the coral, but part of it. I filed that away as something to ask when we were in our smaller groups.

We came to a halt at a rock statue covered in sea moss in the middle of a square, Aquilia turning to face us in front of it.

“Home growth guide over many years,” she signed. “Look new home. Small. Not ready.” She pointed at a smaller building to one side of the square. “Old home.” This building was on the other side.

I swam closer to look at the new home, seeing how they had put rock inside it to encourage the coral to branch and grow higher to make the room large enough for an Atlantean to move around. In comparison, the older home was spacious, with a large central room and several doorways leading off to other rooms. There were no stairs up to the second level, which made me laugh to myself when I realized I was thinking like a human.Instead, there was a hole in the ceiling that led up to a large room that was obviously a bedroom.

We thanked the owner of the house for letting us look around before we left.

Aquilia and Merle were waiting for us in front of the statue. “Come. Look more,” Aquilia signed once we’d all returned, and led us down several streets.

The houses seemed to be decorated with bright colors, which I realized were anemones and other sea grasses, and each one was different. There were no street names or house numbers, and I wondered if people ever got lost.

After a few more streets of houses, we entered a wider street that had larger buildings on either side of it.

“Center town,” Aquilia signed. “Shop. Food. School.”

Ah,I thought, understanding her meaning.The houses are on the outskirts of town, and the center is where all the things that they would need easy access to are in the middle.

---