The Fae Princess (The Pacific Princesses Book 2) by Ektaa Bali (books to improve english .txt) 📗

She was paler than Vidya, for surely she did not get much sun, with skin the colour of milk tea, and wide blue eyes the same colour as the water of the Fae pond. She wore a crop top made of shiny seashells and had long, wavy black hair. Over her shoulder, Vidya could see the hilt of a sword strapped to her back. The hilt was made of coral and sapphire and gleamed in the sunlight that streamed through the canopy of the trees.

“Hello, I’m Princess Vidya,” Vidya held out her hand.

“Oh, well met, I’m Princess Meera,” she shook Vidya’s hand.

“Hello again, Bob,” said Vidya, to which the grumpy fish bobbed his head up and down in the water.

“Now,” said Meera briskly. “I’ve found something you need to see. It was guarded by a terrible monster, but I dealt with her. It’s a haunting tale of daring and valour and perhaps one day I will tell it to you, but right now, we must hurry.” She lifted a finger and pointed it down toward the water she was floating in. “The Fae ponds are misfiring on your side. The Fae magic that powers them is fading.”

Vidya stared at the Fae pond with a sinking feeling in her chest. First the adults fall asleep and now the Fae ponds were faulty? However the Bunyips were stealing their magic, they needed to fix it fast.

“How do we do this?” Vidya asked. “I can’t swim underwater for long.”

“I’ve come prepared,” said Meera. “The Fae used to use a water bubble to visit with the merpeople.” She moved back in the Fae pond, and Bob followed her. From under the water, she brought out a large lily pad. It was a broad, green, circular leaf, big enough that Vidya could stand on it. Meera spread it out on top of the water so it floated on the surface. “Alright, hop on top!”

“I’ll sink straight down! And Pancake can’t swim!”

“Who’s Pancake?” asked Meera, raising her eyebrows.

Pancake squeaked, coming out of Vidya’s pocket and scrambling up to her shoulder. He pointed at the lily pad and squeaked in dismay.

“What is he?” asked Meera, peering at him.

“He’s a quokka,” Vidya answered fondly.

“Well, you’re a happy fellow, aren’t you?” said Meera, amused. “Take these.” Vidya held her hand out as Meera dropped two tiny conch shells into her hand. “Put them in your ears, that way I can talk to you in the water.” Meera fit two tiny shells into her ears too. “Anyway, I don’t have time to explain, but yes, you and Pancake will be able to breathe underwater. Hop on, and you’ll see. Bob said this place is full of Bunyips.”

Remembering that this was indeed true, Vidya shrugged to herself and stepped right onto the lily pad before she could think about it any more. But the lily pad did not crumple and fold underneath her weight as she had initially thought. Instead, it felt as firm as if she stood on land.

“Let’s go!” Meera, and she dipped beneath the water, her purple-green tail visible for a moment before it disappeared beneath the surface, while Bob stayed to watch Vidya. Immediately, the lily pad began to submerge itself beneath the water, lowering Vidya slowly down like an elevator.

“Argh!” Vidya exclaimed.

“Keep still,” droned Bob. “Look at your feet.”

Vidya looked down, and instead of water surrounding her feet, they stayed dry—no water spilled onto the lily pad at all. As it sunk into the water, a silvery wall appeared at the edges, stopping water from flowing in. Pancake and Vidya watched in fascination as the lily pad then lowered into the water while the water was kept back by the silvery bubble. Soon, they were deep enough that Vidya could see into the water beyond the silver bubble. She and Pancake looked upward just as the silvery bubble closed in on them, and they were completely in, water on all sides of them, and it looked like they were in an underwater cave, the Fae pond making a little hole in the top of it. Meera was waiting for her just beyond in the cave, her dark hair floating around her. She grinned and waved. Vidya waved back and watched as Bob, looking very unimpressed, kept still while Meera tied a rope around him like a horse’s harness and bridle. Meera led him to Vidya’s bubble, and with the two long ends, tied them to Vidya’s lily pad.

“I call it a Bubblepad”, came Meera’s voice in Vidya’s ear.

Vidya jumped because Meera had not moved her mouth at all, but the sound was still coming from the conch shell earpiece.

“It’s weird, I know, came Meera’s voice again. But under the water, merfolk either use sign language or talk to each other telepathically. Which means I can talk to you through your mind. Using the earpiece, you can talk to me too.”

Bob swished his tail in irritation, and Vidya saw that he was hitched up to her bubble so that he could pull her through the water.

“Bob is a bit annoyed”. Meera’s voice came again. “Usually, I use our seahorses to pull a Bubblepad, but I don’t want my mother knowing what I’ve been up to just yet. I’ll probably get in trouble.”

Meera rolled her eyes as if very annoyed by this.

Vidya raised her eyebrows. “Where are we going exactly?” she asked nervously. “What did you find?”

“I think it’s best I just show you,” said Meera. “Let’s go, we have a long way to go.” She turned and swam down and forward, Vidya squinted to try and see her through the darkness of the cave.

Bob swam forward, and Vidya rocked on her ‘Bubblepad’ as they began to move through the dark water.

“Here we go, Pancake,” said Vidya, as the Quokka clung onto her shoulder, watching around in awe. “We’re in a new world now. I bet you’re the first quokka to go under the sea