Dive In

Chapter 16

This swim to Lake Shore was the fastest by far, Ella swam with such furious excitement that the boys struggled to keep up. By the time they'd reached the gates, Landon and Carter were both out of breath. Ella swam circles around them, firing off questions that neither of them had the answers to.

“Does Master Swell know where she is? Do you think my mom's nearby? Will I get to see her? What should I say to her? Should I be mad? Should I be happy? What if she doesn't like me? What if she wants to go back to my dad and that bi-”

“Ella, please. Stop with the questions,” grumbled Carter, rubbing his face in his hands.

“Oops, sorry,” Ella pantomimed zipping her lips shut.

They swam the rest of the distance to the temple in relative silence, only speaking to other Waterfolk that greeted Carter on the street. To Ella's disturbance, most of the Waterfolk they passed actually stopped in their tracks (or was it their wake?) to openly gawk at her. She tried her best to smile, but when the smiles were returned with slack-jawed stares, she quickly became uneasy. Unconsciously she swam closer to Carter, as if the fish boy would protect her.

“Why are they staring like that?” Ella hissed through a tight-lipped smile.

“The news of your necklace showing up in the temple must have spread. It is a public place, and I could never see Master Swell closing the doors to public no matter the reason,” Carter whispered back.

“How do they know who I am? Last time I checked you don't have social media, cameras, or even television. I've never seen these people before in my life!”

“We have our own kind of social media. It's called actually leaving your house and communicating face to face,” Carter scoffed.

Ella moved to hit him, and then she stopped her self. Well sort of, her hand made contact with his shoulder awkwardly, appearing more as a caress then a painful blow. Carter raised his eyebrows, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Not so easy to be yourself when everyone's watching is it?” he muttered under his breath.

Ella wasn't sure if she was meant to hear that or not, so she brushed it off and swam through the archway that led to the temple. Carter kept pace with her, but Landon lagged behind. She tried to adjust her speed so that she'd be swimming next to him instead, but he slowed down as well, avoiding eye contact. Noticing her frown, Carter beckoned her closer to him.

“Ella, leave him be. Guardians are supposed to swim behind their charge,” Carter said softly.

“What? That's stupid. What kind of old-fashioned society is this? He doesn't have to do that,” Ella scoffed.

“Yes, he does. It's not just the social implications of him breaking the rules Ella, from behind he can cover your back and asses threats better. Your situation is rather precarious as is, I wouldn't be breaking very many rules if I were you,” Carter whispered.

“But Landon said-”

“Landon says what he needs to make you feel safe. I'm not calling him a liar, but he definitely Ella-proofs whatever comes out of his mouth. If you ever need someone to tell you the cold hard facts, I'm your fish,” Carter finished with a smile. Ella smiled back, but the unease growing in her stomach wasn't helped by his words.

Master Swell was waiting for them at the entrance to the temple, which to Ella's dismay was swarming with Waterfolk. Their were low murmurs in the crowd, and the bits and pieces she could decipher were about her necklace. She felt a warm hand on the small of her back, and turned to see Carter peering at the crowd with narrow eyes.