Chapter 150: Ariana's Memories

"Ariana, which part of the ocean are you from?" Aqua asked the mermaid curiously. 

"West," Ariana replied as they walked down the hallway close to the banquet hall. 

"That's like the far end is it not?" Water Princess asked back. "I have never been to that place before, what is it like there?" 

"It is nothing new, but a whole different place and landscape compared to this place. Its dessert and sea. And I was born in the middle if it. We have different water currents, so the life is different. 

"That sounds interesting," Aqua hyped the conversation on going with the mermaid. "How did you end up in the Underwater Realm?" She asked. "Am curious that's why," 

"Have you not heard the fact that love drives people crazy to do unimaginable things?" She asked Aqua back, as she explained. 

"Wow, seriously?" Aqua was surprised. She dropped her jaw and then shut them immediately. "I can't believe this,"

"I know," Ariana smiled. She took Aqua over to the coral reefs at the end of the palace's veranda leading to a pavilion like area. 

"So you left home, swam all the down here, to the Water Realm for the sake of the person living here?" 

"Kind of," Ariana said and turned away.

"That's..." but Ariana stopped Aaua from speaking. 

"It would be nice if we drop the topic," the mermaid said to the Water Princess. Aqua felt bad and srooped talking but she has to know more at any cost. Aqua tapped on the shoulders of Ariana.

"Look at me," she said and smiled. Aqua's eyes turned green and she Locked her eyes with Ariana and intertwined her memory into Ariana's trying to reach the depths of Ariana's mind. Ariana stood there still, her eyes open and taken over by the princess. She had no memory of what was being done to her and things taken away from her memory. Aqua used a restricted spell on Ariana which would give Aqua a greater punishment again apart from getting kicked out. It did not look like a smooth life this young lady had led. Aqua felt bad for her. 

The never ending dessert, hot and, covered with different cactus palnts. The little teenage girl often came to shore to relax and stay away from the duties assigned, for a little period of time. 

On a sunny scorching hot day, when she same came out of the sea, to the shores, a wonder was what she witnessed at that particular moment of time. She was shocked and she shut her eyes tight immediately, seeing a cloud of fire landing on the dessert. A minute later when she opened her, there she a saw boy her age standing in front of her. She screamed and jumped back at the sea, she revealed the fact that she is a mermaid to him. It was not supposed to happen. He stood there equally surprised to see her real form too. 

"I.. we.. we did not see anything of each other okay?" He managed to ask her. 

She did not say anything at first, looking at him, observing him. His pale face, his long brown hair, his bronze eyes, his height, his muscular arm and thighs. He looked amiable, she liked it but she wondered who he is and what kind of bird flies with fire. He extended his arms, asking her to take it towards the water. She kept looking at him and held her hands. She got out of the water and her tail disappeared, walking with her legs. Her red her wet and lying on her face. He pulled her towards him quickly before the waves hit him and moved further away from the water. 

"What are you doing?" She asked him moving away from him taking her hands off his. 

"I can't touch water for now," he said and let her go. 

"Are you a?" She stopped in the middle. 

"Hmm yes, only Phoenix left in the Universe," he said without caring to hide it since she had already seen his form. "And you are a mermaid, one which the world is supposed to not know for now,"

"Kind of," she looked at him. They couldn't help but laugh at each other. "Ok let's keep this a secret alright?" She asked him. He extended his hands again to shake hands and seal the deal.

"Done," and they both shook hands. They sat there on the beach, looking at the waves for a while in complete silence. They had no idea what to speak with each other. He looked extremely tired and pale. 

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"No," he did not deny the fact. She knew how she running late for her work but she decided to stay. 

"What happened?" 

"A little tired, that's all," he said to her. 

"Why? Where you at work or something?" She sounded concerned. 

He looked at her and smiled. Her red hair had dried sitting under the sun. Her deep set of eyes looked warm just like her words. He kept smiling with his cold pale lips. He had never seen a pretty girl in his life before. She suddenly moved closer and touched his forehead to check his temperature. He was caught off guard and had his heart pounding loud. Her face close to his. This was first time he has ever been close to a lady. He looked at her from close. Her melting eyes. And her red lip. He swallowed hard and quickly looked away. 

"You're sweating hard, you have temperature too, maybe we should wait and see," she said and moved back to her space. He did not meet her eyes, avoiding them. 

"This is how I am," he said looking away at the sea. She waited more for his words. "This is how my body reacts when I take my true form, like I shouldn't, tiring me severely, forcing me to quit," he sounded hurt deeply. 

"Your core must have been effected, did you meet with an accident or something?" She asked him.

"I cannot remember," he replied. 

"Where are you from? Where is your family?" She kept asking more. 

"I have none, and I don't know where am from," he said to the truth mermaid. To her it sounded like he met with an accident and lost his memory and powers. She concluded that way. "You will be alright soon," she consoled him and patted his shoulders. 

"You live here?" He asked her pushing the topic away.

"Yes, under here," she said. "Have you swum before?" She asked him.

"No I cannot swim while am in the true form, the others times yes a little, not in the ocean," he said drawing on the stand with a stick he got. She looked at the shapes he had drawn and kept talking to him. He looked pretty lonely and she felt bad for him, seeing the lonely figures he had drawn.

She got up then, since it she had a very less time to finish her work. She had to make a delivery in the nearby town. Choosing to rest a while on her way made her end up seeing a rare person and she felt happy about it. "I better leave," she said and bid farewell.

"Which direction are you heading to?" He asked her. 

"East, to the nearby town," she said as she walked away. He ran behind her. 

"Count me in," he said. He did not wish to lose the company he had got. 

"No problem," she said and kept walking. 

"No that would take a long time," he said stopping her. Holding her shoulders. "You can trust me on this," he said and took her hands once again. She looked at him and the next moment she was surrounded by people. She was thrilled. She had always heard about heavenly beings apparating. But this was her first experience. "Like it?" He asked her raising his brows with his alluring eyes looking at hers, smiling. She nodded her head.

"This would save me a lot of time and get back home on time," she jumped and walked towards a clay house where she was asked to deliver a book. She did that in ten minutes and walked back to the point he was waiting her. 

"What's your name?" She asked him. 

"You can call me Feng," he said. 

"Am Ariana," she introduced herself and smiled at him. His tiredness was wearing off slowly, his face gaining the color back. "What a great day to be here!" She said and took him to a hotel to dine together. She led him holding his hands playfully and he walked behind her staring at her as she dragged him. People stared at her often for the bright color of her hair. But she never gave them anything and moved forward as she wished. Her green dress and her purple purple dangling down her hip. He enjoyed it all that day. The feeling he had never felt before. "Is this what it feels like to be around people?" He wondered and sat before her as she ordered food for both of them. It is then he saw someone standing behind her, staring at the two of them. Feng'er grew anxious. He stood up immediately.