Shipwrecked

[Maira]

After agreeing to be Queen of Atlantis, and whatever that entailed, Charlotte had been happy to do her part in rebuilding the once-lost city. She spent much of her time on jobs that kept her far from the water and she knew that some of the residents had noticed. So far she was pretty sure that none of them had figured out that their queen couldn't swim. At least she hoped that they hadn't.

The day that Zahir came and dragged her to his quarters she dreaded what was coming. Unlike the onlookers probably thought the King just wanted alone time with the Queen, she knew that Zahir had been keeping track of her missed swim lessons because he had mentioned it a few times. Once they were behind closed doors, Zahir unceremoniously shoved her into a pool she hadn't noticed before. When she came spluttering to the surface of the water she screamed in terror. The last time she'd been in the water was the shipwreck and the memories of that time were flashing in her mind.

Eventually she got her feet under her, and while she wanted to kill Zahir with the gods-damned trident, she was at least finally able to focus on what he was saying instead of worrying about dying. She knew she was glaring at him, she didn't care, and when he sighed at her she wanted to punch him in the nose. At least she wanted to punch him until he asked how he could take her on a date underwater if she could only float (which truthfully she couldn't do that either...). After his question got her all distracted from wanting to kill him or cause him bodily harm, she gave in and did her best to follow his instructions.

*****

It took nearly three days of lessons with Zahir before Charlotte could float properly, it took another two to master the doggy paddle, and another 5 after that before she could bring herself to willingly go under water and hold her breath. The process was slow at first, but Zahir was surprisingly patient with her. By the end of the second week of lessons with Zahir he had actually moved them out of his quarters and to the open water around them. The Caribbean waters were clear and warm and after only moments in them, Charlotte found herself comfortable and curious. She could see one of the windows to Zahir's underwater room that the trident was kept in and she remembered watching the sea creatures swim past from inside. Remembering that, she couldn't help but look for those same creatures and when she spotted them a short ways off she couldn't help but smile.

Against her better judgement, Charlotte took a breath and slipped under the ocean surface. The gentle waves rocked her as she held onto the side of Zahir's quarters and the sound of those waves sloshing against the wall reminded her of splashing in the bath when she was little. When her air started to get sparse, Charlotte pulled herself up the wall back to the surface. Beaming at Zahir she asked him, "Do you have any goggles or anything?" She wanted to see the fish and the turtles and the rays while being in the water with them. And if she could see where she was in the water, maybe she would even go a little deeper to where they were.

[Demeter]

Charis watched Charlotte as the little queen paddled around the lagoon. Though she rarely left the icy waters she now called home, Charis had wanted to see this new Atlantis and those beholden to the trident. It wasn't the same, of course. Unlike the rumblings from the north, this place lacked in power and prestige. There was no power well here so the Godless were ignoring this place for now. The Holy Well was buried within the wreckage of the true Atlantis.

They, however had similarities to she and her doomed mates. She saw Ariston in Lorelei and Gaios in Zahir. She saw bits and pieces of what she had once been in Charlotte. There was only one crucial bit missing when it came to Charlotte. She had no form for being in the water. It was an easy fix as she was Mutari and the base of the Mutari genome was Alati. All she had to do was wake some of the dormant genes to allow the shift.

Easy enough to do but she doubted the new queen would appreciate that gift being a surprise. Rather then announce her presence with fanfare, Charis reached out to the trident and gently nudged the half that still answered to Amnis. She was not here to draw attention to herself.

****
Zahir was dead bored but he was sure that nodding off during a security briefing would piss off Lorelei. So, he slouched in his chair and counted floor tiles while half listening. He left this stuff up to her for a reason. So, really, the fact that he yelped and jumped from his seat when the melodious female voice of the trident called out to him wasn't a complete surprise. He quickly excused himself, simply saying that he was needed by his deity, and hurried from the room.

The trident had said that the Great Queen needed to see him and Charlotte. He snagged Charlotte as he hurried past her, saying that they had a guest that needed greeting. Their guest, still in her aquatic form, had beached herself on the sand. Zahir wasn't quite sure how to greet the sunbathing Oracle.

One if the woman's companions took care of the problem by splashing her with seawater. "Oi, brat, they are here."

"Which two? I'm not moving if he brought the bitchy one."

"He didn't bring the bitchy one along. Just the one you wanted to see."

Though it would have been easier, if undignified, to wiggle back down into the water, Charis first sat up before allowing Morcant and Zeno to lift her back into the warm water. "Greetings, young rulers if this new Atlantis. I would gift you with the royal regalia of Atlantis but I didn't think to grab it while being hustled from the palace."

She smiled at the blinking young people. "I was once a queen of Atlantis, before it fell in flame and flood, and even if I cannot provide the crowns and capes and orbs and staffs if the monarchy, I can present you with other gifts," Charis half turned and motioned to those who'd journeyed north with her. They came forward with sealed chests and urns. "Small tokens, jewels we survivors were wearing when we fled. Manuscripts detailing our history. Water from the Atlantis Pool in Haven that has been blessed by the Mother Goddess Amnis. We who lived pass on the weight of Atlantis to your generation. Any relics you find scattered over the ocean are yours to find and we offer ourselves as translators. We do humbly request the right of claiming any personal or family relics recovered."

Charis shifted, turning to address Charlotte directly, "I have one other gift, if Queen Charlotte will allow me to grant it. You are Mutari, my Lady, but the Mutari were once part of the Alati. It is possible to awaken that lost part to allow you an aquatic form and, if you choose, to be beholden to a deity."

[Maira]

Charlotte's butt hit the sand in shock. Someday, she was almost certain, she was going to wake from this crazy fever dream and she would be back to living a boring and mundane life. There was what appeared to be a mermaid in front of her, offering to change something in her Mutari genes to make her more like the Alati. How was that even possible? Weren't the Mutari changed as a punishment? Hadn't somebody tried to fix them before and it had only backfired? She wasn't crystal clear on Mutari and Alati history, but along with her swim lessons, Charlotte had been learning.

Sitting in the sand, Charlotte stared at Charis for a few moments before answering, "I don't know how you can do that, but yes please." The jewels and trinkets and scrolls were all amazing gifts, but nothing could possibly compare to actually being able to get in the water and go where Zahir could. He'd been trying to tell her about the still submerged parts of Atlantis, the parts they knew where they were anyway, and if Charis could do what she offered then Charlotte would finally be able to see it all for herself.

[Demeter]

Charis smiled at Charlotte. "It is very easy thing for me to do. The Mutari were once Alati after all and the firsts of them were changed because of greed, or, in some cases, despair of ever being with loved ones again," she glanced over her shoulder at Morcant.

She turned to Zahir and requested to borrow the trident for a moment, claiming that she'd been assured she could still hold the weapon. At first he'd been wary; normally only select people could hold such a weapon. She assured him that he wasn't meant for her and that her ability to hold the Trident was an apology gift from the gods. When he told her he'd go and fetch it, she told him not to bother and reached out again. This time, she summoned the trident to her. She grinned as she heard the yelps and as Zahir dove to side to avoid being skewered.

She held the trident for a moment as it passed on a final message from her men. Sucking up her strength (later, she'd collapse when her privacy could be assured) and motioned to the attendants bearing the casks of water. "This isn't from the well on Atlantis but with blessing from Amnis, it is almost the same," she said while opening a cask and dipping the prongs of the Trident in.

Zahid blinked as he watched Charis bathe the trident with the blessed water and, at the base of his skull, he could hear and feel the feminine portion of the Trident, the half still tied to Atlantis, growing stronger. He scooted around to stand near Charlotte when told to.

"You might want to being sitting for this," Charis said to the young queen before touching her legs with the prongs of the Trident. A single word of power, spoken in the voices of the Atlantean gods, and where legs had once been were fins and scales.

"I think my job is down now. Zahid, show her what to do with those things. And, for the sake of the gods, stay out of sight! All we need is reports of an orca in the Caribbean. 'Least she has enough sense to have a fish form."

Charis, after sending the trident home, turned away from the pair and looked at her group. "I'm going to sit on the sand and be warm. The rest of you can do the same after you put that stuff away."

Zahid, shaking his head, turned to look at Charlotte. Her form was basic fish; as she grew in age and power it would become more dramatic like those of the ancients. Right now, she was just staring at her new fins. "Guess we can start a whole new type of swimming lessons."