Aria sat alone in the damp cave; her legs pulled up to her chest as she leaned against the rough stone wall. The silence around her was thick, broken only by the faint sound of dripping water echoing off the walls, and the soft, rhythmic hum she let slip from her lips. She stared blankly at the small ripples in the pool, her fingers absently combing through her tangled hair. Salt and days without care had left her hair stiff and brittle, each pass of her fingers a reminder of just how far she was from the comforts of home.

Sadness washed over her like a wave as she pictured standing under a hot shower, warmth cascading down her body, the scent of floral shampoo filling the air as she worked out each stubborn knot in her hair. She could almost feel it – the soft caress of conditioner making her hair smooth again, her muscles relaxing under the heat, the cold of this cave finally washing away. But it was only a dream. Here, there was no shampoo, no hot water, only cold stones, frigid sea air, and a crusty, half-dried blanket of seaweed that did little to shield her from the chill.

She hugged her knees tighter, willing warmth into her aching body. A week in this place had turned warmth into a distant memory, something she had taken for granted, never expecting to be without. Even in winter back home, the comfort of wrapping herself in the blanket or sitting close to the heater had been enough. But here, there was nothing to wrap herself in, no cozy fuzzy blankets or soft pillows. Just cold stone, cold water, and an all-too-real sense if isolation.

Taking a shaky breath, she tried to calm her thoughts, her body exhausted from the relentless fight to stay warm. Each muscle ached from the effort, the exhaust of the swim back to the cave weighing on her like a lead blanket. She closed her eyes, surrendering to the tiredness, the fatigue that called her to rest. Yet even as her body begged for relief, her mind refused to follow. She couldn't let herself drift off, not yet. Not while her heart whispered desperate plans of escape.

How long had she been here? Weeks? Time had slipped through her grasp, like a slippery fish. Each moment blurring into the next as her strength dwindled. The ripples in the pool only reminded her of the unending water that separated her from freedom. Despair loomed, an unfamiliar heaviness settling over her chest, and for the first time, she didn't know how to charge it away. She as far from home, so lost and alone, so... trapped.

Aria knew what she had to do: earn Kaelen's trust, play along. It was her only chance, a fragile hope she clung to like a lifeline. When Kaelen finally returned, his face softened at the sight of her sitting still, her usual defiance replaced with what he must have thought was quiet acceptance. She lifted her head and forced a small smile, the chill deepening as she did so.

"You've come back," she murmured in the merman's language, allowing a trace of vulnerability to seep into her voice. "I was..." she paused to cough, her throat rough, "...wondering if you would," she finished quietly, the words barely a whisper as her exhaustion weighed down each syllable.

Kaelen's face brightened, a pleased look in his intense gaze as he pushed himself out of the water and sat beside her. Droplets gleamed on his skin in the dim algae light as he reached out, holding her hand gently but firmly in his warm palm. "I'm here," he said, his voice softening with an emotion that was almost tender. "I'll always come back for you."

A shiver crawled up her spine, but she swallowed down the urge to pull her hand away, nodding slowly, her grip on his hand faint. "I... I know. You've shown me that. I see it now." She kept her voice soft, carefully choosing each word. She had to play this game just right. Kaelen's hand tightened around hers, and she forced herself to look into his eyes, seeing the satisfaction that flickered there.

But as she sat there, a strange fog began to settle over her thoughts, everything feeling slower, like moving through water. Her limbs grew heavy, her head swimming. She took a slow breath, struggling to keep her breathing steady as the cold sank deeper, clinging to her bones. Another rough cough escaped her lips, and Kaelen's gaze turned more watchful, concern slipping over his face.

"Celestara Alaria," he murmured, tilting her chin up, inspecting her pale face as she turned slightly away from him. "Are you well?"

She mumbled something incoherent about needing sleep, feeling as though even speaking was an effort too much to bear. Kaelen's face lingered, but he seemed to understand, releasing her hand and retreating back into the water. Her vision blurred, the cave spinning as she lay down, pulling the crusty seaweed blanket over herself, slipping into a fitful dream of warm beds and soft blankets.

~

That night, as she lay on the cold, unforgiving ground, her shivering grew rather violent. Each breath was a struggle, her lungs feeling thick and heavy, each cough racking her chest with a dull ache. Her limbs felt leaden, barely responding as she tried to pull the blanket tighter around her. She drifted in and out of sleep, aware of her own ragged breaths, but too exhausted to fully care.

When Kaelen returned the next morning, she forced herself to sit up, her head pounding. For a moment, she saw two of him and blinked in confusion, trying to clear her vision. His words reached her slowly, each one blurring into the next like waves crashing into her mind.

"You don't look well," Kaelen said, his voice carrying a hint of worry. She could see his mouth moving, but her mind took its time catching up, trying to piece the sounds together, the strange language jumbling in her mind as she tried to turn the sounds into meaning.

"I'm... fine," she managed, but her voice was rough, barely more than a rasp.

Kaelen's face tightened with worry, his cool hand pressing against her forehead. When she coughed, the sound was strange and rough, jarring in the quiet cave. His brows knitted together as he listened, realizing with a slight start that it almost sounded like the bark of a seal. Humans... sounded odd, he noted, the realization briefly intriguing. Was she... attempting to mimic one?

But as she gave another weak, rasping cough, his curiosity dimmed, overtaken by a strange prickling of worry. "You're lying," he said, the note of sharpness in his voice betraying his concern. "You're sick."

Aria barely managed to nod, dizziness sweeping over and making her head spin. Her mind felt heavy, each thought a sluggish effort. The language he spoke – so different from her own – felt harder to comprehend now, as if her brain were fighting through layers of fog to make sense of it.

Kaelen's face tightened with worry, his blue eyes scanning the cave before he gently lifted her into his arms. He carried her to a sheltered corner of the cave, setting her down carefully. "Stay here, Alaria," he ordered, though the words sounded distant, his command slowly sinking into her awareness. She closed her eyes, shivering as he laid her down on the cold stone. Not like I can move, buddy, she thought.

~

Her awareness faced in and out, and each time she opened her eyes, Kaelen seemed to be watching her, his expression shifting from frustration to worry. He spoke to her in low murmurs, his words just sounds floating in her fevered mind, some part of her recognising that he was worried but to weak to react. She drifted back into the fog, her thoughts slipping further away until all that remained was the feeling of her shivering, her body succumbing to the cold.

When she awoke again, a new presence was beside her – a figure kneeling on her fish tail – out of the water – beside her, a gentle, cold hand on her forehead.

"Who...?" She tried to ask, but the effort of forming words felt monumental and before she knew it another cough wracked through her rough throat.

"Easy, human," came a soft feminine voice. "Kaelen asked for my help. I'm Sepiia." The voice was melodic, almost hypnotic, and it took Aria a moment to grasp what was being said. She forced her heavy eyelids open, taking in the figure beside her – a mermaid, her dark tanned skin shimmering in the dim light, her features delicate, her eyes a strange, otherworldly green. Glowing just like Kaelen's blue eyes. And her tail, the exact same green of her eyes, just without that otherworldly glow.

Aria's mind struggled to process, her fevered thoughts lagging. "Sepiia...?" She repeated, the name sliding though her awareness slowly, as if her mind needed time to cling to each syllable.

"Yes," Sepiia replied, pressing something damp to Aria's forehead. A piece of seaweed. "Rest. You'll be well soon enough."

Aria slipped back into the darkness, lulled by Sepiia's gentle voice and cool touch. Time blurred, slipping into a foggy haze as the mermaid's remedies gradually drew the fever from her. Each time she awoke, she felt slightly more aware, but her thoughts remained slow, her head heavy as though her mind were still submerged underwater. Sepiia would give her something to drink, a strange tasting concoction Aria refused to dell over. Whenever Kaelen returned, Sepiia would disappear, the two of them exchanging brief words that barely registered in Aria's tired mind.

The next time Aria awoke, Sepiia had settled beside aria, her green tail flickering idly in the shallow water beside the stone ledge where Aria lay. The mermaid hummed softly, the sound low and soothing, something like a lullaby mixed with the gentle echo of the waves. Aria, through the haze of her fever, couldn't help but be drawn to the sound, her eyes half-open and unfocused.

"You're... helping me?" Aria's voice was a faint rasp, curiosity managing to pierce through her exhaustion.

Sepiia's lips curved into a faint smile, her fingers brushing back a stay stand of Aria's hair. "Seems strange, doesn't it? Humans are such dangerous creatures. But you, little human, seem different. Kaelen sees something in you, even if I don't understand it yet."

Aria blinked slowly, her mind trying to grasp Sepiia's words. I'm... just a person," she managed, feeling absurdly small under the weight of Sepiia's gaze. "I didn't choose any of this. I just... I want to go home." Her voice trembled, vulnerability slipping through, her usual defences weakened by the illness.

Sepiia's expression softened, a flash of something resembling sympathy crossing her features. "Home." She repeated the word quietly, as if it were foreign to her, and for a brief moment, her gaze drifted away, as though she were remembering something distant. "Do you think it's still the same, that home of yours?"

Aria's brow furrowed as she tried to focus on Sepiia's question. The thought of home was like a warm memory slipping just out of reach, but she held onto it, letting it anchor her. "It has to be," she whispered, a fierce determination breaking through her exhaustion. "I can't lose that, not after everything."

Sepiia let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh. "Humans," she murmured, the word holding a trace of wonder and sadness. "Always so certain that things stay the same. That you can return to a place as if it never changed, as if you never left." Her gaze met Aria's, a flicker of something guarded in her eyes. "The sea doesn't work that way. Things change constantly. Even the ocean currents shift with the wind. And we change too, little by little."

Aria swallowed, feeling a pang in her chest that had nothing to do with her fever. She studied Sepiia's face, the shadows that seemed to hide deeper secrets. "Is that why you're helping me?" she asked softly. "Because you... you know what it's like to be away from home?"

Sepiia's lips pressed into a thin line, her expression momentarily hardening. "Perhaps. But I don't know if it's 'helping' you or helping myself. We all have our reasons for the things we do." She paused, her fingers still lingering against Aria's forehead, as though lost in thought. "Maybe I just want to understand what it is Kaelen sees in you, why he's so determined to keep you here. What makes you... different."

Aria's eyes widened slightly, a hint of fear returning as she thought of Kaelen's obsession, his insistence that she belonged with him in this dark, underwater world. But she couldn't deny the spark of curiosity about Sepiia's motives, about what lay beneath her stoic demeanor.

"Does he... often bring people here?" Aria ventured carefully, watching Sepiia's face for any reaction.

Sepiia's gaze flickered, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You're the first, as far as I know. Kaelen has always been... single-minded in his pursuits. But this—" she gestured between them, her expression unreadable, "—this is something new. It's as though he's... enchanted by you, in his own twisted way. Strange, isn't it?"

Aria forced a weak smile, the edge of her fear momentarily softening. "Trust me, I feel the same way. I didn't ask for any of this. I just want... I just want my life back."

Sepiia regarded her with an intensity that made Aria shiver, her green eyes narrowing as though seeing something Aria herself couldn't perceive. "You're brave," Sepiia said finally, her voice a murmur, barely louder than the hum of the cave. "You keep speaking of home, of escape, even in the face of something that terrifies you. That's more courage than some of us here will ever know."

For a moment, the two sat in silence, each caught in their own thoughts. Then Sepiia shifted, her tail sending ripples through the pool. "If you ever need... someone to talk to, I'm here." There was a flicker of something raw in her gaze, quickly hidden behind her usual stoicism.

Aria nodded, a small spark of hope kindling within her. "Thank you, Sepiia. I... I think I could use a friend down here."

Sepiia's lips quirked in a faint smile, a hint of warmth piercing through her guarded exterior. "Don't get too comfortable. It's a dangerous world you're in, and trust... is earned here, little human." She stood, her gaze softening briefly before she turned, her silhouette blending into the dark as she disappeared back into the depths of the cave, leaving Aria with a flickering hope that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't entirely alone in this strange, watery prison.

~

Finally, after several days, her fever broke, leaving her weak but able to think clearly again. Her mind was sharper, more alert, and as she lay in the cave – now on a new seaweed woven blanket – recovering. Aria paused a moment as she glanced to the cave's ceiling and suddenly, she realised how close she'd come to truly losing herself. The helplessness of it all – the fever, the language barrier, the sense of being stranded in a world she barely understood – had terrified her, if if she hadn't been fully aware of it at the time. She could afford to be that vulnerable again. Another coughing fit and soon aria was back to laying down, her eyes closed once more.

As Aria lay on the woven seaweed blanket, Kaelen watched her intently, his blue gaze thoughtful. "You know, among my people, when someone falls ill, it's common for others to tend to them. We value connection... taking care of each other," he murmured, his voice soft, as if there were thoughts he hadn't shared offering. "It's how we show trust, closeness."

Aria managed a small nod, her gaze drifting towards the faint light of the algae above. "Where I come form, people would..." Aria paused, trying to find the right words, "bring soup, chicken soup. It's... something you miss when you're not there." She fought back a shiver, but her weakened body betrayed her, and another cough slipped out.

Kaelen's face softened as he shifted closer. "You don't need to worry, you're save here." His voice held a note of insistence, as if he needed her to believe him.

Aria felt the weight of his words settling over her, and the chill of her bones finally began to fade, though her thoughts remained wary. For now, thought, she let herself rest, allowing the quiet cave and the distant murmur of Kaelen's words to lull her into a restless sleep.