Luminaire (Florence Waverley, Book 2)

luminaire

Book 2 of the Florence Waverley series

by Ciye Cho

luminaire

Book 2 of the Florence Waverley series

by Ciye Cho

Published by Studio Amazepop.

Copyright © 2012 by Ciye Cho. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

www.Florence-Books.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table Of Contents

1 Happy Birthday

2 Shifting Shadows

-- Interlude 1: Discussion

3 The Announcement

4 The Dream

5 The Novices’ Cavern

6 Painting

7 Wynn

8 Another Dream

9 The Ancient Mother

10 The Final Day

-- Interlude 2: Memories

11 Training Days

-- Interlude 3: Plans

12 All the Flowers

13 The Tournament

14 Azemar

-- Interlude 4: Discoveries

15 The Graveyard

16 The Wilted City

-- Interlude 5: Truth

17 Sisters in Art

18 Fyre

19 The Other Side

20 Back to the Maze

21 Healing

-- Interlude 6: Changes

22 Decisions

-- Interlude 7: Kiren

-- About the author

-- Copyright

1. Happy Birthday

Everything had to be perfect.

That was what I told myself as I made my preparations. In a world called Niemela, I waited in a cavern known as the Oceanarium. Its walls were covered with limestone balconies—structures carved out of hard, dead coral—and all these balconies were adorned with sea ferns and living corals. I stood atop a yellow balcony. Here I toiled for hours, rearranging plants and animals.

I was no mermaid, but I knew how to control animals with my mind. An ability that was still a mystery to me. I used my thoughts to ask cleaner fish to peck away algae from the balcony. I told clownfish to stay in their anemones and wait for the right moment to spring out. I got jellyfish to tie their tendrils to the railing and behave like balloons.

Soon, all was ready. Perfect.

All that was missing was Rolan.

Yolee had told me a week ago about Rolan’s hatchday, and ever since then, I’d spent hours planning the perfect nineteenth birthday for him. Yes, hatchdays weren’t the same as human birthdays; but from what I understood, a merperson celebrated his or her special day by eating a knot of golden kelp—the sweetest and rarest of all kelp—before taking a moment to thank the All-tide for the gift of life. I could picture it in my head: Rolan would head over to the balcony, and I’d use my thoughts to send fish soaring from their anemones. A fireworks display made of animals. Dozens of jellies would lift from the railing like freed balloons.

It would be magical.

I looked down to check my outfit. My yellow t-shirt fluttered beneath a fitted kelp singlet. Gone were my ratty shorts. Yolee had gotten a builder to weave kelp strands into a pair of jeans, and I wore my ‘keans’ everywhere.

I pulled out a small clamshell from my pocket and opened it. The hollow interior was shiny, and I held it up like a mirror.

My skin was paler than usual but surprisingly clear. No zits. Was that something to do with the breathing polyp at the back of my neck? My hair was slicked back with mer wax, which kept it from drifting. The strands looked redder underwater. Brighter too.

So much had happened recently, that I sort of expected myself to look like a new person. Someone strong. Confident. But I still looked kind of lost. Still looked like the same seventeen-year-old outsider. I tried on a smile but the expression wasn’t very convincing. I looked worried. Nervous. And maybe I was.

Time passed, but Rolan was nowhere to be seen.

The rainbow light of the Oceanarium, created by the thousands of glowing corals, had started to darken. My colorful shadow had gone gray, and I wondered if Rolan had forgotten our plans. I’d told him to come to this exact spot. Told him to meet me here before lastmeal.

Had he forgotten? No. Rolan never forgot anything. He never took anything lightly.

So... why was he late?

That question forced me to retrieve a box from the back of my mind. A tiny, invisible box that housed all the things I wanted to forget: my insecurities, my dad’s death, those two years I spent with my mother... and now, things about Rolan that I didn’t want to dwell on—such as the changes I’d seen in him.

It had been several weeks since Rolan and I returned from the lamprey cavern. And at first, things between us had been blissful. The monsters beyond the valley had retreated to their underworld, as if we’d forced them back. There was hope, peace... and Rolan.

Even though the Darkness lingered around Niemela, the two of us had been happy for a time. We watched the Volcamia sputter in the valley. We swam through the Oceanarium while everyone else was asleep. I told him about Australia; he told me about Niemela. (Things like how some mer believed that Niemela was a giant animal, and that somewhere inside it was a heart made of coral.) Together, we had a world of our own.

But one day... things started to change between us.

I remember the exact day: Rolan’s coronation.

Merfolk had gathered in the Oceanarium. All the corals had been dimly lit. Iriego guided Rolan through the vows of leadership, then crowned him the new king. As Rolan’s Luminaire (the one who would bring light to his ceremony), I stood beside Rolan and told the corals to brighten. The Oceanarium burst into rainbow light, and I stared at Rolan. He smiled at me and took my hand. Colors and sounds disappeared until all that remained was the two of us.

Then, his eyes lowered to our intertwined hands. His smile faltered.

Rolan? I had asked. What’s wrong?

He paused. Nothing, Florry. Everything... is as it should be.

His smile returned, but it seemed weaker, darkened by the start of a frown. And try as I might, there were some lights that even a Luminaire couldn’t reignite. From that point on, Rolan began to pull away into his own world.

Yet, all that would change today.

He’ll be here, I whispered, slamming shut my invisible worry box.

Motion caught my eye, and I looked up to see an orange merman swim into the Oceanarium. Things changed when he entered. Schools of fish darted aside. Mermaids turned to watch him. Some of the corals shifted in hue, as though he were a brush stirring watercolor paint.

Rolan was radiant.

I took in a deep breath and raised my hand to wave, until I saw him swim past my balcony. Right past me. I took in another breath and cold water sank to the bottom of my lungs.

His eyes were focused straight ahead, and each of his movements was purposeful and decisive. My worry box popped opened to release a tiny thought: he’s forgotten.

No. He couldn’t have, I told myself.

I closed the box and swam toward him. I was a dozen yards away when I called out: Rolan! Wait up.

He halted and shifted upright. The Oceanarium went still, from the meal whales to the sea snails that plowed the grasses. Merfolk stared at me with cold eyes.

Rolan turned to greet me. Florence Waverley.

Florence Waverley? When had we become so formal?

Rolan?

Can I help you with something? he asked, and his gaze took me aback. His emerald-green eyes stared right through me. He seemed preoccupied.

I... wanted to wish you happy hatchday, I told him. Happy hatchday? Did they even say that here? I thought we could—

He didn’t wait for me to finish.

I do not have time to spare, Florence. I apologize.

I jerked back. Moments ago, all I’d been worried about was the possibility that Rolan had forgotten about my plans. Our plans. It had never occurred to me that he’d simply decide not to spend his hatchday with me. My cheeks reddened.

Rolan turned around. The heat in my cheeks spread to my ears, neck, and shoulders. My hand rose to my neck to try and hide the redness, but my voice cracked as I said his name. Rolan?

He said, Is there something else?

The coldness in his voice took me aback. What happened next passed in a blur. I swam closer and reached into my pocket. I pulled out a knot of golden kelp and thrust it into his hands. After that, I shoved my hands into my pockets to stop them from shaking.

You could have lied to me, I said in my head, as if I could broadcast my thoughts to Rolan. You could have made up some excuse. I would have believed it. Would have made myself believe it.

Yet, when I opened my mouth, all I said was, Happy hatchday.

I wanted to sound angry, but my voice ended up sounding flat.

He nodded as he eyed the golden knot.

Good tides, Florence Waverley.

He looked up at me briefly, then swam away.

Rolan headed off, and everyone turned back to their work, as if nothing had happened. Yet, something had happened. Somehow, something or someone had pressed the ‘reset’ button on our relationship. But was it even that? Was what we once had... even a relationship?

I began to sink. My feet touched the sea grass on the cavern floor, and I saw a golden speck drift in the distance. I headed closer to see Rolan’s hatchday knot sink to the ground. Discarded like a piece of trash.

I picked it up.

My worry box popped open, upended itself, and everything inside it tumbled out: all the things that had changed between Rolan and me... and all the distance that had built between us. I didn’t want to look at these things. Yet, they were soon hard to ignore.

Suddenly, it seemed stupid that I’d spent so much time planning a perfect hatchday. All I wanted now was for things to go back to how they’d once been. Suddenly, I wondered if Rolan had an invisible box of his own. Did he use his box to store things he wanted to forget? Did his box have images of Kiren dying in the cavern, lampreys waiting in the valley... and a human girl who didn’t know when to back off?

I swam back to my balcony. But as I approached, the clownfish mistook that as a sign and burst out. They swam around me in a spiral of colors. My jellyfish balloons untied themselves from the railing and lifted into the water.

As they drifted away, a part of me vanished with them...

2. Shifting Shadows

I sat atop Niemela’s coral dome and stared out at the jellyfish bell. The jellies that made up this structure were completely unlit, and through their see-through bodies, I found myself staring out into the Valley of Waterfyre. Deep-sea volcanoes filled the water with flickers of orange, red, blue, and green.

My gaze settled upon Rolanama, the volcano that Rolan had been named after. I watched it release plumes of orange light. Rolanama was the fieriest of all the Volcamia, and many believed that Rolan had more in common with this volcano than he did with any of the mer. And maybe they were right.

My gaze shifted to the dark water beyond the valley. During those happy days before Rolan’s coronation, it seemed as if we’d beaten the monsters. At least, that was what I told myself. Now, it seemed as if they were planning something. Waiting.

I wished that the same could be said of Rolan.

Did he understand the changes within him?

I took out the golden knot and studied it. I didn’t know where the workers grew golden kelp, so yesterday I’d snuck into the warriors’ courtyard and nicked a golden sash from a ceremonial dagger. It was traditional, Yolee said, for a merperson to take the golden knot and split it in half: one part for the birthday mer and the other part for his or her companion.

I took a bite of the kelp. It tasted intensely sweet. But the second the sweetness wore off, all I tasted was bitterness. I ate the knot, and by the time I was finished, I couldn’t taste anything at all.

I heard a rustling and froze. The coral dome was heavily guarded by a patrol of warriors. Yet, it was still a dangerous place. I was about to leave, until a pale-blue face peeked out from behind a brain coral. Green eyes stared at me. Pastel-green curls spread out in a halo.

Princess Yolee.

Yolee, I said with a sigh. "Captain Dorsimer will freak out if he finds you here."

Yolee chuckled and sat beside me. She brushed away dirt from her kelp puffball dress. Relax, Florence. I’ve been looking all over for you. Where did you go? Wait... how did Rolan’s hatchday go?

Fine, I replied without looking at her. Let’s get away from here before Dorsimer sees you.

What I wanted was to forget about today.

Yolee was about to drill me with questions when her stomach rumbled.

Come on, I said, with what I hoped was a convincing smile. Let’s get something to eat.

She smiled back. All right.

I entered one of the dome’s vertical tunnels. The princess followed me down, and a few minutes later we entered the Oceanarium. Yolee whistled and a lime-green whale hurtled toward us. Benimuss.

His breath smelt of garbage, and I tried to ignore the fact that ‘smelling’ things underwater meant tasting particles on your tongue.

Yolee and I sat on the animal’s back. The whale swayed from side to side as he carried us through the Oceanarium. As we went, merfolk kept their distance. Before the events of the lamprey cavern, I was just an irritation. Now, I was part of the dark cloud surrounding King Rolan. Now, I was a reminder of the tragedy that had befallen Niemela’s beloved Kiren. A tragedy that Rolan had never explained to his people.

I thought back to something I’d overhead.

"You must tell your subjects about what happened, Dorsimer had said. They need to know, sire."

"I will not darken their memory of Kiren, Rolan had replied. They can resent me, but I will not paint my brother as a monster."

...Florence?

Yolee tugged at my sleeve. Colored fish swam amid her hair, as though her curls were a coral reef. A shelter for lost creatures. But was that what I was to Yolee? A lost creature?

Her face was lined with furrows. Are you all right?

I’m fine, I replied.

I looked around me. The Oceanarium was in constant flux, and workers and builders were always re-growing or replacing the corals. Yet, this place now seemed less whimsical and more defensive. Many balconies were now armed with blowfish and serpents—a reaction to the lamprey attack inside the city. But more than that, it seemed as though everything, from the corals to the mer, had become more closed off.

Yolee followed my gaze and said, Things seem different, don’t they? Everything looks like it’s been repaired, but if you look closely, you can still see cracks everywhere. Like things are broken on the inside.

I paused and wondered if that was what she saw when she looked at Rolan. Did she see a broken shell?

You’re thinking of Ro, aren’t you? said Yolee.

She frowned, but I did my best to smile. "No. I’m thinking of the meal parcel that we’re going to swipe from Mikel."

Liar, said Yolee. "You are thinking about Rolan."

No, I’m not.

Yes, you are, she said.

I shrugged. And what if I am?

Well, then I’d tell you that Rolan’s not himself lately, that’s all, said Yolee. The pressure of dealing with the Council is taking a toll on him. You can’t be too hard on him.

Hard on him?

I shook my head. I wasn’t thinking about him.

Yes you were, she insisted. I can tell. Maybe I’m becoming telepathic. That could be my special gift, y’know.

My mood began to lighten. When I was around Yolee, it was easy to forget the changes in Niemela. Lately, the two of us had been spending a lot of time in the Oceanarium, Yolee looking for ways to stir up trouble; and me, well, doing my best not to focus on the changes around me.

I smiled at her and said, Come on, let’s get that meal parcel from Mikel.

Yolee smiled back and told Benimuss to enter a tunnel. Lights of green and blue passed over us, and I closed my eyes. The colors now seemed as normal as the lights in a motor tunnel. But was Niemela really my new home? It didn’t feel that way.

I’d spent my life dreaming about being different people: people who lived in far-off places like New York or Nepal; people who had friends for every occasion; people who spoke fast and always had something witty to say, like characters from Pushing Daisies. People who did things. But now, I’d finally gotten my wish.

I was now the only human in a world of merfolk.

Yet, nothing was what I had planned on.

Sometimes I felt stuck, trapped between two worlds but part of neither. I thought about the surface world, and questions came to me: had my Uncle Jeremiah arranged a search party? Was he freaking out about losing his ‘caretaking allowance’? How was my mother dealing with my disappearance? Was she finally ready to leave her world of cigarillos and vodka martinis? Or was the shock sending her deeper into her party world?

Did she regret sending me to Hamilton Island?

Yolee and I entered the Homestead cavern and left Benimuss. The princess guided me to the Grove’s kelp towers. A large gray whale hovered above the city. Hundreds of barnacles lay along its belly, and these creatures used their feelers to hold up a carriage made of kelp. A tawny merman knelt inside the carriage. Mikel. Green parcels filled the cabin around him.

Merfolk lined up to receive meal parcels from Mikel.

Yolee looked at me and winked. Watch this, Florry! I just came up with the perfect thought-command...

She faced the gray whale and closed her eyes. A moment later, the animal shook its head and let out a huge burp. A green cloud left its mouth, and merfolk darted aside. Mikel cursed, but tried to fan away the cloud. Yolee, however, opened her eyes and swam to the carriage. Amid the chaos, she grabbed two parcels, then headed over to a kelp tower.

She sat down on a roof made of woven kelp. I swam over to join her and said, "You’re terrible... She gave me a parcel and both of us couldn’t help but laugh. Mikel turned to look at us. Princess Yolee! he shouted out. Those parcels are for Niemelans with a life path."

The merman pointed at his armband, but Yolee told his whale to release another burp.

Yolee and I headed to a quiet courtyard to eat our parcels. We finished the cakes in almost no time (every last bit of sticky-sweet kelp), before Yolee eyed a tower to the left. She looked at me and said, Will you come with me to see my father?

I shrugged. Okay.

Yolee and I swam over to the healer tower. We landed on its balcony and saw a guardian waiting beside a doorway. This merman was silent, but his eyes trailed my every move. Ever since Rolan and I had returned to Niemela, the guardians had been acting strangely around us—me in particular. I had no idea why.

I used to think that the guardians were nothing more than bodyguards for the king, but it seemed as if there was much more to them.

Yolee and I entered a kelp chamber, then the corridor beyond, until we found a room lit only by a jellyfish. Here, an old merman rested on a bed of soft corals. His body was slightly translucent, and inside him were crystalline shapes—organs that looked like sea polyps; shapes that fluttered weakly. He had no wrinkles, but his gray skin was stretched thinly over his frail body.

It was hard to remember that Iriego had once been a king.

A man who had guarded the waves.

A man who had once tried to have me imprisoned...

Lord Iriego, I greeted him with a bow.

Yolee glided to her father’s side to take his hand.

Father? she asked.

His eyes had once been cat’s eye gems; now they resembled pale beads. He stared at the ceiling, until Yolee repeated herself a little louder.

Yolee... he whispered, turning to look at her. The kelp blanket that rested over him seemed far too large.

I made you something, said Yolee, reaching into her pocket to pull out a charm made of carved coral. It was shaped like a square and had an X inside it—the mark of Iriego.

For the last few weeks, Yolee never visited her father without me. She’d never explained why, but I knew the reason: whenever I was around, Iriego was more guarded. Conversations never touched upon the Darkness, or Kiren’s secret, or the wound in Iriego’s chest that just wouldn’t heal.

Yet, today was different.

I was about to sit in the corner when Iriego looked at me and said, Florence Waverley, would you excuse us?

Yolee turned to look at me. She shook her head but I