Scott quickly ran through his memories of the past day again as quickly as possible in the hopes of making enough sense of his situation to provide an explanation to his apparent savior. So much of it didn’t make sense, the system messages, the telepathic communication, his body taking on an entirely new form that allowed him to breathe underwater! It was all too much to digest at once and so he employed a mechanism one of his favorite school counselors, Laura taught him to help in moments when he felt overwhelmed and anxious. He closed his eyes, slowly inhaled through his mouth – firmly ignoring the fact that he was still inhaling water with no more difficulty than air – held his breath for three seconds and slowly exhaled through his nose. After repeating this process three times, he opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings with a slightly calmer frame of mind. The first thing he needed to do was get more information. He needed to understand this new environment as well as the new changes manifested in himself. The former of which seemed the safest to investigate.

“Firstly”, Scott began, “I want to thank you for helping me escape unharmed. I’m not sure if that monster would have chased after me if you hadn’t sealed away the entrance to its lair.” Chiron blinked and opened his mouth slightly in what appeared to be shock. The expression vanished nearly as quickly as it appeared before he replied. “You honor me, but I fear I haven’t done anything to warrant such praise. It is only natural that I would perform my duties in safeguarding one such as yourself.” Taken aback slightly by not only the substance by formal shift in Chiron’s reply, Scott took a moment to consider. “I’m not sure I understand… why is it your duty to protect me? We’ve never met, so why would I be your responsibility?” Scott asked. “As I stated before, I am a knight of the realm, and you are obviously of noble blood. It is the duty of all sworn knights to safeguard those of your stature.” Chiron replied, appearing now more confused than shocked. The expression was matched on Scotts own face, which seemed to shift from shock, confusion, incredulity and finally settling on concern. “You said my noble blood was obvious.” Scott started, “Please explain why that’s the case.” It was no Chiron’s turn to don an expression of concern. “Well, your appearance of course. The Oceanids are rather distinct in their appearance compared to the other denizens of the depths. No other race so elegantly combines aspects of the land and sea dwellers, if you pardon my boldness.”

Schooling his expression, Scott clasped his hands together on his lap and pondered these troubling revelations. Not only had he died and gone to what seemed to be another world, he wasn’t even human anymore. If Chiron was to be believed and there wasn’t much ground to distrust him after saving his life, then Scott was a type of mermaid known as Oceanids. In his vague recollection of Earths history, these were creatures from Greek mythology. They were the children of Titans and guardians of the oceans and seas. So why is a race of mythical creatures, people he supposed, from his world real in this reality? But before he could further consider multiverse theory and get bogged down in more existential dread, he needed to confirm something for himself firsthand. “Chiron, is there a mirror I can use?” Scott asked. “Yes of course. The manor’s guest rooms may not be of the quality you’re use to, but this much at least we can provide.” Chiron answered as he gestured toward a hallway at the other end of the room. Firming his resolve, Scott rose from the bed and slightly lost his balance at the effort. Seeing his stumble, Chiron sped over to Scott in a flash, so quickly he almost seemed to teleport! “Are you alright!?” Chiron asked, as he placed his arm around Scott’s waist and shoulder to support him. “I’m fine, I just moved too quickly I think.” Scott replied. “Please do not strain yourself. Maybe you should rest a while longer under your strength has fully returned.” Chiron entreated. “No, I will be alright. I need to do this.” Scott replied as he took another breath to center himself. Focusing on his balance and taking control of himself, he observed again the sensation of the water around him, the minute currents moving against his body and thought back to his myriad experiences of swimming in his past life. Swimming was one of his few joys growing up and he’d always excelled on the swim team. His extensive experience being in and underwater was one of the few things that helped him remain calm upon waking up fully submerged in an underwater cavern. He’d spent so much time snorkeling, scuba diving and free diving with his parents, friends and family that they used to jokingly call him half fish. If only you could see me now. He thought.

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Regaining his balance, he moved towards the hallway Chiron gestured to earlier and was somewhat pleased to note that moving through the water was about as taxing as a leisurely stroll. Moving through the hallway, he began to take stock of the building and its construction. While at first glance it appeared to be made entirely of coral, further inspection revealed portions of white stone that reminded him of marble or maybe limestone. The hallway opened into another room, the contents of which wouldn’t have been out of place at an upscale clothing boutique. Natural light poured in from the open spaces between columns supporting the ceiling. Along either side of the rectangularly shaped room were rows of shelves from floor to ceiling that ran from the entrance all the way to the far end of the room. At the center of the right-hand wall stood a large mirror propped up nearly to the start of the columns along the ceiling. Slowly, but deliberately, Scott moved to stand in front of it, closing his eyes before just before his reflection came into view. When he was certain that he’d be at its center he opened his eyes. The reflection before him left him gaping. He’d always been a handsome lad; some would even go so far as to say he was a “pretty boy.” A well-defined jawline inherited from his father complimented his prominent and sharp cheekbones. His delicate aquiline nose, light blue eyes and wavey shoulder length blonde curls didn’t help refute the pretty boy moniker. And while he’d always felt comfortable in his own skin and confident in his being attractive, his former visage paled in comparison to the otherworldly beauty displayed before him. Gone were the blonde curls, replaced by a long flowing crown of hair white as freshly fallen snow. It billowed out behind him, gently flowing with the currents to the center of his back. His face carried only trace hints of his former self, the delicate nose remained, but smaller and slightly upturned. His cheeks remained prominent but were fuller and carried more of a rosery tint. His jaw and chin were more rounded, gentler somehow and complimented his now fuller lips. But nothing captivated him more than his eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul and his eyes, the same light blue he shared with his mother, had always reflected his kind and gentle nature. But the eyes looking back in his reflection shared no such nature. In fact, they weren’t anything like human eyes aside from their general shape. Like his hair, they were white. Entirely white. The sclera, the iris, even the pupil was pure white. He blinked several times as if to will them back to their familiar state, but there was nothing for it. They remained as white and alien as when he first saw them.

While his new and admittedly more delicate features alluded to his new body being female, further inspection confirmed as much. While he’d never been a body builder or heavily muscled in his past life, there wasn’t much mistaking his tall albeit lanky frame for that of a male’s. Now, however, there was no mistaking his slender shoulders, modest bust, narrow waist and wide hips for anything other than distinctly feminine. Thankfully his arrival in this new world came with the small perk of including basic clothing, which incidentally bore a striking resemblance to togas of ancient Rome. But just as this fleeting thought crossed his... or her mind, their attention was seized by the shimmering scales running the length of their arms and legs. Scott stared on in mute shock at everything laid out before him. A new world, a new life, a new species, a new gender! All this on the heels of entering what he imagined was going to be eternal slumber. It was all too much to take in and once again the edges of their vision began to dim as they fainted.