She didn't know how it happened, but right now it didn't matter. There was nothing but the blue water above her and the black abbeys below. The abbeys that drew closer with every second, she was sinking fast, not able to move. She was going to die, that was a certainty. She was going to drown, and she was not even that far from home.

They just left the Cresdes port, on their way towards the Duchy of Tresania. A voyage that would last two to three weeks, but it didn't even take an hour before there was another ship on the horizon. One without a banner, pirates. Their attack was swift, there were even some pirates already among the crew. The battle was bloody, they didn't stand a change. She fought off three pirates at the same time. With the double swords, Lady and Lord Inaam provided, but in the end she lost the battle and was thrown overboard. With the rest of the dead members of the crew, and some pirates. But she didn't know how hurt she was until she hit the water, the pain was unbearable when she tried to swim. So much that she almost lost conscience, and now she wished she had lost it. Because this appending doom would be lost on her, the wait until her lungs couldn't handle the water anymore. Or a predator snatching her up, killing her for food. She would die, that was not the question. But how she was going to die. Something black shot across her vision, was that a shark or another creature. I didn't matter, black spots started to appear. She slowly closed her eyes. Awaiting Godva's embrace. She felt two strong arms embracing her, her body got pulled in another direction, then down. The water rushed past her body, and there it was air. She threw up all the salty water, and she kept throwing up. Someone in a male voice said something, and they kept on repeating it. Only she was not able to understand it, but the water out of her body kept on coming. Until she didn't have enough energy to continue, some sighed.

"All of the salt water has left your lungs, but your ribs are broken." it was said with the same male's voice. But with some kind of accent. "That explains your unwillingness to get to the surface, I will bring you medicine and food from time to time. But after your bones have mended, you have to get to your own kind." Her own kind, what that even mean? She didn't have the energy to ask it, or to open her eyes to see for herself. "Rest, woman of the surface. Rest." And she did fall into a deep slumber.

*********

Norchón LeMahieu didn't know what came over him, this woman of the surface, she would have drowned. Just like all the others before her. The sea was not a place for the weak, her broken ribs made her an easy target to pray on. But so were the newborn babies inside the underwater city, and they had their families to protect them. And this woman was only weak because she was injured, but he had seen her fight against three male members of her own kind. She was strong and without fear, she only got hurt because of a fourth male joining the fight from behind. He was the one breaking her ribs and throwing her overboard, together with the dead and the injured. At first, she fought against the water that was his home, but she soon gave up. Also, due to her ribs. She should have drowned, if he hadn't intervened. He should have swum away, not looking over his shoulder. Not to be bothered with her death, but he couldn't after he saw her strength. Not after he saw her beauty, she lay in front of him. In one of the secret underwater caves, even his brothers, his own sire and mother didn't know about them. These cave were not far from the city, but they have little air pockets in them. The black rocks were not soft, but she slept like the dead. Her black outfit with hints of gold was plastered against her body, her beautiful well-formed body. Lean, strong, and with curves in all the right place. Ohh, by Tagasis, he was such a clownfish. He was only able to think about one thing, which was not strange for a man his age. His brothers all had one or more offspring around his age, and his sister was gone up towards the surface twice, only for her to come back home pregnant with two sets of twins. They all called him a guppy for his lack of sexual interactions. But this woman has awoken that sleeping part within him, not that he would act upon it without her consent. He shook his head slowly and let himself glide down into the bottleneck of the cave. He snuck out of the caves and looked around, there was no one outside waiting for him. Maybe it would be wise to get his mother involved, though, with this woman being injured and all. He didn't know how bad it was, or if one of the ribs has damaged some important organs. It wouldn't matter to him if she called him out on it. He looked once again at the woman that was laying on the black rocks of the cave, and left her alone. Hoping that she would be safe, and still alive, if he returned.

***********

"By the Lords of the Sea and even by the Gods of the world above," a gentle woman's voice woke him up. "I do know what you were thinking, Norchón LeMahieu. She is a beauty, but try to explain that to Lord Chaim. She is not allowed to get to the surface, you know the rules a bit better than I do, from time to time." A soft hand went over her stomach, Aliza hissed from the pain. "I know that it hurts, but you have to be strong for now. I heard from the fool that is my youngest son that you are a brave and strong women. Fighting against three male specimens from your species, at once. You were only defeated because a fourth joined the fight from behind." Aliza didn't know if that was true, she was not able to remember a fourth man. And this woman, didn't carry an accent like her son. Aliza slowly opened her eyes, she was inside what seemed to be a cave, the ceiling was covered in luminescent plants? Or algae, she was not sure, but she was able to smell the salty seawater and even hear it. The woman said right next to her, she had silver hair that shimmered in the luminescent light, her eyes were the deepest blue that Aliza had ever seen. The woman placed her hand to her naked chest. "My name is Ente LeMahhieu. My youngest son, Norchón, brought you here." Her hand waived towards the man, that was sitting beside her. And Aliza needed to swallow, this man was the most captivating man she has ever seen in her life. And she has seen plenty good-looking man, Harel and Artel to name a few examples. But Norchón was it, defeated them with ease, he had long black hair, which was a bit tangled up, and he had a three-week-old beard that matched his hair color. But what mostly got her attention were those ocean blue eyes. "What is your name," Ente asked softly, breaking the enchantment.

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"Aliza," her voice was soft, and sounded not like her own. "Aliza li Shay. I am, or was, a Paladin of Volaris."

"That means that you were coming from the Sharax Empire, none of the other countries carry that much about the Goddess of Strenght and Honor." Ente said, with a soft smile. "Get some rest, you are going to need that to heal." Aliza nodded slowly, and her eyes fall shot. But she didn't fall asleep. "I am going to inform the rest of the consortium, and that of your sire."

"Do you have to?" he asked, he sounded worried.

"Yes, you rescued her. Which as you know is against the law, so now both of our respective consortiums have to prepare accordingly. Do not worry, I will defend you and her until my dying breath. And I believe with all my heart that your brothers will too." she said. Aliza didn't understand at all what was happening here. The handsome man saved her, and somehow that is against the law. Not only that, but his parents do not from one unit. And they kept on hinting that they were not of the same species as her, what ever that meant. The sound of water became audible, and then there was silence.

"You haven't fallen asleep, have you?" Norchón asked with his thick accent. She shook her head and opened her eyes, he chuckled slightly. "You should take all the rest you can get, my mother is right. I have pulled you into our world, which is not for the faint of hearted."

"Your world?" she asked. "What does that even mean." She was not able to look away from does deep blue eyes.

"The world below the surface, the world of the sea." he said, and again she didn't know what that meant. She was missing something for sure. She looked at him and that is when she saw it. His naked muscled chest with a pale ivory skin, but then her gaze went down. The pale skin transformed into a with rubbery pale blob that was mostly hanging in the water. But as far as she was able to see, there were no legs. A tentacle rose up from the waters, the water dripped from it. Slowly it came towards her, she shot up and immediately regretted the movement. "Easy, easy." His hands rose up, trying to calm her down. Well, that didn't work. She was hurt and there was not a lot of space inside the cave. So she didn't have any place to hide, from this strange creature. Which had the torso of the most beautiful man she has ever seen, and the lower body of an octopus. Was that how the creature was called, she was not sure about that. Naming sea creatures was not something she needed to survive.

"What are you?" she asked. He smiled softly.

"We call ourselves, Erveapus." he explained. "We are created by Dhoeyar, God of Greed and Endings, and Tagasis, Goddess of Madness and Tricks. After the great flood that took our city, they were simply not ready to let go of their power over the citizens of Silora." Aliza frowned, did he just say Silora? As in the city that was given to the sea, by the other Gods and Goddesses. Because the citizens were overtaken by the Mad Hunger. "Or rather, they changed our autonomy so that we can live underwater. Only Zuses, the God of life, can grant a new species life." She has learned the same thing, Harel was a fine example of that. But this man didn't have magical blood, at least as far as she knew. His whole body seemed abnormal, the lower half that is. She moved a bit further away from him. "I am not going to hurt you," she was not sure if she believed him or not. He sighed, closed his eyes. The water around his abnormal lower body started to bubble, it also seemed to light up. But that was probably just a reflection of the plants that was inside the cave. Athough she has not seen it there before. The trick of the light and the bubbling of the water stopped as soon as he opened his deep blue eyes. No matter how afraid she was right now, those eyes she could drown in them. But then he stepped, yes he had legs now, out of the water.

"By Volaris," she said shocked. "You have legs!" he chuckled slightly.

"How else do you think that we were able to go unnoticed for so long." he said, so magical blood check. Was there mayde another type of magic he was able to do? She was a bit too shocked to ask him that, he walked over towards her and knelt down. His hand placing on her shoulder. "I am not going to hurt you, Aliza. My mother will not hurt you, but that is the only thing I can say for sure. Because there will be others who will try, so I need you to rest up and heal. Because the sea will be your downfall if you can't fend for yourself."

"Why did you safe me, your mother said that was illigal to do so. So why did you do it?" She asked. He shrugged, and looked into her eyes.

"I do not know, but there was a spark inside you when you were fighting those men." he said, she knew somehow that he was not telling the whole truth. "I wouldn't have saved you if I haven't seen that spark, the sea is not a place for the weak." Again it was not the whole truth, she was apperently on an information diët and she didn't like it one bit. He took a step back and looked down towards her lips. "Get some rest, I will bring food and a weapon in less then a hour." After that he turned around and left.