The Air Out Of [Wattys2018 shortlist]

07

ASPYN WAS PETRIFIED, ALMOST COWERING IN PUDENCY for a non-existent reason that had her mind in web once more. She was strategically hidden until Mason and Jett had so graciously nudged her in the mysterious girl and her friends' directions. As she walked up to them, her temporary limp caused by the gracious push, she noticed that most of them had already seemed to recover from the blinding sunlight.

She had a valid reason to be nervous. It wasn't the itching sensation of self-consciousness, no, that wasn't the issue. The problem was the fact that she had to somehow explain to these regular teenagers that they were destined to save her country. That it was simply unchangeable fate.

Immediately, Aspyn injected herself into their conversation, casually attempting at explaining that these five, regular teenagers, had somehow jumped out of their planet, simply by touching a crystal ball.

She started slow.

"For starters, you're out of the milky way galaxy."

...kind of.

"What?!" Jess, silver eye, speaks first.

"Yeah," Aspyn says slowly, flickering her gaze amongst each of the teens. "Tell you what, I'm going to count to three, and by then, say the name of the most responsible person besides Jess."

"You know my name?"

"One, two, three, go!"

"Scar!" Everyone says at the same time, including Jess, who traces her fingers against her newly-acquired necklace.

"Okay. Jess, please hand Scar the anklet you have on. I'll explain its importance in the future." She says, in her regular British accent, which now seems overly dramatic compared to all their American ones. She pushes this thought away.

"How did a bright, flashing pearl bring us out of our galaxy?" Jess, asks in disbelief, still unable to believe the drastic circumstances. "I mean, I know pressing the button on the downside of the pearl in my necklace can bring us back, but, did we just-?

"Travel to an underwater planet, two galaxies away. Yes, precisely." Aspyn smiles, she notes to herself that she's spluttering out information way to quickly for their own good, and might end up fatally injuring one of them in the mind, making them deranged, or possibly, instigate an aneurysm. But yet, she's excited. Exhilarated, even.

And she can't seem to stop.

She gasps, sneaking a sideways glance at the Covian occupants before ushering them out of public view. "We must see her majesty," she says, sounding like the White Rabbit. Fretting didn't look good on her calm physique, but there were things to get done. She spun herself around and continued to walk timely to her castle, as the tiny group of five follow closely behind. They weren't putting much of a fight now, but once they know what her mother has in store for them, oh how the tables will turn.

She's beyond worried. A courageous bid doesn't equal instant success. They all say to go big or go home, but there's always a reason why people don't go big in the first place. And to her, playing safe was the only way.

"We can breathe," Louis says, still weirded out. "In a water-filled location."

"We are underwater." Aspyn sighs from the front.

"But we can breathe, how does that work?

"Water is formed from the chemical equation of two molecules of hydrogen, and one of oxygen. Which means, there is oxygen in the water." She explains, breaking down the complex terms in her mind to more regular, legible ones, "But in Covia, the water is a little more, how do you say this, varied. It's different, basically. Like an altered genetic, which makes it breathable."

"Where are we going?" Leo asks her.

Aspyn ignores him, hoping her shivering figure won't give away the horror they're about to experience. Letting the water carry her instead of walking, it blows her ash-blonde hair backward, like the wind. Slowly, she reaches a ledge sticking out of an edge and jumps, performing a somersault before allowing the water to waft her towards the castle.

"Jump." She says. Scar is the first to comply, smoothly repeating her actions, trailing slightly behind him, Jess follows second. Whispering something to the water in hieroglyphs, a cold sensation passes through the teenagers and carries them to her castle.

Their bones have gone limp, it's visually detectable, and they attempt to suffice by blowing bubbles, but her order to the water stays and it continues carrying them until they reach the castle

Just as smoothly as Aspyn lands on the grounds of her home, the castle, the tips of her toes touching the newly-polished surface, the water lands the teenagers, or what Aspyn calls them, the overdramatic, juvenile adolescent.

Aspyn keeps a small distance between her and the group, carefully navigating her way peacefully against all the identical looking corridors. Her movements are quick but sharp, and her turns looked as smooth as a gymnast doing a cartwheel. But soon, she begins to slow her pace when she rounds the corner separating her from her mother.

They held their breaths as they approached the intricately designed full-length door. Aspyn, herself, was absolutely, and utterly shaken as she drew closer. The water pushed her closer to the door, despite her slight signals of hesitation.

"My mother is in a bad mood." Aspyn finds herself whispering, but she doesn't turn to face them. She pauses for a moment to regain her composure and calm physique before nodding to the guards, who instantly push the large barricade away. The doors open.

Her mother stands at a center of the slightly elevated podium, and despite her sickness reaching a pivotal state of her critical condition, she still appears dashing in her lavishing floor-length gown and her ash blonde tresses cascading down her back.

Aspyn approaches her, taking small, cautious steps as she attempts at inching nearer without gaining her mother's attention. As predicted, her mother does hear the sound, and whips around, her hair floating gracefully as she whizzes to face her daughter.

Her gaze moves around the room giving each person a once-over look. Slowly, Aspyn realizes that her mother is already forming her first impressions, and obviously, who'll be the best to put in the front line. There is no silence, a lot of noise hovers in the background, but everyone seems to only see her mother, who judges them by appearance. "Ah," She says, finally, "Our lavine's have arrived."

"Mother. English, please." Motioning with her eyes, Aspyn silently conveys to her mother to smoothly translate her message. Her mother frowns at her.

"Our heroes have come."