Blaine did not realise where he was for a minute or so. The events of the previous day rushed into his mind, and he leapt up, stretching his sore arms and legs-sleeping on a rock was definitely not something he would try again. As he stretched, he remembered the strange figure in the lagoon bellow him. Gazing over the edge of the rocky outcrop he had spent the night upon, he cast his eyes about, his search for the-merman?-he wondered-was fruitless.
Nevertheless, Blaine wanted to do some more exploring, especially of the lagoon. The rocky outcrop gave Blaine a perspective, showing him the best ways to make his way down to the lagoon. What appeared to be a set of roughly hewn, stone steps leading all the way down to the lagoon was just visible to his left-the remnants of an age gone by, he expected. Other than the hundreds of steps, there seemed to be only one other way to get down off the outcrop-jumping.
The steps were further away than he had realised-it took him what felt like half an hour to reach them, which required more traipsing through the first layer of trees of the forest, the ones that grew closest to the edge of the cliff face, which dipped in on itself where the stairs had been painstakingly carved out. The forest seemed to be much more alive than it had the previous day, Blaine noticed. A few small birds swooped through the trees, and he could distinctly hear the sounds of animals scurrying nearby. As he approached the steps, Blaine begun to regret leaving his shoes behind even more-although the emerald green moss beneath his feet was soft, his feet had begun to ache. He groaned as he cast his gaze down the hundreds of steps, shielded on both sides by huge walls of stone, covered in moss, with dark tree roots running through the weathered rock like veins, under its skin, creating bulges and cracks.
It was only after beginning his descent that Blaine realised that the steps, too, were moss-covered, and bulging with roots-slippery and dangerous. He groaned, but did not let it sway him-he continued down towards the lagoon, taking care not to fall over tree roots, or slip on the strange moss. Although the stone walls protected him from the sun, Blaine began to feel quite warm in his old leather vest and wool coat, which had sheltered him from the cold of the previous night. He reluctantly stripped them off, although it was liberating to be dressed solely in his old brown cotton pants and white linen shirt, the breeches hanging loosely on his shoulders.
Halfway down the long staircase, Blaine noticed that the descent was slowly becoming steeper and steeper, and soon found himself becoming slightly breathless. It felt as though the steps were stretching on endlessly downwards, trapping him between stone walls void of life.
And suddenly, it was over, and Blaine stepped, blinking, in the bright sunlight. The sun as much higher in the endless blue sky, now-Blaine had not realised how long his descent had taken. It felt as though half the steps had disappeared, however, shortening his traipse. One minute he had been barely able to see the bottom of the stairwell, and the next, he was shielding his eyes from the bright light of the sun.
Roughly one hundred metres away lay the shimmering blue lagoon, surrounded by rocks, on the bank closest to where he stood, blinking, and by trees and grass on the other. Sunlight bounced off the gently rippling water, dancing and sparkling atop its glassy surface. Mesmerised, Blaine approached the edge of the water, and, kneeling down on the warm rocks, dipped one hand into the water, feeling its cool, silken touch on his skin. Cupping his hands to collect the crystal clear liquid, he splashed some onto his warm face, relishing the sensation. Next, he placed his sore feet into the lagoon, which cooled them down and relaxed him.
The blazing sun overhead beat down on his back and neck, warming him enough to encourage a few tiny beads of sweat to run down his face. Blaine wiped them away, and, without a second thought, slid into the underwater world. His entire body submerged, he opened his eyes, finding that he could explore the clear shallows without his eyes stinging as they usually did. When he could no longer hold his breath beneath the water, Blaine resurfaced, gasping for air. He sat in the shallows for a while, before hauling himself back onto the rocks, where he lay on his back and allowed the sun's golden rays to dry him.
His meditation was disturbed by a quiet splash in the lagoon, somewhere nearby. Blaine's eyes wrenched themselves open and he instinctively hid himself behind a large rock, lest he be discovered. He listened to the sounds of whatever it was swimming in the lagoon for another couple of minutes, before it struck him that it could be the merperson he had seen the previous night. The idea tantalised him, and, after wrestling with his self-control for a couple more minutes, he peered around the rock.
At first, he did not see anything, but then he noticed a figure in the water, a mere few metres away. It broke the surface with a splash, and Blaine feasted his eyes upon the mer-boy.
He had skin the colour of porcelain, and roses in his cheeks. His hair was the colour of bronze, and had the appearance of floating around his heart-shaped face. His smooth, bare chest glistened with droplets of water as he ran a slender hand through his hair, pushing it off his face. Blaine slowly, without realising it, crept out from behind the rock, completely entranced by the merboy, who could only bring one word to his mind: beautiful. Blaine unknowingly imitated him, running a hand through his dark, messy curls, which were still slightly damp.
Suddenly, the mer-boy turned to face him, a startled look on his face, surprise filling his eyes, which were a clear, flawless blue, like that of the lagoon. Blaine realised that he must have made some sort of noise to startle him, and he looked down to see splinters of wood from a rogue stick lying at his feet. He cursed softly, and the mer-boy began to withdraw into the deeper part of the lagoon.
"Wait!" Blaine called out, stretching a hand towards the retreating mer-boy, who paused, and drew a tiny bit closer to the rocks. "Please, please don't go," Blaine said in a softer voice. "I don't mean you any harm." The mer-boy remained silent, though he drew closer still to Blaine, and appeared to be just as curious about Blaine as Blaine was about him. "My name is Blaine," he said, pointing to himself. "Blaine". The statement warranted no reply from the mer-boy. Blaine did not allow himself to be deterred. "Do you have a name?" The mer-boy nodded carefully, still making no sound. Encouraged, Blaine pressed on. "What is it?" The mer-boy shook his head.
"No, its okay, you can tell me. I don't bite." Blaine smiled, and waited. "Please?"
"Kurt." the mer-boy, Kurt, had a high, soprano voice, which, to Blaine, sounded just like water, smooth and silken.
"That's a good name," Blaine said, delighted that he had finally gauged a response.
"So is...Blaine," he replied, with the tiniest hint of a smile flickering across his coral lips.
Blaine chuckled to himself. "Uh...so...do you...live here, Kurt?"
"Not here."
"Where, then?"
Kurt only smiled in response, and Blaine sighed softly.
"Where do you live, B...Blaine?" Kurt asked, drifting still closer to the rocks.
"Nowhere, right now." he replied, a little sadly. "I came here on a ship, and sort of...got left behind. I don't mind, though. It was partially me running away from them. I left my home in the city Uldridge-it's horrible there-to become a cabin boy on a mehun-on a ship." he shivered, the memories from the voyage stinging in his mind, although they felt a lifetime away.
"Is that where...that happened?" Kurt pointed at Blaine's arm, where a dark, inky purple bruise painted the skin-Blaine realised he had been unconsciously rubbing it. Another shiver ran up his spine.
"Yes...they didn't like me very much." he gave a short chuckle, before falling silent. There was a pause before Kurt asked,
"Why not?" Blaine suddenly realised how close Kurt was. He was now a simple matter of feet away from him, and still drifting closer. Blaine shrugged.
"I don't know. They weren't very nice men." Kurt frowned. "What about you, Kurt?" Blaine asked. "What's it like where you come from?"
"It's nicer than where you seem to come from," Kurt said humorously, "But I come here to escape it sometimes-it can be a little tedious. I like it here-it's peaceful. At least, it was." Kurt gave Blaine a sly smile, which made him laugh.
"Well, I love the water," Blaine said. "They way it feels, the world beneath it-you're kind of lucky, Kurt."
Kurt fell quiet for a moment, and Blaine heard him say, under his breath, something that sounded like
"...wouldn't say that...if you...knew."
"What?" Blaine furrowed his brow.
"Nothing, nothing," Kurt said lightly, with a smile. Blaine, wondering what 'nothing' really meant, but relieved all the same, grinned back at Kurt.
Kurt was exceedingly curious about the world that Blaine had come from, and questioned Blaine further about it. Blaine, in turn, quizzed Kurt about his own world, although he did not succeed in gleaning too much information from the beautiful mer-boy.
By the time the sun had started to set into the far-off horizon, in a blaze of pink, gold and mauve, Kurt was gazing up at Blaine, his chin resting on the marble arms which were crossed on top of the edge of the rocky bank. Blaine was dangling his legs in the cool water, and had completely forgotten how they had reached whatever topic they were talking about. Kurt slid his arms off the bank and cast his eyes towards the horizon, before telling Blaine that he really ought to go back.
Blaine stayed with his feet in the cool lagoon long after he had watched Kurt swim away into the unknown, until the golden hues of sunset had retreated with the sun itself, and had been replaced by the inky darkness of night, dotted with stars and the moon had begun to spill silvery tears onto the land, reflecting off the lagoon. His eyelids drooping, Blaine curled up against the rock he had hidden behind earlier, relying on the heat retained within the rocks to keep him warm.
Before sleep enveloped him into blissful oblivion, the image of Kurt swam before Blaine's eyes once more, before the world faded into darkness. Far away, Kurt, too, thought of Blaine, the strange boy who loved water, whose head was adorned with dark curls and wonderful eyes who had been somehow convinced him to talk to him, who had charmed him enough that Kurt wished he could see him again.