Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I’m a very long way from home, aren’t I, Todo?

This was probably one of the best trips I had ever taken so far. And I had only been here a day! I already had a chance to visit the Hobbiton movie set, which was amazing. Even just the atmosphere here. And the accents … I absolutely loved it. I currently had to put my sight-seeing on hold, though. This trip wasn’t just for fun. I had a job to do. Or, rather, I hoped to get one. I was sitting on a bench near the pier. I was told to wait here for someone who was picking me up by boat to take me to their personal island. You don’t hear that in the city. They own an island. But, as I said, I was looking for a job. I was actually on my way to a job interview. For scuba diving. I was interviewing at L&L Diving Service.

I never thought I’d be trying to work as a diving tour guide, but a lot changes when your husband dies unexpectedly. Drunk drivers are the literal worst. I was happily married, we were looking at buying a house, we both had good enough jobs where we had even considered starting a family … And then the accident happened. All those dreams shattered in an instant. That was a couple years ago. I was definitely not someone who would’ve done anything even remotely risky. But now? My perspective has shifted slightly. There were so many things we had planned on doing “when the time was right.” And I was shown, very rudely, life is happening right now. And it can end at any time. So, I took the life insurance money and decided to do things that made me happy. Not that I was just throwing money around and I wasn’t trying to get myself killed. I just … didn’t want to miss out on life because I was waiting for the perfect moment. Now, I go out and find those moments.

So, here I am, waiting for a complete stranger to come pick me up and take me to some strange island. Safety at its finest. My mother would be so proud. I had done some research on the business first and I knew what the guy looked like. I’m not that stupid. I didn’t have to wait very long. After about ten minutes, a boat pulled up to the dock and the man began tying the boat off. I recognized him, so I waved and began heading toward him.

“Hey. Amanda, right?” he asked as I approached. I could definitely hear the French accent. I had figured given his last name, but we had been communicating through email and video chat until this point. Video chat never does anyone justice. My previous boss had a French accent, and I had liked working for him. Maybe this was a good sign. He was built pretty solid, like he had been in the army at some point. Or maybe the ocean just does that to people. He looked to be 50ish, give or take a few years, with gray hair and a gray beard.

“That’s me. Need a hand?”

“Actually, I figured we’d just head back out if you’re ready to go. If we stay much longer, it’s going to get really crowded and then it’s impossible to move anywhere.” Oh my god, is there rush hour at a pier? I never thought of that. How many people own islands?!

“That works.” He held out his hand to help me into the boat.

“By the way, nice to meet you in person.” he said with a smile as I stepped in. He held out his hand to help me keep my balance.

“Nice to meet you, too. And thanks for the opportunity. I know I’m not exactly the standard candidate, but I’m really excited for a change of pace.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling,” he said with a sigh. The way he said that … Something tells me he’s had a rough life experience, too. I didn’t want to pry at the moment. Maybe don’t bring up bad memories at the interview …

“Have you had many applicants so far?” I was curious to see how popular a job like this was. I had basically no idea what the market looked like.

“I’ve had a few, but they were … expecting the job to be more … adventurous.”

“... Are the waters around here known to carry ‘adventure’?” I asked, now a little concerned. What have I gotten into?

“No. In my younger days, I had my fair share of adventures. They expected me to be the same person I was years ago. But this old man? It’s been a long time since I made a name for myself as a marine adventurer. I’m just an old man abandoned by the sea.”

Ouch. That sounded like there was some story to go with that. Should I ask about it? Does he want to talk about it? Or does he just want to focus on the job? He doesn’t seem to be the chatty type. I also wouldn’t consider him that old. Focus, Mand! Alright, just … relax. And be yourself. Because if it turns out he doesn’t like that, then you probably don’t want to be here anyways. I tend to get nervous around new people, and then try to be overly friendly by talking, usually too much. Makes job interviews a ball. But I wanted a change, a big one. Hence why I’m in a new country looking at jobs way outside my field of expertise. Which didn’t help my nerves. Maybe just be quiet for the ride there. It’s windy, anyways.

I decided to just sit and enjoy the ride. I loved boats. My family owned a small one for riding around on the lake near my house. The ocean was a bit different, but the waves were bigger. That was the best part!

We didn’t really talk during the ride there. He did look at me a couple times, which I immediately began to panic. I mean, how often do you wear shorts and a tank top to a job interview? At least, I assume he’s judging me. I have got to stop doing that. It’s fine. He’s probably just curious about the stranger on his boat.  At least he didn’t seem upset. After a few minutes, he asked, “I thought since you don’t have a lot of related job experience to talk about, it may be better to start with a dive and see your skills.”

“That works.” No pressure. Not like I need to prove myself to an expert or anything. “Are you going to be diving with me?”

“No. I dove too deep one too many times, and I suffered badly from decompression sickness - the bends, we call it. It left me with a serious medical condition. I can never dive again.”

Oof. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“That was a long time ago. You’ll be diving with the other diver who works here, so you can see how well you get along, too.”

“Sounds great.” We stayed quiet for a few more minutes. Then we arrived near some little islands that formed a ring. Wait, there’s a term for that …

Jean-Eric stopped the boat and began getting the anchor ready. “This is Gatama Atoll. It’s a few-minute drive away from the island and it’s the main place we take tourists. Water’s pretty calm here and it doesn’t get too deep, so it’s safe. And there are many different kinds of fish, which makes the customers happy.”

“Makes sense. It’s a nice area, too.” It looked like a postcard. Absolutely beautiful. I could get used to this. Imagine getting to see this every day for work …

I was looking around the area, daydreaming about swimming here all the time, when I noticed a jet ski in the distance.

“Do other people come here often?” I asked.

Jean-Eric looked up quickly. “Oh, that’s the other diver I mentioned. My granddaughter, Oceana. Right now, she’s the only diver at L&L Diving Service.”

Right. That makes a lot more sense.

The other diver pulled up next to the boat and climbed in.

“Hey! What’s up?” She smiled. She looked younger, midteens maybe? She had brown hair pulled into a side ponytail. She was a bit shorter than me, maybe around five feet or so. “You must be the new job applicant. I’m Oceana.” We shook hands. “I may not look it, but I’m a seasoned pro with years of diving experience.”

“That’s really cool. I always thought it’d be cool to get into diving, but I had to wait until I could afford my own lessons.”

“I practically grew up in the ocean. With my family, I didn’t really have a choice,” she said with a laugh. She seemed a lot easier to talk to, which put me at ease. I’m a little less likely to make a fool of myself if someone else can help the conversation along.

“I don’t know if Grandpa told you, but you’re going to dive with me so I can show you around the area. It’s a beautiful place with lots of fish. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“We’re also here to see how well you move around underwater,” Jean-Eric said, looking pointedly at Oceana.

“Right, I know.” She nodded at her grandfather and then turned back to me. “Whenever you’re ready we’ll start the dive.”

“Alright, let’s do this!”

One final check on the gear, and then we were in the water.

****

Oceana was right. This is awesome! There are so many fish!

Basically everywhere I looked there were more fish swimming around. I swam around slowly, just taking everything in. I was also trying to find little landmarks so that I hopefully wouldn’t get lost. I get lost way too easily; if you spin me around in a circle three times - with my eyes open - I’ll get lost. Anyways, we made our way out of the little inlet we were in, ending up in a much more open area. I was surprised at the variety of wildlife in the area: Dolphins, stingrays, and so many schools of fish … I would have to dive here way more often if I wanted to see all of the fish that lived here.

We had been exploring the area at a leisurely place when I saw what looked like a very small whale in the distance. That can’t be a whale … can it? Unless it’s a baby, but this seems an odd place for it to be. And where’s its mother?  I waved to Oceana to get her attention and pointed at the whale. She looked surprised to see it, too, so we both cautiously swam over to investigate. We made sure to give the whale calf enough room so it didn’t get spooked.

Seriously, where is its mom? Whale calves usually stay very close to their mothers, so the fact that this one seemed alone suggested there was something wrong. Oceana was looking around, too, probably thinking along the same lines as me. She gestured further south and began to swim in that direction. I followed close behind.

This area was much deeper and had a lot more open space. Only the occasional rock pillar dotted the sandy floor. A whale would be more likely to fit here, although it’d still be pretty tight. Maybe they come here to give birth? That would explain why they’re here. Unusual for them to be so far apart, though. We began swimming around the area, and it wasn’t long before we found a much larger humpback whale. Okay, that should be the mom. Now how to get them to see each other...? I looked to Oceana, gestured toward the two whales and shrugged. She didn’t seem to know what to do either. I decided to swim back and see if I could gently guide the calf to swim toward its mother.

I was originally planning on acting as a sort of sheep dog, assuming that the whale calf would be afraid of me. However, as I floated nearby to try and herd it back to its mom, the calf slowly swam toward me. It seemed curious. I held out my hand and it brushed up against me. I wouldn’t have expected this, but I guess it doesn’t see me as a threat. Maybe it will follow me? I started swimming toward mom, hoping it would follow me. It started swimming very close to me, periodically bumping into me, which made swimming surprisingly difficult. But eventually, we were able to get close enough for mom and baby to see each other. The baby must’ve been scared or excited because it darted toward its mother with speed I didn’t expect from such a large creature. Apparently, Oceana wasn’t expecting it either, as she just barely got out its way! It swam right in front of her. The fin looked like it could’ve hit her. I guess you shouldn’t get in between a whale and her calf. Although that’s probably good advice for most mom/child pairings.

I swam back to Oceana, who seemed very startled. Fair, I would be, too, if I almost got rammed by a whale. Except she was also wildly looking around toward the sea floor like she dropped something. I began looking, too, although I had no idea what I was looking for. It was only a couple seconds before I saw something glitter below me. It appeared to be a blue cylinder attached to a chain. I began to reach for it when I heard this … sound. Like three musical notes being played. What was that? I wondered. Oceana must’ve noticed me reaching for it because she was swimming toward it.

That was when I heard another sound. A very loud, angry whale call. I felt a wave of water come from the side. What the …? I looked over just in time to see a very angry mother whale swimming toward me! I barely had time to think; with a burst of speed, I headed toward the nearest rock pillar. I made it behind the rock just as the whale swam through the space I was in a second ago. Her fins came dangerously close to my face. I could feel the water rush past me. She continued plowing forward.  The pulse of water from her tail pushed me back into the rock. I just floated there, stunned.

Was she trying to ram me?! But why? She had her calf. Was that in response to the music? But that doesn’t make any sense. Oceana came over to me then and gave me a concerned look. I gave her a thumbs up to let her know I wasn’t hurt. I was still a little shaken, though. The whale seemed to have calmed down and circled back to her calf. Still, I didn’t feel like being nearby in case something triggered it again. I signaled to return back to the boat. Oceana nodded and we both headed back.

****

“Well, how was it?” Jean-Eric asked as we surfaced nearby. “You were gone for so long I was beginning to worry.”

“Great! It really is amazing how many different species there are here. Fish, dolphins, … Oh, and we saw a baby humpback whale. And then the mother humpback whale almost rammed me. I mean, I’d never seen a whale that close up before, so that was … an experience,” I said. I was still a little thrown off by that. Whales aren’t known for being aggressive toward humans. 

“What? You were nearly hit by a humpback whale?” Jean-Eric asked, concern clear on his face. He looked at both of us. He seemed just as surprised as we had been.

“Yeah, it happened when I dropped my pendant,” Oceana said as she started climbing the ladder at the back of the boat. “We were trying to help this whale calf find its mother but then my pendant came off when the calf darted in front of me. Then the pendant made this strange sound and the whale suddenly went crazy. I had gone to look for the pendant near the sea floor when the whale went right over my head! I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m still not sure what happened …”

“I was right above Oceana, so it came right at me.”

“Are you both okay? That’s very unusual behavior.” He still seemed worried about us.

“I’m a little shaken but physically I’m fine.” I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want him to worry too much.

Oceana chimed in as well. “I’m fine, too. And I was able to get the pendant back, so we’re all good.”

“Well, I guess that explains why you took so long. I’m glad you’re both alright.” He paused for a moment, then turned to Oceana and asked, “So, was our new recruit any good?”

Oceana sounded excited. “Absolutely! I’ve never seen such quick reflexes underwater. I think she’d be a great fit.”

Jean-Eric looked pleased. “Well, if Oceana approves, then that’s enough for me. Why don’t we head back to Nineball and talk there?”

“Sounds good.” I felt tired now that the adrenaline had worn off, so I was glad to have a chance to sit and relax. We packed up all of our gear and headed off toward the island.

Chapter Text

We made it back to the island without incident. I helped them move the gear off the boat and store it in the cabin. After that we all gathered around the table nearby to chat more.

“So, based on Oceana’s impression of your diving, I think you’d be a great fit if you want the job.”

“Seriously?” I asked. I was a little surprised. Sure, I dodged a whale, but what did that prove? Wouldn’t they want more experience? Although, if they wanted to hire me, who was I to turn them down? “Uhh … sure!” Great confidence, Mand.

“Great! We definitely could use another diver. Some days can get really busy,” Oceana said. Her shoulders slumped a little just thinking about it.

“So, do you have an idea of when you want to start?” Jean-Eric asked.

“Well, I’ll need to figure out the whole visa situation … and then I’ll need to figure out a place to live. Will I need to buy a boat or something? That’s so weird to think about, commuting on the water …” I got lost in my thoughts trying to figure out everything that’d need to be done. “It may take a couple months, actually.” Crap, they’re probably not gonna want to wait that long. They’ll probably hire someone else then.

Jean-Eric crossed his arms, staring at the table for a minute. “I wonder if there’s a way to speed up that process. Paperwork can be a real pain.”

I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it. I avoid working with the government as much as possible. I can look into it later tonight and see what options I can find.”

Jean-Eric nodded. “That works. I may know a couple people that could help us out, also.”

“Oh, awesome. That’d be great.” Maybe I have the job after all.

“Well, I’m gonna check on a couple things, and then I can take you back to the mainland whenever you’re ready.”

“Sounds good.”

I wandered off toward the dock to just sit and watch the water. Oceana came and joined me.

“That was crazy with the whales earlier.” Oceana said.

“I know, right? I didn’t think they were normally aggressive like that.”

“They aren’t usually. I wonder what could’ve caused it?” We both sat there for a minute. “Did it have to do with sound from the pendant?” she wondered.

“You heard that, too? I thought I was going crazy,” I said with a laugh. “Is there something special about the pendant?”

“It was part of a set. My father gave me and my mother one. But then I lost mine, so when my mother died, I inherited hers.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother.”

“Thanks. It was a long time ago. I actually didn’t really know either of my parents. They both died when I was young.”

Yikes … This family hasn’t had the best luck, have they? I’m never sure what to say in situations like this. It sucks, and there's nothing I could say or do to bring them back. So, I decided on my go-to tactic and awkwardly changed the subject. “Well, I’m glad we were able to find the pendant.”

“Yeah. I just wish we had both of them. It’s really frustrating because it’s right nearby, too. We just couldn’t ever find it.”

“Oh? Where is it? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes would help?”

Oceana looked at me with surprise and excitement. “Really? That’d be-”

“A bad idea. I wouldn’t recommend it.” Jean-Eric had come over to join the conversation. “That happened years ago. You’ll never find it now. And it’s a dangerous area. I don’t even let Oceana dive there, let alone someone not familiar with the area.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate.” I paused for a second, then asked, “Wait, then how did it- never mind, stupid question. Shame that you never found it.” You barely get a job offer and then you question the boss? Oceana smiled and tried not to laugh. Jean-Eric looked less amused but didn’t say anything. One of these days, my curiosity was going to get me in serious trouble.

“Anyways, I’m still surprised about the sound the pendant made in the water,” Oceana said.

“Well, there are still many mysteries surrounding both of the pendants,” Jean-Eric said. He turned to me and “Matthias and I had discovered them at the bottom of the sea. We gave them to Oceana and his wife.”

 “Who’s Matthias?”

“My son and Oceana’s father. He died 15 years ago.”

“Oh,” I said quietly. Why do I unintentionally bring them up every two sentences? I’ve gotta work on that.

We sat there in silence for a couple of minutes. These pendants sounded like more than just simple pieces of jewelry. Is it a musical instrument of some kind? It’s not like one I’ve ever seen. And what would use water like that? Oceana was looking at the pendant and slowly rolling it around in her hands. “Do you mind if I take a look at it?” I asked.

“Oh, sure.” She lifted the cord it was hanging from over her head and handed it to me. It was a beautiful dark blue pendant that looked like it was carved from stone. There were some patterns carved into it, along with the phrase “the road to the truth.”

“What’s ‘The road to the truth’ mean?” I asked.

Oceana just shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve asked Grandpa, but he didn’t know either. But I always wear the pendant and I’ve never heard anything before.”

“Maybe it requires a lot of water? If it's usually tucked into your wetsuit, there wouldn’t be a lot of water flow. But why did the whale freak out at the sound?”

“I think it was just coincidence.” Jean-Eric said.

“Mandee may be on to something though,” Oceana protested. “There was a sound and then the whale went crazy. Could something like that really happen on accident?”

“It was nothing more than water rushing through the pendant. Just forget about it,” Jean-Eric said with such finality that I wasn’t going to bring it up again. Oceana, however, was not going to give up so easily.

“Maybe we’d learn more if we found the other pendant. I’m going to look for it.”

“Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous. I won’t let you dive there.”

“But …”

“Oceana, enough.”

Silence. Oceana didn’t say anything, just stared into the water while holding her pendant. She was slowly turning it over in her hands as she stared blankly at the water. Now, I’m not a parent, but I didn’t trust that look. She did not look ready to give up on finding that pendant. I just hoped she would be … smart about whatever she was thinking about.

While we were sitting there, a dolphin swam by. I was surprised with how close it came to the dock. Oceana pointed to it and said, “Oh look, there’s Squeaker!”

“Squeaker?” The dolphin came all the way up to the dock and squeaked at us. I guess that answers that.
            “Yeah. He comes by the island often because we give him treats,” Oceana explained. “I named him when I was younger,” she added, a little sheepish.

“Hey, I named a cat ‘Tabby’ because he was a tabby cat, so ‘Squeaker’ is perfect.” Squeaker squeaked at us again, probably because we were ignoring him. “He seems to live up to his name.”

Oceana giggled. “Yeah, he’s very vocal. Sometimes I have full conversations with him. He’s a pretty good listener.” She held her hand out and Squeaker headbutted it. He seemed friendly, so I followed her example. “I can sometimes get him to do tricks, but he’s not very good.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, surprised. “That’s awesome! Can you show me?”

“Uhh, sure.” Oceana went into the house and came back with some small fish. “We keep a few in the fridge.”

She held out the fish and Squeaker immediately tried to grab it. “No, Squeaker,” she said, gently scolding him. She threw her hand up and cried, “Jump!” Squeaker jumped a few feet out of the water. “Good!” Oceana said and tossed the fish toward the dolphin, who caught it out of the air.

“Yay!” I applauded.

“Wanna try?”

“Sure.”  I grabbed a fish, threw my hand up and cried, “Jump!” Squeaker jumped a little higher. I tried a couple more times, with decent success. To switch it up, I decided to try something else. I laid down on my stomach so I was closer to him. Then, I said, “Sing!” and started squeaking at him. He actually replied, which surprised me. I tossed him another fish as a reward.

“Wow, you have a way with animals! You even got the whale to follow you earlier.”

Jean-Eric had been so quiet that I had forgotten he was there until he said, “It seems you are a natural. I actually have something you may be interested in.”

“Oh?” I asked, turning to face him. But he had already started walking away. I looked to Oceana, who just shrugged.

We didn’t have to wait long. He returned after a minute or so, carrying a weird looking device.

“It’s a sea whistle,” he explained, holding it out for me to take. “You can use it underwater to communicate with whales and dolphins.”

“That’s super cool!" I took it from him. It was an odd-looking device. It was … kinda like a Frisbee attached to a short cylinder with holes in it. It didn't look anything like a whistle. "So ...how do you use it?”

“It makes sound from the water moving through it. Like this.” He took the sea whistle back and held it under the water. He moved it in a circle so water flowed through it. It was difficult to hear from the dock, but it must’ve worked because Squeaker started speeding around under water. He reminded me of a cat with the zoomies. So adorable! He handed it back to me.

“Wow, I guess it works. That’s awesome! I wonder if I can get Squeaker to learn more tricks with it.”

Oceana looked super excited at the idea. Jean-Eric raised his eyebrow and looked at me in disbelief. “He’s a wild dolphin.”

“I mean, so were the original ones at Sea World, right?” I looked back at him. I don’t know what exactly I was trying to prove, but I don’t like when people tell me I can’t do something. Even if they aren’t trying to talk down to me, growing up with two older brothers meant that I felt like I had to constantly prove myself. Maybe not a great thing to try with my brand-new boss, but I can be really stubborn sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time, but that’s not the point.

At least Oceana had my back. “We already taught him one trick, and maybe even a second. Why wouldn’t he be able to learn more? Right, Squeaker? Who’s a good boy?” She leaned down to pet him. I looked back to Jean-Eric with a smug, expectant look.

He looked at us for a couple of seconds and then just shook his head. “You’re welcome to try. Hell, if he gets really good, maybe you could put on shows for customers.”

Oh, you’re gonna use sarcasm, eh? You underestimate my pride, good sir. “Maybe I will.” Super mature, Mand. Nailed it. 10 out of 10 for adulting… Okay, but he started it. Just sayin’.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” he said. He turned and walked back toward the island.

“I bet we can do it,” Oceana said, turning back to watch the dolphin, who was still looking for treats. “We’ll show him.”

“Oh, yeah. Girl power!” I said. Oceana gave me a high five and we went back to training Squeaker. He was doing pretty good, too … until we ran out of fish. Then he got bored and swam away.

“Hmm … didn’t think about that.” I frowned. “We’re gonna need a lot more fish.”

****

I spent some time just chatting with Oceana. We seemed to get along really well. She was really easy to talk to. We chatted about school and some of the differences between our countries. I was glad that she was nice and friendly. Hopefully this was a good sign for my new job.

After a couple hours, I figured it was best to head out and start on some of the research about moving here. Anything involving the government is a nightmare. Plus I was getting pretty hungry from all the adventuring that happened. Jean-Eric drove me back to the mainland and dropped me off back at the marina. We had decided to check in with each other in a couple days to compare notes about getting me here. I did some research, but I ended up falling asleep pretty early. I guess dodging a charging whale can be a little draining. Who knew?

****

With how the dive went, I shouldn't've been surprised when water came crashing through the ceiling of my hotel room. Apparently a pipe had burst in the room above mine and had been left long enough to soak through the floor. Luckily, it had been on the far side of the room, so my stuff didn’t get too wet. But when I went down to the front desk to let them know, they told me that I’d need to vacate the room so that they could fix it. Which I kind of expected. I did not expect them to tell me that they didn’t have any spare rooms, so I’d have to find a new place to stay. Seriously? It’s like, two in the morning. I’m supposed to try and find a random hotel to stay in now? I definitely shouldn’t have gone with the budget hotel option …

While I lamented my poor luck, I looked up the numbers for a couple nearby hotels. I found one nearby that had rooms available, so I walked over and tried to rent a room … key word being “tried.” I have no idea what happened, but when they tried to run my credit card, it was declined. Okay, what? They tried a couple more times, but there was really nothing they could do. I was not in the mood to try calling my bank at this hour to figure out why on earth they decided to cancel my card in the middle of my vacation. But I also wasn’t exactly sure what to do, either. I really only knew two other people here, and I wasn’t exactly close with them. I also couldn’t imagine this being very impressive to my new boss. However, after sitting and panicking for ten minutes, I decided it was better to call than to just keep sitting on a park bench with my suitcase.

He answered surprisingly quickly given what time it was.

“Hello?”

“Hey … sorry to wake you, I know what time it is.”

“I was awake anyway. What’s up?”

What was he doing awake? Not important right now. Stay focused. “Well, funny story, but I’ll keep it short. My hotel room needs intensive emergency repairs, and when I went to get a different hotel room, my credit card was declined and I’m not sure where I can go for a bed. Any ideas?”

I heard a sigh and then footsteps, maybe moving outside to not wake up Oceana. “Well … I mean, if your card’s not working, I’m not sure.”

“Well, shit …” This night just keeps getting better, huh.

“Unless…” he hesitated. “You could stay here for the night and find a place tomorrow.”

“Oh! I mean, I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything. Besides, I imagine it’s not safe to be on a boat this late. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure Oceana would be thrilled. She really liked you. But it’s up to you.”

“Umm … I mean … are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t sure how crowded the cabin would be and I didn’t want to get in their way, especially when I really needed them to like me. But also, I was really tired and just wanted to go back to sleep. “Uhh … sure. Thanks. I’ll meet you at the marina?”

“Yes. I’ll head out in a couple minutes.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

I must be making a great impression. But he did offer … Forget it, I’ll just worry about this in the morning.

I made it to the marina, found Jean-Eric, and headed back to the island. It was a quiet ride back, but he didn't seem upset or anything. When we got there, Oceana came outside and led me inside. She gave me the super quick tour so I wasn’t totally lost in the morning (also, the place wasn't that big). She had already set up the couch with a blanket and pillow for me.

“Thank you so much. I’m really sorry about waking you up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry about the hotel room. Grandpa didn’t say much.”

“Yeah, a pipe burst and got water everywhere … I can tell you the details tomorrow.” I was having a very hard time keeping my eyes open.

“Oh my god, that sounds awful. But yeah, I’m tired, too. Let me know if you need anything. Good night!”

“Good night.” I yawned and laid down, falling asleep almost instantly.

Chapter Text

“Oceana? Are you in there?”

I woke up to the sound of a semi-panicked Jean-Eric knocking loudly on Oceana’s bedroom door. “What’s going on?” I asked, sitting up on the couch.

“Oceana’s jet ski is missing,” Jean-Eric answered shortly. He knocked on the door again. “Oceana, I’m coming in!” After a short pause, he opened the door and quickly stepped inside. I heard the rustle of fabric, likely sheets being pulled off the bed, then, “Shit!”

Well, this doesn’t bode well. “She’s not in there?”

“No!”

“... And she didn’t tell you about any plans tod-”

Jean-Eric cut me off. “She must’ve gone after that pendant!”

“Ah.” I rubbed my eyes and pushed the sheet off of me. “That was lost in the … Black Hole?”

“Deep Hole, yes.”

“The place with the tiger shar-?”

“Yes! Sharks!”

Okay …. I guess I’d better get ready, then. I stood up, grabbed my bathing suit and headed for the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Jean-Eric asked.

“Getting ready.”

“For what?”

“To look for Oceana,” I said as I shut the bathroom door.

“I- It’s too dangerous. I can’t ask that of a stranger. I’ll take the boat and go look for her.”

“And what are you going to do if she needs help underwater?” I yelled through the bathroom door. Not to be that guy, but you’ll actually die. You literally told me that yesterday.

“I ….” He paused.

I stepped out of the bathroom. He was frozen, standing with one hand out toward the handle of the front door. I decided to interrupt his spiraling thoughts. “You didn’t ask, I offered. I figure you can brief me about any dangers on the way. I go in with whatever gear you think could help. The classic ‘prepare for the worst, hope for the best’ deal.”

He turned and looked at me. He seemed to be trying to read me. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, so I just stared back at him. He finally broke the silence. “You know what you’re facing?”

“I mean, you mentioned the tiger sharks. Dangerous, but we know that they’re most likely nearby, so I’ll know to keep my eye out. And just because they’re there, doesn’t mean they’ll definitely attack. Also, if you have anything that could help against them, then that would give me an even better chance.” He stared at me, expression carefully hiding any emotion. I sighed. “Look, I’m not saying I want to throw myself into the water with a dangerous shark, but there’s already someone in there. Alone. And of the two of us—” I wave my hand, gesturing to Jean-Eric and myself “—only one can actually go in if there’s a problem. I’m willing to take that risk to go in and make sure she’s safe.” I looked at him expectantly. What other option is there?

He looked me over again, then finally said, “Fine. Let’s go.”

****

We gathered everything we’d need into the boat and headed off toward the atoll. At least, I thought we were. I’m so bad with directions, and now the only thing I can see is water …. We sat quietly for a few minutes. Jean-Eric seemed tense, focusing exclusively on the water ahead. I imagine he’s super nervous. He lost his brother to a diving accident, right? This is probably one of his worst nightmares …. I decided not to disturb him. When I’m panicking, I don’t like the extra sensory input. I just put all my diving gear on and then sat watching the waves.

I recognized when we reached the atoll. After several minutes, he stopped the boat. “I knew it. Her jet ski is parked here.” He pointed off to the side of the boat. He sighed and began lowering the anchor.

I glanced at him and asked, “So, anything else I should know about this … Deep Hole?”

“The entrance is a narrow, shallow channel that’s full of kelp—” Nailed it. Actually remembered the name. “—you’ll have to swim through. The boat can’t make it through. Then the area will open up to a huge hole in front of you with smaller holes scattered around inside. I imagine she’s searching for it in there.”

“Any dangers? I mean, besides the sharks.”

“There’s a fever of stingrays that live there.”

Man, I wonder why people don’t dive here more often?!  “Great,” I said tonelessly. I walked to the back of the boat and started putting on the air tank. Is a group of stingrays really called a fever? So weird. And of course he’d remember that right now. Meanwhile I forget the entire English language when I panic. The sharks were still the main concern, but I wasn’t in the mood to startle a stingray either.

I checked the straps on my scuba tank. Everything looked okay. “Any last tidbits of information?”

“One more thing,”Jean-Eric said. He reached into a pocket near the driver’s seat and pulled out something that looked like a gun. I looked at it, a little shocked. I didn’t want to kill the poor animal for being nearby. We’re in its home, after all. He explained, “It’s a pulsar. It’s an electromagnetic device used to pacify aggressive marine animals. It’s a … sort-of underwater taser. Sharks don’t like it, so if you hit them with this, you should be all set for a while. However, it’s not very accurate past about 10 feet, so I wouldn’t shoot until it’s real close.”

I was still hesitant. I didn’t have a ton of experience with guns and none underwater. “Better than nothing.” I half-shrugged, trying to stay positive. I really hope that the shark is just conveniently missing. Haven’t I had enough adventures on this trip? I got the quick run-down on how the pulsar worked and then he handed it to me.

Just as I was about to jump into the water, he put his hand on my shoulder. He looked me in the eyes and quietly said, “Please find Oceana. I’m counting on you.” He was trying to hide it, but I could tell - he was terrified.

I nodded my head. “You’ll see us both soon enough. I promise.” Then I lowered myself into the water and began swimming toward the channel that led to, hopefully, a safe Oceana.

****

Okay, seriously. Kelp, you really need to not be so clingy. I now understood why the boat couldn’t go any further. The kelp was incredibly dense and it was difficult to navigate through. It kept getting caught on my gear. I can only imagine the kind of damage it’d do to a boat prop. There were some cool fish there, even some adorable little seahorses, but I didn’t really have the time to check them out. Unfortunate. Another time, perhaps.

Eventually I found my way through the “hallway” of kelp. I found myself at what must have been the entrance to Deep Hole. It was a large open area with a surprising array of marine life. I saw the sting rays off on the opposite side of the area, so I wasn’t too worried about them. I didn’t see a shark, either. Maybe we were worried for nothing. I still was cautious as I moved closer to the big hole in the center of the area, where it looked like it dropped off into an even deeper area. 

What the …?  It was a pretty big fish, but it looked like the back half of it was missing. And it had these big pointy fins on the top and bottom …. I may have gotten a little distracted by the weirdest fish I’d ever seen. Never mind, focus! I’ll ask about it later.

I floated to the edge of the drop and peeked over the edge. Ah, and my luck ran out. There was the tiger shark. And there was Oceana. The shark was slowly swimming, circling the top of the area as if it knew there was something down there, although it didn’t seem to know where she was … yet. I grabbed the pulsar, checked that everything was ready, and got as close as I could to Oceana without actually entering the area. I was hoping that if I was far enough away, maybe the shark would just leave us alone.

I lowered myself over the edge and slowly swam further down. It turned, faced me, and with effortless power darted toward me. It slowed and changed direction before it reached me. It swam to the far side of the hole before turning and swimming toward us again. 

I froze. It definitely noticed me. Damn it. I wasn’t sure if it was better to pretend I didn’t care about it, or if it was better to try and look as big as possible, or if there was some other option. I had a feeling it was investigating me, seeing how much of a threat I was before charging in. It didn’t seem like it was going to give up, but it hadn’t gotten close enough to use the pulsar, either. But as it slowly continued its circuit around the area, it was passing closer to me every time it circled near us. I really didn’t want to taser a gigantic fish. I wasn’t totally convinced that it wouldn’t just make it super angry and aggressive toward me, but I didn’t really see another option.

It had turned around again. But this time, it wasn’t taking the same round-about pass. It started swimming straight at me, picking up speed this time as it got closer. It had, very clearly, decided that I wasn’t supposed to be here. And it was not afraid of me. I aimed the pulsar … and waited. I really didn’t want to miss. Okay, seriously, what ancient ocean god did I piss off recently? What are the odds of getting rushed by multiple ocean creatures in just a couple days? It was only a couple seconds from ramming into me. It opened its jaws, light glinting off each of its many sharp teeth. I fired. I had managed to hit the roof of its mouth, causing the shark to thrash its head wildly. It turned sharply, and I felt a wave of water push me back as it flicked its tail and sped off.

That was waaaaay too close for me. I quickly swam to check on Oceana while it was distracted. She signaled that she was okay, but we didn’t move until we saw the shark swim over the rock edge and out of sight. I wasn’t sure how long we had until the shark returned, so I hurriedly motioned to Oceana and turned back toward the boat. Oceana stopped me, though, grabbing my arm and pointing to one of the holes nearby. Now that the immediate threat of the shark was gone, I had time to check out my surroundings more. This area had a bunch of smaller holes scattered around the bottom. At least these didn’t look like they split off any other holes. This was giving me some serious hole-ception vibes.

I pointed back at the boat. I just saved her! I wasn’t about to risk our lives by staying here. But she was insistent, pointing at the hole, I’m guessing the only one she hadn’t searched yet. Seriously?! You really want to stay and keep looking? If she was anything like me, nothing I said or did was going to change her answer. I looked around the area and didn’t see any immediate danger. Ugh, fine. She’ll just come back another time if we don’t check now.

We both swam over, scanning the area for her pendant. There’s no way we’re gonna find this thing. It’s a thing made of rock, in an area full of rocks. It’s probably covered in algae or whatever, so it’s not even gonna be blue like the other one! After about 3 long days of searching—Okay, it was probably about 3 minutes but there was a shark nearby and I was very nervous so it felt like forever—I was off near the wall when I saw a small speck of blue mixed in with the green-gray of the rocks. I- there’s no way… I cautiously reached out and brushed my hand over it. I ended up catching the end of it, knocking it loose. A tiny fish darted out of it as it rolled, showing more blue. I picked it up, brushing off the rest of the algae and checking it out. It had to be the pendant. It looked pretty similar to the other one Oceana had, although this one needed to be cleaned, thoroughly. It was a slightly different shape, and the phrase carved into it said “the Song of Dragons.” I found Oceana and held it out to her. She quickly took it out of my hand, looked at it, and excitedly began waving it around. I grabbed her hand and pointed to a pocket in her gear. She nodded, slipped the pendant inside, and we both headed back toward the boat.

****

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

We had made it back to the boat without encountering any more angry animals. Jean-Eric had grabbed Oceana and helped her into the boat before immediately yelling at her. Which I understood since he was upset and terrified for her. But I was still in the water. And scuba tanks are heavy. Not that I can’t lift it on my own, but it is helpful if someone inside the boat can grab it from you so that you don’t have to try and climb out of the water with a 40-pound backpack on, Jean-Eric. He didn’t look like he was stopping any time soon, so I pulled myself up and ungracefully tumbled into the boat.

I took off my gear and focused very intently on checking everything while they were talking. I figured it was best not to get involved. They were both clearly upset. At least Oceana seemed truly sorry. I just wish she hadn’t decided to go alone. And how did she get out of the house without me noticing? I gotta admire her stealth.

Finally, Jean-Eric took a deep breath. “At least you’re safe now. We should head back to the island.” He turned and jumped slightly. It seemed he had forgotten I was there until just now “Oh! Uhh, thanks for finding her. I really owe you one.”

“No worries. Oh, I did end up using the pulsar. I don’t know how to reload it, so ….” I held it out to him.

“You may as well hang onto it. I’ll show you more about how to use it when we get back. You seem to have a knack for … encountering animals, so it may be better if you carry it on you.”

I’m not doing it on purpose! Although not wrong. I stashed the pulsar with the rest of my gear. I really hoped I didn’t have to use it in the future. I hadn’t planned on having crazy adventures when I applied for this job. I was already tired and I had only been up for … an hour or 2? I really hoped this wasn’t a trend.

Chapter Text

Message on a Pendant

The return trip was thankfully uneventful. Oceana drove back on her jet ski while we followed in the boat. I had been pretty wound up when I first got out of the water, but by the time we made it back, I was exhausted. I haven’t had to pull an all-nighter in forever, and Jet lag + midnight adventure + early morning rescue mission left me drained.

As I was getting off the boat, Jean-Eric put a hand on my shoulder. “Hey.” He looked a little sheepish. “I really appreciate your help this morning. I … probably could’ve handled that better.”

“No worries. That’s a hell of a surprise to wake up to.”

“I just … I just kept thinking about all the things that could’ve happened to her … and I …” He stopped, voice trailing off. He stared toward the horizon.

“Hey,” I said. He shook his head slightly and looked at me. “She’s safe. I’m just glad I was there when you needed me. Maybe you should thank the hotel for kicking me out.”

He gave a small laugh before saying, “Well, I wanted to say thank you. I really owe you one.”

I was going to respond, but then I was interrupted by my own yawn. The lack of sleep really caught up to me. “Okay, well, if there are no other crises?” I stretched and then looked to him in case there was something more I needed to do.

“No, no. We can handle everything else.”

“Cool. G’night.” I said with another heavy yawn.

 I dragged myself into the cabin and flopped heavily onto the couch. As curious as I was about the pendants … they’ll still be there when I wake up. They better wait for me before digging for info though. I worked hard for those dumb things.

**

Oceana was sitting at the table outside. She was reading a book, a glass of orange juice and some snacks nearby. She gave a quick “hey” and put her book down.  I didn’t see Jean-Eric, but there were sounds from behind the cabin, some sort of house maintenance or something.

 I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I saw the snacks. There hadn’t been time to eat before diving, so I never had breakfast. Luckily, Oceana had got up to offer me food. I hate asking people for anything, so I was relieved when she offered. Like, I know that I stayed overnight there and then saved her and so food wasn’t a huge deal, but I still hate asking. I just feel super awkward doing it.

Breakfast in hand, I headed to the table. Oceana sat opposite me with her book.

“What are you reading?” I asked between bites.

“Oh, I’ve been thinking about trying to  start my own business.”

“Really? Wow. What type of business?”

“I’m not sure, so I’ve been reading about different things. At the moment, I’ve been looking up the background stuff. Paperwork, taxes, laws, or whatever. But I figure the actual business should have something to do with diving.”

“Makes sense.”

“But other than that, I have no idea. I mean, what is there with diving that’s still needed?”

“I mean, there’s always more to learn about the ocean, but then you usually need a degree and lots of research time.”

“Yeah. I mean, I like fish, but I don’t want to stare at the same fish for days on end.”

“More like months. Or years.” I said with a grimace. “Scientific research is very repetitive.”

“You were in research, right?”

“Yup. But I was researching humans. I know it's not the same, but what you see on TV is totally fake. A lot of times you end up running a bunch of the same tests over and over again while changing very small things and hoping they work.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound as interesting.”

“Hmm. So you want to find something you enjoy but that also fills a need. So … what’s your favorite part of diving?”

“Well …” She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table with her chin supported in her palm. She stayed like that for a couple minutes. Finally, she said, “I guess it’s looking at the fish, plus seeing the differences between different areas. Like, even just in the atoll, the Gate is very different from the Spring Garden area.”

“Do you like giving the tours?”

“Oh, totally! I like sharing my knowledge with others. Most people seem like they’re genuinely curious, and this way people learn about the ocean. I mean, the wildlife is so diverse. And it has to be so that the fish can survive all these different environments. Like, fish in tropics need small hiding spots to get away from sharks, but some whales need to survive extreme pressure changes …” She continued explaining different habitats. She was very animated, waving her arms excitedly. She barely even paused to breathe. It was also really obvious that although she knew quite a bit about the animals, she knew even more about the environment itself. She was focusing on the different landmarks that you’d see in the water and how that affected life there. It was like the animal facts were a side effect of learning about the environment.

“You seem to really like the land itself. The landscape. Topography or whatever.”

“Yeah! There are some super cool structures down there. And most of them are naturally made.”

“So …” I paused for a minute, thinking. “Are you thinking of something like a guide book?”

“Hmm … maybe. I have no idea where to start for that, though.”

Looking over my glasses and putting on a silly, posh accent, I said, “As a researcher, might I recommend the library? Or the internet?”

She giggled. “Ah, of course. Thank you, oh, wise one.” Now we were both laughing. “But seriously, probably not a bad place to start. Unless Nancy knows something.”

“Nancy?”

“Oh yeah, you haven’t met her yet, have you? She’s a trader we work with quite a bit. If anyone sells anything in this area, she’d know them. She knows everything.” Oceana must look up to Nancy. She had stars in her eyes just talking about her.

“Oh, cool. Then yeah, definitely check with her first.”

We sat in silence for a couple minutes, both in our own little worlds before I remembered the pendants. “Oh, I wanted to ask, how does the pendant look? Did it survive its long ocean bath?”

“Surprisingly, yeah. All I had to do was scrub a little at the algae. Luckily, the markings lasted.”

“Markings? Like the ones on the first pendant?”

“Here.” She took off the 2 pendants—a cord had already been added to the one we had found that morning—and handed them to me.

I looked over the pendants. It was interesting to see how similar they were. They seemed to be carved out of the same material. They were even similar in size. The main differences were the carvings and the actual shape. They were both cylinders with a similar diameter, but one pendant ended with a very rounded tip while the other was open at both ends. “It’s amazing how similar these are.”

“Right? I was looking at that. They definitely seem like part of a set.” She closed her book and quickly moved it aside. She looked at me, eyes bright with excitement.

“Do you know anything about them?”

“Only that Dad and Grandpa had found them while diving. Otherwise, they’re basically a mystery. I don’t even know where they found them. Did you see the little marks at the ends?”

“Hmm?” I glanced up at her.

“See?” She pointed to the openings.

There were small notched channels at the lip on one pendant while the other had little nubs. It looked like the nubs were designed to slide into those channels to hold it together. Like a flashlight when the batteries are placed in the middle chamber and then you push the pieces together and twist.

“Maybe they fit together?” I twisted them gently together. There was a small, audible click as they locked in place.”

“Oh my god, what?” She quickly took the pendants back, inspecting them closely. The only way she could look more like a detective was if she suddenly pulled out a huge magnifying glass.

“Hey, the phrases line up. Now they say ‘The road to the truth is the Song of Dragons.’”

“The Song of Dragons?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Its part of a legend.” Jean-Eric said, returning from the back of the cabin. “There are stories of sailors hearing a song right before some sort of misfortune.”

“That … seems odd. Is it the same song?” I asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s what the stories say.”

“Huh.” I feel like if someone had told me that a week ago, I would’ve brushed it aside and moved on with my life. But enough weird stuff had happened in the last 24 hours that I couldn’t just completely write it off. I mean, a pendant made a weird sound and suddenly I was facing down a charging whale.

Still, it did sound a little unbelievable.

“Where was this? When?”

“Different parts of the world. Stories traded around by sailors, but they all have similar stories. Multiple people hear the song and then something happens, running aground, engine failure, that sort of thing.”

“Yikes. That’s insane. How is it the same song for everyone?”

“Wasn’t that what your friend was talking about at the bar?” Oceana chimed in. “He was very adamant. The Song of Dragons brings misfortune.”

“That’s what they all say. It’s just a superstition,” Jean-Eric replied, grabbing a drink before joining us at the table.

“So you don’t believe it, then?”

“It’s as you say. ‘Insane.’”

“But what about the whale?”

“I told you, that was a coincidence.”

“So if we put water through the pendants, nothing will happen?” I asked.

“I doubt it.”

“Then let’s try it.”

“No!” He said quickly, halfway to jumping out of his chair.

I jumped. Woah, easy. He was so adamant that the song was fake but now he’s scared of it? “I … thought you said nothing would happen,” I said, slowly. I hadn’t expected that strong of a reaction.

“Of course it won’t.” He had settled back in his seat, looking away from us.

“… So you do believe the stories, at least a little bit.”

“I know that there are enough things with the ocean that science can’t explain so keep the pendants out of the water!”

Oceana had started walking toward the water, holding the pendants in her hand, but she stopped quickly as the last words were directed at her.

“But—“

“Oceana, please. There’s no reason to risk the pendants now that you have both of them.”

“But I just want to—"

“If you want to learn more about the pendants, why don’t you call Nancy to have them appraised? I’ve definitely heard that phrase somewhere. Maybe she’ll have more information.”

“Oh, good thinking! I wanted to ask her about my business idea, anyways.”

Jean-Eric sighed with relief as Oceana’s attention left the water. “She also should have some things for me. See if she’ll stop by the island.”

“Okay!”

***

A jet ski was approaching the island.

“There’s Nancy. Good. I’m super excited to see if she knows any more about these pendants, or about guides and whatever.”

Oceana headed toward the dock, waving as they got closer.

The jet ski pulled up alongside the dock. “Howdy!” she called as she shut off the engine. A young woman with short, light brown hair stepped up onto the dock. She was wearing a cowboy hat, shorts, swim shirt, and life vest. She was about the same height as me.

“Hey, Nancy!” Oceana greeted her first, shaking her hand before leading her to the table. I waved as they both approached.

“Hello. You didn’t waste any time getting here.” Jean-Eric said. He sounded pleasant enough, although his arms stayed crossed.

“So, this is your new recruit, huh?” Her voice was bright, confident. She shook my hand. “I’m Nancy Young, number one trader in the Pelago Commonwealth.”

Interesting introduction. I shook her hand, smiling. The problem for me was most of the people I knew who were that confident of themselves were often *full of shit*. But still, I didn’t know her. I should give her the benefit of the doubt. “Amanda, but friends call me Mandee.”

“Pleasure to meet ya! Hope you’ve enjoyed the work so far.”

“It’s definitely a better work environment. Being outside instead crammed into a small lab.”

“Haven’t thrown you in the deep end, have they?” she asked with a wink.

“Well ... The first couple dives have been … exciting.”

“Yeah! A whale almost rammed us!” Oceana proceeded to go into all the details of the event, which sounded a lot more harrowing than I remember it being.

“You should ask for a raise,” Nancy said, looking at me with a smirk. I just rolled my eyes, smiling. Jean-Eric didn’t find it as funny.

“Anyways, it kinda relates to why we called you here.” Oceana said.

“Oh yeah, you had something you wanted to show me?”

“Yup,” Oceana replied. She took the pendants off her neck and handed them to Nancy.

“These are pendants that my parents gave me. Dad and Grandpa found them while diving … somewhere. I found the other one this morning.”

“Yeah, when you narrowly escaped becoming shark food.” I said.

“Wait, what? What have you been doing the past few days?!” Nancy said, alarmed.

“Well … it was in Deep Hole.” Oceana said, a little sheepish.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about exciting dives. What on Earth were you doing there?”

“That was where she lost it years ago.” Jean-Eric chimed in. He gave a stern look to Oceana, who was carefully avoiding eye contact with everyone at the moment.

“At least I found it, didn’t I?” She said indignantly.

Hey, I found the pendant! I looked at Oceana. She was blushing while Nancy was telling her about how dangerous that dive was. Wait, does Oceana have a crush on her?  I smirked. Fine, I’ll let her have this.

I decided to cut in on Oceana’s behalf. “I’m really surprised that she found the pendant. After being in the ocean all these years. Can you still make out any of the markings? They said you may be able to give us some information about them.”

“Hmm? Oh, right! Let’s have a look.” Nancy said, reaching for the pendants. Oceana gave me a small smile while Nancy began her inspection. She kept turning them over in her hands, looking at all the tiny details. She was intensely focused and muttering to herself.

“So? … Any ideas?” Oceana asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Well, they look like very old artifacts. Made of lapis lazuli, the style of the charms … Maybe from Eastern Asia? However, the engravings aren’t from any of those cultures. And the phrase carved into it definitely doesn’t fit. Not only is it in English, but it seems to have been carved recently. Look at how crisp the letters are compared to the other engravings, where the edges are a little more rounded, worn down with time?”

“Well, we think my son might have inscribed the phrase,” Jean-Eric said.

“Oh? That would explain that, then, but the other engravings were there way before your son had it. Like someone centuries ago found the pendants, added the markings, and then your son got it somehow and added his own?”

“Does that happen often? Artifacts being messed with by other people?” I was curious, since it seemed like humans liked to mess with everything they could get their hands on. I imagined historical artifacts were no exception.

“Oh, sure, all the time. That’s what makes my job super difficult sometimes,” She said.

“So, any idea what the markings mean?” Oceana asked.

“The engravings? No idea.” Nancy said, handing the pendants back to Oceana.

“Oh … dang.” Oceana said, disappointed. She slipped the cords over her head, letting the pendants fall into place on her chest.

“What about the phrase? I know I’ve heard it before …” Jean-Eric said.

“Oh, that?

The Road to the truth is the Song of Dragons

The Cyclades suffer under the shroud of Poseidon’s curse

As the waves crash and the battle cries rise,

Valka Castle shall sink before our eyes.”

She rattled that whole thing off while never taking her eyes off the pendants. It wasn’t until Jean-Eric said something that she looked up, startled.

“What on Earth is that?” he asked incredulously.

“What?” She looked at us, confused. “It’s a mystical epic written by a 19th century Turkish Poet.” She looked back to the pendants, fidgeting with them. “I like epics. They tell a lot about history and myths. Like this one talks about the sinking of Valka Castle.” She sounded a little defensive. I was just surprised she happened to know the one poem we needed.

“Oh, of course!” Jean-Eric chimed in. “I’ve heard it before. There’s a legend that the castle sank into the Aegean Sea, along with all of the treasure.

“Exactly. Well, at least that’s what the legend says. But no one’s ever found it.”

Oceana leaned her hip against the table, thoughtful. “So … was Dad trying to tell us to go to Valka Castle? Why would we need to go there? What did he know about it?”

We all looked to Jean-Eric, who was staring off over the water. After a couple seconds of silence, he finally looked up and realized we were all staring at him. “What?” he asked, startled out of wherever his mind had been.

“Umm …” I wasn’t sure if there was a great way to bring up someone’s dead son, so I went with my ‘just rip the bandaid off’ approach. “Can you tell us about Matthias? Like, why would he be interested in Valka Castle?”

“Oh.” You could practically hear the vault hatch in his mind slam shut. He seemed hesitant as he said, “He … studied oceanography very intently. His studies brought him all over the world. Eventually, some clue had led him to the sea depths. There was … an accident during the exploration. That was 15 years ago.”

“He did deep sea diving? I didn’t know he did stuff like that!” Oceana seemed surprised by this knowledge.

Has he seriously not told her anything about her own father?

“He did a lot of things, most of which were very dangerous.”

Now I see where she gets it from. “Well … I mean, if we want to learn more about the pendants, maybe we should … try and find a mythical castle?” What the hell am I saying? I’m a scientist. I don’t believe in legends! And no one’s found it, anyways. Maybe the salt water was starting to get to me. Is this what happens to sailors?

“Oh my god, yes!” Oceana burst with excitement. “We have to go! Dad wanted to tell us something and it has something to do with Valka Castle. We have to at least try. Anything that could help us figure out what he was trying to say.”

“Well …” Jean-Eric seemed reluctant.

“Please?” Oceana pleaded. She turned on the full granddaughter, puppy-dog-eye charm. Are her eyes even watering? Damn, she’s good. “If it was so important to Dad, then I want to explore it. Even just a little bit. If we don’t find anything, then at least we tried and we come back home.”

“I’d be lying if I said I had no interest myself …,” he said slowly.

We all held our breath.

“… and it would be beneficial for the business.” He sounded a little less hesitant.

“This is for Dad.” Oceana said.

“Looks hella good on a résumé.” I chimed in.

There was a long pause before he finally replied, “Fine.”

“Alright! We’re going to the Aegean Sea! I’ve always wanted to travel. I haven’t been on a plane in years …”

“Well, hang on. It’ll take time to plan everything.”

“I know, but still!”

I had a feeling I was going to be hearing a lot about Valka Castle and the Aegean Sea for the next few days or weeks. Oceana seemed like the type to not let things go once she had an idea in her head … Which worked out, because I, too, would be doing the same thing. We’re going to drive Jean-Eric insane. I almost feel sorry for him. I mean, not enough to stop, but still … 

***

“Hey, I actually had something I wanted to ask you about before you head out.” Oceana said, turning to Nancy.

“Oh, yeah? What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking about trying to start my own business, a little side thing for extra money? But I’m having trouble figuring out what to do?”

“Ah, a new business! I love working for myself. What were you thinking about?” She threw her arm around Oceana as they began walking toward the beach chairs nearby.

“Well, I had a couple ideas …”

Their voices trailed off as they moved further away. For such a small island, I was surprised that you could actually achieve some sense of privacy. The few trees in the way plus the waves creating a natural white noise, I could barely hear them as they chatted.

I decided to look up more about our upcoming trip. The more information we had going in, the better chance we’d have of finding a mythical castle. Hell, maybe we’d find a unicorn, too. I wouldn’t put it past the ocean at this point.

***

I didn’t find much by the time Oceana and Nancy began wandering toward the dock.

“Well, let me know if you have any trouble and I can try to help.”

“Thanks! I appreciate the info.”

“Wait a second!” Jean-Eric got up, waving to get Nancy to stop. “Did you remember that equipment I ordered?” he said as he walked over to them.

Nancy looked confused. “Uhh … what equip-Oh, right!” It seemed like she was slowly remembering the details. “You wanted … an underwater camera and … gear? for night diving?”

“You forgot, didn’t you.”

"Me? Never! Not for my favorite customer.” She winked. “Look I have it right here!” She stepped onto her jet ski and began looking through a bag that was attached to the far side. Seconds later, she had a box that she handed to Jean-Eric. He opened it, pulling out a digital camera. It looked … like a camera my parents had when I was little. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wasn’t sure how tech savvy Jean-Eric or Oceana was, but I wasn’t even into photography and I could tell that this camera was missing a lot of modern features. Do I say something? Is that going to cause problems in the future with Nancy?

“Correct me if I’m wrong,”—Jean-Eric looked from the camera in his hand to Nancy—“but isn’t this a super old camera? I remember using something like this decades ago. When they first came out.” Well, that answers that.

“Well … I … uhh…” Nancy at least had the decency to look apologetic.  “Okay, I had a hard time finding one. But how about this? I’ll give you a special discount on it. How’s that?” She didn't give him time to respond before continuing, “Oh, and the diving gear will take a bit more time. I’ll get it to you as soon as I can, so just be patient.”

Jean-Eric raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t push the camera issue further. “It sounds like we have no choice. I guess we’ll wait,” he said flatly.

She started up her jet ski. “Okay, well I’ll see you later! Have a great day and good luck, Oceana!” She drove off quickly after that.

Oceana waved as she left. I stood for a second, stunned, before looking to Jean-Eric, then the camera. “Does it … work?”

“It should. It may be old but I remember this model was really sturdy. It was great … for its time.”

I tried to sound optimistic. “Well, we can give it a shot and see what kind of photos we get. Do you take a lot of photos?”

“Yeah. It’s a hobby. I used to take photos all the time.”

“That’s cool. You can get some super beautiful photos, especially with all the different fish here.”

“Well, I figured if we got any good ones that could use them for another source of income. Also, a lot of people who come for tours like photos. Here”—he held out the camera and the box to me—“you should figure out how this works. I can’t dive so it’ll be you and Oceana taking all the photos.”

“Oh! Uhh-okay.” I took them both, unsure exactly what to do from here. I was definitely not a photographer. I just never think about taking photos. I like to be in the moment. But I wasn’t gonna tell my new boss ‘no,’ especially not after what just happened with Nancy. He still seemed a little bitter about it. At least this gave me another reason to go diving in the atoll. There were so many colorful fish that even I’d have to stumble into a few good shots.

Chapter Text

Well, I finally figured out the visa situation. It was … less painful than I had originally thought. It still took a while, but now I get to work where most people vacation. #Worth.

Luckily, I joined when work was pretty light. That gave me time to learn the area and the fish there. There were So. Many. Fish! Plus, Oceana and I were getting along great. Jean-Eric was nice, too. Just a little more … distant. Maybe it was just the stark contrast in personalities. Oceana had enough energy for all 3 of us.

I did appreciate them taking time to make me feel welcome and including me in their plans. Being in a new country is rough, especially when you don’t know anyone. So when Jean-Eric decided to meet up with some people at a nearby bar, I took him up on the offer to tag along.

Once we got to the mainland, Oceana headed off to meet some friends of hers while we took off for the bar. It was only a couple blocks away.

We were barely in the door when I heard someone call out to us.

“Hey, hey! There he is!” The bartender came out from behind the bar and walked over to Jean-Eric, giving him a bear-hug. Then he noticed me behind Jean-Eric. “And who’s this lovely lady?”

Jean-Eric rolled his eyes. He explained, “She’s the new employee I mentioned.”

“Ahhh … the only one brave enough to put up with you,” he said with a wink.

Jean-Eric just sighed. It seemed like this was common behavior for the 2 of them.

“Wait, aren’t you going to introduce me to this beautiful woman?”

I decided to play along and held out my hand, “Lady Amanda, at your service.” I even managed a straight face … until the end of the sentence. Then I broke out giggling.

“Of course. I’m Cliff. Welcome to the Lighthouse, your highness.” With exaggerated gestures, he gave a bow, grabbed my hand, and kissed the back it.

Jean-Eric, clearly over his antics, walked over to the bar where there was a woman and a much older man sitting.

Cliff led me over to the bar. “Now let’s get you settled in, here. What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll just have a coke, thanks.”

“You sure? This one’s on the house.”

“Yeah. Alcohol and I don’t really get along. I appreciate the offer, though.” I never liked the taste, anyways, and now it had all the shattered dreams associated with it, too.

Jean-Eric looked over but didn’t say anything. I hoped that no one took offense to me not drinking. You know how when you turn down drinks at a party and everyone gets really defensive about their drinking habits? It makes me feel awkward. I don’t care what others do, as long as they don’t drive afterward. I usually just make myself the DD and then everyone’s safe.

Cliff was quick with the drinks, so at least he didn’t seem too thrown off. He handed Jean-Eric a glass of something (I can’t differentiate drinks), which must have been his usual because I didn’t remember him saying anything. Then Cliff slid my drink to me. “And here’s your coke on the rocks.”

“Thanks, Cliff.” I took a sip before turning to the others at the bar.

“Mand, this is Ellen and William.”

“No need to be so formal. Everyone calls me El,” she said, reaching over to shake my hand.

Will gave a grunt and a nod in my direction. I waited a couple seconds, expecting him to say something.

El saved me from the awkward silence. “Don’t worry about Will, there. He doesn’t say much but he’s a good guy. So, Jean-Eric mentioned that you moved here from the US?”

“Yup.”

“Must be a big change.”

“Totally, but it’s been good. I’m from the northern states, so the climate is very different.”

We continued chatting about little things, finding apartments, the number of people, and whatnot. Eventually she asked about how the job was going.

“Luckily, dives have been less eventful than during the interview.”

“Oh my god, Jean-Eric mentioned it but wouldn’t give the details. What happened?”

I gave her the rundown of the interaction with the whale and the shark.

“Wow, talk about diving right into the job, huh.”

“Right?”

Cliff chimed in, “Man, you really threw her in there. I’m surprised she accepted the job after all that.”

“That was her choice.” Jean-Eric said.

“So did you figure out what caused the whale to charge like that?” El asked.

“Well—” I started, but Jean-Eric cut me off.

“It was a fluke and nothing more.” Man, he does NOT want to talk about it.

“I want to hear her side of the story!” El insisted, brushing him off.

 “Well—” I started again, looking squarely at Jean-Eric before turning back to El “—the only thing Oceana and I could think of was that her pendant fell off her neck, and as it fell through the water, it made a sound right before the whale charged. Maybe it was a weird frequency or something to the whale?”

Will, who previously had been sitting and staring blankly at the wall, suddenly looked to me and asked, “What kind of sound?”

“Oh, no,” Jean-Eric muttered. Then he turned to Will and said, “It was nothing more than water rushing through the pendant.”

This was clearly something they’d discussed before because Will turned to Jean-Eric and grumbled, “I’m telling you the Song of Dragons is real!”

“Oh, please! That’s nothing more than superstition.”

I looked to El and Cliff, afraid that I had started some ancient feud. They just rolled their eyes.

El smiled gently to me. “Don’t worry, they’d have started some argument or another without your help.” She got up and went to one of the tables, where there were a few other people sitting and started chatting with them.

The only time I saw Jean-Eric show this much emotion was when Oceana went diving by herself. And anytime we mentioned the song. He didn’t really get phased by little things. So what was it about the song that made him this upset?

“Look, there wasn’t some big catastrophe. It was just a whale. It’s not like a shark came out of nowhere and took her leg off!” Jean-Eric was waving his hand around wildly. “It wasn’t even a song, just one stupid note! You didn’t hear the song because it doesn’t exist!”

Hey! That irked me a little. Like, you don’t have to believe in the Song, but I could’ve gotten hurt. I gave Jean-Eric a look and said, “’Just a whale?’ Okay. One. You weren’t down there. It was upsetting to have a huge fish coming at you. I mean, I saw its tail almost smack me in the face, if that’s what you mean by ‘just a whale.’ And two. The shark was the second time, when Oceana went back for the other half of the pendant. You seem very convinced about what happened for someone who wasn’t even in the water.”

“So the pendant was involved then, too?” Will asked, muttering to himself. Jean-Eric ignored him. He was too busy glaring at me. However, before he could retaliate, Will turned to him and started scolding him. “The poor girl almost gets rammed by a whale and you don’t believe her?”

“I never said I didn’t believe her! I just don’t think some random song had anything to do with it,” he said grumpily.

“He did make sure we were okay when we got back to the boat.” I added. I didn’t want Will to think that Jean-Eric didn’t care. I felt a little bad as I thought about what I said. I mean, the only reason he wasn’t in the water was health reasons. Kinda rude of me … but he was also being a jerk! He just continued to glare at me. Not an unreasonable reaction, but I wasn’t gonna apologize yet. I wasn’t done being mad at him.

Will continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “Cliff, you’ve heard stories, right? How many sailors have come in here with tales about the Song of Dragons?”

Cliff did not look happy about being dragged into this conversation. He hesitantly replied, “I mean, a few people have mentioned—”

“There! You see?” Will cut him off. “Not all of them could have been lying. Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean its fake!” Will said, emphasizing his frustration by pounding his fists on the bar.

“What other stories?” I quickly asked before Jean-Eric could interrupt. Maybe I’d be able to learn more about the pendants.

Cliff mumbled his excuse of checking on the other patrons before coming out from behind the bar, so Will started telling me about these stories.

Will shifted to the edge of his seat and leaned forward. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, “There are stories from sailors all over the world about this song that plays right before an accident.”

Jean-Eric pursed his lips. “Sailors like to make up all sorts of explanations for things whether they make sense or not.”

I sighed. I held up my hands, palms out. “Jean-Eric. I get you don’t want to believe the legend. And humans do this all the time. I mean, look at ancient religions. People try to give some explanation or reason to any sort of misfortune. But there’s usually a reason for those stories to exist in the first place. People may take it too far and begin attributing things that aren’t related, but there’s usually some amount of truth, right?” I turned back to Will. I wanted to try and learn more before making any judgments about the validity of these stories. And if the pendants were somehow involved, the more information we had, the better. “How do they know it’s the Song of Dragons?”

Jean-Eric glared at me some more—which I pointedly ignored—so he got up walked off. I heard a bunch of small objects clattering together. It wasn’t until I heard the sound of one ball getting shot into the others that I realized it was a pool table. I liked pool, although I was no good at it. But I also wanted to learn more about the legend, so I stayed with Will.

Will, excited that he finally had someone who believed him, began weaving the tale like a midnight campfire story. He continued in a hushed tone. “It’s the same song every time. No matter where they are in the world, it’s the same song. No one knows why. That’s what makes it so mysterious. But every story is the same. Someone’s out on the water, either in a boat or diving, they hear the song, and then some tragedy strikes. Boats run aground, sharks come out of nowhere and wreak havoc, whales ram boats, that kind of thing.”

That didn’t make any sense. It’d have to be same species of animal every time if it was an animal song, right? Or a leftover genetic thing from the fish’s common ancestor? But then why is it both mammals and fish? I shook my head. This was getting ridiculous, me actually believing the stories. It’d make more sense if all the fish were part of a school marching band or something. Hah, school of fish marching band. I shook my head. Seriously, focus!

Bringing my mind back to the conversation, I said, “Whales? That tracks with what we saw, but we didn’t hear a song. Just a couple notes. At least, I think. Do you know how the song goes?”

“I’ve heard a couple variations, but it sounded something like this.” He hummed a line of 5 notes. The melody wasn’t anything I’d ever heard before. It had too many jumps in it.

I tried to memorize the song, just in case. Maybe I’m being silly, but if it’s really the same song every time …? That seems hard to fake.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like what we heard.” We sat in quiet for a couple minutes. Will was leaning against the bar, shoulders slouched. Was he upset that there wasn’t more to the story? For his sake, I added, “We did find a phrase carved into the pendants, though,” and explained the epic and the connection to Valka Castle.

“Really? That’s new.” Will said thoughtfully. He leaned forward, hands on his glass, blankly looking into it.

“Valka Castle is?”

“It’s connection to the song is.”

In terms of Valka Castle, there wasn’t much information, it seemed. Everyone believed that there was some great treasure that Prince Valka had left behind, but no one knew what the treasure was or where it was located. Other than “Ciceros Strait,” there really weren’t any other clues, just that no one had found it, so it wasn’t just out in the open. He also shared more stories about the Song of Dragons. And they all followed the same pattern. I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some connection that we were missing.

We sat in quiet for a while. El came back over once she realized the main argument was over. She shared some stories about her adventures at sea. Cliff had gone over and was chatting with Jean-Eric. It seemed like they were chatting about something unrelated to diving. I was glad Cliff went over there so Jean-Eric wasn’t just stewing by himself. At least, I would’ve been. I should apologize later … But at the moment, I was listening to El. Turned out she had some crazy stories, too, from her time on fishing boats. By the time she had finished a particularly ridiculous story involving a very slippery rogue fish on a particularly rocky sea, Jean-Eric had come over to me to tell me he was heading out soon. I made the rounds, saying goodbye to everyone. Cliff made a big show of taking my arm and leading me to the door with me giggling the whole time and waving like a queen. They were all really nice. Maybe I’d even have more of my own stories to share next time.

Chapter Text

We were walking back from the bar to meet with Oceana. She was further away than we were, so we were in no rush to get to the boat. However, the silence was killing me. Jean-Eric was looking everywhere except toward me, and his movements appeared a little tense. I guess he’s still bothered by the conversation at the bar. He’s usually pretty level-headed, so why is this song such a trigger for him? Does he really hate the legend so much? Well …. That and I had been a bit of a jerk, so …

We stopped at a bench right near the boat. He still hadn’t said anything. Was he upset with me? Or was he just being his quiet self? God forbid I just ask him like an adult. I sighed and sat down next to him. I did feel bad about my comment earlier. I figured I should say something so that he didn’t think I hated him or something.

I have a hard time talking to him as is. I mean … I just never know what to say to him. And he doesn’t tend to show much emotion, so I never know if he’s actually interested in something or if I’m just bugging him. Either way, he did deserve an apology, however awkward I may make it.

“Hey,” I said. I glanced over at him and then immediately back to my hands in my lap.

“What?” He didn’t sound happy.

“I … I want to apologize about what I said while talking to Will.” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “I know that you care about Oceana and anyone on your diving crew. And that you would’ve done anything to protect Oceana when she went diving by herself. I just … the whale thing was kinda scary. At least with the shark, we knew it was gonna be there. Still scary, but I expected it. But a whale? They’re not known to be aggressive toward divers, even with a baby.

So when you started talking about it like it wasn’t a big deal … that was really upsetting to me. Like it wasn’t scary and I was just being a baby or whatever. But I still shouldn’t have said what I did to you, so … I’m sorry.”

Jean-Eric was silent for a bit. “Thanks.”

Well, I said my piece. I guess it’s up to him now. He probably hates me. I’m so fired. Hopefully not, but work is gonna be awkward.

To my surprise, he continued. “I … didn’t mean that it wasn’t a big deal. It’s just that anytime Will hears a story … ANY story … he says it’s that stupid legend.”

“Why do you hate the legend so much?”

“I …” he stopped, frowning.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine.” But he didn’t say anything after that. At least, not for a while. Finally, he said, “I’ve had enough tragedy in my life. I don’t need something else to worry about.”

I nodded slightly, mulling everything over. I felt like he wasn’t quite meeting my eye when he said that, like there was something more, but I decided not to push him.

I found a bench and sat down. Jean-Eric stood nearby, staring at nothing. “It’s funny. Until I came here, I didn’t believe in superstition or legends or whatever. I’d have reacted much the same way as you. But there have been just enough coincidences since I moved here that have me second-guessing myself.” I don’t think either of us expected this sort of adventure when I moved out here. “Not that I believe everything about the stories. People make stuff up all the time, or misremember or misinterpret what they see. But to have that number of events that are so similar … It just seems like there’s more there, you know?”

“The ocean will do that to you. The more time you spend out there, the more your mind starts to play games with you. I don’t want Oceana getting tied up in … something like this.”

“Understandable. We know next to nothing about the story. Science knows so little about the ocean in general. Hell, space is easier to research.”

It seemed like he was in a slightly better mood. At least, he wasn’t so stiff, so I guess things were okay between us. Does this mean we’re cool? He opened up to me a little, that’s got to mean something.

I leaned back with one arm over the back of the bench. We both stared out at the ocean for a while. Once Oceana returned, I wave them off and head to my apartment to sleep. I thought some more about the Song of Dragons and Jean-Eric’s reaction to it. Was he being paranoid? If it wasn’t real, then why would he be worried about it? I felt like there was more to this, but if Jean-Eric wasn’t comfortable talking about it, why should I force him? I just hope that if it ends up being important to us, if he knows something that we don’t that could put us in danger …

I sigh and roll over. No use worrying about it now. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

****

The next day, I arrive at the island and Oceana is already researching Valka Castle. As I suspected (and hoped), Oceana was just as enthusiastic as me when it came to researching new things. We spent our breaks between clients reading anything that even remotely mentioned Valka Castle or Ciceros Strait. We chatted about it so much that Jean-Eric refused to sit with us at the table. It’s not our fault. It’s the meeting spot. Maybe he should get a little more outdoor furniture so we could discuss our research without driving him nutty.

Unfortunately … there wasn’t much available. The castle hardly had anything on it. We found the legend, but it didn’t have any new information. It was a castle. It supposedly sunk. It had a huge treasure. There were no indications about possible locations, not even ancient maps.

At least we had a little more luck with the strait. We learned some basic geography of the place, but even diving magazines or whatever didn’t have any great maps, which disappointed Oceana greatly.

We did find basic information on the local fish. Most of them were fine, but there were also apparently a ton of hammerhead sharks in the area. Now, hammerheads are supposed to be real chill, but given my current track record with sharks … I practiced with the pulsar. Don’t worry, no fish were harmed. Did manage to shock myself once, though. Not fun. Do not recommend.

There seem to be a lot of sunken shipwrecks in the area, too. Since my diving experience was pretty limited before this job, I was really excited to see them. Maybe we’d find some super cool artifact or something … or maybe something small and pretty that I could keep as a souvenir.

Overall, it didn’t look like it be a difficult dive, so that’s something. There’s no way anything could go wrong. Nope. Nothing.

****

Finally, after all our time looking at books and magazines, it was time to actually go and visit. Oceana was ecstatic to be traveling. It was fun to see her excitement about being in the airport. Even the line for security didn’t even bother her. She was too busy chattering at me to notice. I smiled and nodded absently. I was used to flying, so I was just tired of standing in line. Jean-Eric was quiet as always.

We didn’t really have a plan about what to do when we got there. A couple days before we left, Jean-Eric mentioned he had "something very useful” to help us, but he wouldn’t give us any details. I didn’t think he was one for surprises, but every time I asked him about it, he’d dodge the question. I swear, I even saw him smirk once when I turned away. Whatever. If he doesn’t want to tell me, then fine. I was grumpy just thinking about it. I stood there and crossed my arms, pouting.

The flights were uneventful thankfully. I spent our first day there relaxing in the hotel mostly. The flights were long and I was exhausted.

Then, it was time to dive.

We finally were on the boat and in the vague area that was mentioned in the legends.

“Okay … Here we are,” Jean-Eric said.

Oceana was so excited. I don’t know where she found the energy. “We’re finally here! We gotta find that castle.”

“I’d like to, too. but … any ideas of where to look?”

“I mean, it’s an entire castle, it can’t be that hard to find.”

“But then how has no one found it?” I paused. When no one answered, I pressed further. “If only someone—” I looked pointedly at Jean-Eric “—had ‘something very useful’ in this situation.” I crossed my arms, waiting.

He smirked and said, “Well, I did borrow something from a friend that will hopefully give us a better chance than just a grid pattern.”

A pause. Nothing “… Are you finally gonna tell us what it is?” I asked, a little bitter. Okay, I still wanted to know.

And of course, before he could say anything more, someone surfaced right near the back of the boat—startling the daylights out of me—and said, “Hey, a boatload of newcomers! Mind if I come on board?” He had already put his hands on the ladder at the back of the boat.

Wait, what? Is this common practice? This is like someone asking to randomly hop in your car or something. Jean-Eric didn’t really seem phased, though, as the stranger clambered into the boat.

The best way I can describe this guy was … “cool.” If someone looked up “cool” or “rad” in the dictionary, they’d probably find a picture of this guy. His hairstyle, his clothes, everything was very over-the-top. He seemed at ease even surrounded by complete strangers.

“You guys have any drinks? This is thirsty work.”

Who the hell comes into a stranger’s boat and then starts asking for stuff? I tend to get easily annoyed by this type of cocky persona. Oceana, meanwhile, was staring at him like he was an actor or supermodel or something.

Oceana was about to give him the overview of our cooler stock, but I cut her off. “Umm … sorry, but I don’t really recognize you.” Not that I expected to. He seemed awfully confident. Maybe he’s been in a magazine article or something.

He gasped, dramatically putting a hand to his chest. “Y’all, don’t you recognize me? I’m Gaston Grey! But you can call me GG. Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?” He sounded laid-back, suave.

I didn’t know how to respond. At least someone was able to keep their cool. “GG, I’ve heard that name …” Jean-Eric paused, tapping a finger on his chin. “Ah! You’re that famous American salvager.”

“That’s right! If there’s a hidden treasure, I find it. Right now—" he continued in a conspiratorial voice “—I’m after the legendary Valka Castle.”

“Really? That’s why we’re here, too!” Oceana exclaimed.

“Seriously? Well, this place isn’t for beginner divers. There are whirlpools, loads of sharks … there’s even Thanatos.”

“Who? That sounds like the name of a comic book super villain,” I said. He’s gotta be making this up … right?

He lowered his voice like we were sitting around a campfire. “You’ve never heard of Thanatos? He’s a super aggressive, man-eating shark. There are stories about him all over the news. You gotta be on your guard.”

How have we not heard of this shark? I swear we researched the crap out of this place and never saw the name. “ Huh. Uh, thanks for the warning.”

His voice went back to his normal bold tone. “Besides, there’s no way you’ll find the castle before me. I didn’t get famous by being beat by some amateurs.”

Hey! What the hell? We’ve been nothing but nice! Now I was upset. Yes, I was an amateur, but that didn’t mean I was useless.

I was about to say something, but Oceana was faster. She crossed her arms and gave a short laugh. “No way, we’ll find it first. You have no idea what L&L Diving Service is capable of.” She was smiling. I guess she enjoyed the competition. I decided to keep quiet. No point in upsetting a famous diver when I had zero record.

I looked at Jean-Eric, curious of his opinion of this whole encounter. He was just staring into space. When he realized I was staring at him expectantly, he just shrugged and continued to stare into the distance. Maybe this kind of interaction is normal between divers?

GG laughed. “There’s no way you’re better than me.”

Oceana just stared him down. “Wanna bet on it?”

I raised my eyebrows. I hadn’t expected that. Damn, girl! I didn’t realize how competitive she could get.

He seemed excited about this. “Oh, you’re on. If you find it before me, I’ll scrub your boat with my toothbrush!” He laughed again. “Just don’t cry when I find it first. I guess I better get back in and find it so you don’t waste your time! See you around.” He gave a salute and jumped back into the water, gone just as quickly as he’d arrived.

I stood there for a minute, trying to process what that was. “I don’t even know what just happened. He was … kinda rude.”

“Sweet wet suit, though,” Oceana added, staring at the water where he had vanished.