Emily barely had time to hold her breath before her whole body was submerged and shooting down and forward through the water. Years of swimming practise kicked in and she propelled herself through the water with her legs, keeping pace with the merman just ahead of her. She marveled at sight of the strong, cobalt blue tail, which met his torso just below the belly.
"Emily," he said, glancing back at her. "Try to breathe." Bubbles escaped from Caelum's mouth as he spoke, but he was just as audible down here as he had been above the waves.
The pressure on Emily's lungs was becoming quite intense, as she hadn't taken a very deep breath before diving down. Panic surged at the thought of opening her mouth so far underwater, but a warmth against her chest reassured her. And so she released her breath with a deep sigh. Then she breathed in.
The sensation was almost indescribable. Emily could feel water filling her mouth, but it seemed gentle, almost imperceptible. Breathing felt natural, no different from how it had moments before. She took a few more experimental breaths in and out, and felt just fine. "This is incredible," she said, watching the bubbles rise from her mouth. "Oh wow!"
"Welcome to my world, Emily," Caelum said, looking her intently in the eyes. "There's just one thing. Your leaves appear to have dislodged in the dive. You may want to recall them."
"My... oh!" Looking down, Emily noticed that she was no longer adorned with goldapple leaves. She glanced around frantically, seeing nothing but empty ocean. "W-where did they..."
"I'll wait for you to recall them," Caelum said, turning his back to her.
But the leaves where truly gone, leaving only a swiftly dissolving residue on Emily's nipples and crotch. Realistically, there had been little chance the sap would stay sticky underwater. "Th-they're gone," Emily stammered.
"What do you mean? Just recall them."
Emily frowned. The way Caelum kept repeating the word "recall" was very confusing to her. "I–I don't know what you mean. They're just leaves, and they're gone now."
Caelum was silent for a moment. "Are you saying that those leaves were not your alkayi?"
Emily made a face. "What's an alkayi?"
Caelum gasped. "Do human women not have alkayi?"
"This is the first I've heard of it," said Emily. "Although I'm, well, not really from around here."
Caelum took a moment to gather his thoughts. Then he said, "When a mermaid comes of age, she takes a three-day journey into the kelp forests. While there, she experiences many visions and revelations. She also discovers, and is discovered by, her alkayi. The nature of the alkayi is different for every mermaid—some wear seashells, some starfish, some intricately woven strands of kelp, patterned coral or living sand. But each mermaid finds and bonds with an alkayi which will accompany and clothe her all the rest of her life. She can summon this alkayi at will, and it will always protect her."
Emily drew her arms across her breasts. "Sounds nice. Wish I had something like that, but I don't."
"I see," said Caelum. "And those leaves were all you had?"
"Y-yes."
Caelum slowly turned to face Emily, unsure where to let his eyes settle. "It is highly unusual for a grown woman to have no alkayi, but it is not unheard of. Hopefully my people will be understanding."
"Maybe I can borrow something," Emily said hopefully.
Caelum's eyes widened in shock. "Borrow an alkayi! Do not say such things, Emily! Using another's alkayi is a grave insult, an unpardonable offense. No, each woman's alkayi must choose her."
Emily bit her lip. "Sheesh, I really didn't think mermaids would be hung up about clothes. Surely someone can give me something to wear in this Aquius place. It doesn't have to be one of these alkayi things. Or even real clothes. I'll settle for a bedsheet!"
Caelum fidgetted and avoided Emily's eyes. It looked like he was about to say something, but then thought better of it. Finally, he reached his hand out once more. "Come, let us continue. Aquius is not far."
Emily tentatively took Caelum's hand, angling her crotch away from him and keeping her other arm across her breasts. His story about alkayi had been thoroughly depressing. After meeting this bare-chested merman, Emily had hoped that nudity would be common and unremarkable among the merpeople, but now that appeared not to be the case. Even in this magical undersea kingdom, she would be thoroughly underdressed.
"I suppose mermen don't have anything like an alkayi," said Emily, casting her eyes down Caelum's bare back and tail. Technically, he was just as naked as she was, but it didn't feel like it. Emily decided it would be impolite to ask the question about merman anatomy that had just jumped to the front of her mind.
"No, it is not part of our initiation. We are called to fight and kill a beast when we come of age. That is the source of the scar across my right shoulder." The scar in question was a large, white slash, mostly visible from the back.
As they swam, Emily tried to put thoughts of her discomfort out of mind by enjoying her surroundings. They were going quite deep, but could still see where shafts of the sunlight pierced the deep blue water to illuminate a cross-section of the ocean floor. Emily marveled at the multi-colored coral reefs around them and giggled as fish swam around her, sometimes lightly tickling her skin. The Labyrinthian Pool had had some wonders, but it had also felt dark and artificial, and at times very menacing. The open ocean, by contrast, gave her a deep sense of freedom.
"Not long now," said Caelum, indicating the crest of a coral cliff up ahead.
As they crested the cliff, Emily gasped, releasing a watery breath. The city of Aquius lay nestled in a large valley, protected on all sides by high coral cliffs, and it was like nothing she'd ever seen or imagined.
It was a true city, with tall and densely packed buildings carved from luminescent coral and mother-of-pearl. Rather than boxy modern skyscrapers, the buildings were smooth towers that tapered towards their tops, some of them bending in shapes that looked almost organic. Below the buildings, the streets of Aquius were alive with the hustle and bustle of merfolk. The people of Aquius transformed from colorful specks into real half-human, half-fish people as Caelum led Emily by the hand, down from the cliffs, down from the tops of the buildings, into the heart of the city.
Streets and pathways were lined with flowering sea plants swaying rhythmically in the current, and the ambient glow from bioluminescent algae painted the city in hues of blues, greens, and purples. Schools of fish darted between the buildings and people. Emily could see a few dolphins and manta rays with mermen and mermaid mounted atop them, moving smoothly and purposefully through the city streets.
Emily's feet touched the cobbled stone floor of what appeared to be a large plaze in the center of the city. Her eyes were drawn to an enormous structure, larger, grander and more intricate than the buildings around it, which dominated the plaza. From a wide base, it spiraled upwards, and was crowned by a dome of translucent sea-green glass. The whole building shimmered, with different parts pulsing through the whole spectrum of colors as Emily watched.
"That's the Coral Palace," said Caelum. "The one-time residence of Thurseus Irontail. Welcome, Emily Stoneshell Bearer, to Aquius."
While Emily had been standing looking up at the Coral Palace, a crowd of interested merfolk had started to form around her, and were whispering to each other animatedly. The mermen, like Caelum, had bare torsos, and the mermaids were bedecked by a variety of what Emily took to be alkayi. These ranged from a couple of seashells clinging to one woman's breasts to an intricate wrapping of kelp that had the appearance and coverage of a poloneck sweater. Emily could see another woman wearing two thick pieces of coral on each of her sides, which left an expanse of skin from the neck to the navel. All were dressed quite differently, but all were dressed, with nipples covered. All except Emily.
"A human! Can it be?"
"Ah, so that's what legs look like..."
"Where's her alkayi? Do humans not have those?"
"She's a little old to parading around like that, I think."
"Is that necklace...? No, surely not..."
Blushing and squirming to cover herself with her arms, Emily cast a desperate glance at Caelum. As frequently as she'd been naked since arriving in Thessolan, she'd managed to mostly avoid these kinds of extremely public scenes, and so it was a new and unwelcome experience to have her unclothed body at the center of so much attention.
Caelum acknowledged her glance with a curt nod and cast a foul look at the crowd surrounding them. Then, almost before Emily knew what was happening, he hoisted her into his arms and swam upwards with a powerful thrust, leaving the cacophanous crowd to choke on his trail of bubbles.
"Sorry about that, Emily," he said, looking her in the eyes. "I should have taken you straight to the palace to begin with. As the first human visitor to our city in generations, and the current bearer of the Stoneshell, you must have an audience with King Trilato as soon as possible."
Emily was grateful to have been rescued from the crowd, but the notion of appearing naked before the King of the Merfolk didn't seem a whole lot better. "Please find me something to wear first. I'll settle for a few strands of kelp!"
Caelum looked embarrassed again, and avoided eye contact. "I have told you of the grave crime of taking another's alkayi, have I not?"
Emily nodded.
"A less severe, but still grave crime, is the use of a false alkayi. Appearing before the king in such a manner would be a grave insult."
Emily was stunned. "What are you trying to tell me, Caelum? That I'm not allowed to wear clothes?"
"Well, when you put it like that... yes. Anything from Aquius that clothes would be considered a false alkayi. This... is not usually a problem. Most visitors to our realm arrive with their own clothing."
Emily curse the goldapple tree. If only its sap had been stickier!
"We're here," Caelum said, swimming over the railing of a balcony set into a high part of the Coral Palace's spires and gently releasing Emily from his cradling hold. "I will seek the king at once."
Emily's feet touched the smooth floor, and her eyes took in the opulent palace interior, walls carved with intricate scenes featuring merfolk and fish. Caelum waved to her and then vanished through an archway with a single flick of his tail.
Alone now, Emily turned to look at the city beyond the balcony. At times, she would almost forget she was underwater, but the stillness of this current moment brought her focus to the way the water enveloped her and carressed her skin. Every inch of exposed skin, which would seemingly need to remain so for the duration of her stay. She allowed her arms to fall at her sides, and tried to accept it.
Emily's eyes scanned across the spires of the city and came to rest on a kelp forest at its borders. That must be the place where young mermaids found their alkayis. What if she were to go there? Would she find a perfect, magical outfit, which would fit and suit her better than any other? Something indestructible, that could be called to cover her whenever she was parted from it. Emily imagined a shimmering dress made of turquious fish scales, enveloping her in a silky embrace from neck to mid-thigh, producing an effect not unlike a mermaid's tail. She sighed at the mental image, passing a hand down her bare hip.
"Emily!" cried Caelum, making her turn her head to the archway in surprise. "My gravest apologies, I had forgotten that today is the day of the Coral Gala, and that our king and all his noble subjects are deeply esconced in preparations. There will be no opportunity for your audience before then."
Emily let out a relieved sigh. She hadn't precisely been looking forward to meeting royalty in her birthday suit.
"We shall have to seek an audience during the Gala. I have informed the palace officials of your attendance and received their assurance that you shall be an honored guest." Here, Caelum looked a little unsure of himself, but only for a moment. "Please, grant me the honor of accompanying you." Caelum closed his eyes and bowed his head following this request.
Emily blushed. "A gala! But I don't have anything to wear! Literally!"
Reopening his eyes, Caelum waved a hand nonchalantly. "Do not worry, that shall all be taken care of. The palace servants will be only too happy to attend to your toilette."
Did that mean... clothes? Could there be a loophole in the alkayi rules after all? Emily's heart jumped into her throat. "Yes!" she shouted, surprising herself with her own enthusiasm. "I'll go with you to the gala, Caelum!"
Caelum's face lit up, beaming, as he held eye contact with Emily. "Then I shall call the servants at once! Coraline! Pearla! Nerissa!"
Caelum swam back into the depths of the palace, calling out the three names, and Emily felt her whole body relax. She was about to be dolled up for a gala in a magical palace, attended to by servants like an honest-to-goodness princess. Perhaps that shimmering gown would become a reality.
In a few moments, three mermaids appeared from the archway Caelum had disappeared behind. Their eyes widened initially at Emily's appearance, but each one quickly calibrated her expression to a professional pleasantness as they introduced themselves. Emily smiled back at them sheepishly, hovering her arms in front of her body.
Nerissa was the tallest one, with a turquoise tail and long hair done up in a thick braid of blue and purple. She wore a couple of large white seashells across her breasts. "Nerissa, hairdresser, at your service."
Next was Pearla, with a silver white tail and pale blonde hair to match. She wore a cleavage-enhancing corset that appeared to be made of red and pink living coral, ending just above her navel. "Pearla, jeweler, at your service."
Finally, Coraline's tail was red and gold, and her head was topped with a mass of curly red hair. Her torso was loosely wrapped with green seaweed, exposing her milky, pink-tipped left breast. "Coraline, perfumer, at your service."
The servants led Emily to a dressing room not far from the balcony and sat her down on a plush stool in front of a coral-framed mother-of-pearl mirror. All around her hung jewelery pieces, ornate bottles containing multi-colored liquids and a wide variety of brushes and combs. The servants set to work at once, chattering pleasantly.
Nerissa took Emily's chestnut hair in her hands and began to comb it out. Pearla glanced between Emily and the various jewelery pieces on the walls, picking up and putting down different ones. Coraline began fussing with perfume bottles, picking different ones and spraying them in front of Emily's nose, asking her which she would prefer. She chose one in a green-blue that smelled of ocean blooms.
Emily's hair was long and tangled in places, and Nerissa had to brush it quite vigorously to straighten it all out, using her whole body. As she fought with a particularly knotty tangle, her breasts bounced so violently that one of the seashells adorning them popped off and started to float away, leaving a brown nipple exposed. Nerissa cursed and her companions giggled.
"We match now," quipped Coraline.
"Yes, yes," said Nerissa, staring intently at the floating white shell. As she stared, it came to a stop and then reversed course, returning to her. Emily watched in amazement as the white shell drifted back to Nerissa and pressed itself firmly over her breast. "Sorry ma'am," she said, returning to her brushing.
Nerissa combed and coaxed Emily's hair into a sophiscated updo, adorned with strands of jewels and capped with a small tiara. Pearla chose a set of bracelets, armbands and necklaces and rings to adorn Emily with. The mermaids expressed a keen curiousity over Emily's legs and feet, asking her to move her toes and giggling to each other manically. Pearla placed some of the rings on Emily's toes and repurposed a few braclets as anklets. There were obviously no shoes to be found in the merfolk kingdom.
Makeup was a collaborative affair, though Coraline took charge. Emily's lips were reddened, her eyelids coated with a purple eyeshadow and dark mascara used to enhance her lashes. After much fussing, the mermaids declared themselves finished and asked Emily to survey the results.
"Wow," said Emily, staring at an almost unrecognizably flawless face in the mirror. "I—thank you, this is really good. I can't wait to see the dress you have for me!"
The mermaids exchanged glances of confusion. "Begging your pardon ma'am," said Nerissa, "but we're finished now. Is there anything we should change? Do you not like your hair?"
"I can give you different bracelets!" Pearla exclaimed, frantically grabbing for more jewelery.
"Maybe another fragrance?" asked Coraline, folding her arms across her chest, nonplussed.
Emily bit her lip. "No, no, please, this is all wonderful. I love everything you've done so far, really I do. And I understand that you don't have shoes for me, that makes sense, but surely I must have a dress, a ballgown, or something, to wear for this very formal and prestigious Coral Gala and to meet the king!"
The three mermaids frowned and stared hard at Emily. "If you summon your alkayi, we can help you to polish, press or decorate it," Coraline said.
Emily's heart sank. "I... don't have one of those," she said meekly.
A shocked gasp escaped from Pearla's lips, before she swiftly clapped both hands in front of her mouth. Coraline exchanged wide-eyed glances with the other mermaids, and all three retreated slightly. "A nokal at the Coral Gala..." whispered Nerissa.
"Nokal?" Emily ask, feeling the heat under her cheeks.
"But she's human!" said Coraline to Nerissa. "Maybe humans don't have alkayis."
"Evangeline did," Pearla chimed in. "At least... in the portraits..."
Coraline turned to Emily. "Do humans have alkayis? Or do you go about naked like children all your lives?"
Emily bit her lip. "Well... no. We don't have alkayis, but we also don't generally walk around naked. We wear clothes, made out of fabric. There's nothing special or magical about them, you don't have to find them in a magic forest, you just buy them."
"And where are your clothes?" asked Nerissa.
Emily let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "I've been asking myself that same question for weeks now. It just... uh, it's complicated. Suffice to say, I kinda don't have any right now. They're not things we can just summon like your alkayis." She looked around the room nervously. "Can't I have some more jewelery at least? A few more necklaces, something for my waist... I can't just go the the Gala naked!"
Pearla and Nerissa exchanged shocked whispers, and Coraline's frown deepened. "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but please try to understand and respect our traditions. We cannot be accused of giving you a false alkayi, and there is nothing we could provide that would allay that suspicion." Here Coraline gestured to her left side. "My kelp does not deign to cover this breast, and so I display it proudly. You must do the same with both of yours."
Emily looked at herself in the mirror. The picture was breathtaking, but to be seen in public like this, as the honored guest at a royal ball... it was shameless. The necklaces augmenting the Stoneshell only called attention to her bare breasts. And below that, her only adornments were the light jewelery on her arms, hands and feet. Emily pressed her thighs together and nervously glanced down at the strands of chestnut hair protruding between them.
"When a mermaid does not discover an alkayi during her time in the forest, we call her a nokal," Coraline said. "We do not shun nokals, but most prefer to isolate themselves and live quiet lives away from our cities. They are usually too ashamed to be seen."
"I, uh, totally get why," said Emily, hugging herself. "Thank you, ladies, for all your help. I love it all, I really do."
"Sir Caelum will hardly believe his eyes," said Pearla slyly. "One look and he will fall even deeper in love with you."
Emily gasped. A red flush appeared across her pale skin. "Oh no, he's just being hospitable..."
"There is much more than that in the way he looks at you," Nerissa added, with a knowing smile. "Of course, it would make sense for him to..."
"Hush!" snapped Coraline. "We must not subject our guest to idle gossip. Emily, the gala shall begin soon. Caelum will meet you at the balcony shortly. Let us proceed there at once."
Emily stood up, slightly unsteady, and took a last glance over her shoulder at the mirror. An expanse of pale skin, from her neck to her thighs, stared back at her. She had dreamed, in childhood, of attending royal balls, but never like this. And though she had already wandered naked for many days, the makeup and jewelery and the prospect of being an honored guest at a royal gala made it all new again. There would be no ballgown for her.