Princes Mia, Towed
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Esralda smile so sincerely before…”
Mia spoke to herself in a whisper after Esralda went under the water. It had been a real smile, not tainted by fear or bad will. Mia felt uneasy about it, though.
She didn’t know why, but she was uncomfortably reminded of the day long ago when Esralda had promised to host another tea party…
When they last said goodbye, didn’t she have the sa smile on her face?
“That day, she seed oddly reliable… Just as she did just now… It’s a little scary how similar they are.”
Five minutes passed.
Mia was worried. “I wonder if she’s okay.”
Anne gave her a smile. “Don’t worry, milady. Only five minutes have passed. We should believe in Lady Esralda.”
“Y-Yes, I suppose you’re right…”
Ten minutes passed.
“Is she really all right? Oh, I hope she didn’t do sothing stupid and hurt herself.”
“Don’t be anxious, Mia. Esralda can swim circles around us all. She can take care of herself,” Abel said in a tone that made it clear he was trying to reassure her.
The slow, solemn nod he received in response, however, suggested efficacy had been limited. After that, Mia stopped talking to people as much.
At half an hour, she looked like she was about to cry, with her haunted eyes fixed on the still surface of the water. The longer she waited, the more ti she had to think of all the bad things that could have happened.
What did it an if soone went out to look at a place like this and then didn’t co back? It was easy to figure out.
Her worried mind was filled with thoughts of death, which were made worse by the thought of Esralda’s gentle smile before she disappeared…
Mia thought about how she felt about Esralda. She didn’t think of the girl as her best friend, and that was true. At best, she fell into the category of “I guess we’re friends.”
But the more she thought about it, the more she saw that they really did know each other.
They had spent a lot of ti together because she had hosted Mia’s first tea party and sent her birthday party invitations every year. She always made sure to be at Mia’s birthday parties, too. They always celebrated these events together.
Every once in a while, they’d even have dresses made that matched. They’d laugh as they shared clothes and fun, but these tis were getting rarer as Mia’s schedule got busier. Even though she didn’t think Esralda was her one and only soul mate, they were good friends in the end.
Good enough that it hurt to lose her and made her cry.
“Ooooh, Esralda, you…”
Mia said between sniffles, “Y- You said you’d be back in a minute, so where are you? Oh, I hate you so much. You’re a terrible person… I-I can’t believe you would break your promise to again…”
After an hour, Mia had turned into a blubbering ss of tears. She cried freely, and the trails of her tears had just dried when new ones started to flow in their place. She sobbed loudly as Anne hugged her and patted her back gently.
Just as Anne’s floodgates were about to open, there was a big splash and a loud gasp of air behind them.
They all turned to look for Esralda, who had just co up out of the water.
“Wow, I’m sorry for making you wait so long, but I’m back now,” she said, completely oblivious to the mood in the cave.
The water exercise seed to have helped her health, and both her skin tone and her enthusiasm seed to shine.
“It might take about five minutes to get outside from here. We’ll have to dive for a while in one spot, but don’t worry. It’s not too long, so even Miss Mia should be able to do it.”
She got out of the water and walked toward them. The drops of water running down her face looked the sa as Mia’s, but they were different.
When no one spoke up, she turned her head to the side.
“What?”
She took a look around.
“Is there sothing wrong? Why am I feeling so strange?”
Mia muttered, “You really took your ti, didn’t you?” as she walked over with her head down to hide how she felt.
“Oh. Yes, well…”
Esralda put the pendant on her chest and held it out.
“I was using my moonlamp rock to get so light. Without so light, the path is a little hard to find. Also, the water was pretty cold, so I decided to warm up on this rock, which was in the perfect spot for a quick sunbath. What’s wrong, Miss Mia?”
Mia wrapped her arms around Esralda and squeezed her as if her life depended on it.
“You know, I was worried. So, so upset! I thought I wouldn’t see you ever again…”
“M-Miss Mia?”
Esralda was shocked at first and stood still, but she soon relaxed.
“Don’t worry, Miss Mia. I won’t ever let my best friend down. And I won’t break that promise. Not again…”
She smiled softly and gave him a hug back.
After everyone had cald down, Esralda went on to explain what she had found.
“Like I said, it’s not that far, and you can’t get lost because the way out is straight. There are a few places where we’ll have to stay underwater for a while, but I think we’ll be fine if Miss Mia can get us through.”
Anne looked sad. She was a commoner, so she didn’t know how to swim even less than Mia did.
“Well, then Anne can co along with . We’ll go together,” Esralda said without much thought.
Next to frown was Mia.
“You…you’re Esralda, right? Are you okay? Where did you hit your head?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Mia! I just thought I could maybe be a little nicer to my best friend’s beloved maid,” she said, before her confidence slipped a little and she turned away.
“Well, she’s been pretty helpful… I an, being of noble blood ans that you have to pay back any help you get, right?”
Oh, Esralda, you have such a unique personality… Always so much trouble. Sotis it’s hard for to believe that we’re related. Mia then nodded to herself.
“Okay, Esralda, we’ll do what you say. Look after Anne for , okay?”
They put themselves in a line and got ready to go. Esralda was in front, and Anne was right behind her. Abel and Mia were behind them.
As their anchorman, Abel would usually be last, but he had to stay in front of Mia for a reason.
“It’s starting to get deep here. I don’t think your feet will ever touch the ground again.”
“Understood!”
She nodded yes, turned around, and fell on her back with the efficiency of a soldier.
She was wearing her swimsuit under her clothes, just like Esralda. Without her wet clothes getting in the way, Mia could do an impressively good back float.
Abel grabbed her collar as he walked through the water in front of her.
Yes, Abel stayed in front because he had to swim while pulling Mia with him! Even though they didn’t share the work equally, they made steady progress by following the light from Esralda’s pendant.
She had said that the path was easy enough for the whole group to pass through.
After a few places where they had to hold their breath and dive, they could see light in the distance.
“Everyone, we’re almost there! “Don’t stop!” Esralda yelled from the front of the line.
Mia felt better after she heard her words of support, so she worked harder by flapping her arms and legs around more.
“Ah—”
She covered her face when she suddenly saw a lot of light. A few seconds later, she felt a salty wind on her cheeks. She started to hear the rolling rumble of the tide in her ears.
Over ti, her eyes got used to the blinding light, and a clear blue sky ca into view.
“Aaah… We did it… We did it for sure. We made it out okay.”
Relief almost made her lose all of her strength. Or maybe it did happen.
When one is floating like a limp dishrag, it’s hard to tell.
She looked at each of her friends slowly. Esralda and Anne could be seen a little ways away.
Abel was right next to her.
I can’t believe it’s true. Everyone made it out alive. It’s like a dream.
That realisation was moving enough, but fate still had more strange things to happen.
“Ah! Look! It’s the Erald Star!”
Esralda yelled with joy and pointed firmly at the familiar shape of their ship.
“We’re…saved? Does this an we’re going to be OK?”
Mia smiled as she answered her own question in a quiet voice.
The smile didn’t last long, though, because she would soon be forced to read a certain part of the Princess Mia Chronicles, which told about the things that had happened to her on and around this deserted island.
Just below the calm surface of the water, a huge shadow showed up. It ca up behind the unfortunate group of swimrs quickly, quietly, and without being seen at all…
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