Luckily, Mira was quick-thinking and managed to save the fish before it ran out of breath. The teenager backed away from the treasure and stood by Mira's side, glaring at the fish. If Briar had waited one more moment then Dala could have warned her. But instead, she went and did something stupid for the sake of gold. Dala liked money as much as the next person but a pile of treasure untouched was usually suspicious. Then Mira mentioned the other people and Dala let out a small sigh. There was something she had to tell Mira.

"Mira… that box and that spell could have been here for years." Dala admitted, "The elvish language is fairly dated in comparison to modern elvish. I'd say maybe forty or fifty years? If the fish are still alive, it would be impossible to tell them apart from the regular fish."

Dala disliked the idea of crushing Mira's hope for survivors but if she didn't tell her friend now, they would be on a search for nothing. The situation was grim which was why she never mentioned this earlier. The only reason why the spell for air survived was that it was written in stone. The spell would last until the stone broke or until someone changed it with magic. Suddenly the inside of the temple went dark as something above them passed overhead. A chill ran down the teenager's spine as she realized there was something else they had to worry about. Whether it was a dragon or some other giant sea creature, she didn't want to find out.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Dala said, "As for the Briar bitch, I'll take responsibility for her when we get back on land. I'm the one who brought her, so I'll find a spell to fix this mess. Hopefully."

Her anger for her stupidity was still in Dala's heart and it would be a long while until she called the fish by her proper name. She would be known as the Briar bitch for a very very long time, even if they find a way to make her human again. Ignoring the thoughts of just chucking the red fish into the sea, she instead focused on how to get the both of them back without becoming dragon food. 

"So what's the plan if the sea dragon shows up?" Dala asked as she followed Mira's lead.

Her heart sank when Dala told her the cube spell might have been here for years before they came down. "Oh…" Hopefully those fish managed to find water. And there was no way they could help them now. Mira did her best to keep a stiff upper lip and nodded, agreeing with Dala. Staying down here wasn't safe anymore, and they couldn't take the treasure either. It was better left down here where nobody knew about it. "So what's the plan if the sea dragon shows up?" The girl paused as she stared at the floor, her orb hovering next to her in mid-air. "If it shows up and tries to attack us…I'll show it my orb. If that doesn't work, I'll knock some sense into it." Her tone was dead serious. "My orb is an important thing that only the ruler of this kingdom would have–if it's the same dragon, then it'll remember." Her fists clenched, then unclenched as she held the water bubble.

She remembered being scared as she ran away from Cordath when she first awakened, but right now this was different. She was in the sea, where she belonged. It didn't matter if it was a dragon, she'd beat it up if it tried to hurt Dala and Briar. She had the advantage. "Let's go. If the dragon or something big shows up, hold onto Miss Red Fish for me, ok?" Mira was confident that they'd be able to return to dry land safe and sound, dragon or no dragon. Even if it tried to eat her, she would be ok. She was tough, something like that wouldn't hurt her. Once they were preparing to leave the safety of the magical air pocket, she began to recreate the bubble that the girls used to travel through the water. 

Everything was peaceful as they began the slow ascent. Even though they didn't swim down, it was safer to gradually rise upward. The pressure on the bubble began to decrease as the buildings on the sea floor were growing smaller. Mira concentrated on manipulating the current to push them up, until a sudden change in the flow made the bubble swing to the side. She quickly held her arms out to the sides to stabilize, then noticed something moving in the distance. Her purple-blue eyes went wide as she gasped. "Here it comes!" Something with a scaled body that looked a mile long rushed by them, sending the bubble spinning through the water. Its body seemed to stretch on forever and its hide blended in with the ocean. Its top scales were darker and iridescent to reflect the water, while the underbelly was lighter to resemble the skies above–a streamlined, finned body that was perfectly adapted to an aquatic environment. 

After making a sharp turn, it was coming back towards them. Mira had to act; she couldn't fight while keeping the bubble up. Churning the currents, she created a vortex that propelled them to the surface. "We're going up! Hold tight!" The calm ocean began to swirl, until a large water sphere with the girls was spat out. The waves carried them to the boat where she started pushing Dala to get on board first. "Hurry, it's catching up!"  

Dala knew that her friend was powerful but this was a sea dragon. Was she so powerful that even a dragon feared it? If so, she really was glad Mira was Simone's daughter. Nobody would try to manipulate or capture Mira if Simone was around. The bubble of air was recreated and they slowly ascended to the surface. Despite the underlining fear of the sea dragon, she couldn't help but admire the beautiful ocean. The waters were so calm and clear and unending. The fish… the fish were nowhere to be seen. The only exception was Briar Fish but she wasn't that pretty of a fish. Soon the city began too look like a tiny dollhouse version as they went further and further from it. 

Suddenly, the bubble swung to the side and something was moving in the distance. As promised, Dala held onto Brair as the scaled body rushed by them at rapid speeds. The bubble spun through the water as the body continued to move. The teenager couldn't even focus on the dragon due to the spinning. The creature made a sharp turn and charged directly at them. Mira was quick-thinking and created a powerful vortex, propelling them to the surface. The girls were spat out to the surface and Dala took a deep breath of air, still holding onto Briar Fish. The waves carried them to the boat and Dala managed to board quickly

She found a bucket, dumped it into the sea and pulled out the sea water. Then she dumped Briar Fish into the bucket for safe keeping. A temporary space until they could deal with the sea dragon properly. Mira would need to focus her abilities and worrying about keeping a little fish alive wouldn't help. Dala quickly made sure Mira was aboard then watched the bright blue ocean for any sign of the sea dragon. It was impossible. The scales of that creature made it blend into the ocean better than any other creature. 

"Mira. Are you sure you-" But Dala stopped herself. 

There were so many days when people had doubted her when she was younger and even now. They worried so much and claimed her goals were just out of reach. The teenager gave a small smile and looked Mira in the eyes. 

"You know what?" Dala said earnestly, "I know you can teach that dragon a lesson if it tries to bother us. I trust you." 

Even with the girls' confidence, Mira was nervous. They were pretty close to Sidhiel, and having a dragon show up wouldn't be good. Gripping her orb, she gave her friend a nod before turning to face the sea. In the distance there came a swell that slowly grew until something broke the surface. Waves rocked the boat as Mira began to float instead of trying to keep her footing. A large scaled head emerged, white foam and sea spray falling off of the great spire that was the dragon's neck. Gold reptilian eyes glowered down from above as a shadow fell over the little vessel. A lithe and slender, serpentine form was revealed from the ocean blue. Serrated fins and a streamlined body accentuated its powerful muscles. The sea calmed as there was a stifling silence. When Mira and the dragon made eye contact, the girl raised up her orb above her head. The steam hissing from its nostrils stopped as a look of confusion and bewilderment flashed across its eyes. A voice that echoed like the rumbling waves reverberated through everyone's ears.

"You… Do you know the significance of what you hold in your hands?"

Mira's purplish-blue eyes stared back in defiance. "Yes, I do." When faced with the great sea dragon, her mind finally cleared. "As the symbol of divine right, my word is absolute. As the heart of the kingdom, I am the will of the depths." Fragments of words she had heard so long ago now came back to her, forming her declaration against the dragon. But this time, they held a deeper meaning. She wasn't the heir to a forgotten land lost to the waves–this was her command, as the very jewel of that ancient land itself. "–Those who oppose me will bear witness to the wrath of the seas! This is my order!" The great rumbling voice spoke again in reply, "And by what grounds do you declare your orders?" Tucking the orb beneath her arm, she pointed the thumb of her free hand at herself. "Because I–am me!" 

The glittering sunlight shone on the orb, reflecting the same color in her eyes. It was then that the dragon understood. "It appears time has passed so quickly. Although the waves hold their ruins, you alone still remain. I shall leave you in peace, my vigil has finally come to an end." Its parting words were somber and melancholy, like it was realizing it had lost something that had been gone all along. It sank back beneath the waves, the currents swirling and settling until they were calm once again. Whatever history that had happened between the kingdom and the dragon was now over. The only witnesses left to carry the memory were the depths of the sea. When the dragon was gone, Mira let out a sigh of relief. "I think we're safe now." She said, flopping down on the scrubbed timber boards. She didn't know why, but for some reason she felt sad. 

The teenager was worried for her friend but she pushed those thoughts away. She had to trust in Mira, else the girl might not trust in herself. Powerful waves rocked the boat as Mira floated above the ground. Water splashed violently as the massive head emerged from the depths of the ocean. Glittering gold eyes rolled towards their boat as the rest of its body unveiled itself. The dragon's power radiated off of every simple movement it made. Whenever it moved its body, powerful waves were created in the water. Dala clutched onto the edge of the boat, trying to keep herself balanced.

A booming voice filled the air as Mira held up the orb above her head. Mira made a bold declaration which the dragon responded with fury. For a moment, Dala dreaded an incoming fight with the creature. But when Mira told the dragon who she was, it seemed to calm him down. It seemed he wasn't aware that the orb had become something more than just a jewel. She had become a person. There was a sadness to the creature's voice but a sense of understanding had passed between Mira and the dragon. The creature vanished underneath the currents and left them alone. Once it was gone, Dala sat by Mira's side. 

"Now I realize you're not a princess. You've gotta be a queen!" Dala declared, half joking "But seriously how did you know that it wouldn't drag you back there once it found out?" 

There were so many things about Mira that Dala was still ignorant of. The teenager still accepted her friend completely but now she realized the layers of her friend. The feeling of something flopping around in her hand drew attention away. There was a red fish in her hand and suddenly Dala remembered Briar fish. She motioned for Mira to give it another bubble to prevent it from drowning on land. 

"Well we'd better get back to the mainland." Dala said with a stretch, "Simone will kill me if you're gone for too long." 

She puffed her chest out with confidence when Dala cheered for her. She wasn't sure if it would work, but it did! Then came the questions, and Mira did her best to explain. Shrugging her shoulders, she said: "It was a lucky guess? If it tried to take me, I'd just headbutt it until it runs away." Being stubborn was something she was known for, and she never really grew out of it. Her family would sometimes joke about it since they knew she was the orb, calling her 'hard-headed'. "Good thing it didn't know I was actually away this whole time, otherwise we'd be in big trouble. The first time I woke up was in Baltil in a dragon's stash and I have no idea how long I was in there so…" Some thing were better left unsaid. Her friend then realized that Briar wasn't in water anymore, and Mira quickly pulled up another water bubble to surround the fish. 

"Whew! Almost forgot. Yeah, I think we had enough fun for one day. I think the captain probably would want to go back too." They did just narrowly avoid a bad encounter with a sea dragon after all; the little ship could've gotten flipped or smashed to bits. The ride back to Sidhiel was much quieter and shorter than when they set out with one of them now a fish. Mira checked her belongings to make sure everything was still there before preparing to go back home. She decided to leave the issue with Briar to Dala since her friend knew her better. She couldn't wait to tell her family what had happened! But maybe in small chunks–her family might try to pick a fight with the dragon even if it didn't do anything to her.

“Let's head home then.” Dala sighed then smiled towards Mira, “But I’m glad you got to visit this place.”

The teenager stood up and went to inform the captain that they were finally ready to sail back to the island. For the rest of the trip Dala decided to do nothing but relax with her friend. When they got back to the island she decided to let Mira tell the story first. Dala and Simone would be able to talk later. She borrowed one of Mira’s many fish tanks to put Briar fish in until she could find the cure for such a curse. It was another thing to add to her list. They never found mounds of treasure or got to sell the artifacts but after seeing what happened to Briar she no longer cared about it anymore.

She still felt bad about what happened to Briar. But she realized something else too. She and Briar had similar attitudes. If Dala didn’t have her parents or her friends… she might have ended up as a bitch fish too. The thought was unsettling. The teenager shook her head and gave out a sigh. Maybe once Briar was back to normal she would be able to change her world perspective. Dala gave up on the pondering and jumped into her bed, preparing for tomorrow. There was a new day waiting for her with new dangers and new adventures.