A Meeting with the Mermaid Matriarch

Although nighttime had overtaken the Nereid Beach, it was only slightly less busy than it had been in the day. All along the now rapidly cooling sands, Fuu could see the dotted lights of crackling bonfires and the bodies around them caught up in their orange glow. Some were just standing around talking and drinking, while at some she could see the bouncy movement of people dancing and celebrating more actively.

Koa led them past all of that, past the Nighttime Bazaar and the administrative building where they had gotten changed, even past the large fancy hotels that dotted the nearby hillside. Past everything, she led them through a pathway tucked between two hills, then into a hidden grotto, hidden by the natural rise and fall of the elevation.

There before them stood an extravagant black marble structure which was carved in a lopsided vertical curve. Half of it stood on the land, but the building was structured with a dramatic slope which saw it sinking into the waters of the grotto. As she looked at it, Fuu half expected the meticulously carved building to simply slide off into the shimmering pool of water that it lay beside. In fact, it looked like it was already in the process, with the roof of the building disappearing beneath the water's surface past the halfway point. Still, it was a long building, with plenty of structure on the land, and the sturdy columns that held it upright showed no signs of distress. To the contrary, the place looked spectacularly maintained.

Arcane lighting cast violet rays across the building’s surface, causing it to sparkle with a faintly ominous glow, while more magic lighting shone up from the grotto’s waters, making it dance and shimmer as though it was alive.

“Right this way,” Koa said. She offered the guards a clumsy salute, earning one in response from each of the muscular women who stood on either side of the main doors. They both had a more ‘professional soldier’ feel to them than Koa did, with full helmets carved like sea-shells and a paired long spear and shield. Though, Fuu noted, the armor they wore was strangely sparse, covering only the most vital areas.

Once inside, Koa quickly led them through a grand entryway, down a short hallway, and then through a large pair of guarded double doors into a conference hall.

“Ahhh, my cherished guests. Welcome, welcome,” a voice lilted through the hall, low and sultry. The speaker sat--or rather, floated--at the far side of a large stone table, her nude upper body turned toward them, while her lower half drifted and floated in a large, intricately carved glass tub. She twisted away from them like a serpent--a comparison made all the more appropriate by the shimmering black scales that covered her lower half.

“I am Narissa, the proprietress of this fine establishment. Please, have a seat--refreshment will be here shortly.” Narissa said. “Then I would like to talk business.”

She was an incomparably gorgeous woman, or, Fuu corrected herself, an incomparably gorgeous mermaid. Despite the numerous arcane lights strung up around the room, it was still ominously dark thanks to the way the black stone walls all around siphoned in all light.

So, with Narissa positioned at the head of the table and her pale skin illuminated by more arcane lighting within her bath, she drew the eye like a beacon at midnight. Long dark hair cascaded over her bare shoulders, fanning out in a rippling current when it reached the water around her. Her body was equal parts voluptuous and decadent. Sizable breasts dipped just below the water’s surface, held weightless in all their naked glory and every inch of her skin looked impossibly soft and supple. The way she held herself was both perfectly relaxed and perfectly in control, like an emperor reclining in his throne, with only her incredible beauty and dark, focused eyes to ruin the illusion.

Though her words were friendly and her voice was sweet, there was something about her which just set Fuu on guard. Something about the strong line of her jaw, hard set and focused in stark contrast with the relaxed picture set by her floating form. Or maybe the way that, the instant they entered the room, her eyes had begun to trace over them as if scouring each and every one of them for every single detail she could glean.

Narissa wasn’t alone here, either. To both her left and her right sat two pairs of extravagant baths. Though none was quite as embellished or large as Narissa’s own watery throne, none of the four would have looked out of place in the richest spa. Each of them held gallons of crystal clear water and each, Fuu realised, had a reclined chair built into the back of it, so that someone might sit above the pool and dangle their feet into the water. Narissa had one as well, though the mermaid proprietress had elected not to sit in it.

Each of the bath-thrones was occupied--save for one.

The bath immediately to Narissa’s right was the second most elaborate, chiseled out of a dark, silvery stone. In that bath was a gorgeous green haired mermaid, with a tail of the exact same shade of vibrant, leaflike green. She watched the Bravos with a sense of caution that would have better suited a soldier than a topless mermaid. While her chest was less opulent than Narissa’s, it was no less appealing to look at, with firm little buds of breasts and cute pink nipples.

As the green haired mermaid watched them, she sat upright at attention. Her straight back pushed out her modest chest, and a long braid dangled behind her in the water, flowing back and forth like a snake as she floated there. She held all the confidence and stubbornness of a trained fighter, and her slender figure was fit with plenty of sculpted muscle. Even though Fuu could make out the firm edges of her musculature beneath her skin, the green haired mermaid wasn’t bulky. Rather it was a lithe musculature more like a jungle cat than a bull.

She held her shoulders squared to them as they entered and Fuu didn’t miss the long curved spear and pearl encrusted sea-shell shield that were mounted on the side of the bath behind her.

To Narissa’s left was an empty bath cast in the deep metallic shine of burnished bronze. Of the five throne-like pools in the room, this was the only one that stood empty.

On the far right, next to the green haired mermaid, was a slightly smaller bath that seemed to be carved out of some sort of giant pearl. Perhaps retrieved from the clutch of some immense deep sea oyster, or perhaps sized up through transmutative magic. It sat there as a two tiered half sphere, with polished walls all around the lower half and with the brilliant white throne emerging right from the pearl itself.

The woman in this one was as naked as the others, but unlike the first two mermaids, she actually made use of her throne.

Shoulder length snow white hair fell in a hard lined bob about her delicate features, contrasting with the warm honey-tan color of her skin. She held her legs crossed, covering her sex, but that didn’t stop Fuu from getting a glimpse of the line of neatly trimmed white hair that pointed down between her legs like an arrow, beckoning the eyes toward her hidden flower. Her strong jawline reflected Narissa, and the slight mistrusting glare to her eyes and proud, straight back gave her the feel of an annoyed monarch. Although she had human legs, it was obvious she wasn’t entirely human. Numerous silvery-white scales decorated her slender thighs and hips like glittering sequins. Utterly inhuman accents which grew as naturally from her skin as the hair grew from her head.

As Fuu cast her gaze across the room, the white haired woman met her eyes and her frown only deepened.

Finally, there was the fifth throne, made of a semi-translucent substance which looked somewhere between honey and golden amber. The warm substance looked soft still, as though one could reach out and scoop away some of it with their bare finger, and ridges and divots ran along its uneven surface from where it had apparently been shaped into the bath and throne combination. A soft, warm light radiated from within, pulsing slightly like a heartbeat.

Of the three younger mermaids in the room, the occupant of the amber bath most closely resembled Narissa, albeit a version so young that she must have been close to eighteen or nineteen.

Long, straight black hair framed a pale face with vibrant blue eyes and a strong jawline. With her hair tucked behind her shoulders, there was nothing to cover the mermaid teen’s heavy, perfect chest and Fuu found herself momentarily mesmerized by the way those immaculate globes shifted and swayed with the waters of her bath.

While the dark haired teen seemed to have Narissa’s appearance, she gave off none of the matriarch’s regal confidence or grace. Rather, the pale girl was practically folded into herself, her shoulders slumped and eyes lowered as if she might crumple away and disappear like a collapsing star.

Narissa’s throne sat at the head of the grand stone table, with the other four bath thrones cast off to either side like wings. The ample space between each of their seats meant that the furthest pair of baths were most of the way around the table from Narissa. With three sides surrounded by pools, the table was dominated by Narissa and the other mermaids, leaving only a single side of it available for the Bravos to take their seats.

Still, Fuu gestured and the Bravos settled into a horizontal line of chairs, arranged more like bar stools than propper furniture for a formal meeting.

“It is good to meet you, Fuu Teoming,” Narissa said. She casually raised a tall drink in a lazy salute. “I have heard plenty about your little group. Though, no need to worry, I haven’t listened too closely. You’ll have a chance to speak for yourself.”

Keeping her eyes on Narissa, Fuu angled her head slightly so that she could catch Kellissendra’s expression out of the corner of her eye. If anyone knew something about these mermaids, it would be her.

When the dragoness seemed content and at ease, Fuu allowed herself just the slightest bit of relaxation.

“You have a very nice establishment here,” Fuu said.

“Oh, have you been enjoying the facilities?” Narissa asked, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. The green haired mermaid to her right cleared her throat and Narissa suddenly perked up, causing her breasts to wobble and slosh in the water of the pool. “Oh, where are my manners! These gorgeous girls are my daughters and, one day, will be the proud owners and inheritors of the Nereid Beach!”

She swam forward in her pool, set her drink on the edge of it, then turned to gesture toward the green haired mermaid. “My eldest, Talia.”

“It is good to meet you,” Talia said. Her voice had none of the lilting grace of her mother’s, instead adopting a more stern and serious tone. As she spoke, she raised a hand to her bare chest in a closed fist salute. “I’m always happy to welcome a group that solves problems rather than starting them.”

“Likewise,” Fuu responded.

“Indeed,” Narissa said. She stared at Fuu for a moment, considering, before she turned to the empty throne at her left. “Erato is, unfortunately, absent. You will have to meet her later, I suppose. Though it would probably be fine if you didn’t.”

“She’s probably off hitting on tourists and stroking her ego,” the white haired mermaid all but spat the words. She kicked her crossed legs up, switching their positions and unintentionally offering a tantilising glimpse of her sex in the process. “...amongst other things.”

That earned a small smile from the youngest mermaid which vanished the moment Narissa cleared her throat.

“My second youngest, Maera, would do well to avoid speaking ill of our family in front of guests,” she said.

“Yes mother,” was Maera’s immediate response. A slight blush tinged her cheeks, only made all the more vibrant by the contrast with her pale hair.

“And finally… the reason for our meeting,” Narissa said, a hint of annoyance entering her tone, “Iona.”

“H-hello,” the young, dark haired mermaid managed.

Fuu looked at her, and immediately the pale teen slipped away. She was surprisingly nimble in the water of the pool and she used that agility to put as much space between herself and the strangers as possible. It was instinct, it seemed, since as soon as she realized what she was doing, Iona righted herself, blushed, and slowly began to drift back forward.