Blue Dragon

said something into the snorkel, then laughed into it.
    ‘Pop your head under the water, and breathe through it,’ I said.
    She nodded and put her face into the water. She squeaked through the snorkel, threw her head back up and said something unintelligible through the tube. She switched to silent speech. I can see really clearly! There are little fish right near my feet!
    ‘Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,’ I said, and she nodded, eyes wide inside the goggles. ‘What we’ll do now is swim around in the shallow water to practise. Then you and me are going to the reef.’
    Simone squeaked into the snorkel, her eyes wide, then thrashed out until the water was waist-deep and launched forward to swim. She swam around in the shallow water perfectly, breathing through the snorkel like a pro, occasionally making muffled comments to herself through the tube.
    I glanced at Leo. He watched us from one of the beach mats with a huge grin on his face. I gestured with my head for him to join us and he shook his head, still smiling. I decided to leave it.
    I pulled on my own goggles and fins, waded to Simone and grabbed her hand. She squealed and said something unintelligible through the tube. I didn’t bother answering; I floated horizontally, put my own face in the water and joined her.
    There’s an awful lot of fish , she said.
    She was right. The water was full of tiny fish only three or four centimetres long. Some larger fish, up to thirty centimetres long, slid casually past, eyeing us warily.
    This is so cool, Simone said. I wish you could talk back. Do you know the names of any of the fish?
    I squeezed her hand.
    Okay. Can we go to the reef now?
    I had an inspiration. I tapped the stone.
    Yes, Emma?
    I asked if it could talk to Simone.
    Sorry, Emma, not underwater like this. And Gold is too far away to relay for me. Looks like you’ll have to be a normal human for a change.
    That was unusual. Stone was destroyed by Wood, not Water. Stone was strong against Water.
    Ah, you have been learning. Frankly, it’s basic physics. I can’t be understood! I sound garbled, much as a human would.
    I tried not to laugh through the snorkel and inhale water.
    Simone chatted inside my head, pointing out the fish, as we swam to the reef. She was concerned about the sea cucumbers; she thought they were the droppings left by a giant sea creature.
    When we reached the end of the rocks I shook her hand and we stopped. We put our heads above the water and took out the snorkels.
    ‘Don’t worry about those black things,’ I said, ‘they’re just sea cucumbers. You see them dried in the market. They have them in hot pots, remember?’
    ‘Oh, okay,’ Simone said. ‘Are we at the reef?’
    ‘Should be close by,’ I said. ‘Don’t touch the coral, it will be sharp. Let’s have a look.’
    I put my snorkel back in and we turned and swam further, Simone merrily chatting inside my head.
    The reef wasn’t large, but the colours were delightful. There was a splendid variety of coral, and we saw plenty of glittering fish. We floated over the reef, Simone giddy with excitement.
    Look at the sea urchins , she said. They have bright blue eyes. You can see them.
    I nodded and squeezed her hand.
    Her voice changed slightly inside my head. Emma, I forgot to put my snorkel back in.
    I quickly checked her, still holding her hand. She smiled at me. She still had her goggles on, but her snorkel hung loose beside her face. I pulled her above the water and we trod water together. I spat my snorkel out.
    ‘Simone, are you breathing the water ?’
    She didn’t bother talking out loud. Yep. She grinned broadly. Let go. I want to go down.
    ‘Don’t go too far,’ I said, but she pulled her hand away and dived.
    I watched her from the surface. She swam carefully, not approaching the coral too closely. She occasionally turned and waved to me.
    It’s hard, she said. I have to keep swimming down, I keep floating to the top.
    Something huge and blue and silver materialised next to me and I went rigid with shock.
    It’s okay, it’s Qing Long, Simone said.
    The Dragon’s enormous blue and silver head was right next to me. He was in True Form; his head was as big as a small car. His turquoise eyes were clearly visible through the crystal clear water.
    The Dark Lord has requested that I test this skill, my Lady, the Dragon said. With your permission, I will take the Princess on a field trip and we shall see exactly how far she can take this