Hello everyone, I'm so sorry for the delay in updating this story. Some of you may know that I suffer from a couple of mental and physical health problems, and that they've all been kicking off this year. With one thing happening after another, I've not been very stable. However, things should hopefully start looking up. I'm behind on uni work, but will do my best to keep updating, even if there are long periods of time in-between chapters. I would like to thank you all so much for all of your support over the years; you are all amazing and have really helped keep me going. The Ingo community will always have a special place in my heart, no matter how negligent I become with my fics. Thank you all so, so much, and I hope to be seeing a lot more of you all over the coming months, once I hopefully get my butt back into gear. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Two

The hall is packed, drenched with the scent of anticipation. I try and steady my breathing, my fists clenched so hard that my fingernails are digging into my palms. Conor squeezes my shoulder reassuringly.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry Saph, there's nothing you can do about it now, anyway."

I nod, searching around for the table with my results on. I finally catch sight of the right candidate number bracket and head over, Conor following me.

"Name?" the woman manning the table asks.

"Sapphire Trewhella."

She runs her finger down the list, before ticking off my name and handing over the envelope. I thank her, my hand shaking so hard that I nearly drop the white square of paper.

"Let's take it outside," Conor says, taking my arm and leading me from the hall. I walk outside with him and sit down on the low wall outside, where Sadie is tied onto the railing of the steps. I rip the envelope open and fumble with the papers, flipping to the page with my grades. I inhale sharply.

"Well? How did you do?" Conor asks anxiously.

I scan down the page, taking in the results.

Biology: B
Chemistry: C
Classical Civilisations: B
English Language: B
English Literature: C
General Studies: B
Geography: A
Graphic Products: A
ICT: B
Mathematics: B
Media Studies: A
Physics: D
Religious Studies: C

"Sapphy?"

"I…I got three A's!"

"That's amazing!" he flings his arms around me and hugs me tightly.

"And I got a B in Maths!"

"A B? Really? That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you Saph, you've worked so hard!"

I feel tears begin to prickle behind my eyelids, and hastily blink them away. True, they're not the super-stellar results that Conor got, but what does that matter? For me, this is good. And Conor's right, I did work for this. True, maybe I could have done better on Physics, but it's not like I was going to continue that anyway. Numbers get muddled up in my head, they dance around in front of my eyes and don't make any sense. The only way I can understand them is in graphics, when I need to use them to resize my work on the computer. Then I can work them around in my head and make sense of them. And in graphics, I got an A. And an A for me is excellent. I grin broadly.
Sadie barks and jumps up at me, almost knocking the papers from my hands as she enthusiastically licks my face. I laugh and kiss her shiny nose, scrunching her ears in my hand.

"Sapphy? How did you do?" Rainbow has just exited the hall. When she see my face, her own bursts into a grin. "I take it that the smile is a good sign?"

I laugh and thrust the papers as her. She takes mine and offers me hers in return. I scan down her grades and beam. "Rainbow! A* in food tech?"

"A B in Maths? Sapphy, well done! Oh wow, and three A's? Sapphy!"

I beam and jump up to hug her tightly. She hugs me back. True, she did a lot better than me, but I can't feel jealous. I know how hard she worked to get those grades, and how can I be jealous of her when she's this happy?

"We need to celebrate!" she declares. "I say ice-cream!"

"It's on me," Conor says, and hold up a hand as she starts to protest. "Seriously, you two have earnt it."

Rainbow and I shrug, before grinning again. I grab Sadie's lead and the three of us begin to walk down the hill towards the harbour, our hair blowing in the soft summer wind. St Pirans is packed this time of year, but we manage to grab some cones of ice cream without too much hassle, and we all munch happily as we walk along the street, Rainbow between Conor and I. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch them throwing furtive glances at each other, and it's all I can do not to roll my eyes at the two of them. One of them really needs to say something to the other already. All of this silent mooning is almost getting annoying. In a very sweet way. I glance back at them wondering if there's a way I get them to confess their feelings…but then again, considering last years' Mal fiasco and my love life at the moment, I'm probably not the most qualified to do that. I sigh. My love life. Ha.

Faro and I haven't spoken properly in ages. There. I've thought it. We haven't kissed since that day either. Whenever we see each other, it's snatched conversations for the small amount of time I can get down to the cove, and even when I do go to Ingo, half of the time I don't see him there. Everything just feels so confusing. He's my best friend and I know him almost better than anyone, but at the same time, I feel like I hardly know him at all. He grew up in a completely different world from him. I know hardly anything about his childhood who his friends are, what his parents were like. I still don't even know that much about Mer culture, despite being a friend of Ingo. When I want to know things, he's elusive and sometimes downright unhelpful. How can we be in a relationship if he won't open up to me? How can we be in a relationship when he spends all his time with Saldowr and barely speaks to me? Are we even in a relationship? He said he liked me, and I said I like him and we kissed. Does that constitute a relationship? Maybe it was just a bit of fun? Maybe it didn't mean anything? Maybe he's realised that it's never going to work? Maybe-

"Sapphire, you are spilling ice cream down your top."

"Huh?" I blink and turn around to see Conor and Rainbow looking at me. I look down and see that my cone has dripped and chocolate ice-cream has splattered down my shirt.

I swear softly and begin dabbing at it with a tissue, but only spread the stain more. I let out a groan and just continue eating my ice cream, giving up.

"Seriously, one day you are going to daydream yourself off a cliff," Rainbow teases, before falling silent and flushing as she remembers last year.

I give a weak laugh. "Yeah, been there, done that Rain."

She cracks a tentative smile and I smile back encouragingly. I don't want to be talking to me to be like walking in a minefield. I am ready to laugh again.

-x-

Roger has cooked a roast tonight, which is one of my favourite meals despite my vegetarianism. He's been taking cooking tips from Mum, I can tell, as the carrots are dripping with delicious salty butter and practically melt in the mouth. I've got vegetarian sausages with herbs and rosemary, and they're the fancy vegetarian one's as well. Roger must have been hoping that I'd do well, so that we could have a celebratory meal; either that or he'd planned a nice dinner to cheer me up! Either way, it tastes amazing, and I say just as much as I spoon more golden roast potatoes onto my plate.

Roger grins at me. "Well it's not less than you deserve," he says, trying to spoon baby food into Rowan's mouth. She lets it roll down her chin in globules, cooing.

"Come on Rowan, here's the aeroplane," Roger says, scooping it up and trying to reinsert it into her mouth.

Rowan shuts her mouth this time, shaking her head.

I laugh and get up, moving around to the other side of the table and taking the spoon so that Roger can actually eat some food himself. "Come on baby, look, it's a dolphin!" I say, making clicking and squeaking noises. Rowan doesn't seem to be sure whether she likes this new approach or not, and I take advantage of her confusion to stick the spoon into her mouth. She swallows, and claps for more. I scoop up more food and continue the technique, spooning food into her mouth in between her giggles.

"It wasn't too long ago that that was you, Sapphy," Mum says, smiling fondly at me. "Now look at you! So grown up and clever! You'll be at university too, before I know it." She shoots a proud look at Conor, who blushes through a mouthful of chicken.

I smile weakly, still feeding Rowan. Truth be told, I'm still not sure about the idea of university. It's a very…human option to take. But still, I've got time to make up my mind; after all, I've got A-Levels to do first! Out of the corner of my eye, I see Roger giving me a sympathetic look. When I first met Roger, I never thought I'd become so close to him. But truth be told, he's almost…well…a father figure now. It's not that he's replaced Dad; the two are far too different for that. But he's someone to go too when I have a problem, and he's a reassuringly steady presence, especially with some of the turbulent thoughts I've been having lately. And now that he knows about Ingo…well. I guess it makes my life a bit easier. Less lying. Less sneaking around. And a lot more understanding from his side. Which is incredibly nice, really.

It's funny, really. Even after Roger found out about Ingo, I never really imagined him becoming one of my chief confidants. I actually wasn't sure if he was going to faint or not as we climbed back up the cliff with him after he saw Faro. But we eventually got him sat down in the kitchen with a cup of sweet, strong tea, and after he'd drained the mug and some colour returned to his cheeks, it was time for us to face the music.

"So…how long has…this…whatever it is…been going on?" Roger says, his hands surprisingly steady on the mug.

Conor and I exchange a glace. My instinct is to lie, but I don't know what lie to tell. How can we possibly get ourselves out of this? So for once I shut my mouth and let Conor do the talking.

"Since I was thirteen," Conor says. "And Saph was eleven. We discovered Ingo a little while before we met you. Well, I discovered it first. Saph found it when looking for me."

"Ingo." Roger rolls the word over his tongue. "What exactly is Ingo?"

"It's…" Conor hesitates. "It's a world within a world. You can be in the sea and not be in Ingo. But you can be in Ingo and be out of the sea. It's like…you know the old folk stories, of the Fae? It's like Rip van Winkle. A slightly different dimension close to our dimension but not quite on the same level, which is why time runs differently, and…"

Roger holds up a hand, interrupting Conor's excited scientific babble. "Okay. I think I understand. And…the creature I saw…"

"Faro," I pipe up. "He's one of the Mer. We've been friends for years. Conor and I have Mer blood, you see, from our Dad's side, like we said."

"Saph's is a lot stronger than mine though," Conor says, glancing over at me.

"That funnily enough makes sense," Roger says, glancing at me. "So…this 'Mer blood' means..?"

"I can breathe underwater when I'm in Ingo," I say. I decided to leave out the rest of it, like the fact that I can speak Mer and can communicate mind to mind with the Mer, if I choose. I don't want to freak him out too much.

"So that time, all those years ago when I saw you…"

"That was me, yes. I was basking in the sunwater." I see his confused expression. "Underwater sunbathing, if you will. I didn't expect anyone to be so far out."

He nods again slowly. "So…the time you know about the tidal surge? And the way you can sense the tides?"

"All because of the Mer blood."

His gaze hardens slightly. "And you disappearing at sea?"

I gulp slightly and glance at Conor, wondering how much to say. "Well…that wasn't intentional. Like Conor said, time flows differently there. I got trapped in a situation and couldn't get home."

"What kind of situation?" Roger says suspiciously.

"I…um…"

"Over the past couple of years, there's been some prejudice against those of us with joint blood in Mer society," Conor says, ignoring my pointed glances. "We thought we'd seen the end of it a couple of years ago after their leader, Ervys, was defeated in battle."

"Battle?" Roger's eyes widen. "What have you two been getting yourselves into?"

Conor looks up at Roger, and there is a harsh look on his face which I have never seen before. "I never asked to get caught up in a war. But that all changed when our father was killed in front of us."

I flinch slightly at the memory. Roger's face is full of mingled horror and pity. "I am so sorry for your loss," he says after a long moment, reaching out and putting a hand on Conor's shoulder. Conor leans into him, looking for a moment as if he might cry, but he rapidly regains his composure.

"This summer, some of Ervys' supporters, decided to continue his work," Conor says, resuming his narrative. "I haven't been to Ingo much this years since…since a friend of mine moved away. But Sapphy has. She was attacked and…" he glances at me, still not knowing the full story.

"To cut a long story short, I think the trouble's over," I say, staring down at my hands which still carry little white scars from last spring. "I got away and they were defeated. That's what matters."

Roger is shaking his head disbelievingly. "You two…" Conor and I suddenly find ourselves enfolded in a hug. "You are two of the stupidest, bravest kids I know," he says, squeezing us both tightly. At first I'm still and awkward, but as the hug continues I find myself relaxing. It's nice, for once, not to be alone.

"You have to understand though," Conor says in a muffled voice. "You can never tell Mum. Can you imagine how terrified she'd be?"

Roger sighs and releases us. He rests his head on his hand for a moment, closing his eyes, before nodding. "I will never tell Jennie unless I deem is strictly necessary. Is that acceptable?"

Conor and I glance at each other. It's not quite what we hoped for, but it seems as good as we're going to get. Together we nod. "Agreed."

-x-

"How are you doing?" Roger asks me as we do the washing up after dinner.

I let out a soft sigh. "I'm a bit…conflicted. You know. Things are looking promising in my life right now. But…"

He waits for a moment before gently prompting me. "But?"

"…But I was kind of hoping that I'd get low grades so my choice would be made for me and I could just live in Ingo," I say in a rush, bowing my head as a scrub a plate.

Roger sighs softly. "This isn't a choice that can be made for you, Sapphire. You have to make it yourself. You have to find the choice which is right for you, which is brings you balance and peace."

"You sound like Granny Carne," I mutter, setting the plate down on the draining board.

He chuckles. "I will take that as a compliment," he replies, beginning to dry.

I sigh and roll my eyes, but can't help smiling slightly. We finish of the last of the plates in comfortable silence, and I can't help but think to myself how nice it is to be honest for once. Not just with him, but also with myself.

-x-

I dream of storms, of waves crashing on rocks. I dream that my arms are pinned tight of my side, and I am trapped, caught out of my element. I fear thrums through me as I twist and turn, searching for freedom, for sanctuary, for liberation.

Faro! Faro help me!

I cry out for him in my sleep, wildly thrashing, that unknown fear holding me captive. But he doesn't come and I sink down, down, into the stormy seas and darkness.

-x-

When I wake the next morning, I am cocooned tightly in my sheets and duvet like a caterpillar going through a metamorphosis. I gingerly unwind myself, grimacing as I realise that I am covered in sweat from the night before, sticking my hair to my back and face. I head to the bathroom and dump my pyjamas in the washing basket, before stepping into steamy water. It soothes away the stress and fear of the night before, and I rinse those negative emotions down the drain with the shampoo bubbles from my hair. From now on, I am thinking positive. I have done well in my exams. I am going to start doing A-Levels soon. I have loads of time to think about my life choices. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, someone's knocking at the door…

Someone is still knocking at the door as I exit the bathroom. I sigh. Everyone else must be out.

"Just a minute!" I call down the stair, before heading into my room and pulling on some clothes. Yes. Today is a good day. I have new jeans, a nice top, my hair is clean. I open the door.

I stare.

"R-Rainbow?"

"I…I didn't know what else to do!" she says, her face pale and strained. "I found him at the top of the cliff.

I stare at the boy whose arm is draped over Rainbow's shoulder. He is swaying dizzily, his long dark hair wet and dripping. He is tall, dark skinned and wearing nothing but Rainbow's lavender jacket which seems to have been hastily tied around his waist for purposes of modesty. There are scrapes and cuts all over most of his body and his face is wan and pale.

"Faro?" I manage to choke out, staring at him.

"Sapphire," he says, before his eyes close and he topples face first onto the welcome mat.

Reviews are always appreciated xxx