Ariadne

Ariadne grabbed Rodanthe’s hand and pulled herself from the sea, shaking the water off her shoulders as she found her footing on the rocky edge. She smiled recalcitrantly and held up the pendant with the glinting pearl inside, dangling it between her pointer and middle finger. Rodanthe took it and tucked it back in its place until its next use, an exchange they had made countless times since their first tryst.

Ariadne was the itinerant offspring of an enormous nereid family. She had long uneven hair that snarled at the ends when she left the sea; it was a light brown but reflected a turquoise shimmer in the moonlight. She loved bright colors and patterns and wore wraps of fabrics she had made herself, all entwined with wool threads and strands of sea meadow. In her early years she had rarely left the warmth of the sea. More recently though she had been frequenting the various towns along the seaside - making trips ashore for commercial excursions or times like these, when she heard the ring of her pearl in the water and came to their meeting spot. She was well known along the coastline for her ability to weave different fibers together to make garments that could be worn at sea for nymphs and sailors alike. She was often called to various port towns to teach local tailors her methods. It was during one of these trips that Ariadne had met Rodanthe.