Blue Hopes

Everything about the ocean had always fascinated you, ever since you were little. The way the sunlight sparkled and refracted across the surface, the sound of the waves caressing the cliff-faces.  But ever since your father and several of his loyal subjects died on the water, your kingdom was terrified of the ocean. Despite your mother’s wishes, you snuck out to the beach whenever you could, you couldn’t just stop. You needed to breathe in the salty air and feel the water brushing up against your skin. Leyla, your best-friend and lady’s maid would always come along with you, if apprehensively. The nervousness effected you too, your mother and your tutor Carletta were scary when they got mad at you for breaking the no-ocean rule. Again. Though the urge to be close to the sea always won out, it held a special place in your heart that no one else could understand. It’s not that you loved to disobey your mother, it wasn’t even the ocean itself that drew you in, you just felt closer to your father this way. He always took you to the beach to talk and take in the beauty of the ocean. You couldn’t just stop going, it would be like saying your final goodbye to your father’s memory. There was no way you could let him go. You weren’t sure why everyone else was so scared of the ocean, yes it was a terrible tragedy, but it wasn’t a common occurrence. Accidents happen sometimes, you have to move on and not let the fear control you. There was so much beauty people missed because they only saw danger when they looked at the waves. “Your Highness,” Leyla whined as she fidgeted with the skirt of her dress. “Can we go now? I don’t want to get in trouble.” “We can go now,” You sighed and nodded sadly.  Your eyes began trying to take in even more of the beautiful sunset reflecting against the now colorful scene of the sea while you could, trying to imprint it into memory. Who knew when the next time you could sneak away from the palace would be. “Thank you!” Leyla sighed in relief, extending a hand out to help you up. “Let’s hurry back before Mama sees I’m gone,” You smile at the girl, who’s nerves returned at your statement. Yes, you felt guilty for making her go against your mother’s rules, but you’d both get into even more trouble if she didn’t go with you. Not going back to the beach wasn’t an option. The two of you rushed back to the palace and you hoisted your skirts above your ankles, much to Leyla’s dismay. But now wasn’t a time to be “a proper lady” it was a time to be practical. Heaven forbid someone see your ankles! You knew you were in trouble when you saw both your mother and Carletta waiting for you impatiently at the entrance. Leyla was excused almost immediately and she scurried away from your mother and Carletta like they were about to inflict eternal torment. Maybe they were. All you knew was that you were in for a scolding. “Y/F/N!” your mother erupted. Uh-oh, she used your full-name, that wasn’t a good sign. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from the water? I can’t believe you! Did you forget about your poor father?” “I go because of Papa!” You argued, which probably wasn’t the best solution, but you couldn’t stand how she brought your dear father into this. “It’s the last bit of him I have!” “You have photographs, you have his compass, you have all of these safer options!” your mother threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “The ocean is dangerous!” “Material things don’t matter to me Mama!” You cried, trying to get her to just listen to you. “The beach was special to both of us, I feel close to him there.” “Well, now you get to feel closer to him in your room! I am sick of your nonsense!” She finished, calming herself down to think of what to do with you. “You will stay in the palace, with supervision from Carletta at all times.” “But Mama!” You began to argue further, but you instantly regretted it once you saw her nostrils flare. “Minjun!” Your mother called to one of the servants, who immediately bowed and waited for her request. “Please bring me my daughter’s sea glass,” she ordered, keeping her polite manner up for everyone but, you. “Your Majesty?” He looked at your mother in wide-eyed shock, much like you. “The sea glass Minjun,” your mother repeated. He turned to obey your mother’s orders, sending you an apologetic look. Everyone in the palace knew the importance of your sea glass. You collected every last one with your father and the collection had a very special place in your heart. Hearing your mother call for it in anger made you terrified. She wouldn’t do anything with your prized collection, would she? All you could do was wait with anxiety pooling in your stomach and hope for the best. Minjun handed your mother your sea glass, it was years worth of precious memories forever encased in vibrant shades of color, reflecting light and your memories of your father along the walls in a similar pattern akin to the reflections sent off by sea water. You thought they would last forever, but your mother dumped them onto the floor and crushed them underneath her jeweled scepter. The same scepter you would have forced into your hands one day. Dropping to your knees with tears in your eyes, you grabbed at the shattered pieces, cutting your hand but you could care less, all that mattered was that you were holding onto him. Blood never bothered you less. “How could you?” You sobbed, angry at yourself for crying when trying to show your mother your anger. But the sadness of losing something he found for you won out. As he always did. “Y/n?” Your mother looked startled at the destruction she caused, now her anger faded into regret at the look of pure heartbreak on your face. It looked as if she destroyed the sea glass and a piece of you. You couldn’t take it anymore, you ran out of the palace. The door was difficult to push open but you were so desperate to run to the beach, to your father, you managed to open it before the guards pulled you back. “Y/n!” Your mother called after you but, it was too late, you were gone. The speed of which you ran caused your lungs to burn and your body to ache, but you refused to stop running. You couldn’t let the guards catch you yet. Desperation and anger had been driving your aching body forward but it was starting to fade the farther away you got from the castle. A splash took you out of your sad shock, a silver tail shining in the moonlight. Was that a dolphin? A shark? You had never seen either one this close to shore before so your curiosity got the best of you and you found yourself drawing closer to the water. That’s when you saw a man in the water. No one went into the water and even you didn’t wade that far out. The deepest you have ever gone was waist deep. Impulse took over you and you made your way into the water, the waves caressing your skin. The farther you went, the harder it was to stay above the waves. Maybe swimming to an unknown man in a dress that dragged you down wasn’t the best idea. “Hey! What are you doing out here?” You shouted out to him. “Are you crazy?” Then you realized you were almost as far out as he was. Takes one to know one. “You do realize you’re out here too right?” He chuckled at you.  That’s when you saw the giant wave coming up behind him and panicked. He looked back to see it but, seemed to be unfazed. The wave pushed you down and the current spun you around until you no longer tell which way was up. Salt water went into your nose, burning your nostrils and at this point you were sure you were dead. If not from lack of oxygen then from hitting a rock you knew there was an abundance of in this area. At least you would die in a place both you and he loved, maybe if you were lucky you would see him again. At this point you knew the lack of oxygen was effecting your senses because there was no way a merman was swimming towards you. Even if your father had told you stories of merpeople he had come across on his travels across the sea, you couldn’t believe it.  His stories were always waved off by your mother and even you had never taken his stories seriously. Exaggeration was always part of his story-telling so you just figured he had seen a dolphin or something of that sort. When you felt arms around you pulling you upwards, at least what you thought was upwards, you figured it was the man you had seen earlier, certainly not a merman. What you didn’t expect was that it was indeed the man you had seen, but also the merman you thought was a trick your mind was playing on you. “What is it with your family and recklessness near water?” He huffed, placing you atop a nearby rock, large enough for you to sit on but not much else. The words he spoke shocked you, how on earth did he know your father? Everything about the event left you trying to process the turn of events, but ended up failing from both your light-headedness and the events themselves. You gasped for air and spit out the salt water you inadvertently let into your mouth.  “You knew my father?” You asked, still gasping for air. “I did,” he smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop him.” “It’s not your fault,” You said. “Don’t apologize.” “I’m the one who told him about the sea witch, I should have known he would go even if I told him it was dangerous!” He ranted. you figured he hadn’t really gotten this off his chest before. So you let him continue. “I’m sorry, he was your father, and here I am ranting to you.” “Sea witch?” You asked, this was something your father had never spoken about. “Calypso,” he answered with a dark look in his eyes. “She’s the cause of your father’s death. He refused to make a deal with her.” “Deal?” You questioned. There were so many things your father had never told you. “I believe he sought crops that wouldn’t wither away,” he answered, but stopped himself from saying more. “Why wouldn’t he accept the deal?” You asked, not being fooled by the merman’s sudden stop. “I don’t believe he’d want you to know,” he shook his head. “No, you’d feel too guilty.” “Tell me!” You pleaded. “I ought to know why my father is dead!” “The price for the crops was you,’ he answered with a sigh of defeat. That’s when you regretted your questions. So the cause of your father’s death was a sea witch, but you weren’t innocent either. Not that it was your fault, you knew that, but it was all because of you. If you weren’t born, your father would still be around. It hurt your heart to know that. “Don’t blame yourself Princess,” the merman gripped your hand, running his thumb over your knuckles soothingly. It almost reminded you of the waves crashing near you.  Even if you almost died underneath its surface, you couldn’t stop loving the sea. Now you were aware of the danger everyone saw and you did have fear in you now. Half of you was now fearful of the sea witch and the natural danger of the ocean. But then there was the half of you that saw and loved the movement. Waves danced for you and the sea had its mood swings but all of them struck a chord with you. “What’s your name?” you asked the merman, changing the subject for happier matters. “Jimin,” he answered simply, as if he was hiding his full name from you. Which confused you, what would you know about him? Only now were you aware of his existence, how could you know anything about him? “Well, Jimin it was nice to meet you,” you shrugged off your gut feeling. Maybe you were wrong. “Even if it wasn’t under very pleasant circumstances.” “You’re an interesting one Your Highness,” he smiled at you, his smile was rather beautiful if you had to say so yourself. “Please just call me Y/n,” you cringed, you never did like being addressed as Your Highness or any of those disgustingly proper ways people addressed you.  Not that you found the titles themselves disgusting, at least not at first, it just felt like your name had become your title and you had no identity other than the kingdom’s princess. And now you couldn’t listen to any of your titles without cringing. “Well then Y/n,” Jimin smiled at you, emphasizing your name. “It’s time to get you back to shore.” “You’re right,” you sighed, he was right. The chilly night air was slowly starting to raise goosebumps on your arms and nip at your nose. Just thinking about a warm bath, warm pajamas, and a warm bed was enough to force you back into the water which was now freezing. “Get on my back,” Jimin said, his silver tail going beneath the surface, allowing you easy access to his back. “Excuse me?” You asked, blushing. He was shirtless for heaven’s sake! You were able to ignore the fact while his torso was hidden under the water, but now you’d have to hold onto him and would no longer be able to ignore it. “Is there a problem?” He raised an eyebrow at you curiously. “No problem!” You huffed, wrapping your arms around his torso reluctantly.  This was odd for you, the most dressed-down you had seen a man was seeing a fraction of forearm in a dress shirt. Then all of a sudden there was Jimin in all his shirtless glory and you being clueless on how to react, looked away politely.  Carletta would have fainted at the sight of you holding on to a shirtless man. Then again he was a merman so that would factor into it too. She’d be proud of your eyes remaining on the shoreline, maybe you weren’t completely useless when it came to etiquette. He swam as close to shore as he could get for you, and sent you a farewell smile. His silver tail shone in the moonlight before it disappeared beneath the water and you were left wondering if you’d ever see him again. Answers about your father and his death were currently swimming away from you with him. Along with someone who was willing to know you not as a title, but as a person. Like your father had, oh you missed him so. You stood on the shore in the chilly night air, feet in the sand for awhile, looking out to sea. Now you didn’t know what you were feeling. Almost everything you thought you knew for certain about your father, about the ocean had been proven to be false. Despite having learned the danger of what lurked beneath the surface, you wanted to go back out to sea. Every question you had couldn’t be answered while you remained on land. But you were only human. It had been proven to you through your dad and now you personally knew  that even if you were a good swimmer, you could still drown.  “Darling, the answers you seek can be found,” A voice said. “Come with me.” You looked around for the source of the voice and found an eel. A talking eel was a totally new level of new and unexpected. “Where are you going to take me?” You asked suspiciously. “To a friend,” The eel replied. “Someone who can help you.” “Why would you help me?” You questioned, still not convinced. “It’s my job,” it answered. “Helping people is a hobby of my boss. She wants to help you find answers to your questions about your father.” Once you heard your father’s name you knew you had to accept the offer. You couldn’t live without knowing the whole story. There was a part of you hoping he survived somehow, even though you knew it wasn’t realistic. Most hopes weren’t and your father alive was the only true hope you had. “I’ll go with you,” you agreed. A part of you knew it was a terrible idea, but whatever this eel thing was knew your weakness and you couldn’t refuse. “Follow me,” it gestured towards the water with it’s slimy tail. “I’m human,” you stated the obvious.  There were things you didn’t know about the ocean but, you certainly knew that you couldn’t breathe underwater. Was it going to drown you? It must know you weren’t that stupid, right? “You won’t drown,” the eel chuckled. “Trust me.”  However, you did not trust the eel. But you were prepared to fight that sucker if the need arose. Answers were necessary and if you had to go into the water with a talking eel you didn’t trust, than so be it. The water was even colder than when Jimin swam with you to shore, you were cold then, but now you were freezing. Teeth chattering, goosebumps appearing, you were sure that your plan of fighting the eel off if necessary wasn’t a very good one in the moment. Why didn’t you think this through? Luckily though, it didn’t try to drown you. Well, at least not yet anyways.  That’s when the eel started diving, with you still holding on to it’s tail. Too tired and cold to fight or even swim to the surface, you held on. If you were going to die you might as well make this eel exhausted for it. As soon as your lungs started to feel as though they were on fire, the eel swam up to the surface. Air never tasted so good, it immediately started cooling the fire in your lungs. Relieved, you breathed in as much of the air as you could to fill your desperate lungs.  The eel had brought you into an underwater cave and you quickly climbed out of the water, trying to get back onto dry land as soon as possible. The sand felt so soft against your skin and you were never so grateful to be back on land. Something about the cave left you unsettled but, you were just happy to have air in your lungs you didn’t care at the moment.  You managed to catch your breath and the only damage there was was the fact that you had headache starting to form, but at least the black spots were starting to fade. In your entire life before today you had never almost drowned. Today however you almost drowned twice. The numbers weren’t looking good for you at the moment. “You want answers then my dear?” A croaky voice asked behind you, causing you to jolt in surprise. A woman, or rather a creature had snuck up behind you. “I do,” you answered, trying to calm your racing heart down. You wrote it off as the fact that she just barely surprised you, but deep down you knew there was something off about her. “Magic comes with a price my dear,” she smiled at you with sharpened teeth. A chill ran down your spin that wasn’t caused by the cold. “No one said anything about magic,” you glared at the eel. “Can’t I just get answers the normal way?” “I’m afraid not,” she shook her head.  “Are you Calypso the sea witch?” you asked suspiciously, putting two and two together.  She wasn’t giving off good vibes and who else did you know of who possessed magic and wasn’t exactly a saint. Regret flooded your being, this was all wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You just wanted answers. “I prefer the term sea magician,” she snarled at the word ‘witch’ as soon as it left your lips.  “Right, of course,” You quickly agreed as to avoid her wrath.  “Back to business,” she sighed, calming her temper. “In exchange for a tail to find your answers, I need you to get the Prince to kiss you before the sunset of the third day.” “Three days? I think not,” you argued.  Three days? Was she kidding? How unrealistic! For one he was a prince, you can’t just waltz on into the palace like “Hey Prince! Pucker up!” Plus you didn’t even know who she was referring to! She must have thought you were naïve and easy to fool. You were the heir to the throne of your kingdom, you knew how to make a deal and you knew when someone was trying to rip you off. “Would you prefer two?” she snarled, you disliked her even more every time she opened her mouth. “I’d prefer something realistic, perhaps a month or two,” you answered, staring her down. “If it isn’t realistic, you won’t get your deal.” “Two weeks,” she compromised, glaring at you.   “Three,” you argued, trying to see how far you could push your luck. “Fine,” she huffed. “Three weeks exactly,” “What happens if I’m not able to complete my task?” you asked. “You will lose the tail immediately after sunset,” she answered, trying to hide a smirk. “Chances are that you’ll drown. Now do we have a deal?” “Yes,” you agreed hesitantly. “We have a deal.” “Now, you are going to give me the happiest memory you have,” the witch demanded. “You said nothing about a memory!” you argued, gritting your teeth in frustration. “Think of it as collateral,” she waved your concern off. “So I’ll get it back?” you asked suspiciously. “If you survive,” she made no effort to hide her smirk anymore, she had you right where she wanted you. You opened your mouth to protest, but you words could do nothing to stop her magic. A memory played in your head as clear as if it had been just yesterday: there you were on the beach with both your parents. Everything about that day had been perfect, all of you were happy, together, and alive. It started fading and you panicked, trying to hold onto it but, to no avail. Memories weren’t objects you could physically hug close to you and protect. There was nothing you could do to stop your memory from leaving you filling the witch’s vial with a strange gold material not quite any state of matter. Eventually you couldn’t remember anything about it. The last happy day with a happy family was wiped from you and it felt wrong. A piece of your identity had been taken from you and you felt completely dejected and empty. There was something missing but you could no longer name what. “Good luck darling!” the witch mocked you, as the eel wrapped its tail around you, pulling you deeper into the water. That’s when your legs started to cramp, slowly becoming more and more uncomfortable, toeing the line between discomfort and pain. Calypso had the ability to make it painless, she was magic after all you had just seen her take a memory from you and make it physically visible. This was definitely within her abilities, but she didn’t do anything to help you once she got what she wanted.  You knew you shouldn’t have trusted her, so why did you agree to the deal? Desperation for answers was a driving force but you wanted to either prove or disprove your hope so you could finally let him go. Maybe, just maybe, your father had survived. Even if you knew it wasn’t likely, you couldn’t let go of the idea. His body was never found, so maybe just maybe, he made it. Your hurting legs stopped hurting, except for now it was a tail. All of a sudden your burning lungs were filled with air, underwater. You could breathe. What used to be blurry vision from the salt water burning your eyes became clear. So this was what it felt like to be a mermaid.  The answers felt as if they were on the tip of your tongue. With the tail came the possibility of finding out your father’s fate. But you were certainly coming back for Calypso, she wouldn’t get away with everything that easy, you wouldn’t let her. A new feeling of being alive surged through you. There was a purpose for you, one that didn’t involve sitting pretty and playing nice. Maybe you were born in the wrong world, both you and your father didn’t seem to belong on land. You had salt water running through your veins and only now did you feel that you could breathe. Now to find the Prince, maybe you could hit two birds with one stone. Perhaps he had answers and you needed to find him anyway for the dreaded task you had to complete.  How you were going to find anything in the vast ocean though, you had no idea. Well, you had seen Jimin swimming west, towards the setting sun. Deciding it was worth a shot, you started swimming west. Jimin seemed like someone who could help you, you hoped to be able to find him first.  Even with a tail, you were starting to wear down. All there had been to see was water and the occasional school of fish. You had no idea how long you had been swimming for but, it was starting to get dark. That’s when you realized you had left your mother without any knowledge of where you went. Guilt overcame your exhaustion, this was a terrible idea, why did you make the stupid deal?  Every part of you was aching and tired at this point. There had to be a place for you to rest nearby, right? You tried your best to keep swimming but eventually your tail cramped and you began to sink down.  It didn’t matter, you could breathe, you could just stay here in the open. There wasn’t a choice, you couldn’t move anymore. Your eyes closed as your body hit the sand below you and you immediately fell asleep.