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When Taehyung came up over the water he was next to a large ship. On the beautiful ship music was playing, sailors were dancing and a handsome young man stepped out on the deck. When he did, fireworks lit up the sky.
The men all seemed to like the handsome young man. When he spoke, the sailors would laugh. Sometimes they patted him on his back in joy. Once that made his crown fall off. The men laughed and picked it up. “A crown,” said taehyung “he must be a prince.”
Suddenly, it became very dark and the wind picked up. The sailors started to run about on deck. They pulled down the sail. The ship dipped and swooped. It rolled side to side, and up and down on the high waves.
Then lightning. Thunder. A strong rainstorm hit. The poor ship started to tip on the rough waves! It was so dark that Taehyung could see nothing. Then lightning lit up the sky, and she could see the young prince on deck. He seemed to be the only one still there!
He was working hard to keep the ship afloat. He was throwing ropes out to his men who had jumped. But then, all at once, the waves got very high and the ship started to tip over. The Prince was flung to the side of the ship and thrown overboard! Down into the sea he fell.
He dropped very fast. "Oh Zeus." What was Taehyung gonna do? He knew that humans cannot live under the water. He dove deep and fast. He reached out and hugged the prince's waist then he swam up to the surface as fast as he could.
The two of them floated as the waves rose and fell. By morning, the storm had passed. Yet the prince was as still as he had been all night. "Why isn't he waking up?" Taehyung asked loud. Then an idea struck him "Of course! Land!"
He swam to the shore, carrying the prince with him. He hoisted the prince to the land. It was not an easy feat as Taehyung had no legs. He pushed the prince, pushed himself up to slide near the prince and repeated the action until they were away from the waves.
After a few minutes the prince was still unconscious. "A-are you dead?" Taehyung touched the prince's face and a tear escaped his eyes. He sang a melancholic song and all of a sudden the prince started to stir. "A-are you okay?" He asked touching the prince's cheek.
The prince blinked once, then twice. He heard a man singing with the most beautiful voice and he had to see who it belongs to. He opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful creature he ever set his eyes on. He grasped the hand on his cheek and asked "am I in heaven?"
Taehyung rolled his eyes but squeezed the prince's hand. "No, you're on land." He helped the prince sit up and they stared at each other for a while. Finally, the silence was broken by the prince "you saved me... I cannot thank you enough..."
He tilted his head, probing for his savior's name "Taehyung" the merman supplied. "Taehyung" the prince smiled brightly "I'm Jimin." "Jimin..." he finally knew the name of the handsome man.
Suddenly they heard voices, looking for Jimin. The merman's eyes widened as realization hit him. "Oh Zeus! I have to get out of here." He began sliding back to the water but a hand suddenly held his wrist in a grip and he stopped.
"I can't let you go I haven't thanked you yet." Jimin pleaded. "Say thank you then. I have to go quickly before they see me." "I- thank you, but I at least have to throw you a party for saving me"
"I- what?" Taehyung was confused. This wasn't how he was expecting to be treated by humans. His family always said they'd eat him alive. He looked at Jimin's eyes and realized the prince has not yet looked at his body, more importantly his tail.
"Jimin... thank you for the offer but I can't." "Why not?" the prince pouted and Taehyung eyes drifted to his lips. He shook his head to concentrate 'no humans. humans eat you' he reminded himself
"Jimin... I managed to save you from the storm because I'm a merman." He looked at Jimin as Jimin shifted his eyes and looked at Taehyung's bare chest, down to his stomach, down to his tail. Instead of disgust he saw pure wonder in the prince's eyes.
"You're real." Jimin whispered in wonder. "Yes. Now, I saved you so I expect you not to eat me. As for the others, I'm not sure if they want to make me into a sashimi, so please let me go." Taehyung pleaded as he heard the voices grow louder.
Jimin laughed out loud and Taehyung covered the prince's mouth with his hand. "What are you doing?! They'll hear us!" Jimin continued chuckling "oh angel, we don't eat mermaids and I certainly won't let them eat you, you're my savior and I'm the crown prince."
Taehyung was awestruck. All his life he yearned for the life on land. The music, the dancing, the fire and the laughter. All of things he couldn't have because he's a merman, because humans eat their kind.
"You really won't let them eat me?" Taehyung asked. Jimin brushed his hair aside and bumped their foreheads together "They'd have to go through me first." Taehyung looked at Jimin's eyes intensely. "You won't eat me?"
Jimin chuckled "Not in the way you're thinking." Taehyung was taken aback 'are there other ways of eating?!' he thought in a panic. The prince sensed this and laughed with his whole body. "I'm kidding! Come on, I'll take you to Namjoon."
"Namjoon?" Taehyung inquired as Jimin stood up. "Yeah he's the royal mage." He picked up Taehyung and carried him bridal style. The merman yelped and was shocked at being manhandled. 'Jimin is so strong' he thought with a blush on his face.
"Wrap your arms around me." The prince ordered and Taehyung followed. He didn't want to fall after all. He leaned into Jimin's face "What's the royal mage gonna do?" Jimin really couldn't get over how handsome Taehyung is. He gulped and started walking.
"He's gonna give you legs to walk around. I've seen him do it before. Turn a cat and squirrel into humans. I'm sure he can do it for you too." Jimin paused "Unless of course you don't want to." Jimin mentally groaned. 'I'm so insensitive!"
'What if Taehyung actually wanted to go home?' before he could continue this line of thought Taehyung let out a loud no. "I- I've always wanted legs. I like to come up on that rock over there and watch people dance to music." Taehyung added.
Jimin was pleased. He's never gonna let go of Taehyung now. "Then we shall arrange the biggest and grandest party for my savior." Taehyung's eyes lit up and he nodded in approval. He can't wait to discover what life on land has in store for him.