Chapter Text
Deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, far below the shimmering sunlight that pierced the blue waters, there lay a kingdom whispered only in human legends. The palace stood tall, sculpted from enormous turquoise and lavender corals, adorned with pearls that glowed like stars trapped in the depths.
Gentle currents flowed through the city, carrying the soft echoes of waves from the surface as if retelling stories of a world untouched by the sea’s inhabitants.
It was here that George was born.
a young mermaid princess, the youngest daughter of King Toto Wolff, the feared and respected ruler of Atlantic Ocean
From childhood, George had always been different from her sisters. Her heart was too big for the strict rules of the palace. Her blue eyes sparkled with wonder at anything new, and her smile came far too easily, even when the underwater world was in a serious situation.
Her long dark-brown hair floated like silk around her, and her tail—blue-green with shimmering scales—caught light like fragments of glass. She looked gentle, but everyone who knew her, especially her family, understood that George was a small storm wrapped in the body of a mermaid.
Stubborn. Curious. Constantly carrying trouble in her wake.
And as the youngest, she was adored perhaps too much by her father.
But if George was a small storm, then her sisters were the anchors holding her steady.
Alex, the eldest, was the calmest. Wise, composed, always speaking with the soft, soothing tone that made everyone admire her. Her dark-blue tail held a regal sharpness, her black hair swayed elegantly, and her sun-kissed skin made her look almost celestial. She was soon to be betrothed to Prince Charles Leclerc of the Pacific Kingdom.
Lando, the middle sister, was the perfect opposite of Alex. Bright, cheerful, spontaneous, and almost as mischievous as George. The two often caused chaos together in the palace, though Lando always managed to swim away right before King Toto grew angry. With her golden tail and bubbly laughter, she was the spirit of the kingdom.
Different as they were, the three sisters shared one belief:
They would never let anything hurt one another.
Just as always, George slipped out of the palace before the sun fully rose, despite the strict rule forbidding them from leaving before sunrise.
She swam past coral corridors, swaying seaweed, and darting groups of small fish. A small woven kelp pouch hung across her shoulder—her treasure bag.
The sun was just breaking through the surface when she arrived at a familiar coral cave, her secret hiding spot for human artifacts.
Not long after she arrived at the cave, a familiar voice behind her made her freeze.
“Treasure… or another new trouble?”
Alex’s soft and calm voice echoed through the water.
George spun around to find her eldest sister hovering with her arms folded in that classic ‘big sister judgment’ pose.
“Alex! How did you know I was here?”
Alex sighed. “George, you always run off before sunrise and always end up in the same place. The coral cave near the southern fault—your hiding place for human things.”
George clutched her bag protectively. “They’re not human things. They’re… collections! Discoveries!”
Suddenly, Lando popped out behind a bed of seaweed, making George yelp.
“We all know you call it a hobby, Georgie.”
She snatched the pouch from George and peeked inside.
A rounded glass shard, a tiny rusted metal comb, and a faded patterned cloth.
“I didn’t even know humans had cloth in weird colors like this,” Lando murmured, tilting her head.
“That’s because you never come with me to the surface,” George shot back.
Alex tensed. “And you are not supposed to go to the surface, George.”
His tone wasn’t angry—just worried.
“But I want to understand their world, Alex. Why do we fear humans so much when we barely know anything about them?”
Alex looked at her with eyes both soft and sharp. “Because it’s Father’s rule. And Father always has his reasons.”
“Reasons he never explains,” George muttered.
Lando swam closer and patted George’s shoulder, golden tail flicking playfully. “One day, you’ll know why. But for now, maybe stop giving Father a headache every morning?”
George opened her mouth to retort—
but a violent wave shook the coral around them.
The water pressure shifted abruptly.
“What was that?” George whispered.
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Dark currents from the west… that’s the forbidden zone.”
“Max’s territory…” Lando breathed.
Just the name made the waters feel colder.
Max, once was the royal advisor, now the most feared sea witch, exiled for her lust for forbidden magic. She lived in the skeletal coral valley, far from the kingdom.
George tightened her grip on her pouch. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
“We need to go back to the palace,” Alex said firmly. “Father will want us safe.”
“But the currents—” George swallowed. “It feels like Max is doing something.”
“Exactly,” Lando shuddered. “All the more reason to leave. Now.”
The sisters swam home, but George kept glancing back at the darkening sea.
-
Moonlight spilled over the ocean, turning the waves silver. Deep below, George drifted slowly, her tail moving like she was dancing to her own tangled thoughts.
Her curiosity had always been too much, according to her father.
According to her sisters, it was a mix of bravery and pure trouble.
But to George, the ocean alone was not enough.
She wanted to know what the wind felt like.
What stars looked like without water distorting them.
Why humans seemed fragile yet fearless.
"Don’t get too close to the surface," Alex’s voice echoed in her head, the same warning as always.
"Wait until Father finds out you’re sneaking out at night again," Lando’s voice followed, always saying with a laugh.
George smiled faintly at the memory of them. She loved her sisters, even if she often became the reason behind long discussions about boundaries, danger, and the kingdom’s countless rules. But perhaps because of all that, tonight she drifted upward toward the surface. Something inside her felt called to it.
She rose slowly, only her head breaking through the waves. The night air touched her skin like a first kiss—strange, cold, and intoxicating. In the distance, an orange glow moved closer. A small ship, and definitely not a war vessel. Its shape was sleek, almost elegant, like something owned by a nobleman on a private journey.
George dipped lower, hiding her body behind the ripples, but she kept watching.
Several humans appeared on the deck, laughing, talking, and drinking. And among them, one young man stood with his gaze lifted to the sky instead of the sea. His posture was steady, his dark hair tousled by the wind, and his eyes soft, as if the world wasn’t as harsh as George had been taught.
For a moment, her breath caught.
She didn’t know his name, didn’t know anything about him. But something warmed in her chest, something she had never felt from observing humans from afar.
"Why does he look… different?" she whispered to herself.
The ship wasn’t in danger. There was no storm. No sea monster. Just humans enjoying the night. George could leave anytime. But she couldn’t tear her gaze away, as if the waves themselves were urging her to stay.
Suddenly, from the west, the wind shifted—fast, sharp, almost warning. Dark clouds rolled in without any sign. George felt the pressure in the water tremble around her.
"A storm?" she whispered, disbelieving.
Storms rarely arrived this quickly. And when they did… something was usually wrong.
Lightning cracked against the sea. The ship jolted violently. Panic broke out across the deck.
George cursed under her breath. Humans should never underestimate the ocean.
She hesitated. Her father had always forbidden them from interfering with human business.
The sea was not meant to save humans.
They had their own lives, their own destinies, said King Toto.
But when she saw the young man lose his balance as a wave slammed into the side of the ship.
When she watched him fall overboard, disappearing into the raging water before anyone could grab him.
Every rule slipped from her mind.
George dove instantly. Her body sliced through the dark water like an arrow.
She saw him sinking, drifting helplessly as the current pulled him deeper.
George wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him close, shielding him.
“Hold on… please, hold on.”
He didn’t respond, but his chest still rose and fell faintly.
He still alive.
George fought the waves, pushing forward through the chaos, carrying him toward a rocky islet where the storm’s impact was weaker. The waves battered her back again and again, but she didn’t stop.
Finally, she reached a large rock that jutted halfway out of the water. She lifted the young man onto it.
He coughed, then groaned softly.
George's eyes widened.
He was alive.
Truly alive.
The man opened his eyes slowly. His gaze was unfocused at first, but when the moonlight revealed George, half-hidden among the waves, he froze.
They stared at each other.
For a heartbeat, the world stopped.
The raging storm behind them faded into nothing.
There was only the sound of breathing… and two racing hearts.
“W… where am I…?” the man whispered, his voice weak but clear.
George wasn’t supposed to speak. She wasn’t supposed to meet a human this closely. But her mouth moved before her mind could stop it.
“You’re safe,” she said softly. “You’re alive.”
The man looked into George’s eyes, curious, gentle, warm.
“Who… are you…?”
George shrank back, realization crashing down.
She couldn’t.
She mustn’t.
If humans found out…
If her father found out…
This could turn into something disastrous.
“The waves will carry you to shore,” she said quickly. “You need to go. I—”
“Don’t go.”
That voice… it pleaded.
Not loud. Not forceful.
Just softly begging.
George swallowed. Her tail fin trembled lightly.
She had already saved him.
She had already broken half the kingdom’s rules.
And now she had to leave before things spiraled into something worse.
“Please,” he whispered again, hoarse. “At least… let me know your name.”
George stared at him for a long, long moment, as if she were trying to carve his face into her memory.
But she remained silent.
“Alright… if you don’t want to say your name, then at least allow me to introduce myself,” the man said gently. “My name is Carlos. And I’m truly grateful that you saved my life.”
His name sank into George’s thoughts like a spell.
But from beneath the waves, a familiar voice echoed through the water.
Alex.
Calling her name.
George jolted. She looked at Carlos again.
“I have to go.”
Before Carlos could reach out or speak, a wave rose and swallowed her form. George dove beneath the surface, disappearing into the depths and leaving behind the man who had just touched a part of her she never knew existed.
Carlos sat weakly on the rock, staring at the dark sea.
His face was still wet, whether from seawater or something else, he didn’t know.
And far below, beyond the curtain of cold water, George swam home with a heart pounding strangely, realizing one truth:
She wasn’t supposed to meet a human.
But she had met one.
And she wanted to meet him again.
To Be Continued.....