Chapter 1: Repeating Recollections

I lay in my chamber, restless, like always; for once again, the repeating memories of that day haunt me tonight...

...Flashback...

"I love this place. I feel so free here." I remember thinking to myself, every time I visited the place. My secret little safe spot. Away from Serene, away from my duties, away from the people who told me what to do, whom I, for some unknown, instinctual reason, didn't really trust...

It was a beautiful place; a little pool carried in by the tide, somewhere within a lush forest. The entrance (where the water flowed in from the ocean) was concealed by willows, creating the perfect hiding place for me. Though hidden, it was also quite open; once again, perfect.

Enjoying this blissful moment, I swim around gleefully, mentally mocking all of the things I'd escaped, even if only temporarily. (I snuck out to be here. But really, I didn't have a choice; a young princess wasn't allowed outside of the palace walls. It was far too "dangerous". And the fact that I'd been consistently visiting a place so close to the shore, to the "evil overlanders", was doubly "dangerous". Of course, I never really listened to all that. I'd never actually seen one of these legged individuals, and took it almost like a myth, or a folk legend; although there were claims of sightings, or even interactions, and even though there was that little instinctual, childish feeling I had that they could really be out there, I never completely believed, for I was one who had to see something for myself in order to be able to believe that it existed. Thus, I never took the other merfolks' warnings very seriously.) However... This time, this glee didn't last very long... After what seemed like a short while (but had probably been at least a quarter hour), there was a splash.

The sudden disruption startling me, I hastily hide behind a small, rocky ridge. (Luckily, I was a very fast swimmer, even at such a young age; I was able to hide quickly and efficiently.) "What on Mobius was that?" I wonder, my heart racing...

I timidly poke my head out from behind the ridge, my curiosity gnawing at me. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary... However, even as I thought about going back to enjoying my small taste of freedom, I couldn't... Something felt... Off...

The water. It's not still yet. Why? If something had simply fallen in, then it would've stilled by now, for sure. Something is wrong... The disturbance is now coming from beneath...

YI go under. It doesn't take me very long to spot something this time. As my eyes adjust, I make out a figure... I almost gasp; had they found me? There was no doubting what it was. Another mermaid. But just as I move to hide again, I notice something else. (This, I hadn't noticed right away like I had the obvious, black mermaid; this almost matched the water... It was blue...) I decide to further examine the scene.

She was holding something... No... Someone... Someone small... They looked about my age. But... Something still felt off... Now... I could feel... Fear... Pure, potent fear... It was intoxicatingly sweet. I wanted to drink it in. 'What is this feeling, and why is it there?' I think to myself.

As the scent of adrenaline from the child begins drawing me in, I catch glimpse of flailing... Legs? Wait... An overlander? I had to get closer. However... When I did, I didn't just confirm what he was; I saw his face... His expression left me numb...

'He... He's suffering...' I realize.

Almost immediately, I swim over and violently snatch the child from her grasp. And in the moment doing so, I see her face... The deranged smile of a psycho, filling nearly her entire face, and adorned with sharp, translucent teeth that curved inward slightly. 'She wasn't a mermaid, was she? No, she couldn't be... Right?' I think, as I whip around to face the opposite direction.

I swim swiftly to the surface, and allow the momentum to pull me out of the water; I firmly embrace the child as I fall to the ground. I hit the solid earth, rolling away from the water a bit, never losing my grip on him, despite the impact. As we come to a halt, I let him go, my limbs feeling weak after the sudden adrenaline rush. A mere moment later however, he jolts up onto all fours, and violently hurls water from his lungs. I slowly sit up, and holding my throbbing head, watch as this plays through. He then proceeds to vomit, and I decide to scoot closer and attempt to comfort him, forgetting of my own discomfort. I rub his back, trying to help. As he finishes, his breathing becomes labored. His arms half-collapse, but he still manages to hold himself up. Then, with glossy, terror-filled eyes, skin pale and flushed, he looks up at me.

I will never forget that look...

I became lost for a moment in that expression of his... I'd never seen anything like it. It gave me an odd feeling... Or, perhaps multiple, combatting feelings... The rest soon faded however, leaving me with only a deep sense of sympathy. As his eyes locked onto mine, I felt compelled to ask, "Are you... Alright?" My voice might've cracked, but I wasn't too sure, nor did I care at the moment.

He looks down. His mouth opens, as though he were about to speak, but... He closes it, and looks back up at me with a pained expression. I look back at him, not knowing what else to do. A strange feeling of guilt began to creep upon me. I'm not sure why it was there, but it began to grow. I push it away, trying to ignore it for the time being, and timidly ask him another question that some part of me wanted to know. "Wh... What's your name?" His eyes, which had drifted off at some point, met again with mine, as he slowly rose to a sitting position. "My... Name..?" he asks with a strained, shaky voice. I nod, though wondering if it was even appropriate to ask such a thing in this situation.

He answers, nevertheless.

"Olgilvie. Olgilvie Maurice..." I nod again, and my gaze drifts to the ground. I'm suddenly looking back up at him, as he asks me the same question, "Wh-what about yours?"

Feeling a bit disgusted with myself for forgetting, (When someone gives you their name, you should give them yours; this was constantly stressed by my tutors, since failure to do so was widely considered to be "rude") I immediately begin my response, "I'm..." However, I ponder a moment. I cannot give him my full name; he could use it to control me. I decided to use my middle name, since it was the only one I really went by. "Oceania. Oceania Aquaeir." (Something made me give my last name as well. I'm not sure why... And I had no fear of him having that information, either. Perhaps it was because he looked so pitiful right now, and seemed harmless... Or, perhaps it was his aura that told me it was alright. But... I felt some sort of need to.) He looks down, then out at the water. Something seemed to be troubling him; I follow his gaze, to see what that might've been. A feeling of dread came about me as I realized... Nothing was there...

I didn't know why that troubled me, then... Nor do I now, really... There were a lot of feelings that I didn't quite understand that day... And oddly, one of them was that... One day, I'd know...

I felt his gaze upon me, and turned back towards him. He gave me what seemed to be a smile, and said, "Thank you... Oceania..."

I notice his eyes are a deep green, glittering with tears.

I gently stroke his cheek, wiping away a few tears that had streamed down his face. (Living in the ocean all my life, I had never seen these, but... For some reason, I knew what they were...)

I look away after that, realizing how long I'd been gone... I had to go... Giving him a small, sympathetic smile, I depart...

I still wonder if that was even a proper goodbye...

...End of Flashback...

I turn over again, groaning. These memories have caused me so many sleepless nights. And they never ceased.

Something inside me finally snaps. 'I can't go on like this...' I think to myself, as I thrust myself into a sitting position, causing my covers to swish and twist off of my body. My heart begins beating rapidly, and my blood runs cold, as I realize what I'm about to do. Fed up, I allow the adrenaline to course through my veins, as I commit to my whim. 'I'm leaving.'

With that final resolve, I swim abruptly from my bed, leaving the covers to fly across the room, as I begin to tear open drawers and cabinets, and anything I may have stored my belongings in, ransacking my own room for anything that I might need (or perhaps simply want) for the journey I was about to embark on. I knew now, that this was it; I wouldn't be coming back.