Once upon a time, deep in the ocean, there was a kingdom of mermaids. It was nestled deep in a grove of ocean flora & fauna, so that no human could ever find it, no matter how far they dove down. Nevertheless, rumors of a vast underwater kingdom populated by mermaids spread throughout the human world. They whispered that there were many riches and beautiful mermaids and mermen to be found.
All these rumors were indeed true. The oceanic kingdom of Bosco was a beautiful place, with lavish, over-the-top houses swimming with jewels from shipwrecks and other treasures. Even though the human world and the underwater world did not interact directly, the citizens of Bosco would often take items from shipwrecks. Although it was against the law, some merpeople even caused ships to sink, in order to steal their riches.
Despite it being against the law, the royal family generally turned a blind eye to these deliberate ship sinkings. After all, they would always get first pick of any sunken ship's riches. They were proud, haughty people, who didn't care of the value of human lives. All they cared about were their riches.
Queen Aquarius was the ruler of the kingdom. Her late husband, King Scorpio, had died of poisoning shortly after their youngest daughter had been born. Many whispered that she had killed him; that he was of no use to her anymore, but none could prove it.
She was a vain woman, caring of nothing but her appearances and riches.
5 of her children shared the same vain qualities as the queen. Their names were, in line of birth: Princess Aries, Princess Gem, Prince Mini, Princess Virgo, and Princess Libra. Even Prince Mini, the only boy in the family, cared more about his own selfish desires than the rest of the kingdom.
However, the youngest child, Princess Lucy, was much more in tune with the rest of the kingdom. She didn't cast aside the wishes of her subjects to get a new dress, and was scorned by her family as a result.
However, Princess Lucy was also cursed. Whether it came from disobeying her mother, or angering a witch, or a combination of both, no one knew. All that was known of her was her deadly voice. To merpeople and animals, her voice sounded completely normal. However, to humans, it sounded like the sweetest thing in the world. Then, in turn, that sweetest thing would bring disaster to any humans who heard it.
As a result, Lucy was banned from going to the surface with her mother and siblings. "In order to prevent them from hunting you down," her mother had said, when confronted about the ban. "If they knew of a mermaid who could cause disaster to them, the humans wouldn't rest until you were dead." She would then pat Lucy on the head and go on her merry way, never allowing for more questions.
Lucy despised the ban, and hated her mother for never explaining more about the curse. She always seemed like she knew more than she was telling, and yet Lucy never heard about it.
Because of the ban, Lucy became incredibly skilled at scavenging for human items in shipwrecks. She, like most mermaids, had a fascination with humans. While she couldn't go to the surface because of the curse, no one could stop her from digging through old shipwrecks to find treasures greedy merpeople had missed.
Oftentimes, Lucy would feel another presence with her in the shipwrecks, but a quick glance around wouldn't reveal anyone. Even a thorough search of the area wouldn't reveal anyone. It was nothing more than a slight movement of water around her that convinced Lucy she wasn't alone.
Lucy soon amassed a large amount of human treasure found in her many scavenges, and was able to sell it and make good money. She tried her best to remain independent of the palace, and took pains to avoid it many times. She never cared of the ways of the court and royal family, and she knew they didn't care of her. Therefore, the best option for both was to just stay away.
She was lonely, however. No one would be friends with her, in court or outside it, because of the fact that she was cursed. Never mind the fact that it only affected humans; no merperson wanted anything to do with her either.
And thus, time passed like this for 13 years. Lucy grew more and more lonely with each passing day, and wished that instead of treasure, maybe she could find a friend in a shipwreck.
AN 8/8/17: Sorry about the glitch with the codes on every paragraph, that was my fault. Didn't paste the story right in the Doc Manager, but it should be good now.