The Clingy Mermaid

Chapter One: A Choice That Changed Her Life

Once upon a time, in the land of Fiore was a hidden kingdom under the sea. The kingdom was made up of merfolk and the sea creatures that lives with them under the sea and thrived on magic. This kingdom was called the lost city of Atlantis, ruled by King Makarov Dreyar. Under the king's rule, the kingdom flourished and was even considered a legendary paradise for the Surface-Dwellers.

But, like in every Eden, there was a snake in the garden. Jose Porla used to be a member of the Royal Court as the king's head advisor, but was banished to the outer rims of the kingdom. The reason to why he was banished was because of greed. Jose knew that he would inherit the kingdom once Makarov passes, only if there was no other heir. There was, six others. Makarov had a son, who was first in line. Then a niece who was second in line. Then he had four daughters also in line. Jose didn't have a chance to get a throne, especially when the time came for the king's children and niece to have their own children. So, in order to gain the throne, he was going to kill the kingdom's heirs with his dark magic.

Luckily, King Makarov stopped Jose before he had a chance to kill the young ones and had Jose banished from the Royal Court to the outer rims. But, Jose was planning his revenge ofn the king and his heirs, through a little mermaid.

{Line Skip}

The seabed was brightly lit from the sunny skies above on the surface. Scavenging for seaweed and shells in the coral and sand, was a young mermaid.

Her short tail was a sky blue and her scales glistened in the sunlight, Covering her torso was a light blue tank top with white spiral designs on it. In her small child hands was a basket half-way full with shells and coral and small animals that crawled along the seabed. Her light blue hair was stiffly curled at the ends and ended just above her shoulders. Her eyes a deep blue that reflected the ocean's depths.

Behind the girl was a tall, scrawny looking octopus-like man. Replacing fins were eight black tentacles with dark purple undersides. He wore a black buttoned-up jacket. The man had his scraggily black hair tied back under a black hat. His eerie green eyes were cunning.

"Juvia-chan," the man said in a sly tone. "Are you almost finished yet?"

"Yes, Jose-sama," the little mermaid chimed. "Juvia is finding some more clams."

"We must hurry Juvia-chan. We need to continue with our…experiments."

The little mermaid cringed as she held a pale clam in her hand. Her bottom lip quivered as she slowly turned around.

"Can't we…skip that today?" Juvia asked. "Juvia is still tired from yesterday's session, Jose-sama."

"Juvia, I have a schedule to keep. We need to increase your magical power to-"

"But Juvia won't be able to control it if we continue like this!"

Jose raised an eyebrow, glaring down to the young girl before him. "Are you talking back, Juvia…chan?"

"No! No, Jose-sama!" the girl cried. Her eyes were wide with fear, her hands clenched tighter on the basket she held.

"Is this how you repay me? After taking in an orphan like you? You should have respect for your saviour-"

"That's enough Jose," an old man said.

Jose looked up, seeing a fairly large group of mermen dressed in armour and holding weapons behind an old merman. His white hair wisped in the water's gentle current and his tail was an onyx colour and wore nicely tailored clothes. He glanced at the octopus man before him.

"Ah, My Liege," Jose said in a mocking tone. "What brings you to my little neck in the woods?"

"There were reports stating that the magic levels in this area were bordering fatal," Makarov said. His black eyes glancing over to the young mermaid Jose was perched behind. "I believe she's the cause of those shifts."

Jose laughed. "That's right Makarov!" Jose yelled. "She'll be the cause of your demise! Caused by me, of course." The wicked man extended his arm towards the young mermaid!"

The basket Juvia held fell to the ground. The young girl's yes widened, losing the gleam in them. The water around her started moving in a circular motion around her and Jose, forming a shield. White frothy bubbles appeared in the shield, blocking Jose from Makarov and his men's views. The quiet sobs emitting from the mermaid didn't go unheard by the king.

Jose jumped from his spot behind Juvia, floating in the water "Now, come Juvia-chan! We'll escape from here!"

Juvia was about to swim to where her saviour before she was stopped by a single, kind voice.

"Juvia, was it?" The young mermaid turned to the king. "You don't have o follow him."

"Juvia…doesn't…have to?"

Makarov nodded. "Those powers of yours are mighty powerful," Makarov said. You could do marvellous things with them, but only if you control them."

Juvia looked down to her hands, the water stopped circulating around her. Juvia…can learn to control her powers.

"But only if you want to, Juvia."

She clenched her fists. "Juvia…Juvia wants to learn! Please!" She floated back down.

"Juvia!" Jose yelled, lines of agitation visible on his face. "Come here now!"

"This is what happens when you don't give children a choice Jose," Makarov said, swimming to where Juvia was. "They rebel."

"Tch!" Jose grinded his teeth together. "Mark my words Dreyar! I will destroy you and your precious family!" With a pulse of his tentacles, black ink started clouding everyone's vision in the water. "And Juvia…You'll regret betraying me."

When the ink subsides, Jose Porla was gone. Makarov turned to look at the young mermaid. Juvia as shaking.

"Don't worry about Jose, Dear," the king said. "I'm sure he won't be back for a long time."

Juvia looked deeply into the king's eyes, noting the sincerity in them. She smiled cutely before nodding.

"Yes!"

{Line Skip}

And so, twelve years later, the king had raised young Juvia to control her powers and as a daughter alongside his own. But he wasn't able to get Juvia to control some of her powers. He had to seal away her powers, but in doing so sealed away a powerful emotion that goes hand-in-hand with magic…Love.

For twelve years, Jose plotted and planned his days away. For twelve years, he wanted for the perfect chance to execute his revenge against Makarov and his family.