NOTE: Behold...the new story I have decided to work on. So once upon a time, I was watching "The Little Mermaid" with a few of my good friends...and then I got hit with a huge plot bunny. X3 Yeah, it's probably cliche and all that jazz, but my hopes is that I can take this classic story and retell it in a new way. ^_^ This version of the story is based/inspired more off of Disney's Broadway version of the story instead of the film so it's bound to be slightly different anyways. Heh heh...ahem...
Alright, I've rambled enough now. Enjoy the first chapter!
WARNING: This is bound to be a slash fic (yay for Taito!) and there will be some swearing as well. This story is very much AU (I mean seriously X3 ).
DISCLAIMER: Seriously people, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction if I owned these things? X3 I do not in anyway own Digimon; the characters belong to Toei.
Chapter One
"My love for you will never end
Like the ocean so deep and blue
I shall care for you forever more
And promise to stand with you.
But if we should ever part
Whether it be by land or sea
I will sing this song and call to you
In hopes, you'll answer me."
Tai opened his eyes again and looked around. He had heard someone singing, he knew it. It was obviously a male singing the song, but they sang it with such a rich, soothing voice, that Tai couldn't help but not ignore it. It was a voice that the Gods themselves would become envious over. Tai wanted to locate where the voice was coming from, maybe he would see someone singing out in the distance, but where ever he looked all he saw was ocean.
The brown haired young teenager was embarked on his family's ship called The Victory. He had wanted an escape from his home and so after gathering a small crew together, they mounted the ship and left on an "adventure." The tan skinned boy frowned when it was confirmed that no one was around and then closed his dark caramel eyes once again, shutting the image of blue water out.
It wasn't that he didn't want to enjoy the ocean view; he just found it better to enjoy the voyage by simply feeling the ocean around him. The way the wind blew on to his face, the waves as they gently rocked the ship side to side, and the smell of salt water all around him. Yes, this experience surely surpassed simply looking at it all. Tai inhaled a deep breath of salt air and then gasped loudly as he felt someone push him over the railings slightly and then pull him back.
"Saved your life!" Tai opened his eyes and glared at his young cousin: Davis. The younger boy looked similar to Tai, but the differences were obvious. He had a more red tint to his brown hair and was about a foot or so shorter than the older brunette, since he was three years younger than he was. Davis grinned innocently at Tai, who gave the smaller boy a punch on the arm.
"Jerk," Tai growled. "You know I can't swim."
"Oh right," Davis rubbed his "injured" arm. "The great Tai Kamiya wanted a break from home so he decided to go sailing in the ocean…despite the fact that he can't swim." The younger brunette dodged another playful punch from the older boy. "Why did you want to come out here anyways?" The older boy scratched his chin as he tried to come up with an answer.
"I don't know," Tai finally shrugged and looked back at the ocean. "Even if I can't swim, I still like the look and feel of it all." Tai looked behind him and sighed. "Besides, it beats looking at Joe all day…" Davis chuckled as a blunette boy came stumbling over to them.
Joe Kido was a close friend to not only Tai, but the rest of the boy's family as well. Joe was a year older than Tai and so that made him more cautious about everything. Honestly, Tai didn't mind the blunette's company…but it could get tiresome at times. With Tai being an only child, Joe watched over him carefully, as an older brother would do with their younger brother. Sometimes however, Joe could get a little too carried away with his overprotectiveness. And when that happened, he'd usually invite Davis over so that they could come up with mischief together.
Joe raced over to the two boys and then bent over the ship's railing to dispose of his sea sickness.
"Beautiful Joe," Davis made a face of disgust.
"Isn't this great Joe?" Tai asked, ignoring the up-chuck they had just witnessed. "Out in the open ocean…surrounded by nothing but water?"
"Oh yes…great…ugh," Joe moaned in misery. He looked up at Tai. "I don't understand why you had to come out here of all places…Your highness—"
"I'm not a prince here!" Tai snapped. "Out here, it's just Tai." Joe gave the prince…er…Tai, a confused look. Why shouldn't he address him with his proper title? After all, Tai Kamiya was the prince of Ramcilia and current heir to the throne. But if that was what the prince wanted…
"Ok…Tai…" Joe straightened himself up. "I don't think running out here is going to solve anything."
"That's what you think," Tai sniffed. "I think it's solving a lot."
"How so?"
"I don't have to see or talk to my father."
"He only wants you to understand the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom before he passes away."
"Yeah," Davis sighed gloomily. "And by the looks of it, I don't think he's going to last that long. What would you give him? Two, three weeks?"
"Davis!" Joe gasped. "That's no way to talk about the king!"
"I'm just saying," the young boy lowered his head.
"I don't mind that…the whole king thing, because I know he's gotten really sick," Tai muttered sadly, watching some dolphins swim next to the ship. "It's…what he also wants me to do before he dies…"
"What?" the two other boys asked.
"He wants me to get married…" Then more quietly, Tai added, "To a girl…" The three boys stood in silence for a moment.
"You didn't tell him you were gay?" Davis whispered. Tai shook his head and the older blunette boy groaned.
"Tai you need to tell him sooner or later," Joe said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That way, he can figure out what to do."
"I already know what's going to happen," Tai shrugged. "I'm going to grow to be an old lonely king and then once I die, I'll hand over the kingdom to Davis' family."
"I feel so honored," Davis beamed.
"Couldn't you at least try to fall in love with a girl?" Joe asked in vain.
"It wouldn't feel right," Tai shook his head. "Besides, you remember what happened with Sarah…That was a nightmare…" The brunette thought back to the crazy obsessive blonde who wanted nothing more to control Tai…and his kingdom… "Anyways, if this wasn't supposed to happen, don't you think the Gods would have shown us a sign or something by now? They wouldn't let anything happen if it weren't a part of their plan."
"Amen my brother," Davis jokingly praised. "Leave it to Tai to be all spiritual and crap."
"He is the prince of Ramcilia," Joe muttered. "He has a duty to be the hope and strength of his kingdom…and do what is right when he needs to…" Joe looked like he wanted to say more, but he contained himself.
"Oi! Prince!" The boys looked up to see an older man waving at them from the helm of the ship.
"I'm not 'Prince' out here, Chris," Tai called back and waved. "It's Tai, remember?" The older man, Chris, saluted the young brunette. Tai was grateful for the distraction and quickly ran up to the man.
Chris Yelms was one of the most respected sailors on not only the ship, but the whole kingdom. The sailor was in his mid-fifties, with graying hair, hazel eyes and he was slightly plum. He had sailed all over the world and seen many battles and strange lands. On one of his voyages he had lost his left leg but it didn't stop him from being the brave sailor everyone admired. Although he was mighty during battles, Chris always treated his whole crew with kindness and respect, so it was no wonder that he would always be treated the same way.
"Sorry about that," Chris chuckled. "I had forgotten." He patted the young seventeen year old on his back and handed him a telescope. "Here, take a look at this." Tai looked through the object and positioned it to where Chris had pointed. He saw what looked to be a whale in the distance.
"Wow!" Tai exclaimed. "That's so cool to see a whale that close to us."
"A whale?" Davis asked once he joined the other two. "Where? I want to see it!"
"Just take a look in the mirror Davis," Tai stuck his tongue out. This time, it was Davis who punched Tai on the arm. The older boy chuckled and handed the telescope to his eager cousin. Joe slowly made his way to the group.
"Huh, looks like there's a storm up a head too," the blunette commented. Tai could feel his body tense up a little when the storm was mentioned. Thinking about either returning to shore or simply going off in a different path way however helped him to calm down.
"Ooh…King Triton must be angry," Chris frowned. The three teenagers looked at the older man.
"King Triton?" They echoed together.
"Aye," Chris nodded. "Have you boys never heard of King Triton?" They shook their heads. "Well, what about his sister?" Again, they shook their heads. Chris sighed. "You land lovers…Alright. Well, King Triton is the king of the entire ocean and he also happens to be a merman."
"Whoa!" The two brunettes gasped together.
"'Whoa' indeed," Chris chuckled. "King Triton he is a brave merman. He is kind to his subject and rules the kingdom with true wisdom. While the merpeople and ocean folk loved Triton, they feared his sister, Erika. That woman was power hungry, selfish, and terrified the subjects of the ocean."
"And she's a mermaid too, right?" Davis asked.
"…Actually, she looks more like an octopus or squid." They all stared at him. "Er…Long story…anyways! Before the past sea king died, he divided the ocean into two halves and gave each part to Triton and Erika. Erika however wasn't satisfied with just half of the ocean, she wanted the whole thing. Erika was so set on power that she is said to have destroyed her own sister-in-law: Triton's wife.
"Outraged, Triton banished his sister to the deepest, darkest part of the ocean and took over her half of the sea."
"That doesn't seem very fair," Tai frowned.
"Well, how would you feel if someone killed the only person you loved?" Chris raised an eyebrow. The prince opened his mouth, the closed it again. Chris gave him a "That's-what-I-thought" look and then slowly grinned. "You know…I actually met the queen of the ocean, before she died."
"No way!" Davis exclaimed in amazement.
"Alright, now that's just getting ridiculous," Joe sighed. "King Triton? Sure. His crazy sister Erika? Why not? But now you're saying you actually met a mermaid?"
"It's true I tell ya!" Chris grumbled. "It was about eleven or twelve years ago. It was night time and I had taken the responsibility of hoisting up the fishing net for the day. Right before my eyes, was a half fish, half woman caught in the net! Her name was Lorelle, if I remember correctly, and the poor girl was scared as all get out. She begged me to let her go, but I wanted to know more about her and her kind. She explained to me a bit about their kind, told me her name, that she was the wife of Triton and that she had children waiting for her back at home."
"Did you let her go?" Davis asked, mesmerized by the story.
"I did," Chris nodded. "I mean…she was the queen of the ocean! Imagine if King Triton found out that I had captured her and not let her go? Besides, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her…Once I released her, she jumped back into the water and thanked me…but probably not how you expect it. It was a rare and special thank you."
"How did she thank you?"
"She presented to me her son…her only son. The heir to all the ocean."
"Cool!" Davis yipped.
"Yep! Imagine, meeting the young prince who will one day rule the ocean. Settle every disagreement, put fourth new laws into action, controlling the ocean…"
"Sounds a lot like my situation," Tai muttered as he walked over to the railing and looked out to the deep blue water again. "Except for the controlling the ocean part."
"Aye, it does, doesn't it?" Chris chuckled.
"I don't believe it," Joe grumbled.
"What exactly don't you believe?" the older man challenged.
"Well…all of it!" Joe answered. "It just sounds like a bunch of sailor's nonsense."
"It's true I tell ya!" Chris frowned. The two soon got into discussing how possible/impossible it was to actually have merpeople living out in the ocean. Davis simply watched the two, listening to both sides intently, and Tai directed his attention to the ocean. He closed his eyes and inhaled the salty air once more. Despite the bickering going on, he felt at peace.
"My love for you will never end
Like the ocean so deep and blue
I shall care for you forever more
And promise to stand with you."
Tai's eyes snapped open when he heard the voice again. It was louder this time. Tai looked around wildly and then ran over to the other side of the ship.
"What is it Tai?" Joe asked.
"Did you hear that?" Tai asked, still searching for the voice.
"Hear what?"
"But if we should ever part
Whether it be by land or sea
I will sing this song and call to you
In hopes, you'll answer me."
"That!" The brunette pointed to the vast ocean. "That voice!" The others listened carefully.
"I don't hear anything," Davis said.
"You don't have water in your brain, do you?" Joe smiled teasingly.
"No! I…" Tai looked around and sighed when the only thing he saw was ocean. "I swear I heard someone singing…"
"Maybe you're hearing the merpeople sing," Chris suggested.
"…Maybe…" the brunette shrugged. They stayed silent for a moment or two. Tai wanted to hear the voice again, but it never came. He muttered to himself, "I think it might have come from up ahead…"
"Tai," Joe spoke up. "I think we've been at this for long enough. You need to go back home and…talk to your father." Chris sighed.
"As much as I hate to agree with Grumpy Gus—"
"Grumpy Gus?"
"—I think we should head back. Our supplies are limited and we've never traveled this far from port before with the Victory. She's not really built for extremely long distances." Tai looked at each of them, and then back out to the ocean. He didn't feel quite ready to leave yet…
"I'm still the captain of this ship…right?" Tai asked. They nodded. "Well then…screw the supplies! I say we keep on sailing!" Tai flashed a grin at them before he jumped up on the ropes and started climbing up the mass.
"Tai! We need to get back sooner or later," Davis protested as he followed his cousin.
"I know and we will," Tai called down to him. He stopped near the top of the rope and looked out. "But we'll do that after I find that voice I keep hearing!"
"What?" Joe, Chris and Davis all echoed together. Tai ignored them.
"Chris!" Tai shouted. "Order the men to continue westward!"
"Aye-aye Captain," Chris chuckled before barking orders to the rest of the crew. Joe opened his mouth to object the prince's decision, but soon, his sea sickness came back and he found himself puking over the railing instead.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Davis said to his cousin. Tai shrugged innocently and looked onward, quietly humming the familiar song to himself.
Ramcilia...sounds greek...Ok! This story takes place in Greece (or somewhere close to it ^_^; )! And oh my gosh...I swear that song sounded so much better when I first made it up in my head. X3
Before I forget, I'd just like to give a little shout out to another fic that inspired me to actually get myself working on this story. It is called "Your Ocean, My Land" and it is written by X-HARU. Unfortunately, the story has not been updated in six years, but reading it gave me quite a bit of inspiration for this story (I would recommend reading it). Thanks X-HARU. :)
Alright, that's my little speech. Feel free to let me know what you think of the beginning so far. I apologize if there isn't really much going on...I just feel the need to introduce everyone first. ^_^; Ok...seriously, I'm done now. XD