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Swim

Prologue

Moon Kitty 2005

January 13, 2006

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Once upon a time there was a beautiful and tranquil kingdom. Its inhabitants were a kind and civilized people, and there were seldom any wars between it and it's neighboring kingdoms. Everyone under the rule of the king and queen believed that they were the best rulers they had encountered in a long while.

The kingdom was located on the coast of the ocean, and it was surrounded by lush, green mountains where children went to play often. The ocean encompassed the perimeter of the kingdom, and a good 200 feet of it was used for fisherman harbors. The other parts were used for public and a good portion of it was sectioned off for private use of the king and queen.

Overall, the kingdom was a pleasant place, so the entire kingdom rejoiced when the announcement was made that their queen would be bearing a son. They were truly happy for her.

Eight years had passed since then, and their son had grown into a bright young man, very inquisitive and curious about his surroundings. Of course, like most little children, he would rather have played by the ocean than learn etiquette, but it was required of him. The queen knew he was quite bitter about that fact, but there was nothing she could do to change it.

Ryou particularly loved the ocean. Every day after his lessons he would slip out of the castle and skip rocks across the water or swim within the coral, observing the brightly-colored fish. Of course, he would get chastised later by his advisor, Keiichiro, but that meant nothing to him. He would still rather swim around in the ocean all his life than have to listen to that elderly lady gripe at him about which forks were on which side.

One particular day, he felt like having nothing to do with the woman, so he snuck out to the beach and sat on a rock, drawing circles in the damp sand with a stick. He stared out at the horizon and sighed. Why can't I just be a normal kid?

A quick splash interrupted his thoughts. He stared curiously at the surface of the water, eyes wide. The fish never come to the surface... He stood from his rock and picked up a smooth pebble, slinging his arm back and releasing, sending it skipping over the water's surface. There was a bigger splash, this time, to the left of him.

Picking up another rock, he slung it across the water, stopping dead in his tracks as a slender hand reached out of the water to grab it.

Eyes wide, he stammered, "W-who's there?"

He almost fainted in pure fear when a shiny mop of emerald hair emerged from the surface of the water, emerald eyes glaring at him somewhat indignantly. "You know, y-you shouldn't throw rocks. T-that last one almost hit me in the head!"

He stared at her. "W-what are you?"

The girl smiled at him shyly and swam a little closer. "What do you think?"

Ryou squatted down near the water's edge and stared into the girl's eyes. "Are you a... m-mermaid?"

She blushed slightly, the intense look in his aquamarine eyes putting her on edge. "Uh, y-yeah."

There was complete silence for a moment before Ryou's eyes bugged out. "Are you serious! I told my father that there were such things as mermaids, and he didn't believe me. Now I can prove it to him! What's your name?"

"My name is Retasu... what's yours?" she asked, blushing and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"My name's Ryou... how old are you?"

"E-eight."

"Me, too! Nice to meet you, Retasu."

And with that, he stuck out his hand for her to shake it, a friendly smile on his face, and a friendship was formed.

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Authoress Notes:

Damn... this came out longer than I expected. I get a bit lazy when it comes to prologues and such. For those noticing that Ryou is a little out of character, it's because... HE'S EIGHT! Seriously, if you read the manga, you notice that Ryou isn't that serious when he's younger (and very cute!)... then again, he isn't that serious when he's older, too... hmm... oh, well... I look forward to your reviews!