Summary: Elizabeta always had an interest in humans ever since she was saved by one. She refuses to think that they are evil and is given the task to prove to her father that humans can care for her. The big obstacle: they must care for her as her true form, a mermaid. Disguised a human, she sets off on her quest to prove that humans can care for mermaids...and find the boy that saved her all those years ago.
Warnings: Mild Cursing and some dark themes
The ocean was clear, clearer than it had been in ages. The sun sent bright white columns down through the water, warming my skin in the light, casting a reflective glow off my green scales. It was a flawless day, perfect for swimming just a little farther than normal. I closed my eyes and felt the warm, salty water rush past my gills…
Suddenly something latched itself around the top of my tail, and something thick and heavy entangled itself in my hair and wrenched me upwards. I gurgled out something of a scream, my eyes shooting open and staring in horror at the net that had been cast over me, roughly yanking me to the surface, toward a shadowy patch of water where no light shone. I thrashed my tail around and pulled on my hair. I felt the entangled strands break from around the rope.
But my tail wouldn't come free. The rope tore into the flesh; flecks of my scales embedded themselves in the white material and the rest sinking slowly to the ocean floor. I reached my hands down to try to remove the rope, but it only grabbed ahold of me tighter. The surface was coming closer and closer. I wrenched my tail around at all angles, pleading with all my might to break the rope or escape its grasp. But then I felt the top of my head break the surface, and the cold air stung my face. I closed my eyes and fought the ropes harder, biting down on my lip.
"Don't thrash!" a voice implored. I ignored it and flailed my tail about, struggling against the restraining cords and to keep my gills under the surface of the water.
"Quiet, will you? If my father hears you, he'll figure out I've got something in the net before I cut you loose!"
I opened my eyes at those words. Cut me loose? A human boy was standing over the edge of a wooden boat, his red eyes staring into mine, a slightly panicked look on his face, with a fiery determination stamping out the panic. I'd never seen anyone with eyes that bloody color before.
"If you keep moving, I might accidently hurt you, and that wouldn't be awesome," the white-haired boy said. "So don't make a sound or move while I cut the ropes."
I nodded numbly as the pale boy pulled out a knife from his brown belt and began sawing at the ropes. He broke through the first two easily, but the closer he got to my flesh, the more entangled I seemed to be.
"Son, why are you leaning over the side of the boat?"
"Uh…there's some totally unawesome stuff floating over here, Father. Nothing to see."
"Then why are you even looking at it? Be careful and don't fall in."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." The boy sawed vigorously at the ropes again, careful not to hit my flesh. I watched earnestly, trying hard to keep quiet and still. "Once I finish cutting you out, you need to swim like hell. Get out of here so my father doesn't get you." Footsteps began approaching the side of the boat.
"What the hell is so interesting over the edge of the boat?"
The last rope snapped and I was free from the clutches of the ropes. "Thank you," I whispered before diving underneath the water silently, working my rubbed-raw tail as fast as I could, rushing away from the humans and their nets.
"Eliza, wake up!"
I opened my eyes blearily and blinked at my sister, who was floating next to my bed, smiling brightly at me. She was pulling her dark hair into pigtails and wrapping a red ribbon around each. "Father said that breakfast was soon. Bella just came to wake us up."
I groaned and rolled over. Mornings were terrible. The sun hadn't been up for very long, so the water was still cold, and it was still rather dark and murky for the first few hours before the sun truly shone throughout the whole depths of the water.
And I'd had that dream again, of all things. It just kept coming back; no matter how many times I tried to, I still couldn't forget the human boy who'd saved my life from the fishing net. Who was he, and what was he doing now? Why did he even set me free?
"Don't go back to sleep on me, Elizabeta!" Michelle chimed, smacking my tail with her blue one.
"All right, all right, I'll get up. Stop abusing me," I muttered to her and pushed myself off the bed, swimming over to the vanity and pulling a comb through my long brown hair. In the mirror behind me, I could see my youngest sister, Lili, entering, shyly fingering the green ribbon in her short blonde hair.
"Good morning," she piped sweetly. I smiled. Lili was just too frigging adorable.
Michelle swam over to her, her shell necklace jingling as she did so. Michelle gently straightened Lili's ribbon before beckoning me to come down to breakfast with the rest of them. I looked at the golden ring around my left bicep, the two ends connected by a lightning bolt, the symbol of my reign and proving I was of royal blood. It was irremovable, so impersonating me was nearly impossible.
The dining hall in our underwater palace was beautiful, one had to admit. The ceilings were tall and the top was clear, and if the water was clear enough, you could almost see all the way to the surface on a clear day. We lived close underneath a dangerous row of cliffs and underwater rocks, so ships avoided this area for fear of sinking. We were safe from humans set out to capture us for our tails in this area. For centuries, ever since humans discovered us, we've been hunted for our tails. If a human eats the tail of a mermaid, he or she will become immortal. Fortune seekers, pirates, royalty, and other types of humans search far and wide to find us. Apparently, the highest glory in the human world would be the capture a mermaid.
Which makes it all the more puzzling why that boy let me go eleven years ago.
I sat down at the long table, Michelle on my right side. The tall, empty chair at the head of the table belonged to my father, the king. Lili slid into the seat across from Michelle, and my sister Bella took her seat across from me with a pleasant "good morning." Down and across the table, my close friend Feliciano was bouncing up and down in his chair, waving enthusiastically at me and calling my name. I waved back and beamed brightly at him while his twin brother, Lovino, snapped at him to "shut the hell up and put your ass in the seat." Lovino wasn't pleasant in the mornings. Actually, he wasn't pleasant at any time during the day.
My father came in then, his red scales flashing brightly in the morning sun. The whole table chorused "Your Highness" respectfully and rose, sitting back down a moment after he did. The servants all flew out from the kitchens with a loud clinking of dishes as they set in front of us our breakfast. A bowl of brown kelp…and a bowl of green seaweed.
I stared at the meal and sighed internally. Those of us who had been to the surface and had knowledge of humans had told me all about the wonderful, vibrantly colored meals the humans ate. Sometimes, they even had multiple courses and it wasn't, well, slimy. Seaweed's great and all, but eating something colored not green or brown? And eating something different everyday? I wished I could see that for myself.
My father ate quickly as he usually did, and then rose to place a kiss on each of our heads before leaving to work on whatever kingly affairs he worked on. I was glad I didn't have to sit through boring meetings day in and day out like Bella did, as the heir to the throne. I had the freedom to what I pleased. Well, within reason. Father kept a close eye on me ever since I was caught and came back covered in rope burns; I can still see the faint outline of one on my tail where some of the scales rubbed off and didn't completely heal. I wasn't allowed to go to the surface; but that didn't mean I listened. It was a simple matter of sneaking out of the palace, around the guards, and then swimming quickly away until I could still see the palace, but they couldn't tell it was me, and then pop my head up and be back before the next meal.
It was simple and foolproof, just the way I liked my rule breaking.
After breakfast was over and Bella had disappeared to the throne room – she'd bust me in a heartbeat if she knew where I was going, she's overprotective like that – I made my move. Casually, I swam toward the palace gates. No guards. Perfect. Just another couple meters…
"Elizabeta, where are you going?"
I stopped and turned around slowly to find Michelle starting at me, her head cocked to one side, stroking her pet fish absentmindedly.
"Oh, just for a swim around the bazar. Maybe the gardens and the library too. Don't you have class today?" I'd finished last year, and thank goodness for that. The history of merfolk (ahem, sea beings, according to the teacher. Some old man with a stick up his tail end) was dreadfully boring and made me want to hit myself in the head with something large. I might have been dead if I was still taking it now.
"Oh, you're right, I do!" Michelle's eyebrows shot up when she realized she'd forgotten. "Have fun on your swim, Eliza!" She kicked her tail hard and sped off in the direction of the Royal Academy. I sighed, watching the bubbles float to the surface. I hated lying to Michelle. She told me everything, and she thought I told her everything. But I kept my fascination with the human world a secret. I never told her I'd spend hours in the record halls pouring over everything about humans and how they lived. I never told her about my stolen trips to the surface. I never told her I wanted to see what it was like to human sometimes. I kept that locked in my chest. Humans are the devil incarnate in the eyes of everyone else here. But they can't be made of evil. That's impossible. Every being has to have kindness in them. Like the boy who saved my life.
The guards were still on the other side of the wall, but I darted out the gates before they could see me. I swam for several minutes, halting and turning around to glance back at the palace before I went out of the water. It was a distant blob. I'd gone a little farther than I usually did, but that was fine. Maybe today I'd get a better look at humans. I was probably closer to that village I saw in the distance from my usual spot. I popped my head out of the water, feeling the sun evaporate the water of my face. I kept my neck under the water so I could look and breathe at the same time.
There was a long, bright white strip of sand that bordered the turquoise water of the ocean. A village was set up on the hill, homes with white walls and bright orange roofs. A bustling marketplace was filled with humans walking around just past the edge of the beach. The beach, and the pier next to it, was surprisingly empty. No ships were tethered to the wooden dock, and I had understood from the books that that was the point of a pier. I shrugged it off and kept starting at the small human town. Maybe if I got a bit closer….
Something wrapped around my wrist and pulled me back down under the water. I panicked, thrashing my tail around and smacking my assailant in the face.
"Elizabeta!" I stopped thrashing once I recognized the voice.
"Oh, shit, Bella! You scared me, I'm sorry!"
"Don't use foul language!" Bella snapped, rubbing the side of her head where I'd whacked her. "What on earth are you doing out here? You know mermaids have been going missing from around pier towns like this lately! What would we do if you were captured?"
I didn't have an answer for that, but Bella didn't need a response and she continued in a motherly tone. "You know better than to venture out this far. Humans are the spawn of evil itself."
"They are not!" I shot back. "Humans have good in them too."
"You've had one encounter with them, Elizabeta. You can't judge on something like that."
"You've never had an encounter. How can you conclude anything from that?"
Bella just sighed and shook her head like I was being difficult instead of correct. "You can take that up with Father. We're going home." I flicked my tail irately and sped off in the direction of the palace, arms crossed firmly over my chest. What did she know? All of them – my tribe, the other mermaid tribes – were judging these humans unfairly, just because someone in history decided that humans were consumed by greed, selfishness, and evil acts. Had anyone even tried to prove that they were good or evil or a mixture of both? Yes, some humans hunted us; but not all of them could be that way. That's just a poor sampling.
My father was at the palace gates when we arrived. His dark eyes were full of pure fury.
"What the hell were you thinking, Elizabeta?" he roared. I shrugged and didn't grant him a response. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and threw his arm up to point to the palace. "Throne room, now, young lady." I swam slowly off in the direction of the throne room. As I passed inside, I heard Father tell Bella she was dismissed for the day. So he planned on lecturing me for a long time. Fantastic.
I plopped angrily into the chair in the middle of the throne room and threw my tail over the right armrest and propped my back against the other. My father swam in and shut the door firmly behind him with a slam.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
"I just wanted to have a look. It's not a crime."
"It might as well be one! You could have been captured! The other tribe that lives in the cave system under those cliffs has been having more disappearances than ever lately in those waters. You could have been taken and killed and eaten, Elizabeta! Just because you escaped the clutches of a hunter once doesn't mean you'd be able to do it again. You know how they are."
"I do. You don't."
"I'm sorry?"
I got out of my chair and faced him, my arms crossed definitely and my stance tall. "I've met one once. A boy. He set me free. Are you seriously going to tell me that all humans are evil? He knew what I was. And he cut the ropes anyway before his father could see me. That's kindness. And you're saying humans are made of evil? You've never even met one."
"Humans changed my life in ways you could never understand, Elizabeta," my father lowered his voice dangerously but it didn't faze me.
"Really now?" I said sarcastically. "I was caught in a goddamn net. And freed. That's pretty life-changing, isn't it?"
"Elizabeta," he warned.
"I'm sick of you treating me like a child!" I finally yelled, a satisfying clap of thunder booming overhead. "I can fend for myself. I'm not a little girl! All I wanted to do was take a look at a human settlement. They're interesting and they're not evil!"
"Elizabeta, please calm yourself before you cause another hurricane."
"Like I give a shit if I cause a hurricane! I bet you actually want me to cause one, don't you? Because then maybe it'll slam some of those innocent human beings that you are so convinced are evil!"
"Don't talk about things you don't understand!" he bellowed.
"I understand just fine, thanks!"
My father grabbed my arm roughly, and I tried to wrench away but he held fast. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Elizabeta. You want to know how I know humans are evil? Hmmm? Maybe because they killed your mother for her tail."
My blood ran cold the moment the terrifying words left his mouth. "Wh-what?"
Author's Notes:
Well, here you have the first chapter of Song of Storms by myself (PurpleSkyJuliet) and the wonderful PrussiaPWNS. I will be writing in Liz's POV, and she'll be writing Mr. Awesome's POV. This is my first time collaborating and posting a full-length Hetalia fanfiction, so I'm really excited to be working with a fantastic writer and one of my favorite pairings ever. I'm really excited to present this to you, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing it! =D ~ Juliette
Ha, the Awesome shall be writing Mr. Awesome~ I won't be writing until chapter three, so I hope you can all wait until then -3- excuse my immaturity X'D FINALLY WE CAN POST THIS! Gah, I hate Fan Fiction's stupid rules. This is my first time collaborating ever and I'm happy to be sharing it with my amazing friend who has knowledge in grammar and amazing writing skills. We definitely do enjoy writing this, throwing random brainstorms at each other XP I hope you guys don't take the mermaid concept for immature. It will get slightly darker as it goes on. Too much fluff gets on my nerves -.- ~ Emily the Awesome
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