It Started Out As A Feeling

Serena Pendragon stood alone at the harbour, her sea-green eyes scanning the horizon for some small glimmer of hope. Only five days earlier, her mother had passed away after fighting leukemia for four agonizing months. After her mother's funeral, it was decided that Serena be shipped over to America to live with her father, who had left her and her mother what she was six.

A strong gust of salty wind ripped Serena from her thoughts. She pushed her raven hair out of her eyes and once again allowed her mind to wander. Moving away from England, her home for her entire life, and moving in with someone she barely knew wasn't helping the burning heartache she felt since her mother died.

A loud honk rang through the air signaling that the boat was ready for departure, causing Serena to squeal jump about a foot in the air.

"All aboard for America!" The captain yelled loudly.

Serena scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed her small outburst. When she saw that no one was even paying attention to her, she bent over slowly and picked up her suitcase. She took a deep breath, then descended over the bridge and onto the small ship. She was then ushered by a short man in a sailor suit into the baggage compartment, where her suitcase was snatched from her hands and stuffed into what looked like a small closet. Serena shrugged her slender shoulders and sauntered away from the baggage closet and onto the deck, where she was greeted only by the salty sea air. She walked over to the edge of the ship and leaned over the side, staring out at the vast, blue ocean before her.

Another loud honk alerted Serena of the ship's departure. So I'm finally leaving, she thought sadly as the ship began to pull away from the harbour. She said her silent goodbyes to her beloved England, just as the wind blew her dark hair around her face—in the direction of her home. England is my home, and it always will be, no matter what.

A large wave suddenly struck the side of the ship, spraying Serena with icy water. She jumped back with a yelp of surprise and bumped into a middle aged woman, clad in what looked like a pink tutu.

"Watch where you're going young lady!" The woman sneered and gave Serena a disapproving look.

"Oh, I'm so sorry ma'am," Serena stuttered. "It's just that the, uh, wave startled me."

"Wave?" The woman scoffed. "There was no wave, I was right behind you."

"But..." Serena trailed off, a look of confusion plastered on her face.

Apparently having heard enough, the woman turned on her heel and waddled off, her tutu bouncing with each step.

Serena turned around just in time to see another wave splash over the side of the boat, spraying her and a family of five standing near her. She shielded her eyes from the stinging salt water and peered over at the family. Somehow, they were all still completely dry and seemed to be unaware of the water sprinkling down on them.

Serena's baffled expression soon turned into a look of horror as more waves struck the sides of the boat, causing it to rock violently. She whipped her head around in all directions, eyes wide as the waves increased in size and consistency.

"What's happening?" She screamed over the sounds of the crashing waves, only to find once again that all of the passengers were oblivious to the raging water that was attacking the ship.

A deafening crash sounded behind Serena. She whorled around and could feel the panic rising inside of her. Looming over her head was a wave that was at least 25 feet tall. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and held her breath, awaiting the impact of the ocean water.

The water hit Serena with such force that it nearly knocked the air out of her lungs, but she forced herself to hold on to her last supply of oxygen. The water knocked her off her feet and sent her reeling into the edge of the ship, then right over the side and into the deep blue ocean.

Panic seized her as the cold, salty water engulfed her body. Serena felt herself being tossed and turned with the current until she was so dizzy that she didn't know up from down. No amount of swimming lessons could help her at this rate. I'm going to die... Serena realized, helpless as her last supply of oxygen left her. Just as she felt that her lungs were going to burst, a pair of hands grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her up.

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Serena's head broke through the surface of the water and she began to suck in air greedily. Whatever grabbed her pulled her out of the water and into a small row boat. Still weak from lack of oxygen, Serena struggled to restore her air supply. I'm alive? She thought in disbelief. But how...?

She lifted her heavy eye lids slowly, her green eyes scanning her surroundings. She was in a harbour alright, but not the one in England. Tall cliffs blanketed with trees ran along the sides of the harbour and various canoe-like ships were marooned on the docks.

Serena turned her head around to face forward and her sea-green eyes locked with those of a small bearded man who sat in the boat with her.

As she looked at him, she noticed that this man wasn't just small, he was tiny. His stubby legs hung over the bench he was sitting on a good foot from the bottom of the row boat. His long beard hung to his knees and he looked as though he was barely four feet tall. Maybe I am dead... Serena wondered how this tiny man could have enough strength to pull her out of the water. I must be dreaming.

Serena noticed that she wasn't the only one staring. The concerned look in the man's eyes soon turned into utter confusion as he stared at her.

Her raven hair was dripping wet from the water and she was shivering from the cold. Her light jacket, blouse and skirt looked like clothes from another world. However, the girl's sea-green eyes were different from the pale, piercing blue ones he had seen before. Other than that, she was a complete doppelganger. It can't be, he thought incredulously. Although the look of bewilderment on her face told him otherwise.

"Wh-who are you? Where am I?" Serena stuttered, glancing around at the unfamiliar territory.

"Do you really not know?" The man replied with a questioning look on his pink face.

"Know what?" She asked before sneezing from the cold.

"Let's get you aboard the ship and into some dry clothes. The King will want to see this anyway," he muttered the last part under his breath.

Serena clutched her jacket closer to her shivering body, trying desperately to extract any warmth that it would give.

"Who... what are you exactly?" Serena asked curiously.

The man merely started rowing, ignoring her second question.

"Trumpkin," he grunted in his husky voice. "That's all you need to know."

They continued rowing in an awkward silence, Serena sneezing every couple of seconds. She tucked some of her black hair behind her ear, and couldn't help but notice Trumpkin staring at her out of the corner of her eye.

The sounds of yelling caused Serena to look up. Her jaw dropped as she stared up at a huge ship, painted with red and gold.

Trumpkin rowed the boat over to a ladder that hung beside the ship.

"Go on," he gestured for her to climb up the ladder.

Serena hesitantly stood up and began to climb up the swinging rope ladder, with Trumpkin right behind her.

She pulled herself up onto the deck, and would have fallen right back over if Trumpkin hadn't steadied her from behind. Her eyes widened to their limits as she examined that people on board. If people is what you would call them.

There were all kinds of creatures onboard the ship. One of them looked to be half man half goat, another one was a creature Serena knew as a centaur, as well as a minotaur. Not only were there magical creatures, but there were regular animals as well. Serena noticed a large, brown bear pulling up one of the sails, as well as a badger steering the ship. And they were all talking.

Serena stood there gaping at the wondrous sights in front of her before Trumpkin grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. As the two of the walked through the ship, Serena noticed the creatures stop what they were doing and stare open-mouthed at her as she passed. Serena shifted her gaze to the rather fascinating floorboards and played with the hem of her shirt uncomfortably. She hadn't realized they had stopped until Trumpkin spoke, causing her to look up.

"My King, you may want to see this," Trumpkin said solemnly.

In front of Serena stood a handsome boy who looked to be her age, if not a little older. He was tall, at least six inches taller than her, with long dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. He's their king? Serena thought in disbelief. But he's so young!

She soon forgot her thoughts as his brown eyes met her green ones and he stared at her with a look of pure astonishment on his face.

"Susan," he whispered in a thick Spanish accent before pulling Serena into a tight embrace.