"Quick, Ienzo, leave through the servants' quarters." The queen, Aqua, said, pushing her child to the secret door. "Go now!"

"Not without you, Mommy!" little Ienzo cried, looking desperate.

"I'll hold the guards off, my boy." Aqua said. "Please… go… If they kill you, the kingdom will truly fall."

Ienzo nodded and escaped through the door and out the hidden passages that go through the servants' quarters. Once out of the castle, he squeaked upon hearing voices of people taking over the palace and ran off, trying to find a place to hide until this all went by. Yes, he wanted to stay with his mother and father, but he knew if he did, then things could go seriously wrong.

Ienzo ran for the forests that lied just behind the palace walls and slipped into them and sought a place to hide. He had run pretty far until he tripped over an uncovered tree root. With a yelp, he landed and got a face full of decomposing leaves. He let out a sigh.

"Mommy… Daddy…" he whispered. "Oh… what do I do?"

"Over here! I heard something!" Ienzo looked up in alarm. "I think the brat came this way." With that said, he jumped back up and ran off. "There he is!" Ienzo dared glance back to just see two guards after him; that was still two too many.

Ienzo tried to outrun the two men after him and with his small size in the dense forest, it almost worked. There was a problem he didn't foresee, though, and that was a large lake. He ran to the side but stopped when the back of his tunic was snagged. With a yelp, he was yanked back and spun to look at one of the men face to face.

"Got you, you little brat." The man said. "Now, how should we kill you? Either way, your head will be on display." Ienzo whimpered and felt himself shiver.

"I hear drowning is painful. We can do that and torture the brat before letting him die and join his parents." The other said.

"Sounds good." The first one said as he dragged Ienzo over to the lake. Ienzo cried out in protest, but soon found his cries to be muffled as his head was shoved into the water. When he was raised out, he sputtered and tried to catch his breath, but he wasn't fast enough as he was shoved in again soon. When he was raised up again, he could hear the other guy say "Don't kill him too fast; we don't want the fun to run out." With that said, his head was under water again.

Ienzo dared open his eyes to look into the lake. Though it was murky, two blue orbs seemed to glow. His eyes went wide as he could see a figure staring back at him before swimming away. He was then yanked back up.

"Hey, did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Over there. Look! It's a mermaid!"

"I'll be damned. She'll fetch us a pretty penny." The guards chuckled and after catching his breath, Ienzo looked to see what he had seen staring at him in the water. He was shocked to see that this mermaid was in the lake and watching warily before smiling and splashing its tail. He then took note of how young it was; this creature had to be younger than he was.

"Come here, little one." One of the men dared to go into the water and hold out his hand; he seemed to have noticed this one was just a child and tried to coax it over. "Come here and we'll take you to the ocean where you belong." He lied without flaw. The mermaid actually neared him before smiling. "That's right. You're a lovely thing, aren't you?" He carefully reached over and caressed the creature's face. "That's right, little one." He said.

Ienzo couldn't bare this any longer. The mermaid was innocent and these greedy pigs were going to use it for profit! He knew he had to do something, especially with both men distracted. With his mind set, he tackled the other man into the water. "Go! Swim away!" he shouted.

"You prick!" The man said, drawing his sword. The other managed to shove off Ienzo and throw him in the water a bit before going over and pinning him down, though making sure not to drown him yet. "You little bastard, you should just… Huh?" He looked to see the mermaid holding his leg. He smirked, figuring it was stupid and didn't suspect a thing; the stupid one, however, was the man as the mermaid opened his mouth and began to sing a sweet and gentle song, distracting both men before pulling the first one under the water. The singing had stopped and it took a moment for the other man to regain his senses.

"Hey!" he shouted, looking to the water and trying to find where his partner and the mermaid went. He leaned out to the water and looked before drawing his hand back when the mermaid came up and held his wrist. "You…" The man didn't get any other words out before he was yanked in a bit by inhuman strength and he started writing in pain as the mermaid attacked him.

Ienzo watched with fear as the mermaid scratched and bit at the man before ripping a chunk out of his throat and even daring to eat the man's flesh. The mermaid then swam over to where Ienzo sat, too petrified with fear to even run away.

"Please… don't hurt me…" Ienzo whimpered.

"I won't." the aquatic child said in a soft voice; though soft and young, the prince knew this creature was a young boy rather than a girl. Hearing his words, Ienzo felt himself relax. "I only went after them because they were hurting you. Plus, I try not to kill unless I plan on eating." He looked to the bodies in the water, one still on the shore and the other now floating. "Speaking of… if you wish to turn away or leave, you may." The creature swam to the water and pulled the floating body under and Ienzo turned away, not wanting to witness such a thing; he would have run off, but he didn't think he could at the moment.

After several moments, the body rose up again, face down and not showing many wounds; the creature must have attacked mainly the front and limbs so as to keep the gore hidden some. The creature came up and swam over to Ienzo and smiled. "I'm Sora." He said.

"Oh… I'm Ienzo… prince of Radiant Garden and son of King Terra and Queen Aqua… or… at least I was." Ienzo sighed. "My parents… I think they're dead."

Sora frowned. "If it's any consolation, I don't have any, either." He said. He put his finned hand out and smiled. "It'll be okay."

Ienzo shook his head. "I don't think it will… I have no home to return to and the kingdom is lost… I'm too young to do anything to protect and claim it…" he said.

Sora pulled himself up more onto the shore to be near Ienzo. He patted his hand a bit and smiled. "Maybe you are now, but perhaps you will grow and take it back. Or at least try to live." He said. He pushed himself back into the water. "If you haven't anywhere to go and are afraid of more guys like those two," he looked back at the two dead men, "then come with me. We can live together, I'll teach you how to catch fish, we'll be okay."

Ienzo thought a bit before nodding. "I can't go back… might as well go forward." He said before standing up. "But… if I go to a town and give my name, people will know who I am and someone may try to kill me." He thought a bit. "Oh… maybe I can change it."

"Change it?" Sora asked.

"Yup. Like a group of rebels against corruption known as the Organization. They all used to have original names, but changed them." Ienzo said.

"What will you call yourself?" Sora inquired.

"Hmm… how about… Zexion?"

"Zexion… I like it!" Sora said. He swam along the bank. "Follow me; I'll show you to my hidden area and you'll be safe there."

Zexion nodded. "Okay." He said, walking along and smiling a bit. He missed his mother and father dearly, but he knew if he went back he would die. If he stayed with Sora, he had a chance. "By the way, how does a mermaid get out here? I thought your kind live in the ocean."

"Siren. I'm a siren." Sora said. "Mermaids are girls, mermen are boys, but sirens are for both genders; we like that word so people don't keep making mistakes."

"Oh, okay." Zexion said, nodding. "How does a siren get here?"

"Well, I can leave the water and walk once I dry enough." Sora said. "But if you'll follow me…" He swam further and led the way through the forest, even when the lake became a creek. Zexion realized the forest was much larger than he had thought and grew tired, so Sora had the former prince get in the water so he could swim and go faster while carrying him. It took a long time, but Zexion's eyes went wide as he looked out to see the ocean. "The ocean connects to that lake." He said.

"Wow." Zexion looked greatly amazed. "Sora, this is amazing."

"Yep. I'll take you to where you can stay easily." Sora told him before swimming out of the creek and into the sea, going along the shore and then a cliff. It took a while, but Sora let Zexion off near some hidden caves and the siren pulled himself up. Zexion removed his tunic and wrung it out while looking around. "It's a hidden cave with a secret path, so it'll be safe for you. And I can visit whenever." Sora said. He touched his tail and massaged it until it dried out and formed into two legs; his fins and scales all disappeared, pointed and finned ears turned normal, and his hands seemed to lose the claw-like features to them. "This can be home, right?"

Zexion looked to the cave and nodded before helping Sora up. "Yup." He said. "Home sweet home." He smiled, thankful to have a safe home.

From the author!
Heyo, lovelies! I'm hoping things went well with this first chapter. I have the story fully typed and ready to upload over the course of... I don't know the time period. So, if you liked this chapter, stay tuned for more!

And as you can guess, this first chapter (and the next couple to follow) or pretty much prologues to this fantasy filled tale.

Ciao!

~Chibi