Elementum

by crystal-river

Merfolk have always feared humans who are said to be brutal and dangerous. But Roxas,an element wielder of great power and nobility,longs to try out a new life on dry land. When he meets Axel,a human ,for the first time,that is when our story begins. yaoi

The currents rocked me slowly back and forth. My blond hair flowed over my open, crystal-clear, blue eyes, gleaming in bright sunlight through the sea. I was floating on my back, watching the surface, the waves overhead slid slowly and soothingly towards nothingness. My golden tail shimmered a little and made small flapping movements to keep me horizontal.

A school of tiny silver fish swam past, a few of them touching my bare torso, hands or tail. I took no notice of this as all kinds of sea-creatures did this often. Actually, I and the inhabitants of the ocean share a rather special connection, a bond, which makes both parties feel comfortable around each other. I have this effect on them because I am a quite powerful mage though I say so myself.

I am able to wield the elements of water and air. To be able to tap into even just one of the elements in your soul is quite the accomplishment. The elements are four. Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. For those of the merfolk in the Kingdom of Elementum who can use their soul's power at all, water is the most common one. And not surprisingly when you think about it.

I reached out my hand, imagining it could break the surf a couple of hundred meters above.

"Roxas?".

I paused. I knew the demanding voice quite well.

"Roxas! Where the heck are ya boy?", Cid barked somewhere sharply below. "It's time for your training". I bit my lower lip. It was oh so tempting to just ignore Cid, pretend I couldn't hear the shouting. I would be able to slip into one of the caves under the palace, hide in the coral reef or- "ROXAS! GET YOUR BUTWIPE TO WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!", Cid growled. I could hear the murmuring voices of unpleased merfolk, complaining about the jelling this early in the morning.

"If I don't show myself soon, Gramps'll probably have a meltdown or something", I whispered to the open sea and turned face-down. I was hovering right above the stone roof of one of the high towers. From here I was able to see all the way to the Sand-mountain and all over the village surrounding the palace. There were three high towers and each had a great view.

The towers were originally made for spotting enemies in the distance, other mer-tribes or just any danger there was. They were also a great cover from arrows or direct magic. However, there was really no use for them now so they were rarely used for anything else than teaching young merfolk history.

I peeked over the edge of one of the stones rimming the roof of the rower and then slid over the side. I swam quickly down the wall, whipped my tail sharply through the water. I saw the Flower-garden below, it was a beautiful sight, colors swirled around in the currents; crabs and fish and coral reef and seaweed were everywhere and pure light from above shone freely, nothing to block it.

I couldn't see Cid anywhere, he had probably gone looking for me in the music room, that's where I should be right now actually. I watched the Flower-garden come closer and closer at alarming speed. Right before I hit the seafloor I pushed hard with my tail and raised on, right above the pebbles, my fingers trailing over them. I was a fast swimmer so it did not take long to reach the beautifully rimmed arch leading from the garden into the palace. I took the turn to the left, towards the music room and – rammed my head quite hard into something.

"Ah!", the obstacle grunted and tumbled backwards. Stars swam around before my eyes and I knew I was probably going to get a bruise on my left elbow; I'd hit it on the wall too.

"Sorry, sorry 'bout that", I apologized and shook my head to clear it. The one I'd swum into was holding his stomach, a big grin on his face.

"It's OK, Rox, I'll live", Demyx gasped and then straightened up again, took his new spear up of the ground and ran a hand over it, making sure it hadn't cracked or anything. He wouldn't have had too though because the substance used in the spear was also used in the merfolks armor, quite strong stuff.

"Demyx", I sighed, happy to see him, and hugged him.

"Ugh, not so tight ,champ", he gasped and I let him go again, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry…", I said again and ran a hand through my hair. "Aww, come here", he said and took me in a headlock.

"Mn, Demyx, I'm in a hurryyyy!", I giggled and pushed at his side lightly. "I know, you almost swam right through me", he said accusingly.

I pulled my head free and crossed my arms. "It's totally your fault if Cid and Cloud get all pissed cause I'm late for session", I said but Demyx merely rolled his eyes. "They're always pissed. And you're always in a session", he said pouting and I poked my tongue out at him.

Demyx was a couple of years older than me, not really muscular but had really good control over the element of water. He was even a little better at controlling it than me. Actually, some of my water-controlling-lessons were taught by him. Demyx had a long, blue tail, the color a little matter than usual.

"You know, that spear won't break in two even if a shark tries to bite through it", I said teasingly. "I know", Demyx said grinning, running a hand over it gently. "I just can't believe I finally got accepted into the guardian-ranks, after all this time", he sighed happily.

I smiled warmly, thinking about all the times I'd watched Demyx train secretly long after everyone else had gone to bed(or should have gone to bed rather). Leon, Cid and Vexen had also worn him out often, both in magic-combats and hand-to-hand (or sword-to-sword or spear-to-sword and wise versa ). Sometimes I even got a little worried when I'd see dark bruises or wounds on Demyx's upper body but Demyx, always cheerful, always smiling, never complains.

"Well", I said, "you'll be the best guardian there ever was". Demyx blushed a bit, opened his mouth as to say something but then closed it again. I laughed, finding it funny how easy it was to make Demyx fluster.

"Roxas…", Demyx mumbled and flicked his hand, making a signal. I felt a warm current of water swirl me around and then push me away. "Come on Demyx, don't be so modest about it", I said and turned around again. Demyx laughed and bowed his head, "What ever your majesty says".

I snickered, Demyx knows well what I feel about that title, "whatever".

"Roxas", someone said harshly behind me. I met Demyx's gaze, saw he clearly pitied me and then I turned around.

"Leo~on", I said, trying to sound as happily-surprised as I could.

Leon was a great warrior of the Kingdom. He could not use elements but he was strong and tough and quite strict. And if there was anything that bothered him, it was 'not following the rules'.

Leon's face hardened. "Don't 'Leon' me", he said and looked sharply at Demyx who probably cringed away but I couldn't be sure, too busy watching the seafloor.

"You know Cid and Cloud are looking for Roxas, do you not?", Leon said, his voice smooth as silk.

"Well, not exactly…I mean, maybe?…I did?", Demyx babbled but Leon breathed quickly in through his nose and grunted. "Yeah, I bet you just couldn't hear Cid's earsplitting jelling earlier?".

I saw Demyx struggling to come up with something to sooth Leon but his only seemed to annoy him.

"Aww, come on Leon", I said and shifted between the two. I started to regret calling Leon's attention to myself at once as his eyes pierced me. "And you", he said and I stared back bravely, "you should get going to session". "I was just-", I began but Leon cut me off. "Now".

Every once in a couple of hundred years or so, a special child is born into the Kingdom of Elementum which rests on a beautiful and ancient coral reef on a sunny spot some distance from a bunch of small islands. This child will have the ability to unlock not just one of the elements sleeping in its soul but two. This is so rare that the fortunate one is automatically moved into the palace to become a person of royalty, no matter who is king or queen at the time. It is said that this element-wielder can be the savior of many lives, the sea-creatures will love and support this mermaid or man and feel peace in their presence. Of course there are other merfolk who can tap into one element inside themselves and use it, some better than others, not surprisingly this is often the element of water. A lot of merpeople can not use their elements at all. The commoners live outside the palace in villas made of bright stone and coral, the royalty lives in the palace but anyone can enter it as long as they show the sign of Elementum tattooed on their forearm(a faint-blue crown).

In the very beginning, the ones who had the greatest control over their element were chosen to guard the rest of their tribes. (If a tribe was lucky, he had someone who could use two elements. It was more frequent that someone like that would be born back then than now). However, with time, this was reverted as the people of the sea found the magic of those who had great elements was more useful behind the line of fire than in it. Later, peace was formed between many of the great tribes but since the element-wielders had been so respected for a long time, they held their place as kind of a higher-ranked in the mer-society, moved inside the palace and used their elements for good.

Nowadays, most of the royalty has rather good control over their element because of a pure line of element-wielders. Those outside the castle who are born with even just some ability to use an element are also automatically respected by others and are often trained to become the palace's guards.

I swam slowly through the door into the music room. It was bright and inviting, a place I often used to visit when I was younger. A teen with blond hair was looking out of one of the big windows, his back to me.

"Did Cid finally find you?", Cloud asked, didn't seem to be upset at all at how late I was. I hesitated, " No, I bumped into Leon at the Flower-garden gate", I said and swam to him. Cloud nodded and turned to face me. He was fair, many of the mermaids longed for him to be their mate but Cloud did not seem to be interested in any of them. He had a beautiful white tail; the edges of each scale hinted at a silver lining, the sign of Elementum clear on his skin. Cloud, like Leon, could not use any elements but he sure knew how to fight with sharp metal. He was also the best music-teacher Roxas had ever met(although Demyx really gave him a run for his money, he was great with the sitar).

"Finally", I heard someone else sigh in the room.

"Sora?", I asked and looked around. Sora was in the far-corner, a violin in his hand. "I didn't hear you playing when I got here", I said and smiled. "That's because I just finished my first song right before you decided to show up", he said and gave me a look which clearly said he was a little annoyed at how late I was. "Sorry, I forgot the time", I said. "Yeah, right", Sora said and grinned at Cloud which merely nodded once to show he'd heard him.

I rolled my eyes at Sora. "It's not like you haven't been late before too", I said and made my way to the piano, one of many instruments in the room. "Shut up", he said and whipped his deep blue tail so it shone in the sunlight. I didn't bother to answer Sora as he was a little too proud not to punch my arm and it already hurt from running into Demyx.

"I think both of you should play some music now, don't you?", Cloud said soothingly and Sora and I met each others gaze. If there was anything we were good at, it was playing the most beautiful sonnets together.

The relationship I and Sora have is a little complicated. Or well, it really isn't, but still. So, I'm Roxas, 16 years old, I can use two elements, I can play the piano and I can talk with fish, turtles, and even some flowers in the ocean, which other merfolk can't do. I, however, do not have a choice about being in the palace. It is something which was written in history books long before I was even born. I know that it may sound Cliché-ish to you but, I was found abandoned right outside Elementum. My parents or mother or uncle, I have never known who it was, apparently just left me there, either to be found by the merfolk or to be eaten by whatever was hungry enough. Maybe they knew what I was and maybe they didn't. Anyway, one of the magic-guardians, Vexen to be precise, found me and brought me inside the Kingdom. Later, when they found out I was so special, I was moved into the palace. I was so young when all this happened, I do not remember a time when I was not swimming inside the palace, talking to guardians or fish, having fun. And there I met Sora. He was the same age as me. He was also living in the palace. We often played together, laugher together, played music together, shared secrets. And much later, I found out that Sora was the rightful heir to the throne…or he would have been if I hadn't shown up.

This was a shock to me, I didn't want to rob Sora of his rights but even he said it was alright. He was lying. But he never showed it. Ever. Which made it even worse. This was when we were about 8 years old. With time, I think he might have come to terms with this reality, at least I never notice anything bothering him anymore when people speak to me as 'your majesty' or 'highness'(although it bothers me). Now, being called 'mage Roxas', was something else because a mage means something great and powerful. Don't get me wrong, I and Sora are best friends, but sometimes I still feel guilty about the whole thing(even if I know it's not my fault).

"Roxas?".

"Huh?", I hummed absentmindedly. "I thought we were going to play something?", Sora said and poked my shoulder. "Uh, yeah, sorry", I said softly, "I got lost in my thoughts". "We could see that", Cloud said and smiled faintly.

"So,", he added, "what were you two thinking about playing today?". I glanced at Sora, he always had strong opinions so I figured I'd just let him choose. Sora watched the sealing for a few seconds and then felt me looking at him. He met my eyes and grinned. "How 'bout we just start where we left off yesterday?", he suggested and I nodded.

I took my place behind the big, black piano and sat down on a stool. This piano was special; it had no pedals for the feet. Sora put the violin, his favorite instrument, to his chin and got ready.

I placed my fingers on the cool notes and joy filled my thoughts; making music was one of my most enjoyable activities. Cloud didn't pick up any instrument as he was only listening today. I wondered for a brief moment about whether, if Cloud had Demyx's water-power and he didn't, Demyx would be teaching me music?

Cloud held his hand up, prepared to make the signal and-

"Cloud, I can't seem to find the brat anywhere! I bet he's just gazing at some seaweed somewhere and not giving a damn 'bout nothing as usually", Cid barked as he swam through the entrance. "I can't believe he's still so childish". Cid took a deep breath, he wasn't finished," Doesn't he know my time is valuable? Just 'cause he's special doesn't mean he has the right to just, you know", Cid said, apparently he couldn't get his mind around anything bad enough.

My eyes widened. What?

Sora was not happy about Cid. "Hey", he said harshly but Cid didn't hear or see him.

"He always does this, floats around, not a care in the world. I know this is just some diddle-doodle-ing he's supposed to be doing right now but…", Cid said fuming. I didn't know what to say. I would have liked to stand up for myself but I just couldn't remember how to use my body or how to make a sentence. Good thing Sora and Cloud did.

"Cid!", Sora jelled. "Roxas is right over here! Don't you have eyes?". And Cloud, who was nearly always as cool as ice did not take it lightly to hear someone calling his teachings 'diddle-doodle'. He clenched his fists and his face hardened.

"It is art to be able to created something others can enjoy", he said stiffly, he didn't raise his voice, which made it a little more scary (or so I thought ). "And Roxas could hear you too", Sora grumbled and pointed at my face, waving his hand. Cid, who never got thrown off balance, didn't now either. He followed Sora's pointing and finally saw me, sitting in a pile of accusations about me apparently just floating around all day and not having a care in the world, as childish as I was.

"Well", he said and there was a 'thump' as his palm came flat down on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud, still stiff, shuffled out of his way.

"There ya are kiddo", Cid laughed and swam towards me. I couldn't look him in the eyes. Why did he have to be so mean? Don't get me wrong; he was fine most of the time…if he was on your side that is. Sora saw how down I was and swam in between us. "You should apologize to Roxas, Gramps", Sora said and crossed his arms. Cid looked at Sora and decided it would probably be best to just get it over with so he muttered more to Sora than me ,"yeah, sorry", and then pushed Sora a little with his shoulder to get to me.

I couldn't look at Cid. I just sat there all limp and thought of ways to get out of there. "Didn't see ye there, kid", Cid said and ruffled my hair. "Mm…", I hummed, didn't think I would be able to speak without my voice cracking. Maybe others would say I was a little too emotional, but hey, that's just the normal everyday me, whether I liked it or not.

"Ya know I didn't really mean any of that bullcrap, right? I was just a bit pissed ya see, couldn't find ya anywhere", he said cheerfully. I felt a lump form in my throat. Everything had been so great a couple of minutes ago. Why couldn't I just be strong, like Sora, or Leon, or Cloud, or everyone else?

"We have practice", Cloud said, clearly indicating Cid to get this over with and leave. "I know, I know", Cid said and shrugged. I was still staring at the notes on the piano, good thing we were in the ocean, if we weren't, the tears I was trying to hold back would have given me away.

Sora sighed dramatically, "Cid, isn't it enough that Roxas and I have to practice fencing and fighting and wrestling and, whatever, with you every other day?". "Wuss'at?", Cid said snickering, "what I teach you will save both of your lives someday, I guarantee it".

Cloud was clearly loosing his patience. He made a 'Hu-hum' noise and said, "Cid, please?".

Cid looked at him over his shoulder. "Cloud, chillax, I'm about to leave, gotta show the wannabe-guards what they're asking for. Leon has probably already started without me already".

But I'd had enough. I was really crying now, why did everything have to be so stupid and dumb today? Why couldn't I just smack Cid in the face and tell him to back off?. I rose and glanced at Sora. He saw how I was feeling. And that made it even worse.

"Roxas…", he began and raised a hand but I'd already swum through the nearest window. Cloud didn't say anything but I could hear Sora jelling at Cid, "look what you just did!". Cid sighed and mumbled something like, "not my fault he's so fragile…I just can't seem to handle him right". But now I was too far away to hear them anymore. As I've mentioned before, I'm a pretty fast swimmer and now, with the added strength of humiliation and anger, I dashed through the cold sea. Everything became a blur. All I knew was that I was weak and Cid was right. I made some gestures with me hands and felt my water-magic help the sea push me forward faster.

After a couple of minutes just swimming straight ahead, I finally calmed down a bit. There was still some weight pressing down on my shoulders but the crying had helped a lot. Sometimes you just have to cry, you know? Especially if you haven't done it in a really long time. I glanced back, Elementum was barely visible and no-one seemed to have followed me. I thanked Cloud silently for that, he had probably stopped Sora and Cid from trying to catch my tail.

Normally I wasn't allowed to go this far without escort. I rolled my eyes. Escort wasn't the right word. I just had to have somebody with me and so I often dragged Demyx or Sora along. Leon often tailed us though, just in case anything real happened. But it had yet to come to that, plus, I could probably look after myself if there wasn't any major danger.

I made my way to the seafloor; smooth rock, which spread out a couple of meters in every direction, then sand took it's place again, and sniffled. Now that the sadness had almost all gone away, anger squeezed itself in its place. How dare Cid say insulting things like that about me? I glanced back and could just about hear his annoying laughter. I suddenly hated how he called me 'kid'. I saw red, turned my attention to the stone under me again and punched it with all I had. Twice. Pain shot up my arm and all the way to my shoulder. I groaned and bit down hard. "Graaagh..", I moaned and pushed the back of my hand to my forehead, a trail of red following it's coarse. My knuckles throbbed in beat with my heart and I grumbled. The anger was still coursing through my veins and I looked desperately about to find something to rip or claw. There was really nothing there except sand, rock and a few blubbery jellyfish floating by.

"What am I, stupid?", I mumbled to myself. "I'm a mage for crying out loud", I said, my voice getting higher with every word, power building up in my body. I pictures Cid's face on the grey surface off the rock below, thought of the words he'd used. "I'm way stronger than you'll ever be, Cid", I screamed at the ground and – my palms thrust the rock, not very hard, not even very quickly. But the effect was great, a rumble came from everywhere around me, making my ears ring, the sea went hard for a moment and then a deep, bold crack split the solid stone. It lengthened and widened a bit before the rumbling and pressure faded again. The crack was at least some 8 centimeters wide and 3 or 4 meters long. I rarely used my magic this boldly. The tension in my body faded with the magic and I smirked. "And here we are, eh?". I was quite proud of myself, I wasn't even an earth-mage but yet, the rock had cracked. All the anger had faded away now along with the sadness.

But my head was getting all fussy. "Ugh", I breathed and my head sagged to one side. The sea around me went dark. I sank down slowly, I could barely feel myself hit the bottom beside the crack smoothly. I was on my back, trying to maintain consciousness. Maybe, I over did it a bit? This was the last thing which I managed to think before blackness overcame me.

There was an eco somewhere in the darkness…music? …No…

Something hurt. A flicker in the dark. I could feel my hand aching, not much but enough to help me find the 'now'. And –,"unreliable… hmp, inacceptable" – there was definitely someone talking near by. That someone was hurting my hand. I could feel a palm under my head, holding it off of the ground. I moaned. The hand froze.

"Roxas?", the voice said quickly.

"Roxas! Can you hear me?". I moaned again, and opened my eyes. They were a bit blurry but I could definitely see brown hair and sharp eyes. I closed them again. Not Leon. I felt Leon sigh against my arm; the one hurting, and opened my eyes again. "Could you please stop?", I asked, "it hurts".

Leon smiled. This was a rare occasion, which meant Leon had probably been quite worried about me(hence the angry mumble before).

"I have to bandage your hand", he said and I saw he was wrapping my hand up firmly with some dark seaweed. I glanced up and saw, by the light, that it was a little over noon. This meant I hadn't been out for a really long time, maybe half an hour?

"What happened to you?", Leon asked when he'd finished binding my hand. I looked away. "I-", I began but then paused. I moved my fingers a little and then said, "I punched the ground a little harder than I intended". Leon looked at my face and I felt my cheeks become red. Leon was still holding my head and had moved his other one under my tail, he rose, holding me gently in his arms, I saw him glance at the crack in the rocks. I didn't want to explain anything and Leon probably felt the tension in my back so he didn't ask at all.

Leon started swimming back with fast, precise strokes but I pushed at his hard chest," I can swim by myself, Leon, let me go". Leon merely smirked and I felt his grip tighten. "Roxas…", he said slowly, maybe he was thinking about how to phrase his next sentence. I waited, he would say what he had to if I just gave him some space.

"I was worried about you", he finally sighed. I let my head rest on his shoulder. "Sorry", I mumbled. Leon shrugged, "when I saw you lying there, I got… scared", he managed. I didn't say anything. It was rare for Leon to talk about his feelings, I wasn't going to spoil this moment of purity. "Cloud and Sora got worried about you when you didn't come back a couple of minutes later; you usually do". I blushed again. "Not true", I breathed. Leon didn't answer. I hummed. Leon stared straight ahead, then broke the silence again, "Even Cid". I frowned. "You're lying, Cid doesn't worry about anything, least of all me", I said but immediately wish I hadn't; Leon doesn't lie.

"Sorry", I whispered again. Leon just shuffled me a little so I could rest against him more comfortably.

"Leon!", someone jelled. We both looked to our left and saw Demyx dash towards us. I smiled and jerked my hips quickly up so Leon lost his hold off me. I regretted it as soon as I was free. Dizziness flowed over me and I felt Leon's hands on my shoulders, then he cradled me to his chest again. Demyx finally caught up to us, panting, and a worried frown was plastered on his face. "What happened? Are you OK? Where did you find him, Leon? Is there anything I can do?", Demyx bombed the questions at Leon and me; which Leon did not like. He just started swimming to Elementum again, ignoring Demyx all together.

This didn't throw Demyx off, he just swam along side him, focusing on me. "You OK?", he asked. "Yeah, it looks worse than it actually is", I said and smiled, it was kinda cute how worried he was. Demyx relaxed a bit but then noticed my arm. "You're hurt", he yelped but Leon gave him a look which told his to quiet down. "Oops", he whispered, "it just surprised me, that's all". I sighed and smiled again. "Were you looking for me too?", I asked a little worried; I didn't want my tantrum to have caused a huge search or anything.

"Actually", Leon shot in, "Sora went to Demyx and asked him for help, he couldn't go search himself, being royalty and all. Demyx then came to me for help. We two were the only ones who searched for you because there was to be no fuss, and that's how we want to keep it". Demyx nodded and made a motion like he was closing a zipper over his mouth. I giggled and did the same.

Now we'd reached Elementum and Leon looked at me, "can you swim yet?", he asked. "I think so", I said and Leon let me go. I felt a bit lightheaded but fine otherwise. Leon glanced at Demyx. "Will you take him to his room and make sure he has some rest, Demyx, please?".

Demyx grinned and patted my head, "Sir, no problem, sir". Leon grumbled. "I have to go and help Cid with the guards-in-training again, OK? Demyx, don't loose Roxas will you". Then he went.

I smiled at Demyx. "It might be good to get some rest actually", I said and suddenly felt how tired I was. It's just a little over noon my mind said but I ignored it. Demyx smiled warmly and took my uninjured hand. "Let's get you to bed then", he said.

We swam through hallways and up spiraling stairs, past guards and passing merfolk. Then we entered a restricted section of the palace; the night quarters. Only guards and those who lived here could enter. Demyx and I swam on to the furthest door to the right, Demyx opened the double door and led me inside. My room was full of flowers, bright stones I'd collected over the years, some fish and seaweed, and a few other belongings like a small, silver trident and a beautiful compass. I didn't really have a lot of items; why would I need too? In here, in my bedroom, I always felt at ease. This was my sanctuary, my place which I could decorate as I liked. My bed was in there too, up against the wall facing the doors; all big, fluffy and comfy.

I swam slowly towards the bed and let myself sink into the covers, sighing with delight. Demyx sat on the sheets too and poked a small seahorse which swam past his nose. The seahorse jumped and hurried away. I laughed and then looked at Demyx who made small whirlpools with his tail, looking out the big, round hole in the ceiling.

"I was kinda stupid huh, going off like that", I sighed. I could always tell Demyx everything.

"Well," Demyx said thoughtfully, "I don't know exactly what happened but according to Sora, it was pretty serious. I guess you had a good reason". I hummed and made small air bubbles with my fingers. The bubbles swirled around and then collided into one huge bubble which then floated up and through the hole.

"Wish I could do that", Demyx said and smiled. I hummed again and shifted a bit, "I wish I couldn't".

Demyx pursed his lips, "Guess it's a lot of responsibility, eh?". I smiled sadly; if only he knew. If only they all knew. It wasn't just the 'living in the palace' and 'learning fighting with and without magic'. It was also 'being the center off all attention, always' and 'being expected to act like this or that' and 'doing the right things and saying the right things'. And also knowing I could never just do what I wanted to do when I wanted, like, going to another kingdom just for sightseeing or let myself disappear for a few days to collect treasures.

"I wish I could just be normal for a change", I said. "Or at least go someplace where I had no obligations 'cause of my elements. Maybe you and I should swish placed for a few days".

Demyx looked at me with a strange expression. I blushed a bit. "What?".

Demyx shook his head, "Nothing, nothing". I poked my tongue out at him. Demyx grinned and patted my hurt hand very lightly, "Get some rest now, or else Leon will come barging in to sing you a lullaby".

"Ugh", I moaned and then we laughed. After that Demyx left and I was alone. I made a few more air bubbles, a crab nearby was really interested in those and I played with it for a while. Then I turned on my side and closed my eyes.

When I woke and turned my head on the soft pillow to look out the window, it was dark. I could see flickers of neon-lights thou; some sea creatures glow in the dark. I closed my eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. I sighed, everyone would be asleep now except for some of the guards and I couldn't really do anything entertaining alone…except…

I got up and looked around, the walls had a few sleeping animals on them; a few crabs, some snails. And there was also a squid. I poked it gently, feeling a little bit bad for waking it up. The squid purred, or well, kinda purred, and woke up. I opened my palm and the squid, maybe three inches long, swam slowly into it. Then, something beautiful happened. Tiny flickers of light started spiraling up and down the squids body, changing color frequently. The light grew brighter and moved faster. This was not a bright light but enough for me too see where I was going. I thanked the squid by stroking it's side gently and then made my way to the door, the squid still in my hand. My heart was thumping a little faster than normally, I was not used to traveling in the dark, things lurked there. And even if they didn't, it felt like they did. The hallway was empty, no sounds, no movement. I swam quickly through it, turned down another path and felt my breathing quicken. "No worries, squid", I whispered to my light sours, "there's noting to be scared about". I knew I was also convincing myself just as much as I was convincing Mr. Squid.

A couple of minutes later I had reached my destination, I had not run into any guards or anyone else and that made me smile; I felt like a ninja. I watched the closed, heavy, white and beautifully carved door in front of me. The dull light from Mr. Squid must have been tricking my eyes; it looked as though the door was moving… breathing. There ran a small shiver down my spine, all the way down to the tip of my tail and made me look around. Then I laid my free hand and shoulder up against the cold door and pushed.

Once I was in I saw a few jellyfish, glittering, and thanked Mr. Squid for his help. I turned around and closed the door again; it wasn't my intension to disturb anyone in their sleep (plus, the guards might not hear me at all now). The lights from the jellyfish were pink, purple, white and blue/green, all very pretty. I glanced at the piano, I hadn't played today at all. I pursed my lips but then smiled. If there was anything that cheered me up when I was down; it was making music.

I sat on the low stool and stroked the white and black notes gently. I didn't need to look at any tablature or guidelines, this was natural for me. If I wanted too I could improvise just as fast and easily as only a few grownups I knew of could.

The slow, soft, soothing, almost vibrating melody flowed as a cloud through the ocean, capturing the undivided attention of everyone and everything which heard it. It also washed away all my worries and I didn't feel any pain at all in my injured hand. The light in the room changed in sink with the mood, became soothing and calming. My mind shoved me happy memories of Sora, Demyx, Leon, Cloud, Kairi, Cid (he was OK when he felt like it, honest), Saïx and even Vexen too. Love filled my heart and I knew they loved me too. But then the tones in the melody changed a bit, became sadder. I remembered all of my duties, Sora's smile when he'd tell me what a great king I'd make one day, how, even though I had friends, I still couldn't connect well with the kids outside the castle like Hayner and Pence.

The last few notes lingered in the water for a few moments, then everything became very still.

I wish, I though to myself, deep in thoughts, that I could just be normal sometimes.

I'd often thought those things, wondered if it was possible but never really seen any solution.

Can't I just give Sora my Throne-to-be?

I sighed, started fiddling with the seaweed on my hand. I really wasn't sleepy anymore; going back to my room would just be boring. I swam to the window, slowly, thoughtful, and let my eyes wander around the castle-garden. Then to the village sleeping soundly, a few glowing specks in the dark sea, and then up; towards the surface.

The surface…

I hummed and bit my lip. It was really tempting and exciting to go to the surface. But of course that was strictly off limits. Nobody except a few well trained guards very allowed to surface, it was way too dangerous.

Of course, I had been up there once though, just to check what was really there. Leon and Vexen and Xemnas (our king at the moment) and Saïx and Cid and Cloud and everyone else who heard about this scolded me for weeks. I'm not kidding, weeks.

There was a good reason for this ban though. Up on the surface, above sea-level, there were humans. Strange and cruel merfolk who had been banished by the Sea-God, Poseidon, many thousand of years ago from the ocean, never to return, because they had tried to steal his Globe; which held all of the sea's life in it. To ensure this, he had split their tails in two and taken away their ability to breath underwater. But humans were very smart, they made things, buildings, devises and food that you couldn't get your hands on anywhere else. They knew how to hunt and had many veritable cultures. Then things they crafted were said to be like magic, no logic seemed to apply to some of it. But they were also greedy, always wanting more and more. It was said that even though they had families and friends as we did, the only one they loved and cared for the most was themselves. Their world was beautiful but they didn't notice. Their flowers were said to smell much nicer than ours but they trampled them down. Their animals were many and some just as smart as the humans, but they didn't care.

They puzzled me a lot, the humans. I wondered what they would do if they found out about us. Would they become our friends? Our enemies? Would they not care about us, just like they didn't care about the world, the flowers, the animals and each other? Or would they try and catch us because of the greed? That's what Vexen believed at least.

I watched the blackness over head. I could not make out the ocean's surface. That time when I had surfaced, I was 7, it had been broad daylight. I remembered the enormous, light-blue, sky looming over everything, so crystal smooth. I remembered the Sun, so bright my eyes had watered and Her silhouette had printed itself on the back of my eyelids. I remembered bird. What funny creatures. They had been very friendly, watched me with black, curious eyes and then glided through the air, effortlessly as the currents in the sea. I also remembered the small island with the trees and the hills and the waterfall and the small dock. I had been too far of to see anything else though. And some way of, there had been the mainland.

It hadn't seemed dangerous at all. It was pretty, colorful and hot.

I had made up my mind. I slid through the window, kept close to the stone wall and looked around. I didn't see anyone. I swam slowly upwards, my heart was picking up the pace. I reached the top of the wall; I would slide up the side of one of the towers and then dash for the surface. The tower seemed gloomy, old and scarier than I recalled. 10 meters, then I'd be in the clear.

4 meters.

1 meter.

My head poked over the side of the stone-rimmed side of the watchtower and I nearly cried out loud, good thing my stomach had blocked my airway.

A guard, Titus(I had never spoken to him but knew who he was), half sat, half lay right across the tight space. I was right behind his head, his dirty-blond locks swirled very slowly about. He didn't seem to have heard me.

I covered my mouth with my hands; didn't want Titus to feel my breathing on his neck. I should probably turn back while I still could, he would definitely see me out of the corner of his eye if I went by.

I sunk lowly a few centimeters; enough to loose sight of him again. I was surprised Titus didn't seem to hear my heart beating, my ears felt like they might explode.

Just go slow, OK?

It took me a few seconds to gather myself together before I could peek over the edge again. Titus hadn't moved an inch. I waited. And waited some more. When I felt like I couldn't take it anymore, I edged my way a little to the side, so I would be able to see in what direction Titus was looking. Well, turns out, Titus wasn't looking anywhere. In fact, he was sound asleep on his guard duty. I breathed out shakily, then shook my head. If I wasn't about to break the rule I would have poked him and given him a look.

I swam slowly upwards at first, making sure he wasn't bluffing, and then shot up like a dolphin. Elementum had soon darkened too much for me to make it out below. For a few second everything was pitch-black. But then, very faint, some dim riffling suggested the surface. I saw dark-blue waves, gentle, probably no wind, and heard the soothing sound which followed.

I slowed down, looked back down, didn't see any signs of pursuit and smiled to myself.

I flicked my tail to cross the final meters of ocean separating me from the clean, crisp air I had only once before tasted on my tongue, and broke the surface.

-xoxo-

Oh my God, it was cold!

I sputtered out some water, shook my head; water droplets flying in every direction and then used my hand to wipe away the last of the water from my face. And opened my eyes.

The blue open space I remembered was gone. I gasped, my eyes widened and I felt the cold, cold air rasp in my lunges. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. The sky was glittering!

"Woo~owh", I breathed and gulped; still adjusting to the cold. White clouds formed in the air when I exhaled but I hardly noticed. "So it was true then… there really is magic", I whispered. The glittering dots were everywhere. Nothing in the sea could even try and mimic it. Even when a school of silver fish swam by and the light glittered in their scales. Even the most beautiful stones were nothing compared to this. Even if I'd call every creature capable of emitting light in the dark together and ask them to shine; it would not be able to compete against this, this, enormousness. And then, many times bigger then any of the other glittering dots, many times brighter, one dot loomed in the blackness. It was not a total circle, it seemed like there was a slice or two missing. I wondered how anyone had been able to get up there and gather the pieces. Could it be this was the Moon? It was much nicer than the Sun. You could look at the Moon forever and never look away. The soft glow shone on the dark ocean was very pretty. My golden tail glistened, so did my dry hands and chest.

I don't know how long I stared up at this wonderful and never ending fairytale, floating in my back, scooping up water every now and then over my torso so I wouldn't freeze. But finally the dark shape of the nearest island caught my eye.

"I wonder if there is more magic on land? Surely there must be", I told the light-dots and the Moon. I watched the island. It was the one with the dock and the trees. There seemed to be a beach too, a fairly big one. I wasn't that far off. It can't hurt to take a look. I mean, no one will even know I left my bedroom.

And with that, I was off, swimming swiftly towards the island. I swam underwater. After a few minutes I could see the bottom, soft, white sand. I dove, ran my fingers over the sand, small whirlpools formed and then got lost somewhere behind me. I passed some crabs, shells and seaweed, smiling to a white octopus.

I slowed down, by now, if I arched my back, I would be able to feel the sand under my torso and lift my head out of the ocean at the same time. And very slowly, very carefully, I peeked over the surface(my mouth still under).

It took me some time to register everything I was seeing. The beech was a bit smaller then I had thought but it was very nice. By the old, soggy dock there were a few small boats. There were a lot of palm trees and bigger ones I didn't know the name of too. There was a small shack, some planks and it seemed like water was flowing from a hole in one of the cliffs into a small pool some way behind the beach. My eyes flickered to the right and a dark row of planks up high caught my eye. They seemed to form a long, solid line from the island and onto a mush smaller patch of cliffs and sand some meters away. The humans must use this to cross over and then back again without getting wet.

I lay there in amazement, this was almost as interesting, if not more, than the glittering sky, which by the way seemed to have faded a bit. There was a gray smudge by the horizon.

I had seen no movements on the island all the time I'd been there. "Ahh", I sighed, "I wish I could…well, wish I was brave enough to jell or something; see if anyone answered". I swirled my hands in the ocean thoughtfully. If anyone is on this island right now they must be sound asleep. If I hurry, I glanced back, saw that a little orange color had crept onto the sky (I ripped my gaze away again), I can slide forwards and onto the beach. Only for a little while, that won't hurt.

I bit my lip even though my head was telling me to do it. What would Leon say about this? He was my guardian after all, but he would probably kill me himself if I didn't die by myself.

"Oh what ever, it's not like he can control what I do". With my heart thumping thickly in my throat, my hands shaking a bit, I went so close to the shore I could not swim any closer. And then. Carefully. I started dragging myself onto dry land. MY fingers dug into the sand. It was still cold outside but I barely felt it. Then things I did feel though were for example the dry under my hands and tail. It was rough but smooth at the same time and I slid easily forward. Now only the very tip of my fin touched the ocean. I chuckled, adrenalin and happiness rushing through my veins. I rolled onto my back and rested my hands under my head. The glittering dots in the sky had disappeared. In their place there was now a pink and orange color, a hint of the blue I remembered so clearly.

I let my thoughts wander, brushed the sand of my body absentmindedly when it had dried and hummed a tune, then suddenly stopped. An idea had crossed my mind. My wind and water elements, how would they react on dry land? I sat up, it was a strange sensation, and lifted my hands so they were pointing straight forwards. Then I breathed in sharply and imagined myself pulling the ocean near me with my mind. Ripples appeared in the surface and then suddenly something amazing happened. A shaky, uneven column of sea rose into the air, reaching for my hands. I laughed astonished at this sight and pushed it back. The column split and then dropped back. I laughed again, louder than before but then scolded myself. But I wasn't finished. I gripped the air and spun it (it's rather funny to spin air, just so you know, you get this tingling sensation in your stomach). Some sand and a little water whirled around, then the air burst and gusts punched outwards. I was so astonished and bewildered I could hardly think of anything else to try out.

Then I eyed the ocean again, the gentle waves washing up on shore were beginning to shine; the Sun was about to come up, I'd have to hurry. But I decided to try out one last thing. With one part of my mind I made the water column rise again and then by concentrating, combined my two elements. Multiple water balls, 3-5 centimeters wide swirled around through the air, sometimes bumped into each other and then wobbled on. I had never done any of this before; my face must have shone as bright as I felt.

"Wow", I gasped and made the water balls rise higher, the Sun peeking over the horizon made all the colors of the rainbow play on their surface.

"Yeah, that sure is a wow alright".

My heart skipped a beat, I was so surprised. The water in the air shook and then splashed down with force. I whipped my upper body around, my mouth half open, my hands in fists, every muscle clenched.