Chapter 4
It didn't take long for May to reach her chamber. She'd swam through the palace's network of passages so many times that she knew them by heart. She came to her room and floated in, still frowning after what she heard at the ceremony. As she floated there aimlessly, Popplio swam up to her curiously.
"Hey Popplio," she said, giving a weak smile in response. "Did you miss me?" Popplio nodded and swam into May's chest, snuggling close to her. May's smile widened as she hugged the little Pokemon. As she floated there, her eyes drifted to her window, overlooking the vast ocean. She gently flicked her fins and moved over to the window, gazing out at the seemingly endless expanse. Her sisters all had windows that angled towards the surface, allowing the light of the moon and sun to shine directly into their rooms. In contrast, May's window looked straight out at the ocean, so that one would have to look through at an odd angle to catch a glimpse of the surface. May, of course, was more interested in watching the light from above shine through the water, waving with the currents and sparkling off the occasional school of fish.
"Wait a minute," she said, perking up as a thought occurred to her, "the moon is full tonight, and the sun's gonna rise in about an hour. That means…" Her smile returned, lighting up her face. She let go of Popplio and started to swim for the corridor. "I'll be back in an hour, Popplio! Be good while I'm gone!" With that, May swam up through the corridor that connected to her room. After careful navigation of the network built into the palace, she swam out into a small, balcony-esque area that provided a wide, panoramic view of the ocean. The room was open enough to swim multiple laps through, and if she wanted to, she could swim straight out into the ocean. She'd done that before, but she had no plans on doing it now. Swimming over to a large, open shell that was comfortably furnished, she floated down and rested on it, getting comfortable before setting her eyes on the view in front of her.
"It's perfect!" she grinned. "The view's gonna be magnificent!" She continued to smile as she rested there, waiting for the sun to rise. As she waited, her mind drifted back to the events earlier: the ceremony, Serena's rite of passage, and her mother strangely foregoing reminding everyone of the history shared between mermaids and humans. May sighed as her smile faltered, thought not as much as before. She watched as a school of Alomomola swam by, having learned long ago how to discern between a school of Alomomola and a school of Luvdisc, although no one could convince her that they were not related to each other in any way.
As she watched the fish Pokemon swim by, she started to hum to herself. While her singing was a step below her sisters, no one would claim that she couldn't sing well. Still, she usually kept to herself when it came to music, as she wanted other merfolk to see her as more than just a mermaid princess with a beautiful voice. Moreover, the songs her sisters sang all had to do with – surprise, surprise, – the human world. While those songs could be fun, even beautiful at times, they just didn't appeal to her. At times, they even seemed...shallow, she thought.
She continued to sit there, humming softly as her mind drifted to the day before: when her sisters began gushing about the human world once again, and she swam off after hearing the most beautiful sound in all the ocean. Even though 24 hours had passed since then, May could still remember the melody as clearly as when she heard it at the first.
"Such a strange sound," she thought out loud. "Beautiful, but strange. I can remember it clearly...and yet, were I to try and sing it myself...I know it wouldn't be the same." She gazed out at the ocean once again, eyes sparkling with wonder. "The Oceansong," she whispered to herself. "I know it's out there. I've always known. I just wish I knew where." She sighed and shook her head. "The others keep claiming it's just a myth that merfolk have passed down through our generations. But why would our merfathers invent something so beautiful in the first place?" She smiled softly as she looked back up. "I know it's out there, and one day...I will find it." As her ponderings came to an end, she continued to gaze at the ocean and hum to herself, still smiling as she dreamed of the mysterious melody and what it meant to her...and to her kind.
She was so deep in her thoughts that the sudden sound of someone flicking their fins through the water nearly made her jump out of her scales. Is someone here? she wondered. I've never seen anyone else around here. Her curiosity piqued, she slowly but warily floated up and peeked over the top of the shell she sat on. But as she looked around, she found the area empty, as usual. Odd. I could've sworn I heard someone swim in.
"You looking for someone?"
"EEK!" May shrieked, jumping back at the sudden voice. The voice's owner jumped back as well, startled by her being startled by him (that was a mouthful, May thought). "Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on mermaids like that?!" she asked, floating a few fins above her seat as she glared down indignantly.
"S-Sorry," the merman said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't even know anyone else was here."
"Hmph," May muttered, swimming back down to her seat. "Well, try not to ruin the show for me."
"Apologies...y-your Highness."
She blinked in confusion and turned to him. She saw that he was bowing to her. "Highness?" she repeated.
"Y-Yes," he nodded, glancing up at her. "You're Princess May, aren't you?"
"Yes," she nodded, getting a closer look at her companion. "Wait a minute...do I know you?"
"Um," he stuttered nervously, "I-I think so? We were friends when we were kids. I just wasn't sure if –"
"Ash?!"
His eyes widened. "Y-Yes, that is my name."
May couldn't believe her eyes. She thought she recognized his voice while they were talking, as something about the tone was familiar, and now she understood why. His hair was messier and darker than she remembered, and one look at his well-toned chest told her that he had grown into a young merman. Even his tail looked different, but only in the sense that it was a slightly deeper indigo than it was when they were kids. But it was his warm eyes, colored like the sand at the bottom of the sea, and the small markings beneath them that erased any doubt from her mind that yes, this was her childhood friend.
"It is you!" she cried happily, lunging forward and tackling him into a hug. They tumbled through the water a bit, with Ash caught off guard, but when they came to a stop, he chuckled and happily returned her embrace. After a moment, May pulled away, and they swam back over to the chair and floated down into it.
"So you do remember me," he said quietly, sighing with relief.
"Of course!" she said. "How could I forget? You came over almost everyday when we were children! Why, we must've swum over the entirety of the ocean!"
"Twice over, and twice again," he reminded her, prompting them both to chuckle at the memories.
"What in the ocean are you doing here?" she asked with a huge grin. "We've missed you so much these past ten or so years!
"I know what you mean," he chuckled, briefly relishing in the memories they shared. "I'm glad you remember. All your sisters seemed to remember is that I suddenly stopped coming one day."
"Yeah," May mused. "Why was that? We really missed playing with you."
"I know, I know," Ash nodded. "Your sisters chewed me out earlier for it, even though I tried to explain myself. They just didn't want to hear it."
"Well, I do," she said. "If you're anything like you were back then, I'm sure you had a good reason."
"Thanks for understanding," he smiled gratefully, "but it's actually pretty simple." His smile faltered slightly as he explained himself. "See, my mother developed a rare but very serious condition. Her tail has a disease that causes her severe pain if she moves it a certain way; she could even cause internal bleeding."
May gasped. "You mean...she can't swim?!"
"No, she can't," Ash said sadly. "After she developed her condition, I had to stay home much more often to take care of her and help her get around." He sighed. "I really did want to tell you girls what was going on, but I could never find the time. I'm really sorry, May."
May just smiled and pushed herself over to him, putting her arms around him in a light embrace. "It's all right," she smiled, gazing out at the ocean again. "I always knew you had a reason."
He smiled and returned the light embrace. "Thanks, May." They sat there a moment, gazing out at the ocean, before May pulled away, although she stayed next to him.
"So why'd you come back?" she asked.
"Hm?"
"Why are you back now, after all these years?" she asked again, returning to her original question. "Did you just decide you wanted to see us again?"
"Well, not exactly," he said. "I did want to see you all again, and when Serena sent a personal invitation to her rite of passage, I decided that it was the perfect time to meet you all again."
"Ah," May nodded. "I see. I guess Serena would be the one to invite you to her rite of passage." She and her sisters all knew that Serena had a huge crush on Ash when they were children; apparently that crush hadn't waned despite all the time that passed since then.
"I'm glad she did, though," he smiled. "I've always wanted to see a rite of passage, so getting the chance to see that and reconnect with you all at the same time...it's all really awesome, you know?"
"Oh yeah?" May grinned. "You've always wanted to see a rite of passage?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "I just thought I'd never get to since I'm not royalty, and the only other merfolk who can come to see that ceremony must be personally invited."
"Well, I'm glad your dream came true," she said sweetly.
"Yeah," he chuckled. "Good thing it wasn't as bad as yours was, eh?" May's reaction was swift and immediate. "Ow!" Ash winced, rubbing his shoulder. "Jeez! What was that for?!"
"Not funny," she grumbled.
"It's not?" he asked, confused. "Sorry, I just...your sisters said that, and I figured it was an inside joke with you girls."
"It is," May said, hugging her tail to her chest and resting her chin on top of it. "It's just that I'm not in on it. I'm actually out."
What do you mean?" Ash asked.
She sighed and took a deep breath. "They didn't explain the joke, did they?"
"No," he shook his head. "I just assumed it was something funny."
"Maybe it is to them," May mumbled, "but it isn't to me." She sighed. "My rite of passage was a disaster."
"It was? How so?"
She sighed again. He might as well know.
"While the rite of passage is an exciting moment in a mermaid princess's life, I was never as enthusiastic about it as my sisters were. Sure, I was eager to no longer be treated like a child, but that was the extent of my excitement. The day of my ceremony, things started out fine, much like they did tonight: the speeches Mother made, along with her putting the ceremonial shells on my tail...that all went fine. And then…" she moaned as she got to the part she hated.
"And then what?" Ash asked.
"And then I swam up to the surface," she went on. "I took my time swimming up there, that's for sure; I guess I didn't want the feeling of water flowing over my skin to go away. Anyway, I reached the surface and poked my head out of the water. I looked around a moment, getting a bearing on my surroundings. Then I tried to breathe, and...I couldn't."
"What?!"
"I tried to breathe the air above the surface that humans breathe, but it felt like a Sharpedo's skin was scraping my lungs; I felt like I was suffocating! I was so terrified that I immediately dove back down and swam to the royal hall. Everyone was shocked to see me back so soon, and I broke down in Mother's arms, crying my eyes out. I made myself look like a child on the night I was supposed to no longer be treated like one. Mother scolded me later for causing the royal family embarrassment, and my sisters have never let me live it down." She sighed sadly as she finished her tale. "So yeah, that's what they mean when they joke around like that."
Ash felt his face form into a frown as he listened. When she finished, he put his hand on her shoulder. "May, I...I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such a painful memory for you."
"It's all right," she smiled weakly at him. "You couldn't have known. It's been years after all, hasn't it?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Yeah," she repeated. "Sorry for smacking your shoulder."
"It's fine," he smiled back at her. "It didn't hurt that bad; it just startled me." She returned the smile before turning her gaze out to the ocean again. There was still about a half-hour to go before sunrise, and she was happy she could spend the rest of that time catching up with an old friend. "If you don't mind me asking, have you tried going to the surface since then?"
"No," May shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the ocean before her. "I haven't had much reason to. At first, I stayed away from there because I was terrified of suffocating. Now, though, I just...I have other things I'm focused on."
"Other things? Where at?"
May blinked. "What do you mean 'where at?'"
"Where are these 'other things' you're focused on?"
"Uh...down here? At home?"
"At home? As in, in this palace?"
"Yeah. Where else would I have stuff to focus on?"
"Uh…" Ash mumbled, then he just shrugged. "I don't know." They looked out at the ocean again. "Have you ever thought of trying to go back to the surface?"
"Not really," May shook her head again. "Why would I?"
"Well, maybe what happened the first time was just a fluke," he suggested. "Maybe you just overreacted to the way air feels in your lungs. I've been to the surface quite a few times, and while it did feel weird to breathe at first, it didn't take long for me to get used to it. You sisters said the same thing."
"Hm," May mused, pondering his words. "I guess it's worth considering. Still and all…"
"There's a lot of incredible things up there," he went on. "You heard what her Majesty said after Serena came back, right? The human world is extraordinary! The things they've discovered, the structures they've built...it's incredible!"
While Ash's eyes sparkled with excitement as he spoke, May just rolled her eyes and gazed out at the ocean again. "Why doncha just grab some legs and go live up there if you love it so much?" she muttered. "Seems like that's what everyone else wants!"
Ash blinked, confused. "What?" he said. "Did I say something wrong? I was just repeating what her Majesty said. Not to mention, your sisters were gushing about the surface the whole time I was with them. I haven't seen as much of it as they have, but from what they've described, it honestly sounds incredible!"
May's frown softened slightly, and she looked at Ash with a sincere gaze. "Is that what it is?" she said. "You're just listening to what my sisters have to say?"
"Uh, yeah," he replied dumbly. "I mean, they know what they're talking about, don't they?"
"Did they say anything about the ocean?"
"No," he shook his head. "As far as they're concerned, there's nothing down here that humans don't have, and then some."
May smirked at him, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. "So you're just gonna take their word for it, hm?"
"Uh...yeah? Why do you ask?"
May looked out at the ocean, glancing to the side as though thinking about something. Then she nodded and turned to Ash. "Come with me," she said. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the chair as she started to swim out into the ocean.
"Whoa!" Ash said as she pulled him up. "H-Hey, come on now!"
"Oh, pipe down and flip your fins!" she giggled as she swam up. Once he got his bearings, Ash started swimming after her, slowly removing his hand from her grasp and following her. After a moment, she stopped swimming and floated in place. He floated up beside her and followed her gaze downward, down at the palace beneath them.
"Wow," he smiled. "The palace looks a lot different from up here."
"We spent a whole century constructing this with minerals found deep in the ocean: so deep that no human will ever be able to go down there. It's a treasure trove reserved only for creatures of the sea."
"You think so?" Ash asked. "Humans have found ways to dive really deep underwater. They can withstand quite a lot of water pressure."
"I know," May nodded. "I've seen them around every so often. It's kinda fun seeing them in all that special...what was it again? Tuba gear?"
"Scuba," Ash corrected her with a chuckle.
"Ah, that's right. It's cool how they found a way to explore our world using nothing but their ingenuity."
"Like I said," Ash grinned, "humans are pretty incredible."
"And we're not?" May replied with a smirk.
Ash blinked, confused. "I...didn't say that. I just meant –"
"Humans need special gear for their eyes in order to see underwater. Otherwise, everything looks blurry. Mermaids, on the other hand, can see everything under the sea with no need for any sort of special gear, which allows us to see many things that no human will ever be able to."
"Like what?" Ash blinked, still confused.
"Come on," she grinned, grabbing his hand again. "I'll show you." With that, she started swimming downwards, dragging Ash with her. He followed her down to the lower area outside the palace. From there, she swam under a large archway and through a garden of corals, zipping to and fro so fast that Ash had a hard time keeping up.
"Hey, wait up!" he called after her.
"Not my fault you're too slow!" she teased, glancing back at him.
After swimming through the natural wonder for a few minutes, May came to a large structure that provided an exceptional view of the ocean, moreso than even the balcony. She floated up and settled herself onto it, gazing at the ocean again. After a minute, Ash swam up and settled down next to her.
"Whew!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "You're fast!"
"Well, that's what happens when I spend years racing my sisters in the open ocean," she winked. "Maybe if you hadn't ditched us all those years ago, you'd be able to keep up."
"Wise girl," he snarked, playfully shoving her. She giggled and shoved him back. They continued to laugh before gazing out at the ocean again.
"Ten minutes to sunrise," she said to herself. Then she turned to him. "You didn't lose track of me, did you?"
"No, actually," he said, putting his hand behind his head. "I thought I would, but anytime I thought I'd lost you, I saw your tail and followed it."
"Oh yeah?" May giggled. "I guess that makes sense. There aren't many red tails in the ocean, are there?"
"Well, no," Ash shook his head, "but it's not just that. I can't tell if it's just me, but your tail seems really sparkly. Is it always like that? Or maybe I'm just crazy."
May's eyes widened when she realized what he was saying. She was still wearing the scales! She looked down at her tail a moment, then looked back at him. "You noticed?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he said. "Why?"
"I…" she said, smiling brightly. Someone noticed after all! "I decorated it tonight for the ceremony."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Here, let me show you!" She floated up slightly and flicked her tail out in front of her for both of them to see. Ash looked down at it, mesmerized as it sparkled in the fading moonlight.
"It's…" he breathed, "it's beautiful. Does it always look like this?"
"No, silly," May giggled. "I told you, I decorated it for tonight." She reached forward and pulled a few pink scales out. The scales floated up in front of them. Ash reached forward and pulled them into his cupped hands.
"Wow," he said to himself. "I've never seen a mermaid decorate her tail like this before."
"Me neither," she said. "I always see mermaids decorating their hair and wearing fancy seashells, but they always leave their tails untouched." She took the scales back and replaced them in her tail. "It's a shame, honestly. Our tails are half of who we are, so shouldn't we try to make them look beautiful, too?"
"Well, when you put it like that, it makes sense," Ash agreed, smiling as he stared at her tail.
"Hey, quit staring, you pervert!" May snapped.
"Ah, s-sorry!" he said, backing away. "I didn't mean –"
"It's fine," May giggled, putting her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "I'm just joking."
"Oh," he replied simply. "Okay." He looked at her tail again, smiling as he did so. May slowly swished it up and down, watching as it glimmered in the fading moonlight. "It really is beautiful," Ash said absent-mindedly. "Heck, this might be the most beautiful mermaid's tail I've ever seen."
"Aw, Ash," May blushed slightly. He chuckled at this and flicked his own tail out in front of him. She smiled at this. "Your tail looks nice, too."
"Eh, it's just blue," he shrugged. "Nothing too special here."
"It is to me," she winked at him. Now it was his turn to blush. He was about to protest, but then something sparkled in front of them. They looked out at the ocean, eyes wide.
"What was that?" he wondered.
"Here it comes!" May squealed in excitement.
"Here what comes?"
"The sunrise!"
"The sunrise?" Ash blinked. "What's so special about that?"
"It's the sunrise right after a full moon. It only happens once a month. I call it the eighth wonder of the world. Watch."
For the next five minutes, they were silent as they watched the spectacle unfold before them. The sparkles in front of them glimmered in silver and gold at first before they slowly transitioned into a more diverse array of colors: reds, blues, greens, and everything in between. At first, it was just a vast array of sparkles, but as the minutes wore on, the sparkles took on a more defined shape in the water, waving in the flow of the ocean. The aurora floated in front of them in one concentrated place before slowly expanding to the left and to the right. Before either of them knew it, the whole ocean as far as the mermaid's eye could see was consumed by the glorious aurora. They couldn't pull their eyes away even if they wanted too, bright smiles on their awestruck faces. After a few minutes, the lights began to fade away, leaving the golden light of the sun to shine down through the water, like normal.
"That was...incredible," Ash breathed.
"It never gets old," May agreed.
Ash suddenly jumped up. "Wait...the sun's rising! I promised Mom I would be home before the sun rose!"
"Oh!" May exclaimed, jumping up and floating beside him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were on a curfew!"
"I gotta go!" Ash exclaimed, immediately swimming off.
"Wait!" she called as she reached out to him, only to notice that he was already gone. She sighed and looked down. "Oh well," she mumbled. She turned to swim back the way she came, but before she could leave, she felt something grip her shoulder. She turned around and saw Ash behind her, smiling with his hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks for bringing me out here, May," he said warmly. "That was wonderful."
"You're welcome," she smiled, turning around and gently pulling him into a light embrace. "It was wonderful to see you again, Ash. We all really missed you."
"I missed you, too," he said softly. He pulled away to look her in the eye. "You won't mind if I visit you more often, will you?"
She just shook her head. "Not at all."
He returned her smile before turning and swimming away. May watched him go, sighing happily before she turned and swam back the way she came. The ceremony was probably over by now, which meant it was time for her to go to sleep.