Author's Note: Hello! This idea has been floating about in my head for a while. I'd like to bring it to life just for a bit of fun, even if my writing skills aren't perfect.
It's a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales, The Little Mermaid, but with Azur Lane characters; essentially my current interests reimagined as my childhood interests. I noticed some similarities between the ship's history and the story, so this is why I chose Wales for this role.
This is supposed to be a start of my "Azur Tales" art series. But this is the one I will actually be writing! Might I write more Azur Lane fairy tale retellings in the future? Maybe! This involved a ton of planning.
I've taken plot elements from several adaptations of the fairy tale, none of which belong to me, such as: Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid—the movie, with a hint of the Broadway musical, the 1975 anime by Toei Animation, and—of course—the original story by Hans Christian Andersen.
This will also contain some ideas of my own.
Azur Lane and its characters belong to Manjuu and Yostar.
The cover for this story was drawn by yours truly!
Without more ado, I hope you will enjoy this take!
𝕺nce upon a time, there existed two nations far out in the deepest depths of the ocean; so deep that no land dweller could find any evidence of either of them.
One nation was the Royal Navy. There dwelled the Royal mermaid family and the merfolk; ones who upheld the most elegance and charm in the entire Seven Seas, possessing colorful, scaly fish tails and having melodious voices.
The Royal family consisted of four beautiful young mermaid sisters, all adorned with lovely red fins:
King George V, the oldest and most dignified of the sisters, was the ruler of the sea kingdom, loved by all.
After the last monarch died—and leaving no heir to the throne—a magical trident sword appeared in a stone waiting to be pulled by the rightful future king of the ocean. For years, every merman in the Royal Navy made many attempts to remove it, but to no avail. It was said that George was the only one amongst the merfolk able to haul the powerful sword out, thus making the mermaid king at such a young age.
Though a proud and noble Sea King, George was kind and humble and deeply adored every one of her younger sisters. She was also known to be a lover of good food. She always kept a mountain of snacks with her, claiming she cannot move or rule the sea on an empty stomach. Many merpeople were amazed—Hell, even envious—that she was still able to maintain her rather slim physique. Not only did she enjoy eating; she spent a considerable amount of time honing her skills as a chef, now having the remarkable ability to make the best cuisine in the entire ocean.
Prince of Wales was the second sister and was supposed to be the next heir to the throne. Much like her older sister, she was benevolent, though had a much more reserved temperament in comparison to the rest of the sisters. Despite being a righteous, elegant young lady, Wales sometimes displayed certain behavior; the kind of behavior that could make one consider her a "closet pervert." Yes—the young princess tended to be quite handsy with other mermaids, even occasionally flirting with a small handful of mermen. In addition, she had more secrets that lied deep within her mind; Poseidon only knows whatever was going on inside her head. Despite her perverse doings and thoughts from time to time, even she knew there was a time and place.
The third sister—with hair as pink as the corals and eyes blue as the deeps, but may at times glow crimson like red tides—was Duke of York, frequently nicknamed "Yorkie" by King George. This almost siren-like duchess was notorious for her florid speech patterns, in which hardly anyone—even her sisters—could comprehend, as well as her desire for blood. Similarly to Wales, but to a much greater level, she had seduced many merfolk—mermaids and mermen alike. To go even further about how much she stood out, York was more nocturnal; in other words, she rarely slept with the rest of the sisters at night.
Howe was the youngest and—albeit somewhat naïve—sweetest and most beloved sister of them all. Although George loved all of her sisters dearly, George doted on the youngest sister the most—perhaps a little too much. Howe was recognized as the peacemaker amongst the girls, solving many arguments and fights between merfolk—including a few of her sisters. Her special skill was baking, more specifically baking seaweed cookies, the most delectable pastry in the kingdom. Almost no one could rival her. Whenever she made them, she was always happy to give them away to merfolk, even those outside of the kingdom, for she thought everyone could use a cookie in their lives.
There was one more mermaid considered to be part of the Royal family, swimming with her glimmering yellow-gold tail just as beautifully: the older half-sister, Monarch. Throughout her entire childhood, she had been neglected and forgotten, as if she was not good enough. When one of her half-sisters—George—became king of the sea, she had felt jealousy to a high degree. She felt great resentment towards all of her half-sisters, especially Wales and York. Though, she held no ill intention for either of them. Despite her arrogance at times, she always tried her best to be the best big half-sister she could be, although she may come off as harsh.
One day, all five of the mermaid sisters were welcome to visit the surface if they were so pleased. At first, the girls agreed to take turns; every few months, each girl was to take a turn and tell the rest about what she saw.
Monarch was the only one who refused to go at all. She had claimed she knew better than to swim up there and risk being seen by these "humans."
During the Spring, King George went first. While she was the least interested in the world above, she had no disdain towards humans. At the very least, the Sea King was substantially curious about their delicacies.
First, she caught a glimpse of the Spring flowers in full bloom—practically emitting bright shades of colors ranging from red, to yellow, to violet, to white. Some flowers had fewer petals, while others had a countless amount; a few stood tall gallantly, while many of them were resting into the lush emerald green bushes. She was compelled to appreciate the beauty of the flora and their petals; those flowers were just as exquisite as the ones back at home, she thought.
George finally found several humans seated at a table, helping themselves with what they called "fast food." She blinked and stared in revulsion, asking herself if that was what those land-dwellers ate for a living. Later on, she had learned what "spam" was, which, given how the humans described it, must be the saltiest thing she had ever perceived—perhaps saltier than the entire Seven Seas.
George then returned home, immediately declaring that the cuisine in the sea kingdom was far, far more superior.
Amid a Summer's day, Wales was the second sister to go. Unlike George, she was the most inquisitive about the surface world.
Once she reached her head out of the water, she was greeted by the cloudless azure-blue sky as well as the warm sunlight hitting her golden-blonde hair, giving it a luminous glow.
She swam towards a nearby beach already filled with people—mostly women. Lest she got discovered, she hid behind a rock that was within her reach.
As she observed those humans, she noticed everyone was wearing clothes strikingly similar to what she and the rest of the mermaids wear regularly; they called these clothes "swimsuits" or "swimwear." Every swimsuit she saw was unique in its way; some were two-piece while some were one-piece; some had single color while others had multiple; some of them had a simple style while a few had more intricate designs; some were more modest and some were quite racy; it could go on.
Wales was most intrigued by those two supports used for walking, running, and dancing on land; the humans' legs—mainly the women's. Of course, she had to resist the urge to touch any of them, even if it was merely out of curiosity.
After a few minutes passed by, she spotted what appeared to be a polaroid camera laying upon the sand. Did someone leave it behind? Of course, she had no clue as to what this object was. She still picked it up and fiddled around with it. After she pressed a button, a light flashed from the camera, startling the mermaid, and then a piece of paper slid out of it. The moment she took a look at it, she found out she could capture images with it; to put it simply, she figured out how the camera worked.
And then, an idea occurred to her.
Somehow without being caught, Wales managed to take several pictures of the humans, including some rather… awkward ones. It wasn't long before she mastered the arts of photography.
Bringing the new photos with her, she swam back home before presenting them to most of her sisters and then keeping them for herself to look through every day.
York went next, during the night in Fall. The stars were scattered across the sky twinkling about; just like small, shiny white pearls. There was a larger orb that shone much like the sun, but its light was far fainter than its daytime counterpart; the moon. Even so, the moonlight captured her pink hair and features in a way it was bewitching.
She detected a large ship in the distance. With the use of her Siren's Song and her enticing aura, she took the opportunity to lure the sailors. She had successfully drowned one of the sailors and subsequently sucked his blood.
Shortly, York came home to tell the sisters her story—as expected, in her usual complex, poetic language. After she finished, everyone pretended to understand a single word she said.
The last mermaid to go was Howe on the morning of Winter. The first thing she saw was the colorful sky during the sunrise; so colorful it nearly resembled a painting of some sort. The pink-and-yellow clouds reminded her of sea sponge floss—a sweet, soft, and fluffy confection her oldest sister bought for her whenever the two attended a fair together.
It wasn't long before she came across and listened to what seemed to be a couple conversing with one another.
"Hey, babe! What brings you here so early?" a young girl chirped.
"I… made something for you," a boy replied, appearing timider than the girl. He took out what looked like a heart-shaped pink box topped with a cute glossy red bow. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
Upon receiving and opening the box, the girl's eyes lit up.
"Wow! Those look so good," the girl squealed. "You really made these?"
"Yep," the boy replied. "I followed my grandma's recipe to make these, so it's kinda special to me. I hope it'll be the same for you. Try one, and let me know how it tastes!"
Eagerly, the girl pulled out a small, flat-looking pastry molded into the shape of a heart. "Those are such cute cookies, too!"
Cookies… So that's what humans call them.
Howe chuckled upon hearing the term "cookie," for she thought it was the cutest name of a pastry she ever heard.
The girl took a bite of the cookie.
"Oh my gosh! This is delicious!" the girl beamed, continuing to bite into the small pastry. "I can't even begin to describe how amazing this is. I can easily say this is the best cookie I've ever had in my life. Thank you so much!"
"Oh, really?" the boy smiled, a blush visible even in a distance. "No problem, and thank you. Your heartfelt words mean so much to me."
"Dude, you should make these more often!" suggested she. "Maybe you can share them with others, too? People would love it! If you want to, of course."
"Yeah, I might do just that. I think everyone deserves a cookie in life."
Since then, Howe had cherished the conversation between the happy couple. After she returned home and told her sisters about it, she had an idea: What if she could make something like that herself, and share them with others like that human boy wanted to do?
That was when Howe's beloved seaweed cookie recipe came to be.
Thenceforth, Wales and York were the only mermaid sisters frequenting the surface. King George was fine with them wandering the surface. Of course, as long as they weren't late for dinner for the upteenth time. George was more stern with York, but she could not be mad at any of them—oh, no way—only mildly upset that the two weren't spending enough time with their big sister. She wouldn't dare punish them; she still loved and trusted them all the same. Worst case scenario, she would only jokingly threaten to have a second—or perhaps third—helping at dinnertime.
The other nation was the Ironblood, where the cecaelia—creatures having eight large tentacles instead of singular scaled fish tails for a bottom half—resided. They were known to be far more advanced; dangerous, even. However, after the end of the war, they were no longer hostile.
There was still one woman who lived a life of bitterness and hatred, not just towards her enemies—it was beyond that—the entire world:
Graf Zeppelin.
She was the sea sorceress who had lived in a dark, broad cave in solitude, longing for world destruction. Ever since she perfected the art of witchcraft, she would always jump in on any opportunity to annihilate everything. Unfortunately for her, all of her past plans have been soiled.
She thought that was all about to change when she first heard about the young Royal Navy King's trident sword. She learned that the weapon contained power far greater than her own, even capabilities to obliterate both the land and sea if the wielder so wished.
Zeppelin figured that it was just what she needed. First and foremost, she must figure out how to get her hands on that.