Okay, let me start off with, yes, this obviously inspired by 'The little mermaid' but BUT! I want to make it my own. So this will have moments like 'The little mermaid' but will still differ from the movie in most ways! It's inspired but different! Please, stick with me on this, I promise it's not a cookie-cutter clone of the Disney movie! Now that being said, Feliciano and Ludwig will be children in this story.

Why?

Because I'm the author. Also, I feel I need to say this Australia doesn't seem to have a human name, that I know of, so I'm calling him Liam.

Marius is Romania

Petru is Moldova

The ocean. Many people in the small town just west of the coast know of it, after all, it was a nice place for them to take their children to relax and take a dip or whatever people do mostly during the hotter months. The water was a beautiful hue of blue that just sparkled right when the sun was just about to set. It looked absolutely magical.

That's what Gilbert always thought when he walked down from his house to the beach every night around 7 pm. Now, why would a person like Gilbert- a person with a ten-year-old little brother to look after- be coming to the beach every night at 7 pm when he should be at home. Well at first it was a habit of his seeing how he lived so close to the beach to just walk the sands and clear his head after all his awesome self had a lot his shoulders. He was twenty and looking after his baby brother. Of course, he had a lot on his plate, but then it became different when his little Birdie or came into the picture.

Not his actual birdie, Gilbird, no, a person who he calls 'Birdie'. Gilbert calls Matthew his Birdie because well he didn't need a reason!

The two of them met on the beach, obviously!

Gilbert almost fell in love instantly.

This person had champagne-colored hair that just seemed to sparkle in the fading sunlight, pale pink skin, and violet eyes that would melt any man's soul. He couldn't be older than Gilbert. They didn't exactly have a good start. In fact the moment Gilbert, loudly, made himself known to the stranger asking for his name, the person fled behind a rock. This made Gilbert wonder if maybe he accidentally caught the guy skinning dipping.

Still, Gilbert just got some vibes from the guy that he couldn't quite place. First off: if the guy was skinny dipping; he didn't yell or scream at Gilbert to go away. There was also the fact that there weren't any clothes or towels on the beach. The second thing: He was peeking out at Gilbert from behind the rock, be it from the side or trying to look at him over the rock, he was looking at Gilbert with fascination like it was the first time seeing someone like him-

Then again. Gilbert was an albino...

It took a bit of coaxing, but in the end, Gilbert won and the stranger came out from behind the rock, but didn't get too close. Still, this person - his birdie- looked ready to bolt. The first day they talked Gilbert felt like he talking to a scared child. Still couldn't get his name though, but it worked. As the next night Birdie came back as did Gilbert.

Now here they were about four or five days into this routine and Gilbert still didn't know this guy's name... or why he seemed to keep his distance, but today was going to be different! With a couple of hibiscuses, that he stole from his neighbors lawn, he hoped to maybe learn this guy's godforsaken name!

Gilbert's shoes crunched the sand under them as he walked up to the shore where his Birdie was already waiting in the water as expected. "The awesome me is here!" Gilbert announced quite loudly.

Birdie looked at Gilbert with a small smile on his face. Slowly Birdie swam just a smidge closer, but not too close. "It's always nice to see you again, Gilbert." Birdie's voice was soft like cotton, honestly, Gilbert could hardly hear him over the crashing waves, but he was just loud enough.

"Of course! Because I am just that awesome!" Gilbert couldn't help but gloat as he walked up closer to the water. So close that the waves were starting to hit his shoes, getting his socks wet. "And because I am so awesome, I got you something!"

"Oh?" Birdie squinted his eyes suddenly like he was trying to see what was in Gilbert's hands. Gilbert cleared his throat.

"Yes! F-Flowers!" Gilbert almost stumbled over his words, which would have been unawesome. Gilbert then waited for Birdie to swim up and grab them, but he didn't.

"F-Flowers?" Birdie questioned.

"Yes!... Here..." Gilbert placed the flowers in the water. Instantly the tide took them and swept them away, one managed to sink, but thankfully the other didn't and Birdie grabbed it before it could.

There was a pause as Birdie inspected the flower with an almost childlike wonder. His eyes were big and shining as he looked let his fingers just gently graze over the flower's petals. Then, Birdie took a big sniff from the center of the flower in an almost cartoony fashion. Then he sneezed with a soft "Oh!" leaving his mouth as a result and he looked completely surprised by what just happened. His eyes wide, but gleeful at the same time.

Gilbert couldn't but laugh. "Gesundheit." He could respond before continuing. "You act like you've never seen a flower before."

"Well, that's because I haven't..." Birdie almost dreamily said as he continued to inspect and look at the soaked flower in his hands.

"What? You're joking!"

"I'm not... thank you, it's beautiful." And then Birdie put the flower behind his ear and smiled at Gilbert. It was the most beautiful thing Gilbert has ever laid his eyes on.

Gilbert quickly caught his raising blush with a cough. "Can I have your name now?" and he held his breath almost instantly.

Birdie looked out at the setting sun. "...Matthew, my name is Matthew."

"Alright!" Gilbert all but cheered with joy. Finally, he got his reward. "That's such an awesome name!"

"You think so?" Matthew softly questioned as he gave Gilbert an innocent look. Those big puppy dog eyes of his made Gilbert just want to hold Matthew and never let go.

"Of course," Gilbert gave Matthew a nervous smile before deciding to take off his boots and dip his feet into the warm water as the waves continued to move back and worth.

Matthew gave a smile and then he suddenly swam behind the rock, but he didn't leave, no, he chose to instead lay on his stomach on the rock. Yet it was still in a way that Gilbert couldn't see his legs or anything from the waist down. Gilbert wasn't focused on that though. No, now Matthew was laying down on his stomach and looked at him in such a way that made Gilbert's heart absolutely race.

His little birdie had his arms dangling lazily over the edge of the rock, and had a polite smile gracing his lips and he tore his gaze away from Gilbert to look down at his own reflection. His fingers just barely grazed the water's surface causing gentle ripples that eventually faded with the waves. It seemed like almost an eternity until one of them, Matthew, spoke again. "Hey... can I ask you something?"

"Of course! The awesome me will answer anything you throw my way!"

"Do you have siblings?"

"Oh, ja! I haven't told you about my little brother?" Gilbert ought to slap himself for that.

Matthew shook his head and smiled at Gilbert and lazily lulled his head so it rested against his arm. "No."

"Ja, ja! He's mein little brother. He's just a babe; only ten but smart as hell! Smarter than the awesome me! He makes all A's in school."

Matthew looked at Gilbert, his head tilted to the side in question. "What's a 'shoool'?"

"Uh..." Gilbert really didn't know how to respond to that. He blinked once and then looked at Matthew. "Seriously?" Was all Gilbert could spit out in his confusion. Matthew just nodded rather enthusiastically. "Okay... Well, a 'school'- school, not Shoool, is a place where children and teens go to learn."

"learn?"

"Wow, you must of have some super psycho parents or something, huh? Gilbert rubbed the back of his head.

It was like something had struck Matthew suddenly as his eyes went wide and he turned his head towards the water. "I have to go." His voice was monotone and honestly rather surprising to hear from someone so lively. "My-My father he's expecting me and I'm so late!" The sudden sense of urgency hit Gilbert rather hard. He knew that feeling all too well.

"Well, I could give you a ride, my car isn't-" Gilbert tried to offer a ride and he looked back towards the apartments where his car was parked, but while his head was turned he heard a sudden 'splash' and when he turned back around his little birdie seemed to have flown off- or rather swam off. "Well... bye! I'll see you at the same time tomorrow!" Gilbert yelled out to the ocean. The only sound he got back was the sound of the waves hitting the shore.

"Awesome, Gil, just awesome..." He grimaced at all the wrong things he said in their conversation and only hoped that Matthew would meet him tomorrow.

Matthew smiled to himself as he held the soaked flower in the palm of both of his hands. Oh, how he wanted to keep it, but his father would have an absolute meltdown if he saw the flower. His father disapproved of humans so much it honestly made Matthew's stomach churn thinking about it sometimes. So, with a heavy heart, Matthew had no choice but to let the flower go and watch it float all the way back to the water surface.

Matthew looked down at his purple tail and frowned. It was no fun being confined to the ocean and the ocean only. He wanted to do what Gilbert does, he wanted to walk along the beach, feel the sand like Gilbert does, be... huma-like Gilbert was... Maybe Matthew wanted to go to this 'shool' that Gilbert talks about. But no, he was stick here, under the ocean.

Yeah, Matthew should be happy with everything he has and was given to him. After all, he is the son of one of the most powerful mermen in the ocean, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. Because he wasn't.

Matthew swam farther and farther down the ocean until his father's kingdom was in the distance. He swam a little faster once he was close-

"You're late!"

Matthew gasped to a halt as his brother, Liam, suddenly seemed to swim up to him out of nowhere. Oh yeah, he wasn't an only child either. No, Matthew had many, many siblings including, but not limited to Liam, A twin brother, a younger baby brother, and a sister.

Liam was more built than Matthew, with thick muscles and an intimidating nature, though he's usually rather laid-back he's usually more protective other his siblings. His tail color, liked Matthew, matched his eyes in a lovely seaweed color, something Matthew has always been a little jealous of. He always loved Liam's eyes.

"Yes, I'm aware, I just lost track of time." Matthew lied and tried to swim passed it brother, but it didn't work as Liam just as quickly got right back in front of Matthew.

"Oh, you lost track of time alright, you were up there again-" Liam pointed up to the far away surface of the ocean. "-Weren't you?"

"Psh, you're crazy. You know we're not allowed up there! If the humans saw us we'd be made into food or whatever."

Liam sighed with an eye-roll. "You're going to get caught if you keep going up there, you know?"

"But I'm not going up there." Matthew moved to the side and kept on swimming passed Liam. Liam huffed in annoyance and quickly managed to swim back up to Matthew. Matthew thought that was the end of it until suddenly-

"Get down!" With no warning, Liam had grabbed Matthew and shoved him down behind a rock. Matthew gasped out in shock, but then suddenly Liam put his hand over Matthew's mouth silencing him. "Blend in." Liam hissed suddenly in a tone that told Matthew not to argue. He didn't. Matthew wiggled himself into the dirt this allowed his scales to start to blend in with the color of the sand. This made Matthew harder to see.

"What is it?" Matthew finally managed to whisper.

Liam was stiff and he poked his head up over the rock. "... Looks like one of Marius's guys..." Liam breathed out heavily.

"Petru?"

"No... must be a henchman..."

Matthew felt his heart start to race as he looked up to see who this henchman was. All he could see was the muddy brown tail before the other merman/maid. disappeared out of sight. Still, they stayed in place for a few more moments before they wiggled themselves out of the sand. Their tails still mimicking the color of the sand. It'll be that way for a while. Liam looked in the direction the henchman went. "Liam?" Matthew looked at his brother.

"Look, just go back to Pops. Tell him what we saw, I'm going to go make sure that prick is gone and out of our territory."

"Be careful?"

"Always!"

With that Liam zipped away quickly, leaving only a trail of bubbles behind him. Matthew sucked in a deep breath and turned the opposite way towards his home. As the sun was seeping through the waves, Matthew's tail started to return to its purple hue. Still, Matthew didn't hesitate to return home this time. Though as he was swimming home he couldn't help but think about Marius.

Who was Marius? Well, the odd thing was that Matthew didn't really know. Just that he and his father were once good friends. Once.

All Matthew truly knew was that something caused a rift between the two of them and ever since there's been this war going on.

Matthew flicked his tail and kept on going swimming not once looking back. He smiled once he was back in with the rest of his kind. Of course, nobody even paid him too much mind, he didn't care anyway. He saw their home, an old abandoned ship once owned by humans, now a home for them and their ever-growing family it seemed.

As he was coming up to his father's room, the main cabin of the whole ship, he could already hear the yelling. The high pitched voice told him that Peter was throwing one of his classic tantrums again.

"I said no!" Came his father's roaring voice.

'Oh great, he's already angry.' Matthew shook his head and decided to wait outside for the argument to halt. Peter is Matthew's youngest brother. The tiniest of the lot, still growing.

"You never let me do anything!"

"Peter, what your asking for is ridiculous! I'm doing everything I can to protect, not just you, but my whole family!"

"I just want to go to the surface! I want to look at the humans-"

"No! For the last time! No! It's bad enough I have Alfred and Matthew going up there willynilly-"

'He knows?!'

"-But I will not allow you to go and gawk at-at those killers!"

Peter let out a sudden sob "You're such a bully!" Matthew hardly had time to doge Peter's tiny form.

There was a moment of silence. Matthew couldn't bring himself to go into his father's room. Not yet anyway. Well, ready or not, his father knew he was there with a simple word. "Matthew."

Quietly Matthew poked his head through the doorway at his father. His dad was looking out the window. His sand-colored hair gleaming against the glass of the window. His seaweed colored eyes just being able to reflect against the glass, and even though he wasn't looking directly at Matthew, Matthew felt uneased and a sense of judgment coming off of him. His green tail almost seemed to sparkle as a bit of sunlight streaked through the window. "Where is Liam?" His dad questioned slowly.

"One of Marius's men was spotted nearby, Liam chased them off."

"Good, at least one of my sons is doing some good."

Matthew ducked his head down.

"You've been to the surface again, haven't you?"

Matthew opened his mouth but nothing could come out. Instead, he just let his head guiltily hang.

"Do I not have rules? What is with almost every one of my children thinking they could do whatever they want?" His father finally turned around to face him. Matthew felt his father's hands gently cup both of his cheeks and force him to look into his father's eyes. He looked rather disappointed in Matthew at that moment. "The last thing I want is you guys being on the end of a fishing rod."

"I just..."

"No more."

Matthew felt his shoulders slump and he focused more on the ground than on his father.

"You'll thank me someday, these humans you, Peter, and Alfred seem to be obsessed with are no good. Their killers and they'll kill you the moment they see your tail."

"...Where is Alfred?" Matthew decided to just change the subject. His father frowned as a result.

"Like Peter, he stormed off..." His father sighed out loud and let go of Matthew's face. "You may go now..." His father dismissed him with a flick of the wrist while he turned to look out of the busted window.

Matthew went to leave but stopped for just a moment. "They, the humans, they're not all that bad-"

"Go. Matthew."

Matthew didn't even know why he bothered, it was like talking to the sand beneath their tails. So, with a flick of his tail, he left his father's room. He swam on away from the ship. A shadow passed over him and he saw Liam returning and reporting to their father. When Matthew looked forward again he saw Peter laying in the sand just a little way away from their home. He could see that Peter had something in his hands, but Matthew couldn't see what exactly. Matthew put his hands behind his back as he cautiously spoke. "Peter, Watcha got there?"

Peter swam up and hid whatever he had behind his back. His eyes were red from crying and his tail suddenly changed to match the sand. (Matthew could only think he startled him) "None of your business! Hmph!" With that, Peter took off as fast as his tail could take him. Matthew just watched his youngest brother retreat and just shook his head.

"Alright then..."