Chapter 1
15 seasonal currents later
"Juvia hopes that everything meets Your Majesty's standards?"
Metalicana sat on his coral throne, ever present trident in hand, and responded to the blue crab's query with a low grunt. His gaze roamed the filled stadium with a calculating gleam. The sea stone stands had been polished for hours until they shimmered in the water and sponge cushions had been provided for the elderly merfolk. Attendants carrying trays of food and trinkets swam up and down the seats, hollering their wares to any who were interested. The water was practically quivering with the excited merfolk.
It seemed as if half of Ishgar came for the annual festival and Metalicana nodded in approval.
"Everything seems to be in order. I must congratulate you on a job well done."
Juvia bowed her small head. "Your Majesty praises Juvia too much."
"Nonsense!" Metalicana waved away the crab's mock modesty. "Anyone who is capable of organizing the annual festival while still managing the corps deserves more praise than that."
"It is difficult work, but Juvia is happy that the king approves."
Metalicana snorted and rested on an elbow. "Difficult indeed. Just how is my son progressing in his training, anyway?"
Juvia scurried down the side of her chair, up his throne and settled on the armrest. "The prince's strength is astounding, surpassing all those who challenge him. He is able to fight against three warriors at a time with ease and still have enough stamina to resume his training regimen. Juvia suspects his talent will progress even further...if he would only show up for drills once in a while."
Metalicana turned to his advisor, her mumbled statement bringing questions to his mind, when a clownfish blew a trumpet at the base of the stadium.
"Your Majesty's forgiveness. Juvia must take her leave."
He nodded and watched his advisor take the center stage to announce the beginning of the festival. Setting his trident in a holder next to him, its dull, middle prong hardly catching his attention, Metalicana watched with anticipation as the mermen and mermaids dueled for honor and glory. Most seemed to be still dry behind the gills, having not yet reached their 20th seasonal current, but some showed remarkable progress…if their long hair was any indication.
A rush of water drifted past, lifting Metalicana's waist length braid behind him. He brought it over his shoulder to avoid the suddenly strong current. Murmurs shifted through the crowd and he drew himself up, tail curling with pride.
A merfolk's greatest pride rested with their hair. For those who trained with a weapon and vowed service and life to fight for their king, it was even more so. Long hair in a warrior showed status and strength. It showed an unbreakable spirit and victory in battle.
Metalicana drew his eyes away from the murmuring crowd and studied the merfolk dueling one another for the chance to defeat the champion. He tapped his finger on his chin, watching each duel with a critical eye. He was happy to see that even those whose hair had been shorn close to their scalp still possessed a fighting spirit, clearly desperate to reclaim their lost honor. Those with shoulder length hair battled their way to the top, earning respectful nods from Metalicana with every opponent they beat.
The crowd grew silent with every hair cutting ceremony out of respect for the victor, but also in consideration for the loser. Each defeated merfolk swam to the base of the stairs and bowed in the direction of Metalicana's throne. He waved his hand in acknowledgement of their battle, knowing that it would take time for their wounded pride to heal; for severed hair would continue to grow, but improving one's skill would take determination and strength of heart.
When the last duel took place, and the final hair cutting ceremony completed, Juvia swam to the middle of the stage and clacked her claws together.
"Shoals and bucks, merfolk of all ages! The moment you have all been waiting for, the championship battle! Who will become victorious? Our rising star, Boze, who battled his way through the ranks but has yet to look even the slightest bit fatigued?" The crowd cheered and the dark-skinned merman raised his arm in tribute. "Or will it be the one who has yet to see shears in over five seasonal currents? The one who's own dark hair rivals that of our fearless leader?"
The water began to shimmer and quake as the merfolk slapped their palms and tails against the stands. Metalicana sat tall and proud on his throne, anticipating the inevitable day when he himself would face the shears after battling such a worthy opponent.
Juvia swam in a large circle, extending her claws to the large opening covered in a wall of seaweed vines. "The kingdom of Ishgar, Juvia presents to you your champion and prince...the Kurogane!"
The seaweed parted and the crowd roared. Boze floated stiffly in the water, the slight flip of his tail the only indication of his nerves. Several moments passed and the tremulous cheers gradually dissipated into confused murmurs. Metalicana rose from his throne, hand already clenching his trident as an attendant swam through the opening. A few heartbeats later he returned, his scales pale.
"The prince...is missing!"
Gasps echoed across the water. Those closest to the throne shrank back as a whirlpool swirled around Metalicana. Anger burned in his gut and he brandished his gleaming trident.
"GAJEEL!"
Gajeel checked the spear tied at his waist and peered around the bow of a sunken ship. Urging himself to remain patient, he studied the shipwreck graveyard with the eyes of a hawkfish. Dozens of ship skeletons littered the ocean floor, each in varying states of decay. When he first discovered the treasure trove years ago, he wondered why that particular stretch of ocean proved so dangerous to the humans. But after only spending a few minutes in the waters, and feeling the strong pull of the currents near the ocean floor, he could only guess how much worse it must be at the surface.
A surge of water rushed next to him and Gajeel held onto the side of the ship.
"G-gajeel, help..."
The merprince sighed and rolled his eyes at his best friend. He reached out and grabbed the pitiful fish by the dorsal tail. The black remora huffed and puffed and immediately latched onto Gajeel's tail as soon as he came close.
"What am I gonna do with you, Lily?"
"Not drag me out to who knows where?"
"We've been here before, so don't be gettin' yer tail in a twist." Gajeel flicked him on the head, making Lily's suction release. Chuckling at his friend's irritated grumbling, Gajeel scanned the area again, looking for his new target.
As much as he longed for the freedom to swim to his heart's content through the fallen ships, he always made sure to remain extra cautious during his adventures. One wrong move and he could be injured enough to earn his father's curiosity. And that would prove to be a disaster.
"Remind me again why we had to travel to the outskirts of Ishgar, where no sane merman or fish dares to venture? And here I was hoping that our year-long break would continue." Lily muttered from where he slowly creeped away from Gajeel's tail.
Gajeel kept his eyes trained on the graveyard. "Because Risley, Beth and Arana said they heard of another ship crashing here."
"Those dolphins wouldn't recognize a newborn humpback whale even if it bumped into them. Their heads are full of clouds with all of their jumping about." Lily swam next to the ship, flinching when a patch of bubbles came from the old wood.
Gajeel bit back a laugh. "Says the remora who keeps askin' the flying fish to teach him their tricks."
"I'll have you know that that school is extremely polite! Why, just the other sun cycle-"
With another shake of his head, Gajeel swam from the safety of the ship and into the cluster. Lily cried out and quickly latched himself onto Gajeel. The merman rolled his eyes, but the duo easily flowed into their familiar routine; Gajeel would swim near the ships and Lily would keep a lookout for any danger.
Kicking his fins, Gajeel carefully darted to what looked like a ship's ribcage, taking shelter behind one of the long wooden pieces. The wood could hardly count as any protection, but at least it would give Lily some sort of security.
"Gajeel, I don't know about this. It feels like something's watching us."
"That's what ya always say. I should start callin' you a scaredy fish."
"I'm not scared! I just have to be extra careful because someone doesn't have a self-preserving scale on his body."
Ignoring the familiar argument, Gajeel's eyes darted around until they landed on a large ship near the middle of the collection. Bubbles slowly drifted from the rough and ragged wood, but the ship was almost in pristine condition compared to its brothers.
"There it is!" Gajeel launched out from behind the ship's skeleton and hurried to his target. Lily thumped against his tail, the rushing water drowning out any protests he had.
Like many of the other ships, the new edition had rows of circular windows on either side of the ship body. The tall, pointed center piece had long broken off and lay in heaps along the top of the ship. Gajeel peered through one of the small, circular windows, squinting through the hazy interior.
"Hey, Lil..swim in there and tell me what you find."
"As a loyal servant and best friend to the crown prince himself, let me just humbly say...not on your life."
Gajeel winced as the suction on his tail grew tighter. What was the remora doing? It wasn't like he was going to yank him off and throw him through the window. He had only done that once and his friend's pitiful yowls had attracted an entire group of sharks. He fought them off with ease, but it was not an experience he wanted to have again.
"Scaredy fish," Gajeel whispered and slowly made his way to the top of the ship.
He carefully avoided the fallen wood and looked for any openings. Farther along the ship, near a raised section with a circular device, lay a gaping hole in the center of the floor. A criss-crossed blockade covered the hole. The strange covering was cool to the touch and refused to break, no matter how hard Gajeel tugged at it.
"Hey, what about this part?"
Gajeel turned to where Lily mentioned, seeing pieces of cracked and aging wood surrounding a large, silver mechanism. Gajeel unsheathed his spear and used the blunted edge to smash at the wood, creating a small hole. He gripped the cold, shining piece and pulled upward, startling at the loud screech when the blockade lifted. With a smile to Lily, he pushed it until the blockade rested on the floor of the ship and entered inside.
He slowly swam in the large opening, smiling at the rows and rows of boxes, crates and other human storage containers littered along every cleared space on the ground. Human things hung on the walls and Gajeel swam closer, attracted to the glinting surfaces of the items. He placed a hand on one of the items, shocked at the coolness beneath his fingers.
"What do you think it is?" Lily asked, releasing the suction from Gajeel's tail.
Gajeel removed it from the ship wall, holding it by the blunted end. "I think it's a weapon of some sort."
He fingered the shining edge, feeling the sharpness of the cool material. With an expert swing, he rotated the weapon around his head and lunged forward, admiring the way it cut through the water with ease. After a few practice swings, Gajeel sighed and hung the weapon on the wall.
"Why are you putting it back? You seemed to like it." The remora swam around the room, using his back fin to knock the lids off the barrels.
"You know what my father would say," Gajeel gave the weapon a final glance and went to help his friend. "Though I do prefer that weapon over my own."
"Yikes. Don't let him hear you say that."
Gajeel chuckled, placing a shining table utensil in his satchel. He eyed the coral spear hanging from his waist. The weapon had been a present from his father at Gajeel's most recent seasonal current celebration. Made from the finest silver coral, it was a weapon worthy of a merprince and he was grateful for the gift, though it paled in comparison to anything the humans created.
"Hey, Gajeel! Check this out!"
Gajeel swam to the edge of the room, seeing Lily swim excitedly around an open crate.
"Wha'd you-oh!"
The rotten wood of the crate seemed only moments away from crumbling into sea foam, but nestled inside lay dozens of small stone statues. Gajeel carefully removed the topmost statue, a small human male warrior with a miniature weapon in his hand. Gajeel glanced at the wall, seeing the similarities between the warrior's weapon and the one he had admired.
"These must have come from the same area as that other ship we found a while back. You already have most of these."
Gajeel nodded and unclasped his spear to set it on the ground. Shifting his tail to a more comfortable position, he sat next to the open crate to help Lily sort through the statues. The scaredy fish was right; he really did have many of the same mini statues in his collection. They took their time admiring the statues, a steadily growing pile sitting next to Gajeel of the ones that drew his attention.
Lily eyed the pile and blew bubbles. "Remember, just a few...your bag isn't that big."
"I know...but who knew we'd find so many!" His eyes snagged on a stone statue nestled at the bottom of the crate.
He carefully removed it from the crate, fingering the delicate work. He studied the miniature human, one of the smallest stone statues he had seen so far. Strange clothing flowed around her body. She held nothing in her hands, but her arms were extended as if she too was always reaching for the surface world. A wide, beaming smile sat on her lips and on her back sat two strange appendages, almost like the fins of a flying fish.
"Whoa...never seen one like that before."
Gajeel nodded in a silent agreement, tracing the figurine's cheek with his thumb. "No we haven't," he murmured.
He knew humans truly didn't look like the strange female; Wendy had shown him enough books and he collected enough items to have a relative idea of which statues were based on reality or not. But he couldn't help but feel a strange attachment to the small creation. The determined, yet hopeful look on her face, the way she stretched her hand out to a world that she could not be a part of...his own deepest desires were reflected in the small statue in a way he never experienced before.
After giving her cheek a final stroke, he carefully placed her in his bag, nestling her within several strips of seaweed he used to protect his most precious treasures.
"What was that?" Lily murmured, a quiver in his voice.
Gajeel sighed, sorting through another pile of statues. "Oi, scaredy fish...they're just mini stone statues, we've seen them tons of-"
A large, dark shadow passed the window of the ship. Gajeel froze, the scales on his neck itching.
"There it is again," Lily whispered, itching closer to the merprince.
"Get on my tail, Lil. Now."
Gajeel carefully placed his satchel strap over his head, eyes never leaving where the shadow loomed, and reached for his spear. His fingers just brushed the smooth coral handle with the windows burst open, three large tentacles shooting in their direction. Gajeel launched himself off the floor, stabbing his spear at the writhing tentacles. The creature shrieked and withdrew, a suction cup flopping to the floor and leaving behind a thin trail of blood. Gajeel tisked, eying the blood, and Lily tightened his hold on Gajeel's tail.
"We need to get out of here!"
Not needing to be told twice, Gajeel backtracked to the hole in the ceiling, expertly dodging another tentacle reaching through the window opening. He swam through the window and jabbed at a tentacle making its way through their escape hole.
"It's bleeding, Gajeel! It's bleeding!"
"I know! Would ya shuddup!?"
He stayed low on the wooden floor, slowly making his way to the back of the ship. His spear hung loose in his grasp and he studied the waters warily, looking for any sign of the giant squid.
"Just where did that stupid thing-"
"Behind!"
Gajeel pivoted and lifted his spear just in time to avoid being crushed in a tentacle. The force of the impact knocked him backward. He spun in the water, his back hitting the broken pole in the middle of the ship. Bubbled rushed out of his mouth and he gasped, his sides aching. Tentacles surrounded him, pinning his body to the pole. The suction cups tightened until he thought his very scales would crack. He winced and glared at the monster looming before him. Its bulbous head wobbled in the water and the squid clicked, his body rotating until it revealed its sharp beak underneath.
Gajeel growled, "Yeah, not happenin'!"
He bent and sunk his sharp teeth into the side of the closest tentacle, grimacing as bitter, blue blood flowed over his tongue. The squid's flesh bubbled and festered, making the squid hiss in pain and loosen its hold. Pushing away the heavy tentacles, Gajeel swam above the squid's head and brandished his spear, teeth snapping at the monster. The squid hissed and squirmed, a black ooze mixing in the water around it. It jetted away, leaving only an echo if its screeches behind.
Heart pounding, Gajeel waved away the blackened water and watched the squid retreat into a nearby ship. Blood and poison coated his tongue and he spat out the burning bile. He remained still for several moments, waiting for the squid to regain its courage and fight him again. After several heartbeats, and no sign of the monster, Gajeel finally allowed his body to relax.
"L-let's get outta here, before any sharks come…"
Gajeel smirked, attaching his spear back to his waist. "You really are just a scardy fish."
"I am not! And don't you be flashing those teeth at me! I know what kind of poison they have and I don't feel like becoming a glob of black goo!"
Hiding his smirk for the sake of his friend's sanity, Gajeel slowly swam away from the shipwreck, opening his satchel for just a moment to check on the small statue. Seeing it safe and in one piece, he checked the shadows under the waters and smiled at his friend.
"Looks about time to meet Wendy. Think she's got somethin' good for us today?"
The remora tightened his suction. "How you can even think about going to the surface after all of that just happened is beyond me!"
Laughing at his friend's usual antics, Gajeel kicked his tail and made for the gleaming waters high above him.
Did you notice the names of the dolphins? How they're members of the guild Mermaid Heel? No? Ok, that's fine...I'll just chuckle all by myself then ;P