In his dream Stefan was home again. It was the place he had run away from. He sat upon his father's throne wearing the crown that was intended for him. It was what his life would have been, if the Necromancer had not mortally wounded him with that arrow. But not one he had ever wanted.

It was his brother's life now; the one he had saved. Could his brother ever guess where he was now?

Where am I now?

Stefan opened his eyes with a start.

"Whoa—calm down for a second!"

Strong hands pushed against his chest, forcing him back after he had jolted awake. It was Cas.

He gasped, his lungs expecting air but finding water there instead. Stefan was breathing under water.

"Sorry," said Cas, his hasty voice echoing through the space the same as it did upon land. "You just frightened me."

Stefan sat up. They appeared to be sitting at the bottom of a sunlit grotto, with walls of stone and shell stretching upwards some hundred feet to the wavy surface of the sea.

Could this be possible?

"I'm…" Stefan gasped, daring to look down.

Cas nodded solemnly. "Yes. You're a merman."

Stefan's tail was sapphire blue, stretching three feet beyond his hips. The muscles were strong, the tail lean. He did not have to remember or forget how to use his legs; the tail seemed to be attached to his brain; he could maneuver it as if he had been born with it. And the desire to swim was new, and powerful. How far could he go? How fast? Where to? Where not to?

How can this be real? He thought. Just as one does not see air on land, he could no longer see or feel the water around him. His eyes possessed a profound clarity of his surroundings; a crystal clear view of the vibrant and mysterious world. The ocean was teeming with color, textures, smells and sounds Stefan had never before imagined. And as he breathed the water into his body, he felt no pain. It filled his lungs like fresh, spring air and set his blood rushing.

Cas noticed his awe and laughed. "Now you get it."

Stefan shook his head slowly. "How is this possible?"

Cas cocked his head. "Don't humans know of our magic? Of our world?"

Stefan shook his head again. "I don't think so. But I'm new to all of this anyway." He chuckled.

"Okay," said Cas. "First things first." He pointed up towards the waves. "Swim to the surface and take a breath. Then swim back down. If you can do that no problem, then you should be good to travel."

"Oh-" Stefan abruptly noticed the wound on his shoulder had been dressed with some kind of sea grass. He felt no pain from his shoulder. The bruise from the cannon slamming into his torso stretched across his abdomen, but it was growing lighter. Even the cuts on his hands were closing up.

"Well, can you swim up there or not?"

Stefan glanced up at the sunlit surface. The sea pulsed and breathed around him, filling his insides with excitement and wonder. He flexed his tail; it was more than ready.

He shot up through the sea as fast as he could go; his arms stretched out before him, feeling the water ripple through his fingers. He could never have moved this fast without a tail, through the sea nor on land. Is this what flying felt like to the birds? Or an arrow after it's been released? The water rushed through his hair, past his body and by his tail. He had never felt more alive in his life.

Through the surface Stefan broke, shooting up into the air above the sea with an unbridled whoop of laughter. He arched his back, his arms outstretched and he felt his body bend and flip in the radiance of the sun. One great, beautiful gulp of air rushed into his lungs as if it had never left, and then in a flash he was breaking through the surface of the sea again and descending gracefully into the cool depths.

He was, ironically, out of breath. His chest heaved with exhaust and excitement.

Cas swam up to meet him. "I think it's safe to say you've recovered enough for the journey."

"How are my wounds healing so quickly?" Stefan asked.

"The ocean is a wonderful place," said Cas. "It has many gifts. But it is also an extremely dangerous place for a human. You will need to stick with me and do whatever I tell you to do if you want to survive."

Cas's heavy shirt and sailor's cap appeared even more ridiculous beneath the sea, the way they clung to his scrawny frame and hung down to his tail. Stefan couldn't help but laugh. "You seem really on edge. What's your story?"

The boy stared daggers, his mouth set in anger. "My story is that I want a wish and in order to get it I have to save you first. Now come on, we can only move when the sun is up. You don't want to know what comes out at night in these parts."

These parts?

With an expert flick of his tail, Cas bolted up towards the surface and didn't look back. Stefan followed in his wake, savoring the ocean all around him.

Maybe, just maybe, this was the best thing that could ever happen to him.


The world around him was in a constant, tangible motion. Above him Stefan could see an imperceptible stretch of light tinged with blue. Below him, miles of swaying sea grass stretched out in all directions in shades of gold and emerald. He had been following Cas through the many landscapes of the sea for what felt like hours. Though they didn't speak, the world was full of sounds. Echoes and rhythmic motions filled the intangible spaces of the water. Stefan was captivated with each new sensation, every new discovery. He marveled as the ocean floor below him sloped ever downwards, turning into rocky terrain of underground mountains and rolling valleys, where darkness stretched as long and sure as the shape of water itself. Coral forests glinted and gleamed in shallow stretches of sea, teeming with thousands of different creatures going about their business, completely oblivious to the existence of the land above.

This was not the same ocean he had almost died in. That ocean had been cruel, suffocating, and ice cold. That ocean had nearly wiped his soul free from his body.

But this ocean… this ocean felt like home. One he had never known.

As the sun lazily crossed the sky over the sea, Cas led Stefan through the watery dreamscape. They travelled up near the surface, so they could pop their heads above the waves every once in a while to survey the above world. Along a blue stretch of deep ocean, Cas spotted the sunken ship.

A wrecked mass of rotting wood and sharp edges, the goliath brigantine lay broken and forgotten in the shadows upon rocks, it's tattered sails swaying like ghosts. Cas was immediately captivated.

"We need to take a small detour," he said, pointing to the ship ruins.

Stefan had grown quite cold while looking at it. The memories of his own sinking ship flashed through his mind, as well as the sound of his best friend dragging him to safety across the fiery deck in the storm.

Could Marius still be alive?

"Why do you want to go down there?"

"I collect human things," said Cas. "It's sort of a hobby. Don't worry, we won't be long-" With a flick of his tail, Cas was already swimming down towards the ship. Stefan watched him in hesitation.

As much as he didn't want to be left alone out in the open, there was something about the look of the ship that he didn't like or trust.

"I'm going to wait here," Stefan decided. Cas waved but didn't look back.

Stefan watched as he slipped in through the cabin and disappeared from sight. A shiver ran down his spine as he waited far above, still and silent.

Some time passed. Stefan had no idea how much, as time seemed to move quite differently in this world. For one, the day was impossibly long. How far they had so far traveled, and yet the sun did not yet set. The blue sea and surface above had radiated an unrelenting soft light. Even more, his wound still did not give him pain. It was at least a sign that he could still make it a little further…

A shadow lurked below. Stefan froze as his gaze locked on to a fish so big it could only exist in his nightmares. The fiend did not take notice of him; it swayed and sniffed towards the shipwreck. Then it disappeared into the wreckage. With a mouthful of teeth like knives and the mass of a bull, it was, Stefan realized, a shark.

Cas!

His fear-induced paralysis broke, and Stefan was swimming as swiftly and quietly as he could manage down to the shipwreck. The brigantine lay broken upon the jagged terrain like a corpse. Stefan headed towards the cabin where Cas has disappeared into, but suddenly changed his mind and veered towards an opening of splintered wood and sea moss. In the darkness of the shadow of the ship, he listened.

There was without a doubt the soft sound of motion coming from deeper inside. Would the shark attempt to follow the noise as well?

Stefan found Cas in what must have been the galley. He was digging through a cabinet of broken and scattered dinnerware, shoving items haphazardly into a satchel slung across his shoulder.

"Cas," Stefan whispered sharply.

Startled, Cas whipped around and lost his grip upon a dish he was holding; it floated quickly through the water and thudded loudly against the floor. Stefan winced.

"You startled me!"

"Ssshhh!"

"What's going on?" Cas whispered, noticing Stefan's alarm.

Stefan hesitated before replying as he attuned his ears to the environment around them, straining them for any sound of the predator.

"There's a shark," Stefan whispered so low he could barely hear himself, "outside. Hunting for something."

Cas became rigid and still, his eyes now wide beneath his drooping sailor's hat.

From somewhere above them came the sound of creaking, and breaking, wood.

"It followed you in here," Stefan whispered.

"Not again," Cas murmured, wrapping the satchel tightly around his shoulder. "Quick—follow me."

They swam out of the galley and further down into the ship, where the only light came from the small, mossy windows aligning the walls. It appeared to be a dead end.

"I heard that sharks don't need light in order to hunt, that their main sense is smell," Stefan whispered as they looked around the hold for a way out.

"Well," Cas replied testily, "you sound like an expert."

Stefan pushed against one of the windows, willing it to give way; it was just big enough for them to be able to slip through. "What did you mean about 'again'? Did you mean that this shark has hunted you before?"

There was the sound of more wood splintering and breaking off; the echoes drawing closer.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Cas pulled a sword from its scabbard on the wall and tossed it towards Stefan, who grabbed it by the handle. Then, he seized one for himself. "I take it you know how to fight?"

Stefan swallowed hard. Yes, he knew how to fight… humans. He had no idea, however, how to fight a thousand pound shark.

And then the beast made his entrance. Smashing through the rotting hallway above, it made its sudden attack with all the force of ten cannonballs. Its mouth wide open and snapping, it bolted to where Cas had just been floating. Cas darted out of the shark's reach, brandishing the sword threateningly. In that moment, Stefan swung forward and swiped at the shark's dorsal fin, laying the blade into it. With a roar, the shark whipped around, breaking Stefan's grip upon the sword, sending him flying back into the wall. Cas streamed by at full speed; the shark followed its bait down the hold, weaving through the maze of splintered and rotting wood. The smell of blood began to fill the ship.

While the shark pursued Cas, Stefan darted for the sword he had dropped. Using the handle, he planned on smashing through the window and creating an escape route just big enough for the two of them. As he hit the glass, it slowly began to splinter. And then the beast came around and lunged for him again. Stefan shot out of the way. The shark smashed into the side of the hold, and Cas reappered, driving his sword into the shark's backside. As the beast writhed in rage, Stefan returned to the window, using all his strength to break the remaining glass. Finally, it gave way and an open hole materialized.

"This way!" he shouted.

Cas had barely just avoided being bitten by the beast; it's jaws were monstrous and angry, snapping at him as blood streamed from its wounds. Stefan lunged forward and seized his arm, and they slipped through the window just as the beast made one final attempt at snatching them in his jaws.

Away from the shipwreck they swam, beyond the jagged rock terrain and further into the darkening sea.

Night was falling at last.