A/N: Well, camp is over, and I'm back into civilization. I find it humorous that my readers have a fascination with a merman Shinji. So this is for you, LuckyTiger, and I'll me making this into three or so parts.

Banished: Part One

"There's a legend that's been in our family for generations. There was once a boy, cold and cruel, who became a sailor. He was crossing the Great Lake, when the Lady of the Lake made her annual appearance to crossing sailors. And you know how the Lady expects payment for safe traveling. Well, when the rest of the crew presented their tokens, the sailor, however did not. Angered and insulted, the Lady cast his adrift.

"The Mistress of the Moon took pity on the lost sailor and showed him the way to a secret island. But the Mistress soon grew to know of his coldness. So she turned to the Lady and planned something for the rude sailor, to teach him that respect and love were important. Once every month, when the moon was full and the tides were strong, the man was burdened with a horrible curse, only to be cured by a fair maiden with a heart of gold.

"Kari, as you travel across the Great Lake, remember the Lady of the Lake, and her toll. Take this." A boy with midnight hair and ocean eyes whispered. "Be safe, Kari."

~o0o~

The girl woke with a start, gripping the edges of her sheets. She sighed as she remembered her dream, her brother present. She turned to her side, where a golden locket rested on her bedside table. Then, once again, a sigh escaped the girl as she remembered why she was here, stuck on an ever rocking boat.

She had been betrothed, against her will (not that her father cared), and sent across the Great Lake to her groom, someone she had never met before. All she knew of the man was that his name was Kouki, and that he was very rich. And that was all her father cared about.

But she had been stuck on the boat for three days, and it was expected to be four more days until the she arrived on the other side of the Great Lake.

All at once, the world stopped. The girl felt frozen. Then, with slow realization, she suspected that the boat had ventured upon the Lady of the Lake's territory. She, with out much thought, rose from her bed, and still dressed in her light pink nightgown, she exited her sleeping bunk and rose to the surface of the boat, the golden locket tight in her grasp.

Once at the top, she spotted a glowing woman, pale white with mist curling around her floating form.

"What have you brought for the Lady of the Lake?" she questioned. The crew knelt to the knees and held out their tokens. All glowed until they dissipated from their hands. The nightgown-toting girl was about to offer hers when she hear someone curse under their breath.

"Oh, Arceus." someone hissed.

Turning around, the girl spotted a blonde crew-worker, who was fishing through his pockets frantically. When he came up with nothing, he sighed and, the girl swore she saw tears budding in the corner of his orange eyes. Without thinking, she placed the locket in his hands. Before he could protest, the locket glowed and disappeared, leaving the boy safe and the girl token-less.

"Hikari," the Lady turned to the blue-haired girl. "Have you not a token for me?"

The girl shook her head, and when she stared up at the Lady, she could have sworn that she saw a twinkle in those white misty eyes. But, it did not however, match the scowl on her face.

"Then you shall be banished."

Hikari braced herself as the wind whipped around her and as she closed her eyes, the world seemed to disappear.

End of Part One. And, yes, she will meet Shinji in the next Part. Also, have you guys heard of the nuzlocke challenge? Well, I'm doing one for Pokemon Emerald. So, if you want to learn more about it, see my profile. I'll be posting the first chapter soon. And if you like Percy Jackson, and have a particular fondness for Ethan Nakamura, I could do with some reviews for that fiction. I mean, I only have two reviews, and their from (1) my best friend and (2) my beta. Yeah, pitiful. Oh, and I absolutely love flames, so flame, if you have a good reason.