Author's Notes
Suddenly, on the horizon...
The princess stands...
Chapter 2 - Meeting
A young woman in a simpler dress approaches and speaks after bowing, "Princess, be careful, please. Don't stay close to the edge."
"I know. I just want to see the ocean," The young woman speaks and then turns to the personal servant and asks, "Is it true that there are jiaoren in this region?"
When the servant was going to answer, the captain approaches her with a gentle look on his aged face and replies while smiling, "Yes. But, we rarely see one. Tritons are extremely rare. It is easier to spot a mermaid than a mermen. I I hardly think you'll see one."
"I saw some illustrations. They look beautiful."
"Yes, Princess. It is said that the jiaoren are the condensed soul of the sea. Despite this, they are still demons and many people say that they are the most powerful demons in the underwater world. In the ocean, their power is increased. No there is a demon more powerful than them. Furthermore, they can assume an animal form. Therefore, when we see an animal in the ocean, it may be one of them in its true form."
"Truth?" She has bright eyes.
This young woman had dark hair and eyes of the same color, in addition to being no more than seventeen years old.
"Of course! But it's like I said. You'll rarely see one. I myself have never seen one even though I've sailed this vast ocean for decades. But, they may have appeared in their true forms. It would be more accurate to say that I haven't seen them in their form hybrid, half human and half fish."
The young woman sighs sadly and her head goes down on her arms flexed on the edge of the boat wall while her hopeful eyes do not stop looking at the ocean for even a minute.
Later, the captain watches the sky and displays a worried face because it was visible the fact that a threatening storm was approaching on the horizon, although the man could feel that it was a strange storm. It was as if his decades-old sailor instincts had alerted him to the strangeness of that event.
Of course, everyone knew that the weather could change dramatically in the ocean. But that particular one, for some reason he couldn't discern, felt unnaturally caused. It was a disconcerting feeling that didn't leave him for a moment.
Then he proceeds to brandish orders authoritatively after the two servants drag the young princess to the cabin.
The sky grew more and more menacing, with thick, dark clouds forming as lightning ripped across the sky at the same time as the sea roiled in immense fury, tossing them from side to side as everyone struggled to stay steady on the deck that swayed from side to side in the wake of the violent waves, the fear evident in the faces of the sailors, as well as in the face of the captain.
However, unlike his subordinates, he controlled his fear because he needed to be firm with his men and set an example, even more so when he saw the purest fear in their eyes as he lamented over the situation of them and their passengers.
After all, even with so many years of experience, he couldn't stop sailing during a storm and although he knew that on the high seas, the weather could change drastically and without any warning, he still thought it all strange because it didn't seem like a normal storm.
What the captain didn't know is that he had inadvertently approached the hidden island that the jiaoren protected and as a safety measure, an uncontrollable storm always appeared to kill everyone. It was a cruel method, but an equally necessary one to keep the world safe.
Far away, despite the fierce battle of the captain and his subordinates, the vessel breaks into several parts at the same time that the cabin where the princess and her servants were quickly filled with water, making her struggle to get some oxygen through of a gap between the ceiling and the water that occupied the cabin.
After getting a few breaths of air after holding her breath, she looks around and is shocked to see that her servants drowned as a result of some injury because there was a way to reach a gap that had appeared on their side and that allowed them to enter oxygen, leading her to believe they were badly injured and consequently unable to keep their heads above water.
Indeed, there was blood in the water that came out of their bodies, but as the water was murky, the princess could not see what injuries they suffered.
Desperate, the young woman manages to leave through another submerged hole by giving several powerful kicks to break the shell even more, while she uses a technique derived from her occult pulse together.
However, after managing to leave the cabin, she ends up being dragged by the stormy sea and starts to fight hard to stay on the surface despite the furious waves sinking her every time while the boat no longer existed with the exception of a few large fragments that still floated precariously. She struggled hard to try to reach any of these pieces, but she couldn't at the same time that she felt that she was gradually being affected by a lethargy due to the extremely cold water that slowly numbed her body.
Nearby, Chang Yi watched what was happening to the ship because he was returning to meet his father when he felt the activation of the island's defenses, making him look for the source and in doing so, he began to observe the vessel breaking into pieces due to the strong magical protection around the island.
Then, the Crown Prince of the Ocean Tribes spots a young girl struggling desperately against the stormy sea and when she sinks a sixth time, he is fascinated by her appearance as he swims close to the human.
He had also observed that the dead humans were sailors and that there were two human females among them, leading him to believe that the approach to the island was unintentional and an unfortunate accident.
After all, everything pointed to the fact that they weren't sailing nearby with ulterior motives.
From the young mermen's point of view, it looked more like they were just hanging out and had inadvertently activated the island's defenses.
Therefore, upon determining that the young woman had no malicious intentions along with her curiosity to talk to a human despite her father's constant warnings, he decided to save her.
On the surface of the raging sea, the princess was thrown into the depths again by an immense wave and this time, she was too tired to continue fighting as the numbness in her limbs spread systematically because of the cold that slowly numbed her senses along with her arms his thoughts that were becoming more and more confused and erratic.
Then, before she closes her eyes as she sinks for the last time when a particularly ferocious wave violently pushes her to the bottom, she spots a man with white hair and ice blue eyes who has emerged from the depths at the same time that the huge and powerful bluish-white tail that was also beautiful and whose fins and tip resembled a magnificent layered lotus flower.
Two muscular arms caught her, then felt a cold hand touch her face as the surface of the raging water grew farther and farther away as they submerged into the depths of the ocean. The young woman also felt that the cold disappeared as if by magic.
Then, unable to hold any more air in her lungs, she opened her mouth and was surprised to see that she could breathe and speak even though she was in the depths where the waters were calm in contrast to the surface.
As they submerged themselves away from the ocean's chaotic surface, the princess tightly gripped the strong arms that embraced her and were wider than her neck as she was pressed against a muscular chest as the temperature of her rescuer's skin rose it was a little cold, but then you felt like you were sitting on something and when you looked down, you realized it was an underwater rock.
The young woman knew that she survived the boat accident because part of the ceiling where she was was damaged by the waves, thus guaranteeing a gap despite her being trapped, in addition to not having suffered any injuries that prevented her from fighting drowning.
For some unknown reason, as she submerged herself under the water in the damaged cabin, her instinct for self-preservation kicked in and she struggled to open the hole a little wider and get out in time before the damaged boat capsized and sank into the water as she struggled against the tide furious ocean surface.
So, everything that occurred to her and the sight of the bodies of her servants who had floated dead beside her take their toll, as she is no longer forced to fight for her life. The princess breaks down in tears as she sobs deeply, her body wracked with pain and grief. Everything that happened was a very traumatic event.
Suddenly, a melody reaches her ears, identifying it as a distinct song because each intonation seemed to assuage her sadness and desolation. It was as if the incomprehensible words had a calming power, in addition to being able to remove her sadness, making the young woman feel that the pain was gradually disappearing.
Also, the voice was beautiful and she allowed herself to immerse herself in this melody.
When the song ceases, the princess is calm and her tears have dried.
Then, the noblewoman raises her head and observes her savior for the first time, realizing that he was responsible for having sung beautifully moments before.
The jiaoren had a manly and handsome face that was the most handsome she had ever seen as it was reflected in the ice blue eyes at the same time as she caught sight of the white hair that floated lightly in the water. Her face was so beautiful that she forgot to breathe. It was an unattainable beauty like in the tales about that species.
Her eyes go down and observe the muscular and defined chest and abdomen, as well as the strong and muscular arms, with her not being able to find any imperfection in his musculature, with the exception of a small scar on the white skin and that was visible only if it stayed very close to him.
She was so fascinated by his perfection, that she gently brings her delicate hand to the scar and lightly circles it, being speechless at the silky softness of the skin.
However, the princess didn't notice the reaction on the jiaoren's face that expressed her discomfort as some muscles contracted at the same time as the ice blue eyes had turned slightly darker.
Unaware of the reactions she was arousing in the merman, she took her hand away and gazed in fascination at the imposing and majestic tail that was simply beautiful while she couldn't find words to do justice to her beauty. The fins on the tail and the tip resembled the layered lotus flower. It was simply magnificent and incomparable, in addition to demonstrating the purest power because the musculature was visible, thus making it generate a simply wonderful contrast. It was a big, long, lush tail.
Furthermore, the scales under its abdomen were soft to the touch as if they were silk while being as hard as armor, in addition to seeming to glow in the little light that penetrated the ocean, complementing its lush and majestic appearance. She believed that by the size and apparent power, as she remembered from reading some books, the jiaoren in front of her must be a member of the royal family of the ocean.
Unable to contain herself, she caressed the scales on part of the tail, feeling the unexpected softness because they too were like silk just like the scales on her abdomen. That fact fascinated her even more if that was possible.
Her act only intensified the growing annoyance of the merman whose eyes had darkened even more than before.
Deciding to stop the young woman's reckless explorations while recovering from the surprise of feeling such sensations through simple contacts while assimilating how easily fascinated and curious humans are, something he didn't expect because it was the first time he saw one of that race, he holds his hands her hands firmly, but without strength, pulling her away from the caresses.
He notices her surprised face that turns red when she shyly raises her beautiful brown eyes, showing shame and shyness, making him curious about this reaction when considering her attitudes until that moment.
In fact, the princess was ashamed because she hadn't realized how inappropriately she had acted towards her savior.
After all, the young woman was aware of the fact that she had no right to touch him like that after her life was saved because it was an indisputable fact that she would have died under the raging waves if not for the unexpected intervention of a merman.
Her only excuse is that she was so fascinated and equally mesmerized by the beauty in front of her, a beauty she only read about in short stories, that she ended up letting herself be carried away by these feelings and the fact that she had fulfilled her dream of seeing a jiaoren in person, even more a male because they were very rare.
Furthermore, even though she didn't see other mermen, by the appearance he emanated, she believed that he was different from others and that he must be a member of the royal family because it was said in some books that there was a royal family of jiaoren that ruled the entire ocean. If he wasn't royalty, he must have been pretty close to a royal title.
The eyes of both meet and time seems to stop for some time until the young woman first looks away when remembering her inappropriate acts towards her savior, causing her to be taken over by a feeling of intense shame and embarrassment.
She bows and lowers her head, speaking sheepishly as she stammers, "I apologize for my actions. It's the first time I've seen a member of your species and I've just been fascinated by your beauty." She bites her tongue when she sees what she said at the end and that it was unnecessary, making the blush come back full force on her face.