"Father, your food is ready," said a young Servine as she carried a dish. She approached a large chair by a fireplace. The walls were adorned with the severed heads of various monsters and beasts. The Puffersnout. The Igloodamus. One of Davy Jone's Wenches. All slain and decorating the room. Of course, there was the centerpiece of it all. Just above the fireplace was a massive maw. Blood stained its teeth from both the many sailors it swallowed and from one who killed it. A symbol of certain doom on the high seas reduced to a mere trophy. The kraken.

"About time," said Servine's father. His voice was like spoiled milk, aged and bitter. She reached her hand and grabbed the plate and began to eat. Servine stared at the floor like she had been taught to. As she listened to the sounds of her father eating his meal, a mighty steak made from tuskalrus meat, her stomach grumbled. Servine closed her eyes and tried to distract herself from it. She would eat when he decided she could.

Those sounds. The knife scraped the plate when it finished cutting through the meat. His dismissive hmms. And the smell. Fresh, savory meat perfectly basted in butter and seasonings. A faint whiff of heartichokes. It filled the room like a gentle hug. Servine wished that her eyes would open and behold a feast worthy of a queen. Alas, she opened them and could only see carpet. All she felt was hunger. She made it. It was only fair that she got a bite. But that was coward talk. Real men earned their meals. That was what Father said and everything that Father says goes.

"Keep your eyes to yourself," said Father, "You haven't earned the right," Immediately, Servine shut her eyes again,

"I'm sorry, Father," she said quickly.

"Don't apologize. Just do it!" snapped Father. Servine momentarily struggled to control her breathing, but silenced herself. How could she forget such a simple concept? Father said that weaklings apologize. Real men just get the job done. But as Father finished up his meal, Servine couldn't help but be annoyed. All she did was say sorry. What was so wrong about admitting a mistake?

This line of thinking was quickly shut down. Do not question Father. He was a real man. Weaklings question real men. At least, that was what he told her.

Father finished his meal and handed his plate to Servine. She finally opened her eyes and saw that he had left only crumbs. Nothing for her. Not even a chunk of fat, or a stem. Just little specks of nothing.

"Move it," hissed Father.

"Yes, Father," said Servine as she grabbed the plate and turned back towards the kitchen.

Candlelight illuminated the kitchen. The clouds hid the moon. There was a simple stove, cabinets, a sink, and a window into the night. This window overlooked a view of empty blackness. No light for miles. Servine turned on the water and washed off Father's plate. Scrubbing away at the juices with a cloth, the cloth got dirtier and dirtier. Eventually, the cloth was unusable and yet the job wasn't done.

Servine's breathing increased. Did they have a spare cloth? She grabbed the candle and began to frantically look for something, anything to do this. Weaklings can't do the job. Real men do not fail. She couldn't fail. There had to be something here. There needed to be something here. Maybe…she could- NO! Weaklings take half-measures. She wasn't a weakling. She wasn't a weakling. She wasn't a weakling!

"Hurry up!" yelled Father from the other room. Servine looked back in fright before continuing her desperate search. Every cabinet. Empty. Every drawer. Empty. Where did they all go?! Servine's heart was lodged up in her throat. She could barely breathe. Just then, in the corner of her eye, hidden behind the knife block was another cloth. Relief washed over her. She could-

"Girl." said Father. Servine gasped. She slowly turned around to see Father. He was a Chesnaught, an armored grass/fighting-type. His armor had little cracks all over it, with his shell in particular having a spike missing and a large crack down the middle. Dozens of scars, both big and small covered his body like a tapestry. His eyes held such fury within them. "Give. It. To. Me." he demanded. Servine handed the dirty plate over to him. She closed her eyes, unable to look Father in the eyes. Father looked at the dish. Steak juice was wiped around into a spiraling mess. Water dripped from it to the floor. Each droplet was a gunshot into Servine's heart. What was he going to do? What could she do? It was an honest mistake. She didn't know what to do.

"Father, I-"

Father smacked her with the plate. It shattered into pieces upon impact. She fell to the floor. Looking up at her Father in terror, she opened her mouth to plead with him. "Please! Please, Father-" Father cut her off, stomping on her hand with his peg-leg.

"I gave you a simple task and you failed to do it," said Father.

"I-I tried my best, Father!" pleaded Servine. Father scowled before he stamped on Servine's foot again. She screamed in pain, but quickly silenced herself.

"No excuses. Just shut up. Clean your mess and stay in your room. I don't want to see a weakling before I go to bed. Understand?" said Father. Servine frightfully nodded. Father stepped off Servine's foot and walked off to his bedroom.

Servine looked at her hand. It was already bruising quite badly. Even the act of closing it into a fist was met with a sharp burst of pain. She gasped quietly but knew she had to get to work. If Father saw this mess was still here, there's no telling what he would do. Picking up the shards of glass off the floor, Servine ignored her pain and the blood sliding down her cheek.

A faint blue glow shone on Servine. She looked up from her work. The clouds had parted, allowing the full moon to gaze upon the earth. That darkness from before had been transformed into a little light show. It was the ocean. So close but ever so far. It stretched out as far as the eye could see. An endless sea of endless islands. At that moment, she realized why she was questioning Father. There was a better world out there. Throwing away the remains of that plate, she knew she had to see it.

The sand subtly dipped underneath her feet as she stepped out onto the beach. She had closed the door to her room once she finished cleaning so that Father would think she was asleep. Anyway, she stepped out onto the beach before looking back up at her home. A manor built on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea surrounded by forest. It was Father's home. A place he had built after his duel with the kraken. It was the house she had spent her entire life in. Now she had stepped outside for the first time in months. Father had never caught her during her trips, and every day, she thanked Arceus for that.

She looked back out towards the beautiful sea. Seagulls in the distance called out from the dark. The waves hypnotically waved back and forth. Moonlight formed a path out to the ocean. For the first time in months, Servine smiled. Then, she turned around to face a small cavern. Walking into it, she squinted her eyes to get a better look. A candle would be useful, but if Father had so much as a suspicion that she was out here, the consequences would be immeasurable. Just barely visible in the moonlight was a raft. Assembled from scrap wood, fallen trees and torn cloth, it was a simple sailboat.

Inside this boat was a chest. Servine opened it open and inside were some provisions, a map, a compass and her inheritance from her mother. About 2000 doubloons, just barely enough to afford a better ship. A caravel at best. Father demanded she get rid of it because "Weakings take handouts," and as far as he knew, she had done just that.

This was her way out.

She grabbed the map and compass. The map had several notes on it alongside an arrow to the nearest inhabited island: Turtle Rock. Taking her compass, she went through her travel plan. All she had to do was go south east, past Whirlpool Fall, and boom. There she was. She took another look out to sea. Everything was ready to go. The ship could make it if she were careful. However, then Father's words came back.

"Weakings run. Real men face the challenge head on."

Servine frowned. She couldn't. This was just a stupid fantasy. Her life was to be here. Even if she could sail, her father had ships at the dock to chase her down. Serving Father until the day he died. Then…then she would figure it out from there. Turning away from the boat, she slowly walked out the cave.

Suddenly, there was this animalistic groaning sound from the distance. There wasn't a word to describe it. It grumbled and crackled but was oddly soft, like it was hurt. Servine looked around and saw a tubular shape going from the water to the nearby woods. Whatever it was, it looked big. Servine had half a mind to run back and wake up Father. No sooner than she thought that did she immediately regret it. Father couldn't find out she was out here. About the boat. Whatever this was, she had to deal with it on her own. She grabbed a fallen tree branch and slowly entered the woods. Those sounds got louder and louder as she navigated the brush. Eventually, she found the source, and she almost fainted.

It was a sea serpent.

One of the great beasts of the sea. This creature had scales that can withstand cannons. Fangs that tore galleons asunder. A tail that could make tsunami's. Pirates ran in terror from the sight of such a monster, and here it was. It looked fairly young. Its head was the size of a small house. The creature laid its head on the ground, groaning. Servine's fear slowly began to drift away. It sounded painful.

"Hey…" said Servine. The serpent opened its eyes and looked at her before snorting. Servine took a step back in fright, but closed her eyes to calm herself. Father killed creatures like this all the time back in the day. Surely, she could do the same thing. She opened her eyes and the creature still hadn't moved.

"How long have you been here?" asked Servine. The serpent glared at Servive but snorted again. Evidently, the serpent was too exhausted to eat her. What happened to it? Perhaps it needed some food. "I'll be right back," said Servine as she walked back into her cave. SHe grabbed some extra provisions and came back with several cans of food.

The Serpent's eyebrows raised slightly. Servine used a knife to pop the cans open.

"Open wide," said Servine. The Serpent rolled its eyes but reluctantly opened its mouth. Servine's eyes went wide with surprise, "Can…Can you understand me?" The Serpent, who will henceforth be named just Serpent, impatiently grunted. Taking the hint, Servine hurried and fed Serpent. Dried meat probably wasn't the tastiest, Servine thought, but she continued to feed it regardless. It was all she had that would do the job.

For the first time in years, she felt safe. Despite this monstrous beast's massive jaws just inches from turning her into dinner, she felt no fear towards it. Servine dumped some food into the Serpent's mouth, which coerced a satisfied hiss from it. However, it was followed up with a curious grunt. Servine was surprised and just sighed,

"I'm sorry. I don't think I understand." Serpent then glanced in the other direction, where the cave was and made that same grunt. Getting the message, Servine looked out to the sea, a smile growing on her face. This friend wouldn't tell Father, so she told it.

"For years, I've wanted to go out to see the world. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of islands with thousands of people all living their lives as they see fit. So many wonders and adventures and so many people are getting to see them with nothing holding them back. If you want to go somewhere, you can just go there. No limits. No one telling you what you can or can't do. Just…freedom. Over the years, I started building a ship so that one day, I can sail the high seas."

Servine shook her head. She had been caught up in this ridiculous fantasy of hers.

"I'm sorry. It's just a stupid dream."

Serpent then snarled, snapping its teeth. Servine fell back and scampered until her back pressed up against a tree.

"Wait! What did I do?" she asked with terror in her voice. Serpent growled at her before it laid back down and glanced towards its back. Curiously, Servine stood and walked over to the creature's side. What she saw made her gasp. That was why Serpent was here.

Something big had bitten down on its body. Large teeth-like wounds clamped around Serpent, bleeding it dry. Just then, she realized something. Those wounds. She recognized them.

"You…You fought a Megalodon? Those kill sea serpents like you! Why? How?" she asked. Serpent looked like it was…proud. It closed its eyes and Servine could swear it was grinning. She had so many questions swirling around in her head. Chief among them being, "Did you win?"

Serpent moved its head up and down. Servine was stunned. Megalodon's hunted sea serpents with ease. Her father would go on and on with how sea serpents never stood a chance against the great sharks. Never in recorded history had a megalodon been slain by a sea serpent yet here was proof that a sea serpent fought one of them. Wait, there was no way. It had to be lying. Could animals lie? It seemed Serpent sensed this, and briefly sunk its head underneath the sea. Servine ran over to the coast and peered over.

Serpent emerged from the ocean with a large gray and white severed fin. It threw it onto the ground. Looking at it, Servine could deny it no longer. There was proof right in front of her. But that still didn't answer everything. Why? Why would a sea serpent risk its life to fight a futile battle? It was at that moment when it clicked for her.

It had gotten mad because of what she said. About her dream. That was why it had done this. Killing a megalodon was Serpent's dream.

Serpent closed its eyes and fell asleep. A satisfied smirk on its face. Servine stared at the beast before her. Her jaw hung open. For a few minutes, she just stood there. Lost in thought. If an animal could have a dream and accomplish it, even if it was impossible. Sea serpents were powerful. Her father hunted them and struggled.

She realized that it was getting late. She needed to get some sleep before the next day. But not before grabbing some leaves and branches and coving Serpent with them. Father would kill it on sight. The least she could do was make sure Serpent had a chance to escape.

The next day

"Girl! Get me my food!" yelled Father. Servine blinked her eyes open. Standing up and getting dressed, Servine walked into the kitchen. Her cheek had a band-aid on it from last night. She looked at her reflection in the window glass and scowled. Something inside her burned. An inferno that would only get better and better. Father would hurt her. Eventually, breakfast was finished. Servine carried the plate to Father's chair and placed it down. As Father began to eat, Servine stared at the floor as she always did. However, her eyes began to drift. She looked out into the kitchen, through the window. Morning had produced a faint mist over the ocean. Sunlight shined through the mist, creating a gorgeous fog that hovered just over the surface. A yearning inside her began to rise, growing more and more by the second. She didn't belong here. Not anymore. Her place was in the high seas.

"What are you looking at?" asked Father. Servine was transfixed on the sea. She ignored him. Father looked over at her and growled, "Don't you ignore me!" he snapped. Servine turned around and apologized profusely. Father wasn't impressed. "I don't know what you were so focused on, but knock it off," he said. Servine just nodded before staring down at the carpet once more. Once he turned back to start eating again, however, Servine looked back out towards the ocean. Her dreams were so close, yet so far away. All she had to do was leave in the middle of the night. Father would have no idea where she went but… it was impossible. Serpent could do the impossible. It was a sea serpent, but she was just a Servine. Nothing more.

"Father. Have you ever had a dream?" she asked.

"Did I say you could talk?" asked Father venomously. Servine closed her eyes, readying to apologize, but what came out of her mouth next surprised her.

"Answer the question."

Almost immediately, she covered her mouth. There was no guilt or shame inside her, however. That ember inside was growing stronger and stronger. Father sought to extinguish that ember before it evolved,

"When did you grow a spine?" he snapped. Servine looked at her father's angry glare, ready to give in, but then those wounds on Serpent's side came back to her. Her resolve steeled and she glared back at Father. Genuinely taken aback this, Father stood up, growing angrier,

"Don't you look at me like that!"
"Did you ever have a dream, Father? One that you'd be willing to risk it all for?" asked Servine once more, which only irritated Father more,

"Shut up! Dreams are for the weak!"
"You take that back!" yelled Servine. Enraged, Father smacked Servine onto the floor. Looking up at the tower Chesnaught before her, Servine couldn't help but be utterly terrified of the man.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but shut your damn trap before I shut it for you! Dreams are for children. Children who don't know the real world. Get your head out of the clouds!"

"You…" Servine paused for a moment, waiting for the words to come to her. "You gave up on yours. Didn't you?"

Father roared, raising his foot to crush her. For a moment, Servine genuinely thought she had just spoken her last words. She shut her eyes and braced for the afterlife, when a loud bang erupted through the manor. Servine and Father looked to the source of the noise in confusion. It sounded like something large being broken apart. Something wooden, like a boat. The ships!

It seemed that Father realized this as well. He grabbed Servine by the scuff of her neck and dragged her across the house. Servine fought as hard as she could but he was far too powerful. Father tossed her into her room,

"I'll deal with you later." before slamming the door shut. Servine took this time to fully process what she had just done. She had stood up to Father. Instead of crumbling before him, she stayed strong. Instead of sheer terror or self-loathing, she felt a sense of pride, something that surprised her more than anything. What had happened? It was like she was under some sort of spell.

She knew the answer. It was about dreams and her new friend.

A loud growl from outside her window caught her attention. Servine ran to her window to see Serpent at the beach. To her surprise, her boat had been dragged out from its cave and was right on the shore. Immediately, Servine opened her window,

"What are you doing? Father is going to kill you!" she yelled. Serpent simply looked determined and gestured for her to come. Servine hesitated, she couldn't just leave. Father had his ships to…

It was Serpent. Serpent destroyed their boats. Father wouldn't be able to catch up.

Servine stepped out of her window without even thinking about it.

When she arrived at the beach, she still couldn't believe the sight. Her meager little boat was mere inches from the sea. Mere inches from freedom. She was on the verge of tears. She stepped forward, only to notice a message on the beach. It looked to be carved with Serpent's large fangs.

"GO"

Servine looked up at Serpent with tears in her eyes. Serpent smirked before leaning its head down. She hugged it as tightly as she could. Never would she imagine being able to fulfill her dream. Her entire life seemed planned out beforehand but now, she has to decide what path she followed.

"Thank you," she said, "Thank you so much. Come on, let's hurry up before Father-" Serpent grunted, cutting her off. It looked towards the distance. The implication was obvious. Father was coming. It was inevitable. Whether it be in a few minutes or the next couple of seconds, it didn't matter. Father would arrive to wreak havoc. Serpent looked down at Servine and gestured for her to leave. Horrified by the implications, Servine pleaded with Serpent,

"No! Don't do it! Father is a former monster hunter. He'll kill you!" Serpent hissed, demanding that she get on her boat. She refused to abandon her one and only friend that easily, "I'm not leaving you!"

Serpent then opened its jaw and quickly drew another message in the sand. When it finished, the message read out,

"DREAMS" At first, Servine was confused, but then she remembered that wound on Serpents

Serpent had accomplished its dream. It was content with its life now. Now, it was going to make sure that Servine would get to accomplish hers.

Servine couldn't help but start crying. Serpent let her shed her tears but watched the forest. She fell onto her knees and sobbed. It was just too soon. For the first time in years, she had been treated like a human. Treated with some level of respect and kindness. She couldn't let that be taken from her.

Serpent then growled before grabbing Servine and placing her on the boat. Before she could react, it swiped its tail into the water. A wave of water pushed Servine from the shore into the ocean. She looked back and screamed out,

"WAIT!" but could only watch as Father emerged from the woods. He paused in shock at the sight of such a beast, but quickly recomposed himself.

"I'LL KILL YOU, BEAST!" he screamed before lunging at the sea serpent. Serpent looked back at Servine one last time. If you looked carefully, you might be inclined to believe it was smiling.

Servine then felt the ship buckle and weave. The waves from Serpent's tail were strong and she needed to get herself reorientated if she wanted to survive. Grabbing onto her sail, she carefully navigated and managed the ship, fighting the waves to stay afloat. However, it seemed that the ocean was ready to welcome her with open arms. If she could get past the next challenge. For a split second, the ocean gave way. Seeing this little opportunity, Servine grabbed the sails and pulled as hard as she could. The ship swerved around in d circles, but thanks to Servine's actions, it never gave in to the wave. Once she had overcome the ocean task, it relented. The sea relaxed and the winds pulled her away from her island.

As she looked around, the sun rose above her. Around her was the color blue. Seawater began to guide her gently in the right direction. A gorgeous summer sky with just a few little clouds here and there welcomed her with open arms. The sloshing of the water lulled her into a sense of calm. Shutting her eyes, Servine spread her arms and felt the breeze around her. This was it. She knew it. This was what life on the open sea was like. Freedom.

She dared not look back. Looking back would mean that Serpent's sacrifice was for nothing. Serpent had accomplished its dream and was willing to die for it had no regrets. For that, Servine swore she would accomplish her dream. To sail the high seas. To see everything the world had to offer. However, there was one more thing that needed to be done. Her name. She had one, but that name belonged to Father. If she wanted to be truly free, she needed a new one. Her heart already decided on a name. A name truly free from the past and perfect for the future.

Sapra.