The boy surged forward, dragging poor Coral with him. Water rushed past her ears as she struggled to keep up, her wrist tight in his grip. She marveled how fast and hydrodynamic he was. His eyes were looking forward, not bothering to see if she's alright or whether he should slow down.
She gasped, glancing down—where his legs should've been was a powerful, vibrant blue tail, flickering through the sea with expert ease.
A tail?
Her eyes widened.
A...siren?
She barely had time to process the thought before glancing over her shoulder.
Men in sleek, dark-purple armor was closing fast—spiked pauldrons gleaming, their spears poised. Silent and their tails propelling them forward, they cut through the water like sharks on the hunt.
Coral turned forward and let out a shrill scream as they headed right for a towering rock formation. She flinched, waiting for impact. The boy maneuvered around the rock, as Coral still screamed.
She calmed down and glanced behind her. The armored men swam around it as well, still in hot pursuit.
"Who are those guys?" She asked, surprised she can talk underwater.
"Bad news," the boy replied.
The boy glanced back, his silver hair fanning like silk in the current. "The less you know about things, the better."
Coral furrowed her brow. "Not comforting. How do I know if you're the good guy?"
The boy scoffed, tugging her arm sharply as they dipped through a tight coral tunnel. Vibrant fish scattered as they shot out from the other side.
"Are you suggesting they're the good guys," he asked, glancing at her sidelong.
Coral looked over her shoulder. The armored men were gaining on them fast.
"I never said that," she muttered.
The boy dove again, pulling them into a deeper reef, where sunlight barely flittered through. Shadows twisted around them
Then—whoosh, a school of fish envelope them, and just like that, the duo vanished.
The men stopped, scanning their surroundings. One let out a frustrated grunt.
"Queen Delia will not be happy about this," he growled.
The other crossed her arms. "Then you can tell her."
With a sharp kick, they swam off in various directions.
From behind a jagged rock, Coral and the boy slowly emerged.
"Okay," Coral huffed, hair swirling. "Who are you? And why were they chasing us."
He met her gaze, his face drawn.
"There is no us," he said flatly, his brows furrowed. "They were chasing me."
Coral blinked.
"So..." she began slowly, "you kidnapped me."
She scoffed, gesturing at him.
"You're a siren—fish man—who kidnapped me."
The boy's lips curled in offended disgust.
"Don't lump me in with those she-wretches," he glared. "I'm a merman."
Coral let out a choked sound, her eyes darting around as she drifted closer.
"A-A merman?" She whispered, wide-eyed.
She gave him another once-over.
"Merboy is more accurate," she muttered.
He blinked. Then rolled his eyes and swam away, his tail flicking with elegant annoyance. "Hey!" She called after him, kicking forward. "Who are you? What's your name?"
He turned back, his hair drifted like silk.
"You're a stranger to me. You're welcome by the way. Now if you'll excuse me—I must go."
And with that, he turned and left without a second glance.
Coral huffed.
"Worst merman ever!" she shouted after him. "The myths are lies!"
Still muttering to herself, she darted after the mysterious merboy.
The merboy dove down again, this time heading towards a sunken ship. Coral gasped softly, awestruck at the rotten wreck resting in the seabed's embrace.
She followed after him, careful to stay quiet.
The merboy paused at the broken hull's entrance, his steely eyes scanning the shadows. Then he slipped inside.
Coral was right behind, her own eyes squinting as the light faded, swallowed by ship's rotting frame.
Inside, the boy rummaged, lifting old, mold-stained planks, peeking under them. Coral lingered near the doorway, watching silently as he moved with clear purpose.
Then, without another word, he swam off into another corridor.
Coral swarm forward, then stop mid-motion. Something glimmered on the wooden floor.
She reached down and picked up a shard of blue pottery. Wiping away the silt, she uncovered, golden strange symbols etched in the ceramic:
∽∽↬◯∧⌣◯◃⇝↬∣↬↶⊙⊃−↬◯S⌣S′↬∣↬—∣↶∧↬—∣
She blinked. She had no idea what it meant.
Clutching the fragment, she continued swimming deeper into the wreck. Spotting the flick of a familiar blue tail ahead, she followed, slipping through the wrapped doorway after him.
Her eyes widened.
The chamber—its floor half eroded and its walls rotted through—was filled with human belongings. Tables, broken dishes, the odd I-phone, tangled jewelry, nets, and faded books floated among the debris, mingled with bizarre objects that looked vaguely human but somehow....off. Like of a time period long gone.
The merboy floated in front of a cracked mirror, running his fingers through his silver hair, his expression distant, thoughtful
Coral's gaze caught onto an intricate pot tucked behind a beam. She darted down and studied it. Like the shard she held—and like the vase in her room—it had the same strange symbols.
She reached out.
But just as her finger brushed it, something darted past her face. She yelped, flailing reflexively—and her hand smacked the pot. It drifted up, then sank, hitting the seabed with a dull thud.
The merboy spun around, his eyes wide.
"You again?" He gasped. "Go home, human."
"I will," Coral said. "But, I'm not human."
The merboy swam up, then halted, his tail going still as he floated inches from her face. His voice dropped. "What do you mean by that?"
"I can breathe underwater," she said proudly.
The merboy narrowed his eyes, scanning her. "Indeed, you can.....Who are your parents?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Ocean," she replied with a shrug.
"Their first names?" He pressed.
"I don't know," she said.
He stared at her, baffled. "How do you not know? Every child of the sea knows their parents' first names."
"Not my fault," Coral muttered. "They've never told me."
The merboy drifted closer, his eyes now fixed on her hair. "Your hair..."
She blinked. "What about it?"
"It's..." he paused, searching for words. "It's a different texture."
"What does that mean?"
"Less course than human hair," he explained, " yet more vibrant....Alive."
His nose was now inches from hers.
"I don't believe it," he whispered, a flicker of awe curling his lips into a smile. "You're Atlantean."
"What?" She gasped.
He nodded, eyes wide. "You're....a mermaid."
A mermaid?
No.