Lyre swam forward as his eyes kept on darting around. His eldest brother was supposed to be patrolling here, and that's why he was extra careful.
Out of the kingdom, he swam forward. However, instead of wading straight, he dived into the water and swam under a whale he saw.
"Hello, big boy." He smiled at the porpoise.
The porpoise only turned to look at him with an eye of disinterest before he continued with his night hunt.
Yet that didn't deter the young prince. He waded so fast that he was swimming directly under the whale.
And almost immediately, he heard the sounds of the mermen under his brother as they glided forward.
"I thought you claimed you saw a merman here?" Lyre's eldest brother asked as he swam forward. His eyes darted around the place.
"Yes, my prince." The merman, who saw Lyre when he dived in, spoke as he glanced around.
There was no merman in sight.
Aside from the few fishes and the big lazy whale who was only looking at them with disinterest, there was no sign of a merman.
Lyre, who was under the whale, had his heart beating so loud, it felt as if his poor heart was about to leap out of his chest.
He silently swam forward as he tried not to make a sound and prayed the whale won't swim faster.
His bones were aching to him, and it has been a long time since he swam.
His body ached him so much he couldn't rise from bed, for the morning routine of swimming among the younger ones in the kingdom.
"Let's go." The eldest prince started moving forward, and further from the whale who was covering his brother.
Lyre made no sound, and neither did he attempt to leave the whale. He stayed under the porpoise until all the merman has gone farther.
"You can now leave, merman. Your smell disgusts me." The whale frowned, "go your way, I need to hunt."
He was pissed with the merman.
"Please, do you know the right way to leave this place? I need to go offshore."
"Offshore?" The porpoise was alarmed. "Why will you go offshore!" His voice rattled.
"Yes. I want to go offshore. Please take me offshore," Lyre pleaded with the whale.
The whale sighed, "Why was I unfortunate to meet you?" He sighed as he swam forward.
"Please, help me." Lyre helplessly glanced around the place as he kept a lookout for his eldest brother and his men.
"Follow me." The whale said as he started swimming forward.
"Thank you." Lyre smiled as he followed the whale out of the kingdom, and to a land unknown.
**********
"You can leave through here." The whale said when he reached their boundary with dry ground.
"And what else?" Lyre glanced around at the tall trees and wondered what those things were.
"The human Kingdom isn't far from this place. Continue going straight, and you will find your way." The whale was impatient to continue what he was doing.
He was hungry, but there was no way he can leave the helpless Merman out here, alone.
"Thank you." Lyre got off the water and discovered something. "Where is the water I will swim on?" He asked the whale when the sand touched his tail.
It felt so damn uncomfortable and made the Merman almost want to scratch it.
However, he didn't.
The air around was unfamiliar to him, yet, it wasn't suffocating.
"I don't know. You are the one to discover how you will do things!" The whale shouted before he dived into the water, leaving Lyre on the surface as he tried to figure out his right from his left.
"So, what?" Lyre glanced around the place as he thought of how to swim towards those tall trees.
However, something happened that caused him to shout.
His tail disappeared, and in its place were two things that looked like his arms. But they were oddly shaped.
And between his legs was another thing he hasn't seen. It was a bit longer than his fingers, but not as long as his hands.
It was unlike the legs they ambled with, in the sea. The legs they has were three, and they were bigger than this. And they were never white.
Their legs under water have the same colour as their tails, and it was enough to hold them.
However, he only has two oddly shaped ones.
"Shit! What's this!" He shuffled forward as if he were expecting his new body to change.
Yet, it didn't change, much to the awe of the little merman who has never been offshore ever since he was born.
"What's happening?" He crawled back to the water, and immediately his body touched the water, his tails came back, and his legs disappeared.
"My tails!" He gasped as he hit his tail on the water.
"Where are those white things?" He asked himself as he came out on the land. And just like before, his tail vanished, leaving those strange things in their wake.
"Is this how I will get to those things?" Lyre tried to rise on both feet thinking it was the same as the legs he had back in his Kingdom, but he wobbled to the ground.
"Ouch!" He cried out in pain.
His body was already sore enough.
Lyre glanced at those two things. "Is this what the humans swim with?" He wondered as he glanced around, seeking water, however, his eyes took in the sands everywhere.
"Oh, I know! The humans the whale spoke of, Must swim on the sand!"
With those thoughts, he tried to swim on the sand but ended up with more bruises.
"Gods! What's all this?" Lyre cried out in frustration.
He glanced around at the vast ocean and the land where he longed to go.
Lyre wanted to swim so deep into the forest that his family won't be able to find him. He wanted to go there, and never return.
However, he doesn't know how to go there.
He wanted so badly to do that, but he does know how to.
"Gods!"
He felt like kicking the sand in frustration.
"Oh, my. What a beautiful lady."
Three men approached Lyre from behind.
Lyre's long hair and fair skin made it difficult for them to know he was not a female. He was as petite and pretty as a female.
At the sound of the voice, Lyre turned.
"Oh." His eyes went to their legs and he finally saw how humans swam in this place.
They swim with both legs on the ground!