At this moment the young mermaid Naia…, was hundreds of kilometers away.
She was playing with the dolphins and they played for such a long time that she was carried farther than she had ever been.
But she didn't really notice this, as she was having so much fun. She let out lovely giggles, the unique sound attracting more dolphins and creatures around her.
She swam happily with her friends, and her every movement was like a graceful dance in tune with the currents, her eyes bright with joy.
She had a very special pair of eyes. They were vibrant blue and as lovely as the sea, sparkling with life and curiosity. At the same time, they were so deep that one couldn't help but want to explore.
Her other features were just as fascinating: Her ears were sharp and beautifully shaped like floating leaves; Her long strands of hair, a gorgeous mixture of azure and silver, flowed with the water, seeming to have a life of its own.
The strands of her hair floated, some of which landed on the fleshy upper half of her body—a body of such smooth supple skin and perfect curves. The tip of her breasts was covered by small shells, stuck by special adhesive found under the sea.
She had vibrant skin—like a healthy human's, though she didn't know it yet—and her tail extended from her torso to over a meter below her, shimmering in various shades of aquamarine to indigo.
The scales that adorned her tail reflected light and water, skillfully propelling her forward in fluid harmony with the surrounding seas.
She was an artwork of the gods, so beautiful it fascinated the souls of all who laid eyes on her.
If anyone else was there, they'd be fascinated to jump down and join her, even if it meant they would drown.
Now she was laughing so happily as she held onto the fins of one of her dolphin friends, Ruru, who was taking her on a circular ride in the water.
She did not notice that the others had stopped following and ran away by instinct. Their small animal brains did not think to make a warning, assuming that Naia noticed the same thing. They simply swam away, knowing they shouldn't proceed.
Unfortunately, the young overprotected Naia did not develop this instinct. Besides, she and Ruru were having too much fun to notice.
They were laughing happily for a while until her pretty smile dropped as a weird thing hit her face.
"What's this?" She asked, pulling out the flat uncomfortable thing that landed on her.
Confused, she swam forward but another uncomfortable thing landed on her, albeit on her shoulder. Then another landed, and another.
She frowned, feeling very icky.
Any human to see this would know that she was hit by a variety of wrappers and other trash. But the young mermaid did not know this at this time. She simply disliked the uncomfortable thing.
She did not have the time to study it however, when she heard a pained squeak from beside her.
Ruru's mouth was shut by a similar weird circular thing.
"Oh, poor thing…" she told him, gently pulling out the item off of her. Her heart broke a bit as she saw it mark Ruru's beak, making it a bit reddish.
Her eyebrows furrowed and looked around. She belatedly realized that the water surrounding them felt disgusting, almost suffocating.
She saw a lot of these floating things around her, and she and Ruru decided to swim away from them, eventually finding themselves back to the coral and the fishes.
The water wasn't as good as back home, but it was still much better than where she just was. She smiled in relief and Ruru nudged her to resume previous activities (play).
But sometime midway, Ruru stopped and they hid behind a rock, pulling Naia with her.
Naia blinked and looked back, wondering what made Ruru run away by instinct.
To her surprise, she saw an odd black 'fish' with two long fins. It was also as large as she was. There was also weird stuff on his back and face.
It looked so very weird in Naia's eyes and she had confused the contraptions as part of its body.
Anyway, she had never seen anything like it, and she followed its movements as she hid nicely behind a rock.
He was very careful, floating some distance above the corals. He stopped at one to stare at it for a long time, touching it occasionally, before moving to an anemone.
The critter's non-webbed hand extended to another coral colony. With great care, he captured a piece and placed it in a container.
She wanted to go and stop him, but she was held back by Ruru. She pursed her lips and nodded, just watching from the side.
She continued to observe him, for just a bit longer, a little fascinated.
Perched upon a coral outcrop, Naia's beautiful shimmering tail swayed along with the currents. She watched as the creature moved along the waters. It wasn't very graceful, not in a sea critter's eyes, but she couldn't help but follow his movements anyway.
'What an odd critter,' she thought.
And it was here that Naia encountered one of the most important people in her life.
***
Naia followed the creature as he rose near the surface, entering a boat—taught in Merling School as a Thing to Avoid. She watched it go away and stared, feeling the need to follow. .
Naia had always been an inherently curious mermaid, bringing herself to trouble many times.
She never seemed to learn…
"Follow!" She told Ruru, and they swam together to follow the boat, careful not to get too close.
They eventually neared land and they watched as the boat parked near the sands. She and Ruru hid behind a large outcropping rock, looking from afar.
She watched as the odd creature stood up and she saw the black skin and contraptions were taken off. Only now did she realize what it was.
It was a human! The fish from before was actually a human! (Taught in Merlings School as people who stood upright on land and had two fins and looked similar to them from the waist up).
In fact, if she hadn't been daydreaming in class, she'd know he was a human as soon as she laid eyes on him, but alas.
From afar, she could see it was a very handsome human, with black hair that was dark like the depths of the sea and green eyes lovely like the color of her favorite seaweed.
He had now gotten down to the wooden platform. He sat on its edge and took out another rectangular item, scribbling.
She felt curious about the two tails. How come he could stand upright on dry water? He was obviously playing very easily underwater.
Could she do both? Like him? She had always been curious about the land! The land directly under the vast blue sky… seemed so different and… open… from what she had grown up with.
Could she ask him?
"Stay here," she told Ruru, before gesturing to swim closer to the human.
However, before she could do so, strong hands grabbed her arms and pulled her back.
She blinked, confused, and turned to see a handsome merman. He was very handsome with prominent features. He was blessed with well-built muscles, and his mermaid line seemed to have extended from his stomach to his tail. He had a green metallic tail. It was long, powerful, and very reassuring.
He had sharp elven ears that extended to a web. He had long silver hair that floated gracefully around him.
At the sight of him, Naia's azure eyes brightened like the sky above her. She quickly forgot about the weird new creature, throwing herself at the handsome man in front of her.
"Caspian!"
Her favorite merman!