Title: Oceania Author: Endymion no Megami Email: truly_susie@hotmail.com Rating: PG-13 The beginning of this story was loosely inspired by the old tale of the Little Mermaid (no, NOT the Disney one...). The rest was imagined up by my somewhat disturbingly morbid mind. ^_~ Some of the scenes in this fic contain graphical violence. Don't read it if you can't handle it. @@@@@@@@@@@@@ Do you feel hypnotised yet? If so.... email is good! Email EnM right now!!! truly_susie@hotmail.com (have you memorised it, yet?!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She lay back, half submerged in the salt water of the sea, and watched her endlessly long hair float in front of her like strands of kelp. There was a flash of silver, and then she was swimming away into the depths of the ocean. Light danced off the scales on her long tail as she moved deeper into the ocean. The water grew dark and confining as she swam closer to the ocean floor, but this was what she loved. The great open spaces of the world above them were frightening; there were no restrictions, and the open air made you feel that you were invincible. It made you feel as if there were no rules to abide by. It was dangerous. In the kingdom of the ocean, strict rules applied to where you went and what you did. Privacy in the water was precious rare, so that there were inborn guidelines that applied to every aspect of life. There were different clans of merpeople, some who were friendly and some who weren't. There was always the threat of invading enemies, and then there was always the possibility of a group of feeding sharks choosing the area you were in to feed. There were no dangers like that in the world of the land. Humans had tamed the land, made everything fit their lifestyle. They had control of everything except the sea. A shadow fell over the young girl's lithe body, and she looked up to see the bottom of a large ship looming over her. Humans took such foolish risks when they took their ships to sail over the great expanses of water that stretched over the world. The ocean was unpredictable and untamable. The humans believed themselves to be indomitable up above the water in their flimsy wooden vessels, but once the storms up above came, they prayed for mercy from Poseidon. He had none to give. Poseidon had been an ancient king of the merpeople many hundreds of years before. He had tried to befriend the humans, but they had betrayed him and his people, practically wiping out the entire population of people in the sea. Poseidon had cursed them with his dying breath, telling them that they would never take his kingdom. The humans never had. Time passed, and tales of women and men with tails became legend. The humans had tried to conquer the ocean, but had failed. The water was unpredictable, with storms coming and going without warning. And yet, they persisted in trying to dominate the ocean and its inhabitants, losing countless lives in the process. The merpeople laughed at the stupidity of the humans, scorned them and jeered at them. They reveled in their misfortunes, enjoyed their sufferings. Watching her people act so made Serenity shudder from their cold hatred of people who were so like them. The humans had hated them and laughed at their misfortunes and weaknesses; and now, her people were caught up in the cycle of hatred as well. Serenity was the youngest daughter of the king, Mizu. Her name wasn't a traditional name; it came from a legend that had existed many years before. It came from the land world, and spoke of how Serenity, goddess of the moon, had fallen in love with a beautiful shepherd on Earth named Endymion. They were from different worlds, and their love was not meant to be. They had never truly been together; they had only loved each other from afar. It was because of the connections her name shared with the world of humans that people had shaken their heads when Serenity had been born. Yet, her mother had been adamant in naming her so. She had been dying, and Mizu had given into her wishes, promising to keep their daughter's name Serenity. Serenity was beautiful in a distant, untouchable way. At night in the moonlight, her hair shimmered in a way that reminded one of how the moon's light struck the water; it was impossibly silver. Her eyes were a pale blue grey, almost akin to silver. She was not the type of girl that men fawned over, but she had an almost cult-like following. Young men followed her around with goofy grins on their faces. At first, she had tried to ask them to stop, and then had resorted to ignoring them, but still they persisted. They claimed that she was playing "hard to get". They irritated Serenity to no ends. She found the hordes of people in their cities confining. She loved to swim by herself, in the shallow lagoons and bays of the uninhabited islands that were lush and green. However, she was on her way back to the palace, as it was getting dark. The water felt wild and wayward, and the sky was a murky gray, signifying an approaching storm. Usually, Serenity loved to watch the storms from just under the surface of the water. She was fascinated by the way the raindrops marred the crystalline perfection of the water's surface. The muted thunder was frightening, but the tendrils of lightning that illuminated the sky were breathtakingly beautiful. A shadow fell over her again, barely visible in the murky light. It was another boat, and Serenity hastily submerged herself deeper into the water, shying away from the wooden vessel. The water's surface was being whipped up into large tidal waves, and the bottom of the boat rocked dangerously. Serenity could neither hear nor feel the storm below the surface, but it looked like a terrible one to be in. The humans on those ships were crazy. They had to be, to take such risks. Their boat was careening wildly through the water, tipping from side to side like a pendulum. A crack of lightning split the air above the ship, and the white light hit the boat. When the flash from the lightning had died, Serenity could see that another light was forming... This one was an orange gold color. Fire. Although no fire burned in the underwater cities of the sea, there were stories in books about fire on the land of humans. And as Serenity watched, the boat careened even more wildly, flames licking at its side. The flames seemed to refuse to be put out by the tidal waves, growing larger, while the waves merely washed against the side of the ship. Biting her lip, Serenity swam closer to the surface. She could see the sailors running across the deck, but couldn't hear anything. Ten minutes later, the fire still burned. It had taken a life boat with it, so that there was only one left, still tied to the boat. Some sailors were lowering it, but many were repeatedly pushed back by their so-called crew mates. The life boat rowed away, filled to the brim with sailors. It was obviously too heavy; Serenity watched impassively as it turned over and the men drowned. Anyone who would leave their companions to burn to death on their ship, while getting away themselves was not worth saving. There were still men desperately trying to put out the fire on deck. All the while, it grew larger, while the storm around them abated. Poseidon truly had no mercy for them. Serenity watched as the last men abandoned the ship, diving into the sea. However, one remained, still trying to beat the flames. He must have been either very, very brave... or extremely stupid. She guessed that it was a little of each. The bottom of the burning mast on the ship had been eaten away by the flames, and it began to fall. It swung, still attached to cables, and hit the last man on deck on the back. He was knocked into the water, his clothes alight with flame. He fell into the waves, sinking deep into the water. He made no move to try and propel himself upwards; Serenity realised with a start that the blow had knocked him unconscious. She swam forward and grasped the collar of his shirt, trying to pull him up through the waves. However, the collar idea probably wasn't such a good one; if she did manage to get him up, he probably would have choked to death by then. Instead, she wrapped an arm around his chest and kicked slowly. Their heads broke the surface, and Serenity began to realise what an enormous task getting him to land would be. They were far away from the ship now, if it was still above water; she had no choice but to take him to a nearby island if he was going to survive. She reached a strong undercurrent, and allowed it to take her farther away from where the ship had once been, kicking her tail to help them along. When they neared the first island, she kicked hard to free them of the current, and stranded herself on the beach, pushing the man onto the sand. He wasn't breathing. She cursed, and began to breathe for him. Human beings couldn't live for long without air; meanwhile, the people of the sea could go without air for long periods of time. In peak health, they could stay underwater for maybe one or two hours without air. A wounded mer creature, however, would only last twenty minutes at the most. She was on the verge if giving up when he began to cough violently. Startled, she flipped back into the water and watched him from some distance away. He rolled onto his side, still making retching sounds, but after a while they stilled and there wasn't a sound to be heard. She began to be frightened that he hadn't made it after all, and swam a little closer to the shore, still only keeping her eyes above water. He didn't move. A long time had passed, and Serenity was really beginning to worry. Curiosity overpowered caution, and she pushed herself onto the sand again. She curled up her tail, which was annoyingly cumbersome on land, next to her and leaned closer to the man. His eyes were closed, but when she leaned her head closer to his, she could hear his ragged breathing. Breathing was good, right? When humans breathed, they were stilll alive... She thought. She wasn't sure. She had always hated the human anatomy study class that her grandmother had made her take for unknown reasons. A hand on his heart reassured her that he was in fact still alive. The rush of adrenaline left her, and she realised just how tired she really was. Much too tired to head back for the palace; dawn was steadily approaching, and it was at this time that the night was at its darkest. So tired that she was almost unaware of what she was doing, Serenity let her head drop to the sand, and she was soon fast asleep next to the man that she had rescued. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When he woke up, all he could feel was the warm sand underneath his body. ...Sand? What the hell was he doing lying on sand? The last thing he remembered was... the ship burning, and a pain in his back. He sat up, and realised that it hadn't been a dream. His back ached when he moved, and burned to the touch. He couldn't see it, but it was surely going to be black and blue for at least the next two weeks. He *was* sitting on sand. The tide had receded, from what he could see of the wave marks, and was several meters away from where he sat. He began to survey the beach around him, and realised that there was a small oasis in the middle of... what appeared to be an island. There were coconut trees, and a small pool of water... not much else. It was almost surreal. He had the urge to laugh, but the situation was not funny. Looking to the other side of the beach, he saw a... a... girl? Blinking the haziness away from his eyes, he saw that she had no legs... only a shimmering, silver tail. Oh crap. He had heard of the mirages of water men dying of thirst dreamed of in the desert, but this was too much. Was he so deprived of women that he was imagining beautiful girls with tails lying on beaches next to him? Surely not... maybe he hadn't been hit on the back, after all, and had merely sustained a serious blow to the head... He crept closer to the mirage, and saw that it was, in fact, a beautiful girl. Mermaid, to be precise, but they were only a legend, weren't they? Legend, mirage, or insanity, whatever it was... she was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was almost as long as she was, and a shimmery silver color a shade lighter than her tail. She had long, sooty lashes, probably framing gorgeously large eyes when she was awake. Her mouth was a pale coral color, full and soft, just begging to be kissed... Maybe this whole insanity thing wasn't so bad, after all... Her tail was much longer than her body, and it was a soft silver blue in color. The scales on it were miniscule, so tiny that it looked as if she was wearing a skirt of satin... He was jerked out of his flight of poetic thinking when she stirred. Her eyes opened slowly, staring straight at him as she woke up. They were an endless cobalt blue, and reminded him of the sapphires that his race had so treasured... She blinked, squinting, and he realised that the sun was in her eyes. he shielded them with his hand so that her eyes were in shadow, and they gazed at each other once more. Suddenly, her eyes widened, as if only just realising where she was, and a second later was back into the ocean. He was a little startled, to say the least, but certainly did not want her to go. "W...wait! come back! I... I won't hurt you!" She stopped as suddenly as she had gone, and turned around in the water to gaze at him with frightened eyes. He walked into the water slowly, and held out his hand to her. He didn't want her to go, wanted her to stay and... and talk. He wasn't even sure if she spoke the same language as him or not. Maybe, being a creature of the sea, she didn't even have vocal organs... "Are you alright?" Her voice was soft, and tinkled like music. Well, there went *that* theory. Was he alright? What was he meant to say? 'Well, yeah, I think I'm OK, I just have this massive pain in my back, and I think that I'm hallucinating, and I think that you're a mirage, but I'm telling you that I'm OK anyway...' "Uh... yeah, I'm fine," he answered, at a loss for words. He was still holding his hand out to her, and she was still not taking it. He was beginning to get frustrated. He was a man, and men did not like being made to stand, holding their hands out to girls who would not take their hands. Thus, he walked towards the girl slowly, being careful not to make any splashes, as if a loud noise would scare her away. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but make tiny ripples in the water. They began as small circles close around him, but grew in size until they were large rings. They touched the mysterious girl and grew, encircling them both in a delicate circle. And still it grew. "I won't hurt you. I... I just... I wanted to know, if you..." She smiled at him. Men who stuttered so adorably were absolutely irresistable -- even if he was a human. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Introductions had been made, small talk about the weather had been done. They were both hungry. The coconuts on the trees didn't appear all too edible (contrary to popular belief, coconuts had to be freed of their hard green shells if you wanted access to the fibrous brown shell and white milk), and there was no fruit in sight on the island. Serenity was teaching Endymion (as she had learned was the sailors name) how to fish. First, she had shown him the tricks of catching small crabs from their homes in the parts of the shore that were rocky and filled with sea life. He was pretty hopeless at it. Next, she had attempted to teach him how to fish. The whole tickle them under the belly and then catch them deal. He had some trouble learning, but he eventually caught on. Endymion had insisted on roasting the crabs and fish they had caught. Serenity shied away from the fire, because it was an unnatural thing in the ocean. He gently took her hand, and guided it to the perimeter of the fire, allowing her to feel its warmth, something that was precious in the sea. She smiled shyly at him, and they had continued eating. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Serenity spent the next two weeks having a wonderful time teaching him to survive on the island and on the sea. They were having a spectacular time, laughing gaily over what they found. But when she was alone, Serenity couldn't keep her thoughts off Endymion. He invaded her thoughts, her dreams... She felt happier when she was with him. It was a fluke. It had to be. She couldn't be in love with him. She just... couldn't. It wasn't possible. The gods couldn't be this cruel, giving her love for someone of a different species, someone from another world. Someone that she couldn't be with. Surely not. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It was the next week, when they were lying next to each other on the sand after enjoying a dinner together, that she had realised that she really did love him. Or rather, that he loved her. They had simply been staring at the stars, when he had reached over and taken her hand in his. He had never touched her like that before, and her head turned to look at his face, startled. He asked a question, and the look on his face said it all. "Do you think that it's possible to love someone who is almost completely unlike you, but yet... understands you completely?" All she had done was nod slowly, speechless, and he had reached over and placed a light kiss on her parted lips. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The next weeks were spent in a sort of euphoric joy. Serenity and Endymion spent their days together, talking, swimming, or simply holding each other. But all the while, they could feel the undercurrent between them. The slightly bitter voice telling them to enjoy their love while it lasted. While it was still possible. Because they came from different worlds, and in different worlds they would remain. It happened one day, when Serenity had been out swimming along the pull of the deep currents. When she swam back to the island, she found Endymion staring out to the horizon with an almost hopeles look on his face. His next words had almost broken her heart. "I want to go back." All Serenity could do was look at him, aghast. He... He still wanted to return to his world, his humanity. Their world, just for the two of them, wasn't enough for him. But no matter how much her jealousy tried to drown out her voice of conscience, she realised that this was the only way. He was human, and craved the friendship of companions like himself; he wasn't used to the sea and its immense stillness and tranquility. He needed more than her. But it was all she could do to keep herself from throwing herself at him, begging him to stay with her and never leave. She wanted to make him feel guilty, make him feel the heart-wrenching pain she was feeling at the moment. But if she did that, she would be forced to live with that decision for the rest of her life. There was no second chance. He would stay with her, she knew, because he loved her too much... but over time, he would begin to hate her as well. She wouldn't bear for that to happen. To have his hate would be infinitely worse than to live life without him. And so, she would have to let him go. Unwillingly, true, but it was better for him that way. It... would be better for both of them. Somehow, as she hugged him and told him and he should leave, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ They were both lying on the sand, side by side, when Endymion brought up the question. "Serenity... I don't want to leave you. I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that... that you should come with me. If... If you want to, that is..." She couldn't do anything but stare at him. He wanted her to leave with him; leave her world of salt water oceans... to live with him in a land of humans? He was serious. He really wanted her to go with him. The sensible thing to do would have been to refuse. He would leave, and she could get on with her life, busy herself with forgetting him... But she loved him so much. Loved him with a force so terribly strong that she couldn't imagine a life time without him; a love so strong that she couldn't imagine ever not loving him, in this lifetime or the next. Maybe... maybe there was a chance for them to be together. She would try anything, if it allowed her to stay with him... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Endymion had tied bits of planks that had washed ashore from the wreckage of his old ship into a flat raft. He had filled the cracks with resin, and it looked... Not at all seaworthy. But as he said, he wouldn't be in it long, just long enough to get to a boat. There was a trading route of sorts a few miles off the shore of their island, and they planned to 'hitch-hike' their way onto some passing vessel. The route was a busy one, so they didn't have to worry about being stranded on the sea for days. At the most, they would have to wait the space of 24 hours or less. Serenity was still having doubts about the wisdom of taking off to the land of humans, but she had been entranced by thoughts of spending a lifetime together with Endymion. For that, she would give up anything, and absolutely everything. They were going to live by the sea. They could have an indoor pool full of saltwater for her, and they would live like that forever. It was the very image of happiness. Then why did she feel so scared of what was going to come? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It was a mistake, all a mistake. The motley crew of sailors had dragged Endymion off somewhere, unconscious. They had hit him over the head with an empty bottle, and he was down for the count. On her part, she should never have come onto the ship with him. She would have been perfectly safe... well, almost perfectly safe, in the water around the boat. Instead, she had foolishly followed him onto the ship, worried for his safety. And now, there was no way to leave. They had chained her delicate wrists with their cold iron chains to a marble column with deep patterns insribed on it. It was beautiful, and cold. The captain of the ship was bringing it to the country with him, as some sort of rare antique that humans would pay money for. She had been unable to free herself, she had watched in a horrified fascination as they had cut her long tail open with a long sword. There had been so much blood. The red liquid, all hot and thick, so different from the cool, calming waters of the sea, had spilled from her, covering the floor around her in a wet tide, and all they had done was laugh. They hadn't made the cut deep enough. If they had gone a little deeper, maybe she would have bled to death. Or at least, she would be in the wonderful oblivion of unconsciousness. As it was, she was kept awake with the burning pain of her tail, a throbbing reminder of humans and their cruelty. They were giving her legs, they had said. So she could be human, too. The delicate muscles that allowed her to use her tail to the utmost had been all but destroyed. They had severed her tendons and arteries. They had tried to scale her. Without the cooling waters of the sea, she felt feverish and disoriented. The burning pain refused to leave, no matter what she tried. Endymion; he wasn't here. What had they done with him? The thought of what they could have done to him almost drove her into a frenzy of worry. She needed to see him. She wanted him near her. But there was only air, and the feel of the lifeless wood around her, and the comforting splash of waves against the sides of the boat. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It was night. Not a night with sparkling stars and the moon shining its silver light onto the waves, though. Black clouds had gathered over the sky, obstructing all the light that the heavens offered. Instead, they promised rain, and storms. By that time, though, Serenity was in a daze of near delirium, suffering through her pain and not knowing much else. All she wanted was the salt water of the sea, and... Endymion. She still didn't know where he was. There was nothing she could do about it. A sharp crack of lightning appeared, snaking down through the skies to the almost black waters below it. She had an urge to laugh. To laugh with or at the storm, she wasn't sure. But it didn't matter anymore. The waves washed over her, comforting her with their cool hands, whispering to her not to be afraid. The dried blood on the chains around her wrists was washed off, and the burning pain receded a little. The boat tipped, and rocked, lurching violently first one way and then the other. The rain whipped and pounded, the wind blew and howled, and the sea crashed and roared. She was almost comforted by the immense power of the storm. At least she knew that it was not out to hurt her alone, out of sheer cruelty. There was an awful grinding sound, almost like a moan, and then there came the sound of the splintering of wood. The boat began tipping to one side, its center of balance lost. The boat had run aground on some rocks protruding from the sea. It was sinking. The sailors came running out from underneath the deck, preparing the single lifeboat. Some pushed their companions into the water, to make room for themselves on the boats. Serenity watched, feeling almost detached from the scene, as they scrambled to get away from the sinking boat and the storm. Not likely. The spirit of Poseidon would not forgive them this crime of hurting her so. It almost made her feel a little better, that they would be made to suffer as well. There was a great crack, and the boat split in two. The water had been building at one end, and the pressure had been too great for the rotting wood of the ship. It was sinking faster. The other end, which she was not on, was still precariously perched on part of the rock. She was underwater at last. Her hands wrenched at the chains around them, and suddenly, she was free. Free, and yet... not free. Endymion hadn't escaped. She couldn't swim properly. Biting her lip, she pulled herself through the water, searching for him. He wasn't there. Had he already sunk into the water? If he was still unconscious... She gave a painful flick to her tail, and began swimming into depths of the sea. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ She would think that she caught a shadow, the shape of a body in the water, and then the glimpse would be gone. It would have been easier to find him if her tail was still working properly; as it was, it was barely functioning at all, and the pain of moving anything in the vicinity of her tail was immense. All the while, she was aware of time growing short, and the immense shadow of the sinking wreckage of the ship above her, and the floating debris in the water, which made it all the harder to see anything at all. When Serenity finally caught sight of him in the water, close to the bottom, she had been in the water for a full four minutes, at least. She had to hurry. The shadows loomed closer, and time grew shorter as she made her painful way towards Endymion. Her tail had almost ceased moving at all. She was close to him, so very close, when she realised that there was something above her. A quick, panicked glance upwards showed the giant marble pillar that she had been chained to was sinking at an alarming rate directly above her. She had enough time to get away, to swim away from it. Away from Endymion. If she left, he would die. And she wouldn't let him die. She was close enough to touch him. The great weight over her sank a little more, and she had her arms around him, trying to pull him up. It was hard. But she was beginning to think that maybe they would make it. Seven minutes. A desperate hand at his neck betrayed no evidence of a pulse; his heart had stopped beating. Hers was slowing down from the lack of oxygen. No, no, no, she thought. He was still alive. They just had to reach the surface. Pulling him up was hard. They were barely a foot off the ground of the ocean, and she wasn't going fast enough. All she could think about was how nice it would be for everything to just go black, and leave them be. But things wouldn't happen like that. She felt the great weight of marble settle over her, its crushing weight, even against the weightlessness of the sea, over her injured tail. She tried to scream at the pain, but no sound would come. She tried to move, but her frantic movements wedged her harder into the rocky sea floor and the marble. At least they would die together, this way. Together, until the end... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A young man with short black hair, wearing a tuxedo, walked along the sidwalk. He was engrossed in a new book, almost completely oblivious to his surroundings. Paying no heed to the hurry and bustle around him, he leisurely strolling along, noticing nothing but the book in his hands. Until, that is, a wadded ball of paper hit him on the head, jerking him rather painfully out of his reverie. Grabbing the paper ball by reflex, he frowned at it for a second before turning to look for the owner. He located it in a small girl with the longest, palest blonde hair he had ever seen. "That hurt, you lump head. Are you trying to make me a lumphead, too?" The girl swung around to glare at the man with stormy blue eyes. For a second, all he could see was the ocean, waves lapping at a golden shore and his arms around a beautiful girl. The vision faded, and he was left in reality, with another beautiful blonde girl. Only, this one was yelling at him. "There aren't LUMPS! They're called odangoes! Odango!" "Thirty points... Study harder, Odango Atama." He turned and left, still pondering at the strange memory that he had relived. But the image was fading; he had other things to worry about, things way over his head. It would go away. ~Finis~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ So, did you like? Did you like? Email me with any comments, flames, suggestions, rants, raves, discussions, messages, or anything else you can think of.