Seaweed swayed gently back and forth, moving much like the wind would blow grass in the world above. Schools of fish danced in little groups. They moved together in perfect harmony with flashes of all colors of the rainbow.

Coral dotted the sea floor and surrounding rocks, adding to just how vibrant everything was.

There was just enough sunlight that everything had a majestic glow to it.

And adding to the beauty was one of the rarest creatures on earth.

Wooyoung spun in wide circles, laughing to himself as he did. Twirling behind him was his pride and joy. He had been blessed with a beautiful, deep purple tail that had hints of red around the edges.

It was rare for merfolk to have two different scale colors and he did everything he could to take care of it.

He was actually searching for something to help clean his scales right now. There was a specific starfish that used all of its little feelers to pick out any loose skin or particles in between scales. They liked to spend time on the highest rocks so that it was easier for the merfolk to find them.

"There you are!" Wooyoung said, letting himself sink down a little bit so that he was hovering next a large boulder. "Who wants to help me today?"

Several of the starfish started to slowly crawl toward him.

Just as he was about to pick a couple, a familiar voice called out to him. "Woo!"

He turned around to see his friend Yunho swimming over to him with his powerful, blue tail propelling him forward. "Hey, Yunho. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. You know Mingi gets when you're gone for too long." Yunho rubbed the back of his neck and pressed his lips together.

"Really? It's like I'm not allowed to have any freedom." Wooyoung grumbled.

"You know it's not like that. I worry too." Yunho started fiddling with a gold bracelet around his right wrist. It was a simple, gold bracelet that had rubies set evenly along the band.

Mingi wore a matching one. It symbolized that the two of them had chosen each other as romantic partners.

There was one waiting for Wooyoung too, if he wanted to accept it.

"I'm fine. It's not like I go out looking for trouble." Wooyoung crossed his arms and glared at his friend.

"No, but trouble likes to find you. Mingi, and I, just want to make sure you stay safe." Yunho bowed his head.

This was a common thing between them. Yunho and Mingi spent so much time trying to tell Wooyoung to settle down and stay with them, that they would take care of him.

But Wooyoung wasn't ready to do any of that. Yet he let Yunho lead him home.

As he swam closer to his home, they angled down toward the lower levels of the ocean. Aquatis had escaped the notice of man find for centuries. Sure, there had been close encounters, but his people had come up with ways to protect themselves.

About one hundred years ago, man kind had been too close. They had started hunting for the elusive mermaids spoken of in legend and set up several traps. While they never found anyone to bring to the surface, several of the trapped mermen and mermaids perished from the injuries they had received.

It almost caused their entire race to vanish... They were just now starting to rebuild.

Aquatis, as far as they knew, was the last place on earth that had any connection to the magic of old. It's what protected their kind, gave them long lives, and gave them the magic they themselves had been gifted with.

The city was built of golden pillars and adorned with magical lamps that looked like fire was burning underwater.

Sea creatures of all kinds also called the spectacular city home.

Wooyoung watched as a young boy with black tail let a sea turtle pull them along. He looked like he was close to coming of age, so soon the black would turn into one of the brilliant colors that made each member of his race unique.

"Come on, he wants to see you." Yunho said softly, reaching out to take Wooyoung's hand.

He allowed it, only because he did care for his friend, but it was just one more thing that made him feel like he was trapped here.

The couple swan through the halls of the main palace. Several other guards nodded to Yunho as they passed by. Yunho had recently been promoted to head of the royal guard, so they all knew to respect him.

When they reached the throne room, it opened up into a grand area covered in carvings and intricate stone worked. Colored shells and stone had been used to create murals depicting epic battles with humans or romantic stories of previous monarchs.

Mingi was hovering off to the side of the room, looking over a table that Wooyoung knew held maps of the area. A simple golden crown fit snuggly around his forehead, covered partially by his vibrant red hair.

Wooyoung sighed. He always felt so out of place in here. Yunho seemed to come by it naturally, but he had spend a lot of time in the palace walls.

Mingi was the only son of the current monarchs and next in line for the throne. Since he came from the royal bloodline, Mingi's tail was one glorious enough to show his ranking among their people. His scales were different shades of red and orange and he had several small fins branching out from it. They flowed together and made Mingi look gorgeous even when just staying in one place.

And Wooyoung couldn't deny it. His prince was attractive, with his sharp jawline, broad shoulder, and powerful tail, Mingi was a force to be reckoned with.

Yunho swam forward and placed a hand on Mingi's back. The two of them exchanged a love filled look before placing their hands on the back of each other's heads so they could connect their foreheads.

Wooyoung pursed his lips and looked down. He picked at the scales where they started to fade to the skin on his stomach, wishing he had been able to clean his scales.

"Where have you been?" Mingi asked, finally turning around. There wasn't any accusation in his voice, although Wooyoung still flinched.

"I was out looking for starfish." He answered truthfully.

"You know we keep some here. Why do you insist on wandering off?" Mingi slowly drifted over to him. "It's not safe ou—"

"And what exactly is going to harm me, Mingi?" Wooyoung snapped. "There hasn't been any threats in this area for at least fifty years. Why are you always so paranoid?"

Mingi flinched slightly, but his royal upbringing made it so that he was unable to look away. "Why are you always so stubborn? You know I—"

"I don't want to hear it Mingi! I know what you want, I get the message loud and clear every time you send your guard dog out to find me. How many times do I have to tell you, I don't know what I want?"

The hurt that crossed Mingi's, and Yunho's, face made Wooyoung instantly feel guilty. He stuck his lower lip out in a pout and turned his head away.

He knew his words had stung. The three of them had grown up together, they had done everything together and knew almost everything about each other. It was only natural that Mingi and Yunho had chosen each other.

It wasn't unheard of for there to be small pods within their species. Affection was shown among everyone, and when mating pods were formed, it just made any preexisting bonds stronger. All pods were signified by a bracelet. It told others in their race that that merman or mermaid was spoken for. It was a symbol of pride.

And one that Wooyoung longed for, but felt he would never find.

When neither of them spoke, Wooyoung shook his head and fled.

He despised himself for being different. All it did was bring the others pain. Even his mentor, a renowned healer in Aquatis, voiced his concerns on occasion.

Why didn't he feel like he belonged?

The open ocean called to him, just like it always did, and Wooyoung found himself swimming out of the palace as fast as his tail would allow. Each strong stroke propelled him forward.

Soon he was outside the protection of his home.

And he had not intention of stopping.

He needed to clear his head. He hated that Mingi was such a trigger for him now, it wasn't fair. But the prince had been more and more forward toward Wooyoung recently and it was driving him crazy.

Before he knew it, he was close enough to the surface that a pod of dolphins came over to say hello. Their clicks and chirps brought a smile to his face and Wooyoung held a hand out in greeting.

One came forward and pushed its snout into the palm of his hand, then let out a long sequence of trills before it spiraled away from him.

Wooyoung called out to it, imitating the chirps as he swam ahead.

All merfolk knew how to speak with the creatures of the sea, although dolphin was one rarely used.

Wooyoung knew he was breaking so many rules right now, but the land above fascinated him. In school his electives had all centered around learning about humans and the long history they'd shared.

He knew it was forbidden to break the surface. And truthfully he had never done so. It was rare that he was able to leave the city like this, and the few times he could he had been to afraid.

But a loud sound somewhere in the distance drew his attention and he had a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that everything was going to change.

The dolphins instantly fled.

All sound was muffled.

Wooyoung swam forward to investigate.

There was a red glow and if he focused, he could tell that the area was where the mysterious sounds were coming from.

The closer he got, the more he registered that it was screaming.

Wooyoung sped up and for the first time in his life, broke the surface of the water.

Everything was so loud and overwhelming. He immediately slapped his hands to his ears and tried to process what was going on.

He knew enough about humans to recognize that one of their ships was sinking. He had explored some of the wreckage on the sea floor, but they had all been several years old at least. 

The other thing he recognized was fire. From what he knew, it was very dangerous, and it was destroying the ship.

Humans were screaming and jumping off it. Many others were already in the water.

Another loud sound slammed into his ears and several pieces of the ship flew in all directions.

Without thinking, Wooyoung dove below the surface and whipped his tail behind him. He could see the ship slowly sinking further into the water, along with pieces of the cargo.

Everything was such a mess.

Wooyoung had no idea what to do, but he wanted to help. There were a few simple spells he could use to possibly help... but they would risk exposure.

And yet the humans were in danger.

Wooyoung cringed.

He was going to be in so much trouble...

Just as he was about to call upon his magic, something sinking caught his attention.

A human.

He was sinking and not showing any signs of trying to save himself.

Acting on instinct, Wooyoung rocketed forward and hooked his arms underneath the human's. The added weight made it a little harder for him to swim, but Wooyoung worked as hard as he could to propel himself to the surface.

The boy in his arms didn't react once they were above the water again and Wooyoung knew that was bad. Humans needed to breath air, that's why the water was so deadly for them.

"Wake up." Wooyoung said, shaking him a little.

The boy's wet hair fell into his eyes as his head rolled to the side.

He needed to get out of the water.

Wooyoung used his tail to move forward while holding onto the human with one arm. He used the other one to pull himself forward.

Everything was still so loud... His head was starting to pound and there was a loud, constant whining sound coming from the other side of the sinking ship.

A small stretch of beach appeared in front of him surrounded by rocks. Wooyoung figured it would be a safe place for him to try and pull the human out of the water.

It was a struggle, one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.

No one had ever told him just how heavy his tail was out of the water and he felt like he was dragging a second body as he pulled himself, and the human, onto the beach.

By the time he was done, Wooyoung was panting heavily. He was thankful for the fact that merman anatomy allowed him to covert water into oxygen, but he was also able to breath above the surface, otherwise he would be in so much trouble.

He was only able to get the boy out of the water enough so that the water reached his hips. It would have to do.

While working to catch his breath, Wooyoung pushed himself up so that he could lean over the human. "Wake up. Please. Wake up." He whispered, tapping the boy's face.

The pounding in his head made it so that he couldn't focus on the boy's face but he couldn't give up.

Wooyoung placed a hand on the human's chest and pressed down.

"Wake up. Please..."