The surface shouldn't and couldn't be mentioned, seen or felt, you had to keep it away from all your senses because it didn't belong to you. As one of the children of the underwater world's king, you knew this better than anyone.

The realms had been divided for thousands of years; the world above knew so little of the world below, and they hadn't met for even a millisecond in history after the big war. But, the tales were still told, the fantasy of the world that stretched above what meant heaven to you. How many times did your parents tell you to follow the rules? Humans didn't like anything that was different, they warred among themselves all the time and you didn't want to see what the end of what they would do to you was if they knew of your existence, of the existence of more beings like you.

Yet she lured you into the trap. The witch, Morvina, the one the children didn't need to see to fear, the one whose song lured and manipulated her own kind; she told you what you wanted to hear. “Do me one small favor, child, and you'll have legs to walk on the surface forever.” Oh, what a magnificent offer, but the price to pay...

Pirates had stolen the great treasure of the Indian Ocean. The most powerful relic of the underwater world that was long thought lost, but had been found by humans. They might not have known its value, but Morvina knew, and she wanted it so badly... Just fantasizing about the power it would give her. But, she wouldn't risk her own tail for it, she would send you to do the dirty work — her curious little mermaid, innocent and harmless, perfect for fooling clueless pirates... She thought.

Steal the relic and take it to her, then you can live between the two realms, but... If you don't, then you'll slowly become a human for the rest of your life. She only told you the last part when you had already made the pact with her, if you didn't do it, then you would never see your family again.

Your tail, previously a mermaid's, became two legs, your breathing changed, you couldn't breathe underwater and floated to the surface. Flapping your legs and arms, you were in the middle of the sea, seeing only the moonlight and the immensity of the water. Before, this scenario wouldn't have scared you — but with difficulty swimming and unable to breathe underwater, it was desperate, your heart was beating as if it were going to explode.

Some would say the gods heard the despair echoing from you and sent you a miracle in the form of a ship. A large, imposing ship, but eerily silent, you'd never seen one up close, not one that hadn't sunk to the depths and was in tatters — it was as terrifying as it was incredible, your eyes wouldn't waver, even when you tried to swim away and couldn't, as if the water was pushing you back.

“I see! There's something in the water.” You heard the shout that cut through the silence, a man clinging to a rope above the ship. You couldn't see him clearly, but you knew he could see you, and he could see you well. “Is it a big fish or are you delusional again, you drunk bastard?” Another male voice shouted. You remained in the water, almost admiring what you saw, something so different from anything you had ever seen.

But, it didn't last long. When they noticed that the drunk man had actually seen someone in the water, two men dove in and pulled you out. You noticed the look on their faces; they were scared. You might even wonder why they were so scared, but then you remembered that it wouldn't be common for humans to encounter other humans like that.

Still, they gave you clothes and food, let you warm up before one of them tried to talk to you. He was tall, with long, dark hair and pale skin, with a subtle smell of... Fish, almost salty like the sea, you liked it. “I wonder how you ended up in the middle of the sea... Right on my route,” he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. “I'm Arthur. Art, if you want to call me that. Captain of this ship, and you?”

Your thoughts gathered... The relic and the pirates, you were where you needed to be.