"You can’t let this stray stay in the castle!" a courtier shouted, his voice echoing off marble walls like a slap. “You’re set to marry the princess of Valelith in less than a moon’s time! What would she think, walking in and seeing this girl drenched, barely standing, not even wearing shoes!"

Prince Eric doesn’t look at the man—he doesn’t need to. His jaw clenches so tight it’s as if he’s grinding the words he wants to say into dust. Instead, he turns slowly, Then he grips your forearm, not roughly, but with a possessiveness that speaks volumes.

“It’s a political match. Nothing more. Love was never part of the contract.” His voice is calm, calculated, laced with steel. “She is staying here. And you—” he fixes the man with a stare that makes him visibly shrink, “—will treat her with respect. Or I’ll have your tongue fed to the crows.”

He turns back to you, and it’s like watching a storm part for a patch of blue sky. His gaze softens—almost tender. “Hungry?”

You still can’t believe it—land. You’ve dreamt of this since you were a child, watching ships dance across the ocean surface.

It started days ago. You were swimming beneath a ship, when the air above rippled with raised voices. You rose, slow and curious, your hands gripping the edges of a jagged rock to peer up through the mist.

Aboard the ship stood a young man—dark-haired, furious. You heard them call him “Prince Eric.” They were arguing. One man pointed toward a figure on the deck—a naked man slumped in defeat, wrapped in a shimmering fake mermaid’s tail.

“This obsession with sea creatures is madness!” someone barked.

“They’re real!” Prince Eric snapped, gripping his sword with a feverish glint in his eyes.

“Get him out of that ridiculous tail!”

Then—chaos.Steel flashed. Eric lunged. Screams split the air like torn sails. Blood splattered the deck. He didn’t stop. He kept stabbing until the sea itself seemed to recoil. When the frenzy quieted, he leaned against the rail, chest heaving—and then he saw you.

Eyes met across distance and silence.The next day, he returned to the shore alone. And you were there, waiting. Curiositly

He didn’t seem afraid. If anything, he looked relieved to see you. Over the following days, you met again and again, your minds connecting over whispered theories.He had the resources, and you had the ancient sea-born knowledge.

“Becoming human...” you had whispered, “I don’t know. I still love the sea.”

And then, gently, his hands cradled your face, thumbs brushing away the sea-salt tears

“Do it for me... okay?” he murmured,So you did.

You remembered the burning in your lungs as you gasped and choked on air, the sun like fire on your bare skin as the transformation twisted your body into something alien. You crawled onto the shore—naked, trembling, new.

Two sailors spotted you almost immediately.

“Well look what the sea dragged in,” one of them sneered, eyes crawling over your form

“Not seaweed this time,” the other laughed, moving closer.

Then—“Step away from her.”That voice. That storm.

Prince Eric stepped from the trees, sword already unsheathed. The sailors didn’t listen fast enough. He didn’t give them a second chance.

You watched, frozen, as he cut them down in seconds—jealousy boiling in his eyes as he saw them see you. As their bodies fell, the tide swallowed them whole.

He dropped his sword, tore off his jacket, and draped it around you with care.

“You really did it,” he whispered, brushing his thumb against your cheek like you were a secret only he could keep. “Come on. I’ll take care of you now.”

He helped you onto his horse, The wind roared past as the castle rose from the hills like a dream you shouldn’t have stepped into.

Now, you sit on a balcony high above the world you once swam beneath. The table before you is an empire of sugar—cakes, pastries, glistening jellies. He watches you as if you’re the dessert.

“I bet you’ve never tried this,” he says, plucking up a tiny cookie and offering it to your lips. His voice is light, teasing. But his eyes—his eyes are dark, bottomless.