The Aquatic Romance

First Sight

Kilanie's POV

I was swimming through the coral reefs. My mom was going to be so mad that I was late. She was always angry when I was late to her big, fancy meetings with other mermaid queens and princesses. I on the other hand prefered not to even go half the time but my mom told me if I missed this one, I would miss my chance of ever meeting her hero, Queen Athena. She is beautiful with her natural bright pink-red hair. Her daughter were beautiful too. Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana, and Ariel.
I have siblings of my own, Ondina and Sirena. My name is Kilanie. I am only 14 years old while my sister Ondina is 17 and Sirena is 16. I swam as fast as I could, my tail started hurting I had to stop. I am not a good swimmer. I didn't recognise the place I was at.

"What are you doing here?" A deep voice asked and then I knew I was in deep trouble.

"I am trying to get back home." I admitted.

"Why are you here though this is not the territory you need to leave."

" I know but I can't, I don't know where I am."

"Follow me." He said swimming back the way I came.

"Thank you, mister..."

"Just call me Omar. What is your name?"

"Kilanie." I told him.

I was back at the reef in no time.

"Thank you, I am so sorry for troubling you. I can reward you."

"Mermaid money is no use here." He said strictly.

"Oh, well there must be something I can do to repay you for your kindness."

"Meet me here, tonight." And with those words he was off on his own way.

I swam off quickly, heading to our palace. Trying to get there before Athena and her daughters leave. I really wanted to meet
them. The guards at the doors were used to me arriving late so they just let me past. I swam to my room, put down my bag and brushed throw my hair again. After I fixed my hair shells I put on my favorite opal top. I calmly swam to the lowest level of the house.

"Kilanie where have you been?" My mother asked.

"Sorry mama I was swimming and I got off track a little."

"If you were so far as to have gotten lost, what were you doing swimming out that far you know you are not the best swimmer."

"I know mom and I wasn't that far I was just in a hurry." I lied.

"Go introduce yourself to the queen and her daughters."

"Yes ma'am." I slowly treaded water over to where the queen and her daughters were.

"Hello Queen Athena it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Kilanie, one of Queen Liane's daughters." I bowed to her.

"Very nice to meet you Kilanie. This is Aquata, Andrina, Attina, Adella, Alana, Arista, and Ariel."

"Nice to meet you all."

"Very nice to meet you too. We are so happy to be here."

"If you want you can follow me to the backroom where all the other princesses are."

"Go ahead girls, I will find you later." Queen Athena said to her daughters.

"Follow me." We swam back to the room where princesses from all the kingdoms were, including my sisters and cousins.

"Ondina, Sirena, these are Queen Athena's daughters, Aquata, Andrina, Attina, Adella, Alana, Arista, and Ariel."

"Hello everyone. I am Ondina and this is my younger sister Ondina and you have met Kilanie."

"It is so nice to meet you all, you are all so amazing." Sirena, my overly pereky sister, said.

"It is nice to meet you as well." Attina said. I looked out the window and saw that it was started to get dark.

"If you will excuse me I am going to go rest, I swam quite too much today."

"Kilanie you know you can't swim too far."

"Ondina I am fine just a little tired."

"Are you okay?" Arista asked.

"Yes, she is not a good swimmer." Sirena told her.

"Well that is my que to leave." I said swimming to my room. I changed out of my good opal top and back into my normal, everyday gold top.

I knew that there were going to be guards around the castle, at the main exit, and a little near the surface. I almost had my plan mapped out, leave through my room window, and swim out through the kelp forest but I would have to worry about the tattle-tale tuna fish that would tell a guard if I left. I swiftly left my room and went straight down, avoiding the open walls in the castle, acting as windows. I peeked thorugh and saw my mom and other queens socializing in the main room. I sighed and swam through the kelp forest that was on the left side of the castle.

"Excuse me miss who are you?" An unfamiliar voice asked must be a new guard.

"I am a friend of Princess Kilanie and I was just returning the tops she left at my hosue the other day." I said as easily and calmly as I always have.

"Sorry, continue." I kept swimming, these guards just keep getting dumber and dumber. We are all in danger. Anyway, I kept swimming, out of the kelp forest and to the spot I had first met Omar.

"Hey you actually came." He said.

"I am a mermaid of her word."

"I figured it is just, mermaids hate mermen isn't that why this whole seperation started?"

"From what I can gather, but don't hold this to me, a merman tried to kill the Queen because of some battle with anyother nation and after that mermen just weren't welcomed like they used to be and eventually both genders decided that they would live seperately."

"I heard that the Queen had purposely sent out hundreds of mermen on a rescue mission but they failed and all got killed. From then on mermen thought that the Queen did it on purpose and a secret rebellion group made plans to assassinate her."

"That could be." I said finding a rock to sit on.

"You're not going to argue?" He was shocked, I could tell by the look on his face.

"Why would I, I don't know what really happened, I wasn't there."

"But, everyone has always defended their kind."

"I think that everyone forgot that mermaids and mermen are the same species. Gener doesn't change that."

"You are really smart."

"I am just sick of the figh-" I was cut off by a swarm of mermen coming straight toward us, correction, me.

"Omar help!" I screamed when I felt my hands being tied together.

"Dad, what are you doing, let her go." He screamed.

"They should know better than to come in our waters, she will be killed as a message to the Queen Laine. We won't tolerate tresspasors in our waters."

"Wait please, I am nothing to the Queen, you would truly be doing her a favor by killing me, she hates me. If you want to hurt her let me bring you her youngest daughter, Kilanie."

"A princess would have more use to us." He murmured.

Omar gave me a look, knowing my real name, he now knew my secret.

"What is your name?" A harsh voice asked from behind me.

"Melinda."

"That is an odd name." A smirk made it's way upon Omar's father's face.

"How so?"

"The last Melinda in these waters was killed at a young age because of her relations with a merman."

"Then I hope the name isn't cursed."

"Son, I think you will decide punishment for this, mermaid." He said, spiting out the last word. Omar swam up to his dad.

"She will be released for she didn't know but, she will be forced to forget everything that she has seen." I knew what he was doing, he must be or know a royal. The royals had a power to make normal merpeople forget anything. The only downside it didn't work on royals.

"Okay, go ahead son, make her forget." He was a royal?

"You will forget everything about meeting mermen. You will just remember coming out here to find a shell that you lost. When we cut you free, you will go home and remember nothing. You will never return to this place. Understand?"

"I came here to find a lost shell. When I go home, I will remeber nothing and will never return here." I recited, knowing just how compultion worked.

"I will take her to cut off the seaweed." Omar said and grabbed my arm, pulling me along with him.

Once we were far enough away I couldn't resist asking the one question, "You are a Royal?"

"So are you. That was your dad?"

"Your mom is Queen Laine?"

"A mermiad was killed for falling in love with a merman?"

"Yeah."

"You actually have feelings for me?"

"Yea- I mean." I turned around and kissed him. Something that was an ultimate death wish. He kissed back, putting his hand on my lower back, just above my tail. He cut off the seaweed and I pulled my arms around his neck.

"Kilanie!" We pulled away from each other.

"Go!" I screamed at him and without hesitation he was swimming off.

"Oh my gosh, Kilanie are you okay?" My over protective sister Sirena asked.

"Yeah I am fine."

"What were you doing with that merman?"

"Nothing let's go home."

"Ki, I have to tell mom."

"What no, you can't she will kill me."

"At least you know something right." I heard my mother say from behind me.

"Mom."

"Kilanie, we will talk about your punishment later and don't think that I will go easy on you."

"Yes ma'am."