I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue
And it's hey to the starboard, heave ho
Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you
In mysterious fathoms below
Prince Renzo Shima leaned off the starboard side of a great fishing boat. He was on his way to find a bride as his parents had told him. His dog, Yamantaka, barked excitedly beside him.
"Isn't this awesome? The smell of the sea, the wind blowing through your hair!" He laughed. "A perfect day to be at sea!"
"Oh....delightful." his advisor, Saburota, groaned, leaning back over the side to empty what little was left in his stomach.
"A fine strong wind and a following sea! King Satan must be in a friendly type mood!" A sailor cheered. Shima looked at him. "King Satan?"
"Ay, lad! The ruler of the merpeople! Right every good sailor knew about him!" Another sailor mentioned.
Saburota sighed. "Merpeople. Renzo, pay no attention to this nautical nonsense." The second sailor from before hounded after the advisor with a fish flopping in his hand. "Why, it ain't nonsense, it's the truth! I'm telling ya, down in the depths of the ocean, they live!"
Fathoms below, below
From whence wayward Westerlies blow
Where Satan is king and his merpeople sing
In mysterious fathoms below
Heave ho, heave ho
§~•~§~•~§
Rin was the youngest of his brothers, the nine princes of Atlantis. He was the most beloved by their father, King Satan.
He also got in trouble more than any of his brothers. See, Rin liked to wander off most of the time. He looked to find things from the world above him and keep them for himself.
So of course he forgot about his debut.
He couldn't blame his father for being mad this time. He should've remembered......
Rin smiled sheepishly at his father's angry expression. But if Rin was honest with himself, he didn't want the entire kingdom to see his tentacles, or judge him on his voice, which was a pleasant tenor, or so he was told.
Yes, tentacles. All the other princes had Satan's genes, his rugged looks or his fish tail. Rin, however, had miraculously come out a spitting image of his mother-all slim muscles and swirling black tentacles and pretty blue eyes. And Satan loved him for it. Unfortunately, Rin was the last child Queen Yuri gave him before she died in an unfortunate shipwreck accident. Rin had no doubt that if she were still alive, he'd have many younger siblings by now.
"Irresponsible and reckless! Because of your behavior, the entire celebration was ruined!" The King growled. Rin rolled his eyes at the wise old crab agreeing with the king. Shiro was an old albino crab that had outlived his relatives by years and was the King's advisor.
Rin's best friend, Kuro, immediately jumped to his defense. "B-but! There was this shark! Yeah, a shark! And then he went RAWWW! and we swam away, but he was like ARRGH! and then whoo! We were safe!" Now, Kuro could've stopped there, but no, he had to open his big mouth.
"And then, there was this seagull and he was going 'this is this, and that is that'-" Satan stopped him in his tracks.
"Seagull?! You went to the surface, didn't you?!"
Rin glared at the catfish before turning back to his father. "Well....nothing happened....." He shrugged, trying for a smile.
Satan sighed frustratedly. "Rin....how many times must we go through this?! You could've been seen by one of those savages, by one of those-those humans!"
"Daddy, they're not savages!" Rin insisted. "They are dangerous! Do you think I want to see my precious son snatched by some fish-eater's hook?!" Satan cupped his youngest son's face in his hands.
"I'm not a child anymore! I'm sixteen!" Rin pulled away. "Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young man! As long as you live in my ocean, you'll obey my rules!" The Sea King shouted. Rin yelled to get another word in, but the Meehan made it clear his word was final.
"Not. Another. Word. And I am never to hear another word that you went to the surface! Am. I. Clear?!" Satan whipped around to face his son. Rin's bottom lip shook and the King could only watch as the Cecaelia stormed off.
§~•~§~•~§
Shiro groaned at his predicament. "How do I always get myself in these situations? I don't want to watch a teenager!" He complained, stopping suddenly when he saw Rin and Kuro sneaking around with a satchel.
He filled them until he stumbled into something. It was five times his size, with a strange figure. Almost like two triangles, hit there was sand in the bottom of it.
He went for into the hideout. Glittering things and strange Rick's, and all sorts of doodads.
"Rin? Are you okay?" Kuro asked. "I just wish he'd understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I don't understand how a works that makes such beautiful things can be bad."
Look at this stuff
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the boy
The boy who has ev'rything?
Look at this trove
Treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Lookin' around here you'd think
"Sure."
he's got everything
Rin swirled his tentacles to move around and examine his collection.
I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty
I've got whozits and whatzits galore
"You want thingamabobs?
I got twenty."
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more
He opened a box of strange things combined together, than put it away. He laid back down on his lonely tock, looking at a lovely music stand with a dancing couple on it.
I want to be where the people are
I want to see
want to see 'em dancin'
Walkin' around on those
"Whad'ya call 'em?"
"Oh - feet."
Spinnin' your tentacles won't get you far
Legs are required for jumpin', dancin'
Strollin' along down a
"What's that word again?"
"Street."
Rin played with Kuro back fins, making the fish giggle. He pulled the catfish along and swayed his tentacles hypnotically in a strange motion unknown to Shiro.
Up where they walk
Up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wanderin' free
Wish I could be
Part of that world
The Prince let himself sink into the sand, grinning at the thought of the land above.
What would I give
If I could live
Outta these waters
What would I pay
To spend a day
Warm on the sand?
Betcha on land
They understand
Bet they don't reprimand their children
Bright young people
Sick o' swimmin'
Ready to stand
He pushed of the ground, grabbing trinkets from his shelves and placing them back. He pushed farther, swimming higher and higher to the top of the cabin, absorbed in his thoughts of the human world.
I'm ready to know what the people know
Ask 'em my questions
And get some answers
What's a fire and why does it
"What's the word?"
"Burn?"
When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love
Love to explore that shore above?
He reached out into the open sea from the small hole in the top of the cavern.
Out of the sea
Wish I could be
Part of that world