Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
You were cold, but it was bearable. The only thing you could hear was the sound of your heart pounding. You slowly opened your eyes, everything around you was hazy, but you could see fish swimming around you, and then you felt yourself land on a cushion of sand.
There he was.
A man you were unfamiliar with, then. You started choking, realizing that you had inhaled so much water. The taste of salt and the fear of drowning overcame you.
The man reached for you as your vision became too unclear to make out any of his features. You didn't have it in you to fight back, you were too focused on the water filling your lungs.
You wanted to be home, you wanted to be with him. Your best friend and older brother. You wanted anything but the feeling of the cold water clutching your skin.
And then, everything was dark. Your entire body was numb and you no longer feared the freezing temperatures of the water.
Was this it? Was this the end of your life? Perhaps this was your fate, to die young. To drown in the salty seawater and freeze with hardly any purpose.
You quickly shot up from your slumber, shivering as the memories from your past reformed in your dreams. The sun peaked through the large curtains that covered the grand window in front of your large king-sized bed. You rubbed the sleepiness from your eyes as a servant entered your room with a tray of food, presumably your breakfast.
"Ah! Your highness, you're already awake." The servant spoke kindly, as she walked to your bedside and gently set the tray of food on your lap. Then she headed to open the curtains covering your window, revealing the blinding light from the morning sun and the ocean waves sparkling as they gently moved and washed up against a nearby beach. You shaded your eyes with your hands as your vision adjusted to the brightness while the servant opened the window, letting the refreshing ocean breeze into your room.
"Good morning, Marie," You replied with a hoarse voice as you started to stretch your arms while trying not to disturb the tray of food on your lap.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked as she straightened a few things in your bedroom.
"I suppose," You responded, "Although, I didn't have a very pleasant dream last night."
"Oh, my apologies your highness, but remember that it was just a dream." She smiled at you and bowed, then headed to your closet to prepare your clothes for the morning. You sighed and started eating the eggs on your plate unenthusiastically, not feeling very hungry.
"What would you like to wear today your highness?" Marie called from your closet, her sweet voice echoing around your room, "Pink? Purple? Blue?"
"Whatever you think is best Marie!" You called back. You ate the last bite of food you could handle, as your dream made you feel a bit nauseous.
Marie hummed to herself as she reentered your room delicately handling a pretty white dress with golden accents and quarter-length bell sleeves. Then, she glanced at the tray with some uneaten food on it and frowned slightly.
"Are you finished eating, your highness?" She asked with obvious concern in her voice.
"I'm not very hungry, the dream I had made me lose my appetite. Not to worry though, Marie, I will be sure to eat more during lunch at noon." You replied as you smiled at her reassuringly.
She sighed as she gently set the dress on the end of your bed, "Today is a very important day, your highness, you should eat all your breakfast."
"You remembered!?" You asked excitedly, today was the day of your twenty-first birthday, you hadn't heard any preparations being made to celebrate, so you assumed everyone had forgotten, but maybe it was meant to be a surprise.
"Well, of course, I remembered Princess Claudia's engagement party, I could be sacked from the palace if I'd forgotten." She said, and your heart dropped.
"Oh, right, my sister..." You said, looking down, trying to hide the disappointment in your voice.
"Is something the matter, your highness?"
"No, not at all," You smiled at her, then got out of bed so that Marie could start getting you ready for the day. They really had forgotten. But it was nothing new to you, there was always something else going on the day of your birthday, so no one would end up celebrating it.
Of course, the king would gift you some piece of jewelry, your older sister, Claudia, would bring you a cupcake to eat, and your oldest sister, Philomena, would just forget about it entirely. The only thing you would look forward to on your birthday were the gifts from your mother and older brother.
Leon, your brother, would take you out into the city while wearing peasant clothes and the like to mask your identity. He would always introduce you to something new in the city, like last year, how he showed you what an ice cream cone was.
And then, your mother would always read the first chapter of a storybook to you, then give it to you to finish. You weren't particularly interested in reading, however, you loved reading fantasy novels, whether it's about mermaids and pirates, or dragons and knights, or even ogres and trolls. Of course, they were all myths and legends, but part of you always hoped that the stories you read would come true.
You would imagine that you were the beautiful Rapunzel, with long golden hair, locked up in a tower by an evil witch, and a handsome prince would come to your rescue and you would fall in love and get married one day. However, that fantasy would never come true. You were a spare to your older siblings, just to be married off to a stranger and live a life without love and happiness.
You sighed at the thought, then Marie finished dressing you and preparing you for the day. You took a long look at yourself in the mirror with an expression of hopelessness.
"Alright, your highness, you have some time to spare before your sister's party begins, I'll come to get you when it's time." She smiled and bowed, then left the room.
You could hear gentle waves crashing up against the island your kingdom sat on as you walked towards the doors that led out to your balcony, your bare feet tapping against the cold floor. You turned the handles opening the doors, then you walked to the railing of the balcony and the gentle breeze blew your hair back. You breathed in the salty air as you rested your elbow on the railing, staring out at the serene ocean. You closed your eyes and rested your chin on your hand, breathing in the fresh air.
You opened your eyes again and saw a figure out in the ocean. A man was sunbathing on a rock that stuck out of the sea, shirtless. You rested both of your hands on the railing and squinted, leaning forward to get a closer look, as you tried to make out the man's features. He seemed familiar, but you couldn't quite remember where you had seen him before. Then you noticed a tail, with fins, leading from the man's waist. It looked like a mermaid tail that was described in the stories your mother gave you.
"Princess," You heard someone call behind you. Startled, you gasped and your hands slipped off the railing and your torso fell forward while you lost your balance. You nearly fell off the balcony until a pair of strong hands gently wrapped around your waist and held you steady, keeping you from falling.
"Princess, are you alright!?" The man said from behind you, with his hands still resting on your waist, to ensure you were steady.
You quickly turned to look at who had caught you. It was one of the servants, his name was Taehyung, and he usually served your older brother. He was around the same age as your brother and he grew up in the castle with you and your siblings because his parents were servants before him. He was a close friend to you and your older brother since the three of you would play together when you were young, you haven't spent as much time together recently, since he's been busy with servant duties, and you've been busy with princess duties.
"I-I'm alright, you just startled me..." You replied, while your heart was beating fast from the rush of adrenaline. You turned back to see if the man you saw was still there, but he had disappeared, so you assumed it was just your imagination. Taehyung stepped back, letting go of your waist, and bowed.
"My apologies Princess, that wasn't my intention." He replied. You smiled slightly as your body calmed down from the experience.
"It's quite alright, I know you didn't mean to." You said as you gently placed your hands on his shoulder, urging him to stand straight. He did so and looked at you kindly.
"You're too kind, Princess." He said, looking down at you as you continued smiling at him.
"You made a mistake, it happens to the best of us. There's no point in chastising someone for something like that, besides you did save me after all." You replied, "Is there something you came here for?"
"Ah, yes, Marie got caught up with something, so she requested that I come to escort you to the banquet hall for Princess Claudia's engagement party." He said, "Are you ready to go?"
"Of course, I just have to put my shoes on." You walked back into your bedroom, followed by Taehyung, and grabbed the shoes Marie left for you, and sat at your desk chair to put them on.
"Allow me, Princess," Taehyung said as he kneeled in front of you, taking the shoes from you and setting them beside him as he reached for your heel and lifted your foot, gently putting your shoes on for you. Once he was finished he stood back up and held his hand out for you to take.
"Thank you," You smiled at him, as you grabbed his hand and he helped you up from the chair.
"It's my pleasure," He responded, as he held out his arm for you. You gently placed your hands around his arm then he started leading you out of your room and to the banquet hall.
"Have any guests arrived yet?" You asked looking at Taehyung.
"Not yet, although, Princess Claudia's fiancèe is here."
"Ah, I don't believe I've met him before."
"Well, their engagement is only just now being announced to the public, so I can see why." You stayed silent for a moment,
"I just... I thought I would've met the man my sister's marrying before it was publicly announced..." You replied. Taehyung glanced at you and frowned, seeing how disappointed you were.
"I-I mean, Princess Philomena and Prince Leon probably haven't met him either. S-so, you're not the only one." He said nervously trying to comfort you.
"I suppose..." You said.
The two of you stayed quiet the rest of the walk to the banquet hall, but once you reached the large doors Taehyung gasped, remembering something. You looked at him confused.
"What?" You asked.
"I nearly forgot," He said reaching into his pocket with his free hand and pulling out a small box and handing it to you, "Happy birthday, Princess,"
"You remembered?" You asked taking the box from him and looking up at him.
"Of course I did, the last few years I haven't had any money to get you anything, so I felt embarrassed and just didn't mention it. But this year I got some money together from what my parents left me and got you this gift."
"Oh, Taehyung... You didn't have to..." You said looking down at the gift.
"It's alright, I wanted to, you can open it after the party." He said smiling, you smiled back and wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly while still holding the gift in your hand.
"Thank you so much." You said as you started to step back from the hug.
"It's no problem, Princess. I can bring it back to your room if you'd like." You nodded,
"That would be lovely, I don't want to lose it or anything," You handed the present back to him and he put it in one of his pockets, then led you into the banquet hall.
You saw servants rushing around the hall, making sure everything is ready for the party. You saw your father and siblings with a man you had never met before. Your mother was most likely resting still, which is why she wasn't there. Taehyung led you to them and your father saw you. Once you reached your family Taehyung smiled at you and left. You sighed as your father turned to you.
"Ah, Y/N, you look beautiful darling." He said with a champagne flute in one hand already.
"Thank you, your majesty." You said, bowing your head slightly.
"Have you met Prince Jimin yet?" Your father asked, motioning towards the mystery man.
"I don't believe I have," You replied looking Prince Jimin up and down, he was average height and pretty attractive, you hoped he would be kind, for your sister's sake, but there was no telling what he was really like.
"Prince Jimin, my kingdom is on an island like yours, it's up north from here." He introduced himself, holding his hand out.
You stared at his hand for a moment then hesitantly shook his hand as you spoke,
"I see..."
"Sayaria is very gorgeous, it's a lot warmer here than my kingdom."
"I know, it's gorgeous, I live here." You said as you pulled your hand away since his handshake was uncomfortably long. He squinted his eyes at you.
"Now, Y/N, Darling, be kind to Prince Jimin, he's going to be your brother-in-law. And I would love it if you got along well."
"Yes, your majesty." You said blankly.
"Oh relax, father." Philomena said, "She just met the man, of course, she's going to be skeptical."
"Well, it doesn't matter to me, Chimmy and I are in love and Y/N can't do anything about it," Claudia said as she gripped Jimin's bicep.
"Even though they met like two seconds ago," Leon mumbled next to you, and you chuckled.
After all, the guests arrived and the engagement was announced everyone was partying, but you and your brother. The two of you left to go stand out on a balcony for some fresh air.
"Sorry, we can't get away to go into town today," Leon said looking out at the evening sky.
"It's alright, maybe next year." You replied.
"Yes, I promise I'll make it up to you." He looked at you sincerely and you smiled back then turned back to look at the water.
"Thank you, it means a lot."
"Of course, anything for my baby sister." You chuckled.
"I still have Taehyung and mom's presents to look forward to."
"Oh? Taehyung gave you a present?"
"Yeah, he gave it to me before I got to the banquet hall."
"That was sweet of him."
"Yeah," You nodded while smiling.
Aside from your older brother, Taehyung had been your only friend. Of course, you had Marie but your relationship with her wasn't exactly a friendship. You were both respectful towards each other, and you always made sure that she was being treated well because of how kind and caring she was to you. But she never felt comfortable addressing you by your first name. Taehyung never addressed you as Y/N either but he called you 'Princess,' unlike how he addresses your siblings as 'your highness.' Hearing him call you Princess always made your heart skip a beat since normally you would be called 'your highness' or 'Princess Y/N.'
Later that evening, after the party had ended everyone retired to their sleeping quarters. You had just entered your room to sleep, where Marie was already at, preparing a bath and a nightgown for you in your washroom.
You headed to your desk where you found a new book from your mother, a cupcake from Claudia, and a golden box that you assumed to have some extravagant piece of jewelry in it from your father. Finally, you saw Taehyung's gift.
You smiled and reached for the small box, disregarding the other presents, and opened it, revealing a rose gold necklace with a charm on it. The charm was a little tiara that closely resembled what your actual tiara looked like, you turned the charm around to see the word 'Princess' engraved in the back. You put the necklace on and then looked at yourself in a mirror, gently touching the charm while smiling.
"Your bath is ready, your highness!" Marie called from the washroom.
"Coming, Marie!" You replied as you walked towards the washroom.
"That's a pretty necklace, your highness, is it new?" Marie asked as she helped you undress.
"Yes, it was a birthday present." You answered happily.
"It's lovely," She said as she gently took it back off, "Would you like me to put it in your jewelry box?"
You nodded as you got into the warm tub. And Marie left the room. Sighing, you leaned back against the tub to relax. You closed your eyes thinking about Prince Jimin, and how he was going to marry your sister. She would probably become the queen of Jimin's kingdom once they were married and Jimin was crowned. Meanwhile, Philomena would become the queen of your kingdom after your parents passed away. And then Leon would become the leader of your kingdom's army like your father promised him.
Ever since you turned eighteen you dreaded each coming day. Knowing that one day you would be married off to someone you did not know. It was possible that you could grow to love them, but you didn't like the idea of an arranged marriage. You wanted to decide your own future, but you knew that you didn't have a choice.
You sighed again and ran your hand through your hair before you started washing. Afterward, you got out of the tub and dried yourself off before putting on your nightgown and slippers. Then you headed into your bedroom where Marie was cleaning up your desk and closing your window.
"Did you have a nice bath, your highness?" She asked sweetly, you simply nodded in reply before you slipped off your slippers and got into your bed. After Marie turned off the lights and left you closed your eyes to sleep. You started tossing and turning trying to get comfortable, unable to let your mind rest with all your thoughts.
Finally, you opened your eyes and sat up. You reached for a matchbox in your nightstand and struck a match against the box to light the candle beside your bed. After doing so you blew out the match then got out of bed, putting on your slippers. Then, you grabbed the handle of the candle holder and started heading out to your balcony.
You quietly opened the doors and walked out to the balcony, setting the candle on the railing while you looked out at the sea. Once again, you saw the same man from before, your eyes widened, realizing that it wasn't your imagination. You quickly grabbed the candle holder and walked back into your room, closing the door behind you before you headed out of your bedroom.
You clung to the hope that the stories you read about could be true, and that man really was a merman. So that you could finally live out one of your fantasies.
♡◇♡◇♡
3000+ words let's go!
Anyways, hello guys!
So, I really wanted to rewrite this story. I changed a lot but the core idea is kind of similar.
Since my writing skills have improved I definitely think this is already superior to the original Lost At Sea. I unpublished it so I don't know if anyone remembers it, but I already prefer this one to the original. I think the characters will be a lot more well written, and it won't be quite as rushed. I really want to develop the relationships better because I think the way I wrote them previously was just one big mind fuck so, here we are.
I'm going to be switching between updating Lost At Sea and Stars every other Sunday. So this Sunday will be a Lost At Sea update, and next Sunday will be a Stars update. And so on. I think this will be a better way for me to get ideas flowing and so that I won't get writer's block.
Also, I added a song that you guys could listen to while reading if you want, it really helped inspire me when writing this chapter so yeah.
I'm really excited about this and I want you guys to let me know your thoughts as well.
Thanks for reading!