Imagine Dragons (updating so slowly that it's ridiculous)

Ghulari

I open my eyes to see... nothing. I can't see anything. Where am I? It's not like a darkness or a blindfold, so what's stopping me from seeing? Everything seems so not here, like part of me is somewhere else. I hate this.

Are the mermaids evil? I bet they are. With their creepy vampire faces and their sharp teeth. That was a mermaid, right? Right. I need to find a nice one and get it to like me so I can get out of here.

Unfortunately, I still can't see anything.

Those stupid mermaids!

Laughter echoes in my head, and I stiffen. What was that? It sounded very, uh, inhuman. I don't think it was physical, like someone laughing from across the whatever-I'm-in. I think that something was in my head, laughing at me.

I'll bet it was an evil mermaid!

Don't fret, little human. We are not your enemies. We are not the mermaids.

Definitely in my head.

I can't open my mouth, I realize. I can't move. I've been so focused on where I am and the mermaids that I didn't realize that I was trapped.

Does that mean they can hear my thoughts?

Yes.

Okay then. Uh, so, um, what are you, then, if you aren't mermaids?

We are the ghularî, long forgotten by all. But you, little human, you will not forget us, will you? You will stay here, in the dark, knowing that one of those petty mermaids was right in front of your face but that you were dragged into the depths by a spellcaster built of nothing but smoke. Enjoyable, yes?

Uh, sure, I guess.

No, you do not think so. You so wanted to complete your little quest. Be accepted. That's all you ever wanted. But no. You aren't like us without a little something from me.

Oh, do I have to pass a test for you too? I'll try.

Yes, you will, but not because you want to. If you could truly be one of us without having to pass my test, you would, yes?

I would skip all of them if I could.

Laughter echoes again through my brain, and if I could move, I'd smack my hands over my ears.

Well, at least you're more honest than some have been. Normally I get them first, you know, when they're trying to come through to here. I send them home every time, because they certainly don't want to stay. But you do, I can tell. You want nothing more than to fit in here. But let me be upfront with you.

You never will.

You will always be different. No one will ever look at you and think, "oh, she's one of us." You'll always be the extra, the one who doesn't fit in. You can't change that. You don't know about us. Any of us, really. No one can give that to you. I might as well just send you home, you know. Maybe back there you'll fit in a little better, hmm?

Laughter again. I shrink away, but the bonds only tighten.

Do you hear me, little Stella? You. Don't. Belong. You never will. You won't be able to walk free here, you won't be trusted. No one will accept you. See, you were so sure of yourself, but just a little glimpse of the truth and your illusion starts crumbling. You doubt yourself, and rightly so. You aren't one of us.

You're one to talk. You weren't born here either, were you? You're like me, but you didn't pass the tests, did you? You're stuck down here, and no one pays you any attention. I don't think they ever did, did they? You never fit in. But I do. I can walk among them and not get a second glance. I skipped ranks with the faeries, I held my own against the unicorns, I befriended the friendless trees. And you're nothing but jealous.

Ha, no. I am flesh and blood of this land.

Are you? You sound uncertain. You're not a very good liar, are you? Here, let me go. Don't make me like you. I can become one of them, but your chance is gone.

My sisters and I will not surrender!

Don't pretend like there's more of you. There isn't. I can tell. Don't ask how but I can. And you're all alone. You're afraid. You like to act like you have friends in this horrible world that you can't leave, but you don't.

Do you really want to make me like you?

Yes. I don't enjoy being alone. It'd only take a little, too.

Oh. I see. You can't make me like you.

Of course I can.

You might think you can but you can't. You're the Queen, aren't you? The one from before. The one who tried to subdue the true creatures of this land. You're not worth my time. Let me go. You can't make me like you and you can't stop them from making me like them. Quit trying. Your time is quite over.

I don't know what you're talking about. A Queen? How silly. Fantasia (A/N: I know, no accents. I can't get them to work here. Sorry.)can't be ruled.

You didn't know that then.

I throw myself against the bonds, feeling them separate like a badly woven cloth under pressure, splitting in front of me. Drifting out is like walking through spiderwebs.

I can't hear her anymore, the Queen. She's nothing but a ghoul. I guess that's what ghulari comes from.

There's pink water surrounding me, but I can't feel it. Did my bark-skin adapt? Did I find out how to use my gills? Did the Queen do something to me?

I glance down to see my body surrounded by a bubble. So I'm not in the water, really. Did the Queen do that to protect me? I don't think so. I fight against it, but I can't get it to pop; I can't reach it somehow. I guess I'll just have to handle it and keep going. The mermaids aren't going to wait for me. Will I ever find them? I'm starting to doubt it. What if there are more ghulari on the way?

I think I'm about to cry, which is a thing from that stupid dream again. Why can't I forget it? What did the Queen mean, where you come from? Where am I from?

I don't have time to worry about this. I need to find mermaids. They're the most important thing right now. What if I don't pass their test?

I can't think like that. I'll pass the test, because I have to. What other choice do I have? Become like the Queen, a ghulari, alone in the darkness, confused and without purpose? No. I won't let myself be that way, I can't.

I shove myself free from the water, and the bubble pops. I snap out my arms, releasing my wings.

I've got some mermaids to find.