A Mermaid, A Prince and a Pirate

8

By the evening and the entire kingdom was fast asleep, Kitarni had already prepped her plans in her head to leave. She decided not to bring anything with her as she wanted to leave her whole world behind.

She didn't want anyone finding her.
This was her chance to live the life she had always wanted. She knew that she was going to miss her family and they would probably look for her but she wasn't the person they wanted her to be and she never was going to be.

Before she left out her window, she turned back and took in one final glance at her room. She slowly swam back in and took her tiara from her desk and placed it on her bed. She smiled softly before swimming out from the window and into the darkness.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" A sad voice echoed.

Kitarni stopped in her tracks. She turned around to see flower with a sad expression on her face. "I am sorry flower. You know I don't belong here anymore. Lysander is forcing me to marry Graven Koa. He is a blow fish." She sighed.

"I will really miss you Kit. Please don't forget me." Flower said nuzzling her head against Kitarni who wrapped her arms around her. "Of course I will never forget you guppy." She chuckled softly.

"Bye Flower."

With a sullen goodbye, Kitarni went off into the distance before reaching the surface. She took in a deep breath and smiled intently. "Moon Goddess, please guide me." She prayed.

Kitarni followed the current to shore.

She saw it in the distance and hesitated. She didn't know whether she could have the ability to shift to human form. She read in a book on a shipwreck that it was possible but was never able to test the theory.

Kitarni then felt a bit of courage course through her and she darted for land before she could change her mind.

As she dragged herself onto the beach, she looked back at the water and it was still. Peaceful.

Kitarni sighed a breath of relief before laughing manically to herself. She couldn't believe she was finally on land. Out of the water, her tail was incredibly heavy and she struggled to get out but once she did she was still laughing to herself.

But now she was out of the water, she didn't know what to do.

The shawl that covered her chest was soaking wet and the cold air was beginning to affect her. She took off the shawl and rung out the water before placing it over the rocks. Using her powers, she warmed herself up and once she was bone dry, her tail began to blow and separate into legs.

Kitarni stared in awe at her new legs. She wriggled her toes and laughed as they moved quickly.

Kitarni rolled onto her knees and attempted to push her bum in the air still with her hands and feet gripping onto the sand. Once her legs had stopped moving, she pushed herself up and then her knees buckled.

She groaned at herself before trying to stand again.

After a couple attempts, she finally stabilised herself but as she took a step she face planted the ground. She huffed at herself and chuckled before trying again.

Once she had the hang of it, she was able to walk over to the rock where she threw her shawl and dried it with her powers before wrapping it around herself. Luckily, it was large enough to cover her chest and reach just below her upper thigh.

She then walked over to the rocks and leant against it smiling to herself. She never imagined she would get that far. Her heart was racing a mile a minute at the thought of finally living her dreams.

She got up from the rocks and stared at the beach. On the right of her was the rest of the beach that clearly lead to a small town and on the left of her was the wooded area. Considering her attire, she felt it was best for her to retreat into the woods.

She walked over the rocks and stepped onto the grass.

"Ouch." Kitarni said hopping in the air, as she looked down she realised she stood on a stone. She grumbled to herself before carrying on taking better precaution at where she stood.

After a few minutes, she grew tired and decided to lay down in a patch of green and resting for the rest of the night. "Thank you Moon Goddess." She sighed softly before letting herself give in to sleep.

**