Darin was born and raised below a palace's walls. They were so blue, so cold and all so repetitive, yet she never knew a place beyond it. She always thought the world was so small, it was only a palace. So, she was happy to be in there, yet as she grew older, she had a friend who told her about the world outside the palace, and even the world outside of the lake.
It mesmerized her, and it changed her view of the palace. Everything was so small to her now, she now looks around the walls and feels trapped. Yet, she knew that the guards outside wouldn't let her leave, so she swims through the halls and turns to a door that leads to a library. She began to find books about the world outside of the walls, how beautiful the lakes are outside and how they came to evolve.
The lakes, the ocean, it was all more gigantic than she imagined. There were more animals that existed rather than just mermaids, and even plants! She's never heard of any of this. And the more she knows, the more she wonders...why would they keep me from any of this?
Every day she began to dig deeper into the books, she wanted to know why there were such things hidden from her, if she's a princess, shouldn't she know? Or was it because she was too young? Was she discovering things she wasn't supposed to discover?...
The thought kept her awake at night sometimes, it became harder to not read than to do so. So, she got up from her bed, and slowly swam through the door, and then through the halls, keeping herself as close to the walls as possible, until she finally reached the library. She smiled, and closed the door gently, barely making a noise, and she felt free. She felt as if she was in a new world, and so she flew up to the last book there was to read, a little bit sad that she had already read all the books in the library. She's learned so much, and she wishes to learn more from this book. So, she spins excitedly and then lays on the ground, beginning to read. Her eyebrows rise and her eyes widen, the book was not a book. Instead, it was a box. When she opened it, a key fell out. She gasps slightly and rushes to catch it.
What's this for? She asks herself. Looking around in all its directions. She tried many different things with it, putting it in little holes, trying to chew it, break it, break the tables with it, break books with it, run around with it around the library until she saw a drawer with a small hole in it. Her eyes began to shine, seeing that the hole had the same shape as the key's tip. So, she puts it in and tilts it, hearing a small noise. She flinches, thinking it would alert anyone, but her environment kept silent for a minute. And she slowly opened the cabinet and saw the last book.
It was huge, and heavy as she picked it up, yet the pages were worn out. Must be an old book she thought. Opening it, to desperately read one of the last sentences of it.
Our Goddess, the Goddess of the mermaids had died about years ago, due to human cruelty, and ever since, there had been many reincarnations, but all were violent, a kind that was not fit for a queen at all. There is a lot to expect for future generations, for them to not die in a tragic battle while being controlled by their emotions, but to die in a battle while having a kind heart--
An alarm went off, she flinched, looking around rapidly and ducking down behind the table as she heard the door open.
"Hello?! Anyone here?" The guards asked, while they swam around the library while Darin hugged herself below the table, hearing her heart pounding the closer she heard the guards get.
"The key...it's gone!" She heard them cry. "Who would do such thing?! We have the palace secured all around it!" One of the guards said anxiously. She covered her mouth, wishing for them to just go away. She now regretted every second she held the book with her and heard their voices. "The queen is gone!" Another shouted from afar. Darin couldn't take it anymore; she didn't want the pointless investigating to continue, yet she didn't want to reveal herself either. But she decided to finally swim out of the table and reveal herself,
