War on Uncharted Waters

Chapter 1: The Boy in Love with the Sea

As he raced through the dusty streets in a pair of leather boots, a seabound sixteen-year-old Culbert's excitement grew. Each and every day, he waited for this moment to head out for the shoreline of the island where he lived to meet and play with his best friend, who he had a heavy crush upon: a sea creature. 

Now, you may be thinking: why would a boy like him be in love with a marine animal? The thing is, they were no ordinary creature of the sea; this teeny tiny island where Culbert had spent the past sixteen years of his life was secretly protected; not by a strong shielding spell, not by an invisible barrier, but by an underwater kingdom of merfolk. The chief of this kingdom and of the surface, Culbert's father, had made a strong truce long ago before their children were even born, in hopes that they would forever accept that they would appreciate each other for who they were. As of today, that truce had stood strong, for the apple of Culbert's eye was the youngest of the merfolk's eleven daughters: Doris, a fifteen-year-old mermaid with long, golden hair, a sky-blue tail, and a heavy sense of adventure. 

Now, Culbert sat on the rocky shore, took off his boots, and retrieved his most prized possession from his satchel: a big mermaid's conch horn, which had been a birthday gift from Doris herself years ago on his tenth birthday. It was for when he wanted to see her, but he could also use it as an alarm for when there was trouble. Right now, though, he simply played a nice tune into it to call her up from the depths of her home. 

A mile down from the water's surface and to the left, the mermaid Doris felt a gentle melody reach out to her and immediately knew who was making it. Smiling as she placed a water lily in her hair, she pushed off from her seat and quickly swam out of her castle. 

Within only a few yards of the surface, Doris sensed that she had been followed for the last five minutes of swimming. She giggled, turning around, "What, Coralie?" 

Coralie. The tenth daughter of the merfolk chief and Doris's youngest older sister; a seventeen-year-old mermaid with a tough-as-nails scarlet tail and a mass of black hair adorned with golden water weed. She smirked at her little sister; "Oh, nothing, sis, just waiting for you to bring your human down here, hehe." 

Doris sighed, rolling her cornflower blue eyes at her sister but keeping her cool; "I'll be there in a second; I'll remind him of our plans for today." And she went up to the surface, climbing upon a boulder to see her friend. 

Catching her out of the corner of his eye, Culbert ended the song, replaced the conch in his bag, and inched his way down the massive rocks to Doris. 

"Ahh, there you are; my little mermaid!" he teased. She giggled, "Oh Culbert, you silly goose!" And she grabbed his arm, pulling him into a soft kiss that made him sprout gills on his neck and torso. Coralie stuck her head out of the water to witness the moment and swam over. 

"Good morning, brother-in-law to be," she teased. Culbert blushed; he would get goosebumps each time Coralie or one of the other mermaid princesses called him that; nevertheless, he returned the greeting; "Good morning, Princess Coralie," he said cheerfully. She smiled, and she and Doris gently helped Culbert into the water. Once he was right in with the mermaid sisters, they all dove back down toward the mermaid palace to inform the chief and chiefess what they would be doing, where they were going, and how long they would be gone.