Falla of the Ocean

Prologue

Gnemaria is an under-the-sea kingdom. Well, it is stereotyped that any body of water would be filled with fish, dolphins, mermen, and mermaids, but Gnemaria housed fairies. Yes, fairies with colorful wings, feet, pointed ears, glittering hair, and eyes as enchanting as the moon. Let's call these fairies of Gnemaria "Gnimas."

It is an unusual planet. Everything was almost perfect. Gnimas got along perfectly. There was minimal politics, yet corruption is absent. The royal family, the Klaurs, only has a king, a queen, and a princess, yet they rule Gnemaria very well, almost flawlessly. No one can really pinpoint a mistake made by them.

Never has the planet starved. No poverty. No war. No malnourished Gnima children. Just pure bliss and fantasy.

Every Sunday at dawn, the royal Klaur family hosts a revel at their grand castle at the center of Calna City—Gnemaria's capital. For Gnimas, dawn represents a new beginning. Sunday is the first week of the day. And what new beginning wasn't worth celebrating? Thousands of guests fill up the Calna castle and drink Gnima booze first thing in the morning until their stomachs can't handle it.

Everyone was invited. There was no upper, middle, or lower class at Gnemaria. It was only the Gnimas and the Klaurs. Yet they treat each other with glittering respect.

Nothing was out of the ordinary until Princess Falla, the Klaurs' sole daughter, turned eighteen.

Coming of age! And coming of age meant marriage for Gnimas. Not a marriage out of politics and business. But rather a search for true love.

Of course, the young and lovely Falla searching for true love is enough to turn the whole Gnemaria upside down. With all the male Gnimas going crazy as to how to get her beautiful hand in marriage and, not only that, be a prince, and someday, King.

After all, she is the first female heir of the royal family of Gnemaria after 500 years since the late queen Jaya Klaur, who founded the enchanting country.

It has always been a mystery to Gnimas why Queen Jaya was the only female heir and the rest were males. Some rumors even speculate that she was a goddess and cast a spell on the heirs of Klaur to never be the same as her, a woman, to preserve her uniqueness.

However, Falla was born 18 years ago. Making her second to Jaya as a female heir. Gnimas treated her like a goddess, as if seeing the founder Jaya in her pretty face.

Falla is both common and uncommon. Just like any other princess, she is beautiful, kind, adventurous, and yet bold. She even looked like Jaya. Fair skin, wavy golden hair, a soft face, rosy lips and cheeks, green eyes, and pink fairy wings that match the color of her green dress.

However, unlike any other princess, she didn't want true love. She just wanted to be queen and end the Klaur bloodline.

She admired Jaya very much and treated her more as a mom than her biological mother, Layla. She wanted to be unique, just like Jaya. If she cursed the bloodline to only have male heirs, she believed that Jaya appointed her to a mission, as she is the only female after her.

She planned on being the last queen of Gnemaria. Although she really didn't plan to die right away, she wanted to live for more than a thousand years before leaving the Gnimas to live without a royal ruler.

Every legitimate Klaur blood could wish for one thing throughout their life. Most Klaurs wish for peace in Gnemaria, some to have a beautiful wife, while Falla plans on living for a long time.

Her idea was both great and ridiculous.

Wouldn't a country be fun without a ruler to have all that freedom? But wouldn't it also be a disaster without one to face all disorders?

Anyway, that was just her plan. All of this was going on in her head, and she has not told a single soul. Not even his favorite father, King Luei Klaur, and her not-so-favorite mother, Queen Layla Duena-Klaur.

"My darling Falla, are you ready for your first revel as a fully grown woman? Oh, every Gnima boy will go crazy over you," Layla said excitedly. Well, this was the part Falla hated about her mother. She was a nice woman, yes. But she also wanted to marry Falla off as soon as possible.

"Oh, mother. Don't hold me in such high regard. I am sure that there won't be many suitors later at the party," Falla lied, fully aware that indeed, the males will run after her like a thirsty dog.

The maidservants started to dress Falla. It was an hour before the revel. They started by putting her curly hair in a low ponytail. Then, she changed her night gown into a wonderful, light purple off-shoulder ball gown that flowed from Falla's delicate feet until the door of her room, which was approximately ten meters away. They painted her wings with glitter and her face with organic Gnima makeup. They finished by putting on pearl earrings on her pointed ears, her father's gift.

She was gorgeous, as anyone would think. Even the author does.

The revel came. Everyone was looking at her as she entered the ballroom. The males started to swim towards her (Gnimas use their wings to swim) and, one by one, kissed her hand.

As expected, Falla was rather disgusted than amused.

The party lasted until it was almost time for lunch. The Gnima revels always ended with a bountiful lunch meal with the Klaur family.

Falla, realizing that lunch was approaching after entertaining over a hundred suitors, happily swam towards the grand meal table.

It was just that she couldn't swim toward it.

Because her wings were missing. Someone stole her wings!

As a Gnima princess who only used her wings to swim, it was almost like Falla had decapitated feet or a missing mermaid tail. But she didn't feel an inch of pain because one of the wishes of the previous Klaurs was for the heirs to not suffer physically in pain.

This really wasn't illegal in Gnemaria—stealing a princess' wings. Well, as long as you give it back in a year. But Falla, being the busy princess that she is, had no time for missing wings for a whole year.

Since it wasn't illegal, she could not sue the thief or even ask the guards to capture him.

Falla had to find him herself.

Just as the thought occurred to her, a tall, brown-haired, and brown-eyed young man who wore tavern clothes swam in front of Falla.

Well, this guy was holding her pretty pink wings.

"Hello, my lady. I heard you like trouble. So, this is my way of wooing you, Princess Falla." He quickly said, then swam away to the depths of the ocean while showing the whole Gnemaria that she had Falla's wings stored in a bubble. And she has to come to him herself.