Found at Midnight

Chapter 12

Kellin

I wandered along the shore for a while, taking in the midnight beauty of the ocean swirling before me. I felt the waters pushing away the bad memories for a little bit and helping me to clear my thoughts. It was just me and my home. My eyes began to flutter shut from the sweeping of the waves lulling me to sleep. I sat down in the sand with my arms behind me to hold me up. I forced my eyes open and stared at the horizon, barely missing the tiny shape out at sea in the midst of my sleepiness. However, seeing that something was out there woke me up quickly. I was back on my feet, staring at the object. I couldn't tell if it was an animal or garbage, but it was headed towards the beach. I stepped forwards, toward the ocean, and dipped my toes in. I bit my lip, deciding whether or not I should go see if it was an animal that needed help before it got beached. My love for animals won over the side of me saying that it was just some garbage left by a careless asshole, so I dove in and let my tail come out.

Once I had completely transformed, I quickly swam toward the dark blob. I started to make out some minor features and recognized it as a dolphin. In this area, dolphins don't like to come this close to the beach because the merpeople have warned them that this area is unsafe due to all of the human activity. The poor thing was probably hurt and allowing the waves to carry it through the water. I swam faster and approached the creature. I stroked its head carefully, letting it know I was a friend, before scanning its body for injuries. I couldn't see any external problems, so I asked what was wrong.

Why are you so close to the land? It's not good for you out here. Is something wrong? I asked.

Nothing is wrong, but you must turn back now, Prince, it replied urgently. \

It raised its right fin to reveal a marking I never wished to see again. All of the dolphins in my father's stables were branded with the royal crest, letting everyone know it was a royal dolphin. The warning from the dolphin suddenly clicked, and as I turned to go back to the safety of Vic's territory, I felt it. The rough hand yanked down hard on the bottom of my tail, pulling me into the depths. I let out a strangled gasp and fought against my captor. I managed to use all of my strength to free my tail from their grip and swam as fast as I could toward the shore. As I did, I saw a familiar form running towards me. I cried out and pushed myself harder toward him. A net was thrown over my body, pulling me back from Vic. I shrieked and cursed in Latin, trying to free myself. My tail was tangled in the thick ropes, keeping me from swimming away. I began to sink, but someone grabbed my waist. I was thrown over a broad shoulder. Thrashing around, I noticed the face of the one who had netted me.

I shouldn't have been shocked that my brother was working with my father to take me back and harm me, but it still hurt. I felt as though a blade had been twisted in my stomach, and I felt hatred stirring deep inside of me. We were brothers, meant to look out for each other, but he had never cared for me. He had cruelly teased me and beat me, laughing when my father abused me. I thrashed around harder, trying to escape his hold. I looked up and saw Vic swimming towards us. I tried to tell him to get away, but he was too far, and I had resorted to speaking in Latin. He would never be able to fight mermen in their own territory, especially by himself. I reached up to him helplessly as two mermen headed towards his figured. They easily overcame him, and he didn't even have time to put up a fight. They used an enchanted pearl to knock him out before escorting him back to the land. I was relieved that they hadn't hurt him, but I suppose they could sense that he wasn't just a human.

Whatever relief I felt for Vic's safety was drowned out by the realisation that I was being taken back to the hell I called home. I wriggled and squirmed on my brother's shoulder where he held me, but he didn't let up. On the journey back to the kingdom all of my futile attempts at escape must have become tiresome to him because he took out an enchanted pearl identical to the one they used on Vic and knocked me out. My eyes finally fluttered shut like they had wanted to so badly earlier, but sleep couldn't get rid of the tight worry in my chest.\

I know this is short, and I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever, but look! There's finally a plot! I actually know where I want to go with this story now, so hopefully it will improve as it goes on. Thank you so much for those of you who left supportive comments because they made me feel a lot better, and thank you all for being so kind and patient with this story. Also, how was your New Year's Eve and/or Day? Let me know if you did anything crazy or fun in the comments because I had a boring holiday, and I need funny stories of everyone else's holiday to make up for it. Thanks for reading, and I'll see ya soon!