Wonderous Blue

Shrimp Cookies

3rd Person POV:

"Come on Sam! It's time to get up!" Jack whispered shouted to his friend, slightly nudging the small green electric eel that was wrapped in a makeshift seaweed blanket.

The only response Sam made was a playful grumble, obviously still wanting to stay asleep in their bed, which really was just the blanket and sand. They further cuddled into the blanket, making no signs of waking up anytime soon. Sam wouldn't budge, unless...

"Fine, but if you don't come I guess you'll miss out on your treat..."

This response made Sam jolt out of bed and race to Jack's side. They started jumping (bobbing?) excitedly against his multicolored tail and gave him their best puppy-dog eye.

"That's what I thought!" Jack whispered smugly. Simple bribery was all it would take to convince Sam to go with him.

Using magic, Jack made shrimp cookies appear. Sam happily gobbled them down within a couple of bites.

Jack grabbed his brown satchel that hung from a hook on the wall. Making sure he had everything he needed, he swam out of his bedroom.

He quickly checked the Palace's hallway, making sure that no servants would be there to stop him. Seeing no one, he quietly cast a silence spell on himself and Sam. It felt like a light version pins and needles around their entire body. This spell would allow them to remain 100% quiet for as long as he would like. Jack could shout at the top of his gills and nothing would hear him. If he was to crash into something, say a vase, then the crash would be silent.

Although Jack sneaks away quite often, more like daily, he still needed to be cautious. He has been caught before, 1 time to be exact. He was forgetful that one day and forgot to check the hallways. It was enough times to know to never be seen in the act again. He had been under 24/7 prevalence for a whole month as punishment! What kind of parent punishes their kid like that?! Oh wait, an asshole parent. The perfect description of Jack's "Ma" and "Father".
~
He could still remember word-from-word what his parents said to him.

"Why the fock were you sneaking out Seán?!"
"Answer your father you little shite!"
"This isn't how a future prince should act!"
"Why are you such an embarrassment to our family name?"
"You should be focking ashamed of yourself Sean!"
"Where were you going to go?!"
"Probably to see some village girl, am I wrong?"
"You're such a failure to this family!"
"Why must you always be such a fuck up?!"

      After that, he had gotten beaten and sent to bed with no dinner. Sam, thankfully, had snook him a bag of chips at some point in the night. Jack cried himself to sleep that night, not that he would ever admit it.

He still shudders at the thought of that conversation, even if he did kind of deserve it. A prince shouldn't be adventurous or have emotions! They should just nod and agree like a good little boy. They should just follow and make rules like an obeying slave. Yet here Jack was, breaking every rule in the rule book.

     There was one thing that was funny about that conversation to Jack. His parents thought he was seeing some girl. He was actually gay, having no interest in females. He's had a boyfriend before, but it just didn't work out. They broke up and decided to just stick to being good friends. Later, his ex boyfriend started to date one of his other friends. They've been dating for a good 4 years. Thankfully, they never made him feel like the third wheel whenever they hung out. After that, he couldn't find anyone else who interested him.
~
     Jack was finally able to get out of the castle without waking anybody up. Once outside, he gave Sam a playful scratch. Sam, in return, nuzzled into his hand. Jack scratched harder and Sam nuzzled faster. Shortly after, Jack got zapped with electricity from the green eel. Sam gave Jack a triumphant look, knowing that he won this round.

      Jack gave a contented sigh and started to swim past the village. There were many people who lived there, it was like a small city. It was a good thing that no one was up at this hour. Chances are, most mer-folk would rat him out in a second, just to gain a good reputation. He couldn't even trust the little ones! Once past all the houses, he continued further on. From this point on it would just be the sand beneath and tall rocks. He would occasionally look to his side to see if Sam was still by his him, which he always was.

     For Jack, it was nice to know that something actually cared about his well-being. He only has three friends: Felix, Cry, and Sam. Everyone else would seem to either not care or act perfectly since he was the prince. His parents hated him, hell they bitch about him basically every night! The servants didn't really talk to him, but to be fair they were only there to work and get paid. Sam, Felix, and Cry were always there for him, through thick and thin. Jack, of course, was there for them too when they needed him.

After swimming for about 15 minutes they finally made it to the border. The border which promised protection. The border which promised wealth. The border which promised constriction. For most people, this would be the best thing in the world, but it was the complete opposite for Jack. To Jack this was like a huge cage. Sure it was safe, but it was bland. Predicting.

Once past the border, anything could happen. Both the good and the bad. The Ying and the Yang. Past the border promised to be unpredictable. Past the border promised to be incautious. Past the border promised freedom. The perfect place for Jack to be.
Exhilarating
Exciting.
Enticing.

Jack flashed a happy sharp-toothed smile towards Sam. Sam repeated the action to the best of his ability, him being a one-eyed eel and all. They both swam past the border, finally able to let everything go and do whatever they wanted. No more thinking about shitty parents or a controlling terrible life. They were able to throw all that away for the time being. It would just be them, the sand, and the seaweed.

(1092 words)