Vanished

Prologue

She shivered, breathing in the salty sea air, as she quickly walked through the streets of a small town. The girl paused, looking to her right, immediately spotting a dark ocean, with dull sand laid out before it.

Her long, caramel hair blew away in the breeze as she stepped onto the sand, her shoes still on, cringing as she made her way towards the shoreline. She again looked to her right, this time seeing an old, stone tower placed next to a cliff.

They paused before wading into the chilly ocean water, and sighed. Her sea green eyes stared off into the ocean, looking into the choppy ocean waves that splashed her jeans. Instead of shivering even more, she relaxed, but only for a moment. She pursed her lips, before hesitantly calling out, "Cove!" Only a few seconds passed by before a figure emerged from the water.

Wearing a blue cloak, the figure stood up straight, also wading in the water, wearing a blond ponytail down their back. They appeared to be dry and a bit younger than she was, and bowed before the caramel haired girl. "Your Majest-" they began, but the girl cut them off. "You don't need to do that." The one who appeared to be Cove simply nodded, and stood in front of the older girl.

"How are things?" she asked quietly. "Things are running quiet normally," they said, with a hint of a bitter tone. "But-" Cove continued. "A neighboring king has threatened a war..." Cove's voice trailed off. "About?" the girl asked.

"A lost crown. He blames you, saying you stole the crown when you made your way to land."

"That's stupid. The old man probably lost it under a pile of kelp."

"He's serious! They've searched their entire land for days, and there's no trace of what's happened!" Cove exclaimed.

"I've been here for months and I haven't been underwater since then; there's no way I could've stole his crown. Besides, my brother will take care of it. This whole thing will die down eventually when the old man finds out he just misplaced it, I'm sure," she tried assuring him. Cove simply stared at her, and she cringed, knowing what they would soon ask.

Cove nodded, before hesitantly asking, "So... have you thought of coming back?" She sighed, before saying, "I'm not changing my mind. I'm not coming back."

"But Qu- Hali, your people need you! We're at risk for a war..."

"I know!" she snapped, but immediately regretted it after seeing the sad look on Cove's face. "I'm sorry... it's just not easy having that big of a responsibility all of the sudden," Hali murmured. She looked at the tower, trying not to meet their eyes. "Just make sure my brother takes care of it..."

She looked back at Cove, now seeing a disappointed look sketched upon their face. "What?" Hali asked. Cove paused, before blurting, "H- he doesn't do his job right! He's a terrible king! He hasn't even-" "Cove!" she cut him off. "I'm sorry! I- he just- it's not easy for me either," they said quickly.

Hali sighed, now unsure of what to say. "Listen-I'll reconsider coming back," she lied.

Cove forced a smile, and nodded. Just as Hali opened her mouth to try and say something, Cove turned around and entered the water, as if swallowed whole by the currents, leaving her wading in the cold ocean water.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the prologue. Stay tuned for more!