Twins of the Land and Sea

Chapter One

Omarosa

"Rosa come back this instance!" The familiar voice of my annoyingly protective, best-friend Zale, called after me as I shot off through the multicoloured, maze-like reef that lay ahead of us. One thing that is important to note, is that Zale can't stand people disliking him or being disappointed in him. This means that, unfortunately for myself, he refuses to disappoint my parents, therefore meaning that when they warn him to 'protect our daughter with your life', he takes it pretty damn seriously.

"Or what?" I called back as I flipped over onto my back so that I had a clear view of his desperate form at the beginning of the reef. I let out a giggle as he threw his arms up in an exasperated expression at my inability to do as I'm told.

"You know you're parents won't hesitate to make my life a living hell if so much as a hair on your head is out of place!" He yelled back, to insure that I heard him over the rushing water that was blocking the majority of sound from getting to my ears. I laughed carelessly to myself as I flipped back onto my front and continued weaving in and out of the coral structures that littered the surrounding area.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, I felt something, or more like someone, collide with my body as I hurtled towards the sandy seafloor, only to land on top of someone. I shook my head to stop the spinning of the ocean around me, a result of how fast I had changed speed and direction involuntarily. After I regained my bearings and composure, I dared to see who I was now on top of, only to be met with the oak brown eyes of my best-friend which held a cheeky glint as he took in my facial expression. Needless to say I wasted no time in lightly slapping his chest before pushing myself up off of his body. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest as a chuckle escaped the lips of the man beside me who had also swam up off of the sandy seafloor by this point.

"You know not to scare me like that!" I exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, which caused the last string, that held Zale's composure together, to snap as a full-blown laugh escaped from his mouth at the frustration on my face. Can he blame me though? My entire life has been spent being paranoid of every little thing that may lurk in the darkness and around corners. No thanks to my parents. Ever since I can remember they have been extremely overprotective of me and refuse to elaborate as to why they are the way they are.

I gave Zale a deadpan look before flicking the back of his head with my deep blue coloured tail, which glistened different shades of turquoise and blue depending on how the light hit it, and swam off towards the palace, knowing that my parents were probably anxiously waiting my safe return, after Zale and I had been out exploring the reefs for such a long period of time. Don't get me wrong, I love the life I lead, it's anything anyone could ever want, but the constant protection detail and rules that my parents enforce for my safety, make it rather difficult to actually enjoy my life. If I wasn't out riding seahorses or with Zale, then I was under lock and key in the palace, mostly avoiding my royal duties.

Unfortunately, I was only granted a limited time with Zale on this particular day because it was my 18th birthday and my parents claimed to have some important information that they needed to tell me. As I entered the palace, I nodded and acknowledged all of the various members of staff that had worked around the palace for as long as I can remember, before coming to a large set of grand coral double-doors and stopped. Well, this is what my exploration got cut short for. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before the guards, on either side of the doors, pushed the doors open as I heard my presence get announced to my parents who sat on the thrones on the opposite side of the grand looking room. Everything about the throne room was magnificent, from the high, intricately decorated ceiling to the large windows that had red satin curtains bordering the frames.

"Ah darling! Happy 18th birthday," my father greeted as I swam towards them and sat on the step in front of them, not feeling particularly bothered to go and sit on my own throne which was on the right side of my mother's.