Purpose Beach Part 1:

It is a well known fact that despite the vastness of the cosmos, finding a planet able to support life is not an easy task. Because of this, planets such as Earth are often viewed as places one could go if one wished to start a new life.

Now it just so happened that on Earth — or at least this particular version of it — there was a seaside town inhabited by gods, demons, and other such people that humans relied on outdated books for information on. They understood the problems of revealing that one had, for example, tentacles and a body covered in feathers, to the rather judgemental eyes of mankind, even though the relatively bald apes were fewer in number than they realized, and welcomed them with open arms. The town was originally founded to help the newcomers adapt to the new world so they could fit in elsewhere, hence its name, Purpose Beach.

Among the first individuals to come to Earth was Tsep, who was something of a deity in his home world. He was renowned for his ability to distort reality, particularly his knack for creating rifts in time and space that he could travel through, though he was equally skilled at sealing them shut. He had since been put in charge of making sure that no one tampered with the fabric of reality to a disastrous degree and due to his sensitivity to any changes that were too drastic as well as his prowess when it came to enforcing balance, he eventually acquired a sort of cult alongside a great deal of income.

At the current moment, Tsep sat on a throne of silver, a material he had come to be associated with in recent times, given to him as a gift from his subjects. He dressed in clothing made of ivory fabric that he created himself in order to accommodate his ever changing number of limbs, though he often had two of each at most. The same could not be said of his eyes, which he constantly had four of at all times.

Before him bowed Peter, a being of unknown species whom Tsep had molded into the guise of a human to help him withstand Earth’s gravity. The only physical trait he possessed that made him stand out was his eyes, which were white and featureless, almost like polished marble.

“You may raise your head and speak,” Tsep told him.

Peter did as he was instructed. “You wished to see me, my King?”

“I wish to converse with you, Peter,” A new arm appeared out of the king’s shoulder and pointed to his face, his movements quick, but also stiff, “Do you know why all of my servants wear masks in my presence?”

He nodded. “I believe you said it was a way to show that all are equal in your eyes, regardless of their background.”

“Correct. With this in mind,” His recently added limb vanished, “I would like for you to remove yours the next time you are in the presence of Olga.”

“It shall be done, my King,” Peter promised, “but Your Highness, if I may, I’d like to ask why.”

He looked off into the distance. “My daughter seems to have taken a liking to you. I wish to know if her feelings towards you will remain as they are upon seeing your face.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Surely you do not wish to imply that she cares for me. She is on a much higher level than I could ever hope to be. Additionally, what hides under my mask isn’t my true face.”

“Yet she values you all the same,” Tsep pointed to the door, “I will seek you out once you find out why. Until then, you are dismissed.”

Peter bowed before leaving the throne room. He spent the next few hours focusing on his other daily tasks, starting with making sure that the floor in the foyer was clean and presentable. Though he knew that Olga was away at University, taking on as many courses as her schedule would allow, the feeling that she could enter the manor at any moment clung to him. However, as he turned to leave for his next task, he heard the door open and saw her standing in the doorway, suitcases at her feet and baseball bat at her side.

The difference in appearance between them might not have been as distinct as some of the sentient life that called Earth home, but no one would ever confuse the two. While Peter’s hair was pure white, Olga’s was copper and had a bluish tint. While Peter had to duck in order to pass through certain doorways, Olga was often likened to someone in grade school, but only in height alone. Something about the way she looked at the world through peculiarly colored eyes suggested that she knew something that those around her didn’t.

“Welcome home, Princess,” Peter said politely, “How was school?”

Olga sighed. “The University got attacked by monster slayers.”

He shook his head. “Do you need help with your luggage?”

“No thank you,” she assured him, “Also, I’m not a princess. Princesses have castles, knights, and other things I have no use for,” She placed her possessions on top of each other before beginning the haul up the stairs to her room.

“Wait a moment,” Peter removed his mask, “Your father told me to show you my face the next time we saw each other.”

She stared up at him for a few minutes. “Why would he do that?”

He hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure if I’m permitted to say.”

Olga rolled her eyes. “Well, if he didn’t actively forbid you from answering my question, then I give you permission to do so.”

He looked away, still somewhat nervous.

She crossed her arms. “How about this? You need time to finish your tasks and I need time to unpack. Let’s meet up by the fountain after we both finish and if you see my father again during this time period, you can ask him if you can tell me. How does that sound?”

Peter smiled. “Clever as always, Pr— I mean, Olga.”

“Thank you, Peter,” Olga continued to drag her suitcases upstairs, “See you then.”

“Right,” he put his mask back on before moving on to his next task, vacuuming the downstairs hallways, followed by watering and feeding a few household plants. Normally, he also would have had to clear any bones that might have been left behind by their previous meals, but found that there were none. After some inquiry, he found out that one of the other servants had already taken care of it for him. How odd, he thought.

The fountain, carved from marble, was located towards the back of the house. Towards the center of the fountain were the statues of two creatures. The first of the creatures vaguely resembled an owl with a face divided into four parts, each one with a pair of eyes. It was made to look like it was flying over the second creature, an animal with thin legs hidden beneath a coat of fur.

Olga sat at a bench in front of the fountain, carrying her baseball bat over her shoulder. She had been looking at how the water poured from various mechanisms into the basin, but turned her attention towards Peter when he sat down next to her. “Now, why is it that my father told you to remove your mask?”

He took a deep breath. “He believes that you have a particular fondness for me and wanted you to know if seeing my face would change anything.”

She took a deep breath. “Peter, the reason I like you has nothing to do with the way you look. It’s because unlike everyone else here, you don’t serve Dad expecting some kind of grand reward.”

“I serve him out of gratitude,” he explained, “Your father gave me everything. Because of him, I have a voice, a home, a family, emotions, thoughts, and desires that don’t revolve around mindlessly devouring anything I come across. He saved my life and gave me one worth living. If that doesn’t warrant my loyalty, then I don’t know what does.”

Olga was silent for a while. “It’s strange. He and I are capable of so much, yet I feel like we do so little. It’s a miracle that he hasn’t gotten bored.”

Peter took some time to think. “I cannot speak for the other servants, but I feel like it gives me purpose.”

“I wish I had one,” she grumbled, “I feel like I’m not doing enough.”

“Not doing enough?” he asked, “Olga, you’ve written books and plays. You’ve taken fourteen different courses per year and not only have you passed them all, you’ve still managed to find time for extracurricular activities. You’re the Ogre of PBU. You’re part of the reason other teams are still afraid to play baseball with you.”

“I think it might be because no one wants to risk losing to a team called The Purpose Beach Puppies,” she said with a temporary smirk, “Still, I don’t feel like I’m making the same impact I could be. I want to achieve something that isn’t school related.”

“You’ve achieved more than me,” he pointed out.

She flinched. “Wait. That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter assured her, “I understand completely. You believe that the powerful should protect the weak, which I don’t disagree with. You want to do things that you think are suitable for someone of divine blood. However, it’s okay to not be perfect and for what it’s worth, I think that you’re more than good enough.”

Olga’s expression softened. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the beeping of her wristwatch. “Sorry. Gotta go. Class starts soon! See you around!” she shouted before getting up and running off.

He sighed. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if she thought that he only said the things he did because of his connection to Tsep. The moment the god’s name came to his mind, he felt a powerful presence behind him. He stood and greeted his master with a bow.

“You may raise your head and speak,” Tsep told him.

“The Princess’s opinion of me hasn’t changed,” Peter explained.

“And what does this unchanged opinion look like?” the god asked.

He thought for a moment. “She likes the fact that I serve you without the desire for something in return. She sees me as someone she can express her concerns to.”

“How curious,” Tsep rested his chin in the hand of a newly formed arm that sprung from his elbow, “One would think that she would turn to her own family for such things, especially if she appreciates your loyalty to me. I don’t suppose that you might happen to have a guess as to why she would seek out you instead of myself?”

A terrible chill began to course through Peter’s being. “Er… Yes… but I worry that they’re all too dangerous to express. In fact, the longer I consider them, the more preposterous they—”

The god locked eyes with him, his newly grown limb having vanished. The wind, which had been blowing a few moments ago, had suddenly stopped. A grasshopper that had just leapt away from an adjacent lizard froze midair. “Do not withhold information from me, Peter. Speak your mind and I shall judge accordingly.”

Peter took a deep breath. “P-p-perhaps she sees me as someone who is close enough to being family. I’m aware that it’s a foolish notion, but I’m unable to think of any others. Perhaps someone more well versed in the subject of relationships could give you a better answer if you decided to seek them out.”

“I don’t understand. Why would she—” All of Tsep’s eyes widened as time returned to normal, “Peter, I’m going to need you to investigate this matter further. Report back to me once you’ve found your answer,” Without another word, he vanished.

After some time, Olga emerged from behind a tree. “Typical.”

He flinched. “I thought you said you had class to attend.”

“It’s the weekend, Peter. We've been through this,” She sighed, “Can you really not think of a reason I’d prefer to open up to you over him?”

He tried to come up with an answer. “I’m afraid not.”

She rolled her eyes. “No. I guess you couldn’t.”