Wandering Traveler

Prologue

What is going on? Where am I? Am I dead or in my subconscious? Why is it really dark? Am I blind? I can hear something. Where is it coming from? It's disappearing. Please, don't go…

The beeping of the monitor slowly died down as their heartbeat slowly started dying. The body of a young girl, resting on the hospital bed unconscious and cold. Her life slowly drained away from her body as she breathed her final goodbyes to the world she was born in. Beeeeeep. She was no more, and no one was there to say their final goodbyes.

“Where am I?” The young girl asked no one as she opened her eyes, only to be greeted by vast amounts of waterfalls.

“This place is so pretty, but who lives here? Or better yet, why am I here?” She questioned herself as she tried to stand up but noticed something. As she looked down she saw chains tied on her ankles and arms. Trying to escape was futile, the chains were too strong and would only tighten more at any sign of resistance. Tired, she opted for the safer option and that was to wait and see what was to pan out next. She waited and waited and soon the seconds that passed by felt like years. Exhausted from waiting she slowly started dozing off until she saw a strange disfigured being approaching her. The figure stopped right in front of her and grabbed her face, forcing some sort of liquid down her throat. Too exhausted, the young girl swallowed whatever substance was given to her and she instantly felt energetic and strong. Gathering up some courage she spoke,

“Who are you?” The figure now taking a better and more comprehensible form responded, “I am nothing and I am everything. Most creatures like to call me the god of the inbetween.”

“The god of the inbetween, huh?” The girl repeated to herself and made a mental note to herself, making sure to not forget this creature’s or god’s name as it mentioned earlier.

“I would like to know why I am chained.”

The god looked at her for a brief moment before responding, “Arianna Trooman, you are here by being judged as of this moment. These chains will determine your fate by simply looking at your previous life, seeing all achievements and mistakes you’ve made, all the hardships you’ve overcome, and all of those who you kept close to your heart and soul. These chains will only loosen once your fate has been determined.”

With that final statement, the god made its way into one of the waterfalls and disappeared. Arianna sat there speechless. The chains know everything, from when she first came into the world and her last moments. Her last moments...as much as she tries to remember how her life ended she only came to a blank and an aching pain cursed through her head. Looking down she noticed the chains had gotten thinner from what they were originally.

“The process is almost done then?” She guessed to herself as she waited patiently for the process to end. Just before the chains broke, the god stepped out of the same waterfall he entered and headed straight towards the girl. Kneeling down he broke the chains only to be chained up himself. Confused and in shock the girl simply chuckled to herself thinking that this might be a fever dream she might be having.

“Arianna Trooman, your fate has been decided.” That statement alone was enough to make her stop giggling and a sudden rush of anxiousness took over her senses, making her overthink many possible scenarios and outcomes. The god however, took out a yellow book with no title and wrote something inside of it before announcing the girl’s fate.

“Arianna Trooman, you are now a wanderer. Your role is to simply wander around different dimensions forever to go unnoticed and will never enjoy the joys of those who you spectate.” This took her by surprise, she expected to be taken to heaven or hell not to be some sort of spectator.

“Wait a minute Mr. ‘god of the inbetween’ why am I a wanderer and not being sent to y’know, heaven or hell?”

“I understand your concerns and I am fully aware of the many more questions you would have. I will simply say the following, I will not be repeating myself so pay close attention. You are not one of the first human beings to come here but it is a rare coincidence. Normally only people who want to be reborn come here but, there have been instances in which your fate can no longer be decided since both the good and the bad have such equal balance. That is to say that this is no place for mortals to come to, for you see, this is in between; a no deity territory. I am nothing but the inhabitant of this place, its protector. Normal people like you would normally be sent off to the judgment realm in which case they would determine whether you go up the stairs to the light or dragged down to the darkness. In the inbetween, your fate is decided by different measures, one of them being those chains that were just bound to you moments ago. There are so many outcomes in which your fate could be determined, and you fell into the fate of the wandering traveler, a common fate to have. Once your new journey begins, there would no longer be any more chances, so the instant you so happen to die, you will forever be erased from any type of existence and you would be eradicated.” The god paused for a brief moment, Arianna could have sworn she saw a glint of curiosity spark in the deity’s eyes. Slowly but surely this new found information had just started to sink into Arianna’s head.

“Continuing on, it would have seem that I missed some vital information that the chains just provided me with,” as the god mentioned that, the chains broke loose and disappeared into the waterfall wonderland, “It appears that you are the first, no let me correct myself, the ONLY one to be able to create such outcome. Arianna Trooman, you are still a wandering traveler though with special exceptions, you get to have the privilege of living countless lives in whatever world, dimension, or universe you encounter. In other words, you get to be part of other worlds,”

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS SO EXCITING! MY GOODNESS I WAS SO WORRIED. wait...I GET TO BE PART OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS AND BOOKS?!” the young girl interrupted as she burst out with excitement. Hearing those news she just couldn’t hold back anymore this was a new opportunity to start all over and a good plus would be that she gets to travel to whatever place her destiny takes her.

“I wasn’t done speaking. Before you interrupted me, I have to tell you what you can and cannot do. First the ‘can’ts’, you under no circumstance can’t mention the fact that you can travel different dimensions, you can’t reveal your place of origin. You can’t go back to the world, dimension, or universe you were once in after you die the second time. NO spoilers. Lastly you can’t let anyone know about what happens after they die. Now for the ‘cans’, you can create a family, you can be overpowered or be the weakest, you can talk about your travels as if you’ve traveled in their world, you can pass down wisdom by that I mean passing down any information you may gain for example combat strategies or new dancing techniques, you can kill people but that comes at a price, and lastly you can bring one person with you to accompany you in your travels, but this is only applied after the person you’ve chosen shares a mutual trust with you and knows about the inbetween.”

“Wait, for the last one, you said that I can’t mention the inbetween or anything related to the aftermath of life.”

“I did say that, but this someone will have knowledge of the in between but have been prohibited to talk about it like you”

“What?! Then how am I supposed to know? Plus it sounds like I don’t even get to choose” Arianna pouted.

“You will see what happens in due time. This concludes our session. You are to be transported to your first destination. Safe travels Arianna Trooman. I almost forgot to mention, your name Arianna Trooman is no longer yours to keep”

“Wait what? Whoa” The girl questioned as she was dragged to the waterfalls and slowly lost consciousness.

First Destination: The Land of the Mermaids

A bright sun greeted the townspeople as everyone enjoyed the smell of fresh fish in the morning. Birds seemed to hunt down ants, dogs ran underwater chasing bunnies while children swam in mud puddles. A normal day indeed it was, which didn’t last long as someone screamed at the top of their lungs. They saw an unconscious creature floating in the air down to the ground. Approaching the creature, they cautiously woke it up. The creature opened its eyes in a flash and began wriggling around. Everyone began to panic as they ran inside of the water to seek shelter. The creature looked at them weird and confused. It regained balance and started walking towards the water. In the water it saw its reflection and pinched its face as if it were a dream and that could wake it up. Nothing happened, but the creature didn’t want to believe they looked the way they did, so in a last attempt they tried asking everyone how they looked and everyone responded with the same thing, normal.

Normal, the creature looked normal, “NORMAL?! THIS IS NORMAL!” The creature exclaimed out loud, startling everyone.

“Yes, you indeed look normal. Why are you panicking?” one of the townspeople asked in curiosity.

“You mean to tell me that having gills on my face, scales all over my body and fish like ears is normal? Oh, and don’t forget the greenish skin tone?” The creature asked astonishingly. “Yes it is normal. In fact you are the only one who is normal around here.”

“What do you mean I’m the only one who is normal? You mean that looking like a normal human being is not normal?” The creature just couldn’t believe it until it remembered something. The god, the inbetween, it was real and it did happen. They are dead but they’re alive? Their adventures had already started. ‘First day being a wandering traveler huh?’ They thought to themselves.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Gillia Thronsworth, and I'm a mermaid. Well used to be a mermaid just like you, but now I'm bound to this horrendous body. The same goes for everyone here. You see, a self proclaimed ‘god’ came here and demanded to be treated like a king. We didn’t want to of course, so in a fit they got angry and summoned these spiky creatures. At first we didn’t think they would harm us but once their spikes touched the strongest warrior we had, the warrior melted down. We tried putting up a fight but it was futile, the ‘god’ casted some sort of curse and turned us into the very being that we hated, Humans. Not only that, this town also changed, everything seems to be messed up, dogs no longer have gills and a fish tail, birds no longer hunt for worms, and children no longer want to swim in the air like they used to.” The creature couldn’t be anymore confused, how come children swam in the air in the first place? That wasn’t their main concern, the creature’s main concern was the fact that someone self proclaimed themselves as a ‘god’. Why would they do that and have they seen the inbetween? Most likely not but, the thought still lingered.

“Now that I have presented you with my name and current situation, what is the name of the strange mermaid that floated down from the sky?” Gillia asked the spaced out mermaid waiting for a response.

“My name…”, ‘I can’t remember my own name, what is it? Well if I can’t remember I will have to make up one for myself then’ the mermaid thought to themselves before properly introducing themselves again, “My name is Mel, yeah sounds about right” Satisfied with their new name, the mermaid now known as Mel smiled proudly.

“Nice to meet you Mel, do you have any parents by any chance?”

“Not that I remember? Why do you ask?” Mel responded to the weird question.

“Oh nothing, it's just that you resemble Amelia a little bit, our second strongest warrior.”

“Oh ok”

“Soooo...what now?” Mel asked, wanting to avoid any awkward situation that could take over the conversation like a flash.

“Well, we haven’t had a visitor in forever so I have decided to throw you a big welcoming feast. You know, to celebrate your welcoming.” Gillia stated as she got nodding approvals from the townsfolk.

“Alright...ok...umm...What do I do now?” Mel asked themselves confused. They got no response so Mel decided to just wander around. After some time a thought passed through their head, what is their gender? Mel was the type of person to not care about those sorts of things because they find it quite unnecessary. Searching for some sort of reflection, Mel coincidentally stumbled upon a shattered mirror store.

‘I guess the mermaids must have stampeded this place after being “cursed '' huh?’ Mel thought to themselves and found a mirror in perfect shape. Funny how things are going well for them. Taking in their new found features, which they just can’t get used to, Mel came to the conclusion that they are now gender-less.

“So, I guess when I left ‘waterfall wonderland’ my name and gender were left behind. Or so what I think happened” Mel thought out loud. Heading out, they were greeted with a pleasant smell, “FOOD!” Screaming out loud, Mel rushed over to where the sweet aroma would take them. A glorious sight indeed it was. A full on banquet prepared just for them. Everyone gathered in the middle of the town and surrounded the table, each of them holding a part of the table cloth. Confused, Mel decided to chime in. Table cloth in hand, the mermaids and Mel lifted it up and carried it and the mouth watering food close to the nearby beach.

“Oh~ Are we having a nice picnic by the beach?” Mel asked innocently before noticing that the table cloth already left their grip and all of that glorious food drifted away, being taken by the waves and into the horizon never to be seen again.

“WHA~Why would you guys do that?! Such good food, wasted.” Mel spoke sadden while doing a dramatic pose.

“Huh? You thought we were gonna eat all of that? HAHAHAHAHA” After a few minutes of full on laughter, Gillia calmed down and started to explain the reason as to why such good food went sailing away.

“You see, we don’t eat the food, we throw it away in the water and after a few minutes we get something random in return.” Making an ‘oh’ face, Mel still decided to eat some food so while no one was looking, they grabbed an apple that didn’t get washed up by the water. Without knowing the consequences of their actions, the water stopped. Nothing moved, no waves, no sound, nothing, the water just stood there motionless...lifeless. In a panic Mel tried throwing up the apple since they had already consumed it, in hopes to get the water working again. Everyone looked at Mel weirdly whilst others just snickered at the sight. Soon a boat arrived and broke down into four sections. Each of those sections carried something different. One of the sections carried food, another carried clothing, the third one carried mirrors, and the last one carried a small group of people.

“Huh? What is happening? I thought I was going to be punished for eating an apple.” Everyone’s eyes shot at the direction of the new mermaid as various glares intensified. “I’m very sorry” was all Mel could say at that moment.

“So you’re the one that requested my presence. You must be new around here then.” This new person spoke as they slowly walked over to where Mel stood. Mel on the other hand, being already intimidated by the townsfolk, just stared at the newcomer, studying their features and trying to read them as if they were an open book. From what Mel could gather, they came to the conclusion that this new person thought they were a great deal by the way they walked and talked with such confidence as if everyone would obey everything they said. Mel could almost see a god complex aura coming from this new person.

‘Could they be the self proclaimed ‘god’ that Gillia told me about?’ Mel thought to themselves as the newcomer was already standing right in front of them.

“...You are?”

“Huh? I am Mel”

“You must have not heard my amazing speech before I asked for your name”

“Speech? I must have been spaced out”

“Of course you were. Ugh, what am I gonna do? With such power and beauty that I possess, I can’t help but have others fantasize about me. Let me introduce myself properly young uh maiden? Sir? I am the almighty Caelius!” The newcomer now known as Caelius, introduced himself. Mel could only look at him with an uninterested look.

“Are you done?” Mel asked with a bored expression.

“How dare you speak to me in that tone!” Caelius exclaimed feeling offended, “Well no matter, I’ll let it slide this time since you are new to MY territory. Everyone! Please give this newcomer the best bedding, housing, delectables, and everything nice to our special guest! I hope you’ll have a wonderful stay” Once Caelius finished speaking, no one, absolutely no one moved from their spot until Caelius summoned spiky creatures and that was when they all scattered.

“Such amateurs am I right?” Caelius joked as Mel simply stood there trying to figure out this dude's motives.

“So, Uh Caelius right? I was wondering why you decided to ya’know, give me all this special treatment.” Mel questioned as Caelius looked down to meet Mel’s eyes before turning away and saying, “Because I am a generous god and out of the pure kindness of my heart, I decided to bribe- I mean welcome you with open arms here at Heavenly Oceana! I came up with that name.”

“Wonderful name indeed” Mel muttered sarcastically under their breath.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you a mermaid from another town? Or did you live here before I arrived?” Caelius asked Mel. Mel thought that Caelius might get suspicious of them so in order to not get on his bad side, Mel had to think of something real quick.

“The thing is...I- I got cursed. Yeah, I got cursed by a...greedy gremlin? That was so jealous of my beauty that she decided to take it all for herself and took- no transformed me into a fish, but because I am so fabulously beautiful, I instead turned into a mermaid.” Finishing their sentence, Mel started sweat dropping nervously as they examined Caelius' facial expression and hoping that he would fall for their made-up lie and ask no further questions.

“I understand how you feel.” Caelius responded.

“You do?”

“Yes, in all honesty who could resist such beauty such as myself and you I guess. It is only to be expected for others to be jealous towards beautiful and magnificent beings, such as myself. Though in this situation, it is you that had such beauty attributes. Don’t get me wrong, you are still somewhat attractive but not as attractive as I am.” Mel couldn’t believe what they just heard. Caelius was trying to be kind but couldn’t help but include himself every five seconds. ‘Just how narcissistic can he get?’ Mel asked themselves whilst looking ready to choke the life out of this man.

Night time soon came as all the townspeople prepared themselves for their daily activities. Mel just stood there confused. They had never witnessed anyone work day jobs during the night. It was as if roles were reversed. That was when they remembered that this town is quite literally cursed and just decided to roll with it, already expecting so much more eccentric lifestyle decisions and accommodations that came with this town.

“Hey Gillia”

“Hey Mel, what’s up? Do you want me to give you a tour around the town?”

“A tour sounds lovely but, why is everyone working day jobs during the night? Is it because of the curse?”

“Huh? Curse? No, of course not silly! We have always done this. The only thing that is different is that the town used to be IN the water not on land. Because of it, we had to get used to the land creature routine and so we sent out some of our kind to explore the land folk and made so many discoveries. That is why we work actively during the night and sleep during the day.”

“In other words, you guys or mermaids are nocturnal. And also, land people go to sleep at night.”

“Oh wow! You must hold so much knowledge. But I believe you are wrong. There is no way humans could have just accepted the fact that a mermaid would roam with them freely. Wait...you didn’t live with humans right?”

‘I want to say I’m human but then that would break her trust’ Mel thought, “No, but I used to have a human friend, believe it or not, and they told me about all kinds of human activities.”

“You must be so brave and also very careless for trusting a human let alone befriend one. Mel, you are one weird mermaid, but that is exactly what I like about you.” Smiling, Gillia looked at Mel and proceeded to give them a tour of the town.

The Land of the Mermaids: part 2

2 days had passed since Mel’s arrival. Mel couldn’t believe just how friendly and judgmental a mermaid could get. One moment they are treating you so nicely ever so often giving a small wave and bright smile. Next, they start talking trash about the way they look just because they now inhabit the body of a human. Mel hated the fact how the mermaids would sneer at each other and gagged before reminding themselves that they weren’t human. Being in this town gave Mel so many mixed feelings and signals. They couldn’t handle it anymore and it has only been TWO days!

“I see you are enjoying your stay” Caelius spoke sarcastically as he studied Mel’s face.

“Very much” Mel replied as they kicked a shell in the sandy road. Caelius then reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror.

“You see Mel, in order to live here like the kings and queens we are, you HAVE to expose others weakness like so,” Caelius then proceeded to hand the mirror to a passing civilian but not before checking himself out. The civilian only punched the mirror shattering it into a million pieces, “Go fetch me some water and make sure to add those star and shell ice cubes you humans make” Caelius ordered the agitated civilian as they went to go fulfill the order that has been given out to them. Mel only had one thought in mind during the whole ordeal, ‘Who do you hate the most, the humans or Caelius?’. Turning to face Caelius, Mel spoke, “You are a lowly peasant,” Caelius scoffed feeling offended, already starting to feel irritated, “Now go fetch me a pastry I’m starving and pastries sound good for breakfast.” Mel ordered as they slowly walked away. Caelius was about to do what he was told to but stopped himself as he turned to look at Mel and blew a raspberry their way.

“I did as you said. Exposed another’s weakness and gave them an order. And let me tell you, It is very efficient. Thank you for the advice! oh, almighty Caelius.” Finishing their sentence, Mel continued to walk away as they held a smug look on their face feeling like they had just won a thousand metals. Caelius could only facepalm as he told himself he was too good at giving away advice.

“Someone’s in a good mood!” Gillia spoke out of nowhere, startling Mel.

“Jeebuz! Where did you come from?!” Mel exclaimed as they held a hand to their heart trying to catch their breath.

“It’s a secret. Anyways, you still haven’t told me why you are in such a good mood” Gillia continued to press on the matter.

“Let’s just say I gave someone a piece of their own medicine” Mel spoke proudly as they straightened their posture feeling like a superhero.

“You mean?” Gillia looked confused waiting for Mel to clarify things.

“I mean that I had my own fun little interaction resulting in me feeling satisfied.” Mel tried to clear things up.

“Oh! You mean you gave someone a salty taste of their own gills? That must have been such a wonderful experience” Gillia gushed as she finally understood what Mel meant.

‘Gave someone a salty taste of their own gills? Is that how they say it here? Interesting.’ Mel thought to themselves as they continued to hold a conversation with Gillia.

“Gillia! Help me!” A civilian screamed as they zoomed past Gillia and Mel. It appeared that the civilian was being chased by someone and Gillia just had a foreign look on her face. A look that Mel has not seen her do. A look of disappointment.

“Rio, please don’t chase after Serlin. You guys do this everyday.” Gillia commented as she caught up with the two and held them both by their ears.

“Ow! That hurts!” Rio whined.

“Don’t be such a baby and grow up. Ow!” Serlin responded before feeling pain in his ear.

“You two are such a pain in the fins.” Gillia exhaled as she made the two hug it out. Well, more like forced too. Mel was just as confused as they could ever be.

‘Who are these people?’ Mel thought to themselves before chiming in the little interaction.

“Sup. I’m Mel, the new mermaid in town.” Mel cringed at themselves as they did their introduction to the new faces.

“Hey there!”

“Hi” Both Rio and Serlin greeted Mel back. The three just shared a look before turning away from embarrassment due to the fact that none of them knew what to say next. Gillia being the amazing and sociable mermaid that she is, broke the tension that was forming like a tsunami.

“I have an idea! Why don’t you guys hang out today and get to know each other. Who knows, maybe you might end up making a new friend...or not” Gillia muttered the last part before she disappeared into oblivion.

“Wait, Gillia! Don’t leave me here with Serlin! Come Back!” Rio begged as she reached a hand out. Drying off a fake tear, Rio turned to face the other two looking defeated.

“Haha! Rio has to spend the whole day with me...unfortunately.” Serlin taunted as he tried to come up with an idea on how to evade being stuck with Rio the whole day and maybe get to know the new mermaid. Turning to face Mel, Serlin was met with nothing but the passing wind and the sound of calm waves.

“Thought I’d never get out of that” Mel spoke to themselves as they ran into a group of people.

‘Weren’t they the ones who came with Caelius two days ago? Are they his goons or something’ wondering to themselves, Mel felt a tap on their shoulder.

“You must be Mel.” Someone spoke with a cocky attitude.

“And you must be the king of Rome.” Mel retorted sarcastically.

“I’m surprised a mere mermaid knows about Rome”

“And I’m surprised that you are surprised about...wait, I forgot what I was going to say. Can we start over?” The person just looked at Mel weirdly trying to wrap their head around what just happened.

“I don’t understand why our mighty Caelius took a liking to you?” Now it was Mel’s turn to look at this person weirdly, “He took a liking to ME?” Mel Asked as they pointed a finger towards themselves.

“Yes, he did. By the way, we are actual humans. Just wanted to let you know”

“That is surprisingly nice,” Mel commented as they began to walk away, “Also I forgot to mention, you have a crab in your pants.” Mel pointed out as they heard various panicked screams.

The next day came by and everything turned out swimmingly. Then the next, next day, Mel admitted to Gillia that they did not hang out with Rio or Serlin. That did not end well. The next, next, next day, Mel did nothing, but Today, today was going to be different for Mel. In fact, the day started off with a glorious encounter.

“Good morning, Mel. You shall rejoice as I, the mighty Caelius, graced you with my presence.”

“Thanks...I feel graced, I guess.” Mel responded tiredly.

“You don’t seem to be. No matter, I came here to simply give you a better welcome than what you received here.”

“Please do, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to eat anything. Gillia kept me very busy when she was ‘welcoming’ me.” Mel commented as they fully woken up.

“Eat? I need to take care of my figure. No, we are going to my favorite place. Come on, newcomer.” Following Caelius, Mel couldn’t help but feel as if they had just walked herself into a trap. On the other hand, Caelius knew something was up and he was determined to figure out what it was. After a lot of twists and turns around the town, Caelius finally found his favorite spot.

“Is this a gate?” Mel asked.

“It sure is. This is the ‘Wonder Gate’, isn’t it such a beauty? It also leads you to the outside.” This unsettled Mel. What exactly was Caelius planning?

“What are you exactly?” Taken aback, Mel stepped away from Caelius getting closer to the gate. Looking at the other side of the gate, Mel became terrified. There it was, a great chasm just waiting there for its next victim. Fear ruled over Mel’s eyes as their breath hitched.

“You see Mel, I’m not stupid. Who are you really? Are you some other creature? Or perhaps...Are you human?”

“I-uh...I-I’m not human. I am a mermaid but-”

“But?”

“But, I got exiled from my previous home. The mermaids in my o-old home looked dIfeRent,” feeling a lump of nervousness build up in their throat, Mel gulped deeply before continuing, “I walked endlessly on land and then all of sudden I was in the air and then fell into this town from the sky. If you don’t believe me y-you can ask the townsfolk.” Thinking of a quick lie, Mel just hoped Caelius wouldn’t see through her made up story.

Caelius’s expression did not seem to change to much of Mel’s dismay. Not being able to read Caelius made Mel even more nervous. That was when a thought cursed through their head, Is he like me?

The Land of the Mermaids: Caelius

Before Mel arrived at Heavenly Oceana, Caelius just spent his time either making the townsfolk do his bidding or just perfecting his spiky creatures. Of course, he does admire himself every single day in front of a mirror or anything that gives off a reflection. Many humans and mermaids admired his confidence and intelligence, whilst others despised his antagonizing nature and narcissistic behavior. Whether others liked him or not, Caelius could care less. All he cared about was the feeling of being above everyone else. He loved feeling like a god. Caelius would do anything in order to be at the tallest pedestal. So when Mel arrived, he knew he had to make sure that they wouldn’t pose any sort of a threat.

As soon as he saw that Mel began to gain more attention from the townsfolk, Caelius felt troubled, threatened even. Even though it wouldn’t show, many of the townspeople would whisper and gossip about Mel. Mel had become the talk of the town and continued to be as long as they stayed there. Caelius wanted to meet Mel and what better way than to make a grand entrance. Knowing that the townspeople would throw a welcoming party in honor to Mel, he would use that opportunity to appear before them.

Upon arriving, he saw Mel trying to throw up. Caelius felt very confused and disgusted, but it didn’t matter. Walking with confidence, he started to approach Mel,

“So you’re the one that requested my presence. You must be new around here then,” Without waiting for any response Caelius continued to give his grand speech,

“Blessed by the heavens, graced by the gods, adored by all, I am salvation and power! I am the Great and Mighty Caelius and you are?” Looking at Mel’s expression, Caelius couldn’t help but think as if Mel was judging him badly, so instead he hid his true intentions and continued to speak to Mel. Talking to Mel was deemed exhausting so he decided to disappear from the scene as soon as possible. Caelius decided to study Mel from afar in order to gain more information about their routine, behavior, and personality.

After stalking Mel for a while, he came to believe that Mel might not be what they seem to be. He became very suspicious of them and thought of many possible things Mel could be. That was when he remembered about Grandiose Hills.

Grandiose Hills was a small village inhabited by the species called bunry. The bunries were a half human half rabbit hybrid who were mostly passive and kind nature, but if angered or agitated, they became rabious beasts. Don’t let their kind nature deceive you for the bunries are also very observant and cautious. When Caelius tried to rule over the bunry species, he ended up having to kill every single one of them because they wouldn’t conform to his ideas. He believed that there were no bunries left alive so he believed that Mel might be just that. A bunry that changed their appearance to look like a mermaid in order to get close to him and take revenge for their kind.

That was when it struck him. If he could get Mel to reveal their true identity to him, he would make a decision on what to do with them afterwards. If Mel was in fact a bunry, he would kill them off instantly and if Mel truly is a mermaid, he would spare them, simple as that.

Back to the present time, Caelius had noticed how nervous Mel had become. It could be because he is standing right before them or because there is a great chasm waiting at the other side of the gate.

“Um-I...I want to make a request,” Mel spoke, suddenly regaining their composure.

“I don’t have time for such trivial things. Just tell me the truth,” Caelius demanded, already feeling fed up by Mel.

Ignoring Caelius, Mel continued, “I want to be your underling.”

“What?”

The Land of the Mermaids: Caelius’s New Underling

The birds chirped with glee as many went on with their day. Well, all but one.

“Milly! Bring me my rejuvenating juice!” Caelius ordered from a distance as Mel finished cleaning the dishes.

“Y’know, when I said I wanted to be your underling, I didn’t mean I wanted to be your maid!” A Mel in a maid outfit exclaimed as their cheeks reddened in anger.

“Well, you aren’t my official underling. If you want to be my right hand man or experience my amazing work, you have to climb up the ranks. Now, stop glaring at me,” Caelius responded nonchalantly as he drank his juice.

“Also, why change my name to Milly?” Mel questioned.

“That’s because it suits you better. Also, you look good in feminine clothing. I think you look appealing,” giving his empty cup to Mel, Caelius ushered them outside in order for him to undergo his fourth outfit change of the day.

Mel, a mermaid who used to be human in their previous life, now is bound to the worst person they’ve ever met. A narcissistic, god complex, infuriating Caelius.

I can’t believe I asked to be his underling. Regretting their decision, Mel thought back to the conversation that brought them to this scenario.

“What?”

“You heard me. I want to be your underling. What am I doing?”

“Alright,” Caelius responded as he started to walk away with an unreadable expression plastered in his face.

“I will beg to be your underling if you don’t let me-wait, you said yes?”

“Stop squabbling and follow me, underling,” taunting the word underling, Caelius believed that having Mel at a close proximity would give him an advantage of sorts.

Still feeling confused and surprised, Mel followed Caelius to the beach.

“Step back and enjoy this amazing display of my power!” Caelius boasted as he made a golden rose patterned pen appear on his dominant hand. Drawing on nothing but air, Caelius created an elegant glass boat.

“Is it sturdy?”

“Of Course it is! I made it!” feeling offended by Mel once more, Caelius scoffed as he boarded the glass boat.

Once on the shimmering glass boat Caelius spoke, “I wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a fragile but elegant boat. I value my precious face and life I suppose.”

Feeling wary Mel followed him aboard the boat, “Alright...if you say so.”

With those final words, both Mel and Caelius headed over the horizon and into Caelius’s grand manor.

Back to the present time, Caelius finally got out of his room wearing a white collar shirt with two unbuttoned buttons at the top revealing part of his chest. Accompanying the shirt was a black corset for men with gold accents. He also wore black elegant pants with shining black shoes with Chinese dragon pattern decorated on them in gold. He looked decent in Mel’s eyes, but that still wouldn’t make them dislike Caelius less. Grabbing a golden jacket with a Chinese black dragon decorated on the back, Caelius felt prepared to meet his guests.

“Since you are my maid, you will be in charge of bringing in food to me and my guests. Please make sure to look your best and also, don’t screw this up. I’m telling you this for your own sake, au revoir!” Walking away, Mel headed over to the kitchen and was instantly met with the smell of elegance. Vast amounts of highly decorated plates adorned the place. It simply looked like food heaven. There were so many different types of dishes Mel felt overwhelmed. One of the maids approached Mel and gave them a cheesy pasta dish. Heading over to where Caelius and his guests were situated, Mel couldn’t help but taste the dish. Slurping a single cheesy noodle, Mel opened the grand doors and headed inside to serve the dish.

“I hope you are enjoying your stay Mr. Shibsu '' Caelius spoke as Mel served the cheesy pasta dish.

“Hoh~I am certainly having a great time Mr. Almighty. I was just wondering when I would be able to see these mermaid folk you were telling me about” Mr. Shibsu asked curiously as Caelius looked over at Mel who was just about to exit the place.

“Well, wait no more my good sir. Milly! Come here please” Caelius ordered, Mel only wanted to eat more pasta but their wishes wouldn’t be complied so they headed over to where Caelius was seated at; the head of the table.

“You see, Milly is a mermaid. Have a good look at…them, and tell me what you think” Showing off Mel to Mr. Shibsu, Caelius hoped to get his proposal approved so that he could continue with his plans without any bumps in the road.

“A fine specimen I’d say. So Mr. Almighty, how much would it cost me to buy your mermaid?” Shocked wasn’t the perfect word to describe Mel at the moment but it is an adequate word to describe their expression plastered on their face nonetheless.

“Sell me?!” Mel screamed in an outburst, “I’m sorry, but I am not for sale. So don’t even think about it.”

“Calm down. You aren’t going to be the one for sale,” Caelius reassured Mel as his face darkened, “the other mermaids are.” Silence ruled over the room until a sudden noise decided to break the tension. SLAP! No one spoke. No one dared to look at each other. Mel just stood there with eyes filled with resentment and anger, they slowly looked up to see Caelius’s face only to be met with a smirk.

“It’s not good manners to slap the man who saved you from living a miserable life” An unreadable expression rested on his face as he spoke out loud.

“Mr. Almighty! This is unacceptable! How can you let one of your maids disrespect you like this!” Mr. Shibsu raged in an outburst, red as a tomato.

“Sorry to butt in, but I have to agree with Mr. Shibsu on this,” an unknown voice spoke as they made their way towards Mel. In an instant, Mel felt a strong force collide with their cheek, leaving a stinging sensation behind. As they looked up they could only see what could be described as nightmarish.

“You should know your place, you lowlife piece of scum,” the one who slapped Mel spoke in a deep voice as their intense glare ruled over Mel’s shaking body.

Before Mel could retaliate, Caelius butted in, “Please refrain yourself from harming my staff. I appreciate your concern but this is my problem. I should have educated them better. Don’t worry, I'll make sure they learn their lesson this time,” turning to face Mr. Shibsu, Caelius apologized to him as well for this sudden outburst and then continued, “How about we calm down and continue to get back on track on some dessert. How does that sound Mr. Shibsu?”

“Well, that sounds delightful Mr. Almighty!,” Mr. Shibsu agreed without hesitation.

“Do you agree as well Mrs. Caldier?” Caelius turned to face Mrs. Caldier as if she had no choice but to accept.

“Sigh, I suppose a small dessert never harmed anyone but, I would like to request a different server,” Mrs. Caldier demanded as she sent death threats towards Mel through her sharp gaze.

“Anything for the lady,” with that, Mel scoffed and exited the room.

After being a good distance away from that place, Mel’s legs gave up as they collapsed to the ground, still shaking in fear. Mrs. Caldier’s nightmarish expression still fresh in their mind. Mel tried to calm themselves down, but every effort made their panicked state even worse. Seeing their whole world twist and turn, Mel fainted on the spot.

A few moments later, Mel shot up from their dormant state, gasping for air. Looking at their surroundings, they saw that they were no longer at the ground. Instead, Mel found themselves in a very soft bed. Confused, they got off of the bed and headed over to the maid area in order to see what tasks they would be assigned to do.

“Do you think so?” someone whispered.

“No, but what if…” someone else responded.

“What are they whispering about?” Mel thought to themselves in a hushed tone as they peeked around the corner, only to be met with an interesting sight.

“What are you doing?”

The Land of the Mermaids: Gillia’s Special Rescue Squad

“What are you doing?”

“Meow?” Mel tried to ‘hide’ themselves from whoever snuck up on them, but as they tried to run away, the mystery person appeared right in front of them. Mel froze as they stared into their demise. There they stood, staring right at a slightly shorter figure with their arms crossed, staring Mel down as their violet eyes gleamed with curiosity behind the green fish mask. Without a second to waste, the masked person pulled Mel into a nearby closet.

“I thought you were dead or in a dungeon! But you are alive, Alive! I’m so glad I was so worried or more like-”

“Wait…I recognize that voice. Gillia, is that you?” Mel questioned as they were close to unmasking them.

The masked person slapped Mel’s hand away and whispered into their ear, “Don’t do that! I want my identity to be a secret until we reach safer seas. For now,” As they reached out to their bag, the figure pulled out the same mask but in a sandy yellow color, “wear this while I guide you to your freedom alright.”

“O-oh ok. I guess we match now but-”

“By the way, I’m not who you say I am.”

“Umm then are you-” without letting Mel finish their sentence the green masked figure led Mel to an open window which was just 4 rooms away from Caelius’s room. The masked individual then picked up Mel and set them inside a giant basket tied to a rope.

“Are you going to send me down in a giant basket?”

“That’s the idea and hopefully you survive.”

“Why would I need to worry if I will survive or no-OOOt!” Mel screamed as they fell from the third floor of a 10 story tall mansion. Slowly opening their eyes, they check every limb in their body and sigh a breath of relief as they are still intact.

“It wasn’t that bad.” The green masked figure commented nonchalantly.

“I almost died.” Mel stated angrily.

“But you didn’t. Anyways, we have no time to waste as the hourglass does not stop.” The masked figure ordered as 3 more figures emerged from the corally bushes. One of those figures took off their purple fish mask and sprinted towards Mel giving them a warm embrace as they both fell to the ground.

“I’m so glad you didn't turn into sushi!”

“Gillia?!”

“Yeah? Is something wrong?” Gillia asked as she helped Mel get up.

“Wha- but you and then- when? dshkjfjrn… how?” Mel tried to form a coherent sentence as they stared back and forth between Gillia and the green fish masked figure. Gillia noticed Mel’s flustered state as they tried to comprehend everything that has happened.

“Well, I decided to create a rescue squad in order to save you from that human,” Gillia began explaining as she looked nervously towards the green masked figure, “you see-”

“I’ll tell them when we get back to the x on the map. For now we need to focus on getting off this horrendous island.”

“Wait, before any of you do anything else, I have something important you need to know,” Mel spoke up as everyone stopped in their tracks and looked towards Mel, giving them the spotlight, taking a deep breath Mel continued, “IaskedtobeCaelius’sunderlingandheacceptedandinsteadofmakingmehisunderlinghemademehismaidandthenyouguyscameoutofnowhereandDROPPEDmefromaveryhigh-notsoveryhighdistance.”

“Did anyone else understand what they just said?” Gillia asked as she looked around confused.

“I did and to summarize, they came here on their own accord.” The blue fish mask figure explained in a monotone voice making everyone breathe in a sigh of relief as they now understood what Mel said.

“Ohhh that makes sense and wait- YOU VOLUNTEERED TO BE HIS UNDERLING!” The green masked figure yelled out loud in a fit of frustration as they grabbed Mel’s shoulders, shaking them back and forth.

“Hey, cut it out, you might get the ink out of them if you continue any longer.” Gillia attempted to calm down the green mask figure as she shot Mel a look of disappointment.

“Well explain, now” Gillia demanded as she sat down waiting for Mel’s explanation.

“I uh- I was cornered and didn’t think of anything else at that time so I offered to be his underling. Besides, he was already suspicious of me so being by his side can clear my name of suspicion and also maybe I can get some info. on him” A brief moment of silence flew by as everyone was deep in their thoughts.

“I haven’t known you for that long, but what type of fish trap did he set for you?” The red fish masked figure asked.

“Fish trap?” Mel questioned.

“They mean, how did Caelius threaten you?” The blue fish masked figure explained.

“Oh, he took me to his ‘favorite’ place.” Mel responded.

“You don’t mean-” The red fish masked figure realized as they were interrupted by the green masked figure, “Wonder Gate”

“Yeah! That’s the place” Mel confirmed as the mood suddenly turned sour.

“You are one lucky bastard” The green masked figure commented as they stood up from their sitting position, packing up the rest of their belongings and headed towards the coastline, where a boat with more fish masked figures awaited.

“I’ll stay behind, you can all leave.” Gillia offered as she and the green fish mask figure exchanged knowingly glances.

“I won’t wait for you” The green masked figure waved goodbye as they stepped inside the boat. After they left, Gillia turned to look at Mel, ready to have a full on conversation of the type of situation Mel just put themselves in.

“Mel I-”

“Who was that? And are you guys related or something?” Mel interrupted Gillia as they themselves had many questions swirling their head.

“The one who rescued you was m-I mean my sister and her name is…Scalia. I know you have many questions but this is the only thing I can tell you right now and that is that you should be careful around Caelius. He isn’t as lenient or stupid as you may think he is. He is actually someone who-”

“MILLY! WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED MY RELAXING 7:35 P.M MASSAGE!” Caelius announced outloud using a megaphone as he passed the open window in which Gillia’s rescue squad used to ‘save’ Mel.

“I need to go now. I’ll make sure to be extra cautious and also,” giving Gillia a goodbye hug Mel continued, “You should probably put back on your fish mask and here, take it back. He didn't know I stepped foot outside the mansion and I sure hope he never does.” Running away to the nearest entrance, Mel hoped that Caelius wouldn’t catch them trying to sneak back in. Gillia just stood there before whispering to themselves, “what a crabby situation they are stuck in.”

to be continued...