"There," she said warmly, "my little wave looks just like a prince again."
Kelpie blushed a little but said nothing, quietly enjoying the attention.
Next, they guided him to the family dining hall, an open circular room where the ceiling was a giant dome of clear water, allowing them to see the fish swimming above as they ate.
Their food was simple but luxurious.
Fresh water fruits that grew under the sea, soft bread made from special underwater grains, and sweet corals that tasted like honey were placed neatly on silver trays. There were also dishes of crystal-clear soups that shining faintly with magic, known to heal tiredness.
Kelpie sat quietly between his parents, nibbling on a piece of sweet sea-fruit.
Lady Maris watched him lovingly.
Lord Corvus finally broke the calm silence.
"Did you enjoy your day, son?" he asked, his deep voice steady but soft.
Kelpie wiped his small mouth with a silk napkin, then nodded.
"Yes, Father," he said shyly. "New teacher Alina is nice. I like her. She doesn't force tree drawings..."
Lady Maris covered her smile delicately with her hand.
Lord Corvus nodded slowly, approval hidden behind his calm face.
Kelpie's small legs swung quietly under the table, his heart full of peace.
Because no matter how big the world outside was…Here, under the sea, he was safe.
With his mother.
With his father.
In a home that would always hold him like the tide holds the shore.
After dinner, Kelpie felt his eyes growing heavier. The warm food in his belly, the gentle ocean songs humming through the palace, and the soft current brushing against his cheeks all made his body start to relax.
Lady Maris noticed right away.
She floated down beside him, brushing his blue bangs softly from his forehead. "Let's get you to bed, little wave," she whispered gently, her voice calm and soft like the ocean itself.
Kelpie nodded slowly, too sleepy to speak. He reached out his hand, and Lady Maris scooped him into her arms with such grace that not a single ripple stirred the surface of the room.
She carried him back to his bedroom.
The clam-shell bed had already been fluffed with his softest seaweed blankets, and a pair of tiny glowing fish swam in circles above his pillow, keeping watch like sleepy guards.
Lady Maris gently tucked him into bed, smoothing the covers over his small frame. Then, from a small silver shell box on the table, she took out a tiny glowing shell.
It was smooth and warm to the touch, glowing faintly like the moon under water.
"Here," she whispered, placing it in his palm. "Your dream shell. It will keep away the deep-sea nightmares and bring you good dreams."
Kelpie blinked sleepily up at her, his fingers closing around the shell as if it were treasure.
"Thank you, Mama," he murmured in his soft voice.
She kissed his forehead gently.
Lord Corvus stepped in silently, placing one strong hand over Kelpie's blanket in a protective gesture.
Kelpie smiled faintly, already half-asleep.
His tiny fingers curled around the glowing shell as his eyes fluttered shut. The bubble lights dimmed slightly, casting a soft warmth through the room.
Outside the clear walls, jellyfish floated slowly past like glowing stars in the sea. The whole world had gone quiet.
***
Far from the firelit mountains and royal halls, in a realm where the sun never truly rose and the wind whispered through the air like breathless memories, sat the Ghost Domain.
It was a world of silence and mist, where the colors were faded and the shadows moved slowly. Floating towers made of bone-white stone and pale blue crystal hung gently over the gray landscape. The ground below looked like frozen clouds soft and cold and the sky above always shining with a pale silver glow.
Inside one of these towers, in a round room that hovered quietly over the ghostly fields, Boo lay on a bed made of mist and memory.
He wasn't sleeping…ghosts didn't sleep like other races.
He was simply resting, his eyes closed, his small hands folded over his chest, floating just above the soft, cold bedding.
The room was empty. Quiet.
It was always like this.
Boo had no parents. He was raised by the Ghost Council, a group of ancient ghost elders who ruled what remained of their fading population.
There weren't many ghost babies anymore.
In fact, there were barely a handful across the entire realm. And Boo he was the youngest.
Because of this, he was never treated badly. He was considered precious, a symbol of hope for a race slowly disappearing. The Council gave him food, shelter, a place to exist.
But that was all.
No bedtime stories.
No soft kisses on the forehead.
No warm arms to fall asleep in like the ones his friends talk about.
Only duty.
Only quiet.
He didn't mind it too much.
Not anymore.
He was used to it.
But sometimes, lying there in his cold little room while the tower floated quietly in the sky… Boo felt it.
Loneliness.
Not the scary kind. Not the dramatic kind.
Just the soft, empty kind. Like waiting for someone to call your name but they never do.
He opened his eyes slowly, looking at the pale glow of the ceiling.
A soft breeze moved through the room, carrying with it the faint echo of voices from the council hall below..distant, polite, nothing warm.
Boo smiled to himself anyway.
Because tomorrow he would go back to school.
Back to the only place where he felt like he belonged.
Back to the noisy classroom where Kelpie whispered to his fountain, where Drake tackled bushes, and where Luna growled at him.
Back to the teacher who didn't look scared when he floated upside down.
Back to the only place that ever felt a little bit like home.