The next day, your princess was in a pretty good mood.So, naturally, I went back up to the surface for some drift-floating — you know, that lazy little activity where you just lie there, eyes closed, listening to the waves, maybe sneaking in a nap.
I was riding the swells, tail lazily swishing in the water, living my best life —When BAM — my tail slammed into one of those jagged, badly-behaved, long-overdue-for-a-trim coral rocks.
Riiiiiip—A whole patch of my scales peeled right off, and a gash tore open in my tail!
Saltwater rushed in immediately. That sting? Enough to make me forget which way was up.My tail was basically useless — every flick felt like someone scraping it with a knife. And those delicate, beautiful tail-fins at the very end?Shaved clean off, drifting away in the current like fallen feathers.
I had no choice but to paddle with my hands, dragging myself to a bit of shoreline to rest.
I rummaged around, grabbed some seaweed, slapped it on the wound, then sprawled out in the sun to dry the blood a little.
Now my tail was sticky, aching, and covered in red. All I could do was rely on us mermaids' natural healing — which, thankfully, works fast.By tonight, it should scab over and hurt less. Then I'll swing by Aunt Ursula's for some beauty potions — no scars, shinier scales, and maybe a little regrowth for those missing tail-fins.
Finally, I'll hit up my Sea King father for a few miracle pills — and in three days, I'll be back at full power.
And when that happens?Ha.First thing I'm doing is blowing up the coral reef that dared to scratch me.
The sun was warm, the breeze was gentle, and I had just slipped into the first layer of my nap dream.Seaweed poultice still pressed against my tail, I lay sprawled on the shore, eyes closed, soaking in the golden heat.Warm, comfortable… I drifted right off.
Then, right in the middle of my bliss, came the most mood-killing voice:"Hi! We meet again!"
I snapped my eyes open—Oh, great. It was him.The same little prince from yesterday—the one who fell into the ocean and nearly got stripped bare like a walking jewelry display.
As the most socially-awkward princess in the Pacific, my first instinct was to dive, vanish, and let the waves eat me.But before I could escape, he stepped in front of me and blurted, flustered,"I didn't mean to scare you!"
And then—he pulled out a whole spread."Look, I brought these for you... I just had a feeling I'd see you today."
Before I could react, he laid it all out: plates of fruit, pastries, cream cakes, grilled meats...And a selection of jewel-encrusted trinkets so shiny, my pupils practically dilated on impact.
My eyes lit up immediately.
—Well damn, this kind of treatment would move not just a mermaid, but even a shark to tears.But the longer I looked, the more something felt… off.
A "feeling"? A "sixth sense"?Yeah, right.
Because when I floated over here earlier, I'd spotted all these weird little devices bobbing on the surface—blinking lights, beeping noises.I actually thought humans were launching some kind of fishing war, and I was this close to flipping my tail, summoning a tsunami, and wiping out the entire bay.Turns out?Not military gear at all—just the prince's little GPS trackers… on me.
—He actually stalked me out to sea and then tried to play it off as "fate"?
And the worst part? He clearly had no idea how mermaids live.Finding a sunny, rock-filled spot to sun our fins and nap is literally our baseline hobby.Forget "sixth sense"—you park yourself here long enough, you'll meet a dozen mermaids before lunch.
I rolled my eyes, flicked my tail, and thought:—Are you a fanboy… or planning to subscribe?
The prince beamed like sunshine. "Yesterday… thank you for saving me."I rolled my eyes harder. "Yesterday I almost drowned you, so maybe hold the thanks."
Prince: "I really wanted to see you. I came out early today with all this… hoping you'd like it."And then came the barrage of idiot questions:"But why are you here again? Sunbathing? How'd you fall asleep? Is swimming that tiring? Want to rest at my palace? We've got big beds!Or… did you come here just to see me?"
I glanced down at the still-bleeding gash on my tail, then back up at this man who looked at me like I was some lovesick heroine. My smile turned sweet—fake sweet."Yeah, yeah, you're right. You nailed it."
I slowed my words, making sure my face screamed are you stupid?:"Oh yes, I just love falling asleep in the blazing sun—because apparently we don't have palaces underwater.
I adore slicing my tail open down to the bone, bleeding everywhere, just for the chance to see you.I have a crystal palace I refuse to rest in, but no—let me lie here in the human world until my scales curl, my skin burns, and I'm half-dead—just to look at you."
Another eye-roll for good measure."Yeah, yeah, you're right. Sure. Men. Human men—how are you all this full of yourselves?"
Clearly, the little Jewelry Prince was still a bit dazed from my earlier round of soul-piercing questions—but whatever. He'd brought me so many goodies, and your princess isn't the type to say no to free food.
Me (eyeing the spread): "The fruit's nice, the pastries are decent, but this roast beef with gold leaf is a bit much… And these jewels—aren't you afraid they'll fall into the sea?"Prince (smiling): "I'm not afraid. I want to give them to you."Me (narrowing my eyes): "Give them to me? Humans usually attach conditions to gifts. Go ahead—what do you want?"Prince: "I… just want to see you more often."
Me (thinking): More often? First you staged an 'accidental meeting,' now you've got tracking devices… What's next, applying for a 'Permanent Sea Zone Visitor Pass'?
Me (smirking): "Seeing me's fine, but my time is valuable. If you're inviting me for pastries, it better come with jewels."Prince (serious): "Alright."Me (almost choking): "...You agreed that fast? Now I'm suspicious."
Prince: "Then… can you tell me your name?"Me (biting into roast, smiling mysteriously): "Name? I told you yesterday. I'm—'The Heroine.' The one with the fish tail."Prince (quiet chuckle): "Then can I… keep looking for the Heroine?"Me (thinking): Sure… but you'd better bring more jewels.
Then his eyes dropped to my still-bleeding tail, and his brows furrowed."Oh no, how did this happen? Did you cut yourself on something?"
I rolled my eyes, kept chewing, and casually slid a few of his smaller jewels onto myself. I can't stand those who only talk and never act—stuffing concern in pretty words but offering no actual help.
Except this guy… suddenly pulls a bottle of alcohol from his pocket."That looks like coral damage. I see people at the shore get scraped like this all the time. You have to disinfect first—you can't just slap on seaweed. Do you even know how to use it? Here, let me."
Before I could protest—SPLASH—he dumped the alcohol right on my tail.Holy seafoam, I nearly ascended to another plane. I screamed so loud the dolphins fled.
Thankfully, he followed it up by pulling out a small bottle of cool, minty-smelling oil."This is what we use at the palace for scrapes—works on whales, pets, anyone. Disinfects and helps it heal. One bottle does it all."
His hands were surprisingly gentle, the chill instantly soothing most of the pain. Then he bent down and blew softly over the wound, and the warmth of his breath seemed to melt away even more of the sting.
He carefully brushed away the sand and dried blood from my tail, then pulled out a roll of something like tape. Wrapping the wound snugly, he said, "This is a special human-made plastic bandage—it'll keep out bacteria and seawater, so it won't hurt anymore. I'll even tie it into a bow, okay?"
I stared at him, this earnest, slightly clumsy man, and for a moment… I was actually touched.In the sunlight, his amber eyes glinted gold, his muscles were perfectly toned without being brutish, and his hands—strong but gentle—moved with care.
Of course, he had no idea about merfolk biology. The bandage, aside from looking pretty, was basically useless. By evening, once the pain dulled, I'd be back in the ocean—and seawater would actually heal me faster.Kind of like how human wounds can't be submerged in water for too long, our wounds can't be left exposed to air for too long. Same principle, different species.