Currently, Marella is in a building made of sea rock, resembling Siren Castle but smaller in size. She observes a male siren healing a dolphin. Marella's eyes widen and her mouth opens wide when she sees green light coming out of the man's palm as he brings his hand closer to the dolphin. Marella had never seen such power before, like a scene from a movie or drama that was now happening right in front of her, and she found it very impressive.
When he was done, the man withdrew his hand, causing the green light to disappear. At the same time, the dolphin began to open its eyes and move its body. "Wow, you're amazing! You're a healer, right?" asked Marella, to which the man nodded.
"This dolphin comes from waters that are not too deep. Somehow, it was able to dive down to the siren's realm, which is the deep sea," explained the siren.
His explanation helped Marella understand the situation, although not completely.
"So this dolphin drowned and couldn't breathe?" asked Marella. That simple question made the male siren chuckle. To him, Marella's question was quite funny, unlike Lotus, who slapped his face with his tail while putting on a shy expression, as if he felt the question was embarrassing.
"You're stupid," Lotus sneered, prompting Marella to throw a small rock at her. Luckily, Lotus managed to dodge it nimbly.
The dolphin looked frightened and tried to get away from the male siren. However, Marella held him back by grabbing his tail tightly. "Hey, don't be afraid," said Marella as she reached out to stroke the dolphin's head. "I'm not evil. We're both fish, after all," she continued. The dolphin sensed something different about Marella. Usually, the touch of a mermaid felt cold and empty to creatures from the Mermaid Kingdom. However, this time it felt very different.
"Are you a mermaid?" asked the dolphin suddenly, startling Marella.
"Can you talk?" asked Marella with a surprised look on her face.
Lotus shook her head. "She's a siren," Lotus protested to the dolphin. Indeed, at first glance, Marella was not a siren. Where would you find a siren with blonde hair and bright sea-blue eyes? Who knows what Eldoris had done to make these creatures believe that Marella was a siren.
The dolphin nodded in understanding. It turned to Marella. "Thank you for saving me," said the dolphin politely.
Marella gently stroked the dolphin's head. "You're adorable, what's your name?" asked Marella.
"Òcelís," replied the dolphin.
Marella thought for a moment. Ócelís was too adorable for that name. "I'll call you Píppy," Marella exclaimed, hugging Píppy's head affectionately. Lotus just gave a sour look, while the male siren chuckled at Marella's nickname.
Marella released her embrace from Píppy. "Píppy, are you feeling better?" Marella asked, to which Píppy responded with an enthusiastic nod. Marella turned to Lotus. "Can we go for a walk with Píppy?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
Lotus shook his head. "No—hey, you guys aren't going anywhere," Lotus stopped them, biting Píppy's tail as she was about to swim away with Marella riding on her back. "Okay, okay, you can go, but I have to come too," Lotus decided. It was better to agree than to get in trouble because of this annoying siren's actions.
The male siren approached. "Miss Marella," he called, making Marella turn her head and remember the siren doctor.
"Wow, you know my name too," exclaimed Marella. "Don't call me miss, just my name," corrected Marella, making the male siren nod in understanding.
"Prince Eldoris has arrived at the castle. Don't you want to go home?" asked the male siren. Marella shook her head; she wanted to go for a walk and didn't want to stay in the castle all day because she might get bored.
"He's right, my job is done after I take you to the castle when Prince Eldoris returns, so let's go home," said Lotus firmly.
Marella pursed her lips in annoyance, then turned to the male siren. "Oh, right, I don't know your name yet," said Marella, gesturing for him to tell her his name.
"MalvǏs," replied the male siren.
Marella waved her hand. "See you later, Malvis," Marella called out as Pipy slowly moved away, making Lotus even more annoyed.
"Hey! Where are you going? I said go back to the castle!" Lotus shouted with a sour and annoyed expression, chasing after Pipy who was carrying Marella.
Marella cheered with joy when she saw the surface of the sea. She breathed in the fresh air she had longed for. She looked up around her and realized it was already late afternoon. The sun shining in the sky was almost halfway down. It seemed that they were on the Black Sea coast. Marella saw several rubber boats in the distance moving back and forth as if looking for something. "Pippy, do you know what they're doing?" asked Marella, pointing at the boats and motorboats.
Pippy shook her head. "Maybe they're looking for someone who drowned," guessed Pippy, who was also confused but happy to see new things from the human world.
"Are they looking for me?" Marella wondered silently, staring at the rubber boats that continued to move back and forth.
Lotus, who had just arrived, immediately snapped, "You're not listening to me!" Lotus exclaimed angrily, glaring at both of them.
Pippy turned her head with an innocent look on her face. "Your voice is so low, I couldn't hear it. Right, Miss Marella?" said Pippy, to which Marella responded with a firm nod. This made Lotus's face even more sour.
"The tone of your voice sounds like you did it on purpose!" Lotus accused. Without realizing it, one of the rescue boats was moving towards them. Because of Lotus and Pippy's argument, the two creatures were completely unaware of it. Marella, who noticed it quickly, pushed Lotus and Pippy down with her tail and hands so they wouldn't be hit by the boat. However, she forgot that she herself could not swim underwater. Marella closed her eyes, almost screaming when the boat was only a few inches away from hitting her body. But something quickly pulled her tail down before she was hit. The boat might not have killed her, but she would definitely have been caught by humans if she had been hit. Marella looked up and saw the figure who was now holding her waist tightly.
"Doris!" Marella exclaimed happily, a sweet smile on her face. Eldoris looked at Marella with an unusual expression. Her eyes showed concern and fear, but she tried to hide it with a frozen expression that was sharply directed at Marella.
"I warned you, don't bring her to the surface if I'm not there," Eldoris snapped at Lotus, who only bowed his head fearfully.
Marella narrowed her eyes. "This isn't Lotus's fault. If you scold him, I'll go back to the surface," Marella threatened, causing Eldoris to sigh heavily.
"All right, let's go back now, then," Eldoris said as he led Marella away. However, Marella hit Eldoris on the shoulder, asking him to stop.
"Wait a minute," Marella said, turning back. "I want Pippy to come too," Marella requested, pointing to the pink dolphin behind them.
Eldoris only then noticed the animal that shared Marella's habitate nearby. "All right. But only because I know you're a mermaid," Eldoris said in a whisper at the end of her sentence.
Marella cheered happily. "Pippy, come here," Marella ordered, causing the dolphin to make its characteristic sound with a happy smile. Pippy immediately swam to Marella's side, while Lotus stayed next to Eldoris. "All right, I want to go back now.
When they returned, Marella sat silently in Eldoris's room, accompanied by Pippy who was beside her. "Pippy, don't you want to go back home?" asked Marella, to which Pippy shook her head.
"I forgot the way to go home," said Pippy, making Marella feel concerned.
"Being in the siren's territory must be uncomfortable, right?" Marella asked, to which Pippy nodded in agreement.
"But I'm happy. Marella isn't scary like the sirens," Pippy said, making Marella chuckle as she gently stroked Pippy's head.
Marella stared at the Eldoris family painting on the stone table beside the bed. "Hey Pippy, how can a painting survive in water? I mean, how did they make it? Did they use magic?" asked Marella.
Pippy looked at the painting, which seemed unrealistic from where she was standing. "It's because of the materials they used. They painted on land, going to caves without water or uninhabited islands to paint and dry the paintings. I can't explain the details. You can ask Prince Siren or come with me to the Mermaid Kingdom," said Pippy.
The door suddenly opened, revealing Lotus with his usual arrogant face. He approached Pippy and suddenly pulled Pippy's tail by biting it, making Pippy flinch. "Get out," Lotus said unkindly.
Feeling offended, Pippy flicked her tail, sending Lotus flying to the side. Lotus shook his head, feeling a little dizzy. "Prince Eldoris is coming, it's time for you to leave," Lotus said firmly, but Pippy just gave her an indifferent look. Annoyed, Lotus stung Pippy's head with the tip of his electrified tail, making Pippy's body jerk with a spontaneous funny expression.
Pippy turned toward Marella with teary eyes, a red sting mark on her head. Marella moved her hand, signaling her to come closer. Pippy swam quickly toward Marella, offering her head, which Marella then gently stroked. "Lotus, don't be rude," Marella scolded, making Pippy smile triumphantly while mocking Lotus, who looked sullen. Without realizing it, Marella's gentle touch slowly made the sting marks on Pippy's head fade.
"This is an order from Prince Eldoris," Lotus said firmly, swimming closer to them.
"Tell him I don't want to," Marella replied curtly as she hugged Pippy's head.
The door suddenly opened, revealing Eldoris with a cold and frozen face. He moved his hand forward, creating a strong current of water on Marella's side. The current made Marella release her embrace on Pippy, while Pippy and Lotus were dragged out of Eldoris' room. Eldoris smirked slightly and then closed the door tightly so that the two creatures couldn't enter at will.
Marella stared at Eldoris with furrowed brows. "You're cruel! You shouldn't have kicked Pippy and Lotus out like that," Marella said curtly, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at Eldoris.
Eldoris didn't care and tried to approach Marella, but she was immediately pushed away by Marella. "Apologize to them first! I don't want to be near you. Stay away from me!" Marella snapped, her face showing an aura of hostility.
Eldoris sighed deeply, staring at Marella's expression, unaware that the corners of her lips were twitching slightly. "All right," Eldoris said, then quickly threw herself onto Marella's body so that they both fell onto the bed together. "But tomorrow, I want to spend time with you first," Eldoris added, hugging Marella's body to the side until they were now facing each other with their bodies side by side.
Eldoris's strong hands held Marella's body tightly, making it difficult for the girl to break free. "Hey, what the hell, I still want to go out," protested Marella when she realized that Eldoris was about to close his eyes to sleep. If Eldoris didn't let her go, she wouldn't be able to go out.
Eldoris furrowed his brow. "You don't want to sleep?" Eldoris asked. "It's already nighttime. I know mermaids are creatures that like to sleep at night," Eldoris added, pulling Marella's body closer until their bodies were pressed together. She tightened her embrace around Marella's body. "But—" Marella's mouth was silenced by Eldoris's pointed nose, which she suddenly pressed against Marella's lips. "Go to sleep. I'll let go of this embrace tomorrow," Eldoris declared, closing her eyes and bringing her face closer to Marella's.
Marella sighed softly. She might as well comply rather than risk not being able to go out tomorrow. Slowly, Marella closed her eyes to drift off into the realm of dreams.
...Eyes Of The Sea...
...Happy Reading...