The Jellyfish Messenger

Interlude: Erenna Sirena

Interlude: Erenna Sirena

We rested deep in the undersea valley, hidden away among the caves and gaps hollowed out in the rock walls. Chrystal and I were curled up in a small cave, our bodies squished together. Kale was perched on a large jutting rock above us, snoring loudly. For now, we were resting, nursing our stings. I wasn't feeling much pain anymore, since my body could quickly rid itself of poisons. But all three of us were weakened and battered from our encounter with the giant siphonophore, so for the time being, it was best for all of us to hide until we had recovered.

I lightly poked Chrystal. "Are you still awake?"

"Ughhh...what is it?" she mumbled. "I'm tired..."

The two of us rolled over on our sides to face each other, gazing into each other's eyes. "Have you thought about...what we're going to do after we deliver the message to Prince Stellaris?" I asked. "When I look at you, I can tell...you really don't want to go back to Princess Tamayori, do you?"

The jellyfish girl stared at me, unsmiling. "Mmm...you're more perceptive than you look, Kurage. To be truthful...I had no intentions of coming back after the message was delivered. I don't think I can serve Princess Tamayori any longer. I know this might be harsh for you to hear, but I really don't believe she cares about either of us, or any of her other messengers."

I nodded. "I know that. I wanted so badly to not believe it, but after everything I've been through, I can't keep denying reality. As grateful as I am to Her Majesty for saving my life when I was small...I believe I am expendable to her. The same goes for you and the rest of the messengers. We venture out into the great unknown to deliver our messages, out of merely our honor and service to our princess, but many of us never come back, and if we do, we're never the same again. When you escape from your own little bubble and realize just how massive and unfathomable the oceans are, and this world as a whole...you can't go back to being the person you once were. When we first met, I wondered why you were so mean, but now I understand. It wasn't that you were mean. It was that I was innocent and naive. I try so hard to not cause conflict, I don't want anyone to get hurt or be killed...but it's impossible. Not everyone can be saved.

I want to see the good in everyone, but so many things have happened. I can't put words to how I feel. The world is so beautiful, yet so terrifying at the same time."

"That's very much true," Chrystal said. "I don't want to go back to Princess Tamayori, only to be sent out to die again the very next day. I can't live a life like that, in service of someone else. I wasn't born to serve anyone. I was born to be free. And so were you, Kurage."

I pressed my body into Chrystal's a little tighter. "You're right. When I think about it now, I don't believe Princess Tamayori rescued me out of the kindness of her heart alone. She never showed me motherly affection, or treated me like her own child. I was raised to become her loyal servant. The knowledge that she saved me constantly hung in my mind, and it bound me to her forever. That was how she would ensure my loyalty to her. But I've grown up. I'm not tiny and helpless like I was back then. I can survive for myself. Now that I have you and Kale, people who truly value me for who I am, not what I can do for them, I don't need to be bound to Her Majesty anymore. I'm a jellyfish folk, it's in my instincts to float free in the sea, not tied down or held back by anyone or anything. I want to be independent. The only reason why I want to deliver this message is as a final act of gratitude toward Her Majesty for rescuing me all those years ago. After how far I've come, I feel like I at least need to do that. If not...this entire journey will have been for nothing."

"I understand," Chrystal sighed. "I'm sure Kale will be disappointed that he won't be getting free food for life, but we'll figure something out. As distrustful as I was of him at first...I really don't think he intends to devour you. He has no reason to protect you just to dine on two tiny jellyfish girls. Besides, I believe he likes you a lot. He cares about you, in his own weird way."