Under the Sea (An Eremika Fanfiction)

Up where they walk, up where they run...

This is a continuation of a piece I wrote for Eremika Week 2018 . Besides reading the first part here, you can also read it in that collection with a bunch of other Eremika stories. I really enjoyed writing this and decided to expand it to fully cover the entire Little Mermaid story. This will be four parts total. Enjoy :)

EREMIKA WEEK 2018: https://www.wattpad.com/631790568-eremika-week-2018-under-the-sea

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The sea is a mystery. It is a wonder that gently entrances the nearby sailor or strikes harshly with its fangs bared. The water laps quietly and rhythmically against the side of a ship as sunlight reflects the dark water. Hidden under the surface is a world not known to the human eye.

Tiny bubbles rise from the ocean floor as the green kelp sways with the motion of the tide. A sparkling green tail pushes against the water and forces the tropical fish nearby to scatter. Following the creature is a small, yellow-scaled fish. It struggles to keep up its pace as the mercreature ahead of him moves quick and smoothly through the long strands of dark green kelp.

"Come on, Armin. A little more," the tan merman calls as they reach the end of the forest. The deep blue ocean beyond is enticing.

"Won't your mother ask where you are? She doesn't like you wandering off, Eren," the timid fish warns.

Eren rolls his eyes and pushes the last bit of long kelp away with his hand.

"You're sounding more and more like Levi every day," he mutters as he uses his tail to glide through the ocean waters once more. "Don't be such a guppy."

Armin sighs and wiggles his tiny tail fin to keep up with his friend.

"We're almost there anyway," Eren promises. He can see the deep sea cave in the distance and the large boulder keeping hidden his desires from the rest of Atlantica. A quick turn of his head shows no sign of fish nor mercreature in the distance, so he descends toward the underwater grotto.

"Are you going to find a place for your new, er, what's it called again?" Armin asks.

"Reiner called it a dinglehopper," Eren says as he holds up the slim, silver object in his hand. He pushes the stone away and enters into the magnificent world he has created for himself.

Lined on the grotto's rocky walls are treasures he's collected in his adventures past the sea kingdom's gates. He carefully places the dinglehopper next to a silver vase and stands back to admire it shine in the underwater moonlight.

Eren lets out a deep sigh and slowly revolves around the entirety of his secret cavern. There's something so fascinating about life above the surface that he cannot describe. Why be confined to the gates of the kingdom when there is a world above that demands exploring? He's heard of raging fires, ice that falls from the sky, and dense forests that touch the sky, but tradition dictates that he live in this undersea world instead.

What he would give to have his own two legs. Eren can always escape to the surface when the confines of the ocean are too much to bear, but he can never explore, dance, run, walk, like the humans do.

"Your mother would be furious to know this place exists," a gruff voice comes from below him.

Eren glances down, startled, when he sees the dark crab scuttling across the ocean sand.

"Levi. You were following us," he realizes.

"Your mother's orders."

"Don't tell," Armin begs, swimming toward the sea crab. "He's not doing anything wrong, I swear. We may go to the surface every once in a while, but—"