Sea of Stars

1

A Nebula, boundlessly swirling with energy, infinitely huge and shining, a mystery that even the keenest eye of their kind had yet to decipher why it hung so tauntingly above the sea. It seemed like such a grand thing to name a child after, perhaps that the parents had hoped their daughter would have the same boundlessly swirling energy and limitless potential, How fitting then that his twin sister had inherited the name and with it the crown that awaited her coming of age in only a few more months. Perhaps had he been someone other than himself, Kallan could have been what his parents hoped. Such is the way of the universe though, very rarely can anyone predict who someone will be, even themselves, and instead of swirling energy and mystery, he would more aptly compare himself to the vast and spiralling black void between two stars, dull in himself and often overlooked, unless a backdrop to make the stars themselves glow brighter in comparison, and however useful and unselfish a purpose that could have been considered, he found it perfectly unpleasant, and at times, downright rotten.

Kallan sighed and swam a little faster, his sisters chattering happily behind him, their sweet voices like sea foam on waves, soaking in the warm sun that pierced the water so gently, so perfectly, trading the shells and baubles that decorated their tails between them, he scoffed as Lyra, the younger of the two, cooed loudly over particularly shiny pink shell, for reasons he could not fathom, the pink shells were popular this season, Kallan detested the idea, his tail was a dreadfully plain, unattractive shade of orange that stood out jarringly against the mellow silvery blue of their cove, Nebula told him regularly, always tugging on his dusty looking scales and fanning out his fin to look at it "It's such an ugly thing," she would comment every time, eyes twinkling like pearls as she ran his slender fingers over the almost sheer, round fin "such an awful shape, it doesn't suit you, it doesn't suit the ocean at all" it was the same comment every time, but he never took it further as Lyra had. Kallan groaned remembering the day he had overheard Nebula's comment and laughed along, adding it "No wonder you swim so slowly, if I had a tail like that, I'd beach myself out of shame!" of course she had immediately been scolded for saying such things and come later to his bedroom, apologised for her words, but he'd brushed her off, his tail was ugly, so why pretend otherwise?

Another loud cry from his sisters grated against his ears and he cringed, remembering where he was and twisting to look at them, they were never quiet, even when they weren't speaking, the shells and coins around their waists clattering as they moved. He grimaced before swimming lower, where he could find a faster current to carry him away, leaving their irritated trills behind in a stream of bubbles, soon enough they'd go back to their trinkets, probably forgetting he'd been swimming with them in the first place. He drifted for a while out near the edge of the cove where the reefs were taller and he could sometimes feel the cold of the wider sea seeping through from the other side, clouds slowly obscuring the sun above, making the water murky. He liked it better this way since he could never see what was ahead or behind, as if the whole ocean suddenly vanished just for him. As he approached, pressing himself close to the smooth rocks, peeking around. If anyone in the castle knew he ventured this far out, it would all be over, his mother would skin him probably, and his poor maid might just have a heart attack. He never understood why everyone was so afraid to even speak of this place, there was nothing out here, it was silent and he was alone. The only sound for miles was the faint swish of his tail against the water as he ducked into a tiny alcove and felt in the dark for his treasure. After a long moment, his slender fingers found the battered old music box, the saltwater was starting to ruin its delicate gears and some days he couldn't even make it play anymore. By all standards it was useless, it had been broken when he found it lying in the shallows, simply a trinket from the surface, but watching the little figure spin soundlessly on her one little leg, even when it stuttered and jammed at times, was his favourite part of the day. Gently he turned the delicate key and laughed in delight as the hollow, tinny notes spilled out slowly.