The Castle on the Water

1. The prince and the princess

Ocean waves lapping against royal stones.

Those were the sounds of comfort... of home.

The very sounds that every morning, mixed with the shriek of gulls and the tweeting of birds, Prince Elijah loved waking up to. And having the sweet hush of it's lullaby put him to sleep as he lay his head down at night.

He wasn't a morning person; he loved to sleep- to relax his mind, body, and soul. But the ocean called for him in ways he couldn't explain. Every morning, the waves would send whispers into his ears, enchanting him with it's magical song.

He rolled out of bed that morning with one side of his short curly blonde hair laying flat against his head, and the other side was wild, and made his way toward the sound he admired so much. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the hue of them a brighter icy-blue in the morning time. The sun paints the sky with it's orange arrival as he walked out on to his bedroom balcony. It was a request from Prince Elijah, that the balcony be made, especially for times like these when all he wanted to do was hide away in the depths and get swept away from the duties of his day.

He felt the warm touch from the first rays of the day, the ocean beneath him blowing mist up along the stones of the castle wall, and then against Prince Elijah's face. The view mixed with the sounds, brought a smile to his face. He took in a deep salty breath, allowing the fresh air to clear his head of any grogginess that the spell of sleep still held over him.

Little did he know that the sounds of the ocean belonged to the connection of his destiny.

Within the water of soothing beauty, just a few miles out, swam a princess who roamed around the beautiful blue ocean in the form of a mermaid. Her tail was lean and strong, a shade of blue that would make it look almost invisible in some tropic waters.

Her name is Moani.

She played in the moment of her freedom. Never in her life was she left on her own until now, and it's been long overdue. Twenty years of constantly being watched. She felt as if she could finally stretch herself out, let loose, play games like a child since she was robbed of that luxury as a youngin'.

She had no idea where her parents had gone, just that their meeting was important and they would both be back as soon as they could.

Moani was sweet and wholehearted, but goofy and chased her fishy friends into their coral homes all because she wanted to show them how she could blow rings of bubbles with a kiss of her lips.

The only fish she hasn't been able to show, was a clownfish she had named Klaus. He was very grumpy all the time, never wanted to see her tricks, but it only made her want to show him even more. She was positive it would cheer him up.

The curious little mermaid paused in her play to look around herself, beginning to wonder of their current location (no pun intended). Why these waters? It wasn't warm like the waters she was used to, it wasn't an ideal place to be at. But suddenly, they needed to be here.

Flicking her fins, Moani dared to race to the surface- something she was told would be too dangerous for a princess to do. But she broke through anyway.