NOELLE'S POV,
I look at my reflection in the mirror, with my emerald, green eyes, and auburn red hair I am a natural beauty. Too bad, no one ever gets the chance to notice.
I have lived at a secluded orphanage all my life. Nothing ever happens and the only company I have are the nuns that come visit me sometimes.
I am the only child that is kept separate from the other children. I have no idea why, but it has always been this way. However today my life will change! It is my 18th birthday, so I can finally leave this place and explore the world.
Just the thought of leaving makes my heart jump with happiness. I grab my bag which contains almost nothing. My only possessions are some clothes, food, and a strange amulet they left with me on the doorstep of the orphanage 18 years ago.
I am just about to open the door when 2 guards storm in.
“Are you Noelle Pupillo?” they ask. (Pupillo is the last name they give to children whose parents are unknown.)
” Yes, I am,” I answer frowning.
“You are hereby obligated to take part in the sacrifice ritual to the Sea Kingdom today,” the guard's command.
I look at them confused I have heard of the ritual, but I thought only high-born women were considered good enough to be sacrificed.
“Surely there is no need for a poor orphan girl to take part in that?”
“All women on the age of 18 are to be presented to the King of the Sea, you are no exception,” the guards say.
One guard grabs me by the arm and takes me outside. He shoves me in a waiting carriage.
“It's a 5-hour ride so you better make yourself comfortable,” he grunts.
I don't know what to think of this change of events, but it will probably just be a delay in my journey.
There is no way I would get picked because I don't consider myself anything special. I don't know much about the ritual, to begin with.
The nuns told me the King of the sea comes to shore every year. Where he picks a woman to take with him to his Kingdom. I know the selected women must be 18 years old and virgins.
The women who got picked over the years have never returned, no one knows what happens to them. But it can't be anything good in my opinion.
So today it will be a good thing that no one ever notices me. I don't even know what the King of the sea looks like but I imagine him to be a big brute.
I decide to stop thinking about it and start to enjoy the scenery instead. I see the most beautiful sights, more beautiful than I could ever imagine. Flowing hills, gigantic trees, and pastures with blooming flowers, everything takes my breath away.
So, before I know it the 5 hours have passed, and we arrive at the destination.
“Where are we?” I ask the guards.
“We are in Dandion the capital of the mortal realm,” they answer.
When I get out of the carriage we are at a beach within the background of a large city. I see high buildings entirely made of glass but also Victorian build houses.
It seems to be a mix of modern and historical architecture. The beach reaches as far as the eye can see with white sand and clear blue water. On the beach, there are hundreds of women waiting, one more beautiful than the other.
The air feels tense, everyone is quiet with a look of fear in their eyes. All the women are wearing plain grey dresses. The guards put one in my arms and tell me to change my clothes.
“The King requires everyone to wear the same clothes to make a good decision without distractions,” he says uninterested.
I put the dress on but even the boring color cannot hide that I have curves in all the right places.
I walk to the beach and take my place next to a woman who looks like an angel.
“Hi, my name is Noelle. What is your name?” I ask.
The angel lady keeps looking at the ground when she answers,
“My name is Luna, but please you have to be quiet it is starting soon.”
Every woman except me is staring at the ground. Which must mean they had better training than me. Then I hear the blowing of a loud horn, I look at the sea when the guards shout.
“THE KING HAS ARRIVED!”
NOELLE'S POV,“THE KING HAS ARRIVED!” the guards shout.The sea is parting in 2 separate ways as if it needs to make place for something majestic.Slowly a mighty figure is walking towards the shore. I can’t take my eyes off the man rising from the sea.He must be at least two meters long and more importantly, he’s completely naked. I have never seen a man naked before but if they all look like this I can't complain.I study his body first from his long muscular legs to his impressive abs and wide shoulders.I quickly take a glance at his manhood and think to myself that it looks enormous compared to the pictures I have seen in books.His face is much different than I expected. He has golden blond hair with green eyes and a strong jawline.No one told me the King of the sea was this handsome. This makes me wonder if anyone still would mind being sacrificed now.I take a break from looking at the King to see how the other women react but to my surprise,
KING ROAN HIS POV''It is time King Roan,'' Julias says.King Roan looks at his best friend and takes a deep sigh. He wishes he could just stay here with Julias.He hates this dreadful day that he must endure every year. He hates having to pick a woman even though they are not the one he is looking for.All these deaths haunt him every time he closed his eyes. But he must keep looking for the sake of his people. It has been 3000 years and they are beginning to lose hope.Roan has no reason to think this year will be any different. He did what he thought was best at the time. He did not know he would curse his people instead of protecting them.He stands up from his throne and asks Julias, ''Is the room ready?''Julias nods, ''Yes, my King, the special section is prepared, and Maya is waiting.''''Okay," The King says, "let's get this over with then.''He starts to swim to the surface and with a sweep of his hand his fishtail changes
NOELLE'S POVPressed to the King's chest I can feel all his powerful muscles. It is a nice distraction from the fact that I am about to be drowned.The water is closing in on us, so I close my eyes and wait to feel the water on my face. But nothing seems to happen, I open my eyes and see an air bubble around my head. Another strange thing is that the King suddenly seems to have a tail instead of legs. ''He must have used his magic,'' I think.We are swimming for a short while when a gigantic air bubble seems to emerge. In the air bubble, there is a city as far as the eye can see.Caves are made into cozy houses and everywhere I look there is coral in the most beautiful colors. In the bubble, everyone seems to have legs but outside the bubble, I find the most extraordinary creatures. Mermaids, seahorses, and turtles but also men that look like they are half-shark, half-man. We swim over the city for a while when I start to see a
NOELLE'S POVI wake up to a knocking sound on the door. It takes me a minute to remember where I am. It seems surreal that only 2 days ago I was still at the orphanage and now I am in a strange castle somewhere on the bottom of the sea."Come in," I say when I hear the knocking again.Maya walks in with a plate full of delicious breakfast."I hope there is something in there that you like," Maya smiles."I will start a bath for you and afterward I can give you a tour if you like?" she asks.I smile at Maya and say, "That would be nice."After Maya leaves, I dig into the bacon and eggs and eat until my stomach can take no more. Then I walk into the bathroom to the big round bathtub. The bath smells like lilacs and roses. I take a long relaxing bath and put on the clothes Maya laid down for me.It's a simple brown dress that feels very comfortable. I decide I am ready and walk out of my room. In th
KING ROAN HIS POVRoan walks toward the sea with Noelle in his arms. She feels so soft and tiny lying against him. His mind is going crazy though. He can't believe he found her; it seems surreal after 3000 years.He is so busy in his mind that he doesn't notice that they have already arrived at the tower where Noelle will be staying. He puts her in front of the door and decides to leave immediately, he needs to set his mind right.He is so lost in thought that he doesn't even hear Noelle screaming at him. He goes for a long swim to clear his mind and after that, he is so tired that he immediately falls asleep.He wakes up the next day when it is already 3 o'clock. He still has no idea what to do about Noelle being the lost heir of the witches. Maybe it will be good to talk to Julias he thinks. Just when he is thinking about him Julias walks into his room.''Talking about the devil, I was just going to come looking for you,'' Roan says.Julia
NOELLE'S POV,The next day I meet Julias at the entrance of the gardens at 10 o'clock. I have seen the coral and flower gardens, but Julias told me that the water gardens are a bit of a walk.Maya said that they are a famous sight of the Sea Realm, so I am eager to see them.''Hi, are you ready for a walk?'' Julias asks me.I smile at him, ''It would be great to stretch my legs for a bit and now that I am stuck in this city, I better make the best of it right?''Julias puts his arm through mine, and we begin to walk.''I like your positive approach,'' he says, ''So, I am curious to know more about Noelle, tell me about yourself.''''There is not that much to tell I'm afraid,'' I continue, ''I was left at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a baby and I have lived there till my 18th birthday. Then I planned to go explore the world and have adventures, but I ended up here instead.''Julias replies, ''It's maybe not the adventure you wa
NOELLE'S POV,Julias and I wait hours for Roan to come back. It's already midnight when finally, we hear the door. Roan walks in all bloody and with a sad and tired look on his face.''You are bleeding,'' I say shocked.He grunts, ''It's nothing I just need to get some sleep and then go back to the village.''I walk towards him and examine the cuts on his arms and chest, ''We need to at least clean your wounds to make sure you don't get an infection. Come on let's get you on a couch so I can help you.''Roan walks to the couch and sits down. I tell Julias to get some bandages and alcohol.''You need to take off your clothes so I can examine all the wounds. Here let me help you,'' I command.I take off his shirt and pants until he is only wearing underwear. If the circumstances were different, I would have gotten shy from such a beautiful body exposed.Julias comes back with the supplies, and I start cleaning Roan's wounds.Julias sits nex
NOELLE'S POV,I wake up by the sound of my alarm at 5 in the morning. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready and then I head out to the entrance.King Roan is already waiting in front of the door. He looks like shit; I wonder if he slept at all.''Good morning, did you get any sleep last night?'' I ask a bit concerned.''No, not much just had a lot to think about.''Before I can say anything else he walks out the door. I follow him while we walk to the edge of the air bubble. Roan stands still and looks at me from head to toe.''Considering what Julias told me about your magic I think you should be able to shapeshift into a water creature. Maybe we can try a mermaid, just think about what you want to look like. Picture everything from the breathing gills to the tail. When you have the image just say Shapolo''I look at him a bit doubtful, but I say, ''Okay let's give it a try.''I think about a long green shimmering tail, a small glit