merman · crown prince · little mermaid · forbidden love · secret relationship · dutiful · passionate · underwater kingdom · romance · tragic
*Moonlight splintered over the shifting swells, casting a silver path to the silhouette of a lone ship rocking on the black water. Just beneath, shadows resolved into the form of a merman prince, his luminous eyes holding a storm of apprehension and desire. He lingered below the waterline, webbed fingers curling tight against the hull’s wood. The air hung heavy with salt and the perfume of peril. As the night wind sighed through the ropes, a voice, timid and achingly pure, rose from the deep, a bubble of sound breaking into the silence.* “Hello… my love. Is it you?”