Chapter Text
I.
Once upon a time, there lived a young Prince who was courageous and honourable. He was the seventh son of the emperor of the prosperous Liang Empire, and unlike his brothers who lived and studied in the capital, Prince Xiao Jingyan preferred to follow the empire’s most brilliant generals into battle, to learn the tactics of war firsthand.
At the tender age of fifteen, the Prince rode with the army into war. Unlike many of the battles that the Prince had previously encountered, the battle that year was fought on water. The battle had been hard fought and while they claimed victory, it was at a great price. Their ship was damaged and the men wounded, the young Prince stood on the deck facing the reckless sea and listened to the groaning of the ship.
‘My Prince,’ the general said, ‘You must come inside, it is not safe out here.’
The Prince was reluctant to leave the deck, as he had seen a flash of something in the darkness of the ocean. He had seen a pair of eyes, like moonlight reflected on two beautiful jewels, watching him. Yet the Prince knew it must have been a hallucination, as it was not possible for a person to be out in the middle of the sea without a boat, and he did not see any boats.
The Prince waited in the cabin for the sea to calm its anger, but the sea could not be calmed. A storm approached and the waves rose, crashing repeatedly against the sides of the ship, until finally, the ship toppled and water rushed inside. The Prince locked gazes with the general and his men as the water entered the cabin. This was the end, he thought, and then he closed his eyes. There was much regret the young Prince felt, but he realised there were also things he did not regret. A warm hand landed on his shoulder and the Prince opened his eyes to see the soft eyes of his general.
‘Thank you for trusting in my guidance, my Prince,’ he said, voice thick with emotion.
‘I am sorry it has led to this ending. This should not be your fate, for you must be destined for more than death in this cold, cruel sea.’
The Prince smiled.
‘It was my pleasure to fight alongside you, general. My fate is something that is up to the gods. But I do not think this sea is cold and cruel, for there is nowhere that the water does not reach and if we die here tonight, our souls will be free to travel freely to all corners of the world.’
The general and the men laughed.
‘If that is to be our fate, then I am not afraid,’ the general said. Yet even as he said the words with as much cheer as he could muster, the general felt great pain and regret, as he looked at the Prince, for in the Prince he saw the great qualities of leadership and bravery, of honesty and integrity. He mourned that the empire would lose an honourable Prince, he mourned that the empire would never see what a great man the Prince would no doubt have become.
At the moment the ship broke apart, the Prince’s heart was heavy with his concerns for his men, for his mother, for his eldest brother whom he much admired, and even for his father. The darkness approached and in the cold, deep sea, the Prince closed his eyes.
II.
When the Prince next opened his eyes, his entire body was sore and heavy. He could barely move his limbs.
There were a pair of eyes looking at him - they shone as bright as pearls under the moonlight and stared at him. For some reason, the Prince was not afraid. He touched the wooden plank underneath his body and looked out onto the water, at the wreckage that no doubt was the remains of his ship.
‘My men,’ he choked out through his sore throat.
The pair of eyes looked away from him.
The Prince struggled and nearly fell from the plank when a pair of cold hands held on tightly to his own. At this close distance, the Prince could see the worried face of a young boy.
‘You mustn’t move,’ the boy said.
‘I have to save my men.’
The boy nodded and squeezed his hands.
‘I will save them,’ he said, ‘Trust me.’
The Prince’s heart was calmed by the boy’s words. Although he did not know where the boy came from or who the boy was, he knew, staring at his beautiful eyes, that he could trust him.
The boy smiled at him before disappearing into the water. The dampness of his clothes chilled his body to the core and the Prince could feel his eyes become heavier and heavier.
The next time the Prince opened his eyes, the sun was hot on his face and the sand was warm underneath his fingertips. The Prince pushed himself up and looked around. He was on a beach, and along the water’s edge, he could see the bodies of many of his men, including that of his general. The Prince rushed to the nearest man and was relieved to find his body still warm; he shook the man until finally, he coughed water onto the sand and groaned.
‘You are alive,’ the Prince said in disbelief.
Then the Prince hurriedly moved to the body of the next man. Under the bright morning sun, the Prince used his sleeve to wipe away the sweat from his forehead, as well the warm tears of relief and happiness from his cheeks.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered towards the sea, to the boy with beautiful eyes who had saved him, who had saved them all.
III.
The Prince returned to the beach every day after the shipwreck. Once the general and the men recovered their strengths, they prepared to set off back to the capital.
‘We promised to join the rest of the army days ago before entering the capital. Our squad must not let them worry,’ the general said.
‘I will stay for another few days,’ the Prince said. ‘I will meet up with you in the capital.’
The general wanted to argue, but was well aware of the Prince’s stubborn nature.
The Prince watched the men leave and then returned to the beach. For days he waited by the beach, but he saw no movement besides the waves that crashed against it. The Prince then climbed the large rocks leading into the sea. He climbed onto the furthest rock and waited for hours, but he saw nothing but his own reflection in the water beneath his feet.
Finally, the Prince borrowed a small boat and rowed it far out into the sea. The boat rocked unsteadily against the waves, but the Prince was not afraid because he believed he was not alone.
‘I do not know how to swim,’ he bellowed out across the water, ‘You have saved me once. I trust you will not let me die this time either.’
With those words, the Prince jumped into the water.
The Prince, who did not believe in telling lies, was telling the truth when he said he could not swim. Even as his limbs struggled instinctively, he did not rise to the surface. The Prince stared at the sun’s light shining through the water as his throat burned. Then suddenly a shadow covered the light. Strong hands pulled him up and up until his head broke through the surface of the water.
The Prince coughed and coughed even as his body was pulled across the water. Finally he felt solid rock under his hands.
‘Do you have no brains?’
It was the boy. Just as the Prince had remembered from the night of the shipwreck, the boy with beautiful eyes was right in front of him. However, unlike the night of the shipwreck, the boy looked furious.
‘I knew you were there.’
‘You could not have known for sure!’
‘I just knew!’
‘No, you couldn’t have!’
‘I told you, I did!’
Now the Prince was annoyed too. He wanted to reach for the boy, but as soon as his hands left the rock, he fell into the water. The boy panicked and quickly dove under to pull the Prince back to the surface.
‘You are mad!’ The boy said finally. His arms were wrapped around the Prince, keeping him above water.
The Prince laughed, even as his body felt exhausted.
‘Who are you?’
IV:
The boy’s name was Lin Shu, the Prince learned.
The Prince also learned that deep underneath the oceans which spanned many empires, there lived creatures he could never have imagined existed, even in his most daring dreams.
Lin Shu did not have legs like humans. Instead, he had a tail glistening with pale white scales, like strings of pearls shining under the sunlight. The Prince stared in astonishment as Lin Shu’s tail rose from the water and then splashed against its surface, spraying water everywhere.
The Prince eventually returned to the capital as promised, but he returned to the beach and the rocks whenever he had a moment to spare.
‘My father is the strongest fighter in all our kingdom,’ Lin Shu boasted one day.
‘Oh yeah? Well, let’s see how strong you are,’ the Prince teased and dove into the water.
They wrestled, occasionally breaking the surface for air. Over the years, the Prince had become an unbeatable swimmer, having spent much of his time with Lin Shu in the water. This time, it was the Prince who wrapped his arms around Lin Shu.
‘Got you!’ he laughed. ‘Not so strong now, are you?’
‘I let you win!’ Lin Shu huffed. ‘I felt sorry for the human who could not breathe under water.’
Instead of getting angry, the Prince only laughed. He was well accustomed to Lin Shu’s temper by now. He was also well aware that Lin Shu was what some people would call, a sore loser.
‘When will you be back?’ Lin Shu asked as the Prince climbed onto a rock, preparing to head back to shore.
Lin Shu arms hugged the surface of the rock; he laid his chin on his hands and looked up at the Prince. His expression was sad and even his tail, which was always active, was only swaying lifelessly under the water. The Prince smiled at him and crouched down until he could pat the top of Lin Shu’s wet hair.
‘Soon,’ he said.
‘I wish I was human so that I could go with you,’ Lin Shu said.
The Prince’s hand paused.
‘Can you?’ he asked, ‘Can you become human?’
Lin Shu frowned.
‘I have only heard stories, but none of them were pleasant. There was one mermaid many, many years ago who went to the sorceress of the sea and took the potion to become human. But when she became human, her appearance changed and it took her many years to learn to walk, and then it took her many more years to learn to use her voice again. By the time she could walk and speak, the human she wanted to be with no longer recognised her and she died alone, wishing she could return to the sea.’
The Prince listened to Lin Shu’s story and then stroked Lin Shu’s hair.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t let you do something like that. When my brother becomes emperor, I will ask him to grant me a home beside the sea so that I can see you every day.’
‘Really?’ Lin Shu asked. His tail swung out of the water; the pale white scales shone under the sunlight.
‘Of course,’ the Prince said.
‘Besides, if you became human, there would be no way I would not recognise you.’
V.
When the Prince turned nineteen, he left the celebrations with his family early so that he could also share the day with Lin Shu. By the time he arrived at the beach, it was already nightfall. There was a large bow on the rock waiting for him. The Prince picked up the bow and weighted it in his hands. It was a good bow, intricately made from the finest materials.
The Prince hurriedly removed his boots and his outer robes. He dove into the water. It was pitch black in the sea, but the Prince was not afraid. Moments later, a pair of hands linked with his and he was led to the water’s surface.
‘Did you like my present?’ Lin Shu said.
‘It’s great,’ the Prince replied. ‘Where did you get it?’
Lin Shu looked a little abashed.
‘There was a shipwreck out at sea a while ago, I usually don’t go sneaking around wreckages, but I saw this bow and I wanted to give it to you. Don’t worry, it hasn’t been in the water long, I made sure it keep it dry.’
The Prince was touched that Lin Shu would go to such efforts to find a present for him. Then he remember how Lin Shu had begged his fellow mermen to help him save all of the Prince’s men all those years ago. Lin Shu really was the most amazing person the Prince had ever met.
‘What do you want for your birthday?’ the Prince asked.
‘Something I can keep in the sea,’ Lin Shu said after some consideration. He wanted to be able to keep the Prince’s present with him all the time.
The Prince tried to think of something that would not deteriorate in the water, and then he saw the scales of Lin Shu’s tail glitter under the water’s surface.
‘A pearl perhaps?’
Lin Shu laughed.
‘I have seen the largest pearls in the sea,’ he said, ‘larger than any that can be found by humans.’
‘I will find you the largest in the empire,’ the Prince vowed.
Lin Shu smiled cheekily. He made a circle with his fingers.
‘Then I want one this big!’
They swam for a long time until the Prince’s limbs finally protested. Then the Prince laid on the rocks while Lin Shu rested his torso and arms on the rocks, his tail swishing under the water.
‘I’m going to get married,’ the Prince said suddenly.
Lin Shu’s head snapped up.
‘My mother told me today. She is discussing my engagement with the grand-daughter of some reputable official.’
‘Do you love her?’ Lin Shu asked in a small voice.
‘I don’t even know her,’ the Prince admitted.
‘In our kingdom,’ Lin Shu said, ‘Marriage is for love.’
‘I always knew that my marriage would be decided by my father and mother,’ the Prince said, ‘I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.’
‘Will you still come to see me?’ Lin Shu said.
The Prince furrowed his brows and sat up. He stared straight at Lin Shu.
‘Of course I will,’ he said, ‘Marriage will not change anything. I will not let it.’
‘But she will be with you every day,’ Lin Shu said, ‘What if you realise you want to spend more time with her than with me?’
The Prince chuckled and reached to ruffle Lin Shu’s hair.
‘I don’t want to spend time with her, I don’t even like her,’ he said. Then he smiled:
‘I want to spend every day with you.’
The Prince, while courageous and honourable, and while he had led armies into many battles, was still a child when it came to affairs of the heart. He did not see the way Lin Shu’s eyes shone when he heard the Prince’s words. He did not understand the full intent of Lin Shu’s words when he said:
‘I want to spend every day with you too.’