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The crescent moon shone through the clouds, as stars decorated the night sky above. The waves seemed calm tonight, Special Week let out a big sigh of relief as she looked down at the ocean floor from her ship's deck. The Admiral watched as her ship moved with ease alongside the waves of the ocean.
It's been some time since she's visited her mom, or even written a letter to her. Special Week had been so busy nowadays, she'd completely forgotten to at least update her mom on her well-being.. Well, she could always do it once she's gotten off board. Right now, she needs to focus on herself and her fleet.
Special Week's eyes darted towards the nearby island, focusing on the rocky formations near its shores.
There seemed to be a woman sitting on one of the rocks. Was she seeing this correctly? Special Week leaned further against the edges of her ship to get a better look, her hands gripping onto the wooden deck to make sure she didn't accidentally fall into the cold sea below her.
The woman seemed to have long amber or ginger hair, but it was quite hard to tell under the night sky. Upon closer inspection, she could see a fish's tail?.. “Eehh?!” Special Week exclaimed, as she rubbed her eyes and double-checked to see if she was seeing this correctly or if she was starting to hallucinate.
Sure enough, the woman's figure didn't leave her sight. The admiral could only stare at her, before the mermaid eventually noticed her presence and dove into the ocean. “W-wait!!” she called out, reaching a hand out into the ocean, only to receive no reply. She had seen an actual mermaid.
The Great Admiral was a bit upset as she watched the mermaid retreat back into the ocean; nonetheless, a part of her was excited, her heart was thumping—it was as if it'd jump out of her chest at any moment. “I.. I actually got to see a mermaid..” she mumbled out to herself.
She's heard stories of merfolk and sirens, how could she not? She's sailed seas, overcame harsh storms, and led a fleet through an impossible battle and came out victorious—obviously she's heard stories passed around here and there about merfolk, but she's never actually seen one! ...until now.
Over the course of weeks, she'd occasionally see that same mermaid at night. It was as if she was watching her. The two would exchange glances, equally curious about the other.
Though, her new nightly behavior wouldn't go unnoticed by some of her crew members. “Special Week? Is something bothering you?” One of her close friends—Seiun Sky asked. “hm?.. Oh, nothing's wrong, don't worry!” She dismissed Seiun Sky's concerns. The latter didn't seem to buy that excuse.
“You've been staying up at night recently, right? One of the crew members here said that they saw you leaning over the deck the other day, are you okay?”
“It's fine, I promise! it's just that.. I saw a mermaid a few weeks ago, and I've been seeing her in the waters every night.”
“What?” Seiun Sky blurted out,
“What?” Special Week repeated.
Eventually, Special Week told her everything. And everything went back to normal. Special Week's only two to three weeks away from reaching the mainland, and once she reaches the shores she'll write a letter to her mom and buy some food, she absolutely missed the luxury of eating food whenever she wanted.
Sailing the seas is nice and all, but one thing that she hates about it is not being able to eat as much as she wants.
So, her fleet continued to sail the seas, carrying the spoils of war and riches aboard. The ocean seemed calm today, that's a relief. Though, a part of her was skeptical. It was too calm for her comfort. She convinced herself that it was just paranoia, and she went on with her day.
The clouds in front of her were dark and gloomy, carrying a subtle hint of unease, but she pressed forward, determined to get back to the empire. She commanded her fleet to push through into the storm, through the raging waters and the foggy clouds. The crackles of thunder rung through the air followed by the downpour of rain.
CRASH!!
The cacophony of screams and rain filled the air, as swords clashed with each other and flintlock pistols rang throughout the battlefield. This was bad, real bad. Her fleet had suddenly gotten intercepted by an enemy fleet and some pirates, her crew was slowly losing because they had been sailing through the seas for quite some time. The pace was just too much for them to handle.
Special Week held on for as long as she could, fighting the combined forces of the enemy fleet and pirates. Though, it was clear that she couldn't keep fighting forever. She'd eventually run out of bullets, she'd eventually tire herself out, and her fleet was no match for the enemy's forces right from the start.
After some hesitation, she grabbed Seiun Sky by the arm and dragged her away. She scrambled to write a letter, before handing it to her. “Deliver this to the emperor, please!” She begged.
“Eh? how?”
“Use one of the other ships, anything! please!” The great commander begged once more. After some moments, Seiun Sky finally agreed.
“Alright. I'll deliver it. What about you? what will you do?”
“I'll stay back here, it's my duty to After all. Don't worry, I'll catch up with you later!”
The former was uncertain, but she decided to put trust in her admiral. Seiun Sky fled, and Special Week stayed back. The enemy forced her back into a corner, and she slipped. The wooden boards underneath her cracked—and she fell into the ocean below. She gasped for air, before trying to swim away, failing due to her leg being injured during the fall.
She slowly sank deeper into the ocean, before she lost consciousness.
She jolted awake—gasping for air, before she took in her surroundings. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, she was on the shore of an island. Those rock formations looked similar or so she thought. Did she get stranded?
“Oh, looks like you're awake.” a soft voice called out. She turned to look at where the voice came from, and it was apparently from the mermaid she keeps seeing. Now that she got a closer look at her, the mermaid is actually quite gorgeous. Those eyes, the way she glanced at her..
Wait—?!
“Y-you can talk?!” Special Week exclaimed, standing up and pointing her finger at the mermaid in surprise, despite the pain in her leg.
The mermaid let out a soft giggle, “of course I can.” She replied, as she gazed at her from those rock formations that she first saw the mermaid in. “Ah, also.. you shouldn't stand up, your leg was injured, but I tried to treat it to the best of my abilities” the mermaid added.
Special Week sat down, “so uhm… What's your name?” she asked.
“Silence Suzuka.”
“Silence Suzuka..” Special Week repeated, testing out the name on her tongue. Not only is she beautiful, but her name is also cool!..
“So, what's your name?” Silence Suzuka asked.
“Oh, Me?!..” Special Week blurted out, earning a nod from the merfolk. “I'm Special Week! Nice to meet you!”
“Then.. Can I call you Spe instead?”
“Eh?!..” a nickname from a mermaid? Is this what a sailor's wet dream looks like? “uhm.. yeah! sure!! Can I.. call you Suzuka instead?”
Suzuka nodded. “I don't mind.”
“Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
“No, you're not. We're on an island.” Suzuka answered with a giggle.
Time marched on forward. Special Week counted the days using sticks and stones, approximately 11 weeks for her leg to heal, and approximately 5 months for her to regain her mobility.
During that time, Suzuka helped her by hunting fish and crustaceans for her to eat, later on—once she could properly stand up she gathered berries from the island's forest for Suzuka to eat as a way of showing her gratitude.
When Special Week's leg fully healed, she tried walking through the island in case there were any villages or something of that sort, though she failed to locate any. Apparently, the two were the only inhabitants of this island aside from a few species of flora and fauna.
While she was on this island, Special Week built a small hut for herself using some torn pieces of wood from her ship that Suzuka took and brought here, and palm tree leaves to shade herself. It was a bit cramped, but at least she had a place to stay in.
One night, during the high tides—Special Week was grilling some fish on a flat rock near the waters, she noticed Suzuka looking at her curiously. The mermaid had her lower body submerged in the water, and her upper body above sea—with her arms resting on the rock Special Week was sitting on.
“Hey, Suzuka?” Special Week called out,
“hm?” the mermaid replied.
“How do you breathe?”
“Huh?”
“Like.. Do you breathe in the sea like fish or do you breathe on land like humans?”
“Well.. it's kind of hard to explain..” Suzuka replied, as she tried to come up with a way to explain.
“Ehh? why?” Special Week questioned.
“Think of it this way.. how would I know how my body works if they're inside me?”
“Hm.. that's true though..”
Silence Suzuka couldn’t just cut her torso open and examine her insides, and she obviously didn't want to do it to another person too.
“But, I think I know how to answer your question.” Special Week perked up at that response, “you know how whales come up to the surface to breathe?”
“Uh-huh! but I don't see any of those hole thingys whales shoot water out of on you?”
“I can sort of live on both lands, but I'll need to dive back down into the water, if that makes sense..” Suzuka vaguely explained.
“Whoa! so cool!!” Special Week exclaimed, before she took a bite into the fish she grilled.
Suzuka watched as she happily ate, before asking “A few days ago, didn't you say that you commanded ships, Spe?”
Special Week mumbled out something that resembled a confused “huh”, before she swallowed her food and replied “yeah, sort of. Why?"
“..I'm curious. Also.. I'm just a little bit.. annoyed?”
“Eh? how so?” Special Week replied, before she took another bite of her fish.
“After all.. you're fighting amongst each other above my home, plus the debris and corpses occasionally fall into the sea”
“Ah, sorry! I never thought about it that way..” Special Week apologized. She was basically acting like a traveler that never respects the local rules. Suzuka shook her head, “it's fine, you didn't know about my species’ existence before."
“What do I do?!.. I can't exactly just switch to fighting on land, I'm already well-known in naval battles and stuff!”
“Just try to keep the fighting out of the water, okay? The little creatures can eat corpses, yes, but I'm not sure if cannon balls would have a use down there.” Suzuka replied, earning a nod from Special Week. “Also, aren’t you gonna try to go back to your home?”
“Hm... I don't really have a method to go back home with. I'll try to build a boat! I'll set sail once I'm finished!”
“Then, I'll help you.” Suzuka smiled softly.
The next day, Special Week started gathering the materials needed to build a small raft. She scavenged the island for plants like milkweed, and she gathered them all on the shores. Suzuka watched her from the rock formations, smiling softly as she looked at how focused the Admiral was.
After a few hours, Special Week took a break and ate some berries. “Suzuka? Do you want any?” She offered, holding out some berries for the mermaid.
“No thanks.” She replied.
Special Week then went back to snacking on the berries. Once she ate them all, she suddenly stood up.
“Suzuka! Do you want to walk on the land?” She asked.
“Eh?”
“Ermm.. it's not really walking, since I'll carry you, but still! Do you want to?” she offered once more.
After a few moments, Suzuka gave in. “Alright.” she replied, before Special Week suddenly grabbed her and carried her into the land. “Spe?!..” Suzuka let out a yelp, before she grabbed onto Special Week—wrapping her arms around the admiral's shoulders for support.
“Don't worry! you're not gonna fall or anything!” Special Week exclaimed. She was carrying Suzuka like a princess as she ran towards the island's forest.
She took Suzuka deep into the island, running past trees and plants before finally reaching a small clearing covered in grass and a few flowers. Suzuka's eyes widened as she took in the scenery.
“it's beautiful..” she mumbled out.
'You're beautiful.' Special Week almost blurted out.
The admiral shook that thought off of herself, as the two lingered there for a few moments before Special Week carried her back to the waters. But before she could go back to building her raft, Suzuka pulled her by her arm and dragged her into the water.
“You showed me how beautiful the land is, now it's my turn to show you how beautiful the ocean is.” Suzuka calmly said, as she swam deeper into the ocean while holding Special Week's hand. “W-wait!.. I can't breathe in the sea like you!..” Special Week exclaimed.
She kept her eyes shut before realizing that she was in fact breathing just fine. “eh?.. I can??”
Suzuka let out a soft giggle. “I can control the water to some degree. Don't worry, as long as you're with me you won't drown.” She vaguely explained.
Suzuka swam deeper and further into the ocean, holding onto Special Week's hand tightly before she finally stopped. Special Week took a better look at her surroundings, before gasping in awe. Colorful coral reefs and marine life surrounded them, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Special Week was amazed, both at the surroundings and at how beautiful the girl in front of her was. It was as if she had fallen head over heels for the ocean and Suzuka at the same time.
“Suzuka..” she called out softly.
The mermaid turned her attention to her, “yes?” she answered.
“I love you!!” She exclaimed, almost scaring the fish around them in the process.
Suzuka let out a gasp, her eyes widening in surprise.
Then, she held Special Week's hand in hers, before smiling at the admiral. “I love you too.” she replied softly.
The two made their way back on land and Special Week continued to build her raft, gathering materials and creating the small wooden boat—if you can even call it that—from scratch.
The raft was finally finished after a few days. Once she finished making sure there were no flaws in it, she pushed the raft onto the waters before getting on it. Silence Suzuka helped her sail towards her destination by controlling and pushing the water around the raft.
The mermaid swam alongside Special Week's makeshift raft, guiding the wooden platform towards the admiral's desired path.
The time needed to travel the sea was cut significantly shorter because of Suzuka's help; they'd arrive on the nearest port city in around 2-3 days compared to the long weeks that Special Week endured while leading her fleet.
At night, Special Week watched as Suzuka hunted food for herself. The admiral didn't need the fish because she already prepared berries and grilled fish for herself before departure and she couldn't eat raw fish for obvious reasons. Though she was running out of drinking water..
The mermaid resurfaced right next to Special Week's raft. Special Week scooted a bit closer to the edge, admiring her girlfriend from her raft. “Suzuka, what do you typically eat?” she curiously asked.
“hm.. it depends on my mood, really. Sometimes I eat kelp and seaweed, other times I eat fish. I was feeling a bit fancy earlier, so I hunted some crabs. Why do you ask?” she replied.
Special Week shook her head, “nothing, just curious that's all. But.. Can we kiss?”
“Huh?!..” she had completely caught her off guard. Suzuka slightly retreated back into the water, with only her head peeking out from the ocean.
“N-no, I didn't mean to make it sound weird or anything!! it's just that.. we're dating now right? I thought it'll be fitting if we.. kiss?” she mumbled out an explanation.
Suzuka hesitated for a few moments—her eyes darting between Special Week and the ocean, before she reached out to grab Special Week by the collar of her uniform and pulled her into a kiss. The two stayed like that for a few more moments before they finally broke off.
There was a faint taste of crabs on Suzuka's tongue, not that Special Week cared though. She was just happy that she finally got to kiss her girlfriend.
The rest of the journey went on smoothly, Suzuka departed from Special Week's side once the two were close enough to the shores of a port city, but they did promise to meet up with each other soon.
Special Week swam through the remaining distance since she was close enough, and she climbed onto the wooden docks, water dripping from her torn uniform onto the wooden platform below her. It should take around two weeks to travel to the Capital, but…
she didn't really have money on her right now. “crap..” Special Week mumbled out to herself.
7 months ago..
Seiun Sky let out a sigh of relief as she laid down on the lower deck of a smaller ship. She had successfully gotten away from the enemy fleet alongside some of Special Week's fleet crew members. She couldn't help but wonder where the admiral was right now; nonetheless she continued to lead the ship to safety.
It'll take the ship approximately 1 week to arrive at the nearest port city. She couldn't help but feel curious about what the letter Special Week wrote contained, but she decided to not sneak a peek since that could get her punished, something about not being in a position of power to look or whatever. So, she decided to sleep and slack off in the meantime.
The rest of the ride back was relatively smooth, Seiun Sky got off of the ship clutching the letter in her hand before she entrusted the responsibilities of repairing the ship, maintaining the ship, and transferring war spoils to one of Special Week's men.
“Special Week entrusted me to deliver this letter to the emperor. I have to deliver it, after all it's an order from her.” She'd explain. But really it's just an excuse to slack off and dump her responsibilities onto them.
As the sun looked down on them all—casting a bold light over the city in the late morning, Seiun Sky hitched a ride to the Capital to deliver Special Week's letter. The ride wasn't really all that interesting, but it did pass by some nice lakes she could fish in later. Seiun Sky made a mental note to herself to visit those lakes later.
She got off of the wagon once she reached the Capital. The walled city stood proudly as guards patrolled the gates, each visitor checked and registered before allowing entrance. There was a line of merchants, travellers, and refugees waiting for their turn one after another.
Meanwhile,
Symboli Rudolf sat in her office's chair, her desk piled with war reports from her generals. Her eyes glazed over the newest report, mentally noting down importaint details as she read through the paper. The Shadow Roll Monster—Narita Brian was also present in her office, with her sitting down on one of the couches.
"The south front seems to be having some issues. Have you received any news from her?" Rudolf asked, as she organized through the reports.
Brian shook her head, "You know it's already hard exchanging information on sea. Plus, it's that season already."
"..right." Rudolf nodded. Storms were getting more common this season, it would make sense that Special Week was having trouble getting information across. "It's just that, we haven't heard anything from her in quite some time.
knock.. knock..
Rudolf turned her attention to her office's door. "Come in." she called out. That's strange.. she hadn't been expecting any visitors today; nonetheless she decided to let them in anyway.
Seiun Sky entered the office, escorted by Grass Wonder. The latter closed the door behind them before starting, "Your majesty, this girl claims to have been sent by Special Week to deliver a message." Grass Wonder explained, before Seiun Sky respectfully handed the letter to her.
Rudolf took the letter from her hands, before opening it up. Her eyes scanned over the piece of paper as her lips subtly curled into a frown. "..I see." she sighed.
She had been intercepted by an enemy fleet it seems. It's safe to assume she's either dead or she had been captured as a prisoner of war, but the latter seemed more likely. The least she can do is to grant her wish and let her mother know about this.
"You're dismissed." Rudolf ordered, making Seiun Sky and Grass Wonder leave her office. Once she was certain they were gone, Rudolf let out a sigh.
"Did she get attacked?" Brian asked, earning a nod from Rudolf.
"I have faith she's still doing fine. She doesn't seem to be the type to give up so easily."
"The outcomes of war is often unexpected. That girl might just surprise us." Brian replied.
Present day..
Seiun Sky hummed to herself as she carried a bucket and her trusty fishing rod to the docks. She stepped over the woode platform, making her way to her small boat anchored to the dock. Then, her grip on her bucket faltered—maing it fall onto the wooden docks as she stared at the person before her.
"Special Week?!.." She exclaimed. The admiral had somehow gotten back on land, though her uniform looked like it had seen better days.. she almost couldn't believe it was her. She walked up to the Admiral, examining her condition and attire.
"Where had you been? everyone thought you died."
"Uhh.. I had been stuck on an island. Oh, also.. the mermaid I told you about had actually saved me!" Special Week exclaimed proudly. Seiun Sky looked at her confusedly, "what?" she blurted out. "Basically.. she saved me from almost drowning, aided my leg that was injured because of a fall, and helped me sail here!" Special Week summarized.
Seiun Sky nodded along, "You should probably go and visit the emperor then. But first, you need to get some better clothes" she commented. "ahaha.. right, if I showed up looking like this they'll probably confuse me for a homeless beggar" Special Week laughed it off before continuing, "But where would I get clothes from? I don't really have any money on me right now.."
"Don't worry, I've got ya covered." Seiun Sky replied with a smile, "c'mon, let's get you some new clothes." She said, before turning back—walking towards the port city. Special Week hurriedly followed closely behind her.
"You seem really close with this "mermaid" you've been telling me all about." Seiun Sky commented.
"Mhm! we're really close, she's the one that helped me get back here! also.. how long has it been since we last met?"
"hmm.. I'd say around 8 months."
"Eh?! has it really been that long?.. I thought it was around 6-7 months!.." Special Week let out a gasp.
"Time flies by real fast ya know."
"Well then let's hurry up!! I need to report to her majesty on where I've been for the past 8 months! plus, I should really visit my mom.."
"Slow down, take a bath first."
3 months later...
Special Week rested her arms along the wooden deck of her ship as her fleet followed closely behind. She looked down at the calm waves of the ocean as the wind flowed through her hair. Soft footsteps creaked the wooden floorboards, before Seiun Sky stood beside her. "So, how've you been?" Seiun Sky asked, before stretching out her arms.
"I've been doing alright, thanks. It's just that.. everything's been busy for me the past few months. From visiting the Capital to report to Her majesty, visiting my hometown to see my mom, rebuilding my fleet, everything." Special Week explained, "how about you?"
"Eh, I'm doing pretty good, I just woke up from a nap earlier"
"You're admitting to slacking off in front of your admiral?.." Special Week commented.
Seiun Sky shrugged it off, "it's not like you'll punish me or anything"
Bubbles floated up to the water's surface, before a familiar reddish-orange haired woman emerged from below. "Suzuka!!" Special Week excitedly greeted her, earning a soft smile from the mermaid.
"She's your girlfriend, right?" Seiun Sky questioned
"You told other people about me?"
"erm.. yeahh sortaaaa" Special Week awkwardly tried to laugh it off. "sorry.."
The mermaid shook her head, a behavior learned from the Admiral. "It's fine, don't worry too much."