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It was a beautiful night. The stars were bright enough to be seen but dim enough to be white dots scattered gracefully through the pitch dark of the night. And the moon. There was a full moon right above her! The sky was so beautiful that Pearl would have enjoyed it so much.
…
…
…
If it wasn’t because of this stupid festival!
The whole night was ruined by the loud sounds of cheers, laughter, and talking. And the music! Oh-ho-ho…, if it wasn’t because Chromia and the others were here, Pearl would have destroyed the place in an instant! Pearl shook her head as she tried to walk away into a more secluded and more quiet area, a particular one where there was no crowds, no loud noises, no nothing, just her and the calmed and beautiful–
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Pearl flinched as some strange objects were launched into the sky. Pearl’s ears were ringing as she watched as the objects flew higher and higher until…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fiery explosions were unleashed from the flying objects as bright colors erupted in an instant, the flash of light blinding Pearl as she covered her eyes while a hiss escaped her lips. Nearby people cheered even more loudly as if they were happy at her suffering.
‘Gods, why did I come here?!’ Pearl mentally screamed as she pushed her body into moving, using her free hand against the wall as she started to walk. And by walking, she meant awkwardly moving her legs while these things were making it harder for her to move on land! As if it wasn’t enough suffering for her!
What was it that Chromia called them? Heels? Who creates shoes that just make you taller while also crippling your movement?!
…
… Chromia…
…
Right. She was here for Chromia…
Pearl turned to look as she watched Chromia chatting with that hunter. Both Chromia and the hunter were dressed nicely, with Chromia wearing an elegant suit that he got from somewhere while the hunter was dressed in another suit but this one being more basic compared to Chromia’s. She would never understand what it was that Chromia saw in that hunter, but the way they lively talk, laugh, and look at each other is so… so…!
Happy…
Pearl has never seen Chromia looking so happy before, that it almost hurt her to know that that hunter was the reason he was smiling like that. Did Chromia really like that hunter just like Hunter and Warden did with each other?
Speaking of the couple, Pearl spotted them dancing alongside a crowd of humans, both girls laughing and smiling as Hunter grabbed Warden into a hug and made her spin around her while she was being lifted into the air. The dark green dress with dark blue streams that Warden was wearing somehow complimented the dark gray semi-dress that Hunter had, which in Pearl’s opinion looked more like a suit than dress. Everybody was having fun and were enjoying the night, everybody except… her.
Pearl walked against the wall as she walked away from the loud and large crowd of people gathered for the festival. There were some people who weren’t participating but were still smiling and looked like they were enjoying the night, unlike her. Pearl eventually ran out of a wall to support herself, so she had to continue walking with the constant need to balance her weight for every step that she took. She wished Sanctuary or Parrot were here, but if they were here then Pearl was pretty sure they would also enjoy the festival and leave her as well. Great! So all of her friends are all enjoying this night except for–
“Uff!” Pearl groaned as she fell hard on the ground. She glared her eyes at the person who she ended up colliding with, her mood already ruined far beyond reasoning. “Hey! Watch where you’re…” Pearl stopped talking as her mouth became speechless.
The woman that was standing in front of her was the hunter’s friend! What was her name again? Cleo? Yes, Cleo! She was dressed in what appeared to be a dark green moss dress with a long skirt with a black corset tied up to her and…
Pearl’s eyes widened when she spotted the boots that Cleo was wearing. They looked like the damn heels she was wearing?! You’re telling Pearl that there’s such a thing as a boot version of a heel and Chromia wanted her to go on these in which she could barely walk without falling? Cleo looked like she could walk normally for god’s sake!
“Hey,” Pearl’s thoughts were broken by Cleo’s loud voice. She looked up and saw the stitched face of the woman, bending her back and stretching a hand to her. “You alright?” Cleo asked in a worried tone laced with suspicion, the former confusing Pearl a bit before realizing it was probably how different she was dressed.
The last time these two met they were trying to kill the other in their usual clothes, so it made sense that Cleo didn’t recognize Pearl in this red dress that Chromia gave her to wear for the festival as well as the silver moon accessories that Warden gifted to her.
…
Or maybe it was the makeup that Chromia and the others insisted on Pearl to wear to hide her scar that made her unrecognizable. Pearl’s face could still feel the makeup covering her scar, the most sensitive part of her that made her feel so vulnerable. Pearl’s thoughts were broken when she felt somebody lifting her up by her armpits until she stood up on her feet, and was quickly caught by the same person as she started to tip over and almost fell down to the ground a second time.
“Hey, are you alright?” Cleo’s voice sounded so close to Pearl’s ears that she jumped back away from her in shock. “Hey, look at me. Are you alright?” The concern on her voice sounded genuine, something that she didn’t expect from the human or any other human, which made it even worse because it made Pearl feel… happy that someone was worried about her?
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Pearl waved her off as she tried to walk on her own only for Cleo to have to catch her a second time as she tripped on her heel. Pearl took a deep sighed as her pride was being crushed by these stupid heels. “Actually. Mind taking me away from this whole area? I’m not exactly a big fan of loud noises.”
Cleo nodded at her before she started to guide her, slowly walking next to her, holding her arms so Pearl was supported by her as she clumsily walked on her heels, occasionally tripping over something or losing her balance momentarily. “Not a fan of heels, are you?” The question came out as a tease, one that Pearl couldn’t get angry at nor could hiss at either. She instead unusually responded with honesty and no sarcasm.
“How in the living–,” Pearl once again tripped over something. “How are people happy with walking on these damn things?!” Hunter was by far more reckless and more brutish than Pearl, yet she walked on the heels like they were nothing. “How is it possible that people actually buy these things?!”
Cleo let out a loud and dry laugh, which Pearl couldn’t help but smirk at. God, what’s going on with her? Why is she saying these things or thinking about them? “Oh, I have no idea. My opinion is that they just want to look like everybody else and not be left out.” Pearl thought about what Cleo said. Is that why Chromia insisted on her to wear these heels? Before she could further think about it, though. “But I think it only makes them look less outstanding and easier to ignore.”
Their conversation went on and on. At first, they talked about how loud and unnecessarily loud the festival was, much to the pleasure of Pearl as the sound of fireworks were becoming background noise till Pearl's acute hearing couldn’t pick them up anymore. The conversation eventually swayed into questions regarding their business on the festival, with Cleo saying that her crew decided to take some time off to celebrate the festivity and regain their energies after an extremely stressful and tiring escape from a bunch of sea princes.
Pearl managed to subdue the growl that she let out. The fact that the pesky hunters actually managed to escape from her grasps was still infuriating. But nevertheless, she was here, right? She had a second chance right now to get back at them for escaping from her at Crescent Bay. If it wasn’t because Chromia was here and the human he liked so much was also here and near him, Pearl would have already destroyed this part of the city by herself…
…
If not because apparently Chromia, Parrot, Sanctuary, and Warden lived here. Gosh… damn it! Why did most of her friends all lived in this filthy place alongside all of these hu–
CRUNCH!
Pearl’s eyes widened when the familiar sound of sand being crunched sounded off from below her. Pearl’s thoughts were enough to drown out the sound of the ocean’s waves hitting the shore of the beach, since that’s where she and Cleo were standing at now. Pearl felt her eyes watering as she felt a sudden sense of safety and protection after the intense feeling of dread that she felt standing inside of the city. The cold air felt nice after standing for so long next to the uncomfortable heat of the buildings. She was a sea prince, she was supposed to rule over the seas and the waters of all the oceans, it was the only place she had absolute control over everything around her.
So it was a complete surprise that Cleo actually brought her to the only home that Pearl has ever known of. “Wha… what?” Pearl stuttered, not comprehending anything. “Why did you bring me here?” Cleo’s eye perked up as she looked at Pearl amusingly.
“Isn’t this your home?” Cleo asked her a very obvious question which Pearl nodded at. “Thought it was the only place you would feel happy.” Cleo guided Pearl to a fallen log that they both used to sit on, sitting under the shining stars of the pitch dark night.
Pearl let out a sob as her emotions were suddenly starting to rush through her mind. “T–Thanks.” Pearl could only mutter those words back. “I–I really needed this.” Pearl felt a hand gently holding hers as she turned to face Cleo, holding a sympathetic expression towards her. How funny. Pearl never thought she would be smiling back at a human, not with wickedness nor with threat, but with thankfulness and happiness.
“Want to take a swim?” Cleo asked as she lifted Pearl up. She started to take off her boots as she rushed towards the waters hitting the shore. “Come on!” Pearl felt her heart skip a beat as she hurried to free her feet from the cursed heels and ran to join Cleo into the waters of the sea, a bit warm for her liking but still chilly enough to tolerate it. Feeling the water coursing through her legs made Pearl very happy, wishing for the others to drop the dances and the festivity to join her for the swim. But it suddenly made Pearl feel funny, something inside of her was telling her that this was her moment. Her moment with her.
It was her moment with Cleo.
Pearl suddenly felt something push her into the water, her body completely submerged as Cleo’s laugh ran loudly. Cleo looked amusingly at the water’s surface, expecting Pearl to resurface with an angry or annoyed expression or resurfacing behind her to surprise attack her. Imagine her shock when a large hand suddenly lifted her off the water and into the air as a gigantic sea prince was staring at her with an amusing look. Pearl’s blue eyes were piercing right into Cleo’s soul as the makeup had been completely removed, revealing the giant scar that coursed through Pearl’s left eye.
Cleo actually yelped when Pearl deposited her back into the beach, dropping her unceremoniously as she started to turn back into her human form, her red dress soaked completely as she made her way back to Cleo, whose dress was covered in sand.
“Could have been a bit gentler there,” Cleo remarked as she stood up to face Pearl.
“Could I?” Pearl mused on it before feeling two strong hands grabbing her by her shoulders and pulling her closer to Cleo, her face directly in front of Cleo, cheeks burning as she stared right at her eyes.
“Of course,” Cleo said before pressing her lips into Pearl’s, the secret sea prince taken by surprise as she slowly submitted herself to the kiss, the warm feeling that it brought into her completely making her stay in the city and the participating in the festival worthwhile…
…
… as well as giving her someone who she could love and be together with.