Alexander bites his lip, staring up at the clouds as the sky takes on a dark grey hue. He can hear his crew whispering around him, some muttering about the weather and others mumbling about food. He can feel their eyes on him, and Alexander fingers his sword nervously.

They found out about the food a while back, and like expected, the crew freaked out. Cleo tried to calm them as best as she could, but Alexander quickly realized that the only way of easing them would be to get back to base as soon as possible.

“Hey, Captain,” one of his shipmates, Yulis, calls. “What’s with the weather all of a sudden? Wasn’t it pretty sunny a little while ago?”

“You know the weather at sea can be unpredictable,” Alexander says, feeling a couple drops hit his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But sir,” another voice begins. “This weather almost feels...unnatural.”

Alexander huffs.

“Look, it’s just a passing storm,” Alexander insists, looking away. “Everything’s gonna be--”

“Captain, there’s something in the water!”

“For the love of--”

Alexander peeks over the railing, his eyes widening when he sees a tail disappear back into the water.

“Was that…”

“But we’re nowhere near their territory!”

“I saw another one!”

“They’re crowding the ship! I see several of them…”

“Captain, where are we?!”

Alexander sighs, turning to face his frantic crew.

“We’re in the Glassy Sea and judging by the weather, the inhabitants know we’re here.”

His crew gives each other worried glances. Before Alexander can explain himself further, the crew starts mumbling amongst themselves.

“Um…”

Alexander knew his crew could be a little unpredictable, but this was new.

He had been expecting them to be yelling at him right now.

Or perhaps they were discussing whether to fuss at him or toss him overboard.

“We’re...gonna die aren’t we?” Yulis says. “We have no food, so we’re just gonna let the sea decide our fate…”

“What the--no!” Alexander says. “We’re going to be fine. We’ll make it back to St. Mary before--”

SLAM!

Before Alexander could say anything more, a heavy wave slammed against the side of the ship, sending the ship teetering to the side. Alexander grips the rail tightly, glancing back at the water below. He sees a flicker of a large green tail before another wave smacks into the ship. The water splashes onto to the deck, and Alexander curses under his breath.

“Everyone, hang on!” Cleo yells from the crow’s nest above, and Alexander can tell she’s holding on for dear life.

As the waves become more violent, Alexander digs his nails into the railing, his grip slowly slipping as the rain gets heavier and waves begin to crash over the hull. The rest of the crew seemed to be doing the same, save for the navigator, Elizabeth, whom Alexander could see was frantically trying to keep them from capsizing.

Briefly, Alexander wonders if they really were going to die out here. He wonders if just maybe, they could’ve risked sailing around the continent. Maybe they would’ve been fine or maybe they would’ve gone insane. Alexander would never know.

“Alexander, I see something up ahead on the rocks!” Cleo shouts, and Alexander leans a bit further over the railing to see what she’s talking about.

For a moment, Alexander wishes he hadn’t.

On the nearby rocks were two mermen.

One of the mermen on the rocks was rather broad-shouldered, his dark green tail difficult to see against the rocks. His black hair was tousled and messy. In his hand, Alexander could see a large silver trident, shining brightly.

Only the royalty of seas held tridents. Alexander shudders.

That was the King of the Glassy Sea.

The king appeared rather stoic looking and mature, seeming to size up the ship from where he was. Alexander gulps, feeling the king’s golden eyes land on him. Alexander stands up slightly, his grip on the railing slipping slightly.

The other merman seemed to be looking at the ship in awe. His eyes were the same gold color as the king’s, though not as intense.

The merman’s tail was a soft purple, though Alexander noticed that a few scales here and there were a dark blue. Their dark purple hair appeared even messier than the king’s, and Alexander could faintly see a few light colored strands stand out against the rocks. His bronze skin seemed to glow against the trident’s light.

Alexander knew he was staring, but he couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from the younger merman, barely noticing his hold on the railing had become non-existent.

Until another wave slams against the ship.

Alexander surges backward, groaning as he hits the deck. He barely hears Cleo call out to him, starting to feel his head throbbing at the pain. The voices of his crew start to become muddled, and before Alexander can even think about getting up, a large wave crashes over the ship.

And Alexander couldn’t feel the deck underneath him anymore.

He hits the water faster than he anticipates, the sea overtaking him before Alexander has a chance to breathe.

He feels heavy, reaching out to the surface only to realize that he’s sinking. He’s sinking to the bottom.

He can’t hear anything at all. The voices of his crew felt far off and he couldn’t hear their voices in his head.

He can feel his eyes closing on him, slowly but surely, and just for a second, Alexander imagines a pair of soft golden irises staring back at him.