Imminent Danger

Ah...

Niamh groaned in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, finding herself face-to-face with a tall, towering merman.

Startled, she quickly got up and demanded, "W-who are you?"

He leaned closer, his tall frame towering over her, and smirked. "Now, before you start interrogating me, princess, let me ask you first: what were you doing in the whirlpool? It's certainly not something I would consider as an entertaining ride."

"I didn't go into the whirlpool for a picnic!" Niamh replied, her anger rising.

"Of course, you didn't," he smiled.

"Stop looking at me like I'm some idiot!" she snapped. "Where the hell am I? Where did you bring me?"

"Now, now, princess, you don't need to get so defensive," he said, smiling. "Who in The Arestic Land wouldn't know about the royal mark?" He pointed to her back, and Niamh instinctively pulled away and pressed herself against the cave's corner.

He was pointing at the royal mark every royal member is born with. It was something to be proud of, but hers was covered in fading scars.

"Who are you? And what do you know?!" Niamh demanded.

He smiled, but there was a glint of sorrow in his eyes as he replied, "I was on a scout mission to locate the Eifriets."

'Eifriets?!' Niamh Gasped in shock

'they're truly the worst creature in existence. Unlike other sea creatures that hunt for survival, Eifriets revel in the pain they inflict. I only ever read about them in books but to think he encountered a herd of them!'

He noticed her frightened expression, "I see you're aware of their existence, they've been causing havoc near our domain, attacking innocent merfolk. We were tracking a herd of them, but things went horribly wrong. An ambush, I suspect. All my teammates fought valiantly, but in the end, they succumbed to the Eifriets' relentless attacks, and I was the only one who survived."

His voice trailed off for a moment, lost in painful memories. Niamh could sense the weight of loss and survivor's guilt that burdened him. She could see that this merman had experienced something profound, something that had forever changed him.

"To escape from the Eifriets, I had no choice but to use the whirlpool," he continued, his tone heavy with emotion. "It was a dangerous gamble, but somehow I managed to survive the treacherous currents and end up in this cave."

"When I saw you, I thought you might be one of the scout guards sent by my team," he added, his expression a mix of relief and curiosity.

"Then why didn't you return back!?" she asked.

"I was heavily injured, princess. It took months to heal," he said sadly. "Also, I didn't have the strength to go back and face their families. How could I tell them that their sons died, and I survived?"

"Oh," Niamh's expression turned grim, and she swam towards him, trying to comfort him by stroking his shoulder.

"I am sorry."

"It's alright, princess," he smiled to comfort her.

"Princess, are you injured? Why are you swimming so weakly?" he asked, noticing her weakened movement.

Her expression turned to shock, realizing he hadn't noticed her one fin yet. Panic surged within her. "Oh, it's... It's because of these restraints," she quickly replied. "They're blocking my ability to navigate through magic, and that's why I ended up in the dense turbulent currents."

"Who would dare do such a thing to you? Did they cause you to lose your other fin as well?" he asked.

"N-no, I was born with it," she mumbled, closing her eyes, realizing that there was no point in hiding it; he would eventually know.

"Oh, that's interesting," he smiled. "I've never heard of a mermaid born with one fin. Anyways, I'm really hungry…"

Niamh felt a mixture of surprise and something different - he found her interesting. It was new, compared to everything she had ever heard; this didn't feel too bad, in fact, it made her feel...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the merman handed her seaweed. "Here, eat it," he said, stuffing his mouth with it.

"Ugh, no thanks," Niamh replied, wrinkling her nose at the peculiar seaweed with an unpleasant smell.

"Oh, more for me then," he chuckled, shoving another handful into his mouth.

As he ate, Niamh approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it, you want some, princess?" he asked playfully.

"Ugh, no, I... My name is Nia," she said hesitantly. "So, don't call me princess anymore."

"Ah, you hate me calling you princess that much?" he said with a hint of sadness.

"Yes. What's your name?" she asked, ignoring his attempt at puppy eyes.

"Well, I am Kael. Nice to meet you, princess," he teased.

"I just... Fine, whatever," she sighed. "So, how will we escape this place? I need to go back to the mermaid domain."

"Oh, going back? I had no intention of that," he said nonchalantly.

"You're going to survive on seaweed for the rest of your life?!" she retorted.

"Maybe?!" he shrugged.

"Argh, you're impossible to get through! I'm taking a nap," she huffed, storming off and finding a spot to sleep on a bed of rocks covered with seaweed and algae.

"Damn that idiot," she thought to herself as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, a loud bang jolted her awake. Confused and still drowsy, she looked around for Kael. "Kael, what's happening?"

"Huh? Where did he go?" Kael was nowhere to be found.

"Could he be outside?" Niamh wondered as she tried to get up and swim towards the cave's entrance.

"I can't see anywhere with my vision. It's too dark. Where could he have gone?"

Niamh tried to search for him but left the cave entrance weakly, swimming further from it.

"Tch, did he leave me alone?" her expression turned cold.

Niamh saw a glimpse of vulnerability in him, and it stirred something inside her - a connection born from shared pain and isolation, the thought of him leaving her alone scared her so much that she couldn't breath.

"Who am I kidding? Did I really think some random guy I met a while ago would actually stay around even after seeing my cursed tail?!"

As Niamh swam weakly away from the cave entrance, unbeknownst to her, a sinister presence lurked in the shadows.

A young Eifriet, though a baby, had inherited the cunning and malevolence of its species. With a keen eye, it had been stalking Niamh from a distance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Kael who finally reached the cave panicked as he couldn't find Nia there. He frantically searched for her, his heart pounding with worry.

As he rushed towards her, he spotted the young Eifriet lurking nearby, it's cold eyes fixated on Nia. He realized that she was in grave danger.

"oh no! NIA!"