The Pearl-Moon Vow

Pyrrha awoke when all was dark. A faint light sat in the corner of her room and she swam over to it. It was a small fish in an enclosure, though the enclosure was open at the top. The fish wasn’t trapped inside which was good… Aurelyssa didn’t use actual fish to light; they used bioluminescent moss for ambient glow rather than lighting more like this. It was definitely a unique use of fish and their physical properties that she hadn’t expected to see. It seemed as if every mermaid settlement had its own ways of handling things. She lightly touched the enclosure and the fish moved back a little bit before swimming out over to Pyrrha. “Hello, little one,” she said. “I want to go out. Can you come with me?” The fish bobbed up and down. She held her hand out, using a soft spell to keep the fish with her. Once she got out of the port, though, the consuming darkness of the sea sat around her. The little fish’s glow was only good so far out. All she could hope is that sharks didn’t come and attack her… The ones around her home could be very twitchy and go after mermaids if seals weren’t readily available. She swam around, not really sure where she was going. At least it wasn’t the wide-open ocean or the deep depths. The moon cast a feeble light that barely penetrated the surface due to the waning phase. She knew she shouldn’t go out on such a dark night, but she felt compelled as she had while home. There was so much to the world outside of settlements… She knew it wasn’t always safe for mermaids, but it was nice to be able to go out sometimes… Aurelyssa just wanted her to conform and be a homebody which…wasn’t her at all. She swam toward the surface, not too far from the palace and looked around. A large cliff sat above her, Astana built straight into the rockface. She kept the little fish below the surface, knowing it couldn’t breathe the air like she could. After a few moments, she went back beneath and swam along the cliffs until she noticed the sloping starting to get gentler. Eventually, the hard rock turned to sand and she popped back above the surface. A beach sat near her which definitely tingled her senses. She had never been allowed above water before like that… She knew the spells for making legs, but she had never done it before… The surface wasn’t a place she ought to go because of how dangerous it was. She told the little fish to stay nearby and she swam up to the beach. Hesitantly, she beached herself and transformed. Bright white caught her attention and a strange creature with four legs and a horn like a narwhal approached. It had white hair, but very short. “Who are you, young one?” it asked. Its voice was high and light and it tilted its head. “What…are you? I’ve never seen anything like you before.” The creature laughed softly. “I am a unicorn. My name is Moonstone and my forest is about an hour away—if you’re walking at human speeds, granted. I can get to and from much faster. You look unsteady on your feet.” Pyrrha looked down at her legs which did shake a bit. She took a few tentative steps and found the movement incredibly unnatural. “From your wear, I assume you’re like Weiss, though the style is different.” “Um, yes… I’m her bride to be. My name is Pyrrha.” The unicorn’s bright blue eyes blinked. “So, you’re the one she’s been so worried about… Are you not used to being on land as she is?” “This is my first time ever above the surface… My community, Aurelyssa, lives in a colder coral reef to the north on a rocky island. There are beaches, but we’re told never to go up on them.” “I see… Why are you up here now, if it’s forbidden in your home?” Pyrrha frowned. She could hear amusement in Moonstone’s voice. “Curious, are you?” Pyrrha looked down. “It’s why I was sent away…” she confessed. Moonstone laughed, a lilting sound. “I wouldn’t venture too far away from Astana on your own, but Weiss comes up here all the time. She has a good friend, Sun, whom she meets with often. He’s a land dweller. However, know that his parents, who own the land nearby, are not fond of mermaids. They can and will kill them. I’ve seen carcasses wash up on shore, cut from tail to ribcage.” Pyrrha stared in horror. How could anybody be so cruel? Moonstone nodded. “Yes, it is needlessly cruel… I don’t understand it either. The only reason I tolerate incursions in my forest is because they send servants who obey the laws of my land.” Pyrrha frowned. “What…exactly is a forest?” She had never heard the term before. She wasn’t stupid; she just didn’t know a lot of terms for things above the water. “Ah. I do suppose it makes sense you have evenlessknowledge than Weiss…which is saying a lot.” Moonstone made a sharp noise, a laugh, but harsher. “Have you ever seen a tree before?” Pyrrha nodded. “A forest is a place of many, many trees and plants. A unicorn forest is green year ‘round due to the magic of its guardian. Really, I shouldn’t be leaving, but I don’t fear Sun’s parents. They’re cruel and can be stupid, but eventheywouldn’t harm someone that offers them the benefit of certain foods year ‘round.” “I see…” It was hard to imagine more than a few trees. “Could you perhaps take me to see this forest?” “You would have to ride. Thankfully, I am much more comfortable than a normal horse.” Again, the sharp laughing noise. “Normally, I wouldn’t allow one to ride me, but as you are Weiss’ bride to be, I’ll allow it. She’s a good friend.” Moonstone got down and told Pyrrha how to get on her back. Pyrrha held onto her mane, feeling very uncomfortable and like she could fall off. Moonstone started walking and then picked up the pace. Pyrrha had known walking was a thing, but she had never known faster paces existed. They entered a large stretch of trees that blurred by in the faint, feeble moonlight. She had never known there were so many trees in the world! And they didn’t have the strange, long, thin needles either! They had broad, green… She wasn’t sure what they were! It was thrilling to see something so different from what she was used to. She hated to leave Aurelyssa but this was why she had been sent away… Soon enough, Moonstone stopped and had Pyrrha slide off her back. Soft, short plants sat underfoot and pleasant scents wafted around. “What are all of these sweet smells?” It was honestly almost overwhelming. “Flowers.” Moonstone started walking and led Pyrrha over to a…mound of the green…things. “What are these?” She cradled one of the green things in her hand. “You don’t even know what a leaf is?” “No. I’ve only seen the land from a distance.” “It’s a leaf. They’re how plants make their energy. Instead of eating, plants convert sunlight to energy.” Moonstone touched the tip of her horn to a bunch of colorful leaves. “This is a flower. They’re how flowers reproduce.” “Wow…” Pyrrha bent over and sniffed the flower, reeling from just how sweet it was. “Wow!” This place was wondrous. “The leaves are a lot like seaweed and other underwater plants. But they don’t really have leaves, now do they?” “Not really, no,” Pyrrha said. “Would you like to try some fruit?” “What’s that?” “Follow me and see.” She could hear a pleased lilt in Moonstone’s voice. She didn’t argue and followed the unicorn to an area where trees laden with… She wasn’t sure what they were. They were all different shapes and sizes and colors even in the feeble moonlight. Moonstone’s horn glowed and got some of the things down from the trees, then allowed them to float in front of Pyrrha. “Eat.” Hesitantly, Pyrrha picked one from the air and took a bite. Sweetness unlike anything she’d ever had exploded in her mouth, making her dizzy. “Wow! What is this?” “It’s an apple. The duke and dutchess have their servants harvest them for things like cider. Here, try this.” One of the fruits broke open, revealing small, deeply red insides. Pyrrha picked a couple of them out and ate them. This was also a very tart flavor in addition to the sweetness. “Wow!” She sounded like something broken, but she had no other words. “What’s this?” “Pomegranate. And this is an orange.” The last fruit started peeling and a wedge came out. Pyrrha took the wedge and ate it. This one wasmuchless sweet and far more sour. But it was still good in its own way. “The land dwellers squeeze the juice out of this as well for a beverage.” “What is…be-ver-age?” She had never heard the word before. Moonstone chuckled. “Right, you live underwater. You don’t drink things. Can you feel how there’s liquid inside?” Pyrrha nodded. “That’s juice. All fruits have it, though in different amounts. They squeeze the juice out of it to drink.” “Weird. But I can see why.” The fruits were very tasty and she wasn’t against having more. But she knew she really shouldn’t stay out too long… Her sleep schedule would already be messed up as was. The travel had really destroyed her normal routine. “I probably shouldn’t be out too much longer…” Moonstone nodded and put the fruit on the ground, then touched it with her horn. It turned into brown mounds and Pyrrha looked at her. “Waste not, want not, yeah?” Pyrrha nodded. Moonstone got down again and started heading back to the beach. She explained how things decomposed above land and why that was important to the growth cycle of the forest. All she had done was speed up the decomposition process so the fruit wouldn’t go to waste since Pyrrha hadn’t eaten all of it. That was definitely smart… Aurelyssa was careful about resources and she was pretty sure Astana would be no different in that regard. They reached the beach a little while after and Pyrrha slid off Moonstone’s back. She could see a light in the water, weaving and bobbing frantically. Oh boy, her little fish friend was probably worried. She went back into the ocean and transformed her legs back into her tail. The little fish swam over to her, bobbing up and down. “I’m sorry for not saying anything. I didn’t expect to leave the beach. I was just with Moonstone.” The little fish calmed down immediately. She used the soft spell to have it float above her hand and started swimming back to Astana. She hadn’t expected the late-night excursion, but honestly, it had been fun. Stuff like this was why she’d been sent away in the first place. She was just too restless for Aurelyssa’s culture that valued harmony and quiet. She found her way back to the room she’d been given and let the little fish go. She was honestly surprised she had found her way back so easily… It wasn’t like she was exactly used to this area yet. But she wouldn’t complain either. She was already exhausted and the excursion had only worn her out more. She leaned against her rest pad and drifted back off into slumber.

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The next day came and Weiss woke with the sun as she always did. She thought about Sun and how she wanted to talk to him, but there was nothing she could do about it. He was always going to be slightly out of her reach… She was glad she could talk to him when she could, though. All of this was so, so hard. Having to be married to a stranger… She knew arranged marriages were a thing, but it didn’t make it any easier. All she wanted was to choose her own love, but no, that wasn’t allowed apparently. Her stepfather had wanted to control her and this was definitely one way to do that… She swam to the dining room where food was being put into its proper place. All sorts of different dishes floated around, making Weiss smile. At least meals wouldn’t be interrupted too much. Then again… She would still have to put up with her stepsiblings. Which she was not enthused about. Part of her almost wished she could go to Aurelyssa, but then she never would’ve gotten over missing Sun. There really was no winning for her situation here. She wouldn’t miss her stepsiblings had she been told to go to Aurelyssa. Weiss found her rest pad and leaned her back against her, her usual spot. Her mother, stepfather, Winter, and stepsiblings came in. One of the boys stuck his tongue out but Weiss ignored it. They would never get in trouble for what they did. Weiss had tried to tell Willow, but they were perfect little angels around her mother. She hated that they could get away with basically abusing her. Winter normally took the rest pad on Weiss’ left, but it was left open. Weiss felt panic bubble in her chest, then realising that it was so that way Pyrrha could be there. She really didn’t want to… All of this was upsetting the natural order of her life. It would never be the same again. All she wanted was to have her life continue on and be allowed to choose what she wanted… But no. Her future had been chosenfor her. A few minutes passed and Pyrrha got escorted into the room by a servant. “Good morning, Weiss,” Pyrrha said. It took a moment for what Sun said to return to her. It wassorude to speak a greeting. But…if that was what they did in Aurelyssa… “Do you speak your greetings in Aurelyssa?” Weiss asked. Pyrrha blinked. “Do you…not do that here?” Weiss shook her head and made some hand gestures. “That’s how our greetings are done.” So she hadn’t beentryingto be rude; ithadjust been a difference of culture. She really needed to try to remember to keep her patience with Pyrrha… It would’ve been the same had she been pushed to Aurelyssa. The cultures were apparently quite different. She knew open-sea and deep-sea mermaids had different cultures than surface-dwelling ones, but she hadn’t expected them to be this different… Pyrrha frowned and bowed her head. “Forgive me for being rude, then… I’m sorry if I offended. Can you show me a basic greeting?” Weiss got off her rest pad and nodded a bit. “Sure.” Yeah, she had had Pyrrha wrong… She felt bad now, but it wasn’t like she had said any of that to Pyrrha’s face. She had only talked to Sun and he had set her straight. She would have to try to be patient with Pyrrha while she learned Astanan ways. Weiss showed Pyrrha a simple, basic greeting that would work for anyone of any status rank. “We consider speaking greetings an affront to The One.” Pyrrha put her hand over her mouth. “Oh my! I’m so sorry.” She bowed her head deeply. “I didn’t mean to offend.” “You didn’t know.” Weiss offered the best smile she could. Yeah, Pyrrha definitely wasn’t trying to be rude. The multiple apologies already… She did want to do the best she could. She would have to be patient. Pyrrha was from far away, so she had a lot to learn… If things were at all flipped, Weiss would be in the same position. She’d be apologising and trying to learn. She just hoped that Pyrrha didn’t commit any major taboos. “Can you help me with the greeting…? It’s…complicated.” Weiss blinked. “It’s really not… Anyone of any status can use it.” It was, what, seven motions? Not that complicated, especially compared to formal greetings. “For me, it is. Could you help me after we eat?” Weiss nodded. “All right.” She flicked her bangs out of her eyes though her hair continued to float. She motioned to the rest pad that was normally Winter’s. “You can eat there.” Pyrrha nodded. She was handed a large shell and her expression blanked. Then she looked at Weiss. “What?” “I…don’t understand.” “You take what you want, then we eat at the rest pads. Is there something wrong with that?” “It’s just…not the way I’m used to it is all.” Weiss nodded. Pyrrha was clearly struggling. “I can imagine it’s a very difficult transition.” She could imagine if things were flipped… How hard it would be for her if she were in Aurelyssa. Being ripped away from everything she’d known would be hard. Even just having her stepsiblings around was hard enough and they werefromAstana. How much harder would be if her stepfather were from a different community? Although…the worst part was thatthey knewthat they were rude andchoseto act that way anyway. Pyrrha was at leasttryingto fit in even if her customs, ideals, and values were different. “Very…” She ran her hand through her hair, leaving it floating in the water. Weiss motioned and had Pyrrha follow. “Dishes are served communally, then we take what we want. Okay?” Pyrrha nodded, though she hesitated. Weiss led the way and started gathering what she wanted. “And take only what you think you can finish. If you want, you can always come for more. Leaving food unfinished is seen as rude.” It felt odd to have to explain such simple cultural norms to someone, but…Pyrrha really was trying. She didn’t want to upset anybody. Weiss would have to be patient and try to explain everything as best she could, though she was certain some things would escape her… For now, though, Pyrrha was doing her best. She led Pyrrha over to the dishes and put them on her shell. Thankfully, Weiss knew how much she needed at this point. Pyrrha got a small amount and then followed Weiss back over to their rest pads. “Why did he stick his tongue out at you…?” Pyrrha asked. Weiss sighed. “We don’t get along. At all. Winter is myrealsister while the other three are my stepsiblings. He’s not my real father. My mother was forced to marry again and I wouldn’t be surprised if they begin pushing for more heirs soon…” Thankfully, her stepsiblings weren’t in the line of successionat all.They weren’t of the royal bloodline, so they couldn’t inherit anything from Weiss’ family. Not even if something happened to all of them… Weiss had other family members, though they had chosen to disperse. She had an aunt she saw sometimes as well as an uncle. She wasn’t especially close to them, but they’d inherit before the stupid stepsiblings. Pyrrha frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry…” “You’ll see them treating me badlyallthe time. They’re spoiled brats, but my mother doesn’t believe me.” She shook her head. “I’d rather not talk about them though. Would you maybe like to go on a tour of Astana with me later? I can work with you on the greeting, then we could go out and about. I could even show you the shore.” She smiled. She loved going up on the beach. Sometimes she even got to see Moonstone and the unicorn brought fruit. “Have you ever been on the beach before?” “Once.” Something about that answer seemed to be hiding something. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know.” Pyrrha gave an awkward smile. “I…may have gone up on the shore late last night.” Weiss blinked. “Oh. I’d suggest not doing that especially since the moon is waning right now. The world above can be pretty dangerous especially if you’re not used to it. Someone that’s not so kind to mermaids might have caught you.” She wasn’t trying to restrict Pyrrha by any means; her mother had told her not to go above the surface when it was dark. It was dangerous. “Moonstone was there,” Pyrrha said. Well, that definitely proved she had gone above the surface… Moonstone was the local unicorn that led over the forest. “That’s definitely good. Few would mess with her. Not even Sun’s parents will anger her. Daytime is best since some less than savory land dwellers prowl the beach at night. There have been kidnappings of mermaids that go up at night.” Pyrrha grimaced. “I didn’t know!” Weiss smiled. “I know. I’m just saying. They won’t know you’re from elsewhere as we don’t have a lot of contact with the land dwellers here due to the duke and dutchess’ opinion of us… I wish we could establish trade with the city, but that’s not going to happen while they live.” Yeah, she had seen more than one dead mermaid, cut open from ribcage to tail. It was disgusting and distressing to see. Sailors didn’t like them too much either… But the duke and dutchess weren’t fans of them either. She really didn’t like them for the way they treated Sun and her people… “I’ll try not to venture outside of Astana without you.” “Oh, I didn’t mean to restrict you to just the settlement; you can check out the areas around here to your heart’s content, all right?” Weiss smiled. “Just don’t go above the water while it’s dark is all.” There was a difference between telling her not to leaveat alland just telling her not to goone placeduringone time.Weiss avoided the shore at night herself… Even going there before dawn was risky. She did take that risk sometimes, though… Pyrrha nodded a bit. “Okay… Is there a lot around here?” Weiss nodded, still smiling. “Oh yes, plenty. There are reefcrafts around here as well as plenty of sacred sites. Lots to explore.” That seemed to put Pyrrha at ease. “Plus, Astana’s pretty big on its own. We have…ten thousand or so living here?” As far as she knew, it was one of the bigger mermaid settlements in this stretch of the ocean. Deep-sea mermaids and open-ocean mermaids tended to keep to smaller bands rather than larger ones. Even the most nearby settlements had only one or two thousand. Astana was a hub for trade due to its large reefcrafting areas. “Reef…crafts?” “You know, growing food and stuff?” “Oh. We use the term sea husbandry.” “Ah.” This was definitely going to take some time. Weiss didn’t think that Pyrrha was ignorant, but it was definitely tough to have to answer so many questions. She wished she could’ve just married someone from Astana… Then they wouldn’t have to go through this song and swim. She hoped she wouldn’t lose her patience with Pyrrhaespeciallywhen it was clear she was trying her absolute best to adapt and get used to new terms. Weissknewit’d be the same if she were in Pyrrha’s position and had been sent to Aurelyssa. Pyrrha finished with her smaller meal and went to go get more, coming back a moment later. “It still feels weird to have individual portions… We take what we want from the shells one bite at a time,” Pyrrha explained. “That’s odd to me…for obvious reasons.” Weiss looked down at her half-eaten meal. Granted, she had heard some mermaids didn’t evensharetheir meals like this! It was crazy to think of. They just served individual portions. Ifthiswas hard for Pyrrha to accept, how much harder would it be for her to acceptthat?Weiss had no idea. Even Weiss herself would struggle with that. It wassorude to not have collective meals. “What if I don’t finish my shell?” Pyrrha asked, a slight strain to her tone. “Well…it’d be one thing if you were from Astana… We consider it showing gratitude to not leave food. But you’re just getting used to things here… Not everyone may be as understanding, but considering you’re affiliated with the royal family, they won’t say anything.” She knew other mermaids would judge Pyrrha silently unfortunately. But they wouldn’t speak it to her face. Pyrrha was the bride to be for one of the royal girls, so it would beincrediblyrude and disrespectful to say something like that to Pyrrha’s face. Still… Weiss knew how judgemental others could be. Pyrrha nodded, her gaze turning down. “I see. I don’t want to disappoint anybody.” “It’s all right. It’s just going to take time for you to get Astana’s manners and behaviors down. I’d be in the same position had I been sent to Aurelyssa. Would you think me lesser for not understanding your culture’s values and manners?” That seemed to set Pyrrha thinking. “Others will probably think you’re rude, but you’re clearly trying your best, Pyrrha.” Pyrrha dipped her head. “Thank you… I don’t want to disappoint or upset anybody.” It was odd just how conflict averse Pyrrha seemed. Keeping peace was one thing; being conflict avoidant was another. Weiss could understand wanting to get the behaviors and manners down quickly, but still… It seemed almost abnormal for howmuchPyrrha wanted it. “It’ll just take some time.” Weiss smiled at her again. Pyrrha was so genuine about not wanting to upset people… Why had she been sent off? It didn’t make any sense to her. She seemed legitimately kind and sweet. Did nobody in Aurelyssa want her? There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered, but Weiss wasn’t sure where to start. Plus, they were strangers; she had a feeling probing too deeply into them would cause issues and she really didn’t want that yet. “Okay… Thank you for being so understanding.” Weiss definitely hadn’t been yesterday, but now that she saw Pyrrha… Yeah. She would have to be patient. Pyrrha was sweet and wanted the best possible outcome. Maybe Weiss ought to spend some time asking about Aurelyssa’s manners, customs, and beliefs. She was pretty sure their interpretations of The One would be different, but still… If it would help Pyrrha feel more comfortable, it was probably worth it. “You’re welcome.” She didn’t want to completely overwhelm Pyrrha, though, so she fell silent for the rest of the meal. Pyrrha was obviously stressed out when she still had some food remaining on her shell. “I-I’m sorry… I overestimated…” “No, it’s fine, Pyrrha. You’ll learn how much you need in due time. It’s only your first meal here. It’ll get better; I promise.” She smiled again. Yeah, Pyrrha was definitely conflict avoidant entirely, not just trying to fit in. She really had no idea why that was… But she didn’t want to get into conflict with Pyrrha so soon by asking. But she had promised to help her with the greeting. “Come on; why don’t we go to one of the coral courts and I can teach you the greeting?” Pyrrha gave a hesitant nod before Weiss started off with a flick of her tail. Well, this certainly would be interesting…