Oh look, a special chapter!

I've really been looking forward to writing this one, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

Before we begin, I want to give you guys a (newer) playlist of songs I've been listening to for "inspiration" while writing this story!

The Lightning Strike by Snow Patrol
Valerie by The Glee Cast
Aware by Front Porch Step [E]
Knives and Pens (Acoustic) by Black Veil Brides
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane
Nothing Left to Say / Rocks by Imagine Dragons
Make this Go On Forever by Snow Patrol

If you don't know what the [E] stands for, just don't listen to the song. If you do, it's all up to you.

-

Crystal blue waves crashed against the rocky shore, allowing drops to fly amongst the sand. Light colored specks were darkened brown as the water rushed over them, leaving clear marks as to where the salty liquid once stood. The outside was calm and serene, winds blowing the trees resting at the split in multiple directions, mixing within each other. Leaves separated from their respective branches, meeting the ground in a soundless tap.

Everything outside of the ocean was pure peace, settling the most restless of souls, though what began on the innermost parts was more than chaotic. Water rushed at every possible angle as screams and shouts echoed back and forth between the solid life.

In the center of all the commotion swam a woman, a glorious golden tail replacing what would have been legs. Her eccentric brunette hair billowed around her as she fought to keep tears back, holding two smaller beings to her chest. A crown was making its way from her head, threatening to fall to the ground, though she paid no mind.

As two large, dark figures came into view, she began to swim as fast as possible, letting her crystalline crown fall softly to the ocean floor. The two small children in her arms began to cry out, beginning to gaze over her shoulders. They each let a small noise of terror hiding once again.

The smallest one, a boy with golden hair like the sun and a tail of coral, cowered in fear. The other, once again a young male with a deep blue tail and brunette hair just as his mother's, searched for his brother's hand, taking it in his own.

"We'll be okay," he whimpered, listening softly to his mother's labored breathing.

Said woman looked down at him, sending the children a worried smile as she attempted to speed up. As she did so, she made her way into a large, wooden structure laying rigidly against the rocks and sand. Mold was growing through every crevice and around every corner, contrasting with the scheme of the craft around it.

The woman darted through the wood, trying to lose the attackers following her, but to no luck, they caught up. She felt a painful tug on her tail, crying out at the hurt. Her arms loosened around the boys in a flash of regret and before she knew it, they were ripped from her arms. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she reached blindly for her children, screaming their names.

"CASPIAN! MARINUS!"

That was the last the boys ever heard from or saw their mother.

-

Five years later, an older teenage Marinus exited a large, ocean-themed castle that sat on the shore. Legs replaced where his tail once was, a scar reaching around his hips as proof. His hair blew in the wind, giving him a regal look. Tattered garments adorned his body, stains and rips evident across them. He pushed a few strands of hair from his face, grimacing at the sight of the water.

There was nothing he hated more than the ocean, his previous home. Even with the treatment he received in the castle he abided in, everything that could've gone wrong happened within the large body of water. He hated the feeling of swimming without a tail and the speed it reduced. He hated the feeling of simply just wading in hip deep water, unknowing of what lurked deep within. Most of all, he hated knowing that his selfish, egocentric younger brother got to keep everything he worked for within the ocean.

While he was stuck as a makeshift human inside a dank, lifeless castle, his brother was granted the opportunity to live as he was supposed to. He blamed the golden-haired male for everything; the death of their mother, the extinction of the mermaid species, and the darkness that haunted his every waking hour. There was never a night when he got complete, fulfilling sleep since the accident, not that he even really got the chance to sleep fully.

Each day he was stuck with the task of watching his brother from far away, resenting every minute of it. Each day he wished for his old life back, knowing surely that nothing would ever happen.

All he would come to be known as was the Son of the Shores, that one to ruin the lives of many.

-

I'm not sure where that went by the end, but I can assure you that Marinus isn't just here for a brief description about Caspian's previous life.

I promise.

- AVA