Grian's POV.

I swam toward the gate of our castle as fast as I can, I can finally go outside! I can finally reach the garden. But my father with his golden tail glory came infront of the gate. I stopped myself and sighed in defeat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Father asked clearly upset "Outside! Father you never let us out!!" I exclaimed, father would always lock us up here in our blue castle all day without any contact with the outside, father is so over protective. He grabbed my upper arm and dragged me away from the gate, "Grian my son, you need to understand that it's dangerous outside." He said, I tried to get out of his grip but nothing happened, he just tightened his grip and started walking to our room. "Ugh! The villagers are outside the castle, yet me and my brothers are here!" I exclaimed at him angrily. He opened the door and dragged me in, he let go of me and looked at us three. My brothers swam up to us. "They have the barrier to protect them." He answered "So? See they have the barrier and they don't get attacked! Yet you lock the three of us here." I exclaimed putting my hands up. "I can't risk it. I can't risk getting the three of you hurt. Especially you Grian. You three are my only memory of your mother. So you three have no rights to go out!" He shouted and slammed the door shut. I turned around to face my brothers, "So, did you guys fail too?" I asked them, they nodded sadly, "Ugh! I'm sick and tired of father locking us here." Exclaimed Mumbo as he swam towards a small chair and sat there. "I wanna see the world above! I wanna see people." Said Iskall, He went to his bed and laid down. "Ugh....this call desperate measures.. Later at the time I was going to the gates I saw some guards chatting. I heard that there was this kind of pearl. It could let you out of the barrier." I said sitting down on the ground. My brothers turned around and looked at me. The two swam towards my spot and sat there. "You mean those shiny pearls. Hey I have two of those!" Exclaimed Mumbo, "well, I found one yesterday." Ssid Iskall, we looked at eachother and smiled. "Tonight. We're going out together." Said Iskall, "But are we gonna just, you know visit or are we gonna stay?" I asked them, they looked at me.

"We should go above shore and just peek. Then we'll just come back." Said Mumbo, the two of us agreed, we went back to our beds and started to get ready for tonight.

A knock on the door ringed through our room, Iskall opened it, it was auntie Gertrude. "Time for dinner. Come on you three." She said, We swam towards her and went to the hallway with three guards guiding us. They were our only friends, Stress, Scar and Tango. We walked to the dinning room and saw our father, he was sitting in his chair, we swam to our own respective chairs. We ate some seaweeds and some shrimps, I ate my food silently.

"How has your day have been you three." Father asked, "Ok." Iskall answered chewing in his seaweed, "Good." Mumbo said eating his shrimps, I just sat there and ate my food not saying anything at all, I heard auntie Gertrude sighed and felt her nudge my arm slightly, "Horrible." I answered without making any eye contact at all. I ate up my last seaweed and stood up from my seat, "Where do you think you're going?" Father stood up, I walked towards the door as the three guards started to follow in, "To my room." I said as I opned the door and shutting it again. I swam back to our room memorizing the way to the nearest gate. Then I went inside if our room and laid in my bed waiting for my brothers to come.

As I waited I went to my drawer and took a small picture frame, it had me, mom, my siblings and dad. We were at the surface, happy and carefree, until my mother was killed. We didn't know what killed her, but father said it cut off the interactions between land dwelers and mer peoples. Till this day father still can't answer that question of mine. I heard the doors open, there I saw my siblings and father walk in, "Grian. Can we talk?" Father asked as my siblings went to there beds and sat down, "No. There is nothing we can talk about." I answered turning around not facing my father anymore. I heard him sigh, "Grian. Please." He insisted, "No. If you're willing to answer my question, then we can talk. If not, leave." I said, "Grian, don't talk to father like that." I heard Iskall said, "I see. Then I shall leave." I heard him shut the door. I turned around and placed the picture frame back in the drawer. "Did you really need to do that?" Asked Mumbo as he went to his drawer and took out the pearls and gave one to me. "He didn't wanna answer me, so there we go. Me and him have nothing to talk about." I answered. Iskall swam towards us already having the pearl in hand. "So what should we do? There are guard outside our door way." Iskall whispered to us. "I can handle it." I said as I swam near the door, I leaned against it and sung a song mother would always sing. I signaled my brother to cover their ears.

"Distant moon so big and bright.

Softest silver glowing through the night.

High atop the mountain gold.

Sun unseen the world is cold.

Here I wait and here I stand.

Early morning northern hour hand.

Studying in solitude

Looking for a hidden clue.

I wish to see this world through my own eyes.

To calm the elders and silence their cries.

Because of you I now gaze up and sing.

The lullaby of the moon"

I finished hearing the body of the guard fall to the ground, I turned around to face my siblings and gave them the ok signal and opened the door silently. There I spotted the two other guards asleep in the side. We swam through the corridors of the castle finally seeing the gates, "where do you three think you're going?" A familiar feminine voice said, we turned around and saw Stress, she had her normal clothes. "Stress look, I know you're gonna snitch on us but please let the three of us go out for just this once!" Mumbo begged the female mermaid, "Sure. But."

"Impulse, Scar." She called out, then the two other soldiers whom don't have armor on appeared from the pillars. "We'll come aswell."

We opened the gate silently and swam outside, I smiled as I felt the cold water hitting me, "wow you guys are really desperate aye?" Impulse said, "yeah." The three of us answered in unison, we swam towards the barrier if the castle the three guard still following us from behind, "Guys that's the barrier you three can't get out without the pearls." Scar exclaimed, "we stole some." Iskall answered. "What?!" I heard Stress shouted, "do you guys have yours?" I asked the three guards, "Yeah." They answered.

We swam to the coral forest finally arriving to the barrier, we used the pearl and swam ourside the barrier. The three guards following us three. "Hey! Aren't we supposed to not go up there?" Asked Scar, "Yeah. But come on, no one will know." I said as we swam towards the surface. We finally reached it, I looked above and for the first time in 7 years, I finally saw the stars and the moon, we looked above the sky with awe before clouds of black and gray started covering it. Uh oh. "Guys I think we should head back. There's a really big storm coming." I said clearly worried, water started pouring down the sky and wind started to pick up. We tried to swin back to the castle but we were trapped in the storm, the water was strong and unforgiving. It threw me side to side, the pearl in my hand fell, "Iskall!! Mumbo!! Scar!! Impulse!! Stress!!" I shouted as I returned to the surface, I saw only raging waves and lightning, no one else, then I was pulled back to the ocean.

I felt my body slam to a wall. My vision began to go blurry.

"I should've listened to father."