Part 1
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom beside the ocean, there lived a princess called Aurelia.
She was beautiful, had silky brown hair and round dark eyes.
Princess Aurelia was loved by her parents, King Hilbert and Queen Karen.
They both loved her so much that they never let her leave the castle.
Whenever she asked her father why he wouldn’t let her leave the castle, he said,
"The ocean is far too dangerous and it is my duty to protect you and your mother".
Aurelia didn’t understand how dangerous the ocean was but decided to obey her father.
While other children played near the ocean, Aurelia was either watching them from her window, or reading stories in the castle library.
She always read fairytales about the ocean and got to know about beautiful creatures called mermaids.
Aurelia fell in love with them. “I want to meet a mermaid someday”she said to herself.
When Aurelia turned sixteen, her urge to feel the ocean increased. So, one night, she snuck out of the castle and stood by the shore of the ocean.
“Oh my God! This feels so good”she said as she touched the waters.
Suddenly, something strange happened. The moment Aurelia touched the water, thunder struck with great lightening.
Aurelia became scared and remembered her father’s words, “The ocean is far too dangerous and it is my duty to protect you and your mother”.
Aurelia turned around to leave. Just then the alarm bell rang.
“The princess is missing. Search everywhere!” the guards yelled.
Aurelia’s fear doubled. It was bad enough that she had witnessed the thunder but now facing her father, he was obviously not going to take it well.
Aurelia passed a backdoor in the castle and ran towards her room but to her greatest surprise, her father stopped her and beside him was her mother.
“Where did you go Aurelia?“ King Hilbert asked with anger.
Aurelia took two steps back. “I..I..I went to the ocean. Just the shore”she said with her head faced down.
“You disobeyed me, Aurelia!“ the King yelled.
“For sixteen years father, I never left this castle. Do you know how hard it was for me? Do you.....“ Kara tried explaining to the King.
“You will never understand. Go into your room. This time you will not leave that room” King Hilbert threatened and walked away.
“Father! Father” Kara yelled but there was no response.
“Go inside dear. I am disappointed in you but I’ll try to talk your father out of it" Queen Karen told Aurelia and walked out of her room shutting the door behind her.
Aurelia wept and eventually slept off.
In the middle of her sleep, she heard a voice.
‘You did nothing wrong’the voice spoke.
Aurelia got up and her hands trembled.
‘Do not be afraid, I am here to rescue you. Look at the floating bubble in front of you. Follow it’the voice ordered and immediately, a floating bubble appeared before Aurelia.
Aurelia stood up and followed the bubble. When she stepped out of the room, she saw two bodyguards in deep sleep.
Her father must have sent them to make sure she didn’t leave her room.
Aurelia chuckled and followed the bubble.
They got to the shore of the ocean.
‘Now jump in’the voice ordered Aurelia.
Aurelia hesitated. What was she doing?
‘The answers you are looking for are here’the voice persuaded.
Ring! Ring! Ring! The bell rang again.
Aurelia out of fear, dived into the ocean.
In the castle, the King was filled with rage.
“Find the princess now!!!!!!“ He yelled.
As Aurelia dived into the ocean, she moved in circles, till she got to the bottom of the ocean.
She struggled to open her eyes and when she did, all she saw was darkness.
Aurelia felt her heart coming out of her chest. She tried taking a deep breath and that was when she realized that she could breathe under water.
