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ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
"The ocean is a place to call home. It's beautiful like the house's insides, its as mysterious
as what's lurking behind every door in that house, and you can do almost everything you
want to do. But it is a shame that no one else thinks that way.."
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
"The ocean is a place to call home. It's beautiful like the house's insides, its as mysterious
as what's lurking behind every door in that house, and you can do almost everything you
want to do. But it is a shame that no one else thinks that way.."
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
- username:
Winchester's Wolf
name:
Tampa Evendour
gender:
Male
gender for breeding purposes:
Male
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Prologue
His eyes opened slowly to see the reflective surface of the water that shone an outstanding blue-green color. Kelp was carelessly wrapped around his snout, legs and tail while his crown that he had gotten while in the Azmarin Kingdom was near the point of being washed up by the crashing waves that was came down on the bank. Tampa lifted his head from the dreariness that still lingered before reaching over and grabbing his crown. If he would've lost it, then his father would've been heavily disappointed as crowns like his weren't made with ease. It took hard work and dedication to make a crown that fit the personality of the royal family members. Yet, he wasn't from the Azmarin Kingdom. This wasn't his original crown. Before his visit to the said kingdom, his sapphire crown that was by his bedside had mysteriously disappeared. There was no luck finding it, so his father had a blacksmith make him a new one once they arrived. It wasn't anything like the original, as stated before but this would have to do, besides, he loved it as it went well to his kingdom's colors. Gold and white. Nothing special as the Azmarin Kingdom's colors.
Tampa moved his paw over the edges of the crown to clear off of the sand paste that stuck to the crown. He used one of his claws to get the sand out of the pearl centerpiece before placing it on his head. Now what to do about the kelp that was still wrapped around him? The male viscet unwrapped the piece that was wrapped around his snout before staring at it. It was a dark green color, but when he moved it up towards the sun, it turned lighter. The more that he turned it, the more lighter it got. Not wanting to throw it away, Tampa decided to keep it for later use. Maybe he could make an accessory out of it. So he wrapped all the extra pieces around his tail to allow it to dry out without tripping him as he made his way to the house that he stayed in ever since that mishap that left him with no parents.
As he reached the old wooden door, a figure moved by him, causing his head to turn and see nothing. It was just the vast blue-green water. His attention averted back towards the door as he reached out for the door handle. "Morning Prince Tampa! I see that you are doing well!". Tampa jumped at the voice that sounded behind him. Quickly, he turned around, claws unsheathed, ready to attack the owner of the voice. But as soon as he outstretched his paw, he quickly drew it back, not wanting to hurt his new found friend, Abyss Dione. "Oof, Abyss..You startled me there." a sly grin formed on Abyss' face as Tampa brought a paw up to his heart as he tried to recollect himself. "I'm sorry Your Majesty, I was just going to tell you that you left your pearls on the steps of the sun porch..And that you have some parasites 'round your tail.". Tampa chuckled at Abyss' humor. "Haha.. Yeah. Parasites.".
Tampa moved around to grab a hold of the door's handle once more. He opened the door and held it open for his friend. Abyss was abnormally friendly. None of his friends back in his kingdom were that nice to him. But it guess it has to do with his species? You see here, Abyss wasn't any normal viscet. He wasn't a viscet at all. He was a celestial dragon. Short creatures that bi-colored manes with stars in their while their pupils were star-shaped. Abyss' colors reminded him of his kingdom as the viscets there shared the colors of the sea..and nothing more.
Abyss' coat color was tri-colored, as his coat was mainly sea blue with a navy blue outline in shape of the ocean's waves. Around his brown colored eyes, were white and the shape of tear drops with navy blue outline. He had a clouded underbelly that was white. The tip of his tail was white before turning red. His ears were also white. And on his hind leg, there was an white anchor. Now Abyss had a bi-colored mane, which was red and white with white stars. Tampa couldn't say that it reminded him of something, if he did, then he would be lying. For his accessories..It was really sad on how he obtained them. The red bandanna with a white skull and crossbones was his one of his mothers' before she passed. The blue-white anchor and pearl necklace did also belong to one of his mothers' before she had also passed. What was more said that Abyss never knew on how they passed away, but his caretaker, Discord Dione, knew. She has yet to tell him. Too bad that she passed away not that long ago.
"So Prince Tampa, tell me about yourself..What kind of stuff do you do in your kingdom?..Like activities..". The prince's head moved up as he tried not to take his crown off and tell the celestial dragon not to call him prince..It felt nice to be called that. Besides, let the kid have the moment. "Nothing much. It was a boring life until I came..here. However when I had time, I would go to the beach to see what had washed up. Usually I wouldn't find anything.". Abyss let out a snort, "You seem to like the ocean much as I do..Maybe more. Why is that? Why are you drawn to the ocean?". Tampa paused and reached up to his crown to place it on the make-shift coffee table. His emerald green eyes met the dragon's mud brown eyes. "You, out of all viscets and celestial dragons, want to know why I am attracted to the water?". Abyss nodded and took a seat next to the table. The prince looked down at the table in complete shock. Never in his life he was asked about that. Sure, there was his mother and father, but... why a lowlife like Abyss? Why be interested in a prince's life? Shouldn't a lowlife like him be mad at him for being prosperous and wealthy..?
As these questions arose in Tampa's mind, he felt himself sit down on the warm wooden floor. The prince's eyes met the lowlife's eyes once again. Sadness plagued them as confusion lingered in Tampa's. His lower jaw dropped open as he spoke, "Alright. I'll tell you.". And with that, Tampa spoke about how and why he was drawn to the ocean.
Chapter One
"Tampa!" the queen screeched as she looked around for the blue and white viscling, wondering where he had gone to this time. "Calm down my queen, I'm sure he's out in the village with one of the guards of the castle.". The queen whipped her head around to catch the sight of her husband standing right in the doorway of Prince Tampa's chamber room. Worry was still fresh on the queen's face as concern was on the king's face. She didn't respond to him, instead she just pushed right past her husband before storming down the stairs. She doubted that her son would be out with a guard at this hour. It was an quarter til midnight! And he's been gone all day. For Christ's sake, he had duties to uphold!
"Tampa!" she called out once more. "I'm here mother! I'm sorry for my absence for the whole day, I just had some duties to fulfill." . The queen turned her head over towards the young prince that just came though the door with an armful of mysterious objects. "What is that?!" she asked as she pointed towards his treasures, ignoring the lie that he just told.Tampa looked down at the bundle of shells that he held close to his chest before looking back up at his mother with an innocent look spread across his face. "Oh mother dear, aren't they beautiful? I was on the beach after I had finished with everything that I needed to do." he said as he lifted up a shell from the pile. It was a pink clam shell. He held it out to his mother before she could even speak a word, "Here, I got this one for you.".
The queen stared in disgust, but her expression softened as she took a step forward and grabbed the shell from her son's paws. "..Thank you..But that doesn't clear you from your punishment! Room now!" the queen screeched, throwing down the shell on the carpet, also causing it to slide on the tile floor. Tampa stared at the shell before heading to his room without hesitation. His mother stayed at the bottom of the stairs, glancing over towards the shell that wasn't broken from the impact. Her head turned just to see the young prince disappear from her sight. After a few seconds, the queen dragged her feet over towards the shell before picking it up and fixing it in her mane. A smile came across her face as she headed over towards the thrones. "It is very beautiful.." she muttered, knowing that her son couldn't hear her.
------
The next day, Tampa was up bright and early, right before the sunrise. The young prince headed over towards the window that overlooked the kingdom before opening it. He heaved himself up to the surface of his tall desk before poking a head out. He took a step forward before dropping down to the balcony below. He then swiftly made his way down the stairs and to the second floor of the castle. As he was on the second floor, he noticed that there was no heralds or guards wandering around. Which was great actually. If he was planning on going to the beach, he rather do it now as the sun was beginning to rise within a few minutes. So without further hesitation, the viscet ran quietly down the halls and down the stairs and through the castle doors. As he was out of the castle, he took a quick look around before heading out of the castle gates and down the path to the beach.
It wasn't long until he reached the sandy white beach. The crystal blue-green water was still and started to began to slowly reflect the sun. The male headed down to the bank of the water, looking through the water as the sand started to cloud the water temporarily. His head jerked up to the sky as the sun started to rise up some more. He stepped out of the water and began to run down the shore, feeling the salty breeze hit his fur, slowly dragging him back. But he didn't mind, as long as his thoughts about the kingdom were no more in his mind, he was fine.
After running for awhile, he collapsed head first into the sand, smiling on how soft it was. It was just like the pillows that were on his bed. But..more welcoming. Tampa rolled violently over onto his back, having his hind legs hanging in the air and his paws up to his chest. His paws quickly moved up to his eyes to shield them from the sand that flew up in the air from his violent turn. He laughed. He felt like a little kid again.
After a few, long collective minutes, the young prince sat up and shook his head to get rid of the loose bits of sand that collected in his mane and his fur. He then stood up and shook his whole body to get any bits of sand off of him. He used his paws to get behind his ears and between his fingers.
Tampa dropped his paws to his side and thought about a few things before turning around and trudging back towards the path that led to the castle. He didn't even wave back at the water to say his goodbye. Which was because there was no use of saying goodbye if he was returning the next day. But he couldn't keep his promise as his duties from yesterday was now added to the list of duties that were supposed to get done today.
---
"Tampa Little Evendour! Where were you?! And why is there sand in your fur?!". Tampa flinched once his mother yelled out his full name. Oh how he hated that. "Answer me!" his mother's paw slammed on the table, causing the table to shake. The young prince turned his head slightly over towards the herald that was trying his best not to mock the queen. He then turned his head back towards his mother, "I'm sorry mother, I truly am. But I wanted to see the sunrise from the beach this morning..You should come down and see it it's re-."
"I don't care on how beautiful the water reflects the sun! All I care about is your safety! You should know better not to go out in the open without a guard! You are going to get your-..". Tampa turned his head and tuned out his mother's voice. He knew that he was going to get himself killed if he wasn't with a guard. Honestly he didn't need any protection. "Tampa! Are you even listening to me?!" his mother screeched as she leaned on the table, slamming her paw down once more to grab her son's attention. "I am.". His mother shot a glare at him. "Dismissed."
Tampa, without hesitation, turned around and headed out towards the main entrance of the castle, but he was stopped by the sound of his mother's voice sounding once more, "Oh and if you are thinking about going to the beach, you can forget about it.". The young prince jerked his head around to see the smirk on his mother's face. "Wha- You cannot do that! I'm nearing sixteen-"
"Fifteen." his mother corrected.
"And? That's close to sixteen mother, and I can do practically anything! So why don't you just leave me alone!". Tampa took note on how he raised his voice at his mother. The queen, if he can remember correctly. His eyes twitched as he didn't bring a paw up to rub them. His mother leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, sneering at the rudeness that her son had bestowed upon her. "Really? Is that how you are going to talk to your mother like that? Ugh. I cannot bear to see you right in front of me right now. Leave my presence you foul lowlife."
Tampa's head raised at what his mother called him. A foul lowlife.. Those words played though his mind over and over again as he stood there, staring at his mother. The prince backed up a bit, but he paused, No, I am not a foul lowlife.. I'm a prince. I am not one of them...Unlike you. He wanted to say those words out loud, but he stopped himself from doing so. He wasn't going to stoop down to that level. So he stood there, paws clenched. His mother continued to glare at him until he turned around and left.
Chapter Two
The next morning, the prince was awoken by the bright sun and the sound of loud knocking on his door. He would've probably guessed that it was his mother, but then again, his mother wasn't an early riser. Then his thoughts wavered over towards the herald that was in the dining room from last night. Ross wasn't really an early riser either.
Tampa sat up and slowly slid out of bed, just to keep whoever was on the other side waiting.
"Tampa? Are you up?"
The prince froze once he heard his father's voice. He, as well as Ross and his mother, wasn't much of an early riser. "Y..Yes father, I am. I just got up actually." Tampa replied. "Thank god. You have been in your room almost all day. I feared the worse- may I come in?" he asked.
"Yes you may, you don't have to ask."
"Yet is polite." his father replied as he opened and pushed the door in. He looked up to allow his copper-brown gaze meet with Tampa's emerald green eyes. "Well thank you for sparing me a chance to not be thrown out of bed.". His father gave out a halfhearted laugh before waving his paw side-to-side, "Ah you needn't worry about that Tampa, you should really thank Ross for that. I guess he couldn't take anymore screaming from your mother."
A grin formed on Tampa's face as he tried not to laugh, "Thank God for him."
"I know." the king laughed once more.
Tampa walked over towards the window and pressed his paw against the cool glass, ignoring the beach for just a few seconds. "So," he turned over towards his father who sat down on his bed, rubbing the side of his face, "What's the point of all of this? Aren't you going to scold me for not waking up at the correct time?"
The king lifted his head, "Huh," he stopped and pondered at what his son had just said. It took awhile for questions to register in his father's mind. As when it came to age and an unknown illness, he tends to zone out for a moment..only for a moment. That's when Tampa took this time to turn back towards the vast ocean. "Oh! No, no..Heh. No, I just wanted to say happy birthday: we are going to the Azmarin Kingdom."
Tampa whipped his head around to stare at his father who was grinning from ear to ear. "Azmarin Kingdom?! Are we really going there?" he asked, his eyes wide with excitement. From the stories that he heard from Ross and many others, he heard that the Azmarin Kingdom was a very beautiful kingdom, especially with the castle that looked like it was out of its time period.
Tampa's father laughed as he nodded, "Yes my son, we are going to the Azmarin Kingdom for a quick visit. And then we are heading back, which is sad to say."
The young prince bounced up and down, unable to contain his excitement. His father put a paw up to get him to calm down, in which he did. "Please do not tell your mother that I told you this. She'll have my head for all I know.". Tampa laughed and nodded, "I promise!"
"Now that was settled, why don't you answer my question: Why do you enjoy the beach so much? This is a question for both your mother and I."
Tampa's excitement left him. Every single bit of it. Why was that question asked...The young prince looked down at his feet before looking back up at his father, not wanting to leave him unanswered. "Why I enjoy it huh?"
His eyes wandered over towards the nightstand as he stared at the monochrome photo of him and his aunt, standing on the beach. In the picture his aunt was holding young Tampa who was belly-up, having his paws outstretched, throwing bits of sand towards the camera. A wild smile was across his face and his emerald eyes were reflecting the flash of the camera. A necklace of pearls were hanging by his tail, which were wrapped around carelessly around his aunt's wrist. His aunt's head was turned over, trying to dodge the sand that was being thrown. A smile was on her face as both eyes were halfway closed. At that time, her eyes were starting to cloud with the same illness that his father was currently experiencing. But it wasn't as bad as Aunt Miranda's was. But the most important thing was the background. Behind them was two smiling viscets with their crowns on their heads, carefully watching, just to make sure their son didn't fall out of his aunt's grasp. Behind the two was a younger version of Ross, or it was probably because he was short. He was reading with an angry look on his face. But that wasn't the thing. It was the waves. They were crashing into each other. It was the backwash of receding waves. Luckily the tsunami had missed them that day, otherwise there would be nobody to collect such beautiful shells.
His head turned over towards the collection of shells that were piling up right beside his desk. They were in a container that was decorated with bleached sand dollars.
Tampa closed his eyes and then turned over towards his dad who was staring with an intense look in his eyes. Luckily his father was an parent man, otherwise he'd be screaming at him right now. "Well, I guess it started with Aunt Miranda, which was my first trip to the beach. But the next time we went, just you, mother, Ross and I, I felt like it was a place to call home you know? There was.." he stopped. He couldn't explain it very well like he wanted to, but the nod from his father stated that he understood. His father pushed himself up before sighing, "Well, I guess I should dismiss myself to the throne room, I have someone important waiting for me. But please go ahead and start packing, and after that, you are free from your duties, go have fun.". Tampa watched as his father winked and left the room and down to the throne room.
There was more to that story that he wanted to tell him. But like his father said, he had something important to do. At least he listens. Tampa turned and started to pack a small travel bag, as he his father had said before that they were only going to stay there for a few days. Probably this weekend. Sighing, the prince turned to his bedside to reach for his crown, but it wasn't there where he had it. He stood there, trying to figure out if he had misplaced it. No, he was sure enough that he had it on the bedside table.
Tampa stared at the table, wondering where it went.
---
Turns out it was stolen. He sank down in the carriage seat, placing both paws on his forehead and softly cursing at himself for being so careless. His father, as always, took this lightly, but he was still mad at the one who stole it. He was even mad at Ross for not being able to carry out his own duty to stop the thief. Tampa was upset as he thought he was letting his father down, which his mother made it worse by badgering him about being more responsiable and careful with a crown like that.
"Hell! That was your great-grandfather's crown! How could you be so careless?!"
Can't you just shut up? Tampa thought as he glanced at his father who wasn't doing a thing about this, until he saw his son's plea for help. "Alright Ellen, that's enough. It wasn't the boy's fault for losing the crown. I'm sure whoever took it might've been caught by the village's guards..We'll just get him a temporary one made in Azmarin.". The queen looked at her husband and shook her head before turning her head to look out of the window, not feeling up to this anymore.
Tampa closed his eyes and just waited for them to get to the docks.
---
The RMS Labyrinth was a wooden ship that had a silver goat head figurehead. The figurehead's horns were long and curvy. It even reached up towards the main deck. Flowers of different colors grew around the goat's neck, which hung ten feet above the navy blue water. Tampa had a bad feeling about leaving around this time of day, for the sun was now setting and the full moon was now taking its place sky. Waves as tall as the dock, hit against the ship, almost causing it to rock out of its place, despite having the anchors bedded into the sand that hid deep in the water.
At this time he could turn back, but it was a little too late for that as his father waved at him to come aboard. "Well, whatcha waiting for Prince Tampa? Isn't this what you wanted?". His head turned over towards the beloved family herald, Ross who was staring at him with a slight smile that wasn't very welcoming.
"Y...Yeah, but something doesn't feel right about this."
"Oh my, stop being superstitious and get on board. You needn't worry about a damn thing. Leave that to me."
Tampa chuckled softly before climbing on board. There, he went straight to the bow of the ship, staring off into the distance, happy to see what lied ahead. His head turned towards his father who was talking to the captain of the ship, who looked clearly drunk, but his father couldn't see that. His head then turned towards his mother who was looking at the pink shell that Tampa had given her the other day. He watched as she placed the shell in her mane and smile. Where did everything go wrong? The prince shook his head before looking at Ross who was struggling to get onto the main deck, so a couple viscets of the crew had to stop what they were doing to help him up. It was funny to see that, but smile never passed on the prince's face. Instead he turned his head back towards the direction of the moon as they started to head out.
Chapter Three
It was very beautiful when they set off. He watched as the island disappear at in instant as they headed out further into the ocean. Tampa looked down every once in awhile to see a pod of small dolphins jump out of the water and then back in. Never in his life that he thought he would see such creatures from a distance. Never in his life that he knew that this was the last time that he was going to his parents and Ross.
Tampa moved his paw up to his head to remove imaginary bits of sand between his ears. That's when he stood up and turned to his parents who were sitting on the deck, stargazing. Ross was near them, reading a book with another angry look on his face. It reminded him of the picture the first time they went to the beach. His aunt had playfully thrown him out of her arms and into the sand. Ross wasn't paying much mind as he was too busy dealing with the love triangle that was in the book. But his mother was the first to get up and rush to his aid. That's when he threw sand in his mother's face and squealed on how angry she was at first, but she was then showering him with kisses.
A few weeks after the tsunami that had hit the western side of the kingdom, his aunt has passed away. They had her funeral at the beach. Not the same beach that Tampa went to every time that he had got the chance to go.. but they had had her funeral right on the beach. It was a bright and sunny day, but it soon turned cloudy as the carriage pulled the casket to the cemetery. That's when he noticed changes in his parents. His mother started to hover and wanted to know what he did every second, and then there's his father.. Tampa's father tended to zone out at times when conversations carried on for more than five minutes. He would just sit there on his throne and ponder as the one talking to the king continued to speak. And then there's Ross. Ross hasn't picked up a book until this very night.
Tampa sighed deeply before looking down at his paws. He could guess that he had seen the changes in himself as well. At the castle, he didn't feel like it was his true home. Instead every time he walked down to the shoreline, he would feel like he was at home.
The prince sighed and fell back onto the deck, having his parents, along with Ross, look up and questioning on what was wrong. "I've been shot with the arrow of overwhelming emotions of grief, confusion and remorse." he relied in a monotone voice. His parents stared at him with sympathy while Ross turned back to his book.
Tampa then sat back up and rubbed the side of his head, before quickly grabbing onto the nearest guardrail as he felt the bow of the ship dip down. He watched as Ross wrapped his arms around the queen and king, as if preventing them from sliding to where the prince once was. Thunder sounded as lightning crashed down onto the water's surface. Rain started to pour down. Everyone tried to stand up, but the captain suggested that they stayed put. And they did. However not for long.
The ship was being tossed around and Ross was having trouble trying to keep both the queen and king safe. Tampa was barely holding on.
He was the first one overboard.
He could hear his father and mother scream out his name as they were being carried away to the lower deck. Once he hit the water, he felt himself sink down. His eyes opened and all he could see was darkness. But there was a flash of three different colors. Purple, white and grey. It wasn't long until the prince resurfaced, just in time to see a wave hit the side of the RMS Labyrinth, pushing it to it's side. He saw the crew members and the captain fall to their dooms. He watched as the king, who was holding tightly onto his queen, fall into the ocean. The last one to fall was the beloved herald. All disappeared in a curtain of water that sprung up and crashed down. The waves that were caused from the water curtain had made it's way over towards Tampa, causing him to go under quite a few times. But he kept resurfacing, flailing his arms around, crying for help even though there was nobody to come help him.
Tampa held his breath as he went under one more time and didn't seem to resurface. This time, he allowed the ocean to take him. But no. Something pushed him back to the surface, this time finding himself more closer to the ship that was slowly breaking and going under. However he didn't see his parents. Nor did he see Ross and the others. The prince felt himself drift by the ship. But before he was gone for good, he clung onto one of the crates that was surprisingly afloat. As Tampa continued to drift away from the ship, he shoved his head underwater to see if he could look for his parents had yet to resurface. He had no luck.
Tampa allowed his head to resurface once more before clambering on top of the crate that he was digging his claws into. He shook and tried to rid of the images of his family falling to their deaths.
Chapter Four
"Do you think they are even alive Kraken?"
"Probably not. It seems like they have been out here for days without moving."
Tampa opened his eyes. "Oi! I stand corrected, they are alive.". He lifted his head and turned his head over towards the direction of the voices. There were two blurry blobs right in front of him when he turned his head back. One blob was blue, red and white while the other one was black and purple.
Tampa didn't speak. Instead he rubbed his eyes, just to get rid of his clouded vision. Once he removed his paws from his eyes, he could see clearly now. His head turned over towards the water, not minding the grounded dragons. The viscet quickly stood up and headed over towards the clear water, but something or someone bit down on his tail, causing him to fall forward into the water. He stood up, but whoever bit down on his tail still had a grip on it and kept dragging him down to the ground. "Kraken! Stop doing that! You are hurting him by doing so!"
Kraken spat Tampa's tail out, "Alright, alright! I mean he isn't screaming in pain, is he not?" Kraken asked as she turned her head over her shoulder as one of their friends were waving frantically at them. She sighed before turning back to the one that she was responding to, "Well, I have to go. I'll catch up to you later.". And before Tampa could turn to see the one who held him by the tail leave, she was already gone. That's when his attention turned over towards the canine-like creature that stood there, looking over his shoulders. It didn't take long to register in the viscet's mind that the creature was a celestial dragon, a creature that was never found in his kingdom. He oped his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His throat was sore and whenever he tried to speak, a squeak would sound instead, which caught the celestial dragon's attention.
"Welcome to the Azmarin Kingdom! I reckon that you must be hungry?..You have been on the shoreline for a week, so you must be." the dragon mused as he turned around and headed towards the slope that the other one just had climbed. Tampa followed, unsure if this was a safe plan.
---
It wasn't long until they reached a small bakery. Sweets? Of all the restaurants that were open, this dragon picked sweets over all things. He wished that he could speak up, but that wasn't an option at the moment.
They were seated at a table next to the window, which honestly wasn't that bad. He looked up and rubbed his eyes, getting rid of the invisible sand that was in them. After he put his paw down, his head turned to the outside as he watched as a silver crowned wolf stroll by. The wolf was black, with grey leg stockings. On his shoulder and flank was a dark purple symbol that he couldn't make out very well. But one thing did grab his attention: his three tails and the color. Purple, white and grey. He felt his heart stop.
Memories of being tossed underwater was starting to get to him, but he quickly looked away when the celestial dragon asked him what was wrong. He shook his head, but the dragon laughed. "If it's about King Aster, then don't fret. He comes by every other three days to spend two days here before heading back to the Azmarin Village.".
Tampa nodded slowly before looking at his paws, wanting to get something to drink. He didn't take an interest in the food that was currently being served at the moment. "Mornin' Abyss! Kraken told me you'd be comin', but not with a viscet." a happy-go-lucky voice sounded. His head turned to see a brown spotted dragon with a crazy bi-colored mane. On top of the dragon's head was a plate that had two cookies n' cream pudding cake, along with two glasses that seemed to be filled with water.
Tampa reached out for the glass of water that the dragon had placed down on the table. Without saying thank you, because he really couldn't, he downed the glass of water within a matter of seconds. Abyss stared at him as the crownless prince tried to clear his throat. He placed the glass on the table and looked at the dotted celestial dragon. "I'll go get you some more." he said with a sweet smile. He nodded as he grabbed the glass and left. Abyss looked at him and smiled slightly, "That's Lunka by the way. Kraken was the one who left when you woke up. There's also Cymbeline and Seer, but they are off in Azmarin Kingdom, trying to figure out something that recently happened. . Tampa nodded.
"What about you? What's your name?" Abyss asked. Tampa opened his mouth to speak once more, but there was only a squeak. But that's when he got an idea. He brought his paws up to his head and glanced out of the window to see if the king was still there, and indeed he was. He studied the crown and then looked back at the dragon before tracing it onto his own head. He then brought his claw down to the pudding and wrote his name onto the table.
"King..Tampa?". Tampa rocked his paw back and forth before pointing down to the table. "Prince Tampa?". The viscet nodded. "I see now..But where's your crown?"
Oh jeez. He thought for a long moment before grabbing the dragon's drink and throwing the top of the salt canister into the water. "It got thrown in the water?". Tampa nodded.
"Well we can get that replaced very easily! You see here in the Azmarin Kingdom, the royal family gets a crown of their own that is crafted by blacksmiths. The crowns are crafted depending on the personality of the prince or princess. After that, that crown stays with them until they die. But with every royalty member of different kingdoms come over here, they can get a crown crafted for free. Think of it as a souvenir!"
Tampa looked at the dragon as if he was the prince's savior or something. He then stood up before taking his seat. It's probably best to wait until they were done eating. Abyss smiled a little before eating his dessert.
------
After they had finished, Abyss paid the celestial dragon, whose name was Lunka, that served them before heading out to the streets. Right across from them was the king, talking to a small group of celestial dragons. His head turned over towards the dragon who was making his way across the street. "Good morning King Aster!" Abyss hummed as his tail swayed a little. The king's head jerked up and turned towards Abyss. He flashed a smile at the dragon, "Good morning Abyss, I see that you are doing well..Who's your friend?".
"Oh, Abyss turned his head over towards Tampa and motioned him over, "This is Tampa. Kraken found him on the shore on Monday, and today he finally woke up. Tampa, this is King Aster as I mentioned before.".
Tampa raised a paw, but he king didn't look pleased. He narrowed his eyes at him, but his expression softened and the smile returned, "Prince Tampa! That's why the name sounds familiar..You and your family was due to a visit last week. Did something happen?".
Abyss turned his head over towards the viscet when he nodded. "Oh..Well at least you are safe.". They both bobbed their heads before Abyss and Aster started to talk to each other. While they were doing so, the prince looked at the king's tails. His head jerked over towards the side as Abyss and Aster bidded each other farewell. But before they could move out to Abyss' place, King Aster turned around, "Also Prince Tampa, in the letter that I got not that long ago, I heard that you lost your crown. Please head to blacksmith to claim a little something." . And with that, Aster headed off in the direction of his castle.
Tampa looked at Abyss, "Alright, let's head off then!".
---
Heading to the blacksmith was a bit of a perilous walk. But leaving the blacksmith and arriving at the beach was more comforting, despite it reminding him of what had happened.
But during their walk to the blacksmith, he had caught a few glimpses of a viscet that looked the same as Ross, the family's herald. Tampa would've walked up to him, but he didn't want to be an embarrassment to the man.
The prince shook his head to rid of the images out of his head before looking up when they had stopped in front of a two-story shack-like house that looked like it was going to fall in total shambles if it wasn't repaired right away. Please tell me this isn't his house.. "Well this it. Sorry for the mess, my caretaker passed away not that long ago..So the maintenance of the building isn't all that up-to-date. But I promise you that it's safe!" .
The viscet stared at the dragon before nodding, heading inside.
---
Day after day and week after week, Tampa was slowly crawling out of the depths of darkness, but every time he saw the king of this kingdom, he fell back in, not wanting to go outside any longer. But he ended up going out every night to sit on the beach and ponder. Sometimes he would fall asleep on the shoreline with different objects next to him. Such as sand dollars and kelp. He would make something out of it, but it ended up getting washed back into the ocean when the tide came in.
But he started to make a living here with the lowlife that he stayed with. He was okay for an lowlife, don't get him wrong, but something was still off. His eyes reminded of his father's which didn't help with his struggle that he was currently experiencing at the moment.
Tampa shrugged it off and headed back inside for the night.
---
The next morning he sat up in the bed that was not his own. He turned over towards the walls that had blueprints plastered across them. There was neat handwriting, but some were sloppy, as if the one who made the blueprints dozed off in the middle of writing them. On the desk was a music box that was made out of a clam shell. He wasn't the one who made it, but he kept his paws off of it just in case it broke if he dared to touch it.
That wasn't the only thing that was on the desk. There was many different sized protractors, measuring tape, more blueprints, unfinished chore lists that were meant for Abyss and a pink lotus flower that was slowly wilting away. The prince threw the sheets off of him before making his way through the mess that was on the floor. Tools of all kind and paper were scattered about. Whoever used to occupy this room was sure a mess.
Tampa walked out of the room and down the stairs where Abyss was sitting by himself, reading a book. The same book that Ross read on the day that all of them were together on the beach. The viscet shook his head before heading into the kitchen to find something to eat for breakfast. He wasn't used to looking through the cupboards for food. He was used to breakfast in bed, but he had to deal with living like a lowlife until he could find a way to get a way back to his kingdom.
The prince got a bowl of cereal ready for him before sitting down at the table, staring at the letter that his dad had sent King Aster, just the day before they departed from their kingdom. But how did King Aster know about his missing crown? Tampa shook his head before looking away from the letter and crown.
Chapter Five
"So let me get this straight, the reason why you go out to the beach every night is to see if one of your family members washed up on the shore like you did five months ago?"
Tampa nodded, "Precisely."
"And the reason why you enjoy the beach is because it gives you a sense of comfort?".
"Correct."
"..I thought you just enjoyed it because of the stories that you might've heard as a kid. Like me! I wanted to go out on a ship, but Discord never allowed me. Which you know why. But.. Your story seems.. tragic."
"Not as tragic as yours."
"Whatever. I'm just...shocked that you have been all through that. The only death that affected me was Discord's, not my moms' deaths.". Tampa nodded before standing up to stretch, as he was doing so, there was a loud knock at the door. Abyss' head lifted up, "Now I wonder who that could be.. No one visits around this time..".
Tampa nodded in agreement, it was true, during his visit here, no one really came down here and knocked on the door at this time of day. The viscet placed his crown on the table, on top of the letter before heading over towards the door. His tail swayed gently as he grabbed onto the handle of the door. He didn't even notice the grin that was on the dragon's face.
The prince was a little hesitant on opening the door, that he looked back as soon as Abyss' grin faded. Tampa and him bobbed their heads before the viscet turned back towards the door. He slowly opened the door, only showing a part of his face of the strange visitor. Or should he say visitors. There, on the veranda, was two viscets with their backs facing against the door. One was taller than the other.
The taller viscet hat it's tail tucked in between his legs. He was dressed in kingly attire that almost matched his fur color. On top of his head was a golden crown with teal gemstones. The one that went to his shoulder was wearing chain mail armor that had his kingdom's symbol on the shoulder. Tampa cleared his throat, "May I help you two?"
Both of the viscet's heads turned, and Tampa nearly fell back. The taller viscet's face was riddled with sadness, yet confusion. While the other's was more alert and scared up. The golden gaze of the shorter one's met Tampa's. But he soon broke the gaze to meet with the elder's clouded copper eyes.
The elder's bottom jaw open to reveal perfectly straight teeth that were as white as the clouds. The elder's eyes darted around, as if he was trying to say something, but he was zoned out. He then shook his head and raised a paw, "Sorry, for that, but yes... is this where Abyss Dione lives?"
The one next to him rolled his eyes before looking back at Tampa and squinting at him, as if he knew who he was, but he couldn't figure out what to say.
"Y..Yes sir, this is where he lives..Please come in!" that's when he opened the door all the way and hid behind it, gripping the door handle tightly. Abyss sat on the couch, grinning from ear to ear.
Tampa felt himself raise a paw up to his heart as he tried to recollect himself on what he just saw. "Pardon, but we never got your name." the viscet that was next to the eldest sneered. The prince noticed that he wasn't fully in the room with the elder.
"A..Ah..Y..Yeah. My name is Tampa Evendour.." . That's when the room fell silent and the king's head whipped around. The herald that was with the king turned his head around the door to get one look at the him. A weak smile was on the prince's face when the two rushed over towards him. His father, the first one to reach him, hugged him tightly and lifted him from the floor. Ross just stood there, with a grin on his face. "Oi, tis been a long road just to find you Prince Tampa."
Tampa didn't respond, instead he hugged his father back and started to cry, not wanting to question on how they found him, since Abyss' grin said enough.
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