A Prince's Prophetic Switch

Ishan (I'm so proud of this update!)

"Without training, they lacked
knowledge. Without knowledge, they 
lacked confidence. Without confidence,
they lacked victory." ~Julius Ceasar

Ishan woke up in a dark room, smelling not of the salty sea water he was used to, but of mustiness and dirt. He opened his eyes for a moment, then shut them immediately. They felt like they were burning and breaking underneath the intensity of the air. Air... Ishan thought. Is this what air does to your eyes? It's truly horrible! He had only been to the land once, as an infant. He didn't exactly remember the experience all too well. He finally managed to keep his eyes open and scanned his surroundings.

There were shelves lined against the bleak grey walls, the only light in the room coming from a window, and even that was partially covered with curtains. On the shelves, along with other items, such as an oil lamp (he supposed, he'd never used one before, but he guessed that was what it'd look like), were labeled scroll made of thin, wooden sheets. Neptune had told Ishan about them before, when he was around 6 years old.

He told him how the ink was written on them, stories within the pages. The memory was nostalgic. He remembered Neptune speaking of a tortoise, a very slow land animal, who had agreed to a race with a hare, a fast one.

In his story, the hare decided to test his luck and take a nap, for he was winning and thought that nothing could have possibly stopped him. By the time he woke up, though, the tortoise was already nearing the finish line. So, despite the speed difference of the hare and the tortoise, the tortoise won the race, declaring that slowness, as long as it stayed humble, would always win the race.

He had forgotten that story, up until today, when it came rushing back to him. He also remembered the reason why Neptune had told him this.

The mermen were being judgmental of Ishan because he could not yet use the powers that a demigod should have, even at just age 6. Neptune had told him, "See? All you must do is keep training, and one day you'll prove them wrong."

Ishan thought it was silly at the time, but he understood now. His father was telling him not to give up hope.

But that was besides the point, as he still had not an idea of where he was. He was weighed down, he realized. Not by much, but something was covering him. It was light, and not too thick, but Ishan couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Just then, someone swam in. No...they walked in. How peculiar... Ishan thought, looking at the woman in front of him.

Ishan tried to ask where he was, how he got there, and why his eyes burned so badly, but he couldn't speak. He tried gurgling words out, like they did under water, but he simply... couldn't. It was impossible with all this air coming in through his nose!

"You are quite literally a fish out of water, aren't you?" The woman laughed as she spoke, and Ishan paid attention to the way her throat moved. Ishan gave it a shot and figured out that you actually needed air to speak.

He also found that speaking using the air made your voice much smoother than it did when using the small bits of oxygen that were in water. Though, his words weren't very... understandable. He spoke as if there were a krill that had caught in his throat. His words came out more like, "Wary gamble I?" Instead of, "Where am I?" like he had intended.

The woman laughed again. She was tall, with dark brown hair and emerald green—no, that wasn't it, they were closer to jade—eyes. She looked about his age, maybe a bit older. Her voice was deep, yet pleasant. Some would call it beautiful. Ishan wouldn't. The 'beautiful' voice was mocking him, finding humor in his struggles.

This infuriated Ishan, a little more than he had expected. At another failed attempt of speaking, the woman took it upon herself to 'help out'.

"Try to purse your lips for the soft letters, and clench your teeth at the harder ones."

"Ok... hey! 'Dis isn't as hard as it seems!" Ishan said, almost getting the hang of it. Almost.

"Yeah." The woman said, seemingly amused. Then, getting professional again, asked, "Do you remember what happened earlier today when you spoke with Neptune?"

"Yes. Is dare anyting I wasn't told?"

"Sort of. First, though, before I worry you, why don't we explore the town? Also, please try putting your tongue between your teeth slightly to make the 'th' sound. Otherwise, you might worry people, as you are the new soon-to-be-Emperor. The people disapprove of lisps in men greatly."

"Yes. Thank you." Ishan said, sitting up straight, emphasizing the fact he could finally say the phrase without getting messed up.

"Let us go, then." The woman replied, and Ishan realized he still didn't know her name.

"Excuse me?" he tried.

"Yes?"

"What's your name? I don't want to have to say excuse me to get your attention all the time, a name would be much better."

"Jade." She responded quickly, as if eager to get the word off her tongue.

"Also, Jade..." Ishan said, trying out the name. He liked it. It was pretty and simple. Her name matched her eyes. Plus, one syllable names were the easiest to say.

"Yes?"

"How do I get up...?"