"What are those?" asked Astraea as she peered over the Starboard side at a group of colorful shapes keeping pace with the vessel.

"There are some on this side too!" cried her brother Eos, watching as one breached the surface.

It was a girl, bare-breasted and with the tail and vibrant scales of a fish where her legs ought to have been. She swam on her back, slapping the water with her tail-fin. She waved at Eos with one hand, brushing her wet hair from her face with the other.

"Mermaids!" said Eos excitedly, turning to look at his sister across the deck just as she did the same. The twins' eyes met, their gazes charged with excitement. They had come at last to Queen Novo's secret domain.

With the merfolk guiding them it wasn't long before they reached the queen's marina: a scattering of rocky spires in the middle of otherwise open waters.

The sails were furled and the anchor was dropped, and once they were moored to one of the spires the mermaid seen by Eos suggested they prepare to receive a delegation from the queen before disappearing beneath the surface along with the others.

A few moments passed in suspense, then Princess Skystar climbed aboard in human form after a pair of guards, carrying with her the Pearl of Transformation. The crew all turned their attention to her naked form, her brilliant blue hair so long it reached her ankles; her wet, creamy skin sparkling in the infinite sunlight.

"You have come a long way to find us. The sun is no gentler to the sea, yet the depths diffuse the harsh rays." The princess's words were eloquent, but her body language suggested suppressed excitement. "By my mother's grace you will see night again in the ocean depths." She held the pearl aloft and addressed the sailors. "Step forward, you who would lead the others."

Eos and Astraea stepped forward together, the twins of dawn and dusk having suffered greatly in the absence of either.

"Excellent! Strip down, and ready yourselves."

The twins turned red, glancing at one another, and then awkwardly away.

"Both of us?" asked Eos, eyes cast upon the distant horizon, lamenting his synchronicity with his sister.

The princess raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, as if his question made no sense.

"It's ok." said Astraea, placing her hand on her brother's shoulder. Her touch was calming, bolstering even. The two of them undressed, tossing aside their ragged clothes and standing naked before the princess, her guards and the crew.

"Wow! You two look totally amazing." blurted the princess, to the surprise of everyone except the guards that preceded her. Apparently, they were familiar with this other side of the princess, which Astraea imagined they all would be getting to know once the pageantry was over.

"Oops. Ahem." The princess gathered her composure and carried on, the guards ushering the naked siblings to the side of the boat. "When I give the word, leap into the water. With the power of this pearl you shall become one with the sea, as my mother did before and so many have done after."

The twins held hands, bending their knees slightly. Eos couldn't help but be aware of his junk dangling between his legs, hoping his sister didn't find it as distracting as he did.

Astraea was more concerned about her own body, painfully aware of the shelf of her bust and the untrimmed bush of purple hair down below.

"One last thing: exhale before you hit the water. It makes the next part much easier." said Skystar.

Before either of the twins could ask for an explanation, Skystar gave the word and the twins jumped over the side.

As they fell, their curled legs were engulfed in a pearlescent radiance, and when that radiance faded there were scales and fins where their skin and feet had been.

The two barely had time to be astonished before they hit the water like a couple of stones. They did, however, expel their breath as instructed.

Though a few meters below the surface their respiration instinctively kicked in, but instead of drowning as their lungs filled with water they felt relief flood in from their necks. Eos reached up and touched his own, finding faint ridges that could only have been gills.

The two did not seem to be buoyant anymore, and, realizing that the crew would be waiting for them, they swam up and emerged triumphantly, gasping for air; the alternation between methods of oxygenation a bit disorienting.

Nevertheless, they waved happily at the crew watching anxiously from the deck, and were soon joined by them in the water, followed by the princess and her retainers. When they were all assembled, the princess led them into the depths while workers from below rose to scuttle the ship, for secrecy was survival.

As they swam deeper the deathly sunlight began to fade at last, and the relief from darkness also came with the desire to sleep. There was a calm beneath the waves, even when the bioluminescent coral of the aquatic domain came into view, and thereafter the shadowed structure of Queen Novo's palace.

Princess Skystar was a fast swimmer, and even the guards had difficulty keeping up with her.

Eos and Astraea were still getting the hang of their fins, but fared better than the rest of the exiles. Still, it mattered little as the queen did not reveal herself until the last guest had arrived in the great hall.

Skystar took her place floating by her side, and their beauty was somehow compounded by the contrast between them.

The princess was cute and bubbly, full of youthful energy, while the queen was stern and more womanly, with larger breasts and an aloof air about her.

"Well well. More seekers of refuge from the burning skies, I presume." said the queen, a bored expression on her face.

"What am I to do with you?" she asked.

Author's Note

More characters, in another place. At last a glimpse into the wider web, albeit a small one. I hope you like it.