Works-In-Progress Wednesday: "The Princess of Undersea"

I want to tell a story!

I want to tell a story of a mermaid Princess who dreams of being human--not to escape her father, but to prove to him that everything he's been telling the other courtiers concerning humans is wrong.
Princess Ylaine is sure that being human must be the most thrilling thing in the world. To have two dainty legs instead of one thick tail! To have no surface keeping you in, but to be able to move freely through this thing called air that never grew shallow! Ylaine wants to float through the air as high as she pleases; she is quite sure it is as easy as floating in water. Her greatest wish is that both she and her father could be human for just one day, so that they could travel together and see the truth about humans. But great wishes come with great cost.
Princess Ylaine was blessed with the gift of song as an infant. When her parents took the ceremonial surfacing when she was born under the Great Moon, the last fairy happened to be passing by, and spoke these words over her:

"May the music of your voice bring comfort to the heavy heart, 

courage to the fearful heart, 

wisdom to the foolish one, 

and truth to the hearts darkened by falsehood. 

May those whose hearts are noble be drawn by the sound of your gift."

 From that day forward, Ylaine never spoke without the song in her voice--what is more, her father discovered that the gift also had the power to sway the minds of others. By singing a song only she knew, Ylaine could enthrall all those who heard it. The King of Undersea wants to use her gift to compel all of the merfolk to unite against the humans, but Princess Ylaine believes that if her father spent but one day among these humans he so despised, he would not so desire this war.

On the surface, the kingdom of Overcliff is dealing with its own breed of problems.

Ever since the Queen passed away of a fairy sickness (prompting the banishment of all Fae from the kingdom), King Theodore has worried more about the raising of his son, Prince Nathan, than of the state of the kingdom. The island kingdom, no longer actively involved in trade with the mainland since the Fae departed, is slowly deteriorating--but the king's main concern is that his son grows up healthy and happy, and in the constant company of his doting father.

Prince Nathan takes after the manner of his father, heedless of the state of the kingdom, only caring about his own amusement. When freak storm during a boating trip nearly takes his life, two worlds collide and two young people meet. Will Prince Nathan ever discover who saved him from drowning? Will Ylaine ever get the chance to tell the noble human how much she cares for him, and what are the chances he might feel the same way about her?

It's still early, yet... but stay tuned! I've been writing several short stories to go along with Inkweaver, but this one is the first novella-length fairy tale I've attempted, so we'll see how this is going to work! I hope to have the first section completed by next week!