Chapter 1: The Lotus’s Kiss

Part 1

🧜‍♀️ **A Touch of a Sacred Lotus Turned Me into a Mermaid, Revealing My Foster Mother’s 18-Year Secret and My True Royal Heritage.**

I only reached out to touch a shimmering five-colored lotus on a quiet bend of the Black River. Moments later, my legs fused into a vibrant mermaid tail. A broken crown mark burned onto my skin.

An invisible force began dragging me towards the treacherous currents of the rumored “Drowning Gate.” My foster mother, Esther Jenkins, rushed to the water’s edge. Her face wasn’t terror-stricken.

It was a mask of shock as she confessed she’d hidden my true identity for eighteen years. “Your noble biological mother,” she whispered, “isn’t dead, but imprisoned. She holds the other half of your crown somewhere deep in the ancient mountains.”

The river tugged harder at my new tail, the pull toward the churning depths intensifying. Cold fear, a different kind than the magic, seized me. Esther scrambled closer, her face pale.

“What is this, Esther?” I cried, struggling against the unseen current. “What did you do?”

She grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “It’s not demonic, Elara! What they told you about the currents… it’s not true.”

“Then what is it?” I demanded, water stinging my eyes. The crown mark on my skin throbbed with a dull ache.

Esther looked wildly around the deserted riverbank, as if expecting someone to appear. “This ‘demonic current’ is a defense mechanism. Of Aquarion.”

“Aquarion?” The name was alien, yet it resonated in my core.

“A hidden mer-realm,” she clarified quickly, her voice hushed. “And the Drowning Gate… it’s not a dungeon.”

My heart hammered. “Then what *is* it?”

“It’s a portal,” she choked out, tears finally streaming down her face. “A heavily guarded portal to a prison realm.” She pulled me closer, her gaze frantic. “I was bound, Elara. By an ancient oath. Forced to hide you to protect you.”

The current intensified its relentless pull, threatening to drag me under entirely. “Protect me from *who*?”

Esther squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “I can’t… I can’t say his name. He’s too powerful. If I speak it…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “There’s a greater threat than you can possibly imagine.”

Part 2

The current ripped at me, pulling my new tail further into the dark maw of the Drowning Gate. With a desperate surge of strength, I kicked, pushing against the invisible force just enough to keep my head above the churning water. Just then, two shadowy figures burst from the river’s depths, their bodies shimmering with scales.

They wore strange, armored vests. Their eyes fixed on the burning crown mark on my skin.

“The Lost Heir!” one of them bellowed, his voice echoing over the water. The other lunged, a net materializing in his hand.

Esther screamed, pulling at me with all her might. “He threatened them, Elara! Malachi Stone… he knows where my family lives. My human family. He’ll hurt them if I speak a word.”