A/N: This story focuses on Leia and her perspectives on life in the human world.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harvest Moon, so don’t sue me.

The Distant Sound of Waves

Chapter 1: Daryl and the Lab

The storm started out innocently enough. Many clouds blanketed the sky above. The raindrops fell gently to the ground and on the water, at first causing small waves.

However it was quickly becoming apparent to anyone unlucky enough to be in the area that this wasn’t going to be another simple mid summer thunderstorm. In fact, it was going to be something that would remain in the mind of one mermaid for some time to come.

As morning passed in to early afternoon the storm seemed to be growing in strength, not weakening as one might think a storm normally would do. It seemed, to the casual observer, that it was feeding on some seemingly unknown force, allowing it to continue to gain strength and momentum.

As the main body of the storm matured, it began to whip the winds up into a furious gale, churning the sea into a frothy seething expanse.

Brilliant flashes of lightning blazed across the dark ominous sky, followed by deafening crashes of thunder. Heavy sheets of rain poured from the forbidding sky dramatically reducing the visibility both above and below the oceans surface.

Beneath all of this turmoil a lone mermaid struggled to return home. She’d left the safety of her friend’s home only an hour before, hoping to beat the rapidly approaching weather.

As she struggled to swim, she could feel the oceans currents tossing and turning her about in a dizzying manner. She knew that home was in the general direction that she was currently swimming; at least she hoped it was. She paused momentarily, hoping to get her bearings, but the reduced visibility only allowed her to see about ten feet in any direction. Determined, she continued forward, hoping that she would soon be in the safety of her home. However, she was beginning to feel the effects of her struggles. She felt herself weakening; her strength felt like it was being sapped out of her like a sponge.

It was then that she noticed something alarming; the depth of the water was steadily decreasing! She quickly realized that the heavy currents were forcing her towards the shore! Desperately she turned and tried to swim back out to the safety of deeper waters. She fought with all her remaining strength against the swiftly moving current, but found it to be futile. Fear began to rise in the young mermaid as she watched the coral reef below her become ever closer.

It was then that the ocean decided to play a cruel trick on the finned girl, sending a wave crashing into the water directly above her! The resulting rapid downward flow forced the girl into the reef with a crushing force. She gasped in pain as the water rolled her along the ocean floor. After what seemed like an eternity to the green haired girl, she was finally deposited near the shallow depths of the shoreline.

Her energy nearly all but spent and in pain, she felt herself being tossed helplessly onto the sandy beach, spit out and rejected by the very ocean she had so lovingly called home.

Gasping in pain and unable to move she curled up into a protective ball and closed her eyes, awaiting the awful fate that would surely befall any mermaid unfortunate enough to find themselves in the human world.

The following morning broke clear and sunny, and as the sun began its morning trek across the sky over Forget Me Not valley a mermaid stirs slowly as the suns warming rays caressed her skin. Opening her eyes she quickly remembered what had transpired the night before. In an instant her mind began to race; she was in the human world! All she could think about was getting back to the safety of the ocean.

She sat up and looked around. To her relief the shoreline was deserted. Gingerly she began to push herself up, but stopped as a wave of intense pain rolled through her body. It was then that she remembered her collision with the reef the night before. A quick inspection of her body revealed many small cuts and scratch along her upper body as well as her tail. But what had her attention was a large purplish burse on her left side. It was that bused area that seemed to cause her the greatest amount of discomfort.

She was so consumed with her desire to return to the sparkling azure water that she didn’t even notice the human slowly approaching her. It wasn’t until it spoke that she realized her worst fears had come true. She had been found by a human!

The human approached the frightened girl slowly, almost as if he could sense that she was afraid of him. “Do not fear,” the human, who the mermaid noted looked quite odd, spoke. “I do not wish to harm you.”

“S… stay away from me!” the girl rasped as she attempted to push herself back towards the safety of the water’s edge. But the pain from her injuries was just too overwhelming and she stopped a mere ten feet from the safety of the oceans azure waters. Terrified about what might happen next she curled herself up into a tight ball and prepared herself for whatever might happen.

The human walked over and knelt down at her side. Without touching the frightened young sea girl, he carefully examined her injuries. It was apparent that she’d suffered some superficial wounds, but what concerned him the most was the large bruise on her midsection.

“I think you may have some broken ribs,” he said plainly. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he looked at the finned girl. “My name is Daryl, and I think I can help you. Do you have a name?”

The young mermaid remained silent, not sure of how to react to this human. She knew from what she’d been told that humans were evil creatures, interested in only themselves and noting else.

“You need not fear me,” he told her, trying to sound as reassuring as her could. “I mean you no harm. Please tell me your name.”

The mermaid turned her head and looked up at the man kneeling beside her. “My name is Leia.” She spoke softly before burying her head back into her chest.

“Well Leia, I don’t think you can safely return to the ocean in your current state. I have a home near here that I can treat you at, that is, if you don’t mind.”

Leia considered things for a moment. It didn’t seem like she had much of a choice but to accept the human’s offer. “He seems friendly. Perhaps the rumors are not entirely true and not all humans are evil.” She pondered before looking up at the human, now known to her as Daryl. She looked at the waiting ocean just beyond her grasp and slumped to the soft sandy shore. Faced with what seemed like no alternative she looked back up and replied. “Yes, I’ll accept your offer.”

“Good. Now relax and I’ll carry you to my home,” Daryl advised.

Still quite scared but knowing that she couldn’t escape, Leia did as instructed, allowing the human to lift her up from the beach and carry further into the human world. She watched as the ocean disappeared from sight, tears began to fill her blue eyes as she was carried way from the safety of the ocean.

In spite of his attempts to make the trip to his home as gentle as possible, the weight of the girl in his arms caused Daryl to slip and Leia to tumble from his arms. Intense pain racked her body as she fell onto the grass covered ground. The man hurried over to her and lifted her up, causing intense waves of pain to course through her body. The awful pain was too much for the girl to bear and she lost consciousness.

When Leia regained conscious she found herself immersed in cool saltwater. A temporary feeling of relief washed over the mermaid. “Was that all just a bad dream?” She wondered curiously. But when she went to move a jolt of pain reminded her that it was no dream. No, in fact it was all too real.

She blinked her eyes open and looked around. At first everything appeared blurry, but as her vision cleared she found that she was in some kind of a water filled tank. She looked to her right and noticed that this particular side of the enclosure was transparent. She swam slowly over and looked out, spotted Daryl with his back turned to her. She stretched out her orange and purple tailfin and swam slowly to the waters surface. The sound of her surfacing drew Daryl’s attention and after placing some type of metallic object on the table in front of him he turned and faced her. With a smile he walked over and stood in front of her.

“I see you are finally awake. Your injuries we not as severe as I had first thought and you should be able to return to the sea in about a week,” he explained carefully.

“Y…, you will allow me to return to my home?” The mermaid questioned curiously.

“Of course, why would I not allow you to return? The ocean is the proper place for a mermaid after all,” Daryl replied.

“I see,” the green haired girl said simply. “It’s just that the legends all say that once a mermaid is brought into the human world that her chances of ever returning to the ocean were impossibly small. After all, humans aren’t supposed to allow us to return once they’ve captured us,” Leia added sadly. “I remember my mom telling me that many times.”

“Do not judge all humans based on what you read or what you legends might say,” Daryl retorted. “I must say though, that as a man of science I would be most appreciative of any information about your world that you would be willing to give me.”

Leia moved about uncomfortably in her tub. “I… umm, I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“That’s understandable,” the scientist replied. “But perhaps sometime before you go?” he added with in a hopeful tone.

“I’ll think about it,” Leia responded. “I’m still not quite sure if I trust you or if you are just putting up a front.”

For the next couple of days Leia spent the bulk of her time curled up at the bottom of the stark white tank, only rising to the surface to eat. Homesickness racked the young girl’s mind, causing her to sob softly each night as she tried to sleep.

Finally, half way through the fifth day she forced her self to swim to the surface. Looking around she found Daryl hunched over at a bench near her tub. He seemed to be performing some sort of work. Even after several attempts to explain what he did, Leia still had difficulty understanding what exactly it was that a scientist did. He looked up from the notes he was writing and gave the green haired girl a smile.

“Hello Leia, how are you feeling today?” he asked curiously.

“I’m feeling a little weak, but otherwise I’m as well as can be expected,” she replied trying to sound as friendly as possible.

“That’s good. At this rate you should be able to return to the ocean very soon.”

Leia gave him a small smile and played nervously with the purple seashell accents in her hair. “Um, about that, I’ve been thinking. You have shown me kindness and you have helped me to tend to my injuries. Perhaps the legends are wrong about the human world.”

Daryl looked at the green haired girl with a small look of understanding. “I see,” he said simply.

Leia nodded. “I was thinking… well… perhaps if it’s possible I would like to remain here for a little while.”

The scientist looked curiously at his fishy guest. “Well I have no trouble allowing you to remain here. I am however curious, why do you wish to remain here and not to return home?” he inquired.

“I suppose its curiosity,” the green haired girl replied. “All I’ve ever heard or been taught while growing up was that humans were evil beings, something to be avoided at all costs. But during my short time here with you, I’ve been treated well. With that in mind I would like to experience a little more of your world. To see for myself what the human world is really like.”

“That’s fine. As I said I have no issue with you remaining here for as long as you’d like,” Daryl responded. “I only ask that in return you share some on the wonders of the mermaid world with me.”

“That’s understandable. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. The only thing I ask of you is that you keep my presence here a secret. While you might be friendly, I’m not sure of how other humans might react to me.”

“Of course, I can appreciate your concern about being detected. Rest assured I will keep your presence here strictly to myself,” Daryl replied in a positive voice.

Leia smiled back at the odd looking man before tuning and swimming back down to the bottom of her temporary living quarters to relax. As she did so, thoughts of home once again invade the girl’s mind. This time however, she suppressed the urge to cry. Instead, she felt a feeling of excitement rising within her, excitement at becoming the first mermaid in her family to explore the realm of the human world.

So Leia’s adventure in Forget Me Not Valley is just beginning. What will happen as time goes on? Did you enjoy or did you hate this so far? Please take a moment to leave me your feedback, in a review. Ja ne