By the end of the day, Sidney's arms were aching. Carrying crates of fish, mussels and small crab shells up and down the pier would do that. They'd push their hat higher up their head against the sun, eyes squinting. Always hot, always uncomfortable.

"Always complaining!" Their Dad tutted, giving them another large crate to load onto the back of their seafood shop truck. "This is possibly the biggest sale we're making all season."

"Why is Duke's family even having this massive party anyway?" Sidney grumbled.

Their Dad shrugged. "I can think of plenty of reasons to celebrate when you are that rich."

Sidney rolled their eyes as they loaded another crate into the back of the truck. "And all this food, too, are they what, inviting the whole island?"

Fisher, as he always did, popped out of nowhere. "The whole island but us! Once again Mr Igwe, can we please cater with Sidney this time?"

Mr Igwe tutted. "Once again, no, Fish, this is a big gig, and I need my most experienced with me on this. And if you work for me you can't pick and choose shifts, it's all or none. You just want to work this time because you want to get into that big party."

"But the girls—." Fish whined. Sidney rolled their eyes. "You're just going to have to sit this one out, Fish. Next time, okay?"

"Take lots of pictures for us, yeah?" Fisher almost begged. Sidney patted Fisher's bright blonde head.

"Sure, mate." Sidney stifled a laugh.

Eva came breezing up to them, holding long pieces of blue coral fabric, and began tying them decoratively to the van.

"Ahhh, perfect, Eva." Sidney said. "Just what I asked for."

Sidney's Dad raised their eyebrows and then lowered them again. "Well, you're the artist," He shrugged and left them to it.

When she had done it, Eva brought Sidney into a squeezing hug. "Pay no mind to whatever they say to you while you're there, Sids."

"I won't," Sidney promised.

"And call us if anything happens," Eva said sternly.

"I will."

"We'll just bike right over to the other side of the island."

"Why bike when we can just hop on my brother's motorcycle–." Fisher interjected.

Eva tusked and took Fisher by the ear. "I don't wanna have to stop him from killing you again."

"Well you are my friend and you are dating him so really it is your job–owww." Eva had pulled harder on Fisher's ear. Sidney smiled quietly to themselves and the two continued bickering as they walked away.

"Be good Fisher!" Sidney yelled after them, and Fisher gave him a thumbs up from behind as they walked away.

Their Dad had gotten into the truck and behind the wheel while this had all transpired, and he gave Sidney a wink as they got in on the passenger side. "Ready to go?"

"Let's get this over with," Sidney replied.

Sidney had had a crush on Duke, the party host's son, for as long as they could remember.

Even though they were born male, their father had never pressed upon them to have particular masculine qualities. Their father only cared about two things, catching fish and selling fish. Everything else was secondary. All the same, Sidney tried to keep their crush on Duke to themselves.

On the drive across the island to the estate, Sidney couldn't help every interaction they had ever had with Duke play through their head. It felt like such an inescapable situation, catering at that party, being around that crowd again. Sidney had never explained to anyone but Fisher and Bianca what had really happened between them and Duke, so their father had no clue, and Duke wanted to keep it that way.

It didn't stop their stomach from rolling as they passed the large gates and were buzzed through, the endless stretch of green that was the front grounds, and the white gravel road, the large imposing manor house, hanging off the end of the island on fancy stilts, a beautiful ocean view from here. Sidney wanted to vomit, they did not want to be here. But getting work nowadays was money, and money was what they needed, with the massive fishing industrial ships catching all their local merch, making it harder for local fish businesses to find fish to sell.

Their father only complained about it every other dinner time. At least they didn't mind the uniform, they went around the back and parked up, and the extra staff their Dad had hired parked behind them and began unloading the crates. Sidney tugged at the teal waistcoat and the pink pocket square, smoothed their hands on their black trousers, and despite their nerve and their dread, they felt that they looked good.

They had that at least.

They were called over to unpack the excess frozen fish into one of the industrial freezers in the ginormous kitchen, their brain melded and hardened into work mode, focusing on every single task with the only goal being, to make Dad proud. For an evening they could do that, even if their heart was rolling around in their chest.

***

Every work shift that wasn't on the front promenade, tended to blur into one. Customers said the same things to them, gave the same strange looks, same rudeness and dismissal. Sidney was used to it and was numb to it. They walked quickly from room to room, to not focus on the party, and... its inhabitants.

The party guests had gradually drifted to the outdoor decking, the wooden fancy balcony rails overlooking the ocean from up on the house's stilts. It was idyllic, the ocean glistened a blue so deep and clear it could have been glass. The sun melted into the sea as it began to set, bouncing off the thin stemmed glasses of the imbued patrons. Alcohol and sunshine were an intoxicating mix, agreeing with everyone beautifully. At first, no one noticed a gentle lurch of the deck, a slight tilting.

And then it burst through.

At first, they thought it was a violent wave because that had happened to people's decking before, in fact, that was pretty common in Port Bastian. Certain warnings were blasted around the island. Warning, storms and violent ocean swells are predicted. Stay inside your homes.

But no one could have predicted this. A thick tendril slammed into the deck, and the first thought was a giant squid.

Sharp long teeth, as long as telephone poles came next, and people thought of sharks.

A massive column of water came up next, and then it was fully in view. It was a thick grey worm, with a slightly sickly navy tint to it, no eyes, just rows and rows of teeth. An ungodly sound came from it, and then people began screaming too. Every glass flute seemed to break at once, cutting through the air in tandem with the screams, as people dropped their drinks and dived out of their chairs.

Sidney, who was holding a tray of appetisers dropped on the ground with a clang and unfortunately stood in the entranceway to the decking. People swept towards them like seagulls to fries, in a mighty horde of desperation. Sidney was immediately knocked off of their feet in seconds in the scramble. Their first thought was.

Dad.

And then their second thought was Duke.

Then Sidney was getting swept up in the pulsating crowd of fleeing guests and drenched every few seconds by the spray of seawater from the creature's rampage. Somebody needed to call a service, the animal control, the Coast

guard.

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Anyone—

Not everyone had time to get away—

Sidney risked a glance behind them as they made to run away, and the sight was something that was always going to be seared into their brain. Bone white teeth pierced flesh, and blood spilt like wine. Limbs of all shapes and sizes were shredded, and blood sprayed across the deck like sea spray. This time, instead of the salty smell of brine that rose with it, it was the coopery tangy smell of blood.

Sidney skidded slightly to the side as they ran, the force of the claws and the massive weight of a fantastical creature crashing into the deck of the house was bringing it down. And taking them all with it.

Sidney wanted to find their father, but the infrastructure of the house on stilts over the ocean was cracking and breaking down so there might not be time. Their fight or flight instinct was kicking in and all they knew was that they wanted to escape, they wanted to live. Sidney had never been more grateful for the years of taking track every summer, as they sprinted as fast as their legs could go. Down the steps at the front of the house, onto the small private stretch of beach. Upon reaching the sand, the traction beneath their shoes changed and they fell hard down onto the sand.

Coughing up sand and grit, Sidney stared up in horror at the massive swells in the ocean the creatures were churning up with their haphazard movements. The waves were going to build up and crash down on them. Sidney didn't know if they had the energy to swim through the violent swells of the sea if they were caught in it. So they just lay there, staring, their limbs frozen indecision and exhaustion, while the internal screaming in their mind was telling them to get up and go.

The top of the wave crested a dazzling white, and from there she emerged. The figure seemed to float within the wave, and then it parted, like a biblical story Sidney couldn't recall. She stepped down onto the sand in front of them, and Sidney had to blink, believing they had truly lost it from the stress and terror of the last twenty minutes.

She was bedecked in rose gold armour, her chest covered in an elaborate pauldron, pointed spaulders covering her shoulders, gauntlets covering her arms, and a heavy gold circlet with an element pressed upon her black curls. White fabric hung from the armour around her hips, and her tail had transformed into two glowing bronze legs, ancient leather sandals buckled up to her knees. She clutched a heavy-looking staff, ancient wood carved with unrecognisable symbols, with an emerald orb atop it.

Then she turned and began running towards the monsters.

Thalia had never fought anything in her life, she had stolen a spare suit of women's armour and shield from the armoury room. She didn't know what to do but she knew she had to change something.

Do something. The one skill she did have was sewing. She could thread the needle in and out in the blink of an eye. Complete a line of stitching like that. Sewing was just repeatedy stabbing fabric wasn't it? Maybe she could repeatedly stab this monster.

She looked at her spear. It was basically a massive needle. She coud do this,

Kamaria needed her.

She swept the spear up and plunged it down. Mimicking the motions up and through, and give it a tug! A beam of light tied around the monster, yanking it towards her, it shrieked horribly.

She plunged it in again and repeated the motion.

Streams of black blood  spurted everytime she pulled it out and stuck it back down again. She lashed again and again at the monster in a fury. The routine of the action taking over her, gore spurting up and all over her. Finally the shrieks of the monster died away and she pulled back.

It was done.

It was dead.

The person with the dreadlocks from before in the waistcoat was still staring at her was still staring at her, and she unclenched her hands from where she was gripping the dead beast. It vanished in a flash of light, and she sank herself into the waves.

She could feel herself into the waves. She could feel herself starting to sink, dipping further into the water.

She felt so tired, and she was so tired of fighting.

Maybe she should just stop for a bit...

The person watching her stopped staring for a bit and dived in, starting to to swim towards her. Before long, they were right in front, big brown eyes, dark skin, and dreadlocks small and cute, slightly covering their eyes.

"Let me help you."

She let them swim with her to the houses's decking, where a tall dark skinned boy with a top fade was waiting, watching them.

"Duke," Her saviour started to say,

but this Duke spluttered.

"Holy crap what was that!" He came forth from the slanted closet under the stairs, gawking at the now wrecked ceiling of his house, the roof scattered around the lush carpeted floor, the yawning gap in the house letting in the stiff evening breeze. He was wielding a broom threateningly, and as he took in Thalia in all of her regalia, and Sidney next to her, his jaw dropped even lower. "My house..." He looked around at the apocalyptic mess the monsters had left behind, streaks of blood splattered amongst the carpet like spilt wine, the party guests' bodies scattered on the floor, along the hallway, and out of what remained the door. He lowered the broom, raising a hand to his mouth, and the rest of his words choked in his throat.

Sidney moved forward to comfort him, and Thalia lowered her spear, the otherworldly glow from her fading. Duke was so stunned he didn't notice Sidney approaching him, and gently took his arm.

Thalia lowered her head grimly, and even though none of this carnage was her fault, she still felt for this boy whose life had just been turned upside down. She had met him once.

She began muttering, the symbols along the length of her spear glowing. "You will forget what happened here, a freak tsunami wiped out the deck of this house."

"No—" Duke shrieked, startling both of them. "I saw what happened here! I may have hidden, but—." He turned to Thalia with flashing eyes. "These creatures killed almost all of my party guests! I will not cower and forget!" he crossed his arms, defiant.

"A strong will." Thalia mused, pleasantly surprised. Guess the spell won't work on him, a different approach was needed.

Sidney spoke softly to Duke, trying to calm him down. "Thalia fought them off, she wounded them, they are gone now. They won't reach the town."

"The monsters of myth are real," Duke whispered, not listening to Sidney. "The gods are real."

Thalia stepped forward to him, and Sidney backed up a step, sliding closer to Sidney. He now had a closer look at her (description of Thalia in her battle wear). "I am truly sorry for what happened here today. But this is an ancient matter of the sea, and only those with spiritual power can do something about this. This is not a matter you can deal with. It's best that you forget."

"Those beasts—." Duke croaked. "Destroyed my home, my friends, and my family—." He suddenly looked around, distraught. "Where are my parents, did they survive—." His voice was rising higher and higher, to a panicked pitch.

Sidney turned Duke to him and embraced him, and Duke struggled. What if the monster had got Duke's parents? Sidney wasn't sure if he could let him go and find their bodies, not in the state that he was in.

Thalia spoke again, reluctantly. She didn't want to deliver this news, but she felt like they both had a right to know. "The entirety of the human race will all be dead if I don't stop these beasts." She lifted her eyes to them. "And it starts here, in this town, and I'm the only one who can end it because I know who unleashed them."

Sidney stood a little straighter, trying to seem taller, more intimidating."We need to know what these creatures are— and what you are. What the hell is going on here?"

"Now, that is a much longer story," Thalia said. "And I will need time to explain it." Thalia slumped against her staff, the vitality and strength she had from the battle that was holding her up, suddenly leaving her all at once.

Sidney could suddenly see how battle worn and weary she was. There was no way she would be in fighting shape if they didn't hide her and prepare her for the next match. If what they had seen was true, the human authorities couldn't beat this thing.

But Thalia could.

In this horrific situation, Sidney realised that they needed to step up. They gathered all of the confidence they could and addressed Thalia, still holding up Duke at that point. "Fine, we need you, to help us, get rid of these beasts, if they come back and attack this city again. And clearly, you need us, because you –you're from the sea, and you don't know much about the land, and being above water. Let us help each other, we have the same goal."

All Duke could do was weakly nod in agreement.

Thalia raised her chin and regarded them both. She considered, knowing that she was the only one apart from the princess who had breached the city walls and arrived at the surface. She knew the last time she had been on land was thousands of years ago, and she was used to how things were now.

She did need help, and she was a big enough person to admit this. She couldn't do it on her own. She nodded at them. "Very well."

Between them, they snuck her into the back of the truck, propped up in and amongst the spare empty wooden crates. Duke turned and hugged Sidney after they slammed the boot lid down, then raced off to find his parents. Sidney felt his heartbeat in their chest and thought about his father, wondered where he was, and the last time he had seen him.

Sidney ran through the partially destroyed kitchens, yelling for their father. He wasn't sure if he had run with the rest of the staff, or hidden with the guests. They knew that Thalia had started her spell by now, they had caught her muttering incantations as they helped her into the truck. So their father wouldn't know what they are running from, but hopefully, survival instincts would just kick in. They yanked the door to the wine cellar and there was their father huddled with a load of the catering staff. Sidney's father swept Sidney into a bone-crushing hug. Crying and praising the lord that they were okay.

Their father drove back to town like the devil was on his heels. Knowing it was an emergency just not knowing the right one.

Massacre.

Not a tsunami.

But all that was going through Sidney's father's head was tsunami, tsunami, tsunami.

Port Bastian, an island town in the surface world

Jamaica- present day - Thalia

In the back of Sidney's Dad's truck, she remembers her final argument with the princess before she unleashed the beasts... to break the curse that kept them underwater.

"Don't you want to remember me?"

Thalia blinked. "What do you mean?"

"If I don't do this, we'll just keep forgetting each other. We will have to keep remembering and falling in love again."

"Of course, I don't want this to happen to you, but there's not just you and me at stake here, the whole city."

"I'm sick of it," Kamaria screamed, "just remembering things in fragments, only getting snippets of my actual life. I never had freedom above land and I have even less of it now."

"Kama, please don't do this, we don't know what it'll do."

Thalia couldn't remember the exact moment the spell was cast, she can only remember snippets.

The flash of a tentacle, the groan of the ancient rusted grate to the cage containing the sea monsters, slowly sliding open. Another creak and a flush of water sealed their doom.