Once there was a girl who was born the only child of a retainer of the Emperor. He was a mighty warrior who it was said fought in a hundred battles while her mother was pregnant. When she was born her father had become so desired by the Emperor that he took control of her life. First by giving her two bottles elixir of life so that she would no longer age past the prime of her life. The second way was to engage his second son, a man that would never find power, glory, nor nobility, to her, and demand that she present him with a dowry of the second elixir of life so that she would be bonded with him forever.
When she was young the Emperor had her sequestered away in a forgotten castle so that she may grow into a woman that his son may marry while allowing her father to continue fighting in the wars of the Emperor.
One day as she watched the bunny in the moon she heard a little scratching at her window. When she opened it she found herself with a noble little demon otter with a crown made of rice stocks. Soon after she would leave her window open allowing the demon otter to come and visit her in her lonely home whenever he could.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into month. The two would talk and the princess was falling ever deeper in love with the otter’s whit that had sharpened over the time they spent together.
One day she heard news that her fiancé was returning to fetch her. This was a man that had seldom written her, and when he had it seemed to her that those words had been only sent under orders from the Emperor. She cried deeply when she realized what this would mean. Under the moon light her tears turned to pearls, but once they were out of the moon’s gentle glow they once again returned to water.
As she cried on the ground she heard the rapping at her window she had not heard since she had started leaving it open for the demon otter. And despite that fact that she had left it open as she had for so long the otter was there in his little rice crown racking on the window with one of his claws.
He was about to sweep her away, but she stopped him, and ran to retrieve the wedding gift she had been given for the Emperor’s son. She presented it to the Demon Otter King right then and there. Not even a whisper of doubt in her heart. He drank it then and became like her, freed from the bonds of life able to live together for as long as the sun and moon stayed in the sky.
When the Demon Otter King took her through her window she heard the distraction caused by the otters who had been so loyal for so long to their king.
The two ran off to a far away to live in a kingdom of rice fields. In time they had many children together. These were the first mermaids. So loved were they by their parents that the Princess and the Demon Otter King gave a part of their very essence to these creatures so that they may choose if they wish to be otters, mermaids, or humans. Even though they knew that one day they would no longer have any essense to give to their children the two keep giving the gift of their forms.
Until one day the two called all their children before them as the princess held her newly born child and spoke to them. She told them that they would have to be saying good bye to all of her beloved children.
All of her children cried at this, and despite the moon not being out each of their tears turned to pearls as she smiled at them. With her gentle smile she told them that so long as she loved them their tears would become pearls no matter if the moon was in the sky or not. Smiling at all of his pride and joy standing before him the Demon Otter King told his children to value the youngest as they are the ones who will one day lead.
With that the two gave the gifts of their forms to the newly born child.
The Princess and the Demon Otter King passed away their own forms fading as they became water in the rice fields and mixed together.
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