Virat: Abandoned by Destiny

Once upon a time...

Long, long ago...

There was a world where the oceans were far greater than the lands.

There was very little land.

And deep beneath the endless, dark-blue sea...

There was a beautiful magical kingdom.

Its name was...

Blooparia.

And ruling over this strange and wonderful kingdom was a beautiful queen.

Queen Bubblina.

Queen Bubblina was kind.

Cheerful.

And very friendly.

But there was one little problem.

Her ideas were...

A little unusual.

One morning, Queen Bubblina looked around her kingdom and smiled.

Then she suddenly announced,

"Let's get married!"

Everyone stared at her.

The queen raised one finger.

"Not once."

Another finger.

"Not twice."

Then she proudly raised both hands.

"Fourteen times!"

Silence.

A tiny Bubbelfin slowly swam backward.

Another Bubbelfin bumped into it.

Bonk!

Queen Bubblina smiled.

"Yes!"

"I'll marry fourteen husbands!"

Somehow...

Nobody knew what to say.

On the day of the wedding...

Blooparia looked like a magical fairyland.

Bright Bubbelfins swam through the water like tiny flying horses.

Some had sparkling fins.

Some had glowing tails.

Some were simply swimming around because they had forgotten where they were going.

Jellyfish floated above the wedding hall like magical lamps.

One jellyfish bumped into another.

Boop!

Both spun around.

Nobody understood what had happened.

But they continued glowing anyway.

Huge whales gathered around the kingdom.

"Pum!"

"Pum-Pum!"

"Puuuuum!"

Their deep calls became the wedding music.

Queen Bubblina clapped happily.

Her fourteen husbands stood in a long line.

Among them were three Bubbelfins.

One had fins that shone brighter than gold.

Three Humblins had travelled from the surface.

They had drunk magical juice so they could breathe underwater.

Three Lizzykins stood proudly beside them.

Their green scales shimmered beneath the magical lights.

Then came the other magical races.

A Flitterel who could fly underwater...

A Spooklin who looked like a floating shadow...

A huge Biggum who had to crouch whenever he entered a doorway...

And a Splashhoof that swam through the ocean like a horse running across a field.

There was even a tiny Bloopie floating nearby.

Boing...

Boing...

Boing...

It bounced against the wedding decorations.

Then came the Beastibuns.

The Leafywhims.

The Gobblegobs.

The Grumblins.

The Jigglies.

And the Draggles.

Even the smallest Draggles looked frightening...

Until one of them sneezed.

"Achoo!"

A tiny puff of smoke came out of its nose.

Everyone stared.

The little Draggles looked embarrassed.

Queen Bubblina burst out laughing.

Then she placed a pearl crown on each of her fourteen husbands.

One...

Two...

Three...

All the way to fourteen.

The pearls sparkled beneath the magical lights.

But the most wonderful thing wasn't the wedding itself.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

It was what happened afterward.

These races had once fought each other.

The Bubbelfins became friends with the Humblins.

The Humblins became friends with the Lizzykins.

The Beastibuns joined them.

The Leafywhims brought flowers.

The Gobblegobs brought snacks...

Although nobody knew where they had stolen them from.

The Grumblins tried to look scary.

The Jigglies simply bounced around.

And the Draggles proudly flew above everyone.

Somehow...

A queen with fourteen husbands had accomplished what generations of warriors had failed to do.

She made everyone friends.

Blooparia became a kingdom filled with laughter.

And Queen Bubblina ruled happily alongside her fourteen husbands.

Several years passed.

Queen Bubblina had fourteen children.

One child...

Then another...

Then another...

Soon the royal family became very large.

Fourteen husbands.

Fourteen children.

And Queen Bubblina.

Twenty-nine people in total.

The palace became extremely noisy.

Someone was always laughing.

Someone was always swimming too fast.

Someone was always getting lost.

And someone was always asking where the food had gone.

One day...

Queen Bubblina had another strange idea.

"We're going to travel around the whole world!"

Her fourteen children immediately cheered.

The fourteen husbands began preparing a gigantic magical ship.

Soon...

The entire family climbed aboard.

The ship slowly left Blooparia.

Splash...

The waves opened before it.

The magical ship sailed toward the unknown.

Where it would eventually go...

Nobody knew.

Meanwhile...

Night had fallen over Restart Village.

The moon hung quietly above the rooftops.

The sacred river reflected the pale moonlight.

The trees moved gently in the night breeze.

Inside the White family's home...

T was sitting on her bed.

She wasn't sleepy.

Not even slightly.

Lily looked at her.

"T."

"Yes, Mom?"

"It's late."

"I know."

"So?"

T thought for a moment.

"I'm not sleepy."

Lily sighed.

"Of course."

V was sitting nearby.

He looked at T.

"You were running around all day."

T pointed at him.

"But you're awake too."

V paused.

"...That's different."

"Why?"

"I'm older."

T narrowed her eyes.

"That's not a reason."

Lily smiled.

"She's right."

V stared at his mother.

"Mom..."

Lily continued the story.

"The magical ship sailed farther and farther away from Blooparia."

"The water became darker."

"The stars above the sea looked like tiny diamonds."

T suddenly raised her hand.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Does a horse with wings swim in the sea?"

Lily blinked.

"It can."

T tilted her head.

"But does it swim?"

"Yes."

"Or does it fly?"

"If it wants to."

"What if it wants to run?"

"Then it runs."

T looked confused.

"So it can swim, fly, and run?"

Lily nodded.

"Yes."

T thought seriously.

"Then it's doing too many things."

V laughed.

T looked at him.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing."

"You are laughing."

"I'm not."

"You are."

Lily smiled.

"Let him laugh."

T crossed her arms.

Then Lily continued.

"On the magical ship, Queen Bubblina and her family sailed beneath the moonlight."

"The fish followed the ship."

"The jellyfish floated beside it."

"And sometimes..."

"A giant whale would appear beside the ship."

T's eyes widened.

"Mom?"

"Hm?"

"Does a whale sneeze make the whole ocean wet?"

Lily paused.

V immediately looked at her.

Lily tried to keep a straight face.

"Well..."

She thought carefully.

"The ocean is already wet."

T blinked.

"Oh."

"So..."

Lily smiled.

"I think the ocean would survive."

T nodded seriously.

"Good."

Lily continued.

"The whale disappeared beneath the waves."

"The magical ship continued sailing."

For a few moments...

T listened quietly.

Then she asked,

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can fish sleep?"

"Yes."

"With their eyes open?"

"Many fish do."

T looked horrified.

"That's scary."

V laughed softly.

T immediately looked at him.

"Don't laugh."

"I'm trying."

Lily continued calmly.

"Some fish slept beneath the coral."

"Some rested inside little caves."

"And some simply floated peacefully through the water."

T smiled.

"Like Bloopies?"

"Exactly."

T thought about that.

Then another question came.

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Can fish sneeze?"

Lily smiled.

"Probably."

"Do bubbles come out?"

"Probably."

T nodded.

"Then do they say 'Achoo' underwater?"

Lily thought about it.

"They might."

"Very quietly."

T smiled.

"Because the water is loud."

V looked at her.

"That actually makes sense."

T proudly nodded.

"I know."

Lily continued the story.

"And while the family sailed across the ocean..."

"The moon followed their ship."

T immediately looked toward the window.

"The moon follows people?"

Lily smiled.

"Sometimes it looks that way."

T thought about it.

V suddenly laughed.

T looked at him.

"What?"

V shook his head.

"Nothing."

T pointed toward the window.

"The moon follows me too."

V smiled.

"Maybe you're just walking too slowly."

T stared at him.

"So the moon is waiting for me?"

"Exactly."

T smiled proudly.

"I knew it."

Lily covered her mouth, hiding a laugh.

T looked toward the moon.

"Then tomorrow I'll race it."

V laughed again.

T grabbed a pillow.

"Stop laughing!"

V immediately became serious.

"Okay."

T slowly lowered the pillow.

"Good."

Lily smiled.

"Now..."

She gently touched T's hair.

"That's enough questions for tonight."

T finally crawled under her blanket.

Lily tucked it around her.

T looked at her mother.

"Mom..."

"What?"

"When the ship comes..."

"Will you wake me?"

Lily smiled.

"Of course."

"I want to see Queen Bubblina."

"I know."

"Is she really beautiful?"

"According to the story."

T smiled.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

T closed her eyes.

Within moments...

Her breathing became slow and peaceful.

She had finally fallen asleep.

V remained beside the bed for a moment.

He looked at T.

Then at Lily.

"...She asks too many questions."

Lily smiled.

"She gets that from someone."

V looked at her.

"Who?"

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You."

V blinked.

"I don't ask that many questions."

Lily glanced at T.

"She asked you why the moon follows her yesterday."

V paused.

"...That was different."

"How?"

"I was trying to answer."

Lily smiled.

"And what did you tell her?"

V looked away.

"That the moon was following her because she was running too slowly."

Lily covered her mouth.

"V..."

V smiled slightly.

"She believed me."

"I know."

A small silence followed.

They both looked at T.

Then V laughed softly.

Lily looked at him.

"You know..."

"You used to ask questions just like that."

V looked at her.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"You used to say the strangest things."

V smiled awkwardly.

Lily continued.

"And you always wanted to hear this same story before sleeping."

V's expression changed.

"This story?"

"Yes."

"You always fell asleep only after hearing it."

V looked away.

Lily smiled.

"And every time..."

"You would say..."

"When the ship comes, wake me up."

V became quiet.

Then he sighed.

"Mom..."

Lily smiled.

"Now go to sleep."

V shook his head.

"I'm not a child anymore, Mom."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Please don't say that to me."

Lily gently smiled.

"You can grow as much as you want."

"You can become stronger."

"You can become older."

She reached over and gently touched his hair.

"But no matter how old you become..."

"You'll always be my child."

V looked at her.

For a moment...

He had no answer.

Finally...

He sighed.

"...Fine."

Lily smiled.

"Good."

V slowly lay down.

He pulled the blanket over himself.

"Happy now?"

"Very."

V closed his eyes.

Lily looked at both children.

"Good night."

She quietly walked toward the door.

Before leaving...

She looked back once.

T was sleeping peacefully.

V was finally asleep too.

Lily smiled.

Then gently closed the door.

A few moments later...

T moved in her sleep.

Her hand slowly rose.

Her thumb found its way into her mouth.

V noticed.

He blinked.

He carefully removed it.

T's hand dropped.

V smiled.

Then...

A few seconds later...

Her hand moved again.

Her thumb returned.

V stared.

He removed it again.

T's thumb returned again.

Lily had stopped near the door.

She watched silently.

V tried a third time.

T immediately put it back.

Lily covered her mouth.

A small laugh escaped.

V looked at her.

"She keeps doing it."

Lily smiled.

"She used to do it all the time."

V looked at T.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

V tried removing her thumb one final time.

T immediately put it back.

V sighed.

"...Fine."

He pulled the blanket around her.

"She wins."

Lily laughed softly.

"Let her sleep."

V smiled.

"Good night, T."

T remained completely asleep.

Her thumb stayed exactly where it was.

Outside...

Brald was waiting.

He looked at Lily.

"Finally."

Lily smiled.

"It took a while."

"How long does it take to put two children to sleep?"

Lily looked at him.

"One of them asked whether the moon follows her."

Brald paused.

"...Does it?"

Lily smiled.

"Don't ask."

Brald laughed.

"Come on."

They walked toward their room.

The house slowly became quiet.

The moonlight entered through the windows.

The village slept peacefully.

But outside...

Someone remained awake.

Alistair stood near the village boundary.

Several guards stood nearby.

The night was calm.

The sacred river flowed quietly.

The trees moved gently beneath the moon.

Alistair looked across the sleeping village.

No laughter.

No footsteps.

No frightened voices.

Only peace.

One of the guards quietly yawned.

Alistair glanced at him.

"Stay awake."

The guard immediately straightened.

"Yes."

Alistair looked back toward the village.

Children slept.

Parents slept.

The old slept.

The young slept.

Everyone could rest...

Because someone had to remain awake.

A peaceful night was never completely free.

Someone always stood beneath the darkness.

Someone always watched.

Someone always waited.

And as the moon slowly moved across the sky...

Restart Village continued sleeping peacefully.

Somewhere in the dreams of a little girl...

A strange magical ship was still sailing across an endless blue ocean.

Perhaps it would reach the village.

Perhaps it wouldn't.

Perhaps Queen Bubblina would really appear one day...

Or perhaps...

It was simply another story waiting for tomorrow night.

The ship continued sailing.

And the night continued on.