#bwaw

Black sapphic characters:

Anissa Pierce [lesbian] (Nafessa Williams) Chenoa (Shein Mompremier) Jamillah [lesbian] (Adetinpo Thomas)

Connections:

Anissa x Chenoa (black sapphic) x Zoe B (black sapphic) x Jamillah (black lesbian) Grace (interracial sapphic)

Sex & Nudity - Mild

Implied sex.

Kissing and making out.

Characters visible in underwear.

Conversations of prostitution.

Violence & Gore - Moderate

Shoot-out at club, apartment building,

Electrocuting of police.

Bullet holes visible in a character.

Character is beaten with a gun.

Character is shot dead.

Physical fights and knocking characters unconscious and dead.

Show of blood.

Profanity - Moderate

Multiple uses of 'fast ass', bitch,

Use of 'negro'

Unfavorable comments about a certain sub-demographic

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking - Mild

Use of weed and visibly high characters.

Use of cigarettes.

Frightening & Intense Scenes - Severe

Police pull-over of a black driver.

Shoot-out at club, apartment building,

Electrocuting of police.

Character has gun pulled on them.

Kidnapping.

Bullet holes visible in a character.

Character is beaten with a gun.

Characters are shot dead.

“If she was telling the truth, she would have been back by now.” Finally, he turned around. His face was its usual expressionless, but his eyes carried a million opinions he felt that, if he voiced, he would talk himself into staying.

Ama never cried. Even at this moment, she felt like she needed to, but her eyes were helplessly dry. Her heart felt cold and wrung out.

Lunga watched her from across the room in pity. “You will come back home, Ama. You are welcomed. You will heal.”

She shook her head again. She thought about pleading with him even more. Then a flicker of something inside her made her scoff. I’ll never fucking heal. And he knows it.

He went to reach for his spear, but then hesitated, and decided to leave it behind. Ama could feel his itching to flee. Flee the heir of the damn throne. “And your brothers are-“

“Nxx.” the siren clicked her tongue and turned on her heel, leaving him before he could. She heard more than enough. He didn’t even call after her. He gave up.

~

"Hyunjin! Come here, dear! You just need to see this!" The Queen squealed when she saw her son down the hallway of Hyunjin's quarters adorned with family paintings framed with gold and silver.

She stopped in her tracks and subtly looked around for an exit. She needed to record this day and if her mother got a hold of her, she would fall asleep with her voice in her ears.

Alas, she failed to reach her room in time when Hayoung gave her a big smile, hands landing on her shoulders. "In your lounge—" she stopped, then frowned, removing her hands from her shoulders and taking a step back from her. "What...?"

Hyunjin's heart near skipped a beat when her mother scanned her, thinking she found out. Can she see it? Does it show? Regardless of the fact that there was no way of telling if someone met their person on the outside, it did not stop this fear from overwhelming her. She was her mom; she sometimes knew her better than she did herself.

"Why are you so dirty?" She had to hold back a sigh of relief. "Your hair and your clothes... your face looks red! What have you been up to?"

"I... Jayu— she dropped me. I fell from Jayu." The princess said with an affirming nod.

Hayoung tsked, turning her around in the direction of her bathroom. "I tell you to stop riding that horse alone! Now look at you!" Hyunjin could her mother sigh from outside the thick doors of her bathroom, immediately taking to her large vanity mirror to look at herself. Her face was, indeed, red. From running back. She confirmed, lifting her hair to see the dirt, checking every single part of her for more grime.

Her refreshing regime rarely varied, and she normally went through it without a thought in her head. Though, this evening, she felt herself moving in slow motion. She struggled to come to a conclusion of what happened. Where to from now? Could she just leave her be and forget about her?

She clearly wanted nothing to do with her. She could never force her. She would never force her.

"Oh, but why?" She sunk further into the bath, the water rising to just beneath her chin. "Why is this so difficult?" The way her mother described meeting your person sounded so... simple. She said that they would fit perfectly into your life and that it would feel like you've known each other for years. Maybe it was so easy for her family to have an instant connection because they were all dragons. Maybe it was that deeper link between them that made things fall into place. And she's a nymph. How would that work?

She did not even show an ounce of recognition for the pull that she seemed to have words her. She was quite blind to it. Hyunjin resisted a sly chuckle at the thought. Right. She couldn't even see her. She struggled to recognise her. What kind of relationship would come from that?

And why did she say she was sick? Did she think she was mad? "They must fix your head." 

Oh, how degrading.

She scoffed, sneering. "I am perfectly sane. How dare she?"

She needed to find books. Any books on water nymphs. How had she not thought of finding them in the first place? The epiphany pulled her from the water, and she was quick to dry and moisturise her skin.

"Advisor!"

She was just finished tying her robe when the woman came rushing to the bathroom, hands behind her back with her gaze fixed on the area above Hyunjin's head. "Yes, your highness?"

"I need all the books that we have on water nymphs and water mythology in my study tonight."

"Yes, your highness," she bowed, and waited for the princess to walk away first before rising again. The woman watched her make her way to her room, silently nodding to herself before attending to her duties.

Later that evening in the dining hall, Hyunjin mindlessly dipped her chopsticks in the many dishes in front of her to bring the ends to her mouth, only tasting. Why did they always use these dishes? she wondered as she turned them around to have her food on the other side. They were red with intricate details painted in white in the centre of the surface, came in bowls, plates and mugs, and were all over the place. Do we not have hundreds upon hundreds of crockery?

"— decided on where to put the emblem, right Hyunjin?"

The sound of her name broke her from the trance she was in, and she lifted both her head and eyebrows lazily in reaction to it. "Hmm?"

Hayoung laughed at her cute confusion, petting her head. "Your mind has been on the decor too? Oh, my love," she grinned in her husband's direction. "Everything I look at, I only think of how it could be an addition to Jinnie's banquet!"

Hongseub hummed like a drone, more focused on the patterns he made with the smoke of his hand pipe. "Are you sure that is what's on her mind?"

"How do you mean?" the Queen giggled nasally, voice distant as she waved over a couple of by-standing maids, who came stumbling to her side. "Fetch the samples of the drapes Hyunjin decided on! My husband must see them!"

A circular ring of white smoke floated in front of the princess's face, travelling closer in between her left ear and her nose and landing on the scar, making Hyunjin stagger back.

Her mother gasped and called her husband's name disapprovingly with a threat of hitting him. "Don't do that to the girl!" She cried. Hyunjin bowed her head, and her skin burned from embarrassment. "Love, you know how your father gets when he smokes this nonsense. He doesn't mean to mock you."

Her words helped with very little, and she reached for her veil on the chair next to her to hurriedly put it on.

A low rumble of laughter filled the room and was, for what felt like a lifetime, the only audible sound in the dining room. "How funny," Hyunjin mused, desperately raking her mind for a topic change.

Thankfully, the couple of maids walked back in, and the King's laughter finally subdued. The servants made their way to him and placed trays of fabric in front of him. "I thought that the maroon looked lovely with this gold, see?" Hayoung said, stroking the cloths. "So, our family will wear this combination while the guests wear earth tones. Oh, that reminds me! Hyunjin, have you written to Changbin and Nabin recently? They're meant to wear maroon too, but you know how much your cousins detest colour codes. Changbin especially. He's much like your father— no sense of style at all! He would walk out in his sleepwear if he weren't told otherwise."

Luckily, Hyunjin was used to her mother's extensive way of speaking, and so she could pick out the important parts of her speech and answer accordingly. "They aren't too delighted with the colours, no, but they still wish to see us so they will wear the maroon."

Hayoung clapped joyfully. "How delightful! Right, now we need to talk invitations. I have already sent out the necessary guests, so we should be expecting their replies by next week. My love, do you wish to invite anyone?" Hongseub replied with the bubbling of his pipe, waving the question off. The Queen nodded, then turned to Hyunjin, who stared at the scar in her palm quietly. "What about you? Is there no one you would like to invite from your painting classes? Or a family from another kingdom you've read of? Your chances of finding your person will most definitely be heightened."

Of course. The realisation made her eyes go wide momentarily.

"I do!" She said hoarsely, then cleared her throat, hands clasped together underneath the table. "I have... a couple people I'd like to invite."

"You?" Asked Hongseub with a raised eyebrow, to which Hyunjin replied with a confident nod. "And who might that be?"

Hyunjin almost hesitated her next words. "The family of water nymphs from the Pacific."

The dining hall went silent. One of the servants couldn't even hold back her gasp. Hayoung had dropped her chopsticks onto the table, face drained of colour and eyes the size of saucers. Before she continued, she excused all the maids from the dining hall. She waited for the rushed heeled footsteps to quiet behind the entry doors prior to speaking again.

"You cannot be serious."

"I am. I... yes, I am serious."

A distressed expression soured the Queen's beautiful face and she snarled. "Those creatures are a curse, Hyunjin. Have you seen what happened to you when we visited?"

"Mother, that is unfai—"

"Why do you even care to invite them?"

"Well, they are from another kingdom, and we could learn a lot fr—"

"Learn? Huh! What could we learn from them; how to hunt underwater with spears? Love, they're violent, ruthless things that could hurt us!"

Hongseub's eyes went back and forth between the two, the argument taking him out of his boredom and bringing him a source of amusement. Yes, he was also curious as to why his daughter wanted them at the banquet so badly, but the noise kept him entertained.

"They only hurt others to protect themselves!"

"No, Hyunjin. How would you know that? We could never have them here."

"If we could sit down with them and talk with them, we'd understand them and not have these unnecessary myths," she bit back, protective.

"Unnecessary myths? Did you even know that the village people have been struggling with crops ever since they've arrived? Soils have become barren, and fish are scarce, because of them and their dreadful omen."

Hyunjin paused. "N—No, I did not. But that's even more reason to understand what's going on."

Hongseub watched the interaction between the two with evident confusion but then smirked at Hyunjin's defence. Something was clicking in his head.

"Ask Hanun why she really wants to invite them."

Hayoung's head whipped to her husband's direction; eyebrows furrowed closely together. She looked between the father and daughter, then crossed her arms. "Is there something you both aren't telling me?"

The King looked at Hyunjin expectantly. "Well?"

The princess sat agape, looking at the expectant regals, the truth spicy on her tongue and all she wanted to do was spit it out. She was sure now; it was truly a soul bond that he'd felt. Amum... Ama. She could not let her go now. Nobody could forbid her from seeing her. Not her person. My person.

"My person, mother. I met her."

If dramatic were a person, their name would be Hwang Hayoung. She covered her mouth with shaky hands, tears filling up her eyes, then those hands cradled her head. "It can't be..." Her voice was so soft, it sounded as if she were praying. "She is one of them?"

Hyunjin nodded. "She is."

She didn't know why, but she looked at her father for his reaction. "Oh," he sighed disappointedly, slumping in his chair and playing with his hand pipe again. "I thought it'd be more interesting than that..." he said underneath his breath. "But you fell in love with a fish." Hyunjin bitterly accepted the comment and instead silently just awaiting their blessings. Or at least permission to invite her guests to the banquet.

"Are you sure, Hyunjin? Are you maybe not feeling a bit ill?"

"No..." She sighed in defeat, looking up as if for an answer, but she already knew it. She knew she had to explain herself. "Mother, Father, I've lied to you both," she couldn't help how pitiful she looked in that moment. All the shame and regret from keeping the secret that morphed her life, not from just anyone, but her own parents. As their heir, she should've known better. How could their kingdom have a dishonest queen? "I was not attacked by an old man those years ago. It was a boy that I got into a fight with, trying to protect her. She carried me back near town and wrapped the cloth around my head. She helped me."

Hongseub scoffed at the story. Hyunjin prepared herself for the insults, mockery, teasing, anything and everything worse. "You think your life is a play, girl. It'll end in tragedy, watch."

Next, she waited for her mother to say something, but she was speechless. She really couldn't say anything. She would've preferred she exploded and vomited every synonym for disappointed, angry, confused— but Hayoung was truly speechless.

"I would like you both to meet her. But I need to know her better myself first, so —"

"Wait, wait, please," Hayoung shook her head, sitting up straight. "Let us keep this in mind over sleep, alright? I think it will be better to talk more in the morning."

But I want to go to her tomorrow morning. Hyunjin bit back the words, deciding to obey her for the rest of the night to ease her. She’d confessed enough for that night. They tried to continue the dinner and enjoy their food, but the air was too thick with tension that the princess had to excuse herself and bid her parents goodnight. She did not wait for their response and left the dining hall to go to her room.

She stalked all the way there with her gaze on the marble floor, pondering on her next move. A soft rumbling in the sky outside echoed in the hall as soon as she reached the pair of doors that revealed her prized sanctuary. Her spirits were immediately lifted at the thought of some soft rain. It would always be her favourite weather. The view from her balcony of the entire kingdom on a rainy day or night brought her peace and serenity.

The first thing she did was retrieve her journal from her bedside and then she took her seat on the sofa in front of the quiet fireplace. She set the wood alight at a single thought and look, admiring the way the flames danced and the crackle of the wood.

4 March 1888 I made the decision to visit her today, and found her sitting on the cliff near where we'd first encountered each other. For the first time in 4 years, I felt the same warmth in my chest that I had forgotten. Her poor sight nearly resulted in a disaster, but I know that she was only caught off guard. She was polite, but then we sat together and she stared at me intensely. All of a sudden, she became cold and dismissive after I expressed my admiration of her. Is this not unfair? This compulsion that I feel, unwillingly, to be around her and know her, while she only brushes me off? Will I be doomed with this bond to her forever? I can't say that life was any more simple since meeting her; I've done things I wouldn't normally have. I am no longer the same since meeting her, and yet... Maybe she was right and I do need to get my head checked.

Her fingers stopped abruptly, and she dropped her pen to put her palm to her chest. It couldn't be, she thought, but it clearly could since she apparently knew very little about mermaid-dragon bonds.

Then I felt it again, only upon thinking of her. Amma Khamata

She was sure she spelt it wrong. How do you write down the sound of a click? Oh, great deity, she thought and shook her head.

Is this ill-fate truly my destiny? What is the purpose of all this? Why me? Why her?

The more she wrote, the more frustrated she became. She even began to draw everything: the cliff, the scene where she was kicked with sand and her view of the dagger right before it took her sight. It turned into multiple points of view of Ama in her multiple facial expressions. Her fearful, intimidating, focused... one would think she was obsessed.

Hyunjin could be angry all she wanted with the bond and her as well, but she thoroughly enjoyed her illustrations. The tie caused extremely vivid memories of every moment she'd spent with her to the point where she felt like she was drawing from reference. All her sharp features; her eyebrows, ears, teeth, eyes, nails and soft features; nose, hair, lips, eyes again were as clear as crystal in her memory. She did not know whether she was blessed or cursed.

She must be the most stunning person I have ever met.

"Amamkaelae Kh—" she tried, confusing her tongue and stumbling over the syllables. She sighed and closed her eye, whispering attempts of the click she heard her sound. Ama’s tongue was flat on the roof of her mouth, then the sound just came out. She repeated what she saw almost exactly, and had a small victory in the mini click she made. She daydreamed about the time they sat in front of each other, considering it was the first chance she got to really look at her and not be afraid of anything surrounding them.

She remembered how she signed. How could she know sign if she was impaired? Did that mean she wasn't always impaired? All of these questions, no answers. All of these feelings, unreciprocated. All of these attempts...

"I just wish you would give me some of your time. That is all. I just want to talk to you," she mumbled, head dipping back on the couch. Amam...

"Hyunjin."

She may have not gotten her head examined yet, but she was sane enough to know she wasn't hearing things. That was her voice.

Hyunjin lifted her head to inspect and nearly gasped from amazement. Jaw agape, she removed her journal from her lap slowly and marvelled at the body sitting on the floor in front of her.

She stayed with her head bowed at first, but soon enough she rose it and was met with the princess staring at her. "Hyunjin?" her head whipped around the unfamiliar room with a similar level of shock, although more refined. She sighed and clenched her jaw, gaze slowly panning back towards the general direction of her head. "How did you summon me?" She demanded.

Hyunjin chuckled, blinking exaggeratedly, "How did I? I did not do anything. Are you truly here?" She went to reach for her arm, only for her hand to disturb the equilibrium of her "skin" and pass through it like smoke. "Oh," the disappointment didn't go unheard, and Ama huffed in disbelief.

"Are you alone?"

Hyunjin nodded slowly, "Yes."

"Okay," she composed herself and turned to the fire, still cross-legged. "Send me away. I should not be here." She still had to investigate her allurement.

The dragon went to her side and joined her on the floor to watch the fireplace, knee ghosting through hers. For a moment she imagined a world without magic and such wonders; would this have been different?

Her eye left the flames and lingered on the space they would've been touching before rising to her side profile. Yes, very different. "I don't want to send you away,"

Ama intended to only give a side eye, but it was undeniably tempting to meet her halfway and turn her head left. The colours must be magnificent, was the first thought that came to mind when she saw her eye. Quickly, she hardened her face again, internally scolding herself for her weakness. "Then I will leave."

"Just listen for a moment," Hyunjin said, exasperated. "There is something you need to know, this is what I've been trying to tell you. Are you not curious at all?" Her body didn't move, but Hyunjin could swear her ear pointed to her at the question. She knew that she couldn't be that nonchalant by nature.

"What must I know?"

The other hesitated to speak, suddenly overwhelmed by shyness. "I, uhm... I am Princess of Daeji."

That changes everything, she mocked mentally. "I am aware. You want me to call you 'your highness'?"

"Oh no, no," she laughed nervously. Her tone did not seem impressed at all. "We have a custom as dragons that we use to court one another, called the soul bond," she tilted her head to catch her reactions. Only a slight raise in the eyebrows. "It's said that once you meet your person, life will automatically fall into place and your person will fit in it seamlessly," she couldn't even be fooled by her own words as she explained; it sounded nothing like her situation at all. "But a tell-tale way is that your chest just warms up inexplicably around them and--" she stopped herself to breathe and put a palm to her torso. "I wish you feel how warm I am right now."

Ama looked down at her hand and frowned. "You think that I am your soulmate?"

Hyunjin's eye searched for an answer in hers, and of course all she could decipher was yes. "I know it. It is the only explanation for all of this."

The siren chewed on her lip in deep thought. She knew her intentions were pure, but that didn't convince her to let her guard down. "And what will you do?"

"I will court you," she said without missing a beat. "But I need your father's approval. That is why I plan on visiting you tomorrow."

The mention of her father made her feel even more bitter, if possible. Reality settled and she avoided her gaze. "You cannot do this. You cannot court me, nor visit me, or summon me here. The bond could be real, but that is not what I came to land for. I am here on a mission, and I don't have time for side quests. That is not my fate."

"What kind of mission?" She asked immediately.

"Siren responsibility. You could not be bothered." She shot back.

"I am. You think I'm not because I'm not a siren? Is calling you that offensive? With the connotations and all."

Ama tilted her head and frowned at the princess. "Offensive? I am anything and everything. Nothing can offend me," For some reason, this amused Hyunjin, and she cracked a sly smile. "Except for little girls who try to court me and get involved in my customs." She added sternly.

She did not even try to pretend to listen. "Have I told you that you are absolutely striking?"

Ama would swear to Neptune's moons and back that it was only shock that flustered and muted her.

Knock-knock-knock

Hyunjin ground her teeth with a horrid glare to the door. She could bite that person's neck and tear their head off their body.

"Evening, Madam, I noticed you have not used the books on the table in your study. I have brought them for you, if you'd like." Said the raspy voice of her advisor.

"I forgot about that..." she admitted regretfully. "Just wait, I can make her l—"

"My word stands," Ama said lowly. "Visit me at your own risk. Remember that I can easily take your life." She put her palms on the floor and repeated with a straight face: "Easily."

Hyunjin reacted too late and within a blink, she vanished. "Urgh, dammit..." She punched the ground next to her before raising to her feet and stomping to open the door.

The old woman snuck a quick scan around the room, confused, "Is there someone in here, your highness? I thought I heard—"

"No." She denied immediately and took the books from her arms. "Thank you, advisor. But from now on, I would prefer only scheduled visits to my quarters," The advisor's mouth formed a small 'o'. Hyunjin felt the need to elaborate; "I am almost of age, and I require more privacy."

"Of course, your highness," she bowed deeply, and the door was shut before she could lift her head once more.

Amamkele came to in a cold sweat, body sore from sleeping on the forest ground. It was drizzling and it was freezing, but she merely turned on her back and acted like the earth; absorbing every raindrop. Like this, she felt like it was the closest she could come to crying.

Her mind wafted with what just happened— could it have been a dream? A very realistic, odd dream, but a dream at least? No... she knew better than to dismiss the clear connection there was between the Princess and her. Though their encounters seemed coincidental, the more she thought about them, the less they appeared so. If she was right, and she was somehow her "soulmate"— no, it was too mad to even fathom.

Tomorrow couldn't come any slower.

Today couldn't have come any faster. Hyunjin threw her bed covers over and headed straight for the bathroom. She couldn't not freshen up- that just wasn't her nature, so she tended to her mouth and washed her face. The sun not being out yet paired with the cloudy sky and her mission called for an all-black attire of loose pants gathered at the ankles and a tight cotton long sleeve with black boots. She tied up her hair in a low ponytail, deep red and orange ombré eye staring back at her in her mirror in a slight glow. I think I'll visit just Ama today. She couldn't disrespect her father by coming so early and empty-handed by herself, so settled on letting her warm-up to her first. She decided on wearing an eyepatch, as a veil would garner too much attention and finally a pair of fingerless gloves.

She also packed a bag of shoes, looking glass and some food for the way. The heavy door to the hallway creaked open and she stepped out carefully to make sure it was really empty. It was strikingly quiet in the corridors; normally there were at least two maids up and down. That must change, she realised.

Maybe, just maybe, she was starting to enjoy sneaking out.

The most exhilarating part was the run to Jayu; she felt like she was flying down the stone stairs through the courtyard to the stables. She consistently kept looking back to see if any guards were on her tail, of which they thankfully weren't. Only to curse when she got closer to the stables and the stable boy was right in entrance of the small wooden enclosure, cap covering his sleeping face. She put her hand on his shoulder to shake him awake.

The boy startled with a gasp at who stood in front of him. "O-Oh, good morning, your—"

"Shh!" The princess hushed with him one eye wide, scanning around them for any passer-by's and digging her pockets for some change. "Do not let anyone and I mean anyone know I was here, understood? Unlock Jayu's stable for me." She hurriedly fisted what she could and handed the money to the stunned boy.

His mouth gaped akin to a fish, "Your—"

"I am not running away, boy, just do as I tell you."

The young boy bit back anything else and stumbled to Jayu's stable, eyes down in fear. He fiddled with the keys and the lock finally came loose. Jayu huffed in excitement and nuzzled Hyunjin the first chance she got. She couldn't help but smile and pet the horse's head before hoisting herself up. The stable boy bowed as Hyunjin trotted off, begging the Lord for her safety.

The previous night was unwillingly etched into her memory. I summoned her. She kept thinking to herself. "After saying her name three times. What fairytale is this, Jayu?"She wondered sarcastically, receiving a neigh from her. "I don't even know where I am going... just trusting my bond," she continued to speak as if she could understand. She was one of her best friends as they grew up together; sometimes she seemed to understand her better than people did. "Something tells me she's awake as well."

About 20 minutes into the escapade, the dark sky never brightened up too much, and they were still wandering, though with purpose. The forest was thick with tall trees and the further they went, the louder she could hear a waterfall, and the ocean smelled stronger. The thought that she might see her in her true form made her mind swarm and mouth dry. The sky comically began to rumble, and Jayu planted her hooves on the outskirts of the forest right before the beach.

"Come on, girl," Hyunjin encouraged but she refused. She sighed before dismounting her and tying her to a tree. "Well, there is that saying about taking a horse to water," the joke did do a little something to ease herself as she scanned the small beach ahead of her with a deep inhale.

Surely enough, a waterfall in the distance poured into a fog-covered lagoon that carried on behind the curve of the visible beach. She walked closer carefully, climbing the rocks and coming to the edge of the magnificent lagoon, dark and full of life. A click echoed from the other edge, behind the waterfall. Hyunjin squinted as she got low to her knees to see through the thick fog. She didn't know whether it was her mind playing tricks on her or if he'd heard that kind of click before.

"Hello?" she called, and the top half of a head appeared in the fog. Her heart skipped a beat at the cool glow of wide, grey eyes growing closer, suspiciously quiet. She could feel in the pit of her stomach that that was not Ama.

--