"I believe I found a bit of myself while searching for twinkling things to give you. Maybe we have more in common than I had previously thought?"
1. [A Sea Cupid]: FAILURE] I tried to find you a Sea Cupid. They're so small and fragile, perhaps I could put it in a jar and you could look at it every once in awhile... But the waters where I swam to find you one froze me to the bone, and either I had to leave to survive and find you more treasures, or I would perish there and never see you again. That... I think would be devastating. So I moved on.
2. [A Jar of Seafoam]: FAILURE] In my haste to get warm, I swam to the surface to gather my heat on the beach, when I remembered the story of the Little Mermaid. It was tragic, how she turned into sea foam at the end, and I wondered if I captured some for you, would you be able to turn it into a mer-helper of your own? I thought about this, and was eager to bring you some back to see if it would be of use to you, but I remembered I didn't have anything to contain it with, so I had to leave it behind on my search.
3. [An Anglerfish's Light]: FAILURE] In irritation of my own incompetence--How could I have forgotten to bring a container, of all things?!--I dove down into the blackness of the sea and fell into a world of blinking lights and hidden teeth. The soft pulsing of the beams seemed to lull me into a desire for sleep, and I pondered what a marvelous sight it was to see all of these twinkling stars underwater. There was one bright one, though... I knew it to be an anglerfish, but she was too shy to get near me, even though I pleaded to take her light to you so you could also marvel at its beauty. A shame, really, I think you would have liked her.
4. [An Engraved Silver Hand Mirror]: FAILURE] I came across a shipwreck surrounded by sharks and smaller fish who had made the vessel their home. I was too interested to ignore it, wondering if perhaps I could find you a diamond necklace like in that old movie with the man who draws French girls. Alas, I did not find the piece I wanted, but I did come to find an engraved mirror, worn with salt water and age... But the mirror itself was cracked. I did not want bad luck for you, nor did I want you to view your powerful beauty through an imperfect medium. I left the mirror and swam on.
5. [A Box Jellyfish]: SUCCESS] I found myself disheartened at the fact that I had not yet been able to find any sort of treasure good enough for you, but in my state of weariness, a lone box jellyfish drifted near to me just beneath the surface of the waves. I asked it if I was going to be stung, but it said nothing (as most jellyfish are prone to do, I suppose), and I fell silent again. A few moments passed and I posed another question. "Would you come with me as a treasure for a devastating beauty?" I asked. Again, it said nothing, but as I began to swim away in search of something for you, it followed me. The going was slow with my new venomous friend, but it seemed to want to be with you, so I matched my pace to the drifting creature's.
6. [Leviathan's Eye]: FAILURE] The Box Jellyfish and I kept a mild pace along the ocean floor in search of a sparkling treasure for you, but in my focus to find something of worth, I had nearly swum myself into the sleeping head of a colossal sea serpent: Leviathan. I debated trying to find something to pluck its eye out and bring that to you, but the danger proved to be too high, and this little Box Jellyfish seemed so keen on meeting you, that I had to pass this prize by. Quietly, we swam on.
7. [A Crystal Champagne Flute]: FAILURE] We came across a broken crate of shattered crystal glasses, and carefully, I picked through the lost wreckage to see if there was anything unbroken inside. There was, indeed, a single champagne flute that twinkled in the water as I turned it in my hand, the Box Jellyfish seeming to reach out to attempt to hold it as well, but when I made to swim off with the thing, the cup snapped from the stem from the light force of the water. There had been a crack at the connection that I hadn't seen, and I sighed, laying it down on the sand to leave it there. There would be no use in giving you a broken cup.
8. [A Bouquet of Sea Anemones]: SUCCESS] Despite the fact that I already had the Box Jellyfish to present to you as a treasure, I felt that I couldn't just give you that alone. It seemed a little odd to just present a familiar to you and expect you to be impressed, so searching for SOMETHING else to give you, the Box Jellyfish and I stumbled upon a bed of sea anemones, and a particularly beautiful looking arrangement of the dark purple and red ones perched on a branch of white coral. That should make a nice arrangement, I thought, so I plucked up the small rock the coral was growing from (so as not to kill it, of course), and carried this "bouquet" gently in my arms.
9. [A Broken Carousel Music Box]: SUCCESS] With my arms full of the bouquet, I had a hard time seeing if there were other things to bring back to you, but another dumped item caught my eye, nestled precariously in the entrance to a moray eel's home. The small horses on the carousel called out to me, however, reminding me of my own childhood and the happiness that my music box brought to me. That had been an important piece of my memory. Leaving the Box Jellyfish and my anemone bouquet behind, I carefully swam up to the carousel music box and wiggled it free from its dangerous space. I could see the eel's eyes gleaming at me from within its hole and I feared for my fingers and hands, but she stayed in her place... Perhaps she understood that I was taking it back to you.
10. [The "Moon" (Lapis bowl with a mirror in the bottom)]: SUCCESS] I was on my way back to you with my prizes, my quiet traveling companion, when I found the last item. The treasure to outshine them all-- And it sat there in the bottom of a blue stone bowl, gleaming back at me. The moon, herself. This, I knew, I had to bring back to you. To remind you, every night, when the light shines into the water, of the glow that is only reminiscent of your beauty and power under the waves, as the moon has power over the tide.
"I bring these four things to you, with only your grace and strength in mind. And perhaps out of quiet sympathy to the Box Jellyfish."
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