Author's Note: This is a story I originally wrote on Wattpad, but I decided to do a justice and bring the story here for the readers of this site to enjoy. So just so you know, I did not steal this story.

Chapter 1: A Difficult Sacrifice

Hidden beneath the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, there was a glorious kingdom of mermaids known as Iridesca and the mermaids that lived there were beautiful and kind. The kingdom was ruled by the benevolent queen Blue Diamond or Hope as everyone called her. Alongside her was her younger sister Princess Pink Diamond who was equally kind-hearted and very fun-loving. One day, Iridesca celebrated a momentous occasion for Queen Hope had blessed the kingdom with the birth of her new daughter which she called Lapis Lazuli. The mer baby had sky blue skin, ocean blue hair, royal blue eyes, and a glittery blue tail; a beautiful specimen of mermaid royalty.

Queen Hope cradled the baby princess lovingly in her arms and said in a soothing voice, "You are going to grow into a beautiful princess. Just remember to give love to those around you and they will give you love in return."

"Hello, little Lapis." Pink Diamond beamed as her sister handed the baby over to her. "I'm your auntie Pink. Oh, I can't wait to watch you grow up."

The two royal sisters embraced the newborn tenderly as the crowd of royal subjects rejoiced for the expansion of the royal family.

Over the next two years, Lapis had already learned to swim on her own and was an energetic bundle of joy. She quickly became one of the most beloved figures in all of Iridesca. When Queen Hope was too hung up with royal responsibilities to spend time with her daughter, Princess Pink Diamond would help take care of her niece. The two enjoyed swimming around the castle, playing tag or hide-and-seek. The younger princess' laughter was absolutely infectious.

Everything was peaceful and happy for the royal family, until one day. The mermaids of Iridesca were greeted by a ominous, tentacled figure approaching the royal palace. They were murmuring to one another, fearing the worst. Queen Hope and Princess Pink Diamond rushed forward to confront the ill-boding invader with Lapis held protectively in her mother's arms. The masculine stranger had a beefy upper body of light orange skin with darker orange stripes. He also had wild, white hair and sinister looking, bright yellow eyes that glinted with malice. His lower body was a net of eight muscular, scarlet tentacles.

"Greetings, Your Majesties." The stranger said in a sly, husky voice as he bowed to the royals.

"Who are you?" Queen Hope asked as she continued to hold her baby.

"The name is Jasper." the newcomer introduced himself. "I'm sure you've heard of my mother, Malachite."

"The sea witch?" Pink Diamond questioned. "But, she was banished years ago. We had no idea that she of all creatures would bear a son."

"Never mind that, sister." the queen said to her. "Tell me, why are you here?"

"Simple." Jasper stated. "I'm here to pick one of your beautiful mermaids to be my bride. But, it's not any of your subjects that I'm interested in. No, the mermaid I choose... is her." He pointed at the infant princess cradled in the queen's arms.

"What?" Queen Hope spoke in shock.

"But, Lapis is far too young to marry." Princess Pink Diamond insisted as she blocked Lapis from the suitor's view.

"That is why I will take her to my mother, so that she will raise her until she comes of age." Jasper explained. "Soon, I rule this ocean with her as my queen."

The sea witch's son grabbed Lapis with one of his tentacles and pulled her away from her mother. The baby cried from the immediate separation anxiety. The queen's guards arrived to seize Jasper and Princess Pink Diamond withdrew the mer baby from his grasp.

"Guards, please try to hold him off as long as you can." she urged the guards as she and her sister swam away with Lapis as far away from the kingdom as possible.

However, with the dark magic that the sea witch's son possessed; it wouldn't take long for him to give chase to the royals. A while later, the sisters found a cave to hide in and catch their breath.

"What are we going to do, Hope?" the older princess asked in a panic.

The mermaid queen looked down at her baby with a solemn look on her face and said, "We have to hide her in a place where Jasper will never find her."

"But we can't hide her somewhere in the ocean randomly." the older princess protested. "Jasper will eventually find her."

"We're not hiding her in the ocean." Queen Hope told her sister. "We're sending her to live on the surface. It's the last place Malachite and Jasper will ever think to look."

Meanwhile, on the surface world; there was a small, beachside town called Beach City. A kind man named Greg Universe lived there with his infant son, Steven. The two of them were out for a walk on the beach when all of a sudden, Steven saw something. He reached his chubby, little hand out to a speck in the distance.

"What is it, schtew-ball?" Greg asked his son.

He made his way over to the speck and discovered that it was a creamy clam shell with a sleeping baby girl inside wrapped in a deep, dark blue blanket. She had a sky blue complexion and blue hair. There was something about this child that was utterly beautiful to Greg. He delicately picked up the girl while holding Steven at the same time.

"Well, where did you come from, sweetie?" the man asked as Steven giggled softly as if he immediately liked the blue baby already.

"Please take care of my little Lapis Lazuli." said a sorrowful, soothing voice. "Raise her to be a kind and loving child."

Greg turned to find a beautiful blue woman floating in the water with a smaller pink woman floating alongside her. The two of them looked sadly at the blue baby girl one last time before diving back into the ocean, revealing their shimmering tails. Greg couldn't believe his eyes. Those women were mermaids! And even though a pair of human legs had now replaced her tail, he knew that Lapis was a mermaid too. Looking at the blue child, he silently vowed to take care of her as much as he took care of Steven.