Daphne longed for something more than what the ocean held for her. She is tainted by the race that she was born to lead if anything happened to her brothers that made them incapable of leading their kingdom. There was nothing down there for her that would give her any happiness. She needed something that could pull away from the feelings of hate that she feels for herself. The depression that seeps into her bones every time she is hit, either with words or an object. Daphne needed something that would save her from the world that she is withering in. Maybe she could find what she is looking for in the world up above. The one where she and anyone in her kingdom are forbidden from adventuring to. It was a world that was just only out of her reach. She only had to find a way to get there. Then maybe she could find her happily ever after.

When Barbara, aka the Ice Queen, agrees to fake-date Ryan, their relationship unexpectedly develops as they struggle to move on from their past. *** Barbara Owens is known as the Ice queen for her cold personality and ruthless business morals. When she agrees to a blind date as a favor to a friend, the last person she expects to see is Ryan Davies, and the last thing she expects to hear is a fake-dating offer. As their relationship develops and their feelings grow past friendship, their past catches up with them. Will their love be able to weather the winter storm? *** A reverse grumpy X sunshine story of love, family and healing.

A slave girl with a secret and her brother with a death sentence. When servant girl Nova breaks the heart of the crowned prince Caydon after her brothers beheading, he lashes out and promises her death. A family curse triggered and Nova on the run because of her bloodline, she alligns herself with the powerful but cold Princess Saige. Nova smoke comes from a shifter bloodline. She passes as human with her little brother Blaze. Both enter the kingdom of Elements and find themselves servants of the kings children. Both are trained to fight as soilders but Nova is constantly being pulled away by the crowned prince Caydon giving Saige and Blaze time to bond. Saige the cold hearted princess tries her best to follow through with Blazes final wish but things get difficult when shes labelled a traitor by her own family When hearts break, Familys fall and a war between species, everything falls apart but will Nova and her new friend Saige save Caydon and the kingdom before both hearts turn too dark?

"What do you want?" I mentally roll my eyes. "Can I not talk to my favorite girl?" She smiles walking dangerously close to me. Standing up from my chair I decide to move away from her to put some distance between us. "No you cannot talk to me, not anymore at least." I say "Oh come on now, you always like being close and now you're moving away?" She teased while backing me up against my desk. Thinking back to earlier today, I would have let her get her way and kiss me, so what changed? "Fuck it, just kiss me one last time." I finally give in. ☽｡⋆ After having to leave her home town behind due to an accident with her best friend, Ada Ashley is scared to get close to anyone again. She had to leave behind her family and friends to start over, it's always scary but she knows she has to do this. She just hopes she can even make a single friend. Everyone in their right mind knows who Raya Thatcher is, rising punk rock star hard to miss her even when she's just walking down the street. Due to a security breach, Raya has to fire her manager and is on the hunt for someone who can live up to that job. What will happen when Raya and Ada meet in a bar? Will Raya finally be able to find a manager or maybe even more?

| ONC 2024 HONORABLE MENTION | Pretie Panton, princess of Aecora and sole heir of the Panton bloodline, does not want to marry - at least, not the prince her father has arranged for, who Pretie has never met. However, when her attempt at escape is quickly put to an end, Pretie finds herself in an even worse predicament: cursed to take the form of a mermaid and live isolated from the world she has always known. Driven by the desire for revenge, Pretie seeks the help of an adventure-seeking mermaid named Ephyra, who has heard legends of a mythical stone that may just be able to transform the princess back into her human self... If it truly is her deepest desire. ｡𖦹 ° Written for ONC 2024. Keep in mind that since this is a contest entry, this is an unedited draft and, as such, there may be some grammatical errors I've missed. This story was inspired by the following prompts: (Main Prompt) 88. Your father is forcing you to marry someone you have never met. The night before your wedding you tie your sheets together and make your escape through the window. Half way down you make eye contact with someone doing the exact same thing a few windows over. 24. A desperate wish, made from the heart, is always answered. Sooner or later. 28. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Word count: 31,006 words Status: Honorable Mention

Under the surface of the ocean lies a hidden world. Mermaids or sirens were believed to be fake. Their world was just hidden from view. Syren Seaui wishes to join M.A.N. so that he can protect the beings on land. However, as time passes while living above, Ren loses faith in the people that captured his attention. Humans are not what they were and life on land is not as glamorous as it was thought to be. That is until a certain smoothie maker takes care of him after he gets drunk. Day by day, said smoothie maker continues to reappear, taking Ren's heart with him. However their is a force rising from the sea, and it seeks to destroy the race that ruined it's ocean. There is a human that is the key to all of this, and the evil will not stop until it has revenge.

Think you know mermaids? Think again. (Think underwater Twilight) **** "Our waters are changing. We've known it for a while now. We can sense it. We can taste it. We can feel it." Imagine growing up your whole life believing you know who you are, who you will become. You spend years training to become accepted into your clan. And on the day of your Testing, you fail. Imagine what happens then. Leira, a young Mer is forced to fight for her survival in a world where friends can quickly become enemies, identities merge, and something is lurking - deep below the water. *Remember to check out "Water Before: A Prologue" to read the short story that accompanies this novel!*

(This is a revised version of Moon Light Transformation. I felt that this story needed to be cleaned and fixed up a bit. I'm going to try go more in depth of the backgrounds of characters and fix my writing a bit more. Many characters may change and some may not exist anymore. I'm hoping to adapt this rough draft of story into a comic...it helps me to write here lol...Hope you enjoy). Luke Crane, son of a fisherman and brother of a little sister, lives in Ashcreek, a town known for the legend of mermaids. After one night of partying and getting caught in waves, Luke is saved by a mysterious figure and discovers a hidden truth of his past and learns that the legends are true.

Victoria, cold and heartless when it comes to the way she runs her mafia. She's precise, full of secrets and doesn't let anything get past her. Some even say she has no heart. And that's the truth. Or it might as well have been the truth up until she meets Arabella. A soft dainty girl who has the biggest heart. But she harbours her own secrets. They have a calculated encounter that could shift everything they know. Through the trials and tribulations they face, through the lies and secrets can they open up to each other, learn to love through it all? [THERE ARE ERRORS in this book! So many errors & they will get fixed soon enough. I just write for fun & none of it is professional. Please beware of these before you read further!]