Betrothed
It happened so quickly and abruptly. He was blind sighted. Nothing truly could have prepared him for this day. He felt utterly foolish to have overlooked the inevitable so willingly. Being so wrapped up with his self-made duty of a hero, his obligations suddenly shifting as an ambassador for both the land and sea dwellers, he never took the time to concern himself with such an obvious fate. Either he refused to accept it, or subconsciously tucked it in the very dark depths of his mind to deal with it whenever it would arise.
But that method only worked so well.
He never prepared himself for it, never thought of the "what if's" and "when's". Perhaps the idea itself wasn't what was so electrifying but rather the circumstances that lead to his ultimate fate… They were after all potentially foreboding circumstances.
With a heavy sigh, Garth looked around his now so bleak and generic room. The dim lit room with the huge window to the ocean was empty except for the bed and furniture. He shut the door.
"Uh...going somewhere, fish friend?" a crisp voice cut through the heavy air.
Garth's body cringed and tensed tremendously, his hand clenching. He turned. The lean, red headed archer stood against the wall, sucking on a lollipop.
"Ah..! Just you know, back to Atlantis," was the half hearted reply.
Masked eyes widened in curiosity, "And you cleared your entire room for this trip because…?"
A small silence edged its way between the two. Garth scratched his neck, blushing oh so slightly, an extremely unconvincing smile forcefully stretching his lips.
"Because, I...I'm not coming back?"
Before Roy could even begin to think up an inappropriate or appropriate response, another voice rang in their ears.
"What!" that voice cried out.
Gazes were immediately turned to the feminine figure to the right. Hands sat firmly on prominent hips, weight shifted to one side and a very serious scowl was etched into a usually casual face. Bumblebee walked forward a few steps.
"Did I hear you right, Aqualad? You said you're just going to leave back for Atlantis?" she spit out irritably.
"Why...yes! That seems about right!"
"You better have a damn good reason as to why you're suddenly deciding to up and leave Titans East, boy," she hissed, an accusing finger being shot towards him.
Karen was not fond of surprises. In fact she detested them, good or bad. She especially hated them when said surprise just happened to be a very dedicated team member deciding to abandon them. Her brows only furrowed as the thought of the truly strongest team member and very good friend could potentially just swim out of their lives forever.
Garth let out another very insecure laugh.
"Well...uh...you see...I am to be married!"
All anger and irritation washed away from Karen's face, flushed cheeks paling immediately, her accusing finger dropped to her sides. Brown eyes widening, her mouth hung ajar. Speedy choked on his sucker, wheezing and retching, trying his best to eject the candy from his throat. His heart rate sped and a jolting shot of panic raced through his system, sending a wave of heat through his body. He hammered on his sternum with a tight fist until finally the candy popped out, shattering as it hit the floor.
"You're what!" he screamed, gasping to catch his breath. His chest heaved slowly as his cheeks were bright red.
A strange weight shoved the archer's heart into the pits of his stomach, and he felt as if something was mercilessly torn away from him. Something he couldn't get back with a simple "please" or "May I have that back?". For a brief instant, he was paralyzed, not just by the fact Garth was getting married...but by something else. A terrible, yet foreign, sense of loss crashed upon him, shattering something inside of him, and threatening to hurt him in ways he dare not explore.
Garth regretted not laying down the news a bit more gently, but how the fuck do you tell your closest friends you're suddenly being forced into a marriage he didn't even know about until eight hours ago? You can't possibly pass on such heavy information when you yourself are still trying to come to terms with it, after all.
Not knowing what else to do, he rubbed Roy's back a little bit, trying to ease his distress. He looked up at Karen's towering gaze.
"I am...traveling back to Atlantis to resume my role as Prince and uh...every Prince needs a Princess...right?"
What a lame reply.
Bumblebee and the twins were readying the T-Sub, checking stats, recharging power, etc. The twins had been quickly informed of the sudden game change in Aqualad's life, and as a result, a jumbled chain of Spanish rushed out of their mouths, expressing astonishment and panicked excitement.
Roy had insisted he speak to Garth alone, his excuse being, "I'm the fish's best friend so I have every right to be as nosey as I damn well please!"
Outside, on the rocky beaches of Steel City, Garth and Roy stared out into the ocean.
Roy dared to send a look towards the Atlantean.
"Roy," Garth said, immediately sensing the gaze.
He turned to meet with the masked eyes.
"Thank you for being my best friend," he thanked him simply, "You'll at least get to see Atlantis, right?"
Speedy stayed quiet. A knot of jumbled questions burned in his skull, but were much too hesitant to be spoken. Ever. Roy had expected there to be more dialogue during this final time on land with Garth, but some things...they're just not meant to be.
Garth looked down, and with a deep breath stepped closer, leaning up and pressing his lips against Roy's forehead. Garth could feel the redhead's posture straighten, a flinch and he could hear a hitch of breath. What the hell was this! What the hell was this? Speedy wanted to jerk away, to cry out what the fuck that was for, but he didn't. Instead he...relished it. Why was this comforting? Yet why was this hurting him? Was it hurting him? Why did a sense of doom suddenly nestle down in his stomach…?
What the hell was this…?
"We should go," the Prince quickly advised, leaving with a very confused and...what was this feeling...heart...heartbroken Roy?
xxxxxxx
"¿Quién es?" Menos questioned as the T-Sub dove deeper into the depths of the ocean.
"¿Quién es la chica?"
"¿Ella es bonita?"
"¿Cuál es su nombre?"
The questions were as speedy as the twins themselves…
Aqualad, much too fatigued to even be overwhelmed by the interrogation, sighed and decided to answer them the best he could. Staying silent, Roy listened intently, his hand gripping his bow.
"It's a girl, but I have no idea who. For all I know she may not even be Atlantean."
Roy's stomach twisted and he began scratching his bow with his nail. Garth looked outside his bubble. He decided to ride in the T-Sub so he could at least communicate with his fellow comrades..
Karen swung her head back in astonishment.
"What! You don't even know who you're marrying! I mean that's not unheard of or anything but I still can't help but be amazed by all that secrecy and surprise! It's a lot to take in, and not knowing who your fianceé is probably doesn't help."
She huffed, trying to calm herself.
Roy stayed silent. The Atlantean looked over to see Roy's thumbnail scraping against the side of the bow. His expression fell slightly. Speedy only did that when he was anxious or nervous. The Prince wanted to grasp his own heart in comfort, to ease its crying and its pain.
He would be more than willing to do the same for Roy's.
He wasn't sure, but by the mixed factors of the archer's nervous habit, his furrowed brows and his downcast face, it could be safe to assume Roy's heart was breaking.
Whether the archer knew it himself or not.
Guided by the currents, the T-Sub glided to the alien depths of the sea. Well, alien to most.
Garth looked upon the ocean with admiration. A sweet smile graced his lips.
Home.
He was almost-
"Oh my God!" Karen suddenly veered to the right, shaking everyone inside the sub.
An explosion erupted from behind, a storm of energy bullets aiming and pelting towards the small sub. Karen veered downward, looking behind her shoulder in desperation. The Titans all grabbed their controls, readying for battle.
Five pointed ships raced after the sub, black in color with glowing blue lights striping around them, they were easy to point out, however they were much more adapt to water fighting, and cut through the water like a knife through butter.
Más and Menos cried out as bullets whizzed by their domes.
"Garth, is this some sort of welcoming committee!" Karen exclaimed.
She tightened her grip on the throttle and tried to zig zag her way past the attackers.
"No, I've never seen these ships before!"
"How do you escape them!" Roy barked.
"I don't know!" he screamed.
"Well I'm not going to run forever so we have to attack! I'm turning us around! Ready your guns!" Karen ordered.
The five Titans pushed numerous buttons and yanked at multiple levers, switches were being flicked on or off as their radars were blaring with warnings.
Five targets.
Five Titans.
"Split up we can take one each," the archer explained quickly.
"Right," Karen agreed.
The sub easily disjointed itself into five separate pods. Each pod propelled itself swiftly through the battlefield, dodging cliffs, corals and binding seaweed.
The insect-powered teen cried out as her thumbs slammed against the firing button, bullets speeding out of their barrels. The rest of the team followed in hot pursuit.
Bullets clanked against the enemy ships, only to bounce off as mere annoyances, if even that.
Garth pushed forward, firing continuously at different parts of the ships. The ships were tear shaped, completely diverse to the design of Atlantean armada ships. He gritted his teeth. These ships weren't even using water jet propulsion technology. In fact he couldn't observe any use of any type of force to move these ships as fast as they were going. The exterior was completely smooth, and their ammo was being fired from the tip of the ship.
It was dangerous to stay separated.
"These ships are too advanced for our pods to handle alone. Karen, we have to regroup," Garth said firmly.
"Alright."
A rendezvous was quickly agreed on by improvisation and the team conjoined once more. Though no benefits were gained by the action.
Five ships completely surrounded the sub, hovering silently.
"There's no opening," Roy growled.
"Estamos atrapados…" the twins shakily said.
"Garth...what do we do," their leader firmly asked slowly.
Why did these people keep thinking he knew something about this! He knew nothing! Nothing useful anyways. All he knew was that these ships were advanced, sturdy and had damn good aim.
Without warning, a ray of bright light shot each of the ships, the ships now plummeting towards the bottom of the ocean. Everyone looked over.
All were extraordinarily awed by the sight before them.
A large squad of what were assumed to be Atlanteans swam over. Their uniforms scaly and metallic, shiny and elite. Some wielded primitive-looking weapons, though obvious their power much more advanced than what meets the eye. Some of the soldiers had orbs of glowing energy, icy and electric floating in their palms, marks glowing on their exposed skin. A few small ships, about as big as a small car, hovered above them.
These ships were grey and gold, their shape resembling a pitchfork.
But the most recognizable character of all the men and a few women was the muscular figure at the very front.
He orange, scaly top hugged his torso tightly, his shimmering looking pants seemingly a second skin. Golden armor were placed on his shins, forearms and shoulders. He wore no breast plate.
Hardened green eyes penetrated the seemingly insignificant submarine.
A glowing trident was tightly held in his hand.
"My King...!" Aqualad breathed.
The land dweller's submarine had been escorted to a port directly behind the monumental royal palace. It had magnificent archways and looming balconies. Gigantic, steady pillars easily resembling the Greek's notorious style lined certain areas of the structure. Unlike familiar castles and palaces known on land, there was no pattern or specific style that was kept constant for this one building. Everything was unique and new.
The city was no less amazing.
Pointed dome-like towers shot up around the city. Organic shaped buildings were squished together densely. Lights scattered the city like stars peppered the sky. Countless materials like coral and marble and stone were created to erect a blanket of underwater city. Highways weaved through the city, their own versions of streetlights giving the roads that beaded string effect. Bioluminescent kelp swayed back and forth as sea creatures dotted the land.
Life lived one with the city, not separate.
Atlantis was truly awesome.
The four air breathers were given mystic pearly globules to chew on, giving them the ability to breathe the water and withstand the tons of water pressure.
Garth was the first to step out.
As the rest of his team followed hesitantly, trying to adapt to the likeness of underwater...existing…Garth glided towards his king. His flat hand came to his forehead as he bowed slightly.
He spoke formally as a completely unheard of language rolled off his tongue.
Roy couldn't help but admire how divine he sounded, speaking his native tongue… The way Garth slurred his words or accented them was utterly mystifying. He had only heard Garth cuss in Atlantean, never speak it so completely and gracefully.
And...was it just him? Or did Garth's voice sound...smoother, more velvety when exercising his own tongue?
A moment passed as the two royals resumed their brief conversation. A final word was spoken before the Prince of Atlantis repeated his bowing gesture. He moved aside.
"Welcome to Atlantis," Aquaman greeted, "I apologize humbly for your hassle here. As you can guess those were not my ships. They were at the hands of our enemy."
Bumblebee stepped forward and hesitantly mimicked the gesture, placing her fingertips on her forehead and bowing slightly.
"Thank you, Aquaman," she said almost cautiously.
Never in her life had she really ever met anyone royal per se...and the fact her first meeting with any actual King was one of an underwater empire thought to have been completely myth was a bit unsettling. Following Karen's lead, the twins and Roy repeated the bow.
"It's rare to have any land dwellers besides members of the JLA here, so I welcome you," Arthur seemed impressed with the effort given to show respect.
"My King," Garth cut in, "Who is the enemy? I have not seen ships such as those.."
The King of Atlantis sighed and turned to his adopted son.
"Garth...they are the Xebel fleet. Let us say much has changed since your departure to the surface world," Aquaman looked down, rage silently boiling inside of him.
Aqualad could only stare in what could only be described as fearful confusion.
"But the borders to the Bermuda Triangle are impermeable! The Trident had expelled any chance of escape hundreds of years ago!" he argued.
"Apparently not. Either they were able to create a spell strong enough to counter our own, or an external force has aided them."
Roy and Karen exchanged wary glances. Whatever this...Xebel enemy was, it obviously was an extremely serious threat. Never had they seen Aqualad so intensely worried. Never had they thought the mighty King of Atlantis, proud and strong, be even slightly doubtful of the Atlantean's abilities to ward off any threat. This presumption was large and almost impossible, but the way he spoke, that slight, barely noticeable waver in his tone was enough to detect a gear out of place in the King.
"Please, let us go inside. I may fill you in later," the King looked around briefly before motioning for the Titans East to follow. The land dwellers swam a bit awkwardly but managed to keep up to the two Atlantean royals.
This entire time, Roy had been drowning in his own personal suffering. His normality was completely off kilter. His cocky attitude now obsolete and his ego hammered down to a hole in the ground. There was a large lump in his throat, his mind foggy with doubt and desperation. Sorrow and melancholy suffocated him.
He was going to lose his best friend.
And what a fucking untimely loss too…
For the past few months, Roy's feelings had been in a bloody internal battle, buried deep within himself, he subconsciously fought tooth and nail with any emerging emotions that he did not know, utterly fearful of them. He wasn't ready to explore these new feelings he didn't even know how to describe. He didn't want to try to even identify them, let alone understand them.
It was a lengthy process he was just not fucking ready to put up with.
It was only a few weeks ago did he truly have any courage within himself to decide to start tentatively peel off the many layers that isolated this budding emotion.
The emotion had a ridiculously strong magnetic pull that the archer could no longer ignore. Bit by bit, like an onion, layers were peeled off. A bit more clarity was offered to the teen and identifying and understanding seemed a bit less of a problem than earlier thought.
He learned over time that somehow...this...new feeling was connected to Garth and Garth alone.
But all that changed when Garth had announced his sudden marriage of obligation, that information alone crashing down any defensive walls Roy had left protecting his heart.
"Garth! Is that truly you!"
The ebony haired boy turned around, the voice causing his ears to perk. A huge grin formed on his face and he rushed towards the one who had called his name.
"Kaldur'ahm!" he exclaimed in sheer joy.
"Kaldur...who?" Roy spat immediately, a small sneer twisting his face.
Bumblebee eyed Roy. The twins had been conversing amongst themselves this entire time, only to be torn out of their little world by the sudden rejoice Garth had emitted.
Garth embraced another male, young like him but with dark, chocolate skin, and bleached hair that was cut as a buzz. He had pale grey eyes and a lean jaw, eel tattoos spiraled around both of his arms. He was however taller than all the Titans.
"Titans East, meet my best friend, Kaldur'ahm," Garth introduced the young man.
The archer's rage suddenly ignited. He stood stiff and bit his lower lip. Well..there goes his secretly self proclaimed title...
"An honor to finally meet the Teen Titans East. I have heard much about you!" his voice was smooth with a natural official tone to it, "Please. Call me Kaldur."
"Kaldur, these are my teammates, Karen, Más and Menos, and finally, my best friend from the surface, Roy."
An arm was extended to the team. Karen smiled brightly.
"Well hey! Nice to meet you!" she beamed kindly, "Nice to know there are some more casual folks down here."
"¡Sí!" was a unison agreement.
Roy said nothing.
"Good to know that my dear friend is in good hands on the surface world. Garth and I used to study Atlantean sorcery together under the teachings of Queen Mera. We were both given the opportunity to be the King's protege...however, I declined."
"You had important studies, friend, and no one has ever blamed you," Garth put a hand on his shoulder.
"I regret nothing from the decision."
Karen found it quite touching actually, how formal everyone spoke down here. Even close friends spoke in such a formal way. Sometimes she wished her own kind did that...instead new words replaced old and slang tainted the language. But what can you do?
"Garth, you are to be married…" Kaldur reminded him, a look of slight sadness shadowing his face.
Garth glanced at Roy hastily before placing his gaze at his feet.
"Yes...and to whom I do not know, and why I haven't yet been told," he managed, scratching his neck.
Why exactly was he getting married…? The King had to tend to some business before speaking to him about the matter, and it drove Garth insane having answers just out of reach. He needed to know.
What if he could get out of it?
What if he could return to the surface world?
What if this hidden problem could be resolved without him unwillingly sacrificing his current life to his bride?
What if instead he could forget this marriage to finally be happy with R- ...No. Hopeful thinking was a stupid thing to consider during such uncertain times.
"I see…" Kaldur'ahm muttered. He knew nothing more than Garth did.
"Well...until the King returns, let us relax in one of the guest chambers. All of you are of course invited! Please, make yourselves at home," Kaldur continued.
Garth waited until most of his teammates had passed him, but he touched Roy's arm. A small shiver went up Roy's spine.
"Roy...are you okay? You haven't said one thing since we got here."
"...I'm fine. You know, with my best- ...with my friend suddenly getting married,"
"I can't control this."
"I'm not expecting you to," the redhead was short. He was impatient. He was angry.
There was an awkward silence.
"Your friend Kaldur is waiting, don't be rude, fish boy."
Roy swam past him. He couldn't stand looking Garth in the eyes right now. It hurt him too much.
The six were finally assembled in the large throne room of the palace. Aquaman stood by his throne, his Queen by his side. Guards lined the room, weapons in hand, perfectly spaced apart from one another and posture almost eerily perfect.
Garth had been brought forward alone closer to the King than the rest of the group. Karen stood with the twins, watching them closely, knowing they were probably tired of all of this… As interesting as Atlantis was, the twins were still pretty young, and traveling here was probably tedious and a bit meaningless to them.
Kaldur'ahm and Roy stood next to each other by chance. Roy issued a small eye his way, observing him, examining him, analyzing him.
He needed to be beat.
He needed to go down.
There was competition and he was going to win.
But what exactly was Roy wanting to compete for…? Title of being Garth's best friend? Was he really that low and...dare he say...jealous?
Kaldur was too focussed on the King and the Prince to notice these quick look-see's.
"Garth, adoptive Prince of Atlantis, I have summoned you here on occasion of marriage. By duty you are obligated to oblige to this command, and hold the position with dignity for your empire. Do you understand?" Aquaman's booming voice was coated in thick authority.
"Yes," Garth agreed emotionlessly.
"May the bride be presented."
The rest of the teens anxiously awaited for the arrival of this...bride. They were curious about this girl, and wanted to know exactly who she was. Roy concentrated his eyes on Garth's back, picturing his emotionless and stoic face, knowing that Garth was probably screaming inside, begging for something to intervene or stall or distract-anything to stop or at least delay this forced committment.
Said Prince looked over as four guards were brought from a side room.
Centered between the guards was a young woman. She was chauffeured in front of the King.
The bride was slender and well curved, her skin soft and supple. Rust coloured hair was trimmed short and a bit choppy, but framed her long face perfectly. Light freckles dotted her cheeks and her crystal blue eyes looked downward.
"Prince of Atlantis, your bride, Princess Tula of the Xebel Kingdom."
So none of these characters are OC's. They are all legitimate characters and ideas of DC! Including Xebel and them being in the Bermuda Triangle!
I'm basing descriptions of Kaldur'ahm and Tula off of their appearances in Young Justice. Aquaman is based off of his original design with some alterations like the armor. The ship designs are my own too hehehe... However, Tula is not of Xebel and is originally (even from the comics) actually Garth's girlfriend -sad face because i like Garth being gay (obviously)-
But anyways this is my first multi-chapter fic! I'm so excited to continue this story! I am apologizing in advance for the lengthy chapters... But I wanted to try to be patient with this one in terms of writing and description.
I'm nervous that it won't be any good ;w; I'm fearful of there being too much description, a lack of emotion and etc. asjdfkasjdlkf amateur writer's problems.
Also it is rated M because it will go up in rating in further chapters. Don't worry there won't be an overwhelming amount of chapters..
Please review! I would appreciate each and every one! It will help me better this potential fic and I promise to update regularly ;w;
Thank you so much for reading!