A/N: It's like 2am but I feel like writing something. It doesn't help that I've had Skott – Mermaid play on repeat after browsing Method for Madness's Riza mermaid drawing. Anyhow, pardon any grammatical error, no one beta'ed.


chapter 1: mermaid

The dark haired man swirled the drink in his hand, staring into the dark brown liquid with an exhausted look. His long bangs curtained his equally dark orbs, shielding them from the ever watchful guards across the room, but just because he could hardly see them it didn't mean they couldn't make out the dissatisfaction in his eyes.

He leaned his back on the embroidered settee, exhaling ever so slowly, legs splayed out in a relaxed position. But everything about him was far from relaxed. His neck was stiff, his hands were numb, like hundreds of ants crawling all over them, and he could feel a lingering tightness in his chest and it was hard to breathe.

He squeezed his lids together, shutting out the world, and he tried to clear his mind by shaking his head rapidly. It wasn't helping. If anything, the motion sent his heart rate to a spike, adrenaline coursed throughout his body, and it got worse when he began to lose the feel on his feet, too.

The image of a golden-haired woman stayed on his mind, haunting him each night ever since he threw himself off to sea, to save himself from the burning ship. He had fallen in and out of consciousness then and somehow ended up on shore. He had no idea what had happened, but he knew that he was saved. He was grateful, in a way, but the woman's constant presence in his mind left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He sipped the whiskey in hand, hoping the liquor would deter his mind from the idea of her, but the strong taste had been diluted and washed down his throat unpleasantly. He choked on the spirits and on his own saliva, and for a split second he felt as though everything would only get worse.

And he was undoubtedly right as he saw a blurred vision of her features. Her lips, full and a pinkish color... and sultry? He might not be able to imagine it as clearly as he wanted, but he could still taste it in his mouth. Of course his wandering mind further exacerbated his affliction, remembering that sun-basked speckles against fair complexion, like she had been spending an obsessive amount of time under the blistering ray. Then he could see her light brown eyes stare back at him softly, glittering full of warmth. He shivered just thinking about it.

He had been entranced by everything about the woman, shackled against his will as she administered that wonderful kiss on him. And in a wicked, twisted kind of way, he yearned to feel more of her. This led to his eventual search, dispatching his best soldiers through the ends of Amestris, sending the most brilliant scouts he could find. Except they were everything but successful.

"Elizabeth."

Roy blinked. The sudden intrusion jolted him out of his reverie. He looked to the guard standing in front of him, seeing a concerned look about him.

The hesitant guard inquired carefully, "...Your Majesty?"

Roy simply interrupted in a rather hasty tone, "Did you say something?"

The man in chain armor straightened his spine, clicking his feet together. "No, Your Majesty..."

"Yes, you did."

The man remained silent.

The prince of Amestris propped his body against the back of the chair, furrowing his brows at the anxious man. Roy eventually realized he must have been scaring the guard shitless with his insistence, so he mouthed his apology, commanding him to prepare the hot springs located beneath the castle.


He dipped one foot into the bubbling water to get a taste of the temperature. The other followed, and he immediately found his torso submerged in the water, relaxing his tense muscles throughout his worn out body. He took a deep breath, slicking his long bangs back and away from his eyes, and he couldn't help enjoy the chance at reprieve.

An idea sparked, and without any deliberation nor warning he dove underwater.

The boiling water stung his skin momentarily and he hissed from the sensation. But once his body adjusted to the sizzling temperature, he reluctantly opened his eyes, witnessing an incredible rendition of Atlantis.

His vision was lost in a forest of giant kelps, his mind entirely entranced by a tangle of seaweed dancing in a wavy motion as it sprouted silver-striped marine creatures from in between. The small, slim bodied fish glowed in the murky water, and as they swam away their fins gleamed in the dark, trailing a source of light toward the further end of the spring.

He then saw a large fish approach him, swimming in a zigzag pattern to avoid tentacles of jellyfish that seemed to grab at it. The fish seemed large, at least from his distance, with long flipper and pale dermis covering the body. As it got closer, he noticed yellow. He gasped as well as he could gasp underwater when his raven eyes materialized the color into long, yellow strands, followed by the appearance of human face and human arms only a moment after.

Hazel eyes, pink lips, fair skin came into view, and his heart felt like it stopped. The bottom half of her body was covered in bright blue scale up to her breasts. She had no feet, instead it was a smooth flipper, elongated and curled at the end where it resembled a fin. He studied the creature's familiar face, and as he narrowed his vision he gaped in disbelief.

The aquatic woman extended her hand in a swift motion, fingers reaching out to him as she hurriedly swam to close the gap between them. She had a strange expression from about her face, but he was too shocked from seeing her again he barely registered what the worried lines across her features could mean. The half human half fish wonder finally closed their distance, and Roy could clearly see the blatant distress etched on her face. He became anxious as he watched, reflexively extending his hand to reach her.

They were only a touch of fingertips away, but without a single warning, a malicious whirlwind abruptly pulled her away from him, sucking her whole body into the darkness.

"Roooy!" He could hear the fear and frenzy in her voice as she called out his name.

He panicked and unconsciously opened his mouth in a desperate attempt to shout for her, but air escaped his lungs. He jerked his head to the surface, gasping for a quick breath before sinking himself in the spring once more. He opened his eyes, praying and hoping he wasn't too late, but the woman was gone, the kelp forest had disappeared, and there was nothing else underwater beside himself.


A/N: The first 3 chapters had undergone some revision since published, mostly for grammar/sentence structure. Nothing in the story has changed.