Hugs to , Evil Snail Overlord, Nusku, MistressYaoi, Panic, Nella-has-a-clever-penname, SoLeo, Kayday, and Spiel.
I don't own anything.
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Lavi sat at the bench in the castle kitchen, swinging his legs leisurely from his stool as he scarfed down a bowl of breakfast cereal. He preferred eating in the kitchen while the chefs ran around cooking for the grossly over-sized buffet that would feed the guests in the dining hall somewhere above them. Besides, he liked the smell of food cooking, and talking to these guys when they got the chance was a lot more interesting the high class snobs that were his guests.
He was already dressed despite it being early in the morning, wearing a simple dark blue shirt and white pants, his unruly crimson hair was held back by the usual green headband. He was however, still barefoot.
'Oh, hello Prince Lavi,' the head chef Jerry greeted him as he came in from the main kitchen to chop some vegetables away from the ruckus, 'did you hear? There's a mermaid or merman with an injured tail swimming down by the rocks.'
Jerry was a man with an Indian background, cheerful and friendly to everyone he met, as well as flirting with pretty much every cute guy as well, though he refrained from flirting with Lavi since he was royalty. He always ensured the best meal was cooked for the prince and he had to say, the food was amazing.
'There is?' the redhead blinked in surprise. Merperson sightings during the daytime around here were rare.
'Yes, unfortunately...' the Indian man sighed sadly, 'they say it's waiting for victims to climb near, then jump out of the water and pull you in by your feet. That nice man Tyki Mykk said he'd go down later to take care of the beast... Ooh he's quite a catch, that Lord; I highly suggest you choose him, if it's not being nosy on my part.'
The prince suppressed a shudder and hopped off his stool to take the bowl over to the sink. He turned back to the still-giggling chef and grinned. 'Heh, I do admit he's pretty sexy, but I don't think he's my type. I'll see you later Jerry.'
As he waved and left up the stairway the chef bade him a friendly farewell. Once out in the main hall of his home, he broke into a jog along the red carpeted floor, heading up another flight of stone steps to arrive in his room. He had quite a large room, circular in shape, covered in intricate tapestries and paintings by famous artists, and a four poster king-sized bed with forest green curtains to match the ones covering his view of the ocean through the window. He went over to his large ok wardrobe and sorted through it until he found the first aid kit. He still believed there were some good Merpeople, not matter how many times he had been old otherwise. If this one was good, he would treat its wounds as best he could and make sure it escaped before Lord Tyki got to him. If it was a bad one he would leave it. Either way however he would have to be cautious, as it might claim to be good, only to drag him under and take his soul from his body.
'I wonder...' he murmured to himself as he strapped on his boots and made his way to the door, 'Can Merpeople even speak? I hope so. It would make this a lot easier.'
He shrugged at his own question, shut his bedroom door with a click and started making his way back down the vast hallway towards the stairs that would lead to the ground floor. He hurried as fast as he could, praying his grandfather or someone wouldn't discover him leaving without permission and surveillance. He had a tendency to pull pranks on people in the castle so his grandfather Bookman had ordered people watch him during the day for both other people's safety and for his own in case he wandered from the castle and got lost. The thing that annoyed the prince most about his heritage is that he barely knew his way around outside the castle and the nearby beaches and caves.
He grinned. He was eighteen, almost an adult, but he still loved doing things like pulling pranks and exploring caves. He loved the caves down at the rocks, a vast collection of tunnels and caverns with the occasional saltwater lake at high tide when the ocean rushes in through gaps in the lower cave walls. Kanda and Bookman called it immaturity; he called it retaining his sense of fun.
He was fortunate enough that he met no one on the way to his journey outside into the salt-smelling air, not even any servants. He escaped past the castles gates without being spotted, and then broke into a quick run down the stone path, which had been worn smooth after centuries of feet, horse hooves and carriage wheels. He eventually came to a bend in the road and continued down straight onto a small grassy knoll, which quickly changed into a rocky surface as he began climbing into a boulder-filled area.
He searched along the rocks and the beach, looking for a sign of an injured merperson, but all he saw were the gray waves lapping harshly against the stones thanks to the strong breeze coming in from the ocean. He continued on, first aid kit in hand, being careful not to slip and fall in like he had as a child. Soon, he came to the mouth of the first cave, the water flowing into it and disappearing into the darkness. He hesitated for a moment, and then started making his way into it. He knew the cavern at the end of this tunnel had a hole in the roof, so he wouldn't need a torch or a lamp to see. If a merperson was going to rest in a cave after being injured it would probably be this one, as it would be the easiest to swim into. He walked along the natural stone path leading up the tunnel, growing nervous.
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The cave around Lavi grew darker as he walked forward, careful to keep from slipping into the water that flowed from the ocean beside him. After a few moments of walking in the gloom that always unnerved the prince, his one good emerald eye was able to pick out the dim light ahead of him, signifying the end of the cave, where the pool where the merperson was most likely to be. The crimson haired teen swallowed nervously and clutched his first aid kit tightly for a moment before forcing himself to walk forward. When Lavi finally reached the opening to the room like cavern he was temporarily blinded by the light. The young prince blinks and as his vision came into focus, he was met by the sight of someone he never thought he would see again.
The boy was lying against the rock wall of the shallow pool with his face just above the surface of the water, his snow coloured hair floating around him like a shimmering halo. He had a horrible scar running down the left side of his face, the top of it obscured by his pale bangs. Lavi's eye slid down the ghostly pale skin of the thin boy's shoulders and along his chest, widening at the damage done by the net that had wrapped itself around the slender frame of the merboy. He was bleeding in several places, and the ropes seemed to be digging into his skin even as he took soft, shallow breaths.
Lavi's eye caught a flash of something golden around the merboy's neck as the clouds that had been swirling around in the sky parted. The royal looked up from the damaged tail and waist of the boy to see what it had been. A tiny golden locket hung around his neck, a worn but still visible 'L' carved into the side.
Lavi gaped in surprise at the creature, utterly aghast at the locket that hung around his neck, the white hair, the pale skin not common to Merpeople... "C-could... this be... the one who saved me?" he thought, stepping forward carefully. The Merboy shifted slightly, wincing in pain before settling back into sleep. Lavi couldn't believe it. Here he was, the person who had saved him from a horrible death, and Lavi could actually return the favour! The redhead smiled and quickly stripped down to his boxers before sliding into the water, pulling the medical scissors out of the first aid kit before making his way to his saviour.
'Well... looks like our roles have been reversed huh merboy?" Lavi asked the unconscious boy quietly as the elder of the two gently began to work the scissors under one of the thin ropes of the net that were cutting into the merboy like razor wire. He worked slowly and gently, freeing the boy from his bounds little by little. Working the wire out of the skin of his torso was easy enough, he merely had to bandage the bleeding wounds once the netting was removed, but when he got to the tail he ran into difficulty. The wire had worked itself beneath the scales, and if the prince wasn't super careful, he could dislodge the silver pieces and expose the tough fish-like skin beneath. And even after he'd removed netting from a place successfully, he had to hope the bleeding would stop by itself as the bandages could not reach it. When he wasn't even halfway done, the merboy shifted again, and this time his eyes opened.
The prince stopped and stared, and the merboy stared back. Then, the younger of the two screamed in fear and attempted to escape his grasp, thrashing wildly, sending water everywhere. Lavi cried out and threw himself on top of him, tightening his grip.
'STOP MOVING!' he tried to make himself heard over the boy's cries and the splashing of his tail. Though his weight limited the merboy's movement, it still put strain on the gashes created by the wiry netting. The redhead winced as the sharp fins of the tail slashed at his feet and legs. 'You'll only hurt yourself more! I'm trying to help you!'
The thrashing died down, but the mysterious creature was still tense. The older sat up a little from the shallow water, though he was cautious not to loosen his grip. The merperson stared up at him, his misty silver eyes wide and suspicious.
'I'm not trying to hurt you.' The prince smiled tiredly, explaining his actions in what he hoped was a calming voice, 'I'm just trying to treat your wounds so they aren't made worse. Ok? I just want to help. Can I do that?'
The silver eyed boy looked at him for a moment, then let his head fall to the side, staring at the wall. Lavi, taking that as a yes, sighed in relief and resumed his work on removing the netting.
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Almost half an hour later, Lavi had helped the boy crawl up onto the rocks so he could dry the salty water from the cuts, and so the bandages wouldn't get soggy while the bleeding was stopping. He pulled on his shirt to fight the cold that was begging to creep up his bare wet chest and sat down with his back against the rocks, close to the nameless mermaid. When he caught the silver-tailed being staring shyly at him he smiled, and he looked away, startled.
'Um...' he took a stab at communication, 'Y-You probably don't remember me, but um... When we were younger I fell in the water and you saved me from the other Merpeople. I actually gave you that locket you're wearing.'
He gestured to the necklace around the younger's neck. The merboy blinked in surprise and cupped the necklace in his hands looking down at it, before pressing it up to where his heart would have been had he had one, closing his eyes in thought. The prince waited, but as he did, he couldn't help but stare. The merboy was truly the one who saved him, with the same hair, skin and face, albeit he was a lot more mature then when he had been a small child. He was quite attractive, around fifteen or sixteen or so. He was definitely a merperson, but the strange thing was... He had blood. Merpeople could get injured, but no matter how bad the injury they never bled as they had no blood, and that combined with their underwater habitat contributed to their greenish-tinged skin. And if he had normal-coloured skin as well as blood then...
He carefully reached forward towards the smaller's chest. The merboy's eyes opened and he recoiled, a startled look in his eyes. The prince smiled softly.
'I'm not going to cut out your heart; I just want to see if you have a heartbeat. See? I'm not holding a weapon.'
He held up both his empty hands for inspection. The creature's silver eyes darted over them, before he lowered his own hands and allowed access.
'Thanks.' He grinned. He moved forward a bit, and placed his palm upon the cool pale skin. Sure enough, there it was. A comforting ba-dump ba-dump thumping back against his hand. He pulled his arm back.
'Well,' he chuckled, 'You're an odd little guy aren't you? You're a merperson but you're good, and you're heart isn't made of ice. Could that mean you have a soul as well?'
The boy looked up and nodded.
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I like this chapter.
Special huggles to Nella for beta-ing and adding stuff in.