Far Off Faces

The prince didn't pass anyone on the short trip to his room. No servants, no pestering sisters, no attendants, no one. He didn't mind, though, the silence was nice as was not having to hide behind a mask of indifference.

He knew far too much for his own good and ne knew that too. It wasn't as if he had asked the questions; he just heard the answers from careless lips. Though he should never have said such things to his father, but it was hard to regret his actions after witnessing those dealt him.

The king never listened to him. He could hear the voice of the people even when they never said a word. The man granted his daughters their every wish whether or not they said them aloud. But when it came to his son, Triton was a deaf as a rock. He had his heart set on a vision of the perfect son and wouldn't yet admit to himself that Aaron was not that son and he didn't have another chance at a better one. Unknowingly, the man constantly tried to shape his disappointment of a son into the mold he created for someone else. Aaron wanted nothing more than to fulfill his father's wishes, but he had learned a long time ago that he would never become the merman his father wanted him to be.

With these depressing thoughts in mind, the boy closed his too large door behind him and entered his lifeless room. The decorations on the wall were that of past kings and their accomplishments all chosen by his father to 'help him get into the mindset' or so he had proudly said. His sisters all shared one room as had he before his 8th birthday when his father pulled him aside and gifted him a large, furnished, yet empty room to do with as he pleased. The boy knew better than to bring any treasures here so he followed his father's example and kept the room relatively empty.

Aaron passed his bed without a thought and settled on the window seat to look out over the expanse of the kingdom. 'All this will be yours one day' his father had told him, but the excitement from the original thought had long since passed. He no longer wanted to be a king. But what did he want then? He still couldn't answer.

He was still sitting with his back to his door when he heard it creak open slightly. Aaron listened and knew that it wasn't his father due to the gentle creaking that came from a slowly moving door. It wasn't a guard since there was no clanking of armor and there were no servants around at this time of night but both were required to knock before gaining entrance. So he was left with the assumption that it was one, is not all, of his sister who had more than likely heard the argument.

"Aaron?" It was the soft voice belonging to his oldest and least vain sister. Though he loved each of them, Attina was the most responsible and easy to talk to even if she sided with their father. She was also the next in-line for the throne behind her brother.

He knew he should answer, but he couldn't find the words so he stayed silent and remained turned away.

She sighed, "We heard the fight. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," he said softly, still not moving.

"Please." She tried coming closer. "Let me help. Maybe it was a big misunderstanding. You know how he gets."

Aaron shook his head, but stopped at the sharp gasp from behind him. He didn't have time to turn around before hands were on his shoulders pushing them sideways so he was forced to spin. The gasp sounded again though it was mirrored by the rest of his sisters who were hovering in the doorway.

"He…what…?" Attina stuttered, breathless as her finger traced lightly over the angry mark marring her little brother's pale cheek. He flinched back a bit.

There was a burst of bubbles as Alana, the second oldest left and came back with multiple salves she had created. Being obsessed with her appearance and make-ups, Alana had a hand at a lot of healing creams and potions on the side. Gently pulling Aaron away from the window and into the chair at his desk, she began to rummage through her jars. When she decided on one, she glanced at the mark and gently brushed a finger over it, but pulled away when he winced.

"Just leave it," he muttered, secretly grateful for the attention.

"Oh, Aaron," Alana cried as she hugged him close. It only took a moment for the rest of his sisters joined in wordlessly.

Pulling away from the group with a wrathful look in her eyes, Attina growled a bit, but it was nothing compared to the anger Aaron had face nor felt. "I'm going to go talk to him," she claimed determinedly. The others quickly agreed and began to follow before their little brother appeared in front of them.

"No," he said with a slightly pleading look in his eye, "just leave it. This will only make it worse."

"But Aaron he-" Arista the second youngest sister began.

She didn't get to finish. "This is not the first time and you know it won't be the last. Please, don't do this. At least wait until tomorrow; he is still angry and I don't want you getting into trouble because of me."

Attina looked as if she was about to argue before she sighed and nodded, "Alright, but only until tomorrow." At the boy's reluctant nod, her face softened. "Would you like to bunk with us tonight?"

Aaron smiled a bit, "No, I'm fine. I'll see you guys in the morning, okay?"

Begrudgingly, they all agreed and left him with promises of open arms if he needed them. Alana left her things just in case he wanted them later. He wouldn't, but he appreciated the gesture. When they had all left and he heard the sound of their room's near-by door closing, he bolted out of the window. He needed distance from the kingdom. He knew it was unwise since this is what had started everything, but he couldn't stop.

With no direction, the prince went straight for as long as he could before something got in his way. Forgetting his troubles, he faced yet another thing, but this one was on the surface and didn't have holes. It was hard instead of soft from the water and the brown of its surface lacked the gray undertones. He was so distracted that he didn't notice the dark shadows below him as he examined his find.

Lights from above the surface lit up and called to the boy's curiosity. Aaron hesitated. His father would be furious, but at the thought a determination was set in him. He was angry and he wasn't going to heed his father's warnings while he still sported the man's mark.

Cautiously, the young prince pushed himself above the water's edge and his bright eyes took in everything as quickly as they could. From lights to sounds to the feeling of the fresh air and the waves; Aaron soaked it all in until he was bursting with excitement. Seeing a hole in the side of the thing the boy ignored his apprehension and pulled himself close so he could see.

The flat part was filled with…humans? Was that what they were? He could vaguely remember hearing about merfolk without fins before and that is defiantly what they were. He couldn't even begin to describe what he saw. The humans were spinning…dancing on…not fins. There were lights exploding above them and bursting with loud noises to the tune of such music he had never heard. A white, hairy beast weaved through the human's not-fins and emitted loud calls that gained it no attention, but it didn't seem to mind.

Aaron watched it all with awe. He couldn't stop his wide-eyes from darting everywhere to see everything until they found something they didn't want to look away from.

She was beautiful.

Aaron had never held an interest in any mermaids. His sisters even offered him the possibility that he was destined for a partner instead of a wife, but still no one caught his eye; no one except for her. She had long black hair that fell gently over light green eyes glittering with happiness and a smile that brought light to her strong, tan face. She moved in circles about the flat surface with the beast she called a 'Max' as her hair flew around her. Then she laughed and Aaron thought he was going to drown in the sound.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention," a loud voice called, interrupting the festivities. An older-looking man came to stand in front of the girl. "We are here to celebrate the birth of our dear princess. In light of this joyous day, I have a gift I would like to bestow." At his words a large- structure of some sort –was moved in front of the crowed. With a wave of his hand, a cloth fell off of it to reveal a statue of the girl, though it made her look far more feminine and helpless than she truly was.

"Oh…" she said unsure, "Thank you, Grimsby."

The man smiled, "You are welcome, my dear, now this boat isn't going to entertain itself! Let's get back to our merriment! Music!"