Waaah sorry for how long this update took! Life has been so busy lately. Seems I'm always behind on something!

"But...but there must be something you can do to reverse this!"

Ari looked blankly at Tino. How long had the two been bothering him now? Far too long. How many times had he heard pleas and threats and bribes to change that idiot prince back to his merman self? Far too many times. The only reason he didn't dare do anything to forcefully remove him was because in all actuality he was afraid of what the silent Berwald would do to him. A shiver went down his spine just knowing the large merman never let his eyes waver.

He finally sighed and shook his head. "I told you there is nothing I can do. So long as he wishes for the change it cannot be reversed. The contract is just as binding on my end as it is on his. That is there to guarantee I can't suddenly steal back what has been given for any reason. Most of my kind don't have such things in their contracts and I consider myself generous for the fact that I do."

Perhaps that was something to go on. Tino had finally coaxed a piece of information from the sea warlock. "Does that mean if Søren changes his mind then he'll become a merman again?"

Ari crossed his arms. "Oh no, it's not that simple. If he changes his mind and I consent to it, then I can reverse the magic of the contract. These things are rather difficult to get out of you know."

"But you will consent? If I can get him to change his mind you will turn him back won't you?" Tino looked at him imploringly.

Glancing from Tino's pleading face to Berwald's apathetic one, he raised an eyebrow as he saw Berwald subtly shake his head. "...I will consider it."

Well, it wasn't much but...Tino considered it a start. He didn't look like much but he could potentially take on Ari if he had to in order to convince him. He just wasn't sure what magic he might have and how strong it would be. Still, even if he wasn't on the bigger side he knew how to hold his own and Ari might have magic but he didn't look physically strong. "Good...Well, you keep thinking about that. Come on Berwald, we have to go."

Giving what he hoped was a warning glare, Tino swam out of the cave. It gave him a bad feeling and he was glad to be out of it. Berwald remained where he was for a moment then spoke slowly. "Don't care if y' nev'r turn Søren back, but don't y' do anythin' t' hurt Tino."

Ari's tentacles fidgeted before the intimidating man. "...I have no intention. I only do as I am asked, and only if someone's willing to exchange something for it. ...That includes things for love you know."

Berwald's face only gave the slightest twitch of emotion. "...Isn't love if it's magic."

"Mm, I was just saying it." It wasn't like he could give love either, only means to obtain 'love'.

Grunting, Berwald finally turned and followed Tino out. Ari sighed and shook his head. He never should have helped that idiot prince. If he had known it would be so troublesome he would have just kicked him out on his tail like he almost had. What a headache.

When Tino saw Berwald he felt a twinge of relief. He had been wondering what was taking him so long. As he approached, Tino felt a wave of exhaustion. Swimming around this way and feeling like such little progress was being made... "Do you think we'll be able to sort this all out?"

Berwald blinked at him then put a hand on his head. "'S gunna be alright."

Tino flushed and hesitantly smiled up at Berwald. He could be scary but overall Tino was pretty sure he didn't mean to be... Though his meanness towards Søren was undoubtedly deliberate. "Yeah... I suppose we better go back to the palace for tonight and cover for Søren. We can try to find out what happened to him tomorrow. I hope he's okay."

Why must Tino always worry about that idiot? Berwald's hand slipped back to his side. "Hm."

The two of them returned home in silence. For Tino, his head was filled with concerns and excuses for the prince's absence. For Berwald it was a natural state of being. However, no one questioned them about Søren. It seemed the story had spread fairly quickly thanks to Gilbert no doubt. So just as Tino had started to think they were let off the hook for the night it was only appropriate it was Gilbert himself who finally cornered the pair about it.

"Hey! Hey you two, yeah you! Where is Søren?" Gilbert glanced between the two of them, finally settling on looking at Tino as most tended to do.

Tino looked at him nervously. "I...uh, w-we aren't really sure..."

"Hmph, I mean I figured he would be pretty upset about it...I was gonna maybe offer to help him find some more alcohol. Really lame about what father did to his collection. Aah there was so much too! Mm, well I'm sure he's just off pouting somewhere. I expect he'll show up tomorrow. After all, it's not like Søren to go losing his tail over things."

Tino all but choked at the words. "Y-yeah... I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow..."

Gilbert shrugged. "Ah well. See ya around."

Waving almost dismissively, Gilbert disappeared down the hall. Tino let out a relieved breath. "This is a disaster...It's only a matter of time before someone becomes suspicious. Tomorrow, you'll come with me won't you Berwald? To look for Søren?"

When Tino looked at him so beseechingly how could he ever say no? "...Yep."

Tino brightened a bit. "Thank you... I know he's not your favorite but... I do appreciate it."

"Mm, 's fine." Anything was fine so long as it was for Tino.

And so they retired for the night. The next day was sure to be busy.

~.

Søren woke up with a hangover the size of the ocean. It was an almost unknown phenomenon for him and he found he did not like it. No he did not like it one bit. Everything was fuzzy. What had happened...?

Sitting up, the world spun for a moment then came into overly sharp focus. He held his head and groaned. The sound of laughter made him look up grudgingly.

"Well, well. The King of the Sea seems to have awoken from his royal slumber!"

More laughter. Søren growled softly and forced himself onto his feet. He slumped over for a moment feeling sick then straightened up. He was somewhat taken aback when he saw the bars. "Where...?"

"Oh, the royal fish wants to know where he is! Doesn't seem to remember. Guess sea critters can't hold their liquor!" There was another roar of laughter.

Gritting his teeth, Søren grabbed the bars and held onto them, looking out beyond them. A handful of guards with some sort of lion insignia on their armor stood laughing at him. He didn't like that one bit. "And what do you think you're all laughing at? I'll have you know I'm-"

"Oh yeah," one interrupted loudly. "We heard all about it for hours yesterday before you finally passed out on the floor. A right mermaid y'are. No, not just that, royalty! A King Cod!"

Søren clenched the bars, glaring at all of them. "I am not a mermaid, do I look like I have breasts? I'm a merman, and a crown prince!"

There was a moment of silence and then the walls rang with their mocking laughter. "A merman! What a bunch of damned fools we are, how could we make such a mistake!"

Søren spat then spoke, his voice commanding and harsh. "I demand you shut your mouths this instance! I have no patience for such stupidity and my head is killing me!"

He would not tolerate such mockery of his species or his title! While he knew humans were not supposed to know about their kind they were making a big mistake. This was the greatest insult he had ever endured in his life.

The guards' merriment ended abruptly, the atmosphere becoming rather stormy. One of them approached him, glaring into the cell. "We're not the ones behind bars. I'd watch what you say. It's only by Prince Elias's grace that we didn't already rough up your drunken ass and throw you out to sea to see how well you swam."

Søren looked him up and down and decided that even hung over and half naked—he seemed to have acquired a pair of pants which actually he found rather unpleasant on his new skin—there was no way he couldn't take this guy. He snarled at him. "I'm not worried about you. I'm fairly confident I could take on every man here and barely break a sweat."

There was a murmur of angry voices and the guard got closer, his face nearly pressed to the bars. "Is that so? How about we take you up on that? I'm sure Prince Elias will understand we were only doing our duty of keeping the peace."

Søren smirked. "I'm sure he will also understand his guards are too weak but tried their best."

Lip curling up in anger, the guard put his key in the lock and turned it. Søren's fingers flexed in anticipation. The first guard was out for the count before he even knew what hit him.

~.

Elias made his way to the dungeon, annoyed he even had to bother. Apparently there was a ruckus of some sort with that damned drunk he had imprisoned. He had been hoping to keep him in a cell over night then have him released and never have to deal with him again. Seemed it wouldn't be that easy. How irritating.

As Elias and one of his personal guards entered the prison a guard was thrown at their feet. Elias looked from the body to the drunken fool they had picked up the day before. He was breathing heavily and there was a sheen of sweat on him but there was such an intense look, almost a glow in his eyes that it was striking. He was truly enjoying this. 'This' being Elias's guards thrown across the prison, groaning and clutching at various body parts. It was a humiliating sight to him.

Elias narrowed his eyes and turned them up to the other man. Was he going to try and escape? Just let him try, he would- Instead of making towards Elias or the door, he suddenly stumbled to the nearest wall and started to vomit. Elias watched in disgust. What had he really been expecting? "What do you think you're doing?"

Søren groaned miserably. All that physical exertion had not helped his upset stomach at all. Wiping his mouth with his arm he backed up, noticing Elias for the first time. "Oh...The pretty man. I was sort of kicking your guards' asses. They need some better training."

Pretty man... Gritting his teeth, Elias stepped over the body of the guard without a second glance down. "Is that so? I was going to simply release you, was this attack necessary?"

"Necessary? Of course, all physical acts of violence are necessary. But I didn't start it or anything. Well, not really. After all, how do you think I got out? Your guards thought they could rough me up and I proved them wrong. Pretty embarrassing for them if I do say so."

That was even more humiliating to Elias, that his guards would try to beat an admittedly stupid but relatively innocent man. They would be spoken to about it later. But for now he had to deal with the man before him. After all, he couldn't have the fool leaving talking about how weak Elias's men were. It was the same as saying he was weak as far as he was concerned. "What is your name?"

Standing up a bit straighter, Søren couldn't help but smile a bit. "It would be Søren. And I know you're the prince but what is your name again?"

"...You do speak quite flippantly to someone who is 'the prince'. If you must address me it shall be as Prince Elias and nothing less."

And what should Søren care if he was? Maybe he should tell him to address him as Prince Søren. But he was hesitant. The guards had really been mocking him about that and...it was pretty embarrassing to him. If mermaids and merman were nothing more than story fodder or a joke here he might want to keep that to himself from then on if he was going to be taken seriously. "Well...Prince Elias and nothing less, quite pleased to become fully acquainted."

Could this man be any more annoying? "Hmph. Well Søren, I would like you to try and take me down as you have my men." His personal guard started to protest but Elias held up a hand for him to be silent, eyes never wavering from Søren. "I insist upon it."

Did this small, pretty faced guy really think he could take on Søren, even after he had obviously taken down all of his men? Well, he wasn't going to say no if he insisted upon it. Besides, Elias had shown great bravery during that battle that had nearly taken his life and Søren respected that. "Very well."

"Please feel free to take as much time to recover as you need. I wouldn't want you to be at too much of a disadvantage."

Grinning, Søren nodded. "Thanks, that's very generous of you." He took a moment longer to rest and let his stomach stop churning. He still felt pretty damn terrible and all the fighting had made it worse. He could still fight though, no question about that. "Mm, ready."

Elias took a step forward and stood in a defensive stance that looked rather open to Søren, his guard watching warily. Søren watched him for a moment. The room was oddly quiet, some of the fallen soldiers seeming to come out of their stupor and watching tensely.

Interesting. Elias was just a bit too open for it to be a mistake or poor training. He did not move. Søren guessed he wanted him to attack. Probably had something up his sleeve. Looking him over, he finally decided on Elias's weak spot and tensed his body, waiting for the right moment to spring. After a tense pause he rushed at Elias, intending to fake him out then at the last moment strike him. Everything was going according to plan when Elias moved quite suddenly, burying his fist in Søren's stomach.

Clutching at his stomach, Søren collapsed to the ground, stunned. It was a good thing he had already puked or he probably would have done it right then. Elias cracked his knuckles, expression still as blank as it had been before. "Hm, not bad but you're a bit too straight forward, don't you think?"

Gradually Søren started to recover, sitting up. "Y-you... Mm, lot stronger than you look."

Elias tsked. Many underestimated him based upon his looks. "Never say I'm pretty again or I'll break your neck. You are free to leave now."

Grimacing slightly, Søren reached up and grabbed Elias's leg. He couldn't leave, he had to make sure Elias didn't get married. And as he decided he liked him, he didn't much want to kill him if he could help it. Maybe he could just kill any potential brides. Or steal them from him... That could work. "Hey, you really impress me. That's hard to do. So let me stay. Give me something to do, I'll do it."

With obvious disdain Elias looked him over again. Well, it never hurt to help the occasional charity case. "Fine, I suppose. I'll have someone find something for you to do." Something that was far, far away from him preferably. "Now release me at once."

Søren complied, scrambling to his feet as Elias quickly turned to escape the room. He had better things to do with his time. Søren turned and gave a smug grin to those left in the room, who glared back looking less than pleased with how things had turned out. Then he hurried after Elias. "Hey wait! Don't just walk off yet, I wasn't done talking to you. Hey!"

Elias ignored him and kept walking. Did this idiot really have no sense of just who he was talking to? Søren grabbed his arm when he wouldn't stop. It seemed not. Elias quickly put up a hand to his guard again, who had started to draw his sword. "Søren was it? I think perhaps you should be far more conservative in your actions. I have dismissed you, so-"

"Do you not remember me?" Søren might as well let him know that he was the one who had saved him. It might make things go easier for him.

Elias paused for a moment then shook his head. "Trust me, I would remember having met someone as... colorful as yourself."

He tried to brush Søren off again but the taller man would have none of that. "That night, that night during the battle, I'm the one who saved you!"

If Søren had expected some sort of reaction he sure didn't get one. Elias grabbed the hand on his arm and squeezed until he let go. "Indeed. Stay here and I will have someone come give you...some task or another."

With that Elias was off again at a brisk pace. Søren stared after him, mouth agape. "But I...I did save him."

A maid nearby nearly giggled then saw the stricken look on his face. She hesitantly walked over to him and spoke softly. "You and half the kingdom dear."

Søren blinked uncomprehendingly at her. "What do you mean? They did not!"

The maid smiled despite herself. "No, that's not what I meant. Prince Elias tried to find out who saved him, so he could reward that person. Quite a lot of people stepped forward with that very same claim. Can you blame him for not believing? Though if it is you then you should know the right words."

So that was it eh? Bunch of lying bastards. "Right...words?"

She nodded. "Apparently his rescuer said something right after he saved him. So if you did save him you should know. I...I really shouldn't have stopped to talk to you but perhaps I will see you around if you'll be working here."

The maid bowed and hurried off to attend to her other duties. Søren stared after her. What he had said that night after he rescued Elias...No problem then! Let's see... it had been... Oh. Damn.

Søren couldn't remember for the life of him.

AN: So upon reading some comic strips with Sweden I feel like I've been writing his accent a bit strong. I'm toning it down a pinch. Aah I do love him though, bless his intimidating soul~