A/n: So I wanted to try something a little differently here and explore Orm and Adella's relationship a little more. I also want to thank whoever is sending the messages over on tumblr about Adella and Arthur! It's helping flesh out the character SO much. I also said that I would be considering writing a sort of prequel to this and including Adella's time with the Justice League. I'm more so planning on exploring their relationship in it a bit more, with the League characters making a few appearances. I also wanna thank everyone for all the feedback on this fic! I'm so glad you all love it!
Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn't trying to persuade Adella into choosing a life on the surface. He had tossed the idea of ever living in Atlantis out the window with the news of his mother's death. And sure, right now Adella needed to split her time between the two worlds. But that wouldn't always be the case. In a year or two she'd be able to make her own decisions about what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
"It's not like Splash 'Della, you don't have to pick between here or Atlantis." he had said.
"You base way too many of your life choices on movies." she teased.
He was trying his best to come up with a real plan for them both. He could just take over the lighthouse from his dad one day. Or buy his own fishing boat like some of the other guys in town. With his powers there was no way it wouldn't be successful. And there were so many things Adella could do...or at least he thought.
She had spent plenty of time on the surface that much was true. But that time was only spent with him and his dad. So one day he decided to surprise her. He went to a thrift shop in town and picked her out some surface dweller clothes (he was definitely eyeballing the size), he asked his dad to borrow the truck for the day and he had made up a backstory for Adella in case anyone asked questions.
"These are a little big, Arthur…" Adella said, holding the denim shorts she was wearing up on her waist by the belt loops. The shirt he'd picked out was a tie dye Boston natural history museum shirt with a wooly mammoth drawn across the front. Thankfully that fit fine.
"Here, use this," he tossed her a belt of his. "Now remember. If anyone asks, you're from Florida. Our dads are friends, which, you know, it's lying. So your dad is in town for business and so he dropped you off here so you wouldn't be bored and told me to show you around. Got it?"
"I think so...is all of this really necessary?"
"Definitely. Everyone knows everyone here. You're gonna be like a shiny new toy. People already think I'm weird, they don't need to think you're weird too." and off they went. They had lunch at the Sunken Galleon, got ice cream to eat while they walked around town, travelled down to the docks to see all the fishing ships. It wasn't much, Arthur knew that. It probably didn't hold a candle to Atlantis. But it was home.
"So, what do you think?" he finally asked as the pair made their way back to the lighthouse.
Adella looked over at Arthur with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "You already know that I love it here. I mean, it was nice getting to see the town and all…"
"No, but I mean...would you live here? With me? You know, like….eventually?" he looked over at Adella nervously. She only smiled back at him.
"Is that what all this is about?" she asked. Arthur tried to pull a serious face, shrugging the question off. "Arthur, you know that I would go anywhere with you. I could still go to Atlantis to visit. My dad can come to the surface whenever he wanted. Mera could even come see me...actually, maybe it would be better if I went to her," Arthur had never met Mera. Adella had talked about her a few times, and Arthur knew she wasn't as keen on the idea of being around humans as Adella was. "But it can work. We can make it work."
Arthur smiled over at her. "So it's a plan?" he asked. "You promise you're okay with this?"
Adella nodded. "Promise."
Adella was positive she'd never felt this amount of anxiety in her entire life before. Even when the world was going to end and the planet's entire existence weighed on the shoulders of her and the Justice League, Adella had never been as nervous as she was waiting to see Arthur and Orm compete in the Ring of Fire.
She had tried to explain it to Arthur the best she could the previous night. It had been pretty obvious that he hadn't taken her too seriously, completely sure that he could defeat his brother with no problem. And it wasn't that she was necessarily worried that Orm would beat Arthur. She knew that Arthur could hold his own. She was more worried that the two were so hard headed, and so hellbent on being the winner that they'd kill each other in the process.
Mera and Vulko both tried their best to convince Adella that things would be alright in the end. Neither would let anything happen to Arthur if it came to his safety. "Whatever you do, you cannot let Orm know that you're part of this," her father had said. "I know that this will be hard to watch, I know that you're worried for Arthur. But you must trust us."
Agreeing to something like that was easier said than done. Adella had assured Vulko that she would stick to their plan, to keep Orm from growing suspicious. But when her father left her company to check in with Arthur before the battle, her stomach felt like it was in knots.
"Has he always been this difficult?" Mera asked as she and Adella settled into their seats. "It's truly amazing to me how someone can manage to ruin everything so quickly in such a short amount of time."
Adella was chewing on her bottom lip, her fingers fidgeting together nervously. "He's…" she sighed. "More difficult than you know," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "He means well, he's always meant well. He just doesn't like admitting he's wrong. And Orm has always been a sore subject. This is practically 32 years of pent up anger finally being released. I'm honestly a little surprised it hasn't gone worse." not that she liked to think about anything worse.
Mera rolled her eyes. "Men. We could always let them kill each other. Atlantis would be better off with a Queen in charge."
"Mera."
"I'm only kidding...a little," she looked over to her best friend with a smirk. Adella shot her a look. "Look…" Mera sighed. "Just relax. Arthur's in safe hands, but you have to promise me that you'll listen to whatever Vulko or I tell you."
Adella frowned. "Mera, what exactly do you two have planned?"
"Just promise. I know you already promised your father, but promise me. No matter what happens." Did Adella like the idea that her father and best friend had come up with some grand scheme that she wouldn't be let in on? No. But there wasn't any time to convince Mera to let her in on it. She truly would have to leave her husband's life in their hands.
"...I promise." she said, just as Vulko joined the pair along with some of the Kingsguard and Mera's father. Vulko gave his daughter a reassuring smile before taking his seat next to her.
"It's going to be...quite the interesting show." Vulko sighed.
Adella felt her stomach drop at her father's words. But before she could ask anything, an almost deafening roar came from the audience that was sitting in the stadium around them. She looked up to see Orm, arms raised and holding his trident triumphantly in the air. Orm was announcing something, but Adella couldn't quite hear him over the crowd and the sound of her own heart beating in her chest. Everything around her almost seemed to slow down. Her mouth felt dry. She barely noticed the fact that she was gripping onto the arms of her seat so tightly her fingers were turning white.
Once Arthur joined him, the cheers turned to a wave of boos. This did nothing for Adella's nerves. The sound of the drums joined in with the sound of her heartbeat. "Please, Arthur. Please…" she said quietly to herself, shutting her eyes and praying to anyone who would listen to make sure he stayed in one piece.
The fight was more evenly matched than Adella, Mera or Vulko probably anticipated. Arthur truly was holding his own against Orm. But Adella didn't find any relief from this. With every hit, the brothers grew more and more angry with each other. Both had quickly thrown the rules away and were out for blood. "They're going to kill each other." Adella said, looking over to her father. Vulko remained silent, his eyes trained on the brothers.
Orm had suddenly gotten the upper hand. He had knocked Arthur down, relentlessly attacking while Arthur could only hold up his trident in defense. Adella's hand wrapped tightly around her father's wrist as she watched in horror.
"Mera, go. Now," Vulko ordered. Mera quickly leapt into action, spinning around and pushing past the guards and down the hall. Adella looked up at her father, mouth open to ask what was happening. Vulko held up a hand, silencing her. He turned back to the fight, just in time to watch as Orm split Arthur's trident in half with one final blow.
Adella gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she watched her husband look down at the shattered weapon in his hands. Orm took this opportunity to try and strike once again. But before he could, a gust of water sent Orm flying from Arthur and to the bottom of the arena.
A ship came speeding around into view, Mera in the driver's seat. Adella watched, her father holding onto her tightly, as Arthur jumped in beside Mera. The crowd had erupted into chaos and the Kingsguard were rushing into action to stop the pair from escaping.
"What? No! Where are they going?!" Adella wriggled, trying to break free from her father's hold.
"Let them go, Adella," Vulko said, trying to keep his voice low. "This is all part of the plan. Mera will lead him to the trident. Now pull yourself together before the King sees." Adella was breathing heavily, but stopped struggling. She clenched her jaw, finally nodding. What Mera was doing was treason. There was no guaranteeing her safety now that she had openly taken Arthur's side in front of the entire Kingdom. Now her husband and best friend's lives were in danger and she could do nothing to stop it. Adella felt like she was going to be sick.
Orm soon arrived, his face reddened with anger as he approached Vulko. "I want them found! I want them stopped! No one is to rest until that half breed is dead!" he roared, pointing off in the direction that Arthur and Mera had disappeared. Adella had never seen Orm this angry before. He had never raised his voice this way. Suddenly she felt afraid of him.
"You!" Orm yelled, pointing at one of the guards that had remained behind to protect Adella, Vulko and Nereus. "Take her back to the palace! I don't want her leaving her chambers until they're found!"
"Your Majesty, this isn't necessary…" Vulko said, trying to reason with Orm.
"I gave you an order." Orm spat at the guard. The guard gently took Adella by the arm, mumbling a 'come with me my Lady' before leading Adella away. She looked over her shoulder, Orm's attention now pointed at Nereus as they both argued no doubt over Mera. Whatever Vulko and Mera had planned, she hoped that they would succeed.
Adella had been pacing the length of her room from what seemed like hours. She had heard no word of Mera or Arthur. She had had no visitors. The guard that had escorted her back to the palace was stationed outside of her door to make sure no one entered or left her room.
When she finally heard a knock on her door, Adella jumped. "...Who is it?" she asked nervously, standing still at the foot of her bed.
Orm entered her room, his demeanor much different now than it had been the last time she'd seen him. He stood in front of her, the pair both silently watching each other for a moment before he cleared his throat. "...You're upset with me." it wasn't a question.
"Yes I'm upset," Adella spat. Orm remained calm. "I'm being held prisoner!" she threw her hands in the air.
"You're not prisoner…"
"Then can I leave my room?" she asked. He said nothing. "...Do you think I'm guilty of something?" her stomach felt like it was twisting again. Was Orm in on their plan? Did he know that her father was scheming to put Arthur on the throne? Vulko could be sitting in a cell at that very moment, or even worse.
"I…" Orm began. "I don't know who to trust anymore. You and Mera can't do much of anything without the other one knowing. I find it hard to believe that you didn't know she was planning on doing something like this."
Adella swallowed loudly. Maybe this was why Mera hadn't let her in on the plan. She knew that Adella hated lying to Orm. And if she didn't know what she was up to, she couldn't lie. "There has to be some sort of explanation. There has to be a reason-"
"For committing treason?" Orm interrupted her. "For betraying me? For embarrassing me in front of the entire Kingdom?" he asked. Adella looked down at her feet. "I think that reason fled the arena with her."
"Orm, please…" Adella began, reaching forward to take Orm's hand. He backed away from her almost as if her touch had burned him.
"Why are you trying to justify her actions? What Mera has done was unacceptable."
"She's our friend. I just want you to hear her out first before you do anything rash."
Orm looked at Adella for a long moment. She almost felt uncomfortable under his gaze. "This isn't about Mera. This is about him," he finally said. "It seems like you've taken Arthur's side at every turn...why? Why would you care about some surface dweller?"
"I don't," Adella scoffed. "I just...you keeping jumping to violence, Orm. There's a difference between being able to defend yourself and Atlantis, but this is boarding on some sort of sadistic revenge plot. You scared me at the arena," Orm rolled his eyes, turning his back to Adella before pacing the room slowly. "This is all treading into dangerous territory. If your mother-"
Orm twisted around to face her once more. "My mother is gone! Dead! She was a traitor to Atlantis and the reason that mongrel exists!" he roared. Adella took a step back, her eyes wide. "I don't give a damn what she would have wanted! I won't stop until I find Arthur, and when I find him no amount of your sweet talk will be able to keep me from executing him!"
"What...what about Mera?" Adella asked quietly. It was a last ditch attempt to change Orm's mind.
"What happens to Mera, is up to her. She can come home peacefully and face the consequences of what she's done, or she can join the half breed in execution." he spat. Adella felt speechless. The man in front of her was a complete stranger. Any trace of the Orm she had once known had disappeared completely into King Orvax's shadow.
"Who are you?" she finally asked. Orm moved towards her, towering over Adella as he looked down at her spitefully.
"King."
