A/N: I'm not super happy with this chapter, but it's finally here. I'm not sure just how many chapters will be left, but we're nearing the end! I'm honestly much, much more excited for the next chapter I think you'll all love it.

Adella and Arthur were grown now. They were both fresh into their twenties, and Adella was trying to phase herself out of Atlantis. It wasn't easy. Her father and Mera were both trying to help cover the truth when it came to Orm or anyone else who asked where she was constantly running off to. Mera eventually came up with the idea to tell Orm that Adella would be going to Xebel for a few months because they knew Orm wouldn't leave Atlantis unless absolutely necessary.

Arthur found a job on a fishing boat once he graduated high school and had been saving up money over the past few years to buy them a small cabin not too far from the lighthouse. Adella loved their little house. They could sit on the porch and watch the sun set over the ocean every night. She also loved how happy it made Arthur. He'd come home every day from work, toss his coat aside and pick Adella up for a kiss. It was like clockwork. Adella may have had a bit of a hard time getting used to life on the surface, but it was all worth it in her mind.

She wasn't the best cook. She was trying her best to learn, but they both spent a lot of nights getting dinner in town. "How do humans pull this off? It's nearly impossible. I feel like there's something wrong with me. Do you know there are shows on television where people compete with each other to see who can cook something faster than everyone else? I've never seen anything like it." she said one night while she and Arthur picked at a basket of chili fries at Terry's.

Arthur only laughed. "Those people have been cooking their entire lives 'Della. I don't even think your cooking is that bad, I always eat it."

"I'm pretty sure you'd eat a boot if I fed it to you," she grumbled. Arthur had grown to the size of a tank. He'd always been taller than Adella, but now he towered over her at 6'4 and was built like a brick wall. Needless to say he was practically a black hole when it came to food. Even if he swore he liked her cooking, Adella was still worried that she'd one day give him food poisoning.

Arthur didn't have a care in the world, especially anything close to food poisoning. He was so excited that he couldn't really seem to care about anything. He almost had to force himself to focus on what was going on in the present before he gave himself away. He was sure that Adella was a little suspicious of his behavior. He was like a kid on his way to Disneyland and they were just having dinner at a bar that was almost like a second home to them.

"I was thinking after this we could go get ice cream and maybe head down to the beach? We could go to our spot?" he was sitting up straight, almost rigid as he tried his hardest to come off as casual as possible. Adella's eyes narrowed at her boyfriend, twirling a fry in her fingers as she watched him suspiciously. "...You don't like ice cream?" he asked, eyes shifting nervously.

"I like ice cream...but you're acting like you threw Salty off the side of a cliff and you don't want me to find out." Arthur scoffed. Adella was more curious than anything, so she eventually agreed to go along with Arthur's plans. They made the short walk from Terry's to the ice cream shop with Adella periodically stealing a glance at Arthur to see if his expression would crack. It never did.

The fact that Adella wasn't familiar with human traditions was sort of an advantage for him. She had told him once that in Atlantis engagements were discussed between the two families and announced at these grand parties. But that didn't stop him from feeling like the ring he'd chosen for her was burning a hole in his pocket.

He hadn't decided just what he was going to say or how he would ask. He might end up sounding like a complete moron, but as long as she said yes that was all that really mattered. This was something he had been planning on for a long, long time. He just wished his mother could be there to see it. And so he could thank her for sending Adella and Vulko to the surface to meet him.

"...Is everything okay? I know I've already asked, but you're really starting to make me worried." Adella finally asked as they walked along the beach. They were headed off to their spot, a place that was always secluded and where many of Arthur's lessons with Vulko had taken place. Arthur couldn't really think of a better place to pop the question.

"No, no I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind I guess," He plopped down in the sand and the pair both removed their shoes before falling into a comfortable silence. Arthur had one hand in his pocket, fingers fumbling with the ring while he waited impatiently for Adella to finish her cone. "So…" was all he could say.

Adella looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. She almost worried he might be having a heart attack with the way he was acting. "...So?" she asked with a small laugh.

"...Beautiful sunset huh?" he asked, nodding out at the skyline before them.

"Very beautiful." she agreed.

"Marry me." he said suddenly. So suddenly that Adella wasn't really sure if she'd heard him correctly. She looked over at him with wide, confused eyes. Arthur covered his eyes, groaning loudly at his actions. "What I mean, is…" he turned towards her, taking her hands in his and taking in a deep breath. "Will you marry me?" he reached into his coat and finally pulled out the ring, holding it up to her.

Adella was speechless. She looked down at the gold ring Arthur was offering to her. It was two bands, one line with diamonds that curved around to fit the other that had a pearl sitting at the center. She had never seen Arthur so nervous. He was looking at her almost as if he were silently pleading with her to say yes. As if she'd say anything else.

"Arthur...of course I will," Arthur let out a heavy sigh of relief. He gently placed the ring on Adella's finger before lifting her off the sand and into his lap, holding her tightly. Adella giggled, placing her hands on her fiance's cheeks and placing a few kisses on his lips. "...How is this even going to work?" she asked. Would their marriage even be legal since she was an Atlantean?

"Honestly, I have no idea," Arthur chuckled. "I don't really care. We'll figure it out. Even if I have to ask my boss to do it on that smelly ass ship I work on. I'm gonna make it work." and that was part of what she loved most about Arthur. No matter what, he would always find a way around any problem they had.

If Adella wasn't sure whether she was being held as Orm's prisoner, she was sure of it now. He'd stormed out from her chambers after their argument and the guard outside her door had been told that under no circumstances was she allowed out. So Adella was finding herself in a bit of a predicament at the moment.

Somewhere Arthur and Mera were risking their lives with no idea that Orm was sending his soldiers to execute them both. Arthur had already lost one fight to the kingsguard, and they had only been told to take him prisoner. This would be an unfair battle and she was helpless to stop it yet again.

But Adella wouldn't let it be so. She had to do something. She'd stood by and watched too much fly by out of her control. So she started to come up with a plan. She knew that she was low on Orm's priority list. He'd only left one guard to keep her in her room and she was sure all of the others were on their way to find Arthur and Mera and the rest were off to the Fisherman Kingdom with Orm. Adella could possibly sneak out of Atlantis unnoticed, she just had to be smart about it.

There was a large wardrobe that sat across from her bed. It wasn't something she had used often, mostly to keep old keepsakes or things she didn't really know where else to place. She opened the door quietly and began rummaging around until she found the item she was looking for. She pulled out her trident, a birthday gift from Orm when they were children. She held the pearlescent weapon in her hands, brushing her hands gently over the purple stones that adorned the head.

Adella wasn't extremely skilled with it. She knew how to defend herself, and that was about it. But she wasn't planning on going into battle with the guard. This was just a means to an end. This was a very risky choice. There was a chance her plan could go horribly wrong and she could end up in more trouble than she could ever get out of. But she had to do this for Arthur. She had to help him.

After taking in a deep breath, Adella gave the wardrobe a hard shove. The crash echoed throughout her chambers, just like she had been hoping for. She slipped just to the other side of the doorway that lead to her dressing room, holding her trident tightly against her chest and holding her breath as she heard the guard burst into her room. "Lady Adella?" he called. "Are you alright?"

His back was turned to her as he searched the room for her. It all happened within the blink of an eye. Addella whipped around the corner, pressing the end of her trident into the guard's back. He tensed up, slowly raising his hands in a form of surrender. "Don't turn around," Adella ordered, hoping her voice didn't betray how nervous she was. "Don't move. I'm sorry about this, really. But I can't stay here."

"My Lady, this is a mistake…" he warned.

"...You're probably right. But I have to try."

If there was one thing that Vulko hadn't expected to see after everything that had happened that day, it was his daughter sneaking into his home during the night. He had been told that Orm was keeping her in the palace while he tried to stop Arthur and his plan. Thankfully Orm had not suspected Vulko of conspiring against him, so he still could have some sway over the King.

"Adella, what are you doing here?" he asked her. "Do you have any idea what would happen to you if they've seen that you've escaped? This is too dangerous!"

She ignored her father's panic. "Do you know where Arthur is? You have to know where Orm sent his guards. If I leave now then maybe I can still make it there before anything happens to him…"

Vulko shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. You're not going halfway across the world to risk your life. Arthur and Mera can handle themselves. This is just a small snag in the plan. We have to be patient." he tried to reason with her. But he knew that when it came to Arthur he would never be able to. And if she had gone as far as to somehow escape the palace, there was probably no way to convince her to stay put in Atlantis.

"Daddy, if something happens to Arthur, I'll never be able to forgive myself. I've let him put himself in danger too many times for something he doesn't even want. If you had the chance to save my mother, wouldn't you have done it?"

Vulko sighed. "You know what I would have done anything to keep her with us…" this was against his better judgement. Up until this point he hadn't had to worry about Adella putting herself in danger. She had always been reasonable. But he couldn't keep her from trying to save her husband from his fate. "I'll give you the coordinates. Take my ship, no one will stop you at the gate. But please, Adella. Be careful. I couldn't bare to lose you."

Adella hugged her father tightly. "I will. Thank you."

The coordinates that Vulko gave Adella lead to a small village in Italy. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief as she made her journey. But she underestimated Orm and just how much he hated Arthur. Adella knew that Arthur would be fighting off the kingsguard, but had no idea that they were being led by a human that had been supplied with Atlantean weapons and armor. A human that called himself the Black Manta.