Hello! I feel like I should be hiding at this point-it's been a while since I posted anything on this! No, I wasn't focusing all my efforts on my new fanfiction Lectum (shamelessly advertising), but I did have that good old writer's block. Fun, right? But I'm back on track, so don't worry! More updates to come! Anyway, enjoy!

Athena

Athena had been swimming for what felt like a day or more, but she was almost completely unaware of it. Emptiness consumed her entire being, making her gasp for breath. Her eyelashes didn't stop fluttering, as the tears kept coming. She imagined she could see them, leading her away from her home. And Atlantica was her home. It was where she went with her parents as a young girl to deliver some materials her father had found while hunting. For the materials, that is. Her parents had traveled far and wide looking for precious stones and minerals, and almost always presented them to the king and queen of Atlantica. This time Athena was invited along as well. She was doing twirls she had been so excited, but then again, she was only ten. There were no lines, as no other merpeople were there. The guards had led them to the throne room, and Athena had entered behind her parents, eyes wide in awe of her surroundings. She had been turning around to see everything when she bumped into her parents' kneeling (or however close they could get) forms and doing several impressive somersaults ending with her sliding on the floor until she bumped into the raised dais with all the thrones on it. Athena recalled she had kept her eyes shut for nearly a minute-a record for the young mergirl-when she peeked out through one slitted eye. The king had an eyebrow raised, and the queen pressed her lips together in an effort to hide the growing smile. But what caught Athena's eye was the two merkids. The boy looked to be a few years older than her, but the girl looked to be her age. Athena had attempted to straighten herself and back away while kneeling, but only succeeded in further humiliating herself. She pressed her eyes closed as she tried to keep the tears formed from humiliation and clumsiness at bay when someone cleared their throat in front of her. Embarrassed, she looked up, and the boy who had been on the throne on the dais was right in front of her, offering a hand up. Gratefully, she took it, thanking him and apologizing. A booming laugh, a musical chuckle, and a giggle were heard as all on the dais laughed. The young man beside her bowed before taking her hand and kissing it. "I am Prince Triton."

"I know," Athena breathed back. "Father, if I may, can I invite this family to stay for dinner tonight?"

"Of course my son. And young lady over there, do not be embarrassed at all."

"Oh thank you sire," Athena's father butted in. "This is Athena, my daughter." Upon hearing this, Triton looked over and nodded at the man. Introductions were made, and the night was spent filled with laughter. At the end of the night, Triton had convinced Athena and his sister the Princess Ursula to sing with him. It was a lovely sound, the intricate harmonies pulled off with ease. From that day on, Athena was seen at the palace frequently to visit both Triton and Ursula. Ursula! Maybe she knew what had happened to Triton... She cared about him very much before the... Incident... When she had renounced her whole family, everyone could see that all members of said family were crushed, but she was too far gone to care... Shaking away dark memories, Athena went to investigate Ursula's cave...

The Duke

These... Merpeople were swimming around frantically. It took days, but they had agreed to give him a more reliable source of air than a single bubble. He had been given gills-yes, gills-but was not done the 'dignity of transforming into a merman,' or so they said. But the Duke had a plan. He remembered stories, from long long ago when he was a different man. These stories could still be true, and he could find a place to hide. He was being kept in some sort of barred cage, quite barbaric. However, if he reached out through the bars, he was electrocuted. He supposed on an actual merperson the electricity would do something to their tail, though he wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that though painful, he could still push his way out of the bars. He needed to be very small, but the Duke was a small man, spindly and long. He had only needed the merpeople to be distracted. And now they were. Attempting to ignore the pain, he reached an arm through the bars and sighed in relief at the cool water beyond it. He kept sliding through, wincing as his heart was hit with the electric sensation. But seeing as there was no actual sparks, the Duke reckoned he would be fine. It only hurt as he was sliding through the bars. And he was almost out when he felt the tug. He looked at the cage, and seeing nothing, tugged back at the hand that still remained in the cage. Then he pulled. Then he heaved. It took precious minutes, but he had found enough force by bracing himself off of the iron (or so he presumed) bars that previously trapped him and pulling. Looking around, still the only merpeople there were the ones talking in the corners. "Too easy," he thought, and swam to the window-blocked by bars- and slipped through. Then he started heading due east, to a cave he had heard about from someone he remembered with sorrow.

WHAAAAT? Am I trying to make you feel sympathetic to the Duke all of a sudden? Maybe... Maybe not... All will be revealed...