The Last Night Under the Seven Seas

(Quidam POV)

I curled up on the floor, my arms in chains and aching. It was bitterly cold here. I heard voices yelling just outside the door, but I could not bear to hear the words.

How had I gotten here?

Only a few weeks ago I had been a lowly town doctor. I had tried my best to be a good father to my three children. I had tried to deserve to be married to a beautiful woman. Amphitrite. My beautiful Amphitrite.

But this started so long before then! I had been a Prince, a King for a while! What had I done wrong to ruin it all? King Poseidon, lord of the entire ocean. And my beautiful Queen Amphitrite had ruled beside me, as our three children were born. Ruled a kingdom so wonderful, only to have it snatched away. With the slash of swords and beatings of drums, my beautiful wife, Prince, Carmen, barely hatched Triton, and I were captured. For twenty days and twenty nights, we were taken to the seventh sea, the blood waters, as it was called. Escaped moments from death… perhaps a moment too late for me.

I had sworn to protect my family. And protect them I had! I had taken my family through the ancient underground system to another ocean, far from the war, closer to the humans. We had changed our names, created a new life and history. I had thought they would be safe there. But the war just grew until it got to close. So I went to war. I had to keep it from my family. I had to protect them. If only I hadn't been so focused on protecting them, I would have protected me. Then I wouldn't be here in the first place. I listened to every little prayer my Triton, my most beloved child, sent me, beseeching me to protect me. If only he knew his father was Poseidon. Then he'd know I could do so little to protect myself, even with all the magic that flowed through my veins. Especially here.

But where was I?

I still wasn't sure. One moment I had been in battle, the next chained in an icy cell. I could only pray I was just a prisoner of war. No one knew my secret magical heritage. I sighed, as the bickering outside became louder.

"It has been to long already! It needs to be now!" the man insisted.

"Keep your voice down," the older man snapped. What could they possibly mean? I sighed, picturing Amphitrite, now Meredith, and my three beautiful children. Had those little triplets been born yet? Suddenly, the door swung open. I blinked in the blinking light from my dark freezing prison.

"Good morning, Poseidon," the older voice said as cold as the water around me. I feigned confusion, same as I always did after someone commented on how much I looked like the late King.

"W-w-what are you t-talking about?" I stuttered, shivering.

"Oh, Poseidon. Did you think removing your silly accessories would change who you are?" the voice snorted. I blinked as the light dimmed, and I saw who was there. The younger merman I did not recognize, but the older merman's face had haunted me for years.

Lord Kai.

"Please… no…" I pleaded, paralysed with fear. How had he found me? How could he possibly have tracked me down, brought me here? How could he have known? I was caught in the most horrific nightmare imaginable, one that I couldn't wake myself up from no matter what I tried.

"Pity pleading won't do you anything," he taunted, his black eye flashing with glee, "Tell me, what did you do to the Trident?"

"Nothing, it is exactly as it always was," I lied.

"Lies!" he screamed, striking my face, "Where is your family?"

"Dead!" I lied again, crying out with pain as he struck me again.

"They're not dead! Where are you hiding them?" he demanded. I shook my head, turning away from him.

"Where are they, you scum of royal blood?" the old merman picked me up and shook me hard, his face inches from my own.

"Dead!" I screamed in his face. He threw me across the room like a ragdoll, slamming into the icy wall.

It took so very little to destroy what remained of my life. I felt the magic fade from my veins, taking me with it, as I drifted up and away. I looked down at my broken body, blood filling up the water. The older merman approached me, shaking me. I laughed as my heart ached with the pain of my losses. So much pain… and I could not stop laughing. Was this what it was to be driven mad? For now, I knew I had lost all sanity, just as I had lost my life there in my icy prison, taunted and tortured to death.

"What do I say, master?" the younger merman whimpered. He was as frightened as I had been, but somehow I was unbothered by it all. Nothing much bothered me now, not life, not death, not joy, not fear. Nothing could hurt me, nothing could heal me.

"Say he was strangled by the ocean," Kai spat, throwing my lifeless body down to the floor and stalking off out of the room. Then, I was gone, into the waves. I looked over my shoulder, to see a fair-haired, violet-tailed mermaid drifting beside me. I could feel somewhere deep in my spirit that she was mine. My own daughter, who had left her family too. She had not known them as I had, but she had still loved them, as her little unborn self. And I would teach her of them. I took the little baby in my arms, and cradled her.

"Attina," I whispered. She looked up at me, soft grey eyes curious. She had never hatched. I knew it. She was too small, did not speak or swim, and the little upturned crescent moon was deeper than I had ever seen it on a born baby. She hummed a little lullaby for me in her sweet voice. I drifted aimlessly for a while, staring at my little daughter, whose destiny was to accompany me in my after-life, not noticing where I was until I heard her.

"Hush-a-bye, hush-a-bye

Sea winds whisper a lullaby

Hush-a-bye, hush-a-bye

Sea winds whisper a lullaby."

Meredith. My Amphitrite. For I was now Poseidon, in my truest natural form. A rich translucent blue not just my shimmering tail, but from head to tail. I was a God, born as a merman, raised to be a King, but freed from mortal form and returned to my natural state. And this was, and always would be, my own little family, the greatest good that I had put into the ocean in my short life. I placed Attina in the bassinet with her sleeping sisters, and sat on shell that I had once shared with Ami, in my brief second life. She tucked in our three little children so patiently, as they kissed her goodnight.

"Mama, I feel funny," Triton murmured.

"Me too," Carmen agreed softly.

"Me three," Prince agreed.

"I know, darlings. It is just one of those nights," she assured them. Little did she know it was because of me. My magic seeped from me and charged the water with my presence. She lay down unknowingly next to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she turned to face me.

"Oh, Poseidon, how much I miss you," she whispered, "Come home soon. We need you."

My heart ached for her. If only she knew, I was there! But I would never be there the way they needed me to be. I would never be fully whole again.

I softly sang to her, "You're in my arms,

And all the world is calm,

The music is playing on for only two.

So close together,

And when I'm with you,

So close to feeling alive.

A life goes by,

Romantic dreams will stop,

So I bid mine goodbye and never knew.

So close was waiting, waiting here with you,

And now forever I know,

All that I wanted to hold you,

So close!

So close to reaching that famous happy ending,

Almost believing this was not pretend,

And now you're beside me,

And look how far we've come!

So far, we are so close!

How could I face the faceless days,

If I should lose you now?

We're so close,

To reaching that famous happy ending,

And almost believing this was not pretend,

Let's go on dreaming for we know we are,

So close, so close,

And still so far."

I kissed her forehead and wrapped my arms around her. Attina called for me, and I rose to pick her up, and cradle her to my chest, two un-beating hearts pressed together in silence.

Poseidon? The ocean whispered around me, hissing into my ear.

"Yes?" I replied, closing my eyes.

It's time. You must leave them now.

"I can't leave them…" I murmured, my heart aching.

You have to leave them. It is time to serve your destiny.

"Will I ever see them again?"

Someday.

Someday… when they were dead, that was. And I could only hope that their lives would be much longer than mine.

"And my daughter will come with me?" I asked.

Of course.

"Then I will go," I agreed. Cradling Attina close to my heart, I looked around my room at the sleeping little family. How could I say goodbye to my whole life?

Two little girls, who would never know me.

"Goodbye, little ones," I whispered, "goodbye, my daughters. I loved you, even before I knew you. And I love you now. And you will never know how much it pained me to never know you. But all in good time you will know. Someday, you will know me."

Then there was my eldest, curled up in a restless sleep, his brow furrowed in his dreams.

"Prince… my heir, Crown Prince Oceanus! Oh my boy, if only I had left something for you to inherit but pain. If only I could have left you some good, some peace, something that cannot be marred by war or destroyed by revolutionaries," I whispered, and kissed his forehead firmly, "If wishes were seahorses, then beggars would ride… but there will still be something for you. Some big, uncontainable destiny, I know it. You'll be alright. Not for a while… but you will be alright."

And then, his sister, stuffed toy in her arms, eyelids flickering in her sleep.

"Carmen, my little girl," I brushed a blonde curl from her forehead, "My little angel, my precious little girl. So very bright, and eager, and reckless… don't try to grow up too fast, my girl. Don't come to me too soon. Baby, you stay here for as long as you possibly can."

Then, there was the little one, fast asleep with his head full of dreams.

"Little Triton," I murmured, "my dear sweet Prince Neptune. Oh, what does the future hold for you? How I would love to be with you for it all, to help you through. Oh, little one, how I wish I could hold you one last time!"

"Daddy," he mumbled in his sleep, rolling onto his back with a sigh.

I paused and bit my lip, "that's right, baby boy. Daddy's here. Everything's alright. Daddy will watch over you. I love you, my son."

All that was left was to say goodbye to my wife. But how could I say goodbye to someone who meant the whole ocean to me, someone who I would have died a million deaths to be with for one more moment.

"Goodbye, Ami," I could barely hold back my tears, "goodbye, my love. Thank you so much for everything. All you have suffered for me, all the suffering that is still to come… I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much if I weren't already dead, leaving you would kill me. Darling, don't forget me. Don't stop loving me. For all my faults, all my mistakes, all my stupidity. I could not bear to exist without you. And Attina… I'll take care of her for you. I don't know how I'll manage it; you were always the best at that sort of thing. But I'll manage it. I'll do it for you. I'd do anything for you. The only thing I couldn't do for you was come home. And I'll regret that for all of eternity."

With one final mournful glance I left to the eighth sea where our destiny would begin.

AN: Quidam sings So Close by John McLaughlin and once again, Meredith sings Lullaby of the Sea by David Lundie.

Anyways, just wanted to tell you about my new Disney forum, the Disney Library that you can find here: forum/The-Disney-Library/145401/ . You should check it out. Or whatever. You know, do what you want.