*Warning descriptions of torture (whipping) and an f-bomb or two*
When Arthur's body met the water Arthur could feel something being ripped from him and his legs beginning tingle awkwardly. But these feelings were put on hold when the old panic from drowning returned and he felt the start of the panic attack.
Breathe. Breathe. She pretty much said you can breathe underwater, now breathe.
He struggled for a moment but eventually overcame his reflex to shut his mouth and took a deep breath of water. There was a strange sensation as the water passed from his mouth, down his throat, and through slits that were definitely not there before. Immediately his heart calmed and took another breath in. He opened his eyes (that were not stinging by the way) and looked into the water that were so much more clear.
Wait, panic seized him for a moment, much like a punch to the gut, what…what was the price? He quickly ran his hands over his face and arms, eyes frantically scanning his body. Nothing was missing.
He looked down to his lower half to see that what the sea witch had kept her promise. A long emerald-green tail extended from his torso, scales gleaming from the sunlight. Tentatively he tried moving it-no-his tail-and succeeded in making it jerk. The feeling was indescribable, much like moving a hand except more…flexible. Arthur tried it again and this time it was less of a jerk and little more of a slither.
Arthur repeated the movement until he had more control of his tail and tried to swim deeper. The effect was much like a toddler trying to walk for the first time and Arthur again cursed himself for not learning to swim beforehand. He twisted around awkwardly as he searched for Alfred's friend whom the sea witch had spoken of. Please don't be Ivan, please don't be Ivan, he repeated in his head, please be Matthew, even Francis, just not Ivan. But there were no sirens or fish, only an empty expanse and the barnacle caked bottom of Phantom's Bane.
Strange. Arthur contemplated calling out when he heard it, an ominous wail unlike anything he had ever heard. He clumsily swam under the barnacle encrusted in the direction of the sound. There it was: a growing black shadow. Arthur squinted his eyes to make it out and the black mass only became unbelievably bigger and lightening from black to a dark blue. He couldn't believe it, there was a fucking whale swimming right for him.
Good God, he thought, trying to move his tail so that he could swim away, the whale was coming straight at him unbelievably fast. But he couldn't get very far as unaccustomed to his lower half as he was and he could only anxiously glance behind him as the gigantic animal surged closer. The whale flew under the ship, only meters away. Arthur closed his eyes and put up his hands to shield himself from impact then-
Nothing.
Arthur felt a rush of water to the right of him but felt no collision Cautiously, he lowered his arms and turned. The whale was there, slowing down and turning to face him with another sad moan. Could it be…the whale was the so called friend? The whale slowly drifted over to Arthur and he tried not to instinctively move, intimidated by the sheer size of the thing. The mammal slid past him, an unspoken request to grab on. Warily, the man-now merman-grabbed onto the whale's flipper, almost fumbling from the smooth skin.
The whale gave a sort of happy sound and started to swim, much faster that Arthur could have ever tried to swim. He gripped the whale's flipper more tightly and realeased a hesitant breath (could he call it that underwater?). The situation almost overwhelmed him. How could this be happening, the great Arthur Kirkland swimming with a whale to an underwater city? Honestly, how could Alfred befriend a whale? The thought of it brought a smile to Arthur's face. Only him…
The waters were unusually dark in the throne room. There was a heavy, almost mournful air that morphed the beautiful hall into a grand mausoleum, thick with cursed souls. The happy scene depicted on mosaic covering the floor now seemed sick and twisted and the joyful faces took on a darker meaning. And to complete the picture, or the reason for the sorrow, were the two deep shadows hanging over the faces of the sole occupants of the room.
La di da di da di da~
La di da~
La di da~
Again and again the melody repeated. It echoed with a false happiness that made the song all the more haunting. On and on-
La di da~ la di d-
"Stop," The command rung out strong and deep,.
There were a few moments of silence.
Then the humming started, the same tune and tone. A growl went out throughout the room, turning into a rumble that shook the foundations. "Are you set on annoying me, boy?"
"No, Dad. I would never dream of it," responded an emotionless voice.
There was a low, deadly hum when a large object slammed right above the blonde's head, sounding across the room. Alfred did not as much as blink, staring ahead with an emotionless expression. The King gave a huff and pulled back his spear, an object over twenty feet long and glistening black obsidian. He wielded it like it was a mere toy, a strength that matched his impressive height.
"Now that I think about it, it is about time to get your punishment for today." The King gave the floor two sharp raps. Alfred's face gave away a pained frown at the sound that quickly disappeared. The doors opened to admit three mermen, one which held a long black, leather whip.
Alfred didn't struggle as invisible chains threw him from his seat to the middle of the room, facing the throne. So he can see my face, thought Alfred grimly, the sadist. Two of the mermen restrained his arms if he struggled.
He took in a deep breath, feeling his father's magic healing the wounds from yesterday. A small mercy. Yet, somehow Alfred wasn't thankful; it was just to make sure he wouldn't die. The first of fifty would come soon and Alfred breathed out so he would not have any air to scream with.
He wasn't disappointed. The familiar searing pain and burn of salt was slapped onto his back. Red dissipated into the surrounding waters, swirling into artistic curls. He took in an unsteady breath and lifted his head to stare into the King's black eyes. Let him see what a big man he is, whipping his own child.
The King stared right back at Alfred, just as stubborn. No doubt he had more to say but he didn't speak while anyone was being tortured. He always waited for them to finish, Alfred guessed it was because that was when his victim was at his weakest. Or maybe he just didn't want to speak over the screaming and the snaps of the rope.
Another lash, thirty five if Alfred counted correctly. The pain didn't subside and his stomach twisted with nausea. Funny how the whole body decided to rebel when just one area was in pain. He repressed the urge to vomit, instead counting each mind-numbing lash.
Alfred's thoughts eventually wandered from the monotonous counting to bright green eyes, messy hair, and rare soft smiles upon even softer lips. He was not dreaming, as much as unconsciousness was appealing, but more like a mix of daydreaming and remembrance. But even the happiness of dreams and memories darkened with sad faces and tears and screams of "Let me go!" Pain, as bad as the current whipping, returned. A masochistic thought went through him for a moment. He deservedpunishment for making Arthur cry and beg. What was he thinking? He didn't deserve love. He deserved ten times what he had done to Arthur.
An eon later the pain ends at fifty exactly. The King waved dismissively and the two mermen released Alfred's wrists and swam out of the room, followed by the merman with the whip.
A low voice spoke up, "You know why you are being punished, Alfred," it was not a question.
Alfred willed himself not to croak, "Yes."
"Tell me why."
Alfred rolled his shoulders, setting off a bolt of pain. Instead of grimacing however, Alfred was all smiles, "I'm being punished…Heh, I'm being punished because I loved a human. I cared deeply for a male human instead of a mermaid. I was a damned idiot because I chose to love someone with all my heart instead of fucking around with all the mermaids I could get my hands on."
The invisible chains around his hands were suddenly apart harshly. His arms felt like they would be pulled out of their sockets, his chest tightened and his wounds were stretched even further open. Even so he ignored the pain and smiled up at his father, "I'm sorry, Daddy, for not following your example."
Hard obsidian smacked into Alfred's head and his thoughts were thrown into disarray. A large hand grasped his chin and forced Alfred to look into the King's face, "I will be having none of that from you. What I have done is nothingcompared to the debauchery you have committed. Humans, Alfred? You might as well mate a fish than love one of those ugly little things. They are food, nothing more. And to top it off you had to fall in love with a male one," the King gave a face of disgust, "You do not deserve the title of merman anymore, much less Prince."
Alfred glowered at him, "He's more than any fish or merman, including you."
The King gave him a violent shake, "That human should be dead! I swear the next time I feel so much as one of his damned toes in the water I will squeeze the air from his lungs and replace it with ice."
"You promised! No harm comes to him!"
"Do you know who I am, boy? I am the Ruler of the Seas and nothing will stop me from drowning that human, not you or that promise if you do not shut your damn mouth!"
Alfred's blue eyes glared burningly back at his father but his mouth remained shut, "Good. Now sit down." The merman did not swim to his seat next to the king, doing more along the lines of letting him get dragged to the chair by his chains.
As his father grilled him on what it meant to be a ruler and how he would be one after his punishment was over, Alfred's thoughts drifted back to that dream-state, back to a certain captain.
Green eyes, chess sets, blonde hair, warm kiss, blushing cheeks, brokenness, curiosity, torn shirts.
Over and over.
Silly words, dead fish, golden coins, fire eyes, green shell, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur…
Arthur could tell the city was looming by the sudden shine in the waters ahead.
Hope rose in his chest; he had been hanging onto the whale for well over a day with no food or water (though he was never truly thirsty) and was beginning to think that the city was on the other side of the ocean. The whale was sure acting excited, well, as much as a whale could look excited. As the captain looked over the mammal he slowly began to see what was so "Great" about the Great City. This must be what Atlantis looks like, he thought, his eyes widening. Even from this distance the city glistened with the same luminescence of the insides of shells and pearls. One building in particular stood out from all the rest, dome-shaped and looking like it was made of the biggest pearl in existence. Most likely the palace, Arthur thought, where Alfred will be.
It became apparent, the closer Arthur came to the city, the more merfolk the whale passed. If not for the situation he might have been more mesmerized by the rainbow-like assortment of fish-tailed people. They were beautiful, some even singing but no tail could really compare to a certain blue hued one, or voice have the same alluring affect. Arthur quickly mentally slapped himself for the comparison.
The merfolk generally ignored the sight of an unfamiliar merman riding a whale. A few stared, some children even followed them for a while but all eventually turned back to their lives, not feeling any kind of threat or entertainment. The whale swam over the city, seeing as how there was not enough room in the streets for such a large creature. The dome-shaped palace came closer and closer and while the strange buildings sprawled out below Arthur, his eyes were only focused on the structure in front of him. His grip on the whale's skin strengthened and he fought to keep his breaths and heart from becoming too excited. Just a little further…
The merfolk were starting to notice something was up.
"-Prince Alfred's whale?"
"Who is-?"
"-isn't allowed-,"
Arthur could only hear snatches of what they were saying until one voice rose above strong and clear, "STOP!" Arthur turned his head to see a merman in silver armor, with an aura of authority and irritation. Arthur cursed, he couldn't stop now! The whale seemed to feel conflicted with both of the mermen, one urging him to stop the other silently urging him on. Confused, the mammal slowed down but did not stop.
The merman swam forward, "What are you doing here so close to the palace, commoner?"
Arthur opened his mouth to answer when he was interrupted by another voice, "Arthur? Is that you?"
The two turned to see a blonde-haired and violet-tailed merman, "Prince Matthew!" the guard bowed quickly, "I was just arresting this commoner for trespassing."
Matthew shook his head, "No, he's okay; I know him. Please, return to your duties."
Flustered, the guard saluted then swam away. Matthew then faced Arthur, "How? Wait…the sea witch. Damn, then there's no time to talk, follow me."
Arthur wasn't even able to speak a word before Matthew grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the palace, "Stay, Whaley!" the usually quiet merman called back. Must be like this when he's distressed, Arthur mused. He really couldn't get a word out with how fast Matthew was swimming. Arthur had a hard time just trying to keep up with his mediocre swimming skills.
"Alfred's practically being held hostage. You can't see it but there are magical binds around him, keeping him restrained."
Arthur nodded, too occupied to answer. The doors to the palace swung open for the two and they dove in. A vast array of treasures and wonders lay around him but Arthur had no time for sightseeing. "Almost…there," Matthew muttered through grit teeth.
Arthur bit his tongue. Adrenaline was coursing through him. Why exactly was he here again? "There!" Matthew pointed to two gigantic doors, "Now we can't go in yet, we'll have to-Wait! Arthur!"
Normally the captain wasn't the run-in-without-thinking-kind of man (merman now) but today he made an exception. He burst through the doors, swimming into the room regardless of its occupancy.
He was greeted by the sight of a long hall with a high, rounded ceiling. At the back of the hall was a massive throne filled with a giant. Arthur might have thought it was a trick of the water if not for the smaller throne beside it. The moment he spotted the figure sitting there Arthur's eyes saw nothing else. An emotionless (though now slightly surprised) face looked back at him from across the room, so achingly familiar but so wrong at the same time. Arthur could see even from there red lines extending from his back.
Arthur swam the fasted he had ever swum in his life. He could only think of yelling one word-
ALFRED!
No sound came out.
AN: Oh you guys are gonna hate me until I update aren't ya? XD I will try to get the next one in before Friday but there's no guarantee seeing as school is starting tomorrow. In other bad news, only one more chapter after this.
And the friend was Whaley! People who guessed it on ONE try were LadyOfTheBlackWater, Commodore Crumet and animime Congrats! I'm so sorry if I didn't put your username if you got it, I just had so much stuff to sort through.
No one got the price for being a Siren haha. I guess no one thought I'd go the cliché way and have Eliza take his voice.
OMG thank you ALL for the reviews. I can't BELIEVE how many people responded to the last chapter. COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! I think I responded to y'alls reviews but if I missed you just know that you are an awesome person and I am a pathetic creature that doesn't do the smart thing and start with the first review and goes to the last one. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I know I say it all the time but it does help (: It also helps that I have some incredibly awesome reviewers (who am I kidding you are all awesome). And if you don't review it's okay you're just like me, too busy or it's too hard cause you're reading off your smartphone.