Hey guys! So good news and bad news. Good news, this is a pretty long chapter and a lot goes down! Bad news which is a little bit bigger. Sorry to say that I'm back in college. It was my first week of classes and it was so busy! I have a feeling it'll take me a bit longer to write and publish these chapters. But definitely keep a look out! I promise it's not over yet, not even close! Just hang on with me for a little longer, please? I promise this has a plot and I am no way ready to let this just fade away. Hang tough with me! Until next time, keep swimming and I'll talk to you soon! Remember, review!

"You're kicking too hard." Obi lectured, just in time for Zen to send himself spinning again.

The Prince of Clarines groaned. "This is impossible!"

"It's not. You're overthinking it." Obi explained patiently. "Stop thinking so hard. And don't use your arms like that."

Zen dropped his arms and tail and let himself sink down to the sandy bottom of the ocean floor. He sat there despondently, his blue tail kicking up clouds of sand. The different colors all glittered under the yellow puff. Zen looked up at Shirayuki desperately. "If you can't use your arms to steer, how do you turn?"

Shirayuki rolled her eyes and showed her tail's flexibility, bringing her fin up next to her chest. "You're swimming like you have a dolphin's tail. You can bend it in more ways than just up and down."

Zen looked thoughtful. He pushed himself up from his sitting position and pulled his tail under him. He managed to copy her, then let it drop back below him. He turned on his side and began spinning in circles slowly.

"This is painful to watch." Shirayuki told Obi.

Obi shrugged. "He's getting it." The Sharkman looked up at the surface, at least a hundred feet above them. Shirayuki watched, as his eyes seemed to scan something up there. It was a wild rush of bubbles and waves from all Shirayuki could see. The occasional rumble of thunder made it all the way to the ocean floor. Suddenly Obi kicked off the ground and swam up a bit.

Zen stopped himself successfully without the use of his hands and looked up at Obi. "What are you doing?"

Obi looked down at them. He ducked down and swam over to them again. "I need to go find something. Shirayuki, you have to take Zen back to your home for the night at least."

Both the Prince and the mermaid stared at the Sharkman. "Um, no?" Shirayuki said. "No, Obi – you didn't say anything about having to babysit him."

"I don't need a babysitter." Zen argued.

"You can't even swim right!" Shirayuki snapped back.

"I didn't ask for this!"

"Neither did I!"

"You should have just let me go home when you first saved me!"

"I shouldn't have saved you at all!"

"Enough!" Obi interrupted angrily, rubbing his temples. "Listen, I know it isn't ideal. But the Sea tells me that she has something that could reverse this." Obi gestured towards Zen's tail. "But if I'm right to where it is, I need to make a path. I'll be gone for a day at least, a week at most. Can you survive until then, please?"

Shirayuki and Zen glanced at each other.

Zen huffed and folded his muscular arms. "I don't have much choice."

Obi looked at Shirayuki.

Shirayuki wished that she could argue, but eventually she sighed and nodded. "Fine. He can stay with me. Just hurry Obi, please."

Obi nodded. He looked to the left. "Do you need help getting home?"

"No, thank you." Shirayuki shook her head.

Obi clasped his hand on Zen's shoulder. "I know this is really hard for you, But please, bear with us." With that, Obi launched himself into the sea. His tail powered him silently but swiftly into the murk, until he was nothing more than a speck of movement Shirayuki could sense more than she could see.

Zen looked to Shirayuki. "How far of a swim is it?"

"Well…" Shirayuki lifted her hand and close her eyes. She felt the currents flowing through her fingertips. As always, the contained power was staggering, but she could easily find which one would take them home the fastest. Unfortunately, it would take them by the castle.

"What did you just do?" Zen asked, staring at her hand.

"Just felt for the right current. It'll help us get home, as it's less work to get there this way." Shirayuki grabbed Zen's hand. "This way." She pulled him away from the sandy bottom of the sea and up into mid water.

Zen kicked his tail and trailed after her, letting her lead him. She looked back and met his blue eyes. They seemed to glow in the deep water. "It's about a two minute swim to the right current." She realized she was still holding his hand, and a blush rose to her cheeks. She ripped her hand away and tried to tone down her blush. "Can you keep up?" Shirayuki challenged and kicked her tail harder, powering through the water. Her hair streamed back over her shoulders and she sighed out her gills. It felt amazing to be healthy again.

Suddenly, a shock of white hair appeared right next to her. Zen blinked at her, his one eyebrow higher than the other, a smirk draped over his lips. His hair brushed down over his forehead, as his tail powerfully kicked through the water.

Shirayuki found herself staring at his lips and scowled. She put on another burst of speed, determined to leave the human in the bubbles.

But no, he pulled up beside her again. He grinned. "You asked if I could keep up!" He called out to her. The water rushed past her ears and made it harder to hear.

She rolled her eyes. "You're not a mer, you can't keep up!" Shirayuki yelled back. She spread her fin all the way out, nearly stretching it. She batted the water and darted forward like a minnow. She slipped around a large stone and underneath a coral archway, startling a few fish folk that shouted curses at her but scattered out of her way. She giggled at one lobster's wording and bent backwards and around, enjoying the feel of the salt pressing against her skin, how free she was.

She had almost forgotten about Zen until he pulled up beside her. She had slowed considerably to float on her back for a bit. It made her smile to see how he floated forward a little bit, his back arching into the air as he nearly threw himself upside down. He was out of breath, his gills flaring open and shut. "A-A crab told me to eat a barnacle. A crab."

Shirayuki had to laugh he looked so alarmed. "That's all? Normally they use worse words than that." Then it occurred to her and she flipped back onto her front. Zen, meanwhile, was completely upside down. He seemed content enough to float like that, so she got into his face. "Wait. We're still speaking English. How did you understand a crab?"

Zen shrugged, which was weird to see at a 90 degree angle. "It sounded a little warbled, but something like this?"

Shirayuki was astounded. She backed up a foot at least. Then she narrowed her eyes. In Mermish, she spoke. "Do you know what I'm saying right now?"

Zen blinked at her for a minute, then nodded. "This feels different. How am I doing this?"

Shirayuki pointed to her unmoving lips as she spoke again. "Mermish comes from the gills."

"Mermish?" Then Zen reached up and covered his mouth. "Can you still hear me?"

Shirayuki nodded.

"Oh my god this is insane." Zen spoke English so rapidly and fast Shirayuki had to stop and think about what exactly he had said.

Shirayuki sighed. "I don't get how you can speak it. I taught English to myself, and it took years."

Zen gave a breathless laugh and lifted his hands. "Do I get to keep this skill when I'm human again?"

"How in the Sea should I know that?" Shirayuki scoffed. She shoved his shoulder and sent him spinning slightly. "And right yourself, you look dumb."

"I feel dumb, so it's fine." Zen said, but he righted his position. "Are we close to the current yet?"

"We've still got a little ways to go."

"Hmm." Zen swam forward a few tail strokes.

"Hey, where are you going? Zen!" Irritated, she swam after him briskly and grabbed his arm. "Stop, the castle is that way."

"That's why there's those guards there?"

"Guards?" Shirayuki blinked, then looked forward. The water was dark, but she did faintly see dim lights bobbing up and down in the unmistakebale method of a mer. "English. Now." She ordered.

"Okay, why?" Zen asked, then yelped as Shirayuki grabbed his hand and ripped him back to the coral reef they had mildly disturbed. For the millionth time in her life, she hated her shockingly bright red hair. She gathered it all up in her hand and held it as she pushed Zen to lie flat in a crevasse between two coral rocks.

He jerked up from under her with a yelp. Shirayuki looked down just in time to see an Eel's eyes glaring at Zen. Shirayuki pulled Zen out of the way just in time for the Eel to lunge. She began to panic as she backed away. This wasn't working, they needed to hide.

Zen pulled his hand away from her and shot her a look. "Why do we need to hide in the first place?" He demanded, though he kept his voice at a low whisper.

"Because the King and Queen are evil?" She tried.

"They are?!"

"Well, I mean, in my eyes." Shirayuki spotted the small coral arch she had dove under and swam for it. Zen followed. She settled herself across the side of the arch, bending her tail to fit. Zen copied her, although he had a bit more trouble with his tail at first. "Listen, when Obi went to get you and I was in the Bed of Light, I remember the King and Queen come in. They wanted me gone, and had to be ordered by Obi to leave me alone."

"Um, okay?" Zen frowned at her look. "Don't give me that. I'm not siding with them or anything! I just don't know anything about them. Were we on the royal property when we used that Bed thing?"

"Yes!" Shirayuki hissed. She poked her head out nervously. The lights were getting closer. "They hold all this power they've created only out of money and fear. Is that not enough to convince you? I thought you were all noble or whatever." Shirayuki checked again.

Zen opened and closed his mouth. Then he managed; "Don't get so cross with me. I'm just trying to understand everything. And again, why we have to hide."

"Because! The King and Queen aren't merciful about finding random mers near the castle. We have to be 'invited', as if it isn't a free ocean!" The endlessly curious part of Shirayuki wondered if she'd heard that one word he said right – cross. She thought that was a religious symbol, but she didn't have the time to sit and worry about it. She understood him well enough.

"But you aren't random. You have a reason for being here – Obi said you could use the Bed of Light."

"Technically, the Sea said that, but doesn't matter! Actually, if anything it makes it worse. The King and Queen didn't want me in there, they won't be happy to see me again. And Obi isn't here to protect me."

"I can protect you."

The statement startled and enraged Shirayuki. She turned and met his eyes. He blushed and looked away.

"…Sorry."

"They'll be just as willing to capture you as me, human. So don't get too cocky. Plus, I don't need you to protect me. I don't need protection. All I need is Obi to be close by so that both of us have granted passage anywhere." Shirayuki muttered, worried she'd be overheard if she got too angry.

Zen ran his fingers through his hair, which was hypnotizing in a weird way. "I'm just trying to make friends."

"We're not friends." Shirayuki shot back.

Zen looked wounded. "Then peace, at least. This is hard enough for me as it is, I don't need someone constantly berating me for literally breathing wrong every two seconds."

"I'm not constantly beletting you!" Shirayuki argued back.

"What? I said berating. Ber-ate-ing." Zen sounded the word out.

"I don't know what that means."

"Like talking down too."

Shirayuki was about to say she wasn't doing that ether, but suddenly she felt a hard hand clap her over the mouth. She let out a muffled scream of shock and looked at Zen, who also had a gloved hand over his mouth. His eyes met hers, wide with surprise for a second, before they hardened faster than the lava she had once seen pour into the sea.

Zen grabbed the man's wrist and flicked his tail out, sending him flying upside down. The man yelled and gurgled something as two others lunged for Zen's tail, trying to wrap it in coils of rope. Zen moved like a sea lion and managed to twist out of the way and free himself from the man holding his mouth.

This is insulting. Shiryauki thought. She wasn't exactly helpless ether.

"Who are you and why are you on royal grounds?" The guard holding her grumbled.

Shirayuki reached down into her purse and felt for her pearls. She managed to open the small clam she kept them in and let one pour randomly into her hand. Swiftly, she lifted it and crushed it in her closed fist, showing it to the guard.

The guard, recognizing the puff of dust that slipped from between her fingers, jumped backwards.

Shirayuki hoped she hadn't just crushed her yellow pearls, but spun out of the way and tossed the pearl dust at the guard. He dropped his lantern, which was just a clear jar full of small little glowing plankton. Shirayuki grabbed the light and pulled it away from the guard, trying to unscrew the lid as the guard coughed and rapidly backed up. Lucky for Shirayuki, she had managed to crush a red pearl. She normally used that to keep away starving sharks who would try to use her as their last chance for survival. It was nothing toxic or harmful, but it smelled replusive and immediately instilled whomever or whatever she used it on with fear of her.

Sure enough, the guard turned tail and swam into the darkness.

Shirayuki looked back to hear the sounds of a struggle. The guards had managed to tie the end of Zen's tail in three coils of rope. Zen kicked and thrashed but was ultimately being dragged down by the guards. "Zen!" Shirayuki cried.

An idea came to her. She swam forward to just underneath Zen, where they had tried to hide before. Carefully finding the small hold with her eyes, she turned around and ripped open the jar. The little blue plankton floated out, casting a blue light across the small mini reef. Shirayuki then twisted and slammed her tail into the side of the rock as hard as she could. She did it once more, and on her third try felt a zing of pain. She moved away quickly, just in time for the Moray Eel Zen had disturbed earlier on emerge in a hissing fury.

The guards, so busy with Zen, didn't notice at first.

Then they noticed as the Moray lunged through the bright plankton and sank it's jaws into the tail of a guard. The guard shrieked and Shirayuki felt a little bad. But he let go of Zen and the distraction was enough to make the other two let go of the ropes. Zen curled his fin in a tight spiral and pulled himself forward out of the ropes.

"Let's go!" Shirayuki shouted.

Zen nodded and darted after her as they raced towards the current. Shirayuki tried to block out the hiss of the Moray Eel and the shouts of the guards. "That was smart." Zen said as they swam, out of breath and a little bruised, it seemed.

Shirayuki shook her head. "It was selfish. I can't believe I sacrificed that poor Eel for you."

Zen gawked at her. "Wow, thanks so much."

"I'm just saying it's unfair!" She put on a burst of speed. "That was it's home. I disturbed it and used it as a distraction. Now it's going to be killed and it's my fault."

She swam angrily ahead, until she could just feel the start of the current that would take her home. She glanced back, but she only saw Zen swimming to her. Shirayuki felt tears well in her eyes, then got angry at herself for being so compassionate. She held herself and looked away as Zen floated down next to her. He was breathing heavily, and she noticed there was a lag in the way he moved his tail.

He caught the way she looked at him and gave her a small smile. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have let myself get caught like that. I'm just not used to fighting with this. Thank you."

Shirayuki met his eyes. For a moment, she felt a little better. Then she looked down at his tail and her mind clicked into the herbalist she was. She dipped down and gently studied the base of Zen's tail. Right before his fin started, where the ropes had held him. She thought she saw some red rash on his glittering scales. She straightened again with a sigh. "You should heal that before we go on. It's a long journey home."

Zen bent his tail up to look. "It's just a brush burn, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you're a mer now. The sea is your best chance of healing." Shirayuki grabbed Zen's hand and pulled him up. "Come to the surface."

"What?" Zen broke into a small smile and joked. "Are you trying to send me home again?"

"Wouldn't that be nice." Shirayuki breathed. "You're going to let the salt hiss over your tail. It'll heal within a minute."

Zen looked ahead of her to the raging surface slowly getting closer. "Um, that might drown me."

"You can't drown anymore. Relax your body and let the Sea decide."

"You trust her-it-um, the Sea that much?" Zen said nervously. He moved with her slowly, but kept his tail going nonetheless.

"Yes. She takes care of us. She heals us. Relax your tail, but don't let it be moved. Keep it relaxed but still, no matter what the waves will try to do to you. It's just a test, and they won't actually hurt you." You can't drown anymore. Something held Shirayuki back from answering that. "Oh, and I wouldn't breathe any air yet. You aren't used to the transition. Just hold your gills closed."

"Um, alright." Zen took a dew steady breaths, then he suddenly flared his fins out and stopped them both.

Shirayuki's hair was starting to be picked and pulled by the waves just above them. The water hissed slightly, while Above Surface no doubt it roared like thunder. "Don't be nervous."

"Um, the last memory I have of the waves was full of painful salt in my lungs and a lot of near drowning. Sorry I'm a little afraid."

Shirayuki shook her head. "You're a mer now, you belong to the Sea."

Zen's face tightened, and Shirayuki realized that was probably the wrong thing to say.

"Hold!" Someone shouted.

Shirayuki looked down just in time to see blue lights flicker and dance all around them. The lights were long tendrils of extremely bright flashes, so harsh on the eyes when she blinked she could see them still. When the lights flashes, Shirayuki could see the reflective flash of mers' eyes. Shirayuki swallowed nervously.

"What's that?" Zen asked.

"We're through." Shirayuki let herself sink. "They've brought out the Jellyfish Lines."

"What are those? Jellyfish tentacles?" Zen gasped.

"Exactly. Just because they've been taken from their fish, they still can sting hard enough to kill." Shirayuki tried to keep her voice from trembling. She sank down next to Zen, reluctantly letting her hair drop from the hold of the waves. "Zen, we have to go with them. Don't fight back."

"Come with us and we won't be forced to use this." A guard hissed.

Shirayuki put her hands up. "We won't. We'll come easy."

"Hand over your purse." A guard swam up to them. He held only two seaweed wraps, ready to stick to their wrists and hold their arms together. Shirayuki was not looking forward to that. She looked at Zen as she slowly removed her purse strap from around her and handed it to the guard. The guard put it around himself, then held out the gooey wraps. Shirayuki sighed, but put her hands forward. He slipped the goo over her wrists, and immediately it began to spread. All the way to her elbows, the gunk stuck and clipped her arms together. It was immensely uncomfortable, and itched like no tomorrow.

"Your turn." The guard said to Zen. He paused. Shirayuki looked over to him and jumped.

Zen held his wrists out, but his eyes were a mask of threatening. They reminded Shirayuki of the deepest chasm in the sea. Unknown and dangerous, with currents threatening to spin or drag tails into the deepest cracks in the sea. The guard was obviously unnerved. But he cuffed Zen. Zen twitched uncomfortably. "What is this stuff?" He asked Shirayuki.

"Seaweed mixed with small pearl magic. It'll grow if you struggle more, so be careful." Shirayuki whispered.

Zen froze. Then he grunted as the guard grabbed his wrist and pulled him into his face. "Who are you? What are you speaking?"

Zen's entire body relaxed. He kept his gaze level. "My name is Zin. I come from far away waters, visiting my cousin. I didn't know about the royal limit rule."

The guard scowled. "Give your excuses later in questioning."

Zen lifted his head in defiance, but kept his lips shut.

"Let's take them back down, boys!" The guard called. He grabbed Zen and Shirayuki by the wrists and they were pulled downwards roughly. Zen and Shirayuki kicked their tails and followed. Lines of blue tendrils slowly closed around them in a circle as they descended back down into the depths, and into the clutches of the King.