Hello all! Welcome back, and it's good to be back!

No more sob fest, thankfully. I have finally made the long overdue decision to transfer out of Potsdam! Which is great for so many reasons, but it does mean a huge change for me that I am nowhere prepared for - including but not limited to; relearning to live with my bully of a sister, having to rely on my parents again, and having a ery much smaller amount of friends at the ready! Ah yes, a good choice. All joking aside, I don't know if it was the right decision or not. There were a lot of things keeping me at Potsdam and a lot of things making me need to leave Potsdam...ah, it's a lot. I will spare you the details, as honestly it's been too much of a wild ride and I don't think I could even encapsulate all of them in a short little author blurb. For now, wait with me a little longer as I try to readjust to a whole new ride, and please enjoy this chapter!

Fun fact; this chapter is 3,999 words which kinda annoys me but also kinda makes me happy. It's a little bit longer, and I first hated where it was going, but then I think I saved it at the end. Please enjoy! ;) Oh, and remember, review!

When Zen led Thunder through the clearing and into the wood, he froze.

He let her reins go and rushed forward. "Shirayuki!" He cried. His sides ached, his bruises still fresh from being tossed around like a plaything. "Shirayuki!" He grabbed her head from where she had collapsed on the ground next to River, pulling it into his lap. He brushed her hair out of her face and felt for her breath, then her temperature, which was dangerously high.

His eyes turned and he glared at the will-o-whisp, who was just kneeling in front of her with a wide gaze. With his free hand, and grabbed the little man and pulled him close. "What. Did. You. Do."He demanded.

"Nothing!" Said Mitsuhide's voice. "She just fainted."

"Prince, the whisp speaks true." Came the disembodied voice of the Moon from behind him.

Thunder's hoofbeats were gentle, and Zen slowly lost his anger as the exhausted horse reached down to nudge him, then greet River by scuffing his forelock.

"Note how calm River is, your magic knife as well is acting just as normal. A faint from fever does seem likely." The Moon continued to reason.

Zen cursed. He brushed away some of Shirayuki's hair, then swung his arms around her legs and over her shoulders, lifting her from the ground. He wordlessly turned and entered the tent, setting Shirayuki down in the mess of their sleeping bags. He sighed, letting himself slump. He was so exhausted – riding for hours, his first fight on land in forever, good lord. While in the safety of the tent, he lifted his shirt over his head and twisted to inspect his side. He hadn't broken anything, but the bruises were pretty sever – blotches of darkness blending in to the poor lighting.

"What did you do?" Shirayuki's voice came.

Zen spun around, to see his friend was looking at him, eyes bloodshot. He sighed and put his shirt back on. "Scared off the magician who was tailing us."

"You beat a magician?" Shirayuki snorted in disbelief.

"Hey!" He pouted at her. "I could totally take a magician."

"He threw you around like a rag doll, didn't he?" Shirayuki turned away to cough quickly. "It would explain the bruises."

Zen huffed. "Fine. But I still scared him off."

Shirayuki looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Zen nodded. "The magician made a trap at a lakeside, I had the Aigua with me."

Shirayuki smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

Zen took a breath. He unhooked his sword belt and let it fall. His wrist hurt from wielding an unbalanced sword for so long. He also rubbed his face, right over where the axe should have ripped his skull open. He didn't ask about that feat to Shirayuki, not just yet. "The magician – I've seen him before. He's a nobleman – Hisame Lugis. I think…I think he was engaged to my friend at one point, if I'm remembering correctly. I never knew…I mean, how could I have known?" He bit his lip and looked at Shirayuki. "Magic was that close to me, all my life?"

Shirayuki shrugged. "Magic is everywhere. It's in the stars, the wind, the earth – and I mean, well – music Below Surface is also concerned magic by many."

Zen blinked at her. "We have music here too."

"Well, yeah. But you guys don't think of it as magical." Shirayuki sneezed and groaned, turning over to cover her head. "Where's that little whisp?"

Zen rolled his eyes. "Outside, still. I gotta figure out how to send him away."

Shirayuki suddenly sat up. "That's right! Oh, did I already-" She checked her wrist, then frowned. "I gotta-" She stood to leave the tent, but Zen jumped up and practically slapped her in the forehead, holding his hand over her skin.

"Hold it! You're like, dying of a fever. Don't go talking to that lunatic." He pushed her back down, ignoring her groan of protest.

"No, I have to. I…um." Shirayuki closed her lips and refused to look at him suddenly. "Nevermind."

Zen raised his eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Shirayuki looked like she wanted to sit up again, but then she had to turn away to cough. She groaned and flung her arm over her eyes. "I hate this, I can't even cure myself up here."

Zen shrugged. "Well, welcome to the life of a normal human. You'll get better in a few days."

The mermaid frowned. "Why do humans take forever to heal?"

Zen lifted his arm, staring at forearms. He had faint scars all over his arm. Little white dots here, large white gashes here from his first encounter with a Xerturt. He had healed ridiculously quickly, due to Shirayuki's tending, and his gills. "I mean, sometimes humans have been known to do absolutely amazing things, but our bodies will suffer because of it."

Shirayuki blinked at him. "You make no sense."

Zen yawned. "I need to sleep. You should, as well. Do you want any water or anything?" He looked around. "Where's your pin?"

Shirayuki rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I left it tangled in River's mane."

"Why?"

"…Because he looks good with it."

"I doubt that."

"Are you insulting my horse?"

"No, but there's no way anyone looks as good as you with that pin." As soon as the words left his mouth, Zen felt his ears go hot. Mentally, he threw himself into another tree. Before Shirayuki could even react, he spun around and got to his feet. "I'm gonna-um, lock up the camp for the night. Night." He practically flung himself out of the tent and looked around.

The Moon was gone, and the little whisp sat on the edge of the river, feet dangling in the water despondently. Thunder was grazing, tearing the grass out with huge ravenous chunks. He walked over to the horses, patting Thunder on the shoulder. He changed his mind and began to rub her down, brushing her fur off and picking out the grass and burr marks she had received during their long ride.

Thunder continued to graze, but her ears would flick whenever he hit a particularly good spot.

"When I'm back at the castle, I'm having you stated as an official royal horse. All the hay you could ever eat." He promised her.

Thunder did not react to the promise.

Zen looked over to River, and sure enough, Shirayuki's pin sat firmly in his thick mane. He glanced at the whisp, who looked to despondent to torture Zen at the moment. "So, what did you do to Shirayuki?" Zen pried.

The whisp's wing twitched. "I didn't do anything." Kiki's voice snipped.

"Okay. Why are you still here, then?" Zen moved to Thunder's other side, working carefully, his sides still tender.

"You won't like my answer, so I won't tell you." Kiki's voice was as stubborn and dry as he remembered.

Zen stalked up to the whisp. He sat down next to the little man, pulling off his boots and socks. He rolled up his pants and stuck his feet in the water, sighing as the cool current slipped against his skin.

The whisp raised a golden eyebrow. "I was expecting you to kick me in."

Zen laughed. "I'm not that cruel." He sat back on his hands, tempted to strip and let himself soak in the chilly water. But since the sun wasn't out yet, and with Shirayuki still ill – he didn't want to risk the both of them getting sick.

The whisp looked away, hands resting between his knees despondently.

"How'd you get out of the ice ball?"

"Ice melts."

Zen snorted. "Yeah, I just didn't expect that fast."

The whisp lifted his hand and a spark of blue flame erupted. "I control flames, Prince."

"Right, right." Zen shook his head. He ran his hands through his hair. It was ridiculously long – if Izana didn't kill him on sight, he would at least hack off as much of his curls that he could.

The whisp and Zen sat there for a while longer, until the horses both fell asleep and Zen could he couldn't keep his eyes open. "If you're not going anywhere, I'd advise you to watch the floating knife before you try anything." Zen finally said. The knife twirled in almost agreement.

The whisp scoffed.

"Night." Zen stood up, turning away and grabbing the pin from River's mane as he passed. The horse barely stirred. He waved it at the whisp and crawled into the tent just as the dawn's rays began to rise.

Shirayuki cast a guilty look as the whisp; Revo, trailed listlessly behind them.

It had been three days since they had left the clearing, five since she had passed out before giving Revo her blood. They were marching downhill with a slope that was barely big enough for the two horses to stand, but with the Thunder in the lead, they carefully trekked downwards.

Zen had ignored the whisp for the most part, though he didn't seem to trust him not to hurt Shirayuki. Zen wouldn't let Shirayuki give him a turn with the clip, and Shirayuki didn't have the heart to explain that she actually sort of needed to talk to Revo. Especially after how tenderly he would look at her if he adjusted the clip. The Prince's bruises had begun to heal from the fight, so he finally moved a little easier.

Shirayuki coughed into her hand slightly. She had recovered almost completely, left now with just a simple sore throat. She hated human bodies and their respiratory systems, she had decided. As a mer, sore throats wouldn't mean coughing incessantly. It meant needing a rub and the urge to scratch, but that was better than this.

Revo met her eyes, a question in his eyes.

Shirayuki pursed her lips and looked away, looking ahead down the path. The moon's lighting showed dips, holes, and tree roots like sore thumbs, but it was always good to be careful – so Zen said.

The Prince's hair glowed like the pathway. He was looking straight ahead.

Shirayuki wanted to tell Zen that she wanted to give Revo her blood, but she was afraid he wouldn't agree with it. No, actually, she knew he wouldn't agree. Zen was never cruel or rude to the whisp, despite glaring at him occasionally. The Second Prince trusted Revo about as far as he could throw him. Honestly, Shirayuki didn't trust him all that much ether.

But she did know a fae's contract was binding, both ways.

The land evened out and Thunder picked up a trot at Zen's urging. River dutifully picked up the gait as well. Shirayuki bounced with the rhythm. The trot was her least favorite of all the horses' gaits, but it was the most effective way to travel faster while conserving some energy. And while her legs had finally been gaining the muscles needed to work with a horse effectively, it didn't mean it wasn't a bit of a workout.

The dawn sky came later and later, tonight was no exception. Zen started a fire, the glow of the white ground wavering only slightly underneath their feet. Shirayuki was rubbing her inner thighs, having little to no manners around Zen anymore. Zen was much of the same, but at this moment he didn't have his legs spread to the max for optimum massage purposes.

Zen was squatting down near the fire, turning over some wood to really ignite it. The glow warmed his already tan face, and Shirayuki found herself staring at it.

Revo sat on Thunder's withers as she drank heavily from a small creek – Shirayuki thought it had to be from the same river they had stopped at a few days ago. The whisp looked despondent, as was his normal. River meanwhile tore chunks of fresh grass out and chomped hungrily.

They had already set up the tent, and taken advantage of the fell tree as a bench. Birds had begun to chirp around them, singing a song Shirayuki still couldn't find the melody too.

Zen glanced at her, and then did a double take. "Why are you staring at me?"

Shirayuki blinked. "I was daydreaming." She responded, automatically.

Zen snorted in disbelief. He stood. "Well, it's weird having someone stare at me while doing this." He met her eyes with a wide eyed gaze, spread his legs and rubbed his inner thighs in rapid circles.

Shirayuki laughed and averted her gaze. "Okay, I get it. Sorry!"

The tree jumped under her as Zen sat down next to her with a over exaggerated sigh. He nudged her playfully as she closed her legs. Shirayuki had to smile, he was so much happier here than below Surface.

They sat for a while in comfortable silence, Shirayuki trying to ignore the stinging of her thigh muscles and just listening to the world. A few stars still blinked up above them, so much closer to her than before.

"I'm not remotely tired." Zen admitted, somehow not breaking the song of the land.

Shirayuki lifted her knees and rested her head on them, looking at him. "Really? I'm exhausted."

"You're still kinda sick." He remembered. "Did we go too hard today?"

"No, it's that my legs were not given to me with horse back riding muscles already in place and ready to work." Shirayuki groaned.

Zen laughed, and again she had to smile. "Ah, right. Mine weren't given back to me like that ether, but they did adjust quickly." He lifted his legs and stared at them. "Do you think they're my old legs or like…a brand new set?"

Shirayuki snorted and sat up again. "How should I know?"

"Mmm." Zen narrowed his eyes. "I used to have this birthmark, I don't know if it's still there."

Shirayuki blinked. "I mean, I have some moles and stretch marks on mine, which is weird – I mean, I when did I get the time to develop stretch marks? It's not like I grew up with the legs."

"Whoa, really? That is strange. Did you have them before we started riding?"

"Yep."

"So maybe it's like your legs are your tail, just like…humanized."

"You humanize a tail by getting rid of a tail, though."

"But if they're hypotheticals." Zen leaned forward and dropped his hands in the way that meant he was about to rant.

"Let's not wonder about this anymore." Shirayuki cut off with a laugh. "We'll just go in circles for hours."

"We can ask the Moon."

"Sure, tomorrow." Shirayuki stretched her neck.

Zen smirked. Before they fell into silence again, he began to hum softly. He closed his eyes and rocked his head back and forth, twitching his feet to the melody.

"You realize you're a Siren, right? You can just…sing." Shirayuki offered.

He opened his eyes. "I wouldn't wanna hypnotize you."

"That's not how it works." Shirayuki sighed. She shifted away from him so she could better face him. "It depends on the song. I doubt you're singing any of them. And, even if you were, I'm a Siren as well. A Siren cannot hypnotize a Siren."

"Then what is the point? How many mers are Sirens out of like…a hundred?"

Shirayuki rubbed her lips together as she thought. "Hmm. Probably like 5?"

"A good number." Zen decided.

"Okay." Shirayuki slumped. He was having the weirdest conversations today.

"Even if I wanted to sing," Zen continued, leisurely leaning backwards and kicking his feet towards the fire. "I don't remember the words to this song."

"Shame." Shirayuki reached up and pulled on a small bit of hair that had come lose from her ponytail.

Zen hummed a little more. Shirayuki watched him rock his head back and forth, and a random question popped into her head. "Do humans dance?"

Zen stopped mid whistle and looked at her with surprised eyes, his lips still pursued. "You-Um, yes? Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know, it just seems impossible with…" She wiggled her legs.

Zen laughed, and clapped his hands "Fair point. I like dancing with a tail more than legs, but we still have a good few moves." He jumped to his feet. He offered her a hand, and the moment she took it he pulled her to his feet.

Shirayuki laughed as he ducked under her hand with a twirl.

"First, let's not step on the fire." Zen muttered, grabbing her other hand and pulling her carefully around and away from the crackling flames. "Okay, good."

Shirayuki giggled.

"Now, here on land, we have a good few ways to dance with someone." Zen cleared his throat before he spoke, putting on a posh sounding accent. "There's the I don't actually know how to dance but I'm having fun, dance." Zen then pulled one of Shirayuki's arms forward while pushing the other back, twisting his back with the chaotic movements. He twisted his whole body with some of the arm pulls, basically just wiggling.

Shirayuki blinked in confusion. "Ha, alright."

"There's the crazy intense swing dances, which do involve throwing your partner around so do you trust me?" Zen said quickly, dropping one of her hands.

"Oh, probably not."

"Fair, excellent choice." Zen laughed. "There's ballet, but that takes years of training and lord knows I cannot do it." As he talked, he began to sway his hips back and forth lazily. "There's jumping, that's something new." His eyes lit up and then he just started to jump, up and down rapidly. His long hair flopped all around his head. "But this only works if you jump with me."

"How do you jump?" Shirayuki had to laugh at him.

"Bend your knees, and push up!" Zen demonstrated.

Shirayuki grabbed his other hand and tried to do the same, landing weird and sort of stumbling, but Zen pulled her up and flush against him. He slide his arm around her waist and hers instinctively went up to his shoulder.

Maybe Shirayuki couldn't physically jump, but her heart was definitely doing something similar.

"And then," He breathed, a little out of breath from all the jumping. "there's ballroom, which is what I'm best at."

"O-Oh." Shirayuki managed as a garbled response.

"It's kind of what you taught me underwater, but less fun. We just sort of start by swaying." He held her close and bean to rock back and forth on his legs.

Shirayuki could easily follow his movements, but she blinked after a second. "How is this dancing? This is just…rocking."

"Exactly." Zen agreed. "But it gets more advanced. There are different movements that go into the rocking. Like this one." He lifted her hand high above her head and gently pushed on her waist, sending her around. "Good, now come back." He let go of her waist but hen caught it as she returned to his front. "Perfect." He praised. "Just it's usually a lot faster and you're not supposed to walk, you're supposed to spin. Also maybe not step on my toes."

Shirayuki swatted at his chest with an eye roll. "I only had toes as of two weeks ago, so give me a break!"

Zen laughed, but he once again spun her. She rolled with the motions, trying to move quicker. She stumbled and he had to catch her.

So they continued, until the sun had well risen and Shirayuki found herself able to not only keep up with Zen, but lead a little bit as well.

Finally, Zen spun her and dipped her low. Both were breathing heavily, and Shirayuki felt her body finally begin to droop with exhaustion.

"Did I get it?" She asked, her voice strangely low.

Zen was so close, his hair brushed her forehead. He nodded with a swallow. "Nailed it." He affirmed, just as quietly.

Shirayuki's eyes darted to his lips, which were slightly parted with each breath he took.

She didn't miss how his blue eyes did the exact same to hers.

They were leaning in, when both heard Kihal's voice;

"Oh my god, you have a tent for a reason."

Zen dropped Shirayuki in shock – literally.

Shirayuki hit the ground with barely a thump, it was so close. Immediately, her face burned and she rolled to glare at Revo, who was sitting on the log, looking at them despondently. He had his hands out to the fire, which he had turned blue.

"I'm so sorry, Shirayuki." Zen breathed, his hands reaching around to grab her shoulders and lift her to her feet. "I didn't mean to get so startled." He glared daggers at Revo, but his cheeks were red as well.

"It's-It's fine." Shirayuki muttered, clasping her hands to her chest and taking a step away from Zen. "I-um, I'm going to go change." Hurriedly, she rushed towards the tent, her feet hurting slightly from all the dancing.

She thought she had found the one thing she loved about land.

Zen stayed awake a little later two days after teaching Shirayuki how to dance. The mermaid had fallen asleep, and Zen had just finished bathing. His hair, now flattened with the weight of the water, fell into his eyes. He pinched a piece and pulled it forward, looking at it with a small frown. He wondered if he could cut it off with his sword. Or, maybe he could ask the magic dagger currently floating around.

He was leaning against Thunder's side, the horse actually lying down out of boredom. Her head kept drooping and then lifting up again. Thunder was asleep standing just a few feet away, in the shade of a tree. Revo was studying the enchanted knife, which kept flicking its point at him warningly.

The only reason Zen was still awake was because he was pretty sure Mitsuhide and Kiki should be reaching him and Shirayuki by today. That is, if they left by the day the got his letter to them, which he assumed Mitsuhide at the least would have done. Since he couldn't be sure, he figured he might nap out here and see if he heard them coming. If they weren't here by noon, Zen would go lie in the tent.

But sleep wasn't coming to him. For some reason, Zen found himself tense – he couldn't relax. He didn't think anything was going bad, since the Moon had left them in the morning with just a simple "sleep well". If there was something coming, surely she would have told them.

"Revo." Zen called out.

The whisp turned and glanced at him, blinking in surprise.

"Do you sense anything…malicious?"

Revo took a minute to fly down, and land on the grass in front of Zen. "What do you mean?" Said Obi's voice.

Zen shrugged. "I can't seem to relax. Can you sense if anything is coming this way?"

"How would I know?"

"You mentioned something a while ago about being some big prophetic to Shirayuki." Zen offered with a yawn.

"I can see your future, yeah."

"What's in mine? An attack?"

The whisp scoffed. "It's not that easy to just read you. At the very least, I need a fire."

Zen made a face. "I just put out last night's fire."

Revo shrugged.

Zen stood up with a sigh. Thunder watched him walk towards a tree and grab a twig. He turned and tossed it at Revo. "Light that, and find out. I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

The whisp caught the twig and stared at him with a slanted mouth, but Zen didn't wait to hear his answer before walking into he thicket.

He did his business in a safe bush, and as he was zipping his pants back up he heard a rustle.

Zen whirled, hand going to his waist for his sword. He gripped nothing and tensed as a…rabbit jumped out of the bush.

The Prince sighed in relief and relaxed. He turned, and found himself face to face with a gnarly, familiar smile.

"Ahoy, Your Majesty."

Zen felt something hard hit him in the back of his head, and the world faded.