Chapter 4

Diana turned away from her father, not wanting to believe what she had been told. Her cousin couldn't be dead; not Rose. She had too many memories of her older cousin, teaching her and playing with her and just being the older sister she never had. The thought of her dead was too awful to comprehend. "It's not fair," she breathed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's just not fair." Lizzie rose to her feet, forcing her already tired legs to hold her weight. She walked as swiftly as she could towards her daughter, dropping down when she reached her and drawing Diana into her embrace. Desperately grateful for the arms that surrounded her, Diana buried her face in her mother's shoulder and sobbed.

Joshua looked bleary-eyed up at his daughter, her cries shaking him out of his own melancholy. He shifted so that his hand could rest on Diana's back and he slowly rubbed it in circles.

"I'm sorry," Diana breathed, "Dear God, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault," Lizzie said, divining her daughter's thoughts. "There was nothing else you could have done."

"But if I had stayed-" she protested.

"Than you would have done about as much good as I would have," Joshua said cutting her off. "Your mother is right; there is nothing you could have done that you didn't do."

"But-"

"Shhh," both her parents said at once and she contented herself with soaking her mother's shoulder with her tears.

Beneath the depths of the ocean, where the waves had finally begun to calm, a young merman by the name of Anduin was waiting. He hadn't exactly been planning to be there, but following his uncle had seemed a good idea at the time, since no one wanted him around. How was he to have known that such an action would have led him here? Realistically, he knew his uncle didn't want him around either, but he had no plans to let the older man know he was around. King Tritan had left the castle without a word about where he was going and why. Anduin, who was far too curious for his own good, decided to follow the man. He was careful and, luckily enough, no one else was stupid enough to follow the King of the Ocean anywhere. And so it was that he had been floating atop the waves when Tritan called up the storm.

At first, it had been great fun. Anduin knew that he was already twenty one and should no longer be amusing himself by riding dangerous waves, but he enjoyed it far too much and he didn't even need to cause the tempest this time. Then the waters had turned rough even by his standards and he began to wonder just what his uncle was playing at.

Anduin found a calmer spot and rose up to get a decent view of whatever was going on. His eyebrows quirked worriedly as he watched the ship get tossed about all over the waves. This was, among other things, a serious breach of the peace that had reigned for years between humans and merfolk. He knew full well that both races hated one another, but twenty or so years ago King Tritan had negotiated a sort of cease-fire between the ocean dwellers and one of the land dwellers who Anduin was named after. And now the King was breaking his oath and hiding that fact from his kin. Anduin stroked his stubble; this could be very interesting. And then something happened to change the situation from merely interesting to terrifying.

Anduin watched in shock as his uncle, Lord of all the Oceans, King of the Seas, was attacked by magic. He watched the man's eyes go wide and the magical manifestation tremble as the storm began to fade. No one had ever challenged the King before and it was both exhilarating and frightening to watch it happen.

"Who are you that dare flout my will?" shouted Tritan, fighting against the strange power that strove to dispel his own. Anduin couldn't hear the reply from the creature on the ship, though he tried his best to catch a glimpse of the figure. He was proud of the human that pit itself against his illustrious uncle, even though he thought such a person had to have been out of their mind.

His uncle suddenly stopped his desperate retaliations against the strange aggressor and began to laugh. That was, as far as Anduin was concerned, even more worrying. "I know you from somewhere," said the King, his mouth twisted in a dangerous grin. "There are two other presences within you and I recognize them. I don't like bowing to the will of humans, but the children of an old friend are an exception." He smiled in a way that bared his teeth. "I will see you again. Now go!" And Tritan immediately removed his enormous presence from the sky and stopped his own magical interference with the weather. The King dove back down, pleased with himself for both the trouble he caused and the interesting information that his allies children were alive. He never noticed the nephew that had followed him to the surface and was watching with wide eyes as the young girl who had challenged him fell from the deck of the vertical ship and into the water.

Anduin stared, seeing the young woman that seemed to fall so slowly into the sea. She hit the waves and immediately slipped below them, no longer visible from the top. It took Anduin about ten seconds to decide that all the rules about not going anywhere near humans and allowing fate to take its course could all go to She'ol. He dove down after her, hoping desperately that he would not get caught because flouting authority was one thing, but being punished for it was quite another.

Anduis slipped under the waves after the disappearing human girl, his eyes roving around as they tried to trace her path through the water. He saw the flutter of her skirts and swam as fast as he could after her. He had been told that humans could not breath in water and though he thought that was a stupid way to create someone, he hadn't been asked and was willing just to help her back to the surface. Anduin didn't like trying to analyze his own motives, he just went with the flow and tried to cause as must trouble as he possibly could without actually being rebuked for it.

She sunk lower and Anduin forced himself forward faster, wondering what exactly she was wearing that dragged her down like that.

He finally caught up to her and, afraid to let her sink further, grabbed the girl ignobly by her long, brown tresses. There was no response from her, but Anduin didn't bother about that now, he wrapped one arm around the slim waist and swam with all his might towards the surface.

His head broke the waves and hers soon followed. Utterly sick of fighting gravity to keep her up, Anduin took a sharp stone knife from around his waist and slit the dress, letting it fall down into the depths and not giving it a second glance.

She still wasn't breathing and Anduin glared at her. "Come on," he said, shaking her as they drifted atop the calm waves. "I didn't risk my neck just to have you die on me now! Come on!" He shook her again and her back accidentally smacked against a piece of driftwood.

"Sorry," he said, wincing. But, a moment later, he had no reason to regret his actions, for she began to cough up copious amounts of sea water. Anduin made a face and removed himself so that he was holding her up from behind and would not receive regurgitated sea water in his face.

Anduin dragged her off in whichever direction he figured land would be. She spent a few more minutes coughing up a river's worth of water before slipping back into unconscious lack of movement, but she was still breathing, so Anduin was satisfied with a job well done.

He slung her over his back and let her head rest against his own. Taking a deep breath, he set out on the long swim to shore. It was a grueling experience, both because Anduin was not used to carrying such heavy loads with him and also because he could not help but look back every so often to make sure his charge was still alive.

The sun was low in the blood red sky by the time Anduin reached his destination. Grimacing, for it was going to take ages to get all the sand out of his scales, he heaved himself up onto the shore and laid the girl down so that the waves barely washed up to her waist. And then Anduin received the shock of his life.

She was gorgeous, absolutely the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her long, dark hair curled fetchingly around her face and her skin was pale without being pasty. Her face was smooth and flawless and Anduin gulped, wondering why fate was cruel enough to dump such a beautiful creature at his doorstep, so to speak, and then steal her away again. His eyes traveled lower, just in case her chest had stopped rising and falling. He hadn't meant to stare any longer than that, or so he told himself. She was wearing her shift and Anduin's eyes widened as he wondered just what was under all those layers of clothing. He had been under the impression that, from groin up, humans and merfolk were the same. So why did the humans hide under so many layers? And, more importantly, did he have the gall to find out?

Deciding that it was far too dangerous, since he didn't really want to have her awaken and he wasn't as unprincipled and amoral as he pretended to be, Anduin backed away and rearranged his fins beneath him so that he could sit next to her. Without even thinking about it, he reached out to brush a strand of hair off her face. She sighed in her sleep and Anduin decided, in that one moment, that he was in love with her. She was too perfect, too beautiful. And anyone who dared defy his uncle for the sake of the humans on the ship must also possess a good heart and a wonderful personality. She was brave, she was strong.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself, shaking his head and accidentally spraying her with the droplets of water that were on the ends of his reddish brown hair. "She's human, half dead and she's twenty thousand leagues out of reach. Besides, she'll probably scream if she saw me here." But Anduin knew it was fruitless. From now on, any girl he met would be held up to this paragon he had just found and he was sure they would all be found wanting.

He sighed and pushed his hair out of his hazel eyes. Of all the things he had every considered happening to him, falling in love at first sight hadn't been one of them. But this was different; he told himself. He didn't love her for her looks…well, not just. "I am such an idiot," he growled, still unable to take his eyes off her. He groaned and flopped down on the sand, his hands behind his head. Anduin began to hum softly as he tried to puzzle through the emotional mess he had found himself in. He found himself putting words to the song, though he was making it up as he went along. It was one of his few talents, apart from looking good and avoiding anything that required too much effort.

What could he do about this trouble he landed in? he wondered as his voice danced effortlessly through the twilight. And how could he get out of it?

All of a sudden, he had a far more pressing concern, for the young woman next to him was stirring and her eyes were fluttering open. Anduin took one last frightened look at her, was nearly lost in those magnificent blue eyes and dove into the sea.

Rose was left lying on the shore, breathing heavily and wondering what in heaven's name had just happened to her.

Diana, exhausted from both the magic and tragedy that she had so recently participated in, had fallen asleep on the floor with her head pillowed in her mother's lap. Lizzie watched her daughter sadly, stroking the long, auburn hair.

"You know," she said softly to her husband, "There were better ways for you to have told her about what happened when she let go."

"I hadn't been thinking clearly at the time," he answered, rubbing his temples.

"I'd noticed," Lizzie said dryly. "Don't do it again, it's not the most effective learning technique."

"I know," Joshua sighed, sitting next to his wife and resting his chin atop her shoulder. "I know."

Neither one of them kept track of time as they sat there on the floor, lost in their own thoughts and mourning in their own way. But when Diana awoke, they were thrown out of their silent recollections by wonderful news.

The young girl opened her eyes and winced. She had shifted in her sleep and something that had been in her mother's lap had managed to imprint itself on the side of her face. Grimacing, Diana picked it up and then shrieked. Lizzie's heart jumped in her chest and Joshua's head whirled around quickly.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep the worry in his voice to a minimum. Diana held the ring up triumphantly.

"Look at it," she said as her mother breathed an enormous sigh of relief and her father practically started laughing with happiness. "It's flashing! She's alive!"

T.B.C.

A/N – Well, finally, a happy ending to a chapter. It took me long enough, I know. And I'm sorry this took longer than I had anticipated. The calendar and my throat have been conspiring against me, so I apologize for that. I hope you all like my latest addition to the available males here. (ie – Joshua's now taken, so someone else needs to be there). If anyone doesn't get the name Anduin, I will be very upset. I think he'll be Andy for short. And I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the way this worked out, so any criticism or approbation would be sincerely appreciated. Oh, and She'ol is an ancient Hebrew word for the depths of the sea. I always liked it.

So, onto the thank yous, since you were all as wonderful as always.

Kate – Aww, thanks. I try to write realistically, but it is hard to do when one is dealing with fantasy and I'm so glad that you think I did a good job. And I agree with the hurrah for big words. My personal favorite is Kakistocracy (a government run by the worst person possible), it just sounds good. But it doesn't really come up in conversation all that often.

Soofija – Thank you and my imagination thanks you as well, though it has no clue where it gets its ideas from either. And yeah, Diana's not too happy to get blamed either. Perhaps it'll scar her for life or something…

Anarea Rose – Yeah, don't you just hate cliffhangers (grins)? Well, I didn't this time around, so the wait for the next chapter shouldn't be as traumatizing.

So, have fun and I'll be posting more soon (I hope). Especially if this current bout of strep tortures me.

Levana (Damian)