It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission.

For Duo, these were fairly routine. This one, however, had sparked his interest. He hadn't been assigned to spy on the prince of Wingaria for ages - usually his missions took him to the Sanq Kingdom, or occasionally Ryuusei. It had been years since he'd seen the prince in person.

His orders were fairly straightforward. He and Quatre were to listen and observe, collecting any and all information about the prince, his companions, the ship's crew, any bodyguards or such that the prince had, and especially, what his intentions were toward Ryuusei and the ruling Barton family.

Under no circumstances were they to be seen. His Excellency had been quite emphatic on that point. Unlike the Bartons, the rulers of the kingdoms of Wingaria and Sanq didn't know that merfolk were anything more than just folk tales. It was vital they keep it that way.

All was going according to plan until the storm blew in, suddenly and without warning. It became difficult - and dangerous - to stay close to the ship as the waves rose higher and higher, slamming against the sides with deadly force.

Then came the lightning strike. Duo had been separated from Quatre and forced to make a snap decision. It was a risk, but when Prince Heero was slammed against the rail, knocked unconscious and thrown overboard, he just reacted. He couldn't very well let the target of his mission drown, could he?

He dove deep to swim under the ship to where he'd seen the man fall. Spotting him, he swam faster, then grabbed him around the waist and hauled his dead weight toward the surface. When they broke above the waves, there had been no time to check if the man was breathing - the ship loomed dangerously close, and Duo had to dive once more to avoid the burning main mast as it crashed down above them.

Resurfacing a safe distance from the ship, Duo checked for a pulse. This was no easy task, as the waves were tossing them wildly about. Finally he felt one, weak but steady. Heero's head lolled to the side, and Duo pulled him up higher to keep his nose and mouth above the water.

It was a long and exhausting swim to shore - possibly the most difficult swim of Duo's life. When he finally hauled the prince onto the shore, he was panting from the exertion and struggling to catch his breath, sprawled in the sand alongside the prince. When at last his breathing evened out, he looked over at the human beside him.

The man's dark brown hair was wild, tangled with seaweed and sand. A huge lump was rising at the hairline along the right side of his face. Duo pulled the man's eyelids open, checking the pupils. They seemed to be alright, but he wasn't sure how similar human eyes were to those of mer. But the man was breathing, and he had a steady pulse.

Suddenly, the prince twitched, then opened Prussian blue eyes and looked right at Duo.

"Who...?" the man asked, wrinkling his brow, then coughed violently, water spewing from his mouth.

When Heero looked up again, his eyes riveted on Duo's long, indigo tail, then darted up to the webbing on his hands, and up further to his gills.

Duo's heart started pounding, a fast staccato beat. This was exactly what wasn't supposed to happen.

"What are you?" the prince asked, wide-eyed.

The merman responded the only way he could. He began to sing.

Mariemaia was walking along the shore in the early morning when she found him. From a distance, she'd thought it was a pile of driftwood and seaweed, but as she drew nearer, she realized it was a person. Picking up her skirts, she ran toward the figure, kneeling in the sand at it's side.

It was a man, clearly unconscious.

"Careful, Princess! You don't know what he'll do when he wakes!" her escort warned her, arriving in her wake.

She ignored him. A closer look at the man's clothing and the insignia on his chest told her exactly who this was.

"Send for a medic," she ordered.

The escort hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave her alone.

"This is Prince Heero of Wingaria! Let it be on your head if he dies thanks to your dithering," she snapped at the man.

Still he hesitated.

"I order you to get a medic! You'll answer to the king for your disobedience! Now go!"

"Yes, your Highness," the escort choked out, a look of panic in his eyes, then dashed off toward the palace.

Mariemaia checked for a pulse to be sure the prince was still alive. As soon as she touched him, his eyes fluttered open. He blinked up at her, clearly confused.

"Prince Heero. This is not how I was expecting to meet you."

His brow furrowed as his body tensed. She could see that he had no idea who she was, and was bracing himself for she knew not what.

"I am Princess Mariemaia. You are in Ryuusei. It would seem that your ship has been wrecked, but you've made it to shore safely. I've sent for a medic to tend you."

It took him some time to process the information.

"Princess Mariemaia?" he queried, unconvinced.

She sighed.

"Yes, Princess Mariemaia. I found you unconscious on the beach, but we're close to the castle. The medic–"

Said medic chose that moment to arrive, setting his bag down and kneeling at Heero's side, then looked to Mariemaia for direction.

"For goodness sake, get on with it," she fumed, wondering at the man's competence. "He could be seriously injured!"

But as the medic commenced his examination, speaking calmly and clearly and asking the prince permission for each action, she relaxed. The healer was one who attended her grandfather. He was quite skilled, but also accustomed to following orders rather than taking initiative. Given Grandpa Dekim's penchant for punishing anyone who displeased him, it made sense.

"Please, your Highness, allow me to finish–" protested the medic.

"I'm fine," insisted the prince, grimacing as he slowly sat up. He looked around, clearly searching for something.

"Where are the others?" he asked, his voice commanding.

"I'm sorry, Prince Heero. You're the only one here," Mariemaia answered.

The look of grief that overcame his face was profound, even as he worked to suppress it.

Mariemaia grasped for something with which to comfort the man.

"It's possible they washed up elsewhere. I'll send out riders at once to search for other survivors."

The bleak look he gave her showed her how little hope he had that they would find anyone alive.

"I should be able to attend the audience too!"

Wufei pinched the bridge of his nose. It was never easy to reason with his wife. She was beautiful, with her eyes flashing and her tail swishing in temper, but he would never admit as much.

"You're right, but Treize is reluctant enough to provide us information on the surface kingdoms as it is, despite the treaty. You know he will be less forthcoming with you there. I've an obligation to the Empire to learn as much as I can about their actions and you know it! I can't change the fact that Treize dismisses you because of your age!"

Meilan glared at him, knowing he was right.

"I'll tell you everything that I learn when it's done," he placated, making a hasty exit and slamming the door in frustration, knowing the argument would continue as soon as he returned.

He made his way to the royal audience chamber, carefully composing himself. It wouldn't do to let the king see his irritation.

Arriving at the entrance, Wufei was quickly ushered in. This being an audience chamber rather than the throne room, the chair Treize resided upon wasn't quite a throne, but it was close, all elegant curves and gold leaf. The heir apparent of Khushrenada Province, his long braid trailing behind him, floated in front of the king, as did the heir to the Winner Dukedom. Wufei took his place beside them.

"Thank you for joining us, Prince Chang," Treize began. "Duo, your report please."

"Yes, sir. Prince Heero was traveling to Ryuusei to treat with the Barton family, as you know. He was accompanied by his usual companion, Nanashi, and that man's sister, Catherine Bloom, along with a few guards. None of the crew members seemed to be anything more than a regular ship's crew.

"All was going according to plan until the storm. The prince was thrown overboard and the ship was sinking. I determined it would be in our best interests that he survive. I swam him to shore, nearby the Barton's castle."

Wufei barely concealed his surprise. He'd suspected to learn something significant given Duo's clear agitation upon his return, but this was far more serious than he'd imagined.

"Duo, your first priority was not to be seen," Treize responded, displeasure clear to see. "You directly disobeyed my orders. Explain yourself," Treize commanded.

"I understand that, your Excellency," Duo replied. "But Heero was the target of the mission. We can't learn anything from a dead man. He was unconscious during the swim, and when he woke, I sang him back to sleep. He will have no recollection of the incident."

"You've never had cause to use your Siren's Song to enchant a human before," Treize mused. "Here's hoping it was sufficient. Quatre, do you have anything to add?"

"I do," Quatre responded. "Most of the crew drowned, but four survived. It would seem that Nanashi and Catherine are both part mer - once they were in the water, their gills appeared, along with webbing between the feet and fingers. They each saved one of the crew."

"Your Excellency," Wufei interjected. "This is a serious problem. Even if Duo's song worked, what if Nanashi has told Prince Heero about his origins? The two are inseparable. It's vital that we know whether he's aware of out existence."

"You're right, Prince Chang. This will require more than just covert observation. Let's see... Duo, I'm not pleased that you may have revealed yourself to Prince Heero, especially since he may know enough to realize he's being spied on. You need to get closer to him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" the braided merman queried.

"As reluctant as I am to enlist her aid, you'll have to go to the sea witch. You must become human if you are to gain the information that we need."

"Human?" Duo replied, incredulous. "But at what cost? That's an incredibly difficult spell and Dorothy is sure to make us pay dearly."

"At any cost," Treize intoned. "This is too important to quibble over price."

This, Wufei thought, was going to be interesting.