A pair of riders found them, washed up on some unknown beach in late morning. Nanashi and Catherine had both been awake for some time, having passed out from utter exhaustion after reaching the shore. The two they had saved were still unconscious, though breathing steadily, and the siblings decided to let them be while they conferred about what to do. They had been pretty sure they were in Ryuusei, but it was hard to tell, despite the shoreline seeming familiar.
The riders confirmed as much, telling Nanashi that they had been sent by Princess Mariemaia on Prince Heero's behalf.
"He's alive? Prince Heero's alive?" Nanashi demanded.
"Yes," the man said. He hesitated, then added a belated "sir," clearly doubting whether the last applied but erring on the side of caution.
Nanashi felt a wave of tension leave him in a rush, muscles held tight suddenly relaxing. He hadn't been able to find the prince after he was thrown overboard, and had been certain his best friend had drowned.
"Good... that's good," was all he could say, a little shell-shocked.
"Where is Prince Heero?" Cathy asked, stepping up beside him.
"He's at the palace. We're to escort any survivors there," the man said, then turned to the other rider.
"Ride back to the castle and send for a coach. These people are in no condition to travel on foot. Make haste."
"Yes, sir," the other replied, then galloped off, spurring the horse with his heels.
It was several hours later when they arrived at the castle. Heero was awaiting them in the stableyard, despite obvious exhaustion.
"Nanashi," he greeted, shoulders slumping with relief when the carriage door opened. "You're alive."
"Yes," Nanashi replied, supporting Raul out of the carriage. The sailor had injured his leg before Catherine had fished him out of the wreckage. Cathy followed them out.
Henley, the royal guard Nanashi had saved, stepped down next, looking at the siblings askance and making a point to put some space between them and himself.
"Raul, let's get you to the infirmary," Heero said, eyeing the sailor's injury. He gestured to a servant who was standing in attendance. The servant bowed, then moved to take Raul's weight and led the sailor away.
"Does anyone else need a healer?" Heero asked.
"No, sir," Henley responded.
"I'm fine Heero," Cathy said. Trowa simply shook his head.
"Good. Catherine and Henley, you'll both be staying in the same wing as Nanashi and I."
The guardsman looked like he was about to object.
"There's no need for you to stay in the barracks, Henley. With so few survivors..." Heero trailed off, then shook himself.
"I want you close to me. Your room will adjoin Nanashi's. It has two beds, so Raul will join you when he's able."
"Ah, as you wish, sir," the man replied, eyes darting nervously toward Nanashi.
Heero narrowed his eyes, then gave Nanashi a pointed look. They would be discussing the guard later.
"Catherine, Henley, this maid will show you to your quarters," Heero said, gesturing again. The maid in question curtsied, murmuring "Yes, m'lord," and lead the two away.
"Nanashi, follow me," Heero ordered.
They were best friends, but Heero was still his Prince.
Nanashi followed without a word.
"Tell me what's going on," Heero told him, eyeing him searchingly. "Why is Henley suddenly scared of you? How did you all end up on the same beach while I washed up miles away?"
They were in the foyer of Heero's stateroom. The servants had been dismissed, with orders not to disturb them.
Nanashi took a deep breath. He'd kept this secret for so long... but it was time.
"Cathy and I... there's much you don't know about us. You've never pried, and for that I thank you. But now that we're here..."
Nanashi looked down.
"We're from Ryuusei. We were born in a small fishing village, south of here. Not far from where we washed up, actually. Our mother raised us. Our father, well..."
Nanashi looked up again, gazing at Heero intently.
"He wasn't human."
Heero blinked.
"What was he, then?" he asked.
"Mer," Nanashi replied, simply.
Heero's forehead creased, skeptical.
"Merfolk don't exist," he said automatically. "They're the stuff of legends, folktales," he insisted.
Nanashi shook his head.
"No, they're not."
He waited a moment, gathering his courage, then closed his eyes and changed.
Heero's jaw dropped.
Gills had opened up along the sides of Nanashi's neck, lined with a dusting of green scales. His pupils became vertical slits.
He held up his hand, spreading his fingers to reveal green-tinged webbing.
"Cathy and I are half mer. It's how we survived, why we were able to save Raul and Henley," he said.
He closed his eyes once more and changed again. There was no trace of his otherworldly features. Heero was silent, shocked.
"What I don't understand," Nanashi continued, "is how you survived. You were knocked unconscious when you were thrown overboard. There's no way you could have survived, unless..."
Nanashi hesitated.
"Unless?" Heero prompted, leaning forward.
"Unless someone saved you. Someone who wasn't human."
Hilde was cleaning the paintings in the north wing of the Museum of the Shore when Duo found her. She'd just finished and was taking a break to appreciate her favorite. In it, a woman with long brown hair gazed thoughtfully into a candle flame while holding a skull in her lap. Hilde had never seen real fire, since her missions usually took her to other undersea realms and she'd only visited the surface a handful of times.
"Hey, Hilde!" Duo called as he swam down the hallway. "Staring at your favorite painting again?"
"It's your favorite too," Hilde retorted. "At least, you always make a point to visit it when you deign to stop by my museum."
"Your museum? This museum belongs to the public!"
"Yeah, yeah," the mermaid replied "I'm the one who curates it though, so I say that makes it mine."
"Fair enough," Duo conceded with a grin.
"I've got a few favors to ask," he continued. Hilde raised an eyebrow in response.
"Again? Let me guess. You need me to look after Pagan while you swim off on another mission, right? That crab should really belong to me, given that I'm the one always taking care of it."
"Umm, yeah," Duo said sheepishly. "That's the first one, anyway. The second one, well… Treize is sending me on a rather unusual mission. When Quatre and I were last spying on Prince Heero, his ship sank and I ended up rescuing him. I sang to him to erase his memories, but you know how I've hardly ever used my Siren's Song… His Excellency is worried that the prince might remember me, and it's imperative that I find out whether he does.
"Treize wants me to visit Dorothy and have her turn me into a human so I can get close to him… and I'll need to be sure my singing works this time if he does remember seeing me."
"You want me to help you with your Siren's Song," Hilde said, wondering just how much time this was going to cost her.
"Exactly. You're the best Singer in the kingdom – and my best friend. I know it's a lot to ask, but this mission is important. If Prince Heero discovers that we exist…"
"I know, I know," Hilde responded, exasperated. "Of course I'll do it. But do you know if it will even work while you're human?"
Duo blinked.
"I didn't even think of that," he said, uncertainly. "But I have to try, don't I? If Wingaria discovers the truth… Bad enough that all of Ryuusei knows. But Dekim wouldn't dare let Prince Heero or the Regent of Sanq find out, Treize made sure of that."
"Regardless, we can't allow Prince Heero to know. We're only just recovering after what happened last time."
Hilde looked down. She wasn't old enough to remember the war, but she'd learned about it growing up. And her parents had survived. Duo hadn't been so lucky.
"You're right. How long do you have?" she asked.
"I leave tomorrow," Duo replied.
"Tomorrow!" Hilde exclaimed. "But that's not enough time!"
"It'll have to be. This has to be done as soon as possible. If the prince knows, we can't afford for him to tell anyone else. Luckily only a few others survived the shipwreck. If he tells his companion, I should be able to take care of him too, but beyond that it'll be impossible to contain."
"Alright Duo, we have to start now, and you probably won't be sleeping tonight."
"You're the boss," Duo said, saluting as he followed his friend out of the museum. Hilde just rolled her eyes.
"Sir, I don't think this is a good idea," Zechs said, standing at attention in the Regent's audience chamber. Senator Darlian sat on a rather ornate wooden chair at the head of the chamber. It wasn't a throne – those had been removed when the King and Queen of Sanq had perished during the war.
"I am aware of your thoughts on the matter," Darlian replied.
"However, I cannot continue to act as Regent indefinitely. The war is well over and the danger is long past. It's time she knew the truth – time that the whole kingdom knows the truth."
"At least… please tell me you don't plan to reveal my secret as well," Zechs said tersely, careful to keep any sense of pleading from his tone. For this, he would even stoop to such theatrics if he thought they would work, but Darlian knew him better than that.
"No, Zechs, on that we agree. If Dekim were to discover that you're still alive… There's no need to antagonize him. But Relena should know. Surely you must see that?"
"No, I don't," Zechs said emphatically, making strong eye contact before he continued. He had to make Darlian see that he was right.
"Relena is an honest, open-hearted girl. How can you expect you to deal with the news that she's not only the long lost princess, but the man who's served as the captain of the royal guard these past five years is actually her brother, the missing prince? The fact that she's heir to the throne will be more than enough for her to digest in one sitting. How can you then tell her my secret, and in the next breath forbid her to tell anyone else? It's not in her to lie – she's not a devious person. Don't add that burden on top of everything else."
"I see your point," the Regent conceded, clearly unhappy about it. "As you wish then. She won't be told."
"Thank you, sir."
Zechs executed a curt bow, then swept out of the audience chamber.
"Zechs."
He drew up short just outside the chamber. Of course Lucrezia had known he was talking to Darlian. Somehow, she always knew when anything important was happening.
"Noin," he replied, raising an eyebrow in question. She wouldn't see it behind the mask, but she always seemed to pick up on what was hidden behind it anyway.
"Did he agree?"
"Not here," Zechs said, looking from side to side.
"Follow me."
Lu fell into step behind him and shadowed him back to the guard barracks. He gestured her into the outer chamber of his Captain's Quarters – his office, as it were – and she preceded him without a word. He closed the door and locked it behind them.
"So?" Lu prompted when Zechs remained quiet. "Is he going to tell her?"
"Not everything," Zechs said, dropping into the sturdy chair behind his desk.
"Define 'not everything.'"
Zechs sighed, dropping his face into his hands and absently rubbing at the white leather of his mask.
"Everything except who I am and that the lost prince is alive. She'll only know that she was raised as the Regent's daughter to protect her from Dekim's assassins –"
"They never did find out for sure who sent those assassins," Lu corrected him.
"Dekim was the only one who stood to gain," Zechs snapped, waving his hand in irritation.
Lu's silence was a rebuke in itself.
"I'm sorry," Zechs said with a sigh. "I understand what he's doing, but thank goodness I talked some sense into him about my secrets. She'll have enough on her plate without me thrown into the mix, especially since she'd have to keep that part a secret herself. Darlian agrees it would be a mistake to make my existence public. The girl's never been able to keep a secret her whole life. She's just too… trusting."
"Girl?" Lu questioned. "She's almost eighteen, old enough to take the throne, to get married.
Zechs didn't reply immediately. Instead, he carefully unbuckled the straps from around his head that held his mask in place and set it on his desk.
"I know," he whispered. Lu moved around the desk to put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"But she'll always be your little sister," she said. "I understand. But you must understand that she's not a child anymore. Yes, she's trusting and yes, she's naïve, but she's strong-willed too, and not afraid to stand up for what's right. She's used to being in the spotlight as the Regent's daughter – this will just intensify that public scrutiny. She'll be fine."
"And Ryuusei? Do you really think Dekim won't retaliate in any way?" Zechs pressed.
"We can't know for sure, but it would be unwise for him to do so. He's trying to marry his granddaughter to the Prince of Wingaria, our staunch ally. Our nations have always been more closely aligned than Ryuusei and Wingaria have been. Any move against us and Dekim threatens that potential union, which he has made very clear that he wants."
"You're right, of course," Zechs said with a sigh.
"I know you're worried, Zechs, but we'll be here to protect her. It's what we do."
Zechs reached up and took hold of the hand she'd rested on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Noin. Thank you."
