Chapter 3: Why Am I A Fish Person?

A/N- prompt used: [AU] Mermaid
Word Count- 536

"I have to return to the sea," he told me. He raised a pale arm to fiddle with a blonde strand of my hair that had come free of its braid.

"But I need you. I need you, Draco." My voice sounded whiny even to my own ears, but I didn't care. This was the the worst possible outcome that I could have imagined.

"You don't need me. You don't need anyone, my love." He stroked a cold hand down my cheek until it was cupping the right side of my face. He held my face in his hand like I was the precious thing in the world.

"Oh Draco, why must you go? I can't bear that you're leaving."

"I will do everything in my power to return to you, my beautiful Astoria. When I am king, I will change things in Atlantis. I promise you this one last thing: you will survive without me until then."

"I will wait for you until the end of my days if that's what it takes."

My prince bowed his head. "I know you will," he whispered into the quiet night. There was no one else around for miles, but I knew those four words were meant for me and me alone.

"Please, take this with you." I held out my necklace with the pearl incrusted pendant Draco had commented on during our first ever encounter.

"I couldn't—"

"Take it," I urged, thrusting the piece of jewelry into his palm. "And remember me."

He swept me into a deep kiss that went on endlessly.

"I could never forget you," he promised when we broke apart.

And with that, Draco darted into the ocean and never looked back. I watched until his legs that had turned into fins at the touch of the seawater disappeared into the horizon—

"Wait! Why am I a fish person?"

Astoria glanced up from where she had been packing boxes to stare at Draco in confusion. She looked at the notebook in his hands, and then suddenly back at Draco with wide eyes and cheeks as red as fire.

"Where did you— how did you— I don't—"

Draco laughed as he closed the notebook and tossed it onto a pile of her other things. It was on top of the pile labeled "Keep." He would definitely be returning to that notebook later. It was the most adorable thing he'd ever read.

"Draco, no. I was fourteen when I wrote that. Please don't think anything of it—"

"I am honored," he interrupted. Draco grinned at his fiancee from across her childhood bedroom. He tilted his head playfully to catch Tori's gaze with his own. "Truly."

"Oh." Astoria blushed even brighter still, but returned to her packing with a smile on her face.

"I'm just not sure why I turned into a weird fish man."

"YOU WERE A MERMAID!"

Draco laughed as Tori crawled across the carpet, growling and tackling him to ground.

Draco grinned up at her. He snagged a lock of her blond hair that had escaped her braid and pushed it behind her ear. Then he cupped her cheek.

"Whatever you say, love."