The space of the classroom was filled with quiet chatter as the students waited for the teacher to arrive. Fish darted past the open holes of the area they were using for their lessons and after a few moments, the teacher arrived and students made their way to their assigned seats. All of the seats were filled except for one.
The teacher sighed exasperatedly as she noticed that the prince was nowhere to be seen. She shook her head and opened her mouth to begin explaining the day's lessons, but before she could even get a word out, Nathaniel glided into the room. The other students watched the redhead with surprise evident on their faces as he smiled and happily swam to his seat, humming quietly to himself as he did.
Nathaniel paid absolutely no mind to the stares he was getting and after a few seconds, the teacher got all of their attention back onto her so she could begin the day's lecture about proper etiquette when dining. The next few hours went smoothly and Nathaniel seemed to be lost in his own world, but he usually stayed to himself, so the sight wasn't a new one to his classmates or instructor. But they couldn't help but notice the lightness of his mood and the genuine happiness that he was exuding.
As the time came for the class to be dismissed, the teacher bid everyone a good day and the students began leaving. On the way out, Nathaniel smiled and waved at everyone before leaving, once again humming to himself. Alya watched him go and curiously watched him, her orange tail flickering slightly as she thought over the prince's strange behavior.
"What do you think that's about?"
Alya questioned Nino who's red tail ceased its movement as he stopped next to her. Nino looked up and noticed Nathaniel happily etching something into a thin slab of rock he carried with him almost constantly.
"I don't know."
Nino shrugged with uncertainty as he answered his girlfriend. Alya let out a small hum of thought and lightly held Nino's hand before swimming away. Nathaniel's odd actions also drew the attention of Rose who smiled happily while watching him as a thought hit her as to why the prince would be acting that way.
"I think that he's in love."
The blonde mermaid whispered excitedly while her pink tail swished happily. Her shy girlfriend's purple tail moved nervously.
"Do you really think?"
Juleka mumbled to the smaller mermaid.
Rose immediately nodded with a grin on her face. Luka, who was swimming past the pair, overheard Rose's words and paid close attention to Nathaniel who was still etching from his sitting place on a rock a small distance away. He focused and could easily hear the joyous tune of the redhead's heart. Luka smiled, wondering what, or more specifically who could have made the prince so happy.
While being lost in thought, the blue-tailed merman failed to notice the younger merman behind him who was also watching Nathaniel. Adrien's head tilted slightly as he also found the prince's behavior peculiar. Adrien suddenly remembered that Marinette mentioned that the Queen assigned her to spend time with Nathaniel. He would have to ask her if she knew what was causing Nathaniel's improved mood.
Adrien quickly moved his yellow tail from side to side and followed his friends out of the area. Meanwhile, Nathaniel sat and just etched a small engraving of Marc into the rock sheet resting in front of him. Right after finishing his small image of the human prince, he heard a throat clear and glanced up to see a nervous-looking Marinette.
Nathaniel couldn't help but feel a small hint of his own nervousness rise.
"Can I talk to you?"
Marinette asked him quietly.
The redhead nodded and she gently settled down on the rock next to him. She glanced over and looked at the small picture of Marc. She frowned slightly and Nathaniel noticed.
"I'm...thinking of going to see him tonight."
Nathaniel spoke quietly and kept his gaze down, not meeting Marinette's eyes. The mermaid's eyebrows raised in surprise for a few seconds before scrunching together as concern filled her eyes.
"Nathaniel, I don't think that's a good idea. It's dangerous for us to get close to the surface and the shore especially."
Nathaniel glanced up at her with a slightly desperate edge to his gaze.
"I know."
The blue-eyed merman admitted while nervously gripping his arm.
"But I have to see him again."
Nathaniel gazed at her as the desperation morphed into a serious look. Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, he swam away quickly and was out of sight before she could call his name. She watched him go with sadness in her eyes and sighed. Suddenly one of Queen Caline's assistants swam quickly over to Marinette and stopped in front of her.
"The Queen of the sea has requested your presence in the throne room. It's regarding Nathaniel."
Marinette's heart sank slightly as she listened. There's no way that Queen Caline knows about the incident with the ship and Nathaniel saving a human, but what if she does? Marinette swallowed nervously and followed the other mermaid to the palace, hoping that nothing bad would come of this.
Queen Caline patiently waited with a small smile as Marinette slowly swam into the room. The young mermaid stopped in front of the ruler of the sea and bowed.
"I heard that you needed to see me, your majesty."
Marinette quietly said, trying not to show how nervous she was.
"Yes. It's about Nathaniel. I've heard that he's behaving quite different lately."
"Different? How so?"
Marinette asked as she tried to keep her breathing even and calm.
"According to his instructor, he's been humming and lost in thought more than he usually is. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"
Marinette bit her tongue as she felt the urge to start babbling fill her.
"Well, I..."
Marinette trailed off as she tried to think of an excuse for Nathaniel's behavior that wouldn't make the queen suspicious.
After a few seconds of silence, the queen simply said Marinette's name.
"Yes, your majesty?"
"If there's something you know about my son, please tell me. Especially if it's something that could get him hurt. I only wish to protect him."
Marinette bit her lip before sighing with slumped shoulders as she began explaining the entire incident with her following Nathaniel and Alix to the hidden grotto. She then told the queen about the ship passing over and Nathaniel going up to the surface to check it out before the ship sunk. She also hesitantly told Queen Caline about Nathaniel saving a human and dragging him to shore.
As Marinette continued to explain, the queen's face slowly became disappointed and a small amount of fury was resting in her eyes.
Queen Caline suddenly held a hand up and Marinette stopped talking.
"Marinette, take me to the grotto where my son has been collecting human artifacts."
The young mermaid nodded with a somber expression.
"Yes, your majesty."
As Marinette led the way with the queen following her, the blue-haired girl could only hope that Nathaniel would forgive her.
Nathaniel tried not to huff as Alix led him through the tunnel leading into his hidden spot. He currently couldn't see because the small mermaid had insisted that he kept his eyes closed so he wouldn't ruin the surprise she had for him. She held his hand and guided him carefully into the grotto.
Suddenly, the blue-eyed merman was forced to stop as Alix held a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from moving forward. She told him to open his eyes and he did. As he took in the sight before him, his mouth stayed open as shock filled him. He swam forward until he was right in front of the new addition to his collection.
"Alix, how did you get that in here?"
Nathaniel had a bright smile as he gazed at the large statue of Marc that was now resting in the center of the round area. He smiled at Alix and hugged her.
"I know. I'm the best."
Alix chuckled. Nathaniel nodded after she did.
"You really are."
Nathaniel released his hold on her and swam over to the statue so he could get a closer look. He smiled fondly at its realistic features that closely matched the human prince. Especially the eyes, Nathaniel noticed. The merman's imagination soon ran free and he had a vision of joining the human world and running away with Marc.
While lost in thought, Nathaniel failed to notice his mother watching him from the entrance to the grotto. He turned around and froze as she stared at him with a mix of disappointment and anger. Marinette was sadly looking at Nathaniel with an apologetic expression. Alix hid behind a stack of items so the queen wouldn't notice her there.
Queen Caline began drifting into the room.
"I consider myself to be quite equable, but I do have set rules and I expect everyone to follow them so that no one is in danger. "
The ruler of the sea continued to move towards her son who was now backed up against the statue with worry all over his face.
"Mother, I..."
Caline raised a hand and Nathaniel immediately became silent.
"Is it true that you rescued a human from drowning?"
His mother sternly asked.
"I had to."
Nathaniel defended himself quietly.
"Nathaniel, I have told you repeatedly that contact between the human world and our world is forbidden. Everyone in the kingdom knows that."
The queen spoke with exasperation as she stared at Nathaniel with pure disappointment.
"He would have died."
Nathaniel tried reasoning with his mother.
"A human's life is of no concern to merfolk."
Caline spoke with conviction.
"But you don't even know this human."
Nathaniel pleadingly looked at her.
"Knowing him isn't important. Even if he is good, it's better to just stay away from the human world and not get involved at all. The rule is to ensure the safety of my people. Nathaniel, you will not go to the surface again. I will assign a guard to constantly accompany you."
The queen said with finality.
Nathaniel felt his heart sink as he realized that he would never get to see Marc again and because of his racing thoughts, he just blurted out something that he probably shouldn't have.
"But I love him!"
Queen Caline was stunned for a few seconds before speaking incredulously.
"Nathaniel, please tell me that you're not serious. You are a merman and he's a human. You cannot be with him."
The queen gazed at her son with a hint of sadness lurking in her gaze. Nathaniel stayed quiet and gripped his arm. She sighed and aimed her trident at the statue in the grotto. It was surrounded by a glow before disappearing. The queen did the same to the human artifacts and all of Nathaniel's etchings. Nathaniel frowned as he sadly watched his collection slowly diminish until the shelves of his hiding place were left bare.
"These items will remain locked away. I don't want to hear anything else about you being involved with the human world."
With those words, Queen Caline left the grotto, guilt filling her gaze as she noticed the entirely miserable expression resting on her son's face. Alix and Marinette watched sadly as Nathaniel just stayed absolutely still as he looked at the empty grotto that once homed all of his treasured items.
Marinette slowly made her way over to Nathaniel and tentatively rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Nathaniel, I..."
"Just leave."
Nathaniel's demand came out choked as his shoulders harshly rose and fell with his shaky breaths.
Marinette frowned and with a downcast gaze, took her hand off of him before heading to the exit. Alix shot one last disheartened look at Nathaniel before leaving with Marinette. In his despair, the redhead failed to notice the mermaid lurking in the shadows.
"Oh, you poor prince. Poor dear prince."
The mermaid's voice rang out through the small space.
Nathaniel looked up to find the owner of the unknown voice. He gazed around until he noticed the figure approaching. She was a mermaid with long brown hair and a grey tail. He looked quizzically at her as she slowly came to a stop in front of him.
"He has a serious problem. If only there was a way that I could help him. But there is something that I can do."
The brown-haired girl spoke cheerily but with an unknown edge beneath the words.
"Who are you?"
Nathaniel questioned her skeptically.
"Don't be afraid. I'm someone who can help you. I can make all of your dreams come true. Just picture it: you and that human prince...together forever with no one to keep you apart."
The mermaid spoke enticingly and Nathaniel couldn't help but be tempted by the things that she was offering.
"How...how could you even do that?"
Nathaniel found himself asking.
"My name is Lila and I have great powers."
Nathaniel has heard of magic users, but beings with magical abilities are uncommon. He's also heard that they don't do anything for free and there's always a price to pay. He glanced at his now missing collection and felt something tug at his mind, telling him that this was a bad idea, but one more quick glance at his empty grotto made up his mind for him. He's already lost just about everything dear to him, so surely the price for being with Marc will be something he would be happy to pay. The redhead took a deep breath.
"You'll be able to help me be with Marc?"
The blue-eyed prince questioned Lila. She nodded and held a hand out to him.
"Just come with me and in no time, you'll be with your precious prince."
Marinette nervously swam around outside of the grotto's entrance, waiting for Nathaniel to come out. Alix watched her from her sitting place on a rock.
"Poor Nathaniel. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was just trying to protect him."
Marinette said before sighing regretfully.
Suddenly, a shadow passed over Marinette and Alix. The two looked up to see Nathaniel swimming away with an unknown mermaid. Marinette and Alix shared a scared look before following the redheaded prince. They swam beside him.
"Nathaniel, where are you going?"
Marinette questioned worriedly.
"I'm going with Lila. She's a magic-user and she's going to help me."
Marinette gasped and grabbed his hand.
"Don't do this. Just come back with us."
Nathaniel frowned and pulled his hand from her grip.
"How about you just go and tell my mother? You're good at that."
The merman muttered bitterly and continued following Lila.
Marinette felt hurt from Nathaniel's words but decided to follow him from a distance. Alix tagged along, worried about her best friend, and hoped that Nathaniel wouldn't end up hurt. After swimming for some time, they noticed Nathaniel and Lila head into something that resembled a skeleton of a large sea creature.
Marinette and Alix hesitated for a few seconds before slowly making their way into the hideout. Hopefully, they would be able to get some sense into Nathaniel before he got himself into serious trouble.