YES! I'M ALIVE! Sorry I haven't posted anything lately but I'm now on Archive of their Own and I've been putting a few of my stories on there. This is being posted on both and I will try to update each week. Any way, enjoy!

List of Characters...

Queen Arthur : England

Ace Matthew : Canada

Jack Yao : China

Joker Gilbert : Prussia

Joker Peter : Sealand

Prince Alfred : America

King Alexander/Prince Allan : 2p! America

Prince Jason : Molossia

King Francis : France

Queen Lili : Liechtenstein

Jack Vash : Switzerland

Ace Antonio : Spain

King Ludwig : Germany

Queen Kiku : Japan

Jack Feliciano : Italy

Ace Lovino : Romano

King Ivan : Russia

Queen Elizaveta : Hungary

Jack Roderich : Austria

Ace Natalya : Belarus

Chapter 1 : The Missing King

The Conclave of the Mers were meeting again to discuss alliances and problems between the four kingdoms of the Cards Sea. Cards was an old Mer word, Car meaning Tribe and Ds meaning four from the time when the kingdoms were just the four Mer tribes that inhabited the area. The kingdoms met every year to settle issues and so forth and it was overseen by the Jokers of Cards who swarm in the centre of the huge underwater cavern in which the Conclave took place. The Red Joker was the oldest looking of the two, being an adult where the other looked like a twelve year old fingerling.

The Red Joker, also known as Gilbert was a startling figure with white hair, pinkish pale skin and red eyes and his long, powerful tail matched his eyes while his young counterpart, Peter had a black tail, blue-eyes with huge eyebrows and messy blonde hair. At one time, Peter had a blue tail, having been born into the Kirkland Clan of Spades (all Spadians had blue tails) but when he was chosen to be the Black Joker, the colour of his tail changed. Gilbert's tail had always been red, he was from Hearts and, like all mers, had webbed hands and gills on their necks.

The cavern around them was divided into four and each area was occupied by the current rulers of each kingdom. The red-tailed Mer royals swam in the area to the right of the Jokers with King Ludwig, Gilbert's younger brother, a muscular blonde merman with baby blue eyes and a tail longer than Gilbert's beside the Queen of Hearts, Queen Kiku, a black haired merman with almond-shaped brown eyes and a red tail, not as long. The last two mermen looked like twins, or would if they both had the same colour eyes and hair. And if the curls that each had, stuck out at the same side of the head but Jack Feliciano's was on the left side while Ace Lovino's was on the right and both had red tails like all Hearts Mers but Feliciano had auburn hair and amber eyes while Lovino's hair was reddish-brown and his eyes had a little less yellow tone. Feliciano was also bright and bubbly while Lovino always seemed to have a scowl on his face, although that did not deter the Diamonds Ace Antonio from seeking him out at every opportunity.

The Royals of Diamonds had tails that were yellow and orange mixed. This was because they used to be two smaller tribes in the further past and the two merged to form what was known as Diamonds in the modern day. King Francis, it had to be said, was a beautiful merman with longish blonde hair that waved in the water currents, eyes of clear blue seas and a stubby beard that somehow added to his charm and he swam next to Jack Vash, another blonde merman with green eyes and resembled Queen Lili who was an adolescent and Vash's younger sister. Ace Antonio had chocolate brown hair and forest-green eyes that were only for the Hearts Ace.

Next to them were the royals of Clubs, the green-tailed Mers who resided in the cool waters of the Cards Sea. King Ivan was, by far, the largest merman in the Conclave, with platinum-coloured hair and lavender eyes but he had a tendency to unnerve people with his slightly creepy child-like smile but, fortunately, people were drawn to Queen Elizaveta, a cheerful mermaid with long, light-brown hair and eyes of summer grass who was married to Jack Roderich, a dark-haired merman with dark violet eyes. The last royal was Ivan's sister, Ace Natalya who shared her brother's hair and eyes and was very beautiful but always had a cold look in her eyes except when looking at her brother. The look she had then terrified Ivan.

The last royals were, of course, the blue-tailed Spadian royals which were comprised of Jack Yao, a merman that would have been mistake for a mermaid, not for the fact that all mers go naked. As such, Yao's true gender for all to see as he lacked breasts. He was a black-haired merman who's hair fell over his left shoulder in a ponytail with brown eyes who swam beside a blonde merman who's hair almost reached his shoulder with one strand that sprang out into the water in front of his face. Ace Matthew also had light violet eyes and he swam beside the Queen of Spades, Arthur Kirkland.

Arthur was Peter's older brother and shared his hair and eyebrows but he had eyes like emeralds and, while all mers had beautiful tails, none matched Arthur's. Almost from the point where his human-like body met his tail, a dorsal fin ran down the back of his shining azure tail to the tip to join the long fan-tail that finished it all off. He attracted many with his tail but many also found his tsundere attitude off-putting, although that did not stop the King of Diamonds, a merman that Arthur stigmatised as a pervert and said so at every opportunity.

But it was obvious to all present that something, or rather someone, was missing among the Spadian Royalty and had been missing for some years, despite endless searching.

Spades, as of right now, had no King.

"I see no progress has been made in locating the next King of Spades," Gilbert commented, looking over the incomplete group. "It must be a strain, fulfilling the duties of both King and Queen." Gilbert looked at the Queen's mark over Arthur's heart. All royals had a mark from birth, a symbol of their destiny. All Kings had a ornate K within the symbol of the tribe they ruled, Queens had a Q, Jack's a J and Aces an A. The tribe symbol for Spades was a tear-drop shape stood on a triangle base, Diamonds and Heart, naturally a diamond and a heart while Clubs had three circles bunched together and also stood on a triangle base but Spades was missing the one who bore the Spades with a K.

"I can manage, Your eminences," Queen Arthur replied. "We know that the King is alive but we suspect he may be a land-dweller, just as Matthew was." It was rare but not unknown for land-dwellers to be chosen as royals of the underwater kingdoms as the titles were not inherited by any children that royals may have, the next royals were born with their marks. The living existence of each royal was indicated by the Stones of Fate that each kingdom possessed a set of and, when the new royal came into existence, the stone of the royal they were to become would glow until they became either King, Queen, Jack or Ace and the King's stone had been glowing for as long as the Ace stone had but it was three years after the stones began glowing that they finally found their Ace.

Four year old Matthew had been found, clinging to the body of a drowned land-dweller after a storm, crying his eyes out and calling out 'Dad, Dad!' and the child had had no idea that he was speaking Mer, which resembled the sound made by dolphins, so along with the way the young fingerling was clinging to the dead land-dweller, they surmised that the boy had been human and the dead man had been his father. They managed to pry the young Ace from the body and took it to a human settlement by the sea edge and left his body on the sand so his kind could find him and give him his final ritual, according to the customs of their people.

How chosen humans became mers was not pleasant, they had to drown and it saddened the mers that Matthew had suffered this fate as a child. Taken to the edge of death in water would awaken the magic within the mark which would activate and save said human by changing them into a mer. Matthew had had dreams of drowning for quite some time after he was found and he had to be watched as he often tried to return to the upper world, a place he was no longer a part of but explaining that to a child was not an easy task, especially when he kept saying he was looking for 'Al'.

It seems that Matthew had a twin brother called Alfred that had been on board the ship that he and his father had been travelling on and they had all ended up in the water together when they were forced to abandon ship and then their lifeboat capsized in the storm-torn sea. The boy's body was never found so it was assumed that the boy drown and that perhaps his body was devoured by sharks.

But there was no way for Matthew to return, he was not a land-dweller any more and, Matthew being so young, his memories faded and he was trained to be the next Ace but, if the missing king was a land-dweller, it was a problem that could only be resolved with time. All chosen land-dwellers found their way to the sea sooner or later.

"So all you can do is wait?" Francis commented.

"I don't believe it will be long now," Arthur replied. "It's been almost nineteen years since the King Stone began shining. It rarely goes far beyond eighteen without finding the royal it represents so I'm confident that we will find the King of Spades soon."

"Hopefully," King Ludwig said. "The next time the Conclave meets, we'll have the pleasure of the new King's company."

"I hope so too," Arthur nodded and they moved on to the next issues. A few more discussions later and the Conclave ended for another year. The Spades gathered together and prepare to leave as, while of all the kingdoms, Spades was closer to the Conclave, they still had a distance to go. They left the Conclave Cavern to collect their belongings and weapons (weapons were not allowed in Conclave, going back to when Conclave first began and relations with the other tribes were not always cordial) and all Arthur wanted to do was go home.

"One moment, mon chèr!" came a certain annoying voice. Arthur groaned, he really did not want to have to deal with the Diamonds lecher today.

"What do you want, Francis?" he moaned, wanting to get this over with so he could go home as he turned to see the Diamonds King swimming toward him.

"Oh, chéri," Francis cooed. "Why do you talk like you don't like me?"

"Perhaps because," Arthur replied. "When you do talk to me, you take on the personality of an octopus and can't keep your hands to yourself."

"Ah, but chéri," Francis replied, gazing at Arthur's tail. "When I see such beauty, it would be a sacrilege to touch it but I cannot help myself. If only it was yellow and orange, that would complete its perfection." Arthur snorted.

"Matter of opinion, I like the colour just fine," Arthur replied, looking down at the scales. They were, for the most part, azure but every now and then, there were scales of slightly different hues that prevented his tail from being all one colour and adding a little variety, especially when his scales shed and others would grow in behind in different colours which meant his tail was constantly changing. Then he felt another change. Something was rubbing the part of his tail that would be where the behind was on a human and looked round to see the end of Francis's tail caressing his dorsal fin. Francis just could not stop for a moment.

Francis swam back and put his hands over his ears as a piercing shriek ripple through the water and assaulted his ear-drums as Arthur used his voice to make his displeasure clear. A mer's voice was their greatest tool and weapon and how they used their magic. The sound Arthur had used was a softer version of what might be used in battle, what land dwellers would call a warning shot but mer voices could be used for other things as well, usually in the form of singing. For healing, comfort and for lifting the mood, although songs of euphoria were discouraged above the water. It seems that land-dwellers were too susceptible to these songs and more than one ship had crashed on rocks because the land-dwellers on board became too mesmerised by the singing, leading to the myth that sirens would deliberately lure the poor souls to their deaths.

Francis shook his head to clear the ringing from his ears that Arthur's sonic assault had left behind and pouted at the Spadian Queen.

"Mon Dieu! Was that really necessary, mon chèr?" he complained. Arthur huffed.

"When you're groping me?" he replied. "Yes, it is!"

"But I didn't use my hands this time." Arthur turned to leave, deliberately flapping his fan tail across Francis's face as he turned and began to swim toward his fellow Spadian royals. When Francis recovered from the tail slap, he chuckled. The Queen of Spades was fun to rile up and he caressed his cheek where Arthur's wonderful tail had hit him but he bore no grudges. After all, beauty is pain.

The Spades pod made their way through the water currents as they headed in the direction of Spades, the royals surrounded by Spadian warriors with Matthew leading as per his position. There was little difference between the royals and the mermen protecting them, the only distinction was the mark on their chests and they did not cover themselves in ostentation, in fact the guards had more jewellery than the royals, wearing blue coral armbands on their upper arms to denote their rank, the more they had, the higher their ranks were. The royal positions were positions of responsibility of leadership, not social rank and they did not feel the need to put on a show to elevate themselves above their people in such a manner.

Arthur, Yao and Matthew had shown themselves very capable of holding their positions and were held in high esteem by the Mer of Spades but it did not change the fact that they had no king and Arthur looked up toward the water surface, despite the fact that they were too far down to see it and he wondered.

Where is the vastness of the home of the land-dwellers was his king to be found?

Prince Alfred was afraid of the ocean.

He had been since the age of three but it was not surprising when a ship had sank as he, his twin brother and his father scrambled into a lifeboat with other sailors. A lifeboat during a storm was not the best idea but they had been minutes away from the ship disappearing under the water and the lifeboats were still buoyant, at least until a large wave hit theirs and they were all thrown out into the water. Alfred still had nightmares about that time.

Alfred and Matthew huddled together as their father, Prince Allan, brother of King Alexander of the Kingdom of Athelia, pushed them toward the small boat as the deck tilted beneath their feet, with the wind whipping their hair about and sea water stinging their eyes as they made it to the side.

"I don't wanna, Dad!" Alfred declared as he was handed over to men already in the lifeboat and Allan turned to pick up Matthew. "I don't wanna go in the boat."

"You have to, Alfred!" his father ordered as he passed Matthew over. "The ship is sinking, we can't stay!" Then he climbed into the boat and helped in the last of the sailors and the lifeboat pulled away from the stricken ship as it slowly sank beneath the surface but they were not safe yet. The storm still raged on and the small lifeboat was being tossed around by the waves as the sailors pulled on the oars in an desperate attempt to row out of the storm and Prince Allan went to help them as his twin sons huddled down at one end of the boat and the winds threw sea water over everyone. The waves were getting rougher as the boat rocked back and forth and Matthew whimpered in fright.

"I'm scared, Al," the three year old admitted.

"Me too," Alfred replied. "But Dad will help us." As if to mock little Alfred's declaration, a huge wave hit the lifeboat and it overturned. Both boys screamed as they were thrown from the lifeboat along with everyone else.

Alfred and Matthew became separated as they hit the water and Alfred came back to the surface and coughed up water. He saw Matthew's little head bobbing above the water a little way off and saw his father swimming behind him. Alex reached Matthew and scooped him up with one arm and began to swim toward Alfred. They were only a mere couple of feet apart when another wave drove Alfred under the water again and, when he resurfaced, his father and Matthew was nowhere to be seen.

"DAD!" he screamed, after he coughed up more water. "MATTIE!" but they were nowhere to be seen and then Alfred felt an arm encircle his waist and he was pulled through the water toward the lifeboat that was back on its keel and he was pulled on top of it by sailors who had managed to get on and they pulled up the sailor who had grabbed Alfred in the water, hoping to survive the storm.

There were a few more rough moments but, eventually the storm abated and the ship that had accompanied the royal vessel found them in the morning, minus two of the princes and carrying one that was extremely traumatized. Prince Allan's body was found on the shore the few days later but Matthew was never seen again.

Alfred shook his head of the vision of what happened when he was three, put on his gold, half-rimmed glasses and looked in the mirror after his bath, looking at his reflection, the blonde hair with the funny cow-lick that stuck up, no matter what. The sky-blue eyes in a face of boyish charm and the gaze of those eyes wandered down to his chest where a mark sat over his heart. An ornate spade with a K in the centre that he had been told had been there since the day he was born. Apparently Matthew had had one too with an A in it but it was not raised like a birthmark, it was more like a tattoo but it was not that either. His uncle, King Alex could not explain it, the marks had just always been a part of the two young princes but Alex felt it meant that his nephews were destined for something. Well, at least Alfred was.

Alfred shook his head again and began to dress, taking off the towel around his waist and grabbing his underclothes. He had just finished putting them on when there was a knock on his door and Alfred rolled his eyes, knowing it was his valet.

"Enter," he called and a brown haired man with green eyes came through the door. Toris tutted when he saw that Alfred had begun without him.

"Your Highness!" he scolded. "You should really wait for me before dressing." Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Toris, I'm not a child," he huffed. "I can dress myself. I can certainly put on my own underpants."

"Be that as it may," Toris replied. "It's my task to see that you dress properly. If you had your way, you'd go around the kingdom dressed like a farm labourer."

"I just want to be comfortable," Alfred groused as Toris began stuffing him into a high necked shirt. "This thing feels like it's going to strangle me!"

"You're a prince of this kingdom," Toris replied. "And you must look the part."

"Why?" Alfred asked for the who-knew-how-manyth time. "I'm not the heir to the throne, Jason is and, you know something, he's welcome to it." Toris chuckled.

"At least Prince Jason can be reasonably reassured that you have no designs on his crown," he said. Alfred snorted.

"I don't think Jason wants the throne any more than I do," he commented. "But he's tied to it and me? Who am I but the 'Sea Prince'. Sounds almost romantic unless you know the story behind it." Toris stayed silent, he knew how much Alfred hated that nick-name. A constant reminder of what he had lost when he was three years old.

"I don't want to make this journey, Toris," he admitted. "I don't want to go to Mertoris." Toris knew why. Quite apart from the fact that the journey was to meet the princess that his uncle was hoping to arrange to marry Alfred and gain him a valuable ally, which was a problem in itself because Alfred did not like girls, at least not in that way, it also meant that Alfred had to board a ship as it was the only way to reach the Kingdom of Mertoris and Alfred had not been on a ship since that fateful night.

"Your Highness …..." Toris began but was interrupted when the door burst open and the Crown Prince Jason bounced into the room. He resembled Alfred somewhat but he had the same dark brown hair with reddish tints that his and Alfred's father had and his eyes were hazel. Generally, he was grumpy around people until he got to know them and Alfred was one of the few people who got that privilege.

"Hey, cousin," he greeted, throwing himself on to Alfred's bed and began lounging on it, looking every inch not the Crowned Prince of Altheia. "Almost ready for the trip?"

While Jason was well aware of the accident that had robbed Alfred of his father and brother, he could be a little clueless when it came to Alfred's aversion to the ocean so the fact that Alfred was facing a sea voyage that filled him with apprehension completely passed Jason by.

"I just wish I could go by land," Alfred admitted and Jason realised a little that Alfred might be uncomfortable at the idea.

"It'll be fine," he reassured him. "Ships don't always sink, you know." Toris rolled his eyes as Alfred went a little pale, hoping that Jason would stop talking because he was really not helping.

"It really will be fine, Your Highness," Toris said, trying to undo the damage. "The Baltic is our finest and safest ship and Eduard Von Bock is our most competent captain."

"Can you guarantee no storms?" Toris just smiled, sadly and put a jacket over the clothes he had been putting on Alfred.

"I suppose I've no choice," Alfred said, resigned to his fate for now but he still had to get on that ship.

"Well, Dad wants to see you," Jason said. "Probably a few last minute points for when you meet Princess Erika." Jason felt sorry for Alfred, he had heard a few things about Princess Erika, some slightly disturbing things about her clingy, possessive nature and a couple of questions about her mental stability. Marriage to her might have been his fate, had it not been for the fact that he was promised to Madeline, Princess of the Kingdom of Vayneya. They had known each other for most of their lives and they just happened to fall in love. Lucky them!

"I better not keep Uncle Alex waiting," Alfred replied and left, knowing that Toris would arrange for his luggage to be taken to the ship while he conversed with the king.

King Alexander stood by the window in his room, waiting for his nephew to arrive and hoping Alfred was not too apprehensive about the journey. He knew of Alfred's aversion to ships and the ocean, not that he could blame the boy but this possible alliance with Mertoris could be important and there was simply no other way to get there as Altheia and Mertoris were on two different landmasses. He wanted to reassure the boy that it would be all right and to make sure he knew his duties when he arrived there. He also wanted to warn Alfred that Princess Erika could be a little …...intense.

Alex had not quite been the same since the accident, although he was grateful that he had not lost all of his family that night. Allan had been his twin, just as Alfred and Matthew had been and it seemed to run in the family as Jason had been a twin too but his slightly younger brother had died in child-birth, along with their mother.

Alex had never married again and felt he did not need to. He had an heir and his brother had two twin sons of his own so the royal line was assured but the family had been struck with a series of tragedies of which his wife and younger son's deaths were the first. The next was the death of his sister-in-law, Princess Amelia in a carriage accident and the last, his brother and one of his nephews lost at sea. Alex found himself as parent and guardian to two boys now and he loved Alfred like a son but being royal came with responsibilities and Alfred needed to step up and face his. There was a knock on the door and Alex called, "Enter!". The door opened and Alfred stepped in.

"You wanted to see me, Uncle?" Alex waved him in.

"Yes," he replied. "Close the door and come here." Alfred pushed the door shut and went to join his uncle."

"How are you feeling, my boy?" he asked, He could see the signs of apprehension and strain, as much as Alfred tried to hide them.

"I'm not looking forward to this journey," Alfred replied, candidly. "But it must be done, I suppose." Alex put a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"It will be fine," he replied. "That's why you going on our best ship with the best captain. After me, you're second in line to the throne and I would not risk your safety any more than I would risk Jason's."

"I know, Uncle," Alfred replied. "And I'm grateful."

"I know you are," Alex replied. "Now, as to your trip. You know this is to assess an alliance between Altheia and Mertoris by way of a marriage between you and Princess Erika." Alfred nodded.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "But will that work? My preferences …..."

"I'm aware," Alex said. While Alfred had not had any romantic entanglements, Alex had seen his nephew's eyes wander more toward men than women. It was not frowned on but, given that royals could not always follow their hearts, it was complicating. "But this is a political alliance and neither of you needs to produce an heir for either kingdom. That being said …..." Alex broke off, not sure how to put this next part.

"That being said...?" Alfred asked. Alex cleared his throat.

"I've heard one or two things about Princess Erika," he said, honestly. "I hear she can be...quite eccentric but it's probably just rumour any way, you know the gossip in royal courts."

"Eccentric how," Alfred asked, He did not mind personality quirks, they made people interesting but the fact that his uncle felt the need to bring it up …..

"I'm not sure," Alex replied, honestly. "Something about her latching on to things and people quickly and easily upset if she has to let them go but I'm sure it's all exaggeration." But the thought ran through Alfred's mind that, if that was the case, why mention it? Not that he could do anything about it, to call off the visit now would be a grave insult.

"Probably," was all he replied and hoped for the best. Alex came over and up his hands on Alfred's shoulders.

"You have the eyes and the hair of your mother," he commented. "But you look so much like Allan and I often wonder what Mattie would have looked like now. You were almost identical as children." Alfred smiled, sadly.

"We'll never know now," he replied. "I better go. Everything's being taken to the ship." Alex heard the suppressed shudder in the word ship!

"Everything will be all right," Alex reassured him. "You'll see." Alfred just nodded and then left.

Two sailors hoisted a travelling case from the back of the carriage and carried it up the gang plank to take it to the cabin, allocated to Prince Alfred as the Prince himself climbed out of the carriage, followed by Toris and he looked at the ship in apprehension. Soon he would have to step foot on that vessel and go out to sea and he could already see memories of storms and sinking and the last sight of his father and Matthew before the sea swept them away forever and Toris placed a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Your Highness," he said. "It a beautiful day and not a cloud in the sky. No sign of a storm and the Baltic is a sturdy ship. There's nothing to worry about." Everyone kept telling him that but it did not stop him from feeling like he was stepping to his doom but he had to board the ship and he moved to the gangplank. As he stepped on, he expected it to collapse, pitching him into the water between the dock and the ship but it stayed stable and Alfred and Toris set foot on to the deck of the ship.

"Welcome aboard, Your Highness," Alfred was greeted by a man in the uniform of the Altheian Royal Navy with the insignia of Captain. He had short, blonde hair, green eyes and wore glasses like Alfred and he gave the Prince a salute. Behind him, was a young blonde boy with eyes that were somewhere between dark blue and violet and he was dressed like a cabin boy. "It's an honour to have you on board my ship."

"Thank you, Captain Von Bock," Alfred replied, politely. "It's a pleasure to be on board." He had to choke that one out and Eduard Von Bock was not fooled but he did not take it seriously as he expected such a reaction. Everybody knew that the Sea Prince did not like ships. Or the ocean.

"This is my cabin boy, Raivis," Eduard introduced the young boy behind him. "He'll be at your disposal for the duration of the voyage. Alfred turned to the young boy.

"Hello, Raivis," he greeted. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Raivis smiled nervously.

"I...I hope so, Y...Your Highness," he stammered and Alfred smiled too, to make Raivis feel more comfortable.

"I'll show you to your cabin, Your Highness," Eduard said and indicated the direction to go and the royal party followed him into the ship.

The cabin given to Alfred and Toris was well-appointed and Alfred suspected that it was the Captain's cabin and Eduard had given it up for Alfred's use. There was a large bed, well as large as you could get on a ship with a smaller bed which Alfred thought might have been Raivis's bed and a desk in front of windows that looked out over the sea at the rear of the ship and Alfred and Toris's luggage was piled in the corner of the cabin, ready for unpacking.

"I'll leave you to settle in, Your Highness," Eduard said. "I must oversee the ship for casting off." And with a bow, he left them with Raivis whom Toris took in hand.

"Come, young Raivis," he said. "I'll teach you the finer points of serving royalty."

An hour later, the Baltic sailed with the tide on a calm sea under a blue sky and a summer sun and soon Altheia disappeared over the horizon, leaving Alfred feeling more alone on an ocean that filled him with dread and bad memories. He hoped for fair weather and calm seas as the ship carried him toward an unknown future.

The sun was bright enough for the light to reach down to the depths of the kingdom of Spades and the inhabitants looked up as the shadow of the ship passed over their heads and Arthur looked up too, knowing that land-dwellers were traversing the ocean, not knowing that his future was passing right over his head.