When Nereus awoke, he was laying in his bed with his torso wrapped in seaweed. "What happened?" He muttered.
"Nereus!" A gentle voice cried and the Mer prince turned to look at his mother, who was sitting beside him, gripping his hand.
"Hello mother," He grinned, "I'm sorry I worried you."
"Oh my brave, foolish child!" The queen cried, embracing her son.
Wincing, Nereus patted her back gently, "It's okay Mother, I'm alright."
"But you almost weren't." The queen gripped his hand, "Baby, we thought you were dead."
"I know mother, but at least I'm back."
At that moment, a knock at the door startled the prince and the queen. "Come in," She called and a merman peeked in.
"Forgive me Your Majestys," The guard bowed, "But it is time for Trittanus's trial. Her Majesty is needed."
"I need to be there as well!" Nereus exclaimed, trying to push himself up.
"No my son!" the queen exclaimed. "You are too injured still, you will never be able to make it through all of that."
"Mother!" Both the queen and the guard jumped, no one had heard the gentle prince raise his voice before. Biting his lip, Nereus spoke quieter, "I'm sorry mother, but I cannot stay here. Trittanus is not just my brother, he is my twin. The bond between twins is something special, and besides, Trittanus is the one who did this to me, I need to see him. I need to know that... that he really is lost to us."
Rubbing her temples, the queen nodded, "You are right Nereus, yes, you must come. But you must agree to a couple things."
"Anything!"
"Alright, you are not to swim about more than absolutely necessary."
"Agreed."
"If you start feeling worse, you are to go home immediately."
"Agreed."
"Alright then." The queen pulled Nereus up, supporting part of his weight.
"It's alright mother, I can swim on my own," Nereus flicked his tail back and forth, only wincing slightly.
The queen nodded, "One more thing." She flicked her fingers and the wounds covering Nereus's body seemed to disappear.
"Amazing," He muttered to himself, "A hologram."
"The wounds aren't gone, just covered. After all that has happened, our kingdom can't show that it is weak."
"And I am the crown prince, so I can't be weak, I understand."
Grinning, the queen nodded, "That's my boy."
Later, Nereus and Tressa were sitting on the steps which led up to their cousin's castle. They watched quietly the human king, their uncle, confronted Trittanus. Rubbing his sister's shoulder gently, Nereus watched as his twin brother was sentenced to exile.
As the royal family swam away, Nereus turned to look at his brother, "Trittanus," He gulped, "Have you any last words?"
Looking at his gentle brother with pure hatred,Trittanus spat, "I should have killed you when I had the chance."
Trying desperately not to cry at the words, Nereus nodded and turned away. He, Tressa, and the Winx followed Trittanus and his guards as he was sent into oblivion. As Trittanus disappeared, Bloom used her wish to reverse the curse cast by the three ancient witches.
Nereus stared in awe as the golden, glowing siren, Daphne, turned back into the way she had once been- human. His heart leaping, Nereus's thoughts instantly went to another who had been affected by the curse.
I swear to you Seraphina, he thought to himself, I will return to you someday.
Gripping his sister's hand, Nereus swam back to his cousin's palace to celebrate with his restored family.
"Are you alright brother?" Tressa asked as they listened to the Winx perform. "I didn't think our healing spells worked on the wounds caused by Trittanus- what with the pollution and everything.
"They don't, mother cast a hologram spell over me so that I would appear fine."
"Oh!" Tressa exclaimed with concern, "Do you want to go back now?"
"I'm fine Tressa," Nereus lied, "I don't need to be taken care of. I am crown prince, I can take care of myself."
"Uh... huh..." The mermaid princess frowned. "I know brother, but still... I worry about you, the pollution affects us in powerful ways, you should rest."
"Please sister," Nereus gripped Tress'a hand gently, "Do not worry about me, I will be fine."
A couple hours later, the royal mer family swam home. As soon as they got to the palace, Nereus swam groggily through the halls to his room.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Nereus dispersed the magic hologram around himself. Looking down at the deep wound streaking over his side, he hissed quietly when he saw how bad the wound had become. The area around his side was inflamed and had turned a nasty green color, ringed in black and purple as if bruised.
"It'll be alright," He mumbled to himself. "I just need to rest."
Laying down, he pulled a blanket of kelp up over himself and drifted into a restless sleep.
A couple hours later, Tressa poked her head into her brother's room. "Nereus?" She whispered, "I wanted to check on you, are you..." Her eyes finally grew accustomed to the darkness and she swam over to were her brother lay. Nereus was mumbling in his sleep and turning about restlessly.
"Brother?" Tressa shook his shoulder, "Nereus, wake up!" But the crown prince did not respond.
Panicking, Tressa yelled, "Guard! Guard, get in here!"
Two guards rushed in and the princess exclaimed, "Quickly! We have to get my brother to the infermory. Now!"
Understanding the urgency of the situation the guards held the crown prince between them and rushed out of the room with Tressa following behind. "Please, please be alright." She mumbled to herself frantically, "Please brother, you must be fine!"