Okay, guys, I don't know how you'd feel about this. I know in the last chapter I said this would be the last chapter, but apparently it's too long for one chapter. So, this is not the last chapter; this is the second last (yes, this time I'm dead sure).

teamBLAZE: yeah, I got over it! Thanks for the support :D

Hot Chocolate and Muffinz: hey, thanks for the compliment ^^ I'm glad you like the plot twists and all :D

ToOH: Firstly, I don't really write Allen as arrogant because I don't think his standoff-ish attitude is arrogant per se (more like a very pronounced confidence, but not in a bad sense), although I agree that the portion of AllenxGwen is less than NeilxReine because this story focuses more on the quests. Allen and Gwen have their own milestones; in fact, in this story, their relationship has a rockier start (Gwen with her detached attitude, Allen misunderstanding her) than Neil and Reine who immediately become journey-mates (and they don't fight a lot).

As for what happened in the last two chapters, basically, Morgana told King Troanes that Reine planned a rebellion, which caused King Troanes to stab Reine in that cave. There is a real rebellion plan, however, by Allen and Rod (and those loyal to Triton), and they made use of the king's absence to take over the Throne Room. This was part of Morgana's plan, who wanted to destroy both Tritonean and Helenian loyalists and then take the throne for herself. King Troanes, who thought that by stabbing Reine the rebellion wouldn't happen was dumbstruck when he realized it's not the case. He realized that Morgana betrayed him when Morgana used Reine's voice to paralyze everyone, including him (instead of just Allen).

You can say that Reine's dying, but she's still strong enough to talk, albeit barely. The part where she 'wakes up' is when she uses the last spurt of her energy to ask Neil to fight in the palace, because she knew that the trident would be needed to end the fighting. Hope this clears things up ^^

The coup d'état ended shortly after King Triton made his appearance. The princesses of Helenian House, now referred to as 'ladies', were given an estate where they could live if they chose to remain in Atlantica. They were deemed as innocent, for none of them had been born when Troanes betrayed the throne. Some of the ladies adapted to their new situation better than others.

Therese, who had been so proud of her family, could not—no, refused to—believe the truth. She fell into an abyss of depression, which drove her to Morgana's now-abandoned lair. Thankfully, her sisters had been keeping a close watch on her—after the Seeresses' warning—and they managed to dissuade her from doing whatever she had in mind. In the end, Therese decided to leave for another ocean, accompanied by some of her maids.

Leighlee accepted the truth calmly. However, the fact remained that Rod had participated in the coup d'état that brought a downfall to her family and claimed her grandfather's life. She decided to stay away from politics until she felt that her head was clear enough to see the truth.

As a sign of good faith, Guinevere Helenian had been appointed as one of the advisors to the throne, which she accepted. However, it was noted that Guinevere Helenian isolated herself even more than when she had been in the palace. People thought it was because of shame of the downfall of her family. However, some people knew better.

"You didn't even give him a chance to talk," Reine told her. "I saw that."

Reine had been brought to the estate soon after the situation calmed down. Her wounds were deep. However, the trident didn't strike any vital point and the bleeding was reduced significantly by the first aid. She recovered rather quickly after the wounds were stitched together. The scars remained on her torso; despite the suggestions, Reine chose not to cover it.

"What the use of talking?" Gwen asked back. "I saw him standing on the ship. It will—no, it is bound to happen. No amount of talking will change that."

"So, that's it? You saw him there and game over?"

"He is fated to stay there!" Gwen felt the burn in her throat as she forced the words out. She glared at Reine. "You, from all people, should've understood that."

She expected Reine to give her usual snarky comeback, but she heard nothing. Finally, Gwen decided to turn and look at Reine for the first time since the start of their conversation. Reine was smiling at her—not her usual cheeky grin, but more like a wistful smile.

Gwen noticed the bag that was slung over her shoulder. "Why are you carrying that?"

"See, Gwen? You don't see this coming, right?" Reine asked. "You didn't see everything, Gwen. You didn't see what I saw."

Gwen held her breath. "What… did you see?"

Reine closed her eyes. "Something bigger than us will seem smaller when we see it from further away," she said. "Only then we can see it in its entirety."

Neil had been spending most of his time accompanying King Triton, learning the ropes on how to govern a kingdom. He found that he often thought of Reine, but decided to wait for her to fully recover before he made his visit. He had heard she was already well enough to swim around, though, so perhaps his visit would be soon.

He had managed to have a conversation with Allen a few hours before he suddenly disappeared from his room. Now, it often replayed itself in his mind every now and then, when he wasn't being occupied.

"I guess you make a decent brother, even for me."

"Half-brother."

Allen smirked. "Unlike brother-in-law, half-brother ends with the word 'brother'."

"That's how it is."

"Exactly, dumbass," he had said. "Because that's what matters more—brother."

He hated to admit it, but Allen always had a way to have the last say in an argument. Plus, this time he had a real K.O. point.

"Neil! Neil!"

Neil turned towards the familiar voice and found a pink dolphin was dashing towards him desperately. "Viv?"

"Reine's gone!"

"Well, she's not bedridden anymore, right?"

"I mean, she's gone! Nowhere in the estate!"

"What?!"

"Mama Orca's pod is going to Arctic today," Viv told him. "I bet she's planning to go with them! C'mon, Neil, we have to stop her!"

Neil immediately dropped the paper he was holding and dashed towards the door. He only remembered that Triton was there just before he left the room, so he turned to face him. The old merman simply smiled and nodded to him, "Be careful, boy."

"You sure about this, Reine?" the orca who swimming next to her asked for the third time.

She put her hand into her bag and touched the circlet Neil had made for her for her birthday.

No, I must not waver, she told herself.

"Don't get us wrong, we're thrilled to have you around. You're practically one of us," another orca joined in. "But, don't you think it's a bit…"

"Sneaky."

Reine froze when she heard that particular voice. She stopped swimming and turned back. Viv was right behind her tail, and with her—Neil.

Reine chuckled. "Of course, Viv," she said. "You chose him over me."

"This isn't about choosing whom—I love you both!"

Mama Orca, noticing Viv and Neil's appearance, gave the signal to wait. The rest of the orcas stopped swimming and turned around, forming an arc behind Reine.

This was their first time, Reine included, to see Neil in his new merman form. Not so much a difference, besides now he was completely bare-chested like other mermen and that his tail now was magenta rather than black. His fins were translucent, lighter magenta.

"That suits you better," Reine commented with a smile.

Looking at him, she understood why Gwen decided not to give Allen a chance to talk—at least she had a rough idea why: it made things even harder than it already was. For her, she feared that the more she heard his voice, the more likely she would change what she had decided—opening a whole new range of possibilities, some of which she dared not to tread.

"Reine..."

She raised her hand, silencing him.

"I know what you're going to ask," she told him. "But, I'm not ready to answer it."

"Still… must you leave?" Viv was practically pleading.

Reine nodded. "Like Therese, I need to… distance myself. To clear my mind."

Neil gritted his teeth. "You're not going to back down, aren't you?"

"Very unlikely," she affirmed. "But, of course, I'm not going to ask you to wait. I know the crown prince is a very… favorable bachelor—and don't worry, perhaps some foreign merman will fancy marrying an ex-princess!" She tried to sound cheerful about it, but it fell flat since Neil was obviously not buying it.

Reine sighed. "I'll give you an answer, Neil, I promise," she finally said. "It just doesn't seem fair… if I ask you to wait if I can't tell you for how long."

Neil closed his eyes. "Knowing that you will answer eventually is a fair enough exchange for me," he replied. "Let's just say I keep Viv as… a sign of good faith."

Reine smiled and nodded. "Of course," she answered without hesitation, before smirking in a more cheerful way. "But, don't rely on her sense of direction. Nine in ten times, you'll get lost—the remaining one, stranded on the beach."

"Hey!" Viv protested. "I'm not that bad!"

Neil shrugged. "Who saved her at the beach?" he asked with a grin of his own. "Believe me, I know."

"Right."

Neil watched the pod leaving, until he couldn't see the last of them anymore before turning back to the palace.