Mer Prince

by WinterTurndra

Roxas is a Mer Prince, who has been born without a soul. He is left on land as a baby in hopes that he will obtain one, but to do so he must fall in love and marry a human. A knight named Axel may solve this, unless the sea witch puts a stop to it...

5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello again! I have made quite a few changes to this chapter; I thought that it had more depth and character in-site to it then the original version, which for some reason really irritated me. I just want to say a great big thank you to all of the people who have faved/alerted/reviewed so far! It really makes me feel as though I'm doing something right. So I'd like to say a particularly big thank you to Saru813 aka my new Beta who has followed my story from the very start and, bless her, is following it again even after it has been taken off fan fiction for months, I'm so glad an original reviewer is still interested! Merci beaucoup mon amie ^_^/ and I also want to say a big thank you to Rocket-ship-Romance, Suyiro Motsuko and UnderMySkitlez1819 and the very lovely Doom Wolf *glomps for her sweetness* Thanks for all of the alerts/faves, you guys are awesome!

Oh, and just to clear things up, the italics are flashback scenes, and Roxas speaking in between these scenes are his memories of what happened to him. I'm sure you'd all be thinking ok, so mer-peoples' memories are good, but surely not that good! Heh, I just thought that adding a flashback would describe what happened in more detail, thus being more entertaining for the reader. I hope I managed to accomplish that without dragging things on too much n_n~ anyways, enjoy!

By the way, is anyone playing/has played the newish KH Coded for the DS? I think it's just a filler chapter for fans to keep us crazier nuts going until the next and final instalment for KH comes out lol, but I just wondered if anyone else was playing it. Heh, the graphics at times remind me of retro 80s type fighting games or something, particularly when Sora's talking to people. The graphics and game style are also quite similar to the very first lot of final fantasy games O_o~ Ok, I digress, on with the story! ^_^/

Mer Prince: Confessions 2

Sweet laughter rang through the air as Roxas commanded the horse to jump once more over a large tree log which has fallen in the garden behind his home. The knight has been giving him horse riding lessons for a couple of moths now, and the blond was finally able to ride freely without any help.

"Axel, I'm getting it, I'm finally getting it!" his sweet musical laughter rang through the air once more. Axel snapped out of his trail of thought and gave the blond a sweet smile. He watched with wistful eyes as Roxas turned the horse gracefully and commanded him to make another leap over the log. Axel marvelled at the sight of soft golden sunlight glinting through the small blonds' hair, giving him an almost angelic appearance. His eyes sparkled beautifully, like sunlight on water, as they always did when he was happy. However, despite his observations the knight was troubled. He had loved the time he had spent living this simple life with Roxas and his family, and he found that his attachment to the blond was increasing more and more each day; he always looked forward to seeing what the new day would bring. From simply waking next to Roxas, and admiring the stillness and peaceful expression of his sleeping face as the early morning sun gently bathed his soft rosy cheeks with light, to looking forward to the days events, be they big or small, a brief fishing trip or simply staying at home to repair a net, or even a calming walk through the woods. Axel had noticed that over time Roxas had become much more confident, he no longer stuttered with nerves whenever he spoke and he was now more interested in his surroundings, taking in everything almost with a new awe and splendour, as if he had been re-born again and was seeing the world for the first time.

Even the evenings were wonderful for the knight. After a long day of work the family would gather together beside a warm roaring fire and tell stories of ancient folk lore and tales of the sea often spoken amongst fishermen or simply events that had happened to each of them that day, soothed by the hypnotic dancing of the flames and the soft soothing crackling as fire devoured wood, sounding almost as if it too was telling its own story.

Afterwards, when the fisherman and his wife had retired to bed, he and Roxas would snuggle up together on the arm chair, comforted by a new sheepskin blanket Axel and the fisherman had bought with saved up profits made from their trips, and by the body warmth of each other generated by the heat of the flames, where they would talk for hours before they too retired to bed.

Yes, the knight was troubled because he had come to realise that he was falling in love with the young blond. Everything Roxas did brought a smile to his face, everything down to his determination to tackle any task that he came across, his stubborn slightly scrappy nature whenever things became hard for him-such as constantly falling from Axels' horse during lessons and also having to deal with the red heads' teasing comments. It was a big step of the heart but he could no longer deny his feelings; he was undoubtedly in love with Roxas. Despite the fact that 'love' was an emotion that usually made a person feel an almost overwhelming sense of happiness, as if they were on top of the world, the red head couldn't help but feel the exact opposite. He was starting to find it harder to ignore the persistent little voice in his head telling him that he had stayed long enough and should soon be on his way back to Undine. His regiment commander and his king would be wondering why he had not yet returned from his errand. He had been living with Roxas for two months, and away from home for three; it was almost half a year since he had been back home. What if people feared him dead? His home and possessions would have been sold on; he would have nothing upon his return. Despite this, Axel couldn't bring himself to look into Roxas' beautiful pools of blue and tell him that he would soon be leaving. He was almost certain that the news would break the blonds' heart, and the last thing the red head wanted was to be the cause of his shattered happiness.

He also didn't want to appear ungrateful for the fisher mans' hospitality. After all this time he had refused payment from the knight for food and logins. "Help around the house and on fishing trips are more then enough" he had told him, with an almost fatherly pat on the arm. If he up and left now his knightly honour would be questioned. Besides, even if Roxas did happen to return his feelings and they did become a couple, he couldn't take him back to Undine with him; Roxas' parents needed him. They'd need someone to help them with their workload, especially in their elderly years; at least that was his excuse. Also, when he eventually did return to Undine, he would be too busy with his knightly duties, and this place was quite far away from his city, so he wouldn't be able to visit often.

However, the thought of a life without Roxas seemed – empty. His knightly duties and accomplishments would mean nothing to him if he had no-one special to fight for. What was he to do?

"Axel, are you alright?" Roxas' voice brought the red head back from his sorrowful thoughts once more. "If you're bored you can have your horse back" he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He commanded the horse to trot over to him; the red head gave the blond a forlorn look then sighed softly. He closed his sorrowful emerald eyes for a few seconds in order to prepare himself for the impending heartbreak he was about to bestow upon the boy he loved.

Roxas felt a knot in his stomach as he observed the knights melancholy expression. His eyes drowned with worry as he dismounted the horse and made his way over to Axel. "What troubles you so?" Roxas asked, quite alarmed, as he had never seen the red head like this. What could have possibly happened to have caused such a reaction? Axel sighed a troubled sigh once more-one way or another he would have to tell Roxas his intentions.

"Roxas, um, I-I have something to tell you. I-I think that it will soon be time for me to-to, well, return to Undine". He said; his voice soft and laced with guilt, staring at his knees, unable to meet the blonds' gaze. Roxas' face fell and the light in his eyes flickered out as quickly as a candle flame.

"Go; now? b-but why? Have I done something wrong? Are you unhappy here?" Roxas asked frantically, his voice starting to choke up. Axel waved his hands quickly in front of him, dismissing Roxas' awful assumption; his heart slightly clenching with sadness after hearing Roxas' broken words. Disappointed and slightly angry tears began to form in the blonds' beautiful blue eyes. The knight stood and sighed guiltily; cupping the boys' cheek with his hand, and wiping away a running tear with his thumb. "If it were up to me, I would stay here forever, but I cannot put my own selfish desires first. I have a regiment to fight for, and a king to serve. As much as I'd love to stay here with you, at some point I will have to leave. I can't out stay my welcome any longer".

"But you're not outstaying your welcome!" Roxas cried. "You can stay here as long as you like! We grow our own food, there's no problem there, and I'm very sure that my father would appreciate an extra pair of hands around to help with the work load. Why must you leave? We, we can rebuild the hut to make it more suitable and permanent for your horse. I-we- you're practically family now. Why must you leave?" With this Roxas broke down, tears running down his cheeks.

"Oh, Roxas" Axel sighed softly, pulling the blond into an affectionate embrace, gently nuzzling into his soft hair. At first Roxas refused to return it, angry at the knight. Angry because he had given him something no-one else had ever given him before; the ability to escape from his emptiness, to be able to feel, to laugh, to cry, to express anger – to love. And now the knight was going to take that all away again. His hopes were shattered, and his fate would soon be sealed. Unless-unless he confessed; unless he told Axel everything; even about him not being-human. Would the red head still accept him? Or would this be a final incentive for the knight to leave quicker then he originally planned? Roxas finally wrapped his arms around the knights' slim waist and nuzzled his head into his chest. "Axel, I-I need to tell you something. I need to explain everything to you."

"Explain? What do you mean?" Axel asked, now gently resting his chin on the blonds' soft golden hair.

"Explain-explain why I have been having these dreams; about why my parents told you about me usually being emotionally distant towards people; and also the fact that they don't know that I am aware of the fact that -I am not their biological son."

Axel looked surprised at Roxas' speech. He knew that he had been having troubles lately, what with the dreams and all, but he had no idea that his troubles ran so deep; and about him not being that fisherman's own biological son? Perhaps he had overheard his parents discussing the matter and hadn't had the courage to confront them? But if that was the case then why did he make being adopted sound like such a crime?

"Roxas, I do not understand what you're-"

"Please, Axel, just let me finish-without any interruptions. Please? This is going to be hard for me, and I am worried that you will become mad at me, and – never want to see me again." His voice faltered at his last sentence, tears slowly trickling down his face.

"Roxas, why would I ever get mad at you?" Axel chuckled, gently running his fingers through Roxas' spiky locks. Said blond looked down sadly, almost too scared to face Axel as he told him his story. Axel gently lifted Roxas' chin with his hand so that he would look him in the eyes.

"Nothing you could ever do or say could make me never want to see you again" the knight assured, speaking from the bottom of his heart. Roxas blushed a little as green eyes bore into blue.

"Alright" Roxas sighed. "Well, how to begin…"

Axel chuckled warmly. "Perhaps from the very beginning" he teased. Roxas took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it to calm himself.

"Okay, I shall explain" he sighed. Axel nodded, before taking a quick look to see where his horse was, and found it to be grazing a few feet away.

"Let us sit down, first" he suggested, leading Roxas over to the fallen log. Once they were comfortably seated, Roxas began his tale.

"I was born in a completely different world to the one we are in now. I-I came from the sea when I was three years old. Unlike babies here, we remember things from a very early age. I didn't want to be left here, but unfortunate circumstances of my birth lead my parents to believe that leaving me in the human world would be best for me. You see, I was born a mer-child. There are many different types of people of the sea: Mer-folk, water nymphs, water sprites, undine."

Deep under the vast ocean waters where the elegant crystal clear palace of the mer people lay, a young Mer Queen sat beside her bedroom window over looking the pearl coated houses of her people's homes, which glinted beautifully in the rays of the afternoon sun, bright and strong enough to penetrate even through the dense crystal blue waters. Surrounding sea weed and anemones danced softly in a gentle ebb of an underwater current, the whole kingdom an explosion of colour, from the vast amounts of sea plants to the schools of fish which glinted through the sunlight like little multicoloured diamonds. Despite the wondrous beauty of her surroundings, the most beautiful observation to her soft ocean blue eyes was her new born son, nestled safely in her arms. His hair was golden and spiky, just like his fathers, except for the fact that his fringe curled up into a cowlick. His deep sapphire blue eyes were currently closed, his little tail curled round him as he snuggled deeper into his blanket. His mother smiled with sheer adoration at her new born son. The only thing that caused her delicate brows to furrow with concern was how quite he was. Fear had struck through her like an arrow after the birth, when her son didn't utter a single cry. Fearing the worst her nurse maids and mid wife had checked over the infant, only to find that he was breathing perfectly fine and appeared to be healthy. As they handed him back to his relieved mother and his bright sapphire eyes stared up at her, the Queens' face burst into a wide beautiful relieved smile, overwhelming with happiness. Happy tears ran down her soft rosy cheeks like miniature pearls. To her, he was perfect. Roxas, her perfect little Roxas.

"Although I was physically healthy, they could tell that I wasn't – normal. Roxas said shamefully, lowering his eyes into a sad frown. Here he braved a glance at Axels' expression. As he expected, the red head looked shocked, confused and perhaps a little sceptical.

The blond blushed and stared at his knees again, fiddling with his bracelet nervously. He decided to continue with his story, before having to endure Axels' impending flurry of questions, and possible rejection. He had to get his whole story across to the knight first, before he judged him too harshly. "You see, this is perhaps the strangest part of the story, or fearful, depending on how spiritual you are." He took a deep nervous breath, before continuing. "You see, mer-folk are only born with half a soul. Despite this, we are able to live for a very long time; we're not quite mortal, but we're not immortal either. But when we eventually do die, we die, there's nothing left of us as spiritual individuals. We merely become part of the natural energy that keeps the ocean and everything in it alive; although we can change into human form at will. Some mer-folk like to walk the lands, in search for a human mate. If they fall in love and marry a human, then they share part of that persons' soul, and become whole. We are also able to maintain our human form forever if we so choose. Although if we chose that particular life we would not live as long as an ordinary mer-person anymore, due to that fact that part of us would be mortal, but we would be able to move on to the afterlife. Eternal youth and beauty, to be with the one we love eternally. However, I was born different…

"I think things are a lot more complicated then you think Aerith" Cloud said softly.

"I'm telling you he's fine!" the young Queen insisted. "He's just, well, quiet, that's' all". The King looked at his six month old son sitting in his wife's lap, eyes glazed and gently rattling a toy he clutched in his tiny hands; his eyes appeared to be looking, but not actually seeing.

"He's fine, cloud, there's no reason to alert the elders!" Aerith said firmly, her beautiful eyes prickling with tears.

"I'm not saying that there's something wrong as such, I just think that we need to let them try and find out why he's always so-distant."

"Just because he doesn't act like other babies his age, doesn't mean that there's something wrong with him" Aerith said, her voice becoming angrier. The truth was she was afraid. Deep down, she too had had similar thoughts as her husband. At his age, Roxas should have started showing more interest in the world, take in his surroundings, react to things that frightened him or made him happy, he should even have at least begun to try and speak by now, but he did neither of these things. Whether he wasn't able to, or whether he just chose not to she couldn't be sure, but his expression remained blank, his eyes empty; he was a very quiet, withdrawn child. It was almost as if the part of his very soul had been diminished.

"Perhaps he just needs to interact with babies his own age, maybe he can learn from them" the Queen suggested, almost pleadingly. She wanted to do what she could for her baby, before even considering taking him to the elders. If that were happened, it would finalise the idea that the situation with her son was serious. He was the future king after all; they had to make sure that he was well, but she feared what the elders might say.

Still, she was a strong and determined mer-woman, and who could be better then determining what was best for her son then his own mother? She would do everything she could to help Roxas first.

"From then on I was introduced to other mer-children my age, in hopes that their company would bring me out of my shell, but there was little improvement. I appeared comfortable in the presence of others, but I still didn't seem alert like they were."

Two and a half years had passed, and the Queen sat elegantly upon her mother of pearl chaise long sofa, draped in her usual finery, with pearls interwoven in her dark tresses and a pearl choker framed her elegant neck. Her tail was decorated with a fine lace sash, also encrusted with pearls, as well as tiny blue sapphires. Her husband stood beside her looking as grand as ever in his fine red jacket, the shoulders decorated with gold trimming and fine golden buttons which ran down the front of the coat, each button exquisitely carved with the royal family crest. Mer people from all classes were present, filling the ballroom with laughter and conversation; for it was Roxas' third birthday, and his parents had arranged a grand party for their beloved son.

Queen Aerith watched with a soft smile in an attempt to portray a sense of happiness and pride, but if one chose to look hard enough they would have seen that her usually sparkling ocean eyes betrayed her sense of false hope and sorrow. The king and Queen had tried to socialise Roxas with other mer- children, and although he had become accustomed to the company of others, he still remained quiet and emotionally distant. Aerith couldn't help but smile sadly as she observed the other children playing. A very good friend of hers had a son called Sora, who was Roxas' age. He too had spiky hair, although his was longer then Roxas' and brown rather then blond.

Other wise, their face shapes were the same; they even had the same shaped deep sapphire blue eyes. They were so similar in appearance that Aerith's friends often joked about them looking like brothers. However, personality wise, they couldn't be more different. Sora was a bright, happy child with an infectious smile, even his little laughter caused others to follow suit; his bright inquisitive eyes twinkled when he laughed. Roxas' however, still remained glazed over, all he ever managed at most was a meek smile. Cute and sweet non- the less- Aerith thought, but it wasn't something that you could really react to. She watched as Sora offered a toy sea horse to Roxas, who stared at it blankly before taking it gently with the smallest of smiles. The Queen tried to convince herself that his eyes had become a little brighter at the gesture, but deep down she knew it was a desperate mothers' wishful thinking. Sora was happy to receive even the smallest of smiles, and laughed cutely, pleased that he had made his friend happy; although children didn't really expect much as adults did, Aerith supposed.

Just then, the King diverted her attention away from their son, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Aerith looked up at her husband and saw that his eyes were furrowed with concern, looking ahead of him towards the doorway of the ballroom. The Queens eyes pooled with worry as she followed her husbands gaze, and felt her heart constrict as she noticed a few of the members of the elders waiting in the doorway, garbed in their usual navy suit jackets, gold trim also lining the shoulders of their suit jackets, and they too had golden buttons decorating the front of them, however theirs did not display the royal symbol. Some of them carried scrolls and other important documents. The elders were a group of the wisest mer-folk in the kingdom, who acted as advisers to members if the royal family, deciding what actions may be best for the kingdom. They had known about Roxas'-predicament since his birth, but on the Queens' wishes they had allowed things to run their natural course, now that they were here, disrupting Roxas' birthday of all things, Aerith thought angrily, it obviously meant that they had made a very important decision.

"Please excuse me" Cloud said, taking his wife's' had briefly, planting a delicate kiss upon it, before heading over to the elders and leaving the ballroom all together, no doubt heading to the throne room to discuss whatever they had to say. Aerith frowned, feeling panic rise within her, causing a sudden urge to rush over to her son and hold him protectively, as if a mere click of the elders fingers would make him disappear. She also noticed the murmurs and whispers from some of the upper class mer-folk, the women trying and failing to conceal their whispers behind their jewelled ring covered hands and fish scaled fans. Yes it was an unfortunate trait for women to gossip, but she found it insulting that they would do so about her only son and their kingdoms' heir. Her irritable thoughts were once more disrupted, this time by one of her husbands' servants coming towards her. He stopped in front of her, bowed his head respectfully, his hands laced behind his back as he stood tall and proud. "Your majesty, King Cloud requests that you bring Prince Roxas to the throne room, he has some important matters he would like to discuss with you".

Aerith clutched a hand to her chest, her fears confirmed. Trying to prevent panic from overwhelming her, she gracefully stood from her seat and made her way to Roxas. "Come along sweetie, your father wishes to see us in the throne room; you can come back and play later". She gently scooped up her son, who looked up at her briefly before continuing to play with the toy sea horse Sora had handed to him. Sora looked up sadly for a moment, but he was soon joined by Yuffie and Riku, two other children who he often played with. Their mothers smiled respectively up at Aerith as they placed their normal, happy babies beside Sora, who soon forgot about Roxas leaving and carried on playing quite happily.

Queen Aerith smiled meekly at her friends and tried to ignore the stares she received from other mer-folk as she gently swam by, holding Roxas close to her as if to shield him from their knowing gazes, escorted by the servant, unable to prevent the odd tear escaping from her eyes despite her desperation to appear strong as she made her way through the ballroom doors, feeling almost like her son was condemned.

Axel was glad he was sitting down. This story was already preposterous, but what could Roxas probably gain by lying to him, and about such a strange subject, too. He must have been telling the truth, no matter how strange his story was. A few months ago, Axel had experienced enough enchantment to know that there were many more mysterious beings in the world, and throughout the time he'd known him, Roxas had never given him a reason to think that he was a liar. Axel swallowed roughly and nodded, signalling to Roxas that he could continue.

"Unlike every other mer-person, I was born without a soul at all. My destiny among my world was uncertain. You see" here Roxas became shy, flushing slightly. "I-I am the prince of the mer-people. Everyone was worried what would happen to me, and knew that it wouldn't be possible for me to rule them in my-condition. So they decided to send me to the human world in hopes that my experiences here will help me to gain a soul of my own. Or, if I could marry a human-"

"You could share their soul?" Axel finished for him, in a quiet slightly bewildered voice. Roxas nodded, looking at his knees again.

"So, in order for that to happen, they had to leave me here…"

"What? Cloud what are you saying! How could you even suggest such a thing?" Queen Aerith cried, outraged and heartbroken that her husband was actually going to go through with the elders' decision.

"Aerith, this is the last thing that I wanted for our son, but I don't think we have any other choice" Cloud said in a soft guilt laced voice.

"But abandoning him on land, while he's still so young? Cloud, he could die! You can't possibly mean to go through with this!"

"I would never leave our son on land to fend for himself. We will leave him for a human couple to raise; perhaps experiencing life in a different world will help Roxas find a way to gain a soul. Otherwise, well, who knows what would happen."

"A human couple? Cloud, we are his parents, who could do a better job then us?" Aerith cried, tears now streaming down her cheeks as she realised that she was loosing the battle with her husband. A father could love his child, but they would never understand the deep maternal bond a mother had with her baby.

"Aerith, please-" Cloud began, trying to reach out for his wife, who backed away from his touch, clutching Roxas to her as tightly as she could without hurting him, afraid that one of the men in the room would snatch him away as soon as she let her guard down.

"Aerith, we've tried everything we can, it's been three years and Roxas still hasn't made sufficient improvement. Perhaps a new environment and new experiences will help him".

Aerith looked forlornly at her son, who's eyes wandered to and from his father and the elders, his expression still remained blank. He stirred slightly and looked up as he felt the pearl like tears softly fall upon his head as his mother cried softly into his hair; Trembling slightly as she held her son. She felt like a failure as a mother. For three years she had tried, and still had not been able to help her son. Deep down she knew that something else had to be done if they were going to help Roxas, but she couldn't bear to give him away to anyone else. What if even the human couple couldn't help Roxas? She would be loosing her son for nothing. He may be unresponsive most of the time, but it was better then not having him around at all.

"Your majesty, please, we are just thinking about what would be best for the kingdom. How can Roxas possibly continue the family rein if he is in such a condition? How will he be able to rule his people?" an elder named Eraqus said firmly. Eraqus was a distinguished samurai in his younger years, and had taught Cloud and his most trusted guard and friend Leon in the art of sword mastery. He was the elder Cloud trusted the most, and if he had a firm opinion of something, then more often then not Cloud would listen.

Aerith sighed shakily. "So this is something that you've all agreed to? This is your final decision?" Cloud took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before announcing his hurtful decision to his heartbroken mate. After all, despite the fact that he believed this was the best and only way forward for his son and his people, he felt guilty for having made the final decision without her present.

"It is" he said softly. Aerith bit her lip and looked forlornly at Roxas, gently running a hand through his hair. "So what happens now? What's the next step?" she said in a broken whisper. "What is to become of our boy?"

"We shall take him to Larxene; she will have ways to enable Roxas to live on land for a longer period of time."

"The sea witch? Cloud, you know how dangerous she is, what makes you think that she'll be willing to help us?" Suddenly Aerith felt a surge of over protectiveness flow through her blood, feeling more afraid at the thought of having Larxene decide the fate of her son then the elders. She clung to Roxas once more, a little too firmly, making him whimper slightly.

"Be careful my love, you're hurting him" Cloud said firmly, moving forward to take Roxas from her. Aerith reluctantly allowed her husband to take their son into his arms, wrapping her own around her waist for comfort. Cloud rested his forehead gently onto Roxas' and looked into his almost curious eyes, which stared up at him. Cloud was almost ashamed at himself for thinking for the briefest of seconds that the little Prince probably didn't even acknowledge the fact that his own father was looking at him; once more he was most likely looking but not seeing. He tried to push these thoughts to the back of his mind; surely despite his problems he was still able to recognise his own parents? Still, this made him all the more determined to seek the help of the sea witch. He didn't want his son to not recognise his own father. He didn't want his son to live his life if he wasn't going to experience it. "Please understand my love; I just want what's best for our son." Aerith took a deep breath and released it slowly, nodding gently. She would miss him dearly, she was certain Cloud would too, but he was right, this was now way for her son to live; in complete un-aware solitude, oblivious to the world. It just wasn't fair.

"Alright" she said softly. "Lets' take him to Larxene".

"Naturally, mer-people can only stay on land for a certain period of time. Yes, we can change form at will, but the ability only lasts so long, unless of course we marry. In order for me to stay on land for years, without having married a human, a human would have to be taken to the sea as a replacement."

The King and Queen swam with purpose, along with Leon and a group of other palace guards, who swam along each side protectively, carrying spears, swords and shields. Golden body armour garbed their torsos; fine helmets similar to that of Roman soldiers protected their heads. Larxene lived much further out away from the palace, away from the interruptions and burdens of other mer-folk.

A few miles out to sea they approached a treacherous looking cavern, dark and deep lined with jaggered edges. Hot water emitted every now and then from underwater geysers, unexpected and vicious if one got too close. Deadly looking plants guarded the area, which was enriched with toxic colours. You could almost consider the area eerily beautiful, if you didn't know about the dangerous poisons that each plant held within its veins.

Suddenly a nearby geyser rumbled threateningly, before scorching hot water burst from its belly. The guards pulled the Queen away and scattered just in time, but it was Leons' quick reaction that only just managed to pull Cloud to safety before his skin was scorched from his body. Cloud quickly recovered from his shocked stupor, and silently scalded himself for being too wrapped up in his own thoughts and not paying attention to his surroundings. He turned to Leon with an appreciative smile, temporarily held onto his arm and nodded to him in silent thanks. Leon returned the smile, repeating the hand gesture, before the two rejoined with the rest of the group. Roxas whimpered slightly at the sudden threat, but his mother gently shushed him, calming him down with a few softly spoken words of comfort. A pang of sadness swept through her as she thought about the fact the only time Roxas showed any kind of noticeable emotion was when he was afraid. The group continued on, a little wearily this time, should they run into any more hidden dangers. Tension rose deep into the pits of their stomachs, as they approached the mouth of the cave where the sea witch resided. The guards subconsciously tightened their grip on their weapons, Aerith held Roxas closer, looking around for every and any possibly danger.

Vines hung from the mouth of the cave like the tendrils of a deadly sea creature, waving softly in an underwater current, almost as if they were coxing them to come closer with a false send of security, like an invisible spider web to a fly. Roxas whimpered slightly once more and clung to his mother; Aerith calming him down by shushing and gently rubbing his back. Cautiously they made their way further into the cave, the guards sticking close to the royal family, eyeing the vines as if they were a snake about to strike. Jaggered teeth - like stalagmites reached out from the floor of the cave, making it a little more difficult to manoeuvre, through the centre of the cave; instead they had to weave in and out towards the sides of the cave – closer and closer to the vines.

Suddenly, just as Aerith brushed passed the wall with her tail a vine snapped into action and reached out for her. She let out a surprised scream, alerting the guard nearest to her, who sprung into action, slicing the vine with his sword. He managed to cut the vine in half, causing a strange squealing sound to emit from the vine. Upon seeing this, the other guards, even Cloud, drew their swords, surrounding the Queen protectively and just in time. In response to the vines' little shrike the other vines had also spring to life, snapping like whips as they attempted to grasp onto the men. Making sure that they kept the Queen and Roxas out of reach from the attacks, the guards and the King slashed out at the vines, cutting them to pieces, the whole cave a chorus of screams emitting from the plants, the ones that weren't sliced quite enough to be killed retreated back into holes in the cave walls.

Soon they were all surrounded by a deadly forest of green, tentacles cutting through skin and armour from all directions. Leon soon found himself backed up against the wall, vines attacking him from all directions. Whilst he was busy fighting off the ones at eye level, a vine came from above and tightened round his neck, dragging him towards the ceiling. He struggled, trying to cut himself free, and held onto the vine with his free hand, trying to loosen its grip but to no avail. Suddenly a whooshing sound swept by his ears, the tightness loosened and he found that he could breathe again. Clutching his throat and coughing, he tuned to see Cloud glaring at the remains of the vine, then smiling at him. "Just returning the favour" he said, making his friend smirk, almost as if they had been competing to see who was better at saving who.

They nodded to each other, before turning back to back and fighting along side each other, just as they had when they were training.

The fight continued until one vine remained, larger and stronger then what the others were. A guard holding a large round shield lunged at the vicious plant, only to be thrown back into the opposite wall by a powerful lashing, his shield and sword falling to the ground – leaving Aerith open to attack.

The vine snapped forwards once more, but Aerith, a sudden protective instinct surging through her, quickly grasped onto the hilt of the guards' sword and slashed it down through the vine, then slashing once more to ensure that it was destroyed completely. Nothing was going to harm her baby. She glared at what remained of the vine as the remnants gently flowed down to the ground; the others staring at her in shock, and admiration. Cloud looked proudly at his wife. Despite her usual calm and peaceful nature she was more then capable to fight with a sword. Cloud had taught her particular techniques when they were younger so that she would be able to defend herself. Spending that time together was how they began courting in the first place. Clearly she still remembered them – or she was still secretly practising them. The latter wouldn't surprise him. "Are you alright?" she asked the guard whose sword she had used. He bowed his head sheepishly and muttered "yes your majesty", inwardly promising to practise his fighting technique to perfection, so that the same thing wouldn't happen again.

Aerith smiled kindly, before running her fingers through Roxas' hair, worried that the sudden attack would have upset him, but this time he merely looked up at her silently, his eyes slightly wider then usual. She liked to think to herself that he was inwardly impressed with her, too. Smiling softly once more, she looked up at her party and said "so let's go. We didn't go through all that for nothing."

Taking one last look around them, their eyes lingering up at the holes in the walls - just in case there were any final sneak attacks – the guards and the King and Queen swam on through, a little bruised and sore, but non worst for wear.

Shortly afterwards the cave opened up into a larger area. The walls were as dark and foreboding as the rest of the cave, except for a small glowing well like pit in the middle of the room, which emitted a strange acid green and yellow colour. Part of the rock walls stuck out slightly and had been used as shelves for various shaped and sized bottles, with all kinds of unknown, brightly coloured liquids, some with various organs from unfortunate sea creatures and even eyeballs floating within them. No doubt these were used for the sea witches' potions. Shadows formed from the bleak light coming from the well reaching out over the walls, almost like long pointed clawed hands, poised and ready to drag them into the dark hidden depths of the room.

The guards surrounded the King and Queen, weapons poised. Even though they had made it to the sea witch in one piece, there was no guarantee that she would help them, or how angry she would be about them trespassing on her land, so precautions had to be taken.

At the far end of the cave, lay another tunnel covered with sea weed. Assuming that it lead to the witches' quarters, they cautiously made their way over. At the foot of the tunnel, Cloud cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Larxene; we have come for your assistance." For a brief moment there was no answer, perhaps she chose to ignore them? Just as Cloud was about to speak again, a voice answered "how rude of you to disturb a lady in her own home without permission." A young mer-woman with short blond hair with strange antenna like bangs came through and scowled at the newcomers; her long black tail trailing behind her, black fins with white spots trailed down the base of it and the same flowing fin sat on each side of her slim waist. The same type of fin-like appendages trailed down her arms, finishing at her wrist, leading the eye to her pale webbed hands. She was a beautiful yet intimidating sight.

"I see you managed to get by my carnivorous tendril plant, you must really need my help to have wanted to risk getting yourselves eaten. Mostwisely give up and leave while they can or are unfortunate enough to become a meal."

Leon swallowed roughly, he was extremely glad that the plant hadn't managed to pull him into the hole in the ceiling. Horrid images of a ghastly sharp toothed mouth entered his mind, tearing and shredding the flesh of its unfortunate victims; an ice cold shudder ran through him, he shook his head to try and diminish the horrid images flashing through his mind. He would have to thank Cloud once more when they left here.

"So, why are you here?" the sea witch demanded; her eyes flashing dangerously.

What could be so important that the royal family has to grace me with their presence?" she added sardonically.

She was intimidating in personality as well as in appearance. Still, Cloud was King of the mer-people, and he wasn't about to back down. "My son is in need of your help. Ever since he was born we have known that he was – different." He was carful not to say abnormal or something equivalent, for fear of offending Aerith. Larxene crossed her arms impatiently and observed the little mer-prince sitting quietly in his mothers arms. Aerith subconsciously tightened her hold on her son, feeling nervous by the intense unimpressed expression on the sea witches' face.

"He has never really reacted to anything, he's always quiet and distant, he never interacts with anyone or reacts to things as a child his age should. We've tried everything, but now the elders have decided that he should come to you for advice, if you are willing to help" Cloud continued, trying no to let his frustrated, sad feelings show through his words.

Larxene scoffed. "Your child's problems are your problems, I do not see why you came all the way here for my help just for this" she said rather rudely. Next to Cloud Leon frowned. He didn't care if she was a powerful sorceress, he would be having more then words if she dared to continue disrespecting the King in such a manner. He gripped his sword firmer, but made attempts to calm himself after receiving warning glares from the other guards. Cloud however continued to keep eye contact with the witch, outwardly appearing unfazed by her rudeness. "The elders have decided that the best thing to do for him would be to send him to live amongst humans, to gain new experiences in a different world, but in order to do so we require your magic". Larxene huffed in irritation. She quickly moved forward to take Roxas from his mother. Aerith made a move to avoid the witches' advance, suddenly more afraid seeing that she was angry; but she took the baby anyway. "You want me to help him don't you? How can I if you won't let me see him" she snapped, taking Roxas and examining his eyes with her disapproving ones. She had a particular disliking for children, holding one was even harder for her to tolerate. She placed a hand on Roxas' head and muttered an incantation. Roxas suddenly became very withdrawn in her presence, his eyes became darker and emptier then usual, as if the witches' very touch had drained all remaining life out of his little body. Larxene 'tisked' then took the baby over to the shelves of bottles, searching for a particular potion. She chose a round purple bottle and made her way over to the strange glowing pit in the middle of the floor. Tipping its content into the pit she muttered a few inaudible incantations. Gradually a pale peach coloured smoke rose up from the pit, and with a few swift yet elegant looking hand movements Larxene managed to control the smoke and appeared to lift it up towards her as one would for something solid, yet it still remained wispy like smoke, almost as if she had developed the ability to control the elements. With a few more of the same elegant controlled hand movements she moved the smoke over Roxas, once more muttering incantations. She held her hand above his head, whilst the little mer-prince continued to stare blankly, his mind in his own little world.

An aura of light formed around Roxas for a brief moment, but faded away as soon as it had appeared; Larxene 'humphed' in realisation.

"Well, this certainly is something interesting. For once the elders gave you some useful advice" she said finally, gladly relieving herself of Roxas, firmly handing him back to Aerith. Cloud narrowed his eyes at the comment, but only said "so what have you discovered?"

"Well, anyone could see merely by looking at the child that his mental awareness is not normal. So the spell I used was used to establish his spiritual awareness, and his response was very weak".

"So what are you saying?" Aerith asked with a small voice.

"I'm saying" Larxene answered, impatiently; "your son does not have a soul. Not even half, as a mer-person should."

"That's' preposterous!" Aerith cried angrily. "He shows fear, he even shows happiness sometimes, although they are in very small amounts, he still has emotion! You must be wrong!" She nuzzled her head into Roxas' hair as Cloud wrapped his arms around her in comfort.

"Don't come here, interrupt me in my own home demanding that I help you and then tell me I'm wrong!" the seas witch yelled, her eyes flashing dangerously, her posture suggesting that she was close to striking. The guards prepared themselves for a possible attack.

"Forgive me wife, it is just that we have never heard of a case where a person has been born without a soul. Of course it is hard for us to believe." Cloud said, as calmly as he could, resting his chin on top of Aerith's head, wrapping his tail around her in comforting affection.

"Well you came to me for help and that is what I have found. If living in this world hasn't helped him by now, then there is no future for him here. You even sought the elders help and do not want to believe what they have told you. Believe what you want, but if he is to change then sending him to the human world is the only move forward. If you still refuse to believe me then get out! You've wasted enough of my time already!" She turned to leave and make her way back into the tunnel to her quarters again, but Cloud released Aerith and held out a hand to try and stop her.

"No, wait, please, we did not intend to offend you or insult your knowledge of magic." To his relief Larxene stopped, but she glared at him over her shoulder, torn between staying to hear what the King had to say or whether to simply leave them to their own problems as she originally wanted.

"What do you suggest we do? He cannot stay on land for long without powerful magic" Cloud continued.

Larxene sighed impatiently and turned once more to face him. "The only way he can hope to gain a soul is by marrying a human, but he will have to wait years before that can happen, so he will have to live amongst the humans to try and help him at least gain a personality". Aerith scowled at this harsh comment. The witch didn't know her son at all, how dare she?

"So will you use your magic to help him stay on land for that long?"

"It's not that simple" Larxene responded, as if the King lacked intelligence. "A replacement will have to be taken from land for this to work. I would need to summon my water sprites to scour the land to find a child with a spiritual connection to the sea. It may take weeks, months, too much of my time, and I see no profit in it for me."

Aerith bit her lip to try and prevent tears from spilling. They'd been through this whole ordeal for nothing. "What could you possibly wish to gain? You choose to live alone away from the castle, your magic enables you to gain things without the use of money; what could we possibly give you to change your mind?"

Larxene wrinkled her nose at the very thought of having to ask anyone for anything. It was the royal family-Clouds ancestors-that were responsible for the decline in magic users in the sea. Larxene's family had tried to keep their magic abilities to themselves, but they were discriminated against, sent away to live in exile because they didn't realise the full potential of natural magically gifted people, and superstitions lead them to believe that all magic was bad, and droved those capable away, or worse. Over time all of her family had perished, one by one, until she was alone. Yes it was her ancestors who were more hard done by, but she had still paid the price for Clouds' families' actions, even if they weren't aimed at her directly. After all, once Cloud had taken the throne he had changed the law enabling magic users to use their abilities providing of course that they did so without malicious intent, but after years of struggling Larxene had become bitter and hateful. Why would she want to live amongst the people who had discriminated against her family and others like her? They all thought too highly of themselves, Larxene thought; she never wanted to be considered 'equal' among them. If anything they should try and make themselves feel equal to her. At least that is how she viewed things.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. She glanced at the little prince still sitting quietly in his mothers' arms and smirked. She swam over to a large book standing on another stone shelf near the potions and turned to the page she was thinking of to confirm things. The others watched her curiously, hoping that she had decided to help them, but they knew nothing of the selfish plots that were currently forming in her mind. She found the page that she was searching for and confirmed her original theories. On the extremely rare occasion when a mer-person was born without a soul at all, they were often feared and discriminated against, as a soulless person was considered to be more susceptible to being possessed with evil and dark magic. Of course it had been hundreds of years since the last cases were written, but without their own soul, enabling them to feel compassion and empathy, the right black magic could be used to make that person obey the sorcerer or sorceress and them alone, and do whatever they bid them to do, regardless of what it was. They could even be controlled to kill their families without a second thought-susceptible to so much power. With that kind of power on her side she could summon her water sprites and creatures of the shadow world to put an end to Clouds' families' rein. Why reside in a cave when you can reside in a castle and own the entire kingdom with it? Yes she would send him to live on land, but to grow and gain in strength; even if he didn't develop emotionally he would physically. Life on land was hard after all. Plus, her help would gain temporary trust with the royal family, so when her plan was ready to commence, she could finally destroy the weak kingdom of the mer-people, and what could possibly be better then using their own prince, controlled by dark powerful magic, to do so? She knew that she was their last hope to help their son, but would they agree to any price? Of course they wouldn't know of her plan, but would they be willing to face the possible consequences they must face for this spell to work? And more importantly could she do everything that she could to prevent the prince from gaining a soul?

After studying the ingredients that this particular spell required, she placed it back onto the shelf and made her way over to the group once more. "Alright, I shall help you. It should be possible with the right spell. I can enable your son to walk upon land until his sixteenth year, which should be sufficient time. Most humans are married long before that. By then, if he has any hope of becoming normal at all, he would have shared a soul with a human by then."

"Oh, thank you!" Aerith cried, too grateful about the fact that the witch was willing to help to question her sudden change of mind. Cloud however was more suspicious. Why was she suddenly so willing to help them? Larxene made her way over to the potions shelf once more; picking a concoction of different liquids, some various plants, and certain other unusual items into the fiery pit in the cave floor. Speaking the same language as her pervious incantations, which they could now tell was Latin, the King, Queen and guards watched almost in awe at the sea witch work. Puffs of acidic green smoke emitted from the pit each time Larxene added something, until a final much larger puff of smoke exploded up to the cave ceiling, signalising the completion of her potion. The group were eager to see what she had created, but felt their interest and hope sink greatly when she presented them with what appeared to be a sea berry. "This is all you came up with?" One of the guards exclaimed, without thinking. Larxene growled almost savagely.

"How dare you question me! How dare you!" The guard flinched back slightly despite himself. Larxene was so angry that she was a hairs width away from obliterating the man altogether, but after closing her eyes, breathing deeply, she thought better of it; after all, if her plan was to work then she had to remain in good terms with the royal family. Obliterating one of the palace guards certainly wasn't a good way to do that. Cloud glared at the offending guard, worried that the witch would now change her mind, but was more surprised then relieved when she managed to press down her anger and say firmly yet calmly "this contains one of my strongest form changing spells. A sea berry will be must easier to feed to your child then trying to force him to drink something, he might not like the taste, and he must have the whole potion for it to work. A sea berry will disguise the taste and make it easier to ensure he takes the whole dosage." She handed the berry to Aerith; Roxas remained quiet and distant as usual. "Give this to him when you are by the sea shore and say these words: Swim exprofundum , ingredior ut brevis , incultus vestri sedecim annus. Lucrum verus diligo animus , quod profundum mos exspectata vos iterum. It had always been a pain, but Aerith especially was glad that they had been forced to learn the ancient mother of languages during her years of studying.

"By then my water sprites will have searched the land for a child worthy of the exchange, they would have to live close enough.

'At least Aerith will still have the chance to be a mother' Cloud thought, trying to see some positive sides to this plan; and then, hopefully, if all went well, their son would return to them, happy and normal, as he should be, and they could rule the kingdom together. Or perhaps this was wishful thinking, but this is all they had to hope for right now, the alternative was much too horrible to even think about. Aerith bowed her head in thanks. "You have no idea how grateful we are for your help" she said softly. Larxene merely waved dismissively. "Enough, you must leave now".

She had already spent more then enough time in the presence of others for one day. "What of the carnivorous plant?" one of the guards asked nervously.

"If you have injured it enough to have made it in here in one piece then it will not guard my dwellings again. Fear not though, I shall find a much more deadly replacement for it" Larxene added, an almost evil smirk appearing on her face. Swallowing roughly, unsure if the witch was jesting, the guard followed the others escorting Aerith out of the witches premises. Once they had left, Larxene stopped Cloud in his tracks. "A final word" she said. When Cloud turned to her she said "I didn't think the Queen would agree to this if she knew the whole situation."

"What do you mean? There were hidden motives to your services?"

"Well yes, and no" Larxene replied with a sly knowing smile. "I may have chosen to help you, but be warned and take heed." Here she became very serious; "If the Prince does not gain a soul by his sixteenth year, he shall loose his heart, his will and his life, to become a mere empty shell of his former self. If he fails, he shall belong to me". Clouds eyes widened. No wonder she was suddenly so eager to help. She was their only chance to help their son, and yet what she wanted in return was too much to give up. Roxas would be worse off then what he was now? What did she mean he would belong to her? What use could he possibly be to her in that state?

"Although I'm sure if your wife knew that, she would think twice before going through with this, would she not?" Cloud thought about it and decided that Larxene was probably right. He scowled at the witch; he just knew that there had to be a catch to this. "Fare well Cloud. Fear not, you will soon have a new, more worthy child to raise". With that she held out her arms and spoke a few more words in Latin, and shortly after strange mist like apparitions appeared next to her, a strange haunting laughter filled the room. Larxene turned to her servants. "Find a child with the soul of the sea, they must be no older then three years of age and live within the closest land mark to here. Bring them to me. Now go!" The apparitions obeyed and disappeared to find who would soon become Clouds foster child. But how were they to get here without drowning? The only way to live underwater without having married a mer-person was to eat a special type of plant simply called water weed, which enabled them to live underwater without requiring air, but they only grew deep underwater. "You miss nothing, do you?" Larxene said, almost as if she had read the Kings' mind. "They will not drown as long as they are with my servants. Then you must keep them on regular intakes of water weed. Other then that, things will be as normal. Now leave me, I have done enough for you, and you have outstayed your welcome." Cloud frowned at her still obvious lack of respect, but bowed his head briefly with a small "thank you for all you have done" and made his way back out of the cave, where he rejoined with his group. Now began the hardest part of their journey. They would have one more night together at the palace, before their final journey the next day, when they would take Roxas to land and leave him for another human couple to raise.

"We can only stay on land for a certain period of time." Roxas said, continuing his story. "Yes, we can change form at will, but the ability only lasts so long, unless of course we marry. In order for me to stay on land for years, without having married a human, they would have to take a human as a replacement. So Larxene sent out the water sprites-servants of powerful mer-folk- to search for a suitable replacement. The closest family, and the easiest opportunity open to them, was the fisherman's daughter."

Axel immediately gasped at this statement. What was Roxas saying? That they had killed a small child in order for him to live on the land in her place; a selfish act purely to gain his own soul?

"She was younger then me" Roxas continued. "About one year old, I think; but they found that she was spiritually connected to the water. There was something special about her that the spirits were drawn to. There couldn't be a more convenient human to complete the exchange; so they took her." he swallowed roughly, and took the bracelet off, holding it in front of him, as if seeing it in a different light.

The next day sent a wave of great sadness through Aerith as she watched the sleeping child in her arms. She had kept Roxas in her bed that night, wanting to keep him with her for as long as possible. Today was her last day with her son. She promised herself that she would remain strong, but she couldn't prevent her eyes from prickling with tears as she dwelt on how peaceful and beautiful he was, sleeping innocently and innocently unaware that his parents were going to abandon him later that day. Her chest constricted painfully; she was almost certain that her heart had broken. She noticed that Cloud had already awoken and had left the room. Slowly she moved out of bed, carefully picking up Roxas as she did so. He stirred slightly and whimpered sleepily, rubbing his eyes with his little fists, before looking up at Aerith with his big blue eyes. His mother smiled as best as she could, as if Roxas would have known that she was sad and worry if she didn't and said "come now Roxas, let us find your father". She slowly made her way out of the royal bed chamber, its mother of pearl walls with high ceilings and pearl chandeliers glinting in the early morning sun did nothing to lift her mood the way it usually did. She made her way to the Royal chambers where she assumed her husband would be, and true enough he was, along with the elders, Leon and a few of his guards, all who were looking at something that Cloud was holding. Aerith frowned curiously and swam closer cautiously. A few of the guards outside of the circle noticed the Queens' presence first and alerted the others, who stood to attention out of respect. The elders looked up towards her, their eyes knowing, some pitiful. Cloud took a deep breath and turned to his wife; "Aerith, look who the sprites have brought us", he said softly. "She's very beautiful" he added gently, revealing a little baby girl, currently nestled in his arms, with hair quite long for a child her age, and skin the softest peach; a little white cotton dress covered her body. However it was her eyes that caught Aeriths' attention. They were large and almost shaped like tear drops, and were the most beautiful deep shade of blue. "The sprites told me that her name was Namine. We are going to raise her" Cloud said, hoping that knowing that they were still going to have a chance at being parents would make the separation from Roxas a little easier to bear. "We've given her some water weed, a little softer then usual, she's only one years old." Cloud chuckled a little "you should have seen her face when we first gave it to her, she wasn't very impressed". Aerith tried to smile at what would become her little girl, sitting comfortably in her new father's arms, eyes bright and alert, looking around her curiously, her little feet kicking casually. Although Aerith agreed that Namine was beautiful, she couldn't help but think of her human mother, and what a beautiful gem she had lost. Roxas glanced at Namine, eyes still dull, yet he didn't look away from her for a little while, almost as if he was trying to figure out whom he was looking at. "So, what do we do now?" Aerith asked, although deep down she already knew the answer. Clouds' brief brave smile disappeared, and he frowned sadly.

"Your majesty, it is time to take Roxas to the surface. He must be taken to Namine's parents, they will raise him." An elder said softly. Aerith's eyes filled with tears and she nodded. Namine was left with Master Eraqus and the other elders, and the King, Queen and the guards made their way towards the nearest strip of land, the area Namine had come from.

"My human mother originally made this bracelet for her, but she gave it to me on the day that they found me. I keep this as a constant reminder to myself what I needed to do; what I was here for, and what Larxene and the elders had said I need to do…"

The wind billowed viciously through the night air; storm clouds as black as night suffocated the skies. The ocean waters churned and heaved, crashing into the rocks which lay just off the shore. It was here that Aerith, cloud, Leon and a few of his most trusted guards waited. Despite her promise to herself to remain strong during the last moments she had with her baby son, Aerith couldn't stop herself from crying. Her arms trembled not only from the cold winds but from the utter heartbreak. She felt as though her heart was being slowly ripped from her chest. She kept tying to tell herself that this is what was best for her son, but knowing that it would be perhaps many years before she was able to set eyes upon him again hurt her terribly. She sobbed softly into his hair; taking in its sweet sea salty scent for what she felt was the last time. Despite Roxas' usual dazed behaviour, he too seemed uneasy. Perhaps it was the violent thrashes of the waves, or perhaps deep down he could sense his mothers' misery, but for once he came out of his usual dazed stupor he looked around his surroundings whimpering slightly at what he saw. Still, he had always felt safe with his mother, even if he was never able to show it, so surely things would be alright. He looked up at her, his beautiful eyes wide and almost weary about what they were doing in such a strange place in such frightful weather, but if his mother had brought him here, then he knew that everything would be okay. This reaction was perhaps only an assumption from the broken hearted queen of what may actually be going on through Roxas' mind as she watched him. What if he really did think something was wrong? What would he think when they left him alone on the beach. He would think that they didn't love him, that he had done something wrong. This very thought made Aerith cry even more.

She thought about the little girl who Larxene had ordered her water sprites to bring back; a child worthy of replacing their son; little Namine. She too was perfect, ocean blue eyes, fair hair as gold as the early morning sun, the softest skin. Her mother would be missing her terribly; perhaps even more so then how she was feeling about leaving Roxas. Namine's mother must have thought that her little girl was dead. Leaving a child was distressing enough, but to make a mother think such an awful thing? This was wrong.

"Its' time Aerith" Cloud said softly. A King never showed weakness to his people, no matter how they may be feeling, but his eyes, although appearing hard and cold, were beginning to fill with tears. He placed a hand lovingly on his sons' head. Roxas briefly looked up at his father with wide, blank eyes, Cloud trying to smile encouragingly though his sadness, before Roxas looked once more over to the shore. Aerith took a deep breath and hugged her son tightly for the final time before softly whispering the spell the sea witch had dictated to her:

"Swim exprofundum , ingredior ut brevis , incultus vestri sedecim annus. Lucrum verus diligo animus , quod profundum mos exspectata vos iterum".

Then she handed Roxas the sea berry the witch had dosed with the potion, to give him the legs of a human instead of the fins of a mer-boy. Roxas gently took the berry from his mother, thinking that it was ordinary food. Once the berry was consumed, he looked up at his mother and gave her the same meek smile he had given Sora. Almost immediately afterwards the effects began to take place. The Queens' lips trembled as she watched the changes take place, turning her son into a form he wouldn't know. The guards looked on in awe, Leon glancing over at Clouds' fixed, stern expression, before turning his attention back to the mer-prince, who was no longer a mer-person. In her arms Queen Aerith now held at a three year old human boy, who looked at his legs with mild interest, kicking them about cutely. She nuzzled her head into his hair, whispering through running tears "We love you very much, please don't ever forget that". She slowly made her way to the shore, while Cloud watched silently, taking every ounce of self- control he had not to shed tears, but failed as a few managed to slip through his heartbroken eyes, though fortunately for him only Leon saw, but the guard said nothing.

Aerith placed her son gently onto the sand, holding Roxas to steady him. He would take a while to get used to standing. "Stay here my love; some nice people will come to look after you. One day, when you're older, things will work out, and you-you can come back to us." She hugged Roxas from behind, and tried to smile as he looked back up at her. Slowly, very slowly, she released him, and backed away into the water. Roxas watched for a while before whimpering and holding out his arms to be picked back up, but Aerith merely shook her head. Choking through tears she whispered "no Roxas, my beautiful Roxas, you can't come back." She tried, but she could not tear her eyes away from her son. But she wished she had, because for the first time in his short life she saw those beautiful eyes well up as he tried to stumble towards her; whimpering with his arms outstretched. Aerith felt as though her throat had closed up, and found that she couldn't speak another word; instead she shook her head sorrowfully and turned away, making her way back towards her husband and the others. It was then that the king and Queens' hearts finally shattered, because their son started crying, his frightened eyes looking towards them as his little fists tried to wipe away his tears. Aerith clenched her fists and tried desperately to ignore the pitiful sound of her baby's cries, and swam further away from her son, who began to cry harder.

Thunder cracked in the air, and the wild winds continued to sweep by, carrying Roxas' frightened cries away with them. The King, Queen and their guards were waiting behind the large off shore boulders again, longing for the human foster parents to come, for Roxas' cries were becoming too hurtful to bear. His little heartbroken whimpers and sobs stung his parents' heart, and Aerith began to find it harder and harder to resist rushing forwards, scooping up her precious son and holding him once again in her arm, apologising again and again for even considering this plan in the first place.

As if reading her mind, Cloud placed a hand carefully but firmly onto her shoulder. Such an action would only make things worse. "Come along Aerith, perhaps we should go, the human couple will be here soon" he said softly. But Aerith shook her head firmly; despite how painful it was to watch her son like this, she refused to leave until she knew that he would be alright.

Suddenly, muffled voices could be heard not too far off in the distance, and appeared to be coming closer. The wind and thunder seemed to calm down a little, almost as if they were trying to hear themselves, or that they actually wanted the owners of the voices to hear Roxas, who was still crying his little eyes out, looking at where his mother had been, too afraid of the still ever vicious waters to try and return to her. The voices grew louder, and Aerith let out a small sob. This was it, this would be the last time she saw her son, his future amongst the mer-people rested on his upbringing of these very people. Cloud swallowed roughly, remembering what the sea witch had told him- the awful consequences which would curse the little prince; and the very mer kingdom itself if he did not obtain a soul by his sixteenth year.

"Be warned and take heed. If the Prince does not gain a soul by his sixteenth year, he shall loose his heart, his will and his life, to become a mere empty shell of his former self. If he fails, he shall belong to me".

He prayed to all and any deities out there, and all spirits of the sea that there plan would work. The voices grew louder, and soon two humans came into sight, both in peasant clothing. Roxas' parents worried about this, hoping that Roxas would be able to survive healthily enough until his sixteenth. Would he be warm enough in their home? Would he have enough food? What if he became sick? Cloud and Aerith felt a hand lay on their shoulders. "We should leave now, the humans must not see us here" Leon said softly. Cloud nodded after a brief hesitation, placing a hand on Aeriths' arm. "Come" he said simply, taking one last look at his son, and disappearing back into the black churning waves. Aerith sobbed softly, looking at her baby boy, who's tear filled sapphire eyes was pleading with her desperately not to leave him, to pick him up once more and take him home where his surroundings were familiar. He clumsily walked forward a couple of steps, before his little feet came into contact with the ice cold waves, and he stopped. "No baby" Aerith said, barely above a whisper, fighting against her maternal instincts to rush back and scoop Roxas back into her arms. She hid behind a bolder, keeping out of sight of her baby, but remaining close enough to watch as the human woman came towards Roxas. Aerith waited a little while, watching as the woman gently picked up her son, holding him close to her, and trying to ignore that painful pang in her heart again as Roxas still continued to search for her. She hoped with all her heart that they would be good to him, and slowly, using all of her remaining will power, she too disappeared into the waves to rejoin her people.

No matter what my human parents tried, I just couldn't come out of my shell. I felt nothing for anyone; not in the way I needed to.

I remained cold and distant most of the time. Even with my adopted parents. Until-until I met you that is". Roxas looked at the knight smiling shyly, but it soon faded when he saw Axel look down at his knees, his mind in turmoil. Roxas sighed, and continued his story, hoping that it would distract him from the current stinging sensation his chest. "The fisherman's true daughter cannot come back to the mortal world unless I am able to gain a soul. My mind has been plagued with guilt all these years. That I shouldn't be here, she should. This should be her life, she should know her parents. I shouldn't exist at all." With this last sentence Roxas let out a choked sob which he could no longer hold back.

"So-she's still alive?" Axel asked relieved, hesitating before deciding to rub Roxas' arm comfortingly. Roxas merely nodded before wiping away a treacherous tear. "However, if I am not able to gain a soul within a weeks' time, the anniversary of the day I was found, I will have to return to the ocean, never to gain access to land again." For the first time during the conversation, despite everything Roxas had told him, this scared Axel the most. 'They'll take Roxas away? I'll never see him again?' he thought frantically.

"So-so what of Larxene?" he asked nervously. "Why are you so afraid of her?" Roxas swallowed roughly, letting out a shaky sigh before he answered.

"She is a witch of the sea. It's a dangerous thing to cross paths with witches, let alone make deals with them, yet only she had magic strong enough to enable me to stay on land for so long. My father made a deal with her, before the she agreed to send out the water sprites. If her magic could keep me on land for a few years, and I fail to find true love and obtain a soul of my own, then I will belong to her. I will become nothing more then an empty shell of nothingness, a mere minion out to do her bidding, not even equal to her water sprites. This is why the decision was so hard for my parents. I was their only son, yet this was the only chance for me to gain a soul of my own. If Larxene is within the vicinity, then my time is almost up. This very reason is also why I have been having these dreams more often then usual." Axel nodded slowly, thinking deeply about the situation. He didn't know how to react. All he knew was that he didn't want Roxas to suffer like that. He had watched as Roxas changed from a quiet, calm, shy person to becoming the alert, happy young man that he knew now. A person eager to start a new day, and interested in what the world had to offer. Axel didn't want him to lose that trait. Even if it meant he wouldn't always be around to see it.

Axel knew that he loved Roxas, but did he love him enough to make such a commitment, to split his soul just for him? The red head thought back thought back to the fun times they'd had since he had arrived here. All of the laughter that they had shared, the nights they'd spent nestled in each other arms at night, how it felt to have Roxas watch him practice his sword fighting skills, and how his heart swelled happily yet nervously when he held the blond close to him as he murmured instructions about how to hold the sword in a strong stance, moving their bodies in sync as they practised slow offensive and defensive sword sequences. These happy memories soon vanished at the thought of Roxas being dragged down to the sea by unimaginable sea monsters, and he had seen just how sadistic the witch could be. He couldn't bear to think of the cruelty that Roxas would have to endure if he was forced to stay with her.

Did he love Roxas enough to give the ultimate sacrifice; His soul? Or part of it, in this case?

Axel didn't need to think long about his answer. He knew it was yes. He would do whatever it took to keep Roxas safe. Hang their age difference or their status. The blonds' safety was more important to him then his duties in Undine. Besides, wasn't it a knights' duty to protect the needy regardless?

"You-your searches are over, Roxas." He mumbled nervously, giving Roxas a hopeful smile. Said blond looked up. "Huh? What do you mean?" The blond asked, looking confused. Axel rubbed his hands together nervously before looking into Roxas' beautiful pools of blue and taking his hand gently, never tearing his eyes away from the blonds'.

"I-I said, um, you-you no longer have to search for anyone anymore. If you want I-I'd like to be your-your, um-"

A cute hopeful smile appeared on the blonds' face. Axel took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. He took Roxas' other hand-causing the blond to blush deeply and said "I would love to be your soul mate, if you're not opposed to, um, male/male relationships." The red head flushed slightly, suddenly hoping that he hadn't made a terrible mistake. What if Roxas was looking for a young girl to be with? Not a twenty year old man. Roxas stared at him bewildered for a while, before stuttering uncontrollably.

"Y-y-you mean that-that-we-we-uh-you want us to-to-uh"

"Never mind, it's alright" Axel sighed sadly, letting go of Roxas' hands as the hopeful light in his eyes was extinguished. "I understand, forgive me for asking such a thing. I hope that this doesn't ruin our friendship. But I vow to help you find a wonderful girl to be with" he added, with determination.

"Yes," Roxas mumbled, feeling a little dazed.

Axels' heart suddenly clenched tightly due to the sadness and embarrassment currently residing within him. Well, if he couldn't be with Roxas, then the least he could do was help him to find someone in time to beat the witches' spell. "Um, alright, where shall we-"he began to say, before Roxas placed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"Yes, I would like that very much".

Axel looked a little confused. "Um, yes, but where shall we-when do you want to-"

"My soul mate is right here." Roxas said, smiling wildly, his ocean blue eyes sparkling like sunlight on water once more. He took Axels' hand and held it tenderly to his cheek. Axels' heart leaped into his chest excitedly, his own eyes lighting up.

"You-you mean it? Really?" He cried happily, before blushing at how loudly he had spoken. Roxas laughed; it was a beautiful musical sound; true happy laughter.

"My soul mate has been with me the whole time. That's' why I've been able to laugh and feel happy. Why I've been able to feel at all. I would truly be honoured to have you for my mate". Axel laughed a little as he pulled the blond into a hug, Roxas snuggled into his chest. The knight nuzzled into his hair, enjoying the blonds' scent, almost like the ocean; an affectionate warmth spread through the both of them, until Roxas lifted his head and gently nuzzled into the red heads' neck, then softly ran his fingers along the man's jaw line. He lifted his head and brought his lips closer to the red heads', his eyes narrowing slightly. Axel took the hint and slowly leaned forward, gently brushing his lips against the blonds'. Their hearts pounded in their chests with nerves and anticipation, a shy blush slowly forming on their faces. Roxas especially felt excited, this was going to be his first kiss after all. The couple hesitated shyly, before Axel completely closed the gap between them. A wonderful rippling sensation warmed their bodies like a warm ocean wave as Axel gently tightened his grip around Roxas' waist, who then ran his hands through the red heads' surprisingly soft spikes. Roxas suddenly pulled Axel closer, intensifying the force of the kiss, making it more passionate, pressing his lips deeper into the red heads'. Roxas moaned softly as Axel began to gently nip his bottom lip. Eventually they parted, panting softly. They broke into wide smiles as they revealed their eyes to each other, chuckling as they gently rubbed noses. Axel then rested his forehead against the blonds', closing his eyes to savour the precious moment, Roxas following suit. After a while he cleared his throat a little nervously, and they opened their eyes again, emerald green jewels adoring the sight of incredibly happy sapphire ones. "I-I love you Roxas" Axel smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly, from both his shyness and his still slightly breathless state from his passionate kiss he had shared with his new lover.

Roxas smiled, his eyes sparkling. "I love you" he laughed, at actually being able to say it and feel it for someone else after all these years. "I love you" he said again, practically tasting his words. "I love you!" he cried happily, nuzzling back into Axels' chest. The red head laughed humorously before resting his head on top of Roxas' again. After a while of comfortable silence, Axel said "So, what now? Will your parents be alright with this? And, um, will we find a minister who will be willing to wed a same sex couple?"

"My parents may be surprised, but I think they'd be alright with it. After all, they've really taken to you. As for a minister I'm not sure. Most would be opposed to our union" Roxas replied, trailing off sadly as he thought about the logical possibilities. He'd only just solved one major problem, and now because of his loves' choice he had a whole new one. He sighed sadly. Axel gently rubbed Roxas' arm comfortingly, thinking hard about the way to solve their problem, until an unusual idea came to him. "Roxas, do you know anyone who practices under paganism?" said blond frowned in confusion. "Paganism? Hmm, no I do not think I do. Why do you wish to know that?"

"Paganism, my dearest Roxas" Axel said, giving the blond a brief squeezing hug "is and ancient religion-or way of life-that is not ruled by the church. They are less strict with the rights and wrongs of marriage. Unlike other religions, they are not opposed to same sex marriages. As long as two people share a deep love for one another and wish to be life long companions, then they are entitled to marry." Roxas' eyes sparkled in sheer joy at this miraculous solution.

"So it is possible!" But just as a hopeful light lit up his eyes, it was quickly diminished by realising one major problem. "I do not know of any pagan ministers, and people so rarely come by here." Axel looked thoughtful again, his arms still wrapped around the blonds' waist. "Perhaps your father met some people of this religion whilst out trading. Come, let us share our news, and we shall see if I am correct." Roxas however, suddenly didn't look quite as enthusiastic.

"But, to do so I must also explain the situation of out marriage. How could I possible tell them that I am the reason that their beloved daughter was taken from them? That I am the reason for all of their heart ache for all these years? They have been so kind to me, I simply could not bare to have them hate me".

"It looks like you are already well on you way to obtaining a soul" Axel smiled, almost proudly. "However, I am sure that they will not hate you, once you explain your whole story. After all, you were very young yourself. You had no choice in the matter. Besides, I will be with you, so you will not have to tell them alone if you do not wish."

Roxas smiled relieved, wrapping his arms around the knights' slim waist again, and resting his head on his chest, feeling calmer as he listened to his soothing heartbeat. "Thank you" he said, in almost whisper

"What are soul mates for?" Axel replied with a small chuckle, gently resting his cheek in the blonds' soft hair. "Now" he said after a few comfortable affectionate minutes went by; "Let us tell your parents our wonderful news". They both smiled lovingly at each other for a little while, before Axel gently lifted Roxas' chin and leaned forward, capturing his lips in a sweet, gently kiss once more.

A/N: Ooook, I can not tell you how happy I am to finally have this chapter done. This is the longest chapter I have ever written. I really hope that I didn't write too many unnecessary scenes, please tell me if I did o_o;;; buuuut aaanyway, there we have it. I hope you enjoyed it ^_^ oh, by the way, the Latten I used in the story is supposed to mean:

Swim from the sea, walk to the shore, until your sixteenth year. Gain true love's soul and the sea will welcome you once more.

Of course I don't speak Latten-although it would be awesome to do so, think of how easier it would be to learn different languages if you could :) I translated by using a latten website but if any of you guys do and I've got it wrong please let me know. I'm still working on 'until I met you', so don't worry people, more chapters will come, and a great big thank you to my lovely beta Saru813 for previewing this for me. Until next time ^_^/ ciao!