Authoress Notes: Thank you guys so much for the love once again. Gosh, what a long day XD. Enjoy the chapter!
Sailorblaze: Haha, I was wondering which pony that was ^_^.
Aqua girl 007: XD, I've had it stuck in my head for about a week now ^_^.
Sunrise Phoenix: Haha, Aknamkanon's gonna be TICKED :). I'm not sure how many chapters it will be...
Coka Cookie Cola: Haha, yeah really. SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME MERMAN TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE GO XD!
RealShippingPrincess: Thanks ^_^! Haha, yeah we couldn't cut out Kuriboh :).
MutantEnemy6789: Pinkie Pie FTW ^_^! Yep, that was Sailorblaze :).
Disclaimer: We don't own anything.
Plot:( Based on The Little Mermaid) Mermaids are mythical creatures that only exist in fairy tales and myths. A kiss from a mermaid or merman is the most powerful thing in the world. Once they are bonded, the love between them never fades. Yami is a merman prince who rescues a human princess named Tea from almost drowning, and falls in love with her, as she does with him. Even though they are from different worlds, they are willing to risk everything to be together. No matter what the cost. YamiTea JoeyMai SetoKisara
By Night One Way, By Day Another
By VampiressBeauty20 and BlackRoseDragonCK
Chapter Eight
"Yami...Yami..." the voice called out to him from the edge of the darkness. It sounded vaguely familiar...but he didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to leave the comforting arms of sleep...didn't want to face the world. He felt as though every last vestige of his strength, both of body and mind, had been drained away.
"Yami, please..." the voice grew more insistent and the fog of blissful disorientation slowly began to fade from Yami's mind. His sense of touch returned...and he found that he was in the ocean. Soft, gentle arms cradled him and his face was pressed into something velvety...velvety and sweet-smelling.
The memories rushed back like a torrent of water, flooding his mind with every event he had previously forgotten. The prince and Selene had come here to the surface and consumed the potion. There had been unimaginable pain and both of them had passed out...but it should have turned them into humans. That fact more than anything gave him an incentive to force his weary eyes open.
Yami blinked a few times, forcing his groggy mind to focus. Dawn was beginning to break on the horizon, painting the sky and sea in glorious shades of gold and red. The air was cool, its briskness further enhanced by the chilly ocean water. However, the prince found that he was quite warm. This was due to the fact that he was still lying in Tea's arms, his face nestled in her neck.
The girl gazed down at him, her azure eyes filled with fear and worry. He moaned softly, looked at her, and forced a weak smile onto his lips. "Hey there..."
The worry in Tea's face lessened, replaced by a wave of obvious relief. She pulled back so that she could look at him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Are you all right?" the girl asked.
"I think so..." he shifted in the shallow water so that he was sitting on his...knees? He had knees! Yami's eyes widened and he felt around in the water, expecting to feel the usual, slightly sharp scales...but touching the soft, warm skin of a leg instead.
"I'm...human," the prince's voice was a ghost of its formal self. "It...it actually worked!"
His mouth twisted into a huge grin as he turned to Tea. She was staring at him, looking slightly confused. He took her face between his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her soft, porcelain skin and leaving trails of water. "Don't you see what this means? We can finally be together!"
The girl's expression brightened, but her lover did not give her time to respond. Instead, Yami pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, snaking his arms around her waist. Tea's arms went around his neck, pulling him closer...until she suddenly squeaked. The prince pulled back and looked at her, confused. Her face was bright red and she bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
"Wait here for a second..." Tea said and stood up. She waded out of the water onto the sun-kissed beach and Yami couldn't help but admire how gorgeous she looked in the dawn light. The girl reached into a small sack she had lying on the sand, pulled out what looked like a thick, dark blue shawl, and carried it back to him. She handed her lover the material, keeping her eyes averted.
"H-here..." Tea murmured, her cheeks bright pink. "Stand up and t-tie this around your waist."
Confused, Yami did as she said, getting out of the water and tying the plush fabric around him. With that done, he finally looked down and beheld his new legs. They were slim and pale, looking natural on his body as if they had always been there. He took a cautious step forward...and found he had no trouble. His legs felt strong and able, and it was all he could do to resist the urge to run on them as he'd seen so many other humans do.
"They're nice," Tea said, arching her eyebrow and smiling with false coyness. Yami chuckled and began wading with his lover toward the beach. Upon reaching the warm, wet sand of the shore...he froze when he realized something.
"Hold on! Where's Selene?"
The youth looked around, frantically running his ruby eyes over the landscape. He saw golden sand leading to bright green wildlife... grey cliffs...colorful, exotic-looking flowers...an elegant palace in the distance...but no Selene. Kuriboh played along in the water, splashing around excitedly. It was then he spotted her just a few feet away, sitting in the shallow water, Revival Jam at her side. She turned her face to see her brother and Tea running towards her.
A bright smile lit up her face, as she slowly got to her feet, knee's a little wobbly but she managed to stand on her own. "Are you all right?" the prince asked his sister. She nodded, "Yes I'm fine," as the blue plasma ghost danced around her. The sound of voices approaching caused the princess to freeze in fear.
All three youths turned...and saw a trio of four young men running toward them. One of them had dirty blonde hair that slightly hung in his eyes, friendly dark brown eyes, and mischievous grin. He wore a white loose cotton shirt, and brown pants. The one standing next to him had his hair in a unsual style, it was dark brown above his forehead pointed up. His eyes were a light hazel color, and he wore a dark green button down shirt, navy blue trousers, and simple brown leather boots. The third one had sandy blonde colored hair, that hung loosely about his shoulders, his skin was a dark tan color. His eyes were the darkest lavender color, he was wearing a black vest, and simple black fourth was the most distinctive of them all, with long black hair that was expertly tied with a red band, painted emerald eyes, and tan skin. Dressed in a black tank top, a red and black pants, a dice hanging from his ear,he was quite handsome and moved with a confidence that suggested he was well aware of his looks.
Once they came within sight range, all four visitors stopped and stared in shock at the scene before them. Yami slid an arm around Tea's waist and pulled her protectively close, narrowing his blood eyes. Tea, however, smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his chest. "It's okay," she said. "They're my friends."
The blonde guy gave a cocky side grin and waved. "Nice to meetcha, pal," he said in an odd accent that Yami did not recognize. "The name's Joey." He pointed to the brown-haired youth beside him. "And this here's my sidekick, Tristan."
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Sidekick. So that means you're the one doing all the thinking? That's a terrifying thought."
"Yep, it's true, "Tea snickered, "These two may be a couple of goofballs, but they are the best of friends."
"Hey!" They both said in unison, frustrated. Tea only laughed more, which caused Yami and Selene to giggle. "You think that's funny huh Tea Hey at least you have a point when it comes to Joey," Tristan said. "Hey! Who's side are you on Tristan? Thanks a lot," Joey growled.
The platinum blonde just laughed, "I'm Marik, it's nice to meet you," he said in a quiet voice.
Joey glared and punched his companion in the arm while the black-haired boy stepped forward. "My name's Duke," he announced in a smooth, calm voice that was not far from being alluring. "I'm the only one with a complete knowledge of common sense, as you can probably tell. Now you know all three of our names...but we know nothing about you."
"This is Yami," Tea announced, beaming up at her lover.
The prince smiled and cordially bowed his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Right back at ya," Joey grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. "We're three of Tea's closest friends, yet somehow we've never seen you before. How exactly do you two know each other?"
"Oh..." the brunette's face went bright red and she averted her friends' perplexed gazes. "Yami and I...well...we..."
Yami chuckled and pulled her closer, planting a chaste kiss on her head. Giggling, Tea looked up at him and slipped her hand into his. The trio understood at that point and their faces lit up with knowing grins.
"Ah, you're a lucky man," Duke said with a smile. "You must be all right if you've won her pure heart."
"Any friend of Tea's is a friend of ours!" Tristan announced and Joey grinned in agreement.
"It's nice to see that she finally met someone," Marik added.
"Yeah, we're...huh?" Duke's eyes widened...as he stared at something in the water a few yards away.
Everyone turned, following his gaze...and catching sight of Selene still sitting in the water. She had moved a little, hiding herself with a small boulder so that only her nervous face and elegant shoulders were visible. That was more than enough, however, to make the two boys start drooling. They took in everything about the former mermaid...her long, gold-streaked hair...her bright blue eyes...her wet ivory skin...and went from two witty youths to a trio of babbling idiots.
"Whoa... " Tristan murmured and Duke elbowed him in the ribs.
"Close your mouth before a bug flies into it and watch a pro," the raven-haired boy hissed before straightening up. He put on a killer smile and raised his brows, cocking his head to one side in a cutely coy way. "Well hello there, miss. And you are...?"
The former mermaid raised an eyebrow at them and rolled her eyes, "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Hot..." Tristan muttered, only to get another vicious raised his brows at the trio's antics and said, "That would be my little sister, Selene."
"Sister?" Duke shot him a look. "Really?"
The prince nodded and gave them a knowing stare of and Duke looked sheepish for a moment...until Tea spoke again.
"Yes, Selene is Yami's sister and we need to get both of them to the palace for some proper clothes and breakfast. Can one of you guys lend her your shirt?"
Tristan all but ripped the fabric from his back and started running toward the furiously blushing/embarrassed ex-mermaid. His feet flew so fast over the ever-warming sand that no one, not even the other lovestruck boy could stop him in his plight. Before he could get too close to the girl, however, Revival Jam swirled in front of him and gave a ghostly growl.
Tristan yelped and skidded to a halt, falling flat on his but on the ground and frantically scrambling backward. "W-what the heck is THAT thing?"
"Don't be alarmed..." Yami stepped forward and ran a hand over the ghost's wispy head, earning an affectionate moan. "This is Selene's companion, Revival Jam. He is fiercely protective of her, as am I." he glared at the two of them to emphasize his point.
Revival Jam floated over to Selene and stretched his flexible form, creating a silvery blue shield around the girl's body. She stood up on shaky legs and carefully made her way over to the group, keeping her blushing face averted from the two perverts who still drooled over her. She ignored them pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. Kuriboh squeaked, not liking being forgotten, and bounced over the group. Joey grinned when he saw the little creature and knelt.
"Well, hey there, little fella," he said, giving the fuzz ball's head a rub. Kuriboh squeaked in delight and nuzzled against Joey's hand.
"That is my companion, Kuriboh," Yami smiled at the exchange. "And it seems he's taken a liking to you."
The blonde grinned as Kuriboh began bouncing around on the sand, squeaking excitedly. His stomach audibly growled, illustrating the breakfast hunger that all of them felt."All right..." Tea said, slipping her hand into Yami's. "Now that we've all been introduced, let's head to the palace."
Tea's palace was perhaps one of the largest, most beautiful buildings Yami had ever seen. The walls were a glorious, pearly white color that sparkled in the bright sun. Elegant spires reached up into the sky, their tops pointed and painted an oceanic blue. Small windows curtained with dark red fabric added bright bursts of royal color to the pallid white as did amazingly cultivated bushes of roses leaning against the castle walls.
Yami ran his blood eyes over the landscape, unable to keep his jaw from dropping with awe. Rolling hills stretched over the horizon, leading to majestic grey mountains in the distance. A pleasant, cobblestone path cut through the grass surrounding the castle, leading to an incredible garden filled with exotic-looking plants, ponds, and statues.
Tea must have glimpsed his reaction because she giggled softly. "Welcome to my home. I...hope you like it here."
The prince laughed aloud and put an arm around her waist, "I am happy anywhere so long as you are there with me."
The group continued until they reached a large set of turquoise-encrusted, Iron doors leading into the awe-inspiring building. There were two guards standing at the door, each of them looking more different from the next. While they both wore the same uniform, an ocean blue tunic sewn with swirl patterns and black pants, one was intimidating large, the other exceedingly small. The large one had a barrel-like chest, square face, and brown hair that stuck queerly up like a triangle-shaped antennae. The small one had dark green hair and a mustache, his mouth creased with frown lines.
In spite of their gloomy, unapproachable exteriors, however, Tea beamed at the men as they approached the doors. "Good morning Kemo, Roland."
The guards bowed their heads respectfully, though their expressions did not soften. The beefy one named Kemo glared intimidating at the princess's crowd and said in a low, gravelly voice, "There are more people with you than you left with..."
"I know," the girl smiled at her group. "These are some new friends of mine. They slept on the beach last night so I'm taking them into the castle for some proper accommodations."
Roland bit his lip. "You know we're not supposed to let strangers into the palace walls..."
"They're not strangers," Tea shot back with a slight edge to her voice. "They are my friends and now they're hungry, tired, and NOT in any condition to be standing here in the blazing sun."
Yami wanted to point out that he was quite thrilled to be standing in the sun after so many years of swimming through the darkness, but he knew better than to interrupt his lover's silver-tongue speech. The guards glanced at each other, hung their heads, and slowly stepped away from the monumental doors. Kemo pulled a lever near the wall and the doors slowly creaked open, allowing the group to finally step inside.
The palace interior was every bit as elegant and majestic as its exterior. Cream-colored marble pillars lined a long entryway which was carpeted with a deep purple material. The walls were a white color as well, covered in light fixtures, royal paintings, and elegant wall decorations. Several crystal-covered chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling and there were small table resting at different walls, each one decorated with a sweet-smelling, colorful bouquet of flowers.
Tea led her companions down the awe-inspiring hallway, smiling and waving at various servants and maids as they passed. Yami, however, had his attention focused on their beautiful surroundings. He loved the warmth of this place...both from the friendliness and the gentle light streaming through large stain glass windows on the walls. Selene's ocean eyes took in her new surroundings.
"All right let's get you two into some proper clothes after we finish eating I'll make sure you're cleaned up," she said standing in front of two white doors. Tristan nodded, "We'll wait for you guys here." Joey, Duke, and Marik agreed. She ushered the two inside and shut the door. The room was a pure white color, with beautiful pearl and gold designs, a large canpoy bed sat in the far corner, right by the glass windows which had a balcony. White curtains with lace at the bottom hung elegantly.
Upon the bed sat two neatly arranged sets of clothing for both. The princess smiled, "I had these laid out for you both," she said gesturing towards the clothes. Yami and his sister smiled, "You're so kind," replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "You're welcome, do you need any help?" she asked the young mermaid who nodded. "I'll be back," she said leading her into the closet winking at Yami.
Yami had no trouble figuring out how to wear human clothing. In less than a few minutes he was wearing a long cotton white shirt, that fit his body perfectly. It was loose around about his shoulders, but had two simple strings that he tied together. Black pants with silver chains completed the outfit, he was still wearing the golden armbands and the green necklace Dartz had given him. Something about it didn't feel right to him yanking it off he tossed it out the window.
Soft footsteps on the marble floor from behind made him turn around. Tea and Selene emerged from the large closet, the mermaid princess was dressed in a floor length halter black gown. Her long brown hair hung loosely about her shoulders. "You look wonderful," he said to his sister. Selene smiled, even though she couldn't speak he knew she seemed happy.
Eventually, Tea stopped at a large set of dark wood doors, and pushed them open with some effort. The doors led into a dining hall that consisted of a long, glossy wood table, intricately carved chairs softened with royal blue cushions, and a cool marble floor. The far wall was a solid window, letting in light as well as a breathtaking view of the ocean and landscape surrounding the castle.
Glancing to one side, the prince noted that Joey and Tristan were both salivating. He arched a brow, turned in the direction they were staring...and felt his own stomach growl. The long table was filled with a feast the likes of which he'd never seen. There were delicately frosted pastries, fluffy breads, jams of various colors and consistencies, breakfast meats, and freshly squeezed fruit juices filling silver goblets. As a royal of Atlantis, Yami had been to many decadent feasts...but this one put all of them to shame.
"Well?" Tea said playfully, gesturing toward the chairs. "Let us not just stand around staring. It's time to eat!"
A/N: Until next time!
Blackrose and VB20