To everyone's relief, the journey to Atlantica went smoothly. Of course, they were eagerly awaited back in the capital. Each of the inhabitants wanted to see with their own eyes that their prince was well. But Triton had put a stop to that by shielding the way from onlookers with his palace guards. Attina had swum towards her loved ones as soon as she had spotted Orpheus' silhouette in the distance. Orpheus, however, had her intercepted by two of the mermen. He wanted to spare her the terrible sight of her son for the time being. But the mermaid let nothing and no one stop her from embracing her son.
"Attina, I really think it would be better if you...", Orpheus began in a last attempt, but could not even finish his objection in time as his wife was already swimming past him.
"My little darling!" she cried and rushed towards Ares, who struggled to push himself up a little from Phobos' back at the sight of her.
"Mummy," Ares retorted, attempting a smile, but one that was tinged with pain and fatigue.
"The doctor needs to see him right away," Orpheus urged, and Attina realised that her husband was absolutely right.
"Everything will be all right, darling," she comforted her son as much as herself.
Ares was immediately taken to his chambers, where the doctor was already waiting. Orpheus carefully laid his son down in his shell bed and immediately made room for the learned octopus. The doctor's eight arms never seemed to stand still - here they took Ares' temperature, there they listened to his torso and others cleaned the deep wounds with a tincture from the doctor's large bag. After he had given Ares his first treatment and had formed a far-reaching picture of his condition, he asked the anxious parents to come with him to the door. When the large conch shell had swung up again and the three adults were out of earshot of the prince, the octopus began to speak. He cleared his throat briefly to think of the right words and then said: "The prince's condition is not nearly what I had hoped for. He will retain permanent damage and the treatment he will face to regain at least the mobility I am able to regenerate will be extremely painful."
The parents exchanged a long worried look, they had recognised their son's dire condition, but to be told so clearly by the doctor was something else entirely. Orpheus took a deep breath before turning to the doctor, "What are the next steps? Is there anything we can do?"
"I will continue to treat the prince for the time being regarding the several open wounds. It is imperative that we prevent any of these areas from becoming infected. Once that danger is averted, I will immediately attend to his torn fin skin. I hope that stitching it up will be enough, but I'm afraid we'll have to come up with something else in that respect," the doctor explained his broad approach.
The parents nodded in understanding.
"Can we stay with him while they do these treatments?" asked Attina straight out what was on her mind.
The octopus considered for a moment, then couldn't deny the desperate mother, and incidentally the highest-ranking princess in the marine kingdom, her wish.
"You can stay with your son as long as my work is not disturbed by this and if I notice that a step is coming where I would better know you outside the door, then you must promise to follow my order without further ado," the doctor clarified.
Attina showed her agreement with a nod and then followed the doctor back into her son's premises.
"Your Highness, I will now administer a pufferfish essence that will dull your senses a little. With this you will have to endure less of the pain," the doctor explained the next steps to his patient. One of his tentacles held out a small vial to Ares. The prince did not have to think long about whether he really wanted to ingest the brew. The pain he was currently enduring was more than enough. He reached anxiously for the vessel and put it to his chapped lips. Only a few sips and the vial was completely emptied. Even as the last drop slid down his throat, Ares felt the world around him lose its sharpness and the throbbing and pulling of his tail faded into the background.
"Good, I will now start some tests for perception and when the effect has fully developed, I will place the first stitches," the doctor continued to speak and observed Ares' reactions to his impulses. Satisfied with the effect of the remedy, he took out a filigree sea urchin needle and a thread of starched giant seahorse tail hair. While two of his tentacles worked on the first major cut with these utensils, three of the others steadily checked the general condition of his patient.
Attina and Orpheus followed the doctor's every move, hoping for a miracle.
The tides passed and night fell over Atlantica as the octopus finally put aside his needle and thread and exhaustedly ran a tentacle over his wrinkled forehead. It had been a long time since he had had to treat such serious injuries. Since peace reigned between land and sea and the warrior kingdoms under the sea had been keeping quiet for some time, it was rather trifles for which he was called. It had taken all he could do, but he was satisfied with his work for the time being. He only felt anxious when he looked at the largest of the construction sites. So far he had only taken care of the remaining wounds. The tip of the prince's fin would be a challenge he would not turn to today. He wanted and needed to approach this problem rested and even then the outcome would be uncertain. Would the young prince ever be able to run his circles in the water again? He could not say with certainty at this point.
He said goodbye to his parents and set off for his more than well-deserved evening off. No one in the kingdom really felt like celebrating, considering the delicate condition of their future ruler. But they had to be glad that they had found him in time and that he was still alive. A little longer and this could have been very different.
Ares slept peacefully thanks to the anaesthetic effect of the puffer fish poison. Attina and Orpheus had not dared to leave their son alone. They had positioned themselves around the large bed and watched each of their son's breaths.
"Orpheus, you should go to sleep too. You must be terribly exhausted from searching for our little treasure," she considered her husband with a kind smile.
"I'm sure you are, but I want to be with Ares just as much as you do. We almost lost him," Orpheus countered softly.
The mermaid realised that she would probably not be able to persuade him to find a more comfortable camp for the night and refrained from persuading him further. As she had expected, her husband was not able to fight his own fatigue for long and was asleep a short time later with his head on the edge of Ares' bed. She rose from her own place on the opposite side and fetched a blanket from one of the cupboards, which she placed around Orpheus' shoulders for protection and warmth.
Her son's soft whimpering finally roused her herself from the sleep into which she had slipped without realising it, once calm had settled in.
"Ares!" she cried, startled, as she realised what the sound was that had jolted her from her light sleep. Her son squinted his eyes tightly shut and tossed his head from side to side in agony.
"Ares," she tried one more time to pull him out of his nightmare. But all she managed to do was wake her husband. Still unable to grasp the situation clearly, he looked at her questioningly from sleepy bloodshot eyes.
Another heart-rending whimper finally made him realise that his son had just been tormented by his recent experiences. Determined, he grabbed one of the thin arms and gently shook him awake.
"It's all right, Ares. You are safe. We are with you," he spoke soothingly to his son, who finally opened his eyes and looked gratefully at his parents. Impulsively, he tried to fall into their arms, but was forced back into bed by the pain that flared up as a result. Compassion and regret were on his parents' faces and he hated it.
He didn't want to cause them such worry.
He wanted everything to go back to the way it was before, but it wouldn't, he knew. One look at his tail fin was enough.
He wanted... those monsters to pay! For what they had done to him and for what they had done to his parents.
He wanted to be strong and he would be strong once he had the trident.
"You were just having a bad dream, honey. You are with us, you are safe, no one can harm you here anymore," Attina said, trying to dispel her son's gloomy expression.
"I didn't just have a bad dream! Every one of these wounds proves that and will remind me of it forever!" he shouted at his mother, although she had only meant well, as he realised immediately afterwards. A guilty conscience spread through Ares.
"Sorry..." he mumbled meekly, fighting his tears once more.
"Sh... it's alright, my love. Try to go back to sleep, your body needs the rest," she soothed him, lovingly brushing a strand of hair from his face. When Ares closed his eyes again, she sang one of the lullabies she used to sing for him. The familiar melody and his mother's harmonious voice made it easier for the crown prince to relax and drift back into a restful, peaceful sleep, from which he was only awakened when the doctor checked on him again.
"How are you today, Your Highness?" the octopus asked kindly while Ares rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"The pain is a little more bearable, but I still can't really move," he answered him.
"I didn't expect that either. I'm afraid it will take time to get to that point, Your Highness. But I'm glad to see you were able to get some sleep," the doctor explained.
"How long?", Ares wanted to know determinedly, the doctor's talk around the algae mush was getting on his nerves.
"You will have to have a lot of patience," the octopus nevertheless continued to answer evasively.
Patience was not one of Ares' strengths, as his parents knew only too well and gave each other a knowing look. But what was not could still be, and what one could not do could be learned. Ares had to learn, and learn the hard way. They would have liked to relieve him of this burden, but they couldn't, so at least they would do everything in their power to make his future path easier.
"I want to turn my attention to your flipper today, Your Highness. Therefore, I ask you to take another vial of pufferfish essence. I fear, however, that you will still have to endure some pain. The treatment will be extremely demanding," the doctor asked Ares to empty the bottle held out to him, while his other tentacles were already preparing everything for the operation.
Ares hesitated briefly this time, but then took the anaesthetic. Like the day before, it took effect in no time at all.
The doctor wasted no time and immediately inserted the needle. Ares winced.
"Your Highness, I understand that this is unpleasant and that you are in pain, but it is of the utmost importance that you remain still, especially now. The skin at this point is so thin that it is constantly threatening to tear again. But we have to get the two parts of your fin back together or you will never be able to swim again," he told Ares, stressing the importance of the procedure.
After taking a deep breath, Ares nodded to him and gritted his teeth. His parents each held one of his hands and squeezed it tightly.
Ares was brave and refrained from any further flinching. To compensate for the pain, he squeezed his parents' hands.
After what felt like an eternity for everyone present, the doctor finished his work.
"So far so good, now we must hope that it holds as well in this delicate spot as it does in the others. No jerky movements, your highness," the octopus said as he examined the sewn-together fin once more. But even the careful lifting and twisting of the fin tip created too much tension and the puncture marks tore open. Blood once again permeated the water and Ares could not hold back a cry of pain.
"I was afraid of that," the doctor said gloomily, "I have another idea. But it involves enormous pain and will be permanent. But I think it is our best option to restore your freedom of movement, Your Highness."
The doctor rummaged in his pocket again and brought out four rings. Ares, who realised at the sight of the rings what the doctor was trying to do with his fin, opened his eyes in horror. It couldn't be true, he thought. But he knew better. Nothing was more real than his pain and inability to move through the water even remotely like before. If this was the only option, and he didn't doubt the doctor's words, then this was the way it had to be. Atlantica could not use a ruler who would not be able to swim under his own power. He would never manage to take revenge on the pirates, he would be tied to his bed or the throne forever. His decision was firm and was reflected in his determined face as he nodded his approval to the doctor for the planned operation.
His parents did not yet seem convinced that this was the right thing to do, but they dared not burden their brave son with their misgivings and influence him in his decision.
"Well then, let us begin," the octopus broke the tense silence and got ready.
He had knowingly filled his bag with all the necessary utensils and equipment the night before he had gone to sleep. All sorts of frightening tools now found their way onto the prince's bedside table.
"Please hold him tight now, Your Highnesses. This is not going to be pretty for any of us," the doctor warned the parents as he readied the first of the rings. Locking the parts of the eyelet into one side of each of his pliers, he put them in place, checking. Corrected the position a little more towards the undamaged area of the fin and then let the jaws meet without further warning.
Ares' cries of pain echoed throughout the palace and the agony that the crown prince had to endure could also be heard beyond. An eternity passed before the sounds finally died away. When it did, everyone in the capital probably felt a huge weight lifted from their hearts.