"Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!"

"Ash, if you shout pivot one more time…!" Emma yelled warningly.

"Come on Em," Ash grunted as he hefted the mattress through the doorway. "We're almost there, just one more turn and then we've got it."

It had only been a couple of days since the coronation, but everything had been moving so fast since. With excitement still coursing through them, Arethusa had given them a brief tour of the temple. Ash to his embarrassment had hardly been able to think straight, let alone pay attention. He would probably have to do some exploring on his own to figure everything out. It couldn't be that hard.

Of course, there was the library. And he knew the way to the large kitchens and the formal banquet hall on the ground floor. They had quickly poked into the armory which did manage to pique his interest. All the guest suites and offices began to feel the same after a while. There was a harsh iron door that was meant to take you down to the tunnels which in addition to being a clever escape route, housed the vaults as well as the dungeons. (A fact of which floored him when he heard it).

There were also several worship spaces and communal pools, including the one they were coronated in. The second floor was more for private use including three large suites that they were given choice of. There was also a set of stairs leading up to a third-floor observatory though he had yet to go up there.

He had already been thinking about it, but when he and Emma had first walked into the suite that was meant to be theirs, he decided he wanted to make the move as soon as possible. This was going to be their place. That thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

He had rented a boat for a day, just big enough to get most of his personal items to the island. It took a few trips, but they finally got everything over by early Saturday afternoon. The challenging part had been getting everything up the cliff trail, especially the new mattress he had bought. Thankfully Emma was willing to help.

Emma. His wife. He still couldn't believe it.

"Ash is this new?" Emma asked as she helped him free the mattress from the thick plastic that had protected it on its journey from the mainland to Mako.

"Yeah, my old one belonged to my parents. I couldn't exactly take that. I just went and picked something I thought was comfortable. I hope it's okay."

"No, it's nice." She said testing it with her hand as he laid it on the ground. She looked up at him then paused. "How did your parents react?"

"To the move? Fine, I guess. Dad had mentioned a few months ago, I might find an apartment closer to school. I just told them I finally found a place, which is true. They were a little surprised how fast I was moving." He sighed. "No, the big issue was my new look. Mum noticed something was different. I feel really bad. I kinda had to gaslight her and convince her nothing's changed."

"I know, it was the same with my parents. I know they know something's up. Obviously, they're never going to guess what's really going on. I just…" She sighed, "I hate lying to them."

Ash nodded in understanding. Keeping everything a secret absolutely sucked. But what could they do?

Ash took a moment to look around the room. It was quite barren to be honest. Aside from his own belongings the room consisted of only some bronze sconces on the walls that fit with the rest of the temple. There had been an ancient wooden bed frame, but he wasn't confident putting a big modern mattress on it. He was content to sleep with the mattress on the floor for now until he was able to purchase a new one. Did his new royal status come with a paycheck?

The suite itself comprised of a large central room that he imagined could be used simultaneously as a large dining area and a comfortable sitting area. He was already dreading the logistics of hauling a couch all that way. In addition to the room they put his bed, the great room had two other adjoining rooms: smaller, also empty. There was no bathroom, which honestly should not have surprised him as much as it did. The place was built hundreds of years before indoor plumbing was even a thing. He would have to talk to Lewis about fixing the temple up with some more modern amenities. Although, Arethusa had shown them a communal bathing room somewhere… He would have to investigate that.

Even with some issues, it was easy to see the appeal of the space. The large central fireplace would be nice on colder nights. And nothing bad could be said about the gorgeous view they had from their second-story windows. The windows faced east over the sea cliffs giving them a priceless sight of the waves crashing against Mako's shore. He could definitely work with this.

"Are you sure about this Ash? Won't you get lonely in this big palace all by yourself?"

He looked and gave her a toothy grin, "You could always join me!" He chuckled.

"Ash!" Emma sighed in exasperated warning. He could see a bit of guilt flash across her face too as she began to turn toward the window.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly jumped up to grab her elbow before turning her face back toward him. "Hey, relax. I promise it was just a joke."

She sighed, "I know you were 'joking,' but it wasn't really a joke though, was it?" She paused and turned away to collect her thoughts. "I'm your… wife, Ash. Gosh that's weird to say." She smiled at him a little. "If this were in any way traditional, we would be moving in together. We'd have already… consummated our marriage."

He raised an eyebrow at her language.

She gave him a pointed look then sighed. "This is just all moving so fast. I need some time."

"Em, It's okay. We've already talked through all this. It's fine."

Emma looked down at the ground not saying anything.

And the truth was they had talked about it. As much as they were now a single unit, they were still a couple of teenagers, doing high school and college while working part-time at a café. Until today, both still lived with their parents, and the idea of marriage had graced their minds only a week ago.

Sure, having her there with him would have been great, not to mention the physical aspects of marriage. But they would never be able to explain their new relationship status to their families. Even more importantly, he knew her heart, and that she still had some fear. Frankly, so did he. And so, they agreed not to rush into anything. Emma would wait to move in until after graduation. Six months. Piece of cake.

He leaned forward trying to catch her eyes. "I'm fine, Em. I have no problem waiting and taking this as slow as you need to." He reassured her before sobering. "And if I'm being honest, I don't think I'm quite ready either."

She finally looked up at him with a sad smile. "Thank you."

"Of course." He perked up as he diverted back. "Don't worry about me. I probably won't be alone long anyway. Lewis said he wanted to move in within the next week or so. Plus, there's Arethusa and the others. It's going to be a right party over here! You're the one's going to be missing out."

Emma gave a playful glare at him before he raised his hands in surrender.

She straightened and held her chin up. "Fine, but I'm decorating. I may not be living here yet, but this is my suite too and there is no way I am letting you turn it into a bachelor pad!"

"Who are you calling a bachelor?! I am your husband! I demand respect!" He managed to grind out through their fits of giggles before picking her up and lightly tossing her on the newly placed mattress. His deft fingers quickly found their targets under her arms.

"Oh Ash! Please… I'm ticklish! Ahh! No, no, no, no, no!" Emma managed through the infectious laughter. "Okay, okay! I give up! I give up!" She smiled.

Ash gave her a small peck on the cheek then quickly pulled himself off her. He looked at her still haphazardly sprawled on the bed. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

And she was. First seeing her after the coronation, that unmatched beauty: it took his breath away. She looked different. He couldn't describe it other than that someone had taken everything that already made her beautiful and magnified it. Once a princess, now a true queen.

And then there was the binding ceremony, an experience he would never forget. He saw his other half with no secrets, no lies. Nothing standing between them as, for a seemingly infinite moment, their souls combined. Any doubts that he didn't love her or she him, fading away.

He remembered feeling his heart clench when he returned to reality. And when he finally managed to leave the pool and physically embrace her, nothing could stop the stream of tears from flowing, from either of them.

She blushed as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

He was about to make a dorky comment to ease the tension in the room when an urgent series of knocks on the solid wood door of the suite beat him to it.

They shared a curious glance before rushing to the entryway. He swung the door open wide before meeting eyes with a slightly frazzled but very excited Arethusa.

"My apologies Your Majesties, but I just received an urgent message from Doris. Several mer have been spotted North of Mako, keeping to the edge of the breeding grounds." She then seemed to smile brighter if that were even possible. "It would seem you have visitors."

Abandoning everything, they ran down the stairs, out the temple, maneuvered the cliffside and took for the beach. Ash managed to find just enough phone signal to send a message to the group, despite the terribly spotty service Mako was known for. (They really needed to find a solution to that). But before they could charge into the surf, Emma hesitated.

"Are we sure this is safe?"

Ash tensed for a moment before steeling his resolve, "Maybe not, but these are our people Em. We have to meet them. And we won't be alone." She took his hand tightly, never letting go even after the transformation washed over them.

They met Doris at the edge of Mako's reef. Ash realized he had never seen her in the water before, but she looked virtually the same as she did on land, if a bit more translucent. Her usual smile was gone though, replaced with a more neutral, even serious tone.

"They're just there. About a half-klick out."

"Why haven't they come closer?" Emma asked.

"The island is your home, especially the reef around it. To go any further would be the same as barging in without permission." Her eyes glazed past them for a moment before she continued. "I'm sorry, but I must go help Darius. All this has made the sharks restless. But I wish you good luck." And with that she was gone. Literally gone, as though she had become one with the ocean itself.

They swam forward, hands still tightly clasped when they came upon the group and surfaced. It couldn't have been more than ten of them but the sight of even that many mer together in one place threw him a bit. Just seeing so many copper and blue tails, he felt pride stirring within him. The recollection of what he just told Emma rang in his ears. These are our people.

He couldn't dwell on that thought for long though because a young mermaid near their age began to charge him. In the time he could blink, she was within a meter and had twin daggers of sharpened ice pointed at his unprotected throat and abdomen. He had instinctively shielded Emma with his own body.

A middle-aged mermaid swam over quickly. "Stand down Maya. Can you not feel his aura? You threaten our new king." The mermaid rebuked before addressing him. "I apologize for her behavior Your Majesty. She is very protective. An admirable quality for one of our warriors."

His tail flicked in slight irritation when she gave both him and Emma a conspicuous once-over.

"I must admit you are not what we were expecting."

Yes, he was new at this, but he felt certain he shouldn't acknowledge the comment. "I'm Ash and this is… my wife, Emma." He spoke calmly with as much authority as he could muster. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am Veridia, Chieftain of the Great Southern Pod." She moved her hands to address the crowd. "Some of my most trusted advisors, and guards." Ash nodded in greeting.

"As to our arrival, this last full moon we felt a great wave of energy signaling your ascension." She paused. "We come to pledge our fealty to you."

A/N: Hey Friends!

Two updates in a month, Yay!

Good news is I think I've unclogged the writers block that had me in a funk for the last few months. I have so much planned for this story, but I got myself to a point where certain characters' backstories and motivations had to be sorted out before continuing. With a more detailed outline, hopefully, I can start churning these out faster. Fingers crossed.

Obviously we have Veridia, but I would like to point out Maya who is actually not an OC. She appeared in the first episode of Mako Mermaids.

I have a pretty detailed timeline of events for this series: trying to stay as close to the air dates of the shows while anchoring them to real world celestial events. (This chapter for example takes place on June 21, 2008). Mako mermaids aired in 2013. This means for the purposes of this story, characters that appear from that show are meant to be five years younger. (Hint, Hint for any future appearances).

(And yes, in this AU Ash has definitely watched Friends.)

If you like what you are reading, have a question or a critique, or just want to say hey, Please feel to leave a Review. They really mean so much to me!

Please everyone stay safe and healthy and I will see you in the next chapter!

Much Love,

Odd Lady :)