Adin wanted to sink through the silt as he escorted Sebastian and Ariel back from Shipwreck Valley, and wished the old crab was competent enough to take her home himself. It wasn't as though there were many dangers inside the kingdom borders, and really, there shouldn't have been any in the valley. His superiors at the palace had warned him and the other palace guards that the Architeuthis season would be beginning in about a month. Shipwreck Valley wasn't on the list of breeding spots for them, either—or at least, he thought it wasn't. He would have to check the bulletin when he got back to the bunks. Some of the guards around him had even been excited for the season to start, ready for a calamari bounty.
He sighed, his stomach shooting him a familiar pang. If there was anything he shared in common with the other guards, it was that they were nearly always hungry, but it wasn't enough to distract him from what had just happened. That squid in the valley had arrived far too early for its mating season. No wonder it had been so angry, really.
But still, he reasoned, it shouldn't have been there.
Then, there was Joe.
Adin had met Joe on one of his outings with Ariel several years back. By then, Ariel and Joe were already friends, and she'd never told him how she'd managed to fall into such close company with a cecaelia. So much of Adin's training was learning to fight cecaelia who entered the kingdom upapered, or who tried to practice dark magic anywhere in the oceans, that he'd nearly had a heart attack when he'd first seen him. It had taken him months to really be assured that Joe wasn't going to hurt Ariel—who didn't seem to notice the sorts of odd ingredients that Joe was always collecting, and didn't find it ominous when he spent so much of his time ferrying magical items between kingdoms overnight.
As a palace guard, Adin was required to be up to speed on all of the kingdom laws—and there were a lot that regarded the cecaelian citizens. Cecaelia were one of very few species of mer who could practice magic, and no one was ever craftier than the cecaelian sea-witches. A few had been allowed to stay in the kingdom, outside of King Ezra's rule because having some magic underwater was a necessity. However; if benign magic ever went bad, or if dark magic popped up to cause trouble, the death toll for regular mer, who couldn't wield or cure magic was often very high. For that reason, cecaelia regulations had to be steep and swift—for the citizens sake! For safety!
However; Ariel, who spent so much time in the reefs befriending anyone who would talk to her, couldn't understand why the laws had to be so harsh. At the same time, nothing he could say would convince her that Joe was dangerous, even if he was a friend. Adin would bet his month's pay that even after watching Joe slam an adult Architeuthis through solid wooden boards—alone—and then live wouldn't convince Ariel of the danger.
But if he hadn't, then Ariel might be….
Adin shook his head hard, the shame of what had happened eating him from within. Ariel would be badly hurt or worse if Joe hadn't intervened, and if Adin was being honest with himself, that was the worst hurt of all.
In Adin's eyes, none of the other princesses could hold a candle to Ariel. They might have more poise, more manners, and conduct themselves more regally at balls, but Ariel had a way of throwing herself into her passions in a way that benefited everyone around her. Adin had gone with Ariel to the surface more than a dozen times when she insisted on collecting information for her star charts.
What began as a fascination with the pretty lights in the sky had turned into consultations with the palace astronomers and minor oracles in the city. Then, it had turned into Ariel being able to predict weather, storms, and threats. Eventually, she had enough tracked to be able to foresee meteor showers, alignments, and eclipses—and that pushed her dangerously into the realm of being useful to the kingdom mages. Although he didn't like it, Adin had to admit that the information Ariel brokered freely had saved lives, and had even made things more convenient for the citizens who needed minor magical restoratives. Though she had no power, Ariel brightened everywhere she went, and lightened the burdens of everyone she met. In Adin's eyes, Adin wielded a magic of her own.
Unfortunately, her skills had also further endeared her to Joe.
It made Adin nervous how Joe's piercing purple eyes seemed to see more than he could when it came to spotting odd creatures that lurked about the kingdom he'd always thought he was familiar with. It irked him further that he always seemed to know what Ariel was thinking or feeling without asking, and because of that she was always laughing or smiling more at Joe than she ever did with him. What was worse was…Adin liked Joe. With a sinking heart, he knew he liked Krill even more. They were both decent guys for being cecaelian. If circumstances were different, Adin would have even loved to have them in his own contingent. As things were, however, he couldn't help but see in Joe the mer who month after month was getting more smiles from the girl he admired, and who always made him look incompetent with stunts like today.
"Sebastian, are you sure you don't know why father is summoning me? He didn't have anything scheduled. It might not be me he wants to see!"
Ariel's voice cut through Adin's angry sulking.
He'd been lost in his own head so long, he hadn't noticed how far they'd gone toward the palace—and they were pushing a very fast pace. The city of Atlantis laid in the center of the Atlantian kingdom's three rings, and they'd nearly reached the city border. Although High King Triton ruled over all of the oceans and seas, his heart kingdom, and his primary responsibility was the inner city, as well as the reefs and fields that surrounded it. Other lesser kings, generals, and princes ruled the other seas around it and answered to the High King, as no one mer, particularly one of Triton's age, could manage the grievances of all the world's waters alone—or at least, he couldn't do that and not die an early death from the stress. If it weren't for the status that allowed the nobility to court the attention of the princesses, Adin wouldn't have a speck of envy for the upper ranks.
The first ring around the inner city contained the merchants, craftsmen, and smiths who produced the bulk of the city's needs and trade export. The second ring—and the most misshapen of the three—held fruiting crops. The third ring was home to the protective reefs that kept out the frigid currents from the trenches, housed the slums, and occasionally was home to traveling species and designated hunting grounds. It also was where most of the cecaelia chose to live, as far as he was aware, for the hidey-holes and dark caverns found naturally in the larger chunks of reef.
Shipwreck Valley had been near one of those reefs on a part of the outer ring closest to the city. Had it been on the far end, it might have taken them days to get back to the palace. As the currents were blowing; however, and while they were on the inner lip of the reef farthest from the deeper trench, it was actually only an hour to the city, and from there, just minutes at full-swim to the palace.
Ariel's confusion hurt his heart, and reminded him of one of the reasons he'd convinced her to swim so far today. Looking back now, he realized he'd been childish. In hindsight, making the princess late for a summons he and the other guards knew was sure to come had not only been unfair, but would only worsen her day, although he had so wanted to delay the royal fate that had crept up on them so fast.
"Sebastian?" Ariel prompted again, when she'd only had silence from both of them.
"I couldn't say, Princess…" the crab said hesitantly, but Adin supposed it could have just been because he was out of breath.
Adin turned and opened his mouth to tell Ariel about the summons, and perhaps even to apologize, but before he could finish forming the words, the old crab gave him a firm shake of his head from Ariel's shoulder.
He closed his mouth again. The crab knew.
"Is it trouble?" the princess asked again.
"The king didn't seem angry, princess. I wouldn't worry your fins over it. Only, worry enough to get us there quickly. As this old crab gets older, I get more threats to get turned into a crab cake by the day!"
Adin would have laughed had he been in a better mood. The High King would never hurt his most trusted advisor, and aside from the feral crabs from the depths, no crab in Atlantis was in real danger of being eaten by anything but other predators. All the same, he swam a little faster, and Ariel pumped her fins a little harder to keep up.
Triton definitely wanted Ariel home. Every current they ran into through the kingdom was pulling them toward the palace strongly enough that Adin was surprised they didn't just jettison them through the palace gates when they arrived.
Instead, Adriatta, the eldest of Triton's daughters, and wife to the recently appointed King Ezra was waiting for them, eliciting a groan from Adin. It wasn't as though he disliked the princess, but her presence meant that her husband was somewhere in the palace, and something about King Ezra always made his scales shiver—not to mention, that meant he would have extra bunks to prepare for that night. Ezra's cecaelian escort would be sharing their quarters that night. The only perk there was that the cecaelia never needed much sleep.
"Adriatta!" Ariel darted out from behind Adin, knocking Sebastian off of his perch on her shoulder.
"Earl, Brawn," Adin greeted quietly. The swordfish who guarded the palace gates doubled as the guards' fencing instructor, and although they'd always been fair to Adin, he certainly had received his fair share of bruises and nicks from them. They saluted him minutely with their fins, which perked him up a little. He only hoped he was seen as the guard who brought the princess back, instead of the one who kept her late in the first place.
"Ahem," Sebastian cleared his throat when he'd righted himself, and managed to interrupt the sisters' cooing over each other. "Please, princesses, I know you need to be doing this eventually, but Triton will have my shell for a serving spoon if Ariel is any later for the summons."
Getting through the main corridor took longer than swimming through the whole of the citadel. Cooks, cleaners, and every event planner in the kingdom could be seen bustling about from corridor to corridor, and Adin didn't have to be a full-fledged guard to see that the lessened security even among the servants was going to make the upcoming ball a security nightmare for him. The anemones posted at the entrance of the corridors to keep certain types and species away from the rooms that didn't belong to their duties. It seemed as though the anemones had been overfed, and were now allowing nearly anyone or anything to pass through.
Approaching the closed doors of the throne room, the two blowfish watched their approach impatiently, wearing an expression that Adin would know anywhere—they were late getting off their shifts.
"Entering Princess Ariel of Atlantis!" one of the impatient blowfish announced loudly, and a little early when they were finally near enough the throne room not to worry about tripping over something venomous on accident. The other flung open the door, obviously put out that the first one had beaten him to the yelling portion of proceedings.
Good luck, Ariel, he wanted to say. I'm here if you need me.
I'll wait for you.
You can always refuse if this isn't something you want.
You should refuse, Ariel!
I'll guard you wherever you go.
However, he said none of these things, instead waiting at his dismissed place with Adriatta as the doors closed before them, and the blowfish abandoned their posts with relish.
Adin didn't want to eavesdrop, but there was really no other way to wait for Ariel's exit and be able to meet her. He heard every word from Triton as he gave Ariel news that would change her future.
Waste her future, more like, he thought bitterly, although deep down, he knew that wasn't true.
There would be nothing stopping Ariel from seeing the same skies in the Aegean that she did in the Pacific, and once she was married she would have access to things like her own guards, her own law-making, and her own authority. She could make a difference for the people in the Aegean sea in a bigger way than her meager charity trips to the reefs that she loved in Atlantis. Of course, while it would be a large change, he understood Triton in some ways. The younger she was married, the more she would be able to grow into her new kingdom. It was a wise match. Everyone in his contingent said so. Apparently this Eel prince's father was the sort of general any soldier or guard could respect, and yet, he couldn't bite back the pain that stifled his gills.
Adriatta watched him curiously as he cringed at Ariel's answers to her father's questions, and then moreso at Ariel's paltry attempts to delay the suit. Neither of them dared speak for fear of getting caught listening in on the meeting, and Adin couldn't help wonder at why Adriatta was in the hallway with him rather than in the throne room with her husband. He didn't have time to wonder long; however. The summons was brief.
When the throne room doors were opened once more, Ariel swam out ashen-faced and alone.
Though it wasn't in his duties, Adin escorted Ariel past an ecstatic Adriatta who couldn't stop gushing her congratulations to Ariel, even though the engagement hadn't been finalized. Her enthusiasm only spoke to Adin, and probably Ariel at how difficult this arrangement would be to wriggle out of.
As he left her at her door, Ariel still hadn't said a word. He cleared his throat.
"Congratulations, Ariel," he said, throwing on a smile. "Really, this is the kind of news you've probably been waiting for!"
She still didn't answer, drifting past him into her room without a sound.
When her door closed, it was as though she was looking right through him.
Beside his fins with worry, Adin found himself unable to leave, and wondering why protection hadn't been posted outside her room with the security in the palace so low. Sure, there were other priorities with the out-of-sea guests arriving, but forgetting to protect the princess that the celebrations were for?
He was still the lowest ranking of his contingent, but in that moment, he vowed to have a word with his captain.
"Princess Ariel?" Sebastian was floating down the hall. Quickly, Adin tucked himself behind one of the long seagrass curtains that had been hung over the glass walls to darken the palace at night. He wasn't there for any damaging reason, but Sebastian had already seen him make enough mistakes that day, and he didn't feel like running into him again. "Ariel?"
Slowly, as though the door were three times its actual weight, Ariel opened her room to Sebastian.
"Good after—evening, Sebastian," she said limply. "Good evening."
"Might I come in, princess?" Sebastian asked gently. "Don't think I don't know when you're upset, and this one…well today was a big one for any princess. If I remember how your sister Adrea took things when she went to her first suitors' ball…"
Sebastian swam into her room, chattering about old memories, and Adin could hear his attempts at cheering her up.
At least she listens to him, he thought.
"I might be old, Ariel, but I can see heartache when it swims in front of my shell, and your cecaelian friends there, well, I might not like it, but they certainly treat you better than some of the suitors I've seen come for your sisters."
Adin's ears pricked. Sebastian was rarely wrong about her, but surely it was the changes that scared Ariel. The changes and leaving all of her friends, not just Joe and Krill.
"You haven't told my father about them, have you?" Ariel found herself blurting.
Adin felt his jaw drop as a chuckle rumbled through Sebastian's shell. "Poseidon's beard, no, child! Just like I didn't mention your little trip to the shipwrecks today to save both our heads! But you shouldn't assume that he doesn't know. All I've told him is who keeps escorting you home when you run off. He might not like it either, but even he won't turn down responsible work."
Of course, Sebastian would only tell the king about the good cecaelia who protect his daughter… Adin gritted his teeth. Even if he's not wrong, he added guiltily.
Adin stopped gritting his teeth, realizing that he was missing what was being said, jus in time to hear Sebastian say:
"What I can do, princess, is give you an extra set of invitations for the lunar ball."
Adin's heart skipped a beat in hope. He hadn't received his orders yet for the ball, and there was still time to get the evening off. If he could dance with Ariel before her engagement was announced, it would be a dream come true. Perhaps after all these years it could even spark something, and if his luck was good enough, it might even be enough to get Ariel to deny the Prince's suit.
"How will that help? Ariel said miserably, and as she spoke, Adin got himself in check, although his youthful heart still hoped.
"Engagement balls are open to the eligibles of the kingdom. Surely you can think of a few mer from the outer rings who would want to come."
Ariel shook her head sadly, thinking aloud. "The last time Joe went to a ball, he was escorting the merchants, and he was grumbling about the stuffiness for a week, and Krill…I don't know if Krill would even like it. Something makes me doubt Joe ever taught him how to dance."
Any childish hope Adin had let bloom was abruptly dashed.
Of course he wasn't the first one on her mind…
Then, Adin heard Ariel agreeing to Sebastian's conditions that would practically guarantee that the suit would go through. He could have screamed in frustration, and found himself wiping away a little more salt from his eyes than was comfortable.
He was one of the High King's guards, he told himself disgustedly. Crying over a princess that he knew for years would be promised to another kingdom was ridiculous. Absurd. And then just like that, Sebastian was leaving Ariel's room.
"Adin?" he questioned, and Adin realized he'd floated out from behind the statue to better hear what had been being said.
Again, he felt his face burning in shame, and he nearly choked on his anger. He hadn't exactly meant to eavesdrop, but here he was again, being caught by the king's advisor doing something no guard should ever do.
"Sebastian," Adin greeted hoarsely, hating how his voice cracked. "Stop!" he cried, when Sebastian began to chuckle.
Adin turned away aggressively, not wanting the crab to see anymore, he was about to swim away, when Sebastian caught his tail gently with his claw.
"Swim with me a bit, won't you?" Sebastian asked. "I'm not laughing at you, boy. Don't you know you have to laugh in the face of heartache? If you don't it will claw at you from the inside out, and I know a thing or two about claws!"
Adin gave him a weak smile and nodded. Although he wanted nothing more than to be alone right now, even he knew that would only make him more miserable. Sebastian waited until they were a decent distance from Ariel's room before breaking the silence.
"You know, when I was a young crab, I was in love with a blue-shelled crab with the loveliest eyes in the Pacific," said Sebastian with a far-away look in his eye-stalks. "I sent her every blue shell I could find. Spend a fortune on the loveliest ones at market, and let me tell you, she was worth every one."
"That's…I suppose that's romantic," Adin said, as they wandered through the sloping, empty hallway as the palace prepared to sleep.
"I thought so!" said Sebastian with a happy grin. "She, however…well, turns out she thought I was making fun of her coloring. Hated me more with each passing day."
Adin choked. "What?"
"See, the thing is, even though a heart might take a crack or two from the waves of experience, understand that love is a vast ocean, and sometimes we must navigate through turbulent waters before finding the right current. What you feel now is a strong current, and it's not wasted. For me, my current brought me into new friends, and into new positions here at the palace. Finding all of those shells brought me connections I never could have dreamt of, and eventually, the mer I met along the way put me where I am now."
Adin shook his head. He never pictured the old crab in love, much less willing to send the copious amount of gifts he described.
"See, even if this position gives me more stress than an old crab can stand some days, one current brought me to another current. Just like that, with time, you emerge from the battle against the elements stronger and wiser, and ready for more," Sebastian said with a sage twinkle.
"Your love advice is terrible, Sebastian," said Adin grumpily.
Sebastian gave an incorrigible laugh. "That it might be, but did you feel a little better listening?"
Begrudgingly, Adin gave a grunt of affirmation. Listening to the old crab's woes actually had made him feel better about his own.
"Mer-folk mate for life," said Sebastian seriously, "but you have yet to find your mate, Adin. Until you do, it's a whole ocean of possibilities, and as a friend, you can rest assured Ariel will never forget you. In fact, I believe she hasn't realized how much she will miss you because she gets to have more time with you than other friends."
That did, actually, give Adin a little more hope, although he wasn't exactly ready to jump up and celebrate, he could at least support Ariel in her coming alliance as the guard he was trained to be. With new resolve, he swam off toward the bunks, ready to sign himself up for the ball.