See the first chapter for acknowledgments and major canon divergences. Hope you enjoy reading and thanks to everyone leaving comments and kudos!

Chapter 9

Orm leaned on one of the many balconies of the Royal Palace of Atlantis. He tried to commit every detail of the beautiful city below him to memory: the beautiful buildings, the people going about their business, the children playing. He loved Atlantis and would miss it terribly. His bags were packed and a small ship stood ready in the harbor.

Nearly two weeks had passed since Arthur's coronation. The new King of Atlantis had nearly taken Orm's breath away with his golden formal armor. It had been a beautiful day and his brother had managed to carry himself well enough with the help of him and their mother. The kingdom was slowly getting used to the change in power, although not everyone seemed to completely agree with it. He had received some strange looks of people wondering why he had so easily relinquished the throne. Soon they would also start questioning if there would still be a war with the surface. Orm had realized that his presence was destabilizing Arthur's rule and so he had decided to leave, despite his mother's protests.

The trip he had spent with Arthur had given Orm new perspective on the humans. Yes, they were polluting the oceans and causing global warming, but these were mostly the actions of but a few. Many of the surface-dwellers were kind and honest people that did not wish or do any harm unto the Atlanteans or the planet. Maybe war was preventable and peace could really exist between the land and the sea. If there was anyone who could do it, it was Arthur, the child of two worlds and wielder of Atlan's Trident. And Orm, known to the Atlanteans as a king who had wanted war, would only stand in his way.

Orm turned around to leave and noticed his brother leaning against the wall. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay?" Orm smiled. Ever since telling him of his intentions to leave two days ago, Arthur had tried to change his mind. "No, I'm afraid not," he responded. The King of Atlantis pushed himself off of the wall and swam over until he stood right in front of Orm. "Well, that's a shame. Don't go too far, though. I may need to call you up for some advice every once in a while about this whole running-a-kingdom business." He opened his arms.

Orm chuckled as he returned his Arthur's hug. He felt warm and safe. "You know, you probably won't be as bad at this as you think. The people of Atlantis are lucky to have you. You may think you are unworthy to lead because you are from two different worlds, but that is exactly why you are worthy. You are the bridge between land and sea. You have shown me that. Now you just need to show it to yourself." They pulled apart. Orm tried to commit his brother's features to memory. "I know it will not feel like you know what you're doing sometimes, but keep trusting your instincts. If you lead, Atlantis will follow."

Arthur's huge smile lid up his entire face and made his eyes seem to twinkle. Orm's heart started doing that clenching thing again. Perhaps, he thought to himself deep down inside, he wasn't simply leaving to help consolidate his brother's claim to the throne. Perhaps it also had to do with figuring out the weird feelings he had been having more and more whenever he saw Arthur.

"Goodbye, little brother," Arthur whispered. Orm gave him another smile.

"Goodbye… brother."

Aaand that's the final chapter-chapter. There is also an epilogue that will also be posted today. Hope you enjoyed it!