Atem swam through the palace gates and was surprised to see Mahad waiting for him with a stern expression.
"Where is your staff?" Mahad asked, frowning and scanning Atem's body up and down, checking for any signs of injury.
"I gave it away," Atem said truthfully. "I—"
"You cannot travel unarmed, how many times must we insist!" Mahad reached forward to pull Atem into a tight embrace, almost crushing the air out of his lungs. "I even sent a palace guard after you, just in case."
Atem blinked, his heart stopping in his chest.
A palace guard? He had no idea he had been followed!
"W-Who did you send?" Atem asked in a choked voice, and Mahad turned away, answering casually. "One of our Stealthsman. Only the best for you, my king."
Atem swallowed thinly, his terror rising by the second as he tried to keep his panicked thoughts in check.
"Th-Thank you…" Atem whispered, but Mahad didn't hear him because the merman had already swum off down the long hallway, in search of the guard, eager to hear a report of how Atem's shore-meeting with Seto Kaiba had gone.
Feeling terrible, Atem dashed into his room, trying to stay composed. It was fine. Perhaps the Stealthsman would take a bribe?
Sliding a curtain of kelp aside, Atem rummaged through his personal treasury. Bribing a warrior was also considered treason, but he had already committed the highest sin, by feasting on a human's blood while mating.
Only death in Confinement awaited him if anyone were to find out.
Kaiba rolled out of bed, feeling pleasantly sore all over.
He slowly stepped into the bathroom to and switch on the shower, making sure the water was at its coldest setting. Suppressing a yawn, Kaiba stuck his foot in to check the temperature.
Lukewarm. Great.
Sighing irritably, he stood under the water and slowly began to wake up. He glanced down at his body and noticed water was rolling off his skin extremely quick.
Nervous and intrigued, Kaiba grabbed the shampoo and squeezed the entire bottle over his arm, watching the liquid almost bounce and slide off his skin with eerie fluidity.
Oh…fuck, I'm a fish. I am a goddamn fish, Kaiba tried not to panic, and he set the bottle of shampoo down with a thunk, his knees growing weak.
As long as he didn't start growing scales, everything should be fine.
Quickly washing up, Kaiba shut the water off and stepped out. He grabbed a towel and inspected himself in the full-length mirror, noticing that the bite marks from Atem's rough lovemaking yesterday had faded completely, and he looked slightly…more muscular.
Wondering if he was seeing things, Kaiba dried his hair and strode to the other mirror in his room, and he patted his chest and stomach.
He had lost weight.
Yes, it was unmistakable. The muscles along his arms, chest, and stomach were slightly more defined.
Kaiba threw the towel off his body and turned to inspect himself from the side, flexing his thighs and seeing a ripple of muscle curving nicely down from his buttocks.
Sex with the merman is a workout, Kaiba mused, extremely pleased with himself.
He spotted the fresh cup of coffee Isono had left for him on his desk, and he walked over to take a sip. After a moment, he lifted his briefcase up from the floor, extracting one of the vials, and carefully poured it into his coffee.
Staring at the steaming liquid, Kaiba held it up to his nose to give it a tentative whiff.
It still smelled like coffee.
He took a sip, and then downed the rest in a few gulps, waiting for his body to grow cold, but nothing happened. He stood very still and held his breath.
Nothing.
Frowning, Kaiba hastily walked to his closet, threw on some clothes, and sat down at his desk, prying open his laptop. Time to start a personal log.
He began typing, making sure to include as many details as he could remember,
making sure to note the nausea he experienced yesterday.
Kaiba shut the laptop and rose slowly to his feet, stretching.
He felt great, and hopefully, it was going to stay this way.
Atem snuck through the hallway and made sure the coast was clear before he zoomed through the water as fast as he could, managing to fit through one of the gaps in the stone pillars leading outside.
Tucking the tie-adorned spear at his side, Atem threw a nervous look over his shoulder, making sure no one saw him.
All was quiet. No one seemed to be following either.
Satisfied, Atem set off towards Confinement, trying his best not to feel like a criminal. He just didn't want to be seen exiting the palace gates.
He still felt extremely guilty, biting and feeding off Kaiba's blood during their last lovemaking session, and he was in desperate need for some unbiased advice.
Kaiba's limp body underneath him kept flashing through his mind as he swam on, and he ignored the soreness in his tail from the long journey. Even though Kaiba had said it was fine, he didn't behave like it was fine, and the thought unsettled him.
Finally reaching the dark fissure, Atem braced himself and dove down straight into it, making sure to keep his eyes closed this time, and predictably, he felt debris rushing through his hair.
Floating to a slow stop, Atem opened his eyes, and the warm glow of the bioluminescent fish was an oddly welcome sight.
Continuing to swim through the jagged steps, Atem counted his heartbeats with every swish of his tail, pushing through the water, waiting…waiting, until he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Halt! State your name and business!"
"It's me, Mai," Atem said shakily, daring himself to feel relieved. "I've brought the Hair T—"
"Ateeeeeem!" The blonde mermaid barreled towards him at breakneck speed and threw her arms around his neck in a happy embrace, and Atem felt his cheeks grow warm with gratitude.
"Ooo, you've got so much to tell us," she smiled happily and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him through the dark waters with ease.
Several curious heads poked out through seaweed woven curtains before quickly disappearing, and Atem could hear many whispers echoing around them.
"It is the young king."
"Visiting again? How annoying."
He was led into a familiar crevice, and another friendly face smiled at him, "My king!"
"Anzu." Atem bobbed his head politely and her arms reached out to him, quickly helping him into their cave as Mai drew the kelp curtains shut behind them with a muffled swish.
"Oh my goddess, you brought so many!" Anzu gushed, running her fingers through the ties, tugging longingly at a blue one with a white dotted pattern. "I love this!"
"You over-delivered, your majesty," Mai said, grinning and beginning to help Anzu untie the ties from Atem's weapon. "I thought you'd only bring one."
"These were given to me in a large bunch," Atem said shyly, remembering Mokuba's happy expression as he scattered them in the sand. "A child picked them out…although he did steal them from his older brother."
"Perfect," Mai said devilishly. "These ties only have meaning if you steal them. If they weren't stolen, they're useless."
"You're the worst, Mai." Anzu said playfully, waving another striped tie with enthusiasm. "I think I have one that matches this color!"
Atem opened his mouth to speak, feeling as if he was about to burst from keeping so many secrets, but he lost his voice when Mai reached forward to grab both his hands and inspected them with vicious determination.
"No ring," she declared, and Anzu rolled her eyes.
"The ring is pointless."
"So?" Mai pressed, throwing herself down on the couch and waving her tail lazily, holding the ties up with an air of happiness. "Did you guys kiss? Hold hands? Did he take you somewhere? Did he carry you into a bed? Human beds are so strange."
"And do you have the lipstick?" Anzu asked expectantly and looked crestfallen when she realized Atem was empty handed. "Ah…its okay. I didn't think he'd give you a lipstick anyway. You're a man after all…"
"We made love," Atem blurted, unable to stay silent about it anymore, and he received simultaneous gasps of interest and excitement.
"Was it amazing? Of course it was," Mai declared, tossing her hair over her shoulder and bringing to braid it. "But I gotta know…who entered—"
"And I bit him," Atem sank slowly to the floor and clasped his hands together, losing composure steadily the more he talked. "I…tasted his blood, but I didn't mean to! It started as a joke. He was teasing, and said, 'bite me', so I did, and—"
"You didn't!" Anzu cried, covering her mouth in shock. "What was it like? I've heard scary, terrible things about mer-mating and blood consumption. Human blood causes a rabid frenzy. Did you hurt him?!"
"Well that would've been good to know before I bit him," Atem replied, wide-eyed and fearful. "A rabid frenzy?"
"Or a high," Mai offered unhelpfully. "Depending on which blood-type you consumed, you don't die from it, but…he might. You might have hurt his insides. I hope you didn't."
"He wasn't—he wasn't bleeding," Atem said weakly, feeling faint, and his stomach churned with dread.
"No, his insides can bleed too," Anzu said worriedly. "Humans can bleed Internally. Do you know anything about that?"
"No?" Atem whispered, trying desperately to recall what he had learned about human anatomy centuries ago in school. "I can't recall."
"They don't teach you that shit in school, please," Mai said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "This is something Warriors are taught. If you hit a human hard enough, they'll…kinda…pop. Inside. It'll be a painful death."
"They do not pop, Mai, come on." Anzu growled, sitting on the floor beside Atem and moving to grab his hands reassuringly, and Atem gripped her hands back in return, willing himself to remain calm.
Kaiba was fine. Kaiba was always fine.
He was not bleeding to death from the inside.
He acted fine afterwards, so he had to be fine.
"Kaiba?" Mai asked, catching Atem's thoughts and making direct eye-contact with Anzu. "Did you hear that, Zuzu?"
"Seto…Kaiba?" Anzu squeaked, the color draining from her face, and Atem looked between the two mermaids, wondering why the atmosphere had changed so dramatically.
"You know him?!" Atem felt a rush of relief. "Is he a famous human? Have you seen him before? He's beautiful, isn't he?"
"Well, oh! Humans age," Mai said, clicking her manicured fingers together quickly. "Zuzu, he's not eight anymore. He has to be about…like, twenty or something now."
"Right!" Anzu clapped her hands together and looked relieved, and then stricken again. "But…he's a Kaiba."
"That he is," Mai said dryly, and Atem felt oddly left out.
"You were probably still a hatchling then," Mai said loftily, giving him a condescending look. "There was an evil human named Gozaburo Kaiba, and he was at war with other humans, dropping metal debris everywhere that sank and hurt several of our colonies. Warriors had to be deployed on land to negotiate for our safety."
Stunned speechless, Atem looked to Anzu for help.
Kaiba was not an evil man!
"They're related." Anzu said nervously, glancing at Mai hesitantly. "Should I show him the picture?"
"Do whatever you want," Mai scoffed, tying a bright blue tie at the end of her hair and admiring it carelessly. "Just do it quick. He has to leave soon. I've been keeping the time, don't worry."
"Picture?" Atem croaked, watching Anzu leave his side and start rummaging at the back of the cave. "Well, regardless. My Kaiba is…well, he's charming, and has my best interests at heart. He released me when I was captured."
"Hmm," Mai hummed noncommittally as Anzu came rushing back with a piece of paper stuck in plastic.
Atem accepted the sheet of plastic from her and gazed down into it, shocked to see a tiny version of Kaiba on the cover, looking deeply unhappy while his hand was being held by a fat, old human, wearing an ugly red suit.
"He looks…angry here," Atem said carefully, wondering if this was really his Seto Kaiba as a child.
The title of the magazine was "Gozaburo Kaiba Adopts Two Children from an Orphanage".
"So they are not blood relations!" Atem said loudly, feeling another wave of relief. "Seto Kaiba and Mokuba were taken in by this cruel man. Seto Kaiba is nothing like this man. He is intelligent and warm-hearted."
"I can't believe you're having sex with him," Mai snickered, snatching the plastic sheet back and tossing it over her shoulder. "Is he good at it?"
"Wrong questions!" Anzu cried, looking distraught. "Is he…starting wars right now? Wait, you said, you made a pact with him to keep us a secret. Oh, my brave king!"
"I'm not brave. He sly-tongued his way around his words regarding war," Atem raged, finally understanding why Kaiba was such a devilish being. "But he instructed metal ships to help clean up the garbage around our hemisphere. He offered me that all on his own."
"And then you…fucked him and bit him." Mai grinned, propping her elbow up on the side of the couch. "I bet he loved that. Or did he fuck you?"
"Mai!" Anzu exclaimed, but Atem didn't mind answering truthfully.
Talking about it was like repenting.
He was grateful to have a keen audience who wanted to listen to his sins.
"He tried, but failed, so I'm always the one…fucking him," Atem said in a rush, his ears growing hot with embarrassment. "And his hands, they're always gentle. He knows…so much about pleasure."
"Oh my dear Goddess Teuri," Anzu gasped, turning pink and placing a hand on her chest, patting herself frantically. "I bet he's really handsome now, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is the most beautiful human man I've ever seen," Atem declared, feeling his confidence return in a rush. "He even said he would bring down a chunk of the moon if I so wished. It was terrifying to hear his thoughts, because he was really going to do it."
"See?" Mai nodded knowingly. "That's true love. Find me a mer-person anywhere who will do that, Anzu. That's why I'd rather live in Confinement than mate with another mer-person for the rest of my life. I swear to Ahti on it."
"But back to the blood!" Anzu cried, steering the conversation back on track. "You need to be very careful, Atem. Human insides are delicate and complicated, like ours."
"He can endure many things," Atem said cautiously, remembering how Kaiba had sat cold water for him many times. "He will be in the water with me for hours on end, even though it's cold for him."
"No…no, no," Mai shook her head, her brow furrowed with concern. "He will willingly sit in the water with you until his legs turn blue and fall off, all while not showing any signs of distress. You underestimate the power of human love, Atem."
Atem wrung his hands tightly, feeling another rush of guilt. "S-So you mean to say…he was freezing the entire time?!"
"Most definitely."
"Probably...yes," Anzu said worriedly. "A human will love you so much, that if you asked him to kill himself, he'd do it to please you without a second thought. Think about how he reacted when you asked him for the moon? Now translate that to...his own life."
"And that's why we're in jail," Mai said in a singsong voice. "None of my humans ever killed themselves. Plenty of other mermaids here have humans who did, though. Just stick your head out and ask."
"I believe you," Atem said in a heated rush, feeling his head spin terribly again as the air grew thin. "But if I tell him not to, he won't, right?"
"Unsure, because humans are unstable like that," Mai frowned, undoing the tie around her braid out of boredom and plaiting her hair again. "They'll say 'yes' to your face and then do something completely different. They're skilled liars, I'm sure you know."
"Yes, he's hiding something!" Atem nodded desperately, remembering all the times Kaiba thought about 'telling the truth' but never actually did. "Why does he want to lie to me? I won't hurt him."
"He thinks the truth, whatever it is, might hurt you," Anzu said gently. "See? Humans are complicated. Life is more difficult on shore. Other humans are vile. This one you've met sounds good though."
"I've heard things about Gay Humans," Mai muttered, and Anzu shot her a venomous glare.
"Not today, Mai. Now, Atem…" Anzu turned to give Aten's hand one last warm squeeze. "Don't drink any more of his blood. Be gentle when love-making, and get that lipstick."
"I tried to be gentle!" Atem protested, feeling as if he had done a terrible wrong. "But he kept asking for more!"
Both women stared at him for a moment before bursting out with laughter.
"It's time for you to go," Mai announced, grinning and tapping her temple playfully. "I've counted my heartbeats. Leave now, King, or start wheezing."
"Thank you," Atem said, rising up hastily and dusting the sand off the back of his fins. "You've made me feel better. I feel like…I've committed a crime."
"It's only a crime if the human is hurt," Mai said firmly. "Don't let people tell you otherwise. If you love him, and he loves you, there's no crime."
"There's no crime," Anzu echoed warmly, loosening the kelp curtain and holding it open for him. "Can you make it to the top yourself or do you need our help again?"
"I should be fine," Atem answered blithely, once again feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you so much. I'm in your debt."
"We're in yours," Anzu said warmly, giving Atem a quick hug before floating back into the cave and hanging onto the kelp curtain with one hand, waving with the other. "Safe travels, Atem!"
Atem waved happily over his shoulder, and heard Mai call out to him, "Wait! You forgot your weapon! This one has a royal insignia on it!"
"Please keep it for me!" Atem called back, and he made a hasty exit, barreling upwards to better air. His chest was beginning to grow painfully tight.
Unable to breathe properly anymore, Atem held his breath and beat his tail heavily, pushed his way through the dirty debris-littered water before bursting out of the top of the fissure, gasping for air.
Swimming powerfully back towards the palace, Atem took deep, steady breaths, willing his pounding heart to calm down.
There was no crime. He would not drink human blood again. Kaiba was not hurt, and he needed to be gentler when lovemaking.
Daring himself to feel happy again, Atem pressed on, letting his mind wander happily to the memory of Kaiba's lips against his skin.
Kaiba stood from his desk and stretched tiredly. He had been extremely productive today.
Time to call it a day and sit on the beach with Atem while watching the sunset.
Excited, Kaiba packed all his stuff into his briefcase and strode out of the office, passing by his secretary's desk and catching a whiff of her food.
It was a horrible, sour stench of something…awful.
What the fuck was she eating?
He stopped mid-step and turned to stare at her.
She stared back, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth with a piece of seared fish clamped tightly between them.
"What are you eating?" Kaiba asked bluntly, his stomach churning with nausea at the sudden violent assault to his senses. "It reeks."
"But it's smoked salmon!" She protested, wondering why the CEO was criticizing her food of choice out of the blue. "I bring this all the time!"
Kaiba shook his head tightly, about to retaliate with an insult, but bile was rising so quickly up his throat, he could barely do anything other than lean over the wastebasket by her desk and vomit into it.
"Oh my…!" She leapt to her feet and her chopsticks went clattering to the floor noisily. "Mr. Kaiba! I'm so sorry! Are you…sick?"
Kaiba winced in pain as his throat burned, and his knees stung when they hit the ground. He gasped for air, trying to respond as he gripped the edge of the wastebasket, extremely furious with himself, and very embarrassed.
Yeah. Sick. The scent of cooked fish made him sick.
Probably because it was like as if he had smelled singed human flesh.
Another thing to put in the personal log.
No more cooked fish.
No more smoked fish, seared fish, fried fish, or anything other than raw fish.
"I…I have an antacid…" she stammered nervously, reaching into her purse for a stack of napkins, and she handed Kaiba one, her hand shaking. "I'm so sorry. I'll take my food outside from now on. You never seemed to mind what I eat…"
Kaiba swiped the napkins out of her grasp and stumbled back into his office to use the bathroom.
His secretary watched him go, extremely stunned. Mr. Kaiba never showed any signs of illness in all her years of working his front desk, but today, something was wrong.
Kaiba bent over the sink and washed his face with cold water, feeling another dry heave coming on and he tensed, willing his body to calm down.
No more singed flesh.
Time to avoid all of Japan, especially the luxurious restaurants that served fish. Damn. Damn it all.
Taking deep, trembling breaths, Kaiba opened his eyes and glared at himself in the mirror, thankful that he didn't look worse for wear.
He dried off and composed himself haughtily, cursing Atem in his mind as he walked out of the bathroom and past his office doors, pleased to see that his secretary had left, even taking care to bundle up the plastic in the wastebasket and leave a note taped to it for the cleaning crew.
She deserved a fucking raise for that.
Picking his briefcase up from the floor, Kaiba held his breath when he caught another sour whiff of the smoked fish, and he hurried into the elevator, desperate for clean air.
That was horrible.
Each new discovery regarding his regular scale consumption was becoming more and more unpleasant.
If it wasn't being boiled alive in the shower, it was vomiting at the first scent of a cooked fish.
But for Atem, it's all fucking worth it, Kaiba thought furiously to himself, stabbing the elevator button and leaning against the mirrored walls.
Perhaps it was finally time to tell Atem about drinking the liquified scales, because these embarrassing and life-threatening moments could all be avoided if Atem just told him what to do.
I'll tell him tonight, Kaiba thought decidedly, crossing his arms and frowning at his own reflection in the elevator mirrors.
Atem sat nervously on his throne, surrounded by angry and concerned faces of his royal court.
Everyone was gathered in a circle around him, while the palace guard, the Stealthsman, floated in the center, looking extremely frightened.
"Tell them what you told me," Mahad said coldly, pointing his staff threateningly at the Stealthsman gold-armored chest. "Slander the king, right to his face while we all listen. And Atem, you must hear this."
Atem shook his head fearfully, desperately trying to make eye contact with Mahad in order to send him a private thought, but his bodyguard was fixated angrily on the palace guard in the middle.
"Oh, what is it now?" Solomon grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and eyeing the guard tiredly. "Speak, lest we behead or banish you."
"Old practices, which we won't do, because they don't apply here in this situation," Shadi said, trying to sound reassuring. "You are not a criminal. What do you have to say, Stealthsman? You are an honorable warrior. Do you stake your reputation on it?"
The guard shook his head, his eyes wide with terror while he remained silent.
Atem drummed his fingers nervously against the throne's armrest. He had a bad feeling about what was about to happen next.
"Very well, he won't speak, so I will speak for him," Mahad said, his voice shaking, and Atem tried to make eye-contact again, but he was soundly ignored.
"This man here says he saw our king mating with an unwilling human male on shore, while feeding on his blood. That is the most blasphemous sentence I've ever spoken, may Suijin have mercy on my soul. Now, what punishment does this man deserve?"
"He said…WHAT?!" Solomon roared, and everyone flinched. "Mating? With an unwilling human male? While feeding on his blood? Are you telling tall tales of lies and horror, Stealthsman?"
"How do human males mate with other human males?" Rishid asked gruffly, and he was given a poisonous glare from Isis.
"That is neither here nor there," the priestess declared, shaking her dark hair back on her shoulders and glaring at the guard. "What did our king do to you, to make you speak such lies, Stealthsman?"
"You hate the human, we understand that," Shadi said, projecting his own hatred in his statement. "But there's no need to lump our youngest king in with that shore-walking mongrel. Slander the human all you want, but why say that Atem was feeding on his blood?"
The guard remained willfully silent and kept his head down.
Atem curled his fingers into a fist, beginning to feel increasingly more guilty. It seemed this innocent man was about to face punishment…for telling the truth.
"Perhaps, you saw Atem attack the human," Mahad suggested, prodding the Stealthsman's plate with the tip of his staff. "You saw blood. Atem returned without his weapon because he left it stuck in the human's chest."
"The human is alive," Atem said, his mouth moving before he could stop himself, and he cursed silently, shaking with a mixture of dread and fear at the thought of what he was about to do.
He couldn't sit idly by while this warrior was punished for speaking the truth.
He was a bad king if he let this punishment go through.
It was time to confess.
There was a long, tense silence as everyone waited for him to speak again.
"Do not punish this warrior, for he did nothing wrong," Atem said shakily, rising slowly from the throne and gazing at each angry face in his court. "What he says…is true."
Atem bowed forward humbly, feeling his eyes burn with unshed tears of anger and shame as he spoke clearly.
"So, punish me, dethrone me, behead me, or throw me in Confinement. I accept my fate willingly."
It didn't matter how many times the mermaids in Confinement told him that what he did wasn't a crime. It felt like crime, and his people treated it like a crime, therefore, mating with Seto Kaiba…was a crime.
There was angry sputtering and noises of disbelief coupled with contempt, but Atem did not raise his head. He expected to be speared on the spot by Shadi or Solomon.
"A-Atem…." Mana's voice was barely a whisper. "I don't believe you."
"Then don't believe me," Atem said evenly, keeping his fists clenched at his sides. "But don't punish the guard for reporting my sins."
There was another long and tense silence before Solomon spoke, dismissing the guard.
Atem grit his teeth, still waiting to be killed.
"Look me in the face, in the eyes, and tell me exactly what you did," Solomon's voice was rough and commanding. "Now, Atem. Raise your head!"
Aatem obediently raised his head and looked Solomon right into his round, violet eyes, gathering his courage and speaking with one breath.
"While in captivity, I mated with him in exchange for my freedom. After my release, I grew fond of him, and made a blood pact, hoping to prevent any future wars he might start if I didn't surface to see him. But in our blood pact, I agreed to see him as a part of my duties, and our mating continued, before escalating yesterday when I bit him in jest. I never intended to actually bite him—"
"The mermaids in Confinement have brainwashed you," the old merman interrupted him, pointing his staff accusingly at Atem's chest. "Mahad had reports of you playing and wrestling with the human on your previous journey to shore. How does that escalate to mating, I ask you?"
Atem squared his shoulders and held the old man's gaze steadily, "I love him. Not like a brother or a friend. I love him like a Mate."
"You...cannot!" Shadi cried, losing his composure quickly and glancing around the throne room with an air of panic. "He is a human man! You are a merman! We need an heir!"
"Just because I mated with him, doesn't mean I won't mate with other mer-people," Atem argued, realizing how bad that sounded, and his feelings were mirrored with noises of disgust.
"No mermaid will ever want to come near you after hearing what you've done," Rishid added unhelpfully. "You've been tainted. Perhaps Confinement is the right place for you. You're making history, Atem. You're quickly becoming the most problematic royal we've had this millennium."
"No…NO!" Mana cried, rushing to place herself in front of Atem, her eyes brimming with tears. "Did you not hear what he said? He did it for freedom!"
"I knew that slime bag was acting strange! I told you, Mahad!" Shadi roared. "He released Atem too quickly, and why? Because of this! Precisely this! He didn't want riches, because he was busy dirtying our king!"
Mahad opened and closed his mouth angrily, at a loss for words.
"This is all my fault…because I was afraid—" Mana cried, and Atem shook his head, interrupting. "No, Mana. I could have bargained away anything else, but I chose to indulge him…with mating."
"Are you acting out because you miss your father, Atem?" Shadi asked grimly, looking at the king with mild sympathy. "Is that why you're behaving this way?"
"What do we do?" Isis asked, looking to Solomon for guidance. "Atem is our youngest king, making the mistakes of a young mer-person. Confinement is not a constructive form of punishment, nor is death, or banishment. Also, dethroning our True King will make us appear weak to other colonies."
"He also has a blood pact hanging over his head," Rishid added, "with a human. The only sitting royal with an active blood pact, and a criminal sentence. Truly, this is one for the books."
"Rishid, I will scratch you!" Mana shrieked, and Atem held onto Mana's arm tightly, giving her a gentle shake. "Mana…please. I deserve any and all punishment. Don't stand up for me. What I did was…"
Atem faltered uncharacteristically. Sex with Seto Kaiba had been amazing, wonderful, glorious. The most beautiful moments had come from those precious minutes they shared together on shore.
"I am disappointed in you, Atem," Solomon said, shaking his head, his white hair flowing softly around his face. "We are still expecting great things from you. We will need to devise the appropriate punishment."
"I want to pay the human a visit," Shadi spat, pointing up at the surface with a clawed finger. "It's about that time, right? Let's hold an open court session with Seto Kaiba on shore, and then…I will stick this spear through his face for lying to us regarding Atem's capture."
"I will join you," Mahad fumed, raising his spear in support, feeling a rush of solidarity towards Shadi. "I'll drown him while he bleeds from the wound you made."
"No need, no need." Solomon held up a hand, and Atem gazed fearfully at the old merman. "Atem, you will no longer make journeys to shore. At all."
"Ever?" Atem breathed, slowly growing numb with horror. "I need…the sun."
"Then you will get the proper amount of sun, accompanied by a group of armed guards," Solomon declared, and everyone nodded in agreement. "You only need the sun once every decade, so, this will be your punishment."
"Supervised Sun-Time, no shore, no humans," Rishid summarized, sounding slightly appalled. "Sounds like the punishment mermaids get in Confinement."
"Yes, but Atem will still sit on the throne and complete his duties, as per his blood pact," Solomon said cleverly. "Mahad and I have spent a great deal of time thinking about how to worm our way out of your pact, and this is how."
Mana pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.
"As long as you are 'doing your duties', going on shore will not be one of those duties," Solomon proclaimed, and Atem could feel his heart sinking lower and lower into his stomach. "The court now declares that our king, Atem, will not have to surface at all for the next century, therefore, absolving him from any shore-related visits with the problematic human."
There was a silence.
"That should do it," Solomon said gruffly, pointing his staff at Atem sadly. "You are my blood, Atem. I will not let you waste your time traveling to and from shore. From now on, your duties as king are as follows: take care of our people here and produce an heir."
"But what if that didn't break the blood pact agreement?" Isis asked worriedly, and Atem couldn't find his voice to argue. He as being…punished in the worst way possible, and he couldn't do anything about it.
No shore visits for the next century?
How long did humans live?
Would he be able to see Seto Kaiba after his punishment was over? Would Seto Kaiba still be waiting for him on the shore after he disappeared for a century without so much of a goodbye?
"Then we will bring him to shore, with an army," Mahad growled, and Shadi nodded in vicious agreement. "The human wants to see Atem? He'll need eyes to do that. I know a mermaid who collects eyeballs out of dead human skulls. She pays a good price for fresh ones."
"That's extreme, even for you, Advisor," Isis said coldly before turning to address Atem. "This is a mild punishment, as I'm sure you know. The mermaids you've spoken to have all been condemned for several millennia. Let this horrific event pass us by, my king. We will forgive you."
"Yes, we will work past this!" Mana gasped, grabbing Atem's hand tightly and hanging on for dear life. "Your century will be over before you know it, and you can sun yourself fully on any shore you want."
"But! You must first think about what you've done," Solomon said angrily, shaking his head and beginning to float away. "You kids these days all have too much freedom. When I was a hatchling, I didn't get shore-visits until I was at least two centuries old. Look at you, Atem, barely a century has passed since your crowning, and you're acting like a delinquent."
"H-Half a century…please!" Atem begged, finally finding his voice. "This is cruel! I can't just disappear without telling him why! Let me say goodbye...!"
"NO! Absolutely not!" Mahad shouted, losing his temper and making meaningful eye contact with Shadi. "He is dangerous! He captured you, and then fooled you into believing you love him like a Mate! Come to your senses, my dear Atem!"
"Th-That's horrible…" Mana breathed, gripping her cheeks with white fingertips. "Humans will do that? Have you really been fooled, Atem?"
"No!" Atem raged, but Isis spoke over him at the same time, "Yes!"
"Humans are clever," Isis declared. "They will hold their own kind in captivity until a change of heart happens. They do this with children until they become adults, and their brains will know nothing other than what they've learned in captivity. I can believe they will do it for other species too."
"That's shocking! Horrible!" Rishid cried, looking truly disturbed. "I take it they steal their own young from their nurseries too."
"They do that," Isis said solemnly. "They even kill their own offspring because they regret having them."
"You're describing only the negative aspects of human behavior!" Atem protested, and he was given sympathetic look from Isis.
"Regardless. Your place is here, my king," she sniffed, brushing past Rishid and Shadi, heading for the main hallway. "This discussion has been sufficiently stressful, and I love you dearly, Atem. Farewell and good night."
"Good night indeed," Rishid muttered, and he swam off in a huff, followed by Shadi, and Mahad, who spared Atem a pained look over his shoulder before swimming off, leaving only Solomon and Mana in the throne room with him.
"I know that look, young one," Solomon said gently. "You're angry. Go on and cry all you want. You'll feel much better after a good cry, and when you're as old as me, you'll understand from my point of view."
Doubt it, Atem growled privately through clenched teeth, and Mana gave his arm a painful squeeze.
Solomon swam slowly out of the throne room, and Atem blinked rapidly, hating how tears fell so freely from his eyes. There was a terrible crushing weight in his chest coupled with a hot rush of anger and frustration.
There had to be a way around this punishment.
He knew it wasn't even that bad of a punishment compared to what the other mermaids got for similar crimes, but this meant he would not be able to see Kaiba for another century, and that thought was agonizing.
Mana caught Atem's tears in her cupped hands and gazed sadly at him, trying to console him with her thoughts, but Atem's mental wall was too strong, so she sat beside him in silence while the king continued to cry silently.
Taking a deep shuddering breath, Atem managed to speak through clenched teeth. "Mana…how long do humans live?"
"I don't know. I forgot," Mana replied quietly, and Atem nodded stiffly, thinking he would spend most of the next century in Confinement anyway…with the only two real friends he had.
Author's note:
Scale consumption makes Kaiba's skin hydrophobic and the smell of burnt fish makes him sick.
Atem gets complete opposite reactions when telling people about his relationship with kaiba.
Sad times are being had.
Next chapter coming soon
hugs,
Ugli