"…So she swam alllll the way through the kelp forest to see her grandmother, but got lost on the way. She stopped to talk to some wild manta rays," Mana read aloud while Princess Adina watched her through half-open eyes. "…Will she make it to grandma's house? To be continued when you wake up. You're sleepy."

"No I'm not!" The princess protested, reaching a chubby hand out to grab Mana by her bracelet-adorned wrist. "I already know what happens. Daddy read it to me after mealtime, and granddaddy read it to me yesterday."

"What? This your third time hearing this story?" Mana cried, shutting the book with a snap and giving the princess a light pinch on her cheek. "You tricked me! Go to bed now."

"Then tell me another story," she pouted, bunching the soft sheets underneath her chin and gazing at Mana with her large, angular eyes. "One about my Daddy."

"Okay…which one?" Mana asked, her heart sinking rapidly as she realized the princess's questions had gotten more insistent and frequent during these past few moons. The moment she'd learned to speak, it had been non-stop questions, and everyone was having a hard time giving her truthful answers.

It was a little unfair to her, but Mana knew that the truth had to be kept from her until she was old enough to understand it.

"The one everyone always teases me about," Adina said, frowning in concentration. "The one who is 'that shore-loving piece of—"

"Oh! Okay! Him! Yes him," Mana dove forward to gently press her hand over Adina's mouth, feeling sharp fangs pressing against her palm. "Don't say bad words! You know those are bad, right?"

The child blinked imploringly at her, so she lowered her hand away from the princess's mouth. Adina's eyes narrowed dangerously, looking as if she was about to cry, but she was trying very hard not to throw a tantrum.

"Nobody says anything nice about him," Adina hiccupped, digging her claws into the blankets on her lap. "Is he a bad man? Like Mr. Shark in the story? Did he eat grandma? Is that why I don't have a grandma too?"

"Wow, um, no!" Mana cried, shaking her head vehemently and feeling her cheeks burn. "You have an active imagination! Did you say the other kids are teasing you at school? That's very serious! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because they won't stop it, even if I do tell you, or anyone." The princess answered perceptively, her brow wrinkling further with sadness. "How come he never comes to visit even if he is a merman? What's so good about shore?"

"Shore is just like here," Mana said soothingly, feeling herself break out into a cold sweat. "Okay? Sleepy-time now!"

"Will you take me there sometime?" The princess continued to ask rapid questions. "Is it far from here? We could go really quickly and come back! Please don't say 'no'. I've already asked everybody. You're my favorite, Mana."

"Aw…y-you're my favorite too," Mana whispered, tucking the blankets in underneath Adina's chin. "No more questions. We'll talk a lot more tomorrow—"

"That's another thing everyone says. 'No more questions,'" Adina replied, sounding not the least bit tired and suddenly becoming very chatty. "Tell me a real story about my daddy. With pictures! Or I'm never gonna sleep, and it'll be all your fault that I'm never gonna close my eyes."

Mana blinked at her, her blood running cold at the sudden threats.
Why did her mood change like that? It was scary!

"Very well…if I tell you the real story, you have to keep it a secret," Mana said fervently, sitting down beside the princess's bed again and letting her fins sink into the soft mattress below. "Promise you won't tell anyone I told you."

"Promise," Adina echoed excitedly. "Then I'll sleep, because I'm a good girl."

She snuggled obediently under the blankets, leaving nothing but a pair of bright eyes blinking at Mana from the edge of the sheets. It was hard to say 'no' to that face.

"Once upon a time…" Mana took a deep breath and wondered where she should start, but to her dismay, the princess cut across her rudely.

"Nope, wrong," Adina said coldly, narrowing her eyes again. "Just tell me where he is and everything about him. It's not a story. I won't be tricked. No tricking. You can't trick me."

"Okay, okay," Mana stammered, losing her composure quickly and feeling herself shake. "He is an Undercover merman on a secret mission."

"To do what? And why?" Adina asked, lightning quick, and Mana blinked rapidly, thrown off guard.

"We don't know," Mana said, patting the princess's arm under the covers. "That's why it's called 'undercover work'. He got trapped in human form because he lost a part of himself while on the job, and that's why he can't come down to visit. But he loves you very much."

"How do you know that?" Adina snapped, sounding extremely annoyed now. "Have you ever met him? Seen him? Everyone says he abandoned me here! Is Atem even my real daddy? I heard some girls at school saying he found me in a Chrysalis! And maybe that's why granddaddy is the only one who is really nice to me."

"W-Wow…that is a lot of…wrong information," Mana breathed, shaking and on the brink of panic. "How long have you been listening to these bad rumors? That's what they are: rumors! Don't listen to them. They're wrong!"

"What's 'right' then?" Adina challenged, folding her arms across her chest and creating a strange lump under the sheets. "That's why I want you to tell me a story with pictures. I'll only believe it if you show me."

"I don't have pictures in my head right now, but maybe if you ask Atem reeeaally nicely, he can show you some, okay?" Mana whispered, floating up above Adina's bed and re-tucking her into the sheets, eager to leave.

"He won't. I already asked," Adina said glumly. "He said 'when I get older', and when is that?!"

She lowered her head, and Mana frowned sympathetically at the princess, seeing the young girl's shoulders shake. Well…crap.

"Okay, fine, you win. I'll tell you everything I know," Mana said quietly, sitting down on the edge of Adina's bed again and reaching under the covers to grab her small hands. "Close your eyes. I'm going to show you where you were really found."

"So, not in a Chrysalis?" Adina's eyes widened hopefully, and Mana shook her head silently.

The princess shut her eyes tightly and waited. There was a moment of silence and darkness before she found herself zooming through the water beside Mana at breakneck speed, and Auntie Medic was beside her, panting out of breath.

"Wait…I'm sorry," Auntie Medic said, holding her hand out to touch Mana. "It's been a while since...I've swam to shore…"

"It's okay!" Mana chirped, and together, they swam slowly upwards, past a dark, kelp forest, over several ship debris, and two coral reefs before they popped their heads above water to take a deep breath of air.

"There!" Mana pointed at the house on a cliff, and they bobbed along a shallow wave that swept them closer towards the shore. "Kaiba's Private Rock, in this tiny crevice…"

Adina swallowed thinly, gripping Mana's warm hands tighter as she stamped every image clearly into her mind. It was a human's house, and an empty beach.

After swimming past the whole beach, Mana reached the cliffside and stuck her arm through a curtain of kelp, producing a dark egg, which she hugged to her chest protectively.

"It's Atem's, I can feel it!"

"Mana, give that to me," Auntie Medic cried, sounding very shocked.

The scene faded quickly, and the jellyfish lamps inside the bedroom swam back into view.

"You found me?!" Adina cried, her shoulders relaxing with relief and joy. "No wonder I love you so much!"

"Oh…I love you too!" Mana whispered, bending down to give the princess a kiss on her forehead. "You're a little brat, but I love you. Now will you sleep?"

"How long did you swim for?" Adina asked instantly, and Mana bit back a sigh, floating to the door and resting her hand on the knob.

"A very long time. We got very tired," Mana lied, looking guiltily over her shoulder at the princess. "Only highly-trained warriors can make the swim to shore. Good niiiight!"

She hastily yanked the door open and ducked out into the hallway, making sure to shut it firmly behind herself before she sagged against it, exhausted, feeling the decorative gems on the door's surface dig into her shoulder blades.

Wow. The princess was barely a few years old and was already this talkative and inquisitive. It was going to become a real problem in the future when she realized everyone had been lying to her.

Taking a deep breath, Mana dashed out of the women's wing and straight into the men's hallway, making a beeline for Atem's door.

She knocked urgently, and after three heartbeats, Atem pulled his door open, looking tired and distressed. Dark shadows hung underneath his eyes and hollow cheekbones, making him look gaunter than usual.

"A-Atem…we need to talk," Mana pushed her way into the king's room without invitation and slammed the door shut behind her. "Princess Adina is asking way too many questions! About everything!"

"Oh, I know," Atem said heavily, floating over to his bed to sit on the edge. "It takes a lot from me to keep my mind blank and say, 'I don't know'. I'm not sure how much longer I can take it."

"Maybe you should tell her about Kaiba," Mana whispered, taking a seat beside Atem on the bed and holding his hands tightly. "She's being bullied at school. Kids are teasing her about her father being a 'shore-loving you-know-what'. I can't believe she almost said that out loud to me."

Atem's eyes widened prettily and he said nothing, his chest tight with a mixture of guilt and sorrow.

"You know, they will learn the name 'Kaiba' in school," Atem said darkly, hanging his head. "Mahad told me. It's in War History. They will learn about a man who sent warships down and destroyed many colonies for our riches. What will she think when they get to that chapter? It won't matter what I tell her. She'll form her own opinion and think I lied to her."

"But it's the truth. Seto is nothing like that," Mana said firmly. "Coincidence! Same name, different people."

"Right, of course," Atem nodded, glancing down at the rings on his finger, realizing that he was now wearing every single one that Kaiba had forged for him. "You know, I've been feeling drained lately. Mahad says it's the side-effects of the pact because we amended it. I might not even be able to visit a surface colony at this rate."

"Are you feeling ill?" Mana cried, giving Atem's hands a frantic squeeze. "Just stay within our hemisphere and you'll be fine."

"I've been doing that, and I'm thoroughly fed up with it," Atem raged, his temper flaring unexpectedly. "I hate lying to her, and I want to see Kaiba for myself. This horrible limbo we're stuck in isn't healthy for anyone."

"I know…I know, I'm so sorry," Mana rested her head on Atem's shoulder, biting back a frustrated sigh. "This is highly illegal, but have you considered breaking the pact completely?"

"Yes, I think about it constantly," Atem growled, glaring at the silver KC belt buckle hanging above his bed. "Joey and Mahad are both helping me. But to amend it, we need Solomon's blessing, again. Now that Adina is here, there's an even higher chance he will refuse. One wrong word and it might kill me, or Kaiba. We're not sure."

Mana let her breath out slowly and gave the king's hand another reassuring squeeze.

They would find a solution sooner or later. For Adina's sake.

Kaiba sat on the beach while mindlessly turning over a delicate ring in his fingers. He watched Noah play with a bucket in the sand, singing happily to himself while the waves lapped against the shore.

Mokuba and Ayame were out for an anniversary lunch. Lucky them.

Meanwhile, he was stuck here, holding Kisara's wedding ring: the one with the delicate gold band and the marquis-shaped stone with the sparkling blue core.

It had been mailed to him in a padded white envelope, attached with a neat, handwritten note of apology, a sealed note with Seth's name on it, a hospital bill, and a bill from a crematory.

Her handwriting was burned into his mind, and Kaiba found that he couldn't stop thinking about it, so he chalked it up to his own grief.

The line that haunted him the most was the first sentence.

"Dear Seto,

Here's my ring you wanted so badly."

Fuck, Kaiba hung his head in his hands and let the sun beat down on his shoulders.
Was it that obvious that he only married her for the ring? Well, untrue.
He had grown to love and appreciate her kindness, but obviously Seth got to enjoy that more than him.

The rest of the letter was an apology that echoed horribly in his head in a mess of jumbled lines.

"…I'm sorry I didn't call or even text.
I didn't want to stress you out because I know how you get when you're stressed, and I didn't want you flying all the way over here just to see me fall asleep. You have your hands full with your double life, hehe…"

She had actually written 'hehe' informally like a sixteen-year-old.

It made him smile, and then cry.

He had rushed out of the house and shouted for Seth, who, thankfully, was already waiting for him behind the rock. After shoving the sealed letter under his brother's nose, the look of shock painted on his twin's face while he read it was also hard to forget.

"But I just saw her! I just left her on a Canadian shore! She was fine!" Seth insisted, and he dove off into an oncoming wave in his grief.
Kaiba called after him but had received silence.
Great. He presumed Seth was swimming from shore to shore in mourning, while leaving him alone to deal with it in his own way.

Being immortal sucked.

But even immortal beings experienced death.

His neck burned from the sun, and he ran a hand over his skin, hating how dry he felt.
Summers were now absolute torture.

His skin would crack and dry out so much, it would begin to flake.
No amount of fish scale injections, mer-medicine, or even his home-made serum mixtures could ease the suffering. As a result, he stayed near the water at all times like a fucking amphibian.

If it got too hot, he'd jump in the water.
If his skin began to dry out, he'd jump in the water.
His only relief were evenings, and rainy days, but those were few and far between.

Sighing, he slid the ring on his pinky and watched it sparkle wonderfully under the sun. It was a pretty ring, but it looked totally out of place on his hand, but he couldn't bear to part with it.

"Seto! I made a castle!" Noah cried happily, pointing his sand-covered arms at the misshapen lump at his knees. "Wanna help me find a stick? I need a stick for a flag."

"There are no sticks on this beach," Kaiba replied tiredly, rising to his feet and wading into the water. "Go inside the house and get a chopstick, or use a giant log of driftwood."

Noah frowned and shook his head. "No, I wanna stick. A real stick! Like in the movies!"

"Look around, kid. There are no sticks," Kaiba said, exasperated. "Try your hardest. I'll give you an ice cream if you can find a damn—I mean, a stick around here."

"OooOoOo you said a bad word!" Noah taunted, sticking his tongue out playfully at Seto. "You need to wash your mouth with soap."

"You need to get lost before I kick your butt," Kaiba shot back, reminding himself that he was arguing with a seven-year-old.

"Why are you swimming again? You just went!" Noah cried, crossing his arms irritably. "Do I really have to use a chopstick? Ugh…this beach sucks."

"You suck," Kaiba shot back mindlessly, smiling a little. Noah rolled his eyes and stomped off towards the house, spraying sand at his heels with every step.

Brat.

Kaiba sank slowly into a sitting position and gazed out over the foamy waves, eyeing the surface of the water by the large rock. Seth had been gone for about two months now. The silence was unnerving. He knew Seth had been secretly fucking Kisara behind his back, but even now, he couldn't bring himself to care, or even say anything.

Why should he have cared?
Kisara knew he loved Atem, and Seth was the perfect alternative.

But he had an inkling of how Seth felt.
Dealing with a death without seeing the body was a different kind of pain.
When Isono had passed, Kaiba thought it would've been easier to cope by skipping the funeral, but in fact, it made closure that much harder, and since he was so stubborn, regret tortured him and kept him awake on particularly bad nights.

The only consolation he got was telling himself he was doing the right thing.

His jewelry company was thriving under a new name, and the underwater kingdom's construction was completed. He had yet to see it because he could no longer hold his breath for more than three minutes or withstand high water pressure without a splitting headache.

It seemed like his body had slowly been reverting into human form, and it was the worst of both worlds. The water was icy cold, but he needed it to stay moist.
The sun was roasting him alive, but he needed the nutrients from it.
How the hell did amphibians cope?

Sighing, Kaiba inched deeper into the water and closed his eyes, listening to the waves lapping against the rock with every passing tide, listening for tell-tale signs of Seth's splashes.

A small pod of children floated after their teacher who was swimming slowly through a shipwreck and pointing out the different items humans used.

"This is a window, very similar to our windows," the teacher said, and one child hung at the very back of the group, looking bored and interested. "Miss Adina? Please keep up. I don't want to lose you in here. Next, we have…a sofa. Does anyone know what 'sofa' is made out of?"

Several hands shot up in the air, and Adina rolled her eyes, resting her palm on the dark, splintered surface of the algae-covered wall of the ship.
She already knew all this stuff. It was in all the books inside her room, which she had already read by staying up way too late past her bedtime.

"Miss Adina? Please keep up," the teacher called, waving the students in through a narrow crevice leading into another room. "We are heading into the next section now! Does anyone know what 'master bedroom' means?"

Ugh, Adina rolled her eyes again and slowly shrank back into the shadow of the doorway, wondering if this was the shipwreck she'd seen in Mana's vision.

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Was there a kelp forest nearby?
Only one way to find out.

Inching backwards out of the room, she listened to the teacher's voice echoing softly from the dark crevice, and she waited two heartbeats…waiting, listening…waiting….

The teacher's voice got fainter, and Adina took this chance to bolt down the hallway and out through the broken hull of the ship, keeping her arms tight at her sides to make herself as small as possible.
Getting through the water fast was her priority.
Not getting caught was her priority.

Finding her birthplace, "Kaiba's Private Rock", was her goal.
It was proof that she wasn't found inside a Chrysalis.
If the place existed, she would believe the story Mana had told her.

Swimming higher and higher over the ship, the princess swallowed thinly, and her heart pounded fearfully in her chest when she saw long stalks of kelp waving in the distance.

Yes, that was it, right?
That was the kelp forest.
Now, which way?

Scanning the ocean floor, Adina frowned, suddenly feeling quite scared.
She was going to get in trouble for this.
Whatever.

I'm the princess and future queen of everything. They can't punish me, she thought indignantly, and she swam aimlessly in a circle before she forced herself to pick a direction. East.

For what reason? She didn't know.
It just felt like the way she should be going.
Also, it was obviously the opposite way from home, so…east it was.

Setting her jaw in determination, Adina swam rapidly past the kelp forest and made sure to avoid the murky darkness in the middle, deciding instead to circle around the edge. All the stories were true about sharks who ate merpeople, so staying away from darkness was key.

I'll show them, she thought viciously, clenching her fists at her sides as she continued to power upwards through the water. They think my father abandoned me! Well, I'll find him and prove them wrong!

Water was weighing heavily down on her shoulders, so she had to slow down significantly.

Well, maybe if she found him, he would know she existed, and then he would come visit.
And Atem would stop being so depressing and sad.
And then she would yell at him, for abandoning her inside a cliff at somewhere called "Kaiba's Private Rock."

Panting heavily, Adina paused in the middle of the clear blue ocean, suddenly realizing she was lost.

There was nothing but a huge empty expanse of water above and below her.
The silence was deafening.
It was ringing horribly in her ears.

The ringing was actually the high whine of something shooting towards her like a torpedo. A blur of grey and white zoomed right at her, and the deafening roar of white water pounded in her ears as she shrieked in fear and covered her head.

Something bit down on her left fin and yanked her downwards strongly.

Opening her mouth to scream, Adina twisted around frantically to see a mother dolphin circling her, and chiding her with loud clicks, "tsk tsk. A Hatchling! What are you doing so far from home?! Where is your mother? Your father? Your pod?!"

"Wh-What was that?!" Adina cried, staring at the stream of white water rippling above her head as the mysterious creature continued to travel further away at a frightening speed. "A shark?"

No, those were humans…in a boat! The dolphin replied anxiously, and her calf circled Adina's waist, nudging her elbows curiously to sniff at her jewelry.

"I see. Thank you. I'm going now," Adina whispered, trying to calm her rapidly pounding heart, but the dolphin wouldn't let her go.

I am swimming you home, young lady, the mother dolphin said, sounding angry before she addressed her own child. Baby, go join our pod. Mommy is going somewhere and will be back soon.

The calf clicked and giggled obediently, giving Adina one last nudge before diving off into the clear blue water, and the princess marveled at how the water sparkled in beautiful patterns off the baby dolphin's back.
Everything was so…pretty, and bright here!
The surface wasn't at all like home!
Mana had lied!

Come on, hatchling, the mother dolphin gave Adina a stern nudge on her back. Are you lost? What colony are you from?

"Kaiba's Private Rock," Adina said confidently, hoping her voice didn't shake, and to her surprise, the dolphin nodded.

I know just where that is. You're not far. Don't wander off again, you hear? I'm going to have a talk with your parents about this, the dolphin lectured, and Adina said nothing, choosing to nod and keep her mind blank just in case the dolphin discovered she was lying.

Dolphins were incredibly smart protectors; Adina knew that much. They were closely tied with the Council and all Guardians in the water. Better listen to this one and avoid getting into more trouble.

Swimming slowly beside the dolphin, Adina marveled at all the beautiful coral and clear sand underneath her, realizing she had never seen the world lit up so brightly like this before.

Hang onto my fin, little girl. I know you're tired from all that swimming, the mother said, and Adina gratefully wrapped her arm around the dolphin's top fin, enjoying the way her hair streamed away from her face every time they dove forwards.
It was…exhilarating.
The water here tasted different.
It was clearer, and…sweeter?

The golden bands on her arms glittered prettily, and Adina couldn't stop staring at them. So…yellow.
So shiny!

It was over too soon, and the dolphin slowed down and bucked her head up, staying beneath the waves.

There is your home, the dolphin said, nudging Adina towards the dark, towering cliffside. I need to talk to your parents. You're in big trouble young lady.

"Um…I don't think you want to talk to him," Adina said quickly, thinking of a lie that would deter the dolphin. "He's actually a human right now. He's in the form of a strong warrior! He carries a spear and might stab you!"

I'd like to see him try! The dolphin scoffed. I'll wait here. You better bring me your father, in any form, right now. I'm not leaving until I tell him what you did.

"Wh-What?" Adina squeaked nervously, and she wrung her hands. "What if he's…not home?"

Are you a bad girl? The dolphin asked coldly, and Adina's heart sank.

"N-No?" the princess whispered, now dreading her adventure to the surface completely. "I'm a good girl."

Good girls fetch their parents so they can learn what they did wrong. Go call one of them now, the dolphin said sternly, and when she saw Adina remain motionless in the water, she repeated herself. Now, please. I'm waiting.

Oh crap, Adina thought nervously to herself.
Maybe she could swim away and pretend like she didn't live here.
No…. that wouldn't work. The dolphin would tell her entire pod, and they would eventually find out which colony she really came from.

Besides, there was no one here at Kaiba's Private Rock! Not one dwelling, not one soul.

I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble, Adina thought nervously, swimming closer to the giant rock and seeing a deep hole carved into it. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Above water, sitting on the beach still half-submerged from the waist down, Kaiba slowly raised his head when he heard an unfamiliar female voice chanting 'crap' in merspeak repeatedly.

A messenger sent by Seth.
Great.

Slowly rising to his feet, Kaiba waded over to the rock and stuck his hand mindlessly into the water, waiting for the octopus to curl its tentacle around his wrist to deliver the message.

This better be some good fucking news.

Author's note:

! this princess sure shares a lot of traits with her hard-headed father.

chapter coming next week (july 1st!)

hugs,
Ugli

my art | my tumblr