"I'M DEEPLY SORRY!"
The teacher from Adina's school bowed so low, her necklace nearly slid off from around her head.
Atem's entire court, including Joey and Tristan's pods of men, lined the walls of the royal hall, watching her apologize.
They had to hold the emergency meeting in the hall because they had to brief the army on the missing child as well, and everyone couldn't fit inside the throne room.
"If anything happens to her…anything—!" Solomon shook with anger as he turned purple in the face. "How could you let her hang in the back and then swim…away?! By herself?! Where would she have gone?! Or did someone take her?!"
"We've been over this, old man. We don't know!" Shada hissed, his forehead wrinkling his tattoo so much, it looked strange.
"Nobody panic," Mahad said shakily. "I've sent our fastest messengers far and wide. It hasn't even been five human hours since she swam out of school without anyone seeing her."
"Atem…are you feeling any pain?" Mana whispered to him as the court continued to bicker. "If you feel pain, that means she's calling for you."
"I don't feel much of anything," Atem commented quietly, trying not to let the despair and guilt overwhelm him. Gods…what would Kaiba think if he knew this had happened while she was supposed to be under his care?
Kaiba would sooner murder him than listen to reason about what had happened.
It irked him more that he couldn't predict where she would've gone, because according to the Medic, he wasn't 'as bonded with her as he should've been'.
The only thing he kept thinking of was how Kaiba would feel, and what Kaiba would do…and what would his court think if she had somehow in fact…managed to swim up to Kaiba's shore without any help or direction.
That would be impressive indeed.
Her intellect definitely came from Kaiba.
"Atem? Thoughts?" Mahad asked in a booming voice, and Atem straightened up nervously, floundering. He hadn't been listening…
"He's distressed. Leave him alone!" Solomon came rising to his defense. "Deploy everyone! Every corner of the ocean must be searched! Leave no creature, rock, or crevice unturned!"
"We can't just 'deploy everyone'," Shadi said angrily, balling his fists behind his back. "Our Hemisphere guards need to stay. Dwelling guardians need to stay. We are not sending everyone."
"Then send anyone who is willing to volunteer their time to look for her!" Solomon cried, sounding like he was on the brink of a meltdown. "The sun is setting on shore! Alert all the shore colonies!"
Atem palmed his face and shut his eyes tightly, taking a deep shuddering breath and willing himself to keep it together. Solomon's panic was not helping.
Mana's frantic whispers and Isis cold glares were not helping.
Biting the inside of his cheek, he saw a flash of a vision that didn't belong to him.
In fact, he'd never seen anything like this before.
It was dwellings.
Beautiful, white-domed dwellings that sparkled in the setting sun. A stained-glass structure loomed over his head, and to his shock, Seth was pointing at it, speaking to him kindly, "Don't cry, Princess. Look, there's the library. We built it just for you…"
Atem's eyes shot open and he gripped Mana tightly, deciding it was best to say nothing for now.
The court was in an uproar, with Joey and Tristan's men raising their spears to argue with Shadi and Solomon about deploying in formation or…if they should invade nearby colonies without warning.
Mana, she's safe, Atem breathed, sending her a private thought, and her eyes widened with relief.
How do you know? Mana asked carefully, and their ears rang with more shouts and yells from the men in the courtroom.
I saw through her eyes. She swam all the way to Seth's colony, Atem said slowly, trying to swallow his own shock. I know he'll bring her back after spending some time with her.
"Well, he better do it fast, before we inadverdently…start…a…war…over a missing child," Mana breathed through gritted teeth, and Atem nodded hastily in agreement.
Let everyone yell it out.
It would be a sweeter triumph when she returned, saying she'd visited Seth all the way at the surface, and then his court would have to let her visit outside the kingdom.
This would be good for her freedom, even if Seth was going to be punished for it.
Adina held onto Seth's hand, feeling so angry, it was painful to breathe.
A horrible pressure was building behind her ears, and she felt like exploding…because both Daddy and Uncle Seth had tricked her!
She didn't care how pretty the library looked, or how big her bedroom was.
It meant nothing if Daddy wasn't here to enjoy it too.
The only reason she didn't throw a screaming tantrum was because Uncle Seth reminded her that it would damage the golden chain in her hair if she accidentally grabbed at it too hard, and she didn't want to break the first present Daddy had ever given her.
"I'll give you a present?" Seth offered hopefully, and to his sinking disappointment, she glared at him tearfully and turned her nose in the air.
"What about some food? Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything all day," Seth said worriedly, pulling her towards the dining hall. "What would your daddy say if you went home starving? Let's eat something okay?"
Adina blinked before she realized Seth was talking about her other daddy: Atem.
"Atem is called Father," Adina said coldly, letting Seth drag her weight through the water. "Seto is Daddy. There's a difference."
"I understand," Seth replied gently, not understanding at all. "Well, I'm hungry, so we're going to eat. We swam a long way, so…here we are!"
Trying to keep up the cheerful façade, Seth ushered her through a set of glass doors and down a golden arched hallway leading into a spacious dining hall. Five glittering chandeliers strung with sets of diamond tears were hanging in a row from the ceiling, and Seth pointed up at them, his stomach churning with a mixture of sadness and admiration for Seto's ingenuity.
"Those are the tears from my mother, father, and the entire kingdom. They cried when they thought your daddy died on shore during his Service," Seth said, and to his relief, he saw the princess turn her head up to gaze at the magnificent chandeliers.
"Want to swim up for a closer look?" He asked kindly.
"No thanks," Adina replied plainly, pouting angrily. "I'm mad at you."
"Oh, I know," Seth said, nodding and leading her gently over to a plush seat and plopping her into it. "What do you like to eat? We can make anything you want."
"Air," Adina replied cheekily. "Air on Daddy's shore."
"Okay, one plate of air, coming up," Seth sighed, unable to hide his exasperation, and he lowered his head to stare at the dining table, racking his brain for a way to deal with this child.
She loved Seto so dearly…she wanted to be close to him, so….
"Ah, I know. How about you try my favorite dish? I mean, Daddy's favorite dish?" Seth smiled, wondering if his looks were enough to fool her momentarily. "We'll eat together…it'll taste good."
Adina narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly and crossed her arms, pouting.
Fine. Only because it was Daddy's favorite.
Seth let his breath out in a careful sigh.
Holy gods, this girl was a handful.
If Seto's difficulty level was 100%, Adina's was 200%, because she was a child and prone to tantrums.
It seemed only Seto could get her to do anything.
A plate of fish eggs was zoomed out of the kitchen by a small octopus and the Medic peeked into the dining hall, gesturing nervously for Seth to come out.
Seth shook his head tightly, frowning.
He glanced at Adina, relieved to see her shoveling the food into her tiny mouth with giant handfuls, and he made a mental note to tell Seto that she didn't eat with utensils and would need to be taught.
"Your...majesty, there is a…non-urgent message for you," the Medic said, his eyes wide with fear and he tilted his head into the hallway as if to say, 'Urgent! Come now!'.
"Fine, I'll get it, but you…stay here," Seth said quietly, floating to the door and holding it open for himself. "Adina…be a good girl, for Daddy, okay? Mister Medic will sit with you while I get the message."
"'Kay!" She chirped, throwing Seth a loving smile before she stopped and frowned, reminding herself that Seth was not Daddy. It was a trick.
Seth was being a tricky trickster like Mr. Shark in the story.
Plus, Seth had long hair and looked nothing like Daddy.
Seth hurried down the hall and ran face-first into a purple octopus. He recoiled in disgust, peeling it off his face and glaring at it.
"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" The octopus shouted and Seth grabbed it by the head, muffling it to his chest while its tentacles flailed wildly.
"Be quiet! What is it? Who sent you?!" Seth growled, throwing a frantic look over his shoulder to see Adina and the Medic still eating peacefully together.
Thank gods for Seto's triple-paned glass or whatever it was called.
The octopus wriggled out from under his arm, panting, "a royal hatchling from the Kingdom of Muran has gone missing. If you or someone you know has seen her, please send me back as fast as possible. The reward is eight-hundred emeralds, two-hundred rubies, two-hundred opals—"
"I'm family," Seth growled, his blood running hot with fury at the thought of Atem giving him money. "Don't want your reward. This is Seth. Send someone she knows to escort her, or if the journey is too long, she can stay the night in one of our resorts. She's already distressed, and if you tell her she's in trouble, she'll cry even more. Has no one ever taught her how to eat with shells or any kind of utensils? End message."
The octopus floated suspended in the air temporarily before he zoomed away at top speed, leaving a tiny cloud of ink floating in the clear hallway.
Stop polluting my water, Seth thought angrily, swatting the ink away from his face.
He turned to head back into the dining hall, his body heavy with exhaustion.
He had a newfound respect for his own parents now.
They had to deal with two twin children at the same time, and here, he could barely manage one.
I am never having children of my own, Seth thought viciously, pushing the glass doors aside and seeing Adina bolt out of her seat to dash at his face with her arm's outstretched.
"DADDY!" She shrieked, before she caught herself, skidded to a stop halfway, turned red in the face and slowly floated back to her seat. She folded her arms in a huff and slumped down into the chair, looking absolutely furious.
The Medic pressed a manicured hand to his mouth to suppress laughter, but his chest tightened with sadness.
This poor girl just wanted to spend time with her father.
Atem swam beside Mahad and sent him a private thought, "Come with me." He floated into the nearest deserted hallway, away from the commotion in the main hall and hastily divulged what he knew.
"She's with Seth. I saw through her eyes," Atem confided, seeing Mahad relax, visibly relieved. "Don't send our warriors to invade neighboring colonies and disturb peace. She's safe. It's my fault for not knowing sooner."
"You must be close to her if you can see that," Mahad commented, resting a hand on Atem's shoulder and giving the king a reassuring pat. "Don't listen to what the Medic says. It seems you are bonded with her closely enough."
"Y-Yes…so it seems," Atem said awkwardly, feeling his ears burn with embarrassment. "I know everyone thinks we aren't close, and I can see how it appears that way."
"You don't owe anyone an explanation about the bond you share with her," Mahad said firmly, giving Atem a small smile before floating back to the commotion in the main hall.
Staring glumly at the wall, Atem tried not to feel guilty. He knew he could be closer to her, but her nosy questions about Kaiba made it really hard.
SILENCE! Mahad's voice boomed in his head, and Atem winced, admiring his protector's ability to project.
A quiet fell over the hall behind him, and Atem swam slowly through the palace back into his room, seeing a purple octopus zoom by him, squealing with excitement.
Ah, the good news of Adina at Seth's colony would reach everyone's ears soon.
Time to take a nap.
Because he was always…so tired.
Hopefully he would have a nice dream about Seto.
Adina yawned, and Seth caught this immediately.
"Bed," he said sternly, steering her towards the women's wing, and he stopped awkwardly at the entrance, realizing he didn't have any women he trusted enough on his staff to take care of her.
"Bwut I wanna sleep wif Daddy," Adina said, her words slurring mightily already. "I yim not tired."
"Alright, yes, you can do that," Seth said nervously, picking her up and carrying her towards his room. "You can sleep in my bedr—"
"No, I said Daddy's bed, not yours!" She cried, prying her eyes open, and Seth panicked. She was forcing herself awake to throw a tantrum. Gods…this was why people had to always trick her into doing things, but as a result, it made her distrustful of everyone.
"Daddy's bed…is my bed," Seth stammered, managing a shaky smile. "We've shared a bed and a room since we were little. He would always end up draping his fins across my face while we slept."
Not technically a lie…because it did happen often….
"Mfgfmse," the princess mumbled, resting her head gently on Seth's shoulder, staring sleepily up at him through half-lidded eyes. Fine. Maybe if she squinted, and then pretended reeeaally hard, then Uncle Seth could maybe look a little bit like Daddy. Only a little.
Seth entered his room and felt the Medic hovering behind him at the door, holding a bottle of purified water, ready for her to drink.
He set Adina gently down on the bed and watched her curl obediently underneath the sheets, her motions heavy with sleep. Well, she had swum a very long way today…
"Is she weaned? Does she still drink fresh water?" The Medic whispered, floating into the room and leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the princess' forehead.
"No kisses… only Daddy can…kiss me…" She grumbled, cracking an eye open to see Mister Medic holding a bottle out to her.
"Want some yummy fresh water?" The Medic asked, and before he could finish his sentence, her chubby arm shot out to grab it from him, and she stuck the bottle in her mouth, sucking furiously on it while her large blue eyes stayed nailed to his face, glaring at him.
"Wh-Wh-…Well alright. Does it taste good?" The Medic kept the smile plastered on his face. "It is a little different because of the altitude—"
"Ah…! Done," she smacked her lips and handed the bottle to Seth, eyeing the Medic suspiciously. "Did you put sweet in it?"
"No, no sugar or anything. That's our type of water," the Medic said cheerfully, snatching the bottle from Seth's hand and hastily swimming out the door, eager to get away from the temperamental princess. "Good night!"
Seth watched the Medic go, and he gave the princess a nervous glance. Was he excused too…or?
"Night-Night Kiss." She demanded, closing her eyes and snuggling her head down on the pillow. "Now."
Incredible, Seth thought darkly, but he obliged, bending down to quickly press his lips against her soft cheek before he straightened up hastily and backed out of the room. He heard her sigh contentedly before he shut the door, and he sagged against the wall, exhausted.
The human metaphor for dealing with her was 'walking on eggshells.'
"You know," the medic said calmly, floating by the entrance of the hallway, giving Seth a fright. "She reminds me of you and Seto when you were both babies. You'd stare at us with these evil eyes while you sucked down the water, and then toss the empty bottle right back in our faces."
"I refuse to believe I've ever acted like that," Seth growled, moving away from the door carefully and swimming into the hallway for safety. "Don't talk so loudly. She could still be awake, listening to us."
The Medic gave him a kind smile, opening his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted by a black octopus, darting into the hallway and making frantic gestures with its tentacles. It stiffened one into a sharp point and stood at attention before relaxing again and floating anxiously in front of their faces.
"You hired Stealthlapods to guard our Hemisphere for now?" The medic asked nervously, his eyebrows raising. "What is this? We're not in a war. These silent octopi disturb me greatly. I'm leaving."
"Quiet," Seth hissed, his heart pounding nervously in his chest. "It's saying there's an army headed this way. Is it Atem's men?"
"Well, since we are short on men who can actually fight, I'll grab a spear and float up and down this hallway for the princess," the Medic said quietly, giving Seth a grave nod. "Just in case it's not Atem's men and another army is coming here for some reason. I can't imagine why…."
He swam away quickly towards the armory, and Seth stayed rooted to the spot, his blood running cold as he realized he did know why other armies would want to come by to invade his newly built colony.
For tons of reasons.
To want to overrun it, and rule over it for the profits from luxurious resorts that were new, and well-designed. To capture or kill a future queen from the two largest colonies on this side of the equator while she was still an infant.
"We are in…deep trouble," Seth muttered, now wishing he could send some sort of SOS beacon to alert Kaiba. The princess was in more danger here than she was in Atem's colony.
The Kingdom of Muran was well-fortified, with an army of at least a hundred well-trained men.
Here? They were sitting ducks in a bejeweled palace with riches, waiting to be robbed.
The army approaching better be an entourage Atem had sent, otherwise…they were royally fucked.
"I'm back!" The medic whispered urgently, holding a rusty spear at his side. "Hurry. Keep us safe, Seth."
I'll try, Seth thought darkly, powering through the water silently but quickly, deciding to head up to the Hemisphere unarmed.
He wanted to send an important message.
This was a resort, and not a warzone anymore.
He floated to a halt, terrified when he saw rows and rows of mermen clad in full armor floating in formation over his head, blocking out the light from the moon as they swam by.
T-There were at least several hundred merpeople!
Pushing his fear aside, Seth swam upwards directly into the dark swarm of men, and they parted instantly to let him through peacefully.
Holding his breath, Seth saw a beautiful, slender merman with flowing green hair approach him through the throng of men and give him a cold, appraising look.
They floated to a stop in front of each other and bobbed up and down in the water, silently appraising one another.
"I am Master Dartz, and we are the Mighty Hunters of Kuril," he said softly, his long, magnificent hair suspended eerily around his sharp face.
Seth swallowed nervously, trying not to let the panic show on his face.
Great.
They were an army of ruthless hunters from the northern sea, not warriors.
Somehow even worse.
"Can I offer you a dwelling to stay the night?" Seth said smoothly, doing his best to hide his shock and fear.
"That is very kind, but can you really house and feed all of us?" The man threw his head back and laughed softly, and deep, grumbling laughs were echoed through the army of men behind him, sending a shiver down Seth's spine.
"Currently, I can accommodate…50 people in single dwellings," Seth said smoothly, his inner salesman taking over. "Double that if your men are willing to share a room, but sunbathing is best enjoyed alone or with a mate."
"We're not here for a vacation," the man called Dartz said with a pretty smile, tossing his silky hair over his shoulder, and his foreign accent leaked strangely. "We are here to give our regards and blessings to the new princess. We hear she was borne from Helios, The Colony of Light, and we come bearing gifts. Do we have the correct location?"
Seth let his breath out slowly in a sigh of relief.
"Yes, this is Helios, and I am Prince Seth, the current overseer of this resort," Seth said stiffly, gesturing at the clumps of colorful, glassy dwellings beneath their fins.
"Good. Here is the largest stone we've found during this season," the man spoke so quietly, his voice was barely audible over the rustling of the armored men around them who were all passing something between them down the line.
A giant oval stone with a sparkling blue core was handed to him, and Seth accepted it readily, feeling it sag so much in his arms, he sank slightly in the water. His heart thundered in his chest as he lowered his head in silent thanks, and Dartz drummed his fingers against his slender jawline, giving Seth a slow up and down look.
"You are as handsome as they say you are, Prince Seth," the man said, biting back a yawn. "Well, we take our leave now. I would love to see the Princess in all of her glory in a beautiful procession…only when she is ready, of course."
He turned to leave with a swish of his hair, and Seth mustered up his courage to call after him, "Wait! Master…Dartz?"
"Yes, Prince?" The man didn't turn around to face him, but his tone was still light.
"As you know, my colony has just been rebuilt," Seth said quickly. "If you have…any men to spare, or know of any colony willing to send me men to serve in my army for her, the future Queen of Muran and Helios would—I would thank you…so much, I mean, she would—we would…really appreciate it."
Seth kicked himself for fumbling the end of his grand beggar's speech.
"I'll ask around," the man replied casually, and a helmet was handed to him by one of the men floating nearby. "Enjoy the moon tonight, Prince Seth."
Seth blinked and sank lower in the water with the weight of the stone in his arms, watching the men converge behind Dartz and swim off in perfect formation. Even their fins waved up and down through the water at the same time. Terrifying.
Letting the weight of the stone take him all the way down to the ocean floor, Seth hung his head and curled his fins against the soft, white sand, shaking all over with adrenaline. That had been the scariest wake-up call this century.
It reminded him that they badly needed an army, or they didn't stand a chance at all.
A spear rammed directly into the ground right by his elbow, and Seth yelped, shoving the heavy stone off his lap as he scrambled up to see who it was.
The barbaric mermen, Joey and Tristan were grinning at him from ear-to-ear, their fangs glinting in the soft moonlight.
"Eyyy Rich Boy…er, I mean, wu'ssup Seth," Tristan said, nodding and retracting his spear from the sand. "What's crackin—"
"Don't you dare throw anything sharp at me again!" Seth snapped, his nerves wearing thin from all the frights he was getting. "Did you not see the army of Hunters floating above our heads?!"
"Wha? Hunters?! Where?" Joey cried excitedly, twisting himself oddly to gaze around. "Hey, nice place ya' got here. Got any grub? I'm tired from all that swimmin'."
Seth glared angrily at Joey too, unsure of how to put his frustration into words, and to his relief, Warrior Mahad came powering towards them at full speed, panting heavily while his brown hair floated around the space between them.
"Prince Seth…the princess…" Mahad gasped, shoving his spear into the sandy ground below and leaning against it for support. "You two…need to follow protocol!"
"Yes, protocol, I need men!" Seth said, directing this at Mahad. "I was so frightened in that one moment, thinking that an army from another colony was here to kill and slaughter us. We have no defenses. None at all. We are a resort, not a warzone."
That ought to be the new motto of Helios.
"An ex-warzone, so you still need defenses," Tristan said callously, and Seth's cheeks reddened with fury.
"We are not a warzone, period! But we do have an infant princess who has the temperament of my genius twin brother, so she is the real problem!" Seth ranted, desperately needing to unload the stress of his eventful day. "If anything happened to her…I can't bear to think about it. Mahad, send a word out for me—for us. We need protection. If I fall, we all fall. I refuse to draft men. I will take volunteers."
Seth nodded firmly, proud of his beggar's speech the second time around.
"I would like to know why you didn't send me a message the instant you had her in your arms," Mahad said coldly, not so quick to forgive the Kaiba look-alike.
"I would like to know why you didn't send me a message the instant she hatched," Seth shot back readily, feeling spit gathering behind his teeth. "You want to keep going?"
There was a long, tense silence before Joey broke it, holding his arms over his head and yawning.
"Alright alright arightttt, I'm sleepy," the blond merman said, hefting his spear onto his other shoulder. "Are we crashing here for the night?"
"Yes," Mahad said, sneaking a glance at Seth. "Please show us your warrior dwellings."
"All dwellings are created equal, so there are no warrior dwellings," Seth pitched cleverly. "We are a resort, not a rest stop. That'll be three emeralds per head, and if you want breakfast, that's an extra opal."
"What!" Tristan cried. "You're charging an opal for breakfast? What are you serving? Golden eels?! Dude, come on. We're tight! You're freakin' rich, you don't need our money!"
"Are you mistaking me for someone else?" Seth asked Tristan icily. "It's a quality breakfast, but fine. Since we are 'tight', on money I assume, because I'm not familiar with warrior lingo, I'll accept three emeralds and three opals for all three of you. A package deal."
"That's my entire salary for the next three moons, but okay, geez," Joey shrugged, seemingly unfazed. "You're definitely not Seto Kaiba."
"Definitely not," Seth growled, turning around furiously to swim back to his chambers to tell the Medic to be at ease.
He could hear the three warriors grumbling about how he was being a miser, but he didn't care.
He needed to make it clear that this colony was a resort, and always would be, which meant that everything was premium quality, premium experience, and everyone paid for the experience, especially warriors and hunters.
His parent's mistakes in the past were letting warriors stay for free in exchange for their service.
That was what ultimately led to their demise and diminishing colony population.
It would not happen again.
Author's note:
OUoUououou atem's family is freaking out about the missing kid while she is warmly bundled up at a resort! Hope she wont be in too much trouble when she goes home….