White Sand Ch. 1
6 Months after Aquaman
Staring out over the water, Arthur watched as the sun started to peek over the horizon, his mind going over the last few months of his life. He stood up for a Kingdom that he knew nothing about, found his mother, and for a while he thought he had found his other half. It was the first time that his life was finally perfect, he had the respect of his fellow Atlanteans, his father was happy to have the love of his life back, and he had Mera by his side, or at least that he thought. But, like everything else in his life, the good didn't last, hell, he was surprised it lasted as long as it did.
"Fuck." He growled out.
Picking up a boulder, he tossed it as hard as he could, pissed that he let himself fall into that trap.
Running his hands through his hair, Arthur refused to take his eyes off the water, absolutely hating the pull and desire to jump in. Shaking his head, he knew that there was nothing that was going to change what happened and he was grateful he learned who she was before she became the Queen of Atlantis.
While that was the silver lining, it didn't stop his anger from reaching his boiling point, never in his life had he met such a spiteful and manipulative woman.
Atlanna stood on the edge of the jetty; her eyes saddened as she watched her son struggle with the hard truth that was Mera. Sighing, she could only imagine how King Nereus was dealing with the fall out of his daughter's actions. Gripping her trident a little tighter, she was tempted to swim to Atlantis and shove it down her throat, but she knew it would cause more problems than it would solve.
Tilting her head as the sound of crunching pebbles touched her ears, tossing a look over her shoulder, smiling at the sight of her love. "I don't know how to help him." She said, her eyes turning back towards their son.
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Thomas pulled her close to his body, still not believing after all this time she was here, thankful that he had his peace. Placing a soft kiss on her temple, he looked out to where Arthur was standing, sighing at the sight of him tossing a large boulder out into the water.
"I know, the only thing that we can do is be there for him." Sparing a glance down, doing his best not to smirk at her frustration. "I'm not sure how it worked in Atlantis, but here, heart break is a normal part of life, and as much as it pains me to say, he needed to experience it." Granted, it was something that should have happened when he was a much younger man, but that was just how it worked out.
Inhaling deeply, Atlanna could only nod. Turning herself deeper into his arms, she let her head come to rest on his shoulder, her body relaxing the instant she heard his heart. Taking a deep breath, there was nothing she could do to stop the pain, all she could do was help him as he allowed. However, one thing was certain, if that red haired bitch ever shows up on these sands, she'd drive her trident through her cold dead heart, consequences be damned.
King Nereus stared down at his only child, anger radiating through his entire body, it was only the presence of her mother that kept him from back handing her. Running his fingers through his hair, his mind racing doing everything he could to save their tribe from the shame, but he knew it was futile.
Glaring down at her, he knew that there was only one way to save face. Growling out, this was not how it was supposed to be, she was to be the Queen of Atlantis but instead she chose to think with her hormones not her fucking head.
"Father, please, I can fix this." She pleaded, hoping that he would listen to her. All she had to do was get to the surface and use her siren charm on Arthur, it might take a bit of work, but he'd be under her spell soon enough.
Turning so fast, the water around him swirled. "How? Hmm. Arthur abdicated his throne, Vulko is now the rightful ruler, and he hates you." Stepping a bit closer, pleased that she had the decency to look petrified and ashamed. "I hope your little dalliance with that fish was worth losing everything." Turning towards his wife, he could see that she was staring daggers at Mera, as much as it was appreciated right now, he needed her political insight.
"My love, what would you suggest, that would be able to fix this?" he asked, hope filling his voice.
Smoothing down her dress, Marina watched as her daughter practically begged and pleaded for forgiveness. As much as she loved her, there was nothing that could be done that would ever repair the damaged that she caused. "She must marry that fish." Shivering at the thought.
"NO, you can't ask that of me. I made a mistake!" She screamed.
"You acted like a common whore, giving yourself to him." Marina moved towards her child, her heart breaking with every movement, "You embarrassed not only yourself, but your people." Turning towards her husband, "She fucked the Fishermen soldier, all the ocean knows this, no one of worth will want to marry her because they would never be able to trust her. This is the only way."
Pushing herself off the floor, Mera was almost forced to marry Orm, there would be no way she would marry anyone from the Fisherman Tribe. "No." she growled.
Nereus could feel his jaw ticking, "You don't have a choice. You either do this, or you will be banished from our Kingdom." Placing his hand on his wife's shoulders, using her presence to help him remain calm.
Gasping, "You can't do this to me." She was a future Queen of their kingdom, not some common peasant, no one would just cast her aside.
Moving swiftly, Marina grabbed her daughter by the throat, pinning her against the wall. "You should be grateful that it is even an option. My father would have killed me if I embarrassed him the way you have done to us." Closing her eyes, Marina could feel her power itching to come to the surface, tilting her head she knew that it was harsh, but perhaps that was what Mera needed. "You are not worthy of the gifts that you have been blessed with."
Placing her other hand on her forehead, Marina could feel Mera starting to struggle against it, but it was too late. "You will never know the smell of the air at the surface, you will never know the feeling of being able to manipulate the water around you nor will your voice call to men."
Nereus watched as his daughter's energy flowed into her mother's, shaking his head, while it hurt to see Mera in so much pain, it was important that she learned there were consequences.
Mera found herself curled up on the floor of her father's throne room, her body shaking as she adjusted to the lack of power. It was in this moment that she wished that she could cry, but in the ocean, it was pointless. Slowly rolling to her knees, she watched in horror as her parents walked away from her as though she was just trash and perhaps in their eyes that was now true.
Biting her lip to keep herself from screaming as she moved to stand took every bit of strength that was left in her body. Running her fingers through her tangled hair, Mera knew that with the slamming of the doors behind her parents, there were only two choices, do as they demanded, or live the rest of her life in exile without any of her powers.
Hanging her head, as much as it pained her, it wasn't a difficult choice, better to be the wife of some soldier than trying to survive in the vast ocean alone. Knowing that there was nothing that she could do to change her parents' mind, it was imperative to collect herself and prepare herself for her now bleak future. But perhaps she could make this work to her advantage and move him up the ranks, because she would be damned to just live an average life.
But as she walked herself back to her room, she couldn't help but frown as one of the guards followed closely behind her. "What are you doing?" she snapped.
Bristling at the sound of her voice, Kano stared down at the shamed princess. "Making sure you do not try to embarrass our king further." He said with a smirk on his face.
Hissing, Mera could hardly believe how quickly the guards turned on her, she figured that they would have taken pity upon her. "You have a lot of balls to speak to me in such a manner." Powerless or not, she was still his princess.
Rolling his eyes, "It seems as though you need to learn your new place within the pecking order." Taking a tentative step forward, "Your father has stripped you of your title, you are only his daughter in name, no longer are you in line for succession." Smirking a bit as he watched her face fall.
Moving quickly, he opened the door to her room, "You are to remain here for the night, unless you are ready to throw in the towel and run away." Taking a step back, he watched as several dozen emotions danced across her face, "But know this, you are no longer able to breathe on the surface, so you are forever stuck under the surface." Smiling a bit as he watched her struggle to keep from crying out.
Feeling her bottom lip starting to quiver, Mera moved quickly into her room slamming the door behind her. Flinging herself onto the bed, hating herself even more, but mostly for Arthur for coming back from the surface earlier than expected, if he had just stuck to the schedule, she'd would be getting ready to sit on the throne and her little dalliance would have been just that.
Rolling over, Mera found herself wishing there was something that she could do to make sure that his life ended up just as bleak as hers, but unfortunately now she couldn't think of anything. Sighing, while she couldn't think of something on the spot, that didn't mean that she wouldn't in the future. However, the longer she stared at the bioluminescent lamp, she knew that even if she was able to come up with something, she was now the shunned princess, who would really risk their lives for someone like her?
"Arthur?"
Looking up at the sound of his mother's voice, frowning a bit as he could see the sadness in her eyes. "You going to try to talk me out of going?" he asked her.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulder, Atlanna placed a small kiss on his cheek, "No, but promise me, you're not going to be gone forever." Scared that this would be the last time that she would see him for a long time.
Shaking his head, "This is home." Kissing her cheek, "I'll be back sooner than you think. I just need some time alone." He said, not liking how his words were hurting her, but he needed time to heal and figure out what he was going to do with himself.
It broke her heart to see him leave, it was a feeling that she understood deeply, but in her case, she was running away from a forced marriage. "Promise to…" hissing a bit as she struggled to think of the right word. "Call. Promise to call." Smiling as she heard him chuckle.
Arthur couldn't help but smile at her using the right word. "Not every day, but I will make sure you know that I'm OK." Not that he was really worried about the world around him, outside of a few things, he was indestructible and human weapons barely scratched him.
Patting his cheek, Atlanna took a big step back, not wanting to prolong this goodbye for herself or her son, she gave him a final smile. "Go, but remember who you are, do not let that woman take that from you." She said, hoping that her son would not get stuck in the anger that he was feeling.
Stepping back into the water, Arthur could only nod, "Don't worry ma, it's not about her." Turning towards the waves, "Plus, I'm the bridge between the surface and the ocean, it's important that the world knows that I'm here for them."
Atlanna watched her son disappear under the waves, a part of her wanted to go with him to keep him safe, but he was a grown man and even though he was no longer king, he was in her eyes. "Be safe, my son." She whispered towards the water.
It wasn't until the sun dipped behind the horizon that she even bothered to move, she knew that it was important for him to heal, but it was hard to know that it could be a while before he finally came home.
Turning on her heels, Atlanna made her way back towards the lighthouse, knowing that being in the presence of her love would be the only thing that would not only keep her calm but also keep her from killing that bitch.
Sipping his beer, Tom couldn't help but pick at the label, normally Arthur would be here with him drinking his Guiness, but as the sunset on this night his son was swimming towards the unknown.
"Where's Arthur?"
Looking up from his beer, Tom gave Betty a small smile. "You know him, out somewhere in the world." He said to her. He hoped that she would drop it, but with Betty being the town gossip, probably not. "You know how he is." Taking another sip, he was never more thankful that Arthur spent the last year in Atlantis, so no one in Amesty knew anything about Mera.
Chuckling a bit Betty couldn't help nod. "That I do." Reaching over to wipe down her bar, "And what part of the world is he going to?" she asked him. That was one of the many things she admired about him, being able to swim to any part of the world that struck his fancy.
Shrugging, Tom wished that he had an answer, but the truth was he honestly didn't know where he was going or even when he would be back. "He didn't say." Looking around, he could see the others doing their best to listen in, it was the only downside he found living in such a small town.
Betty could see that there was something that he wasn't saying, but she knew not to push the Curry family, especially when it came to Arthur's business. "Must be nice," she started, but before she could finish her thought the sound of the door chime drew her attention away from Tommy and with a cursory glance around her bar, she could see all the men were transfixed on the little blonde.
"Can I help you?" she asked her.
Sighing in relief, Davy gave the older woman a smile, "Yes, please." Unwrapping her scarf, Davy made her way towards the bar, doing her best not to look as uncomfortable as the men in the bar were making her feel. Leaning over, "Sign say's hot food, what's good?" she asked, hoping that if she ordered something they would go back to whatever the hell they were doing.
Chuckling a bit, Betty liked her spunk, "Everything sweetie, but my specialty, corn chowder."
"I'll take one, and a Guiness on tap if you have it." Tucking some hair that had fallen in her eyes, Davy finally felt it was OK to take a fucking breath. Closing her eyes, her mind and body tired from the drive, and while she could have made it to her uncle's house, she really was starving and didn't want him trying to make dinner so late at night.
Tom found himself looking at the young woman that pulled up a stool next to him, she was a petite little thing, but it was the color of her eyes that reminded him of Arthur, deep gold. Realizing he was staring; Tom turned his attention back to his beer and his mind towards his son, the last thing the young woman needed was another man staring at her as she had her chowder.
Davy almost moaned around the first bite, gently wiping her mouth she looked up to find the bartender waiting to see her response. "This is amazing." Taking another big bite, thankful that it was warming her belly, because Maine was a far cry from the tropics of Kauai.
Leaning over Betty could see that she was holding herself back from inhaling it, "Thanks sweetie." Glancing around her bar, frowning as some of the men continued to stare at the girl. Giving them a pointed look, pleased that they had the decency to look ashamed.
Turning her attention back to the young woman, curious to who she is and what the hell such a beauty was doing in the middle of nowhere.
"You here on vacation?" she asked her. That was something that the town was getting used to since the world figured out that this was where the Aquaman resides.
Wiping her mouth, Davy shook her head, "No, moving here." Pushing the bowl away, she gave her a small smile. "Do you know Jacob Olsen?" she asked, hoping that he wasn't such a hermit that the town he moved to all those years ago at least knew of him.
Snorting, Betty nodded, "Old Jake, he's such a quiet man, sweet. You family?" Not that it was any of her business but there was no way she was going to let someone trapse up to his cabin to bother him over some nonsense.
It was the intensity of the question that surprised her, but it also made her smile, at least she cared about her uncle enough to get into his business. Extending her hand, "Yes, I'm Davina Olsen. I'm his niece, and please call me Davy."
Taking ahold of her hand, Betty smiled, remembering how Jake spoke about her, "Hi Davy, I'm Betty McCall, owner of this fine establishment."
"Pleasure to meet you." Taking back her hand, Davy could see the older man next to her glancing over, shrugging, figured that if she was going to move here, she should at least be friendly with some of the locals. Extending her hand, "Davy."
Snorting a bit, Tom took her hand, "Tom Curry." Finishing up his beer, "Welcome to Amesty." Putting down his $10, he gave Betty a smile and polite nod to the young woman, but it was time to head home, because he was sure Atlanna was climbing the walls fighting the urge to go after him.
Davy watched as he left, just from his face and body language she could see that he was a little sad. She hoped that whatever had him feeling so down, would fix itself soon enough. Turning back, she found Betty watching her, "Is he OK?" she asked.
Nodding, "His son is the Aquaman, and it seems as he went out to the world." Wiping up her counter, "He'll be fine, just a dad worried about his kid." Tucking some of her graying hair behind her ear, "You need anything else?" As much as she loved to gossip, she wasn't going to with a stranger, at least until she got to know her.
Reaching into her pocket, Davy placed her money down, "Keep the change." Jumping down, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Betty, and I will definitely be back for more of that chowder." Giving her a final wave, Davy made her way to her truck, thankful that she was finally here.
"I can't believe you're finally here." He said, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.
Squeezing him tightly, Davy had to resist the urge to cry, it had only been a few months since he flew out to Kauai, but every time she saw him, she always felt like she was home. "Yeah, I know. But I need a change, and there is nothing more drastic than leaving a tropical island for the Great White North." she said, her voice teasing.
Snorting, "True, and how'd my baby brother take such a declaration?" he asked her. He knew that John was worried about her, especially after her mother walked out on them the moment she had the kid.
Linking her arm with his, Davy motioned for them to walk inside, "You know how pop is, he was worried about my condition, but I think that he understands." Plopping herself on the couch, she watched as her uncle took a seat in his wore leather chair, she couldn't help but smirk as the look of total relaxation crept across his face.
Leaning back in his chair, Jake eyed his niece, he could see that she seemed to be in a good place, but he did wonder how she was going to manage herself. Rubbing his graying beard, Jake hated to ask, but he figured that it was probably something he should have an idea of what to expect.
"Not for nothing brat, but how are you going to manage your 'condition'?" Hoping that his question came out more with concern than anything else.
Davy tucked her legs under her, she knew it was something that they both worried about, hell so did she, but she was almost 26 years old, and she's managed almost 4 years without any major incidents. Sighing, "Uncle J, I take all the necessary precautions." Giving him a small smile, "Plus I find being near the water to be relaxing, and you'd be surprised how much that really helps."
Tucking some of her hair behind her ear, Davy could still see the concern in his eyes, but that wasn't something that was new to her, even her pop looked at her as though she was going to break. On some level she appreciated it, but deep down it made her feel as though at any moment that she would hurt herself or someone around her.
Jake watched her face fall a bit as she spoke about keeping herself together, so baby brother was constantly on her case about it, not that he could blame Johnny. Making a quick decision, unless she asked him for help, he was going to let her manage herself, it wasn't like she was a little kid anymore.
"Glad that you got it managed brat," letting out a yawn, Jake was tired, it had been a long day. "I'm going to turn in, tomorrow, I'll show you the property and you can set up your office for work." Moving to stand, he gently patted her head, "Night brat."
Snorting, Davy watched as he made his way up the stairs, exhaling slowly, at least her uncle gave her the impression that he trusted her. Letting out a yawn, Davy knew that after the long flight across the country and the 2-hour drive from Portland, she was barely able to keep her eyes open.
Reaching for her phone, Davy sent a quick message to her pop letting him know that she was safe and at her uncles. Letting out another yawn, Davy snuggled deeper into the chair, reaching behind her she grabbed the quilt and before she knew it, she was out like a light.
John looked down at the message, a small smile spread across his face, now that he knew his baby girl was safe with Jake, he could finally relax a bit. Rubbing the back of his neck, the stress of her leaving their home was causing the muscles in his neck to tense up, but he knew that he couldn't keep her on the island forever. Sighing, he just hoped that they made the right choice, and that Amesty would be a good place for her to start to spread her wings.
Glancing down at his watch, it was almost midnight where she was, as much as he wanted to call her, he knew that she needed rest. Setting an alarm for himself, he knew that it would take some time for them to get on a communication schedule that would work for them, but he was willing to do anything to make this easier on his baby girl.