White Sand Ch. 9

Kano watched as the fallen princess attempted to flirt with one of the armory guards, keeping himself behind one of the pillars, his eyes narrowing as the guard in question moved away and she kept up her failing attempts to seduce him,

Shaking his head, he wanted to step in immediately and put a stop to whatever this was, but the only way to get her on the chopping block was to catch her doing something more than flirting with an idiot. So, for now, he would remain still, listening, watching, hoping that she would do something that would equal treason and that his King would give him the honor of removing her head.

"Your highness, your husband is a member of the counsel." Shifting uncomfortably Coso hoped that she would take the hint, but it seemed that she wanted to cause trouble. He honestly didn't care if she did or not, but if her father or her now General husband thought he was entertaining her, he'd be chum.

Using her fingertips to move the hair out of his eyes, "And?" Stepping a little closer, "He's in a meeting of the generals, no one even knows I'm here." Giving him a soft smile, Mera had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. If she only had her siren powers, this fool would have already been puddy in her hands, but her mother stole all her gifts, and she was finding it a lot harder to get him to give into her.

"I'm tired of being touched by that fish, I need a real man." Pushing her chest against his, hoping that he would take the bait, but if not, she just needed to get a little closer so she could steal his key to armory.

Lifting his hands into the air, Coso instinctively took a step back but ended up flush against the armory door, "Princess, respectfully, what goes on in your marriage is your business, but I'm not going to be fodder for you to use."

Hissing a bit, Mera wasn't used to men denying her, but she knew that if she kept pushing this moron her father would find out, but she refused to leave without that damn key. Stepping forward, she leaned against him, her hand slipping down against his thigh smirking a bit as he jumped, but by doing so it gave her full access to his pocket which held the key. Not wanting to give the appearance that she was defeated, Mera softly pouted hoping to give the illusion that she was disappointed in his rejection.

"No one would ever know." Fluttering her eyes as she took the key from his pocket, "I promise you'd enjoy yourself."

Exhaling slowly, Caso just tilted his head away, "I'm sure, your highness. Please. I need to get home; my shift is over." Without another word, he moved himself around the fallen princess hoping that by the time he got home she would have zeroed in on another fool.

Mera chuckled as the guard practically ran away, while it wasn't the outcome she was expecting, honestly, she was a little insulted that he didn't jump at the chance to be with her. But that wasn't something she was going to worry about tonight, she had the key, now she just needed to learn the guard schedule so that she could get access to the suits that let Atlanteans walk on the surface.

Smiling at the thought of being able to finally get to the surface, Mera momentarily forgot herself.

"What brings you all the way down here?"

Whipping her body around, hissing at the sight of her father's right hand, frowning at the way he continued to speak to her, Mera rolled her eyes. "I do not have to answer to you." Carefully putting the key in her pocket, she turned her body slightly to keep his eyes focused elsewhere.

Stepping a little closer, Kano could see in her eyes that she was up to something far more dubious than trying to sleep with a random guard. But it was how she responded to him that made him even more suspicious, for the last few months she had been on her best behavior, but it seems that she was getting tired of such things.

"You may not answer to me, but you do still answer to your King." Stepping into her space, smirking a bit as she stuck out her chin, ever so defiant. "Stop bothering the palace guards, go to your husband." His eyes never leaving hers.

The pair stood there for a few minutes, neither was willing to submit to the other and perhaps if she wasn't a harlot he would have enjoyed himself. But alas, a woman that would step out on a man that would be the King of the Seas for a guard was not a woman that was worth much.

Mera could feel her fingers twitching, itching to slap that smug look off his face, but until she had the armor, she was weaker than most. Shaking her head, there was nothing that she could do now but concede, but rest assured that the moment she had her armor, she'd make sure he was the first person that she killed, second was her traitorous ex.

"I guess you're going to run to my father, let him know what I've been up to?" She asked him, but it was only to buy time to think of something that wouldn't have her locked in prison.

Kano watched as she quickly thought of a million excuses, it was almost impressive how quickly she could change tactics. "I should." Crossing his arms, he gave the impression that he wasn't interested, but he needed to lull her into a sense of security, because he was certain that was the only way that he would catch her.

Turning on his heels, "Leave my guards alone, don't cause any trouble and I will forget this little indiscretion." Moving quickly, Kano rounded the pillars for a second time, keeping himself still, smirking as he watched her lightly pat her back pocket.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity that Kano gave her, Mera darted towards her room, she knew she only had a couple of days before the key would be noticed missing and she needed to get her plans in order as quickly as she could.

Sitting in the library, Marina felt like she re-read the manuscript of their city for what seemed to be the 100th time. Sighing, she knew her mind was on her daughter, a part of her was angry at herself for not trusting her but another part, a bigger part knew that she was up to something.

Rubbing her forehead, trying to pinpoint the moment in her life that Mera changed from the sweet little girl she used to be to the conniving woman that she had become. For years she made excuses for her behavior, but it was painfully clear that she and her husband were wrong. Now, instead of refining her skills to lead their people as their Queen, she was now married to a low born fish, who only was made general to keep their embarrassment to a minimum.

But that only did so much, everyone that mattered in the ocean knew what their daughter had done, and even as the King of the Sea, Vulko refused to let her enter his palace. Shivering as the memory of her being turned away the day after her wedding, it was in that moment she knew even if Mera was able to redeem herself to her people the rest of the ocean would never accept her as the queen of Xebel.

That was what the last few meetings with the counsel have been about, finding a suitable Heir apparent. To her pleasant surprise her son-in-law didn't want to put his name in the hat for leader, he accepted that Mera would never rule their kingdom, he wanted it to go the one of the noble homes. His only request was that he didn't lose his position and that any children that they may have would have the opportunity to be on the counsel.

It was her hope that she would realize that while he wasn't the most handsome of men, he was honorable. But before she could get lost in her thoughts any further, a knock on the library doors pulled her attention from the manuscript.

"Enter."
Looking up, Marina frowned seeing Kano standing there, her heart sinking knowing that her daughter was up to something. "Tell me."

Sipping his coffee, Jake had to resist the urge to chuckle as his baby brother struggled to maintain his composure as he took a seat at the table. He should have known it was too much to ask for, because God forbid that John admitted that he was wrong. Leaning back against the chair, Jake allowed himself to really look around her home, smiling at the delicate touches she's added to make it home, it was feminine, but it wasn't overly girly.

Soft blues with a few shades of light green to break up the color palate, it was beautiful and for him very relaxing. Perhaps that's why Davy picked them out, doing everything that she could to keep herself relaxed, not wanting to lose control of herself.

It wasn't until he heard his brother huff loudly that he noticed his mind was thinking about how proud he was of his niece and not his brother. Letting his eyes linger on her home just a second more, if only to show him that he wasn't his priority.

"What has you so annoyed so early?" he asked, figuring that it was best to get this bullshit over with as quickly as possible.

Gripping the cup a little tighter, John had to resist the urge to chuck it at his head. From the moment he stepped into the hospital, no one took what he was saying seriously, his brother, that freaky family, and more importantly his daughter. But that shit ended today, he was not leaving this place until she agreed to come back with him and end this foolishness with Arthur.

Glaring at his brother, John spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm annoyed that you've allowed my daughter to get herself caught up with that man." Turning his eyes towards her bedroom door, John was almost tempted to kick it in and yank her out of bed, but even he knew that would be crossing a line. Glancing back over to his brother, "I'm annoyed that instead of keeping her from exposing herself you've practically encouraged her to be proud of her," struggling to find the words, "condition."

This was why Jake insisted that he stayed the night, he knew that Johnny wouldn't let up until he convinced her that she was something to be feared. Perhaps before he knew what she was truly capable of, he might have agreed, but he was there, he watched her save that building and then almost get herself blown up to protect the people of this town.

"First off, she's a grown ass woman, so she can make the decision to be with whoever she wants to." Downing the last of his coffee, "And for the record, she has been doing wonderful with her gifts," smirking as that word made him cringe a bit, "yes, gifts. She has been training herself to not only control herself but to push herself and to master what has been given to her." Leaning back in the chair, he watched Johnny fight the urge to yell, but one thing he seemed to be concerned about was his image.

Rolling his eyes, John refused to think what she had a was a gift, a curse from that woman was more like it. "You think she's gifted?" he snarled. "She's a freak, probably just like her mother, because no one in our bloodline has ever been afflicted with such a disease." Shivering at the thought of people knowing he was her father. "She needs to quit while she's ahead, because if anymore people realize that she's a damn monster it will bring shame to us."

Jake went to open his mouth but was effectively cut off by the sound of a feral growl. Snapping his eyes towards the sound, he couldn't help but shrink back at the sight of Arthur standing there looking murderous.

Arthur could hear them as they talked in the kitchen, he was going to ignore them until she woke up but hearing her father say those things about her enraged him. Carefully untangling himself as quietly as he could, he practically jumped out of the bed and ripped the door off the hinges.

"Freak?" He growled out, "Monster?" stepping a little closer. His fingers itching to wrap around his throat and have him choke on his words, but he refrained, for now.

Standing up slowly, John watched as this behemoth of a man inched closer to him and for the first time in a great many years, he was terrified for his life. Finding his mouth dry, John tried to wet his lips but with no luck. Doing the only thing that he could think of John made the choice to stand his ground, knowing that Davina would never tolerate her toy hurting him.

"Yes, she's a monster. What do you call being able to light things on fire with your damn mind?!" he yelled out.

Arthur found himself standing about a foot away, the only thing that kept him from crushing his skull with his bare hands was his love for Davina. But if he continued to talk about her as though she was trash, consequences be damned he'd break his fucking neck.

"I would tread carefully old man." Inching a little closer, smirking a bit as he saw nothing but pure fear in eyes. "Your daughter is the most caring person I have ever met; she was willing to give her life to protect this town, and that was in spite of all that bullshit you put in her head." Poking his chest, "You should be fucking proud of the woman she is."

Swatting his hand away, John could only chuckle, "There is nothing to be proud of." Standing at his full height of 5'10, John hated that he had to look up to him or his brother. "Davina needs to come home with me, because her playing house with you is a joke," turning to his brother, "you don't know what I've done to keep her from making this kind of mistake, and in less than 6 months you've allowed her…."

"What do you mean, what you've done?"

Everyone in the room turned towards her voice, but it was only Arthur and Jake that could see her heart breaking at her father's words.

"Princess…." Flinching as she cut him off.

Gripping the hem of her shirt, Davina could feel two things happening at once, anger pure unadulterated anger and great sadness. It was going to be a toss up on which one would win out. Perhaps that would determine what came out of her pop's mouth.

Right now, anger seemed to be winning, especially when he called her princess, to anyone else it was a term of endearment, but she knew better, it was the word he used to guilt her into compliance.

"ENOUGH!" Not caring that her hair was a mess, Davy took a tentative step forward, desperate answers. Resisting the urge to cry, she knew that if she broke down now in front of him, he would turn it around and say that she was too emotional.

"What did you do!?" her voice barely above a whisper.

Running his fingers through his hair, John knew that she wasn't going to drop this and with a quick glance he could see that neither his brother nor her boyfriend would either. He wasn't ashamed of what he'd done, it was only to keep his daughter safe from herself and from making the stupid choice about having kids.

Clearing his throat John found her golden eyes focused only on him. "I knew William was cheating on you. I ignored it for a long time, because I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to fall in love with him." His mind going back to the day she told him she was falling for him, shivering at the thought of her eyes filled with all that hope. "But you did, and you thought about talking to him about what you are, and I had to protect the secret."

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks, taking a step back Davy could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. "You sent me to Lucy's, because you wanted me to find out." Covering her mouth, Davy fought the urge to scream and cry, she refused to give him satisfaction. Blinking away a tear that was threatening to fall, Davy turned her eyes back towards her pop, hating the sight of him, "You knew he was cheating; you knew that he was emotional manipulating me and you allowed it to happen, and only stopped it because I had the audacity to want to have a life with him."

"Davina, he wasn't good enough for you. And we discussed in length about having kids…"

Clenching her fist, Davy was never more grateful for all the training Atlanna gave her, because without it she was certain her house would have engulfed in flames.

"YOU DISCUSSED!" Stepping forward, "YOU HAD ME THINKING I WAS SOME SORT OF MONSTER!"

Opening and shutting his mouth, John watched as she kept herself under control, in all his years he never known her to get this emotional without losing control. "Davy…"

"Get out." Focusing her eyes on him, "YOU are not welcome in my home, you are not welcome in my life, and you are never to contact me again." Turning towards her uncle, "If he's not gone by the I get back, I will have him arrested for trespassing." Turning towards her father, "You call me the monster, but you're the monster. You've manipulated me my entire life, and I refuse to let you or anyone else do it anymore."

Without another word, she walked out onto the back porch and towards the path that would lead to the cove. Her heart was breaking into millions of pieces but strangely with each step she felt a little better about herself, she finally confronted one of her demons.

John watched as his daughter walked away without a second look, how the hell was he the bad guy? All he was trying to do was protect her from herself, didn't she see that? Turning towards his big brother, hoping to see some sort of sympathy in his eyes, but instead found the same look of hatred. "Jakey…"

Stepping into his space, Jake could not believe the kind of bullshit he put his own kid through just because he couldn't handle that Davy was unique. "You heard her. Get out. DO not come back." Shoving him towards the room, "And if it wasn't crystal clear, I'm choosing Davy, not you." Crossing his arms, he watched as his baby brother scrambled away.

Glancing over towards Arthur, still impressed not only by his sheer size but those intricate tattoos that covered his entire torso. "You love her?" he asked, not knowing why he needed to know at that moment, but he was sure it had a lot to do with Johnny.

Staring at the door that her father walked through, Arthur barely heard him, his mind was solely focused on making sure that man never came near her again. "I do. Very much."

"Good." Heading towards the bedroom to watch Johnny pack, he lightly patted the man's shoulder, "You treat her with respect, and I got no issues." Giving him a small smile, "Kids no kids, that's a conversation for the two of you but I'd be a proud pseudo grandpa if that's what you both wanted." Without another word, Jake made his way towards the guest room, his only goal now was to see his brother pack and get his dumbass to the airport.

Arthur watched as Jake headed deeper into the house, turning his eyes towards the back door frowning when he didn't even see her. As soon as she cleared the house, she must have taken off running to get away. Not caring that he was only in a pair of jeans, Arthur darted out the back determined to catch up with her, desperate for her to know that she was loved by him, his parents and her uncle. One idiot's bigoted opinion did not change the way he felt about her.

Heading down the trail, he couldn't help but be slightly impressed that she was moving so quickly but his mom had been spending a lot of time with her. Coming to a sliding stop at the cliff, he could see her standing at the water's edge tossing fireballs into the freezing waters.

Jumping down, Arthur made sure to give her enough space, but he still found himself leaning against some of the rocks that were directly to her left. Instead of distracting her, he watched as she threw fireball after fireball into the small chunks of ice that were washing ashore. Smiling at her progress, based on what he was seeing, she had complete control of herself, even when she was understandably upset.

By the 40th time a fireball hit the water, Arthur could see that it had the desired effect that she was looking for, to be drained physically. Standing up, he watched as she dropped her hands to her side, her head hanging down, it broke his damn heart to see her like that.

Pulling her back against his chest, Arthur wrapped himself around her, "Tell me what you need."

Taking a hold of his arms, Davy was torn between screaming at the top of her lungs in frustration or turning around in his arms and crying her eyes out. Instead, she took several deep breaths to keep herself from turning into a blubbering mess. Once she felt that she would be able to speak without her voice shaking, Davy turned her head smiling softly as his eyes watched her.

"You're doing it."

Shifting her eyes back towards the water, frowning at the charred marks that were left on some of the rocks. It wasn't something that made her happy, she was thankful that instead of losing all control she was finally able to channel her energy that didn't put anyone at risk.

Running her fingers through her hair, Davy just didn't understand what was so wrong with her that neither of parents truly loved her. She never met her mom; she left her in the hospital hours after her birth with an 'I'm sorry' note in her blanket. Now, her father the man she thought loved her unconditionally, thought that she was a monster, a god-damn monster.

Wiping away a tear that was threatening to fall, shaking her head clear, Davy turned her head slightly, "I think what hurts the most is that he knew who William was, from the very beginning and he allowed me to make a fool of myself." Leaning her head against his shoulder, "It was always about his desperate need to control me"

Shaking her head, it was like every conversation that they've had. "I was too dangerous, I would kill someone, keep the secret and my personal favorite was him saying that if I had a child I could pass on my condition on or something worse."

It was that last statement that always had her giving in, it was hard enough to learn to cope with her fire and if it wasn't for her nana or uncle, she wasn't sure that she would have been able to.

Arthur barely was able to contain his growl, pulling her closer to his chest he leaned down placing a soft kiss on her neck. "I'm sorry baby." Keeping his nose in the crook of her neck, using her scent of oranges blossoms to keep him from double backing to the house and snapping his neck.

"I know you have a lot of things running through your head, but" turning her around wanting to see into her eyes. Using his fingers to move the hair that had fallen into her eyes, "I'm with you." Leaning down Arthur placed a soft kiss on her lips, he was tempted to lift her up and claim her again and again until she knew how much he loved her. However, as much as his body needed to claim her, he knew that she wasn't ready for that.

Pulling back ever so slightly, Arthur kept his forehead on hers, smirking a bit as she whimpered. Sliding the hands into her hair, he tilted her head so that she was looking directly into his eyes, "I need you to hear me," not speaking until her golden eyes were focused on his, "when you are ready, I don't care if our kid has three eyes or is blue. You are the woman I want to have them with." Chuckling a bit at the sound of her inhaling.

Davy leaned back, her eyes searching his for anything that would indicate that he was kidding, but as she looked into his amber eyes, she knew that he was being serious.

"Arthur," lifting her fingers to stroke his beard, "I think I need to get used to the idea of the possibility of a child." Gasping a bit as he bit down on her wrist, "And here you are talking about them."

Shrugging his shoulders, Arthur just smiled, "Well, I grew up without any siblings, I would have liked to have a brother not want to kill me."

Raising her eyebrow, Davy could see that while he was joking there was an air of truth behind his words. She knew about Orm, both Atlanna and Arthur spoke about him and how he tried to unite the ocean kingdoms to wage war against the surface.

Smiling up at him, she couldn't help but smile at him, "Well, I don't have any half siblings that I know of, but who knows, if I do, they might want to kill me to."

Growling at the thought of anyone coming after her, Arthur reached down and lifted her bridal style in his arms. "If you do, they'll have to get through me." Placing a kiss on her nose, he turned his attention to the trail that led up to the back property of her house. Glancing down at her, Arthur could see the shock in her eyes, it never ceased to amaze him with how expressive her eyes were.

"Davina, I will always do what I can to keep you safe." Keeping his eyes on the trail, Arthur knew that if it came down to it, he'd give his life to make sure that she was safe.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Davy could only shake her head, never in her life had anyone other than her nana and uncle made her feel so safe. Leaning up to his cheek, Davy gave him a swift kiss. "Arthur Curry, I love you."

Sparing a glance down at the woman in his arms, Arthur couldn't keep the stupid grin off his face if he tried. "I love you too."

John found himself looking around the airport, his brain doing what it could to catch up with what transpired at his daughter's home. Never in his life had he been so embarrassed or insulted in his entire life, only instance where this feeling came close was when the nurses at the hospital looked at him with pity.

"NOW BOARDING FLIGHT# 438, Portland to Austin."

Everything went wrong, he lost control of his own child, never in his life did he ever expect her to do such a ludicrous thing. Grabbing his go bag, John made his way towards the gate, his mind in turmoil, he knew he should have put up more of a fight but honestly, he was done trying to keep her safe. If she wanted to flounce around with another freak, that would be her choice, and when it finally blew up in her face, he wouldn't jump in to save her.

Smirking a bit at the thought, he knew it was only a matter of time before she came crawling back and when that day came, it would be a joy to make her grovel at his feet.