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Chapter Text

A birthday is meant to be an occasion to celebrate your life with friends and family, people you love and who love you in turn. Sevian did have friends, four of them in fact and a fairly large family with two older brothers, an older sister and her mother. But none would spend it with her; Her mom had called her but had had plans with her new husband and none of her siblings had contacted her, let alone sent her a simple birthday message. It was nothing new, they only ever contacted her when they needed something from her. She would not be surprised if they did not even know when she was born.

She had planned to spend the birthday with her friends; a relaxing night at the cinema followed by an early dinner at her favourite Chinese restaurant. That had been the plan, up until an hour before the time she was meant to leave the apartment when the messages started coming in on her phone. All of her friends cancelled on her; two of them had family emergencies, one had a stomach bug and the other had simply said she could not make it. It was not the first time they had cancelled on her. It was not the first time Sevian was going to spend her birthday alone watching re-runs of old TV shows either.

Only this time, she wanted to do things differently. She had already gotten dressed and with a full face of make up, she did not have to sit at home alone with only the sound of the TV keeping her company. No, she would go on ahead with her plans for the night.

Three hours later, Sevian came out of the movie theatre with a smile on her face as she made her way to the restaurant. It had been a fun night, she had never gone to see a film by herself but it wasn’t as stressful or as boring as she thought it would be. But the smile slipped right out of her face when she reached the restaurant. Her hand froze on its way to open the door. There, right inside, sitting by the window, were her friends. All of them, eating and laughing. She had never felt as lonely as she did at that exact moment.

It says a lot about ones ability to be loved when your own friends and family avoid you on what is supposed to be the best day of the year for you. But were they really friends? Would friends truly keep you at a distance and were never there when you needed them? She was aware that they did not consider her as close to them as they were with each other. They never touched her or hugged her or offered her a word of comfort when she needed it. She had clinged onto that spare thought in her mind that they cared about her, even a little. She had been wrong. She should not have presumed.

Her eyes looked onto the other side of the restaurant and saw a family having dinner, all of them laughing and tapping each others shoulders. She envied them. Her siblings had already been old enough to move out when she was born and the age difference made it hard for them to be close to her. Sevian had tried, she had given it her all for them to love her but at the best of times, she had the impression of being an only child. She reminded her mother too much of her late husband for her to shower Sevian with affection. She could count on her hands the amount of times her own mother had hugged her.

Sevian could not stop the sensation of cold, icy water being splashed down her spine and the heaviness in her chest at sight of her friends talking animatedly with excitement.

“Excuse us! We’d like to go in please,” a woman’s voice said from behind, startling her. Turning to face them, Sevian’s sentiment of loneliness edged itself even deeper into her heart.

The woman was with another woman. It was evident with their hands around each others waist, the way one woman kissed the other’s hand as they waited for her to move, that they were a couple. They reminded her of just how starved of touch and affection she was. With a quick apology to the couple, Sevian walked away aimlessly, she would not confront her friends, they had not seen her. What would be the point of doing so other than hurting herself even further?

She had friends. She had family. Yet not a single one of them cared for her- No, her mother assumably did; at the very least, she called Sevian on her birthdays and major holidays.

***

Mera and Arthur were not dead. The ship that had once belonged to his betrothed had crashed into the larva and had King Orm not seen Arthur’s feet pass through the narrow passage between the rocks on the far side of the larva lake, he would have thought them dead.

He had suspected there was more to Mera and Arthur’s dealings than the indignation they tried and failed to portray. Orm was not blind nor was he oblivious to his surroundings. He had seen Arthur’s unguarded, heartbroken reaction to the revelation of Mera being Orm’s intended and she cared far too much about the well being of a surface dweller she had just met. The bracelet he had given her was not a token of his affection; he expected her to betray him but foreknowledge of the betrayal did nothing to soothe his anger.

“My king, Crown Princess Mera was on the ship. Should we send a message to King Nereus?” Vulko, his advisor, asked from the shark beside Orm’s ship. Vulko was a traitor to the crown who thought Orm foolish enough to not realise he was in part responsible for Arthur’s return. His voice grated Orm’s sensitive ears and it took all his Xebel-Fu self control to not cut him down with the trident. Instead, he simply ignored the question and swam out of his ship.

“Commander Murk, activate the traitor’s tracker,” he ordered the man beside Vulko.

“It is done, your highness.” Vulko attempted to school his expression at the sight of the holographic map showing a moving red dot but the slight twitch of his fingers gave him away. ‘Good,’ Orm thought. The advisor did not know about the tracker and the knowledge of it seemed to have taken him by surprise. This man- this traitor that he had once loved like a father, had betrayed him for a bastard surface dweller all while pretending to be loyal to the crown. Orm could not think clearly with the rage in his head, he needed to be alone to calm his thoughts.

“I have matters to take care of, so Vulko, let me know once they reach their destination,” he ordered with a tight smile. The old man would be the one to reveal Arthur and Mera’s whereabouts and he would not be able to hide it with Commander Murk around. Orm would keep him alive long enough to see the bastard’s demise. Vulko could only bow and accept the orders. With a quick dismissal of everyone, Orm took off in the opposite direction of his kingdom.

In that moment as he swam away from Atlantis without a destination in mind, it dawned on him how truly alone he was; Mera, the one woman he thought he would spend the rest of his long life with had betrayed him for a surface dweller. His mother had betrayed his father for a surface dweller and had gone as far as to conceive a child with her lover. She had condemned herself to death for that surface dweller and the bastard child. Vulko had preferred a half-breed surfacer to him.

He was untouched by love. The revelation did nothing to still his anger, if anything, every inch of his skin felt pricked by a thousand needles as he realised that not only was he starved of affection; he had never felt the warmth of another’s touch. Nor had he ever let himself touch another, he had been saving himself for Mera. “What a waste of time that had been,” he scoffed.

Chapter Text

Sevian continued to walk until she found herself by the beach. Her feet had taken her to the one place she knew for a fact that she could truly be alone with her thoughts without witnessing any more couples, families or groups of friends. Nothing to worsen the pain in her heart. No one dared to go near any body of water, not since the Atlanteans decided to throw the ocean’s trash back at humanity a week earlier. The shorelines were no longer safe.

She stepped over the debris of shipwrecked boats and walked around the mounds of plastic and glass bottles to an area that had been spared from litter and sat down on the dry sand. She did not know how long she sat there, just looking at everything and nothing at once, her mind replaying again and again the scene at the restaurant. What was it about her that made her so hard to love? Where had she gone wrong? Was it her fault or did she let the actions of others isolate her and fill her with loneliness? It did not matter how many times she asked herself these questions, she could not come up with an answer for any of them.

Sevian had not realised that she had been worrying her lips until her eyes caught a motion of something in the water, pulling her away from her thoughts. The movement was caused by a man coming out of the ocean. She wondered who was foolish enough to come by the beach like her, let alone swim in the waters.

She could see him clearer as he had finally reached the beach. The man was fairly tall but he was not a local like she had expected him to be. The detailed black armour that shined in the summer sun, the golden hair, the vibrant blue eyes that could be seen even from a distance and the most telling of all, the silver trident on his back proved one thing; the man was an Atlantean.

***

Orm swam until he found himself on the surface. He was far from Atlantis and close enough to a shoreline that he could see a figure by its sands. In a split second decision, instead of going back to Atlantis, he decided to turn in the direction of the shoreline. A part of him wanted to see how much the surface dwellers liked having trash on their lands and another more prominent part of him was enraged by the surfacer’s presence within his sights.

His gaze focused on the figure as he came out of the water. He didn’t spare a glance at the debris he had wanted to see. The figure was a woman with thick, tightly coiled dark hair and dark brown eyes. She was dressed in red and black, in a fashion he had seen most adult surfacers wear. She was looking right at him, without any fear in her eyes, only mild curiosity. She had no sense of self preservation. Seeing her only made his thoughts of lonesomeness and displeasure engulf him.

A surface dweller like her had swayed his mother from his father and her kingdom.

A surface dweller like her had swayed his betrothed away from him and had taken away from him his sole father figure.

The scorn in his mind made him unconsciously approach her, walking past the debris and waste. He wanted to understand. Understand why everyone he cared about was so enamoured by those that had been rapidly destroying their environment and in turn their home.

***

Going by his looks and the shape of his trident; If the news coverages were to be believed, the scowling man was King Orm Marius of Atlantis. The king stared at her with furrowed eyebrows, unkempt fury in his eyes, not saying a word. Perhaps the right reaction from her part would have been to run and cry out for help or at the very least be filled with fear for her life. Yet, she could not bring herself to feel anything besides a mild anxiety over dying. No one would miss her if she died. No one would care. No one would even take note of it. So why would she care to run?

Sevian looked away from him and continued to watch the ocean. The noise from the waves did nothing to clear her thoughts but the sight was beautiful and seemingly untouched with no sailing boats nor people swimming in the clear waters.

The sun was still out but it felt cold, colder than a warm summer evening should be. Or was it simply the loneliness in her heart that made it seem so? She rubbed her arms and squinted her eyes as a shadow suddenly blocked her view. No, not a shadow, but the man she had almost forgotten was there to undoubtedly kill her. She looked up at him. He stood right in front of her, the shining black armour almost blinding her before her eyes adjusted to the change of luminosity.

The man then kneeled down in front of her and his eyes roamed her face as if searching for something, a sullen look in his eyes. Whatever it was that he was searching for, Sevian did not think he would find it on her. As close as he was now, the ocean blue of his eyes were brighter and his skin was uncannily clear of impurities. He had high cheekbones and a narrow face. His cherry pink lips hydrated and soft looking in a way that was inhumanly possible, were held in a firm scowl. If she could describe him in one word, it would be “pretty”. He did not look frightening at all, at least not in her eyes.

“If you’re going to kill me, then get on with it,” she said with a sigh. She was tired of the staring and just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Did her lack of fight or flight reaction disconcert him? Or was he offended by her being near the ocean?

“I’m not going to kill you,” the man said in an odd accented tone, taking Sevian by surprise. His slightly baritone voice vibrating in her ears. She had not expected him to answer her, let alone understand what she had said.

“Then what do you want?” She asked looking into his eyes. He had leaned close enough that she could count his blond lashes if she wanted to. She had assumed that someone who lived in the sea would have a nauseating fishy scent but instead he had a minty scent to him; it was a pleasant perfume.

“To understand,” he replied. Had he been hurt by people as she had? He leaned even closer until their foreheads touched. Making her close her eyes at the proximity and sensation of another’s skin on hers. A slight shiver ran through her body from her forehead to the tip of her toes.

Orm, for his part, had not planned to do any of that. By looking at her, he had only wanted to force some sort of understanding of why his life continued to be plagued by surfacers at every turn. There was a sullen look in her eyes mirroring his own. Just as he, she had been hurt in a way that made her search for understanding. But more than that, he was forced to admit to himself; he found her appealing.

The sensation of her skin on his took him entirely by surprise. His soft skin was cool against hers. He did not know why he had moved to touch her, his body had simply moved on its own.

They both sighed at the same time when their noses touched. She breathed in deeply. That reaction- he was perhaps just as touch starved as she was. She opened her eyes to see his eyes still closed. She raised a hand to lightly touch his face and did not miss the shiver that went through him as he let out another sigh. He lacked affection like her. She closed her eyes again, feeling the velvet smoothness of his skin on her hand and fingers.

Her touch on him made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. They moved at the same time into a bruising touch of lips. Satin cool lips slid against warm bitten ones. Maybe this was something he needed. To touch, to feel, to release the tension inside him for a moment.

He opened his mouth letting his tongue taste her full lips. A slight taste of iron on them. Her lips tingled at the touch of his tongue and she open her mouth to let him in. There was a mild almost unnoticeable salty taste to him, reminding her of who he truly was.

She moved her hands onto his tightly tied wet blonde hair. This was the touch she needed, it did not matter that he was an Atlantean and she was not. She wanted to touch, to feel the intimacy of being with another. An intimacy life had so far denied her.

He kissed hungrily, his large hands finally moving to touch her and she gave back as much as she got. Every touch set their bodies alight. They had both been starved of this kind of intimacy for far too long.

She finally pulled back after a while to catch her breathe, he made a move to follow before his body remembered that he too needed to breathe. He looked beautiful like this; lips wet, breathing hard and blue eyes almost engulfed in black.

“There’s an empty cabin 200 meters from here,” she said. It would be more comfortable than the beach for what they were about to do and it was clear with how both their bodies bristled in anticipation that it was going to happen. She knew the owner had left once the shorelines stopped being safe. No one would disturb them there.

He looked to the left in the direction where the cabin was. “That one?”

“Yes.” With that confirmation, he stood up, gently pulling her up with him by her waist.

Chapter Text

The short walk to the cabin was a quiet one. Neither one of them having anything to say to the other. They did not have to, they both understood what it was that they needed. Reaching the small cabin, Sevian went to open the door but it would not bulge. It was locked. Of course it was, who would leave their house unlocked for people to waltz into? She could feel his presence strongly behind her, it kept her skin buzzing with need. The locked cabin was not going to be an issue, she lived far from the beach but they would go to her apartment if they had to.

“Step aside.”

Orm grabbed the doorknob and with a slight push, the door opened. He went inside and Sevian followed, closing the door behind them. She tried flipping on the light switch by the door but no light came on. At least there was enough sunlight still coming through the window. The cabin was a small studio; a living room area connected to the kitchen, a closed door on one corner, most likely the bathroom, and a bedroom area on the opposite side of the living room.

She went towards the bed and pushed the red and black covers off, then turned the pillow around. The sheets did not look or smell dusty. They seemed clean. She heard the sounds of metal and fabric falling on hardwood behind her so she too began undressing. They knew what they were doing and there was no romance in it. What they wanted was not about sensual stripping or the romance of removing each others clothes.

Dropping the last of her clothes on the floor, she turned to face him. He had finished undressing but was still untying his hair. As expected of a warrior king, he had a toned, muscular body without any body hair except for the neatly trimmed crotch hair and his interest stood high on his lower torso. For a short second, she wondered if it could fit without hurting. Any other day, she would have been self-conscious about her lack of flat abdomen and her thick thighs but she did not care at that moment, she just needed to feel his skin on hers. She then got on the bed with her legs spread open to accommodate him.

“I’m Sevian Dilac.” They probably should have began with names but it had not seemed important. He nodded, “Orm Marius,” he responded in turn, settling himself in between her thighs. She wondered why he did not add his title but it did not matter as he leaned down and began to kiss her, one large hand on a thigh and the other keeping him braced on top of her. The sensation of him between her legs made her let out a needy sound through the kiss. His hair was loose and short but long enough for her fingers to grip them.

He sighed in pleasure at the feeling of her hands in his hair, blunt nails brushing against his scalp. It was euphoric and immensely new to him, he wanted to bask in her touch and the addictive sensation of his tongue against hers. He moved back slightly to look at her; She was beautiful and the sight only ignited his need further. He leaned back down and began to touch every inch of her skin he could get to as they kissed; her breasts, which brought out the most fascinating sounds from her, her soft abdomen that sent shivers through her body.

Her hands roamed across his shoulders to his hardened nipples. He sighed deeply into the kiss at every brush of her fingers on them. His skin was smooth in her hands as she then grabbed his shoulders to press their bodies closer together, his hands leaving her breasts. The sensation of his cool skin against hers was elating, arousing her even more. She pulled away from the kiss, her body was getting overwhelmed as the weight of him fell on her, she could feel the clear outline of his cock on her lower belly.

Orm mouthed at her neck lightly, letting the taste and sense of her fill him. He could have sworn he felt his body trembling at the stimulation of touch and warm skin against his skin. He moved his hand to rub her thighs and she opened them farther for him. The action making his cock twitch. His heart beat in such a quick rhythm, it would have worried him if his ears had not picked up on her heart beating much faster than his own. It was an understandable reaction, they had both been starved of simple touch and affection for far too long. He stopped for a few seconds to calm himself down. They were both hypersensitive. They needed a moment to breathe.

Sevian pulled him back into a kiss, her warm hands on his neck, she could stay like this forever; kissing, feeling and touching this man. His rough right hand moving softly between her thighs to the folds between her legs sent sparks of pleasure through her clit, she had never had another’s hand there. It made her accidentally bite his bottom lip. Instead of pulling away, Orm let out a quiet moan at the sudden pressure of teeth. “Was that all right?” she asked him after stopping the kiss to catch a breath.

“More than,” he answered next to her left ear. Taking that as a green light, she placed feather-light open mouthed kisses along his neck up to his ears. His skin salty yet smooth on her lips. The soft sighs against her ears were the proof that he needed this closeness as much as she did. He groaned when she sucked at the juncture between his right ear and neck.

There was a wetness between her legs that Orm had not expected but it did not make him any less excited. Atlantean women did not produce flowing lubricant. He stopped kissing her to look at the movements of his hand between her legs, letting the sounds she let out guide him on how to move his fingers.

She shuddered and tightened on reflex when his first finger entered her. ”Have you ever done this before?” he could not help but ask after noting her reaction.

“No,” she answered truthfully and then relaxed herself fully. This was something she desired.

“Neither have I.” It surprised Sevian but she kept it from showing. He may be a king but in this inexperience, they were similar.

“Do you want to?” She asked him. If he did not want to, it would also be fine, they could keep doing what they had been doing so far; just kissing and touching without going any further.

“Yes. Do you?” He paused all his movements, waiting for her answer.

“I’ve never wanted something as much as I want this.” She grasped his shoulders to get him moving and he responded in kind, inserting a second finger and scissoring them gently. She quivered at the sensation.

He mouthed on one breast while his free hand massaged the other. She rested a hand on top the hand on her breast and used the other to tug slightly on his hair to encourage him to keep going. He was already three fingers in and she was shuddering over the thought of him in her. Orm’s touches had aroused her to the point that the pain she had expected to come with being stretched out had only been mildly uncomfortable before it became pleasurable with each thrust and curl of his fingers, his thumb circling her clit.

The pleasure Sevian seemed to be getting from his touch made Orm’s cock pulse and harden even more, to the point of almost pain. He basked in the feeling of her fluttering around his fingers, the touch of her fingers in his hair and the grip of her hand on his.

She pushed him back up to hover over her so that she could see and touch his length. His cock looked human, with a vein on the underside and the tip of it the same cherry pink as his lips. Except for when she wrapped a hand around it, the shaft was wet and lubricated, the tip as well but there was no pre-cum. The wetness made it easy to move her hand up and down. She kept her grip light, not wanting to risk him finishing prematurely. He panted as he followed the movement of her hand on him. The hand of another on him, a new and welcomed exhilarating pleasure.

She did not have a condom, she had not planned on this happening when she had left her apartment that afternoon but at that moment, it did not matter to her. It was unsafe and in terms of bad decisions, it was perhaps one of the worst ones she was going to make but she needed this. She would rethink the consequences of her choice later.

When he finally got inside her, it was not painful like she always believed her first time would be. Although it was uncomfortable at first with her not being used to the intrusion and the feeling of being fully stretched but Orm moved slowly, letting her adjust to him. Even when the stretch and thrusting began to feel pleasurable, he barely sped up. He kept a slow and steady pace. Sevian held onto to his shoulders tightly, following his rhythm and moving in tandem with him. He lowered his head to her neck as he thrust agonizingly slow and deep, she could feel every inch of him with every push. She could not keep herself quiet and neither could he, his groans only flooding her with need.

Orm did not want to rush it, he wanted to imprint the intimacy to his mind and body. The warmth of her around him, the sounds they both made with each thrust; he did not want it to stop but he was already so close. He had never done this before, it was inevitable that he would not last long. Before he finished, he wanted to feel her tighten around him in ecstasy so he stopped moving and raised his head to look at her.

“Keep going,” she urged, out of breathe, trying to push her hips up against him but he used his strength to keep her still with his hands on her hips.

“How can I make you climax?” He was familiar with human biology. In fact, he had studied it in detail but not in the context of sleeping with them, let alone pleasuring one. Her eyes widened at the question and her breathe fell short for an instant before she smiled at him.

“I think I can come with you inside me but clitoral stimulation would be faster.” She had not anticipated for him to care enough to ask something like that but she was glad that he did.

“All right.” He then moved his body higher up on hers, making him push against her bud as he began grinding instead of thrusting.

“Oh god.” Sevian would not last, not with the feeling of him in her and rubbing against her. It only took a few back and fourths of them moving together before the pressure on her clit became too much and stars filled her eyes as she finally came, letting out incorrigible sounds and curses as her body trembled from head to toe as if struck by electricity. Orm groaned when she tightened then fluttered around him and clung tightly onto his shoulders, her thighs closing in on him as he continued to grind throughout her orgasm. Had he been human, he had no doubt her fingers would have left marks.

When the high finally came down, she felt right about ready to pass out but she wanted to feel the closeness a bit longer so she fought back the fatigue, using her hands to rub against his sensitive nipples. With every move against her overstimulated clit, she could not help the chocked out moans. Orm leaned back down, forcing her to put her arms back around his shoulders as he grabbed her ass to press their bodies even closer together.

She was so focused on the pleasure of their closeness that she forgot to tell him to pull out until he came inside her with a loud groan that almost sounded like a shout against her neck. She felt his abs flex against her abdomen, his cock pulsing and a cool somewhat heavy liquid within her walls.

“You came inside me,” she calmly stated. She was still high of off her orgasm, her mind was not thinking clearly on the possible repercussions.

“I’m on contraceptives,” he said. She sighed in relief, that was one consequence she would not have to think about. He fell on top of her, his body heavy and sweaty. Yet she did not ask him to move nor want to stop touching him. She combed a hand through his hair, knowing she would be sore later. Her thighs were already cramping but it was worth it, she had needed that. He pushed himself up after catching his breath and laid down beside her, pulling her half on top of him with no effort at all. He did not want to stop touching either.

‘Happy birthday to me,’ she thought to herself before letting sleep overtake her.

***

It was early in the morning when an echo like hum woke both of them up. Sevian was still sleep heavy and thought it was possibly the morning waves from the ocean making the noise. Orm knew exactly what that sound was and sat up, disentangling himself from her.

He picked up the small oval shaped object next to the bedside table. That was where the sound was coming from. Did Atlanteans have phones or was that an alarm of some sort? It was not outside the realm of possibility. They were an advanced civilization. She did not even remember him placing it there but she closed eyes again to give him a semblance of privacy when a small hologram of an older man appeared from the device after Orm touched it.

“Greetings your majesty, I have news of the whereabouts of your half-brother and Princess Mera,” the hologram of Vulko said. His background showed him to be alone so Orm activated the visual from his side and Vulko could not hide the surprise on his face when he saw the situation he was presented with: his naked king with a surfacer sleeping beside him, she was equally naked and had an arm across the king’s hips. It did not take much to understand what had transpired between the two. The older man schooled his features and knew better than to ask any questions. Orm could have cared less if Vulko saw her, the opinions of a traitor meant little to him.

“My king, Princess Mera’s locator indicates that she is in the Kingdom of the Deserters. King Nereus also wishes to go to the Fishermen Kingdom as soon as possible.” Who knew what Mera and Vulko’s favourite prince were doing at a fallen kingdom. Orm had more urgent matters to deal with than the odd escapades of those two. He would get someone to deal with them.

“Does King Nereus know we have a tracker on his daughter?”

Vulko shook his head, “Commander Murk told him the princess is thought to have died in the larva lake. He believes her dead.” Good, Murk could be trusted to know what was best to share with a rival king, ally or not.

“Do not tell him otherwise, he will find out on our way to the fishermen.” Convincing those cowards to join him and swear their allegiance was going to be a hard enough task without Nereus backing out to find his daughter himself. No, he would only know when they had gotten close enough to the Fishermen territory. “Tell King Nereus, I’ll be there shortly to depart.”

“Understood, My King,” Vulko answered and Orm cut off the connection. ‘My King,’ Orm sneered, as if Vulko had ever thought of him as such. But he had to go, Nereus was not known to be patient. Orm was far enough from Atlantis as it was without wasting any more time.

He got out of bed to get dressed and Sevian re-opened her eyes. She sat up and winced when a sharp pain came from her hips. Orm paused halfway to putting his clothes on to look at her but she waved him off. “I’m fine,” she said. She was sore everywhere, even in places she did not know she could be sore in. A quick hot shower might make it better once she got home but she would have to call a taxi.

“Thank you for-” she began but did not know how to evoke what she meant; Thank you for touching me? Thank you for giving me what I needed? Thank you for the intimacy I never thought I would have? Thank you for making me feel wanted even for a moment? There was a lot to say but she did not know where to start.

Surpassing all her expectations, he smiled at her and said, “Thank you as well. It was something we both needed.” She smiled back at him. He had a beautiful smile, she was glad to have seen it before they went their separate ways.

She had not needed to elaborate, Orm had felt the same, he had understood what she wanted to convey to him. He quietly continued to dress and wear his armour, she just watched him, there was no fumbling on his part, it was fascinating to watch. He finally finished and picked up his trident, putting it on his back.

He went to the door and Sevian almost expected him to just leave without even a farewell. He paused on the door, putting a hand on the doorknob then turned to her and uttered, “Try to stay away from the shores.”

She knew there was a war coming but she tried hard not to think about the implications of his words. “I will.” She nodded at him. “Goodbye, Orm. Take care of yourself.”

“Goodbye, Sevian.” They both believed their paths would never cross again.

Chapter Text

His father’s trident had been broken. Arthur had come back with King Atlan’s trident and had controlled the seas and marine life. Sitting on his knees; Orm looked at the broken pieces in his hands in shock, eyes opened wide trying to process what had just taken place. The two siblings had fought again to challenge Orm’s claim to the throne at the height of the battle with the Brine Kingdom but Arthur had changed. The surface was his comfort zone and he had fought with a confidence that he had lacked before.

A trident that had never known defeat broke in Orm's hands. King Orvax’s trident was in pieces, so many, it would be impossible to fix. Tridents, once broken, brought only shame to the wielder. The shock Orm felt was then transformed into fiery anger, his eyes burning with rage, every single pore of his skin filled with fire; this is what Vulko and Mera had wanted, was it not? They wanted Arthur to get rid of him. Their wish would be fulfilled.

“Kill me,” Orm said, sitting up and waiting for the final blow in dignity. Trident or no trident, Orm would die with pride. He was a warrior and a king, he would die as he had lived, without fear of death. He would die if that is what Atlantis asked of him. He kept his eyes open as Arthur’s golden trident came to impale him but in a twist of fate, Arthur stopped mere millimetres from piercing Orm’s neck. “Atlantis does not know mercy. Kill me, Arthur."

Then in an even more bizarre twist of events, his mother, his supposedly dead mother called out from the edge of the ship the two brothers were fighting on.

“Mother?” he inquired in a soft voice, one he had stopped using since childhood. His eyes filled with unshed tears. Orm could not believe his eyes. How was it possible? He had seen his father banish her to the trench. He had seen the swam of monsters surround her and yet there she was, alive. Queen Atlanna had survived the trench and had returned, backing Arthur to the throne. Her revelation dejected Orm. Even his own mother would not pick him or find him worthy. It brought back the sentiment of loneliness and the reminder that King Orvax never thought him good enough either. He lowered his head but his mother cupped his face in her hands.

“You are both my sons and I love you,” she said and embraced him. He welcomed it and fully wrapped his arms around her. Her hug carried warmth and affection from two decades past, the happiness in Orm’s heart at that moment could not be described in words. “You’ve been misguided, your father taught you that there were two worlds. The land and the sea are one.” All his anger had already dissipated at seeing her. Had his father truly misguided him? He had seen the damage done to the oceans by surfacers but he no longer had the will to fight Arthur. His mother was alive, he smiled to himself.

Orm calmly turned himself in to the guards brought on the ship by Vulko, his mother kissed his hand before he was escorted away. A simple gesture that should not have warmed his heart as much as it did. Atlanna, in a few short minutes, had shown him parental affection that King Orvax never did.

Arriving at Atlantis’ throne room a few hours later, the sight of Arthur on the throne did not make his heart ache like he had expected it to, nor did the sight of Mera besides him. Atlanna sat on the otherside of Arthur, her eyes were filled with love as she looked at Orm. It occurred to him that, perhaps, it was not being king that he desired. It was the future of Atlantis that mattered to him and if Arthur was chosen by Atlan, then Orm was not going to dispute his brother for the throne. The trident of the first king would not have picked Arthur if the half-Atlantean was unworthy. Vulko was nowhere in sight and it was for the best, he feared his anger would return in full force if he ever saw the traitor again so soon.

He had expected Arthur to have him in chains but there were no chains or manacles on him; the only security on him were the two royal guards on each side of him. Other than the six of them, the throne room was empty. Orm was ready for whatever judgement Arthur was going to pass on him. Under Atlantean law, Orm had done nothing wrong as a king, he was only doing what was best for his subjects but his brother was also a surfacer, he surely would punish him severely.

Astoundingly, the words that Arthur would utter were far, far from what Orm had awaited.

“Six months jail time and one year probation. Is that fine with you?” Arthur asked him casually from the throne, his deep voice echoing in the vaste room. Mera, Orm and the two royal guards all looked at him in surprise at his query.

“What-” Mera began wide-eyed but then promptly closed her mouth. The two guards fixed their expressions but Orm had heard their quiet gasps. Orm stared at Arthur for what felt like hours, wondering if the new king was mocking him.

“Are you asking me If I agree with that verdict?” Orm finally asked when Arthur did not elaborate further or say anything to break the silence.

“Yeah, I mean-” Arthur began then leant forward on the throne to place all his attention on his little brother, “I kind of get why you did what you did, even though your methods were horrible, you had Atlantis’ best interest at heart. I talked to a few people on the way here and I remember how much the people were rooting for you during our first match and honestly, even during our second match, they were disappointed you lost. See, I may not have grown up here and know everything about your customs but I don’t think any civilization would root for a tyrant king. You were a great king to Atlantis and I’m pretty sure Atlanteans wouldn’t want to see their king imprisoned for long because he was looking out for them,” he said with a grin on his face.

Orm had expected to be banished to the trench and was ready for it but Arthur- Arthur was full of surprises. He cared about what his people wanted. Perhaps Atlantis was in good hands after all. Orm smiled at Arthur, “My methods were admittedly not the best. I let my anger and grief over our mother’s death drive me to the extremes but-" he paused to fix his gaze firmly on his brother's eyes, "Arthur, I am right on one thing. If the surfacers continue as they have been doing so, there won’t be an Atlantis to speak of in the future.”

“I know. I’ll find a way to deal with that. Without bloodshed.” Arthur then dismissed him but not before Atlanna came down and hugged Orm once again, promising to never leave him again and to come see him everyday.

“Orm, like I said before. When you’re ready, let’s talk things out,” Arthur said to him before he was escorted out of the throne room to the confinement tower. They would get a chance to talk; Orm needed time to get used to him as king but they would talk. He had six months of thinking to do and they had decades of conversations to catch up on. He wanted to get to know his mother’s first born and the older brother he was taught to hate.

***

The morning after that summer night of comfort would become the stepping stone of a new turn in Sevian’s life. That morning, on her way back to her apartment, she decided that she would separate herself from malignant friendships. She wanted a new beginning and the impending attack from Atlantis gave her a reason to do what she should have done ages ago: She moved out of the town she had grown up and spent all her life in, disconnected herself from the 'friends' who never cared for her and got herself a new phone number.

It took time to find a new job as an editor but she managed to find one. The only one who knew where she lived now was her mother. With a new job, a new town and new surroundings, Sevian learned to appreciate her solitude. She did not feel lonely anymore. It was odd how being surrounded with people had made her feel bleak and alone but being by herself did not make her feel alone at all. Although, she was not truly by herself. After her first week in her new home, Sevian got herself two new companions; two goldfish that she named Ori and Mari, in honour of the person who helped her realise that she needed to start living her life and not let her friends or family make her feel unwanted. Those two were in a way her true family. Caring for them, talking to them- even if they could not respond- and just having them around was enough. They gave her laughter, companionship and a sense of peace. She had not felt a ping of loneliness since she had adopted them.

It was weeks after the encounter with King Orm when she saw on the news that he was no longer the king of Atlantis. She had been cooking that night after work with the tv on as background noise when the news broke out. She stepped away from the kitchen to pay attention to what was being said. She had wondered what had become of King Orm.

The news anchor with a short afro said the new king was Arthur Curry, the superhero known to the world as Aquaman. He was the half-brother of King Orm and according to the news, he had stopped Atlantis’ war on the surface. It was not all good tidings, the presenter continued to inform that the whereabouts of the former king were unknown. If Atlantis’ monarchy changes functioned in any way that human monarchies did, it was thought that the former king may be dead.

She frowned at the information and a cold shiver went through her. She may not have know him long or even so much as cared for him in a more personal sense but there was a sadness in her heart nonetheless for the man that had given her affection, if only for a night.

“Thank you for making me feel alive. Rest in peace, Orm Marius.” It was the last she thought of him for the weeks and months to come. Orm did not cross her mind until months later when Atlantis opened itself to the world.

When the announcement came of Atlantis welcoming surfacers to their kingdom, Sevian had been at work all day but that announcement was all her colleagues would speak of. It appeared on every TV and radio station at hourly intervals. She herself had not had the time to watch or listen to the announcement yet, but was curious of what it conveyed. Her colleagues said they were letting humans into Atlantis but it seemed far-fetched considering they wanted to wipe the surface clean a few months earlier.

She came back home that evening and followed her usual after work routine; She showered, fed her fish and herself before tuning in to watch the announcement. The announcement played on the same news channel she had heard about King Orm’s demise on. The same pretty anchor woman from that night informed the viewers that they had special news before pressing a button on the anchor desk and a hologram of a tall, paper-white skinned Atlantean with dark hair and aquamarine eyes appeared besides her.

The camera zoomed in to only show the man. His gaze seemed to focus straight in front of him and not the camera, it was a recording. His name, Atork Relius, was placed on the lower left corner of the screen. He began to speak in the same odd accent the late King Orm had. Her colleagues had been right; Atlantis was opening itself to the world by decree of the newly crowned, King Arthur. They would allow one thousand and only one thousand individuals to visit and live in Atlantis for a year.

Atork called it an opportunity for surfacers and Atlanteans to share and learn of each others cultures. They asked for the participants to not be associated with any governmental bodies, it was to be a cultural exchange without political interference. A website address appeared on the bottom of the screen and Atork clarified that it had been made to facilitate the application.

The only catch was that only people over the age of twenty five could apply. Sevian wondered if it was because they did not want to deal with teenagers and young adults. The application would be open for exactly a week and after that, the website would no longer function. Those that have been accepted would be contacted and visited by messengers on the 1st of February of the upcoming year; it was in eight months time.

After the announcement was over, Sevian visited the website to see what the process might entail. It was a simple enough website with only one webpage; the application page with a form of questionnaire. It asked for contact information, reasons why they wished to come to Atlantis, their work history if they had one, and a few other non intrusive questions including their hobbies and interests. It looked like a job application form.

It was a simple enough process and Sevian was curious about the underwater kingdom that she had- up until a few months ago- thought was a Platonic myth. Like many others who might have studied the Atlantis mythos in school and wished to see the real Atlantis, she applied but did not have high hopes of being chosen. Her only reasons for wanting to go to the underwater kingdom were the curiosity of the place that created the myth and a need for adventure: Those were the reasons she put in her application. She also mentioned meeting an Atlantean on the surface and being intrigued by where they came from, of course, she did not say more on the encounter. It would not be above the realm of possibility that millions would apply with better, more pressing and fascinating reasons than her own.

She let out a sigh after accepting the condition of a background check and sent her application. She closed her laptop then went towards Ori and Mari’s aquarium, “There’s nothing wrong with trying, right?” She asked the bright coloured goldfish, smiling at their strange swimming patterns. She then sat down to just watch them swimming, their presence never failed to make her feel relaxed and comforted.

Chapter Text

Four months of imprisonment gave Orm some much needed time to get used to his new reality. A reality where his mother was still alive and his brother had taken away his crown. Orm was not bitter; he somewhat welcomed this change. He had had four months to solely think without outside pressure. Four months to re-conciliate what Orvax taught him with what Atlanna and Arthur were trying to show him was another way to co-exist with the surfacers. Arthur, despite having spent his life as a surfacer, had not run Atlantis to ruin or sold them out to his “people” like Orm had so long believed he would.

He remembered a time in his childhood when he was but six years old, a short while after his mother was sacrificed to the trench. He had wept day in and day out. He had cried tears that would not touch his cheeks, tears that the ocean swept away, and he had prayed to the gods to bring his older brother to him. He had needed Arthur then, needed the comfort of family in his grief but Orvax would not spare him an ounce of affection. So Orm had wept for the brother that his mother had left on the surface. In a fit of childhood foolishness, he had once hidden himself in a scout ship heading to the surface. He had had no plans of where to go but he believed he would find his brother and Arthur would welcome him with open arms.

Orm was wrong, there were no open arms waiting for him on the surface. Orvax had found out about his ruse and what awaited him on the surface were royal guards to take him back to his father. But he was not taken to Atlantis, his father had ordered the guards to take him to the trench in a glass capsule, with no protection and no way for him to take himself back to safety. He had had no control of the capsule as it went deeper into the trenches until even his Atlantean eyes could not adjust to the darkness. His frightened six year old ears heard the monstrous shrieks before he had seen the creatures. In vain, he had attempted to block the sounds by placing his small hands on his ears but the creatures got louder by the second. Hundreds, if not thousands of glowing blood red eyes had then appeared against the thin glass he had been encased in. He feared the glass would shatter and he would be a feast for the starved beasts. Orm had sobbed and cried for his father. He had shouted and bawled for his brother and dead mother to somehow save him until he lost his voice but no one had come, not even Vulko. He had spent a night and a day in the trench with nothing but the screams and bloody eyes of the creatures as company. After that day, Orm never thought of finding Arthur again: Orvax made sure that every single thought he had of Arthur was poisoned.

The sound of the door of his confinement chamber opening pulled him away from his thoughts. It was likely Arthur or Atlanna who had come to see him without notice. His mother had kept her promise and came to visit her son every single day without fail; Orm wondered if she was trying to make up for the decades in which he had thought her dead. If he had known she had survived, he would have followed her to the trench once he was of age. Arthur, on his part, had respected Orm’s desire for space and never once forced Orm to converse with him. A month, that was how long it took Orm to even want to see his older brother. Although since then, Arthur would come every other day to see him, talk to him or to mearly keep Orm company. Arthur was an open book; he did not hide behind secrets or lies and Orm appreciated that. When they talked, they would talk of their vastly contrasting childhoods. Whilst Arthur's was filled with his father's love and affection; Orm's was filled with Orvax’s unfettered disdain for Atlanna and quest for Orm to be perfect. The two brothers had come to be civil with each other in those few months. He would not go as far as to say they were close siblings but they were very well on their way there, step by step. They needed to understand where each ones mentality came from in order to fully love each other as siblings should. But to Orm’s own astonishement, It was a journey he was willing to make.

The person who had come to visit him was Arthur and he brought with him unexpected news: He was cutting Orm's confinement short but it came with a catch. At first, Orm did not expect their conversation to go as it did and it had began simply enough with Arthur announcing the cultural exchange to him. As you might guess, Orm was not enthusiastic about it.

“You are making a mistake, Arthur,” Orm said sternly.

“Remember when I said I understood why you went ‘death to the surface’ mode but didn’t agree with how you did things?” Arthur asked, completely ignoring Orm’s words and confusing the prince with the turn of conversation. He thought they had come to terms with his reasons for attacking the surface dwellers. So why mention it again? “Yeah, we've already talked about it but-” Arthur cut himself off with an excited wave of hands. He then gave Orm a huge delighted grin.

Orm furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what was going on with the king and if he should worry that the man had been drugged.

“But I have good news. Your not so good methods actually helped push things along,” he began and Orm kept quiet, nodding for him to continue despite his own desire to shout ‘what things?’. “The people up there are mostly ignorant and don’t think ahead. What happened four months ago gave them the drive to finally change. After you pretty much cleared the oceans and returned the trash back to sender, they haven’t littered again and have been getting rid of their wastes away from bodies of water.”

He then sat down next to Orm on the couch and told his younger brother of Atlantis forging a treaty will all shoreline countries to control overfishing, hunting and pollution. They had ultimately agreed to criminalise such actions. They knew Atlantis was not a mythical non-existant Kingdom and it did have the means to wipe them out. Anyone caught going against the treaty would be subjected to Altantean law.

Orm still thought it not enough and he did not hesitate to voice out his opinion, “Their noise pollution disrupts the lives of sea creatures and their green house emission is warming the oceans and slowly suffocating maritime life, including ours.”

“The treaty includes the transition away from the use of green house emission energies within the next five years. Your attack gave the surface world leaders a conscience I really didn’t even think they had. They know if they continue as they have been, Atlantis will be forced to continue what you started.” To say those words surprised Orm would be an understatement. Was Arthur truly implying that he would go to war with the surface for Atlantis? Orm found that hard to believe.

“Would you be willing to go against your people, Arthur?” He could not help but ask the new king.

“The surfacers and atlanteans are both my people. I’d prefer to avoid bloodshed but I am King of Atlantis and I’ve come to learn that It means she has to come first,” came Arthur’s genuine reply. He had not flinched or searched for the correct words. It had come from his heart and a place of truth.

Orm smiled at his older brother’s answer. He truly was a king of Atlantis now. That short instant of letting his guard down was the moment Arthur chose to tell him his confinement would end with a smirk on his face, taking Orm off-guard.

Instead of imprisonment, Arthur gave Orm the option of doing community service, a sort of probation until the end of the cultural exchange. If he were to accept, he would lead the team that would handle the exchange with the surface dwellers. Orm was not excited by the news but it was better than being confined for another two months. Perharps it would be an opportunity for him to know the surfacers beyond their love for the destruction of the environment. Though truth be told, the best course of action without bloodshed, as Arthur wished, would be a worldwide inundation that would send them back to the middle ages without any machineries, plastics or energy wastes to pollute their surroundings.

"I may not hate them as I did months ago but I am still not keen on them. Although, I am open to rethinking my upbringing and opinion of them.” He could admit to himself that it was not fair to blame an entire civilization for the mistakes of their leaders.

"That's all I need to hear from you, little brother. This will be good for you." Arthur leaned forward and wrapped his large arms around Orm, embracing his brother for the very first time. Orm slowly wrapped his arms around Arthur and bit back the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. He wanted to tell his six year old self that one day, he would have his brother by his side.

“Arthur, I’m sorry,” Orm quietly said against Arthur’s shoulder and Arthur only tightened his embrace. The ‘I’m sorry for blaming you for all that went wrong in my life’ went unsaid but Arthur had understood Orm’s meaning nonetheless.

“I’m sorry, too. I should have come sooner, I should have been there for you, Orm.” The past could not be changed but there was hope for the future.

***

The choosing of applicants was not as dreary as Orm had anticipated it to be. There were millions of applicants and the initial cultural exchange team had to be amplified from the original dozen Atlanteans to a hundred but even with that, it would take time. When it came to Orm’s own list of applicants, he was intrigued by the different backgrounds each surfacer came from and the most perplexing matter of all was their reasons for wanting to come to Atlantis; They ranged from simple curiosity to a desire to study the maritime evolution of Atlantis and the most popular reason of all being the desire to discover the kingdom of Atlantis in comparison to the myth created by a deceased surfacer philosopher named Plato. Making a choice on who to allow on Atlantis and who not to was far from a simple one. Save his true challenge came not from his own list but that of another.

The head of the cultural exchange had to make sure everyone was keeping up to speed with their tasks by checking on their progress in random intervals. It was on one of these check ups that Orm came to see a face and name that he had thought unlikely to ever see again. It brought back flashes of warm skin against his, of a body writhing in want underneath him, of dark eyes looking up at him with desire and later gratitude- It was all too much; his skin flushed with heat and his heartbeat accelerated, the memories of welcomed touches and affection vivid on his mind and body. Orm had to look away from the holographic device to calm himself. He was unsure of what to do about seeing Sevian Dilac as one of the applicants. On one hand, he could erase her untreated application off the list and no one would even notice. She would never step foot on Atlantis and no one would be privy of what had transpired between her and Orm. But that was something Orm would not do. He was not ashamed of what happened. It had been a moment of comfort between two people that had been starved of affection all their lives. There was no shame in it; surfacer or not, he had valued the closeness.

The only other option was to not do anything and let time do its own biding. He was tempted for an instant to open her application and see her reasons for wanting to come to Atlantis. To see if it had anything to do with their encounter. In lieu of satisfying his curiosity, Orm decided to pretend to not have seen that name on the applications and switched to supervise another’s list. Whatever would happen, would happen without his intervention.

Chapter Text

One thing that King Arthur was most worried about was how the Atlanteans would actually interact with the Surfacers. Each of the chosen applicants would need to be assigned to an Atlantean to guide them- to show them Atlantis through their eyes and he could not force his people to do something they did not want. His advisor and the royal council had detailed a plan to randomly select citizens from around the kingdom to be guides. It was a sound and logical plan, taking into account the borderline disdain Atlanteans had for Surfacers. Against their wishes and opinions, Arthur had decided to let the people chose for themselves whether to participate in the cultural exchange program or not. Only after becoming king did he come to learn that the ocean dwellers were, contrary to the treatment he had received when he had snuck into Atlantis all those years ago, open-minded and welcoming to those that were different to them. He had expected the worst from them when his father came to live in Atlantis. He had feared for his father's mental and physical safety. But he had been welcomed with open arms. Even those that had no love for surfacers had been at worst, indifferent.

His "half-breed" status may not work in his favour but it did not make him any less of an Atlantean. It became clear that the main reason he had been met with distaste when he first arrived had little to do with his being Half-Atlantean. His being a drunk and an "unworthy crown thief" had been the key issues: they were things that the ocean dwellers apparently did not like very much. Although they did stop calling him the latter after a few months of his reign.

As Arthur, Orm and the council members waited for Vulko to arrive with the list of volunteers, neither he or them were expecting many names. None of the council members, including Orm himself, had volunteered and it did not exactly raise Arthur's confidence. It would not do if no one volunteered to be a guide. But their love for experiencing new feats made him hope that they would at the very least want to learn about the Surfacers first hand; Outside what they had rightfully come to believe. They could unlearn the hate that was deeply embedded in them for all surface dwellers. They could come to see that the ordinary people were not all to blame for the issues at hand.

When Vulko finally arrived with the list of volunteers; it was beyond their expectations and what the program needed. There were hundreds of thousands of names from vastly different parts of Atlantis. The king's dilemma was no longer one of coming up with a plan for a lack of personnel but one of how to choose which volunteers to keep and which ones to simply thank for their participation. In the end, he ordered Vulko to organize a team to investigate all the volunteers and hopefully, that would suffice to lower the numbers. If the pool of candidates remained too high, Arthur would just have to choose them in the order of when they volunteered.

***

Although Sevian had no illusions of being amongst "The One Thousand", as those that would go to Atlantis had come to be called by the media, and frequently reminded herself to not be excited by the program; She still felt antsy and the nervous butterflies in her stomach kept buzzing for the whole week leading to February 1st. Even her colleagues noticed her barely contained turmoil and she could swear Ori and Mari had too, with the way they blinked at her more than usual lately.

"Sevy, are you alright?!" Her colleagues had asked her that week after she had, on more than one occasion, finished a project faster that she normally would, had inadvertedly poured nine spoons of sugar in her coffee- coffee that they had never seen her drink and that she openly disliked- and had burned her tongue on the said hot diabetes filled coffee. She noticed a few of her colleagues in a similar state as herself and to some extent, it comforted her to know she was not alone in feeling that overstrung.

The Saturday morning of February 1st, Sevian could not bring herself to eat any food. The butterflies in her stomach made it hard to even think of eating. She could not keep still either, the Atlanteans had made no mention of when they would visit the lucky few. She made herself presentable and began to carefully clean her appartement thoroughly including her fish tank to occupy herself but at midday, there was still no knock on her door.

When the clock read 5 P.M, Sevian finally gave up and a knot of disappointment formed in her abdomen. It had been foolish of her to hold on to a sliver of hope. She accepted the reality of her application being cast aside and let out a deep sigh to relieve the let down. The butterflies had stopped buzzing and she made herself dinner before sitting in front of the TV to eat it.

Three hours later, the sky already dark and Sevian watching the latest episode of a Law & Order spin-off series, there was a ring on her intercom. She jumped off of her sofa, almost knocking her knees on the coffee table, and rushed to the phone by the door. Blood pounded in her eardrums and her heart beat at a mile an hour. She prayed to all the deities out there that it was an Atlantean messenger ringing the intercom and not a neighbour who had forgotten their keys. Her hands trembled as she grabbed the phone.

"Is this the home of Sevian Dilac?" A feminine voice with a now familiar accent asked when Sevian picked up the phone. She almost shrieked and threw the phone away in excitement but with heavy restrain she uttered a, "Yes, this is Sevian Dilac," in a shaky voice.

"We are here in regards to your application to visit Atlantis. May we come in?" She asked and Sevian buzzed them in, instructing them which floor she was on. She put the phone back in its place and took a deep breath before shouting "Yes, Yes, Yes" as she pumped her arms up in the air a few times. The doorbell rang and she took another deep breath, regaining her composure. She could not hide the joyous smile on her face when she opened the door to reveal a small group of three, taller than average, people.

"Are you Sevian Dilac?” The one who asked her stood in front of the trio, her voice similar to the one she spoke to on the intercom. The woman looked almost human, a very beautiful human at that. The golden colour of her long wavy hair reminded Sevian of Orm and it made her heart clench at the reminder of the deceased Atlantean. The woman’s face was perfectly symmetrical and her dark skin was free of any blemishes but her eyes were a strange seaweed green.

“Yes, please come in.” She opened the door farther and let them in. The two other Atlanteans were pale like the one who had appeared on the TV announcement. The one on the right carried a grey metal case on one hand. They had purple eyes and slicked back short black hair. The one on the left had white long hair tied in a bun and seaweed green eyes. Just as the woman in front; their faces were symmetrical from what she could see through the transparent mask they wore. The mask seemed to have water in it as it covered their faces just as a snorkel mask would, except it did not have any visible breathing apparatus nor was it as large as one.

It was an odd thing to think about but Sevian could not help but wonder If ugliness was not a trait that could be associated with Atlanteans or If their physical attributes were simply aesthetically pleasing to human eyes.

“Would you like to sit down?” She asked gesturing to her L shaped sofa but they all shook their heads. It was awkward to speak to them as they just stood in her living room but it was not as if she could force them to sit.

The woman, who in fact did not even offer her name nor the names of the others, began speaking again, confirming what Sevian had hoped for. Sevian’s application had been accepted and she would be amongst “The One Thousand”. She tried to be polite and thanked them but they simply nodded. They were not ones for small talk but she could understand that, they had probably had to visit dozens of people throughout the day, it must have been exhausting.

The white haired Atlantean touched the small device on their left wrist and a graph, in a script Sevian could not recognise, was projected from it. The woman then began asking her questions on the state of her health and size, the graph writing itself as Sevian spoke. She wondered if it was a speech to text device.

The dark haired one was apparently a doctor. He had been the only one to offer his name before he urged Sevian to sit on the couch. He had said his name was Dr. Lanna and that he would be running a few tests on her heart and lungs. He was polite with his instruction as he ran his tests. He did not write anything down or have a device taking notes like the other two but there were bright lines on his gloves every time he touched her and the small device on his wrist was equally lit up. Perhaps that was how he took notes.

“What are all these questions and tests for?” Sevian finally asked when she saw him taking out a silver syringe from the metal case. It had been the only object in it. Logically speaking, she should have asked that question before he had began his tests and when the golden haired Atlantean had been grilling her but her excitement had taken over the logical part of her brain.

“We need the information to prepare your accommodations and your life support,” the golden haired woman answered from where she still stood.

“Life support?”

"You will need life support. Unless Surfacers suddenly evolved to live underwater in less than a year,” the woman retorted, her voice tight and harsh, as if Sevian had asked her an offensive question.

Sevian backed up on her sofa and raised her palms up. If the Atlantean did not want to be there, there was no need for her to take it out on Sevian, "I was just asking, no need to be rude."

The woman’s eyes widened and she blinked rapidly for a moment, "I apologise If I seemed callous. It has been a long day." Now it was Sevian’s turn to be surprised. She was not expecting an apology.

"It's all good,” she said with a smile that the woman returned in kind and let the doctor take her blood sample. It was a painless and quick ordeal.

Before leaving the apartment, they let her know another group of Atlantean would come to pick her up on the 1st of January of the upcoming year. She would need to get her affairs in order.

“I will come back tomorrow with a cargo box for you to pack your belongings in,” the white haired Atlantean said to her. She could pack everything she wanted to except for electronic devices as the sea pressure would destroy them. An Atlantean communication device would be given to her when she arrives in Atlantis. Clothes could be packed but the man mentioned it would be of no use in Atlantis’ environment. She could not bring any furnitures or weapons but that was fairly comprehensible.

Sevian asked if she could take her goldfish with her and contemplated cancelling her application if they refused. She could not see herself leaving Ori and Mari behind but they assured her that they could come with her. "We're going to Altantis," she shouted excitedly at the aquarium once the Atlanteans had left. She had no doubt the goldfish would love it there.

The white haired Atlantean came back the next day as promised with two white armoured Atlanteans carrying a large silver cargo box that they then left in her living room. It was a quick visit and they gave her a small book on important Atlantean laws for the visiting Surfacers to familiarise themselves with.

She went to take a closer look at the cargo box. It took the majority of the space in her living room and it was made of an odd material that felt like bone when she touched it. One side of it was open to let her put her belongings in but she did not see any button or mechanism to close it up. She shrugged and went to play with Ori and Mari as she thought of what to pack or leave and where she would keep the things she would not take with her to Atlantis.

She did not have many options she could choose from. There was only one place she could leave her things and comeback to when her time in Atlantis came to an end. With a desperate sigh, Sevian picked up her phone and called her mother.

***

The phone call went better than she had envisioned. Her mother had sounded genuinely happy for her. She would have to live with her for a few weeks until she found a new appartment when she returned. Her mother might not be glad if she stayed too long but she would not kick her out.

In the following months, she slowly packed and read the Atlantean law book. The book was not easy to read, the tone was harsh and the language used was unnecessarily difficult. As if the person who had written it had used the most unsavory words in the dictionary to write it with. The only explanation for the way it was written, that Sevian could think of, was that the book had been directly translated from another language. Despite the wording, some of the laws were "fascinating" and mostly unheard of in the surface world. The law that surprised her the most was the one on "Infidelity". Atlantean law considered it treason and was thus a capital offense. Depending on the level of treason and duration, it could be punishable by death or banishement.

Sevian finally gave a notice to her job two months before January arrived. It was hard to keep her upcoming journey to Atlantis a secret but she could not risk getting fired early. She needed to keep that job to put aside money for when she inevitably returned to the surface.

Chapter Text

The long awaited day had finally arrived. Sevian took a final tour of her now very empty apartment, keeping the memory of each room in her heart. The chances of ever seeing what had been the first step of her new life again were slim to none. Someone else would be living there when she returned. She sat down on the lounge chair in the living room, the only furniture in the apartment, and carried on her lap the portable travelling fish bowl she had Ori and Mari in. She hoped it would withstand the sea pressure. But if humans could go to Atlantis, then she believed her goldfish could survive the sea pressure as well.

Everything she wished to take with her was in the white cargo box in her living room. All else was in her mother's basement. The quiet and emptiness of her apartment made her uncomfortable. She had been living with her mother these last few days and had come to the apartment an hour ago. She hoped to not have to wait too long for the Atlanteans to arrive; there was no food or entertainment to keep her fed or busy. They had not said when they would turn up. For all she knew, they would come at the same time they did when they first visited her home. The thought of staring at the white dry walls of her soon to be former home made her stomach tie itself in knots.

Luckily for her, the Atlanteans arrived just two hours later. There were three of them this time around too and Dr. Lanna was one of them. The others were white armoured Atlanteans. She wondered if it was the same two who had brought in the Cargo box all those months ago. Although she did not see any visible weapons, they still instilled a bit of fear in her. Perhaps her fear could be blamed on her not being able to see their faces at all. Unlike the mask Dr Lanna wore, theirs showed nothing but a dark blue blank canvas.

"Hello again, Sevian Dilac. Are you ready to go?" Dr Lanna asked with a smile. He was carrying a duffel bag sized glass cylinder in one hand. It seemed to be filled with either water or another transparent liquid. In the other hand, he carried a grey metal case and Sevian dreaded it containing another syringe. She was not looking forward to getting poked by a needle again. Even if she had barely felt it the last time.

"Yes, everything is packed but I don't know how to close the box," Sevian answered him while pointing to the still open white box.

"That's quite alright," he retorted then nodded at the guards, at least she assumed they were guards, behind him. They immediately moved to the cargo box without sparing her a simply 'hello'. One of the guards touched a section of the box and and the open area was suddenly covered as if there had never been an opening. She gasped when the two guards then effortlessly lifted the box from opposite sides; She was pretty damn sure if two regular people tried to do that, their spines would separate in half from the weight of the contents inside the box but the guards did not struggle as they quickly carried the box our of her apartment.

The glass cylinder Dr. Lanna had been carrying turned out to be for transportation. Not for her of course, but for Ori and Mari. He had passed it to her once the guards had left. The doctor assured her, her companions would be safely transported to Atlantis and would await her at her accommodation. The case he carried did not just contain a syringe but there were folded up clothes, something that resembled a thin metal headband and a small one inch silver square chip with odd lines and symbols.

She wanted to ask if the clothes were for her and what that chip was but Dr. Lanna took out the syringe first. The sheer size of the two inch needle and the fiery red liquid in the syringe sent chills down Sevian's spine. "There's no way that's going in me," she stated, staring hard at the needle. With any luck, it would cease to exist the longer she stared at it. But life did not work out that way.

"It's a serum made specifically for your genome and structure. It will adapt your body to survive in a marine environment," the doctor tried to reassure her.

Just like the last time, the needle did not hurt, despite being inserted in the base of her neck. The real pain came when the red liquid was inject in her spine. The sensation of boiling water filled her spine and she could not help but shout in pain and try to wiggle away. Dr. Lanna held on tight to her neck with one hand, preventing any movement lest she wanted to choke. She clenched her fists and tightened her jaws to endure the pain. Sevian wondered if that was how she would die; being trusting and letting a stranger inject fire in her spine.

"I’m sorry but I need you to not move." She could barely hear him through the pain and the blood pounding in her ears. The torture to her senses stopped when Dr. Lanna let go of her neck and the syringe was dis-embed from her skin. The complete lack of pain following the removal was a shock to her system and she felt nauseous.

She stepped back far away from the Atlantean and touched the base of her neck. But there was nothing, not even a drop of blood. It was as if she had imagined the entire ordeal.

"What the fuck was that?" She almost shouted at him. She was not one to curse at strangers but the least he could have done was warn her beforehand so she could brace herself for the pain.

"I apologize for the pain you endured," he said, placing the syringe back in its place in the case. He handed her the clothes and she went to change in the bathroom. There was no point in asking why she had to change; If the recent events were anything to go by, it most likely had to do with them fitting the environment. The outfit was a simple purple and silver, long sleeved, almost skin tight tunic that reached her mid thighs, although with slits on the side, skin tight pants with actual pockets and matching ankle length flat boots. The fabric reminded her of fish scales, although soft and somewhat silky. The texture was comfortable and light against her skin. Everything fit as it should. All the invasive questions the blonde Atlantean woman had asked now made sense. She sighed in annoyance; All the clothes she had packed would be utterly useless.

When she came back to the living room, the doctor gave her the headband to wear and unsurprisingly it also fit, just like the clothes. He then proceeded to give her a quick lesson on how the headband worked. First things first, it was not a headband but a breathing mask and there was not much to explain, it only had one mechanism to activate it; a miniscule button on the right side that created a thin, barely noticeable mask at the press of it. The mask in no way obstructed her vision. The only reason she had even known a mask had appeared was by how the air she breathed was instantly of a higher quality. She contemplated just keeping the mask on but decided not to in the end. The square chip was the last thing she was given. Dr. Lanna had simply said it was Atlantean currency but his explanations of it had been far too complicated to understand only for him to summarise himself in the end and say the chip was similar to surfacer bank cards.

"How much does it have?" She could not help but ask while putting it in a pocket.

"It has enough," had been his answer and Sevian did not press further.

***

With one final look at her apartement, she closed the door and locked it for the last time. She then slipped the keys in her mailbox downstairs as she had been instructed to do by her landlord before following the Atlantean outside of her building.

The car waiting for her outside, if you could even call it that, looked like a glorified dark grey turtle shell. If the Atlanteans were trying to be hush about their visit and not bring attention onto them; they had failed spectacularly. Subtlety was out of the window. It covered both street lanes, blocking cars from either directions. Some drivers, with reason, seemed pissed off and others awed as they took pictures of the car. They were not the only ones taking picture. A small crowd had gathered around to look at it. Dr. Lanna touched a part of the shell and a large opening shimmered itself besides where he touched. He gestured for her to enter first. She could see one of the Atlantean guards at the driver's seat from where she stood.

She nodded to Dr. Lanna and got in. The cargo box was at the back of the vehicle and there were four seats in all; the driver's, the shotgun and two seats behind them. She decided to take the free sit in the back besides the other guard and the X style seatbelts activated the moment she sat down. They immediately took off once the doctor was seated and Sevian was awed by it flying instead of using the roads as normal cars would. She took in the aerial view of the town as they flew away, the sight of it from above ground, foreign yet familiar at the same time. The shell vehicle did not take her to Atlantis. After less than ten minutes of flight, it stopped by the beach she had met Orm at. She had not realised how fast they were going. That trip should have taken her an hour by car.

Seeing the beach again brought back memories of that night. She shook her head to clear her mind from those thoughts. There were similar vehicles like the one she was in on the beach. Some taking off. Some with surfacers like her coming out of it. Cargo boxes were being carried to the ships in the water. Well, she assumed they were ships with the boxes and people going inside them. There were five ships in total, each with six shell vehicles, bigger than the one she was in by a large margin, attached together. The top of the ships, unlike the 'car' she was in, seemed to be made of glass.

There was no time to observe the other lucky people or to talk to them. Dr. Lanna instructed her to activate her mask and to go to the third train, as he had called it, the minute they landed. The boarding of the train was a clear cut procedure. There was an Atlantean by the train who instructed them which compartment to go to and they followed suit. She had to swim to her compartment with others who were on the same one. There were thirty-four seats, all spaced out and spacious. She decided on a free one by the window in the front area. The compartment was halfway filled with water but when she put her feet down to sit, they stuck to the floor as they would on land. The seatbelts then automatically came on once she was settled in.

No one spoke even after the train had taken off an hour later. Perhaps they were nervous or filled with excitement or like her; rendered speechless by the beautiful underwater ocean view that the glass nature of the train allowed them to observe. It took another three hours before they tentatively began conversing. Sevian was fascinated by the different backgrounds they all seemed to come from. From the Japanese microbiologist who sat in the far front, to the Argentinian painter in the back of the compartment.

A nanotechnologist in the back kept talking animatedly about how ‘amazing’ she found Atlantean nanotechnology advancement to be. "Never thought I'd have nanobots in my brain to translate shit for me," she said with a laugh making every single person turn their attention to her.

"What?" Came the unanimous question from almost everyone, Sevian included.

"How do you think we can all understand each other when we come from different places?" The thought had not even crossed Sevian's minds. She had noted the accents but had not picked her brain further, she was far more preoccupied by the glowing fish they had began seeing the farther down they went.

"I thought you guys just spoke French!" said the man sitting beside Sevian and everyone just stared at him. It was a dumb thought but he had not been the only one thinking something similar to that.

"Did you guys not ask what was in the serum?"

"Something to help us survive underwater," Sevian tentatively answered.

"But did you ask them to detail it?" The compartment remained quiet. It had not seemed important to ask about the contents of the serum.

"Did you?" The woman sitting besides the nanotechnologist asked. Sevian could not remember either of their names. To be frank, she did not remember anyone’s name. She had not been listening when the introductions had happened. She had been far too busy looking at the sharks swimming past them. If you asked her about the people she was travelling with, she could only tell you what their occupations were and how they looked like.

"Yeah but the doctor was evasive as fuck and only mentioned the nanobots when I asked her how come she understood everything I said." It did make sense that something like that could be the reason. How else would the Atlanteans communicate with all these different people? Sevian tried to ignore the fact that there were mini robots in her brain in order to not lose her mind.

"Looks like it doesn't work for written language," a young man said, pointing to the text near the door of the ship.

The conversation was cut short as a collective gasp filled the train compartment. The train was approaching an underwater highway bridge with light emitting from it. There were other trains, shell like vehicles and other vehicles that were far too odd to describe. There were cannons above the wall at the end of the highway where the vehicules disappeared into. They later came to learn that the end of the wall was customs as their train passed through it, a scanner making quick work of it as it went in.

The vision of Atlantis was a mystical experience. The complete harmony between nature and technology was nothing short of enchanting. There was not much sunlight reaching Atlantis but the colourful lights from the tall buildings, the natural bioluminescence from the animals and the plants, more than made up for everything. Sevian had seen and visited several countries and cities in her life, all beautiful in their own way but none had filled her with the euphoria the beauty of Atlantis did. There was a lot to take in, she could feel tears forming in her eyes and she was not alone in feeling overwhelmed as the rest of her travelling companions seemed to be in a similar state. The myth had only scratched the surface of the kingdom’s etherealness. Sevian had been right in wanting to see the real Atlantis.

***

The train finally stopped inside a large silver building; the royal palace. They were then led further inside in small groups of a hundred. The inside was just as beautiful and bright as the outside. The palace had very high ceilings and every single area they passed through was spacious. It was quite obvious that it was constructed for people who could swim and not walk.

When they finally arrived at the throne room, they were again separated into smaller groups of twenty, she found herself in the group near the front. The long walkway where the thousand of them were made to gather and stand seemed to be slightly magnetised just like the floor of the train. Their shoes stuck to the ground but not strongly, just enough to keep them stable.

In front of the crowd of surfacers sat a handsome man in a gold and green armour. He had dark brown and golden ombré hair, as well as the most fascinating hazel eyes Sevian had ever seen. Even without taking note of the trident on his throne, it was beyond a doubt that it was King Arthur, Orm's brother. The expected wave of sadness that came every time she thought of Orm did not get a chance to pass as her gaze settled on the Atlantean in a golden armour sitting besides the king. Her breathe cut short and her eyes widened at the sight of slicked back familiar golden hair and ocean blue eyes that stared calmly at the crowd. She released a sigh of relief and could not help but smile to herself, a weight she had no idea of having in her chest felt suddenly gone; Orm was alive.

There was a dark haired man sitting besides Orm and on the other side of Arthur, sat a woman with golden hair and besides her was a redhead woman. But Sevian barely paid attention to them nor did her eyes look away from Orm or listen to the speech that the king had began reciting. She had thought the former king dead, it had not even been a feasible thought that she would ever get to see him again. No longer a king but still royal with a thin silver crown on his head. He looked calmer than on the day they met and less tense but still as regal as before.

Orm's eyes flickered to look at her as if sensing someone’s eyes fixed on him. His eyes widened slightly after zeroing in on her but he schooled his reaction and continued looking ahead. But she had not missed the way his expression had softened and the small smile he had given her before looking away. The smile was almost hidden if one was not paying close attention to him the way Sevian was. She then finally looked away and refocused her attention to King Arthur's words.

Orm could not voice it out loud to anyone but he could not deny to himself that he was glad she had made it to Atlantis. It was good to see a familiar face among the sea of unknown surfacers he could only trust as far as they could throw him. He hoped that she would get a good guide to help her experience the beauty of Atlantis.

Chapter Text

King Arthur had announced to the one thousand that they would stay at the palace. The announcement was met with great enthusiasm from the crowd. To live in such an enchanting place was beyond their expectations. For Arthur, it had been a logical decision for the palace to be where the surfacers would live for two simple reasons: It was the safest place for them and it would be easy to convert an area of the palace to fit their environmental needs as opposed to building new accommodations for them.

The king's speech had also revealed to Sevian who the other Atlanteans besides the king were. The redhead woman was called Y'Mera Xebella Challa, or Mera as she preferred, and was a princess from another underwater Kingdom called Xebel. She was also Arthur's fiancé and most likely the future Queen of Atlantis. Sevian brimmed with excitement at the knowledge of other marine civilisations besides Atlantis existing. She wondered if there would be an opportunity to visit them during her one year stay. The dark haired man besides Orm was Nuidis Vulko, the king's advisor, and the golden haired woman besides Arthur was Atlanna, the Queen Mother. Looking at her, Sevian now understood where Arthur and Orm's good looks came from; Atlanna was incredibly beautiful and exhibited an air of power and regalia. Her eyes had flickered for a short moment between Orm and Atlanna, it was hard not to notice how much Orm looked like her.

The surfacers had been given a week to relax from the voyage and to get used to their new surroundings before meeting their guides. The king had not failed to mention the training room prepared for them in the west wing of the palace, it would help them familiarise themselves with living underwater.

Following a dark haired Atlantean that had instructed the group she was in to follow his lead, they were led into the west wing of the palace. It was quite clear that it had been modified with surfacers in mind. The ceilings were still high but there were stairs for easier access to the rooms and most important of all, there was no water in that wing. Sevian, alongside the rest of her group, turned off their masks. The Atlantean had told them they were free to roam the west wing, and only that wing for the moment, by themselves or wait until they had been paired up with a guide. He gave them a quick tour of the library, oddly enough with actual books that seemed to be from the surface world, and the dining hall that could fit more than a thousand people. The dining hall frankly reminded her of an upgraded high school mess hall with its long tables, albeit a lot more luxurious.

The Atlantean showed them each where their rooms were but when Sevian finally opened the door to her room with her fingerprints, it turned out that calling it a room was an understatement. It was spacious and in neutral colours similar to the colours of her former apartment with a lounge area, a four person dining table and a bedroom section with a king sized bed. A large window was in the bedroom section. The cargo box she had packed her stuff in was in one corner of the room, the guide had told them to empty it within six days, and a large crystal fish tank was on the opposite side of the door. The tank was beautifully decorated and Ori and Mari were inside. She ran towards the tank to check on them and she sighed in relief after seeing them swim without any visible discomfort. There was something written on the far right of the tank in Atlantean that she could not understand. Next to the tank was a transparent cylinder connected to it with fish food in it; enough to last a year.

There were two other doors in the room; One led to a walk-in closet. There were some clothes already prepared for her inside it. The other door led to the bathroom. Some things had written instructions on them in her language this time, like the glowing bulb in the bathroom was noted as shower gel.

That night's dinner, the first meal at the palace since they arrived, was full of surprises. Good surprises. The one thousand all let out a sound of satisfaction at the first taste of the food. The food set alight their palates in the most pleasurable manner. It would not be a stretch to say that it was as close to heaven as you could possibly get when it came to food. The dish was a beautiful pink, red and green; It looked like it was fish with some kind of vegetable or seaweed. They all wondered how it was cooked underwater and someone had asked the personnel when they had passed by to bring a second serving to those who wanted it. The food was apparently raw but the fish was spicy in a way that made the food seem hot.

Sevian was amongst those who had asked for a second serving. She hoped the food in Atlantis was going to always be that good. In all honestly, it fitted her palate perfectly and she could see herself getting used to it.

"What type of fish is it?" Someone from Sevian’s table asked.

"It is not fish. It is fresh pliosaur," came the answer from an Atlantean and that's when the surfacers came to the realization that they had just eaten an actual dinosaur. A few of them froze with their forks in front of their mouths. Others, like Sevian, only shrugged and continued eating.

“Aren’t they supposed to be extinct?” Someone else questioned the Atlantean.

“Not here.” The answer sparked the interests of the crowd even more and the poor Atlantean seemed overwhelmed with the questions he was bombarded with. The Atlantean shortly excused himself to avoid the questions.

There were strange coloured things on the table marked "fruits" that piqued Sevian's interest. She tried a small green apple looking one and almost immediately spit it out. The spiciness of it went above and beyond what she had tasted from the meat. It had a jelly like texture with no juice coming out. She looked around at the others trying the fruits too and noticed they were all jelly like too.

The next morning during breakfast, she decided to give the fruits another try and picked up a purple coloured one from the fruit bowl noted as "Angelos Mov". She was in luck this time, the fruit was not in anyway spicy. It tasted minty and left a refreshing aftertaste on her tongue. There was something else about the fruit that intrigued her; its scent reminded her of Orm's and the taste of it was exactly like the taste of his skin against her tongue. It was not a taste she could easily forget nor did she even wish to forget. She wondered mildly if that was his favourite fruit or if his scent had anything to do with it.

She spent the rest of week exploring the west wing; she found the kitchen, a few lounges and yet another library but mostly she just passed halls among halls of people's quarters. The rest of her time was spent at the training room, always filled with people, to get her body acclimated to moving naturally underwater.

Although on the third day, as she was exploring the wing, her path crossed with Orm's. He was busy in discussion with a few Atlanteans so she expected him to just pass her by. But when he reached her and she smiled at him, he paused in conversation and nodded at her in greeting before stopping a few feet in front of her. The people with him seemed just as surprised by his abrupt stop as she was. They followed his suit and greeted her as well, despite it seeming somewhat awkward.

"Hello, Sevian. How are you?" He asked her, his voice just as pretty as the last time she heard it. The question took her off guard and it was not because it was a weird question. She had just not anticipated having an actual conversation with Orm with other people around in case it made it obvious that they were not exactly strangers. But then again, it was not a personal inquiry. She did remember his brother saying he was part of the cultural exchange team. He was probably just doing his job, making sure everything was going smoothly. "Sevian?" He called out, raising an eyebrow, when she remained quiet. Her brain had not sent the signal for her to actually answer the question yet.

"Hi, Orm. I'm doing great. Atlantis is amazing from what I've seen so far," she quickly answered and slightly cursed at her slight slip up in her mind. The Atlanteans with him seemed to have caught it too and their faces set into offended frowns but Orm himself did not look offended by the familial tone she had used. She needed to remember that they were in his kingdom now and he had a title she was meant to use. Lack of honorifics aside, she was telling the truth. These last few days had been great for her, each day was filled with anticipation of what new thing about her new temporary home she could come across.

"How have you been?" She asked and the question seemed to offend the others even more for some reason. Orm, for his part, just smirked. Was that an offensive question in Atlantis? None of the Atlanteans she had met so far had looked offended by it or perhaps it was not something you asked the royals?

"I'm much better than the last time we saw one another." His answer did not leave much room for doubt that this was not their first meeting. The expression of the people with him turned from frowns to outright wide-eyed surprise. Sevian was relieved that he was not going to pretend to not know her. She wanted to let him know she felt relieved he was alive but her eyes flickered to the people with him and she decided against it. She was not sure if that would be acceptable to say around the others.

Orm had noticed her slight dilemma and told the others to go on ahead. "I'm glad you're alive, Prince Orm," she stated once she thought the others had gone far enough.

"You believed I was dead?" He asked, his eyes squinted at her. "Why?" The confusion on his face made him look younger and prettier, if that was even possible.

"Old kings tend to be dead when new kings appear." It was the nicest way she found to say 'I thought your brother had killed you for the throne.'

The answer seemed to amuse him and his lips curled slightly like he was fighting off a smile. Sadly, that is where their conversation ended, the device on Orm's wrist had buzzed with a blinking blue light and they had to say their goodbyes.

Chapter Text

Old age did not change the way an Atlantean's ability to remember events, locations, conversations, or in Nuidis Vulko's case, faces. The face of a young human woman in a sea of a thousand other surfacers stood out to him like a shining beacon. She may be fully dressed at the moment, but he had no doubts about who the brown eyed woman was. Her eyes were looking in his direction but not at him. He had to smile to himself, this was truly an unexpected turn of events. The woman Prince Orm had indulged in carnal pleasures with more than two years ago, had somehow been lucky enough to be among the few surfacers who had been allowed to revel in the wonders of the Kingdom of Atlantis. Knowing Prince Orm's personality, he had nothing to do with her being accepted to the program. Vulko wondered if the former king felt unsettled by her presence or on the contrary, welcomed the reunion.

The thought lit up an idea in the vizier's mind; he had to speak with the King alone and far away form the prince's sharp ears. With any luck, the prince would have much to gain from his idea. It might prove to be the solution to helping him understand the surfacers. For the advisor's own selfish reasons, he hoped to gain the prince's forgiveness and understanding for why he had aided Arthur. Even as he stood next to the prince, he was very aware that the only reason a trident wielded by Orm had not pierced his heart yet was thanks to Arthur. If Arthur had not cared for Vulko as much as he did, Orm would have dealt with him the way traitors and conspirators were meant to be handled under Atlantean law. Although if he was being truthful, in the past few months, Orm looked at him with indifference and it hurt much more than the fury he had had in his eyes the night he was imprisoned. Why could he not find it in his heart to forgive the advisor? Vulko knew why but he did not wish to think of the reason lest he break his own heart. He shook his head and went back to thinking of his idea.

Vulko knew Orm would not refuse what it entailed. The previously grief-stricken and anger-filled Orm would have refused. But this new version of Orm seemed genuinely open to learning more about the people he was involuntarily related to. The advisor found it fascinating how the love of a mother and the care of a brother had helped Orm begin to unlearn the hate he had been forced to grow up with.

Despite being the vizier, finding a moment alone with the King proved to be a lesson in patience. Orm seemed to always be by Arthur's side and when he was not there, Atlanna or Mera were. The day of the pairing was approaching. He feared he would be unable to isolate the King for a conversation. Vulko had no choice but to corner him as he was just waking up. When he did hear Vulko's idea, he began wondering if he was still dreaming.

"You want me to pick Orm as a guide?" He asked, his voice still rough from sleep. "For this woman?" He added staring at the hologram of a surfacer's file.

"Yes, my king," Vulko replied instantly. He was glad the king had not inquired further on why he picked that surfacer in particular. He did not think Orm would be very forgiving if he found out Vulko had told his brother that the prince shared his first experience of sexual intimacy with a surfacer. That was a private matter the advisor had no business sharing with anyone.

"Vulko, this is crazy. Orm didn't even volunteer," he sighed and laid back on the bed closing his eyes. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache starting to appear. Orm as a guide had to be the most out of the box idea Vulko had ever presented to him. He was uncertain of how far Orm's tolerance for surfacers went; He needed the cultural exchange to be a success and it would all go to hell if Orm left the woman at a shark field or somewhere equally as frightening for annoying him. The last thing he needed was for someone to demand to go back on land for being scared shitless by the King's brother. Despite Orm's promise to Arthur to try and understand the surfacers, this was not what either of them had in mind and Arthur did not want to push him too far.

“Trust me my king, this will be good for him," Vulko assured him, putting as much conviction in his voice as he could manage after Arthur voiced out his concerns. He hoped the parting the prince had had with the woman was amicable or it would spell disaster for the cultural exchange. But to have been intimate with her, Vulko believed that Orm must have at the very least, felt a closeness to her. Perchance, enough closeness to tolerate her for a year.

Arthur sighed and passed a hand through his long hair. For his part, he sincerely hoped he was making the right decision in accepting Vulko's idea.

***

If there was one thing Orm Marius was certain about, it was that he never volunteered to be a guide. Yet, as he was looking at the finalised list of paired Atlanteans and Humans on the large monitor in the cultural exchange center; His name and face were on the list besides the name and face of Sevian Dilac. He froze, staring at the monitor. The rest of his colleagues paused to look at the screen when they realised Orm had not sent the alerts to the paired people on the list. A resounding gasp filled the room. There had to be a mistake.

He ignored his colleagues hushed whispers that were variations of shock over their prince volunteering to willingly spend time with Humans. He shook his head and quickly sent the alert to the people on the list, praying to the gods that his mind was only playing tricks on him. The second he had sent the alert, the device on his wrist chimed, indicating a received message. There was no mistaking it this time; Arthur had just picked him as a guide.

Was that his brother’s way of making sure he learned more about the surfacers? But to pick ‘her’ specifically could not be a coincidence. He was certain Vulko had something to do with it. Had the old man also told Arthur of his dalliance with her? Either way, he could not refuse. Well he could and he knew his brother would not hold it against him but what kind of example would he set for the other Atlanteans if he did refuse? Not a very positive one for the program, that much was for certain. He had told Arthur that he would try his best to understand, this was likely the best way to do that.

If Arthur wanted him to play guide for a human, at least it was one he was already acquainted with.

***

On the day she was meant to meet her guide, Sevian struggled with the communication device she had been given when it chimed. The Atlantean who had given it to her had not bothered to explain how it worked, ‘Your guide will teach you,’ was all they had said besides telling her it was called a Median. It took a while, but she finally managed to open the message: It was a voice message in a female voice saying that her guide would come to her quarters to introduce themselves that day.

Another message came through, this time with the voice and hologram of King Arthur. The surfacers did not have to leave Atlantis after the twelve months were up. They could stay if they wished to. They would be aided to find jobs and homes. The proposition intrigued Sevian but she needed to know more about the kingdom before entertaining that idea. The last thing she would want is to move to a place that would not be welcoming towards her.

A wave of relief and happiness flooded her heart when she opened her door to find Orm on the other side of it. It was exactly 8 A.M, the time her guide was meant to arrive. She had been nervous when her door chimed. She had worried about how she would get along with the Atlantean that she would spend a year with but to see Orm instead of an unknown person was a welcomed surprise.

“Hi Prince Orm, it is good to see you again,” she greeted excitedly. To have someone familiar as her guide alleviated her excitement for the year to come.

He could see the openness in her body language; her smile reached her eyes, he had seen the sparkle in her eyes and the way her whole face had lightened up at the sight of him. For a moment, he was thankful to both Arthur and Vulko, even if he would never admit it loudly, for pairing him with her and not anyone else. She was honestly happy to see him. It could be just the excitement of knowing she would get to see Atlantis now in full. But he liked to think that she was glad he was her partner and not another Atlantean.

“Hello Sevian, may I come in?” He asked with a small smile. She stepped aside to let him in and the door closed behind him. Despite only having truly spoken to her twice, he felt comfortable around her. But there was more to it; she spoke to him as if she welcomed his company, not as someone to be feared like most of the surfacers spoke and looked at him. Even if they were within their rights to do so considering past events. Nor did she treat him with reverence and awe for his lifetime achievements like most Atlanteans did. Perhaps the comfort he felt around her also had something to do with their past intimacy.

He walked into the living room, his eyes quickly looking at how she had personalised her quarters before stopping to look at her fish tank and furrowing his eyebrows. His eyes seemed to follow the movements of the goldfish inside it.

“Those are my pet goldfish,” Sevian said after noticing the confused look on his face when he turned to face her. Did they not have goldfish this far down the ocean?

“Pet?” He questioned, seeming even more confused.

“Yeah. Do you not have pets in Atlantis?”

“We do but our pets are usually not food,” he answered with a soft smile on his face. A horrifying thought crossed her mind as it dawned on her that someone might eat them when she was not around. Never mind that it was her quarters, what mattered was the idea of someone eating her companions.

“Should I put a sign to say they’re not food?”

He pointed one long finger at the inscription on the tank, “There’s already one.”

She sighed in relief before pointing to each of the goldfish, "Their names are Ori and Mari." She belatedly realised that Orm would definitely put two and two together and come to the conclusion that they were named after him. Going by the way his eyes and eyebrows twitched after hearing the names, he had already come to that conclusion. She hoped he would not be too offended by it.

“Good names," he said with an upturned smile. She was glad he took the names well. It would not do to offend him on day one of their twelve months together. It would not be a good start. "Shall we?" He asked motioning towards the couch and Sevian nodded at him. She sat down first and he sat besides her, close enough to her that she could smell the now familiar minty scent of him but not too close to invade her personal space. His scent filled her senses in the most pleasing way. He smelled wonderful, she never got the chance to tell him that before. But it would be wrongly timed to tell him that now. She did not want him to think she was creepily sniffing him around but then again, most people liked compliments, she just wished she knew if Orm was one of those people.

After hours of talking to Orm, Sevian came to realise that she liked speaking to him. There was a pleasantness to his voice that delighted her and the attention he paid to every word she spoke was flattering. At first, he had been serious in his explanations of what he would be doing as her guide. The seriousness in his tone reached a point in which he began sounding slightly cold. She had began wondering if he did not want to be her guide after all. But he listened to every question she asked and answered them with a softer tone, clearly without a semblance of annoyance. No matter how many times he ended up having to explain something again and again. It became evident that he had only meant to be as coherent as possible about what the coming year would entail. He would show her around the kingdom and share Atlantean history, culture and customs with her. He learned of her desire to visit other underwater kingdoms and promised to take her to the other kingdoms if the opportunity ever presented itself.

He showed her how to use the Median and it surprised her how many functions such a small thing had. It was more than a communications device, it seemed more like a computer. He was patient in his demonstration of working the Median, not getting irritated at the questions she asked about every one of its functions.

There was one thing that could not be avoided when he taught her how to use the device. There was a lot of touching. Each brush of his fingers on her wrist sent shivers through both of them. Feeling each others touch after so long was overwhelming but there was nothing they could do about it. It was a natural reaction to being around the first person you had ever had sex with; their bodies simply remembered each other's touch. But it would fade in time once they spent more time in each other's presence. They both understood this and there was no awkwardness in it.

Before leaving, he gave her his contact information and showed her where his quarters were with his Median. It was in the East wing, the other side of the palace where the King also resided in.

"Do not hesitate to come to me if you ever require anything," he had said.

Chapter Text

The fleeting touches between them, the night Orm had come to let it be known that he would be Sevian's guide, had proved to be an immense distraction for their minds. More than either had expected. It had made them both forget to talk about when they would actually begin their 'Atlantis Tour'. For Sevian, it only dawned on her when she was already under the covers. It was late at night, but she grabbed her Median and contemplated contacting Orm to ask when they would begin their outing. Then again, she worried it might be inappropriate to call him at such an hour. Even if he had said to not hesitate to contact him for anything. She kept staring at the device in full debate with herself when a chime and an image of Orm appeared on the screen ending that debate for her.

The sudden call from Orm made her jump and lose her grip on the device, letting it fall on the soft bedspread. It chimed once again, then twice before she got a grip on it. She sighed in relief when she noticed it was just a simple voice call and not a visual one. She was not exactly dressed presentably at that moment.

"Hi again, Prince Orm," she said after answering the call.

"Hello, Sevian. Did I wake you?" He asked in a mellow, sleep heavy voice. She wondered if he was the one who had been sleeping.

"No, I was just about to call you actually," she replied. She knew why she wanted to call him but why had he called her? Not that she minded, his voice through the device was soothing. She liked hearing it.

"You have questions?"

"I do. But you go first." She was much more curious about his reasons. They could talk about the tour later.

"It occurred to me that we did not discuss when my duty as your guide would begin. I assume you would want to begin seeing more than just the monotone inside of the palace as soon as possible?" He asked. Sevian nodded at the device before remembering he could not see her and voiced out her desire to see more of Atlantis as soon as she could. She wanted to add that she did not find the palace monotone. But what did she know about what counted as monotone under the sea? Still, she was glad that they were both on the same wave length. Orm seemed to be taking his part as a guide seriously and it warmed her heart. It was a good start to their time together.

She did not know that the prince had been startled awake from his sleep when his mind caught up on his forgetfulness nor did she know of the minutes he spent staring at his Median. He had been uncharacteristically nervous. As a perfectionist, it was unlike him to forget matters. Especially matters that he deemed important. He did not want her or Arthur thinking that he was being flimsy with the programme. He did not think it a good start to their time together. He believed he needed to do better.

"We may begin tomorrow morning. If that is fine with you."

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said, her voice a lot less tired sounding. Orm could hear the excitement in it.

Orm turned out to be a morning person and had wanted to come pick her up at 6 A.M. But they did manage to come to an agreement for a more reasonable hour.

"Goodnight then, Sevian." In the dark of her room all by her lonesome, she could admit to liking the way he spoke her name. The way he carefully pronounced each syllable of it like it was something important, pleased her.

***

Sevian could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen someone and had had her breathe taken away. One of those times was the moment she had opened her door to see Orm out of his armour and in a casual Atlantean fashioned outfit. He wore a sleeveless purple tunic with silver threads in an intricate design and matching skin-tight pants. The casual outfit highlighted his well toned arms and legs, they accentuated his physique in the most flattering way. He had smiled at her in greeting and to her, in that moment, he objectively looked like perfection itself.

As they walked to his personal ship, Orm had suggested that for the first week, he simply drive around the city of Atlantis so that she could get used to her surroundings and get an idea of the kingdom. She had agreed to his suggestion, it seemed logical.

A sight more breath-taking than that of the prince in a casual outfit was that of the prince's side profile as they canvassed the city of Atlantis. He looked beautiful as he drove the two-person ship, the background of the city providing an additional picturesque image.

She averted her gaze from him a few moments after they had left the palace and took in the sight of the underwater city. It was even more enchanting than when she had arrived. The further she looked, the more beautiful and brighter it seemed to get.

She tried to take it all in and would ask Orm questions about everything she saw. There were not only people that resembled humans in the city; she was in awe and filled with curiosity, not to mention wonder, when she saw the people that were human looking but with fish tails below the waist and others that looked like human sized crabs. She almost believed she was hallucinating, she had just seen actual mermaids and crab people in the flesh.

"They are Fishermen and Brines. They come from other sea kingdoms," Orm had carefully corrected her. The knowledge only filled her desire to know more about Atlantis and its neighbours. It seemed that the sea was filled with wonders that even the surface world could not begin to imagine possible. What could be called a myth on the surface was simply a reality in the sea.

She took pictures of every single thing that piqued her interests; from the tall colourful mushroom shaped buildings to the sharks that people rode casually as one would ride a horse. The latter had somewhat scared her when Orm's ship had passed by an Atlantean riding a huge hammerhead, its mouth had been slightly open, revealing razor sharp murder teeth. She had feared that it would turn on them or the rider.

"The sharks won't harm you, don’t worry," Orm had said to reassure her when he noticed her tensing when they passed or were passed by a shark. Although she did not miss the slight upturn of his lips every time she clenched on her seatbelts at the sight of the predator fish. Her fear of the creatures amused him. After the tenth shark rider they passed, she stopped tensing and continued to take pictures carefreely. If Orm said they would not harm her, then she would believe him.

Among the colourful buildings were a few, less than a handful, white buildings with statues that seemed ancient and quite a bit out of place in the surrounding environment. When she asked about them, Orm told her they were the temples of Aphrodite and Poseidon. She had expected that such an advanced society to be atheistic, but it was interesting to find out they followed the ancient Hellenistic religion.

They took a break for lunch when her stomach began making rumbling noises. The restaurant he took her to was spacious, just as everything seemed to be in Atlantis, and incredibly bright. She stared at the colourful food in awe when it arrived, wondering how it stuck on the plate and did not float away.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Orm asked, not touching his food either. The food was not the problem. She was met by a dilemma of how to eat underwater. If she turned off her mask, she would drown.

"I can't eat with the mask on," she replied.

"Yes, you can. Try eating through the mask," he suggested. How exactly he expected food to pass through a mask was beyond her, but she decided to humour him. Like the other people in the restaurant, she used her hands to eat, grabbing a piece of red fillet. The moment the food touched her tongue, she realised Orm was right. Whatever substance the mask was made of or whatever technology they used, let food through. And the food was just as wonderful as the food from the palace.

***

There was one thing that she could not help but curiously wonder about during their sightseeing drive; The tall black pillars, with barely visible mist around them, every few kilometres. The contrasting darkness of the pillars with the rest of the city's architecture just seemed wrong and out of place. After passing more than a dozen of them, she could not help but ask Orm, "Are those buildings too?"

"No, those are water filters," he replied with a slight frown, "They keep the waters in and around Atlantis safe." She was about to ask safe from what, but her mind provided a possible horrifying reason for them: human pollution. That had to be the reason, why else would they need to filter their water for? Fish waste? That seemed unlikely.

She frowned and looked blankly at another black pillar they were nearing. She was aware of the surface's waste effect on the environment, but it never stopped being jarring to see it with her own two eyes. What Orm said next only proved what she had already began to believe to be true. Orm had taken her silence as a desire for him to explain further.

"The water filters were built due to the pollution caused by humans. We can keep our kingdom safe and we would have wished to put the filters everywhere, but they would not work. The ocean is simply too vast for the water filters to function correctly, " he calmly said as he continued to drive. Although, the next words he said made him grip his steering a slight bit tighter, "The filters in Atlantis will eventually stop working too, If the surface continues on the same path they have been on for the last century."

“I’m sorry.” Sevian began to better understand why he wanted to wage war against humanity, not only were humans condemning themselves, but they were also condemning every living creature around them.

Orm seemed surprised by the apology and quickly glanced at her before looking ahead again. He did not know how to react to that apology, so he only nodded in acknowledgement. She was quieter after that. She took her pictures in silence and refrained from asking anymore questions. Following that conversation, she thought that Orm must not be too happy being stuck with one of the people responsible for slowly destroying his home. She believed it would be better if she was as passive and as quiet as possible.

The quiet disconcerted Orm. She seemed to have a curious mind and with all the scenery and images that must be new to her; it seemed unusual that she was no longer asking questions about them. He appreciated her curious mind so this quiet demeanour that had continued for more than half an hour did not sit well with him.

“Are you uncomfortable having me as a guide?” He asked. If she was, he could talk to Arthur to have him removed as a guide.

“No," she replied to him in all earnest. He was the one person she was comfortable with in the kingdom so far. She turned to look at him, "Are you uncomfortable accompanying me?”

“No, I am not.” His answer put her at ease and she smiled at him. She began asking questions again and commenting about what she saw, now that she knew he did not find her to be that much of an annoyance.

Chapter Text

Orm saw Sevian five times a week. He left the other days for her to relax or wander Atlantis on her own. To revisit places they had already been and see it from her own perspective. He did not want to overwhelm her, tire her or make her feel suffocated and she was thankful to him for taking her well being into account.

To help her get around without him, he taught her how to use public transportation during their second week together. Although Sevian had been adamantly skeptical about going too far from the palace by herself. It was not that their transportation system was difficult; she was simply worried about her safety as a surfacer in a crowd of Atlanteans. She did not hesitate to voice out her concern to Orm.

"I'm worried about travelling alone," she said to him on their way back to the palace after he had finished showing her the different kinds of transportations she could use to get back to the palace.

"Why is that?"

"What if I get lost?"

"If you find yourself at a loss of where to go or where you are, ask anyone in the vicinity and they will help you." Orm did not understand why getting lost worried her.

"What if I meet Atlanteans who hate surfacers?" She asked him. He could hear the genuine concern in her tone and in a way, it confused him even more.

"Why would that have anything to do with them aiding you?"

"So, they will still help me?" Orm nodded in affirmation. Even if she did meet those that had no love for humans, it was unlikely that they would leave her helpless if she were to ask for their assistance. It was not in his people’s nature.

"What if I get hurt by surfacer haters or criminals?"

He wanted to alleviate her concerns. He smiled at her, "Our streets are safe. Even for surfacers. Assault is a hefty crime and no one would let another get hurt without interfering. But if you feel uncomfortable or find yourself backed into a corner without other people around, just shout for help or-" he paused and pointed at a button on her Median, "Press that button on your device. It will send a distress signal that will make guards come to your location in less than two second, no matter your location."

"Two seconds?"

"Less than," he added and raised a hand to gently rest on her shoulder. The simple touched sent a shiver down her spine. Perhaps she had been wrong in thinking whatever attraction she had for him would fade away in time. "Trust me, Atlantis is safe for you." As she looked into his eyes, she could see the honesty in them and she was surprised to note that, yes, she did trust him.

"Ok." She nodded at him and he took his hand off her.

It took Sevian another week to get enough courage to venture out on her own and put Orm's lesson in public transportation to good use. As expected, she did get lost. Somewhere between getting off the central city train and taking the shuttle bus to go to a seahorse park, she had forgotten to check the translation for the stop and had found herself near the sea floor with only residential buildings around. It had not worried her then and she decided to just take a look around the area.

She did not take into account exactly how big the city was and she found herself in an area with no public transportation in the vicinity. At least none that she could see and her ability to read a map had become unreliable. The more she used the map on her Median, the deeper into the residential area she got with barely any people outside. She finally reached an area with commercial buildings around and let out a sigh of relief.

Deciding for take Orm's advice, she nervously approached an Atlantean duo and asked them for directions. At first, they only blinked at her and she almost gave up on them. But they activated their Median and began giving her very clear directions of where to go. They did not leave until they were sure she had understood their directions and had oddly left without even a simple goodbye. But they did give her the courage to not be afraid to ask for help.

Her adventures for that day went about the same way; some Atlanteans, like the duo, only gave directions and seemed to not care about surfacers but were still helpful. Others were relatively nice and curious about how she found Atlantis compared to the surface, and others even went with her to her destination. Orm had been right. It had been safe for her and thanks to the city dwellers, she did manage to reach the seahorse park and ride one of the magnificent creatures.

***

Atlantean music turned out to be unexpectedly upbeat and very similar to Electronic Dance Music, if EDM was DJed by a real-life Kraken. Orm had taken her to a concert in the inner city and she had been left speechless by the beautiful, artfully decorated Kraken playing the drums. The Kraken seemed to enjoy performing and was swaying with the music it played. She recorded the performance on her device, she was more than certain that no concert on the surface could ever top a Kraken musical performance. It was the best concert she had ever been to in her life. The climax of the concert had been the picture she had taken in front of the Kraken with Orm. Even though she had had to convince the latter to be in the photo, Orm had smiled in it with amusement in his eyes. She made a mental note to frame the picture once she was back on the surface.

It became clear after he took her to visit their temples that the Atlantean religion was centred around two Hellenistic deities; Poseidon and Aphrodite. It made sense that one of their favoured Gods would be the protector of the seas and the other represented beauty. For Atlantis was beyond a doubt beautiful and protected by its people and the sea.

She found it somewhat poetic that both deities were fertility gods and both had a connection to the seas. For all that she had seen in less than a month; Atlantis was blessed and fertile, at least technologically and environmentally.

The stark differences between the two deities’ temples was fascinating. The only similarity between the temples had been the strange diamond like red gems that had been present in both temples. Orm had called it Orichalcum, a rare gem that could only be found and mined in Atlantis.

The temples of Poseidon were decorated in corals and precious gems. The symbol of the trident could be seen on every corner she looked and the most honourably displayed was the golden trident in the hands of the imposing large statue of Poseidon in the centre circle of the temple. The trident had looked suspiciously a lot like the one owned by King Arthur. She wondered if the king's had been fashioned after it. The inner chamber of the temples had been a huge gallery depicting bloody, violent, in a way that was almost jarring, scenes of battle. Orm had informed her some of the battles depicted were of real battles fought and won by the kingdom in the past.

Before she had been allowed to enter the inner chamber, the priests had asked for her age. She learned the age of consent and adulthood in the kingdom was twenty-five. It explained why they had wanted the surfacers who had applied for the cultural exchange to be over the age of twenty-five.

The first thing she was met with when they visited the temples of Aphrodite was an immense statue of the goddess in front of the temples. She sat in a shell, in a lotus position with silver pearls held in one hand and on the other, a bright golden apple. The inside was decorated in gold and with red roses. It was far more beautiful than Sevian could ever describe in words, she wished she had been allowed to take photos but it was forbidden. She was no prude but the temples inner chamber had some frescos and paintings that had made her blush. Even though she had not seen a lot, or any overt, public displays of affection in the streets of the city; it was clear by what she saw in the inner chambers that Atlanteans had no issues with sex and sexuality.

It was clarified even more when she talked to the priests and priestesses. They responded to every subject she asked about what she saw. She had enjoyed their openness up until the conversation turned to somehow be about her and Orm. One of the priestess' had looked at them and casually said, "Your sexual energies are complimentary. It would benefit you both to engage in sexual intercourse." Sevian had been shocked by the statement and had not known what to say to that. But Orm had seemed unbothered and had thanked the priestess for the input. The priestess had then nodded and then continued onto another subject nonchalantly.

Sevian catalogued that as a simple cultural difference and recovered from her surprise to join in on the conversation. Plus, the priestess was not entirely wrong, sleeping with Orm had felt good. In a roundabout way, perhaps beneficial was the way to describe her first encounter with the prince.

***

When Orm had offered to take her to the underwater forest in the city at night time, Sevian had been sceptical about what they could possibly see at night that would be so different from day time. But now as they walked through it, its eeriness was both ethereal and calming. The underwater sky seemed to sparkle with small stars and blue fairy dust. The bioluminescence was even more vivid at night, its lights bathed Orm in a bright light that made him look picturesque. Nature was beautiful. He was beautiful. Sevian could not help but take a picture of him in the forest. It was a visual memory she wanted to imprint in her mind.

It was when taking that picture that she saw something silvery with the corner of her eyes. That something silvery was floating less than a foot away from her. It had eight legs and looked very much like a spider. She felt a cold chill run down her spine and her heart began running wild. Of all the places she expected to see the eight-legged freaky things, underwater was not one of those places. She should have known they could survive anywhere.

Orm turned to look at Sevian in alarm when he heard a blood curling scream. His hand immediately went for the trident on his back expecting danger but Sevian had already jumped a few feet away from where she had been walking besides him and was pointing at his shoulder. He took a quick look around with his eyes but saw nothing that screamed danger.

"Don't panic. But there's a spider on your shoulder," she said in an odd high-pitched voice. He could see the fear in her eyes and he finally understood the screaming; she had arachnophobia.

"It's all right. The tree trunk spiders are entirely harmless," he assured her. He carefully picked the small creature up and released it inside a slightly open tree trunk.

The fear in Sevian's heart was replaced by a warm sentiment at the surprising gentleness that Orm showed the arachnid. She smiled softly at the scene even if her skin still buzzed with adrenalin.

"Are you all right?" Orm then asked quietly, "Would you like to go back to the palace?" The genuine concern in his tone was equally unexpected.

"I'll be fine, let's keep going." Showing kindness when he did not have to, instead of crushing it or throwing it away, he took it to safety. Orm had a good heart and she could not have been happier to have him as her guide. She was glad to have gotten the chance to know this side of him.

Chapter Text

Of all the occupations Sevian had thought Orm had, besides that of a 'former' military commander and a member of the cultural exchange team, a writer was not one of them. In fact, it had not even crossed her mind. She did not find out about him being a writer by accident. Curiosity had led her to it.

After weeks of Orm's teaching and tinkering with the Atlantean computer, Sevian had finally understood it enough to do two very simple things. One was to contact the outside world, or in other words, the surface world. The one person she contacted was her mum, who to Sevian's surprise, had been incredibly happy to hear from her and had missed her. There was not much to talk about. They had never been that close. But she was glad that her mother cared enough to ask about her time there and her well being. There was no phone number, her mother would not be able to call her back.

"Text me from time to time, sweetheart. I just want to be sure you are doing well there," her mother had said. Sevian did not know if it was the far away distance or some sort of self-soul searching that had changed her mother's attitude towards her. It had began with the phone-call from when she told her she would come to Atlantis. Mrs. Dilac had began sounding more like the mother she was meant to be to Sevian every time they talked. Not that there were many. Sevian did not know how to feel about it. It was odd and frankly, perhaps a bit too late in time to make up for the past two decades.

"I'll do that then," Sevian replied before they said their goodbyes.

The other thing she learned to do on the Atlantean computer was to access the public library. Not knowing where to start, she decided on a whim to search for Orm Marius. With any luck, she hoped to at least get a head-start of books to read on Atlantean History. What the search results showed however was Orm's name listed as an Author and without a second thought, she chose to look at the books under his authorship. There was a lot of them, eleven of them to be precise. She thought that it might be an Atlantean with a similar name to her Orm- Not hers- the Orm she knew. But checking the picture next to the Author's name, that slicked back blond hair and pretty face could not be anyone other than the prince. She picked one book on the list and waited for it to be translated and transferred to her Median.

The book's title read "Theory of ancestral memories" and was categorized as non-fiction when it finally finished being translated. She had wanted to immediately start reading it but the translation had taken hours and it was already late at night. She made a mental note to read it once she had the time. It could be a way to know more about the Atlantean she was beginning to consider to be more than just an acquaintance.

It took her days until she had had enough free time to read the book and when she finally did, it was a decision she was glad to have made. The book spoke of the possibility of accessing ancestral memories to better the way of life and future of Atlantis. Although it was a direct translation and difficult to understand at times due to it, the deep interest Orm had for the history of his ancestors could be understood in his written words.

It was thanks to reading it that Sevian divulged her love for history and archaeology to Orm. He took it to heart and decided to show her more of the old ruins of Atlantis. The ruins were located near the floor of the ocean.

"Many believe I would never venture down here," he began to say as she looked at the statures that depicted the Seven Kingdoms of a United Atlantis. Many of those kingdoms had fallen but some still prospered. Orm turned to look at her and offered an open, warm smile, "But I love the history of my ancestors. It pleases me to know that we share this interest. There is much more of the old world for you to see." If her heart beat a little bit faster than usual at the sight of the pearly smile that reached his eyes, no one else but her needed to know.

She could not help but return his smile. "I read one of your books. The one on ancestral memories," she revealed to him, "It was really intriguing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She could hear the pride in his tone and could not fault him for it. It was a book to be proud of.

"There were a few things that were difficult to understand in the translations. Could I ask you about them?" She asked.

"Of course." There was an open enthusiasm in his voice that he did not try to veil as they spoke of his book. He also spoke of his other works casually when she asked about them. It was clear how passionate he was about the topics he wrote about. Seeing that passion in his words warmed Sevian's heart.

Orm did not think Sevian would be interested enough in Atlantean literature to go as far to read the translated material but he should have. She had been an editor on the surface. It made sense that her interest in the written words would extend to Atlantean literature.

To say that he was surprised at her having read one of his books would be an understatement. It fascinated him that she had read something he had written and had found it intriguing. Intriguing enough to wish to discuss its contents with him. At first he thought she was simply being polite in claiming to like it; it was not an easy read for those that had only just began interacting with his kingdom's culture. But the more they spoke, the more he noted her true interest for the book. It made him speak more openly to her about his other books and recommend other philosophical reading materials by other Atlanteans that might interest her.

What could have been a short five minute conversation had derailed into hours of discussion as they walked through the ruins. The easiness of talking to her was not new to Orm, in fact he began to wonder if it had ever truly been hard to speak to her. The thought should have worried him but it did not.

***

Orm had been right. There was much to see of the old world, the contrast with the new Atlantis was easy to see. Orm spoke with ease about every ruin they saw and she drank in the knowledge happily. He opened up to her the reason for the fall and how they slowly but surely overcame their demise using the same technology that had almost annihilated them.

It was during one of their visits to the ruins, the ruins of the old royal palace, that Sevian came to meet Queen mother Atlanna. Atlanna had been training a few dozen young Atlanteans on how to use their tridents. She had smiled brightly when she saw Orm approaching and had let her students go on a break.

"Mother," Orm greeted her before hugging her lightly but with warmth. He seemed to be close to his mother and Sevian could admit that the seeing him that affectionate reminded her of her stilted relationship with her mother. But it did not make her feel lonely or sad, if anything, she was happy for Orm and her lips curled into a smile. It was good to have an affectionate parent.

When Atlanna finally turned her gaze towards her; Sevian bowed slightly at exactly forty-five degrees, as the small rule book had said was the correct way to greet the parents of the king and the king himself, and greeted her. The Queen mother smiled at her, a smile that was a reminiscence of Orm's, and shook her hand. She was just as beautiful and noble in presence as the day Sevian arrived in Atlantis.

"You must be Orm's charge, Sevian," Atlanna stated, "How has my son been treating you?" The question took Sevian off-guard but she recovered quickly. She had not anticipated her to ask any personal questions.

"He's been-" Sevian began but paused to look at Orm. He raised an eyebrow in question. She was at loss as of what to say. He had been wonderful, amazing, intuitive, instructive and perhaps the best guide she could have asked for. The best guide any human could have asked for. She had heard the other surfacers discussing how their guides had not even put into mind that humans could not be dragged around for weeks on end without a break before their charges let them know humans did not work that way. She had not even needed to talk to Orm about getting time off, he had done his research and kept her needs in mind. "- He's been great and amazing. The best guide there is."

Atlanna may have spent more than a decade away from civilisation and in some ways it had dampened her ability to notice certain things. But she did not miss the way her son was looking at the surface dweller with tenderness in his eyes as they spoke. She smiled to herself, Vulko may just have been right, he truly was his mother’s son.

***

The old palace was much, much, larger than the new palace. Sevian began regretting her decision for wanting to see it all in one day as she felt the burn in her legs from moving around all day and evening. She groaned when entering Orm's ship for the ride 'home' and saw a flash of a smirk on Orm's lips from the corner of her eyes. She could not even fault him for being amused at her fatigue; He had warned her that it would be best to continue sightseeing the palace another day after noting the first signs of her tiredness but she had been blinded by excitement. She remained quiet throughout the ride, her thoughts filled with the desire for a hot shower and sleep. Until Orm broke the silence.

"Are you alright?" He asked, still looking ahead after she had groaned again while re-adjusting herself on her seat.

"Yeah, I'm just sore. It's nothing a shower and sleep can't fix."

"My quarters are much closer to the docking bay than yours and you look minutes away from sleeping right where you are." He was right. It was taking all her willpower to not just fall asleep in the ship. But what did that have to do with his quarters being closer? Was he worried he would have to accompany her to her room to make sure she did not become dead weight in the hallways? Her tired mind could not process what he was really suggesting.

"Don't worry. I promise not to fall asleep until I reach my quarters," she said and sank further into the seat. She was not sure it was a promise she could keep.

"Would you like to sleep in my quarters tonight? I have a large couch you could sleep on." The statement made her sit up straight immediately and the fatigue in her mind dissipated enough for her mind to function properly again.

She could barely believe what she had heard. Had Orm just asked her to crash on his couch? Well she was not going to say 'no'. The idea of swimming and walking the very long way to her room in her state did not exactly spark joy.

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Orm." She would have to sleep with the mask on but that was the least of her worries. She just hoped the couch was magnetized enough that she would not float away while sleeping.

Orm's quarters were just as she had expected an Atlantean prince's quarters to be; It was vast, beautifully decorated in gold, silver and purple as the theme and on two floors. She could not see much of the second floor but it seemed to house his clothes and armours. Every furniture in view was high risen. There were no paintings but it was not a surprise: many areas she had been to in Atlantis did not have them. But there was a fairly large fresco of Orm, King Arthur and Queen mother Atlanna on one of the walls of the living room area. Another large fresco was on the wall by the entryway; It was of a slightly younger Orm sitting on the Atlantean throne in a golden armour, wearing a crown and holding a trident in his right hand. Some decors seemed to be personal objects, collections really, as they did not fit the colour scheme but were placed in a way that showed they had carefully been put in place. They made the quarters seem lived in, welcoming despite the cold colours and lack of clutter.

It became even more riveting after Orm touched a panel by the door and all the water in the quarter dissipated in the walls of the room. Not even a drop of water dripped from the decors, it was as if there had never been any water around.

The four reclining gold and purple couches in the living room area were placed to form a large square with each one having a footstool. It turned out, Sevian would not need to worry about floating. What she did have to worry about, was how to not fall on the floor while sleeping.

"Woah. Is it possible to do that everywhere in the palace?" She asked him in awe while turning off her mask.

"Not everywhere. But all the quarters of the royal family do have it."

"Why just the royals?"

"In case of an assassination attempt, it will take the attackers by surprise and even if the attacker is high-born and can breathe in air, most never attempted to breathe it in. They will be disorientated." The way he spoke casually of a possible assassination attempt worried her. It was as if it was something to be expected. But even on the surface, people in positions of power faced such things.

"Is that something you have to worry about often?" For Orm and his family's sake, she just hoped it was not as frequent on Atlantis as it was up there.

"No, it is just a precaution," he said turning to look at her. "Besides Vulko, The King, my mother and Mera, no one knows of this. I ask that you keep this knowledge to yourself.” He trusted her enough to know she would not tell anyone. She had yet to say a word to anyone about their past encounter and that was not even a secret.

She nodded. “Of course.”

Orm then disappeared into a room near the living room, from what she could glimpse through the archway, it was the bedroom. Sevian hoped he was not just going to sleep without a word but she took the opportunity to take off her shoes. He came out of the bedroom after a few short minutes with a silk blanket, that he placed on a couch, and one of his sleeping tunics, that he offered her to sleep in.

"Thanks," she said. It would be good not to sleep in outside clothes. She liked this somewhat caring side of Orm.

Remembering her comment about a shower earlier, he showed her where the bathroom was. As expected it was huge. She began to wonder if everything in Atlantis was supersized. The bathroom was water free and bright with oddly, well odd to her untrained human eyes, shaped objects and furnitures in the room. Some looked like jellyfish, crystal mirrors, water hyacinth- there was an actual seaweed floor area and a glowing bulb that she at least recognised as shower gel. The room made her feel like she had somehow ended up on some high maintenance garden. But it was clean, almost pristinely so.

She had yet to use or see an Atlantean toilet since arriving, always preferring to wait until she got back to her room to use the facilities. So she was at a loss to which was the toilet or if there was one in this bathroom. She almost sighed in relief when Orm pointed to the square thing in in the room that reminded her of an upturned Angel's trumpet flower, and said, “That's the lavatory. There's a strong water current that will activate when you are a meter away from it."

“Right. And the shower?”

Orm then walked farther into the room and pointed to the glowing bulb in the seaweed floor area. "I'm sure you know how to use that."

"Um, could you tell me how to use it anyway?" She asked just in case she had been using it wrong for the last two months.

He raised an eyebrow but still answered her question, "It reacts to contact with skin so lather it across your skin. And once you are done, put it back on the socket and press here," he pointed to a symbol on the small panel next to the shower gel, " It will release water to rinse yourself with. Once you’re done, step out and press this," he pointed to another symbol, "and it will clean the shower floor.”

"Okay." It was simple enough to understand.

"I'll be in the bedroom if you need anything. Sleep well, Sevian."

"Goodnight and thanks again, Orm."

She went on to get undressed once the door had shuffled closed after Orm left. She had forgotten to ask what the three, pressed close together, human-sized upturned jellyfish were but that is where she put her folded clothes before getting in the shower. The seaweed floor was dry and soft beneath her feet. The lack of seaweed sliminess was a welcomed discovery.

Orm’s shower gel smelled strongly of Angelos Mov. She chuckled as she lathered it across her skin, It all made sense now; that’s where his scent came from. She almost screamed in the shower after touching the water panel to rinse herself. The water had come rushing down heavily as if she was under a waterfall. Albeit a very hot one. The force of the heavy water massaged her sore body and she let out a sigh of relief after a moment. She left the shower feeling relaxed and cleaner than ever. Like Orm had instructed, she activated the cleaning panel after stepping out of the shower.

It took her a few seconds just standing in the bathroom, water dripping from her skin to the floor to realize she was missing one very crucial thing. She quickly walked to the door, manually sliding it a bit open to poke her head out and looked around. Of course there was no Orm in view, she sighed at her predicament then called out, "Orm, where do you keep your towels?" She hoped Orm's bedroom door was not shut. She would need to either stand in the bathroom naked until her skin dried off or just put on the sleeping tunic with wet skin. Neither was particularly enticing to do.

"Touch the grey panel next to the shower," came Orm's voice from the direction of his bedroom.

"Thanks." She slid the door closed and did as Orm had said. The wall section next to the panel slid open to reveal what she could only describe as a mini wardrobe. There were what looked like bathrobes, but with a silk like texture, and folded cloths, with the same kind of texture as the robes. They did not look like towels but she shrugged and took a folded cloth. The cloth did its job despite the strange texture.

Sevian quickly got dressed in Orm's sleeping tunic and went to the living room. She carefully stepped on a footstool to get on one of the high reclining couches and hoped she would not fall off of it while sleeping. The couch in on itself was completely dry without a sign of it ever being wet. With it's sheer size and how comfortable it felt when she finally laid down on it and pulled up the blanket, it felt more like a bed.

She closed her eyes to face the back of the couch knowing the Atlantean light detectors would turn off the lights once they no longer detected open eyes. The tunic she wore smelled strongly of Orm and so did the blanket, the couch- everything smelled of him, even her own skin had his scent. It did not disconcert her, if anything it was exquisite to her senses and it helped lull her to sleep.

***

Orm did not wish to wake Sevian so early in the morning. He knew she was not a morning person and considering how much they moved around the previous day, she needed the rest. But the palace food staff would arrive soon and it would not do to let her sleep through breakfast. They would also note the very lack of water in his quarters.

He stopped reading from his Median and got up from his bed. He walked to the living room and stopped in front of the couch she slept on. She was facing him, covers wrapped around her. She looked peaceful, her features gone softer than usual and dark thick hair contrasting with the silver of the couch headrest. She was just as beautiful as the day of their first meeting. He kneeled down and picked up the mask she had left on the footstool. He put it around her head, careful not to abruptly rouse her.

"Sevian, wake up," he said. It took two more tries on Orm's part before she blinked her eyes slowly open.

"Hey, Orm," she said. Her voice slightly heavy from sleep and groaned as she stretched her limbs awake. "Did I oversleep?" She asked, slowly sitting up. He was glad she was a quick riser. It would gave been tiring if she had been anything like his friend, Captain Murk, who took an hour to wake up sometimes- well unless he was on duty.

He shook his head as answer, "No but breakfast will be here soon."

"Thanks for waking me," she said with a soft smile and her brown sleep riddled eyes gazed at him with open sincerity. He had been wrong, to him, she was even more beautiful now.

As if on queue, there was a chime on Orm's door. He raised a hand to turn on her mask for her before he stood up and reactivated the water. He slowly went to the door, waiting for the water to fill his quarters before he opened it. His thoughts were jumbled for a moment by one single thing: he could have sworn to the deities that she had leaned into his touch when he activated her mask.

The staff came in and placed the food in the dining area but Sevian did not miss the quick awkward glances they gave her and the widening of their eyes. The fact that she wore Orm's tunic and he was only wearing a bathrobe did not help matters. She sat up straighter on the couch and winced as the previous night's muscle aches came back in full force. The sound made one of the staff look at the other and they both began working faster. They made a point of neither looking at her nor Orm when they walked out. Orm turned the water back off once the staff had left and they sat down to eat.

Sevian enjoyed the comfortable silence between them up until Orm shifted to cross his legs underneath himself and his robes slid slightly open. They revealed familiar toned thighs, long legs and skin that she knew was soft to the touch. A shiver went through her and her breath caught in her throat at the sight. It reminded her of the feeling of those strong thighs between her legs, the way they slid against her skin with every thrust inside her. She looked away, it was inappropriate to think of such things at that moment but Orm had noticed her staring and raised an amused eyebrow at her while fixing his robe. To divert his attention, she began to discuss their tour of the old Atlantis: a subject he was more than willing to talk about.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Sevian missed from the surface that Atlantis did not have, it was fridges. It was 3 a.m. and her stomach had woken her up with hunger, but she had no food in her quarters. Atlanteans were sticklers for fresh food which resulted in there being no fridges anywhere in her quarters or even the kingdom itself. They did not believe in letting food rest for a night. 

There was only one place in the palace where she could find food, or well, fruits and bread really. They were the only two kinds of nutrients that the sea dwellers stored. It was an odd mixture for a late-night snack but it was either that or wait for breakfast. The only other choice would be to go to the market to buy actual food but at 3 a.m., it would be a foolish and illogical thing to do. So, with that in mind, she made her way to the kitchen.

She had not been the only one in want of a late-night snack; there was already someone sitting by the tables and drinking something from a mug when she arrived in the kitchen. The man turned to look at her after hearing her steps and she recognised him as Alexis Hernandez, a young Spanish man in his late twenties who she frequently sat with during breakfast. They exchanged a quick greeting before she made herself a plate of fruits and sat down on the same table as him but not too close as to infringe on his personal space.

"Did you know 93% of adult Atlanteans are on birth control even if they are not sexually active?" The brunette man asked and Sevian almost choked on the fruit she was eating. Of all the ways to begin a conversation, that was by far one of the oddest ones. She was slightly weirded out by the conversation, but she was not one to shy from strange topics. He was probably a biologist or something of that sort.

"Not really?" She answered with uncertainty. She did know Orm was, or had at least been on birth control when they had slept together. It was not exactly a topic she had researched during her time in Atlantis.

"Neither did I, until my guide gave me a book on Atlantean biology which was cool 'coz they're more human than I thought when it- " he began to ramble before catching himself, "Anyway, I reached the reproduction chapter and it turns out their philosophy on sex is 'better safe than sorry'."

"I think that's kind of a good philosophy to have," she said not knowing what else to add but still intrigued by the unsolicited knowledge. She had the kingdom's view on sex to thank for not having panicked about being late for mother nature's monthly visits.

"Yeah, I guess but it's kind of weird that it's basically a coming of age event. The book says most of them get it once they start puberty." It did seem a bit extreme but different culture, different way of doing things, she was not going to judge.

She ended up conversing with Alexis up until 5 a.m. and they left with each other's contact details.  The man had a lot to talk about and as she had suspected, he was a biologist. A marine biologist to be more precise. Just like that, in one random late night, she had gained a new friend.

When Orm came to pick her up to go to the Junior Trident Championship she had wished to see, she was still asleep. She had chosen to go back to sleep after leaving the kitchen but had forgotten to set an alarm. She had expected Orm to be unhappy by her sleeping in. He was a stickler for punctuality but he had just calmly sat in the living room and waited for her to finish getting ready. "We all lose track of time sometimes, it's fine," he had reassured her after she had apologised for oversleeping. He did not rush her at all and Sevian was once again wondering how she got so lucky in having him as a guide. It dawned on her that perhaps she should have told him that instead of only ever thinking it. Sometimes people had to be reminded that they were appreciated in some ways.

"Hey Orm," she called while checking on Ori and Mari.

"Yes?"

"I'm really thankful for having you as my guide. You're a wonderful person," she said still facing the goldfish. She was unsure if she would have fallen for Atlantis as much as she had if she had not had someone as perceptive, efficient and kind to her as Orm had been so far. She liked to think they had already become friends.

"Thank you, Sevian,” he said. Sevian expected that to be all but he then continued, "You are a wonderful person as well."  The statement went straight to her heart and she turned around to see a warm smile on his face. A warm smile she readily returned.

They managed to still arrive at the Junior Trident Championship in time. It took place in a large Colosseum like arena. The lights in the arena were incredibly bright and it took Sevian a few moments to get used them. They sat at the midsection of the arena seats; the arena well on its way of being filled to its limits. The competitors all seemed young, if she had to guess, she would say they were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. They fought in a way that reminded her of an intricate dance; all the movements seemed calculated and it fascinated her greatly. Orm had explained the rules to her as she watched and the main objective of each competitor. It was simple in theory, all they had to do was disarm their opponents, but it was easier said than done.

"How do they manage to do all those movements underwater?" She asked Orm. It might have seemed like a dumb question considering their whole life took place underwater but still, some of the acrobatic movements the competitors did and the quickness in which they moved their tridents seemed to defy the laws of underwater physics.

"It takes a lot of training," he replied, "there is a training centre at the palace, if you wish to see how exactly they train. I'll be there tomorrow at 6 p.m. but you could go earlier if you want to."

"I'll come by around 6 then." It was technically one of their 'off' days tomorrow but Orm had offered. She could not say no to both seeing how underwater physics were defied and seeing Orm on a free day. She had plans to go shopping with Alexis earlier in the afternoon, so the timing was convenient as well.

"I'll send you a map after the tournament, the centre is easy to find."

"Thanks, Orm." They went back to paying attention to the tournament and even if Orm was not as vocal as the people around them, she could see the excitement in his eyes as he watched the fight. Perhaps this was something he enjoyed watching. She wondered if he too had once participated in a similar tournament as a young adult, but she did not want to distract him from the match. It was finally the finals and she too wanted to see who would win between the last two competitors.

***

The training centre was easy enough to find. It was close to the west wing of the palace and the palace library. She remembered having passed by it before. She had not known what it was when Orm had given her a tour of the palace after the night she had crashed at his place. When he had talked about a training centre then, she had still been too awestruck by the palace library to really think of what the training centre was.

It was exactly 7 p.m. when she entered the training centre. She did not know what to expect but an indoor garden and a parkour gym was not really it. And that was exactly what it looked like and there was no other way to describe it. It was at least as vast as two rugby fields and the extremely high ceiling was either transparent or there was no ceiling at all. There were Atlanteans training in the centre, some in groups or in duos and a few of them training by themselves.

Orm had said he would be there, but it was not that easy to find him with the amount of people around. She hoped he had not already left. It took a few minutes until she finally caught sight of him higher up in the centre. He was sparring with two partners, all three of them, like everyone else in the room, were using tridents. His hair was tied in a tight bun and he was topless.

Sevian found a place to sit and just watched him train, marvelling at his fighting form whilst eating the red grapes she had bought earlier in the day. Perhaps she was simply being biased but there was an elegance and beauty in Orm's movements that far surpassed that of the previous day's tournament competitors. There was a fluidity and power in his movements that made him captivating to watch.

She paused from eating the last grape in her hand, awed by the sight of Orm disarming both of his opponents in one quick move. He truly was amazing; he had both brains and brawn. The disarming of his sparring partners seemed to be the cue to end the training session. They two other Atlanteans went to pick up their tridents before they drifted too far and came back to talk to Orm for a few moments before bowing. Orm turned away from them and looked around until his eyes met Sevian. He gave her a small smile and swam towards her.

"This place is amazing," she stated when he had reached her.

"I knew you would find it to your liking." He did not look dishevelled in any way. He stood close enough that the scent of mint engulfed her, he smelled too good for someone who had just finished rough-housing for who knew how long. With the short distance, she found herself at eye level with his very bare, well-toned chest. She forced herself to raise her head to look at his face but the small smile on it was not much better in steading her seemingly fast beating heart. He was far too sensually designed and distracting.

"May I have that?" He asked pointing at the last grape in her left hand. Still distracted by his appearance, she absentmindedly raised her hand and put the red fruit against his lips. He opened his mouth and took the fruit between his teeth. She slowly put her hand down, having given up on calming her heartbeat, she was pretty sure Orm would end up being the death of her at that rate. Her whole attention had been on Orm and she did not register how people in the gym had paused for a moment to stare in both shock and surprise.

But Orm had. He had without a doubt noticed the stares before they looked away. He smirked in barely contained amusement. Sevian had no idea of the cultural significance of what she had done and Orm was not going to tell her. That was going to be the one cultural subject he was going to let her find out on her own.

Sevian had decided to leave at the same time Orm did and he walked her to her quarters. She had yet to regain her composure despite them talking about the most mundane things on the way. When they reached her door, she was tempted to invite him in after it had slid open. She avoided looking him in the eyes as they prepared to part ways, she was quite certain her eyes were completely dilated. He looked and smelled intoxicating. She wanted to have him again, at least once more.

***

Taking all her courage in hand, Sevian stepped closer to Orm and raised a hand to touch one of his bare arms. It sent a shiver through her spine to touch him with intent. Orm looked at her hand on him and then looked up at her. She was sure he could feel the rapid beats of her heart through the connection. Nothing in his eyes showed how he felt about her touch but Sevian considered it a good sign. There was no way Orm would have remained relaxed in her hands if her touch had been unwanted.

"Orm, would you like to come in?" She asked staring up at him with open desire.  She did not want him to misunderstand the meaning of her question. This was it; it was all up to him now.

"Yes, I'd like to," He answered, his voice an octave lower. She smiled up at him and slid the hand on his arm lower across the smooth skin to his hands. Walking backwards, she pulled him with her, and he easily let himself be led inside her quarters until the door slid closed behind him.

Sevian did not know how they went from standing by the door to her straddling Orm's strong thighs on her bed. They were both free from clothes. A haze of pleasure clouded her vision, her whole body was on fire with need. His large hands were on her hips, guiding her up and down his shaft. Her hands were on his. She loved them, she loved how strong they were, how beautiful they looked and how tightly they gripped her. She did not bother to keep quiet as each movement hit all the right places. He did not seem to be doing much better either. He was breathing hard and unevenly. There was an odd annoying sound in the background, but she chose to ignore it, instead deciding to marvel at the mess she was making of him each time she moved down his shaft. The wetness from her and from his cock making it a smooth glide, heightening both their ecstasy. He fitted so spectacularly; it was as if he was made to be in her.

She loved the sight of his blond hair splattered messily on her white pillow. She stilled her hips to lean forward and place her hands beside his head. He stared up at her, his eyes gone as dark as her own with desire, only an outline of blue could be seen. She bridged the small gap to kiss him.

But try as she did, she could not feel his lips against hers, it was as if a thin invisible barrier was stopping their lips from touching. It was frustrating her to no end. The more she tried to press their lips together, the thicker the invisible barrier seemed to get. Something was not right. Her quarters never had purple lighting. The irritating sound from the background was getting louder and harder to ignore.

"Orm, why can't I kiss you?" She asked but Orm ignored her. He thrusted upwards, filling her up and a chocked moan escaped her lips. The action surprised her enough to make her lose her balance but the pain of knocking foreheads with Orm never came. Instead, she found herself back up riding him and feeling herself coming closer to the edge. She looked down at him, but he seemed to be glowing and fading. The background noise became impossible to ignore.

Sevian woke up with a frustrated groan and turned off the alarm on her median on the nightstand. She wondered if the sound of the alarm had always been as annoying or if it had more to do with the interrupted dream. She rubbed her hands across her face; it had all been a dream. She had not invited Orm in nor had they slept together. Yet it had felt so real; his hands on her, the feel of his cock sliding in and out of her. Even after waking, she was still buzzing with hot arousal. She had been so close to climaxing in her dream. If only the alarm had rang a few minutes later.

She contemplated sliding her hands down, imagining him between her thighs and relieving herself of the pent-up desire. But Orm would arrive to pick her up for another day of discoveries. She did not have the time and it would make things more awkward than she knew it was going to be. It had been a long time since she had had a wet dream and they were not as fun when you had to spend copious amounts of waking hours with the subject of the dream.

***

She had not realised how tactile she had become with Orm over the course of three months until that day. She was now conscious of every movement she made towards him. More than a dozen times that day, she had had to stop herself from touching his arms when talking or when calling for his attention to something. It was not all on her though; it seemed he had a habit of standing very close to her. Close enough that they often touched and each time, Sevian could not help tensing or shifting away. It was not that she did not want to touch or be close to him. It was the exact opposite of that, every touch brought the memory of the dream to her thoughts.

"Sevian, Is something wrong?" Orm asked as they swam through an antiques marketplace. Sevian cursed internally, she had been trying her best for him not to notice that anything was amiss, but she had failed spectacularly.

"Nothing's wrong, Orm," she answered, smiling up at him and hoping he would take her answer at face value.

"Since this morning, you’ve been acting-" He paused, looking for the write word to describe her behaviour that day, "-distant. No matter what it is that is troubling you, you can confide in me. Maybe I could be of assistance?" She could hear the concern in his voice. She sighed, maybe telling him could help. Or she could also die of embarrassment.

"All right, I’ll tell you but it's embarrassing." She did not want to talk about it in public. There were so many people around that many would overhear their conversation. "Let's go back to the ship first." He nodded and they made their way back, he did not comment on how slow she swam back to the ship. She was just buying time and they were both aware of it.

Once they were both sited in Orm's ship. There was nothing else she could do to stall the inevitable, so she took a breath and told him about the dream. Every single detail about it, from her inviting him in to the almost orgasm. If she was going to die of embarrassment, she was not going to die alone. She also liked being honest with him.

Instead of embarrassment after hearing her story, he seemed pleased and it only confused her. Her face was hot, and her ears burned. "I think, it's completely natural for your subconscious to use me as an outlet. We do spend copious amounts of hours together almost every day and we have been intimate before," he said.

"Oh my god, you're enjoying this?" She asked in disbelief after noticing the unmistakable smugness on his face.

"Yes, I have to admit," he answered and began to laugh. It was infectious and she could not help but laugh as well. She had not needed to feel embarrassed about anything when it came to him, he was understanding, and the small talk had cleared the air between them. The rest of the day had them back to usual.

***

He walked her to her quarters at the end of the day as he always does. There was something she was curious about, something that had been on her mind for a few weeks. With how relaxed and in high spirits he looked at that moment. It seemed as good a time as any to ask about it.

"Do Atlanteans celebrate their birthdays?" She asked him.

"No, but Arthur does."

"Guess I'll fit right in," she said jokingly.

"What do you mean?"

"I somehow always end up spending my birthdays by myself." The night they met was one of the very few she had spent it with someone.

Her answer made him frown, it made him think of something Arthur had said to him while he had been confined. He knew her next birthday would be in two month’s time from her file, maybe he could do something to heighten her spirits on that day, "Arthur once told me that a birthday should not be spent alone. I'll spend your next birthday with you," he said and Sevian gasped. "If you would let me," he added softly. He just wanted her to know that he could be there if she allowed him to be.

She smiled brightly at him and raised a hand to hold his arm. "I would really like that." He raised a hand to lightly hold the hand on his arm. His hand over hers was warm to the touch, unlike the cool touch of the day they had met. It was a comforting touch and Sevian readily welcomed it. He was a good and caring friend to her. Why had she never found friends as good as he was on the surface? It did not matter anymore. Her past relationship failings had brought her to where she was, and she would not change a thing about it even if she could. "You have a good brother, Orm, and a good family."

"I have not always been so lucky when it comes to family but I consider myself lucky these days,” he said and Sevian wondered what he meant by having been unlucky in the past. “Your application said you have family as well. Are you close to them?” He asked and She took her hand back to rub the back of her neck. He wondered if he had said something wrong.

She sighed and laughed bitterly while turning to open her door, "Not really- Would you like to come in?" Remembering the conversation earlier in the day, she quickly added, "to talk. I don't really want to talk about my family in the hallway but it's alright if you don't want to hear about it. It's mostly just self-depreciation." She was rambling, perhaps a side effect of being friends with Alexis.

"I'd like to come in," he said and she sighed in relief.

She let him take a sit on the couch while she went to briefly greet Ori and Mari and to check up on them. Having made certain that they were fine, she went to ask Orm if he wanted something to drink. He politely refused which did not surprise her, Atlanteans did not seem to be big fans of drinking any liquids. She grabbed a glass of water for herself before sitting down beside him. You would expect having spent a whole day submerged in water would turn her off drinking it but talking about her family always dried up her throat. At the very least, it would help stop her from crying.

"Where to start-" she wondered out loud before deciding to start with, "I'm the youngest of four siblings," after that, the words seemed to flow out by themselves. She never had anyone to talk about these things with. It felt good to talk about it, liberating really. She did not know how long she spoke but Orm listened attentively without interrupting her. She spoke of how parental her mother had been with her recently, how much it confused her. "Does it make me a bad person to not be ready to forgive her yet?" She asked Orm.

"You're not a bad person. You do not have to forgive her past behaviour on any one’s terms. You'll forgive her when you are ready. Or not at all. Whatever your heart decides to do, no one should fault you for it," he said. His words did make her feel better but the way he spoke seemed from experience.

When she was finally done talking about her familial situation, she asked Orm what he had meant by having been unlucky in the past when it came to family. She wanted to get to know all of him and that included his past if he was willing to share it with her. All she knew about his family came from the news on the surface and it never went deeper into his story, it was only about King Arthur. It was evident in the way he sat up straighter and how his face tightened, that it was not a topic he was very fond of.

"It's alright if you don’t want to talk about it," Sevian said.

"No, I want you to know about it," Orm said and his face seemed to relax. She had trusted him with her past, he decided he could trust her with his. "My father, King Orvax, was a good king but he was not a good father nor a good man," he began, "It took seeing Arthur with his father to see that Orvax never truly loved nor cared for me. I'm sure you've taken notice of how much I look like my mother?" He asked.

Sevian nodded in affirmation. She did not want to interrupt him. She would listen to his story as attentively as he did hers.

"My resemblance to her went further than my appearance during my childhood. I had my mother's heart and personality as well. My father hated to be reminded of that. The sight of my hair and eyes alone irritated him. So, he made sure my hair was kept short and unassuming. I have no doubts that if he had the ability to change the colour of my eyes without his subjects asking questions, he would have. He instilled in me that Atlantis and the surface could never co-exist. He taught me to hate my brother. He made sure I knew that I was never doing enough to be a good heir to the throne." Orm paused and scoffed, "I could never please him so I tried my hand in everything I could. I perfected myself in as many subjects as possible. I did my best to be a good son, an exemplary crown prince. Despite all that, he never so much as gave me an 'I'm proud of you son'. But he was my father, I loved him and I believed that that was what familial love was. Cold and distant. Until I learned that it was not love at all."

The sensation of a liquid trailing down one eye came as a surprise to Orm. He touched the liquid with a finger then brought his hand to look at it. Tears, he would never get used to seeing them. The ocean was merciful enough to never let them see their own tears. He hoped it would not make Sevian think of him as weak. But as a soft hand came to wipe away the rest of the tears on his face, he realised that he should never worry about being vulnerable around her. She would not judge him in the same way he would not judge her for showing him her vulnerability. He let himself be pulled into a tight embrace by her and wrapped his arms around her. It was comforting. They both seemed to share a lonely upbringing and perhaps that helped them understand each other better.

They continued to converse until late that evening; he opened up about his reasons for having attacked the surface and she spoke of her unfortunate experience with friendships. A call for Orm from the cultural centre put a pause in their talks.  Sevian went to sit down on the bed to give him some form of privacy but it had been a long day and talking was an exhausting exercise. She ended up falling asleep only to be woken up later by Orm's voice telling her he was leaving.

“You could stay, the couch is comfortable and big enough to fit you. I'm sure I could find some clothes for you to change into," she suggested while sitting up. He was quiet for a moment, he seemed to be thinking it through.

“I’ll stay."

When Sevian opened her eyes again, this time to welcome a new day, it was to the sight of Orm in one of her purple bathrobes. He was sitting in the dining area, relaxed and reading a string of texts in Atlantean on his Median. The scene made her smile and for a short moment she wished she could wake up to a vision such as that every day, but she shook her head to keep that thought away from her mind. He seemed happy and knowing what he had gone through in his life, she believed he deserved to always be happy. He deserved happiness. Perhaps they both did.

Chapter Text

Belusis was one of the oldest, most ancient, cities of the Kingdom of Atlantis that still maintained most of its pre-deluge architecture, according to the information Sevian found in the palace library. It sounded like a living, breathing museum of archaeology and she had been intrigued to visit it from the moment she read about it.

She had not broached the subject of the ancient city with Orm yet. The city of Atlantis alone was larger than most countries on the surface, who knew how long it would take to fully be acquainted with it. She would wait until she finished reading about Belusis first before even thinking of asking Orm if she could go there. Thus, it came as a wonderful surprise when Orm spoke of it to her without her uttering a single word about it.

"I think you'd like it there," Orm had added after offering to take her to Belusis for a visit. He had come to know her likes and interests so well in their time together, it never ceased to surprise her.

She enthusiastically accepted Orm's offer and admitted to having been interested in visiting the ancient city. They could leave the very next day if she wanted to but as they planned for the departure at Orm's quarters; he frowned and put a pause on setting the time for the departure. Belusis was extremely cold, colder than Atlantis and much colder than a grand majority of the cities on the surface. It might prove to be an obstacle in their plans. Although knowing Sevian, she would still want to go. But he preferred to be certain.

"There is one thing that may not be mentioned in the records about the city that you need to know before we finalise our plans," He said and Sevian frowned, worried about what he had to say. She feared the worst, perhaps the Belusians were not fond of surfacers. And considering the havoc humanity had been wrecking on the seas, she would not exactly fault them.

Thankfully, it was something else entirely that Orm followed with, "Belusis' environment might be quite unpleasant for you for the first few hours you arrive."

"Unpleasant how?"

"Even with the environmental adjustments made to your physiology before coming to Atlantis, you will feel extremely cold for however long it will take your physiology to adjust to the harsher temperatures of Belusis. Do you still wish to go?" He asked softly.

"It's just a few hours, right?" She asked. Even if it was for the duration of the three weeks in Belusis, she would still wish to go. Besides, if it became too unbearable, they could always come back to Atlantis, Orm would not fault her for it.

"I believe so."

"Then I still want to go."

***

Belusis was not that far from Atlantis, no more than two hours with Orm’s ship. Despite the relatively short distance, the path got darker the farther away they went from the capital city. At the quarter-way path, the lights from Atlantis could no longer be seen and the bioluminescent flora and fauna of the ocean no longer brightened their surroundings until they were surrounded by complete and utter darkness. The only visible light came from the ship illuminating their path. The eeriness of the darkness raised the hairs on the nape of Sevian’s neck. Goosebumps raised from her skin and it had nothing to do with her feeling cold. There was something incredibly disturbing and frightening about not knowing what surrounded you.

She would not say she was afraid of the dark. But the vastness of the ocean and the sharks that kept passing in front of the ship’s lights made it different from being in a 'normal' darkened are. The marine life in the area, as seen from the front lights, was not easy to stomach either. They made her skin begin to crawl every time she caught a glimpse of them. The fact that she now also knew that actual dinosaurs still existed this far down the ocean only made her pulse run quicker. She gripped her seatbelts tight and closed her eyes. She concentrated on Orm’s presence besides her, reminding her that she was not alone, and he would not knowingly put her in danger. The route was safe, she just had to convince her mind of that.

Orm had seen how tightly Sevian had closed her eyes out of the corner of his eye. They still had some ways to go and he did not want the voyage to leave a bad memory in her mind. He mused on what to do to alleviate her fear and discomfort. An idea lit up in his mind; if he could find a way to distract her or prove to her that nothing could harm her in his presence, her fears would be no more.

The feeling of a gentle touch on her left knee made Sevian blink her eyes open. The touch did not linger but it was enough to have her turn to look at Orm who was still looking ahead. She noticed something about his eyes that she had not seen happen before; the blue of his eyes seemed to be glowing and his pupils were blown wide. "You are safe here with me," he said in a gentle tone.

"I know," she said but her grip on the seatbelts said otherwise. She was disappointed in herself for not being able to control her body's fight or flight reaction.

"You feel scared and It's perfectly understandable. Were it not for my eyes seeing our surroundings clearly, I would be fearful as well." She understood what he was trying to do, and it was working. The more he talked, the less frightened she became. "Would you like to meet Orchideas?" He asked.

"I'd love to," she answered with a smile and for a moment, she put her fears behind to replace it with enthusiasm. She relaxed her shoulders and lightened her grip. He was finally going to let her see his companion. Orm had mentioned before in passing that he had a pet, but he had never gone into detail about it other than its name. She wondered if it was in Belusis.

With a single thought, Orm called onto Orchideas to show herself. The smile slipped right out of Sevian's face when a tylosaurus swam in front of the ship. It was right in the spotlight of the ship’s lights. She let out a choked gasp and her heart began pounding harder. That was the exact animal she had feared would attack them and there it was. They were going to end up as tylosaur diner and she doubted there was anything their ship could do against the giant beast.

Orm's hand returned to her knee and squeezed lightly, "Don't be afraid. That is Orchideas, she loves to go wherever I happen to be."

"You have a pet tylosaur?!" Her fear was still there but it was blind-sided by utter disbelief. He nodded as answer. She now understood  why he thought Ori and Mari were food if dinosaurs were what counted as animal companions in the kingdom.

"She'll accompany us to the city. Trust me, she will not let anything hostile approach us," he continued to reassure her.

"How did she know when to show up?" She asked having not seen Orm use any device to contact the tylosaur, perhaps it had super hearing? After all, anything was possible in Atlantis.

"I'm not as adept as Arthur when it comes to communicating with marine life, but I can communicate with the occasional few if I concentrate hard enough. It's easiest with Orchideas."

"Atlanteans can talk to fishes?"

"No, just the direct descendants of the first ruler of Atlantis, King Atlan, can. It was a gift from Poseidon."

"A divine gift," she said, a smile returning to her face. She took a deep breath and slowly let go of her grip on the seatbelts, "Tell me about Orchideas?" He nodded and she could see his lips curling into a smile.

"She was my grandmother's companion before becoming mine," he began and Sevian relaxed into her seat to listen to him. He spoke of Orchideas' origin and their adventures together throughout the whole trip. It was clear in his tone how much he loved the beautiful yet frightening tylosaur. Their love for their pets seemed to be something they had in common. Sevian had not realised how long they had shared pet stories until Orchideas moved out of the ship light's pathway to reveal them approaching the bright lights of the city of Belusis.

Belusis was, if she were to put it in one word, different. Very different from the city of Atlantis. Not in a negative way but in a refreshing and mesmerizing way. At first glance, one could call it a city of lights. It was bright, almost blindingly so. It had taken Sevian a few moments before her eyes adjusted to the surroundings once they arrived in the city. But the light did not come from the sun. In fact, the light of the sun did not reach the depths of the city. The brightness came from the crystal lights of the buildings and monuments. All the structures retained the pre-deluge architecture of the Kingdom.

"Wow," she gasped in awe as she watched the scenery. She had uttered that word more often in the last few months than the past two and a half decades of her life. Orm smiled at her reaction and was now more than certain that she would love the city.

The difference between Atlantis and Belusis was also found in the Atlanteans from Belusis. The people of the newly visited city had webbed fingers and as they did not wear footwear, Sevian could see they also had webbed feet. But that was where the visible physical difference ended.

The moment they stepped out of the ship at the Belusis royal palace, a sudden chill went through her body. It felt like stepping into a freezer. She could barely stop her teeth from chattering, but she powered through it and did her best to ignore the cold. The royal home in the ancient city was just as impressive as the one in Atlantis; with high ceilings and wide hallways, except more modest in size. They were greeted by the palace staff and Orm's cousin with his husband and two children. His cousin was named Atlan, not after the first king but rather after Queen mother Atlanna. The two children seemed to be around the ages of five and three. They swam towards Orm the minute they had seen him, and a huge smile appeared on his face as he opened his arms for them. They held onto him even as they all walked towards the dining hall. For Sevian's part, she spoke to their parents, they were curious about the surface and how she found Belusis.

After a wonderful dinner with Orm's family, Orm led her to where they would stay. The royal home did not have any water free rooms and as it was going to be a short enough stay, it had been decided that she would stay in Orm's quarters. It had been her decision to stay with him as opposed to getting a room for herself on the other side of the palace. It also had a lot to do with her knowing the city was surrounded by black despite the brightness inside it. She felt safer being near him and he found them staying together to be more practical in terms or coordinating their outings.

***

Sevian tossed and turned in her bed for what felt like hours. As hard as she tried counting sheep, she still could not sleep. She was shivering from her body not being adjusted to the environment yet. She pulled the covers tighter around herself to try and get warmer, but it did not work. At around 1 a.m. she groaned and sat up, having given up on getting any warmer. She was tired and needed to sleep. There was only one thing she could do.

She turned to look at Orm’s sleeping form on the bed a few feet beside hers. His face was relaxed, and it made him look younger. She got up and swam the short distance to his bed. He slowly opened his eyes when she lightly tapped his shoulders.

“Something wrong?” He asked sleepily.

“It’s still cold. Can I sleep with you?” He blinked a few times, seemingly confused by the question for a moment. She chuckled lightly, he looked adorable when sleepy. He slowly moved back on the bed and simply pulled down the covers for her to get in.

“Thanks.” She got in and faced the other side before closing her eyes, “I kind of need your arms around me to get your body heat,” she added, hoping Orm would agree to help her out. If he did not agree to it, it would be fine too. She could probably get some form of heat by simply sharing the bed.

“Hmm,” came his voice, almost next to her ear, “all right.” She felt an arm slide under her head and another wrapping around her waist. He pulled her flush against him and she sighed in relief at the warmth that began to engulf her. It was not much but he was warmer than the water around them. Curling in on his body, she pulled up the covers over them both and then held onto the arm on her waist. She welcomed the comfort of his touch and finally felt sleep coming to her.

***

Orm woke up with his arms around Sevian in the same position as the night before. They had both been tired enough to not move a muscle in their sleep. Her back was plastered against his front. A buzz of want ran through him as he made to move and accidentally brushed his morning arousal against her behind. He carefully detached himself from her, careful not to wake her.

Choosing to ignore his arousal, he decided to read a book from his Median. A morning ritual he never missed to do. For him, an hour of reading was the best way to begin the day. He had barely began diving into the story he was reading when Sevian turned around and curled against his side, her head laying on his chest and one leg thrown dangerously across his hips. Her thigh unintentionally rested on his cock and he could not help the hum of arousal that went down to his skin and bones. The slight shifting of her leg every now and then did not make it any easier to withstand. He could no longer concentrate on his book; his entire focus was on the pressure against his hardened cock and the body against his. Despite the bittersweet torture he was going through, he did not push her away, she had had difficulties with sleeping due to the cold and she would need the rest. A selfish part of him enjoyed the closeness. He sighed and raised a hand to rest on her hair, it was going to be a long morning.

When Sevian woke two hours later, she had already shifter back to facing away from Orm and had had no knowledge of what she had done in her unconscious state.

***

For the weeks that they spent in Belusis, Sevian found the bright city to be a goldmine of wonder. Even more than Atlantis, it was a city that was one with nature. There were not that many ships and most of the people rode oddly looking dolphin like creatures, seahorses and on the rare occasion, thankfully for her heart, sharks.

It was also a romantic city; the calm atmosphere, the bright colours, the ancient architecture, and lovers were much more affectionate in public as opposed to Atlantis. Had it been on the surface, Belusis would have given Paris a run for its money.

If she were to get married someday, she would want to return to Belusis for her honeymoon. The thought had conjured Orm’s face in her mind and she came to realise that despite not being lovers; being there with Orm, having him show her around, explaining things to her and experiencing all the wonders the city had to offer with her, had made those few weeks a wonderful experience that would leave beautiful memories. Beautiful memories that would last a lifetime.

Chapter Text

As beautiful a city as Belusis had been, Sevian's heart filled with warmth when she caught sight of the lights of Atlantis on their way back. The relief she experienced surprised her; it had felt like coming back home. Although it was not her home. Not really. They approached the bright and ever so busy underwater highway bridge leading to customs and their travelling companion, Orchideas began moving away from their ship; Sevian waved goodbye at her and hoped that the terrifyingly beautiful creature had seen it. Orm chuckled lightly at her actions, Orchideas had seen her wave and had been slightly confused by the action.

"Orchideas says she looks forward to seeing you again," he said.

"Tell her I hope to see her again too."

"You will."

Passing customs had been a quick affair thanks to Orm's diplomatic pass, "Welcome back, your highness," the guards had said before letting them pass through.

The two travellers had a quiet dinner at a restaurant near the palace before going back to their respective quarters. Sevian was not particularly looking forward to the upcoming week, she would not be able to see Orm at all. He had work to catch up on and meetings to attend. It would be odd to not see him for that long. She had gotten used to his constant presence around her.

The following morning, on her way to get breakfast at the dining hall with Alexis by her side, she saw a familiar face waiting by the dining hall's door.

"Good morning Dr. Lanna, it's been a while," she greeted the purple eyed Atlantean, her voice not hiding the surprise of seeing him. She did not think she would ever see him again.

"Morning Dr. Lanna," Alexis greeted him as well. It seemed that he too knew the doctor. He had also been the one who had given Alexis his physical examination before Alexis' journey to Atlantis.

"Good morning Ms. Dilac, Mr. Hernandez. It is good to see you both again," he said, remembering that surfacers preferred to be addressed by their surnames when it came to acquaintances.

"Good to see you too, Doctor," Sevian and Alexis said at the same time.

"Just call me Sevian," Sevian added with a smile that Lanna returned. Ms. Dilac just felt a bit too formal and Atlantean tended to refer to others by their first names.

"Yeah, call me Alexis too,” Alexis said. "So, what bring you to these dry parts?" He asked and Sevian was equally interested in the doctor’s answer. Perhaps he was there to talk to the humans about something wrong with the serum in their bodies. She sincerely hoped it was nothing that serious.

"My life partner, Rena, is one of the palaters assigned here, I'm waiting for her," he answered and Sevian let out a mental sigh of relief, he was just there for a mundane task. A palater was the Atlantean version of a cook, considering that there was not much 'cooking' that could be done underwater, the term 'palater' made sense to Sevian; they did arrange, combine and prepare the food in a way that stimulated their palates in the best way possible. "Would you two like to join us for lunch at our home?" He asked in invitation.

Both Alexis and Sevian agreed, it would be interesting to visit an Atlantean home that was not a royal dwelling. They talked of mundane things while they waited for Rena to arrive. The doctor or Lanna as he had preferred to be called, was surprisingly very talkative, it was a trait he and Alexis seemed to share. Rena finally came out of the hall a few short minutes after Lanna's invitation. She was a tall, red-haired woman with seaweed green eyes. She had been quite happy about them visiting their home. She had told them that she quite liked having guests around.

The home was in itself only a ten-minute swim from the palace. They lived on the middle floor of a bright blue building. Their home was vast and modest; according to Lanna, it was a standard apartment size in Atlantis. Sevian had no doubts that a home such as theirs would cost an arm and a leg back up on the surface. As they had lunch and shared stories with one another, Sevian found Rena and Lanna to be good people with a somewhat dark sense of humour. She was glad to have accepted Lanna's invitation. It seemed that a new friendship was in the cards.

***

The news of Arthur deciding to reinstate Orm as the head of the kingdom’s military was not one that surprised Orm. His brother knew him to be the most suited for the role; no one cared for the security of the kingdom more than Orm did and he had done more than a perfect job of keeping it safe when he had been king. The royal council had been pressuring Arthur to pick a permanent head of the military. Perhaps they had been pressuring him because Captain Murk, the current temporary head, had been quite vocal in his lack of desire to keep the position permanently. The Atlantean had told the council on many occasions that he believed only Prince Orm deserved that position. Arthur would have been offended if he had not already made his decision. The captain’s unshakable loyalty to his brother worried him at times but the man was respectful to the crown and Arthur. He decided that it was time to make his choice clear.

“Captain Murk will continue to handle the security of the kingdom until the end of the year. I think we can all agree he’s been doing a great job so far. After that, my brother will retake his place as the Admiral.” The shock from the council after his statement was met by gasps. Arthur wondered why they were surprised by his decision, why would he not pick the most qualified person?

“Your brother? Prince Orm Marius?” Someone asked from somewhere in the middle of the council hall. The question made Arthur just stare at the man, wondering if the man had consulted his brain before asking such a question.

“Do I have another brother?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. He had given them what they wanted, an admiral for the kingdom’s forces. Yet he could see their tight faces, some poorly hiding their shock and others trying too hard to look uncaring.

“Not afraid I’ll use the military to overthrow you, Arthur?” Orm asked with a smirk from besides Arthur. The atmosphere of the hall became tense but Arthur simply laughed, again shocking everyone in the council except for Captain Murk who knew for a fact that the prince was only joking. It made him smile to see how close his prince had gotten to the king. His smile widened when he realised that Orvax must be seething in Tartarus knowing his son finally had his brother by his side. A brother that clearly loved Orm.

Arthur wrapped an arm around Orm’s shoulders, with the biggest smile on his face, he turned to look at Orm and said, “I trust in you, little brother.” A term that in the past unnerved Orm, now only filled him with happiness since they kindled their relationship. He saw a mischievous glint in Arthur’s eyes before he pulled him closer and ruffled his hair before letting go. Orm just sighed and rolled his eyes. The man was clearly trying to give the council members a heart attack and looking at a few of the said members, it was clearly working.

Orm and Murk were on their way to the barracks research centre but from the moment they had left the council meeting, Orm had yet to raise his eyes from his Median. "You miss your charge?" Murk asked his friend in amusement.

"Hmm." Orm finally looked away from his device, he had been replying to a message from Sevian. "Perhaps, I do," he answered Murk’s question with a smirk. The admission carried with it a stark reminder that his time with Sevian had a deadline. But be it as it may, he would not give up on their friendship. Even if he would have to visit her on the surface from time to time.

"I love it when you make new friends," Murk said with a smile. The two had grown up together but had only truly cultivated their friendship after King Orvax's death. But even then, it had been difficult for him to let others in. 'A king's only friend is his trident' and 'A prince of Atlantis has no use for friends, he needs only allies he can make use of' were the beliefs pushed onto him in his childhood. Until his imprisonment, Murk, his trusted captain, had been the only person he had truly considered to be a friend. Then after the imprisonment came others that Orm now trusted almost as much as he did Murk. The Captain loved seeing Orm being surrounded by people who care for him and loved him. Most of all, people that made the prince happy. And this Sevian- Murk paused his thoughts to glance at Orm smiling as he sent a voice message to his charge- evidently made him happy.

***

The night before she would get to see Orm again, Sevian was having dinner with Alexis and Rena at her quarters when she finally caught onto a cultural faux-pas she had unknowingly committed months ago. It had been a fun evening with Rena having them taste-test her new recipes centred on Atlantean silver plums. The fruit had reminded Alexis of a misunderstanding he had had with his guide, Acantha.

"She asked for a plum out of the fruit box I was carrying. She was driving the ship and her hands were occupied so I just took one plum and put it in the general direction of her mouth, " he paused and then sighed. Rena let out a gasp, her eyebrows raising and eyes widening. Sevian wondered if she had missed something, did Alexis say something shocking that she did not notice? “She reared back so hard when she saw my hand near her mouth that the ship only narrowly missed crashing into a building. She looked so offended, I was scared she was going to throw me out of the ship and make me swim back to the palace. I didn't even know what I had done wrong."

"Was the plum spoiled or something?" Sevian asked, still not understanding what had caused such a reaction from Alexis' guide.

"No, she told me that eating from someone's hand was mostly reserved for life-partners and married couples."

"It is a sign of heartfelt trust in one's lover," Rena added as explanation and the more she explained, the more Sevian could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment at the memory of her feeding Orm a grape. The origin of the action's meaning, as Rena told them, stemmed from the pre-deluge era when the preferred method of eliminating one’s enemies was not to poison the food directly. In order to avoid poison being detected, people laced their own hands with poison then fed their enemies with those same hands in guise of offering them food. Yet, despite the cultural implications, Orm had simply accepted the fruit she had pressed against his lips without any negative reaction whatsoever. He did have a human brother; he must have thought it was just human oddity. But it was nice to think that perhaps he trusted her that much.

Alexis and Rena stayed the night and they had the previous night’s leftover fruits for breakfast the following morning. After the palater had left, Alexis surprised Sevian with a kiss. She realised it had been a mistake as soon as it had begun, it had little to do with how good or bad a kisser he was and a lot to do with something being amiss. He had not tasted quite right, there was no mildly salty taste to him. His scent was equally amiss, it was that of fresh coffee; an objectively good scent but it was not what she desired. The kiss roused no passion from her the way it would have had it been- she stopped that train of thought and pulled away from Alexis. She did not feel anything beyond friendship for the brunette.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Alex, that should not have happened."

"You kissed me back," he stated in confusion.

"Yeah, I know." She had kissed him back out of curiosity, trying to see if she could push back against the sentiment of wrongness.

"You don't want there to be anything more between us?"

How could there be anything more when she felt no Eros for him? She could not want more with him when she had been thinking of someone else whilst kissing him. "Do you?" She asked hoping that perhaps it was all a misunderstanding and she was not about to hurt his feelings by turning him down.

"I like you and I thought that maybe you liked me too."

"I do like you," she paused trying to find the right words to use. She hated the irony of the situation; all her life, she had wanted to be wanted and here was a good man who did want her. But, she did not want him. "But only as a friend." She hoped her rejection would not ruin their relationship. Although she would understand if he needed some space from her.

Alexis sighed and then smiled at her, "It's alright. Can I get a hug?" He seemed to be taking it well. If she had had doubts before, the hug cemented that she preferred this sort of affection from him more than she did the kiss. He was a good friend and it was comforting to think that maybe he might still want to continue to be.

***

On his way to get Sevian for the opening day of the Red Coral festival, a month-long fighting, intellect and athleticism competition; Orm saw a dark-haired man leaving her room. He recognised him as Sevian's friend Alexis. The man walked quietly in the opposite direction from Orm. He knew for a fact that Sevian was not a morning person, so seeing such an early visitor was strange.

Without checking the screen panel next to her door to see who had chimed, Sevian opened it thinking it was Alexis, “Forget something, Alex?” She asked before looking up and seeing a face she had longed to see in person for the past few days. “Hey Orm, Come in.”

“Hello Sevian,” he greeted with a small smile, letting her lead him inside with a hand on his wrist. His eyes quickly caught on to the messed-up bed and he raised an eyebrow. Could it be that Alexis had not been leaving following an early morning but a late night instead? The sudden heaviness in his chest at the thought was unexpected.

Sevian saw his quick glance at her bed and had she not been used to his expressions; she would have missed the questioning look in his eyes. She did not want him to misunderstand the situation. “It’s not what it looks like. Nothing happened.”

“I didn’t say it looked like anything.” She did not have to explain herself to him. She was free to be with whomever she wished to be and he would be happy for her. But she told him nothing took place and he believed her. He was not about to deny how her statement eased the odd sentiment of heaviness in his chest.

"Ok, good." She patted his arms then went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready and Orm sat on the couch to wait for her.

"Alex, about this morning, I really like you and I meant it when I said we should stay friends. I'll understand if you maybe want some space. I'm sorry I couldn’t return your feelings." He had not meant to eavesdrop on the message Sevian just sent to Alexis, there was not much he could do to dampen his hearing range. He did feel sympathy for Alexis, unrequited feelings were painful to go through. He decided to pass the time waiting for her by watching her pet goldfish. The small creatures were quite amusing to observe and seeing them almost daily had made it hard, if not outright impossible, to eat goldfish anymore. Every time he tried to eat one, he kept remembering Ori and Mari; needless to say, he now no longer ate his once favourite meal.

Orm was still watching them when Sevian approached him. "I'm done," she said, grasping his shoulders. He turned to look at her with a smile. The urge for Sevian to lean down and press her lips against his was almost overpowering; he truly was a beautiful person. She doubted there was anyone out there who would not feel tempted to simply kiss him. Her mind quietly reminded her that Alexis too could be considered a handsome man and yet she had felt no desire for him. She shook her head and tried to convince her self that the only reason she felt such a desire to kiss Orm was because the Atlantean had pretty lips. Orm had no lover; that much he had told her months ago and that revelation still baffled her. He was not only captivating, he had a good intentioned heart, a loyalty to his people that she greatly admired and he had an addictive touch. Truly, how was it that he was still unattached?

“I missed you,” she said, smiling back down at him. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. Belusis had more than bettered their relationship. The prince had grown more open with his affections towards her and Sevian more than welcomed that development in their friendship. She tried to not think too hard on how her heart beat ever the little bit faster each time he was the one to initiate an embrace.

"I missed you too," he said softly against her ear.

***

The Red Coral Festival took place at a grand colosseum, much larger than that of the Junior Trident Championship. Orm had reserved their seating arrangements early enough for them to get a place in the lower mid-section of the arena; an optimal area to see the festivities without having to look at the large holographic screens high up in the arena. Sevian saw Rena and Lanna seated three rows above them and she waved at them. She could not see Alexis around even though she knew he was there too but she did see a few surfacers around the arena.

At the start of the festival, there was an announcement made that the ten years undisputed champion, Prince Orm Marius would not participate that year due to being on probation. The announcement was met with a sound of disappointment across the arena but it turned into sounds of cheer when his return was promised for the following year. The love the Atlanteans had for their prince was truly fascinating to observe.

Despite the excitement going around the coliseum, Orm did not seem as excited as everyone else. He had crossed his arms and there was a sullen look in his eyes. If she had not come to know him as well as she thought she had in these past few months, she would have misunderstood his lack of enthusiasm as him wanting to be somewhere else. But if there was one thing Sevian knew about him, it was his love for cultural events and competition.

“You okay?” she asked him in concern.

He nodded then sighed, “It feels odd to be a part of the audience and not the competitors.”

She gave him a small smile in understanding. She reached towards him and slowly uncrossed his arm. He raised an eyebrow in question but let her do so without resistance. “Think of this year’s festival as a chance to just enjoy it and size up your potential competitors for next year,” she said, still lightly holding onto one of his hands.

“I could do that.” Remembering that this could possibly be the first and last time he would get to observe the festival with Sevian, he held onto the hand in his tighter. He did not want their only memory of the event to be tainted by him feeling sorry for himself. He let himself relax and decided to follow her suggestion of simply enjoy the festival.

With luck, during a short break in the festivities, Rena and Lanna managed to convince the two people seated next to Sevian to exchange seats with them. She introduced them to Orm but they already knew of each other: Lanna was one of the palace staff doctors and Rena was a “former” Red Coral competitor who frequently ranked in the top twenty. To rank that high out of tens of thousands, Sevian was in awe of both Orm and Rena's capabilities. The redhead was not participating that year because of her work at the palace.

"Are you two lovers?" Rena whispered to Sevian in question when Orm was in full discussion with another former competitor that had approached him.

"No, we're only friends," she whispered back to her, leaning in so Orm did not over hear.

"Hmm, then why are your eyes always full of shine and wonder when you look at the prince?"

"I- " Sevian opened her mouth to answer but then closed it. Frankly, what was she supposed to say in response? "He's very beautiful to look at," she decided to whisper back with a nod.

"Now I've only seen you with him for the first time today but you touch far more intimately than friends do." Rena said and she pointedly glanced at Sevian's hand that was casually resting on Orm's upper thigh. She followed the redhead's eyes to the position of her hand; she had not even noticed when she had moved it there, she felt self-conscious and was tempted to move it away but if she did, Orm might notice and hear their conversation. But what she was unaware of was that he could hear all that was being said between her and Rena despite their hushed whispers. Most Atlanteans knew how good a hearing Orm had and he had no doubts that all the palace staff knew of it so he wondered why she was having such a discussion with him in the vicinity. He knew his friendship with Sevian was atypical and he was aware there were boundaries that they sometimes crossed but it worked for them. He tried his best to tune the conversation out but it was in vain.

"You seem enthralled by him," Rena said. The bluntness in the manner she said those words made it difficult for Sevian to tell her she was mistaken. She decided to go with truth.

"I am attracted to him because really, who wouldn't be? But what Orm and I have is simply an affectionate friendship." That was all there was to it, at least that was what she tried to convince herself of but deep down she knew there was perhaps something more between them and honestly, so did Orm.

Chapter Text

Sevian firmly believed that art, in all its forms, including dance and music were gateways to better understanding a culture. You could learn a lot about the mentality and values of a civilisation through their music and how they interpret it with their bodies. After six months, she could proudly say that she now had familiarity with Atlantean music and dance thanks to the multiple festivals and art performances Orm had taken her to. But she thought that partaking in the art itself, learning it from a native of the culture, could give her a clearer and more personal understanding of their culture.

Orm had offered to be the one to teach her as he had already mastered many of the traditional dances. She began to realise the extent of what he had meant when he had told her that he had perfect himself in as many things as he could. She felt angered on his behalf that despite all Orm's efforts, Orvax had never expressed pride in his only child.

For the next few days, she decided that she would be the one to go to Orm for their daily meet ups for a change. He would be instructing her at his quarters, and it would save them time to just have her go to him. The excitement of starting their dance lessons made her arrive at his quarters almost an hour earlier than she was supposed to arrive. Still, he was quick to open his door for her.

"Morning Sevian, you're early," he said with a raised eyebrow but stepped aside to let her in.

"Just excited to start," she said, tapping his shoulders in greeting before moving inside. The scent of Angelos Mov was strong in his quarters and he was still wearing a bathrobe. She hoped she had not interrupted him while he was bathing, although the thought brought flashes of bare skin to her mind and she quickly diverted her attention to the active hologram from Orm's computer further inside the room. He must have been working on something before she arrived, she could not tell from the hologram what it was exactly, but it resembled fragments of metal.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Orm asked as they both moved towards the computer hologram.

"Not yet," she answered looking at the fragments, trying to decipher what they were.

"Neither have I. I'll turn that off then we can eat," he said pointing at the hologram then at the covered food in the dining area.

"I'm not hungry yet. I'm early anyways so I could read something while you continue working on that," she said, gesturing towards the fragments.

He nodded, "There was a part I wanted to finish before breakfast. But you can stop me whenever you feel like eating," he said and lightly brushed a hand against the nape of her neck. No matter how often he did that, she did not think she would ever get used to the shivers that would go through her body each time. He went to stand by the computer and began working on the hologram, he seemed to be drawing something on the fragments. She went to sit by the couch closest to him and split her attention between reading and watching him work. There was a different kind of attractiveness in Orm when he was working in full concentration that Sevian never got tired of seeing. Her eyes stayed on him as he began placing the fragments together to form a trident. But it had a small circular hole in the centre. The hole looked purposefully made and not the result of something unfinished. Perhaps it was not a trident she saw, and it was just a similar arm.

"What were you working on?" She asked during breakfast.

"I was finishing the design for my new trident," he replied. She had seen it correctly after all. Sevian glanced at Orm's trident by the door; it looked nice enough and well designed. "The royal blacksmith will make it and my brother will give it to me officially once it's done."

"You don't want the trident you have now?"

"The trident I have now was my grandmother's and as much as I am proud to be wielding it, I want one that is my own," he paused and gave her a small smile, "Additionally, If Arthur were to have a child, tradition would expect me to hand over the trident to the child."

"Was the hole in it an aesthetic?" She had to ask, she had seen a lot- a hell of a lot of tridents in Atlantis and none of them had holes in them. It might have just been a way for Orm to make his trident unique.

He laughed softly before answering, "No, it's not for aesthetic reasons. Once Arthur gives me the trident, a part of my soul will be transferred into the trident to fill the empty space in it."

'Wait what?' "A part of your what now?" She must not have heard him correctly.

"Don't worry, it's a very small part of my soul." So, she did hear him well the first time. It was hard for her to wrap her head around it. Having a part of your soul removed did not sound fun. In fact, it sounded like a recipe for suffering.

"Will it hurt?"

"No, it is meant to be painless," he tried to reassure her. The concern she had for him made him feel oddly happy. She hoped for his sake that it was truly going to be painless. "In fact, all tridents carry a piece of the original owner's soul." It was sweet in a way; that a piece of someone's being would continue to live on even after death.

After breakfast, Orm moved the living room furniture against the walls to give them space for their dance lessons. He exerted no effort at all; it was a reminder for Sevian that as human as the ocean dwellers looked at times, they were not exactly built the same way as surfacers. The reminder did not frighten her, it was simply a fact of life, but she had to admit to herself that she was a bit envious of how strong they were. She would have probably slipped all the disks in her spine if she had tried to move half the stuff Orm just did. Perhaps a former king was not the best Atlantean to compare her average human strength with. Although she was pretty sure, at least ninety-nine percent sure, an Atlantean kid could bench press an adult human effortlessly.

When it came to teaching the traditional dances, Orm was an unsurprisingly meticulous and strict teacher. "You have to be precise in your movements or you might end up hurting your dance partner," he had told her on more than one occasion when she accidentally kept knocking her arms against his chest.

Atlantean dances had fascinated her in how they resembled choreographed fighting mixed with ballroom dancing. There was not much touching between the dance partners except for the occasional hand holding to switch positions or to spin. The strict manner in Orm's instructions made sense to her, if the prince did not have the quick reflexes he had, she would have already poked him in the eyes. Despite the strictness, he took the time to explain each movement to her and allowed them to take breaks every hour. She could not have asked for a better teacher.

***

On the morning of her birthday, Sevian arrived at Orm's quarters for their lesson as usual. But after Orm had let her in, he removed the water from the area. All their dance lessons needed water thus Sevian met the new change with confusion. Before she could ask Orm the why, he raised his right hand to Sevian's line of vision to reveal a small box in his hands. She blinked once, then twice in disbelief. It could not be could it?

She turned off her mask to make sure it was really something that looked very much like a present in Orm's hands. It had an actual purple and silver wrapper. She did not mean to stare at the object without uttering a word, she was overwhelmed by the possibility that it might truly be a present for her. She could count on one hand the amount of birthday presents she had ever received.

"Arthur said presents are a surface birthday tradition," he said after noting her quiet demeanour and lack of visible reaction. Orm had really remembered her birthday and gotten her a present. She finally snapped out of her stupor and covered the hand with the gift with both her hands.

"Thank you," she said with a wide smile before accepting the offered gift. She noted the heaviness once it left his hand and it raised her curiosity of what was inside. She carefully unwrapped it to reveal a small black metallic box. What she found in the box was a golden open-end cuff bracelet with an Atlantean symbol at its centre. The openings were two detailed goldfish with red gems for eyes. On the inner part of the goldfish was engraved Ori on one goldfish and Mari on the other. It was, in two words: breath-taking. It was not a generic gift, Orm had put a genuine effort to find a personalized gift and Sevian had to take a deep breath to keep the incoming tears of happiness at bay.

"I love it, thank you so much, Orm," she said and with the bracelet clenched tightly in one hand, she threw her arms around him to pull him into a bear hug. Orm let out a sigh of relief and smiled fondly at her, he had worried for a moment that he had been wrong to listen to Arthur. She finally let go when she had gained more control over her tear ducts.

She wordlessly handed him the bracelet and offered her right wrist for him to put it on. His fingers grazed her hand and wrist. The touch, as small and as tame as it was, set her body alight. It was far from the hugs or touches they regularly shared but the simple action had brought a kind of excitement in her skin and bones that she had not felt since the night they met. It was not erotic in nature, no, she was simply happy. Overwhelmingly so. "Your friends Alex, Lanna and Rena will be joining us for breakfast today," he said letting her wrist go. He hoped Arthur was right again in saying birthday meals were equally a tradition for surfacers. He had been unsure of which mealtime would be correct and he did not want to press his brother further, so he decided on breakfast.

Sevian had not told any of the three friends about her birthday so that meant- she looked up at Orm with wide eyes as she realised that he had gone as far as to arrange a birthday get-together with those he knew she cared about. This time around she could not exercise control of her joy. She pulled Orm into another tight hug and without thinking about it or even planning on doing it, she kissed him. It was quick and more of a peck that a kiss, she barely registered what she had done. Orm was not left unaffected by it, the warmth that had been filling his chest since she opened her present was now everywhere. There was a desire in him to kiss her again properly and not let her go when she pulled back.

"This is one of the best birthday's I've ever had,“ she said.

"One of?" He asked with a playful smile. It was as if what could only be considered a touch of lips had transferred the joy she felt unto him. He found himself unable to stop smiling.

"Don't worry, it's fighting for first against my first birthday with Mari and Ori and my birthday night with you". He felt an odd sort of smugness in knowing that two of the best birthdays she had ever had had been spent with him. When he thought of all she had been through, he was glad he was able to make her feel joyous during her special days.

Her fingers traced the Atlantean symbol on the bracelet, it was not familiar in any way. It did not resemble anything she had seen in town or anywhere in Atlantis really. Perhaps it meant friend but then again, she had already seen the symbols relating to the word 'friend' and the cancelled 'G' like symbol she touched looked nothing like them. "What does this symbol stand for?"

"Cherished," he answered. Her heart jumped to her throat.

"I'm cherished by you?" she asked softly, almost too soft to hear but even so, Orm did not skip a bit in his reply.

"Yes, is that alright?"

"Yeah," did he even have to ask? It was more than alright. To know that she occupied a space big enough in his heart to be cherished was the greatest gift anyone had ever given her. "I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am at this exact moment," she said, her voice cracking and wetness filling her eyes. Before she could wipe her tears, Orm raised his hands and while smiling warmly at her, he wiped the tears away with his fingers. "I'm sorry, I’m just a bit overwhelmed."

"There's nothing to apologize for," he retorted. His hands still held her face and he let her lean into his touch. "Would you like a glass of water? You said it helps you calm down."

"No-no, it's fine. I've just never been told that I mattered that much to someone," she admitted to him then took a deep breath. "For what it's worth, I cherish you too."

***

Her friendship with Alexis had not been damaged irreparably by his confession and her rejection, although it had taken two weeks until he had spoken to her again. Seeing him at her birthday breakfast, acting like his old self lifted the worried knot that had been in her gut. She was glad to not have lost him, she cared about him and he was a beloved friend. The breakfast went well and Orm surprised her by joining in on their conversations. Rena had even baked her a small birthday cake but after the three Atlanteans had grimaced after tasting the sweet desert, it became evident that Atlanteans did not have a sweet tooth at all and the two surfacers ended up finishing the cake by themselves.

What Orm had failed to tell her was he had coordinated to have all her friends free that day but Rena had told Sevian halfway through breakfast about the strings he had had to pull to make sure both her and Lanna had someone to cover their day off. She was touched by the effort he put in to make sure she spent the day with the people she loved and who she hoped- was starting to believe- loved her back.

They made their way to the shark field park on the outskirts of the city after their meal. He wanted to help Sevian overcome her fear of sharks and what better way to do that than a place where children and adults alike learned how to approach, handle and ride sharks. He believed having her friends around would make it easier for her to at least try and face her fears and he was right. The park was filled with people riding sharks or others just swimming besides them. There were sharks everywhere you looked and Sevian had yet to take her hand of Orm's arm since they arrived. If he had been human, he'd probably be in pain by how tight she gripped him.

Despite her fear, she followed the trainer, a tall and lanky Atlantean woman, that Orm introduced them to. The trainer began by giving them a speech on shark behaviour, "Never turn you back on a shark that has made eye contact with you and is making its way towards you until it changes direction. If it is coming towards you, move away while still looking at it but do so slowly and never make sudden movements in its presence," she instructed as they approached a saw shark. The instructions were mostly directed to the two surfacers in the group. As far as introduction to sharks went, a saw shark would not have been Sevian's first choice but the only way to overcome her fear was to face it.

Being in the field turned out to be much more fun than she had expected, the fear was there but there was excitement amid it. They ended up spending the day there and she had used all her courage to ride the sharks. Alexis had done it easily and it had awed her. They had dinner together at the restaurant by the field but when it was time to leave, Sevian decided to go back and attempt to ride a shark again and this time without fear. She bid Alexis, Lanna and Rena goodbye, thanking them for being with her on her birthday but Orm had decided to stay as moral support.

It took many tries but, in the end, it was worth it as she rode a hammerhead around the field by herself, remembering every instruction the trainer had given her. She wore a bright smile on her face as she finally arrived back at the starting point of the circuit. She had done it; she had overcome her fear. She could see the proud smile on Orm's face when the shark finally stopped by the trainer.

"You've done well," the trainer said to her while helping her off.

"You were a great teacher," she told him. They said their goodbyes and she made her way to Orm who already had his arms open for the hug he knew she was going to give him.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to overcome one of my fears," she said to him quietly, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled against her temples. "It takes strength to overcome your fears, good job, Sevian," he said. Her touched raised a fire in him but at the same time, it grounded him and made him feel like he was 'home'. When he had seen the bright smile on her face when she had finally overcome her fear, it had struck a chord in his heart and he had finally understood what it was that he had been denying he was feeling for a long time. He wondered if the gods purposefully kept him untouched until he met her.

Of all the shorelines of the Atlantic Ocean, what had been the odds of them meeting at a random shoreline and being what the other had needed at that exact moment? If Mera had never betrayed him, he would have never had a reason to aimlessly wander out of the ocean. He never would have met Sevian. He would have missed the chance to know of her existence, to touch her, to hold her and to befriend her. In a way he was thankful for Mera's betrayal.

Sevian slowly pulled back and looked up at him, a small smile on her face. As he looked at her at that moment, more than the desire to be with her and only her in the most carnal of ways; he wished to always bring her happiness and keep her safe. He would be a fool to deny that he had, without trying to, fallen in love with Sevian Dilac. But he did not wish to ruin what they had; he would keep his feelings to himself for now. He thought she felt the same as he did, but he would not assume without her saying it. If there was to be something between them, it would have to be on her terms.

Chapter Text

Being back in the throne room was a bittersweet experience not only for Sevian but for most of the surfacers in the room. The king had called for a meeting with all of them and their guides to mark the halfway point of the Cultural Exchange program. It was already past that point and it was hard to come to terms with the fact that soon enough, they would have to make a choice of whether to stay or to go back. They might have to say goodbye to those they had come to consider friends and for some- family.

For Sevian's part, she did not need five other months to make a decision. She had already decided to ask the king to let her stay after the program was over. In just half a year, Atlantis had felt more like a home than the land ever did in twenty-six years.

"The decision to remain in Atlantis or not won't come easily. I know some of you have not only befriended your guides but you've also forged a bond with others in this kingdom. Whatever you may choose to do, there will always be a place for the thousand of you in Atlantis. In these past few months, there has been a unity between our people that would have been unthinkable less than a year ago. I'd like to thank all of you for making this Cultural Exchange program a successful work in progress." The king continued to speak of how the exchange had gone beyond his expectations but even as Sevian listened to him, her eyes refused to leave Orm's form. He looked ethereal in his purple and silver armour.

When it came to be his turn to speak, a fond smile lit up her face. As head of the Cultural Exchange team, he had done a good job in keeping the peace between the surfacers and their guides. Sevian could not have been prouder of him.

Sevian did not leave the room after the meeting had ended; Orm had asked her to stay. He would be receiving his new trident from Arthur today. The room had emptied until only Sevian, the royal council, the royal family and a few members of the military had been left behind. Sevian had swam to the side where the military members had been to vacate the centre platform; she had not dared to go to the side where the royal council members were. They had stared at her with barely hidden indignation when they had noticed a surfacer still in the room. The military members had unexpectedly seemed more welcoming.

It had been a straight forward and quick enough ceremony; Orm had knelt in front of Arthur with his hands raised, palms up, and Arthur had placed the new trident in Orm’s hands with a bright smile on his face that Orm returned. It was the exact same trident she had seen Orm design, down to the hole intended for a piece of his soul.

"I hear this next part is the fun part," Arthur said before letting go of the trident and stepping back from Orm. He had given his brother the trident ahead of schedule. He was supposed to do it when Orm became the military head again but knowing how happy it would make his little brother to have his own trident, Arthur had decided to hand it to him the moment it had finished being forged. Even if his doing so was going to make the royal council chastise him for not following protocol.

"Thank you, Arthur," Orm said before standing up. With his hands tightly wrapped around the trident, he turned around to face away from the throne and for the first time in Sevian's life, she saw a true act of what only could be described as magic. There was some sort of fog coming out of Orm but it was getting swallowed by the empty space in his trident, gradually filling the space. She worried about the pain Orm might be feeling and looked up at his face. He did not seem to be in pain at all, there was a soft content smile on his face as he watched a part of his soul becoming one with the trident. She could not help but unconsciously smile at the sight of him. Seeing him that happy pulled at her heartstrings and made her heart feel like it had been doused in a sea of euphoria. It was in that sentiment of euphoria that she realised one very simple thing; she did not only like him as a friend, she was in love with him.

The revelation did not frighten her, it oddly enough made her feel relieved. It was more than okay to have fall in love with Orm. There was nothing wrong with being in love with your friend even if it would be unrequited. She would not confess to him, there was no point in pursuing a heartbreak. She now understood what Alexis had been felt.

There would be a small celebration dinner for Orm that evening, organised by his friends at his quarters. It was to be a small intimate dinner with his three friends. To Sevian's surprise, he had invited her to it. She was both anxious and excited to meet his friends. She wanted to make a good first impression but she did not know what to do.

"You can relax, they're easy to get along with," Orm had told her before his friends arrived. It did not make her relax though; she was not certain his definition of easy going was the same as hers; the last person he called easy going was his cousin's husband back in Belusis. And the man had been an overly intrusive interrogator so she was not exactly comforted by Orm saying his friends were easy-going.

When she finally met them, she came to realise that Orm was right. They were not high strung as you would expect friends of royalty to be, nor did they suck up to Orm like sycophants. They were nice to her and not at all intrusive with their questions about life as a surfacer.

"Orm says you have food as pets?" Ignaci Murk, one of Orm's friends casually asked as they ate dinner. The fact that Orm talked about her to his friends lit a small fire of affection in her heart. Still, she was not about to raise her hopes over something as simple as that; People talked to their friends about their other friends all the time without any romantic connotations.

"I have pet goldfish but Ori and Mari aren't food," she said with a chuckle. Ignaci Murk was apparently a military Commander and the temporary head of the kingdom's security. The white haired Atlantean looked cold and unapproachable in appearance and voice. Murk had surprised Sevian by greeting her with a warm hug when he had arrived at Orm’s quarters, he was not at all like his appearance suggested. Once you looked past his looks, he exuded an odd sense of familiarity that made you feel like home. She could understand why Orm befriended him.

Besides Murk was Atork Relius, an Atlantean who Sevian had thought she had met simply by how familiar he looked before realising that he had been the Atlantean from the TV announcement on the surface. He was much prettier in person. The camera had barely caught the essence of him. He had been the one who had prepared the food for dinner. It turned out cooking was his favourite hobby, something Sevian did not think could ever be a hobby of hers but she respected it and the food was on par with Rena's in terms of how tasty it was.

"It's a good thing I didn't prepare goldfish salad for tonight," Atork commented with a laugh. She also came to realise that Orm’s friends had a pretty dark sense of humour that greatly amused her.

"Helpless little things aren’t supposed to be eaten," the beautiful Atlantean sitting beside Sevian said. She was the last of Orm's friends and she apparently only ate meat from things that were bigger than her. It was an odd preference but to each their own. She had been the one that Sevian had been most surprised to meet. She was more than a familiar face on TV, she was the highborn Atlantean woman who had come to announce Sevian’s upcoming visit to Atlantis. Sevian now finally knew her name; Enova Gladiolus. She was as pretty as the name that belonged to her. Atlantis was undoubtedly a large kingdom but it seemed that fate always found a way to bring people together.

Orm could only smile at seeing the interaction between his friends and Sevian. He had only been friends with Enova, Murk and Atork for a year but he cared for them deeply. Although he and Murk had a particularly different relationship history from the one he had with the other two. They had been friends since before Atlanna had been banished. But after the age of thirteen, Orm had no longer been allowed to have friends. His father believed that future kings did not need friends; they only needed subjects. He was glad that despite the abrupt end of their childhood friendship, they had managed to rekindle that friendship after more than a decade and a half.

It pleased him immensely that Sevian was talking and eating comfortably with those that were closest to his heart right after his family. He was now more than ever, certain that his heart had chosen right in loving her. The fondness he had for her did not go unnoticed by his friends. He had no doubt that there was going to be a conversation to be had and he was not looking forward to it. It was perhaps a good thing he would have to leave for the Fisherman Kingdom for a few weeks. Speaking of which, he was uncertain of whether or not to talk to Sevian about her coming with him. He had promised to take her to visit other kingdoms if the opportunity ever arose. But the Fisherman Kingdom was not particularly fond him, it might not be safe for Sevian to go with him. As it may be, he decided she should be the one to make the decision to come with him or not.

***

Eventually, the Atlantean trio left Orm's quarters. Sevian's body brimmed with an excitement that came from meeting new people. She went to sit in the living room, waiting for Orm to finish his conversation with Murk out in the hallway. A short moment later he came back inside and went to Sevian.

"Thank you for letting me be part of your celebration and for introducing me to your friends," she said looking up at him from the sofa. He smiled then sat down next to her and placed a hand on top of hers on the couch. The warm touch, mixed in with the buzz already in her body, created an unmistakable desire in her. She wished her body would simply calm down. It was an innocent touch. It should not have made her cross her legs to calm the heat that was beginning to rise between her thighs.

"You don't have to thank me. You mean a great deal to me and it was only natural for you to meet those that I care about. I would have brought you together earlier but the opportunity had not presented itself," Orm said hoping Sevian would take on the hint that she meant so much more than a friend to him. He had also wanted her to meet his family. But Arthur had been so busy with diplomatic relations, there had been no time to organise a dinner with everyone. It was important to him that they meet the one who had his heart. Even if nothing would come out of it and his feelings were to be unrequited: he still wanted them to meet her. If not as a potential life partner, then as his friend. All his friends had officially met his family, it was a natural course of a long-term friendship.

Sevian's mind was still processing what Orm had said but sadly she did not interpret it as Orm had hoped she would. Her heart was beating at a mile an hour and he could probably feel it in his hand on hers. It was taking all her self-control to not get on his lap and just give unto carnal pleasures after hearing his words. They weren't seductive words and yet the sweetness of them made her want him more than anything at that moment. To be with him again in that manner- she had no doubts of how wonderful it would be. It would be better this time around; they were familiar with each other’s bodies and they knew each other better. Would Orm let it happen? He was attracted to her in some way, of that much she was sure. But what if it was not enough to make him want her? The question began to sober her love drunk mind.

'He only means that he values me as a friend,' she thought to herself and forced herself to calm down. She turned the hand under his and entwined their fingers, letting the firm hold anchor down her feelings.

"You mean a lot to me too and I’m glad I met them," she said. She held on tighter to his hand after the statement, Orm made no move to remove his hand. Having his affection like this would have to be enough for her.

"When I became your guide, I did tell you that I would take you to visit other kingdoms If I was ever given the opportunity, didn't I?"

"Yeah?" she asked trying to understand why he had changed the subject.

"Earlier this morning, I received a diplomatic assignment that will take me to the Fisherman Kingdom for two to three weeks."

"Am I going with you?" She asked excitedly. She had read about the Fishermen in the public database library. They had a great love for art and most of the best writers and poets came from that kingdom. It was nicknamed the Kingdom of Written Art and as an editor and lover of the written Art, the prospect of visiting what sounded like a melting pot for writers made her almost forget the crippling desire she felt for Orm.

He hated to bring down her excitement but he had to give her the full details. He let go of her hand and sighed before looking away from her.

"I made you a promise but it might not be safe for you to come with me."

"Why?"

Orm turned to look at her again, "I killed their king and they detest me for doing so. I expect to receive a lot of hostility."

It was not the answer she was expecting and she was not quick enough to mute the gasp she let out nor the widening of her eyes. Orm looked back down after noting her reaction. Whatever sentiments she had for him would probably go away after his confession. He waited for her to make an excuse to leave his quarters.

Instead, he felt a hand on his cheek and it led him to look back at Sevian.

"Why did you kill him?" She asked but he could not tell if it was an accusing tone or a curious one. In truth, she was trying not to judge him but she was no fool and she did know that he had done some pretty awful things in the past despite them being well intentioned. She just wanted to know why he did what he did so that that they could go on from there. It might seem strange but she was happy that he never shied away from being honest with her. He could have lied. He could have told her surfacers were not allowed there. But he had gone with the truth knowing fully well it might change her opinion of him. It had not.

"A king that would let his kingdom suffer- A king that would let his people die without raising a single finger all in the name of being a peaceful scholar does not deserve to be a king nor to live," he answered with a coldness that made Sevian's hand on his cheek falter. He sighed and placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed lightly. "Please don't fear me," he lightly whispered.

"I don't," she reassured him with a slight shake  of her head. "What do you mean he let his people die?"

"The Fisherman Kingdom was polluted to the point where the water was stagnant and unhealthy for the people themselves. There were infantile deaths, birth defects, mutations and far more problems than I can list at this moment. Yet despite their ability to put a stop to the surfacers that caused it, he chose to remain quiet. To wait until they learned. He claimed he did not want war, that he wanted peace through dialogue but he made no efforts to approach the surfacers and have that dialogue with them. He would wait until his kingdom was full of nothing but black tar,” he paused then took a deep breath before continuing. “He attacked me when I insulted his rule and it gave me the incentive and excuse to defend myself. I ended his reign and his daughter’s reign began. She had always been more practical than him. She has done more for the kingdom in two years than he had in half a century. If he had been a better ruler, the kingdom would not be in the situation it found itself in."

She raised another hand to his shoulder and squeezed slightly, "Thank you for telling me. Is it safe for you to go there?"

"No, it most definitely is not. I did not go about the king's situation the right way and I should have done things differently. I could have forced the king to step down but what is done cannot be undone. I have already apologised for my actions in writing. They refused to allow me into their kingdom last year to apologise in person. I have the opportunity to do so now and I will not let it go to waste." He had grown as a person and he was not as he had been at the time of the king's demise.

"Although I can’t condone it, I do understand your reason for doing what you did." She smiled at him to reassure him that nothing had changed between them. "I want to come with you."

****

The way between Atlantis and the Fisherman Kingdom was uneventful as can be. Orm and Sevian had boarded a diplomatic vessel with three soldiers and two members of the royal council accompanying them. It was a five-hour trip and Orm spent four of them in the meeting room with the council members. Sevian spent the first thirty minutes of those four hours walking around the vessel; Besides the meeting room, it had three comfortably sized quarters- enough for people to share and she shared quarters with Orm-, a medium sized dining hall with fish tanks that contained their food supply and a Navigation area. She spent the following three and a half hours without Orm in the Navigation area just reading and watching the soldiers work.

The soldiers were polite, sometimes they would have short conversations with her to help her get over the boredom. There was absolutely nothing to see outside the transparent walls during those three hours. The vessel was surrounded by a darkness similar to the one that had surrounded them during their trip to Belusis. Except this time, there were no bioluminescent fish or plants or anything really. There was nothing. She would have been filled with fear if she had not been in a ship with people and the knowledge of Orchideas swimming somewhere in their vicinity. Orm joined her at the Navigation area a few short moments after they had crossed over the border to the Fisherman Kingdom and just as their surroundings were beginning to brighten.

As they went further in, she saw tall coil spring like shining structures. They were water filters like the black pillars on Atlantis but there were far greater in number than in Atlantis. The surrounding water had a slightly foggy look to it, like an early winter morning view. The plants were fluorescent and pretty, almost similar to what she had seen in the books about the kingdom but their colours were wrong. The black trees with violet stems had been a vivid blue in the books and the white rose bushes that she had expected to lead the way to the main city were nowhere to be seen. "The white flowers can no longer grow here; the environment has changed too much. They have not bloomed in 10 years," Orm had told her when she had asked about them.

Some plants looked chipped and slightly decayed. The fish seemed thin and wrong in appearance; an extra limb where there was not supposed to be any, a lack of colour when there should have been. It was jarring for her to see with her own two eyes the damage created by the surface. But the closer they got to the main city, the less damaged things looked until there was only the beauty and vibrancy that could be seen in the books. The castle like buildings of the capital city stood tall and bright. The city was buzzing with people and life. There were active constructions and repairs taking place in almost every corner she looked.

If she had not seen the outskirts of the kingdom or the repairs taking place, she would not have believed that such a lifeless and damaged area could be part of the same kingdom as the beautiful capital. It was evident that their technology was keeping their cities safe but she wondered how much more damaged their technology could keep at bay if things on the surface continued as they had been.

The royal castle was at the far east of the city, the busiest area. It was the tallest and the most impressive building of all. It was simple in colour, only white and light green but each floor was designed in a way that it was half transparent on the outside. In short, you could see everything that was taking place in the rooms facing outside; it was architecturally fascinating.

They parked in the allocated area besides the castle. From the ship, she could already see the throne room with the Queen sitting on a white throne and people talking to each other. It dawned on her that the fishermen who had been near the palace at the time of the king's demise had seen Orm kill their king. They probably hated him for it. And she was right, the soldiers who greeted them when they exited the ship had all looked at Orm with such hostility in their eyes, she began fearing for his life but they took her by surprise with how kind and diplomatic they ended up being. It seemed that as long as Orm was here on official business, these soldiers would only show their anger through their eyes and not actions. For that, she was in awe of their self-control and discipline.

She could only hope that the rest of the Fishermen would have that same self-control for the next few weeks.

Chapter Text

A Fisherman woman had shortly joined the soldiers who had greeted the Atlantean delegation and by the respect they showed her, she was most likely their superior.

"On behalf of Queen Scales, I welcome you to the Fisherman Kingdom, Prince Orm. I am Tharis, the queen's 2nd. We are honoured to receive you all in our kingdom and I do hope that you will enjoy your time here," the woman had said while bowing to them. 

"Thank you for receiving us, Tharis. It is our honour to be in your waters." Orm said and returned the bow. They soon straightened up and the woman smiled kindly. Although the smile did not reach her eyes, there was no open hostility in them.

"Did you have a safe journey? Or will you be in need of medical assistance?" She asked glancing at everyone in Orm's entourage.

"The journey was without incident. None of us will be in need of medical assistance but I do thank you for the offer," Orm replied. 

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Orm concerning the trip and accommodations. The queen's second instructed all of them to follow her. No one was to remain on the ship, the queen wanted to meet Orm's entire entourage. She had wanted to know the people that Orm had chosen to bring with him.

But after the meeting with the queen, those that would not be involved with discussing the peace treaty would be allowed to return to the ship. It was decided for everyone's safety, that the Atlantean delegation would not be staying at the castle accommodations. Tharis had told them that accommodations had been prepared for them in the castle should they change their minds. But Orm did not want to impose too much on their generosity and self-control; it was one thing having to be civil to your enemy when in their presence and something else entirely to have to sleep under the same roof as them.

They were led inside the castle through an entrance that took them to a bubble lift. The lift opened up directly to the throne room. Three things stuck out to Orm the moment they stepped inside the throne room. The first thing Orm noticed was that there were many more guards in the room compared to the last time he had been there. There were at least ten guards in the vast throne room, all of them strategically placed around the room to intercept anyone who dared to approach the queen. They had learned to not be as trusting to visitors as they had once been and perhaps Orm was the one to blame for the augmented security. 

The second thing he noticed was the transparent, to the untrained eyes, force field that had been placed in the room. It separated the room into two and this time Orm realised with a certainty that he was the one to blame for these measures. Many of the Fishermen citizens or even Atlantean citizens would not notice the force field but those that could bring harm to their new queen would and in the end, it was them that needed to know that the Fishermen would not let another tragedy befall their kingdom. 

The third and last thing he noticed was the one that filled him with, not regret, but remorse. The young woman, who had barely just left teenage-hood when the Fisherman king was released from his rule, now looked older. More mature. Scales features had hardened. She resembled her mother more than her late father now. She was no longer the wide-eyed innocent girl she had once been. The white throne she sat on was equally a new addition. In a way it represented a new era of governance for the kingdom. 

Orm subtly glanced with the corner of his eyes at Sevian, standing a few feet behind him with his soldiers. He was beginning to have doubts about having allowed Sevian to come with him. They were here for peace talks and the Fishermen were not a confrontational race but then again, they shared an ancestry with Atlanteans. That unforgiving trait that Atlanteans inherited from the Ancestors might be inside the Fishermen as well. It could get very ugly very fast and they were highly outnumbered. He had to trust that Queen Scales was not feeling vengeful. Pushing back those thoughts to the back of his minds, Orm smiled and greeted the now risen Queen with a bow. 

For Sevian's part, she was trying very hard not to glance around at everything like a tourist. The throne room was incredible; its walls were decorated with iridescent spiral shapes that were somewhat hypnotising to the human eye. The throne the queen sat on was a glimmering white and shaped like a seashell. From inside the room, Sevian could almost see beyond the city. The queen could watch over her people in a literal manner, nothing could enter the city without being seen from the throne room. 

So far no one had seemed to notice Sevian was a surface dweller, they had mistaken her for an Atlantean and she thought it best to not bring attention to herself by openly showing her awe but it was far from easy. Especially when the Queen got up from the throne and her armour seemed to shimmer as she moved. It did not help matters that Scales was the single most beautiful mermaid she had ever seen, not even her childhood fairytale mermaids could compare to the Fisherman royal. Scales looked like the kind of queen you only saw in 3d films. She was simply magnificent in a way that seemed unreal. Perhaps the person that created the little mermaid had based Ariel on Scales. It was not above the realm of possibility either. Orm had once told her that Fishermen had a lifespan that was twice as long as Atlanteans.

Scales approached Prince Orm and his entourage, stopping just before reaching the force field. She was cautious; having learned from experience to not be as trusting as her father. Judging by their attire, the prince had brought three armed soldiers, two council members and a civilian it seemed but the civilian was wearing a military mask so perhaps they were simply an unarmed soldier.

"We welcome you all to our kingdom, may you find peace and tranquillity in our waters," she greeted them all before addressing Orm directly. "Prince Orm, I must admit, I was surprised when you were elected to represent your kingdom's needs in these peace talks but nonetheless, I am glad to be meeting you in much better circumstances."

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Queen Scales. My brother believes me the best suited to represent Atlantis' need. Atlantis and the Fisherman Kingdom have much to offer one another. It is high time we became allies as in the times of the first rulers. I very much look forward to our negotiations," Orm said.

The queen smiled then looked at his entourage again, Orm took it as the opportunity to introduce the people he came with but when he finally reached Sevian, he was at an impasse of how to introduce her. He did not intend to fool the Fishermen into thinking she was an Atlantean, in all honesty, she would be safer if they knew her to be a Surfacer. "That is Sevian Dilac, she is a dear friend of mine. She is simply here to enjoy the Fishermen gifts of the written word." The introduction of her not being an Atlantean soldier made Scales smile slightly. Civilian Atlanteans could be trusted, it was one less soldier they would have to worry about.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Scales said with a nod, "Prince Orm, I suggest that we begin our initial negotiations immediately in my conference room. Unless you wish to rest and begin them at a later time?" 

"No, we do not need rest. I accept your suggestion."

With a nod at one of the guards standing by her throne, she moved to what seemed to be a simple wall with multiple spiral shaped designs on it but with a touch of her hand, the spirals moved to reveal a path leading to the queen's conference room. Orm would have moved to follow but he was not masochistic enough to let himself be electrocuted by the force field in front him.

Did they not know he could see the security barrier? 

Or were they simply testing how much resolve he had for the peace negotiations? 

Were they testing how far he would go for peace? 

The Fishermen had never seemed to have a sadistic trait in them but perhaps they had only hidden it well. He made no move to touch the barrier and neither did the advisors that came with him. 

Scales turned to look back at them from the conference doorway, "Please relinquish your tridents before joining me. I am sure you understand why. I will patiently await you inside. Your council members may join us. The rest of your entourage may return to the ship." It was good that the two advisors he had brought with him had decided to leave their tridents on the ship, perhaps he should have left his as well.

Orm moved to remove his trident from his back, noting how the guards' stances shifted, as if preparing themselves for an eventual attack from him. He sighed; he could not fault them for their reaction. It would be disconcerting to not have his trident within his reach but it had to be done. With it in his hands, he turned and walked towards Sevian. 

"Hold on to it for me? I promise it's not heavy," he said with a smile while handing it to her. She heard what sounded like a gasp coming from a guard a few feet away from her but she thought she had probably imagined it.

"All right, I hope the meeting goes well," she said to him, returning his smile and gripping his trident with both of her hands. He was right, it was not as heavy as it looked, as a matter of fact, she could carry it with one hand. She had expected tridents to be hard for a human to lift but she was glad to have been wrong. She freed one of her hands and tapped his shoulders, "Good luck, Orm. "

He raised a hand to lightly squeeze her hand on his shoulders with a soft smile on his lips. "Thank you, I will see you at dinner," he said before stepping back and leaving to join the queen with the two council members.

She watched as the barrier separating the throne room into two was turned off by a Fisherman guard. Orm followed the path the queen had taken and disappeared from their sights. She really hoped the meeting would go well. For Orm's safety, she hoped the queen was not vengeful and was not luring Orm into a trap. She gripped the weapon in her hands tightly with both hands; Orm did not even have a weapon to defend himself with. There was a heaviness in her chest that made it hard for her to just relax and keep enjoying the view of the throne room.

***

Without Orm around, she felt lost. She did not know the soldiers that well even if they had talked a little on the way to the Fisherman kingdom. The odd looks the Fisherman guards were giving her only made her feel more self-conscious and worried. Tharis had a questioning look in her eyes as if wanting to ask Sevian something but she held herself back. 

Had Sevian committed a cultural faux-pas without knowing? If she had, Orm would have told her, right?

Should she not have touched Orm? 

Honestly, she was so used to having a hand on him when talking to him that it was no longer a conscious effort. She sometimes forgot that even in Atlantean culture, friends did not touch as often as they did. 

Tharis had escorted them back to the ship and told them that she would come for them when the meeting was over. But the Fishermen were not bad hosts. When they arrived back at the ship, there were royal staff carrying plates upon plates of fruits and refreshments waiting to be given access to enter the ship. The sight of the colourful fruits lifted Sevian's spirits.

"Iranas, why were the Fishermen guards looking at me weirdly at the castle?" She asked the soldier sitting next to her at the dining hall. Iranas swallowed the banana like red fruit he had been chewing and turned his face towards Sevian with a raised eyebrow.

"Weirdly?" He asked.

"Like I had done something wrong?"

"Oh." He put his fruit back on his plate and looked away from Sevian. He bit his lips and looked around the table with his eyes, trying to find someone he could pin the question to but even if he was sure that the other soldiers had heard the question, they were all avoiding his eyes. He took a deep breath and turned back to look at Sevian.

Sevian wondered what was going on with the dark haired Atlantean. She had asked a simple question so why did he look like she had just asked him to jump off a bridge. Or maybe the fruit he ate had gone sour?

"Is everything alright, Iranas?" She asked.

"Yes, everything is fine." He took another deep breath before speaking again, "You did not do anything wrong at the castle. The guards were only curious."

"Curious about what? Surfacers?" In a way, that was a reasonable explanation, perhaps they had never seen surfacers but then again, she did not think they knew she was not Atlantean yet.

The question made Iranas want to leave the room. He was not good at explaining things or even talking. Talking about the prince's personal life was something he did not think he would ever be faced with. He would have preferred fighting the entirety of the Brine Kingdom's army to having this exact conversation. 

Sevian began to feel concerned for the soldier. Now he looked like he had just swallowed a live electric eel. He seemed to be holding his breathe. Heaven's, was the man even breathing?

"No, they were curious as to why Orm gave you the trident. They had expected his highness to take it back to the ship and return later." So had the Atlantean soldiers but they had better training at pretending not to have seen anything. "Tridents are extremely personal objects for Atlanteans, Fishermen and Brines as if it is not an inheritance, it holds a piece of the wielder's soul." 

That much Sevian knew but still, it did not explain much. Maybe Orm went against protocol by not going back to the ship to leave his weapon.

"We only let our spouses and life partner’s hold or touch our Tridents,” Iranas finished with an awkward smile.

"Oh." The explanation made heat rise onto her face and her hands felt warm. No wonder Iranas had looked uncomfortable. Talk about an awkward conversation. "Thank you for the explanation." He nodded and went back to his fruit.

The revelation given by Iranas made her heart beat faster. Could it be that she meant as much to Orm as he did to her? Would it be all right for her to have a spark of hope that maybe- just maybe Orm felt as she did. If she was simply a friend to him, then he would not have handed her his Trident. She smiled at herself, enjoying the slight weight of the trident across her back.

The quiet atmosphere of the dining hall was disrupted by a Fisherman guard barging in. They all turned to look at her in surprise, she was only supposed to stand guard in front of the ship and not enter it. The soldiers had pressed a hand on their weapons, ready to defend themselves if need be. 

"Atlanteans, you must see this," she said hurriedly while pressing symbols on the small screen on her arm brace. Then with a flick of a finger, there was now a hologram of Orm in front of them, behind him was Queen Scales.

"-this opportunity,' the hologram said then paused. He looked back at the queen and nodded. 

What was going on? Had the peace negotiations ended that quickly? Sevian glanced at the Atlanteans soldiers and she saw the same confused look in their eyes. 

"It came as an urgent correspondence from the castle to all in the kingdom," the soldier explained after noticing their confusion. The answer only made the Atlantean soldiers tense. Sevian saw Iranas grip his trident tighter. Their reaction began to make Sevian worry. 

Why was Orm addressing their entire nation? 

Was something bad about to happen to Orm? 

Or had it already happened? 

A dark thought began to sprout in her mind and her heart faltered: Was the queen about to kill Orm in front of everyone?

Her heart began to pound against her ribcage. She tried to remain calm and control her breathing. 

This could not be happening.

"Oh God no," she whispered to herself. Orm had been worried about coming here but he had said the Fishermen were a peaceful race. But even the most peaceful of beings could turn violent if pushed to their limits and Orm had definitely pushed them to their limits.

"The last time I was in your kingdom, many of you were witnesses to my ending the life of your king," Orm began to speak again. The more he spoke the clearer it became that he was apologising to them for what had happened. He was giving them his reasons for killing the king but he was not offering them as excuses. He was simply explaining why he did what he did. "I should have found a different solution to the problem and I will accept whatever punishment your queen sees fit."

Needless to say, his address was met with both surprise and shock all around the kingdom. No one had expected him to apologise for what had happened. Let alone acknowledge that he had done wrong. Atlanteans were not exactly known for their remorseful nature. But the genuineness in the prince's words was in no way faked. 

A great sorrow had filled the dining hall after the Atlantean soldiers and Sevian had processed what Orm had just done. The soldiers took their hands away from their tridents and stood straighter. Orm was giving his life away to give way to peace between the two kingdoms. He would not want them to tarnish his sacrifice by brandishing their weapons. They were about to watch their beloved prince die but they would do so with dignity and pride for him. 

Sevian's body lost all its strength and although she tried her best to hold herself together, her hands had begun to tremble. She was about to watch the man she loved die right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do about it but hope that the queen would make it quick and as painless as possible.

The queen moved in front of Orm and Sevian held her breath. This was it; this was the moment that would decide how Orm's existence would end. Scales took Orm's left hand in her hands and said, "My father was not a good king but still we do not believe in killing as an answer." Sevian let out a sigh of relief; If they did not believe in killing then perhaps Orm's fate was not as dire.

The short relief went away as fast as it had come. There were some fates worse than death. They might decide to imprison and torture him for the rest of his life.

Orm did not show any reaction to the queen's statement, it was impossible to tell what he was feeling at the moment. Did he feel the same kind of fear Sevian was currently feeling on his behalf? 

Or was he ready to die bravely? 

Did he know he was going to put his life on the line before they had even left Atlantis?

Was it the reason why he had been reluctant to bringing her along?

There were so many questions running in Sevian's mind. She was proud of him for growing as a person who was not afraid of apologising for his wrong doings but at the same time, she was angry enough at him to want to feed him to piranhas for not giving anyone a heads up on what he had planned to do. 

It was not right. 

It was not fair to the soldiers.

It was not fair to her. 

They did not want to see their beloved prince die in front of their eyes with no way of helping him.

Sevian placed a hand on her heart, afraid it might escape her ribcage with how fast and hard it pounded. She was quite certain that no human heart was supposed to be experience this much anguish. 

"Prince Orm Marius of Atlantis, as it is written in our laws, for the crime you have committed, you must experience my father's death from his point of view through a telepathic re-enactment," the queen said and Orm bowed to her. The statement only made Sevian's blood run cold; experiencing someone's death for yourself seemed a fate worse than death itself.

"Praise be the goddess' mercy," Sevian heard the Atlantean guards exclaim. Was the punishment not as horrible as it sounded?

***

When the Fisherman royal telepath had approached him to induce the re-enactment, Orm had mentally prepared himself for what was to come. It would not be the first time he would go through such a thing and he braced himself for the pain he knew was about to come. 

But knowing what would happen did not in anyway make it easier to go through once his surroundings changed and he found himself looking at a past version of himself through the Fisherman king's eyes. 

The one thing about dying that only those that have experienced death know is that there is no such thing as being taken by surprise by death. The king had known that he was going to die minutes before Orm had raised his trident to him and before the king himself had attacked Orm. The call of death was a fear like no other that you might have felt before. It came from your heart and radiated through your entire body, a fire that threatened to burn you from the inside out, a constant cold touch could be felt on your neck as if death itself had its hands on you and your head would be filled with one single thought, "My time has come.". It was a feeling Orm had never wanted to experience again and yet there he was, experiencing it as the Fisherman had before his death.

When his past version's trident pierced the Fisherman king's scales, skin and bones, Orm let out a blood curling scream. He had felt every single inch of the blade tearing through the flesh, the skin trying to quickly heal but only tearing itself even further, and cutting through bones. The pain unimaginable and almost eternal in duration. In the Fisherman king's eyes, it had taken hours for the trident to cut through and come out, not seconds as it had looked in real time. 
There was no such thing as a quick death, the body would try to fight its fate as much as possible and make things slower as if that would bring solutions. 

The king's heart pulled at each of the veins connected to it, as if trying to hold onto life and forcing itself to keep beating until it too finally gave up. 

You do not die when your heart stops. No, you die when your mind finally says, "Help, I do not want to die." and that was the Fisherman king's last thought before the throne room was engulfed in black. He could not hear any sounds anymore nor could he call out for help. He opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out. He came to realise that it was time to leave this existence when the putrid scent of what had become of his kingdom's waters no longer registered in his lungs.

The last thing the king felt was the cold, unwelcomed touch of death's hands tearing his soul out of his mortal flesh.

Orm came out of the connection dazed and unable to hold himself up nor keep his eyes open. He was barely conscious for a second before his mind closed up to deal with the trauma of dying without the presence of death itself and his body began to float. The Fisherman queen swam fast towards him to hold him up and keep him from accidentally hurting himself even before Orm's advisors could react fast enough to come to his aid.

"You have a good prince, your kingdom is in safe hands," she said to the two council members.

***

The Atlantean delegation back on the ship heard Orm's blood curling scream all the way from the castle. Sevian gasped and raised her hands to her face. He was in pain and there was nothing she could do about it. She breathed heavily and tried to hold back the tears but one managed to slip through. She quickly wiped it away before the soldiers, who had closed their eyes, opened them to see her crying. She could only hope that he would come out of it well enough. 

Sevian kept looking through the windows of the room she shared with Orm. It had been five hours since they heard Orm's scream and there was still no sign of him. She sighed for the hundredth time. The Fisherman soldier who had shown them the live broadcast, Hi'thur, had comeback an hour after the broadcast to announce that due to the prince passing his retribution, the welcome dinner would be postponed until the former king had recovered. It is safe to say that that did not lessen the worry in Sevian's heart. She had left the soldiers in the dining hall shortly after the announcement, she did not want them to see how out of sorts she was feeling. 

She sharply turned away from the windows when the chamber door opened without notification. Iranas entered the room, directing a large white box inside the room. She was confused as to why he didn't chime before entering. But what was that big box for?

"What is that?" She asked him when he stopped besides her. Was it really the time for the Fishermen to be bringing gifts? It did not seem appropriate. 

Her eyes widened and she gasped when the top area of the box was uncovered by Iranas to reveal a motionless Orm. She did not want to be in that room anymore, she wanted to jump out of her skin. This could not be happening. It was not a box; it was a casket. Orm was dead. The queen had said he would not die but it was a lie. This time, she did not attempt to stop the tears that fell. 

Iranas noticed her faraway look and quickly moved to put a relaxing hand on Sevian's shoulder, "He is only asleep, Sevian."

"Asleep?" She asked in a small hopeful voice.

"Yes, he will be fine. He just needs to rest." Looking closely, she could see how his chest slowly moved up and down. She let out a sigh of relief and wiped her tears through the mask.

Sevian watched as Iranas carefully laid him on the bed. "How long will he be asleep?" She asked Iranas before he left the room.

"Healing cycles only last a few days at most but I cannot be sure how long it will take him to heal an experience of death. Please do not move him, the more immobile he stays, the faster he will heal," he answered.

Healing cycles, Orm had told her that the Atlantean body could put itself to sleep in order to heal deep wounds or traumas. She never expected to see a healing cycle first hand, especially not one involving the man she had come to loved.

She then sat by him on the bed once Iranas had left and raised a hand to touch his face. He looked so peaceful and relaxed. "Rest well, I'll be here when you wake up," she said to his unconscious form. 

In the days that he was unconscious, Sevian spent all her time in their quarters except for meal times. She did not want him to be alone and she wanted to be there for him when he finally woke up. Days turned into a week and then almost two. It worried Sevian, he was showing no signs of waking up but the Atlanteans did not seem worried at all. In more than one occasion, Iranas had reassured her that Orm would be all right, "He will wake from it even stronger than before." She wished she could so easily believe him and lift the weight of uneasiness in her chest. A weight that could only be lifted by Orm waking up from his healing slumber. 

She had wanted to clean him and change his clothes but Iranas had intrusted her not to as it would be a useless endeavour that would only slow his recovery. Apparently, the body cleaned itself during the healing cycle.

It was exactly nine days later when Sevian opened her eyes one morning to the sight of Orm's ocean blue eyes gazing at her softly. He had sat up on the bed and he was lightly stroking her hair. She blinked once, then twice just to be sure she was not dreaming before all the fatigue from sleep left her and a surge of joy filled her heart. She sat up with a speed that promised dizziness but she ignored it and wrapped her arms around the still sleepy looking Orm. He reciprocated the embrace and buried his nose in her hair.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake."

"I am sorry to have worried you," he apologised, still holding her close to him. He knew she cared for him and could only imagine how worried she must have been when he had addressed the Fisherman Kingdom. He had not wanted to put her through that but he had had no choice. For the sake of peace, it was the only action he could have taken. 

"It's alright, you did what was right and I am proud of you," she said with uttermost honesty. 

She felt him smile against her ear at her statement, "I was glad to have you be the first person I saw when I opened my eyes." He pulled back and pressed a chaste kiss on her temple, ignoring the tingling sensation of her mask. "Thank you, Sevian." Her heart fluttered and sang at his actions. She could not find the words to convey the pure joy he brought her. It was both frightening and exciting to think of how much she had come to love this man in what some might consider a short time. 

"How are you feeling, Orm?" She asked leaving his embrace to sit next to him. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and he seemed to be squinting. 

"The queen was merciful. My head hurts a bit but it is nothing to worry about it, it tends to happen after experiencing death." The way he spoke about it was as if it was something he had expected. Had he experienced death by proxy before?

"Has this happened before?"

He nodded and then sighed, "I have experienced far worse with my father."

"What do you mean?" 

"My father made me experience several kinds of deaths through telepathic re-enactments of fallen Atlantean kings’ deaths," he quietly said. She gasped at his words, her eyes widening in shock. 

He had experienced death by proxy more than once?

His own father had put him through that kind of torture?

She knew Orvax was not a good father but this? This was horrifying. 

What kind of man would do such a thing to their own son? 

"He said that by experiencing these deaths, I would be able to avoid a fate similar to theirs and would not fear the touch of death when it came for me."

She had never met Orvax but she hated him with every fibre of her being. He may be Orm's father and Orm might still have love for him but for her part, she was glad the man was dead and no longer around to continue abusing his son in the name of 'tough love'. She took Orm's hands in hers and brought them to her chest. "Orm I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through that." 

Orm smiled at her, "It is all in the past. I just hope I never have to face death in such a manner again."

***

Keeping true to their word, the dinner with the queen took place the same day Orm had awoken from his coma. The effects of Orm’s apology could be seen in how the guards had begun treating him. For one, when they had left their ship to go to the castle, the guards in front of it had immediately straightened their postures with their weapons on their sides and not raised in front of them. They no longer stared at Orm with open disdain, they only looked ahead.

The dinner was more of a banquet than a simple dinner. There were more than two dozen people at the oddly shaped spiral dining table and the food was well beyond what she had expected to be served. It seemed enough to feed an army of a thousand but if the amount of food Atlanteans ate on a regular meal was similar to what the Fishermen ate, then it would be understandable. Although, more than the amount of food, what surprised Sevian was how the food looked exactly like the food in Atlantis. The two races might look as different as the moon and the sun but when it came to food, they had similar tastes things. At least visually, it was the exact same food but when she had actually begun to eat it, the sheer sweetness of the food made her want to drown her tongue in water.

There was a distinct lack of hostile aura in the dining room that was frankly refreshing. The distrust and hate that had been directed not only to Orm but his entourage as well on their arrival at the kingdom, was nowhere to be found that evening. Perhaps there was hope for the peace talks after all.

***

Despite being busy with the peace negotiations, Orm still found the time to show Sevian around the slowly recovering kingdom of the written words. The civilians never paid them any mind nor did they look at Orm with hostility. Sometimes a simple apology and explanation of one’s actions went a long way to change people's opinion of someone. 

Sevian had been thinking of where she could go explore by herself on the days that Orm would be unavailable the entire day. There was just so much to see; so many libraries, museums of literature, theatres and vocalisation centres - she did not know what those were but they seemed to be all around the capital and she could not wait to visit one. It was during one of those days that she would be exploring by herself that one of the Fishermen guards, Hi'thur, approached her at lunch time to ask her if she would like to visit the Elysian Palace. 

"The Elysian Palace?" Sevian asked her. 

"Yes, it is the largest library in the kingdom. It contains centuries worth of written art. His highness, Prince Orm Marius, said that you had a great appreciation for our art and asked me if I would be amenable to showing you the library and I said I would," she answered with a smile. Sevian returned the smile. Her heart filled with affection for Orm, it was sweet of him to ask the guard for her. She had been nervous about talking with the Fishermen guards to ask them about the best sites to visit in their opinion as locals. She had been worried about seeming too much like a tourist. 

"I'd love to see it too," she said, "If it's not too much of a bother."

"Of course not, my lady. It is the pride of our kingdom, showing it to a guest of the queen could never be a bother. " 

"Thank you for your hospitality. You call just call me, Sevian." My lady sounded a tard too formal and it made her slightly uncomfortable to have it used in relation to her.

The guard widened her eyes in surprise at Sevian telling her to use her first name. She was the prince's lover and yet she did not want to be referred to by her title? So the rumours were true after all, she truly was a surfacer then. An Atlantean would not allow anyone but a close friend to refer to them with their given names and not their titles. 

The Fisherman nodded then raised a hand to her chest and said to Sevian, "I understand, then you may call me Hi'thur." 

Hi'thur was, to Sevian's surprise, very open and talkative but in a wonderful way. As they swam through the city to where the Elysian Palace was, she did not fail to point out to Sevian all the interesting histories of each building and street they passed through. It was a pleasant and informative trip; it was a bit like having a historical tour guide and Sevian could not have been happier and grateful to Hi'thur for giving her her time and insight. She was equally grateful to Orm for having approached Hi'thur for her sake. She smiled to herself and made a mental note to thank him once he returned from his meeting.

The Elysian Palace was a tall, peach coloured building that was, similarly to the royal castle, mostly transparent in some areas. It was the second tallest building in the capital city. She had seen the building a lot during her stay in the city, it was impossible to miss no matter where you were in the city. She had thought it was some kind of government building or an apartment complex. The last thing she had thought it would be was a library. The sheer size of the building was a statement of how important literature was to the Fishermen. 

True to its name, the inside of the building was truly similar to a paradisiac palace. One way to describe it would be 'A reader's paradise'. It was beautifully bright with bio luminescent walls. The library was much bigger on the inside than the forty-eight floors that could be counted from the outside; it went deeper underground with at least fourteen more floors. There were scrolls, books and media stations as far as the eyes could see. The scrolls and books were made of material that felt like wax to the touch but it did not leave a residue on the hands as actual wax would have. Sevian could spend her entire life there and she would still not be able to read everything in the larger than life library. 

It did not matter that she did not understand the language and she would need to translate the books before reading them- she still kept opening scrolls and looking through books. She was beyond fascinated by the art created by the Fishermen. Even without understanding them, the untranslated Fisherman scripture was elegant in a way that reminded her of Japanese calligraphy, it was in on itself 'Art'. 

No more than a few days later did she get the opportunity to finally find out what vocalisation centres were thanks to Orm. It was a rare day where Orm and the queen were taking a break from their talks. Orm had chosen to spend that day with Sevian which surprised absolutely no one; not the Atlantean soldiers nor the council members. It had become somewhat of a regular occurrence of whenever he was free to be with her and it only continued to fill Sevian with bliss. 

Orm had suggested they go to a concert at a vocalisation center and Sevian had expected it to be a musical concert but it was, in her opinion, much better than a musical concert. Vocalisation centres were concert halls where books were read to the mass by a Vocaliser, the name given to the host that would read the book.

Orm, efficient as always had gotten them seats in the mid-section of the audience section.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said to Orm as they waited for the event to begin. She took a hold of his hand and entwined their hands. It was a risqué move but she wanted to somehow make him understand just how happy she felt at that instant. She was not only thankful for the concert but for him bringing her to the Fisherman kingdom as well. 

He lightly squeezed her hand in his and smiled softly at her, a smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle, "I knew it would make you happy," he said. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the happiness he seemed to derive from just doing something that made her happy. There was no doubt in her heart and mind that she was unconditionally in love with the golden haired Atlantean. 

Even after the concert had begun and the calming and clear voice of the vocaliser could be heard, Orm did not tear his hand out of Sevian's. If anything, the soft smile did not leave his face throughout the event. Sevian was not the only one who had felt the clarity of an unconditional love. 

***

It had taken a month of negotiations but the peace treaty had finally been put in place. Arthur had placed his trust in Orm and he had been right in doing so. The damaged relationship between Atlantis and the Fishermen was finally repaired and on its way to a full recovery. It would take time and patience but the first step towards a beautiful alliance had been taken and it had been thanks to Orm's diplomatic skills. 

They celebration of the newly signed treaty had been an extravagant dinner that had Sevian being introduced to more people than she could hope to remember. But the joyous atmosphere of the event was something she would never forget and Orm's dance lessons had finally been put to good use. It had been an energising and fun evening that would note the end of their time in the Fisherman kingdom. The Atlantean delegation would be leaving after the celebrations. The evening would be finished by a jellyfish light show that Sevian was particularly looking forward to. Not only for the beautiful sights they would present but also the step she was about to take towards the future. 

She spent the last fifteen minutes before the light show trying to find a section of the dining hall with the best view to the light show. She found a slightly secluded section with a perfect view of the Fishermen outside that would perform the spectacle.

She took a look around the hall and sighed in relief when she saw Orm already coming towards her, she had been thinking of how to take him away from the crowd of people that kept approaching him but it seemed that fate was smiling at her. 

"Are you feeling all right? Why are you here by yourself?" He asked, concern colouring his voice. 

"I was looking for the best place to see the light show- Oh, it's started." She took a hold of his arm and guided him beside her. 

"Hm, it is a good view."

As beautiful as the light show was, Sevian found herself distracted by the presence and the sight of Orm beside her. He wore his formal golden armour and princely crown, the blue light from the jellyfish light show illuminating his face. He truly was breath-taking. Sevian's heart beat a mile an hour, this was it, it was time she took a chance on herself. She turned away from him to face the light show while she moved closer to Orm until their arms touched. 

"Orm?"

"Yes?" He turned to look at her but she continued to face forward. She was not going to chicken out but the words she was about to say would either make her or break her. She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands which had been slightly trembling.

"Being with you feels right," she quietly said, blood pumping into her ears and heart threatening to escape her ribcage. 

She could not see it but Orm's lips hand curled into a smile and relief could be seen in his eyes. He fully turned to face her. He chose that moment to slide his left hand in hers, entwining their fingers and turning her to face him with his other hand. It was what he had been waiting for for months. She had no idea of the joy her confession had given Orm. The action made Sevian look down at their joined hands and then at Orm's face in surprise. She had thought it possible that Orm returned her feelings but she had not been sure if it was simply wishful thinking on her part. She felt a weight being lifted of off her chest.

"I am in love with you, Sevian," he confessed. The confession took her off-guard. She could see the love and warmth in his eyes as he said those words. She had hoped for returned feelings but she never would have dreamed of him telling her that he loved her first.

"I-" she began but the words seemed stuck in her throat. The moment overwhelmed her, she loved this man so much, she did not know how to convey it into words. But she would try to. She smiled up at him, "I love you too, Orm." 

She turned off her mask and grabbed his arm to pull herself up to finally kiss him. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to lose herself in the moment. His lips were just as soft as she remembered them to be. He sighed into the kiss and fully kissed her back. The sensation of her lips on his was nothing short of heavenly. It was chaste, short and sweet. But it was enough to make her toes curl and fill her body with euphoria. 

Sevian had once feared that there was something wrong with her that made her impossible to love but in the past few months, she had come to learn that she had simply been surrounded by the wrong people. She could love and be loved in return. If there was one thing Atlantis had made her realise, it was that love, whether it be platonic or romantic, did not always have to be unrequited.

Orm was miles away from his home but as he wrapped his arms around her, embracing her, uncaring of the audience in the dining hall, he felt right at home with her in his arms. He would not admit it to anyone but himself and perhaps Sevian, but he was glad that Mera had betrayed him and caused him to go to a random beach on the surface. If he had not felt that anger and need to search for answers, he never would have met Sevian. He never would have learned to love without it hurting.

Love did not have to be painful.

Chapter Text

Sevian felt a familiar excitement in her body at the sight of the Atlantean royal palace from the ship's viewscreen. It was an excitement filled with heat and anticipation, the kind of which she had last felt the day she met Orm. She wished she could tell the soldier that was navigating their ship to hurry up and dock inside the palace. 

Orm and Sevian had both decided to wait until they were back in Atlantis before they took the next step in their relationship. But as uneventful as the trip back 'home' had been, it had been enjoyable. It had given them time to simply get used to being more than friends, to get used to touching with intent of intimacy no matter how chaste their touches remained. Sevian had especially loved falling asleep with Orm's arms around her and waking up knowing that she could touch, kiss and embrace him with his full consent.

Sevian smiled and looked up at Orm standing beside her; he was looking at the viewscreen with a blank expression. He turned to look at her with a smile of his own, "Are you happy to be back?" He asked.

"I'm ecstatic," she said, not bothering to hide the sheer happiness in her voice. "I wish the ship could go faster," she whispered, not wanting to be overheard by the other occupants in the room.

"I do too," he whispered back and raised a hand to rest on the small of her back. Sevian fully relaxed her body, relieved that she was not the only one filled with anticipation.

None of the soldiers so much as raised an eyebrow at Orm's actions and the royal advisors just gave them quick uncomfortable glances. They had gotten used to sights such as that in the last few days. Orm's openness to public displays of affection towards her had come as a wonderful surprise to Sevian. She had wrongly expected him to keep them private due to his rank and status; but she should not have. He had never been shy about touching her and holding her even when they had only been friends. It should not have come as a surprise that he would be just as open now that they were lovers. During their trip back, he had not hesitated to greet her with a kiss or a touch when he entered a room she was in. He held her hand when they went through the corridors. He smiled at her with open affection whenever he felt like it, regardless of who was in the room. 

The soldiers did not care, they were happy if their former king was happy. They never batted a single eyelash at them being a couple. The royal advisors were not as forth coming with their acceptance, although they kept it to themselves, it irked them that their prince was with a commoner and not just any commoner but a weak surfacer. It would have helped if she had been one of those surfacers with superhuman abilities. But as far as they knew, she was fully mundane. There was nothing they could do about the relationship it. They would keep their opinions to themselves unless they wanted to end up with a missing limb or worse- jobless. 

Sadly, for Sevian and Orm, they were forced to go their separate ways once the ship docked. The king had been waiting for his brother at the palace docking bay. Arthur had a kind, open smile when he pulled Orm into a crushing hug. Orm smiled softly at his older brother's grand gesture of affection and wrapped his arms around him. 

Sevian could not help but smile at the sight of him being showered with love by Arthur. He had a brother and mother who loved him dearly and Sevian could not be happier for him. 

"I'm so proud of you, Orm," Arthur said to his brother. Orm closed his eyes and held Arthur tighter. Arthur was proud of him. That statement alone was enough to overwhelm him with emotions. He truly wished he had grown up with his big brother by his side. But it was good enough to have him now.

"Thank you, Arthur."

Orm and the two advisors had then left Sevian and the soldiers behind when they went to debrief the king. Orm had left Sevian with a kiss and a promise to come to her once the debrief was done. Arthur had not seen the kiss; he had been conversing with one of the advisors at the time. Sevian was somewhat glad he had not, she was unsure of how the King would react to their relationship. Although, if she was being honest with herself, she did not have to worry about him being against it. He seemed like a good man and being half human himself, she did not think he would carry prejudice over her being a surfacer. 

***

To keep herself busy while waiting for Orm, Sevian took her time bathing and relaxing her body in anticipation of what she hoped would transpire between them. She changed into a sleeveless night dress; easy to remove and without anything underneath.

She tried reading and listening to music, but she found herself unable to concentrate on anything but the thoughts of touching and being with Orm. She decided to instead sit on her bed and talk about her trip to Ori and Mari; they had always been good listeners.

The chime from her door almost made her fall off the bed. Despite the close call, she hurried to open the door.

Orm was no longer wearing an armour, in fact, he wore a simple dark blue tunic and pants. His hair was down as well. He smiled at the sight of Sevian in nothing but a thin white night dress that showed her hardening nipples. It was enough to get his blood running hot.

"Hello, Sevian." Sevian could have sworn that his voice had dropped a few octaves lower and it only served to give her the courage to pull him inside the room and kiss him just as she had once dreamed of doing. She kissed him with urgency and a need to taste him. The sensation of his tongue against hers sent shivers down her spine. There was something addictive in kissing him.

His hands came to hold onto her waist as she walked them back inside her quarters. She stopped walking and pulled back from the kiss once they had reached the edge of her bed.

The scent of mint was heavy in the air and she fully breathed it in. The intoxicating scent filled her lungs and aroused her even further. He must have showered before coming to her. 

"You smell so good," she whispered whilst she caught her breath.

"As do you." He kissed along her jaw to her neck. His teeth bit lightly onto the skin there and Sevian let out a sound that surprised even her. The sound went directly to his groin. Orm smiled against her neck and then bit harder this time to hear that sound again. She gripped his arms tightly, losing herself in the sensation. She had suspected that she had a bit of a biting kink from their first time and it seemed she was right. 

She lowered her hands to tug at his tunic, but it was hard to pull it off with how tightly he held her. She did not want to part with the feeling of his body against hers but the desire to touch and feel his bare skin against hers was much stronger.

She pulled away and he followed suit, not wanting to be parted from her. She laughed lightly against his lips, "Clothes off," she said. The words made him open his eyes and he moved to press their foreheads together.

"Alright." He finally stepped back and pulled off his tunic. He threw it behind him with complete disregard of where it would land. He moved his hands toward his pants but Sevian stopped him with her hands on his.

"Let me do it?" She asked and he nodded. He let his hands rest on his sides, allowing her to be the one to undo the button of his pants. But she did not pull them down once they were undone. Instead, she let her hands move up his abdomen and chest. He panted as she touched him with open desire and awe in her eyes. Each slide of her hands against his bare skin filled him with want. 

After a short moment of exploration, she finally tugged down his pants. He stepped out of them and his shoes at the same time. It did not seem fair that he was the only one naked. But seeing how hard she stared at his hardened cock and how she licked her lips at the sight of it, he could not help but smirk. She seemed to be in a bit of trance.

"How do you want me?" He asked with a chuckle, trying to bring her back to reality. She blinked, her mind back at the task in hand.

"I want to touch you. I didn't get to do it much last time. And blow you if you'd let me."

He smiled and moved to lay down on his back on the bed, he kept himself up with his forearms, "I would let you do anything to me," he said and the pure honesty in his tone made Sevian's breathe catch. He was trusting her with his body.

Orm laying naked on her bed was a vision of heaven on earth. Sevian did not need to be prompted to get on the bed. She took her time in touching him, exploring his body to find out what made him writhe and gasp in pleasure. His nipples brought the strongest reaction out of him, he let out pleasurable sighs when she licked and lightly tugged at them with her teeth. He would gasp loudly and grasp the sheets whenever she would close her mouth around them.

Moving down his body, she ran her hands along his long toned legs to reach his naturally lubricated dick. She remembered how he had liked being stroked from their first time together and he brought out the most beautiful sounds her ears had ever heard. But she wanted to do more than just use her hands. She wanted to taste him.

She lowered her head to lick along the underside vein of his cock up until its cherry coloured tip. The taste was that of very mild salt and musk. It was somewhat pleasant and erotic in its scent as well. Or it could just be that her brain had wired itself to liking everything 'Orm'.

The feeling of Sevian's tongue on his cock almost made Orm choke on air. She had told him she was going to do it but knowing something was going to happen and experiencing it were two different things. 

"Could you tell me what you like? I've never done this before." It took an extreme amount of control on Orm's part to not cum right there on her face after hearing that. To know he was her first in this too did wonders to his ego. He had never had anothers mouth there and the thought of having Sevian's mouth on his cock was almost enough to make him finish embarrassingly fast. 

"I do not know what I like. I have only ever been sexually intimate with you."  

They locked eyes and smiled warmly at each other. He sat up slightly to move a hand to stroke her face in affection and she turned to kiss it. They were in this together, they had many first to share with one another and they would go through them with complete trust in each other. 

She leaned back down to close her mouth around his dick and he moaned softly at the feeling and sight of it. She sucked and stroked his cock using his voice and the sounds he made as indications of what he found most pleasurable and what he did not. With the size of him, she had no doubts she was going to have jaw cramps the following day. But it was well worth it. Although she was unable to take all of him in her mouth, he was drowning in pleasure as one of his hands held her hair back. The other still holding him up.

He warned her before coming but she still drank him in when he came in her mouth, gasping her name. The cool liquid was thick and almost tasteless if not for the slightly salty after taste. He had let go of her hair making her miss the expression he made when in ecstasy. But it was fine. She had all the time in the world to see it again. 

This time, there was no hurry to finish things and Orm took his turn to explore Sevian's body. Kissing, touching, feeling her body with no rush to fuck and be done with it.

After having used his mouth on her, Sevian was wet enough that Orm's fingers were completely soaked the moment he slid them in to stretch her open. There was no need for it, she was more than aroused enough and ready for him. Sevian's body trembled when Orm finally slid inside her. She gasped out once the full length of him was in her. The hands she had wrapped around his back moved higher up. 

"You feel so good around me," he said lowering his head to lock their lips together. She slid her fingers through his hair, making him groan against her lips.

When he did finally start moving, Sevian was glad all the rooms in the palace were soundproof. Sevian felt fire under her skin as each thrust made her moan and call out his name. She moved her hips in tandem with his own. She could not believe they were finally making love. It felt like a dream.

Her first orgasm had come barely two minutes into his thrusts but even with the onset sensitivity, she powered through and continued to encourage him to keep going, not wanting it to end any time soon. 

"I've- I've dreamed of this before. Of coming with you inside of me," she said, breathless as he continued to move painstakingly slow. He did not want to finish yet either. Given the chance, he would have loved to spend forever like this. And theoretically, they could, his people did not have refractory periods.

"So have I," he whispered, pausing to plant a hard kiss against her lips. There was a confidence in both of them that had not been there the first time they had slept together.

Orm was not a quiet lover either and it was both refreshing and a stroke to her ego to know that she was the one responsible for him making those sounds. She could feel herself getting closer to cumming again but there was something else she had dreamed of that she wanted to try before her stamina ran out. She tried to flip him over with her hips but Orm was too lost in pleasure to realise what she was intending to do. He mistook it as her demanding him to go faster. She cursed, overwhelmed by his movements, at this rate, she would be over and done with in less than a minute.

"Orm, wait," she groaned out and he immediately paused in his movements, his cock halfway inside her.

"What is it?" He asked in concern. His blond hair stuck to his forehead and he looked thoroughly debauched. He wondered if he had been too rough with her or had hurt her somehow.

"I want to ride you."

Orm sighed in relief an then smirked at her, revealing pearly white teeth that looked almost predatory. It only aroused her farther. He quickly shifted their position, easily getting her on top of him without sliding out.

He moved his hands to her hips and she held onto them for balance as she sat up on his lap. The new angle made her take him in even deeper, it was strange to feel him pushing against her cervix. But it was not painful. With his hands on her hips guiding her, she began to slowly move up and down his shaft. 

"You've dreamed about this before," he said. He had not been able to keep that dream out of his mind since the day she had told him about it. "Is it just as good as in the dream?" Gods he hoped it was. He wanted to please her more than anyone ever had or ever will and that included his dream counterpart.

"Better than." The dream had nothing on the real person. Orm was nothing short of exquisite as a lover. 

He writhed underneath her, his hips moving up to join hers in fast succession once she had gotten used to the new angle. He looked so beautiful and ethereal on her white sheets, panting in pleasure and sweat covering his body. With one hard thrust, he came inside her. Familiar cold heavy liquid filling her. In his climax, he called out her name. Closing his eyes tightly, he bared his neck and the grip on her hips tightened hard enough to surely leave handprints once they were done. The image of him in ecstasy imprinted itself in her mind; it was a sight she was never going to forget and she was sure to revisit in her fantasies.

She rode him through his orgasm and reached her own just as he seemed to come down from his. His cock had not even begun to soften. The feeling of her coming with him still inside her made him groan in pleasure. He returned her favour and thrust up again and again until she had come down from her peak. She unceremoniously fell on top of him and he wrapped an arm around her. 

He kissed the top of her head and smiled. He tried to move her but was met with sounds of protest. "We need to clean up." 

He was no longer out of breath and sounded like he had already recovered enough for another round. He was also still rock hard inside her. She was not about to move anytime soon. She was quite comfortable sleeping on his chest. "We can clean up later."

"As you wish," he chuckled. He had expected her to jump up at the chance of cleaning up. Perhaps she had already forgotten how hard it was to remove dried Atlantean cum from the skin. "I love you, Sevian."

"I love you, Orm," she said closing her eyes and deciding to let sleep overcome her. It had been a long day and Orm was not going anywhere any time soon. She would get to experience an Atlantean soldier's stamina in bed some other time.

***

Sevian woke up to the wonderful feeling of another naked body spooning her. Sometime during the night, he had moved them under the covers and had arranged them to sleep in the position they now found themselves in. She snuggled closer to the slightly cool body against her back, holding his left arm tighter around her waist. He was still fast asleep and had not even stirred from her movements. She sighed in pure happiness; she could absolutely get used to waking up like this.

The bliss was cut short by her body reminding her of the dry yet oddly sticky and thick substance coating her inner thighs. The substance was also still inside of her. She groaned, she really should have listened to Orm and cleaned up last night. It would take forever to get it out. Still, she was in no hurry to go to the bathroom, she would accept the discomfort in exchange of staying in his arms. 

She did not have to wait too long, half an hour later, Orm stirred up awake. Sevian turned in his arms and was the met with a sight she wished she could immortalise in a painting. His hair was in disarray, his eyes sleep heavy and his face was fully relaxed. It was the single most beautiful sight she had ever seen. 

"Good morning, Orm," she greeted him, kissing his forehead. Orm found the tone far too cheery for someone who had just woken up. Then again, there was reason to be cheerful that morning.

"It is a good morning, Sevian," he said with a smile that reached his eyes. He raised a hand to stroke her right cheek. She leaned into his touch and raised a hand to rest on his bare hips. 

Orm had never dared to hope to find someone he loved with all his heart and who loved him just as much as well. If he were to be honest with himself, he had expected to someday end up in a relationship of convenience- not one based on love. But the Gods had blessed him with Sevian.

They showered together that morning, in between sharing chaste unhurried kissed under the water, Orm helped her clean the mess from the previous night. She only had one bathrobe so Orm had to wrap a towel around his hips to keep his modesty, but she was not complaining. She was still embracing him, arms wrapped around his waist, when her door chimed. Her lips left his and she stared at the direction of sound in confusion.

"I'm not expecting anyone," she said. It could not be any of her friends, she had told them she would be unavailable that morning without going too much into detail. Who exactly would be coming to see her at what was basically an ungodly hour to visit someone?

Orm smiled down at her, stepping back from her embrace. "I let the meal staff know that I will be here for breakfast this morning and not my quarters." He already missed her touch. "It must be them." She smiled up at him, that was good thinking on his part. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave his presence to go to the dining hall.

He went to open the door and Sevian went to sit in the living area. She glanced at the bed, it was a complete mess and it would not take a genius to know what caused that mess. At least their clothes were neatly folded on a chair though; Orm must have cleaned up a little last night after she had fallen asleep. Their state of undress, wet hair and strong smell of shower gel filling the entire room would not help matters either but Orm did not seem bothered by the staff knowing what had transpired. Case in point, he was already opening the door without so much as wearing his tunic. 

The staff greeted Orm and then Sevian once they were inside. They did not glance at the bed nor seem surprised at their state of undress. They arranged the food on her small dining table and nodded at her with a small smile before leaving the room. The gesture, as small and insignificant as it may seem to others, made Sevian's heart fill with warmth. They had not looked down on her or seemed annoyed at her being with their beloved prince. That small smile felt like an approval and she appreciated it. 

They decided to spend the day in each other's company without the presence of others to distract them. Sevian also finally got to experience what Atlantean stamina truly could do. 

***

The news of their relationship did not surprise her friends when she told them a few days after consummating their relationship. They had seen the relationship coming from a mile away. According to Rena and her husband, the two had already been acting like lovers months before their confession. And to Alex, they were : "simply dancing around each other and being dramatic for no reason".

Orm had told her that his friends had had similar reactions to him telling them. If their friends were to be believed, then they had wasted a lot of time being afraid of virtually nothing. But Sevian did not think of it as a waste of time. At the end of it all, they came together when they were both ready to begin a relationship and that was what was important.

***

Orm was from the capital city itself, a place where public displays of affection were mostly non existent. But whether it was in private or in the public eye, Orm was not one to hide his affection towards her. Be it holding her hands in the streets or resting a hand on the small of her back when in crowded places or kissing her when he was in a particularly good mood.

Even as they sat beside each other at a musical hall, Orm held Sevian's hand in his. He had held it since they had sat down. So natural was the action that she only noticed when he raised their hands to place a soft kiss on her hand. She turned away from the performance to look at a slightly smiling Orm. The happiness in his eyes made her heart fill with warmth. She had a part in that happiness. She could not be more grateful to any higher power that existed for giving her the chance to be a part of this man's life.

He had already gone back to watching the performance but Sevian found herself distracted by the sight of him. At times, it still felt like a dream to be with him. The love she felt for him sometimes frightened her, she had never loved anyone as much as she did him. But knowing he felt the same way towards her pushed away any thoughts of doubt she could have ever had. 

"Orm, can I ask you something?" She asked.

He turned back his attention to her and nodded, "You can ask me anything," he answered.

"You're very affectionate with me in public," she stated and he raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm complaining in any way whatsoever because I'm not, you have the green light to be as affectionate as you want," she reassured him just in case he was beginning to misunderstand her line of questioning. "But this city isn't exactly Belusis and most couples don't even hold hands outside. I guess what I'm curious about is, why aren't you as censored as the people in the city you grew up in?"

The question made him smile and kiss her hand again, "My grandmother was Belusian and my mother grew up there. As a child, she taught me to never hide my love and affection. That I should be open to showing love towards those that are dear to my heart." If Sevian liked Queen Mother Atlanna before, she loved her now; she was the one to thank for Orm's open affection towards her. "Even with my father's opposing teachings after her false death, a part of me never truly forgot what she had taught me. And I have come to realise that this form of affection is something you and I both enjoy. "

"I definitely enjoy it," she said and moved closer to him to rest her head on his shoulder, "You have a wonderful mom, Orm." She tried not to think too much about her past relationship with her own mother, lest it turned the sweet atmosphere into a bitter one. The relationship was slowly mending and maybe, someday, there would not be as much hurt when she remembered the past.

***

Atlanteans were not ones for gossip. Everyone tended to keep to themselves and mind their own businesses but as with all things there were exceptions to the norm. 

"Have any good news to tell us, Orm?" Arthur had asked during one of their weekly 'family' dinners. Everyone paused from eating to turn their attention to Orm.

"News?" It was quite the odd question. If there was any news to speak of, good or otherwise; as king, Arthur would already know about it and would not need to ask.

Arthur grinned at Orm and leaned forward. It was good to see his older brother that happy and Orm wondered what it was that had caused it so that he could share in his happiness. Perhaps Arthur was the one with the good news.

"So… Rumour has it my dear brother has a girlfriend," Arthur said, expecting Orm to either give a vague answer or to deny it so that he could tease him a bit. The younger did always give the best frowns when teased. 

Orm immediately came to realise that someone had whispered something to the king concerning his current relationship status. No matter, it was no secret. Although he would have preferred his family find out from him and not from Phaeton, one of the royal advisors that had accompanied him to the fisherman Kingdom. He had no doubt it was Phaeton; he was the most loosed mouth Atlantean he had ever known.

"It is not a rumour," he calmly stated and continued to eat his meal. An audible gasp could be heard from next to him. Wide eyes and open mouths were the reactions of the five other people at the dining table. 

His mother was first to recover from the shock. "I'm happy for you, my son," she said and Orm turned to look at her, only to see her rising from her seat. She made her way towards him and leaned down to wrap her arms around him. He smiled and returned the warm hug. 

"Thank you, mother." She then let go but not without planting a kiss on his cheeks. It took all her might to not cry; his son had so much love to give and it filled her with happiness to know that he finally had someone to pour all that love into.

"I, too, am delighted for you my prince," Vulko said with an affectionate smile. 

"Thank you," Orm said without as much ice in his tone as he normally used with the advisor. He was not oblivious, he knew Vulko had a hand in Sevian being his charge. But he could not fault him or be angry at him for that. If it had not been for him, Orm would have missed his chance at love. Orm still had not forgiven him, would never forgive him for the decades of lies and deceit but he was still thankful towards him for meddling in his and Sevian's affairs.

"Me too, Orm," Mera said with a smile of her own and Orm thanked her in turn as well. Unlike Vulko, Mera had been forgiven. It took months but Orm came to understand her motivations for betraying him. She always thought of Atlantis and Xebel in all her actions. She loved her kingdoms and, in the end, she had only been doing what she believed was best to minimise bloodshed for her people.

“You deserve happiness kid,” Tom, his stepfather said and Orm thanked him with a smile. It took him living with them in Atlantis for Orm to realise how good of a man Tom was. He understood why his mother had fallen for him. It might take time but Orm could see himself fully considering the man family someday.

"I'm happy for you, Orm," Arthur said, grinning from ear to ear and rising from his seat. Orm sighed turned in his chair to ready himself for the imminent hug Arthur was about to give. "I'm glad you finally found someone worthy," he added. When he finally reached Orm's side, he pulled him off the chair, giving him a crushing hug that Orm gladly returned. He would never admit it to anyone, but he loved being treated with that much affection by his older brother.

After Arthur let go, he was slightly at a lose as to why they all acted as if he had announced his marriage. Although, thinking clearly about it; they probably realised that if he was with her, he planned to marry her someday. He was not one for casual relationships, they held no substance or use for him. Being with Sevian gave him a love that was beyond a physical and emotional bond, it felt like a touch of divinity. She was his home and he hoped he was hers. He wanted to be with her to his last dying day. She was 'it' for him. Even the mere thought of her was enough to make his heart flutter.

"Who is she? Do we know her?" Mera asked.

"Sevian, my charge." 

Mera raised both her eyebrows and widened her eyes at Orm's answer. "A surfacer? I did not see that coming." No one else in the room seemed surprised, which came as a surprise to Orm too. 

"You are the only one," Arthur retorted with a laugh.

"The rest of you knew?" Orm asked and was met with resounding affirmations. 

"How? Were we that obvious?" 

"You were not subtle at all," Atlanna said with a smile and Vulko nodded in agreement. 

Other than Mera, who had been busy dealing with Xebel's issues of succession and had not been around the city as much in the last few months; the others had already known about it through different channels. Arthur had found out when they had kissed in the palace docking bay right in front of him as if he were blind and Phaeton had confirmed it without him even asking about it. His mother knew because Vulko had told her months ago that perhaps her son took after her and she had seen how Orm looked at his charge when they were in her presence. Tom had known through Atlanna and Vulko knew everything that went on in Atlantis.

"By the way, Vulko, how did you know making her his charge would be good for them?" Arthur asked and Vulko almost choked on his meal. 

He looked at Arthur in distress. If he said anything about what he saw years ago, Orm would hate him even more than he already did. He did not want to lose the civility Orm had been showing him lately. But at the same time, he could not lie to his king. The best course of action would be to drop unconscious and avoid answering. Alas, the gods were not on his side that day and Arthur stared at him in anticipation.

"I- I- believed-" Vulko never stuttered but for once, he was at a lose as to what to say.

Orm would have loved to continue watching the man squirm but it was best to just tell Arthur himself. He sighed, "I met her 2 years ago at a beach," he began and everyone's attention turned back to him. "After conversing with one another for a few minutes, we felt a mutual need for understanding and comfort. Vulko contacted me to let me know about you and Mera's whereabouts when Sevian was in bed with me. I believe that is why he advised you to pair us together."

Mera blinked hard in surprise: The Orm of then would not have trusted a surfacer with the life of a random fish in the sea, let alone trust them enough to be intimate with them. She truly needed to meet the surfacer who managed the impossible. 

The gears in Arthur's head were turning quickly at Orm's revelation. Had he heard Orm right or were his ears messing with him?

"Wait, you had sex with her minutes after meeting her?" He asked. "Damn you work fast. Didn't know you had it in you." He was not going to bring up the fact that Orm hated surfaces at the time. But still, Orm did not seem the type to have a one-night stand with a stranger. 

"He gets it from me," Atlanna said with a bright smile. Arthur's eyes widened and his face lost all its colour. He felt true horror for the first time in his life. There were some things one did not need to know about their mother. 

Orm smirked at Arthur's reaction and tried his best not to laugh. "Good job, son," Atlanna said to Orm with a proud smile. She was glad that her son had taken the initiative for his love life just as she had with Tom. 

"So, tell us about her, Orm. What is she like? Why did she want to be part of the 1000," Arthur's father asked to steer the conversation into a less uncomfortable subject as Arthur seemed seconds away from passing out.

The dinner lasted longer than it ordinarily would have but Orm found himself unable to stop talking about Sevian once he had started. It was evident to his family that the young prince was head over heels in love and they could not have been happier for him.

Chapter Text

A mere four days after the family dinner; Orm revealed to his friends that he wanted to invite Sevian to join his family. That he was ready for a union with her. They were unsurprised and more than happy for him, however he was reminded of a significant tradition for the engagement that even most Atlanteans would find uncomfortable. One that even Mera, an ocean dweller who grew up in Atlantis, had been less than comfortable with the both times she was put through it.

As an Atlantean royal, he would have to propose to her in public. A proposal broadcasted to the whole kingdom in real-time. It would overwhelm Sevian but he had no other option. If he were to ask her in private, it would make their marriage null and void. If he were to ask his friends to warn her before time, it would lead to the same conclusion. It would be hard on her, but later, after he had asked her and she had said ‘Yes’- because she would accept his invitation. He knew her well enough to have no doubt on what her answer would be- he would explain why it was necessary. He also knew she would be understanding, nonetheless he wished he didn’t have to put her in such a massive uncomfortable spotlight without warning. 

As for his family, he did not need to reveal his intentions to marry her to them. It was implied once he announced that he would be inviting her to one of their family dinners sometime soon. They too were content for him. Although Mera, ever the most practical, pointed out what could be a huge obstacle for his happily ever after.

“What about the living situation? What if she doesn’t want to remain in Atlantis? What if she decides to go back to the surface when the exchange program ends?” She asked him. Her waning to leave Atlantis was a very clear possibility. After all, she was only a visitor. “Have you thought of that?”

But Orm didn’t need time to think about it. His response to Mera was immediate, “Then I would join her. I would live in the trenches if that is where she wished to live.”

“You’d give up Atlantis for her?”

“I would not need to.” And she would never ask that of him. Of that he was certain. “I would think of ways to continue to be of service to this Kingdom wherever I may be.”

Arthur smirked and nodded, “That’s my little brother.” There was pride in his tone and Orm smiled to himself. He would never tire of Arthur calling him that.

It came as no surprise to them that the ‘soon’ Orm had stated would be the very next family dinner. Orm had been worried that Sevian would feel pressured by the meeting yet it had been nice and lacked any sort of drama. She did not seem nervous at all as she answered all of his family’s questions. She talked about herself and why she came to Atlantis, which put her in Mera's good books; anyone who loved Atlantis was a great person to Mera. 

His mother asked her about her family back home and Sevian did not hide her shaky family relationship. That kind of honesty was something his mother greatly admired. Orm could not help but smile as he saw his mother smiling fondly at Sevian and thanking her for loving her son, for helping him understand the surface and for the comfort she gave him when he needed it most. The latter made Sevian choke on her drink. She was still a bit unused to the casual manner Atlanteans spoke of sex. His mother had accepted Sevian and that was the very most important thing for him. 

The second most important was Arthur's acceptance of her. Despite her difficulty in just calling him by name, which amused Arthur to no end, she managed to answer Arthur’s question on what made her fall in love with his brother.

"It wasn't just one thing that made me fall for your brother. Orm is not afraid of owning up to his mistakes and learning from them. He keeps his promises. He has been caring towards me even at a time when he could have taken advantage of me and hurt me in a way that I could never have recovered from. From the very first day we met, he has been honest and kind to me. I came to learn that his beauty was not only skin deep, his heart was just as beautiful, if not more so. I fell in harder when he released a spider back into the forest when he could have crushed it as many people would have- myself included. He is not perfect and I could go on and on and attempt to spew poetry on all the many things that made my heart beat for him. The simplest answer to your question is that being with him feels right.”

In the days leading to the dinner, she had been filled with nerves and had felt close to having panic attacks,though Orm had assured her that it would be fine and if she found it too much, he would make an excuse for them to leave early. All she had to do was pinch his thighs as a signal. 

The conversation she had had with Lanna the day before the dinner had not particularly helped matters.

“In our culture, inviting your lover to an official introductory family dinner means that you wish to marry them,” the doctor had said.

“Really?” Orm wanted to marry her? It had seemed a bit too far fetched and Sevian asked him to be sure she had heard him right. 

“If it goes well. The next step is him asking you to marry him publicly. In front of the entire kingdom as he’s a royal.”

“Publicly?” Sevian had asked him, her voice going a few pitches higher. The only thing she could manage were one word questions. Lanna was scrambling her brain with what she was saying.

With a nod, Lanna had answered, “It is an uncomfortable experience, even for us Atlanteans. Nevertheless you have to understand that he cannot ask you in private or warn you of it. It would make the union invalid in the eyes of the law. I would also advice you to not try to ask him to marry you first to avoid that. It is futile. He will have to tell you ‘No’. He will not be able to explain his reasons for refusing and he will still go ahead with the legal public engagement.”

“Are you sure about this? Won’t that pressure the non royal to say yes? ” How can the one who proposed ever be certain that the ‘Yes’ was a genuine one and not a peer pressured answer? Or was that the point? That the person would feel too uncomfortable to refuse? It seemed manipulative and not like something Orm would be fond of doing to Sevian.

Lanna had looked at her in amusement before answering. “I am certain. It is how we proceed with such marriages. There is no pressure. It is only for the royal to declare their intention. The answer is meant to be given in private and no one will think less of you if you refuse it then.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” Sevian had sighed, her mind still running at a thousand miles an hour. 

At Lanna’s look of confusion, she had clarified, “It’s a surface term meaning thank you for making me aware of what to expect.”

“You are welcome. Although, as you are a surfacer, I could be in the wrong. Don’t be disappointed if it does not happen.”

“I won’t.” She would. She one hundred percent would. The only thoughts in her mind were about the idea of marrying Orm. Of promising themselves to each other until death do them part. She would like that. She would love that and that admission geared up her nervousness. If that were even possible.

‘Whatever will happen will happen.’ She had said to herself that night. Deciding that stressing and feeling that nervous about the dinner would help absolutely no one. She had taken a deep breath and accepted that she could not control what his family would think of her. She could only show them who she was and have no regrets.

In the end the idea to signal Orm to leave early did not even cross her mind at any time throughout the dinner. It was simple, unpretentious and quite frankly, the best family dinner Sevian had ever had.

***

A week passed. Then a second one. On the third week, Sevian had put the idea of being proposed to to the back of her mind. Orm behaved as he always did and not full of nerves like someone that may be planning a proposal would be. Lanna had been wrong. But it was fine. Although she would be lying if she were to claim that it didn’t disappoint her a little bit. Perhaps he was worried about overwhelming her with a public proposal or that she would say no or it was a simple misunderstanding and he had no intention of asking for her hand in marriage? 

No matter, she had already come to a decision after a week had passed with no action from Orm; once the exchange program was over, she herself would ask him to marry her so that he would get the hint of her being ready for his proposal. If he himself was not ready for marriage, it would be fine too. She could wait for him to be ready. She knew he was the one she wanted to spend her life with. Good things are worth the wait and he was definitely good for her. He would be worth the wait. 

Things finally came to head in the middle of the third week. She had been learning underwater sculpting with Orm and a few other people from the exchange program in a class taught by one of Orm’s friends, Commander Murk, in one of the palaces vast rooms. The sculptures would be made of pulverised fish bones made into a cement like substance that was quick to dry underwater. A long lasting, bio-degradable and eco-friendly material. One of the class surfacer attendees was a constructor and he was having the time of his life asking Murk questions about how the material could be used on a larger scale. A sudden chime of everyone’s Median at the same time made everyone pause from what they had been doing. The sound had startled many, ruining a few sculptures as concentration had been lost and the cement solidified quickly.

The Median message was that of the royal family wanting to address all the residents of Atlantis at 13h00 for an important announcement. They had barely finished reading the first message when a second one arrived. It was intended for all palace residents and employees. They were to present themselves in the throne room at 13h00 for the announcement.

There were murmurs and looks of confusion around the room except for Commander Murk and Orm who looked unfazed. As a matter of fact Murk was smiling- well, grinning but it was a content sort of grin and Orm had a soft smile on his face. It confused Sevian even more, why did they look so unconcerned while the other Atlanteans in the room looked just as confused as she and the surfacers felt?

“Orm?” She whispered and he hmm-ed turning to give her his full attention.

“Yes, my love.” The way he said it was in such a nervous tone, it took her by surprise. His voice had an uncharacteristic tremble to it. Like he was afraid of whatever she wanted to say.

“Are you... okay?” She asked instead of what she had intended to ask.

“I’m more than fine,” He answered. His voice back to his usual smooth and confident tone. Perhaps she had heard wrong. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing. Do you know what that announcement is about? I mean it must be important if we are all getting alerts. Should I be worried?”

He takes one of her hands in his and entwined their fingers. “I cannot tell you what it is about. It is an announcement that comes from Arthur himself so you will have to wait like everyone else. Or it would not be fair to the rest, but rest assured, you have nothing to worry about. It is not bad news.”

The throne room was filled to the brim. Orm had said not to worry. However, there were more Atlantean guards around this time around than on the first day she had arrived in Atlantis. Not only guards but also Atlantean military as well. Every single palace inhabitant had come to the throne room. It felt a slight bit overwhelming to have so many people in one area, yet it still was not cramped. She stood amongst other surfaces. Orm had left her to go stand by his brother’s side. She could see Lanna and Rena a bit further back in the room and Alexis was in the far front near where the King and his family were. He must have been one of the first people to arrive.

Arthur stood and the entire room went quiet, all attention now to the King.

“Thank you all for coming and for those of you watching from around the kingdom, thank you for watching this announcement. As it’s tradition, we, the ruling family, would like to announce our intent to add into the family. We are pretty happy to offer this invitation to someone who means quite a lot to my brother’s heart. I’ll now let our incredible Prince Orm proceed with his intent. ” He announced and turned to nod at Orm. A bright smile on his face.

Sevian barely heard the last sentence as her heart threatened to rip out of her rib cage. Is this what Lanna had warned her about? Is this really going to happen? Her stomach was in excited twists and her hands trembled. She was worried she was either going to burst into tears of joy or pass out.

Orm uttered a quiet thank you to Arthur, grasping his arms for a moment before letting go. He began to make his way towards the crowd. People moved out of the way as he passed, Atlanteans slightly bowing at him as he passed them. When he reached her, she didn’t step out of the way. It didn’t take a genius to know that she was his destination.

She looked up at him with a smile on her face. A similar expressions could be found on his. The bright lights of the throne room illuminated his ocean eyes and made his hair shine like the sun. He looked ethereal and by the stars she loved that man and it didn’t matter how he was going to propose, she would still say ‘Yes’. 

He took her right hand in his hands and knelt down on the magnetised floor. Soft gasps came from around them. Not from the Atlanteans but from the surfacers. The scene taking place in front of them is not one they could have ever imagined when they stepped foot in the cold waters of the Atlantic ocean. It was not a scene that could have ever crossed Sevian’s mind when she first met the prince that cold summer evening.

Instead of gasps, there was a slight look of confusion amongst the Atlanteans. They did not understand why the prince had knelt in front of the surfacer. Had they misunderstood the purpose of the announcement? It became clear as Orm led Sevian’s hand to rest against his heart. No, they had not misunderstood.

She could feel the rapid beating of his heart that mimicked her own. She could feel the tremble in the hands covering her own and she let out a sigh. It really was happening. Tears threatened to roll down her face.

“From the very first day that I met you, I felt a connection to you. At first a connection of mutual need and desire for the understanding of affection. Then you came to Atlantis and the Gods blessed me with the opportunity to know you. In knowing you, I came to love you. You who warms my heart, trusts me and treats me with care. I ask you for the chance to keep you happy until my soul loses its light. I want to protect you and give all of myself to you. You made me understand love. I have come to love more than I have ever loved before and I thank you with all of my being for it is because of you. ” He smiles brightly at her. His eyes showing traces of red. Tears that the ocean had swept away. “I respect you. I honour you. I love you and I cannot envision a future without you.”

She let the tears roll down her face. This was overwhelmingly beautiful. She could feel his adoration in his words.

Orm then stood up and straightened himself to his full height. In a clear and carrying voice that no one could claim to not have heard, he said, “I, Prince Orm Marius. Son of Queen Atlanna. Direct descendant of Founder King Atlan. Invite you, Sevian Dilac, to join my family, to spend this lifetime and the next with me. Will you accept my invitation?” 

She gasped out. She could barely see with the tears clouding her eyes. Words escaped her. Lanna had been right and yet she still could not believe it was truly happening. She took a deep breath and used her free hand to wipe away the tears behind her mask. She then forced sound to come out of her lips.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” She asked in a choked out voice and the whole throne room remained quiet but Orm laughed softly. 

“Yes, even so, you do not have to give me a response right now. The answer is to be private.”

“I know but I don’t want to wait. I accept your invitation. I’ll marry you.” She released her right hand from his, quickly turned off her mask and pulled him down to press her lips against his. It was sloppy and wet from the sea water and she couldn’t stop smiling, however, they both did not care. It was not their best kiss, very likely one of the worst they had shared, nevertheless, it would be the most memorable one in their entire lives.

There were loud variations of “Congratulations” echoing all around them, yet in that moment, the room might as well have been empty as they only saw each other.

***

After spending hours in the throne room accepting words of congratulations and having dinner with their loved ones, sleep was their only priority that night.

Sevian laid besides Orm, her head neatly tucked under his chin. She fought to stay awake but there was an important topic she wanted to discuss with him that could potentially affect their union. But she had no doubt that they would be able to work it through and find a compromise.

“If I said I was going back to the surface at the end of the 12 months, would you still wish to marry me?” She asked and Orm opened his eyes. He had been about to let sleep overtake him.

“Yes,”he answered without pause and tightened his arms around her before closing his eyes again. 

“You’d have to move to the surface,” she retorted and he opened his eyes again. 

“And I would. It is not an impulsive answer. I have spent weeks thinking about it and I would follow you anywhere.” He would do that for her? She was all out of tears, yet she could feel her eyes trying to make more. He really had thought the scenario that she thought would be an issue for them before making the decision to ask for her hand in marriage.

“But your life is here.” He’d have only her on the surface. No friends. No other family. No status. If they were to go to the surface, he would have a lot to lose. And yet he would be willing to accept all of that to be with her.

“My life is with you and I can still do my duties for the crown from the surface. I’d only ask that we live somewhere near the ocean, it would make it easier for me to make trips to Atlantis. ” No hesitation. No doubts. He would upend his life for her. He’d make compromises for her. To have someone so fully devoted to her, willing to go to such lengths for her was not something Sevian could have ever imagined for herself. She had once thought herself incapable of being loved. How could she have been so wrong?

“We don’t have to leave. I had already decided to stay in Atlantis,” she said, raising her head to look him in the eyes. She would stay. Even so, she appreciated that he would have gone with her if she had decided not to.

He responded by placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “Atlantis or the Surface. I’d move to any corner of the world with you. All you’d have to do is ask. But I am glad that you have chosen to remain in Atlantis.”

Sleep was beginning to call onto her when Orm remembered what she had said to him when accepting his invitation. She had said she knew the answer to his proposal was to be private. But, how? 

“Lanna told me what to expect after you invited me to dinner with your family.” She answered in a sleepy voice when he asked.

“That’s good. Remind me to thank him for that. I was afraid the surprise announcement would overwhelm you. I assure you, I had no other choice.”

“I know. Him telling me allowed me to mentally prepare for it in case it did happen. But even if he hadn’t told me, my answer would have been yes. I would have been overwhelmed. Still, the answer was always going to be yes.”

In Atlantean tradition, there are no engagement rings as they believe wearing proofs of marriage before marriage could only lead to a short and unhappy union. Orm had been willing to compromise and provide her with an engagement ring. Although, after knowing the reason why his people didn’t wear them, she was more that willing to bypass that surface tradition. 

She found solace in the fact that all wedding rings were custom made. There has never been two couples with the same set of rings. There were no pre-made rings to buy. No, it was for each couple to have a ring that represented them both so the afternoon of the day after the proposal. Orm took them to the royal jeweller. She would forge rings that would best represent their union.

Chapter Text

The exchange programme was ending. The bittersweet atmosphere around the capital city more than showed it. There were festivities all around the city organised by both Atlanteans and Surfacers. A 'final' cultural exchange. Sevian herself was a part of those festivities. She was helping at a book stand showcasing Earth's modern authors.

A year had passed by so fast. In three days, the Surfacers would have to decide on leaving or staying in the underwater Kingdom. Alexis had told her in confidence that he would be leaving for the surface. At some point, he had wanted to stay but after deliberating for weeks on end, he realised he would eventually be unhappy in Atlantis and miss his loved ones. She would miss him, but they had decided to try to keep in touch.

With the last days preparations, Orm was too busy to join in on the festivities. She had barely seen him these last few days except at night-time. She missed him but it also allowed her to spend more time with her departing friend as they perused the festivities, from musical concerts and dance performances to food and public sparring. It was fascinating to see Surfacers dancing and cooking Atlantean food while the water dwellers danced to explicit surfacer songs.

When the final day arrived, the Surfacers lined themselves up in the throne room as they had done on the day of their arrival. Arthur asked each person individually and by calling out their name if they would stay or leave. More than six hundred chose to stay and Sevian officially voiced out her intention. The answer brought a smile to Orm’s lips. It was not a surprise but to hear her declare it in the open could only fill him with joy. As of that day, she was no longer a visitor but a citizen of the Kingdom.

With the end of the program, the preparations for their union became the centrepiece of the palace’s affairs. Her quarters were cleared out by the staff as she officially moved to Orm’s quarters. No- not his quarters but theirs as it was now both their home.

The palace seemed busier than usual as they prepared the guest quarters. Speaking of which, she stopped procrastinating and finally contacted her family to let them know of her upcoming nuptials. Her mother has been ecstatic for her, her siblings showed a bit of passive joy as well. She did not care if they came but they had said they would. It was quite unfortunate to admit to herself that the only one's presence she cared for was her mother's.

The marriage stopped feeling like a dream when Orm and Sevian were summoned by the royal jeweller to pick up their rings. Platinum and diamond rings in the shape of an arrow that wrapped around itself three times. Their names were engraved inside in Atlantean cursive with two simple words in English that resonated with them “Not alone”. They had each other, now and for as long as they would both continue to choose roe another. Perhaps, until death made them part.

The time had finally come. They were to be spouses after what had been a random encounter at a ravaged beach.

Sevian was not religious and had told Orm she had no need for a religious Surface wedding. All that mattered for her was their commitment to each other. They would have a traditional Atlantean wedding with the additional presence of an officiator from her country to make their marriage legal above as below.

Atlantean weddings were in three parts over three days. The first was the pre-wedding ceremony where the couples were to visit Aphrodite’s and Poseidon’s temples to ask for a successful and blessed union. The second part was the actual marriage ceremony itself with an exchange of vows and her coronation as princess. The very last part was to be after the ceremony to confirm the consummated marriage. In principle, they would have to make love in the presence of an Aphrodite priestess. It was the one part she was not looking forward to.

Atlanteans did not have honeymoons. It had been an interesting concept for Sevian to have to explain to Orm.

"Oh, we do have that. We call it the year of bonding. The newlyweds travel together for twelve months." He had said after she finished her explanations.

A yearlong honeymoon sounded great to her in theory but there was a problem to it. "I'm supposed to begin a new job." She did not want to lose her job before she even began.

"It's alright. Employees are bound to respect the year of bonding. It is a paid leave, and you will begin your job on your return with no consequences."

"Won't it be odd to go on leave before I start?"

"Do not worry. It happens quite often. People find new jobs, get married and go on the yearlong bonding then come back to their jobs."

She smiled in relief at his words. “I can see more of the underwater world,” she said with a smile, “and if you were willing. I would love to travel the surface world with you.”

He took her hands in his and said, “It would be an honour to experience where you came from. To understand the surface world better."

She kissed him softly, already anticipating the adventures they would have together.

With that in mind they spent the last remaining days before their wedding to plan their honeymoon. They agreed on seven months on the surface and five in the ocean with a return to Belusis included.

Chapter Text

Sevian's mother and siblings came to Atlantis 3 days before the wedding ceremonies were to begin. Orm accompanied her to welcome them. It was only natural. It would also be the first time he was meeting her family. To say it made her nervous would be an understatement. She knew that Orm wouldn't think differently of her if the welcoming party didn't end up being as warm as a normal family's get-together would be. But she felt closer to her mother than before. The distance had brought them closer together.

She held on tightly to Orm's hand as the doors of the private transport began opening.

Her mother was the first out of the door and made quick steps to surprise Sevian with a crushing hug that she had happily returned. It was incredible to see her and feel her motherly warmth. They hadn't had a hug like that since her father's death anniversary 5 years beforehand. She had missed her mother for years, longer than she had been in Atlantis. "My little girl is getting married,” she said. She then pulled back and looked at Sevian with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, I am," Sevian answered with a smile, moving on to hug her siblings who had stepped out of the vessel. She had had no expectations on their coming. It was a nice enough surprise to have them there. It was Wednesday, a workday, and the middle of a workweek. It touched her that they had made the effort to come earlier than the wedding date itself.

Sevian stepped away from them after greeting them and moved to stand by a smiling Orm who was politely waiting for an introduction. She held his hand in hers once more.

"I'd like you all to meet my soon to be husband, Orm Marius. Prince of Atlantis."

"My god, he's pretty." Her brother said before Orm could open his mouth. Orm smiled brightly and uttered a genuine, "Thank you."

His brother's words made everyone else chuckle and it had been enough to lighten up what would have been a very awkward atmosphere. 

The dinner that evening between her family and Orm’s was as uneventful as can be: Introductions were made, mothers shared childhood stories and her brother developed a weird fixation on the Atlanteans looks. “Are you all naturally beautiful or is it some sought of technology?” he had dared to ask a flustered Atlanna. She had responded with a very long monologue on sea dwelling and the benefits of the food they ate on their genetic makeup.

For the days leading to the wedding, Orm and Sevian split their time into wedding preparations and playing tour guides for her family. Unfortunately, that meant very little time left to just be by themselves. Except for the very last night. She had convinced Orm to take them to the surface before they called it a day. And not just anywhere on the surface; the very first place they had met.

Even before they had parked by the beach, they could see it brightened up and glowing. She turned to her side and looked at Orm's surprised expression.

"This area of the sea does not have bioluminescent organisms." He muttered as they stopped. He turned to look at her, expecting to find the same surprised expression her face but instead, he was met with a smile filled with love and fondness.

"Follow me," she said stepping out of the vehicle and walking ahead. He had no choice but to follow. Which he did eagerly. Taking her hand in his as they walked out of the water.

There were 3 Atlantean guards standing a few meters away from the beach. How curious. Had they expected their arrival? What of the strange brightness of the beach?

"I had to enlist your brother's help to get the guards and prepare this, but I thought it was worth coming back here one last time. Back to the place we met." It dawned on him that the escapade was planned. It had not just been a spontaneous trip on his future wife's part. His heart leaped up in his chest as he realised that it was for him. It was a surprise for him. 

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Back to the start before we enter our new chapter in life. Together."

"Thank you," he said. He loved her. By the gods, he loved her with every passing moment, “Thank you for bringing us back here. Thank you for loving me and for allowing me to love you."

She took her hand out of his and lowered his forehead down to place a kiss on it.

"Thank you for coming to the beach that day."

She then took his hand again and began making her way through the lit-up pathway. He knew where they were headed, he could never forget that place. He never would and he was eager to see it again.

The cabin seemed renovated, the greys of its walls now white. The door handle shined brighter. The windowpanes were no longer see through. He fully expected to force the door open like last time. He felt apologetic towards the owner but made a mental note to send the person some gold coins for “invading” his home. But Sevian stopped him before he could force it open.   

“I have the key. The owner came back but a few gold coins from the money Arthur gave the surfacers were enough to convince him to leave the cabin for us for the night and to make it presentable." Orm responded my kissing her hand. He made a mental note to sneakily find a way to give her back those coins.

The light switch worked. The furniture was as the first time they met but clean and dust free. The red and black covers were neatly folded and place on the chair by the bed, leaving only the red sheets and satin pillow on the bed.

They undressed each other this time. Slowly, without any rush. When he later on lowered her naked form on the bed he said, "I am Orm Marius and I am to be your husband tomorrow." No longer an introduction, but an affirmation of their future.
 
"I am Sevian Dilac and I shall be your wife tomorrow."

His bare skin moving against hers wasn't new. Their kisses and touches were far from tentative. Merging into one wasn't a desperation for connection. It wasn't a need for affection. No, all that they did was old but euphoric nonetheless. It was a connection based on love. It was a sacrament of their knowledge of each other's skin. Touch. Movements. Taste and pleasure. It was love and it felt right.

***

Orm managed to wake them up early enough to make it back to Atlantis and to prepare the start of their nuptial ceremony. They both changed into the Azure coloured traditional pre-wedding clothes. Sevian looked at her fiancé with awe. The Azure matched beautifully with his eyes and hair. 

While Orm took the time to admire how the blue complimented her skin tone, “You’re beautiful,” he couldn’t help but voice out his thoughts.

The journey to the temple of Poseidon was a blur to Sevian. Once they had stepped out of the castle, the way to the temples was paved with people wanting to be a part of their Prince’s event.  It was overwhelming so she chose to focus only on the hand that gripped hers tightly.

Once inside the temple, she took a deep breath. Excluding the 3 high priests that would perform the ceremony, only her family and his were present.

They knelt down in front of the alter. One of the priests handed both of them a cup of green liquid. She knew what it was. Orm had warned her of it in advance. It was blood from a water bull. It symbolised fertility and renewal. She took the cup with both hands.

“May this blood bring fertility in your union. Drink it to begin your life anew as one,” the priest said and they both drank from their cups. Sevian held her breath and drank it without a grimace. It left an iron aftertaste on her tongue. Not horrifying but she would not do it again.

Once the cups were out of their hands, the second priest came to stand before them. He handed them both a small plate with a coin shaped white object in its centre. But it wasn’t an object. It was flesh. The water bull’s raw flesh.

“May this flesh grant you strength in your union. Feast upon it to strengthen your spirit against all that would try to come between you.” They both ate it without hesitance. The taste left much to be desired for Sevian, she wished there had been a glass of water nearby.

The plates were taken away and the last of the priests asked them to hold out their hands. He made a small cut on both their palms and asked them to hold their hands tightly together. Their blood mixing together as he made a prayer to Poseidon to bless their marriage. 

Her hand still bled after they let go of each other. The priest poured some kind of gel on it and it stopped the bleeding. It was kind that they had remembered that she was a surface dweller.

The ceremony at Aphrodite’s temple did not ask of them to eat any meat or drink any animal blood. Only one priestess was present. She stood in front of the alter and they again knelt down.

A scroll was presented to them to write their marriage intent and consent. They were equally meant to write down their wishes towards Aphrodite and ask for her blessing. It took time as Orm made the effort to write in her language so that she may be able to read his vows and she took her time to put her feelings down on paper in a way that felt right for her. The scroll was then placed in a bowl filled with a blue heavy liquid that emitted a blue light as the scroll disintegrated.

They had made their vows to the gods.

The next day was a lot less relaxed from the first. It was the wedding day itself. She feared that something would go wrong but Orm was right there with her alleviating her fears.

It had proceeded as planned. Their gold and white wedding clothes still fitted them perfectly. The rings were with the priest and her country’s officiator. Her family stood on the left side with smiles on their faces. Orm’s family stood on the right with similar smiles on theirs. She forced a smile towards both families.

She then fully ignored the thousands of people in the decorated and transformed throne room. The path towards the officiators had no water. A gift from Orm to Sevian to give her comfort. He kissed the inner side of the wrist of the hand he held as they walked towards the Officiators together.  He could tell she felt nervous and overwhelmed. The wedding was being broadcasted in both the maritime Kingdoms and on the surface. 

“Think only of me and our future together.” He held her hand tighter and she nodded. “My heart lies with you. Lean on me as we go through this.”

She let out a sigh of relief once they were in front of the officiators. Facing Orm, she could pretend no one else existed. Pretend that millions of people were not watching her. They made their vows to each other and signed both their marriage contracts. They were now husband and wife in almost all ways that mattered.

"I love you now, I loved you then and I pray to love you until my soul burns away. I pray to the gods that I meet you in my next life and experience this love once more." Although Sevian was non-religious, there was beauty to be found in the Atlantean vows that they made towards one another where death did not dictate the end of love and marriage.

They celebrated the festivities until late morning of the next day. She had danced and hugged her friends and family more times than she could count. She had smiled and laughed so much that she feared she was developing laugh lines. But the most beautiful and memorable moment for her would be the slow dance she had with Orm. Just the two of them at the centre of the ballroom. His vibrant blue eyes staring into hers with pure happiness.

They showered once they had made their way back to their room and then laid on the bed just holding each other until the inevitable message on both their Median’s announcing the arrival of the Priestess arrived. Truth be told, she had asked Orm that they remain awake until it came time to consummate their wedding in the eyes of an Aphrodite priestess. She would be more self-conscious if they had had a good night’s rest.

She had kept her eyes firmly on Orm’s as they consummated their marriage. It was unnerving to have an audience but she let herself touch him as she usually would. Brought him to the heights of pleasure as he did her until she forgot about the presence of the stranger in their room.

“I have now placed your marriage in the registry. Congratulations.” She heard the priestess say. Her eyes remained closed, enjoying the weight of Orm’s body on top of hers. It was done. They had done all that had been asked of them to be husband and wife. In that moment-holding the form of the man she loved; she felt grateful. Grateful to the friends that had abandoned her on her birthday. If it hadn’t been for them, she would have never found herself at that shoreline. She would have never met the light of her life. For that she was beyond grateful for their neglect.

***

2 YEARS LATER

Sevian had decided to take Orm and Alexis to her favourite Chinese restaurant for her birthday. The same restaurant where her heart had been shattered into pieces. The food tasted heavenly with people that loved and cared about her around her. 

Whatever conversation they were having was cut short when Sevian felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around only to be faced with the very last people her mind would have expected nor wanted to see.

It was the one of the people that had abandoned her. The rest stood behind her.

"We haven't seen you for so long. Where did you disappear too?" The one who had tapped on her shoulder, Mary, said in a cheery voice.

"I was around,” Sevian answered politely. They never did care to contact her after that night she had seen them by the window. She had made the decision to no longer beg for attention. She really did not care for the conversation they were trying to start. "It was good seeing you." It was good to see her past again to know she was no longer the woman they had known before.

"Are these your colleagues?" Mary interrupted, not getting the hint that the conversation was over.

She smiled at them. "That's my friend Alexis," she said gesturing to the man who smiled back at them in a polite manner, "and this is my husband, Orm." 

Perhaps the undesirable conversation was worth the shocked reaction on their faces. Sevian was worthy of love. She just hadn’t been capable of seeing it at the time.