Chapter Text
"Coran, we need to do something to help those humans. Haggar is using Lotor and if we can just give an edge to the other side-"
Coran sighed for what seemed like the tenth time in the last ten dobashes I have been trying to convince him of my plan, "Then what? Princess, I know you want to get revenge on your aunt for what she did to your family-"
I huff as I feel my tail twitch in agitation, "It wasn't just my family she killed. She destroyed our kingdom to only a remaining village that is constantly under attack. Altea is conquered and we are lucky the Arusians allowed us here."
"I understand, I really do, but getting revenge on her for destroying your home is no reason to put you in danger of humans. The only reason why we live is because we stay away from them."
I throw my hands up as I feel Platt move to my shoulder as he rubs his small head on my cheek, "We only met one type of humans and that was thousands of decaphoebs ago. How do we know that not all humans are monsters like the one under Haggar's control?"
"We can't risk you," he insists.
"We need to start attacking and I believe this is a way to do it. We need to cause chaos up there so when we attack Haggar she will be too distracted."
Coran crosses his arms as his mustache twitch, "How are we going to help them? You may have your father's royal powers but you don't know how to control them enough and you don't have the stamina for it."
I swim closer to my uncle, somebody who has become a second father to me after the attacks from that sea witch, and I grab his hands, "I can make a storm. I have practiced enough and I can change the tides against Lotor's men."
Coran shakes his head again and I feel my stomach fall with despair, "You have to be close to the surface and we don't have the men to guard you from any attack."
"I can protect myself-"
"Not against humans and if the witch decides to go hunting you will be lost and Altea will have nobody to grab the throne. I am sorry Allura but it is a risk we cannot take. Go back home and get ready to talk with the Arusians, they are asking for you again."
"But-"
Coran's eyes harden though his love and concern for me are palpable, "No Allura. I will bring Nanny into this if I have to," he threatens.
After I tighten my lips and let go of him, he simply nods his head before he kisses my temple and turns to swim to some business he must finish. I watch him leave for a dobash before I dejectedly swim back to my current home which is just a small establishment that blends in with the environment. I nod my head to the guard, a young merman whose name I believe is Bandor, and quickly enter. I take a deep breath before I turn and punch the pole of my bed.
It takes a moment for the pain to set in but once it does, I start cursing up a storm. I look down at the bed to see my four little guppies staring at me with amused eyes. Somehow, they survived the attack but the rest of their family not so much so I took them in and cared for them, feeling connecting to them despite not being able to speak to them.
“I know it was a stupid idea but Coran said no again. We can’t keep living like this and expect to reclaim our kingdom if we do not fight back.”
They just continued to stare at me as I bite my lip. This is the fourth time in a total in just this phoeb of me trying to put some sense in Coran. Soon Haggar will complete her goal of taking over everything because we were too afraid to fight back. I clench my fists as I cross them over my chest.
Maybe... No. I have never gone close to the surface alone. Using my powers are draining in themselves but having to keep vigilante as well?
But... If we don’t do something then Altea will be lost forever and it won’t matter that I am the last Altean heir.
I shake my head as I feel determination run through me. I will go on my own. If we don’t start fighting, we will just surrender everything and I can’t allow that to happen. With a nod I quickly go grab a bag that should have enough supplies when I need the energy. I look back at the guppies and see them watching me with alert eyes.
“I’ll be back little ones. Cover me, okay? I should be back before I am needed but just in case,” I quickly close the distance and pat their heads before I head toward my window.
With a small grunt I dislodge the cover and escape my room unnoticed. I swim away from the village and toward the screams of men just above the surface. Once I get close enough to the fight that I know I won’t be seen I start checking the area. So far there doesn’t seem to be any of Haggar’s beasts or her goons, only fallen fighters and blood spreading in the water. I take a deep breathe to calm my nerves before I pop my head above the water.
The air is different up here. Every time I inhale it feels like I'm sucking on a mint. It takes me a moment to get used to the feeling of being above water before I start using my magic.
I don’t want it to be too noticeable that the tides magically were tipped to their favor. So, I decide on bringing in a storm, something that is so common in the sea most won’t think twice of it, especially during a fight. I'll make sure the storm mainly targets the Galran ship that is plagued with her mark on their flag.
Pleased with the plan, I duck underneath the waves so I don’t get caught and start summoning the storm. I put my hands out in front of myself with my palms facing each other. I imagine what I want to conjure, dark clouds rolling in with the sea thrashing roughly against the Galran’s boat, and I start to sing.
It’s a gift that only royalty blood can gain. Any piece of magic is passed down through the decaphoebs but it takes many forms for each person. Their magic is their identity, something that is almost impossible to be taken away. My father’s gift was in the form of a sword. My gift is in the form of my voice.
I start singing some tune that always work for general magic like this storm and a vibrant blue ball of energy forms between my palms, instantly warming me from the tip of my fingers to the tip of my toes. I sing for less than half a dobash, afraid the storm might get out of hand, before I stop the tune and focus on the ball.
I take a deep breathe before I kick my tail until my head breaks the surface and I gently lift my hands above the water before I throw it in the sky above me. The effect takes a dobash before the clear sky darkens and suddenly a storm is raging and the waves are crashing. I remember as I child when my father used to take me near the surface and it was always during a storm. Back then the big sounds of thunder that seemed to echo below the sea always frightened me but now I welcome the sound and think of memories with my father; memories that seem so far away now.
I shake my head as I hear the screams of the crew become louder. I wait another dobash before I dive back down under the sea and start my trip back home... Only something grabs my tail and when I look back, I see Haggar’s right hand man, Sendak. His weird arm whirring to life as he grins like a shark that smells blood. I feel myself pale and my stomach drop as I try to get away but only feel a burning pain building from where he is holding onto me.
“Now where do you think you’re going princess?” He snarls as he pulls me back and I land in his arms with a gasp.
He wraps his weird arm around me and starts squeezing the life out of me. I cry out in pain as I feel my constricted and out of breath. With one last gulp, I slam my head back as I hard as I could, connecting with his nose that results in a snap. His arms loosen just enough for me to get one arm free and turn my body around so I'm face to face with the howling merman.
I clench my fist and let it soar into his eye, efficiently blinding him. He shoves me away as he bends his back in pain as he puts his hand to his face. I feel bruises already forming and I know that if I don’t take my chance now, I will never get the chance to do it again.
I bring my arms up in the same position as before and start singing. I feel my power thrum from my gut, up my throat and out of mouth as it forms into another ball of power. The ball is just pure energy, ready to finish off Sendak for good.
I look up in time to see Sendak smile at with a gleam in his eye. Before I could search for the source of his wicked smile, I feel something slither around me and lock my arms to my side. The ball of energy doesn’t disappear but instead zips somewhere else. I try to destroy the energy by stop singing but I can’t control my voice and it just makes the ball of power grow.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” I hear a familiar grating voice come from behind me that haunts my dreams, making me want to freeze but my voice still continues to flow out notes.
The sea witch’s face enters my field of vision as she slowly moves in front of me, her grin splitting her face in half. In front of her is a shell that is hanging off of a string that my power is going into. I try to fight against the tentacles but it’s no hope.
“I’ve been ready for this moment for ages,” and a tentacle touches the side of my face, “My brother got all the royalty powers as I was cast aside as a monster. I think it’s fitting that I take my rightful power from his daughter.”
I wanted to scream. I wanted to spit in her face. She tarnished the family name and ruined Altea. I want to get back at her for all the destruction she caused but I was tied up and I couldn’t stop singing. I felt tears prickle my eyes. My powers are the one thing I still have of my father, the one thing that hasn’t yet been destroyed and it’s getting taken away and I'm hopeless to do anything.
“Aww, don’t cry, it’ll be over soon.”
I hear things start splashing into the water and I'm hoping it’s Haggar’s forces falling prey to the storm. I don’t know how long we are there before finally my voice just stops. No more sound coming from my throat despite my throat still trying to force more sound. No more power coming from my mouth that I can still feel try to force its way out. No more of anything, all of it trapped into Haggar’s shell that’s holding my gift hostage.
“See, that wasn’t too hard, now was it,” she snickers has her hands cradle the shell.
I try to curse her out but nothing comes out, only bubbles leaving my mouth. My eyes widen at the loss of my voice and she only pats my cheek like I'm some child who dropped their food instead of somebody who lost everything.
“There, there, I couldn’t just let you swim around with powers like you own the ocean.”
She crackles and I try to wiggle out of her grip but nothing gives. Sendak comes back in view, his eye that I hit shut with obvious strain surrounding the eye. He whispers something in Haggar’s ear and the glee that is written over her face frightens me. I try harder to get out of the confinements but she just squeezes tighter and I gasp as the air gets pushed out of me.
“I guess we’ll leave you here for now. I must pay a visit to your uncle. Good merman, always loyal. Hopefully I can convince him to join my side,” and she tilts her head in thought, “But again, I wouldn’t mind killing him too.”
Nothing I do allows me to get free of her tentacles and hearing her plans makes my skin crawl with fear. It would be my fault if the Arusians get hurt and I can’t allow that.
Sendak and her smile and next thing I know they are being swept away by purple smoke. The tentacles disappear and I'm finally able to take a deep enough breath. I try to speak again but nothing comes out except for bubbles. Thunder roars in the background of my distress and things falling into the water reminds me of my original reasoning for being here.
I turn around and try to swim through the chaos in the sea but there’s too much stuff. I turn around in time to see a head sink in front of me and I flinch away from it, trying to scream in fright but my silence is defining. I put my hand to my chest as I try to calm my racing heart when I get a good enough look at the man’s profile.
It's Lotor. His white hair framing his still face, blood wrapping around him like a blanket. More splashing from above makes me look up in time to see the rest of his body fall into the ocean. I swim up until I'm breaking the surface in time to see lightning strike about a mile away from my location. Screams and the sound of fighting are louder up here. I watch the two ships fire canons at each other as crew members fight their opposing sides. I look up to the enemy ship and watch as somebody falls, still intact of all their limbs, into the water.
He sinks and I dive into the water to face him...
He's familiar. Someone I've seen before, a long time ago. His eyes are open and staring at me like I'm someone special. His eyes are a weird color for a human, not quiet blue, not quiet gray. His face is pale, almost reflecting the blue of the ocean but I can’t tell if that’s because he’s dying or his natural skin color. I look him over and catch sigh of his belt which has a signal on it. The royal insignia.
I look up to his fading eyes and frame his face with my hands as I lean forward and kiss him, sharing my lifeforce to hopefully allow him to live. I don’t know why but I feel he is the key to solving all my problems. Everything turns silent and it’s only me and the royal blood. I feel my lifeforce intertwine with his as the man stays limp.
I pull back shortly as I see life enter his body. His eyes close but something in him brightens. I grab his torso and swim above water for a dobash as I search for land of some kind. Not far from here, maybe about seven to ten miles north, my eyes land on an island. A big one by the looks of it. I look over the man as he peacefully sleeps.
“Please don’t die now,” I whisper softly in his head before I start swimming toward land, keep his head above water as much as possible.
I don’t know how long I swim precariously above the water as I exit the storm and swim closer to the piece of land but soon enough, I'm using the waves to wash up shore. I hear the man groan and once I look over his face, I see his eyes start twitching. I try to pull him up farther up the slope but mermaid tales weren’t exactly made for land. It's hard enough trying to drag my own body up dry land but having to deal with a man that’s probably double my own size with all his clothing- why do humans wear so much? -it’s near impossible.
Once at least his torso is out of the splash zone from the waves, I use the rest of my extra quintessence to change my form. I take a quick look over the man’s attire and make sure to copy it to my own form except for the belt, knowing only royal families get to wear it and I'm not part of his family. It tingles as the pink sparkle like fragments engulf me but it only takes a moment before I'm fully changed. I look down at myself and barely contain my shock over my transformation.
I have legs. Two legs like every other human. I'm wearing pants that seem to constrict my movements. I can’t see my feet but I can feel them wiggle inside these shoes that cover my pants. I'm wearing a shirt that feels weird on my skin. It’s all so weird that I almost miss the human’s groan. I shake my head and stand on unsteady leg. How do humans walk with these!?
I carefully move behind him and grab under his arms and start dragging him higher up the land until no wave could reach us. My legs collapsed under me without warning and I yelp in surprise as I fall on top of the man who grunts under my weight. His eyes finally open and I'm shocked by his purple eyes that were muted under the water.
“You’re gorgeous,” he blurts out and I watch as his face starts to turn red. Interesting.
I feel my face warm up and I try to speak but nothing comes out. My heart sinks as I realize I couldn’t speak. My voice, my powers, were stripped from me and it’s my own stupidity to blame it on. I see him try to lean towards me but he flinches and groans in pain as his hand reaches towards his torso, right below his chest where his top is covered in blood and a hole in his shirt below his chest.
My eyes widen as I scoot over to get closer to him. He looks up at me before looking at his shirt and then back up to me, completing the process a few times before he just stares at me, his hand still rubbing the area.
“Who are you?” His voice is strong despite the lost look on his face.
I want to speak, to explain everything to him but I can’t. I bring my hand up to my neck and start rubbing it as I shake my head. He looks around for something and it only takes a dobash before he finds what he’s looking for because he leans to his left and shifts some sand to find a stick. He quickly sits back up and starts tracing on the sand.
Once he’s done, he moves a little to his right and pats on the spot where he sat. I crawl over to the spot and look at what he wrote. Can you write?
I nod my head toward the young man as he sighs in relief. He covers up his words and passes me the stick, “What is your name?” I carefully write out my name and he slowly read it behind me, “Allura?”
I nod my head and he smiles at me which makes me feels butterflies in my stomach.
“My name’s Keith.”
He sticks out his hand toward me and I just stare at it before he inches it closer to me. I gently grab it and his hand lightly squeezes mine before he lets go, his warmth still wrapped around my own hand. I set my hand back in my lap as I mouth out his hand, hoping when I do get my voice back- because I will get it back from that quiznacking witch- I'll be able to say it properly.
“What are you?”
I tilt my head in question; I thought my changed form would prove that I am human. I don’t want him to know yet, the stories my father said about humans and what they did to our people leave me cautious of trusting him.
“You don’t feel...” he stares at me for another tick before he shakes his head, “I’m sorry. I must still be in shock. I just don’t understand how I'm healed, or better yet alive.”
I look down at where he is still rubbing at his non-injured skin, turning the area a red color irritated color. I grab his wrist to stop him from rubbing circles and he snaps his eyes toward me. His eyes look familiar, like something I have seen so long ago and it’s killing me.
We seem to gravitate to each other, slowly inching closer and closer-
I hear an animal bark and Keith quickly clenches his eyes shut as he turns around and finds the beast that was yelling at us. I scramble away as it starts running toward us but Keith just smiles at it as he gets up, stumbling toward the beast who climbs onto its hind legs and attacks the man with his tongue.
But Keith doesn’t look frightened... Only happy as the beast keeps on- licking him? Is that what he is doing to him?
“Keith!” I look to where the voice came from and find a tanned man in blue running toward him.
“Lance!”
The furry animal jumps down and starts walking toward me. I try to get away from it but the animal just gets closer. My back hits a rock and with a glance I quickly scramble to my feet and jump on top of the boulder, hoping to get some distance between us. The animal barks as it gets on its hind legs and if I could scream out I would.
“Kosmo! Come here boy,” Keith calls out to the animal and with a final bark the beast runs back to Keith where he sits in front of the man. Keith smiles at him and starts scratching his head.
I tilt my head in confusion but at the corner of my eye I see the man in blue, Lance, look at me up from head to toe. I look over to him and he just raises an eyebrow at me before he turns back to Keith.
“Hey, Cap, who’s the girl over there?”
Keith gives the bea- Kosmo one last pat and looks up at me before he answers the man, “She saved me. Her name is Allura,” and he starts walking to me.
Once he’s close enough, he offers me a hand and I gladly take it as I hop off the boulder. I stumble into him and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I immediately push away, and lean against the rock. Damn legs.
“Are you alright?” He asks and I nod my head, “Good,” he smiles at me.
The other man clears his throat before giving a pointed look at Keith whose face goes slightly red again. He then sticks out his hand the same way Keith did before he introduces himself.
“I’m Lance, Keith’s first mate and the only thing that keeps him from killing himself.”
Keith elbows him in the side and Lance throws him a smirk. Keith just rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms, “Come on. Did everybody make it out okay?”
Lance’s jovial mood left his face, “We lost three men and both the ships are going to need extensive repairs.”
“How ‘bout the prisoners?”
“All safe. Kolivan is giving the best treatment for them.”
Keith nods his head before he nods his head toward where the beast and Lance came from, “We better get back. How mad do you think everybody is?”
Lance whistles lowly and Keith winces. With a nod and a determined look on his face, making his eyes brighter, he starts marching. I share a look with Lance and we follow the man. I can only hope that they don’t figure out my secret and that we can save Altea from the witch... Bob, what have I gotten myself into?