Chapter Text
Beady green eyes watched sadly as his adorable master muttered angrily to himself while swimming back and forth between his drawers and his clam case. Lovino took a quick look around to make sure everything he need was packed. Oh! Rushing over to the kitchen, the turtle following after him of course, he picked out his two favorite pans and dumped them into his case as well. Ah. He threw in the spatula while he was at it.
"Right," he said out loud. "Now to go back up Feli's room then we'll be on our way." Lovi grimaced when he felt a chomp on his fin. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy? I don't have time to play with you right now, you little bast-oh." Taking the turtle from his fin, he took a heart shaped locket from around the turtle's neck and opened it. Inside, Antonio was hugging him to his chest and showering his face with kisses. Lovi smiled sadly and put it around his own neck, "Thank you, little one." With a gentle pat on its little head he coaxed him away before dragging his clam case over to Feli's room. His hand hesitated over the door knob when, Lovi gave a quick glance across the hallway to Arthur's room. What will Arthur think? How…how-will he be even more devastated when he comes back and finds out that his best friend will no longer be at his beck and call? No. That was cruel way of describing his brother's and the prince's relationship.
"What are you doing?" Lovino jumped when he heard David's voice. The young merman eyed him curiously, his tail moving at a leisurely pace. Lovi's hazel eyes caught sight of a bag behind the prince's back. David took notice and blushed, "Ah, this…this is for Feli. I thought that maybe…he might, you know, maybe want to go…out and…uh, what I mean is. Feli isn't dating Arthur is he?"
"No."
David smiled in relief. "Oh good! Then he really is free game. Uh! Not that I think that he's meat. No, I would never. Kyle told me that I should be more careful about how I look at merfolk. Not that I look at merfolk constantly, mostly mermaids." The young prince panicked when he realized what he said, "B-but I do think that mermen are pretty hot too, you know? I have no problem with guys dating guys. Uh-"
"Is there something you need from my brother's room? Or is that bowl of pasta and candy for your brother?"
"Well, I was going to ask him if he'd like to join me for a bowl. Is he in?" David brought out the bowl of seaweed pasta and held it in front of him. "I know that it's his favorite."
Lovi eyed the mess in the bowel with apprehension, "Did you make this yourself?" When David blushed the older merman sighed, "Well, I guess you might as well know. Next time add the seaweed to the sauce after it's been thoroughly cleaned. You'll do well to remember that."
"Because I'll need to cook it more for Feli?"
"No! Because from now on you and your brothers are going to be cooking your own damn meals until the king finds a replacement for me. Now if you excuse me, I have to go pack Feli's room up." Lovino entered Feli's room, surprised by how clean it was. Ok. Start with his... Lovi swam slowly to his shelf where he had a medallion of both of them with their grandfather. It had been created before Lovino had come to Atlantica to study at Atlantica Academy. His grandfather smiled and gave both of them kisses, a young Lovi wiping it off his reddening cheek. Lovi smiled to himself and closed the medallion. That definitely had to come with them.
"What do you mean find a replacement for you? And what are you doing taking Feli's things? What's with the case?"
Lovino rolled his eyes, "It means exactly like what it sounds like and it looks exactly like what you see. I'm packing. I quit. We are leaving."
"You and Feliciano?"
"No, me and Roddy. Yes me and my brother! Jeez, all you brothers are cut from the same cloth, I swear." Lovi swam about the room looking for anything that his brother could not leave behind. Well, the box, but he already had that with him.
"Why?" David came forward staring at Lovi with his large green eyes. His blond hair drifted in every direction with his quick movements in attempt to keep up with the older merman. He reached out and tugged at his tanned arm in attempt to get him to stand still, "Please, tell me. What happened? Why are you two leaving? Does Arthur know? Does Robert? Lovi!"
"No, Arthur doesn't know and it kills me to think how he's going to react when he finds out. Yes, Robert knows and as for why, well, why don't you go ask him. Be careful though, he'll probably wreck your room as well." Lovi turned to the prince and shook his hand, "It was a pleasure cooking for you and watching you and your brothers grow."
But David wouldn't let go of his hand when Lovi, "Why can't you just tell me?"'
"Why do you care so much? It's not like Feli well ever see you the way you want him to. He is in love but it's not with any of you and I'll go ahead and spare you any ridicule you might put yourself through and say that no matter what you do, nothing is going to put a crack in the love he has for that one person."
"I don't care. He's still my friend. Yeah he spends more time with Arthur and whatever but we do hang out too. Why won't you tell me why you're taking him from us? Arthur's going to be devastated."
Lovi sighed and pulled his hand away. "Robert hurt him."
"Like he yelled at him?"
"That and he shot at him with the Trident. They went to the surface and saved a couple of humans and your brother lost it. He went to that 'special place' they're always going on about and he destroyed everything in it. He then shot at Feli and while I can see that he didn't mean it, I can't bring myself to serve him after he did that." Lovino picked up the shell case and swam out of the room. He failed to see the look of horror on David's face and the look of anger on Christian's as he swam past him and the other princes.
Connor and Murphy crossed their arms over their chest, "Well, they brought it upon themselves," they said together. The older twin snorted, "Robert did tell them time and time again not to go up there. What's so special about it anyway? It's so hot and disgusting."
Kyle raised a blond eyebrow, "And how do you know that?"
Connor nudged his brother. "We don't. We just assume it is cause it's so bright out there."
"It doesn't matter whether or not you think it's disgusting. Obviously the surface holds some significance to Arthur and his friend," muttered Christian. "…Dad liked it." He looked down at his orange and white speckled tail in thought. "Kyle, go and try to convince Lovi not to leave. I'm going to go talk to our big brother." Kyle nodded and swam after Lovi in time to catch him before the merman left the castle. Christian watched as his younger brother spoke rapidly to the Italian before taking off in search of Robert.
David came out when Kyle came back from talking to Lovi. "Well," he asked, "What did Lovi say?"
Kyle sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "He said that he'd think about it."
"Where is he going now?"
"He's going to go find Feli to talk to him about what he wants to do."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Roderich sat miserably on a rock just outside the cavern he was cast out of. He fumbled with the glasses he took, running his fingers along the black frames. Guilt was chewing his insides, making his tummy hurt. The look on Arthur's face when Robert destroyed his trove would forever haunt him. The look of pain when Feli was shoved against the wall when a bolt hit the box in his hands would forever be embedded in his memory. Oh, why did they have to be so…different? Why couldn't they just be like all the other merfolk. And why, why, why did he have to care so much about their well-being and their feelings. Why couldn't he have more of a back bone and defend them? Roderich brought a pale hand to wipe his eyes before placing the glasses back on his face. "Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut," he asked himself. Long before Feli came into the picture he remembered Arthur being a bit of a loaner. Sure his brothers would play with him but with such a large age gap between some of them, David being the only one close to his age, they tended to pick on each other more often than not. True with time they had grown out of it, for the most part, but Arthur was still a pretty sad merman. "And now, I've taken from him one of the few things that did make him…hap-happy." Four figures swam over him casting shadows to where he was looking. Glancing up, he paled.
With furrowed brows, he followed after his charges and the two mermaids, "Arthur, where are you going?" He curled his lip at Natasha and Natalya, though they paid no mind. "What are you doing with these-these riffraff? Natalya growled softly but at her sister's touch she ignored the jab.
"We're going to go see Ivan." Arthur swam faster, his hand in Feli's to make sure he could keep up. He didn't even give a second glance back when he heard Roderich sharply intake a breath.
"Arthur! You can't go to him; he's a demon. A monster!" Natasha and her sister fought the urge to turn around and attack Roderich when they heard that but a gentle touch to their inner beings calmed them. Ivan cooed to them that he didn't mind being called that. If anything it, well… He chuckled when he felt his sisters speed up. Arthur and Feli kicked their tails to keep up but Arthur found that Roderich was holding on to his tightly.
Turning around he sent a cold glare to his caretaker, "Why don't you go tell my brother what I'm up to? Your good at that." Arthur pulled his tail away and continued.
"But…But I," he looked at their retreating figures, panic rising within him.
"Where are they going?" Roderich flinched when he heard Lovino from behind him. Turning around he saw that the merman was staring after his brother and Arthur. "Who's that with them?"
"No, time to explain. J-just-just...oh! Come on," he cried out in frustration and took Lovino's arm so that the two could chase after their charges.
Arthur and Feli were lead past boarders of Atlantica into deep sea and though the two had explored much they were confused when the mermaids lead them past mounds of bubbling water. Arthur took in his surroundings and squeezed his friend's hand in comfort when he heard the brunette whimper in fear. "Stiff upper lip, old chap. We'll be fine," he whispered to Feli.
It was all Feli could do not to pull away and swim back home. The golden scales on his dark aqua blue tail tingled in warning as the mermaids lead them to what seemed like the remains of a giant sea beast. He started to resist Arthur's insistent tugging, "I-I don't want to go in there, Arthur."
"And why the bloody hell not?"
"Arthur…my scales are tingling," he looked at his friend pleadingly. "Please, lets just go back."
"To what? We'll only be miserable. I'll be miserable. I'm sorry , Feli, but if what those two mermaids said is true and Ivan really can help us get what we want, then I'm all for it. Don't you want to see Ludwig again?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then quit stalling and let's go." Arthur looped his arm through Feli's and the both entered the mouth of the beast. Strange creatures, coral polyps perhaps, began to cry out in alarm. Ok, this is a bit scary but…Arthur kept swimming. Natasha and Natalya were quite unfazed by the creatures crying out. The polyps' eyes widened when they saw who the merman was that was trailing after them. Immediately they shot up and wrapped themselves around Arthur.
Feliciano dropped his box in surprise and rushed to free Arthur, only to shriek in horror when one grabbed at his own wrist, its eyes begging him for something he didn't understand. They looked familiar to him somehow and as he tried to tug away, he could see desperate tears well in its green eyes. Natalya helped them rid him of the polyps while Natasha handed the box over with a pleased smile and they continued on until the mermen could see a lavender glow of light. "That was creepy, Artie," whispered Feliciano. "It was like they were warning us or something."
Arthur gulped and nodded; for once agreeing with Feli that perhaps they shouldn't have come after all. They hovered by the door even after Natasha and Natalya had entered the room. The walls were covered with bottles with creatures or parts of creatures. Books and ruins laid about in no particular order. Despite the creepy nature the tunnel that had lead him here, the room just as creepy if not more so, Arthur felt himself relax at the familiarity the room held for him. As a magical merman he could appreciate what most of the objects were. A happy giggle interrupted him from his thoughts.
"Little Arthur," cried Ivan from his crevice. He poked his head out and smiled cheerfully. "It's been too long, da? Well, don't just lurk there. Come in. Come in, comrade!" Ivan swam out to properly greet his guests. "Don't tell me that in my absence, all your gentlemanly manners have disappeared," he teased. Arthur swam inside slowly with Feli following behind. They watched as Ivan sat down at a vanity; Natalya ran a brush through his hair while Natasha pulled out his favorite white scarf. He allowed himself to be dotted upon with a lazy grin. "Now then, why did you come to me, comrade? Oh, wait! Don't tell me, let me guess." Ivan brought a hand to his chin in thought, "Ah, yes. You have crush on human, da, this human prince fellow. Not that I blame you, he is quite handsome."
"You're more handsome big brother," murmured Natalya, giving Ivan a hug. Natasha pulled her away so that Ivan could take care of business with his guest.
The prince widened his eyes in surprise, "H-how did you know?" Looking closer at the mer-warlock he backed away, "What happened to your eyes?! I remember them being, violet or something like that."
Ivan brought his hands to his cheekbones as if he forgot about his eyes. Then he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling delightfully, making Feli shiver in fear. "Ah, yes. I was young and stupid in that time and, in my exile, I wasn't allowed to leave much. So my beautiful and thoughtful sisters offered to be my eyes. Come now, girls. Don't be shy. Show my favorite pupil what I mean." The mermaids removed their eye patches making both Arthur and Feli gasp when they saw it.
"Y-you traded your eyes?"
"Da. It was a small price to pay but now," he swam over to his sisters and gave them a kind kiss on their cheeks, "I have a little piece of them with me no matter how far they are. Unlike me, they don't have limitations to where they want to go. But enough of that. We're here because of your…dilemma. Of course, you were right to come to me. The solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself."
Arthur gasped, "Is that even possible?" He felt his heart quicken with excitement. "Can you really do something like that?"
The tone behind the prince's voice was enough to put a wicked smile on Ivan's face. Smoothing out his scarf, he pulled away from his sisters to come closer to the two teen mermen. "My dear, sweet prince," he cooed sweetly. "That's what I do. It's what I live for; to help unfortunate merfolk like yourselves." Ivan brought his arms around Arthur's and Feli's shoulders, "Poor souls with no one else to turn to." Feli pulled away and hugged his box to his chest. The elder blond merman raised an eye brow, "I admit that in the past I've been a nasty. They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a beast." He smirked when he heard his sisters giggle, "But you'll find that nowadays I've mended all my ways; repented, seen the light, and made a switch to this." Arthur watched as Ivan took a hold of Natasha and swam with her in a dance, "And I fortunately know a little magic. It's a talent that I always have possessed."
Arthur snorted. Ivan knew more than just a little. He jumped when the older merman to him. Cupping his chin, Ivan wiggled a finger playfully in front of him, "And dear gentleman, please don't laugh. I use it on behalf of the miserable, the lonely, and depressed." His smile grew when he heard his sisters mutter 'pathetic.' "Poor unfortunate souls; in pain, in need," he sang as he pulled open a pedestal. With a swift move of his hands the pedestal began to glow lavender and two images of miserable looking merfolk appeared. He pointed to each, "This one longing to be thinner. That one wants to get the girl. And do I help them?" Ivan snapped his fingers, making obvious changes to the mercouple and they embraced each other lovingly, "Yes, indeed. Those poor unfortunate souls. So sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron crying, 'Spells, Ivan, please!' and I help them! Da, I do"
Looking at his guest sadly, Ivan sighed. "Now it's happened once or twice, someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals."
The two images squeaked in terror as they became coral polyps. Arthur stared with wide eyes. Then that meant…those things grabbing them in the entrance…they were merpeople? His body shivered and he moved to float next to Feli. Well, a deal was a deal. Right?
"Yes I've had the odd complaint," interrupted Ivan when he saw the look of doubt cross Arthur's face, "But on the whole I've been a saint to those poor unfortunate souls!" He giggled and used his scarf to pull in Arthur to his chest, "Now, here's the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days. Now listen carefully, comrade. Before the sunsets on the third day, you have to get this prince to fall in love with you. " Arthur blushed and he looked up to meet Ivan's eyes in question. "He's got to kiss you," he clarified, "But not just any kiss. The kiss of true love. If he does kiss you before the sunsets on the third day, you'll remain human permanently. But if he doesn't you'll turn back into a merman. And you'll belong…to me."
"No," cried Roderich as he rushed in, "Arthur, you can't-mmh!" Natalya wrapped herself around Roderich and held a blade to his neck. The two teen mermen didn't notice him struggle.
Ivan glanced over Arthur's shoulder, his eyes glittering in approval. He shifted his gaze back to the merman in his arms, "Have we got a deal?"
"Wait a second." Arthur pushed himself away from the merman's pale chest. "What about Feli?" When Ivan cocked his head in confusion, the prince elaborated. "Can't you turn him into a human too?"
"I-I…I don't know, Arthur," whimpered Feli in fear. "This sounds like we'll have a lot to lose if it fails…"
"Now see here, Feliciano. Don't tell me you've forgotten about the promise we've made when we were kids. Remember? We said that if either of us got the chance to go to the surface that neither would go unless we both could." Arthur turned back to Ivan, "The deal can be for the both of us, right?"
Ivan flicked his black tail in thought, "Da, I suppose so." He smiled gently to Feli, "Is that something you'd like, little comrade?"
"Well…"
"Please, Feli," cried Arthur grasping to his shoulders, "I can't do this alone. This really is the answer to all of our problems. Going to the surface has always been our dream!" Feli looked away, not having the heart that his obsession with the surface was only due to one thing. Person. "What about Ludwig?" That person. "This could be your chance to find him and tell him how much he means to you."
"What about our brothers? If we do this we'll never be able to see them again." He loved Ludwig yes, but what about Lovino? He loved him just as much and he didn't want to leave him all alone. What would he think? He'd think that he abandoned him just like he thought Antonio did.
"Right," mumbled Arthur. "I didn't think about that."
Ivan felt the distance from his prize become greater. "But, you'll have your lovers," he reasoned. "Life is full of tough choices, da? What will you choose; a life of loneliness and regret? Wishing that you had had the chance to be with the love of your life? Or a life of happiness and a sense of completion? Think of the late Romulus. Didn't he have a love that he denied himself? You do remember don't you, little comrade?"
Feli did. He remembered how his grandfather would cry when he thought he wasn't looking. He remembered how heartbroken he was that the human he wanted didn't know how he felt. The merman looked down at his tail; he really did like it. The tip of his fin touched Arthur's red. Arthur. Feli met his friend's eyes and saw that he truly wanted this chance. With a sigh he nodded, "Ve~"
"Oh thank you, Feli!" Arthur pulled Feli into a hug, "you won't regret this!" They didn't notice Roderich struggle against Natalya in protest, his violet eyes widening from how readily Arthur was to accept Ivan's deal. Did he even know what he had to give as payment? Knowing Ivan it could be anything!
Ivan chuckled in delight. Arching his back backwards he, playfully approached Arthur, "This is one more thing I must say before we can proceed with the paper work."
"Paper work?"
"Da. I make a point to get all my deals on paper…just in case. Don't worry it's just a familiarity. Mother always did say I would make a great business merman one day," he said with pride. "Anyway, as I was saying, there is the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing you know."
Arthur panicked, "But I don't have any-"
Ivan waved him away, "I'm not asking for much. Just a token really, a trifle. I can assure you neither will miss it."
"You can't have my box," growled Feli, surprising Arthur.
But the mer-warlock waved his fears away with a smile. "No, no. Don't worry. I know how much the contents of that box mean to you. Besides, I have no use for those kinds of trinkets." Ivan chuckled and made his way to caress Arthur's and Feli's neck, drawing jealous growls from Natalya and Natasha. Paying them no mind, Ivan continued, "No, what I want from you is…your voice."
"Our voice," questioned Arthur, bringing a hand to his throat.
"Da, comrade. No more talking. Singing. Nothing of the sort."
"But," said Feli with a frown, "without our voice, how are we-"
"You'll have your looks," interrupted the devious merman as he ran a hand down Arthur's torso before cupping Feli's face, "your pretty face." Pulling away he chuckled and playfully sashayed his hips, "And don't underestimate the importance of body language, da! The men up there don't like a lot of blabber." Ivan swam towards a large cabinet, "they think a man who gossips is a bore. Yes, on land it's preferred for lovers not to say a word and after all, comrades, what is idle prattle for? Come on! They're not all that impressed with conversation," he began tossing bottles over his shoulder, "True gentlemen avoid it when they can."
Bottles filled with strange creatures, some familiar to Arthur from the old books he used to read from back he was allowed to study magic, began to descend from where Ivan was tossing them over his shoulder. They watched as they fell into a cauldron creating a small explosion. The dark merman swam quickly over and added a few more things from vials his sisters supplied him with, "But they dote and swoon and fawn, on a lover who's withdrawn, it's he who holds his tongue who gets a man. Come on you poor unfortunate souls!"
Feli and Arthur backed up uncomfortably but the Natasha pushed them forward. She smiled at them and said, "Go ahead, make your choice. My brother's a very busy merman and he hasn't got all day. It won't cost much, just your voice."
Arthur looked up in time to see that the smoke had created a vision of Alfred smiling at him with longing. He approached it with a hand out stretched to touch the vision but Alfred's smile became a smirk. "You poor unfortunate souls," Alfred spoke with Ivan's voice before the image evaporated and Ivan's childishly smiling face replaced it. "It's sad but true," he plucked an innocent jellyfish, who had the unfortunate luck to swim by him and tossed it into the cauldron as well.
Roderich whimpered in distress, his glasses fogging up from all the smoke the cauldron was releasing. Lovino panted by the time he arrived at the cave. Grumbling to himself about stupid-fast-swimming- music-loving-bastar-! He froze in mid rant and stared at what was going on before him. Roderich was being restrained by familiar mermaid and his brother and prince were standing before Ivan and his other sister. Lovi wanted to barge in but found that his tail refused to move. His heart thundered in his chest when he saw the dark tailed merman pull out a scroll.
"If you want to cross the bridge, comrades, you've got to pay the toll. Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll," he gave him a pen and turned to his sisters with a wink, "Natasha, Natalya, now I've got em, girls. Your brother is on a roll! These poor." Arthur read through the brief contract. "Un." He looked at Feli. "For-." The brunet gave him a week smile and nodded. Ivan's duel colored eyes darkened with cruel childish malice, "-tunate souls!" The contract glowed gold when Arthur signed his name on the dotted line, giving his consent to proceed. The document rolled itself up and cut through the water and into Ivan's hand. His smile turned into a smirk and he turned back to his cauldron, his black tail shimmering and flicking with dark excitement, "Beluga, sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea!" The blue liquid began to bubble as Ivan waved his hand over it. Lightning and thunder startled the two teen mermen but when they tried to back away, they found that they were encased inside a wall of swirling water and energy. "Larynxis, glossitis Et Max laryngitis la voce to me!" Lavender boney hands of energy followed Ivan's when he raised them over his head. The whites of his eyes had gone black making his grin look beyond frightful. His voice took on a raspy tone, and for a brief moment, Arthur thought that perhaps his brother had been right to seal the magic merfolk. "Now, little comrades, sing," he rasped.
Arthur looked to Feli and took his hand. They'd do this together, "Ah-ah-ah-ah," they vocalized, "ah-ah-ah!" Their voice boxes tickled at first and then burned as a purple glow engulfed them. They squeezed each other's hands for comfort and encouragement.
"Keep singing," growled Ivan, his hands maneuvering the large lavender closer to them until forcing them down their throats.
Tears pricked at the two mermen's eyes when they felt fingers digging into their voice boxes but they kept vocalizing. Feli felt his box fall but he couldn't move. He watched as the hand withdrew from his mouth with a spherical ball of energy still vocalizing on its own. Natasha collected it into a sea conch while her brother collected Arthur's into another.
Lovi finally found the will to move when he saw his brother and the prince get absorbed into a large bubble. Roderich squirmed out of Natalya's arms and rushed to pick up Feli's box. Both watched the transformation in horror, not really paying much attention to Ivan's cackling.
Arthur groaned in pain. Bones rearranged themselves, splitting in two. Muscles were growing at a geometric rate followed by new blood vesicles and flesh. Their scales melted from their bodies, the tails slipping down to reveal their new legs. Feli was crying from the burning sensation in his lungs. It was too soon. Too soon. They lost their ability to breathe too soon! The bubble popped and they fell; now not having their tails to help them keep balance. Immediately, Lovino and Roderich swam to them, wrapped their arms around their torsos and raced to the surface.
"Why are you fucking slowing down," screamed Lovino when he noticed Roderich slow in their ascent. "They'll die if we don't get them up there for air!"
"They'll die if we take them up there too fast," retorted the elder merman. "Come on, we're almost there."
"They aren't going to make it!"
"Yes, they will!"
For Arthur, it was the worst few seconds of his life. His body was burning from the neck down. Throat tingled, lungs felt like they wanted to explode in their desire to breathe. He fought against the instinct to take a deep breath underwater, knowing that it could harm his new human lungs. His lower half felt so exposed now that he didn't have his tail to protect his vital regions. The only delight he felt was kicking his new legs and feeling the water pass through his toes. Just a few more seconds. Through his tears he could see the sunlight becoming brighter. And brighter. And brighter. And- He took a gasp of air. His lungs finally relaxing in relief. Beside him he could hear Feli coughing up water but beside that he was fine too. Lovi and Roderich continued to swim. The shore just a short swim away.
"Robert!" Toris looked up from his work. He sat down a plate of food out for his king and took his leave. The sea king didn't bother to acknowledge his younger brother which only angered Christian further. "Damn it, Robert," he growled shoving the small table away. "I'm talking to you."
Robert sighed and lowered his head on his fist, "I know. I can hear you."
"What have you done?"
"I've been sitting here for the past few hours. Haven't really conjured any storms though."
"Stop bullshitting me, Bobby. You know damn well what I'm talking about. What did you do to Arthur?!" Christian's tail flickered with anger. His short blond hair stood up as he made his way closer. His green eyes not faltering in their intensity as he stared his brother down.
"You have some nerve," started Robert with a dry chuckle. "Not everyone can look me in the eye after speaking to their king like that."
"I'm not speaking to you as my king, Robert. I'm speaking to you as my older idiot brother, who is embarrassingly and ironically living up to the reputation of a red-head. Really? You once told me that when it was your turn to rule that you wanted your reign to be like dads. What changed?"
"I am ruling like dad. What makes you think I'm not?"
"Dad wouldn't have done what you did to Arthur. You think you're doing right by him, let me tell you, you're not! Out of all of us, he probably suffered the most. Mom died before he got the chance to meet her. Dad died a few years later. His mentor and only companion turned out to be a psychotic warlock so he gets banished a few weeks after dad dies. His imaginary friends abandon him after he gets sealed. Berwald and Tino moved to Nordic waters, taking their family and his friends with them. Really, Robert, need I continue? And now, you've forced Lovi's hand and he's going to take the last source of companionship our baby brother has. Feliciano was a blessing for this family and because of your temper tantrum, Lovino is taking him away!"
"Christian, they saved a pair of humans. You know damn well I couldn't let that slide!"
"So what? What harm is there in saving a life? What would you have them do? Leave them for dead? Let them drown? How would that make them any better from the mindless killers you say humans are. They showed compassion and mercy. Those are qualities you should encourage and be proud of." Christian's eyes softened when he saw Robert's shoulders begin to tremble.
The sea king lowered his head in shame, "I-I know, ok?! I know. I know I did wrong and I wish I could go back and stop myself from acting the way I did but I can't. I didn't mean to hurt Feli. I was blind with rage and I wasn't thinking. Artie though, I hurt him the most. He had this cave and-"
"I know."
"What?"
"I know about the cave. So does Kyle. We've been there a few times actually. Arthur wanted to put shelves in there but didn't know how so me and Kyle put them in for him. He didn't say what they were for but we figured. Especially when we'd see them go in with a bunch of crap. Sometimes they'd even take it to their room."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you'd react this way. Honestly, mate, what's the harm in collecting nick nacks?"
"It's not so much the collecting that bothered me; it was that they would go to the surface to seek out that idiot frog, Francis."
"So?"
Robert gave his brother an exasperated look, "So? Really, 'So'? They could've been seen and caught. Or worse killed by humans! How can you look me in the eye and question that?"
Christian sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "I know, why you feel that way. But you have to realize this. They run an equal chance of getting hurt here in the sea. Don't forget that while most magic merfolk aren't holding it against you for their seals, there are a few who are resentful. Not to mention the sharks. They're really resentful. What's to stop them from coming and harming any of us in our own domain? There's only so much you can do to protect Arthur. I know he's the baby but he's not a baby anymore, Bobby. You have to learn to let him go."
"But-"
"No, brother." Christian swam up to his older sibling and pulled him in for a hug. Robert leaned his head on the blonde's shoulder. "You have to let him be happy."