Chapter Text
"-- And finally, we'll be having guests at the palace for a short time. The Atlantic princesses have arrived, as well. "
Lucia immediately perks up at the strange note. "Hanon and Rina are here?"
Nikora hesitates for a moment, then continues, nodding. "And for good reason. We'll be hosting a prince from a foreign kingdom. He wishes to meet with you three- to join forces with him and his generals."
"And where- where would he be from?" Lucia asks, trying not to sound as curious as she is. The day had been nothing but tutors, coordinating with officials in the castle and roaming the grounds with Momo when she got bored. This change was more than welcome.
"The Panthalassa Kingdom. He's the good one," Nikora corrects herself quickly when she sees the shocked look on Lucia's face. "The one that Aqua Regina spared."
---
Rina takes it upon herself to not-really-by-accident run into the Prince in the halls of the palace. Lucia may be charmed to the seashore and back by his carefree attitude, but she wouldn't be so easily convinced.
She brings herself to her full height, etiquette training kicking into gear as she steels herself. It may not be her kingdom, she thinks, but Lucia is her friend.
Rina fumbles for a moment mentally when he comes into view, but quickly collects herself. Legs. Interesting. "Princess Rina, heiress to the North Atlantic throne and the Green Pearl."
She sets her mouth in a straight line as she sizes him up. Prince Kaito has been in the palace for little more than a few days, and already the handmaids have spoken to her of his reputation. Not to mention his generals.
"Prince Kaito of the Panthalassa Kingdom. No pearl, I'm afraid." He smiles as if he expects her to find his little quip charming.
She does, but she'll be pearl-less before she admits it to anybody. "You would have us form an alliance with you, Prince?"
"Please, call me Kaito. I would, Princess."
"To what end?"
His jaw tightens, a far cry from the easygoing smile from a moment ago. Good to know he's taking this seriously, at least. "Unity in the seven seas."
Rina blinks at him, surprised at the boldness of his implications. "One could argue the mermaid kingdoms are perfectly united as they exist now."
"Among themselves, yes. But they've remained cut off from the other underwater kingdoms for quite sometime. Or was that not surprise I saw when you noticed I had no tail?"
She's been caught. He looks cheeky, now- pleased with her momentary silence. "You're perceptive. For a prince."
"We're here to help." He can feel the distrust rolling off her. Good.
"So it seems." Rina says plainly, turning her back to him to face the pearl fountain in the middle of the room. Lucia had her coming of age ceremony in this room- they had only just found out about the resurgence of the Panthalassa. "Luckily for you, the other princesses are easily charmed. But I will be watching you, Kaito."
"Of course. I would do the same, in your position. My generals are around the palace- being given a guided tour by the South Atlantic princess, I believe. They'd be happy to meet you."
He walks - walks - over to her side and she shifts over to give herself room. A pink tail, she thinks. It would suit him nicely. Her voice drops to a murmur, still moderately disturbed. "I know. Your presences are- potent. You stick out like lionfish around here. Not to mention the trail of servants you leave blushing in your wake."
He laughs at that, eyes closing as one hand moves to rest over his middle. "Your auras are nothing to scoff at either. As for the servants, well- they're almost as lovely as their princesses."
Rina punches him in the arm.
---
Lucia can feel their energy roaming around the palace- powerful, like theirs, but compellingly foreign. It's been a long time since outsiders were allowed in.
Hanon plucks at the seagrass in the courtyard, tail fanning out and shifting behind her irritably. She hadn't taken so kindly to the little Panthalassa general that had introduced himself to her the day before- he was young, plucky and a bit too forward. Nagisa- what kind of name was that, anyway?
"Well, I'm still not sold on this alliance thing. We thought Aqua Regina got rid of the Panthalassa, but Kaito says Gaito's living on the surface and he'd only lost his memory- which is sketchy intel, by the way," She pulls out another blade, eyebrows furrowed. "Now suddenly he's regained it and they want to help us? They could be double agents!"
Rina sighs, handing the harp she was practicing on to Lucia. The chief advisers suggested the princesses might perform at the Panthalassa's welcoming ceremony, so they all needed to refresh their skills. They were all too excited to get the princesses all dressed up- the North Pacific palace hadn't hosted so much royalty since the last Aqua Regina came from the pink pearl.
"An alliance with the Panthalassa will only benefit us in the future, Hanon- she may have separated them, but it took all of Aqua Regina's power to get rid of Gaito. Until we know who the next Aqua Regina will be, we'll need allies. I, for one-" She looks pointedly over at Hanon. "- like my people safe."
"It's not that I don't-" Hanon leans her cheek into her hand, frustrated. "You're just happy because General Kelp-head has a crush on you!"
"I have green hair, too, Hanon- what do you mean kelp --"
"Lucia, look, she's not denying it!"
Lucia laughs good-naturedly. Kaito had been interesting, to say the least -a total flirt, but when she was used to obedient handmaids and servants pushing and pulling her around the palace to do her duties, it was refreshing to meet someone who was willing to break social protocol. Even if she was easily flustered.
Lucia plucks at the small harp, a sweet glissando that she had practiced with Rina earlier. "They seem nice! Maybe the welcoming ceremony will help them feel more comfortable with us. They're probably feeling the same way we are."
---
Hanon hurriedly pushes open the entrance to Lucia's outer chambers, the grin on her face wide and telling of one thing- she had gossip.
"Lucia- you will never be-lieve what I just saw!"
Lucia squeals, a flurry of loose hair floating behind her. She's positioned herself awkwardly in front of one of the pillars, and she's praying Hanon is so caught up in whatever she wants to say she won't notice the person behind it.
"Hanon- don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Nevermind that, Lucia! I just spotted Rina with the general- all joking and flirting in the royal gardens." She lowers her voice in an admittedly not so bad imitation of Masahiro's voice. "I would be honored to have her Majesty's presence for dinner tonight."
A laugh comes from behind Lucia, and the water shifts. Lucia tenses, using her tail to cover the bottom of the pillar, but Hanon sees it; a pair of feet.
"Uh, what's going on in here ?"
Kaito at least has the decency to look sheepish, cheeks a light pink as he steps out from behind the pillar. He bows. "Good day, Princess Hanon."
Lucia shoves her forehead into the palm of her hand. Hanon balks.
"Am I the only one that didn't get the memo that we were pairing off? I would've liked first pick-!"
"Shhhh- Nikora will hear you!"
Kaito takes that as his cue to begin his leave, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. Before he steps out of the room, he turns to them.
"Nagisa seems to have taken a certain liking to you, if it means anything. Don't tell him I told you that, though. He'll start going on about his honor-" Kaito shivers. "I've heard that speech one too many times."
He has the audacity to wink at them. "I'll see you later, Lucia. Hanon." The door shuts with a click behind him.
"Hanon, I -"
"Nagisa has a crush on me?"
---
Lucia eyes the hilt of his swords. "Is that how you fight? "
"I dual wield swords. " Kaito pulls one out for her to see, the mark of the Panthalassa pressing into his thumb. "Masahiro has a better hand than I do, though. We spar often."
Lucia brightens up, the lightbulb practically overheating as the idea forms in her head. "Would you teach me, Kaito? Nikora says I'm not allowed near the armory by myself anymore."
Kaito gently shifts the sword out of her reach, slightly worried. "And why is that?"
She thinks back to the embarrassingly loud clang of the sword as it hit the wall, and Nikora's horror as a chunk of her ponytail had come off with it. It wasn't her fault the sword had slipped from her fingers so suddenly. Plus, Nikora looked great with short hair!
"That's beside the point!"
He looks like he wants to laugh. Lucia pouts.
"Is it, though?"
"It is!" Lucia insists.
"I suppose I'll teach you- but on one condition." Kaito smiles, taking her hand into his.
Lucia blushes as if on cue. "And what would that be?"
"You would have to teach me something, too."
Her mind races, immediately turning to the mysterious bright pops of fire and full moons. Dry air aside, the surface had its own unique beauty- she'd never seen anything like it under the seas.
"Have you ever been to the surface?"
---
"--She's been reassigned for the evening. She had personal matters to attend to. "
Rina notices how often Masahiro hangs around the private gardens at dawn- at exactly the time when she happened to be there with her servant. Rika was a pretty girl- demure, and kind. She could see why he would be fond of her.
Masahiro looks like he doesn't know what she's talking about. Naivety doesn't suit him, she decides.
"Who has?"
"Rika. She usually keeps me company at this time." Rina swallows the purposely un-named feeling inside her, and chooses instead to focus on the suddenly fascinating seagrass. "-- But she'll be outside of the palace, this evening. Tomorrow, she will be with me. "
Rina considers her words carefully. "If you would like to find her."
He seems amused. "And why would I want to find her? Not that your handmaids aren't lovely, Princess. "
"You seem fond of her. You usually appear when we're here in the gardens. I assumed you wish to court her. " She says, puzzled.
Masahiro laughs out loud, and Rina is nothing short of mortified.
"Is something amusing to you, General?"
"It seems there's been a misunderstanding."
"Do feel free to let me know what that would be. " He's still laughing-- "At your leisure!" Her face is bright red and she knows it. She has half a mind to wipe that smug face right off of his-
"Our dinner the other night. Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yes. I-I did." That had been the beginning of her suspicion, she notes. She had introduced Rika to Masahiro herself that night.
"I asked you to dinner."
"I'm aware."
"And I'm here in the mornings." He smiles, his cheeks stained pink from laughter.
"You are."
"To see you, Rina. "
Rina plays the sentence back in her mind seven different ways, and promptly short-circuits.
---
The festivities are going off without a hitch. The advisers look more pleased than ever at having organized it all, and Hanon can feel Lucia's pearl thrumming enthusiastically from the stage, in tune with her harp playing. She'd been excited to have Kaito hear her play.
With all this romance in the palace lately, the little general isn't the last thing on her mind, Hanon has to admit.
"May I have this dance?" He's dressed in his official Panthalassa garments, similar to Kaito's regalia, minus a jewel or two on the belt. The cape wrapped around his shoulders is a powdery blue, she notes. They match.
She curtsies, her hands pulling lightly at her skirts. "Nagisa."
He returns the gesture, his face flushed. "Princess Hanon." He holds his hand out for her, something like affection and nausea painted on his face. He looks nervous.
She takes it.
The Panthalassa don't dance the "weird" way they did, Nagisa said. Hanon didn't understand the need for footwork and he didn't get why dance partners didn't hold each other the entire time. "Nagisa," she had said, rolling her eyes, "You don't tangle fins with just anyone."
He'd been rude, and with those goons stalking their borders looking to destroy their culture, Hanon had been feeling a bit sensitive. (She might have yelled.)
His ease surprises her, careful footsteps circling around her as she moves through the gentle, sweeping hand motions that lent themselves to North Pacific dance. He looks like he's been practicing, and she has to stop herself from smiling.
"I wanted to apologize for the other day. I arranged for tea for the both of us- tomorrow afternoon." He meets her gaze directly. "If you'll have me."
She considers it for a moment, a little too pleased that she'd been invited out. Her hand meets his as they come near the end of the song, and Hanon decides that Nagisa is handsome. Overeager, of course, but handsome. She could appreciate that. "You're childish."
He smiles toothily at her. "I prefer to think of it as.. youthful."
Lucia's playing comes to a slow end, and the crowd shifts as people prepare for the next performance- Hanon and Rina's duet. Her hand slides off of Nagisa's shoulder, and she's only slightly hesitant. The water feels colder without his hand at her waist.
"It's a date, then."
"O-Of course! I'll see you tomorrow, Princess- Hanon. Princess Hanon."
She rolls her eyes, but she's still smiling. You would have thought that she had handed him the light of the seven seas, the dumbstruck look he had on his face.
"You can call me Hanon."
---
The mermaids really couldn't be more different from them if they tried. Tails aside, Kaito thinks as he watches Hanon somehow pull her voice up even higher in her self-described 'never-ending' range. This is strange, isn't it?
Rina let him stay and watch, with the condition that he ask no questions and that on the first distraction, he would be banished. Whether that was from the room or the palace, he didn't know.
"Better. But your voice should come from your middle," Rina traces the trail up her stomach until it rests on her pendant. "-And through your pearl."
Their necklaces had become a point of interest to him, to say the least. He thought it was just an accessory until Lucia nearly had a heart attack when she couldn't find hers. Her voice had turned pitchy and loud, lacking its usual musicality. When she forgot she had misplaced it and tried to sing for him- Kaito prefers not to remember it.
"Would it really matter once the Panthalassa show up? I doubt I'm going to be thinking about my technique in the middle of battle." Hanon slouches, stretching her tail out in front of her. How long had they been practicing?
"That's exactly the reason we need to practice now. If we went into battle unprepared and sounding like seals--"
"We would put the seas at risk, lose our pearls," Hanon pulls herself up again, looking slightly more determined this time. "-and our kingdoms. Understood."
"And relax your jaw!"
If Hanon rolls her eyes, Kaito doesn't mention it.
This time she runs through a song he's never heard before. It's sweet, with lyrics about the sea and destiny and the guidance of the stars. It sounds like something she would sing, he thinks.
Her pearl lights up suddenly, a bright glow illuminating the gold of the walls and painting them in aqua. Kaito blinks. Woah. All he had was his weaponry.
He feels a hand on his shoulder, and he turns to see Lucia, bright-eyed and pearl glowing similarly, albeit more dimly.
"What do you think?"
"I've never seen anything like this before."
"Wait 'till you see our transformations." She kisses him on the cheek, temporarily distracting him before she swims over to Hanon and Rina to join in on the last verse before the song ends.
Their pearls are still glowing; the water in the room shimmers and reacts, their pearls radiating energy so strong even he can feel it's pull. Is this the power of a mermaid?
"Wait, transformations?"
---
Kaito and his entourage have become a welcome, regular presence in the North Pacific. Weeks and months pass, and they learn from the princesses, about their languages and the hidden passageways in the palace, and the princesses learn from them.
Lucia might be learning the most.
Rina and Hanon take turns trying not to laugh as Lucia and Kaito spar. If you could call it sparring, at least. Swordsmanship was a staple of Atlantic culture, but it seems the distance between their kingdoms and the Pacific palaces had left poor Lucia's sparring skills wanting.
Lucia fumbles with her sword, the pressure from Kaito's sword bearing down on her as she desperately tries to figure out how to distract him.
Hanon speaks up from across the courtyard, hand cupped around her mouth so Lucia can hear her from the grounds. "Luciaa! Remember the maneuver I taught you!"
Lucia perks up at that, and she drops her sword, momentarily knocking Kaito off his feet as he stumbles at the sudden loss of pressure. She plants a kiss on him before he can register it, and suddenly Lucia's the one about to pull the sword from his hand.
Hanon cheers, looking over at Rina. "She did it!"
Rina shakes her head at their antics, even if it is kind of funny. "Is she supposed to do that to the enemy?"
Hanon deflates a bit. "No, I guess she can't."
The quiet clang of a sword floating to the ground calls their attention. Kaito looks distracted still, and he's shifted into a defensive stance- his sword is a good distance from him.
Rina smiles. She won, even if her strategy was kind of naïve. That's Lucia.
"Hanon! Rina! Do you guys wanna go up next? I'm tired, but Kaito still wants to spar!"
Hanon looks incredulous; Rina just looks amused. "With him ?"
Kaito looks over at the two of them, misunderstanding Hanon's tone. "You two know how to swordfight? I can teach you, too, if you want. "
Hanon laughs out loud, stopping only because Lucia looks over at them, disapproving. "Sorry, sorry- still, what use is he against us? We'd wipe the floor with him."
Rina pulls her sword out of its sheath just as Lucia swims up to them, hair disheveled and Kaito in tow.
"Rina?" Lucia gives her a questioning look.
"Are you up for another round, Prince?"
---
The six of them are all in one room outside of a meeting, for once. Lucia and Hanon are chatting away with a particularly well-connected handmaid and Kaito sits across from them, but he mostly just watches. Rina and Masahiro sit next to eachother, occasionally sharing knowing glances.
Nagisa listens and observes, confused. He just wants to know how this one mermaid knows so much.
" -- and Nikora and the other chief advisers are planning something big! They said they're going to pull you all into a meeting, and then have you announce their plans to the entire kingdom! "
Hanon gasps, eyes glittering in a way that makes Nagisa flustered as she looks over at Lucia. "It must be good news- they always want us in front of the kingdom to give good news."
Lucia nods, hopeful. "Maybe the Panthalassa are finally gone! Noel and Caren have worked so hard to keep their strongholds on their borders. Maybe they just-"
"Gave up? " Kaito frowns. He knew their clan. It didn't sound like them- their ferocity could rival the orange mermaids. Nagisa agrees. "It doesn't seem likely."
"We could be mounting a direct attack against them. They'll want to strategize, let the citizens know." Masahiro speaks up, ever the voice of reason. Nagisa, as his apprentice, is duty bound to listen and imitate. To close the gap between their age with skill and a willingness to learn. It was the reason Kaito had chosen him, after all.
"He's right." Rina eyes Lucia and Kaito carefully, her gaze measured. "We'll be taking a lot of risks, putting ourselves in the frontlines like that. The last thing we need is a missing princess. Or prince, for that matter."
The nervous energy in the room spikes, auras pulling in and soothing themselves as the realization of what might come hits them all. Nagisa carefully reaches out to feel for Hanon, but retreats when he realizes she might feel his fear, too.
"It'll be okay, though." Lucia grasps at her necklace. "Right?"
---
Marriage. With a band of rogue Panthalassa forming near the Atlantic, it's the only solution their advisers can come up with. To strengthen the image of unity between the mermaids and the Panthalassa. A united front, meant to paint the hostiles for what they were- the few speaking for the many.
Rina is suspicious of the entire idea. She would have preferred battle. "We have no intentions of letting you become officials in our kingdoms- you would be a figurehead. Useless. We have no princes ." It comes out like a hiss, like an accusation- she means it to.
Masahiro steps closer, uncomfortable with the sudden distance she's put between them. With the sudden distance between them all. Even Nikora has taken note of Lucia's sudden obedience- it's entirely out of character.
"We couldn't have come up with this if we tried. It seems our chief advisors brought us all together with different ideas. You must believe me, Rina. This wasn't anyone's plan."
Usually, they would enjoy a moment of silence with eachother. Silence for them was stolen moments in between meetings, sight-seeing near the local reefs, it was gentle, knowing; today, it is tense.
Rina stands by the rail of the balcony, gripping the smooth marble. "The Panthalassa were spotted less than a few dozen miles from the North and South Atlantic border. If they head north--"
"We would need the marriages arranged according to the threat." His voice softens and dips, lower than before. "Your betrothal would be to Kaito."
"Him and Lucia..." Rina thinks of her people, her duties. Her eyes are starting to burn.
"I know."
"I don't want to do that to you." The unspoken But I will hangs between them, heavy. She would do anything for her people. So would he. It was something they shared; they respected that about each other.
He wants to confess. He won't, for both of their sakes. "Neither do I."
"I know."
Her voice cracks. Masahiro doesn't mention it.
---
The Panthalassa launch attacks on three different palaces that week. Coco has the situation in the South Pacific under control, according to the message that came with her seal. Caren and Noel are together and safe, even though the Arctic palace had seen some damage.
Gaito comes directly to the North Pacific.
---
"Nikora tells me it's been a long time since the Pink Pearl was chosen, y'know."
Lucia huffs, crossing her arms. "Why do you all look so surprised? If it's been so long, isn't it about time? This is starting to feel like bullying!"
Hanon smiles from her seat. "Can you blame them? We all thought it would be Sara!"
Lucia grumbles, floating back down to the floor. "I still feel attacked."
The North Pacific palace was ambushed- the Panthalassa brainwashed the pink dolphins to coordinate an attack, and they only realized it once the walls had been breached. A few songs, plenty of destroyed priceless artifacts, and speeches about hope later, Lucia's pearl started shining brighter than anyone had ever seen. Aqua Regina herself appeared, a silvery mist-covered ghost come to announce her successor.
Their combined powers plus Kaito's newly discovered glowing forehead had pulled them through to the other side of that battle- and Lucia's awakening had, for some unspoken reason, added about eight inches to her already ridiculously long hair.
Coco cards a seashell comb through Lucia's hair, her scissors snipping away at the blonde locks quietly. She'd come to visit after the attack- she claimed it was to help rebuild, but she figured they could use a little big sister action after everything that happened. "Please, oh mighty Aqua Regina- keep your head still!"
Rina covers her mouth, trying not to laugh and hurt Lucia's already bruised ego. But she knew Lucia- her unwavering hope, her knack for charming complete strangers. Lucia would do well by her new title.
---
"-It's like I have access to new powers! Well, I guess it's because I do- " Lucia rolls over on to her stomach, turning her head to look up at Kaito. "It's never been like this before, though."
"You mean you didn't feel like the goddess of the seas all the time?"
"You're teasing me!"
He pulls her in close, but she's still mad. As far as he knows, anyway. "Am not. You're going to make a great sea queen, Lucia."
"Does that make you my sea king?"
It's his turn to get flustered. "Does it? I hadn't noticed."
Her voice goes soft, barely above a whisper. "I'd like that. I feel like I can do anything if I have you all with me."
Kaito smiles. "You will- as long as we can help it."