Chapter Text
The sound of explosions ringing in his ears, the sight of bright lights, the silent waves crashing into each other, the sensation of dry skin on a cold damp shoulder, the inaudible screams of his father telling him to look out, the sharp stinging pain rushing through his arm, the horrified look on his face as he watches them pull him from the waters. Red. Dark. Silent. Nothing, not a single noise, no more screams, no more crying, no more angry waves crashing together, just nothing. Everything felt frozen in time. The next thing he knew, it was blank.
Eyes shooting wide open to a deathly quiet room, his gills flapping with each gasp, Langa shot up from where he had been laying. He was trembling, the room felt so small around him like it was closing in on him, and he’d be trapped in it forever. He wanted out. He needed out, but his eyes couldn’t seem to focus on anything around him as they darted from object to object around the painfully dark room.
Taking in quick breaths through his nose, still shaking, he tried to calm himself down, he struggled to take in his surroundings. That dream hasn’t happened in so long, so why now? What could have possibly triggered it this time?
Taking a few more steady breaths, he started to calm down a bit, he focused on smaller fish swimming around outside the window. He must’ve fallen asleep due to the lack of sleep he’s been getting the past few weeks. Massaging the side of his temple, sighing, he flicked his tail in annoyance.
Getting up, Langa swam towards the door leading out into the large, strangely quiet hallway, no maids or higher-ups wandering about. Just silence. Langa didn’t like silences because it meant his thoughts could trap him. That scared him. Feeling dizzy, he grabbed onto the side of the wall for better balance over himself.
He felt the world around him swirl into different images each time he’d blink. He imagined him and his dad playing tag down this same hallway when he was younger. Mom would always yell at them to stop, but she always did it with a smile on her face, Oliver always knew how to make people laugh no matter the situation.
Suddenly he felt a cold hand press to his shoulder, jerking back and smacking whoever had grabbed him, his breathing picking up in pace. Staring wide-eyed at the maid that had found him hunched over on himself, she looked scared.
“Forgive me, Prince Langa! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, you just looked ill.” She began apologizing over and over as if Langa was some fragile being that could break any moment.
“Ah, it’s fine…” Langa wasn’t all that interested in the conversation at hand and mainly wanted to leave. Turning away from her as she continued to apologize, he kept down the hallway, eventually reaching a balcony that led outside where the whole castle courtyard could be seen.
Langa would spend most of his days here alone, trying to free himself from his duties and hide away from the eyes of others. Langa didn’t like big crowds, they were usually too loud, or just too overwhelming for him. The people here were nice, but Langa felt too much pressure on him even now as he has matured.
Ever since his dad, King Oliver of merpeople supposedly died, Langa’s taken on all the responsibility that was left from his father and was next in line to be King, however, that’s not exactly what he wanted. Langa believes his dad is still out there somewhere because he was there when his father had been taken, the higher-ups have no idea what they were talking about… His father? Dead? Only in an old sailor’s dream.
Reminiscing back two years ago, it was the night before Langa’s birthday, and he could remember it so vividly, his father coming into his room to wake him up. Doing an almost hushed cheer as he explained to Langa about these flying, multicolored lights the humans let go of during the night.
This was also the night…the night Langa’s dad had gotten taken away by humans, Langa was just turning fifteen. His dad had wanted to show him something people on land called “fireworks”. They were these beautiful colors in the sky that would explode, and make your ears go a little fuzzy. His dad had told him that he’d seen the same fireworks many years ago when he turned Langa’s age.
Oliver had told him one night that marrying into a royal family was both a blessing and a curse, he got to be with Nanako sure, but at the cost of his freedom. Never being able to swim past the reefs, go above the surface, see the night sky with millions of stars, never getting to swim where you wanted. There were so many rules, and restrictions, was it even a life worth living?
Langa still remembers that night like it happened yesterday, not two years ago. They snuck past the night guards easily, almost too easily. They swam for what felt like hours, Langa’s never swam this far out before seeing new types of coral, fish, and feeling different water temperatures all around.
Everything was so bright, so colorful, so filled with life. It was overwhelming, but for some reason Langa loved it. He’d never felt so free before, and he never wanted to go back, always trapped away in his room as if he was some fairy tale creature waiting to be saved. Being in your room where you could be watched was deemed as “safe” more like boring.
“Are you having fun, Langa?” Oliver looked back at his son with such a gleeful stare, one Langa never saw before.
“Of course dad!”
Both of them laughed as they swam past rocks and sea life. Pushing one another through air pockets they’d made. This feeling was so new to Langa, but also so wonderful.
“Alright, buddy, we’re almost there, be ready.” Oliver had grabbed Langa’s hand as he said this, holding it, so they could stay close together since this was Langa’s first time above the sea.
Oliver turned their direction slightly up, and the more they swam up, the more Langa saw. The night sky was the deepest color Langa had ever seen. There were so many stars, which he learned about from his private lessons. It was crystal clear, clearer than the ocean’s water, the slight breeze that hit against his now damp skin. So this is what it felt like being above water.
Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Langa smelled the salty sea air. The air was so much more different from water. Inhaling water felt stuffy like you had a weight pressing down on your chest, but the air. It felt nice, it smelt clean, something Langa could get used to.
Looking over to his left, that’s when he noticed a giant object floating above the water, swaying with each crash of the waves, moving every time the wind picked up. Was this what they called a boat? The thing that caused merpeople to live so deep in the ocean. Swallowing the lump in his throat he didn’t know was there, Langa turned to his dad.
“Dad…is that not a…uh, a boat. Over there?” Turning back to the boat as if it was going to sneak up on them, Langa looked at it with wary eyes.
“That’s the boat that creates the fireworks, my boy! Without that boat, they wouldn’t have a place to start. Don’t worry, kiddo I’ve got you.” Oliver had lifted their hands to show Langa he wasn’t going anywhere, giving a slight squeeze to his hand for reassurance, he smiled warmly at Langa.
What could Langa possibly do in this situation? He trusted his dad more than anyone in the whole ocean, his dad was his best friend. All Langa could do was smile back.
The sound of sizzling soon cut their father-son moment short, because soon there was a loud whistle in the air. Langa turned his gaze up towards the sky before…
BOOM!
Eyes locked in a trance as he looked into the sky, he saw them…the bright lights his dad told him about. They were amazing, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. There were so many colors he had never seen before, lighting up the sky with each pop. Soon there was an even louder boom that followed with a bright shade of red. The red had been his favorite.
Langa and Oliver stayed there in the water floating looking up at the sky in awe. Neither one of them could have predicted what was to come next. Not hearing the approach of a small wooden boat. Someone reached out with a heavy hand and tugged Langa’s shoulder, digging something down into his right shoulder blade.
Crying out, Langa turned around and used his claws to scratch at the arm of whoever was causing this nauseating pain. Tears prickling at his eyes, he screeched at the pain, which was worsening with every move he did.
“LANGA! LOOK OUT!” He heard his dad yell at him before he got shoved back, hitting his head on the bottom of the boat. Langa looked up in a dazed state to see a net tangled around his father, he tried moving to get to him, but the pain in both his shoulder and head kept him from doing anything.
“LANGA GO! SWIM BACK AS FAST AS YOU CAN, I’LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!” Langa didn’t know what to do. Did he listen to his dad and swim away? Or should he stay and try to fight? The throbbing in his shoulder began spreading throughout his whole arm. Hissing in pain, he slapped a hand over his shoulder, he noticed blood. God, how he hated blood.
“Hey, grab the smaller one, it’s got some real nice scales on it.” Langa looked up to the people talking, not understanding a word they were saying. Focusing his gaze back on his dad, he watched as his father was being hauled into the boat by three different people.
Finally, making a decision, Langa dived back underwater, swimming deeper and deeper till the boats were no longer in sight. Taking twists and turns to unknown areas, Langa found himself hidden away inside a cave. Curling in on himself, sobbing because he knew…his dad wasn’t right behind him.
Waking up to a rather violent jerking motion, Langa’s eyes shot open trying to focus on the blurry face in front of him. It was one of the castle’s guards. Had they come to find Langa and his dad? Does this mean they know about them sneaking out? Had this meant they found Oliver somewhere and saved him?
“Prince Langa! Where have you been all morning? We were searching for hours, what happened to your shoulder? It’s got a deep cut.” The guard kept heavy hands on each side of Langa with a piercing gaze.
“Dad…” That’s all Langa could say, he couldn’t even give the guard an explanation as to why he is so far from the castle his head was filled with thoughts of his father getting pulled onto that horrible boat. They flashed in his mind like a fresh open wound.
“What? Prince, I’m not sure I can follow you, what do you mean dad?” Now with furrowed brows, the guard seemed even closer than before.
All Langa could do was stare at him like some lost child, but he was a lost child. He had just seen his father get dragged away by the one thing they were taught to keep away from. Humans.
“My...my dad! He was with me, he- he was taken. I saw it! Please we need to go help him, he is in danger, please!” Langa blurted out and grabbed onto the guard’s chained armor, shaking him slightly.
“Prince! Please calm down, King Oliver should be back at the castle now.” The guard had put his hands on Langa's, pulling them away trying to get him to calm down.
Langa snatched his hands away and gave him a look that could kill. “I know what I saw! He got dragged into a boat by humans.” His words come out louder than he has ever spoken before.
“You went to the surface?!” Langa immediately shut his mouth. He forgot he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but his dad was in danger. Could he really just keep quiet?
“I know it’s against everything we have been taught, but I know what I saw, my dad got taken trying to save me!”
“Prince Langa we can worry about that later, but for now I need to get you home and we need to get your shoulder tended to!” The guard had said this while trying to get Langa up from where he sat on the sandy floor.
Why wasn’t he listening? They’re wasting time over his shoulder when they could be going to find his dad! They might even be able to catch up with the boat he had been taken on, maybe his dad was able to get away and was out there. How could they know?! They weren’t there!
With little to no energy left all Langa could do was let himself be guided back to the castle grounds. Getting led back to the castle’s front gates, all eyes were on him, whispers surrounding his thoughts, everyone pointing, staring at him with worried eyes. Everything felt so suffocating around him and for once he wished he could be locked away in his room away from everyone.
All he wanted was his dad…
Groaning as he looked up, he barely saw the sun shining through the ocean. He pushed off from the edge of the balcony turning back inside. Two years ago he tried telling everyone about his dad, but no one believed a word he said, calling him absurd, or just even ignoring him straight to his face.
Langa had attempted multiple times to try and make anyone listen to him, but no matter what he tried they would just brush him off like he was invisible… This led him to stay up in his room, closing himself off from everyone. He’d only come out for the occasional meal if he felt like it, or the meetings his mom dragged him out too.
Huffing and shaking his head of the thoughts. He swam back into his room. Closing the door behind him he worked his way up towards his towering shelves of endless books. Pushing through the various assortment of books, Langa had finally found the one he’d been looking for. It had a hardcover, the title had been faded, most pages either torn or missing. The book had seen better days.
Shoving the book snuggly under his arm, he swam over to his bed tucking his tail under him as he sat on it. Taking a quick glance back to his door he took a shaky breath. Opening the book to the middle he ran his webbed hand over the picture that was surrounded by unknown words. The picture was of what he assumed was a town, filled with people and a variety of different colors painted onto the pages.
The only reason Langa had kept the book was that in the back was a map. The map had been of the town before, but one thing Langa could make out was the ocean next to it. The same ocean he’d been in all his life. The same ocean his dad got dragged from.
If no one was going to hear him he’d might as well take things into his own hands. After trying so many times to get help, only to keep getting shut down, Langa decided to find his dad himself. Even if that means breaking a few rules after all his dad believed in doing what you felt was right. So if breaking one of the most crucial rules that was taught to every mermaid and merman since birth was required to be broken...then so be it.
Langa had been hiding every detail of his escape from the higher-ups and his mother for months. At first, he felt guilt for lying to everyone that cared about him, but if they did care for him as they all had said...why wouldn’t they hear him out? Leaving was for the best! It’s for his dad after all.
Shutting the book, he let out a long sigh. This plan of escape couldn’t fail him after so much preparing how he’d do this. His dad was out there, he had to be, Langa refused to believe otherwise.
Turning seventeen only meant he had a year left before he’d become old enough to take over the kingdom. Langa didn’t have much time left, so the plan had to happen now or never, but never wasn’t even an option that crossed his mind. The escape was happening and it was happening tonight.
It only took him a day to realize that the night watch didn’t really do their job properly. This should worry him more, but given the situation, this was one less obstacle in his way. The biggest challenge was his mother. The whole reason he’d second guess himself in his plans in fact. She too lost Oliver, her husband, the man she had a kid with, her everything.
How would she react to losing her son? The only family she had left, but if Langa could just go to the surface he could get his dad back! Everyone would be happy again, and he wouldn’t have to become king so young.
Frowning at his reflection in his window, Langa swam over to a bag he found back in the town square when he tested out ways he could escape. Shoving the book into one of the many pouches he snatched it up pulling it over his shoulder. The same shoulder with a large scar running from the top down to his shoulder blade. The same scar someone gave him years ago.
Looking out the window up towards the surface, the sun that was once barely shining down on the ocean floor was now completely gone. This was it, it finally was time to leave, after two years of planning. Langa better not get cold fins now…
Taking a deep breath Langa pushed off from his window grabbing a black cloak from under his bed he threw it over himself, pulling on the hood. Getting his nerves to calm down he swam towards his door. Holding a hesitant hand above the shell-shaped knob, he clutched his other hand at the outline of the book inside the bag. Squeezing his eyes closed he reached out, opening the door as quietly as possible.
Peeking his head out to the hallway it was dark, not a single guard in sight. Leaving his room, closing the door slowly, Langa let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. Hugging the walls as he swam his way down the empty corridor, giving a quick look around to make sure no one had followed him he stopped at a ragged-looking wall.
Running his hand on one of the loose bricks he pushed it in. The wall slightly cracked, slowly opening up to a tunnel that led to the gates of the castle. His father had been the one to show him the many secrets that exist all around the grounds. Oliver had always said what’s a life without a little mischief.
Cracking a smile at the words his dad once told him he places his hand over his chest, above his heart. The pounding that was once there when he was a kid had faded since his dad’s sudden “disappearance”. Soon maybe the pounding would come back once he found him, they would be happy again.
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped him out of his thoughts. Whipping around with eyes blown wide he saw the last person he wanted to see. His mom…
“Mom, hello,” Langa spoke with a very obvious shaky tone.
“Langa...what’re you doing out in the hall so late.” Right to the question, Langa hoped she’d never ask, but what else was she going to ask? How’s it swimming?
Opening his mouth, he choked on his words before he could even say a thing, swallowing back the stutter he would let out if he continued. Putting a hand on the bag he tried hiding it behind his body, hoping, praying to whatever fish God she hadn’t seen it.
Nanako let out a sigh before swimming closer to him, getting right in his space. “Langa I can see the bag behind you...You think I don’t know you’ve been planning to go to the surface?” Her arms crossed as she stared at him.
“I- mom… I just, dad is- Mom…” He couldn’t get out a single sentence, he felt like he was suffocating on his own voice. Why did his mom have to find him? Why now? After everything, all that planning ruined in the single moment if only he’d-
“Langa, calm down.” Nanako was now even closer, lifting her hands to his face. “I’m not upset with you.”
“You aren’t?” Genuinely shocked at her statement, all he did was look at her with furrowed brows.
“I’m worried...worried what’s going to happen once you’re up there. I’ve already lost…” Giving a tight expression not finishing that sentence, she looked her son straight in the eyes.
“Please...be careful Langa, I can’t lose you too…” If tears could be made out under the water, Langa knew his mom would have been crying.
Nanako pulled Langa into the tightest hug, which he hadn’t had in nearly two years. A long overdue hug. No one spoke of Oliver and his sudden disappearance, of course, his mom was just as depressed as he was about losing Oliver.
“Mom...I promise I’ll be careful and I’ll bring dad back. I promise.” Giving in to the hug, he whispered out the promise. Nanako took a shaky breath before pulling away, “You better come back, you hear me? At least to let me know you’re okay…”
All Langa could do was nod, not confident in how his voice would sound. He was scared, terrified even. The human world was so different from the ocean world, who knows what could happen up there it was obvious his mom would worry.
Having let go of Langa’s hands, Nanako gave one final look to Langa before turning away as if she’d never seen a thing. Watching as his mom was about to turn the corner she suddenly stopped, snapping her attention back to him.
“Langa, I love you, your dad...he’d be happy you’re making your own decision.” Her face twisted into a pained look, but still giving off the soft motherly smile she’d always have back when all of them spent time together.
“I love you too, mom…”
Sneaking past the night guards like he did once with his dad, it was still as easy as ever. He held onto the hood of his cloak as he made his way through the small reef past the kingdom grounds, hoping no one saw him. Swimming faster with each turn he made, Langa found himself nearing the area his dad had brought him to look at the fireworks.
Feeling his chest tighten at the thought of his dad he clutched the strap of the bag. Swallowing down whatever was building up in this throat he made his way towards the sharp rocks he remembered passing two years ago.
Looking at the corals he once found pretty and colorful, they now looked dull, and dead. They were boring; it's as if they had no life anymore. Thinking about them not having life anymore made that tightening feeling in his chest swell up even more. Everything was grey to him now. What if everyone was right? What if his dad was gone and this was all pointless.
Frowning at the thoughts that filled his head, his eyes began to sting, his head feeling heavier and heavier with each passing thought. Langa was out in the middle of the ocean, alone. His dad wasn’t here anymore, Langa was all alone…
Reaching out with trembling hands he grabbed the book from the pouch of his bag. Clutching it to his chest with a tight grip, as if his life depended on it. No, this wasn’t for nothing, and his dad was still alive, he had to be...right?
Taking a few deep breaths Langa looked up towards the surface slowly. Watching for what felt like hours, he saw something shoot across the sky, it was blurry and distant but it was there. Sparing the coral one last glance, he shoved the book back into his pouch and took off, swimming full speed to the surface.
The sky began to come into focus the closer he swam up. Another streak shot across the sky followed with a loud boom, a boom that Langa has heard once before. Flinching away at the sound that could still be heard from underwater even if it was muffled. Langa kept swimming towards the surface, water now swaying with the wind, waves crashing in on each other. It was just how he remembered.
Coming to an abrupt stop, his nose grazed the tip of the water. Langa looked up into the sky from under the thin layer of water that was between him and the world that took his dad. Hesitating for a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut, and counted in his head. 3...2...1…
Shooting up to the surface, the immediate feeling of wind hitting his damp skin, hair clinging to his face as water dripped from the tips, the chilled night air sending a shiver down his spine. Slowly opening his eyes and having to adjust to the feeling of dry air rather than water, he blinked rapidly getting used to the feeling.
Rubbing his eyes a little, another loud bang could be heard in the distance. Turning his head around looking up to the night sky. Taking a quick breath there he saw it, the same beautiful lights he saw two years ago, still shining so bright in the pitch-black night.
Watching the sky light up with different colors, listening to the loud booms that made his ears go fuzzy, and enjoying the waves splashing all around him, Langa felt free. This feeling was the same he felt when he came here with his dad. A loud whistle pulled Langa from his thoughts as he snapped his attention back to the sky.
Bright, loud, red...The same red firework Langa had seen on his birthday lit up the sky above him, hiding any stars in its way. It was beautiful with the way it burst with color in different angles. Reflecting off the water as it started to die down.
Watching the red lights burn out faster than they appeared, Langa took in a deep breath, his nose being filled with the familiar scent of the salty sea air. This truly did bring back memories, even if some were more unpleasant than others.
Shifting his attention back around, Langa yanked the bag from his side up to his front, digging out the book from in it. Cracking open the book to the page he had marked, he looked at the map where he noted the direction he had to go. Flicking his attention over to a rock sticking up from the waves he made a thin line with his lips before shutting the book and returning it into the bag.
Diving back under the water he made his way towards the rock where the water began to become more shallow. With more rocks coming into view he maneuvered through the rough waves, and jagged stones. Slowing down and grabbing the side of a rock he emerged his head from the water gazing up.
Peering his head around the rock, Langa traced the waves that were swaying back and forth. Watching as the water receding it left the sand wet. Oh, right sand. How was Langa going to move on land? He had fins not feet. He hadn’t thought this far through. He came so far he can’t give up now! Maybe he can drag himself? No, that was stupid.
Huffing out a frustrated breath he’d just have to figure it out once he got to that point. Moving back into the water fully, he made his way towards the shoreline. Feeling the water become thinner the closer he swam to the land he also felt his body beginning to feel rather heavy.
Having one harsh wave pull him back only to come plummeting back down, Langa darted forward with the wave. Getting a face full of sand as the water drew back from him he laid face down in the sand, like a fish out of water. A sharp pain shot throughout his whole body that had him grimacing that he didn’t even notice the sound of shuffling near him.
“Who- who are you? What the hell even are you?” A voice speaking unknown words shouted in front of Langa as he stayed there in the sand.
Lifting his head to see what was making all the noise. Crystal blue eyes met with shining amber ones, bright fiery red hair shooting out in all directions. Ah, it was a human, and he was holding something? Why is he pointing it directly at Langa? Why was it shiny? Shifting on to his elbows the human in front of him shoved the object further at Langa.
“Don’t move! I WILL use this knife on you.” He moved a little closer to Langa.
Langa just looked at him not understanding a single thing he was blabbering about. The sharp pain from before came rushing back throughout his whole body, throbbing mainly in his tail. Breath hitching at the sensation, his head going dizzy, vision getting blurry, the world spinning around him. The last thing he saw was the boy dropping the object he held, stumbling back. Then everything went blank.