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She ran, err- swam away. Dodging spires of rocks and bone, and whipping kelp. Her nails dug into her scalp, her hands clasped tightly her ears, blocking out the noise.
A melody drifted through the water, beautiful and innocent but it was anything but that. It had entranced her. She was lost during her travels and the song of life encouraged her to seek help with directions.
Due to her inability to say no to her friends she somehow wound up being an unofficial ambassador for the Merkingdom better known as Pearlis. Unofficial because she was expendable it seems but she doesn’t dwell on it. King Gabriel had given her a mission; travel across the open ocean to the cliffside kingdom of sharks, Gilltham. The letter burned through her pouch and onto her scales, reminding her of its importance.
She should have never left the fields of colour and coral, out here it was just an expanse of blue, no landmarks in sight. Except for Lila’s cave.
Marinette looked back, her short inky blue-black hair floated around her like squid tentacles. Hundreds of metres away, just peeking out of the murky darkness sat the mouth of a giant serpent. If one, spellbound by song, were to follow its spine to its tail like she had they would encounter a rotting wooden hut that contained Lila, the seawitch.
She was a slimy creature and that’s not being metaphorical. Her tail was black and her anal fin had pointed spines that looked to drip with poison. Lila had offered her riches, power and love. Luka had taught her that everyone’s true intentions can be known through their song and there was discord in her tone. Her lyrics don’t match her melody.
A silent sob escaped her mouth, and she continued swimming away, gaining distance from the siren. She had gotten away unscathed but still directionless. She continued, nowhere to go but up.
Up.
Why didn’t she think of it before? Her mother always told her of her travels from the Chinseas, she followed boats and the stars.
She swam to the surface. It was day.
She splashed the water in frustration, tears welled in her ears. She had always wondered why they, as marine beings, were still able to cry like humans.
The ripping of the water caused her to swiftly duck back down as the shadow of a boat passed by. She needed to be further, she could still be spotted.
“Hey!” She swam faster. “Wait!” She paused.
Cautiously glancing over her shoulder she saw the boat dragging a large net through the water. Her eyes narrowed, seeking out the person who called out to her.
A sinking silver glint caught her eye. Reaching out she caught it before it could descend further. It was a katana.
—————
He was pressed against a net of nylon, its ropes dug into his white underbelly. He hated how helpless he was. He had escaped more complex contraptions of his father’s creation but this man-made sack of twisted twine kept him stationary and it infuriated him. And if he stayed like this for too long… sharks who stay put don’t live very long. The rushing water from the boat dragged him just enough but he was becoming weaker by the minute.
He dropped his katana when one of the many fish he was trapped with slammed against him, the net had barely frayed from his efforts anyways. His heirloom weapon drifted downwards, soon it would meet its final resting place on the ocean floor, never to be seen again.
That was until a little blue mermaid, who certainly was far from home interrupted his kidnapping. She had initially swum away at his calls but now she had his katana and was coming towards him. She spliced through the ropes and created a hole, but it still wasn’t enough for him to get through.
The boat slowed and the crew began pulling in their catch. Marinette kept sawing at the thick threads but soon she had to hold on tightly as to not fall back into the dark depths. The sun was setting now, just enough darkness to hide their prison escape.
A wave crashed against the ship causing her to fumble, the katana fell and she almost did too. Damian grasped her arm as the other clutched onto the net. “You need to go go. Save yourself.”
He saw determination spark in her sky blue eyes, she shook her head and held on tighter. She tugged at the net, seeing if any more knots were loose enough to break. Nothing happened. She let out a small huff, looking around for something to help her. They were getting close to the ship’s upper deck, time was almost up.
She grabbed the pink shell clip she wore in her hair and with its serrated edges, it easily cut through the offending threads. Another wave crashed into the ship’s bow. Damian caught the shell before it could follow his katana.
Marinette tugged on the young mershark’s upper body, using her weight to pull him out. He leaned forward, she leaned back, they fell; together.
The shouts of the crew were muffled by the water, some fish jumped ship with them it seems. Marinette realised the predicament she had once again gotten herself into. She had followed the call of a stranger and once again gotten herself in danger.
This was her chance. He swam down, seeking out his katana. She took off. Her navy blue tail no longer sparkled under the streams of sunlight that pierced the water. Everything was blue, blue, blue; she just hoped her blues would blend into them.
It wasn’t long before he caught up to her. His tail had a good half a metre on her, she was always small be he seemed to be larger than the average shark. His grip on her upper arm was tight but not bruising.
“Who are you?” He demanded. ‘Rude’ she thought, she was the person who had just saved his tail. She opened her mouth to quip back but nothing came out. “What are you? Part goldfish?”
She trashed in his grip at the insult, sending him a nasty glare. His teeth weren’t triangular and pointed like she’d thought they’d be. He softened as if to finally realise what was happening.
“You are a Parafin, are you not? What are you doing so far out?” She tried to answer again, nothing. Maybe she hadn’t escaped as unscathed as she thought. Her free hand touched her throat, looking for a physical answer as to what was wrong. He rumbled a sigh. “I assume you are mute. Did you have a run-in with Rossi?”
Rossi? Did he mean Lila? Was that even her name? She squirted her eyes shut. She was so, so afraid.
Then all of a sudden he released her. Her eyes snapped open, looking at him. His right hand was brought to the left side of his chest in a fist as he bowed to her, not breaking eye contact for a second. “My apologies, I shouldn’t have grabbed you. Alfred who have my head if he found out how I have treated you.”
She must have a death wish. Before she could stop herself she slapped his tail with her caudal fins. It wasn’t going to hurt him, it was mostly used as a warning among her people.
“I deserved that.” She nodded indignantly at his statement. He introduced himself as Damian, he was travelling to Gilltham to “be reunited with family.” She sensed something was off but she couldn’t really express her thoughts. When questioned she nodded, expressing she was going to Gilltham too.
The water around her seemed heavier and through her gills, she breathed in something metallic. She coughed, looking around for the source. It wasn’t her, although the adrenaline was still pumping, she didn’t feel sore.
Damian had a deep gash on his side, right where his leathery tail transitioned to human-like skin. She stopped him, touching around his wound. He looked down at her and didn’t try to stop her. “Dumb marlin got me, I’ll be fine, I’ve had worse.”
She could see that. Scars littered his tail, some she could differentiate from his tiger stripes. It wasn’t just his tail, the moonlit water flowed around them, they were scattered across every limb in his body. She understood his reaction to her help slightly better now, he had been through a lot.
She took out her sewing kit from the pouch at her hip. He shifted his tail away but halted at her glare. “I’m fi—“ he gasped as the needles penetrated his skin. Marinette looked up, checking up on him, only to find him biting his hand. She flicked him, warning him not to hurt his hand as well.
Damian looked at her completed work, the measly thread wouldn’t be as strong as the regular stitching twine but it would do. ‘It’s almost as good Alfred’s’ he silently complements her.
They continued. Along the way, he taught her some swim-language that he knew from his sister Cassandra. She soon learned he was very grumpy and formal, his exterior was harsh, like a jagged stone wall to outsiders. It was better than swimming alone & directionless. But there was something underneath all that, that something gave her a nickname (since he didn’t know hers) based on the cherub pygmy, he called her Angel.
She gasped when they arrived, it was nothing like Pearlis. The kingdom was built into the cliff instead of just on top of it like she’d imagine (some dens were there but the majority were built vertically). Bioluminescent lanterns hung from each roof. The beating heart of Gilltham was in a ravine. Shops lined the walls and markets were dotted across the floor. Sharks of all shapes swam everywhere, not a care in the world that the better part of the night had passed.
Etched into the corner of the ravine sat Wayne Manor, or at least that’s what Damian called it. It was the kingdom’s castle but it had no grand spires, it looked like an extravagant human mansion made of obsidian and slate. On the ridge above it sat a festival, as they swam past she read a sign that said ‘Shalloween’, whatever that was.
As they swam closer to the manor the more confused she got. The building was surrounded by an almost invisible netting, to keep everyone out or to keep them inside. she paused at the gate.
He held out a hand to her. She took it.
Before they even reached the door it swung open. All types of mers swum out. From what she could see it was mainly sharks with the occasional mermaid/man, octopus and is that an eel?
They surrounded them, chattering & chirruping excitedly. They seemed to be most curious about her, who was pressed against his back trying to shy away from them all.
“I’m glad you made it Damian!” The blue shark squealed whilst hugging the temperamental tiger shark as if he were a teddy bear rather than a bomb.
“Where have you been, demon spawn?” The biggest of the group, the bull shark growled at him accusingly.
Before he could continue a frilly purple mermaid cut in front of him. “More importantly! Who’s your cute friend?”
Damian looked behind at her before guiding her around to swim next to him. “I don’t know her name, she had an altercation with Rossi and lost her voice. She’s here on business from Pearlis, she has a letter for father.”
The group began murmuring at the mention of Rossi, the bull shark even (not so quietly) muttered “seabitch,” which cause her to laugh. They paused to look at her but for deciding to re-commune inside.
They were greeted by an elderly mercrustacean. His upper body was cloaked with a formal suit and tie, she hopes she wasn’t intruding on an event. He ushered them inside, scolding them for barging through the door like that. Once he noticed her amongst the revelry he bowed to her and introduced himself as Alfred.
She curtsied to the best of her abilities. The school of young mers talked over each other as they tried to explain her situation. Damian was having none of it though, “Alfred, Angel has business with father. He is in his study I presume?”
Alfred nodded, “Your assumption is correct. Miss Angel, would you like some seaweed scones?” Her stomach answered before she could nod. She nodded blushing from embarrassment. “I’ll have them ready in just a moment, Master Damian take her up to see Master Bruce.”
“Angel?” The three boys looked at each other while the girls' giggles as Marinette and Damian swam away.
————
The halls were cosy and littered with images of human artefacts. They reached the study and swam inside, the interior was covered in seashelves with stone tablets engraved with a multitude of different texts. The shark king sat at his desk without a crown, she had never seen Gabriel or Adrien go one second without them. He looked tired but his eyes lit up as he saw his youngest son.
The great white shark pulled Damian into a big hug. It took a few seconds before he even thought of letting go. Damian had been missing for months, taken by his mother’s drones and forced to travel half the world’s oceans. Bruce looked over at Marinette who stood by the door, unwilling to break apart this special moment.
“Alfred informed me you’ve come from Pearlis with a letter for me?” She broke out of her gaze and quickly grabbed the fish skin wrapped stone tablet. The king read its contents before setting it down on the desk, his hand rubbed his once again exhausted face. “You both must be tired, go down for dinner and I’ll have Alfred prepare Miss Angel a bed.”
Dinner was a feast. Twelve different dishes sat before her, the majority being meat-based to sustain the carnivorous sharks present at the table. She was sat in between Damian and his favourite sister Cassandra, better know as Cas. She was introduced to each other.
Cas was the only eel of the family and was mute as well, she spent the majority of dinner teaching Mari more swim-language to help her communicate better (the entire family was fluent). Marinette was grateful for her lessons, she forgot at times and when she went to speak nothing would come out but bubbles.
Barbara was the eldest, she liked to help Bruce and Tim with their research and running the kingdom; multitasking was easy for someone with ten arms. Like many of the others, she wasn’t biologically related to Bruce, Mari was glad as she didn’t want to think about how a shark & octopus would create children.
Dick (or Grayson in Damian’s words) was technically Bruce’s first ward. He was a blue shark that was excitable as a pup.
Jason was the towering bull shark she had seen earlier. A small patch of white parted his black hair, it looked to trickle down his face to his underbelly until his whole chest lacked pigment. Damian scoffed at “Todd’s” attempts to flirt with her.
Stephanie was a mermaid. It had initially confused her, why would a mermaid reside in a kingdom of sharks. But the more she saw of Gilltham the more diverse she realised it was. Her scales were a vibrant purple but she’d always state it was eggplant coloured (whatever that meant).
Duke was a sea lion, he didn’t speak much during dinner but he was polite and well mannered.
Tim sat beside Bruce and was going over more of their royal duties. He was another mermaid. His tail was similar colouring to yellowtail snappers, with reds fading into golden yellows. He wore his long hair up with a kelpie that had a shell charm.
And then there was Damian, the youngest and only blood child of Bruce.
She looked down at her plate brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I must get you a new hair clip to replace the one you lost saving me.” She opened her mouth to speak, bubbles. She shook her head, there was no need. She signed to him that she would be leaving soon anyways.
“At least let us take you to the festival before you go! It’s Shalloween Eve! Damian can get you a clip there.” Dick stated, squirming in excitement. The whole family agreed, looks like they were going to the Shalloween festival.
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After everyone had left the table Damian went to escort her to her room but she declined and went to help Alfred wipe down the dishes. They worked together in silence until Alfred broke it. “The family seems to like you, Miss Angel. If you are able to stay longer we’ll try to figure out how to reverse your mutism.”
As she walked towards her room she thought she heard him whisper about there being another addition to the Wayne family.
It was late morning when they all awoke. The Wayne children spent the rest of the morning and afternoon lounging around, they refused to attend the festival until sunset. They were constantly pulling her this way and that, they included her in everything. The only reprieve she got was when they entered they entered a small cove in the backyard. It was full of coral and kelp. This is where she met Titus, who was a dogfish and Alfred the Catfish.
She learned that Shalloween occurred when the waters began to cool and kill off some coral and tropical fish. There were fake corpses as decoration on every third booth and many attendees were dressed as drowned pirates or navy sailors, the Wayne’s explained that many Gillthamites like to mock their existence and humans.
Gilltham was near Shipwreck Straights and many of the banners and cloths used were scavenged from there. The whole festival was a flurry of blacks, purples and oranges with the occasional glowing blue or green light. Barbara and Steph had run off to the rides, the older boys went to find some food; Damian and Cas stayed with her, looking for a new hair clip.
Damian placed a hand on Marinette’s lower back, guiding her through the crowds. His hand was warm against her cold skin. Gilltham was so much colder than Pearlis, even the warmer clothes Steph gave her left her shivering.
Cas, who had wandered ahead appeared by their side holding out her hand. In it she held a clip, it looked to be modelled after a small seabird’s skull with a black gem implanted on its forehead. Marinette picked it up and looked it over confused before turning to Damian as he huffed out a laugh.
“Cas says you’ll look like a Wayne if you wear it.” Look like a Wayne? Alfred said something similar earlier. There was a mirror at the stall but she couldn’t manage to tie her hair up properly, even with her shell it was a struggle. The skull clip was taken from her and the top section of her hair twisted into a bun held in place when the accessory clicked. Damian’s face was one of indifference when she locked eyes with him in the mirror. He clicked his tongue before swimming off, but not before Cas took a photo on her shellphone.
They met up with the rest of the Wayne’s before they left once more, this time taking Cas with them. Marinette and Damian had been left at the entrance of a mirror maze, a place that Dick had pushed them into and the door locked behind them. The blue shark swam away with one less tooth.
In response to her glare, the tiger shark stated that “it would take more than a tooth to stop his idiocy.”
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
They wandered through the maze, Damian followed closes by Mari as she took every left turn. At every dead end, he scoffed, and finally, Mari was fed up a pushed him forwards, making him lead the way. Before either of them could move a mirrored wall was placed between them. The creaking of shifting gears could just be heard over the music, the maze was changing.
She don’t got a lot to say
“Angel!” She wanted to call out but resorted to tapping three times. Tap. Tap. Tap.
But there’s something about her
Turning left and left and left, he sought her out. He only saw himself and not her. He couldn’t swim up, couldn’t swim down. Mirrors, mirrors everywhere. Their glowing frames being the only light available.
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
Why was he panicking this much? It was just a maze but there was something amiss. His brain felt foggy, he was moving with instruction, moving on instinct.
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Was Angel trying to find him too? He felt the three taps, three vibrations and the guided him. If only he had echolocation, this would be a lot easier.
It’s possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
“Angel!”
It don’t take a word
Not a single word
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Go on and ki—
THUD.
He paused. Heart racing and gills flared. He was in a junction, five paths, five possible ways out, five possible ways to find her.
“My, oh my,” he turned, no one was there. “Look at the boy too shy.”
The mirrors snapped shut. He was surrounded by vanity. “Ain’t that sad?” The voice squealed gleefully, “Ain’t it shame, too bad.”
It was Rossi. She had trapped him. A dagger was pointed at him before it snapped back, the metal brushed against her smirking lips. White teeth wide, glistening and venomous.
“You’re gonna miss the girl.” She snarled at him, striking forward. His back hit the mirror and her blade hit his flesh, slicing a red line across his shoulder. He grabbed her neck and flipped their positions, knocking the knife out of her hand. She snarls at him, trying to bite his hand. And when that doesn’t work she begins to sign again.
“Listen to the song, sha-la-la-la-la-la,” she softened her voice and Damian’s head filled with her melody. His muscles began to slack. Lila trailed a glossed nail down the muscular arm that held her in place. She leant in, as far as she could, whispering the song in his ear. “Music play, Do what the music say.”
Her tail trailed up his, his grip loosened enough for her black webbed caudal fin to brush against Damian’s back. His eyes were glossed as he shivered at her touch.
Her tail whipped around, her spines penetrated his thick skin. Broken out of his trance with a loud cry. He swam up trying to gain distance from the seawitch. His hands clutched the conjoining frames, pain churning in his stomach before it boiled over and turned into rage.
A tail for a tail and the whole world’s spined.
While not as brute force as a bull shark or great white, tiger sharks are just as lethal. She dived at him again but his tail closed the distance. Caudal knee met the side of her skull. The reverberation echoed within her ears, they rung and her eyes were blurry. The world spun around her and her charge halted, she slowly drifted to the bottom.
The mirror across from him squeaked as it moved, a little blue head leaked out from behind it. Marinette noiselessly gasped at the sight before her. She dove down for the dagger nearby and with both hands holding it facing Lila. Marinette hadn’t come without out injury, her upper right arm and shoulder were pinkish, preparing to bruise.
Lila’s head snapped up, her eyes unfocused and bloodshot with burst vessels. She snarled, her fangs displayed to the room. The rumble from her chest was feral. She pounced lashing out at where she assumed they were.
Marinette, although smaller, lunged at her; using her momentum to force the knife in between her lower rips. Her lung burst as she gasped for air. With a final burst of energy, she grabbed Marinette in her claws, prepared to tear out her throat. Marinette pinched her eyes shut, Lila’s nails dug into her injured shoulder causing a silent cry and a sadistic smile.
“Finally I—“ glass shattered and the cobra-like grip was gone. Damian’s hand was wrapped around the siren’s throat once more. The fragments sparkled like snow falling in the night like the world was ok when it wasn’t. The two flew through the smashed mirror, glass piercing her skin. He slammed her into the floor and she stopped. All fight was gone but he took no chances.
He turned back and grabbed Mari, they swam out of there hand-in-hand, slamming through any dead-end they happened across. They eventually made it out, only after they demolished part of the building’s sidewall. The Wayne’s who had been waiting at the end rushed over.
“I guess you two couldn’t wait…” Dicks voice faded out as he saw the state of the couple. Steph put Mari’s uninjured arm around her shoulders and others around the girl's waist. Damian refused anyone’s help, he swam closely behind the two girls but his injured tail slowed him.
The two were stitched up and out on bed rest. Mari snuck over to his bed and snuggled into the spare pillow, on the edge of sleep; drowsy from exhaustion and adrenaline. She murmured a thank you into her pillow, but a hand on her shoulder shook her back awake.
“Angel, your voice!” Damian quietly exclaimed. Her hand grabbed at her throat like she did when she first discovered its lack.
“What?” She croaked, hoarse from inactivity. A gasp left her in a violent coughing fit, with the shark patting her back. Her eyes peeked through her draped hair, “If I have my voice back that means…”
Her voice wavered and cracked. It had been nearly a week of her living without it. “Either she reversed it or died.” Damian finished off her sentence. It was a grim realisation; they killed someone, granted it was warranted or she was alive and plotting revenge.
She crawled further up the bed, her face inches from Damian’s. “I heard that true love’s kiss reverses even the most powerful witches’ hexes.” As she whispered, her hooded eyes looking at his lips.
His hand returned to her hair, guiding her face closer as he licked his lips. “We’ll be better not take any chances then.”
He kissed the girl.