Chapter Text
Once upon a time there was a little merman who lived with his brothers in the sea. The seven of them were princes who had sworn allegiance to the Crown Prince of the Sea.
Lucifer, the first and oldest brother, kept his younger brothers in line, a wearying task most days but he loved his brothers very much; he was the closest and most loyal to the Crown Prince. Mammon, the second brother, collected trinkets from shipwrecks and stole pearls from oysters; the pearls he strung as necklaces and other adornments that he wore, occasionally gifting one or two to his brothers. Leviathan, the third brother, was shy with other merpeople, keeping to himself and his little family, but he became fast friends with every other sea creature he met. Satan, the fourth brother, preserved books and scrolls that fell into the sea, he had a little collection of them in a cave and he often went there to read and learn; he shared them with his brothers whenever it pleased them. Beelzebub, the sixth brother and twin of Belphegor, wanted to taste every sea creature in the ocean at least once; he’d already tried a fair amount. Belphegor, the seventh and youngest brother and twin of Beelzebub, wanted nothing more than to sleep his days away under the rolling waves.
Asmodeus, the fifth brother who has not been forgotten, was the most beautiful of them all. He is the little merman of our story.
Asmo’s tail was the same color as his eyes, amber like the setting sun. He wore seven necklaces around his beautiful, long neck. He loved to sit on rocks and comb his hair, admiring his appearance in the reflection of tidepools. But he especially loved to sing. His voice shone above his brothers’, who were all gifted singers themselves.
All of the brothers were fascinated with the humans and the Human World above, but because of laws put in place by the now sleeping King of the sea, they had to be content with what they found in the wreckage of ships and the few moments of life a human had before they were drowned under the waves after hearing the brothers’ songs. This was the tradition in the world of the merpeople. Every stormy night the seven brothers would rise to the surface and hide in the waves, singing to the humans on passing ships, luring them into the inky depths. Asmo’s voice was the crown jewel that completed the brothers’ harmony.
“The Crown Prince has informed me there will be no storm tonight so we will not be going up to the surface.” said Lucifer one day. The Crown Prince could sense the tides and the weather, so he was an accurate source for this information.
Lucifer’s six younger brothers grumbled.
“That’s no fun,” Mammon pouted.
“I’m not happy about it either,” said Lucifer. “But nothing can be done.”
“That leaves me some time for reading.” Satan said.
“And I can take a nap.” said the youngest, Belphie.
Asmo shot a pointed glance at Beel, who had accidentally eaten his comb that morning. “Well I’m going to look for a shell to make a new comb.”
The seven brothers each went their separate ways that evening.
Asmo swam up to look for empty shells on the reef. He reached up towards the sun, until his fingers breached the surface of the water. The sun was so warm and bright despite it being so close to sunset. He wished he could spend more time on the surface during daylight.
With a sigh he dove down to the reef again, scanning the ocean floor for the shells. He gathered a few promising specimens in his arms.
Soon he was near the shore, and with a few more moments of light left, he decided to take a look at his reflection. He swam up to a formation of rocks that sat under a cliff by the reef. He pulled himself up onto a rock and located a tide pool. Humming to himself, Asmo adjusted his hair, enjoying the way it dried in waves in the sea air.
There was a splash nearby. A small sailboat had been dragged into the sea.
Asmo crawled on his arms to hide behind a taller rock so he wouldn't be seen.
You were the only human operating the little boat that looked like it was meant for at least two. You struggled to adjust the sail, precariously leaning over the edge as you pulled and tied the ropes. You turned to fiddle with something on the back of the boat and the sail swung wide, nearly hitting you. You cursed out loud.
Asmo watched you from afar, it appeared you were not adept at handling the boat, but you seemed determined to go somewhere.
With some more fiddling and another near miss, the sail was adjusted to your liking and you embarked on your journey.
Asmo slipped into the water to observe from a closer distance, dipping down below your boat to follow you. It was like swimming underneath a whale, like he'd done many times with Levi. You sailed almost a mile out to sea on your own. When your little boat seemed to pause in the water, Asmo stopped to stare up expectantly. So you weren't planning on traveling a great distance. What were you doing?
He moved out of the way as your anchor dropped from above.
The rocks extended this far out into the water, most of them hidden by the tide. It was foolish to drop anchor here, but you did anyway.
Asmo watched from the safety of those rocks as you neatly rolled up the sail and tied it to the mast to keep it out of the way.
By now, the sun had almost sunk into the sea and the first evening stars were just beginning to appear in the sky.
You finally sat down with a sigh, a small smile growing on your lips.
You rummaged through a leather satchel, looking for something.
Asmo pulled himself up on a rock so he didn't have to fight the swell of the waves to see you.
The sun was now gone, leaving the sky dark except for the stars. But as a creature of the deep, Asmo could see well in the dark.
You pulled out a leatherbound book and a pencil. You looked up and surveyed the sky, your eyes landing on a cluster of stars that had just appeared. You flipped to a blank page and began to sketch.
Asmo watched for a while, swirling his tail in the water, the sound swallowed up by the crashing of waves. You continued to sketch, occasionally flipping the pages and starting again. Eventually Asmo got bored. It seemed like he had been sitting there for hours. Why weren't you doing anything? He contemplated getting closer to look at your sketches but he decided against it. Lucifer would kill him if he was spotted by a human, especially since he was out on his own.
The rhythmic swishes of his tail along with the sway of the tide reminded Asmo of a song. He began to hum a melody.
That gave him an idea. If you wouldn't do anything interesting, he could coax you into doing something.
Asmo began to sing. Quietly at first, and then letting his volume rise as the water swelled.
From this distance his voice would easily carry on the wind. It was meant to sound over storms, so a few little waves could do nothing to hide it. The ethereal beauty had been tempting for all humans, in Asmo's experience, none of them would hesitate to jump into the water to chase his beautiful voice.
But you didn't move, your head was still bent over your sketchbook.
That was odd.
Maybe he wasn't singing loud enough. True, Asmo usually sang with his brothers, and it had been a while since he'd tried to tempt a human on his own. Asmo took a breath and sang louder.
Once it almost seemed like you were swaying in time with Asmo's song, but you continued to sketch. The moon was high in the sky now.
He slipped back into the water to get closer, still singing his song.
You looked up.
Yes.
And you shut your sketchbook, returning it to your leather bag. You began untying the sails. You were returning to shore.
Asmo let out a particularly haunting vocalization.
Nothing.
Asmo watched as you set your sails and hoisted anchor. Your boat made the quick ride to shore, following the lights of an ivory castle on top of the cliff. You had all but disappeared from view as you reached the shoreline.
Asmo didn't follow you this time, he treaded water in the same spot, very confused. He left, the shells he'd gone to collect, forgotten.
***
The next evening Asmo returned to the reef to look for shells. He'd been complaining all day about his mussed hair, none of his brothers’ combs would do the trick for him. Lucifer sent him out to find shells for a new comb just so he would cease his whining.
He was happy he’d arrived to the surface at an earlier hour. He swam on his back, basking in the final minutes of sunlight. The clear sky was just as blue as the sea.
Asmo secretly hoped you would be there. He'd get you to fall for his voice yet.
Just before sunset your boat took to the sea again. You had an easier time controlling it, setting sail in a few minutes. You sailed to the same spot you had the night before. When you dropped anchor, Asmo settled himself on the rocks to watch you. He began singing immediately. Beginning softly as before, and crescendoing with the volume of the waves.
This time you had your back tuned to him. You pointed up at the stars ahead of you with your pencil, tracing a constellation in the air before beginning to sketch.
Asmo sang for an hour and still you had no reaction. It was no use. He stopped singing. But he couldn't take his eyes off of you as you worked so diligently.
He decided to be bold this time, slipping into the water and swimming all the way up to your boat. Your pencil scratched at the paper as you sketched the stars. He noted a compass rose in the corner of the page along with some notes describing the weather and your location.
You were quiet until...
Asmo held his breath.
You had begun humming a melody, and not just any melody, the one he'd been trying to use to seduce you.
He swam to the side of the boat to catch your expression. You smiled lightly as you hummed, still engrossed in your work so you didn't see him.
Asmo found himself smiling too. Oh how he wished he could talk to you. He wanted to find out why his voice didn't work on you, and most importantly he wanted to stare into your eyes and study their color.
You were too focused on your sketching and Asmo was too focused on watching you that neither of you noticed the wind picking up and the clouds gathering behind you.
Soon the boat began tipping wildly. And then came the rain. There wasn’t supposed to be a storm tonight.
You threw your sketchbook and pencil into your bag, slinging it over your shoulder. You needed to get back to shore quickly.
You clung to the mast with one arm as you tried to untie the ropes. Lightning flashed as the boat pitched, nearly upending itself. You held fast and remained onboard.
Asmo tried to swim away from the bobbing sailboat but a wave crashed him into the side. He sank under the water, stunned.
Several minutes later, after fighting the current, Asmo resurfaced. He looked around for you frantically.
Your boat crashed on the reef. You had been flung from the vessel and were beginning to sink under the waves.
Asmo swam for you. He reached your side just as a wave was beginning to take you away. Asmo grabbed you around the waist and slung your arm around his shoulders. He battled with the churning waves to get you back to the shore.
Asmo dragged your body up the sand and laid you on your back. He wasn’t sure what had compelled himself to save you, he just didn't want you to die.
Asmo brushed the hair out of your face, his fingers gliding over your soft skin. You weren't by any means as beautiful as him, in his opinion, but there was something utterly charming about your features. He sang a mournful song as he stroked your hair.
Asmo didn't know how to tell if a human was alive, for all he knew you could already be gone, the human he so loved to watch lost to the sea. He would never get a chance to speak to you or see the color of your eyes. He shed a single tear. He had become infatuated with you and he didn’t want it to end. Asmo leaned down to kiss you on the forehead.
"You have a- a lovely v-voice." You whispered as he ended his song, startling him.
Asmo suppressed a scream, bolting back to the water and swimming away as fast as he could. He hid behind the nearest rock. He peeked out from behind it tentatively.
Back on the shore you had passed out again, the tide licking at your unconscious body, threatening to pull you back out into the water.
A man with a lamp came running down the shore.
"Luke! I found them!" He knelt by your body, pressing an ear to your chest as he listened. “Oh, thank goodness they’re alive.”
Asmo felt his own heart rate returning to a normal pace. You were alright and that was good enough for him, he made his way home.