Work Text:
become my follower....
the sea god's heart, my heart. Dost thou want it?
it is a bond everlasting....my mermaid bride
it matters not...I have chosen...and now so have you...I'm willing to be trapped...
we'll make are own destiny...
That dream again. It felt even more tangible this time. The Rafayel from my dream had felt cold to the touch. Much like the sea water around us. When I first had this dream I had believed it could not be anything other than that. After all humans cannot breathe under water, but then the Rafayel from my dream wasn't human. He was a Lermurian Sea God. My difficulty breathing had more to do with his proximity than the water that unknowingly filled my lungs.
Every night for the past two weeks I had dreamt this dream and each time it seemed to get a little clearer, a little longer until it felt like I could grasp it. I have been reluctant to bring this up with Rafayel. Over the last few days I have come to the conclusion that this dream is not unlike the vision of a dying woman on the shore when I first saw Rafayel's painting in Raymond's house. Not to mention the heady vision I had seen of Rafayel tricking a sea witch before disappearing into foam, after smelling the rare perfume he had gifted me. Rafayel had brushed these visions off as nothing important but I am starting to believe him less and less with each recurring dream. The common elements in all three visions only strengthen my suspicion that these are not dreams or phantoms but memories of a long bygone life. Does Rafayel not remember these things himself? Could that be why he denied the validity of the visions I had told him about?
This seems unlikely as lately I think back more on the odd things Rafayel has let slip since we met. He seems to be particularly stuck on my 'poor memory'. He's not wrong. I cannot remember much about my childhood. Much of the events before and even after the incident are clouded, but I doubt we knew each other as kids. 'Wasn't there something important you forgot about' I hear an echo of Rafayel's accusation in my mind. He had sounded almost resentful that I can't remember something important he knows about but won't share. 'You're just a silly girl with a bad memory.' Rafayel had said that night he had twisted his ankle and had signed himself into the hospital. Trying to get straight answers out of him was like trying to strike up a meaningful conversation with Reddie and getting bubbles in response. All air, no substance. The man guards his secrets close to his chest alright. That much has become clear at least.
'It's been 800 years...' At the time it had seemed like a silly overdramatic statement. Nothing out of the ordinary for a drama queen like Rafayel. I have become used to his frivolous dramatic nature. But, what if it had been something more? If my dream holds some semblance of truth or even a key to the past how long had it been since the Gods of the Tides had been with his beloved during the ceremony? If Rafayel is truly the sea god from my dream, it would not be impossible for him to have lived an immortal life, right? A throbbing pain flares up behind my eyes. I rub my closed eyes to find some relief.
The notification sound from my phone dings across the room. Speaking of the devil.
Rafayel: Miss Bodyguard, Gon need ur services asap. How fast can you get here?
A reminder that this man was not only haunting my dreams but also my waking and working life. With a groan I push myself out of bed. My spinning and reeling mind really doesn't want to deal with him yet. I'm not awake enough yet to push that dream from my mind. Despite sleeping through the night I don't feel well-rested at all. I really hope Rafayel doesn't want me to run errands again. His errands tend to be a full workout most days. Before I reply to Rafayel let me get my coffee first.
Rafayel: hellooo u awake? :/ I dun like waiting. Pls hurry.
Me: jeesh calm down fishy. I just woke up. Gimme a minute to function.
I roll my eyes at his impatience and sip my coffee.
Rafayel: U just woke up? But its nine in the morning. Even Ive been up for a while.
Me: Says the person who keeps the most erratic sleep schedule on the planet. Just give me 35 mins to get to yours.
Rafayel: Great :) dun bother with breakfast. I'll get u sum.
Me: fine...20 mins then
Rafayel: :) see u soon cutie
The weather's good today not a cloud in the sky. Perfect lighting for a painting, is that what Rafayel has called you over to do? To help move his art supplies to paint somewhere outside in the sun for inspiration? The weather remains great when I push the gate of Mo studios open. Rafayel's beach side home remains one of the most gorgeous houses in the area, perhaps even in the entirety of Linkon City. Though, I do imagine it's lonely for a person to live alone in such a big house. Even my apartment feels lonely sometimes and that's a shoe box compared to this house. I rub my eyes to remove the feeling of sleep from them as I step past the always open front door. I should really talk to him about locking his doors.
To my surprise I don't find Rafayel painting or even sitting in front of his canvas as usual. He's combing though his art supplies as though he's looking for something. This does not bode well for an exercise-free day for me. Rafayel's head pops up when he hears me enter. "Ah, there you are cutie." His eyes light up when he catches sight of me. Something in me flutters seeing him light up like that. My stomach gurgles reminding me I left home without breakfast. Rafayel chuckles.
"Someone promised me breakfast." I remind him.
"Right, food first, business later. I can't have my bodyguard go hungry. I got you some rolls from that place we went to last week."
"Miss Daisy's? Her salmon rolls were sooo good."
Rafayel leads me to his kitchen where he pulls out plates and unpacks the paper bag on the counter.
"I remember, much better than the tuna. It's a good thing I got you these then."
Rafayel hands me two salmon rolls and gets me a glass of orange juice to wash it down. He looks quite content bustling around in his kitchen. I don't think I've ever seen him in here before. We've usually gone out to eat somewhere or I even recall him missing quite a few meals when he's painting. The man seriously forgets time. Once he even forgot which day it was as he'd been painting for three days straight with little to no sleep. Seeing him moving around his kitchen he looks so domestic.
"Thanks. Anyways I'm glad we're eating breakfast together. I remember someone forgetting to eat when he's in his painting process. I'm guessing Thomas has you working on something new, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, Thomas is planning a new exhibit and wants me to start painting for it. While I'm not really low on inspiration at the moment I am low on paint. I need to replenish my coral stone supply for this new painting I've got in mind. So, what do you say cutie? Are you up to protect me from any potential wanderers we come across?"
I make an effort not to groan. The last time Rafayel asked me to accompany him the rowboat fiasco happened. Not to mention the enormous wanderer that showed up in the ocean. I remember the cold and a sinking sensation after it attacked. An image of Rafayel suspended in the water facing down the wanderer returned to me. There's something strange about the image. I close my eyes and rub my temples wanting to see it clearer.
"Hey, are you okay?" Rafayel's concerned voice sounds very close now. A hand on my shoulder brings me back to the present.
I plaster a smile on my face, "Y-yeah, just great. No problem!"
Rafayel rubs the back of his neck, "If you don't want to go after last time I understand. I just thought it would be safer to go together."
"No, it's fine. I'm not going to say it wasn't weird last time, but I guess that's all the more reason for me to go with you. Just...rent a speedboat this time."
Rafayel laughs, the tension disappates "Yeah, I've learned my lesson with that one. So, what do ya say?"
Half an hour later Rafayel is steering a small speedboat towards the island we visited last time. During the trip I take a moment to gaze at him. The sun behind him casts a warm glow over his face, highlighting the gorgeous purple strands of his hair and the otherworldy pink and blue hues of his eyes. Rafayel glances at me and blushes when he catches me staring. He ducks his head away, a gesture very reminischent of a certain sea god flustered by his beloved's gaze from my dream. Like a trick of the light I can almost swear I see the Sea God's blue ceremonial paint adorn the Rafayel in front of me. My heart lurges in my chest, calling out to him with a yearning that causes me to gasp.
"What? Is there something on my face? You keep staring." Rafayel breaks the spell.
I blink and break the spell I'd been under. The Rafayel in front of me no longer wears the beautiful paint. My fingers itch to trace the blue lines on his face where I remember them from my dream. I don't really notice the tear falling from my eye but Rafayel does. He turns off the engine and gathers my hands in his steady grip.
"Hey, what's wrong? Talk to me."
I shake my head, feeling silly. I cast my eyes to the floor of the boat unable to meet his concerned gaze. I feel ridiculous. It was just a dream. It has to be.
No.
Warm finger tips brush the tear off my cheek. Then Rafayel turns my face up so that I cannot escape his searching and pleading gaze. My breath stutters at what I see in the depths of his eyes. Again, the image in front of me flickers to a different Rafayel. This one without paint but with wet hair and pained eyes, holding up his pinky in a promise. Please, don't forget me. No matter what happens, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth. I promise. A sob wracks through me stealing my breath away. I see him in front of me in the shallows, with his blue irredescent tail shimmering beneath the waves. His face is full of sorrow and yearning as he pleads for me to remember him. I watch as he holds out his pinky as he says "Promise me. Promise me you'll remember."
Involuntarily, like I have no control over it, I tell him, "I promise." and link my pinky with his.
"Good and if you don't I promise I will hunt you to the ends of the earth. I will find you."
I do not think I've ever heard Rafayel so serious about anything in my life. The me in front of him clings to his finger. She loves him, more than anything. I can feel it. Her feelings are my own and go so far beyond what I've grown to feel for the man in the boat with me these past few months.
"Please, don't cry. I cannot bear seeing you so sad. What has upset you so?" Rafayel practically begs when I keep quiet.
"I feel like I'm losing my mind." the dam that held back my confession these previous weeks finally breaks.
Rafayel's warm knee knocks into my own as he shifts closer but refuses to loosen his grip on my hands.
"Talk to me. Maybe I can help."
The involuntary laugh at his words sounds a little demented. Sure, he's the only one that can help me clear up the things I've seen but the question is will I ever get a straight answer out of this man. He calls my name, a plea to bring me back from whatever brink he thinks I'm on.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I've been having the same dream for weeks now. Every night, I see the same scene. I no longer-I don't think it's a dream."
I can feel Rafayel stiffen through the grip he has on my hands. His pulse beneath my fingers is thrumming. He's holding his breath. Frightened for something maybe, or was this anticipation. I'm not sure.
"What is this dream about?" Rafayel's voice is low as though he's afraid to speak too loudly, to reveal too much.
I can see a storm brewing behind those pink and blue eyes. A turmoil in them that churns my own stomach too. I bring my finger up to his cheekbone and paint the markings from memory. The ceremonial paint of the sea god is clear in my mind's eye and I trace the pattern on his skin. Rafayel's eyes widen and his whole body shakes and shudders. He stares.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
It almost feels like I'm under a trance when I reply to him.
"You looked so divine with your blue ceremonial markings here," my finger tips trail down his throat to his collar bone, "and the blue and red streaks here. You were the canvas that day."
Rafayel's throat bobs as if he's lost all capacity for speech. His eyes betray his feelings of fright, longing and hope.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
I narrow my eyes at him. The hope and longing in his eyes are enough for me to cut through the act. He definately knows something.
"Don't you dare lie to me Rafayel, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you making it seem like I'm crazy. Please.Tell me I'm not crazy. Tell me I am not mad for dreaming of you, for remembering you."
His shoulders seem to deflate but his eyes smolder with a dark intensity as he grips me harder with a certainty that he'll never let me go.
"Tell me. What did you see?"
His eyes are too intense, too much. I stare out into the sea past his shoulder.
"We were under water. In...Lemuria...there was a ceremony you said..."
"Go on." Rafayel's voice is rough as he urges me to continue, "What did I say?"
"You asked me if I would be your devout follower. You asked me if I wanted your heart. I loved you, of course I did but then..."
I move my palm to lay flat on his chest where our bond had been in the dream. Rafayel's hand folds over mine pressing it there as the red bond mark flares up. I gasp as it looks just like it did in my dream.
"A bond everlasting..." Rafayel's voice is rough with emotion as he confirms my belief, "My beloved mermaid bride."
"Rafayel..."
I feel completely overwhelmed. It was real. It wasn't a dream. The man in front of me was an immortal sea god. One, who pledged his heart and soul to his beloved human bride. We got married that day during the ceremony. He cups my cheeks in his hand. His tears roll down his cheeks and my eyes widen in a stupor as the tears clatter like pearls on the bottom of the boat.
"You remember. Finally, I thought you never would. That I had truly lost you this time."
"I promised you I would, just as you promised to find me. I'm sorry it took me so longer to remember."
Rafayel pulls me forward into his embrace. He clings to me and presses his face into my hair.
"That's okay, all that matters is that you remember and we're together again. I've waiting so long."
I hide my face in his chest and focus on the thumping of his heart, a little faster than an average human's, "I don't remember everything yet."
"That's okay. You remember the most important part. The rest will come, with time.", Rafayel presses a kiss on the crown of my head, "Promise me, you'll never make me wait for you again. Promise me you'll stay by my side."
"I promise, my Lermurian husband."
That title ignites something in Rafayel as he pulls me into a kiss. A title he's earned a hundred times over. In his arms I feel like the world has been set right. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.