Origins

Origins IX

 Nico and I stood there, alone in the throne room, completely at the mercy of a king who, sure, he seemed chill, but he could have us drowned in a few seconds. He stepped down from his throne and walked over to us, walking a circle around us. We stood completely still as he did so.

"Peter," he said. I jumped, hearing his voice after he hadn't spoken for so long.

"Yes, your majesty?" I asked. I thought it best to be respectful.

I didn't do it for me though.

I did it for Nico.

I intended for both of us to make it out of this alive.

"You can't swim, can you? And neither can you, correct, Nico?" the king asked. Nico looked like he was about to fall over.

"No, neither of us can, your majesty," I replied back. Nico looked far too scared to even think by this point, much less speak a coherent sentence. Not that he was doing much better before.

"Well then. I have a proposition. I can make you merfolk. You will still be able to walk on solid land on two legs as I do, but in the water, you can change into merfolk form, full with a tail and you will be able to breathe underwater. All I ask of you in return, that is if we are ever in need, you help us. Of course, we will help you as well," King Andrei said.

"You are very kind, your majesty, but it is a lot to take in. Do you mind if Nico and I discuss this in private?" I asked.

"Not at all. I will have Calypso take you to a private room." The king clapped, and the same servant as we had seen before came in. The king spoke a few words to her, and we were led to a side room, and Calypso closed the door on her way out. Nico still looked terrified.

"Neeks?" I said. He turned a bit red. I smirked. So he was still in there after all, buried under the fear.

"Snap out of it," I said. Still no response. I tried snapping in front of his face to no avail. I had an idea. It was crazy, not that I was opposed to it. I leaned forward and kissed Nico. No sooner did I kiss him that I felt his arms on my bare back. I hugged him back. After we stopped hugging, he looked around the room.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"King Andrei gave us a choice to make."

"He did?" Nico asked. I explained the entire proposition to Nico. He nodded thoughtfully once I finished.

"I see no problem with it. What's wrong with us being merboys?" Nico asked.

"Exactly my idea. So, should we tell the king we accept?"

"Yes, but...uh...Peter. Would you mind holding my hand this time so I don't freeze up?" He asked.

"You have to ask? Of course I will," I said. We went back into the throne room and stood in front of the king.

"You have a decision, I presume?" he asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Nico said. I was surprised he was able to talk to the king. Even more surprising is that his voice didn't break.

"So you have. Let's hear it," King Andrei said. Nico looked at me for permission and also reassurance to deliver the message. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"We have decided to accept your offer Rí," Nico said. I noticed that he slipped into Gaelic, his native language. He'd sometimes do that automatically. It annoyed some people, but I personally found it endearing.

"So be it," King Andrei said. I felt a sensation of my legs fusing together and my feet becoming a tail. There was suddenly less pressure in my chest. I looked down. From the waist down, Nico and I both had a fish tail. From the waist up, we looked no different than if we'd been swimming all day. I looked at Nico's tail. It was deep green, just like his eyes. Mine was a deep blue, similar to my eyes.

"Nice tail, Neeks," I said, smirking.

"Right back atcha, Sunshine," Nico said, returning the smirk. We both turned red and then burst out laughing. I glanced over at the king. He was smiling, genuinely smiling, at the exchange.

"You are free to go. You have free passage in our waters," King Andrei said. We turned to go.

"By the way, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure we will meet again. Make sure to watch for pirates. Farewell for now," King Andrei said. Then, with a flash, his legs turned into a shining golden tail, and he swam off to do whatever the kings of the merpeople do.

"C'mon, Neeks. Let's get back to everyone else." I reached my hand towards Nico. His face broke into a wide grin, and we grasped hands and began to swim away.