Axel has spent his entire life trapped by the rules that govern his species, taught to fear humans and avoid them at all costs. His father has strived his entire life to keep him within the walls of their Kingdom where he is safe. But Axel's curiosi...
Samuel woke from arguably the best sleep of his entire life, stretching out in the seaweed hammock he had slept in. When he had questioned where to sleep last night, Bast had given him an awkward look and he had offered a made up lie about different sleeping habits where he was from. The guard had seemed reluctant, but gave in to Samuel's request and explained how to use the hammock.
Despite seeming uncomfortable at first glance, the seaweed was soft as he made himself comfortable and helped support his entire body as he accustomed to the added weight and length of his tail. He untangled himself from the hammock and stood, struggling to maintain his balance as he knocked into a nearby table.
As if on cue, a barrage of servants burst into the room, crowding around the room as a pair came over and led him to the vanity, where he took a seat. As the servants worked to dress and pamper him, another brought up a tray of food. Samuel glances down to find they presented him with a spread of mollusks, sand dollars, sea biscuits, and, of course, seaweed.
Samuel was in awe at the spread, and his stomach rumbled as he took it in. It's not exactly what he would call appetizing, but after having been kept on a strict seaweed diet by Axel for so long, the assortment made his mouth water. He made to reach for an item off the plate, when he caught a servant reaching to serve him and held himself back.
It had been so long since he had someone serve him since the storm, someone to do anything for him. In a strange way, it felt foreign, yet so familiar at the same time. Like riding a bike for the first time after years of avoiding them. Samuel soon found himself fed and dressed as the servants filed out of the room, leaving him to hisself once again.
His thoughts lingered as he examined his appearance in the mirror, and he thought back to before the storm. His life on land, his castle, his mother. She is undoubtedly worried sick about him, stuck in the castle all by herself and being told by the advisors that Samuel was dead and forced to grieve him. But Samuel can't leave, not now, not yet. His eyes fall to his neck, where his father necklace lies flat against his chest. His hand moves up to clutch the small shell as he turns it in his fingers.
"Good Morning!" Axel burst into the room, the doors slamming against the wall as he lunged at Samuel, knocking them both back.
"Hey," Samuel laughs as he regains his balance, holding onto Axel for security.
"You sleep a lot," Axel quipped, smiling a toothy grin and scanning the room. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry."
"Late?" Samuel asks confused, "late to what?"
"Shelling," Axel returns, as if Samuel should know what he is talking about. Alex takes in Samuel's expression, his nose scrunches as realization dawns on him. "Are you telling me that humans don't know what shelling is?!"
"Yes..." Samuel returns. Axel takes a moment to register his response before his face lights up, and Samuel catches the glint in his eyes.
"No way!" Axel exclaims, taking hold of a small pouch a servant had left that on the desk. "Finn will never believe this!"
"What's so bad about it?"
"Nothing, this is going to be so fun!" Axel races forward, taking his hand once again and leading the way out of the palace. The large number of merpeople that inhabit the Kingdom as they exit the gigantic structure surprised Samuel. People swimming around, merchants tending to their goods, groups of children playing around them.
Samuel wasn't sure what he had expected to see when he was among the merpeople, but he knew he didn't expect them to be so... normal. He had let his mind run wild, fueled by the few stories he had heard growing up about creatures that ravaged ships and murdered sailors. Yet, these merpeople were just going about their day as ordinary.
"Hey," Axel hissed back at him, tugging on his hand to bring them level with each other, "you need to move your tail if you want to fit in. Remember, you're one of us now. Blend in unless you want to get caught."
"Yeah, sorry," Samuel returned, forcing his abdomen to flex, and bringing his lower body into a steady rhythm, mimicking Axel's as they made their way through the Kingdom paths. As they reach the gigantic wall that blocks the Kingdom from the outside, guards move to block their path, stopping them mid-swim.
"What is the meaning of this?" Axel asks, standing tall before the guards as Samuel remained behind him.
"At all times means at all times, Axel," Bast's voice comes from behind them as the guard emerges and dismisses the others, "when will you learn to follow the rules?"
"When the rules stop trying to control everything I do," Axel spat back, yet their banter seemed more playful than serious as Samuel watched the scene play out.
"Where are you off to today?"
"We're just going shelling," Axel sighs, "everyone will be there."
"Sounds fun," Bast offers, signaling for the guards to lower the gate, "let's go. Before all the good ones are gone."
Axel sighs at Bast inviting himself, despite the guard's obligation to stay at his side, pulling on Samuel's hand as he retakes their previous pace, gliding around the guard and through the gate. As they swam, Samuel watched the way Axel's hair flowed in the water, moving behind him, as a smile plastered his face.
Samuel watched as Axel closed his eyes while swimming, enjoying the freedom as they sped across the sea floor. He glanced back and caught Bast eyeing them, his eyes falling on their interlocked hands, and immediately noticed the heat radiating from Axel's palm against his own.
Samuel pulled his hand from Axel's, catching the way Axel stared back at him in confusion, an unrecognizable expression flashing on his face. Looking to distract him, Samuel speeds up his movement, shooting past Axel and taunting him into chasing him. Axel takes the bait as he comes up from behind him, reaching out to grab Samuel as Samuel deflects, knocking Axel and causing him to slam into him, slamming them both into the ground.
They break out in a fit of laughter, as Axel lands on top of Samuel, their tails flush against each other, as Axel holds himself up with his hands pushing off of Samuel's chest. Their laughter dies down as they stare at each other, eyes locked in a heated gaze as Axel smiles his toothy grin down at Samuel. Despite his tail, Samuel feels a tightness in his lower abdomen, his mind registering the feeling. Samuel's face flushed as they remained frozen in place, the heat rushing throughout his body as Axel's weight pushed down onto him.
"Mm-hmm," Bast clears his throat from behind them, spurring Axel to shift off of Samuel and onto the sand beside him, "we're here."
Axel swam up, rolling his eyes at Bast's interruption as he swam right past him with Samuel in tow. As they rounded the hill beside them, an extensive field came into view, spreading far into the distance and full of merpeople as far as Samuel could see. Spread throughout the field, guards in a different suit than Bast's stand scattered amongst the merpeople.
Axel turned to face him, taking in Samuel's expression and smiling, "you ready?"
"Hey, Axel!" Finn's voice calls over the crowd of merpeople, the petite girl waving above the crowd.
Axel turns away from Samuel, spotting her through the crowd and rushing toward her as Samuel remained still, taking in the scene before him. There was a moment of silence before Bast moved past him, turning back to face him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Samuel returns, breaking his gaze to nod at the guard, "uh... yeah, let's go."
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