Under The Sea

Chapter Twenty-One - Shipwreck

"Okay," Axel sighs, drawing Samuel out of his thoughts as he pushes off of him and takes a seat beside him. "What's going on?"

"What?" Samuel returns, confused by Axel's concern.

"For the past few days you've been acting weird," Axel affirms, reaching over to poke Samuel's chest, "and right now you didn't even notice I was on top of you."

"I guess I've gotten used to it," Samuel returned suavely, earning a raised eyebrow in return.

"I'm serious, Sam," Axel deadpans, swatting his hand away as the human attempted to reach out to him, "what is it?"

"Okay, fine," Samuel sighs, letting his body fall flat onto the slab, "I've been thinking a lot about this... and I've wanted to ask you for a few days, but I didn't know how-"

"Spit it out, Samuel!" Axel exclaims, catching the other man off guard.

"I want you to take me to my father's shipwreck."

Axel's expression falls blank at Samuel's statement as their eyes locked onto each other, neither knowing where to go from here.

"Sam, I-"

"Please don't say no," Samuel cuts him off at his dejected start, sitting up to face him, "I need this, Ax. I need to find out what happened, to see it with my own eyes."

"I wouldn't say no."

"Really?"

"No," Axel sighs, bringing his hand up to cup Samuel's cheek. "I'm surprised you've waited this long to ask, if I'm honest. I thought you would do it a lot sooner after how you reacted when I gave you the necklace."

"Well, I mean to, but then I got wrapped up in everything... in us," Samuel speaks, leaning into Axel's touch, "but lately, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I just-"

"You need to know," Axel concludes, earning a solemn smile from Samuel, who reaches up to cup the hand on his cheek, turning his face to place a kiss on the palm.

"I need to know."

🐚 🐚 🐚

Axel had taken his request with a seriousness that Samuel hadn't expected, yet appreciated. He had planned out their escape and outlined their route to avoid being caught. Before Samuel knew what was happening, they were a ways outside of the Kingdom walls heading towards the Southern grotto. Samuel's entire body was wracked with nerves as he imagined what he would find once they arrived. He felt a squeeze against his palm, looking over to find Axel staring at him, offering a weak smile as their eyes meet.

It wasn't long before Axel was bringing them to a stop, beside anchor buried in the sand. Samuel knew Axel had stopped because they had arrived. He didn't need the merman to say a word as his eyes roamed the expanse of the ship. The ship, which, just a few years ago, had stood as the pride and joy of Meridian's forces, now sitting at the bottom of the sea, its wooden hull rotting and its once vibrant paint reduced to a dull shell of chipped colors.

"Sam, are you listening to me?" Axel deadpans, shooting him an annoyed glare.

"Sorry," Samuel sighs in return, turning back to face the merman, "It's just, I remember when this ship led our entire fleet and now..."

"I get it," Axel returns, his voice softening as he takes Samuel's hand in his own. "I understand how hard this is. Trust me, I do. But I need you to hear this."

"What?"

"The captain's cabin," Axel begins, grabbing his attention, "it's... preserved. You won't be able to open the door, you have to use the hole I made in the wall. Inside..."