"The princess sighed my contract." He growled, crossing his arms. "I can produce it if-"
"There is no doubt in my mind that Ariel made this decision freely and of her own volition." She answered cooly, a bite to her voice when she named the princess.
He raised an eyebrow at her, tilting his head.
"Because if anyone had been allowed to affect her, namely, me, she would have made a better decision."
He snorted and appraised the mermaid before him again. She was older than Ariel, but not old. Her eyes were black, the pupils only noticeable when the light shone on her. She carried herself with more confidence than the princess but there was a harshness to her voice and a darkness to her eyes that the princess also lacked. He found her intriguing.
Ursul made a thinking noise and glided closer, clasping his hands behind his back as he shamelessly evaluated her. "And who are you?"
She frowned, narrowing her eyes at his advance. "I am the princess's guardian companion." She straightened her back and rolled off her title, "royal tutor and escort to the youngest crown princess of atlantica," she snorted and blew a lock of hair from her eyes, mumbling under her breath, "the royal babysitter."
Ursul smiled wickedly at her forwardness, her lack of fear in mocking her royal position and her royal ward. "A demanding job, I'm sure." He teased.
She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "You say as one who has only added to the demands."
Ursul feigned innocence as he stood before her, his tentacles snaking around and behind her. "I assure you that was not my intent."
She snorted and eyed his undulating limbs as they attached and detached on the ground around her. "Of course." She mocked.
He smiled, using her distraction to move closer to her. "Might I say that the king chooses his servants well?"
She sighed and closed her eyes. "He's going to serve me up on a bed of kelp for this."
He chuckled low in his chest and lay a gentle hand on her hip. "Why must he know?"
She tensed at his touch, but found his smooth, cold skin oddly soothing and could not bring herself to pull away. "You've skewered me." She moaned, shaking her head and letting her hands fall.
"Then why haven't you left?" He murmured, leaning against her. "Gone to tell the king?" He continued as he put his free hand on her other hip.
Her breath hitched as she looked up at him. His azure eyes glimmered, and he could see them reflected in her deep black ones. She whimpered as his chiseled stomach pressed to hers, shivering as a few of his tentacles began stroking her tail and pinching her fin.
He nodded, sliding his hand up the side of her body, causing her to gasp and bite her lip. He smirked, looking down to her chest where the faintest blush began pulsing. He brushed it with a knuckle and hummed. "Fear."
She frowned, pushing at his chest. "I am not afraid of-"
"Anything." He finished, a fully believing look on his face as he drew small circles in the small of her back with a single finger.
She made a pouting face and crossed her arms, looking away from him, mumbling, "At least not of supposed demons who turn out to be nothing more than-" she gasped as his grip grew suddenly tight. She whipped her head to face him.
His eyes were cruel, a wide smirk on his face. He grabbed her chin tightly in his hand as more of his tentacles slapped around her, each little sucker pulling at a different inch of her flesh. "Nothing more than what?" He hissed, but gave no time for her to answer, smashing his lips onto hers.
