A Mermaid, A Prince and a Pirate

5

Kitarni swiftly swam away, not before Draven grabbed her hand.

"Princess, forgive my boldness. Please may I trouble you for one last dance?" Draven asked shyly.

Kitarni looked towards the door where Meg was waiting with her evening shawl, she sighed and smiled at Draven.

"I would love one last dance with you." She chirped.

They danced the last dance of the evening, whispering little nothings into each other's ears. "Would you like to come with me to see the garden?" Kitarni asked to Draven's surprise.

"Yes princess, I would like that."

As they swam out hand in hand, Kitarni flicked her tail gently at Draven. "Do not call me princess. Call me Kit." She laughed.

They swam out of the hall and into the palace gardens. Lysander took notice and smiled. She was finally behaving.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kitarni asked. Draven swam closer and nodded. "Have you ever thought about what it would be like to go to the surface?" Kitarni asked, staring up at the distant surface.

"No, I haven't." He said firmly.

It shattered Kitarni, she hoped he would have said yes.

"Well, that isn't completely true. I have thought about it once or twice." He said, Kitarni hugged him tightly and gently placed a kiss over his lips before swimming back and blushing brightly.

"I am sorry about that." She said, still wearing a crimson colour on her face, holding her hand up to her lips, touching them where they had gently touched Graven.

Draven laughed and took Kitarni's hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. "Princess. Never apologise for a kiss." He said smiling.

Kitarni kissed him once again before she was interrupted by a vibration coming from above.

They broke the kiss and looked above.

"What on the coral reef was that?" Draven said, looking over to Kitarni who had already began to swim to the surface.

He raced after her to stop her but before he could, they had already reached the surface.

"Kitarni. This is forbidden, please return with me." He fought urgently.

This was against the merlaw.

"Draven, please just a moment. I need to see it." Kitarni said pleadingly before a loud thundering sound appeared. Both Kitarni and Draven turned to see an eruption of colour into the night sky. Tears came to Kitarni's eyes as she watched on.

"It is so beautiful. I never thought I would ever see the moon and stars."

Kitarni's innocence was a sight to see.

Fireworks boomed on in the sky, capturing the full attention of Kitarni but Draven had already left and returned to the ball.

As he entered swiftly, all eyes turned to him as he raced over to Triton and Lysander.

"Draven, where is Kitarni?" Lysander asked, moving closer as Melody and Alex raced over feeling the urgency. "She is above the surface." He breathed out, earning gasps all around.

"Kitarni." Lysander growled before pushing passed Graven and racing up towards the surface.

Kitarni watched as the fireworks filled the night sky and followed where they started. She stopped when she saw a ship. She swam over to it and hopped onto the life boat that hung at the side of it.

She leaned closer and watched as men danced on deck.

It was a sight she had never seen before. She couldn't believe her eyes. One of the men was incredibly good looking. His eyes were dark and uninviting and his grin made her shiver.

Before she could move closer to get a better look, she was being pulled back below the waters.

As she looked around to see what had happened, she came face to face with Lysander, King Triton and her parents. Graven was conveniently tucked behind Lysander.

"Brother." She started but was cut off by Lysander yelling and grabbing her arm.

"I have had enough. This is more than the last shell. Come with me, we need to speak in private." He snapped, pulling onto Kitarni's arm.

He swam passed his parents and Kitarni glared over to Graven who was looking down at his tail.

She knew she couldn't be mad with him, he was only abiding by the merlaw.

Lysander dragged her to the throne room with King Triton following close behind. "Brother." She started once more. He shouted at her to keep quiet before she started again.

"No brother. Listen to me before you pass judgement. How do you expect us to pray to a moon goddess when we do not even look at the moon?"

This made Lysander even angrier. "Laws are there for a reason and you didn't just go to the surface to pray to the moon. You were on a ship and not just any ship. Do you know whose ship you were on? You were on Aeron Black's ship. His name literally means carnage and slaughter. Of all the things you have done, this is by far the stupidest." He roared beginning to pace back and forth.

Kitarni cowered back sadly hating how her brother treated her.

"Brother. Please, forgive me. I was just curious." She begged.

Triton kept silent, although he was still wearing the King's Crown, he was merely a guide at this point. Lysander was the acting King and Triton was there until the coronation.

"No. I cannot take it anymore. My coronation is in four days. I cannot be worried about you. You did not meet your mate this night, meaning your mate is probably dead. Or you were not blessed enough to have one."

Kitarni gasped.

He hadn't been this mean to her before. This was the most cruelest thing he had ever said. Triton shuffled uncomfortably.

"After my coronation, you will be wed to a merman of my choosing. You will become a wife and soon a mother. It is time for you to grow up."

Her heart shattered.

"Brother No." she begged.

"It is King Lysander to you Kitarni. Return to your chambers, Meg will be with you shortly." He said, turning his back on her.

Kitarni burst into tears and swam out of the throne room passed her parents who were listening outside.

Alfie came into the room as Triton glared over to Lysander.

"What have you done?" Triton asked.

"I did what needs to be done. Her mate wasn't revealed tonight meaning she doesn't have one. I will find a suitable mate for her who hasn't found their mate yet. She will be married and will have children. My mind is made up." He said firmly.