Part of your world - A Stydia AU

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is finally here! I'm sorry it took so long. Enjoy!

Finding a mermaid turned out to be way more difficult than Stiles had imagined. He'd figured he would simply go to the beach often and stare out at the sea until he saw one and then ask about the girl he had seen but the only things he could see were waves and the occasional dolphin. One day, he swore he saw the faint silhouette of a mer-person but when he turned around to tell Scott, it was already gone. The guard often accompanied his friend at the beach to help him, or rather to comfort him when they couldn't find anything.

The prince started to spend all his time at the shore, night and day, hoping to find her with all his heart. He wasn't sure what was so compelling about her but what he did know was that she was in his every thought. Her strawberry blond curls were the first thing he thought about in the morning and he went to sleep every night imagining her voice. After several weeks of searching for her in vain, Stiles was starting to lose his hope. Scott and the Stiles' father the King were incredibly worried about him. The once happy and over-excited young man was turning into a shell of who he once was.

One night, Scott came to see his friend, who as usual was sitting on a rock and staring out into the ocean. He sat down next to him and looked with him at the calm waters, enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. But a feeling of worry kept tugging at his heart, and he knew he had to do something for his friend. After a minute spent wondering what he should say, Scott spoke.

"I think it's time to move on, Stiles."

"I know you don't believe or even understand me, but you have to let me do this." The prince spoke loud and clearly, and Scott could tell there was no changing his mind. But that wouldn't stop him from trying.

"I believe you. Mermaids exist and you saw one. And an unspoken connection was made between you two. But there's a reason the merfolk is considered to be just a myth. Because they stay underwater, far away from us. I did some research in the castle's archives and some book mentioned them, saying that they feared humans and that was why they never let us see them." The guard explained.

"That must be why she fled when she heard my voice!" The brunette realized.

"Probably. And that's also why there's little to no chance of finding her." His friend answered sympathetically. "Come on, I'm sure you can find a woman you'll like that actually lives on the ground." He added. He was about to make a joke about there being 'plenty of fish in the sea' but he refrained from doing so. Talking about anything relating to the ocean was a bad idea. "Your father told me that the nearest kingdom wants to marry their heir to you. Of course, he would never force you into marrying her if you didn't want to, but you should at least consider it. I heard she's very pretty."

"Malia Tate? Yeah, she is. I've met her at a ball once. She's nice, a little blunt but nice. I'm sure marrying Malia could be pleasant but there would be something missing. I want true love... passion. Is that stupid?" Stiles looked at his friend, his eyes filled with a mix of hope and desperation.

Scott was silent for a moment. He thought about his own fiancée, Allison Argent, whom he loved so dearly, and he understood.

"It's not stupid. And I want that for you too. You're like my brother Stiles, and I wish you all the happiness in the world."

Stiles was about to respond when he noticed his friend's expression change. Scott's eyes had gotten wider and his jaw fell open. The prince smiled at the idiotic look on the guard's face.

"What?" He asked jokingly.

Scott took some time before answering. He turned his head slowly towards Stiles, and the latter recognized that expression of awe his friend wore after hearing a fairy tale. It was surprise, and hope.

"I just saw her too."

---

It took Lydia days just to find Ursula's lair. She had of course heard about the Sea Witch before, but she only knew what was common knowledge, which was that Ursula was dangerous. Stories about her were told to unruly children to scare them into behaving, or between giggling friends during sleepover nights. Lydia had no idea when the stories started being told, and whether some were even true, or had been embellished with time for the sake of more thrills.

The mermaid knew she couldn't simply ask people about it. Her father had to know something about Ursula, being the ruler of Atlantica and having had to deal with her in the past. But asking him would be a suicide mission. The king knew about Lydia's never-ending curiosity and taste for mischief and was the first to scold her about it. Pretending finding Ursula was a purely hypothetical situation would never fool the King. So she had to look for information on her own.

She finally came across an old book in her hidden collection of human bits and bobs. Again, she wasn't sure if the legend written about a sea witch was really about Ursula, and if there was any truth to it. Still, it was the first time she heard about any location. From what she had understood, it was supposed to be at the far north border of Atlantica. Since it was the only lead she had discovered in more than a week, she decided to go and see for herself.

Lydia would have asked Prada, her usual companion for crazy treasure hunts, to join her, but she knew very well where he stood on that issue. He had spent the last days searching for her and she had spent the same amount of time avoiding him. He wanted to warn her about Ursula but Lydia had already made up her mind and there was no changing it. The young mermaid had always been very strong-willed and stubborn. She knew that he only did it out of love and concern, but she couldn't help to feel a little upset about the fact that he didn't think she was able to fend for herself. He had hurt her pride, and even though she knew she would later regret it, she shut him out. Another thing the mermaid had always been was proud. So she decided to go alone and to leave at night so people wouldn't notice she was missing until she was too far to stop.

Lydia went to bed earlier than usual. She was eager to go on this adventure and finally find a way to become human. Of course, she knew that it was dangerous, but the danger and the fact that it was completely forbidden was exciting and thrilling. She lay in bed, waiting for the light to disappear and for the water around her to become completely dark, and she couldn't help smiling to herself in anticipation.

After what felt excruciatingly long, the light from the sun had finally gone and apart from a very dark blue that could be seen far above her and that surely came from the moon, everything was pitch-black. That's when Lydia began her long journey to the north of Atlantica, in search for the notorious Sea Witch.

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are finally taking shape! I decided to keep Ursula as Ursula and not change her into a teen wolf character because I just didn't see anyone who would fit the role right. And Malia might come into the story later but she will be nice because while I don't ship Stalia, I adore Malia's character and too many stydia fics portray her as a bitch. Also, good news, I only have one week of school before two weeks of school break! So I'll be able to write more. Expect a fluffy third-grade Stydia one-shot coming your way (obviously it won't be published in this story but in my one-shots). Have a great day! Love, Elsa