Sapphire

Chapter 4

"You know what this means, correct?" Queen Seraphina said from her throne, her long nails scraping against the arm rest. Seraphina was the epitome of femininity and elegance. Tall and slender, with her heavy blue locks pulled away from her pale heart shaped face and piled high on her head with a silvery blue crown woven into the blue strands. She was beautiful, forever taking the audience's breath when she something his younger brothers had inherited and his deceased father loved.

"Yes," Zeref murmured quietly, his gaze shifting away from his mother and focusing on the trident that rested on it's pedestal. A weapon past rulers favored and would eventually be passed onto him when his time of reign came to be.

A triumphant smile spread over his mother's lips, her delicate knuckles brushing against her chin, "Good," she spoke, her icy gaze gleaming with satisfaction, "I will send a message to your bride to be. Hopefully this one won't be so easily frightened like the last one," Seraphina sighed, running her thumb over the sharp points of her nails at the memory, "She was such a good girl, it was a shame I had to kill her."

Zeref winced, his fingers clenching at the thought of his defect. An unfortunate trait he had inherited from his long deceased father and a secret his mother worked so hard to keep.

"Yes Mother," he murmured obediently. Seraphina peered at him through her lashes, cold blue orbs searching for any form of defiance in her eldest son. Finding none, she flicked her wrist, dismissing the High Prince. Zeref merely bowed before retreating from the throne room, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts, each one overlapping the other that he didn't notice the bodies he collided into.

"My apologies I didn't- Oh," Zeref began before finally noticing who he had the unfortunate fate to bump into. A creature so uncommon, one couldn't help but stare at the oddity of the creature's appearance. Slender, with the indentations of muscles shifting beneath pale skin, one would think he was a normal merman but that's where the normalcy ended. Spikes protruded from his spine in an almost beautifully grotesque way, the dark scales blending in with tattoos that swirled over his back, dipping into the dark blue scales of his tail. A beautiful creature with intense green serpent eyes that seemed to bore into one's soul, a stare that sent shivers down his spine.

The witch smiled, his jagged teeth flashing, "Hello there."

Zeref swallowed and glanced at his companion, a red haired merman who's rare golden eyes peered at him with a strange emotion. The Emerald Prince was odd himself, his red like appearance being an unnatural trait in the Emerald Kingdom. There were rumors that perhaps the young prince was a bastard child but the old King had not said a word for or against it. King Kai himself seemed to believe Atlantis was his biological brother, no one dared to question it.

They were a pair that had become well respected in four kingdoms, close friends with the royals and a bridge that had forged alliances and peace with the nations. A dangerous pair that Zeref had become rather uneasy with but his mother had insisted to cater to their very needs, something Zeref wasn't all to happy with.

"Hello," he said, flashing a smile that he had perfected for parties and gatherings he so despised, "I do hope you found your guest rooms accommodating to your needs."

"They're fine," Atlantis said as he waved his hand in dismissal, "We came here to speak with your mother. Is she in the throne room?"

Of course, Zeref thought and simply nodded, "She is. I am confident she will accept your presence."

Atlantis flashed a smile, "Good. Come on Morgan, we should talk to her before something else stops us." Zeref watched the two drift past him, a rather disconcerting stare coming from green eyed witch, almost as if he were trying to read his mind. He frowned and looked away from Morgan, his jaw clenching.