The Merman and the Prince

Chapter 20

AN Sorry about the lack of updates I've had some medical problems but I'm back now. enjoy :)

Akashi stood on the shore staring at me as I struggled to reach him. The water pulled at me and no matter how hard I struck out with my tail I couldn't get any closer to him. I began to fall behind and I held out my hand towards him but a huge wave swamped me and I was pushed deep underwater.

"Relax, your safe."

I was a child clinging to the railing of a boat that was tossed about in the waves, my mother and father crowded around me, holding me tightly. There was a giant crash and we were suddenly in the water. Blue light surrounded me and I tried to hold my mother's hand as the water pummelled us. She reached for a plank of wood and held us up. My eyes stung as I blinked away the salty water and tried to see her but the blue light was too strong.

"Stay strong, tell no one your secrets."

I nodded my head, looking around for my father but he was no longer there. When I turned back my mother wasn't there anymore. I cried out, diving in the water for her, reaching my hand out but I couldn't reach her.

A hand gripped mine tightly and I felt lips on it. The dream changed again.

I sat on the floor, water spilled around me and I was in my merman form. I gripped a body in my arms, tears streaming down my face as I looked up at the man before me, a bloodied sword in his hand. He had blonde hair, piercings and a tattoo down the side of his face. He was the hunter, Nash Gold. Akashi's eyes were closed, his face pale as the water around us slowly turned red from the blood gushing from the wound in his chest. I screamed his name as Nash reached for me, gripping my hair and pulling me away, my tail flapping uselessly behind me. "Sei-kun!"

"I'm here Tetsuya."

My eyes opened and I turned to the side to see Akashi sitting by my bed side, gripping my hand as he soothed my hair. I jumped at him then, falling off the bed and knocking him off the chair. We tumbled to the ground, the wind knocked out of us but I didn't let go of him, my arms around his neck and my face buried in his chest.

"You're here. You're okay."

"What's this now? Of course I'm okay. You're the one who has been asleep for two days."

I sat up, allowing Akashi to get up, his hand still holding mine as we sat next to each other on the floor.

"Two days?"

My lover nodded and kissed my head.

"I have been worried sick. Kagami said you would rest but I didn't think it would be this long. You slept like the dead. it was only in the past couple hours you started to thrash and cry out. You had me worried, are you okay?"

He reached forward and cupped my cheek, his eyes boring into mine. I leant into his hand and closed my eyes as I inhaled his scent. It calmed me instantly and I nodded.

"Just nightmares, I hope."

I opened my eyes and grabbed his own face between my hands.

"Promise me, if the hunter Nash Gold finds me you won't come after us. Promise me you won't fight him."

He frowned and I could see he was about to argue with me so I put my forehead against his, a little harder then I planned to.

"Promise me. I don't want to see you hurt."

He gripped the back of my hair and tugged it, shaking his head against mine.

"If you think I would let you be taken without a fight you thought wrong, regardless of any danger posed to me. You must think very little of my fighting abilities."