Bastian's Song [Complete--Editing]

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Bastian swam blindly.

Tears blurred his vision, and he left a trail of pearls in his wake. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Ambrosia's voice shouting for him, but she grew fainter with every flip of his powerful tail. He reached out and opened a door at random, slipping inside and sinking to the cold marble floor until he hunched over his tail.

Hot tears slid over his face and clinked against the ground in a rain of pearls. All he could see in his mind was how beautiful Ambrosia was, her hand against his and the light of the tree shining around them.

It had been perfect. Everything about her was perfect. He wanted her to be his partner, this amazing girl. She had done so much for him; Ambrosia had encouraged him and helped him to become a more confident ruler and he'd only known her for a short time.

What could he give her in return? He would never have a Song of his own. That had been the price Triton had paid for helping Selene so long ago, and all of his children bore the mark of the goddess' blessings. A merperson's Song was their heart, and it was the essence that they used to make their magics and find their mates.

Now he knew what his mother had been missing in her life. Augustus had been the most powerful merman in the entire ocean, but he had not been able to give Melodia that precious part of himself. He didn't have it to give. Melodia had taken him anyway, but would Ambrosia be able to look past Bastian's inability to sing?

Ambrosia's Song was beautiful.

Time passed unmarked for Bastian as he wallowed in his thoughts and the growing feeling that he would never be able to give Ambrosia what she deserved. A sudden rap on the door snapped him out of his stupor.

Bastian wiped his cheeks and rose from the floor. He would just have to be honest with Ambrosia, and hope she still would sing for him. The door slid open smoothly to reveal Asisya on the other side. Surprised, Bastian gaped at her.

"Is there any particular reason that you are hiding in this room?" Her violet eyes slid down to the floor and the pile of pearls resting by Bastian's fins. She looked back up quickly, her face suddenly much more interested.

Bastian did his best not to blush. "Sorry," he croaked, "I don't remember where my friends are staying. The...the halls are...confusing." His shoulders slumped.

"I see." Queen Asisya's voice seemed smug to him. "Come with me, Triton. I've something to show you." She turned and swam off, without a single glance back at him. Bastian hesitated only a moment before he followed.

The queen of Atlantis led him down to the first floor, and then down one more. At the bottom of the weird marble bumps, there was a doorway with no door. Instead, tall rods of metal had been placed over the empty space, one every inch or so. Asisya pulled a lock of hair out from behind her and revealed a small key tied onto the end of it.

She opened a space in the rods with her key and ushered Bastian in behind her. After he had crossed through, she closed the rods behind them and he heard it lock again. While he waited, he noticed a small glimmer of red near the bottom of the strange door, but before he could get a good look at it, Asisya gestured for him to move.

Down here, there were no glowing plants and the light of the silver-lit tree was nowhere to be found. Shadows filled the empty space, and Asisya led him further into a hallway without a word. It took Bastian a moment to adapt to the sudden dark, but his vision only offered up the vague outlines of what might be more doors.

They swam only a short length before Asisya opened another door. Her smooth voice interrupted his curious thoughts. "You like my daughter, don't you?"

Bastian paused in the doorway and turned to look toward her. He was glad that the darkness hid his face so she would not see him blush. "What makes you say that?"

She laughed. "It's written all over your face, Triton. When you look at her, your eyes light up. When she moves, you follow her."

Zareb's voice floated through Bastian's mind once more. You, my friend, are going to have a heck of a time winning that mermaid's approval. Lying to Asisya seemed like a poor choice if he wanted to make a good impression. Bastian took a deliberate breath. "Ambrosia is a remarkable mermaid. I've found myself admiring her, even in the short time we've known one another."

"Mhmm. Do you know much about the Atlanteans, Triton?"

A clawed hand pushed against Bastian's back. He swam forward into what appeared to be a room of decent size. The water in the room was still, and tasted stagnant. "Not as much as I would like to know."

Asisya laughed again, and light filled the room. Soft, silver light spilled over a large wooden chest... and a pair of manacles chained into the stone wall. "I will tell you why the clans view us with suspicion." Her charcoal tail brushed his as she swam past him. Asisya herself seemed to be emitting the silver light, without a song to summon it.

Bastian's heart skipped a beat.

She glanced at him before she turned to the chest and placed a hand on the wood. "Unlike the rest of the clans, who were made by the Ocean and blessed by the Moon, we Atlanteans were once human. We lived above the waves and bore no magic at all."

His mind went blank. "How could that be?"

"We were friends with the merfolk of the Undine clan. We admired the merfolk for their grace, their knowledge, and their magic. And, after we became friends with them, they showed us how we could become something greater than we were." Asisya opened the chest. She reached in and pulled out something that glinted in the light. "When our home was swallowed by the Ocean, we survived by using what the Undine had taught us. We became what we are now by imitating you."

She turned to face him, and in her hands she bore another hand; it was made of a shiny metal. Bastian had never seen metal so clean under the ocean. There was a reason that most of Nereus used rock and shell to make their weapons. Metal rusted.

Asisya slid her hand into the metal one and flexed her fingers. The metal moved with her, like cloth, but stiff. "I am telling you this so that you know what I tell you next is the truth. We have learned much from our time under the water, Triton. I have even learned how to give you back your Song."

The Queen of the Atlanteans smiled, and her teeth were sharp. 

~~~~~~~

I was gonna write something really insightful here, but all I could think was: 'mwuahahahaha PLOT TWIST'. So. Yeah. 

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