Land and Sea

Chapter 1

Sunlight rippled through to the ocean floor, mottling the gilded decor in the room. The figure in the bed moved, shuffling as the light began to wake him from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes and stared for a moment, his mind trying to wake up. 

"Orm, darling?" a soft voice, and a soft hand on his head. He closed his eyes and smiled. "Orm? Wake up, darling..." Orm frowned,  pushing his face into the soft pillows. "Come on, darling, you'll be late, otherwise." 

"Another half-hour, please, mother..." Orm mumbled, shaking his head. 

"You'll be late! Come now, I won't ask you again." 

"Late for what?!" Orm lifted his head and turned to look at her. Atlanna stood, smiling softly at him. Two guardians stood behind her, poised to 'neutralise' him if he tried anything. He knew the game to be played. 

"Your brother wants to see you. He wants to speak with you. I think he has a proposal." Orm rolled his eyes and lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. He yawned widely. 

"If he wants to marry that wretched traitor, mother, he can ask her without me watching." 

"Not for Mera, Orm. For you.  He's been waiting for you to get too bored in this cell..."

"Well, he could have come the first day. I am bored." He swung his legs out of the bed and stood, stretching. "I should be out there, not him. He knows nothing of our people... of our way of life..." 

"Speak with him, and you'll find he's learned well." Atlanna smiled at him and kissed his cheek. 

"Half-breed." Orm sniffed and turned away. He knew his mother hated that term, especially for his older 'brother'. Half-brother would have been slightly more palatable, but then he didn't like him at all. What land-dweller could learn about Atlantis so fast?! Or had he been kept prisoner for longer than he'd thought...? He sighed and dressed himself, still yawning. He wasn't his usual sharp self; days, weeks spent in confinement had slowed his mind and made him idle. 

"Aha! There he is!" Arthur sat at the head of a long table, his eyes twinkling. "Still alive, I see." 

"No thanks to you." Orm took a seat.  

"Thanks entirely to me, actually. A war like that should have ended in your execution, apparently. I didn't let 'em, though. You're my little brother." 

"Don't... call me... that..." Orm grit his teeth and looked down at the food put before him. "What's this?" 

"Breakfast. I thought you'd want some company this morning." Arthur smirked. "And then, we need to talk."

"And if I don't want to talk?" Despite his resolve to remain defiant, Orm's hunger got the better of him. 

"What makes you think you've got a choice this time?" Arthur laughed, leaning forward. "I want to talk. We need to talk. And if you don't wanna talk..." he stood, patting Mera's shoulder. "Then you're damn well gonna listen." He moved to Orm and bent down. "Mussels are fresh. Not like the day-old crap they've been giving you." He ruffled his brother's hair and left, laughing. "Meet me by the gates. I've got a car." Orm rolled his eyes and said nothing. He didn't like the look Mera was giving him. 

"What are you looking at?" he asked, breaking open another mussel. 

"Oh... I'm just thinking of the look on your face when you realise where he's taking you." She leaned forward. "You're going to love it..." 

"I'm sure I'll adore it, you vile little bi-"

"Go on," Mera grinned. "Go on... do it." She smiled at him. "A vile little bitch, right? You've picked that up from the shore..." Orm growled at her, finished his meal quickly, and left. Mera followed him, a little too close for his liking. 

**

"Alright then," Orm said, standing before Arthur. They were in the lowlands of Atlantis, where the city ended and the rest of the ocean began. Nothing could hear them, and Orm couldn't run. He was too visible. Atlanna stood behind him, and Mera to Arthur's left. "Let's get this over with."

"I've been thinking," Arthur began, folding his arms. "You hate the landfolk so much. Humans make you want to kill them all... yet mother fell in love with one and had me. So, in hating the humans, you've an issue with what mother loves." 

"Yes, I do. Because they're killing the world we depend on. They're poisoning oceans, overfishing... you've heard all of this before." Orm shook his head. 

"Yeah, I have. And not all of the humans are like that." Arthur kept his intense gaze fixed on Orm, who returned it. "And I need you to see that and understand it before I let you go."

"Why? Are you scared I'll ruin your chances on the throne?"

"No," Arthur moved closer. "I'm scared you'll go ashore and kill the entire human population in cold blood." 

"You do realise they attack us every single time they work out where we are?" Orm asked softly. "They regularly send attack vessels? They try to threaten our lives?"

"I'm sure they did when you were king, but you're not now, and I haven't seen a single submarine head this way." Arthur shrugged. "So try again." Orm could only grind his teeth in annoyance. "That's what I thought. So, my proposal is simple. Mother and I want to go back and spend a bit of time with my father. I haven't seen him for a long time, and mother wants to give him something so he can come down here and see her way of life." Arthur smiled. "And you're going to come with us." Orm's head snapped up. 

"I'm sorry... what?"

"You're coming ashore with us." 

"Ha!" Orm laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not going up there." 

"You are. You're coming up there, with me and mother and Mera, and you're going to spend some time getting to know what it's like, OR you can go back into your cell and be treated in the way that almost every single kingdom out there wants you to be treated for what you did." Arthur moved to be toe to toe with his brother. "Believe me, Orm, I will give you to the Fisherman kingdom and let them bury you if I have to." His eyes were hard. Orm returned the glare. "And they want to rip you apart for killing their king."

"Then they should have joined me when they had the chance, rather than tell me I was wrong," Orm murmured. Arthur snapped. He grabbed his hair at the back and pulled back so hard, Orm thought his neck would snap. 

"Do you have ANY idea how difficult it was to regain their trust?!" he hissed, his other hand closing around Orm's throat. "Hmm?! Do you have any idea how long I had to discuss with them to ensure they believe in us again?! Every single kingdom under this God damned ocean had it in for you, and I had to bear all of that! They weren't content until you were locked up, Orm, so if you want to play it that way, then fine - I'll let the Fisherman Kingdom have you." Orm said nothing. He couldn't. He waited until Arthur let him go. Arthur took him instead by the shoulders. "So... you're going to come with us, and you're going to start rehab." 

"Rehab?"

"Rehabilitation."

"I know what it means," Orm muttered. Atlanna began to move forwards, along with Mera. Arthur marched Orm forwards too, and the four set off swimming in the direction of Arthur's father's lighthouse home, by the sea. 

**