Our Complicated Love

Chapter 10

So since i've been away so long i'll just get right to the story. There is an author's note at the end though :)

The water around us was quickly filled with an awkward tension (I didn't even think that was possible with water) as Pearl and the guards that accompanied her, were openly staring at Tyne's arms that were still wrapped around my waist and my hands still buried in his hair.

We quickly shimmied away from each other before a guard that was one of the first to arrive swam forward, fisting his right hand over his heart and bowing his head. "Your majesty, when the penguin spoke of a long lost princess, well, I'm sure you can understand our hesitance. However, seeing you now," He paused to shake his head in what I was assumed was disbelief. "There can be no question." He turned back to the men behind him. "Let us make haste, make sure the princess isn't seen, and the room is cleared when she enters." He then turned to a young man who looked to be around my age who  was smaller than the others. "Alexander, you're the quickest of us, get to the king as fast as you can, let no one stop you, and this information is for the kings ears only, not even his advisor is to know first."

Alexander squared his shoulders before giving a firm nod and rushing off, leaving a trail of small bubbles behind him. The first merman turned back to me. "My name is Jedrek, I'm the Lieutenant General of your families army. It's an honor to meet you and I truly look forward to serving you. When you're ready we'll escort you to the king." Giving another small bow of his head.

"It's great to meet you too, I'm Iris, and I'm so sorry you caught us like that." I chuckled awkwardly while pulling at the ends of a couple strands of hair. Three of them wore small smirks while one in the back just chuckled lightly. "But, we're ready to leave now." Jedrek gave a quick nod before looking at the two guards to his left, who at his signal, swam ahead to clear our way. It was only then that I took in my surroundings to see that we were in a courtyard of sorts, lined with rocks on either side, the only opening was through the piping hot tunnel we made our way through. Ahead of us stood an enormous silver castle that gleamed and quivered at even the slightest hint of light. Tyne laughed at my awe struck face, before ushering me forward to follow the others. "This palace was made from the debris of sunken ships. Since there's more than enough ships down here my father is always adding another section and your father doesn't care enough to stop him, but don't ask me how they keep it so shiny."

He laughed once more at my dumbstruck expression as our party finally began to make our way to the door that lead in to the entrance of the castle. When we entered I needed to shield my eyes from the brightness. It seemed like on a normal day there were countless mermaids  working constantly, polishing the walls, floors, and everything in between. However, since I was entering in secret, the halls and rooms were empty as we passed, giving off an almost ominous vibe. After we swam deeper in to the castle, I was able to tell the difference between the old castle and the new additions that had been added. The old columns had been stained green from the ocean current with long vines of seaweed wrapping around them, and the floor had small clusters of barnacles lining the halls, almost giving it a runway vibe.

Our group soon came upon a large set of double doors with the merman from earlier, Alexander, standing in front of them. Jedrek shared a nod with the young guard before proceeding forward, placing his hands on the doors before pushing them open. Pearl, who had been uncharacteristically quiet,  suddenly spoke up as we finally entered what I assumed was the throne room. "Holy balls." She said as she took in the room around us. The room didn't have any walls, instead there were sections of the castle divided by extremely long columns, the ceiling seemed so high up that I was surprised that the castle wasn't peeking out of the ocean, and in the middle of the room sat the biggest chair I had ever seen. It seemed like it was made of a darker steel than the rest of the castle, and something that made me hesitate was the fact that it was unoccupied.

Suddenly, a deep gravely voice sounded from behind our little party. "Is she the one?" I almost jumped out of my skin before slowly turning, coming face to face (more like face to chest) with who I assumed would be the king. His tail was the same shade of purple as mine with thin black streaks going down the scales, before making small swirls on his fin. His chest was large and marred with scars from years past, his arms looked much the same, however on his right arm, a large dark tattoo stretched from his wrist to his elbow in a strange triangle pattern that I'd never seen before. Finally, I took in his face. His skin was the same deep gold as mine, he had a chiseled jaw with high cheekbones, his right eyebrow had a large scar cutting through it, but what stopped me the most were his eyes. While one was purple, the other iris was the same deep brown that mine had been before I learned what I was.

While the others had bowed at the sound of his voice, I was stuck frozen, my mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. "She is, your majesty." Jedrek spoke up for me. The king hadn't looked me in the eye yet, but his eyes finally swept over me completely, making me hyperaware of the state I was probably in from swimming god knows how far to get here. I imagined I looked like a deer in the headlights, as he swam closer to me. It seemed everyone was holding their breath as he rested a large hand on my shoulder, closing his eyes. Suddenly, the black streaks on his tail began to glow, I looked down and noticed the blue streaks that adorned my own began doing the same in response.

I followed suit, shutting my eyes, and almost immediately I could feel what Tyne had been talking about when he spoke about the connection between parent and child. I knew that the merman who was in front of me was indeed my father, it felt as if the blood running through my body knew who he was and  every cell of my being was finally screaming that I was home. After another moment, I opened my eyes, my tiny tear bubbles floating around us, as a small smile graced my father's face. He finally opened his eyes before squeezing my shoulder, and pulling me in for the biggest and tightest hug I had ever experienced. "Welcome home, daughter." He whispered in my ear. My tears began to flow faster as I relaxed in to his arms. "I'm sorry it took so long, dad."

I would've been happy to stay in my father's arms forever but after a few minutes he pulled away, a large smile across his face. I began to get the feeling that this was the most he smiled in a really long time. "Nonsense, all that is in the past, and now that you're here we have much to discuss."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A:N/) well here we are, it only took me 6 years and a global pandemic for me to rise from the ashes. I apologize not only because of the long hiatus but my writing style may have changed slightly so I'm sorry if anyone gets confused while reading since this chapter has been sitting in my drafts for literal years. I also wanna thank everyone who has continued to follow me all this time with barely any information to go on. Ya'll are the true fans. <3 Get ready for chapter 11 in the next week, since there's officially nothing else for me to do lol. 

But yeah this is Lily announcing that I'm back at it again ;-)