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"Lacine," the Priestess whispered, as if in a trance. "I... believe we should go inside now."

"Are you cold...?" the girl asked meekly, arm still wrapped around her. "You feel cold..."

"Mmm..." was her only reply. So, with a small frown, Lacine began to lead her superior back up the slope towards the Clurch.

It was a strange situation. Lacine had always felt like a little girl around the older, more worldly woman, but after having seen her cry so many times over the past few days... Lacine now appreciated how fragile and broken Lorika was without the spirit of the Overseer to guide her as he had done. In the surreal moment which passed, she suddenly appreciated for the first time the fact that the two of them were the same height. For some reason, she had always expected herself to be smaller than her superior.

She clutched Lorika more tightly and, unconsciously, took her hand. Surprisingly, though she had no idea why it was surprising, she felt the woman clutch right back at her. She felt breakable, and Lacine was suddenly afraid to squeeze her too hard. That said, she knew the strength of this woman, who had overcome all her trials and heartbreak. Surely she could overcome this, too...?


~~~~~


"I can't believe anyone could... I'm so sorry, Lorika... I can't imagine your pain."

"You wanted to know why I joined the Order, and now you know."

"I can't believe you can trust me with this story. It's... so personal. The others would never imagine it in their wildest dreams!"

"Lacine, I would trust you with anything. You are a far better person than I."

"You've suffered so badly. The people you loved have let you down. But... don't worry. I won't let you down."


~~~~~


Lorika seemed like a zombie, dead on her feet. Numb, and frozen, though whether inside or out Lacine couldn't quite say. Her eyes were closed, as if she had fallen asleep upright. Oh, no. How much potion had she taken last night?

The acolyte's fears proved unfounded when, at that moment, Lorika lifted her head slightly and opened her eyes. Those brilliant, blue eyes, ringed by cerise - the last lingering shred of the Overseer's favour upon her physical form. Those eyes, now coated in a thin veil of water, met Lacine's own - plain and hazel - and, as another unexpected development, Lorika managed to give her a small smile.

"Are we going inside?" she asked softly. Indeed, Lacine realised with a shock that they hadn't made much progress. None, to be exact.

The two made some wobbly advancement up the beach, before Lacine, on impulse, took a peek back over her shoulder for one more lingering look at the tribute's progress out to sea.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "P-priestess! Look!"

"Hm?" Lorika answered, her head lolling on the other woman's shoulder. Lacine's voice was like something out of a dream. Her body, so warm. How did she stay so warm in such a cruel wind? It was all very strange. She knew she'd taken too much potion to previous night. For some reason, she could see Lacine's face even when she closed her eyes, as if the unreadable look in her vivid, topaz eyes had burned itself into her retinas. What was she thinking about? Was that look concern for her, Lorika...? Was it pity? Was it...?

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, jolting the Priestess out of her haze of thoughts. "There are mermaids messing with the tribute!"


~~~~


"Are you insane?!" Zainire squeaked, wriggling around to face his companion. He took both sides of Shinichi's face in his hands, pressing his own, fearfully, so close that their noses practically touched. "You don't go LOOKING for trouble! They can't come down here, so we should just swim away while we can!"

It was perfect logic to the boy who'd spent his childhood outrunning the authorities in his life. The thieves' blood in his veins practically designed him for quick and cunning escapes. However, at the wide, frightened look in Shinichi's pale face, his instincts began to rethink themselves. Almost at once, his pride was inwardly stabbing him in a way that it never, ever did.

He didn't want his Chi-chi to think he was a coward.

"Uh... actually," he said, moving quickly into his abrupt about-turn of attitude. "Maybe you're right. After all, if we can apologise, we SHOULD, right? It's the right thing to do."

He searched his friend's eyes for reassurance, the thumb of one hand absently stroking the contour of his cheek-bone. It wasn't entirely clear which of the mermen required the more reassurance. Perhaps they should reassure each other. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. With that thought in mind, Zain suddenly jerked forward and roughly kissed the other man. They parted a centimetre, but upon realising that that probably wasn't the most comforting gesture, he repeated it more gently. Hopefully that would do the trick!

"What...?" Lorika mumbled, turning around with bleary eyes just in time to see a far-off shape hurling two of the candles off across the surface of the water.

"Hey... HEY!" she shrieked, breaking away from Lacine's support and dashing down the beach. Lacine scuttled after her, but halted herself as the Priestess dashed out onto the water, skirts flying. For a few steps, she sank into the water as anyone would, salt water immediately ladening the bottom of her robes and infesting her shoes. However, she then rose up with her next step, running across the water as if it were hard concrete. "Stop, stop!"

Beneath the waves, Zain felt his friend part from the lingering kiss and was, for a moment, afraid. Opening his eyes to the sight of Shinichi's flushed, smiling face was a massive relief. He returned the smile, taking the merman's delicate hands in his own.

"Let's go say sorry," he said, disentangling his tail from Shinichi's and leading him off towards the shore. It could have been no more than a minute before they were surprised to see a figure, rapidly approaching on the roof of their murky world, coming to meet them halfway. "Hey, look! How're they doing that?!" the prince cried, astounded, darting up to the surface hand in hand with Shinichi.

"Hello!" he called, once he had broken into the cold surface.

The breathless figure that approached was a woman, wearing robes and insignia which looked all too familiar. "Oooh, look Shinichi!" he cried, forgetting himself. "She's one of the Overseer's!"

"You - you -" Lorika huffed, cheeks rosy from exertion. "Just - what do you think you're doing?!"

Zain's face fell at once. "Are those your sticks? We're so-"

"STICKS?! Sorry?!" she cried, bent double to speak to them on a more even level. Though actually, it may have been because of a stitch. "Those are CANDLES, and we're holding a funeral for a very... very special person," she explained. For some reason, however, she could bring herself no further than that.

To hear this, Zainire was crestfallen, abashed, and about a hundred other degrees of distressed at once. "A funeral... oh... we're so sorry, Lady Priestess... we were only playing... we didn't mean to infringe on your ceremony, or break your... candles...?"

With a last few gulping breaths, Lorika finally sighed. She had to grudgingly admit that, from the wide, innocent look on the young merman's face, that was the truth. They hadn't meant any harm. Your average merperson rarely did.

"Then please, just don't touch any more," she said, "Thank you."

"Miss Priestess!" Zain replied, edging a little closer. "We don't mean to keep you on your day of mourning, but is this the new base for the Order? Everyone seemed to think it vanished..."

"It is," she told him, slightly weary. However, she still managed a smile. "I am High Priestess Lorika. How may I help you, children of the clam?"

Zain appeared very excited by this piece of information. "Lorika!" he squealed, as if the woman he'd never clapped eyes on before was a friend he'd known for life. "I was so sorry I never got to hear you speak! Your speeches were truly wonderful!"

"Oh," she answered, taken aback. Speaking to thousand-strong crowds, her speeches quoted far and wide, a figurehead of inspiration and unwavering devotion to the causes of good. All of that seemed a lifetime ago now, with only her motley crew of acolytes and a quite possibly brain-dead Overseer behind her... "Thank you!"

"My father, Melchor, spoke very highly of you," he continued earnestly, causing her to start.

"Melchor of Antium?" she questioned, and he nodded, grinning.

"You remember us!"

"Of course I - my prince," she spluttered, remembering her manners and falling into a reverential kneeling posture, head bowed. The throbbing waves caused her to bob around weirdly, but she herself remained still. "My sincere apologies for any disrespect I may have demonstrated..."

It had been a while since anyone had bowed to Zainire, and he glanced across at Shinichi to make sure he was paying attention. He usually didn't care at all what people did or didn't do around him, but with Chi-chi nearby he felt the urge to impress him and was glad that she had reacted so effusively.

"You may stand," Zain instructed her importantly, accompanying the words with a flourishing regal gesture. He managed to supress the urge to giggle.

"Is there a reason why your father has sent you to call upon the Order...?" she asked tentatively, getting to her feet.

"Oh, yes, plenty of reasons," he answered vaguely, before drawing himself up. "But first, allow me to introduce myself properly!"

"Oh, of course!" Lorika replied, "I'm sorry, your royal highness. Please, go ahea-"

"I," he began with a certain amount of pomp, cutting her off, "Am His Royal Highness Prince Zainire of Antium, eldest son of His Majesty King Melchor and rightful heir to the throne. This man," he continued, gesturing grandly towards Shinichi, "Is my Consort, Shinichi. We are here as official ambassadors of our city, and we expect to be treated as such."

"O-of course," Lorika replied, blinking at him. This whole situation was very unexpected, but she nonetheless was able to recover herself and begin the formal, diplomatic reply. "On behalf of His Clamminess, the Overseer, I welcome you to our land, and bestow upon you, children of the sea, a token of His Glory and Favour."

She knelt again, performing a short blessing about the foreheads of both men in turn. She couldn't help frowning, as something about this situation was very off indeed. Why would the king send his son, alone except for a gay partner (would he even be allowed to claim the throne without a wife to produce an heir...?), to act as an ambassador in an organisation Zain had inadvertently revealed was thought to be wiped out? Nonetheless, there was no doubt he was the fabled gypsy prince. He matched the description, and wore the symbol of his descendency around his neck. It was authentic enough, as she knew from her preparations for diplomacy. But also, what was with the introduction? Princes never introduced themselves, and certainly not in such a long-winded fashion.

Sure, Zain had added a few embellishments in his little speech, but the priestess would never pick up on them. As long as Chi-chi was impressed, who cared about the rules anyway? He watched the white-haired merman out of the corner of his eye, a look on his face so artful it wasn't entirely pleasant. He studied the fine cut of his friend's features while Lorika ministered to him, glad that he'd given him the valuable necklace. It certainly made him look regal. Truly fit for a king's feast... or for a prince to feast his eyes upon.

"Thank you," he said, as the woman eventually straightened up. "We accept your welcome."

Zain dragged his friend down, following the curve of the floor as it dropped down into deep ocean, releasing him only when they had fallen right off the edge of the island and had reached the rocky pit below.

"Oh my god, that was AWESOME!" the prince sang, spinning around happily. "Did you see me?! Didn't I do well? They didn't know what hit 'em! Zain of Antium, master bamboozler, strikes again!"

He darted around the rocks, flexing his tail impressively for Shinichi and scattering unsuspecting schools of tropical fish as he pranced.

"Oh... Xeiashi," Lorika said, turning to him. "Did you just arrive?"

Zain continued to frolic around, semi-oblivious to his friend's chastisements. Only semi, however.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport!" he sang, "Everything's worked out fine, hasn't it? And besides, it wasn't LYING," the prince stipulated, halting his dance with the little fishies to speak directly to Shinichi. He rested both hands on a stone as if doing an anti-gravity press-up, grinning at the white-haired mermaid. "I am a prince, a representative of my kingdom, I SHOULD be heir to the throne, and you..."

Smile widening, he pushed off from the stone and glid the few metres to where the white-haired merman was sullenly perched. They made contact like a slow-motion tackle, the dark merman's arms wrapping themselves around Shinichi's frail torso. In one fluid motion, the two fell back onto the long, smooth stone, gently guided into and held in position by the larger merman's weight.

Zain pinned him there, holding him tightly, his face buried in the crook of Shinichi's neck. The fingers of one of his hands went snaking up his captive's spine, coming to rest on the clasp of his necklace. He could feel the stones of the artefact pressing into the top of his chest, and it made him grin all the more widely. At some point, his smile had stopped bing playful, and become shark-like. "...are certainly beautiful enough to be my bride."

He nestled into his mate's collar for a contented minute, but Shinichi seemed to droop in his arms, his whole body in a pout which was ever so slightly sulky. He glanced up, noticing the displeased pull of his lips and his eyes - alight with worry. Zain's little game came to an abrupt halt.

Frowning with concern, he returned to nuzzling the side of his neck, spending a few worried moments considering what the matter was and how to make it better. Zainire then pressed his lips to Shinichi's pale skin - again and again - trailing kisses from the base of his neck, up the side of his sculpted jaw, all the way to the lobe of his ear. He took his time, giving no indication that he'd sensed any problem at all, even allowing himself a huge amount of time to lick and gently suck the bottom of his ear. Time simply floated around them, holding its breath, as if it didn't want to interfere with the prince's promised feast.

"Chi-chi...?" Zain finally whispered, tentative with apprehension, "Are you upset with me...?"

"You don't deserve it, either..." he mumbled, bringing one hand up to stroke the silky hair at the base of the merman's wings. "I think you're beautiful."

"Yes... you're beautiful," he repeated, snuggling back down into him. "Anyone who can't see it is just... stupid. Stupid and blind. And stupid."