Archive of Our Own

The sound of water lapping at the sides of the rowboat was dangerously lulling. More than once, Sollux caught his eyes drifting shut and snapped back to consciousness with a start, furiously slapping at his cheeks in hopes that the pain would wake him up. How could he possibly be nodding off when his life was on the line? But it was so very, very hard not to. The ocean was peaceful, its waves rocking him like a mother's embrace. The pale moon, precisely in its first quarter, reflected so perfectly off the water's glittering surface that it looked like two halves of a whole, neatly cut and separated. He couldn't help but smile at that. Surely it was a good omen, that even such a heavenly body was as divided as he was.

No it wasn't, what was he thinking? A quarter moon would set at midnight, leaving him alone in this accursed bay with only the lighthouse beacon for company. The beacon that was only lit when sailors were presenting a sacrifice to the sea monsters in order to barter safe passage through these waters. Sollux glared at the lighthouse, its warm light clashing with the cool glow of the moon. It was a contrast he would have appreciated, if he weren't currently serving as the sacrifice.

The cool, salty breeze toyed with his hair, the strands tickling his forehead in an irritating manner. He should have gotten a trim back before he departed land. Too late now, unless he wanted to try taking his sword to it in the dark. Maybe he would accidentally cut his head off, save the monsters the trouble. It wasn't like he was going to be able to fend them off with it; he'd never wielded a weapon in his life. With a sigh, Sollux finally tied his sash around his head to hold his hair back and slouched deeper into the little boat, pulling his coat more tightly around himself. Maybe I should just go to sleep. The monsters would appear when they were good and ready, and he would stand no more chance against them awake than not.

It was getting colder. Fog was beginning to rise off the water, little wafts of steam that quickly grew thicker and thicker. Yes, perfect, let's make my isolation complete, shall we? I didn't need to see my doom coming, anyway. The moon's reflection disappeared as the ocean vanished, replaced instead with a sea of softly glowing clouds. Despite the cold, Sollux felt a bead of sweat drip down his temple. Fog like this could mess with a fellow's mind. Give him notions that he could step out of the boat and walk to the safety of shore. Or at the very least, make him panic with every swirl and eddy chased up by the wind, certain that it was caused by encircling creatures.

There was a chattering sound; it took him a while to realize it was his teeth. He shook his head in disgust and tightened his jaw, but then his teeth started grinding instead. Be silent! The monsters will hear you if you make the slightest noise!

Oh, fuck that. You volunteered for this fate, after all. To die boldly and get it over with would be better than all this cowardly sniveling!

Tremulous and wavering, his voice began to mix with the rising fog, a song to call the demons to the bay, a hymn to keep them at bay. Cross purposes, both true. He liked that.

♫ Link ♫

There was a man, lived long ago,
whose tongue cut like a knife.
He lived his days in suffering,
he lived his nights in strife.

He was possessed of strange ideas;
that every life is worth the same.
The nobles they of course despised him;
this man who tried make them feel shame.

Oh,
Think of the day,
it could be tomorrow!
When we thrive together
'stead of on each other's sorrow!

You say fighting back's impossible,
I tell you it isn't true!
You're the ones with real power,
it is you!

And so he staged a revolution,
and though he lost, it didn't fail.
For as he died in chains and screaming,
his anger sparked a mighty tale.

It travels now the world over,
on tongues of those who do believe
this golden future he envisioned
is something real we can achieve.

As his voice petered out, silence moved in to fill the void, much like the fog that filled the darkness. Sollux stared out across the expanse between his tiny boat and the boardwalk on the shore, and found himself wondering if he could walk on it. Maybe it wasn't really water under the fog. Maybe it was solid ground? Perhaps he should make sure.

“That's a nice song.”

“Sufferin--!” he yelped, lurching away so hard that he nearly went overboard, scrambling for his sword and completely failing to get it out of its scabbard. There was a girl! In the fog! Resting her elbows on the rim of the boat and staring at him! “You—scared me half to death! What are you doing out here? Get lost, it's dangerous!”

A trill of giggles, far more musical than his slightly lisping voice, tickled his ears. “Dangerous, you say? If it's your sword I should be fearing, I think I'll die of laughter first!”

“Wha—no!” He struggled not to take offense to the jab at his abilities. It was accurate, after all. “Don't you know this bay is infested with monsters?”

She gasped, almost theatrically so. “Really? What kind?”

“The kind that lurk in black, bloody waters, reaching out with gnarled claws to drag down the unwary! They told me they can skin a man down to his bones faster than he can choke to death on his waterlogged screams.” He gave a violent shudder.

She frowned, or at least, he thought she did; it was hard to tell when she was mostly in silhouette. “What a barbaric notion.”

“You're telling me.”

“Far more suited for your own kind, if you ask me.”

“My own...” he trailed off. “Oh.” There was a long stretch of silence as his mind struggled to accommodate this new knowledge. “You're what I'm being sacrificed to?”

There was a sharp slap, like something broad and flat striking the water in fury. “You dare address me as a 'what?' I am the future empress of the merfolk! I should spear you through the chest and fling your corpse back on the ship you came from, then destroy it! Your brethren shall all pay for sending such an insolent sacrifice!”

His eyes widened with something like fear. “Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't know! They didn't tell me anything, I thought the sea monster was a giant squid or something! Don't attack the ship, I'm begging you!”

She let out a skin-crawling gurgling noise that he couldn't interpret, until it grew louder and more recognizable as snickering laughter. “Oh wow, you swallowed that one, hook, line and sinker! 'Insolent sacrifices,' pfffft! As if you humans don't curse us with every last breath. You're kind of a dope, aren't you? No wonder your kind chose to send you off!”

“Actually I...” he began to growl defensively, then stopped. Forget it, it doesn't matter. “Never mind. Let's just—just get on with it. What do I need to do?” He shifted hesitantly closer to the side of the boat she was on, his limbs moving so jerkily he looked like a puppet. “Should I get out of the boat?”

“Why do you sound so funny? With your 's's.”

“I have a speech impediment. Always have.”

“What curious glasses you have. Why are they red and blue?”

“It helps me differentiate colors. I'm colorblind.”

“Wow, they were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for this sacrifice, huh?”

Sollux let out a hiss of irritation. “Is it your intention to insult me to death? Because I think I would prefer drowning.”

She laughed again, damp shoulders glimmering in the moonlight. “You're such a strange one! Don't be so eager to die! This is a rare opportunity for me, you know.”

He crossed his arms shakily, scowling. “For what?”

“Normally my sisters would be here with me, all competing for a bite, but the Empress is hosting one of her dreadful parties right now. When we saw the light of the beacon, she permitted me alone to leave her attendance. Personally I suspect she was just hoping I'd get myself killed, but I can see you're no threat.”

“Sorry for being so pathetic,” he bit out sarcastically.

“So here I am, presented with a golden opportunity to talk with a live human at my leisure! Surely even you can see why I wouldn't want to kill you right away?”

“I suppose. Hooray for you.”

“Then why don't we strike a deal? You answer my questions honestly, and I'll promise to kill you before I eat you!”

He closed his eyes, letting his head fall in his hands. “And how would you even know if I was telling the truth?” he muttered.

She tapped her chin in thought. “The next time I get a chance to talk to a sacrifice, I'll ask if your answers were true. If they weren't, I'll put a mark out on your ship, and it will never be allowed to cross these waters safely again!”

“Doesn't bother me,” he sneered.

Her head jerked in surprise. “But a minute ago you were begging for their lives! I don't understand.”

“I doubt you would even if I told you.”

“Tell me anyway,” she said instantly, in the tone of voice of someone who expected to be obeyed.

Nobles. I guess even monster-kind has to put up with them. “I don't care about the ship. It's a fucking pirate ship. The pirates can go to hell for all I care.”

He half expected her to take offense to his language, but she only giggled. “Ahhh, I see now. You are not a pirate. Yet you were on a pirate ship, and have been sent as sacrifice. You must be... a slave!”

“Captive.”

“Close enough. So, you don't want me to attack that ship now, but don't care what happens to it later. There must be someone onboard that you care about, someone that you don't expect to be there for long. A passenger? Another captive?” Sollux's mouth tightened and he stayed conspicuously silent. “How very interesting.”

“Leave him alone.”

The glint of her fangs was the only way he could tell she was smiling. “I intend to. Really, I do! I just want to hear more about you. You're so unusual! I was watching you for a while before I showed myself, actually. You know, it's not often that sacrifices sit calmly in the boat without being tied up.” He turned his head away. “Could it be that you... volunteered?”

There was a long moment of silence, filled only by the sounds of the ocean at night. “They were going to send him. My father. The pirates, they attacked our ship, burned it down, killed all the passengers. They took him and me hostage, though, because we're preachers of the Sufferer. Or at least... he is.”

“The Sufferer... that fellow from the song you sang?”

“That's the one. My grandfather was part of the failed revolution. My father was a child at the time, but he still remembers it well. He's... a treasure. No one can tell the tale like he does. It would be a mighty blow to the cause if he died. Those pirates think there's a chance they can hold him for ransom, or turn him in to the nobles.” He gave a soft snort, a smile twisting the corner of his lips. “By the time they reach shore, he'll have converted them all, mark my words.”

“Why would they decide to sacrifice him if he was worth so much?”

“They had another captive for that purpose—but he managed to kill himself rather than face whatever fate you monst—merfolk had in store. And of course, none of them were going to step up. So they offered me a choice that wasn't really a choice at all; step in this boat, or watch them carve out my father's eyes for their proof of ransom and then put him in the boat. So here I am.”

“I see.” The mermaid princess sank lower in the water, resting her chin on her hands. “Why do you speak as though you don't share in your father's beliefs?”

“I do!” he said emphatically, uncrossing his arms to lean towards her. “It's a wonderful idea, a right one. I just--!” He curled back in on himself. “I just don't believe... it'll ever happen. And it hurts. Watching all the preachers, but especially my father, fighting with all they have against a force so powerful that they can't possibly ever win. It hurts, and no one understands. I don't even know if they really believe they have a chance, or if they'd just rather die fighting than give up. I don't... I don't have that kind of strength of will. I'm the sort of person who resigns himself to his fate. As you can tell,” he finished bitterly, giving the boat a sweeping glance.

She was quiet for such a long time that it made him uncomfortable. “Well? Don't you have any cutting remarks about my character to make?”

“Hmmm?” she responded slowly. “Sorry. My mind wandered off.”

Sollux gaped. “I pour out my life story at your request and you can't even be bothered to listen?”

“I heard,” she said simply.

“Oh. Well. Good.”

“Do you have a name? Do humans... have names?”

“Of course we do!” he responded in offended astonishment. “It's Sollux. Of the family Captor.”

“Thollux. What a peculiar name.”

“Sollux,” he growled, trying as hard as he could to pronounce the 's.' She stared, then began to snicker. He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, yes, I can't pronounce my own name. Ha ha. No one's ever found that funny before.”

The mermaid burst into laughter, her tail striking the water much like a man slapping his leg. “You are just so fascinating! Are all humans as interesting as you?”

“I don't know, maybe you should try chatting up all your food before you eat it.”

She laughed even harder, letting go of the tiny boat to fall backwards into the ocean, much like a child collapsing onto a pile of hay in joy. The black water swallowed her up, the displaced fog quickly rolling back in. Cautiously, Sollux inched closer to the edge of the boat to peer over the side. He could see absolutely nothing, though he thought he could hear a deep rhythmic sound as her laughter continued underwater. Eventually even that stopped, leaving him feeling curiously lonely.

“Well, Sollux Captor of the humans,” she suddenly spoke, and he yelped in surprise as he realized she had reappeared behind him, at the rim on the other side of the boat, “My tidal is Feferi Peixes, daughter of the Merfolk Empress.” She paused expectantly, and after a moment he bobbed his head in a little bow. “Since you are so accepting of your situation, and I am in no hurry to get back to my mother's party, might I solicit your services before the night is over?”

“You want me to help you... before you kill me.”

“Yup!” He gave her the blandest stare he could muster. She pouted. “You won't?”

“What exactly is it you want?”

The silhouette of her arm lifted gracefully up to point at the lighthouse. “The sacrificial beacon! I wish to sea it.”

“Can't you see it from here?”

“It's not the same! I've never seen fire from up close before. Is it true that it gives off heat like a thermal vent, yet dances like an anemone?”

“I don't know what those things are.”

She huffed. “Figures. Well, never mind that. Can you carry me up there?”

For some reason, Sollux found himself considering the answer to that seriously. He glanced at the tower, estimating its height as best as he could with no point of reference, then back at the mermaid. “Probably. That'd be a lot of stairs, but I think I could do it if I carry you on my back. How much do you weigh?”

“What is 'weigh?'”

He gave an amused snort, almost a laugh. “I guess the cultural ignorance goes both ways.”

“I am not ignorant!”

“Oh, of course not. You just lack knowledge of things pertaining to surface life.” She stuck out her tongue, and he really did laugh that time. “I tell you what. The pirates took the oars with them when they left me here, but if you can push this boat over to that dock, I'll carry you up to the top of the lighthouse and back down again.”

She hesitated instead of answering immediately. Probably considering whether it's beneath her to stoop to manual labor, Sollux thought, though not quite as sourly as he should have.

“Alright,” she finally replied, her voice oddly meek. Letting go of the rim, she vanished from sight again as she slipped under the water. A moment later, the small boat began to sail smoothly forward. It was a bizarre sensation, Sollux thought, moving silently through the water without sail or paddle. Combined with the moonlit fog, it almost felt like he was in an enchanted vessel, approaching a faerie isle teeming with magic.

Faeries of the capricious, deadly kind, anyway.

The boat came to rest against the short wooden pier with a soft bump. The boardwalk it connected to framed the water's edge for some distance, providing a safe place to walk over the jagged boulders and patches of soupy sand. Sollux stood up unsteadily and reached for the coil of musty rope, securing the boat with a tangled knot. From the corner of his eye, he could see the mermaid's head emerge from the water again, watching him intently as he hoisted himself up. Though the tide was high, it wasn't as high at it would have been on a full or new moon.

Sollux stood up, listing slightly from side to side as he struggled to shake off his sea legs. “Can you get up from here?” he asked as he turned around.

She was gone. Puzzled, he swept his gaze from side to side, trying to pierce the darkness and fog. A splashing sound caught his attention, and he finally spotted the mermaid some distance down the boardwalk. It seemed she had found a set of rocks close enough and tiered enough to use as stairs. With great care, she was pulling herself from one to the next, dragging the lower half of her body behind her. Shaking his head, Sollux trotted across the damp boards until he caught up, reaching her just as she ascended the closest, highest boulder. “I guess you've done this... before...”

He stared. The dim light of the moon reflected off her wet skin, outlining her form. She was divided perfectly in half; below, a strong tail ending in a forked fin, every glittering scale like a shining jewel, while above she took the shape of a beautiful young woman, the kind that could inspire paintings and poems and dreams. Numerous golden necklaces and cuffs, no doubt of the highest quality, adorned her wrists and draped across her bosom, which was bare aside from the dark locks of hair that clung to her skin. A tiara befitting her station curved across her brow, just above enormous eyes that almost seemed luminous when she faced the light.

“I may come up here on occasion. No farther than this, though,” she confessed. She waited patiently for him to come closer, then frowned when he remained frozen. “What?”

Sollux swallowed, then began to unfasten his coat. “Your Highness, if I'm to carry you, I beg you to put this on first.”

She wrinkled her nose, or at least, he thought she did. “Human garb? Why? It looks terribly uncomfortable.”

“It's not that bad,” he assured her as he slipped it off. He had no undershirt; the pirates had accosted him as he slept, and only gave him back his fine coat as a funeral gift. The cold air had quite a bite on his bare skin. “It... it'll keep you warm.”

She gave a derisive sniff. “I need no protection from this balmy surface weather. The deep sea is far colder than this.”

“Please,” he said harshly, his face twisting as he turned his head aside. “You call me barbaric, and perhaps I am. Your beauty will make a monster of me.”

She was silent for long enough that he grew nervous, but at last she slapped her tail against the rock and sighed. “Very well, I shall wear it if I mast. How does it work?”

“Turn around,” he replied, and refused to look up again until she had done so. Stepping over and placing one foot on the rock, he draped it across her shoulders. “Here, lift up your hair,” he said softly, then helped her slip her arms into the sleeves. She turned around again when he told her to, and let him fasten up the buttons in front.

“This is very strange,” she pouted as she squirmed and picked at the heavy cloth. “I don't think I like it.”

“It's only for a little while,” he assured her. “Once I'm dead you can toss it out or tear it up or whatever you want to do with it.”

“Yes, I suppose that's true.” She finally stopped fidgeting with the sleeves and looked to the lighthouse, her countenance lifting as she gazed upon its light. “Well then. Let us begin our adventure!”

“The grand adventure of ascending a flight of stairs,” he said with mild sarcasm as he offered up his back. “Put your arms around my neck, just try not to strangle me. You know, yet.” For all his bravado, he still felt his heart clench with fear as her hands encircled him; he caught a glimpse of her fingernails and realized that they were thick and long as claws. Her shoulders came to rest above his as she crossed her arms over his bare chest, the cool air of her breath tickling over one ear. Bending his torso forward at a steep angle, Sollux let her weight settle across his back. She was surprisingly heavy, more like what he'd expect of a giant fish.

He fumbled with his hands for a moment, trying to figure out what to do with them. If she'd been a human woman he would have braced them under her thighs as she wrapped her legs around him, but that wouldn't work in this case. Hesitantly, he hooked them around her sleeve-clad arms. “Is this all right?”

“It is acceptable,” she replied briskly, like she couldn't care less as long as he got moving already. “Onward!”

Feeling rather like a pack mule, Sollux took a large step forward. Feferi's body shifted dangerously to one side. Alarmed, he stopped, let her get settled again, and took another, smaller step. Her weight shifted the other way, still too far for peace of mind. “This may be harder than I thought,” he muttered.

“Try again,” she commanded.

“If you insist.” Don't blame me if you bring us both to the ground. He stepped cautiously forward, but she remained perfectly centered. Eyebrows rising, he continued down the boardwalk with a pace that grew longer and stronger with each stride, yet she stayed firmly in place. “What did you do?”

“I am countering your graceless form of movement with my tail. As long as you maintain this simple pattern, we should have no problems.”

Now that she mentioned it, he could feel the lower half of her body undulating a bit. “Handy. Or is that tail-y?” he joked, amusement plain in his voice. “Guess I shouldn't try to dance, then, huh?”

“Humans dance?” she asked in startled amazement.

He snorted and burst into laughter.

* * *

By the time he neared the top, Sollux was panting for air and trembling a bit from exertion. The lighthouse's staircase was a narrow, steep spiral punctuated by the occasional window, which did little to illuminate the pitch darkness. He'd had to cautiously feel for each step, one hand trailing the wall for balance as his passenger seemed to grow steadily heavier and heavier. Feferi asked him questions as they ascended until his breath grew too short to answer, at which point she deigned to answer a few of his own.

“I wouldn't say that we have a noble class. We are all considered nobles of the sea. The only ones held in greater honor are the Empress, who rules us all, and the current heir, for the possibility that she may one day take the Empress's place. Not that such a thing has ever happened yet.”

“Why... not?” he wheezed.

“The Empress has the longest lifespan of us all. The only way to take her place is to kill her, and she's very experienced in not dying. Oh look! I think I can sea light!” Her arms tightened with excitement across his chest, and he peered up through his sweat-damp hair to confirm her claim with his own eyes. There was indeed a flickering, warm-toned glow peeking over the steps ahead. With a sigh of relief, he ascended the remaining distance with renewed strength, grateful as well for the ability to see where he was placing each foot. He knew when they had at last reached their goal, for she let out a soft gasp of amazement.

The lantern room wasn't very big, just large enough to give a person room to walk around the wooden contraption in the center. It was a platform that could be rotated by turning different wheels, on top of which rested an enormous metal reflector, a thick glass lens bigger than a man's head, and between them a bowl of burning oil. The room itself was little more than a roof held up by various columns, so large were the windows.

“It's amazing,” she breathed. “Oh, this is so exciting! Take me closer!” He shuffled up beside the fire, feeling its heat not so much wash over him as burn painfully at the cold. She unwrapped an arm and stretched it out toward the flickering flames.

“I wouldn't suggest touching it, Your Highness.”

She hesitated, then reached further anyway. Her hand shot back with a mighty flinch. “It stings! Like a jellyfish!”

“Of course it did. Fire is the power of destruction.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you suppose is in that bowl underneath the fire?”

He could feel her shifting, stretching to crane her neck. “It looks like water.”

“It's wh--” he stopped, wondering if it would make her angry to know the truth, then decided to say it anyway. “Whale fat oil. When they lit the beacon that summoned you, the bowl was likely full to the brim. How much is left now?”

“I'd say... half full?”

“Where do you think it went?”

“...the fire ate it?”

A smile twitched the corner of his lips. “I suppose you could say that. Fire isn't a creature, though, it's just a mindless force. Like the wind. It only exists while it's destroying something. In return, it gives us light to hold back the darkness, and heat to banish the cold and cook our food with.”

“Cook?”

“That's right! You'll have never had cooked food before!” He shook his head in amazement. “There are just so many things I could tell you. Do you, uh, do you... like... learning?”

“I would love herring all that you can teach me!”

He went tense with excitement, formality suddenly forgotten. “Wow, okay, yeah, can I, just, put you down? You can sit, right? Of course you can sit, you were sitting on that rock! Would you be okay with that?”

“I will be fine.”

“Great!” He carefully knelt down and let her roll off his back. She propped herself against the wooden platform and looked up at him studiously. He turned round to face her, eyes twinkling behind his colored glasses, only for them to widen in amazement and his mouth to sag open. “Oh.”

He had thought she was a vision of fantasy before by her mere outline in shadow and moonglow. That was nothing compared to actually seeing her for real, softly lit by the dancing firelight. Hair so dark it seemed the night itself had stowed away in it, skin as pale as a tragically drowned beauty. Eyes that seemed both soft with fascination and sharp with intelligent curiosity. What he'd thought might be pointed ears before were actually long, delicate fins protruding from the side of her face.

As the moments passed and he failed to move or speak, some of the eagerness faded from her expression. “Sollux? Are you... going to turn into a monster now?”

He jumped as if startled out of a waking dream. “Ah. No, Your Majesty, I think I can pull myself together.”

“Feferi.”

“Right. Fef-Fef-Fef-Feferi.” He shook his head in embarrassment for stuttering. As if I don't have enough trouble speaking properly already. “Where was I?”

“Teaching.”

He snapped his fingers and bumped one fist on top of the other. “Yes! Teaching. See, the thing is, I love technology. Everywhere my father and I travel, I learn all I can about everything new I come across! I just can't get enough! I can never talk about it with anyone else, though. My father... has other things on his mind. Everyone else is always too busy with their own day-to-day lives to care about how things work. The people I learn from always seem so surprised and pleased when I ask them questions. I'm starting to realize why.”

As he talked, Sollux paced back and forth, his long fingers tapping against his legs, the walls, each other, anything they came across with nervous energy. He stared at the floor, though his eyes were focused far away. “Oh man, I have so many more questions about you and your kind, but I guess it would be kind of pointless to ask them. Cause, you know. Anyway. This beacon here, isn't it just amazing?” He practically pounced on the device, such was the sudden shift in his focus. “I wanted to see it before, when they were lighting it, but they made me stay in the boat. Look at this lens!” He nudged the glass circle on its hinges, looking out to the sea and watching the path of the light frolic across the banks of fog. “The metal dish multiplies the amount of light the fire gives off, so that it shines brighter and farther, while this lens condenses it even further into a beam. These wheels here rotate the entire platform” he said as he gave one a spin, forcing the mermaid to quickly slide forward as her backrest moved. “Ah! Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“It's alright,” she giggled, sliding up to the edge of a window to watch the light's path as he manipulated the device. “I wonder if we could make use of this to bring light to the depths of the sea?”

“You could use reflectors to manipulate a light's path, I'm sure of it. You would just need to place each one carefully and keep them clean, is all.”

“Can I bring a fire down?”

“That wouldn't work, sad to say.”

“Why? We could take fuel for it...”

“The water would drown the fire, just as surely as it would drown me,” he explained. “I'm afraid most of the things I could show you from above the ocean must remain here. Water is a powerful force in its own right, you know.”

She gave a loud sigh, then looked up at him and smiled. He flushed a little under the beauty of it. “Tell me more. Tell me everything. What is a day in the life of a human like?”

He took a seat beside her at the window, cautiously in case she objected, then began paint her picture after picture with his words of the things he had seen, had experienced. If the pictures were awkward because of the way he spoke, or if the way he fidgeted and gestured wildly sometimes was distracting, she had the grace not to speak of it.

* * *

At some point the moon had set, which prompted a lesson about the stars and other heavenly objects. Later still they were plunged into darkness as the last of the whale fat ran out, which turned the subject to one of whaling, and how blubber was boiled down into oil, and the many things it was used for. When the first hint of the approaching dawn outlined the horizon, they listened to the chatter of birds, and spoke of animals that roamed the surface. Sollux's voice grew dry and scratchy, until he could barely speak for want of water. Feferi had been gone from the sea for too long as well, so as the sun began to brighten the landscape, she pulled herself up on his back again and he carried her, tired and shakily, back down the staircase.

Sollux watched her swim and splash through the water as he sat upon the edge of the pier, clutching his coat in his lap. It was still cold, but the warmth of the sun on his back felt glorious, and the way it glittered off the mermaid's tail as she arced out of the ocean like a dolphin was enchanting. With every increase in light, she only grows more beautiful. It hardly seems fair for a man's death to be so appealing.

He was startled from his reverie when she suddenly emerged at his feet, her hands cupped together to form a bowl. “Here! You said you were thirsty, right?”

“You would... serve me water?”

“It seems only fair. You've been more than kind.”

“I only did what you asked me to.”

“You did what I forgot to ask of you, too. I would likely have died if you left me up there, but you promised to bring me back down before we even began.”

His mouth sagged open. “It never even occurred to me.”

“I thought not. See? More than kind.” She bobbed higher in the water, stretching up her hands. “Drink!”

His mouth curled into a tired smile. “I'm afraid ocean water will do me no good, Feferi. Only saltwater creatures can drink that. It would cause me more harm than good.”

She blinked in surprise. “Then what do you drink?”

“Freshwater. Have you ever come to the surface of the ocean when it's raining?”

“Yes, many times. The water that falls from the sky tastes horrid, all bland and flat. Is that what you speak of?”

“Yup. It tastes flat to you because it has no salt. To me, though, it tastes wonderful, and ocean water tastes terrible.”

“How strange!” She let the water in her hands trickle away, then glanced at the sky. “Then what shall we do? It doesn't look like it will rain today.”

He turned his head to stare at the island behind him. “Water collects on land before it flows back into the sea. I could find some there. If there's any point to it, I mean.”

“Oh. Right.” She studied the long line of beach and forest, then glanced at him curiously. “Surely you don't want to die yet?”

“Of course not!”

“Good! I don't want to kill you yet. So let's go explore the surface!”

He chuckled and sighed. “I'll try to find the strength... just be warned, I've been up for a day and a night solid, now.”

“I sea. Well, I shall make shore not to take offense if you accidentally drop me.”

“Are you doing that on purpose?”

“What?”

“Those... aquatic puns. At first I thought I was just hearing things, but now...”

“What puns?”

“...never mind.”

“Pffft, of course I'm doing it on porpoise!” She giggled loudly with mischievous delight. “Honestly, I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to say anything!”

“You are such a scamp,” he laughed. “I mean... scampi.”

She clapped her hands in delight, grinning from fin to fin. “You're a fast learner!”

“Naturally.”

With far more joy than should be appropriate between a sea-monster and her dinner, they navigated the tricky path around the rocky crags until they reached the soft sand beyond. As Feferi tugged his jacket sleeves over her arms again, she stared at the tree-line, where the sand gradually petered away into soil and grass.

“Say,” she said rather softly. “Would you carry me over there and set me down on the... earth?”

He cocked his head in puzzlement. “Sure, if that's what you want. You'll get dirty, though.”

“That's alright.”

With a shrug, Sollux knelt down and let her slide onto his back once more. His knees trembled dangerously as he struggled to stand; he winced at a stab of pain from his exhausted muscles. He and his father may have done a lot of farm chores in exchange for places to sleep, but nothing along the lines of carrying the weight of a full-grown person around for any length of time. The sand sucked his feet down as he walked, making things even more difficult. His path across the beach veered erratically left and right, which meant that Feferi couldn't counterbalance with her tail as reliably, which meant that they nearly fell over several times. By the time the sand thinned out and was replaced by topsoil and tufts of sturdy grass, Sollux collapsed to one side, sending them both crashing to the ground, hard.

“Oh, shit, I'm so sorry!” he cried as he scrambled up to his knees, hovering over her anxiously, unsure of what to do. “I can't believe I—I meant the line about dropping you as a joke, I didn't think I'd really—are you hurt, you didn't, I don't know, lose any scales or anything, did you?” His voice grew higher and tighter with each word, his eyes losing focus and trying to roll up behind his lids. Shitshitshit I hurt a noble, I'm dead meat, my father's dead meat, my friends are all in danger, it's all my fault, you can't stand up to them, they're untouchable, we're doomed doomed doomed--

“Oh my cod, calm down!” she tried to shout, though it came out rather breathless. “I'm fine! See? No harm done.” She propped herself up on her hands, her tail flopping helplessly in the grass. “Didn't I already give you preemptive forgiveness anyway?”

“I didn't believe you,” he blurted out, then covered his mouth with one hand. Falling back onto the seat of his breeches, he drew his knees up and hugged them tight, his breath coming loud and frantic.

“Sollux? Are you well? You're shaking all over!”

He shook his head and pressed his forehead to his knees, trying to capture his breath in his lap and stop hyperventilating, trying to blank his mind. It wasn't working very well; a frenzy of images, fears, colors, sounds, even smells were racing through his brain in such cacophony that he couldn't even form any coherent thoughts.

Panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic --

* * *

Someone was singing the Sufferer's hymn. Whoever it was didn't know all the words, and got some of them wrong, but they had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.

“There was a man, lived long ago,
whose tongue stabbed like a spear.
He lived his days in suffering,
he lived his nights in fear.

La la la la, such strange ideas;
that every life is worth the same.
The nobles they of course despised him;
this man who dared make them feel shame.

Oh,
Think of the day,
it could be tomorrow!
When we school together
'stead of on each other's sorrow!

You say fighting back's impossible,
I tell you it isn't so!
You're the ones with reel power,
don't you know?

Some-something something, revolution,
and though he lost, it didn't fail.
For as he died in nets and screaming,
his anger spurred a mighty tail.

It travels now the oceans over,
on glubs of those who do believe
this golden future he envisioned
is something reel we can achieve.”

At some point his eyes managed to drift open, and the shifting shapes gradually sharpened into sunlit leaves dancing in the breeze, the soft brown of his jacket, and a dark-haired angel with pearly fangs peeking in and out of her mouth as she sang.

“Hey,” he rasped in greeting after she had finished. Feferi looked down in surprise, then smiled.

“Hey! How are you feeling?”

Ashamed. Horrified. Sore. Tired. Actually, he realized, not as tired as before. The sun appeared to have jumped into the sky; he must have slept for at least a couple hours. His throat was even more parched than before. “Thirsty.”

She looked apologetic. “I thought I would go find land-water while you slept, but...” She shrugged helplessly. “I couldn't get these legs to work.”

“That's fine,” he coughed. “It's dangerous, anyway.” I can all too easily imagine her petting a bright blue frog or walking straight off a cliff or... wait, what? “Legs?”

She grinned broadly. “Look! It really worked!” She made a sweeping motion with her hand, and his eyes followed it as he turned his head in the grass. Instead of the pinkish-purple tail she'd had before, a pair of delicate legs led up to the hem of her borrowed clothing.

Sollux sat up hastily, blinking back the dizziness. “What--! How--?” His mouthed worked uselessly, his eyes threatening to fall out of his head. “When did this happen?!”

“Shortly after you fell asleep. That's why I wanted you to set me down here.” She poked her finger in a patch of dark soil, staring curiously at it as it stuck to her claw. “There are old merfolk legends, from a time when the ocean rose up and conquered the surface world, only to change its mind and magnanimously give it back. Unfortunately, some of our kind were accidentally left behind and had no way to reach the water again. But because the land was humbled and grateful, it granted a touch of power to those who were floundering upon living soil, so that they could walk upon human legs until they reached the ocean once more. I had no idea if the legends were true, but it seems the power they spoke of still works!”

“That's... just...” He gawked at her new limbs, his expression constantly switching back and forth between amazement and skepticism. “I don't know whether to call this a miracle or an offense to reason,” he finally confessed. “Did it... did it hurt?”

“Not that I noticed. I wasn't really paying much attention when it happened, to be honest. I was trying to figure out what happened to you. For a while there I thought you were dying!”

A rich flush climbed across his face and he stared at his fidgeting hands. “Sorry. I, uh, had a panic attack. I get those sometimes.”

“Panic? Why?”

“You gotta understand,” he said as he started pulling up grass, one blade at a time, “the relationship between nobles and commoners is extremely one-sided for humans. We toil our lives away so we can give them most of what we earn as taxes, and in return they don't raze our villages to the ground. They're spoiled, arrogant and powerful, and they use all their resources to make sure they stay that way. They still despise the Sufferer, though they killed him long ago, for the way his name unites the people. They know they have to tread carefully around those of us who preach his story, for fear we'll become martyrs and incite the commoners to rebellion again. But if any of us slip up and give them a real excuse...” Sollux made a slicing motion across his neck. “And if they can get away with it, they'll take out anyone associated with us at the same time. My father and I have pretty much been dead men walking since the moment we were born; it's just a matter of how many ears we can whisper to before the ax drops.”

He glanced hesitantly up to meet her gaze. “So you can see why I might be prone to fits of anxiety, especially when there's nobility involved?”

Her eyes were wide and sympathetic. “Glub! I'm amazed at how brave and friendly you've been so far!”

He blinked, then quickly looked back down, his flush spreading even further. “It's just 'cause I'm used to it,” he grumbled.

She giggled at his reaction. “Are you embarrassed?”

“No. Shut up.” He promptly looked horrified. “Fuck, I mean--!”

She snorted with laughter. “You are just so finny! How could anyone possibly hate you? I don't think I like your human nobles very much.”

“Aren't you doing the same thing?”

Her mirth melted like snow in spring. “What do you mean?”

“Demanding human sacrifices in exchange for not sinking ships. You said yourself that all merfolk are 'nobles of the sea.' What does that mean, then, if not that all surface dwellers are beneath you? Uh, metaphorically speaking. Perhaps the reason I'm so accepting of my fate is because it hasn't changed in the slightest. I'm here to die at the hands of the nobility, just like I always knew I would.”

She sighed. “You know, I had a lot of time to think while you were sleeping.”

He opened his mouth to automatically apologize, then decided he shouldn't have to. He waited for her to continue instead.

“I've never really questioned why we think it's okay to eat humans and fish when it's forbidden for us to eat each other. Fish are animals, while we are people. If we eat humans, then they must be animals too. It went without saying.”

“Maybe someone should be doing some saying,” he muttered.

“That's exactly what I was just thinking about! It always struck me as odd that we still called you animals when you seem so much like us! You speak, you think, you build amazing vessels that ferry you between your giant cities; even if you are dangerous, and different, I could never understand what made you less. And now that I've had the chance to get to know you, I'm even more certain that our way of thinking is wrong. That what we're doing is wrong.”

“Well, you're the Empress-to-be. Change things.”

“I will!” she declared strongly, clenching her fists. “I'm going to do everything I can to convince Mother to stop the sacrifices. Or at least, demand something else! Surely there must be something of value that humans can offer in trade. Something that will survive under the ocean.”

Sollux felt a kind of hopeful elation stir his blood. Maybe... maybe I'm not going to die yet after all! Assuming I can come up with an answer to her question, that is. “Gold? Jewels?”

“Maybe. We do enjoy your craftsmanship,” she said as she admired her bangles. “But we already have so many of those, from sinking your ships. It would be better if it's something that gets used up, so we would always desire more. And something we can't take by force.”

Sollux brow furrowed as he tried to think of things that might fit that description. “Some kind of food that could be easily destroyed in case of attack? Or a medicine? But what wouldn't be ruined by water?” His eyes settled on a bee that was lazily buzzing across the grass.

Bees. Honey? True, honey dissolved in water, but that wouldn't necessarily a bad thing. It was stored in clay or glass jars, which could easily be broken, and if well sealed could conceivably be stored under the ocean as long as they didn't take it too deep. Then when the honey was desired, the merfolk could break the seals, let it dissolve, and... drink it? Breathe it? I wonder if it will still have the same medicinal properties if mixed in saltwater, far from air, or if it will just be a sugary treat?

“I might have idea,” he said as he climbed to his feet, watching the bee's path. “Do you merfolk like sweet things?”

“Who doesn't?”

“Right. Well.” He held out a hand. “Want to try out those legs of yours again?”

* * *

The clear water from a bubbling stream was absolutely heavenly. Sollux lifted handful after handful to his lips, drinking deeply as he closed his eyes in bliss. It's almost a shame to think that this water flows back into the ocean somewhere, to be contaminated with salt. Feferi took a few sips as well, made a sour face about it, and proceeded to splash it over her skin instead. She was wearing his boots as well as his coat now, for her newly formed feet were as tender and soft as an infant's. Sollux at least had a lifetime of calluses to protect his soles.

“Are we close now?”

“I think so. There are a lot of bees heading to and from that direction.” They were a ways into the forest now, well shaded from the heat of the sun. Feferi required frequent breaks as they walked, but she was getting better. She had started out clinging to him so closely that it was hard not to entertain errant thoughts, but now she only needed the support of one hand to help keep her balance. No matter how she tried, she couldn't stay upright on her own.

“Where do they go all the time? Hunting?”

“In a way. They're looking for flowers.” He plucked a small purple one from the riverbank and took a whiff. Pretty. He passed it over to her without thinking, then tried to control his flush when she accepted it tenderly and sniffed it as well, eyelashes fluttering softly closed. Cool your thoughts, boy. Back to science. “Uh... they collect nectar from the flowers, take it back to their hive, and turn it into honey to eat later. They produce more than they need, to make up for all the honey other creatures will inevitably take. Even then, they still try to defend it as best they can; they're stinging creatures, with venom that causes pain.”

Her eyes flashed up at his, wide with concern. “How will you get past them, then?”

He smiled roguishly. “I've learned a few tricks in my travels. Come on!” He leaped to his feet, then helped her to more gracefully do the same. “It probably won't be much farther.”

“I shore hope not,” she groaned with an exaggerated sigh, then grinned back. Following the sound of deep buzzing, the two of them worked their way around innumerable tree trunks and thick foliage, keeping a wary eye out for snakes and spiders. Occasionally Sollux had to draw his sword and try to cut their way through. The blade felt awkward in his hands, though it worked well enough.

“So, how hard to you think it's going to be to convince your Empress-mom to stop with the human-eating?” he asked as he hacked at a particularly stubborn bush.

“To be honest? Very. She's quite old and set in her ways.”

“Oh.” He mulled on that as he helped her over a fallen log. “Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll find honey addicting. Nothing like the promise of decadent luxuries to help bribe politics your way.”

She laughed, though it seemed a bit forced. “We can hope!”

“If that doesn't work, though, what are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do. The thing I will be required to do soon, anyway. Challenge her for the throne.”

“Didn't... didn't you say that would require killing her?”

“That is a thing that I said, yes.”

“I see.” He was silent for a moment. “Are you two very, ah, close?”

“I think our relationship would best be described as 'complicated.'”

“Oh boy. Dare I ask?”

“Mother has had many children over the years. Mother has killed many children over the years. She says I am the brightest and most beautiful one yet, and for that she feels pride and affection, but she still has no intention of surrendering the kingdom, or her life, even to me. I do love her and admire her tenacity, but I'm also--”

“...also what?”

“Afraid,” she said softly. “I don't want to die. But I have no hope of winning.”

Sollux stopped. Turned around. Stared at her.

“It's hard, you know,” she continued, her gaze direct and unwavering as she met his eyes. “Knowing that one day you'll have to challenge a person so powerful that you don't even stand a chance. It's hard and no one understands.”

She lifted her free hand and placed it firmly upon his bare chest, claws gently resting against the skin above his heart. “But you do.”

Sollux found that his pulse was suddenly pounding like a drum. He swallowed hard, his mind somehow both paralyzed and racing in a thousand different directions. Her touch felt like fire against his skin, and he feared his hand may have begun trembling within her own. She's just like me. Stalked by death. Doomed. Trying hard to accept her fate with dignity, yet still wishing things were different.

He wanted to hold her. Fuck, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He'd already agreed to give his life to her; suddenly he realized that he wasn't getting it back even if it was spared. Even if he was reunited with his father and resumed his old cause, he would always wonder what had become of the mermaid princess. He would always long to return to Whitecap Bay, to stare out across its waters and sing a hymn in hopes that she still lived, that he would see her again.

“Will your heart hurt for me, too, when I'm gone? Like you said it would for your father?”

Sollux struggled to work his throat. “It hurts for you already,” he finally managed to say. She looked so vulnerable at his words, he found that he could restrain himself no longer. He reached out and stroked his fingers across her cheek, trailing them lightly over her peculiar fins. They twitched under his touch and seemed to grow rosy with color. “I'll do whatever I can to help you. Anything at all.”

“Really?”

“Really. If this idea doesn't work, we'll find something else. If anything that I've learned over the years can give you an advantage in the fight for the throne, I'll teach it to you. If I can just... be of some use to you!” Fuck, what is it about this one noble that makes me want to kneel down and serve? “Even if only as a liaison between your people and mine...”

She squeezed his hand tighter, her expression troubled. “It's so strange. From the moment I first saw you, since I heard your song, I've been hunting for excuses to put off killing you, to stay with you a little longer. The thought of any of my sisters, or my mother, laying one claw on you fills me with...” Her face darkened, her own claws pressing painfully against his skin. “Fear? Fury? I don't understand.”

Jealousy? he wondered, thought he didn't say it. Possessiveness? It didn't seem like a bad thing, to be claimed by such an enchanting, if dangerous, creature. He could live with a fate like that. “It's okay. Understanding can come later. First, we need to make sure there is a later.”

She blinked slowly, dragging her thoughts back to the here and now. As she stared at his chest, she let out a surprised “Oh!” and withdrew her hand. Five little droplets of blood started to bead around his heart. “Glub! I'm so saury!”

He couldn't help but laugh a bit at her dismayed expression; even her fins seemed to droop down. “It's alright, I'll be fine! I can even put some honey on it and it'll be right as rain. It's good for healing, too, as long as it's exposed to air.”

“Thank glubness,” she said with a sigh of relief, then perked up. “That stuff just sounds more and more amazing. I'm getting rather excited to try it!”

“Well, it won't be much longer now. Hear how loud the sound of buzzing is getting? We must be pretty close.”

Still hand in hand, the two of them navigated around a few more trees and bushes, eyes and ears alert. The bees were flying some distance above their heads now, just below where the canopy grew thicker. A tree hive, then. Sollux hoped it wasn't inside a trunk; that would make it quite difficult to minimize the damage.

And then it was in sight, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good, it's just hanging from the branches. Pretty good size!” Thoroughly encircling a sturdy branch, the beehive had to be a couple feet long, its individual combs hanging like thick drapery. Its surface seemed to crawl, dark with the bodies of thousands of industrious bees. The tree itself was devoid of branches below that one, its trunk thicker than most of its brethren but still thin enough that he would be able to wrap his arms around it easily.

Feferi stared at the hive with wonderment that slowly dissolved into puzzlement. “How do you go up? Aren't humans stuck to the ground?”

“We may not have the freedom you have underwater, or the flight of birds, but we have our ways. But before I dare approach their home, I need to calm the bees. And for that, we're going to need to build a fire.”

“They find fire calming?”

“Not at all. But if they think a forest fire's coming to destroy their stores, they'll start feasting, and a fat bee is a complacent bee. A nice dirty fire with lots of smoke should fool their senses. I learned that trick from a honey farmer.” He began raking up dead leaves and sticks into a mound underneath the hive, while Feferi leaned against another tree and watched with curiosity. “Shame I don't have a pail to fill with this stuff. Maybe I can carry up a smoldering stick?” He found a small dead branch and stuck an end of that in the mound too. Satisfied, he straightened up and turned to Feferi. “Check the pockets on that jacket, my tinderbox should still be there.”

“Pockets?” She twisted back and forth, staring down at the foreign item that clad her form. “Tinderbox?”

“Here,” he said as he stepped tentatively forward, feeling shy all over again. He pointed to the discreet flap that rested at the curve of her waist. “This little pouch.”

“Oh, a pouch. Like seahorses!” She quickly figured out how to lift the flap and slip her hand inside, then pulled out a battered metal tin. “This?”

“Yup.”

She opened it up, revealing a small rock, a curved piece of metal, and some coarse cloth. “I've seen these before! From shipwrecks and whatnot. No one can figure out what they're for, so we just leave them.” She handed it over eagerly, obviously thrilled to finally learn the mystery.

“Well, prepare to learn the secret of humanity's greatest discovery.” he said with exaggerated showmanship. “How to start a fire!” She giggled as he helped her crouch down beside him in front of the mound of dead plant matter. Placing the tin on the ground between them, he first pulled out the chunk of stone and held it up for her to see. “This here is a shard of flint. There are a lot of hard rocks that can work for this, but flint is preferred because it keeps a sharp edge the longest.” Next he pulled out the flat loop of metal, sliding his fingers though it. “Now, this is a piece of firesteel. When exposed to air it rusts instantly, which creates heat. Our goal is to use the sharp piece of flint to chip off pieces of steel so small that they just burn up in their own heat. A spark of fire, in other words.” Finally, he pulled the fibrous fabric from the tin and tore off a small piece. “This charcloth will serve as my tinder, but really anything that catches fire easily will do. Like... dried up grass.”

Placing the scrap on top of the flint and gripping them tightly, he struck them against the ring of steel in his other hand. A few pinpricks of light flickered in the air as they flew away, and Feferi jumped a little, her eyes wide with amazement. Sollux tried a few more times, until one of the sparks caught on the charcloth and it practically melted away with a sizzling red glow.

“You did it!”

“Now we just need to get the rest of this fuel burning,” Sollux replied as he nestled the burning cloth into the pile of debris. “To fan the flames, as the expression goes.” He leaned over and blew lightly on the embers, causing them to flare up brighter and hotter. “A harsh wind will blow the fire out, but a gentle one will make it spread.”

He should have expected it, really, but for some reason he was completely caught by surprise when Feferi bent closer. For a moment all he could do was stare at her gently pursed lips as she repeated his example. In fact it took him a while to realize that the fire had begun in earnest; he could have sworn that the sudden heat was merely coming off his own face. To make matters worse, in the excitement of her success she turned to face him, and then she froze and stared back. From very, very close.

I wonder if merfolk kiss.

If the way her eyes were staring at his own mouth was any indication, they probably did.

Isn't there some legend about mermaid kisses?

If there was, he couldn't recall it. He couldn't think of anything at all, to be honest. Just how much he really, really wanted to close the distance and kiss the girl.

Do it. Kiss that girl this instant!

She was blushing as much as he was now, her eyes dilating into wide, inky black depths that seemed to pull him in. Neither of them moved, yet the desire to do so crackled between them like electricity. Or maybe that was the fire crackling. Whatever the case, there was so much tension in the air that something was bound to snap. Sollux's nerves were already stretched as tight as they could go.

Kiss her. Or don't, just DO SOMETHING!

A bee chose that moment to come buzz right by their ears. They both jumped as if stung, leaping back and then awkwardly looking away. The interfering insect circled the growing fire a few times before zooming up to its hive, which was already being buffeted by puffs of rising smoke. Sollux glared at the swarm.

Stupid bees, spoiling a perfect moment.

What?! No it wasn't, that was an incredibly embarrassing moment! What the fuck were you doing, waiting for the sun to set? Were you just going to sit there and stare like an idiot until she came to her senses?

Oh, for suffering's sake, what are these thoughts? You shouldn't put moves on her of any sort! You're not just different classes, you're different species! She's the most beautiful gem of the ocean and you're a yellow-blooded chicken! She deserves a hundred times better than a loser like you. Go fuck yourself and the paddle-boat you sailed in on.

No no no, piss off, Inevitable Mood Swing. You are not going to rear your ugly head and drag everyone around you into the mud. Especially not her. Pull yourself together! Get back to what you were doing. Stop thinking and stewing and percolating in your own—shit, it's too late, isn't it. You are sitting here and trying to give yourself a pep talk and utterly failing. It's official. You are the most pathetic heap of dung that ever fell out of a horse's ass. Bar. None.

“Sollux?”

“Gimme a sec, I'm not done hammering myself into the ground yet.”

He thought for sure that turn of phrase would go over her head. He was wrong. Her puzzled gaze burned against his back for a brief moment, then she started making that gurgle-snickering noise again. When he hunched his shoulders, it turned into giggling.

“I'm so glad you find this funny,” he growled, lisping so bad that he spat horribly on the 's's. She squealed with laughter, a sound that this time only grated on his nerves. He glared at her from over his two-toned glasses, forehead wrinkled into a scowl. “Would you like me to put on a stupid hat with bells as well? Play the fool for the whole underwater court, perhaps? You can call in all your sisters to mock the stupid human, maybe they'll put me out of my misery by tearing me into a thousand bloody pieces after all. Holy shit, you know what? That sounds like an excellent idea, let's forget this honey crap that doesn't have a prayer of working anyway and just serve me up with a side of seaweed, I'm sure you fucking sea nobles will love it.”

She stopped laughing. “Wow, that was uncalled for! I already figured out that you change moods at the flick of a tail, but holy mackerel, you're kind of an anal fin!”

An icy claw of fear raked across his heart as Sollux instantly regretted letting his tongue run away with him.

“Pfffft, I'm joking! I think it's adorable.”

What. “What.”

“You're like a prickly puffer fish, all collapsing in on yourself and then blowing up. It's cute!”

“It's cute.”

“Hehehe! It is, I promise!” She slid closer, tilting her head sideways and looking up at him with a fetching smile. “I like you better this way, I think.”

“Being an asshole?”

“Being yourself. I know my sense of humor is rather... cutting, so it's nice to know you can fight back. And you're so open and happy when you're teaching me, but then you get all stiff and proper when you stop. I wish you wouldn't worry so much about status. Don't you preach the Sufferer's Legacy? That we should be equal?”

“I suck as a preacher.”

“Are you sure?” Something about her expression, all sly and tender and knowing, made him squirm.

“Um... let's get on with what we were up to, shall we? The bees should be plenty smoked by now.” He stood up so fast his vision almost went dark, forcing him to stoop back down and stir the fire as a cover. The end of the stick was glowing red and smoking nicely, which made him think of something else. Drawing the pirate sword again, he placed its length in the fire as well. “A hot blade should cut through that hive like butter,” he mumbled his explanation.

“Butter?”

“It's... never mind. I'll tell you later.” He stared up at the tree, surveying it with renewed determination. No branches until the top. Reasonably narrow, with a gentle taper. Fairly smooth bark. Yeah, he could do this. “Like climbing the maypole when I was a kid,” he said with a faint smirk. He checked the sword; hot to the touch, but not burning. Good. He slid it back in its metal scabbard and placed the cool end of the smoldering stick in his mouth. He approached the tree trunk and gripped its sides firmly in his palms.

“Here goes nothing,” he said around the stick, which pretty much rendered the statement unintelligible.

With a little hop, his bare feet wrapped around the trunk as well, and then he was off, shinnying up the tree like an inchworm, as fast as he could go. He thought he could hear Feferi give a little gasp of astonishment, but he couldn't be sure over the sound of his own exertions. The scabbard threatened to tangle between his legs with each lunge, but mercifully stayed out of his way. Adrenaline surged through his veins; he was a lot heavier now than he was as a kid, and he hadn't used these muscles in a while. He was definitely going to be sore when this was over.

He reached the canopy with gratifying quickness all the same, grabbing at branches and pulling himself over the correct one with far less grace. He wiped the sweat off his brow and let his muscles relax while he took a breather. He glanced down at the ground below, where Feferi still sat beside the fire.

“That was amazing!” she cheered. Sollux found himself grinning and gave her a playful salute before turning his attention to the swarm of bees. They buzzed contentedly about, not paying him much attention now that his sudden burst of speed had stopped. Time to keep his movements slow and gentle if he wanted to avoid raising their ire. Steeling his nerves, he began to slide across the branch towards them.

A waft of smoke curled around his head, stinging his eyes a bit. Sparing one hand to take the stick from his mouth, he waved it slowly in front of him, letting it lead the way with a trail of more smoke. The branch bowed a little as he got further from the trunk, and he said a silent prayer that the bees had chosen wisely when they built here. Honey weighed a lot, and there was still plenty of room for the hive to expand. He decided to lay out flat across the branch anyway, just in case.

The bees began to fly around him once he got close enough to touch the hive. They weren't attacking yet, just checking him out curiously. It was still hard not to flinch when they started crawling across the bare skin of his back. I really hope they don't get mad. I doubt my breeches are going to protect me much. They seemed like good-natured bees, though, not as aggressive as some. He eyed the rows of beeswax critically, trying to decide where to cut. The row on the end was small and nearly white, obviously freshly built and barely touched. The next two were bigger and bigger, no doubt much better stocked.

The honey cells will be at the top, he reminded himself as he stuck the stick back in his mouth. But I mustn't cut out so much that the entire row falls. He drew his sword carefully, testing it with his fingers. Not as hot as before, but still quite warm. With a deep, calming breath, he lifted his arm high, pointed the sword down, and began a precise cut into the third row. The heated blade softened the wax and sank into it easily.

The bees didn't much care for that. There were more of them flying now, increasing the droning hum. Sollux tried to pull the sword out even more slowly than before. The tip of the blade glistened with honey, so at least he knew he'd chosen wisely. Changing the sword's angle, he pressed it into the third row again, this time horizontally and from the side. He knew he'd gone deep enough when twisting the blade made a piece of honeycomb wiggle freely. He pulled the sword out a little bit. The piece of comb followed, sitting on top of it.

Okay, now what? It'll fall off as soon as it clears the hive. The answer came to him promptly; stab the stick through it while it was only halfway out. Gripping the branch tightly with his legs and trying to stay balanced, Sollux hesitantly let go with his other hand and reached for his mouth. With one hand holding the sword and the other gripping the smoking stick, he carefully speared the square of comb as he removed it from the bee's hive. He nudged it halfway down the stick before placing it back between his teeth, then began his cautious retreat, sliding backwards down the branch. The bees seemed to watch him go, considering whether such a small-scale thief should be punished.

It's okay... just go back to your business, pay me no mind. You can repair a hole that size, no problem. Easy guys. Easy. The bees that had been crawling over his skin slowly lost interest and went back to the hive. By the time he bumped into the trunk again, they had apparently decided to ignore him entirely. Success!

Some of the tension went out of his shoulders as he sagged against the tree. With a glance down to make sure he was well clear of Feferi, he let the honey-sticky sword fall to the ground. He didn't know a lot about swords, but he knew better than to put a dirty one back it its scabbard. It landed handle-first and flopped into the grass. Sliding his arms and legs back around the trunk, he made short work of slipping back down, until at last both feet were firmly on solid ground once more. He took the stick from his mouth, walked over to Feferi's side, and collapsed in a heap of post-exertion shakes.

“Check that out,” he said with pride as he slid the honeycomb off and tossed the stick back into the fire. “Straight from the source, and not a single sting. I do out-do myself, sometimes.”

“I suspect you do it a lot, actually!” she said with a smile that made his innards feel just as wobbly as the rest of him. “Can I try it now? Can I can I can I??”

“Absolutely.” He handed the sticky square over for her inspection. “Just bite off a piece and chew it until the honey's gone. I wouldn't recommend eating the wax, though. It's not bad for you, it's just... wax.” She took it delicately by the tips of her fingers and lifted it below her nose, inhaling its fragrance before opening her mouth. The sight of her fangs suddenly bared and plunging into the comb was rather unsettling. The honey that welled up like blood didn't much help. But the way her face lit up like dawn on the ocean made it all worth it.

“IT'S. SO. SWEET!”

He had to chuckle. “That it is. Honey tastes fantastic on a lot of foods. I should take you to a village sometime, let you taste some some proper surface-folk cooking. You've probably never had a hot meal in your life.”

“Mmmm, sounds exciting. It's a date!”

He went stock still for a second, caught off guard. I... did just ask her on a date, didn't I? I didn't even put my foot in my mouth or anything. What's wrong with me?

“Are you going to have some?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts before they could spiral out of control.

“Ah, sure.” The comb passed hands again and he took a bite, enjoying the way the syrupy treat flooded his tongue. Some of it dripped down his chin; he wiped it off with a finger and dabbed it over the scabs on his chest instead. Feferi seemed puzzled by the residue on her fingers, pressing them together and growing agitated by the sensation.

“My fingers feel funny.”

“They're sticky now. Try licking them.”

She pulled the crushed piece of wax out of her mouth, sparing a moment to examine it before dropping it to the ground and lapping the honey residue off her fingers. Sollux quickly looked away, trying to banish any lewd thoughts from his mind.

“They're still kind of sticky,” she said with a pout when she was done.

“Well, we can wash off at that stream we passed on the way. I need another drink, anyway.” He licked his free hand clean and looked around for his tinderbox, but it was gone. Feferi had already put it away. That just left him the dropped sword, then, and a fire to put out. Except that he was still barefooted...

“Wanna stomp out the fire?” he asked with a grin, giving her an example of a stomp from the safety of the grass.

“Won't it sting me?”

“It's a small one, and my boots will protect your feet. Come on, it'll be fun!”

“O-okay!” She took his hand and stood up, and he couldn't help but think that she was becoming more graceful on her human feet already. At least until she made her first stomping attempt, which sent her falling backwards into his chest so hard he nearly fell over.

“Pfffft, sorry about that! Let me try that again!” She lifted her booted foot carefully, extended it over the fire, and kicked downward. This resulted in her careening into his gut a second time.

“How about if you try it from here?” he asked with a wince.

She laughed and took him up on the offer. Leaning heavily on him for support, she trampled the life out of the fire with all the glee of a child splashing the water out of a puddle. Smoke puffed up in unhappy billows until all that remained was a pile of ashes.

“Hehehe. That was fun!”

Together they collected his sword, now covered in dirt and leaves as well as honey. Sollux made a face, but Feferi didn't seem bothered by it. Probably because she's not the one who's going to have to clean it. She took it upon herself to clear their return path through the foliage, slicing and hacking with gusto. She was disturbingly good at it.

“Do merfolk use weapons?”

“Not slicing ones like these; their power would be slowed underwater. We make use of stabbing weapons instead. I have a fine double-ended trident, myself.” She illustrated with a strong thrust of his sword at nothing, a blow with enough power behind it she could have easily run a man through. “This is certainly different. I think it would take me a bit longer to get used to it.”

“You're already doing better than me,” he confessed begrudgingly. “Not much call for weapon finesse as a preacher.”

“You don't need such a skill. Your brain is already keener than any blade.”

As he struggled to fight down the blush that that statement incurred, they passed a plant with enormous leaves, which gave him an idea. Plucking one off its stem, he wrapped the honeycomb up tightly inside its waxy surface. “That ought to help keep it from getting dirty or dripping everywhere. A far cry from a jar, but better than nothing.”

“So resourceful,” she said in that appraising, pleased tone again. Sollux felt his ears burn.

“Shut it.”

“Hehehehe!”

They knelt down at the stream once they reached it, washing their hands and faces in its clear waters. The sound of its gentle flow seemed even more soothing than before. Sollux dipped the sword in and carefully rubbed off all the debris and honey, though he felt a bit guilty about it. Water and metal weren't meant to mix, but he had nothing else. Feferi decided to investigate if the leaf-packaged honeycomb would fit in his other coat pocket. It did.

“So now all that remains is to try the honey out in the ocean, right?” she asked as she smoothed the leather flap down over the opening.

“Yup. Unless you think you can convince your kind to surface when they dine.”

“Hmmm. Probably not.”

“Can't say I blame them. I wouldn't want to dine under water, either. But then, I can't breathe down there.” Testing the sword's surface again, he decided it was clean enough and began wiping the excess water off across his breeches.

She opened her mouth, shut it, then stared at her lap pensively. “Um. I could... I could change that.”

He turned to look at her, cocking his head. “Change what?” A soft sound like music seemed to drift up from the babbling brook.

She fidgeted with a button. “You know how I gained legs to walk on the surface? The ocean can grant me the power to do something similar for you. I can... change you.”

“Change me?” he repeated, sheathing the sword with a loud click. It probably came across more harshly than he intended, judging by the way she flinched. The musical sound grew louder, a pretty melody that tickled his ears like the wind.

“It wouldn't be permanent, maybe! I think you would still change back when you went on land, like I will when I return to the ocean. But it's an option! You could... come with me. If you want.”

Sollux stared at her, his entire face seeming to stretch in shock as comprehension set in. Suddenly, he remembered what that legend was that he couldn't recall before.

A mermaid's kiss can save a man from drowning.

What did that mean, if not to grant the power to breathe underwater, to change his body in such drastic ways that he could survive the intense pressure and frigid cold of the ocean floor? He wondered if there was a story that went with that legend, like the one about merfolk walking on land.

He wondered if it was a romance.

Sollux opened his mouth to speak, but at that point the strange music that filled the air had grown so loud he could barely hear his own voice. “What is that sound?” he asked instead, or rather shouted, pain beginning to throb at his temples.

Feferi blinked, as if she hadn't even noticed it until he pointed it out. She stared at the stream of water they sat beside, listening intently. Her eyes widened in alarm.

Sollux climbed to his feet, though he didn't know why he was doing so. His mind felt fuzzy.

“Mother, NO!!”

* * *

Where is my daughter? The ocean cannot find her.

What have you done with her?

Have you captured her?

I will suffer no human to lay chains on our kind.

You cannot escape my wrath. My voice will travel the oceans, the rivers, the streams, until it reaches your ears.

Come.

Sollux's feet were wet. It was hard to walk on the slippery stones in the stream.

Come to the ocean.

“---lux!”

Someone was crying out a word that seemed very familiar to him.

Come to the water's embrace.

The stream would lead him to the ocean. He was certain of it. Already the water was past his ankles.

“No! M----- wait! I'm just fi--! You don't --”

A frantic voice kept drifting in and out of clarity. There was a large splash as something fell into the water beside him. The Something took his hand, pulling and hanging on him at the same time. It was a person, he recalled. The person seemed to have far more trouble walking on the moss-covered rocks than he did.

“W--- up! Sol---!”

My daughter still lives. How fortunate. But not for you.

COME!

The water gradually rose up to his knees. Small stones gave way silt as the flow of water decreased in speed. It was much easier to walk now. Aside from the constant resistance from the person clinging to his arm, he was making great headway. The stream was opening wider and wider. He could smell salt on the breeze.

When the water reached his hips, he was briefly puzzled by the sight of his boots floating ahead of him. The painful grip on his arm finally vanished. He felt vaguely pleased. Now he could better do as the Empress's siren song commanded.

The green canopy was finally giving way to brilliant sun and the grassy shore to a sandy one. The ocean stretched out before him, as far as the eye could see. All he had to do was keep walking. The water was at his waist, now, and climbing with each step.

Come to the vast ocean... and drown.

A second melody began to emerge, creating a harsh dissonance with the first.

“--was a man-- --long ago-- --days in suffering--”

He hesitated. There was something about that song. It gave him pause, even when he could barely hear it. Like its words were ingrained in his soul, filling in the blanks.

You cannot resist. You are powerless. Worthless.

He took another step.

“--strange ideas-- --every life-- --worth the same--”

He stopped. Contradictions never failed to grab his attention.

“--nobles-- --feel shame--”

Do not resist. You will obey. You will submit.

“Think of the day! --school together-- --impossible-- --isn't-- --reel power--”

Was that a fish pun? He felt his head turn, as if of its own will, trying to find the source of the second song.

“--revolution-- --didn't fail-- --died in nets and screaming-- --spurred a mighty tail.”

Those weren't the right words. Whoever was singing was doing it wrong. His lips parted slightly, trying to mouth the correct lyrics, trying to join the song.

“It travels now the oceans--” world “--over, on glubs--” tongues “--of those who do believe--”

It was faint, but somehow Sollux found his voice again. It joined in, a mere breath under an orchestra, yet he could almost feel someone's joy at the sound.

“This golden future he envisioned
is something real we can achieve.”

He blinked. For the first time, he seemed to realize that he was standing right in the middle of an estuary. It wasn't as rocky here as it was on the side of the island the lighthouse perched on; there was little to hinder his walk straight into the ocean. More important than anything, though, was the sight of Feferi floating in the water before him; wide eyes starting to fill with hope, the fins of her tail peaking in and out of view as she struggled to stay somewhat upright in the relatively shallow water.

“Fef,” he whispered, the first hint of a smile lifting his features.

HUMAN, YOU WILL DIE. ACCEPT YOUR FATE!

He shuddered, all his senses closing off as he took another step forward.

* * *

Except for the sense of pain, it seemed. Suddenly, Sollux was more awake and alert than he'd ever been, adrenaline electrifying his veins. Blood was expanding across the water like a vivid flower bloom. He tilted his head shakily down. His sword was no longer sheathed in its scabbard. It was sheathed in his chest.

For a moment, Sollux thought he'd done the deed himself. But it wasn't his hand on the blade's handle. He looked back up at Feferi, the question plain in his eyes.

“I had to wake you. I had to make her stop,” she said in a pleading voice. At her words, he realized that he could no longer hear the compelling sound of the Empress's song, nor any music at all. “She knows all that goes on in the ocean. She can sense that your blood has been spilt. She knows I did it. She'll leave your fate in my hands, now.”

He wanted to say something. To tell her it was okay. But when he opened his mouth, all that came out was blood. So he reached out and trailed a shaky hand over the fins on her face. She looked so sad, like she was about to cry.

“This is going to hurt again,” she whispered as she braced a hand against his shoulder. With a strong yank, the sword came out in a spray of red that completely engulfed his vision.

* * *

He awoke yet again, this time floating on his back. The dead-man's float, he recalled. He could hear the sound of a woman weeping.

Have I finally died? he asked himself as he opened his eyes. Surely that wasn't the case; he was still coated in blood, as was the angel crying over his wound. Yet the pain was gone, and he could feel his strength returning with every heartbeat. He began to tense, which promptly made him sink under the water. A pair of arms quickly supported him from beneath his shoulders and legs, and he had to smile at the thought. Now it is she who holds me up, instead of the other way around.

“What--” cough “--happened?”

“I healed you.”

“A wound like that? How?”

“My tears. Another gift granted to my kind by the ocean.”

After a long pause, he finally gave a hoarse chuckle. “Will you mermaids never cease to offend reason?”

She laughed a little before her expression turned serious again. Sollux gazed upon her as the reflection of light on the water danced upon her face; splattered with his own blood, framed by the fins of a fish, possessed of the fangs of a beast, and absolutely beautiful in every way.

“So now what?” he asked softly.

“Now,” she said as they drifted further away from shore, “you have a choice. Do you... still want anything to do with me? And if you do, would you prefer to stay on the surface or come live under the ocean?”

Sollux thought about it, his thoughts pleasantly hazy. Not like the effect of the Empress's song, but because he felt so content, floating on the water in the warmth of the sun. “Couldn't you have saved me from your mother just by granting me a kiss before I drowned?”

“I could have. But you didn't get the chance to answer me when I brought it up before.”

“I wouldn't have been mad.”

“I know.”

“I would have gladly gone with you if it came to that.”

“I know.”

“Then why break the spell the hard way? Why stab me if you knew you'd feel bad about it?”

“Because,” she said emphatically, her eyes staring straight into his soul, “you and I, we're always dangling on fate's hook. I knew you'd accept whatever choice I made for you, but I don't want you to come with me for a reason like that! If you're to give up your old life to share in mine, I'd like to think it was because you chose to!”

Oh.

Heaven and earth seemed to spin wildly around him, and when they stopped the world was different and everything made sense. Sollux straightened up, treading water beside her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She was still wearing his coat, even now; he supposed he would soon have to get used to seeing her without it.

“I want to be with you. That is my choice.”

The smile that slowly lit up her face was more radiant than every star in the sky, including the sun. With a kick of her tail, she surged up and kissed him, her arms holding him tightly, possessively, delightedly. Her lips were still sweet with honey, her claws gentle even as they dug in and dragged him under. His lungs did not burn, and as the light faded into darkness and the water grew cold and heavy, he could feel himself changing, becoming something new and different.

The vastness of the ocean kingdom stretched out before them, a menagerie of merfolk coming out of hiding to see this new curiosity. The Empress was not among them, though he knew he'd butt heads with her soon enough. Perhaps she would accept his offering of honeycomb, if any of it survived the trip. If not, well... it made no difference. Her days were numbered, if he had any say in the matter.

And he had a lot of things to say. And teach. And share. And preach.

With fearless pride, the woman he loved presented him to the nobles of the sea.

Hand in hand. Side by side.