Falling for a God

Prologue

~Namor~

Never in my life have I ever regretted anything until I met the eyes of a raging and desolated princess. She had no one else in this world besides her mother, and I took that away from her. As a man, I wished I wouldn't have taken the queen's life, but as a king, I wouldn't have done it differently. I lived without being aware of time, without caring whether fifty or a hundred years passed by, but after she and I formed an alliance, my days went by agonizingly slow. There was nothing else in my mind except nightmares of that scene playing over and over; her weeping which shred a thousand hearts, and her mercy which broke mine.

Not including a few diplomatic instances, the princess and I didn't talk much. We had our moments of weakness, of vulnerability; moments in which we confronted each other, but as time went by we simply grew further apart.

Six years after the queen's death, Wakanda and Talokan grew restless about recent occurrences. Shuri and I were forced to collaborate, stick together as a team, and work things through, but she was difficult to deal with. Her mind analyzed every step ahead of me as if our situation was a mere equation. The tension I felt made me take a bit of distance between my people and I.

"Are you listening?"

Namora asked, sitting next to me for who knows how long. Painting had kept me sane and away from darkness during all these years. My murals were great medicine.

"I'm listening."

"You're not. K'uk'ulkan, your people need you. We need you."

She took my paintbrush and conch away from me, then set it to her side. Very adamant as usual.

"I will visit more often."

"That's not what I meant. You don't look well."

"I feel stronger than ever."

"Is your heart and mind strong?"

My silence seemed to have given her the answer she had more than expected. I glanced back at her; stoic as always, but her eyes showed worry. I placed my forehead against hers, finding comfort in our closeness. I have no idea what I would do without her, without my compass and guide.

"You're half a human. I believe some fresh air would do you some good."

Although my humanity is something I had pushed back during most of my life, maybe it was now time to take a break from work, from everything. I entered the waters whilst Namora simply stared at me from her spot.

"Don't do anything foolish."

She warned, narrowing her eyes at me as I disappeared.

I swam closer to the beach, searching for one of my secret spots which has never been visited by anyone else. As I swam closer, I heard a song. A melody that drew me closer to its source.

A melody that expressed in its fullness just how dreadful I felt.

I looked into the distance and saw a cruise ship. As I swam closer, the song got louder. It was like a magnet that wouldn't let me escape. I wondered who was playing that song, and if perhaps they were feeling the same way I did.