Beneath The Sea [Percabeth AU]

Prologue - PERCY

A trail of bubbles escaped Percy's mouth as he talked. "Father, why must I fall in love?" The bubbles shot up to the ceiling where they sat there, unmoving.

Poseidon frowned at his son. "What do you mean? Falling in love is an amazing thing."

"No, I mean, why do I have to find a partner to spend the rest of my life with before I turn eighteen? I'm probably not going to become King anyway, I've got no chance with my brothers standing in the way." Percy sighed and stretched out on his throne. Beside him were several empty thrones, while two much larger ones were on the other side of the room. King Poseidon's was the only other one that was occupied.

"My son, it's a tradition which has been passed through generations. A merman born to the royal family must fall in love before his eighteenth birthday. Mermaids, however, will not take throne but live with their partner in the higher end of the kingdom." Poseidon explained. His tone made it sound like his explanation was the most obvious thing ever.

"But why can't I just stay single forever?" Percy questioned. "Why the pressure for me to fall in love?"

Poseidon sighed. "One day you'll realise how important it is to make the right choices and how important it is to fall in love. It's easier when you're younger, as partners are for life. You cannot choose one girl, break up with her and move on to the next. No, Percy. It does not work like that."

"Okay, thanks dad." Though Percy was still frustrated by his father's answer, he got up from his seat and swam out of the throne room.

Percy's tail was sleek and the scales shone sea green. The colour was the exact same as his eyes, and most mermen had tails like that, but for mermaids they weren't always based on eye colour - some were pink and purple while others bright green and dark blue. Skin tone was a big factor as well. Mer-people with lighter skin tended to have brighter, more vibrant tails while the dark-skinned mer-people ranged from natural colours like yellow or red to sometimes extremely beautiful golds and silvers.

As Percy swam down the main street, he watched the other mer-people go by. A group of mermaids stood giggling outside the large amphitheatre while mermen tried to flirt with them.

But up above Percy, the waves beat down on the surface of the sea. A storm was brewing. Mer-people usually weren't bothered by storms unless a shipwreck occurred and so they only glanced up once then went back to what they were doing.

Beneath the sea, the mer-people were calm. Above the waves, however, a massive storm was brewing.