The room was tense and quiet. Daddy looked furious, Mum looked worried and Diego looked like he felt sorry for me.
"Diego, please leave." Daddy said with his arms folded and eyes still directed on me.
"Yes Sir." He nodded and hurried away. A minute passed and I sat down slowly and tried to make myself appear as small as possible. My pale pink hair fell around my face offering more cover to hide behind.
"Who made you do this to your hair?"
"It was me."
"Atlas!" Daddy boomed making me jump. "Enough with the lying young man, that in your hair is the work of humans and by God you wouldn't set foot on human territory so tell me who did it!" He yelled.
"M-Me an-and Lily did." I whispered.
"And I expect she mixed with the humans to trade for the poison that turned your hair pink?!" He growled. "Well I'll be going round to talk to her parents this evening. She has only been around you for a few hours," He sighed. "I think you two are going to need a break from being friends."
"What?!" I cried looking up at him.
"Caspian, you can't start deciding who Atlas is and isn't friends with." My Mum said walking over to him and uncleaning his fist. "I love him as much as you and I hate to see Atlas get into trouble but he is a good boy. He's only ever made us proud." Mum walked over to me and cuddled me into his chest. "He's our youngest baby and as much as you want to protect him from everything in the ocean and getting into trouble," My mum leaned back and smiled at me. "You can't do everything for them."
"Jonah," My Dad sighed walking over to his mate and nuzzling his hair. "You always bring reason to everything. And that's what I love about you." My parents started kissing and I took that as my cue to get out of there so I whizzed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Diego's room.
I opened the door and walked in and flopped down on the bed. "Does it look bad?"
"Honest opinion?"
"Yes." I hissed glaring at him.
"Whoa Atlas calm down." I rolled my eyes and stayed face down on the bed. "It doesn't look bad, bad but it looked better before."
I tugged on my stupid pink hair and started to tear up.
"Atlas, don't cry. I'll help you wash it out, just don't cry." Diego pleaded patting my back awkwardly to try and comfort me. "Come on; let's try to wash it out."
"I wasn't crying." I mumbled following him into his bathroom.
"Right, errm," Diego looked around the room and went to the cupboard and pulled out some bottles of shampoo. "We'll try all of them and see what happens."
"Okay." I sighed kneeling on one of the steps up into the bath and I dunked my hair in the water. Diego squeezed out a dollop of shampoo into my palm and I got to work massaging it into my scalp to try and rid the colour whilst Diego worked on the ends of my hair.
"I think its working! Some of the pink stuff is coming out." He said after a few minutes.
"Really?!" I asked and looked at my soapy hands to see the white foam had a slight pink tint to it.
"Keep scrubbing, it may not all come out but it might dull the colour." We kept at my hair until my neck, hands and arms hurt and then Diego told me to keep still and put my head over the bath so he could rinse it out.
"Oww! Stop, there's soap in my eyes." I whined hitting Diego away from me.
"Atlas just let me do this stop being a baby."
"I'm not!" I huffed and kept struggling. "Just let me get it out of my eyes, it burning."
"Fine." Diego handed me a towel and I cleared my eyes. A thought popped into my head and I smirked.
"Thanks." I said holding out the towel for him to take. Diego stepped closer to grab the towel and at the same time I through my head back and soaked him with water from my hair.
"Atlas!!"
I laughed and laughed thinking it was hilarious to see Diego sopping wet with bubbles covering him, however he didn't.
"Oh lighten up!" I grinned cupping water in my palm and splashing him with it. Diego lunged for me with a smile on his face but I was quick and ran around the other side of the bath. Diego leapt up the steps put one foot in the bath and jumped out on the other side leaving a big puddle of water on the floor. We chased each other around the bathroom running in and out of the bath splashing water at each other until we were both soaked, and so was the bathroom. I jumped into the bath and used both my hands to soak Diego with my attempt at making a tidal wave. We were both laughing as he jumped into the bath making a huge splash. I climbed out and went to run around the bath but I lost my footing on a patch of water and crashed into the glass cupboard sending it down onto the floor as the glass smashed and scattered everywhere. I'd only managed to roll out of the way of it in time but I could feel sore patches over the backs of my legs from where shards of glass had cut into me. It didn't hurt too badly and the cabinet mainly smashed into large chunks of glass.
I looked up and made eye contact with Diego who had his mouth open and was staring at horror of the glass and at me.
"Are you okay?" He gasped standing up.
I nodded. "Do you think they heard?"
"I can hear them coming up here now."
I swallowed and looked around at the mess regretfully. The door was flung open a second later and Daddy and Amias looked around in shock.
"Oh my God, Atlas, don't move." Daddy said.
"I'm not hurt badly, I-I'm okay."
"Like hell you're okay." Daddy said crouching down. He held out his palm and was able to push the glass shards away from me using wind to create a path for him to get to me. Our Kingdoms' element is air and all members of the royal family have the power to use air whenever they wish. In battles, or in situations like this. Although this is the first time something like this has happened. That's why Diego could hit Daz with fire that day they fought, because the Indian Ocean has the element of fire.
Once the path was clear Daddy walked towards me and inspected the little injuries from the glass.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" He asked.
I shook my head and Daddy picked me up, careful to not touch anywhere I had glass stuck in me. He cleared a path for Diego to get out and Amias grabbed him by the ear and pulled him off somewhere to tell him off I suppose.
"Daddy I-"
"Not now." He said coming into the kitchen and set me down on the counter top. "Lie on your front." He told me sternly and grabbed the medical kit from one of the cupboards. I turned on my front and looked lifted my legs up so I could see the damage done. It wasn't that bad and only a few pieces were stuck in my leg and had left a trail of blood that trickled down to my ankle. It stung as Daddy pulled the glass out and cleaned the cuts. Mum came home in the middle of it and gasped at the sight of me.
"Oh darling," He said running over and holding my hand. However after Daddy told him what happened he wasn't at all annoyed only worried that I got hurt. My Dad didn't see it that way though. Once I was patched up I was sent upstairs to clean up the mess. Diego stood in the doorway to the bathroom with an armful to towels and gave me a sheepish smile and asked if I was okay. Daddy cleaned the glass away himself as he didn't trust me to not get hurt. Plus he would never put me in a place where I could get hurt.
Diego and I moped up the bathroom and made it look spotless again. After we had finished we retired to the kitchen where lemonade had been made and cut up fruit was displayed on a plate for us to eat.
"So are you seeing Daz again tonight?" Diego asked me quietly.
"Maybe?" I shrugged, smiling happily. "I hope so."
---
Diego and I lay on the wet sand and let the sun warm us. The sea water cooled our tails and the small stones and shells that rubbed against our tails acted as a body scrub to exfoliate.
"I've never seen a merman with a gold tail." Diego commented, flicking his dark green tail that had a gold shimmer to it in the water.
"My Dad says it's rare." I said. "But I like yours better."
"Why?" Diego asked looking between my tail and his. "Yours is more eye-catching."
"But yours is a better colour." I commented.
Diego laughed and lied down letting the waves flow over his chest. "I'll never win."
"Maybe not." I smiled watching the waves bob towards us before breaking and sliding across the sand. "I bet you let Albert get his way all the time."
"Well...no, not all the time."
I gave Diego a look showing that I didn't believe him in the slightest. "Really?" I asked playfully.
"When it comes to Bertie," He sighed, "He always manages to push me over."
"I want to meet him. I bet he's so nice."
"He is. He's everything I could ask for. You can meet him when all this suitor crap is out of the way and done with."
"What do you mean?"
"I doubt your father will hold on and force you to mate with someone you don't want to. He's not that mean and he loves you too much to do that."
"You think he'll stop?" I asked my eyes wide and heart thumping at what Diego was saying.
"Don't take my word for it, but I can see it in him. Whenever it's brought up I can see it in his eyes like he's having an inner battle with himself."
"I hope you're right, I really, really hope you are."
"I hope I am too, for your sake."
I gave him a confused look.
Diego didn't reply for a moment and looked sad. "It's nothing. I just hope you get to choose." Diego looked up at me and smiled. "But when you and your family come to visit my kingdom, I'll introduce you to Bertie then. But Bertie won't be making any secret trips to my bedroom at night." Diego winked making my cheeks flare up and an embarrassed smile crossed my face.
---
I snuck out just passed midnight and swam straight to our meeting point. On the way I wondered what kind of reaction I would get when Daz saw the colour of my hair - a faded pink. Daz was there waiting and as soon as he saw me he raised his eyebrows and grinned.
"Well this is different, what happened to you?" He ran his fingers through my pink hair.
"My friend thought it would be fun if we dyed our hair." I grumbled. "It looks awful."
"I don't think so, I think it looks good." He nodded approvingly and leaned down to kiss me. "Has your family seen it?"
"Yeah." I grumbled. "My Dad wasn't too happy that I turned my hair pink."
"Don't worry, it will eventually wash out. It's meant for humans on land, not mermen who spend a lot of time in the water." Daz said truthfully.
"I hate it. It makes me look ugly." I stubbornly said.
"Well I think you look beautiful, my darling." Daz smiled taking my hand in his as we swam.
"So where are we going?" I asked as we weren't heading in the direction of his island.
"Whilst I was swimming to meet you I spotted something you might like." He smirked.
"And if I ask you'll say it's a surprise?" I teased.
"You know me so well." He grinned and brought my hand up to his lips so he could kiss it.
We swam out into very deep water and I was getting quite cold. I'd never been out in such deep water at night and I stuck close to Daz just encase there were any sea serpents about – not a creature I wanted to run into again.
"It's not too far from here." Daz said. Along the way he looked like he was tracking something. He would listen or look to the surface and scan our surroundings. He looked like he was concentrating very hard on something, whatever he was doing. We kept swimming and before too long I started to hear music and what sounded like churning water. I looked to Daz and he just smiled before pulling me along faster and brought me up near the surface.
"A boat!" I exclaimed as it came into view, the bottom of it anyway.
"It's a ship with loads of humans and they're having a party." Daz informed me as we swam alongside the huge ship. We surfaced and I could hear the loud music and brightly coloured lights.
"Wow," I gasped taking in the sight of it. Something flew up into the sky and exploded causing a huge bang and lots of light. I squeaked and dunked myself under and Daz pulled me back up laughing.
"They've been sending those things into the sky for a while now. They're actually really nice if you watch them."
"Okay," I said, "T-The first one just scared me a little. I didn't know what to expect." I blushed. Daz smiled and put his arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. We kept swimming to keep up with the ship and Daz told me things about the humans. A few more of those loud and colourful things went off and I watched them without jumping and admired their beauty. I loved the sparkles and the best one was when it exploded and gold glitter fell and looked like it was raining glitter.
"We should turn back now; we're heading out quite far." Daz said as I took one more long look at the ship and sunk back under the waves.
"Thank you so taking me to see it, Daz." I smiled and nuzzled against his neck. "I really loved it, thank you."
"No problem, Angel. Would you like to go to the underground again? Vinny has been requesting your company."
"Really? He has?" I asked shocked. Normally no one wants to be my friend. "Yes I would love to." I broke away from Daz and twirled about in the water happily. I looked back at Daz to see him watching me.
"What?" I smirked as Daz pulled me back into him.
"I think you're beautiful."
I blushed and smiled. "Thank you."
---
"I have nothing to wear, I didn't even bring any clothes, or-or a hairbrush!" I explained to Daz in a panic. We had arrived on the island where we could hear the music from the club full blast and in a moment of horror, I realised I had brought nothing with me.
"I'm sure Vinny has some clothes, Angel - and probably a hairbrush too. Wait here and I'll go and find him and see if he has anything for you."
"Okay, thanks." I said as Daz hurried off to find Vinny. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. I think I'm getting a fever. My head hurt and I felt hot all over but I bet if told that to Daddy he would think I was making up excuses to avoid the suitors. In swished my gold tail along the water and looked up to the sky. The stars shinned and sparkled brightly and the moon reflected off of the water making the waves glimmer.
"Atlas!!" Someone shouted and I turned around to see Vinny running across the sand towards me and Daz and Xavier following behind.
"Hi." I greeted with a smile.
Vinny knelt down beside me in the sand. "Oh!" He said excitedly. "You're hair; it's got a pink hue to it. I love it, Atlas."
"You do?" I asked in surprise. "You don't think it looks stupid?"
"Not at all, I think the pink goes with the colour of your tail." Vinny beamed. "So I brought some clothes from the spare set I have, a hairbrush and a towel."
"Thank you so much. I'm very grateful."
"I know that you merpeople dry instantly along with your hair but I thought you might want it to walk to the cave to change?"
"Thanks Vinny, I'll go and change now." I said changing to my human form covering myself with the towel and clutched the clothes to my chest as I walked to the cave. Daz came after me and took the clothes from me and looked at what I would be wearing.
"Wow," He laughed, "You'll look great it these." He handed me sparkly silver pair of shorts that looked way too small to cover much.
"They're cute." I put them on and Daz smirked and stepped forward to smack my ass. "Hey!"
"Well your ass looks amazing." He handed me the black top that went with the shorts and a small pair of black shoes that looked good for dancing in.
"You and Vinny are near enough the same size so everything should fit." Daz said. And it did. In Vinny's clothes I felt like I fitted in better and I felt more confident in my step. I tried to drag a brush through my hair and I got most of the tangles out but it would need a good condition and brush when I got home.
We walked into the club with Vinny and Xavier and I looked around at the mass of interesting and unusually dressed people. I was led over to the bar and Daz ordered me a drink and told me to keep close to his side. I sipped my fruity drink and looked over the dance floor and then my eyes gravitated to the same group of big burly men that I saw last time. Even though they appeared scary and intimidating, when they were laughing amongst themselves they didn't look too bad.
Daz took notice that I was looking at the group of men and pulled me into his side and kissed my temple. "Stay away from them if you can help it, be polite like you would but they like to play games. Vinny was the target of the group for a while, until Xavier put them in their place." Daz explained. I nodded and looked away when I noticed one was staring at me.
"Will you be leaving to talk to your father?" I asked.
"He'll probably get wind of me being here and pull me into his office." Daz groaned. "But I want to avoid that."
"Does your father own this club?"
"Yeah, and controls many other illegal things."
"Will I meet him?" Daz looked at me alarmed and shook his head no.
"I want to keep you as far away from my father as I can. There's no telling if he'll recognise you or not."
"Oh. Does he live on your island with the rest of your tribe?"
"Not anymore, he was kicked out when I was young." Daz shrugged. "Anyway let's not talk about him, let's dance." Daz took my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor and in amongst everyone who was dancing. We danced and as the night wore on I had maybe been grinding against Daz a little too much as he now had a hard on that was quite obvious.
"Come with me." Daz whispered in my ear and lightly kissed down my neck making me squirm. We held hands and went out of the club and into the forest where Daz lay me down in patch of wildflowers that covered the floor all around us.
"I love you." He whispered kissing my neck and he cupped me between my legs and gently squeezed. I moaned and his lips found mine and he kissed me hard. I thrust my hips up and Daz slipped his hand inside my shorts and took my member in his hand. He kissed down my chest and took me into his mouth. I gasped and I came suddenly moaning and withering in his hold.
"That was fast." He smirked kissing my neck. "But I'm not done yet."
Daz turned me over on my front gently and pulled my hips up. His hot palms slid down my back and cupped my ass and he spread my cheeks. My eyes fluttered closed as he massaged my entrance with his tongue, drawing a long moan from me. My cock was fully erect again I reached down to relieve some of the tension there by sliding my hand up and down my shaft. I looked over my shoulder and Daz was pleasuring himself as he slid his tongue inside of me.
"I-I want..." I moaned, "To t-try." I said breathlessly. Daz stopped what he was doing and kissed the two dimples that were present at the bottom of my back. Daz turned me over again so I lay with my legs spread beneath him. Daz hovered over me, his eyes a bright purple that glowed in the darkness.
"Try what?" He breathed, trailing his thumb over my cheekbone.
"I want t-to feel you inside of me."
"Not here baby, as much as want nothing more to be inside your tight ass, but not here, not tonight. You're not ready."
"I am." I told him taking his cock in my hand and stroking him from base to tip. Daz closed his eyes in pleasure and the muscles in his arms tensed. I guided him to my entrance and rubbed the pre-cum around, moaning as I did. Daz started to nudge my entrance and I opened my eyes to look at him but his head snapped to the left just before a loud siren went off and I could hear faint shouting. Daz looked at me in a panic.
"Put your clothes on we need to leave." He instructed tugging on his own clothes.
"What's going on? What was that noise?" I cried my eyes darting nervously to every small rustle in the forest.
"Another tribe is attacking the island. My father has most likely done something to provoke it. Something bad." Daz pulled me into his chest and kissed my forehead. "I'll keep you safe just do as I say."
I nodded and looked at Daz with wide trusting eyes.
"Run." He told me.
Our feet hit the forest floor disturbing the leaves and any creatures that were around forcing them to scurry back to the safety of their burrows or nests. We reached the other side of the island where the water hit against the sharp rocks roughly.
"Stay down, there are probably warriors surrounding the island so my father doesn't escape."
"Shouldn't we try to help him?" I whispered. If that was Daddy these merpeople were after, I'd want to help him. I'd do anything to.
"He'll handle it. He always finds some way to worm himself out of every situation."
I nodded and swallowed to try to rid my dry throat.
"Here, take your clothes off and leave them behind this rock. I'll collect them another time." Daz instructed and I complied, stuffing the clothes between the rocks and changing into my mer form.
"Stay close to me."
"O-Okay." I looked around and checked behind us just to make sure no one was planning a sneak attack on us. But if they were I guess I wouldn't know because it's a sneak attack. What if we're being followed?!
"Atlas!" Daz's voice made me look towards him quickly. "Stay focused, Angel. We need to get in the ocean now."
We lowered ourselves into the sea and the noise of the crashing waves soon faded away as we swam further out. We stuck to the rocks and sea floor until we heard movement in the water and Daz pulled me into a small gap in the rocks where we hid. I put a hand over my mouth so I didn't breathe so heavily and I closed my eyes. I felt something pass us and from the heavy and powerful feeling I got, it made me feel ill.
"Atlas, can you hear me?" Daz whispered as I opened my eyes. "You passed out, baby. I think you held your breath for too long, are you alright?"
I nodded even though my head throbbed. "I-I sense bad energy quite strongly sometimes and I can pass out from it. I don't know why."
"We should be safe now. I'll take you home."
Once we were close to my house Daz kissed me and looked around to make sure no one had followed us and was now watching.
"Don't go anywhere near the island, please?" I said to Daz.
"I won't, I'm going home now and I'll be extra careful. I'll take the long way home."
"Good." I smiled. "Thank you for taking me home. Goodnight." I whispered and kissed him lightly.
Once I had managed to sneak into my bedroom and had a bath, I lay in my bed wondering about Daz.
Oh Daz, I hope you're safe.