"I always know where to find you." Aurelia knew her father's actions spoke to just how much he loved and missed her mother. They do say actions speak louder than words, and Tom's actions screamed of his love for Atlanna. Every morning at sunrise he would walk down to the very dock where they had parted all those years ago, and stand on the edge, looking out over the water as the sun rose, waiting for his beloved to return to him. It sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but then again, Aurelia's whole life sounded like something out of one. That's what came with being a half-breed child of a mythological marvel of a land.
Tom had repeated this ritual every day since the day Atlanna left, never missing one.
At the sound of his daughter's voice, Tom spun around from where he had been retreating back to the lighthouse, a huge smile on his face. He chuckled. "Old habits."
Father and daughter embraced each other in a tight hug.
Tom put an arm around his daughter as they began to head to the house. "Come on, I'll buy you breakfast."
______________________________
"Would you like me to have them put that in a sippy cup for you?" Tom joked. He had taken Aurelia out for drinks at the local bar which they often appeared at.
Aurelia snorted as she gulped the last of her beer. She slammed the now empty mug down onto the counter as purposefully as her father had done with his. "Haha, you're hilarious." She licked the foam off her lips. "How is it that I can breathe under water but you can still drink me under the table?"
"Maybe that's my superpower." Tom puffed out his chest proudly.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a superhero, Dad."
The TV above them blared with a news report. "...A Russian submarine hijacked late last night by high-tech pirates. The same pirates who are suspected in connection with the disappearance of the Navy's highly classified prototype stealth submarine. And a further development: we now have unconfirmed reports that the metahuman dubbed by social media as 'The Aquawoman' was responsible for this daring rescue."
Tom turned to her with a look that said, "See?"
"That wasn't me."
"Bullshit. You're doing it, huh, what Vulko and Aria trained you to do. I knew you couldn't stand on the sidelines forever. Well, you've got the powers, and the name: Aquawoman."
She laughed. "It's silly."
"Now all you need is a suit."
"I'm not a hero." She was firm.
"To some people you are. Your mother and I always knew you were special."
"Don't even start."
"Your mother believed you'd be the one to unite our two worlds someday."
"Dad-"
"Whatever Atlantis's problems are, you're bigger than them."
"Yeah well Atlantis stole Mum and now she isn't coming back."
"You don't know that for sure."
"I do. They took her away for loving you and having me. And you know it."
"Kiddo, one day you're gonna have to stop blaming yourself."
Absentmindedly, her hand went to clasp the gold pendant that always hung around her neck. It was the symbol of Atlantis, and it had belonged to Atlanna - she had been wearing it herself when Tom had found and rescued her. She had removed it from her own neck and placed it around her daughter's the day she left, and Aurelia rarely, if ever, had taken it off since.
"Yeah, well, she's gone now. She's not coming back."
"You don't know that." Tom's firm, unwavering belief in Atlanna returning to them and unwillingness to believe it wasn't true was heart-breaking in itself.
Aurelia had a difficult time understanding it, but maybe that was because she had never been in love like her parents were. "She would have come back by now." Atlanna would never have abandoned her family.
"Well I'm proud of you and what you're doing, regardless. But be careful out there, doing what you do."
"I am, don't worry, Dad."
"I can't lose you too."
"Hey, you-" Interrupted, Aurelia and Tom turned to see a gang of men standing behind them. "Are you that fish-girl from the TV?" one asked Aurelia.
Tom turned back to his second beer. "Oh, great." He winked, playing along.
Aurelia slid off the bar stool. "It's 'fish-woman', actually. What do you want?"
"Oh I'll tell you what we want-" The man pulled out his cell phone. "Can we get a quick picture? Please?"
Aurelia just stared back; Tom chuckled. "Really?" she said.
"Yeah, you're our hero. It's so exciting to have a hero representing our little town!" The men were giddy with excitement. "It would mean a lot."
Aurelia sighed. "Fine, one picture. And I don't want to see this anywhere online, yeah? Cause if I do, I know where to find you."
"You got it! Everybody smile!" Click!
The men got their picture, Aurelia going back to join her father, taking a gulp of beer.
"You're their hero," Tom chuckled.
"Oh, stop it."
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"Hey, I think I just saw a mermaid," Tom slurred as Aurelia buckled him into the passenger seat of the truck, pulling a blanket over him. It had just gotten dark, meaning they had spent most of the afternoon at the bar. Classic for the Currys.
"That's just the drinks, Pops," she told him, patting his chest. Tom may have been the faster drinker, but with her Atlantean abilities she couldn't get drunk, whereas he could, and did.
"No, I think I really saw one..." His words were broken by a great yawn. "I thought your mom was a mermaid the first time I saw her."
"Yeah, so you've told me." Aurelia chuckled. "Come on, let's get you home, yeah?"
"Yeah, let's go home and work on your Tā moko. If your grandpops was still alive, he'd be banging our heads for not finishing it."
"Yes, he would, but you are going nowhere near tattoo ink in this state. There's plenty of time for that." She helped him into the truck. "Right now, it's bedtime, Pops."
But as she was making her way around the truck to the driver's side, she found that maybe her father had been right. She blinked hard. "Come on, we didn't have that much to drink." She couldn't even get drunk, with her Atlantean abilities.
A woman in a sparkling emerald suit, complimented by her bright red hair, was emerging from the water and onto the docks. She wasn't a mermaid, but she obviously wasn't from around here. Aurelia knew exactly where she was from, judging by the gold arch symbol on the front of her suit - that which matched Atlanna's necklace. This woman was Atlantean.
"I've been looking for you." The woman strode forward.
"Oh, no, no, no-"
"I need you to come with me to Atlantis."
"Listen, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told that rusty starfish Vulko - except nicer, because you're a lady."
"And you're not?"
"No. Not like that. Bottom line is, no thank you, not interested. Aloha."
But the woman was not deterred. "Your rival for the throne, Crown Prince Orm, is about to declare war upon the Surface World."
"Oh boy, here we go... Is that right? So I've got a rival now? Well, hate to break it to you, but that's old news. All Atlanteans hate me."
"Prince Orm is about to ascend to the throne, but an issue has arisen: there's another heir. You. Orm has requested that you visit, so that this dispute may be settled-"
"Dispute? What dispute? I don't even want the throne."
"-His father has agreed, amazingly."
"I thought the royals hated me."
"They do, at least some. Most."
"Awesome. And you are?"
"A willing ally."
"Okay... So you think that if I just show up, Orm will yield the throne?"
"No, but you two were childhood friends, that gives you an advantage, means you're already established in Atlantis, even if only a little."
Aurelia shook her head. "I barely remember that, I don't think it's going to do me any good."
"Even if not, you need to accept, then challenge him for the throne, and stop this war before it begins. As Queen, you'll have the power to do so-"
"Whoa, hold on a minute, I don't need to do anything. And I'm not a queen."
"You could be a hero."
"Oh, not you too. Enough with the hero stuff, I'm not some hero-"
"That's not that Vulko and Aria seem to believe."
"Oh great, you're with them." It was the first time in years that Aurelia had heard mention of her childhood mentors, Nuidis Vulko and his love, Aria, who had been advisers to her mother when she was Queen.
"You are who the humans call the 'Aquawoman' - your deeds have helped Atlantis-"
"That has nothing to do with Atlantis."
"If you go to Atlantis, they will have to listen to you," the woman continued, not about to let this go apparently. She sighed. "Billions will die. Your people and mine. We must stop him."
"We? There is no 'we' in this. You go ahead, Red."
"The only way to stop this war and save both worlds is for you to take your rightful place as Queen."
Silence. Then Aurelia barked out a harsh laugh. "You think Orm's just gonna hand it all over to me? I'm the bastard daughter of the Queen your people were so quick to get rid of. Trust me, I am no Queen."
"I agree."
"Cool, that's awesome. We finally agree on something."
"They cast my mother out. They're not going to listen to me."
"Then make them listen. Show them you have a right to rule-"
"Listen, Little Mermaid, I am no hero, and I'm no queen. I'm a half-human bastard child who no one is going to take seriously. So leave me alone and stop with all the 'rightful queen hero' shit."
"Is that all that you are? Really?"
"Look, I can't just go waltzing into Atlantis-"
"Yes, you can! You're the only child of Queen Atlanna. The throne is yours by birthright, you have every reason and every right to challenge Orm."
"Well why don't you challenge him then?"
"Because I'm not the heir to the throne."
"Neither am I."
The woman sighed, obviously trying to remain calm. "They warned me you were stubborn, Vulko and Aria." Aurelia chuckled at this. "But they seem to believe in you for some reason, whatever it is, and that's why I'm here. They have learned of the location of the Lost Trident of Atlan-"
"Ooo, fairy tales. It's a myth."
"It's not a myth. With the Sacred Trident, the people will listen to you. You can then claim your birthright and dethrone Orm."
"I don't want the throne, I never have. And even if I did, I'm ill-equipped. In fact, I want nothing to do with it. You go back and tell them that. And as for my so-called 'birthright', it left with my mother. And you can also tell Orm that if he decides to attack, I'll be waiting, and I'll treat him the exact same way your people treated her: with no mercy." With that, before the redhead could argue her point any further, Aurelia stepped into the truck and slammed the door, driving away.
"Crazy Atlanteans," she mumbled.
(And we're off! :) So excited for this! Thank you all so much for the love you're showing this story! Thank you so much for reading - I hope you enjoyed! :))