Hours ticked by like minutes and still the scientists from Lexcorp had found nothing. Every small detail was an exact replica to the ones they sold at Luthor's company. Which begged the question; How had this explosive not been crushed when the water pressure became too high? And how did it present a threat? Human bombs wouldn't have much effect down there. Camille's eyes widened in realization.
"Open it up." She ordered, rushing to their side and staring down at the weapon.
"We can't do that." One of the researchers argued reluctantly. "This is evidence that the Atlantean High Court would want. They'll be here to collect it soon...if we destroy it we might make the whole situation worse."
The chief groaned. She already second-guessed herself enough without someone else doing it for her. "Please, just do it."
They didn't dare question her decision again. Instead, they started dissembling the contraption but its hull proved itself too sturdy to be destroyed easily. They sat there, without a moments rest, pulling out the wiring and cutting through the metal with whatever sharp objects that they could find (since Atlantis certainly hadn't allowed them much in terms of blades). Finally, they broke through. The outer casing had cracked and its insides were left bare. It was a network of colour, advanced tech...and magic.
"Uh...what am I looking at?" One of the researchers murmured, finding himself bewildered by the moving patterns within it.
"It isn't one of ours." A LexCorp scientist stated, gaze unable to break away from the bomb's inner workings. "This is beyond human science, Chief Hanson."
As their curious eyes remained fixed on their fascinating discovery, Camille leaned forward and grabbed the weapon from in front of them. This proved that it wasn't Lex, but not who had framed him. She needed an Atlantean opinion. The scientists almost wanted to reach out and take the bomb back for study, but Camille ran to the other side of the room before they could even consider it and started throwing the protective suit on.
"Good job. I'm going to go save your boss now." Camille called out to them, noticing their disappointment at the disappearance of their new project.
Once she was secure inside the suit she stepped out of the barrier and back into the ocean. She swam, with not even a quarter of the speed an Atlantean would have, and was somehow fortunate enough to ww, and as strange music started filling her surroundings, Camille realised how late it was. The we wedding was already happening.
"Camille?" Mera said with apparent relief to see her. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show. Are you here to crash the wedding?"
"Kind of. Stopping an international incident is at the top of the list though." She replied with a few wheezy breaths. Camille had used almost all of her energy just trying to push herself through the water...it probably didn't help that she hadn't slept. Camille gathered her composure and resisted the urge to yawn as she held the weapon out towards Mera. "The casing's been made from a LexCorp device, but the internals don't match up. We don't have access to that kind of technology."
This news visibly bothered the other woman. Her forehead wrinkled, and her lips parted as if she wanted to deny this accusation but quickly decided against it. She took the bomb from Camille's grasp and examined it carefully. Her eyes widened. "I haven't seen anything like this in a long time."
"You know what it is?"
Mera nodded. "This definitely isn't from Atlantis." She directed to the metal-like substance that kept the strands of magic contained. "We call that Drakull. It can only found in Jor'bar, a cave just outside of Xebel."
It seemed as if the severity of this discovery hit them both at the same time. They stared at each other, frozen and unable to utter a single word. Camille rushed into the castle before Mera could even manage to snap herself out of the shock that seized her body. She was from Xebel. Though Atlantis was her home now, and Arthur was her king, she had once been loyal to the other side. Her father still lived there. It was hard to imagine that her own people would do something so cruel and reckless.
She regained control of her body slowly, first a finger then her shoulders until she could finally move despite the shock still tormenting her mind. She chased after Camille, only to find that she had already stormed into the wedding ceremony - completely interrupting the sacred bonding ritual (which consisted of making a deep cut in each other's palm with an ancient blade said to have belonged to Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife). The audience looked to be in outrage over this interference but Camille didn't allow their judgemental eyes to stop her from floating towards the king.
Arthur, holding the ancient blade in his grasp, lowered it from R'atlu's hand. It was quite big for a dagger and encrusted with jewels that spanned through shades that no human had ever seen, or could even comprehend. Though King Orin was aware that her presence was viewed as an insult to the people of Atlantis, he was relieved that she had delayed his marriage for even a few seconds longer.
"I'm sorry to intrude, King Orin." Camille said so formally that he scarce believed it was really her. "But we found new evidence pertaining to the culprit behind the bomb scare."
There was a scoff from nearby. King Nereus was standing beside his daughter with a sour expression. He was easily the tallest one there; his red hair reached the tailored shoulders of his armour, which was scuffed with slashes and cracks from the countless battles he'd fought. He stood tall and straight - you could almost tell he was royalty just by his posture. "This can wait until after the ceremony."
His voice was gravelly and naturally intimidating, but there was true spite somewhere beneath it. A hatred and contempt that Camille couldn't even begin to understand. "No. It can't."
Nereus' gaze darkened and his jaw tensed. Camille knew if they weren't within the gates of Atlantis he would have already torn her to pieces...especially when he moved to an intimidatingly close distance. "You dare speak back to me, insect?"
Mera pushed in front of Camille protectively and growled. "Only the outer shell and wiring was from LexCorp, Orin. The explosive itself and all of its components were of Xebelian make."
No more needed to be said. There were only a handful of Xebelian's staying in Atlantis, and they were all under orders from the same person. Anger boiled deep in Arthur's veins, hot as lava. It churned and roared and yet all he could do was stare at King Nereus waiting for an explanation.
Nereus didn't deny it, but nor did he utter any words of admission. His silence was deafening, and urged Camille out of Mera's safe shadow. "You risked innocent Atlantean lives just to frame one human? Where's the logic in that?"
To King Nereus, humans were scum. They were the reason for their dirty oceans and the litter that had started to accumulate outside of the cities. To be spoken to in this way by something so revolting only heightened his rage. "These Atlanteans are far from innocent, letting filth like you into their borders."
Out of the corner of her eye, Camille could see Arthur's grip on the blade tighten. With the eyes of Atlantis on him, he didn't dare attack the other king, but that didn't suppress the urge to do so. Not only had he risked the peace treaty and the lives of his people, but now he was speaking to Camille as if she were a mere parasite. The crowd, that had been quiet until now, started gathering closer; hissing at the man that had endangered them.
"Did you really do this, father?" R'atlu asked in a trembling voice. She sounded horrified. That was enough to determine that she had no part in his plans. "Please tell me that's not true..."
"It doesn't matter anymore." The man growled. Evidently, he knew there was a possibility that he'd be caught but his hatred pushed him to go through with it anyway. "You've caught me. Now one question remains; what will you do surface-dweller?"
He spat this out as an insult towards Arthur. He showed him no respect, not even enough to call him a king. Just a human. A land lover. Half-breed. Arthur contained the yearning to break Nereus' jaw. He was stranded within a city he had no rule over. There was no point in fighting an unarmed man. "This treaty could restore the oceans to their former glory, and you almost destroyed it. You have no honour."
The castle's guards didn't hesitate to apprehend Nereus. It took at least four of them to actually force his gigantic arms behind his back. Not because he was resisting, he just wasn't helping either. Mera frowned. "What should we do with him, King Orin?"
There was a roar from the crowd, all chanting for an execution. Arthur, for the first time since meeting R'atlu, actually looked at her intently. Her eyes were sparkling, a sign of sadness down where tears simply mixed into the sea. She was biting her lip in a hopeless attempt to keep silent, but every now and then a whimper would escape anyway. She had never been particularly close to her father, but she had loved him regardless.
Arthur felt a certain amount of pity for her and so he spared her the pain of watching him be killed. "Lock him and his men up. We'll deal with it later."
The crowd was obviously not satisfied by this choice, but they respected their king's decision. As the guards lead Nereus to his temporary prison, Mera turned back towards Arthur. "And what should we do about the human ambassador?"
Arthur exchanged a quick gaze with Camille and he sighed. "Escort Luthor back to the embassy."
There was a brief second of relief that appeared on Mera's face but she quickly nodded and left before anyone could take notice. Attention was directed back towards Arthur and R'atlu, who were still wearing their ceremonial amour. Arthur addressed the audience, but his words were in Atlantean - a dialect that Camille still couldn't understand. All she could do was try and interpret R'atlu's body language...but the sorrow she felt over her father left little room for anything else.
"He's calling off the marraige." A familiar voice said from behind her, and when Camille glanced over her shoulder she saw Garth. He was wearing a suit that was decorated with bits of coral and fish scales. Apparently this was considered formal wear because everyone else in the room was wearing something similar. "Says that R'atlu's the daughter of a traitor. Bonding with her would be an insult."
"Geez...He doesn't have to be so harsh. The poor girl just lost her father." Camille crosses her arms, staring at the Xebel princess sympathetically.
"This is the kindest option." Garth explained lowly. "Atlantean law would have her suffer the same punishment as her father. By publicly condemning her the people will be content with his decision to let her go."
Camille didn't know what to say. To prevent cruelty with more cruelty...it was unthinkable to her. Atlantis had many beauties; magic, technology, and it was rich with history but this city's customs left much to be desired. It was like she had gone back in time a few centuries and was watching an undeveloped society kill each other. Camille now realised that Atlanteans could learn a lot from the mistakes of humanity. Perhaps more so than humans had to learn from them.
"He wants you to follow him." Garth whispered, bringing Camille back to reality. She saw Arthur heading out of the castle, and with a quick 'thank you' to Garth for his translation, she trailed behind the king.
When she finally caught up with Arthur he was waiting a few inches above the door. He was drinking in the view of his city. He never wanted to be a ruler, but very slowly, he was starting to admire this place. He wanted to protect it and to be a worthy king. To follow in his mother's footsteps and make her proud...wherever she was. Even Atlanteans didn't know for certain what happened after death.
"You must be tired." He said, tearing his gaze away from Atlantis and towards something even more beautiful. Even without seeing her face, Camille always left him awe-struck. "I'll take you back."
"Back?" Camille questioned in slight confusion. Arthur only had to point upward for her to finally gather what he meant. "You really don't have to do that. There'll be another supply shipment in twelve days. I'll just return with them."
Arthur grimaced. "It's important that you notify the UN about what happened here. As soon as possible."
Camille's shoulders slumped but she nodded regardless. He was right. They would want to know about the incident that almost got their ambassador killed. The king extended his hand towards the human who's brow furrowed at the sight. "You could always get someone else to take me..."
King Orin smirked. "I know."
Still his hand remained in place, urging her to take hold of it. Camille was hesitant at first...but found that she couldn't decline his offer. She could never refuse him on the rare instances that he was acting thoughtfully. She slid her hand on top of his, and his fingers gently locked it in place. They stood there, hand in hand, feeling the water around them shift. Camille thought she could stare into his eyes forever. They were like the reflection of the moon on a crystal clear lake, she could see every ripple in the glittering water.
Camille thought of leaving his gaze to collect Inky, who was still somewhere in R'atlu's possession, but she knew that the princess of Xebel needed a friend right now...and she couldn't be that. Not right now at least. She'd be gone two weeks before the next opportunity would arise to return. Inky could stay with her for now. Hopefully he could help heal the wounds her father had made.
Arthur guided her around to his back, but even as she wrapped her arms around his neck he never let go of her gloved hand. Not until they broke the surface of the ocean a few minutes later...and Camille had to wonder why it had taken so much longer than usual. Arthur could have gotten her back to land in seconds if he wanted, but he hadn't. The thought that he had wanted to be with her a little longer came to mind, but she quickly discarded it. He was probably just exhausted. This week had been a tough one...though every day seemed like a struggle for him.
Camille was relieved to pull her helmet off and breathe actual air again, not the artificially made kind within the embassy. She had almost forgotten what the sun looked like...what it felt like against her skin. This was coming from someone that wasn't too fond of the heat it emitted, but today she'd take as much as she could get.
King Orin took the helmet from her grasp and urged the water to carry it towards land. The water lapped at it, pushing until it washed up on the shore.
"Thanks for the ride." Camille said breathily, still trying to inhale as much oxygen as she could. "But I feel bad taking you away from your duties."
"Don't. I needed the break." Arthur turned, eager to see Camille without the helmet obscuring his view. Her hair was a mess of tight ringlets, sticking up all over the place from the headgear she had previously been wearing. Her eyes looked exhausted, with dark circles beginning to form beneath them, but that didn't lessen the fire blazing in the molten gold of her irises.
Camille bit her bottom lip and he found himself entranced by the motion. That's when she pulled away, water swishing around her shoulders as she moved passed him. "Well, I'd better get going...and I'm sure you've got a lot to do as well. I'll see ya around."
The instinctive desire to stop her from leaving arose in his chest, but this time he didn't suppress it. "You've...done a lot for my people. More than I thought you were capable of."
Camille halted, glancing back around to the king of Atlantis with a raised eyebrow. "Gee, thanks."
At the sarcasm dripping in her voice, Arthur couldn't hide his amusement. "Well, you are only human."
"If this is your way of thanking me, you're not doing a very good job." Camille replied teasingly.
"Yeah. I've never been great at this kind of shit." The king exhaled heavily. "The point is that I appreciate what you've done."
"You don't have to try so hard." Camille responded, thoroughly entertained by the king's flawed gratitude. "I didn't do it for you anyway. I did it for Atlantis, and for my own people."
At this Arthur found himself inching forward, creating tiny waves around him as he did. "Are you sure you didn't do it for me?"
"Pretty positive." She said without hesitation. "I learnt a long time ago to never let someone else control your own actions. Why treat someone as a priority if you're only an option to them?"
Camille hadn't realised how serious the atmosphere around them had gotten. It had fallen from a light-hearted conversation to something far more serious. A sullen expression washed over Arthur's face at her words. He had hurt her, evidently, but she was too inviolable to let it consume her. She didn't let his feelings for her impact her life in any significant way, and that was just another one of her many charms. "You're not an option. You're more like a fantasy."
Camille shook her head, not to be swayed by his charms. "It sounds pretty when you say it like that, but it means the same thing."
"No, it doesn't." Arthur trailed off, apparently not wanting to continue along his own train of thought. He wished she were an option, but she was something untouchable. They were as seperate as day and night. If they were to come together it would cause chaos.
Arthur's face scrunched in deep thought, and upon seeing the conflict in his eyes, Camille floated a little closer. Maybe she could try one more time... "You know, you're not engaged anymore."
This grabbed Arthur's attention again, but it only managed to make him look even more at war with himself. "No, but I will be. It's an important tradition, and one failed attempt won't stop them from finding someone else."
The human huffed but tried to contain the annoyance she felt towards his constant rejections and excuses. "So what? You're not married yet, so why don't we enjoy ourselves until that happens?"
Camille's hands trailed up his armoured chest, and without even feeling her touch, a shiver ran up his spine. "We...can't. It'll just make things harder in the long run."
The woman closed the small gap between them and it took all of Arthur's strength not to surrender to her in that moment. He had almost forgotten how speechless her eyes left him, and how intoxicating her scent was. "That's a problem for the future. Some other, older, version of me can deal with it."
Arthur's expression softened and fell back into a smile. "That's extremely reckless of you."
"Says the man that almost executed the human ambassador." Camille laughed and the sound was like bell chimes in the evening wind.
"Touché."
As they drifted there, a short swim away from the shore, any restraint Arthur had ever possessed faltered. He had turned her down once before, and he thought that he had the willpower to do it again...but he didn't. The temptation was too strong. Even her unconvincing argument sounded like a good one. He could just toss away responsibility, at least for a little while, until a new betrothed was selected.
Arthur's hand cupped the back of Camille's neck, and before she could register that he had succumb to her suggestion, he dipped down and their mouths met. For a split second Camille worried that this was another goodbye, or his way of turning her down gently...but the instant that the warmth of his soft lips spread onto hers, all thoughts dissolved.
The king's kiss was fierce, desperate, and slow, drugging. A shudder passed through Camille as his hands moved around her waist and shoved her against his abdomen. The world fell apart around her. There was nothing but Arthur; his lips, his body, his hands. He was everywhere, moving over her skin like the first breeze of summer. His kiss kept growing more forceful, as if he could have kissed her forever and still not had enough; and she was holding that feeling like it were a fragile bird in her hands.
When the human finally wrapped her arms around him, Arthur felt something melt inside of him that hurt in an exquisite way. All of his longings, all his dreams and sweet anguish, all the secrets that slept deep within him came awake. Everything was transformed and enchanted, everything made sense. Then she pulled away, only a few inches, but enough for Arthur to miss the sweetness of her lips. They were hovering so close, but not close enough. She whispered. "I need to go."
Arthur's hands fell to her waist and automatically tightened, as if his own body was acting against his wishes; begging him not to let her go. He growled lowly. "Right now?"
She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before manoeuvring out of his embrace. "You've made me wait much longer than two weeks. I'm sure you'll survive."
King Orin frowned as she started walking towards the pier and ordered "Hurry back then."
She waved the back of her hand at him to show her understanding, but she didn't give him a second look. She couldn't. The smile on her face would have inflated his ego, and he certainly didn't need a bigger head than he already had.