The room which they entered was long, wide, and open. A curved, pearl-white structure sat at the far end, acting as the throne. On the upper part of the curve a man with graying blond hair dressed in gold and dark green armour sat, clutching an elaborate trident. An equally elaborate crown sat atop his held-high head.
A deep boiling of hatred towards this man Aurelia had only just set eyes on was now brewing within her. She immediately knew exactly who he was: Orvax. The man who had cost her and her father her mother.
On the lower part of the curved structure, a less elaborately-carved throne, sat another figure, one who bared a passing resemblance to the king. This was the prince, Orm, her old friend and now rival. His stare was the least unnerving. He sat perched on the edge of his throne, expectantly almost.
Aurelia quickly took in her surroundings, like she always did when out on missions: good to be familiar with where you were. Guards lined the marble pathway she and the others floated along, and above them were more armoured figures, though not battle armour. She guessed that these people were part of the court. She noticed Mera near the front, a gold scalloped crown now sitting atop her head.
Vulko and Aria floated forward ahead of her, heads bowed low. The guards who had escorted her didn't budge.
"My King, My Prince," Vulko addressed. "I am happy to present to you Princess Aurelia Curry." He gestured to her, his head still bowed.
If all eyes hadn't already been on her from the moment she set foot inside the hall, they were now. She could feel the stares, burning into her, namely that of the king.
I am not bowing to this guy, she quickly decided. Like hell I'm going to.
Orvax observed her in silence through dark eyes - they evidently shared a mutual loathing for each other. His thin lips turned upwards into a slight smirk. "This is her? Daughter of Atlanna? Royalty?"
"Do I not look like it to you?" she challenged. The king merely smirked, amused. Already she was getting strange vibes from him. "What, you want proof? A blood test? Here, I have her trident with me - recognize it?" She took it off her back and held it up, shaking it a little for emphasis.
Orvax only continued to smirk, something that really irritated her. "You don't look like her, Atlanna."
"No, I look more like my father."
"The human."
"Yes." She almost flinched at the way he practically spat 'human'.
"The enemy."
Oh boy, here we go... "You know, most humans don't even think Atlantis exists. You're all just a myth to them, nothing more than a story, a fairy tale. They pose no threat."
"Then they are about to receive a much-needed wake-up call. And as for being a threat, what do you know? You do not know of our ways."
"Cause you wouldn't allow me to come back here until now, My King," she mocked.
Orvax raised his thin eyebrows. "But, I have always thought it best to take down a potential threat before it becomes one."
"Father-" stepped in Orm, but Orvax continued and ignored him.
"Vulko, my trusted adviser. I thought you were bringing us a royal. Not a lowly peasant."
This rose chuckles from some of the court members.
Her jaw tightened. Judging by how everyone else was dressed - in their coloured and scaly wet-suits and fancy armour - she maybe didn't look as regal as they expected. Maybe her choice of attire - the long tank top with the Queen logo and band name on it, brown khaki pants, combat boots, and the leather bracers on her arms - hadn't been the best choice for today. But this was her everyday attire, who she was, and she wasn't about to change that or compromise that for these people. And certainly not for the pompous jerk of a king sitting on the throne judging her from a distance. She could practically feel the judgement radiating off of him.
"I am the daughter of Queen Atlanna, true ruler of Atlantis, making me the potential future queen. I even have it written on my shirt-" She gestured to Queen's logo. She caught Mera rolling her eyes at this. "I've always thought you were a jerk, and now you've proven me right." Now it was her turn to smirk when her comment shut him up. His expression darkened, however. She caught Vulko and Aria wince. She caught Orm smiling.
"Father, please. She is our guest." The prince turned to her and smiled warmly, a stark contrast to his father's greeting of her. "Half-blood or not, she is of royal blood. She is still Atlantean, and deserves to be here." He rose from his throne and floated forwards a little.
Wow, he was beautiful.
"Aurelia. Hello, welcome back to Atlantis. I'm so glad that you have finally returned, it's so good to see you again." His voice was strong yet gentle.
"T-thanks..." Did her reply sound as squeaky as she thought it did?
He was all gold. Fair golden hair, gold skin, gold armour. Even as he came closer she saw that his piercing blue eyes had flecks of gold within them depending on how the light struck them, like gold coins scattered amongst the ocean.
A golden beam of the hall's bright lights even shone down on him, making him glow.
He looks like a Disney prince, was her first thought.
She remembered his hair longer, and not as light. Now he wore it pulled back and pinned beneath his crown, also of gold.
But those eyes - looking into them was like a time machine, suddenly sending her back deep within the recesses of her memory to her early childhood when she had first met Prince Orm, heir to Atlantis like her, and they had played together for hours and hours, talking, laughing, instantly friends. Until his father banished her and forbid her to ever return, a stain upon the glorious canvas of Atlantis. Suddenly, so many memories she had forgotten came rushing back, so rapidly it nearly shocked her.
She realized she was staring and that Orm was still speaking to her.
"I must say you have grown in character, confidence, and beauty," he told her. Then he held out his hand. "May I?"
She wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but she reached her own hand out towards him.
He gently scooped it up and held it to his lips, meeting eyes with her as he placed a quick yet tender kiss on the back of it, avoiding the big rings that adorned her fingers.
He is like a Disney prince! She half expected him to then burst into song and dance for her, a mental image which almost made her chuckle aloud, but luckily she caught herself before that happened.
This was not the goofy boy she vaguely remembered from her brief childhood experience in Atlantis, although she still sensed some of that playfulness within him. This was a gentleman.
"Well, what do you think?" Orm spread his arms before him, gesturing to Atlantis and all its glory.
"Uh, it's great," she managed, still not fully out of her memory-trance. She cleared her throat, and continued more confidently, "Really nice, yeah. I really like all the technology. That's really cool." Wow, she sounded ridiculous. The king and all the court members and guards were probably silently laughing at her.
Orm smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Thank you, I'm glad. That's my own addition. I can show you more of it if you like."
"Yeah, sure, sounds good."
"Forgive me, you can probably tell I'm excited. I'm sure, for now though, you'd like to get yourself settled and better acquainted with Atlantis. We have a room all ready for you, Aria will show you to your chambers."
"Uh, hang on a second - room? I'm not staying-" This meeting had almost caused her whole reason for being here in the first place to slip her mind. "I came here on your request, we obviously have some business to discuss. You launched a massive, worldwide tidal wave up on the surface." Oh, right, that. Although she was now having some trouble believing this sweet, polite guy would do such a thing. His father, on the other hand...
Orm's smile fell slightly, she noticed. "Yes, you are correct. But please, allow us to host you here, even if only for a short while. Atlantis is your home by birthright."
"She doesn't have any birthrights here," broke in Orvax. The moment he opened his mouth tension filled the room.
"She has Atlantean blood, and royal blood. She is welcome here by our most sacred laws," Orm continued, this now directed to his father and her. "So please, stay a while-" His voice softened when he addressed her directly. "We will get down to business shortly. Make yourself at home here."
She had really been hoping this would be more of an in-and-out kind of situation, but she also had to admit that now having set foot back here, she was awfully curious.
"All right," she obliged. "I'll stay. But not for long."
Orm smiled thankfully and nodded. "Of course. Do not hesitate to come find me if you need anything. We want your stay to be as comfortable as possible." By the look his father wore, the king didn't agree with his son.
"Thank you, My Prince." Aria bowed her head. "Come, Princess," she nodded to Aurelia, and led her out of the hall.
The last things she caught sight of were the sharp and dark glare of King Orvax, and the bright blue eyes of Prince Orm staring after her.
(He is like a Disney prince! He can even sing! ;) Haha, I couldn't help myself with that one! But yay, they've finally met! ;) So excited for this series!
If you are reading my other Orm story, I'm working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it updated soon! (it's taken me longer than I'd hoped).
As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))