-three years later-

  Sun sat in his study, sunlight filtering through the window and casting warmth through the room. It was plenty warm outside and in, the oppressive heat of summer laying over them like a thick blanket. A knock came on the door and his tail curled a bit. He recognised that knock; it was the one his mother used when she was adamant about something. What a mess. He wondered what she was so adamant about this time... "Come in," he sighed. He knew he couldn't refuse her, but still... This was so difficult. The beatings hadn't let up even as he approached adulthood.

  She opened the door (well, slammed it against the wall, really) and walked inside, her head held high to an obnoxious degree. It was almost like she was a horse on a bearing rein. She really had such an over aggrandised sense of self-importance. "Sun, your wife will be here in a few days."

  He blinked and stared at her. "Excuse me?" What in the world was she talking about? He wasn't betrothed to anybody or anything of the like. He still talked to Weiss on a regular basis, but it wasn't like they were romantically involved or anything. There would be way too many issues in a Faunus/mermaid romance... She'd told the tales of disastrous ones in history. Land dwellers and sea dwellers simply weren't to mix in such a way.

  "Oh, did we forget to tell you? The fourth princess from Efrana has been betrothed to you. You'll be wed within six months. Isn't that wonderful? Political alliances between us and Efrana have been difficult the past few years, so the king wanted someone to marry and you were the perfect age!" His mother beamed at him and he crushed the quill in his hand. He wished he could say he didn't believe this was happening, but that'd be a lie. They'd never cared about his feelings once. All they cared about was furthering themselves in noble society and, apparently, this was one way to do that. The fourth princess? So someone that had no autonomy and would hopefully just be a submissive wife. Efrana was infamous for how badly it treated women.

  "Sorry, I already have somebody I'm betrothed to," he blurted out. He wasn't even thinking. He barely saw anybody else, but he couldn't go through with marrying a stranger.

  "Sorry, but you'll have to let her down. This has been in the works for the past year and a half! The alliance we forged between Noci and Efrana is too important!" What? A year and a half...? They had been planning it this long and hadn't told him? How could they do this?! His body quivered with rage but he knew better than to say anything. It'd just bring beatings, probably the most severe of his life if he attempted to say anything.

  He said nothing to her and pushed past her, leaving the castle in a full-tilt run. He heard his parents yelling at him, but he didn't care. As usual, Moonstone greeted him and gave him a ride out to the ocean. Thankfully, Weiss was waiting for him by that time. "Sun, what's wrong? I can sense it through our soul bond..." Even without his soul activated, she could still read it. He'd learned that a very long time ago.

  "Apparently my parents hooked me up with some random foreign princess a year and a half ago and they didn't tell me! I told them I already have someone I'm betrothed to... I think I need to show up with her unfortunately..." He frowned. He hadn't been thinking in the slightest. And, well, there was only one woman he could depend on to be his wife.

  Weiss frowned at that. "Sun... You know I can't spend too long on land."

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I was thinking I was just too pissed off. You're the only person I can rely on to be my significant other." It wasn't like he was in love with her or anything of the like. But they had been friends for nearly a decade now. He could rely on her for damn near anything at this point. Though it would finally show that he had an alliance with the mermaids... He had managed to keep this under wraps for long enough, but once she walked into the castle... Well. She'd also have to return to the ocean at least once a week. Too long away from the water and she would become incredibly sick and die. A bath wouldn't suffice.

  "I'll...have to go talk to my parents about this at some point, but if you think it can stop the marriage..." She really was too kind. She was so giving and sweet and understanding. She ought to have been free to choose who she married instead of this. Or maybe if they kept up the charade long enough, the Efranian princess would try to call it off. She probably didn't have enough autonomy for that, but he could at least try. He didn't want to marry anybody that wasn't his own personal choice. Yes, he knew he'd have to continue the family line someday, but this was ridiculous. He was only seventeen!

  "I hope it can. though it'll reveal your alliance with the mermaids. That'll make them angry." She frowned. "I can't guarantee I won't fight back against them."

  "Do what you want to. I'm not going to say no to it. They deserve a taste of their own medicine." Mermaids weren't known for being docile. They fought back big time. He had heard the tales from Weiss about the vicious battles between the ships his parents sent out and the mermaids. They were literally only trying to exist as they saw fit. They were hurting nobody. Yes, their music could enchant and would occasionally sink a ship, but it wasn't like they were trying to draw humans and Faunus in purposely. It was a freak accident. And humans and Faunus never seemed to learn to avoid the areas where mermaid settlements were to not have their ships sank. It was all on them! The mermaids needed places to live too!

  "Well... Okay." She pulled herself up onto the beach and her tail turned into legs. She wore only a top that covered her breasts and a small wrap around her hips. Most of her body was exposed. He felt his cheeks flush and he looked away. She was very pretty. He heard her giggle softly. "Sun, it's fine. I know land dwellers tend to cover up a lot more than mermaids do."

  "You know you're probably going to have to adapt to our ways of dress, right?" He looked at her, keeping his gaze focused on her face.

  She frowned. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that..." She sighed and shrugged. "Well, if we can get them to call off the engagement, I'll do what is needed. I just need to return to the ocean every week."

  "Knowing my parents, they'll try to stop it, but I know all the secret passages in the castle. If worse comes to worst, we can sneak out during the middle of the night." He wouldn't let her get sick and die. At all. He couldn't allow it. She trusted him enough to try to help him buck off this unjust wedding, so he would protect her with everything that he was. If he broke her trust, he didn't know what he'd do with himself. She was too important to him to let her get sick and die. If he had to drag her to the ocean himself, he would.

  "All right then." She smiled at him. "Will you teach me the secret passages in due time?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, I'm not gonna let them kill you." They hated the mermaids and he knew it. This would completely blow open his alliance with them. Well. If one counted having a friend among the mermaids as an alliance of sorts. Weiss was a princess for the small grouping of settlements off the dukedom's shores. Though there was a much larger allegiance of mermaids throughout the shores of their kingdom... Mermaid politics were weird and he didn't really understand them. It wasn't like he'd ever really understand them or need to in the first place, though. He wouldn't be able to go into the water and transform like Weiss did. Their magic system was starkly different form the ones the land dwellers used... Not that he was a mage or anything of the like.

  "Thanks, Sun." She smiled up at him warmly and he returned it. There was really nobody else that he could imagine having as his bride. Though, from what she'd said, it was impossible for mermaids and land dwellers to conceive together... That was definitely a problem as far as he was concerned. He would need to continue the family bloodline someday. And his parents would be adamant he did it with the girl that they had hooked him up with. He wanted nothing to do with this strange woman. She wasn't even here yet but... He couldn't believe that they'd hooked him up over a year ago without even telling him. He was furious, but he buried it. Weiss didn't need to see him angry.

  He squeezed her hand. "It's really no problem. You've done so much for me over the years. I can't just let them kill you over some petty argument they have with the mermaids." Apparently they hated them due to the entire sinking ships thing. It was dumb. The mermaids weren't trying to sink the ships... The sailors just so happened to get enchanted by the music due to it being magical... It was so dumb. Sailors ought to avoid the areas mermaids lived in rather than trying to hunt the mermaids down out of some sort of petty revenge scheme.

  She nodded and snuggled into him a little bit. He smiled and kissed her head, though he fell silent as they walked through Moonstone's forest. The unicorn did approach and tilted her head a bit. "Well well, I wasn't expecting this. A fish outta water quite literally here. Rarely do I ever see a mermaid come this far into shore." The unicorn shook her mane and looked at them curiously. "What's going on here?"

  "Fake engagement." Sun shrugged.

  "Ah, so I see... I hope your parents don't kill her while she sleeps." That...was definitely a real issue. He frowned at the thought. Weiss had done nothing wrong to his knowledge. But she was still a mermaid. His parents hate basically anything that lived in the sea. They relied on fishing for a large sum of the money they made. He ate fish quite a bit though he was sick of how much it happened. Most meals everyday had them... But he couldn't argue since it wasn't like he could cook for himself. His parents would beat him if he ever tried to go down to the kitchens beforehand...so he was stuck with eating what was provided to him. He was sick and tired of the beatings.

  "I'll keep her in my bed then." That was probably the best way to handle things. They would share a room. His room had more than enough space for a second person in it. It was massive since he was the duke and dutchess' son. "I won't let her out of my sight." That was all he could really do.

  Weiss frowned. "I won't' be allowed to have time on my own?"

  He shook his head. "Not likely, no... My parents hate mermaids with a passion. You know that. They'd attempt to kill you if I left you alone at all." He felt bad. Weiss had plenty of time by herself underwater it sounded... The only time he'd leave her alone is if she was in the ocean. On land, it was much too dangerous for him to let her out of his sight. He wasn't trying to be a controlling bastard like his parents were. He just legitimately knew her life was in danger if she was left alone too long.

  "Oh." She frowned. "Well, I'll need to go back to the ocean once a week so..."

  "You can get some alone time then. I'll escort you down and back, but I won't get in the water with you." He'd leave her to spend whatever time she wanted down there. Probably once a week before sunrise. And she'd come back after dark. That seemed like the safest plan. "On the day you go back, we can get you out before sunrise and you can come back before sunset. Does that sound good?"

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "All right." She nodded, though she did seem more than a little disconcerted... He didn't blame her. She'd had relative freedom since she'd been a child, to suddenly not be able to be let out of someone's sight... If he could kill his parents, then that would work out well. Sadly, he didn't know any assassins. He had no contacts outside of the castle that weren't Moonstone or Weiss. He wasn't sure if Weiss would know any assassins from the mermaid world... He doubted it. She was a princess. Why would she know people that walked on the seedy side of life that took others' lives for their income? IT didn't make sense she'd know anybody like that...

  "If you want to spend all day down there, you can just use your crystal to call me back. Sound good?" He smiled at her a little bit. He felt so bad restricting her like this, but there was nothing he could really do about it. She would be at risk any time she was on land. His parents would almost certainly kill her if she was alone for even a few minutes. He had to protect her. He couldn't allow her to be killed... He really cared about her far too much to allow that to happen. He was trying his best to make sure she didn't end up cat food or something…

  "That's fine...and I probably will want to every so often. But I probably won't go see my family..." She frowned. Oof that had to be rough. She was more than eager to come up on land to help him and less eager to return to the water. Her step siblings were absolute menaces from the sound of it. It sounded like they needed to be assassinated too. All they did was harass and belittle her. She vented about it so much and, even after years, her mother wouldn't believe her. So to come up on land and enter a situation where her life was in danger... It was just one bad situation to another. There was no winning here.

  He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry," he muttered. How bad did it have to be that she wouldn't want to go see her family after having her very life threatened? This really was horrible... She wanted nothing more than to get away from her awful stepfather and step-siblings. She did have a new little brother and he was kind of following in their footsteps from the sound of it. The step siblings had really rubbed off on Whitley from what Weiss had said.

  She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "I just can't win no matter where I go. Either I endure their torture or I have my life threatened up here. I'm not sure what to do." She shook her head. What a bad situation... Either mental and verbal (well, as much as mermaids 'spoke' underwater) abuse or having her life threatened. Neither was a great option. He hated just how much she had to suffer. At least she would get time away from her family, not that his would be any better…

  "I'll keep you safe. I promise." He squeezed her gently in the hug. He held her for another few moments before taking her hand again. "Come on; let's go."

  She nodded a bit and looked at Moonstone before bidding the unicorn farewell. They started to walk again, but after about ten more minutes, she started wincing. "Why do my feet hurt so much...?"

  "Oh, that's probably between the terrain and the fact you're just not used to walking. There are a lot of sticks and stones and stuff." He bent down a bit and motioned for her to hop on his back. "C'mon, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

  "What even is that?" She sounded absolutely mystified.

  "I'll just carry you on my back. It's not that complicated." He explained how it worked and she eventually got on his back. He could only imagine how much it had to hurt to have sticks and stones and everything digging into the soles of her feet. She wasn't the lightest thing ever, but he wouldn't make her walk the rest of the way back. She did hold her arms around his neck lightly but she was definitely careful enough not to choke him.

  Eventually, they got back to the castle and he opened up a false stone door in the side of the castle. It opened up to a flight of stairs. "What are those?" she asked, mystified again.

  "What, you don't know what stairs-- You know what, I'm not even going to finish that." They had no need of stairs underwater. Why would mermaids need stairs? They swam through everything. He wished he knew more what her home looked like, but he didn't. The spells that mermaids used to turn their fins into legs weren't applicable to land dwellers. It wasn't like he could magically grow a tail (well, aside from the one he already had). Even if he could, breathing underwater wouldn't come naturally to him so he would drown. There were just way too many issues with him going underwater that he wasn't adapted to. "Do your feet still hurt or do you think you can walk up the flight?"

  "Um, I think I have something in my foot..."

  "I'll carry you then." This wasn't easy, but yeah, she needed to be carried. So he braced himself and started walking up the flight of stairs, eventually slipping into his room. He sat her on his bed and looked at her feet. twigs and small pebbles stuck to her soles, so she gently wiped them away. "There you go, Weiss... We'll need to get you some shoes for when you're outside the castle." They needed to get her an entire wardrobe frankly...

  "Are those the strange things you wear on your feet?"

  He looked at his feet and nodded. "Yeah. They help protect our feet from rough terrain like the forest." He took his shoes off and put them in their proper place. He tugged some slippers on. "C'mon, let's get you down to the cobbler and the tailors." His parents were going to be absolutely furious when they learned about all of this, but he didn't care. If Weiss could give them a taste of their own medicine, good for them. They really needed to be put in their place. He'd tolerated them for seventeen years and he was sick of it. He really wished he could've been born to other parents... They didn't deserve a kid like him.

  She got onto her feet and looked down. "What's the soft stuff? It's like moss but not wet..." She dragged her feet on the carpet a little bit, obviously intrigued. He was so used to it that he hadn't ever really given it a second thought.

  "Oh, it's called carpet. We use it in some rooms to make it feel nicer on our feet. Though we do have these things called slippers which are like inside shoes to help keep our feet warm too." It was spring right now, so it could still be a little chilly at times. Though after carrying her all that way, he didn't feel all that cool... He could feel the sweat dripping down his arms and chest under his shirt. That had definitely been quite the workout for him. But yeah, they really needed to get her some clothes and shoes... She needed to be 'presentable' to the noble society. He hated that she'd have to change herself entirely to be acceptable, but what else could he do?

  "Weird. But yeah, I guess we should..." He offered his hand to her and she took it, then they headed down to the working area of the castle complex. The tailor, cobbler, and others all had their own outbuildings that one could visit to get new clothes, shoes, or whatever else.

  He took her to the cobbler's and ran her through the measurements she needed. She obviously had a hard time not giggling while the man measured her feet. Over at the tailor's, things were...much different. The women working there seemed very off put by the fact he had obviously brought a mermaid to them. It didn't help she was a little wiggly under the measuring tape, getting them frustrated by her lack of poise and composure compared to his parents and himself. She didn't really seem to notice too much though. She just found the entire experience interesting and kept asking questions which only annoyed them more.

  After that, they headed back up to his room and he flushed hotly. Oh. Oh boy he did not reailse the implications of what would happen when he had her in his room when it was just them. Weiss blinked and looked at him. "Is something wrong, Sun?"

  "Uh, yeah, I just didn't think about...certain implications of having you in my room with me. And I only have one bed..." It was a decent sized bed, capable of holding multiple people, but even so... Well. He at least had a couch he could sleep on. He wasn't sure if she'd get what he meant or not... He had no idea of the cultural norms of the mermaids around sex and mating and stuff.

  "Bed? What even is bed?" Oh. Yeah. She clearly had no idea what he was talking about then. He guessed it did make sense that she wouldn't have a bed. Why would mermaids need a bed when the water could just hold them up?

  "Uh, this thing. We sleep on it." He sat on it, tapping the mattress next to him. She sat next to him and she bounced up and down a little bit.

  "Oh, it's kinda like our rest areas. We have patches on walls with seaweed and moss attached to them that we sleep against. So you lay down? You don't stand up?"

  He shook his head. "Keep in mind our bodies work different on land than they do in the water. If you stand up too long, blood will pool in your feet and make it comfortable. Beds help make things even. Though there are plenty of people who sleep without mattresses." He was pretty sure most commoners couldn't afford the high-quality mattress he was used to. He was glad he didn't have to be without a mattress... He couldn't imagine life without one. They were so comfortable, warm, and nice.

  "What're these things?" She pulled at the covers.

  "They're covers. They keep us warm when it's cold, though we don't really need them in the warmer months especially summer. You'll need to get used to using them--"

  "But I don't feel the cold, remember?" She pointed to one of the gems hanging off of her wrist. There were dozens and dozens of jewels along her wrists and neck. A complex lattice work of gems and seaweed rope held them in place.

  "Weiss, you're not going to be able to sleep with those ones. You could choke." She was really ignorant to the way things worked on land. He understood why, but he was going to need to really educate her on how things were so dangerous.

  She frowned. "Really? I know people could choke on things but to not sleep with all my enchantments?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, you're gonna have to take them all off. Plus, the gems can poke you in your sleep. Here, lay down on your side..." She showed her how to curl up on a bed and she winced a bit and looked at her wrists. That was the point he was trying to get at. It would hurt to leave all of those gems on at night. She was going to have to figure out a better solution. They didn't have beds underwater, so she simply spelt against a padded spot on the wall, sleeping upright. That was how she'd described how mermaids slept.

  "Ow." She sat upright and frowned. "How can I not have to tie and retie my rope every morning...?" She plucked at the green rope which was shriveling up and her frown grew deeper. "And it's drying out... It's losing strength. Is this was seaweed does on the surface?"

  He nodded. "Keep in mind what stuff you guys make is meant to stay wet. We're meant to stay dry up here. It only only makes sense it'd shrivel up on land." He tapped his chin. "I guess we're gonna have to go to the royal jeweler..." He felt bad she was going to have to take off all her enchantments for at least a couple of days. They had already come back, so he didn't feel like dragging her back down out of his room. She was having a hard time adjusting... And this was only the beginning. How much worse was it going to be especially once the woman his parents had arranged for him arrived...? Her nation was known for being terrible to women. He wanted nothing to do with her, but he'd probably have to treat her with at least some basic manners. He could only imagine how much the poor woman would be beaten down. Weiss was going to be pretty shocked…

  "Well, how am I supposed to keep them on?" Her frown remained etched on her face.

  "We'll have to talk to the royal jeweler tomorrow. You'll have to give them up for a couple days while he makes the some necklaces and bracelets for the jewels to be set into." He felt bad. He knew those enchantments were beyond important to how mermaids functioned. They offered light, heat and cold protection, apparently protection from deep-sea pressures, and more. They were paramount to keeping a mermaid healthy. Would she be okay without them for a few days? He hoped so... They were going to need to be complex pieces for the jeweler to make. Usually, he did things by hand, but he'd have to use magic to ensure they got done in a timely manner.

  "Oh." She bowed her head and squeezed her hands together. He sat next to her and hugged her. There wasn't much he could do about it unfortunately. He was already doing everything he possibly could to ensure she'd be well taken care of and protected. Hopefully his parents wouldn't attempt to take her jewels away from her. They were going to keep her safe and happy when she did go back into the ocean... If any of them disappeared, replacing them would be a bit of an ordeal from the sound of it. The gems did have to be mined from the planet's crust then cut and shaped like any other jewel. They at least all had the same cut, an oblong, multi-faceted jewel with points on either end and a seam in the middle. It was a cut very unique to the mermaid culture from his knowledge... He'd never really seen such a cut when looking at the jewelry the women around the kingdom wore when other nobles came to parties his parents held.

  "You've been through a lot already... Want to rest for a while?" He patted the bed behind him.

  "That might not be a bad idea." She frowned. She reluctantly removed her jewelry, then pulled the covers over her. She closed her eyes, curled into a ball. She looked absolutely defeated... He wasn't sure how well she'd last on land with all of the severe changes to her routine and everything... No matter what, her situation was awful. Either a set of emotionally abusive step siblings or the threat of death from his parents... She didn't have an easy life.

  He stood up and walked over to his bookshelf, pulling a book off and settling into the chair by his desk. He started to read, simply waiting for dinner to come.