The sun had set once more; outside, it was absolute stillness and darkness. Normally there would still be the twinkling of stars to dot the sky and provide a little illumination even on a new moon; but not here deep below the sea…
In this hidden submerged world, the dim lights of the firmament couldn’t go through the water surface, hence fish and merfolk were both asleep, gently resting against the sandy sea-floor or limply floating in a state of near-weightlessness in their dwellings. Only inside the Royal Palace of the merfolk there was still activity; there, with faint movements of his flippers and tail as to not disturb the water currents and other guests, swam the Royal Guard Chief and Ambassador Kraikugree, making his way through its submerged halls and corridors, a deadly daedalus for besiegers and curious divers alike…

Kraikugree was of course neither of those; as a resident of the Palace he knew the place like the back of his fin, easily navigating through it even in complete darkness. Nonetheless, it was helpful to have some light, which came in the form of escas, the type of luminescent organs extending from the forehead of an anglerfish or, in this case, of his night-shift guards stationed on watch along the way. He took as much pride in having “tamed” such elite warriors, former deep-sea raiders from the abyssal tribes now sworn to the King and Queen, as they were honoured to be under his leadership, grateful for the profitable alliance he had secured between their people. They exchanged silent nods and salutes of mutual acknowledgement as he swam past, finally arriving at his destination: the Queen’s chamber.

“I have come to talk to the Queen” he said.
“Only the Queen can decide if, when and who she talks to” replied the guard at the door out of pure formality; Kraikugree didn’t need to identify himself to his own guards and his rank usually granted him a free pass anyway. But the guard stayed true to the protocol, knocking on the door, stating the identity of the querent and asking for her to allow him inside.
No verbal answer was heard, yet the guard let him in; the Queen had a way of communicating her thoughts without words… a power she often used when she couldn’t be bothered with small talk.
“My Queen…” began Kraikugree, bowing his head as he entered, “…the land-dweller is finally adjusting to her new chamber and even seems cooperative in general”.

The Queen made a barely audible sigh of relief, the best she could muster right then as she listened with her eyes closed, resting her head on her bejewelled hand and massaging her temple. Her noble visage appeared tired from restless days of work, perhaps strained by the weight of her highly ornate crown… With the King busy abroad for a diplomatic meeting, she was effectively the sole ruler of her own Kingdom for the time being. A dream come true had she been a power-hungry mermaid; on the contrary, she enjoyed the social status more than the actual responsibilities and obligations that came with it. Although she didn’t lack the competences to do manage them, as shown by the numerous piles of clay tablets that she had just finished compiling, revising, vetoing or approving… each one being either a piece of legislation, a tax report, a warrant request, a plea from some troubled subject or some other official document. But her bad habit of micro-managing everything instead of delegating a chunk of the work to her many state officials was also showing…

“However…” he continued, “she is still too… wary of me… in spite of my efforts and best intentions. And despite understanding that we mean no harm to her! I am starting to suspect she trusts only those of her kin… Maybe I am the wrong merman for this task? Perhaps we could use a triton with a more fair, humanoid look…”
The Queen smirked.
“Oh? My valiant ambassador, diplomacy expert and secret crush for many of my courtesans not being good enough to win the trust of a lady? It would be a first…”
“My Queen… you flatter me, as usual~”
Kraikugree’s tentacle-like hair squirmed and entangled as if flustered, the tiny suckers making little popping sounds each time they slid onto each other. So typical of her to bring romantic intrigue into political intrigue! And he just played along for his Queen.
“Worry not Kraikugree, I believe in you being the right one for the task…” said the Queen, finally rising and swimming to his side, placing a hand over his shoulder reassuringly. Reaffirming her authoritative role by floating higher than him, yet showing kindness and care to her closest subjects.
“…you are arguably the most knowledgeable in this Kingdom about humans. We only need to be more patient and sensible to the special needs of such a… ‘guest’. We can’t afford to fail where others did” she concluded, and he nodded with a sigh.

They weren’t the first to try establishing a contact with the humans, but previous attempts were usually… inconclusive, to put it mildly. They say it’s the [i]Echo of the Abyss[/i]… something that the merfolk can tolerate, but drives the land-dwellers who stay too long underwater insane or desperate… He absolutely didn’t wish Katherine a similar fate!
Closing her eyes, the Queen breathed a mouthful of water as if pondering something while the long, wand-like rostrum on her head read the faintest turbulences in the surrounding waters, something few of her kind were able to…
“I can sense the human girl in this very Palace and feel all her longing for the familiar people and places she can no longer visit… a strong and, admittedly, relatable feeling” she added after reopening her eyes.
“Indeed my Queen… I think the land-dwellers even have a name for that… [i]‘Nostalgee-ah’[/i] I believe…” he replied, “…and speaking of, is probably the reason why I am having troubles with the girl. Forcing me to make promises I am not sure to keep, like granting her a meeting with none other than the King and Queen themselves…”
“Oh…” she gasped, slowly backward-swimming in circles as she mumbled about such a possibility.
“…hmmm, I admit I would love to be introduced to the human in person, or even book a private meeting with her. But! Did you really had to make such tall promises?! That is never going to happen until the King comes back to rescue me from all this work, gah!” she then said, knocking off a pile of clay tablets with her fish tail.
“And knowing the King all too well, he would probably end up setting back our slow progress, complaining about why wasn’t the ‘guest’ introduced to HIS chambers, why didn’t we wait for HIM to come back before interacting with her and such… [b]sigh[/b] he believes he can master any lady, but even if that were true, this is nothing like seducing a mermaid!”
“I agree… if anything, this girl would not be an easy one for the King indeed, if I dare say so…” answered Kraikugree.

The Queen suddenly stopped, intrigued by the implications of what he just said.
“Come again?”
“Oh it was nothing my Queen, I… uhm, just…” he stammered.
“My, my… Wouldn’t you happen to have tried having a go with the human already~?” she mused, raising his chin with a finger to lock eyes with him.
He made a shocked face, like a baby caught red-handed with something naughty, causing a twitch to ripple down the length of his tentacle-hair. He was trying to come up with an elaborate response but he guessed the Queen was probably reading his mind anyway…
“I… would be lying if the thought didn’t cross my mind at least once… but there’s nothing between us, I swear!” he finally admitted.
“Nothing so far, hihihi…” she smirked; “…try not to get too attached to the human though, ok~?”

[center][b]≈≈≈≈≈[/b][/center]

Almost a week had now passed since Katherine was first abducted and taken into the underwater city of the merfolk; still being relegated to her personal cell-chamber on her own, the girl of the land did her best to adapt to the submerged world of the mer-people and enjoy even the littlest of things. Luckily for her, every day was a discovery, for there was always something new to see or learn about the Kingdom of Aqquaria and its dwellers…

For example, every morning she would be quite amused to awake surrounded by many new, attractive and curious merfolk just outside her glass dome, always making her quite bashful for such attention or admiration. The girl attracting a literal crowd each morning, all craving to see the strange new creature from the fabled Dry Lands above. So much so that sometimes a guard even had to show up and disperse the mer-people away from the Royal Palace! She acknowledged it would probably be no different if back at home she had an aquarium hosting a true mermaid for all her friends and people to see, yet she often liked to imagine she was a celebrity so popular that her personal security team had to push the fans away!
Among those guards, she usually recognised one or both of the same mermen who had escorted her out of her bubble-like prison and into her current ‘residence’, together with Kraikugree. Back then, she had regarded them as brutes from how scared she was of them; but looking at them now, she recognised they weren’t ugly savages, just burly mermen abiding to their duty without question. Actually, throughout all this time, not once she recalled seeing a mer-person that she couldn’t define as good-looking, if not even beautiful… Which flattered Kate to no end every time she was regarded as if she was the jewel of the crown, the most prized possession of the Merfolk Kingdom. She was a rare sight indeed, but surely her beauty couldn’t rival that of the merfolk, could it~?

But above all, she was glad to see that one black-haired mermaid with mesmerizing green eyes coming to see her regularly, always staying a bit longer with her while the rest dispersed. Katherine didn’t even know her name, yet she already considered her like a friend, awaiting her daily visit with anticipation and greatly enjoying her company. They even played together sometimes: by tapping and rapping on the glass-dome with her fingers, the mermaid signalled the girl to come do the same from the other side. Then the mermaid rapidly swam away to tap on another part of the dome, making Kate follow in a sort of chasing-game as they continued like this for a while. Perhaps a bit childish, but it was the most fun Kate would get while still trapped inside her dome; she wished she could get to know the mermaid better…

One day, they were so involved into their little game of chase that they both lost track of time, smiling and laughing as they played the whole morning… only to be surprised by Kraikugree when he suddenly entered Katherine’s room for lunchtime, interrupting all the fun!
“Oh, hey Kraikugree! I was almost wondering when you would-”
She stopped mid-sentence though, noticing how he was giving a very stern look to the mermaid behind her, who tried to cover her sorry face behind her long flowing hair before promptly swimming away, quickly disappearing into the far blue sea depths…
“Umm… something wrong? I… take it you two know each other? Hopefully that’s not a problem…”
The merman made a sort of annoyed snort, venting both air and water out of his nostrils and gills, something that almost made her jump in surprise!
“O-Oh! I’m sorry, I-I didn’t know and didn’t want to cause any problem!” she said, not expecting such a peculiar reaction and having never seen him this angry!
“You have no fault: it’s HER who should know better than wasting her time here, hmpf!”
“I-I didn’t think she would get in trouble just for coming to see me! Please don’t be too upset with her…” she pleaded; that mermaid was the only regular company she was getting besides Kraikugree, she was too afraid to lose her now! So much so she realized she had just come to hold the merman’s hands only when her palms got all soaked with the dampness of his skin… But Kate didn’t care much at this point..; Trying to swallow her embarrassment, she slid her hands further up his arms, unable to resist the temptation of massaging his strong, masculine biceps to calm him down a bit before locking eyes with him. It wasn’t very typical of the girl to be this touchy, and they both noticed; him looking quite content to be finally embraced by Kate, while she was actually very flustered about it…
“P-Please Kraikugree, I actually didn’t mind her company! Plus she seems really nice and probably meant well…”

He pondered about it; in fact, it even gave him an idea… so he chuckled and patted her shoulder to reassure her. Noting how this time she didn’t seem to mind his touch either. Yes, patience will reward him eventually: no longer keeping her distance from him, the land-dweller might just stop seeing him only as a captor eventually…
“Fear not, I won’t be too harsh… how could I be towards my own daughter~?” he replied.
Kate gasped and her eyes widened in response.
“She’s your daughter?!”
“Indeed. Her name is Okikri. And I am just disappointed to find out she prefers staying with my [i]guest[/i] than attending the daily tuitions I’ve been paying for…” he said while gesturing for the girl to come sit with him and have lunch together, as it was now usual for them.
“Oooh…” was her reaction while she seated next to him, holding a little gasp when she felt his wet flipper closing around her lower back to pull her even closer, their sides almost touching… she shyly looked down, staring at her comparatively little legs being close to his long shark tail while her mind processed the implications of such simple trivia. Mainly the fact she had never thought to ask him about his family before or why he never mentioned it until now… could she be a burden on his family?
“Well, I can understand the disappointment if she skipped school to visit me…” she began to say, briefly interrupted by the merman’s handfeeding. It was still a bit awkward for her to eat like that, but she had long since learned the merfolk considered it rude otherwise.
“…and maybe I should also apologize. I’m grateful you put so much care into looking after me, but I don’t wanna distract you from your family if that’s the case…”
“Oh no no no, my dear guest… you must not think it that way. Haven’t I already told you it’s an honour to have you among us?”
“Yeah, I just… wanted to make sure I guess” she replied, only partially convinced and crossing her legs. Which reminded her of the precious golden leaf garter belt she was wearing… that, plus the rest of her jewellery, must have been an expensive gift nonetheless she thought! Wondering if the merman was compromising the family savings just to woo her~

They finished their first course together without conversing much longer, the merman doing small talk only and her asking whether he had any news about the King and Queen… to no avail.
However, he was actually planning how to seed his idea in her while remaining true to the Queen’s suggestion… patience was key and he couldn’t force any decision for her. If anything, he had to trick the land-dweller into making the first moves, thus giving her the illusion he was accommodating her wills and wishes, not the other way around.
“You know, under different circumstances I would not mind for my gracious daughter to spend her time with the land-dwellers. It was such a struggle for me to learn the tongue of the humans from second or even third-hand knowledge… native speakers are hard to find here, eheh” he chuckled while revealing their second course: tuna fish fillet.
“Why spending so much time into it then?” she asked; “You even said it yourself that you can’t let me free to protect the secret that is this very merfolk kingdom. Which is funny, because I’d bet no one would believe me if I were to go back and tell everyone about it. Heck, they’d probably think I’m crazy for thinking I am sharing lunch with a merman right now! Why then?”
What a smart little human thought Kraikugree… he had to watch his mouth or risk his manipulative attempt to backfire! Hence he pretended to struggle finding the correct words to respond, at least more than he usually did, taking some time to ponder a good answer that didn’t also hint the true purpose of his mission…
“Don’t you ever, err… say, look at the night sky and wonder: what is a star? And then ask… Is there anything beyond the stars? Are there people in the sky as well? And what language would they speak? Fools will say these are pointless questions. Wise people recognise value in research… from a safe distance, eheh. I believe learning human language is worthwhile… indeed, I couldn’t predict this time would come, but we wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise…”

Kate listened closely, looking at how he gestured with his arm towards imaginary stars above the glass dome as he spoke. He had funny manners and talked weird sometimes, but she believed he truly was a merman of culture, besides Chief of the Royal Guard. Which was probably why they also made him an Ambassador she thought. Plus, she was secretly admiring his body and shape, ogling at his physique and exotic anatomy from head to toe… or rather from head to tailfin. It was as if his beauty grew the more she looked, despite their nature being so different. Of course she didn’t dare admitting so, or stare at him like that right under his snout… Causing her to gasp when his eyes finally turned back on her.
“Ah! C-can’t argue with that logic…”
Both satisfied, they proceeded to finish the rest of the lunch, Kraikugree still handfeeding her until the very last morsel, while Katherine excused herself for not reciprocating, saying it was gross for her people to touch the food with her hands… a partial truth. The missing portion of truth being the fact she couldn’t bear the sight of his scary shark teeth whenever he opened his mouth to eat! If he could have changed that, the girl would have considered him truly handsome~

“Hey Kraikugree… Okikri, I mean your daughter, can’t possibly be studying ALL day every day, can she?”
His eyes widened, anticipating where this conversation might go… finally!
“Hmmm… true, yes… why you ask?” he replied, acting vague.
“Well, you see, despite you coming quite often, it quickly gets lonely and boring in here at times… so I was wondering: could your daughter possibly ever come to visit me again? Only next time I would like to be able to talk to her without a thick thing of glass and water separating us… Your daughter seems really nice and I would kind of like to get to know her. I could even help with the language, it will be like a language exchange programme! And maybe…” she told him before pausing.
The girl gave some thought to what she was asking, momentarily looking away as she felt in part ridiculous and in part excited. Ridiculous because it would have been such an absurd proposition to her human friends and family back home… but exciting because she now knew there actually was a fantastical world under the sea inhabited by beautiful mermen and mermaids~
“…maybe we can even become friends. Please?” she finished, giving him the puppy eyes…
Kraikugree made a broad smile at that; it was perhaps even more than what he could have asked for~
“Knowing my daughter, I suspect she would also love to… we shall see about that. Mainly we will see if we manage to schedule some meetings without sacrificing the rest of her priorities. But it shouldn’t be as hard as say, scheduling a meeting with the King and Queen, eheh…”

Katherine couldn’t help but squirm in excitement after that. The thought of becoming friends with a real mermaid constantly brought a smile to her face and she couldn’t stop swaying her legs back and forth over the entrance-pool they were sitting by. Splashing water every now and then in the process.
“Now now, mind those two limb-things of yours! You will flood the entire room if you keep that up~” he chuckled, which coaxed an unexpected laugh out of the girl! Him quickly going quiet, fascinated by the sound of her laughter; it was the first time he heard and saw her this genuinely happy.
“Ahahah, that’s ridiculous! Don’t tell me [i]you[/i] are afraid of the water…” she said without stopping, splashing more water his way…
“Oh, I am certainly not, of course! But aren’t you…?” he teased, a quick flick of his tailfin sending a handful of water towards her.
“Gah! Not fair!” she answered, but wasn’t really offended by that; if anything, it only prompted her to keep playing the silly game they had just started!
“Ah, a challenger I see… but you will have to do more to best the Chief of the Royal Guards~”
It didn’t take long for them both to end up laughing and splashing each other, perhaps enjoying their silly water contest more than they had any right to, the girl becoming equally bewitched by the merman’s laughter. It was similar to a human laugh but it also reminded her of the whistling noises of some cetaceans… it even seemed to have a musical ring to her, like the lyrics sung by an opera singer.
But while he tried to be gentle and spare most of her clothing from getting all wet, she was going all out instead, splashing him completely since he remained unfazed by it.
“Don’t make me put you in your place…” he finally warned with a coy smile.
“Or else what? Are you returning me to the land?” she mused…
Kate quickly regretted it as the merman used his full force to throw the equivalent of a bucket of water onto her with a single sweep of his tail, soaking her completely and almost knocking her back! She could only gasp in shock at that before covering her breasts, worrying her now cold nipples might be poking through the wet garments… Kraikugree erupted in a louder laugh meanwhile, claiming his victory.
“Fine, you win, umpf!” she sighed, trying to squeeze the water off of her clothes without success.
“Come on, I’m sure you will have better luck next time, eheheh~” said Kraikugree, petting her back.

It was then that she looked up at him… wishing he could stay some more for the first time. Despite needing some dry clothes now, she had to admit that was quite fun. Eventually conjuring the courage to do something she would have never dared to do before, with men or mermen alike. Which caught him by surprise…
“Given I’m already all wet, I might as well do this…”
With those words, she moved even closer and carefully came to sit on his lap… or that mid-section of his between his humanoid torso and his piscine lower body, which could very well be a lap for all her intents and purposes. Her rump resting comfortably over what felt like one large thigh, and him feeling her natural warmth on his body…
“…if you don’t mind, of course”
Kraikugree’s tentacle-hair shivered; he absolutely didn’t mind, he was just in disbelief she could be this flirty so suddenly!
“I am ok with it if you also don’t mind~” he replied, his arms and flippers coming to caress her back and holding her steady in his embrace, his grip firm but gentle~

Kate returned the hug and buried her face between his pecs to hide her blush; it was so weird, yet such a sweet moment together! Were her feelings genuine, or perhaps twisted by the lack of affection and consolation she desperately longed for, making her resort to getting intimate with this strange mer-person? All she knew was that it felt oddly satisfying to slide her fingers up and down his back, feeling his wet shark scales, meeting his dorsal fin… exploring and admiring his body closer than ever… he seemed to be doing much of the same, his fingers enjoying the touch of her warmer, softer skin…
She had never felt like this before, and soon enough she also returned to feel butterflies in her stomach! Then, while holding her red cheeks against his chest, she also felt his heart… yes, this merman must have also had a heart and feelings~! Closing her eyes, the girl wondered if she could synch her own heart to his beats; it seemed they were both going faster…

Meanwhile Kraikugree couldn’t deny how good this felt… being a father, he obviously already enjoyed the many pleasures of female company, and had his fair share of beautiful mermaids too. But this excited him on a different level… could it be the lure of the exotic? Her body contrasted his in so many good ways…
…perhaps too good! He remembered the Queen’s warning to not get too attached to the human, and that he was the one who originally had ulterior motives of seducing the girl, not the other way around! Was she switching tactics on him?! He doubted so… similarly to how he doubted the land-dweller was aware of his genital slit being not much further below where she was sitting… what a tease~!
“Isn’t this… too intimate for your standards?” he asked, but without breaking the hug.
“Y-you could say that, yes… but it feels fine too~”
She didn’t mind that he was now holding and stroking her arms or her cheeks really. Plus, it did make her feel rather warm and cozy despite how damp his skin was. Until she remembered about one thing…

“So Okikri is your daughter huh? I assume that means you’re happily married then?”
He didn’t answer straight away, taking a bit longer than usual to elaborate a response; maybe that was a too personal question?
“Hmmm, strange… I can’t recall the meaning of this word, ‘married’… could it be I have never heard it before…?” he eventually uttered, looking quite pensive.
Kate didn’t see that one coming… but assumed he was honest. So a long and rather awkward conversation ensued, in which she had to win her embarrassment multiple times as they both had to discuss topics of family, love… and sex… especially now that she was locked in such a sweet, heart-warming hug with the merman~
“So, if I understand this correctly, your people put great value in fidelity, which extends to love relationships in the form of this ‘marriage’… an inseparable love bond~?” asked Kraikugree in the end; unlike her, he was very intrigued by the topic and felt no shame in openly talking about sex affairs.
“Err pretty much, yes…” she bashfully confirmed.
“Sounds very romantic, in its own unique way… but does it work? Do men stay true to the bond and make love only to their spouse?”
She couldn’t answer straight away, making the merman smirk as her hesitation spoke for itself; she knew very well how cheating happened both ways in many families, and how that usually led to break ups…
“We don’t share the formality of ‘marriage’ among us” he continued, “what we cherish is love itself… Caring more about the sincerity rather than the number of love bonds. Which doesn’t mean things don’t get complicated sometimes, but you can’t be blamed for following your heart… can you?”

His words sounded so sincere… and true. What mattered more to her, the holiness of marriage or a happy love relationship? Was it really that bad she was developing feelings for something… someone other than a human~? Her heart probably knew the answer already, but in her mind, she still felt a bit guilty for falling in love with a person who already had a daughter and family. No matter how promiscuous he might have been, something he had previously implied was standard for most merfolk…
“I-I’m not sure… n-no offense but I suppose you have another woman… I mean mermaid, who already loves you and gave you a beautiful daughter such as Okikri… so maybe I shouldn’t be here after all” she finally said, gently breaking the hug and coming off of his lap.
He continued to caress her but let the girl do as she wished without commenting on it, although the little fins that were his ears ‘drooped’ similarly to a sad dog; he was enjoying the intimate company they were sharing up until then. Good thing he managed to keep his member tucked inside his genital slit the whole time…
“Just don’t be afraid to tell your feelings to… anyone you might like. Yes, I have already been in a relationship, and still vividly remember how Okikri’s mother used to lovingly lay against my body similarly to how you came to sit on me today. How I longed for her Siren’s song to seduce me one more time… again and again…
But also know this: that was a long time ago, and many things change with time, including relationships. We merfolk acknowledge that sometimes love is like a storm that comes and goes… and resisting its whims is futile. Me and my former fiancée are just glad we could spend an amazing time together and have a daughter. Besides, I had yet to discover a touch as delicate and warm as yours~”

His speech made her blush again, especially as he spoke closer and closer to her, eventually coming to tenderly whisper his last words in her ear with a hot puff of breath that almost melted her heart… ah, such a sweet-talking merman! Maybe it wasn’t so bad that it was him and his guards who rescued her that day, instead of her own people… even if it meant having little hopes of ever returning home.
Whatever him and Okikri’s mother had between them, she was sure it was just as sweet and romantic as this present moment. She wasn’t jealous of his mermaid, only worried to be labelled as a merman-stealer!

After thanking him for the kind words, the two said their good-byes, the merman having to go back on duty. Finally separating on the promise that she would be thinking about his words, and he would let her meet his daughter…