Hidden Messages [Klance AU]

4: Uncharted Waters

"He failed?!" Lance heard his father's voice echo through the house. He lowered his head and hugged his tail tighter. "How could he have failed?"

"Leandro, por favor, calmate," Rosalina reasoned. "It wasn't his fault." Lance felt tears come to his eyes, and he wiped the bubbles away. He hated to hear his father yelling; and about himself no less.

"I know that! No es eso que me molesta. It's just... he was so excited to be a royal guard, and now that chance is ruined. It would have helped our family so much if he got the job, too. Now I'm worried that his energetic spirit will be gone." Lance's mother gripped her husband's hands that were resting on the table. She sighed sadly.

"I'm afraid that it was gone long ago, Lean."

Lance's father looked down, his eyes melancholy. He knew what Rosalina was talking about; they both had noticed the scars on Lance's tail. He nodded slightly.

"I know," He whispered, "I know."

Lance's eyes filled with tears. His parents... they knew. I tried to hide it, but they found out anyways. A sick feeling grew in Lance's stomach, feeling guilty for his parents' sadness. He backed away from the kitchen where his parents were, running a hand through his hair. He suddenly felt as if the coral walls were closing in on him, that he needed to get out of the house, to somewhere that didn't have any walls. With a swish of his tail, Lance ran away from the scene. His parents noticed the bubbles and surge of water from Lance's escape, and looked at each other with equally worried expressions.

Upon entering his bedroom, Lance looked around rapidly.

"Lance!" He heard his parents shout behind him. Their voices sounded stressed, worried even, but Lance didn't want to face them now. His eyes darted around his room frantically and picked up a leather bag that lay on his bed. He spotted the small window above the bed and slammed his shoulder into it to push it open. When he looked back to see his mother and father come into view and enter his room, Lance squeezed through the small window and swam away.

"Lance!" Rosalina called, but he didn't look back. She looked down to the floor where a polished blue scale lay. She picked it up and held it to her heart. "Lance..."

"Rosa," Leandro whispered from behind her. He motioned to the exit when she turned to face him. She nodded, and they both left the room. A mer peeked out of another door, having heard her parents shouting.

"What's going on?" She asked sleepily. The two older mers exchanged looks and nodded.

"Lance swam away," Leandro said.

"Rachel, your father and I are going to look for him," Rosalina told her daughter, her hands on her shoulders. "Please try and go back to sleep, okay? We'll find him." Rachel nodded, worried for her younger brother. She waited until her parents had left the house, then swam back into the bedroom. There were two beds, one that she had occupied minutes ago and the other that held a sleeping mer. She swam up to the second bed and shook her sister hard.

"Ver, wake up!" She whisper-yelled at Veronica, who yelped and was out of the bed in seconds.

"What?!" She snapped, annoyed.

"Lance is missing," Rachel told her, and Veronica's face changed the same way Rachel's had— to one of worry. "Mami and Papi went to find him."

"Okay," Veronica started, heading towards the door. Rachel followed behind her. "I'm going out to look for him, I have a hunch as to where he went. You stay here, in case he comes back. Don't wake your brothers," She added sternly. Rachel whispered an okay and watched as her sister left the house. She looked around the now silent room, a sigh escaping her lips.