Anchored : A Harry Styles fanfic

Chapter 10

The surprising visitor caused me to suck in a deep breath of the night air before popping up into a defensive stance, my scattered scales bristling in anticipation of a fight.

A hearty chuckle rose from the surf, preceding the immense man as he came closer to the beach. "Is that any way to greet your former tutor?"

"Kai?!" I guessed incredulously, "What are you doing here?" I dropped my hands from being ready to pummel who ever came across to my path to resting on my hips in disbelief.

"Oh, I heard some squeaky voice a whinin'." Kai winked playfully at me, opening his arms for a hug.

I melted into the arms of my father's most trusted general and wartime advisor. Kai had trained both my brother and I from the time we were small, what Kai called "little fish". When my mother had been killed and my father couldn't bear to look into my eyes, Kai became the father figure I needed. It had been years since I had seen him, Father had him busy exploring and reaching out to other clans establishing treaties.

"My voice is not squeaky anymore." I say indignantly. I gave him a big squeeze before leaning back to look up at him. "And not to sound ungrateful, but what are you doing here?"

Kai released me then knelt to sit on the sand prompting me to join him, while his murky green scales slowly started to fade back into his dark skin. His face was turned away from me, I followed his honey brown eyes to where they met the moon, his face still and somber. My brain took me back to the day of my mother's real funeral back home when my tutor had told me that "...not only have I lost my Queen, I have lost a friend."

"I miss her too, you know." He dropped his gaze, flexing the muscles in his arms as if fighting to hold onto her memory.

"I know." My voice lost in the wind.

After a pause, Kai turned and looked at me, " your brother tells me that you have met a human."

I pursed my lips in annoyance, refusing to meet his eyes. "Kai, for your information, I meet humans everyday."

"Eh, that may be true but I certainly hope you do not kiss all of them."

"So you're telling me," crossing my arms, eyes blazing, "that my dear brother who only hangs out with me in the summer because I have a state ID that lets me buy him booze, cared enough about what I'm doing with my life to send you a messenger fish to tell you I kissed somebody."

"Was there a question in there?"

My glare drilled into his eyes, Kai of course was unfazed by my fury.

"Princess, you know that your brother loves you. And you know that he only wants what is best for you."

"Correction, Artem only wants his way and what he thinks is best for our Kingdom. But he does not think that anything that what I want or do is what's best."

"Aria, we all agreed that you spending time up here on the surface learning the ways of the humans would benefit you and our kingdom. But I can't help but agree with the Prince about potentially dangerous and even wasteful interactions with humans."

My head spun so fast I felt dizzy, "W-wasteful? Please inform me how this is wasteful, you don't even know him."

"You know our ways, you know what I'm talking about. There is a plan for you Aria once you return home, we cannot jeopardize that."

Taking a deep breath I released my legs from their crossed position and stretched my toes until they touched the water. Allowing the connection between the water and my true self, I slowly controlled the appearance of each of my blue scales. It was an exercise Kai had taught me when I was young and overwhelmed, it gave me a sense of control.

When my scales had reached my forearms, I spoke. "I just have this feeling when I'm with Harry." I kept my eyes down, concentrating on the webbing forming between each individual finger. "Like, it feels that him being next to me is where I'm supposed to be." I gazed into Kai's face, imploring him to understand. "I don't want to be courted by a bunch of mer-dudes who just see me as a gateway into being a king."

"Aria..." He grimaced.

"No! I love him!" Neither of us missed how my scales vibrantly lit up the space around us in an ethereal glow.

"Kai, what just happened?" I inspected my scales even though they had returned back to their normal state of being, Kai's eyes darted curiously like mine.

"Not sure really. Maybe lighting." Shaking his head, Kai rose and offered his hand out to me. "Here, let's get you home."

I looked at his eyes in disbelief, I didn't see any lighting?? But I took his hand anyway, not going to win this argument tonight anyways.

We stood facing each other again, our hands placed in our traditional greeting and farewell gesture; our hands raised at waist height, my left palm facing up with his right palm placed on top of it and our other hands flipped with my right palm facing down onto his left.

"Aria, who you are and what you're doing are unprecedented. You have been given these struggles and the strength to overcome them, I urge you to give yourself patience in all of it."

I stared back at him. So close to dropping all sense of decorum and shouting, "Then trust me! Let me live my life!" Instead I rolled my lips inward turning my mouth into a straight line. "Thank you, Kai. Your guidance is appreciated."

Kai grinned gripping my hands in his, "I see right through you, Princess. Your mother gave you that spirit."

A smile flashed across my face, unable to contain my pride.

"I'll leave you to it then, Aria Oceanborne, Princess of Atlantis, the Hurricane of the Seven Seas!" Kai theatrically bowed low, his eyes sparkling in humor.

"Okay, bye." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at his use of my full name.

Kai turned and strode back into the surf, walking until he shoulder deep in water before diving into the waves, a flick of green scales signaling his departure.

I stood there a few moments longer, my mind wandering over things he had said, things I've been told my whole like and my desire to know what my mother would say about it all. Giving the moon one last long stare before turning and walking away.