Chapter Text
It’s cold, oh so cold. Everything is damp, dark, and so very uncomfortable. Terror’s surely taken over his shaken form hours ago. Louis trembles, though he can’t quite tell if it’s due to the fear or the freezing, heavy rain soaking him to his very core or some awful combination. Louis can’t even remember a time where he’s been this scared in his life. Not even the time when he thought his wings wouldn’t come in, luckily it just turned out he was a late bloomer, as his mother had put it. No, nothing can compare to how irrevocably petrified Louis feels right now, nothing.
A monstrous crack of thunder startles him out of his thoughts; whimpering, he closes his eyes and buries himself in his mother’s chest, hoping and pleading that this will all be over soon. He doesn't know where his father is and the thought is enough to bring on another wave of tears. It’s been hours and his father is yet to return like he promised. Louis tries to stop the tears, as he his father’s last words replay in his head. Johannah, you and Louis have to get a head start. I’ll catch up to you eventually, okay? I love you both so much and Louis, you need to be strong and listen to everything your mother tells you okay, bud? Now go. Besides the ugly numb feeling that has taken over Louis’ tiny body, he feels his mother stiffen while clutching on to him for dear life. About to ask what’s wrong, his heart skips a beat when he hears it or him shout.
"Come out from wherever you're hiding, Johannah. There is no use," a malice laced voice growls.
"Give me what belongs to me and I will maybe spare your life. Although, going by that little stunt you and your bastard of a lover just pulled, I highly doubt it," the voice continues.
Petrified from fear, Louis doesn’t dare move, let alone breathe, not like he could anyways. His watery eyes enlarge at the hatred filled tone of voice. His mother just clutches him tighter, to the point where they could become one. Her dirty and battered wings envelop him and for that split second Louis feels safe. But much too soon she loosens her hold on him and grabs his face with both hands. She looks at him for a second, so much emotion conveyed in just one look. All Louis sees is sorrow and his heart breaks at the sight. His mother wipes his sweaty fringe away from his eyes, kissing him on the forehead as warm and salty tears start to fall down her face. He feels even more frightened at the heavy emotions radiating off her body in waves.
"Mom-" Louis finds himself brokenly saying before being shushed quiet by her.
"Shh baby, you have to be quiet and listen to me," she says in a hurried yet stern way, which only serves to make Louis feel more uncomfortable and anxious by the second.
"I need you to fly okay, baby? I need you to fly as fast and as far away as you possibly can, eastward" She says, her voice cracking as more tears spill down her delicate face. The hairs on the nape of Louis neck immediately stand up. A gaggle of goose bumps laminate his frigid, naked torso. Heart jackhammering beneath his chest, Louis doesn’t understand, or maybe he does but doesn’t want to accept it. He feels lightheaded by his mother’s words. As if Louis could ever leave his mother behind, like she means nothing. Louis' little hands go up to sit on top of his mother's, one on each side of his cheeks as he manically shakes his head, "No mommy, where's papa? Let’s go, please, before that mean harpy finds us!” Swallowing the lump in his throat, he all but manages to brokenly cry, “I won't leave w-without you!"
His mother’s face breaks, complete and utter distress is the only expression visible on her face. Time is not on their side at the moment, so she needs to get Louis to safety immediately.
"I love you so much, baby, don't you ever forget that but you need to do what I tel-"
The small harpy doesn't get to hear the end of her sentence because she's ripped away from him. Everything happens so fast and within seconds everything is upside down. Something grabs Louis by his legs and holds him upside down. The hold is so so tight, he's afraid his legs will break in half. He can't do anything but scream in agony for his mama.
"You stupid bitch and to think I let you in my harem only for you to go fuck someone else " the vicious voice snarls.
"Stay still you little shit," another female voice all but growls as she hauls Louis up towards her face. Louis can barely see the harpy’s nasty glare through his tears. He’s at a loss for words, thoughts scattering in his mind, everything his papa taught him to do in dangerous situations long forgotten. Feeling like a failure, he does the only thing his body is telling him to do; reach for his mother, for her warm arms to build a barricade of protection.
All the wiggling and wailing is a terrible idea, seeing as how Louis is harshly flipped right side up. His head is ringing from the abrupt move, only to be replaced by a sharp pain from his cheek. Blinking one, two, three times before realizing what just happened.
“I told you to fucking stay still,” the female berates out, nauseating breath hitting his face. “Now, unless you want me to slap you until it really hurts, I’d suggest you stop squirming.”
Stunned and confused Louis can't help but just dangle there, too horrified to do much else. No one has ever hit him like that. Not even his parents when he was being naughty.
"Feisty little thing isn’t he? Not to mention how delicious he looks," he vaguely hears another female voice jeer. "Too bad we can't have a go at ya; you’re still much too young.”
He can hear his mother screeching as the male harpy starts laughing. “You sure are smarter than you look, Johannah, faking your own death just so you can whore around. That’s a new low for someone as special as you,” he says as he backhands her, making her cry out in pain.
At the sound of his mother’s pain, Louis immediately stops crying and struggles to get away from the female that is holding his legs. I need to be brave Louis tells himself, papa always told me to keep mamma safe when he’s not here.“St- stop don’t hurt her!” Louis yells at the scary male.
The female tightens her hold on him, squeezing the breath out of him. Mouth agape, from the sudden loss of air, Louis barely manages a small huff in pain as his eyes fill with unshed tears.
“Shut up you little sh-“
“Silence,” the male sneers. “So this is the famous boy with the sky eyes and wings. Pretty little thing isn’t he?” the male says as he eyes Louis up and down in disgust. “You know at first when I heard the rumors I took ‘em with a grain of salt. There was no way another harpy could possibly have light eyes.” Cocking his head to the side he continues, “and you know why?” he asks no one in particular. “Because the only one known was Johannah Darling! But she had been dead for years!” The male shouts as he hands his mother off to the other female, before stalking his way towards the little harpy.
“Don’t touch him, please don’t touch him, I’ll do anything but please let him go, Ambrus,” Louis’ mother pleads.
Ambrus winks at Louis before turning around with a loud barking laugh, “Don’t touch him? Don’t tou- you must be mental if you think you have any say in what I do with my property,” Ambrus sneers.
“I took over your weakling of a father’s harem and everything he owned including you, which now includes him.” He snaps back pointing at Louis. “So don’t you dare tell me what I can’t do with my property, you whore,” Ambrus taunts as he takes hold of his mother’s neck and spits in her face.
“Pirjo, go back to our cave and prepare a holding cell just in case. Ina and I have this under control,” Ambrus orders the female harpy who was previously holding his mother. With a last hiss directed at Johannah; she takes off.
“Now, what should I do with the boy, Johannah?” Ambrus asks as he grabs his mother from the back, winding one arm around her neck while the other wraps around her mid-section. “He’s not mine and I don’t want him. Should I kill him in front of you? Kill him nice and slow as I did your wretched lover,” he whispers in her ear. “Or maybe I should hold him captive and when he comes of age, give him to a group of unattached females, perhaps?” He teases much louder, for Louis to hear.
Johannah gasps at that, face struck with horror. It is widely known that Harpies are aggressive and remorseless creatures by nature. Females outnumber males by a long shot, hence why so many males take up a harem, if they're strong enough, which is rare. If a young male finds himself cornered by a group of free females demanding to mate, it can lead to multiple females trying to aggressively mate with the overwhelmed male.
“Ahh seems like I’ve struck a nerve,” Ambrus smirks.
“Hear that pretty boy?” The female harpy sneers at Louis, as she turns him around, “Looks like you’ll be joining the har-“ she gets cut off by his mother’s and Ambrus’ shouts.
There's a loud grunt and his mom's screams make his head whip towards her. She managed to get away from the Ambrus’ grasp and is currently digging her razor-sharp talons through his flesh. The grip holding Louis loosens and Louis falls to the ground with a hard thump. He winces in pain and looks up horrified as his mom is grabbed by the female harpy.
"Louis go! Do as I told you!" his mother cries in agony as Louis flies up to try to help her. A bloody hand grabs him again by his neck in a painful grip, but with the only thought of helping his mother, Louis uses his talons to scratch at Ambrus’ face. He feels his talons hold something warm and gooey before he throws his leg back. An ear-piercing scream fills his ears as he's let go for a second time. Bracing himself for the hard landing, he wraps his wings around him, only to be caught by warm arms. He looks up to see his mother carrying him, flying away from the Ambrus and the bloodied female; barely able to maintain herself and Louis above ground.
Holding tight onto Louis, Johannah flies out of the dark and underground cave. They fly for a short amount of time before his mother swoops down with a worrisome hitch of her breath.
As she lands she gently puts Louis down. She takes a quick, analyzed look over her shoulder, making sure no one is behind them. Turning around her face scrunches up in a grotesque way before she brings her small hand to her side. Louis' eyes scan her face, eyes swiftly darting downward to see what’s wrong. As soon as he sees it, Louis' face runs ice cold. Tears, once again fill his eyes as he sees the dark red liquid dripping from the very spot beneath her fingers.
Louis doesn’t know what to do as he stares at his mother’s wound. "Mommy let's go be- before they co- come back," he frantically whispers, while pulling his mother's unoccupied hand as he hovers a couple of inches above the ground.
His mother looks at him for a short second and shakes her head slowly. Identical eyes filled with tears, she solemnly laughs, almost exasperated.
"Sweetheart, I'm afraid I can't go with you any-"
"No! No mommy, you have to! We can get away from the monsters and get you help. Now’s our chance, he's hurt, come on," Louis cries as he tugs on his mom’s arm yet again, more desperately this time. “Please let’s just go find papa so we can all go,” he tries one more time.
"My brave, brave boy," she whispers as she gently swipes his sweaty fringe away from his teary eyes. "Mommy can't fly anymore, baby. I-I need you to be good and fly far, far away. Until you see a place with three massive mountains. Head northeast just like papa explained to you okay, baby?"
Louis shakes his head as tears stream down his red and dirty cheeks. "No mo-mommy, p-p please come with me," he pleads, almost breathlessly.
There are loud shouts and grumbles coming from behind them which makes Louis panic and tug more urgently at his mom’s hand.
"Go baby, I'll distract them but do as I say. Don't stop until you reach that place. Now go." She frantically says as she pushes him a little.
"Mommy, no please I love you." Louis anxiously cries.
"I love you more than you will ever know, Louis." She whispers as she kisses his forehead one last time. She shoves him forward as the loud growls and shouts of various voices get closer.
With one last sob, Louis shoots up towards the night sky. Not daring to look back.
⊱ ────── ⊰
Louis doesn’t know how long he stays hiding in the dark cave, hours, maybe days? He’s been in a daze ever since it happened. He’s hungry and cold but too scared to do much about it, too numb to care about anything but the death that surely awaits him soon. All he can hear is the loud noise of the water cascading from the waterfall nearby, along with the continuous ripples it creates in the lagoon below it. It’s the only noise he’s come to know for a while now.
That’s why the sudden sound of voices abruptly startles him out of his stupor.
“Harry, we shouldn’t be in here!” the first voice says.
“Calm down, Ed, I’ve been here loads of times and have yet to be caught, live a little wontcha?” a slower voice responds. “Besides, I told you I’d meet you back at the palace.”
Louis’ heart stops, he doesn’t know what to do, what if it’s that mean harpy again? The ones who destroyed his home and took his parents from him? No that’s impossible, this cave is hidden and he flew far, far away from that place, just like his mama told him to. He lets out a small whimper and quickly covers his mouth with his dirty hands, petrified that the voices heard him.
“Live a little?” the first, now exasperated voice shouts. “The sun is about to set and your father will be furious if we, more specifically you, aren’t there by sundown! Not to mention you’ll get me in trouble with Louise!”
There’s a loud groan, “Please Ed, I just have to do something important. Go distract my father and I’ll be there soon. If anything I’ll take the blame so both you and Lou don’t get in trouble. I promise.”
“What do you even have to do that’s worth getting in a big load of trouble for?”
“I can’t tell you, it’s a secret. Now please, Ed, just go!” the voice dismisses.
With a displeased sigh, to whom Louis assumes belongs to this Ed person, he hears a splash followed by complete silence.
Then it dawns on him, that’s how they must have gotten in! There’s a large body of water inside the cave that must lead to the ocean. They must have swum here. That must be it, he’s sure he would have somehow noticed if someone had flown in. He hadn’t had proper sleep in what feels like weeks. So any small noise would have gathered his attention. Louis is pulled from his thoughts when he hears the slow voice again.
“I know you’re in here,” the boy says, which manages to paralyze Louis in a heartbeat. There’s no air. There’s no air making it to his lungs. Louis can’t breathe; it feels as if someone was choking him. His heart is racing and all he wants is to curl up into a small ball and wait for someone, his parents to save him. But no one will, no one is here besides that stranger. Louis closes his eyes, wishing more than anything, that he was wrapped in his mother’s warm embrace, but solemnly knowing that that is simply impossible now.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Harpy.”
Louis opens his eyes at that, the boy (Harry, was it?) calls him by his kind. Louis hasn’t moved one bit since he collapsed here, and his been hidden by the giant rock. How has he seen Louis?
“I know you must be hungry,” the boy continues. “I saw you enter the cave two days ago and you haven’t really moved from that spot since, I-I’ve brought you food.” The boy says casually.
Louis doesn’t know what does it, maybe the thought of food and sound of his stomach screaming at him to eat something, or maybe finally accepting that it’s probably his time to go, just like his family, or maybe even the soothing voice. Whatever it is, he tries to move from the fetal position his body has been cooped up in for what seems like forever. His body feels so tight and heavy, like stone. He winces as he tries to unfold his tattered wings wrapped around his body. Just now noticing that he’s lost many feathers and that one wing is most likely broken. After about two minutes he manages to lift his torn and bruised body enough to look over the boulder he was hiding behind.
The first thing his blurry vision manages to focus on in the rapidly decreasing light is a small figure at the edge of the cave’s rocky ground. Squinting, his eyes first settle on what lays in the humanoid’s hands, some type of weird and icky looking sea creature he has never seen before.
“Squid.” The boy slowly says. “This is called a squid.”
Louis quickly snaps his eyes up to the humanoid’s face at the sound of his voice and his breath catches a bit. Louis is sure he’s never seen anything more beautiful and a bit frightening if you ask him. Green. That’s the first thing he notices. The young boy staring quizzically up at him, has glowing emerald eyes. Louis gasps and quickly ducks behind the boulder again, trembling and utterly terrified.
“No, no, no wait! I swear I mean no harm to you! I am only trying to help,” exclaims the boy-thing, whatever he is.
Louis just sits there trembling and confused. He can’t trust a stranger. A stranger that has abnormally glowing green eyes nonetheless. His papa was always sure to remind him of that. Tears start to fall down his cheeks, as if I haven’t cried enough, he thinks. The small harpy is tired and lonely. He just wants to be back home, in his warm and comfy nest. He misses his mama and papa, just wishing to feel their warmth again. He’s weeping uncontrollably now, not caring if anyone hears him or if the boy kills him for being too loud. Scary thoughts run through his mind. Thoughts about dying, he can’t help but think that maybe the boy should kill him. So he can be reunited with his family again.
All Louis hears through his sorrowful cries is a dejected sigh with a sad, “I’m sorry,” followed by a plop. Quite some time passes, as he stays crouching behind the boulder until he’s calmed down. It’s absolutely dark by then and he feels more alone than ever. Louis peeks over the boulder, zeroing in on the spot where the boy once stood and where the weird thing lays. What was it called again? Squeed was it? Louis is so starved, he would eat grass, but he can’t even manage to lift an arm, let alone lift himself up. With a defeated look he lets himself fall once again to the rocky ground. Not caring about the pain his broken wing brings him. He just wants his misery to end. Goddess Electra, please let this all end the harpy repeats like a mantra before he falls into a pitiful slumber.
⊱ ────── ⊰
“I can smell him, Yaser. The boy must be in here somewhere. His scent is everywhere,” a worried, feminine voice calls out. Louis can barely make out the sound of wings flapping around the cave. “Louis Tomlinson are you in here?” A deeper more authoritative voice asks.
“No harm should come to you,” the voice continues.
Eyes slowly flutter open, Louis tries his hardest to move but to no avail. The small harpy feels so drowsy and utterly faint. He wants to answer but he just doesn’t have any will power left in him. Through his hazy eyes, he’s able to make out sharp talons that land a few feet away from his face. “Goddess Electra.” The feminine voice gasps. “Yaser, we must take him to our healers immediately.”
A warm hand softly press against his fringe followed by a soft, “You’re safe now, child.” Louis wants to say something, anything but his mind is too cloudy. Vaguely realizing he’s being lifted up by two strong arms, he closes his foggy eyes. He whimpers when his broken wing is jostled a bit but that’s all he can manage to bring out.
The night’s cool air hits his face as he’s gliding through the air. Trying to forget all the awful memories he’s lived these past couple of days, he brings his mind to remember those glowing emerald eyes, before finally letting everything fade away.
⊱ ────── ⊰
So many thoughts whirl inside Harry’s head as he swims back to the castle. He can’t help but feel totally and utterly rejected. All he wanted to do was help the pretty blue-eyed harpy, thinking that maybe by getting him food he’d be able to stop him from crying, but the only thing that accomplished was terrifying him even more than he already was. So many worse case scenarios run through Harry’s head. Things could have gone worse if the stories about harpies are anything to go by. He just desperately wants to know why the harpy boy was at the grotto, alone and hurt, and most importantly, if he was alright.
It’s completely dark as Harry nears the massive sand-colored coral castle covered in kelp, eyes glowing a florescent green to help him see through the obscured, black waters. As he arrives at the gates of the city wall, all thoughts abruptly scatter at the sound of a voice.
“Prince Harry,” the heavy looking guard with barely any neck, says in a flat voice, “King Desmond demands your presence in the throne room immediately.”
With a sigh, Harry enters Nerice, swimming leisurely, figuring he’s in major trouble already, what's an extra five-minute delay going to do? Deciding to not think about the impending scolding he’s about to get, he takes in all the commotion in Nerice’s courtyard. There are many merpeople out and about, selling, shopping, and socializing. Vendors taking down their booths and tents, since its already nightfall, while others still try to desperately sell whatever they can still manage to.
Many merfolk greet the prince with “good evening, your majesty,” or “hello, Prince Harry,” as he swims towards the massive castle he calls home. Harry still feels a bit weird when people address him so properly. Yeah, he gets he’s royalty but it’s still weird when older people are super respectful and cautious around him.
Taking in two long breaths as he reaches the grand doors to the throne room, he stays floating there, holding on to the handles. Deciding to not push his luck with stalling any longer, he ever so slowly, opens the doors of the room, only to be immediately bombarded with his father’s irate questions.
“Where in Poseidon’s ocean have you been, Harry! Your mother has been worrying herself to death!” his father’s angry voice echoes throughout the empty room. “I specifically told you to be here by sundown! You are eight years old for Poseidon’s sake! It is too dangerous for you to be sneaking away from Lady Tisdale with Ed!”
“Father, I am not a baby anymore,” Harry’s childish yet very stern voice ricochets through the grand room. “I want to explore the ocean and what’s above it, just like some do in the scriptures I’ve read!” Crossing his arms, he continues in a whiny manner, “And there’s no way I can do that when you make Lou hover over me like some insolent baby!”
“Enough!” his father roars as his eyes shift from their usual warm brown to a bright fluorescent yellow. “I will not be spoken to in such a disrespectful manner, especially by my son. I am your king and most importantly your father, so you will show me some respect.” His father seethes as he seizes his triton and smacks it against the limestone floor beneath him with a loud thud.
Harry inwardly cringes and immediately lowers his head in submission. His father is a worthy king but one that should not be trifled with. Feeling himself become smaller under the king’s heated glare, Harry slides backwards a bit, in shock. His father has never been this angry with him, not even when Harry sneaked out of the castle. He swam all the way to Ed’s house in the wee hours of the morning when he was five, his father had just scolded him then. Wanting more than anything to disappear, he sniffles a bit and can’t help but quiver from his father’s angry demeanor.
If only he’d had listened to Ed when he warned him about being out past dusk. No, Harry, you did the right thing, he needed you, Harry can’t help but tell himself. His father is right though. Harry should be setting an example and behave. Is this the Gods telling him he’s already messing up as future king? No, no he’s getting way ahead of himself. The best thing to do is to apologize and accept punishment.
“F- Forgive me, father,” Harry mumbles, feeling shame and disappointment wash over his body at the thought of being the cause of his father’s anger. He doesn’t dare look up afraid to see the same disappointment in his father’s eyes. Instead, he focuses on his father’s dark green colored tail and its glistening scales.
With a loud, renounced sigh, the king puts down his triton in its stand and glides towards Harry, enveloping him in a tight and warm embrace, much to Harry’s surprise.
“My child, what has gotten into you these last couple of days?” the king questions. “You’ve been acting like a stranger and your mother and I are beginning to worry. You must understand that you are still very young. The rules I place for you and our people are there to keep you safe, not to imprison you,” his father gently says as he cups Harry’s face, making the boy look up at him.
“You must not worry your mother and I like this again. Once you mature you will be free to go as you please but for now you must abide by my rules,” his father sternly says, as he pushes his hair backwards with his large meaty hand. It’s said so sternly that there is no room for discussion.
Taking a good look at his father, Harry notices sparks of yellow still swimming in his warm brown eyes, from his earlier outburst. His father’s eyes show so much power and wisdom, Harry can’t help but wish that one day he’ll be as good a ruler as the mighty Desmond Styles, king of all the seas.
“Okay fathe-“
“No, I do not want to hear any promises or more excuses,” the king swiftly interrupts. “I want you to go by mine and your mother’s room so you can apologize for your behavior and so she knows you’re safe and sound. Then I want you to go straight to your room. You are grounded until further notice. Do I make myself clear, Harry?”
“Yes, father.”
“Very well, off you go, my child.”
Harry swims towards the door and just as he is about to exit, his father’s voice stops him.
“Oh, and Harry, for the love of Poseidon, do not drag your friends into your little schemes. And most importantly send someone else to cover or lie for you other than Ed. He almost fainted when I started questioning him about your whereabouts and couldn’t answer back, he isn’t very proficient under pressure,” his father chuckles. Harry gives him a wobbly smile before heading to his parent’s chambers and closing the door behind him.
Fifteen minutes later Harry finally made it to his bedroom. His mother had screamed at him for a good ten minutes, shouting about how irresponsible Harry was for ditching Lou, making Ed lie for him and getting back way past curfew. Once she was all out of things to scold him about she had held him super tight and peppered kisses all over his face, whispering how glad she was that he returned home safe.
Resting his back against the coral door Harry groans loudly from the day’s events. He managed to get himself grounded until Poseidon knows when and to make matters worse he got nothing accomplished with the harpy. Harry rubs his hands across his face in defeat and looks straight to where his massive clamshell bed is. His bed looks so inviting that he can’t bare one more second and immediately jumps onto his bed made out of the softest sponge and sea kelp. He’s completely exhausted from the day’s events. He looks up towards the ceiling, just staring at the pretty and colorful bioluminescent lights the plankton swimming around emits. An array of blues and greens light up his room making a peaceful and relaxing ambiance. Blue, just like the color of that cute harpy’s eyes, and Poseidon, was he a beauty. Even if his face was blotchy and dirty from the crying and it didn’t matter that Harry hardly took a good look at him, somehow he knows the stormy blue eyes could put all the sky and ocean to shame. He just wishes he could have seen the boy with a happier expression. So many thoughts run through Harry’s mind as he thinks about the harpy. The merprince can’t shake off the feeling as if he’s met him before but that would be impossible. He’s never met a harpy in his life. Sure he’s heard of them and how terrifying they can be but has never spoken to one until today. Not that you even made conversation his subconscious bites back.
Harry can’t quite wash the ugly feeling of guilt from his conscience as he takes in his surroundings. He feels guilty that he’s in this safe and soft bed while the harpy is most likely starving, injured, and frightened. Harry tried to help is the thing, so this shouldn’t be weighing so hard on his conscious but it is. With a tired sigh, he closes his eyes. Blue, all he sees is blue as the merprince finally let’s sleep take over.
⊱ ────── ⊰
When Louis finally wakes up, he comes to very, very slowly. He’s not sure exactly where he is. Is he dead? Did the mean harpy man find him? The first thing he notices is that he can’t feel or move his left wing. Already disoriented, not knowing what to think or do he begins to panic. Letting his instincts kick in, he instantly opens his eyes and spreads his wings, or tries to, at least. As soon as he does his right wing knocks over things around the room, making a loud ruckus that only makes Louis more nervous. He carelessly stumbles out of where he was sleeping and falls on his left side, immediately regretting moving so abruptly. He wails as excruciating pain shoots all over his left wing, which he now notices is attached to his torso wrapped in some bandages. Hearing somebody hurriedly coming towards his room, he shuffles back up against the farthest wall. “What is the meaning of all this noise?” A woman worriedly shouts as she goes through the threshold. Louis just sits there sniveling uncontrollably trying desperately to cover himself with his right wing.
“Oh poor baby,” he hears a female voice mutter. “Hey, it’s alright, you are safe now,” the voice continues, sounding closer than Louis expected.
Body going stone stiff as gentle hands caress his wing as the soft voice soothingly says, “My name is Caroline and I’ve been taking care of you for the last couple of days.”
Days? –‘ve been sleeping for days? He thinks to himself, shocked.
“Louis, it’s alright sweetie, no harm will come to you here.” Caroline soothes.
Seconds go by, but it feels like hours. Carefully tucking his wing behind him, and wiping his teary eyes he looks up and finally takes in Caroline. She’s beautiful with dark skin and big brown, kind eyes. Her wings are long and tucked behind her body, tan and brown in color. Louis’ eyes light up at the sight and without meaning to, he loudly exclaims, “you’re a harpy!” At the sound of his sudden outburst, his eyes widen in horror as he quickly covers his mouth with both tiny hands. He was so happy to see one of his kind, other than a weird animal or boy with glowing eyes that he forgot that, that his very kind is the reason why he’s here.
Closing his eyes tight, his breathing gets heavier and heavier as tears break through his eyelashes. “P-please don’t hu-hurt me,” Louis wails. “Please, I’m begging you, miss, please don’t hurt me,” he repeats.
Warm arms wrap around his body, holding tight, not enough to hurt, but rather, for protection. Louis crumbles in the embrace, finally, feeling another harpy’s warm touch comforts him immensely, like he’s not alone, almost as if mother was here.
“Shhh none of that, love,” Caroline soothes as she caresses his head and plants kisses along his forehead. “Absolutely no harm will come to you here, not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Pinky promise?” Louis hiccups as he looks up at her, with his tiny pinky finger out.
Wiping his tears away with her thumbs Caroline pulls out her pinky finger, “I pinky promise, love, and I never ever break those,” she declares with a small smile.
Louis stares up at her for a second, complete sincerity is the only thing he sees in her eyes before he curls his pinky finger around her longer one.
Exhaling loudly he sinks back onto her warmth, forehand resting against her chest, the slow thumps of her heartbeat soothing him quite a bit.
“Whe-where am I?” his screechy and muffled voice asks, after a couple of minutes.
“You are in Mount Malik, one of the highest mountains in Soria.” Caroline softly whispers as she continues to run her fingers through Louis’ hair. She does so for a couple of minutes before holding out her hand to carefully help Louis up. “Your left wing is broken, so I tied it to your body so it can heal properly. As you can also see, the cuts and bruises have almost completely healed,” she says as she holds Louis’ chin. There’s a long pause before Caroline asks, “Do you remember how you got here, sweetie?”
“Erm- kind of?” Louis quietly responds. “I think two harpies flew me out of the cave I was hiding in. B-but I'm not certain.”
“Yes, that was lord and lady Malik.”
“H- he called me by my full name” Louis mumbles, “how did he know my name?”
“Perhaps it’s time you go talk to his Lord, love. He will explain everything to you.” Caroline says as she moves around the room, picking up some of the stuff Louis knocked over.
Blushing for his carelessness, Louis is about to ask if he can help but Caroline’s voice stops him.
“Ahh Zayn, there you are. Could you please escort Louis to your parent’s quarters? I think he is strong enough to walk now.”
Turning his head to the right, towards the entrance of the room, Louis sees a harpy his age staring at him. Louis can’t help but blush even harder under his gaze. He is one of the most beautiful harpies, beings even, that Louis has ever laid his eyes on. Zayn, as Caroline called him, has sparkling brown eyes with long, black, thick eyelashes. His wings are as breathtaking as he is. They are also the typical tan in color but with gold primaries and red secondaries.
“Sure thing, Car,” he replies before making his way next to where Louis is standing. Holding out his elbow Zayn gestures to hold on to it.
Louis warily does, taking one last look at Caroline who smiles and nods at him as encouragement, he presumes. Gently holding on to his upper arm, he allows Zayn to lead the way.
They quietly walk through the halls of Zayn’s home. It's big, that’s for sure. There are a bunch of long dark corridors, some lit up by torches. This is massive compared to the small cave he and his parents used to live in. It wasn’t much but it was enough for the three of them. It was home.
“-M Zayn,” he hears the boy next to him say, almost completely missing it since he was lost in his head. Louis turns his head towards Zayn and gives him a small smile.
“I-I’m Louis.” He softly responds, not knowing what else to say.
They finally reach a huge room. Zayn pounds on the rocky wall, seeing as how the manor has no doors- most harpy domains don’t. They are rather useless and unnecessary.
“Father, I have come with Louis. He has finally risen.” Zayn coolly says.
“Come forth my son.” A voice rumbles from beyond the purple curtains. Zayn gives Louis a small smile before opening the curtains and walking in. Louis cautiously following after him.
“Louis Tomlinson, I am relieved to see you have nearly fully healed, apart from the broken wing of course.” Lord Malik’s gruff voice says.
Louis doesn’t say anything, warily half hiding behind Zayn.
Lord Malik’s eyes soften at the sight. “I am sure you have many questions to ask which, I shall answer to the best of my ability.”
The harpy has to search in the back of his brain to remember who this man is. He vaguely recalls his father talking about him. How they were moving close to an old friend of his father’s to be safer. At the mere thought of his father, his tamed exterior crumbles and tears threaten to cascade down his cheeks. He feels dizzy again and quickly clasps onto Zayn for support as his whole body starts to tremble. He tries to stop the tears from falling but his grief is too immense to conceal. To his surprise Zayn holds on tight to him while whispering things that Louis couldn’t really make out but at the very moment comforted him greatly.
Louis can make out lord Malik’s strong yet gentle voice say, “It’s alright to cry, child. If you would like more time I shall grant you it, till you are ready.”
But Louis was a big boy now, just turned ten and although all he wants to do is to fall asleep and never wake up again, he needs to be respectful and show his gratitude towards his saviors. One thing his parents made sure to teach him is to be courteous.
“You knew my father; we were coming here to visit you.” Louis’ finds himself saying in a croaky voice.
“That is correct, little one. Your father and I- we’re hal- uh, childhood friends. You and your family were coming here to discourse about your impending stay before you got swarmed.”
As lord Malik’s words sink in, Louis’ body goes rigid in Zayn’s hold. Those monsters, the ones who took his family away from him. Terror comes seeping in as he remembers what happened. “W- Why were they after us?” Louis solemnly asks. “We-we did nothing wrong.”
There is an emotion that Louis can’t quite decipher in sir Malik’s face but it’s gone as quickly as it appears. “It’s a rather complicated matter, little one. One that you are a bit too young to understand right now.”
“Why were they after us? “ Louis stubbornly asks again. His father has always treated him like a big boy and he hates being left in the dark. He deserves to know why his family was taken away from him.
Lord Malik’s face hardens, obviously the question or maybe act of defiance hitting some sort of nerve. He then glances towards his wife, with a somber look, seeming to have some sort of mental communication. After a long pause, lord Malik continues in a strong tone, “There’s no need to worry about that, Louis, they won’t ever go near you again. Now, while you are under my care you will not, under any circumstance defy me, are we clear?”
At the sudden tone, one that the blue-eyed harpy has never been at the receiving end of, he freezes.
Lord Malik’s face then slowly softens, his tone changing into a more sympathetic one “We’ve been waiting till you’ve risen to properly bid farewell to your family. The ceremony will be tonight at sundown. Now, I know you’ve had little time to your thoughts and to mourn. Your father, he was- he was like family while growing up. Therefore, you are welcomed to make my home your permanent one.” Turning to Zayn, his father says, “Take Louis to his chambers and have Agatha prepare him a meal. You are dismissed.”
“Yes, father,” Zayn replies before gently pulling Louis towards the exit.
That night during his family’s ceremony Louis feels numb. A single tear slides down from his steel-blue eyes, followed by another one, and another, until a steady stream of salty tears flow their way down his cheeks, so much sorrow filled his heart but he doesn’t make a sound. He vaguely hears the words that are spoken by lord Malik and can’t seem to sing the songs of the afterlife while his family’s bodies burn. Lord Malik explained that while Louis was recuperating, he sent out a couple of Harpies in his harem out to search for his parent’s bodies.
He can sort of feel Zayn holding him tight, bringing him little comfort in that moment. Everything feels like a dream or a nightmare more like, he bitterly thinks. As the sun starts to light up the world around them, Louis and the Malik’s take off towards the sky. They glide through the crisp morning air and take his family’s ashes and spread them throughout the sky. Harpies are born to fly and are one with the sky, even in the afterlife. Louis’ heart feels heavy but he’s glad to know his parents will be with him whenever he spreads his wings and soars through the skies.
Once he’s done assuring Zayn that he just needs some time alone, he enters his chambers. He weakly manages to make it to his nest, letting the silence consume him until he finally lets himself be overcome by a wave of emotions. He buries his face against the pillow on his nest, to try to stifle his wails but his sorrow is too overwhelming. He breaks down entirely, all his defenses washing away as his pillow catches all his salty tears. He cries until all he can produce are dry racking sobs. That night he makes a promise. A promise to never cry this hard for anything in his life ever again.
⊱ ────── ⊰
It’s been two years since Louis arrived at the Malik’s. Louis clearly remembers having a bit of trouble getting used to his new life, a life away from his home, from his belongings, from his family. He turned into a bit of a recluse, much different than his true loud and lively self, until Zayn managed to wake him up from his lifeless and somber state. Zayn. Louis smiles at the thought of his friend. He will forever be thankful for his best friend or brother, more like. Zayn and Louis became attached at the hip, even if Louis was being a downer or wanting to be alone Zayn wouldn’t be too far from him. True to his word, Zayn stayed by his side no matter the circumstance, they have formed such a tight bond that would make any blood brother envious. Zayn and his family have shown him nothing but love and kindness since his arrival, and he can still not find it in his heart to ever say thank you enough times. Louis can understand why his father wanted to move his family to live here with lord Malik and his harem. Lord Malik is a fair alpha male, a bit scary at times but Louis admires him a lot, nothing like the stories of some scary Alpha males. Louis would know from firsthand experience. Now, Louis is thankful for calling Mount Malik his home. Although he misses his parents immensely, he has come to love this place just as much.
In all honesty, Louis has become some sort of menace to Soria and its inhabitants. Everyone knows him as the troublemaker but Louis knows everyone, or mostly everyone is endeared by him. He knows he’s a charmer, he can thank his baby blues and high cheekbones for that one. Zayn is his partner in crime, except when Louis decides to tease him, then, Zayn just ignores him, he’s good at that, especially when Louis teases him about his crush on Liam Payne. Louis finds the centaur to be a bit uptight to be completely honest, but he’s been hanging out with Zayn a lot so maybe Louis will rub off on him a bit, just like he did with Zaynie. It’s been a full day since Zayn had talked to Louis so he was presently surprised when Zayn agreed to accompany him on his secret mission. It’s a rather dangerous mission but danger is Louis’ middle name, or that’s what he tells people anyways, no one knows his middle name is actually, William, except for Zayn that is.
This is Louis’ life now. How he’s gotten to this point is beyond him, really, but hey, he is going to enjoy his life while he’s still young…if that involves flying like his life depends on it from a very very pissed of Hydra then so be it…
Louis flaps his light blue wings as fast as they can take him, gliding past the rocky walls of the Lernaean’s valley, as he safely puts his beautiful cyan-colored crystal away in his tattered satchel.
“Louis, you idiot, I should have never listened to you!” Zayn yells as he catches up to Louis.
About to fire back a witty response, Louis loses his train of thought when he hears a thunderous roar from behind them. He takes a quick glance over his shoulder and notices that the “baby dragon” as snobby Ollie had put it, is no baby at all, but rather a very pissed off adolescent Hydra who is quickly gaining speed behind them.
“In my defense,” Louis screams back, “I thought Ollie said it was a baby dragon! How was I supposed to know that dickless twat was lying?!”
So maybe Louis is a bit careless at times, and sure, more often than not, gets into lots of trouble. It isn’t his fault; really, he’s just always…seeking adventure? Besides, this time he really is totally innocent! Ollie kept slandering his good name, telling everyone how much of a chicken Louis was. Louis was most definitely not going to have that redheaded jerk talk nonsense. After all, he does have to live up to his, not really, middle name. One thing led to another and he managed to talk Zayn into flying into Lernaean’s Valley to gather some of the beautiful crystals within its walls, to prove to Ollie how brave he really is. He managed to get a crystal but is now completely dreading his reckless and rash decision.
To his knowledge, Hydras do not have wings and if they do, they are residual, completely useless. However, the Hydra currently behind them is fully capable of flying, residual wings his feathery bum he can’t help but think. Louis is beyond scared, he isn’t going to lie. Sure, it’s not a full-fledged adult Hydra chasing after them, but it’s still a powerful dragon nonetheless.
“Zayn, we need to split up and try to outfly it before we become its next meal!” Louis yells to him, the sound a bit muffled from the wind currently hitting his face. “You go right and I’ll go left and whatever you do, do not stop flying!”
As soon as they switch directions Louis shoots through the sky like a bullet, knowing flight is their only advantage, or so he thinks. After about a minute, he quickly glances back only to notice there is nothing behind him. He stops immediately. What if the Hydra went after Zayn? Louis gasps. No! Zayn isn’t as fast a flyer as I am. If anything happens to him I will never forgive myself, Louis thinks in complete horror. Determined to protect his only family, the harpy swiftly turns around, heading towards Zayn and the Hydra’s direction.
He is able to spot the Hydra, easy enough by its size, Louis might as well be the same size of a bunny in comparison, and the angry roars its many heads are spewing. He stops for a second to assess the situation. He spots its many pitch black and scaly heads trying to get into a crevice of a rocky cave down below where, no doubt, Zayn must be hiding. Without a second thought, Louis plunges in the direction of the Hydra, screeching, at the top of his lungs to get its attention. In an instant, the Hydra rears its many heads towards him. With no hesitation and with an ear-splitting hiss…it takes off after him.
The alarmed harpy flaps his wings in a flurry and soars higher and higher away from the Hydra. He hasn’t flown this hard and fast in a long time, causing exhaustion to seep into him like a tidal wave. By no means can Louis stand a chance against the Hydra, but he knows he can outfly it, or at least he hopes he can. He pushes through the aches of his wings and then dives down towards the dark forest below. The Hydra roars again, clearly getting angrier by the second. That’s when Louis feels it. The agonizingly scorching heat, which no doubt is coming from the main head, hit his back and it’s enough to startle him, causing him to plummet towards the canopy tops of the forest at an alarming rate. Once he makes contact, he can feel his wings getting hit and tattered by the branches as he drops until he hits the ground with a loud thud.
Louis doesn’t dare move. His head is ringing and his muscles and wings ache from the nasty fall. He stays still; too scared to move in fear he’s broken something, but knowing he has to get back up or it's game over. A couple beats of silence pass until the sounds of crushing trees and piercing roars make him scramble onto shaky knees. From there he quickly notices the enraged Hydra ripping apart the trees trying to get to him. Louis knows better than to attack it or cut one of the many heads with the sharp tool in his bag, the saying, “cut one head off and two shall take its place,” replaying over and over in his head. Louis crawls, wings tucked tight against his back, until he hides behind a large tree. He knows the many serpent-like heads are desperately searching for him and aren’t going to rest until Louis is dead.
It was eerily quiet, the trees themselves not daring to make a sound, almost as if they too don’t want to give Louis away to the monster. I am so stupid, how could I let myself get into his much trouble and all because of my stupid pride. Goddess Electra, please let me come out of this alive, I promise to behave, Louis desperately pleads. He is about to peek over the side of the large tree when he feels it again, blazing hot fire starting to seep from behind the tree trunk and onto his wings and back. A surge of panic flows through him and immediately his instinct for survival kicks in as he darts forward. He tries to spread his wings to fly but it’s a lost cause when he can barely stand straight, dizziness clouding his mind, most likely out of fatigue and fear. Recognizing that Louis is literally trapped, he grabs his sharpened arrowhead from the satchel around his shoulder, ready to attack, or protect himself more like.
After a long breath, he stands up on shaky legs and peers out from behind the tree, only to spring backwards, abruptly, dropping his arrowhead in the process. Louis falls on his already sore bum, scooting backwards as the Hydra’s five heads make their way around the tree and viciously snap at him.
With lost hope Louis does the one thing his father always told him not to do, he spreads his wings wide and cocoons himself in, giving up. He lets a single tear fall down his cheek, not ready to die, especially in such a horrendous way, but he can’t help think that finally he can reunite with his family. Louis shuts his eyes tight, thinking of everything that has happened in the last two years, he thinks of Soria and its beauty and of Zayn and his family and all they did to help him. He hears a piercing roar as his body tenses ready for the blow or heat that will make it all go away, but it never comes.
Around him are the sounds of trees crashing and clamping-like sounds, followed by the Hydras roars but this time, of what sounds like pain. Unwrapping his wings from his body, Louis gasps at what he sees. There is a ginormous crab-like monster attacking the Hydra. Stay away from the forests near the ocean, as many Karkinos will be migrating there in order to carry their larvae to the ocean, to reproduce, Louis can distinctly remember Yaser warning him and Zayn. He stays there, petrified, too stunned to move. He sees the crab use one of its huge pincers to cut one of the Hydra’s heads off, falling on the floor with a hard thump. With a deafening roar, Louis watches in horror as two heads swiftly grow where the previous one stood. The middle head of the Hydra quickly spits fire out of its mouth, paralyzing the Karkinos in its place, as the other five heads rip its limbs apart, with a loud and sickening crunch, as if it were nothing.
Heart hammering in his chest from the rapid rush of adrenaline. Louis suddenly feels a surge go through his body before he gets up. Almost blind from the haziness in his eyes, he stumbles through the forest, even as his talons get caught in the roots and debris on the forest floor. He can hear waves crashing against something, which means he must be near the ocean. He trips on a big log he didn’t notice in his haste. Once again, he starts to panic as the last bit of adrenaline leaves his body followed by exhaustion. Behind him, he hears the Hydra roar again. Louis starts crawling towards what now he can make out as a cliff, using his last dose of energy to spring towards it. He spreads his wings as a last effort to save himself as he jumps off it. His body feels heavy, too many feathers lost when he fell through the forest, making flight nearly impossible. He manages to fly a couple yards before his body shuts down completely, making Louis spiral into the ocean down below. Cold, that’s all Louis feels as he hits the water. Louis doesn’t really know how to swim and even if he did his body just simply feels too heavy, like lead. He wouldn’t have been able to keep himself up anyways. Though he tries to move his arms and legs, they just refuse to listen…it’s like they’ve given up on him too, accepting his fate. Before Louis loses all consciousness he sees something in front of him, but it’s too blurry to make out. He does, however, feel someone pinch is nose, followed by cold lips blowing air into his mouth as an arm wraps around his waist. Louis manages to open his eyes for a second, only managing to make out the color green before it all goes black.
⊱ ────── ⊰
"Poseidon was worshiped immensely by the people of Athens. He was known for creating new islands and calming the seas. However, if offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused earthquakes and tsunamis, even shipwrecks." Professor Higgins drones on and on in a monotone voice. Harry is too busy coming up with an excuse to leave his studies to pay much attention. He was exhausted from school and seeing as how he's "royalty" and "in line to be king," he has to take extra studies to learn a more in-depth version of his people's history. In all honesty, it isn’t fair at all. He just wants to go on a long swim or maybe meet up with Ed and Cara to go down to the grotto.
The merprince sighs, can’t help but feel a bit disappointed every time he thinks about the grotto. He doesn't go too often anymore seeing as how he's almost always being babysat by Lou because his father still treats him like a child, I mean, he still is but that’s beside the point. Lou usually let's him wander off so it's not too bad.
"Prince Harry, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Professor Higgins asks, displeasure evident in his tone.
"I'm not feeling too well Paul, I feel like my brain is about to explode. You were young once. Let's end today's class early." Harry sing songs.
Paul rolls his eyes at that, "first of all, your majesty, it's professor Higgins not Paul," he says in a stern voice, "secondly, I let you go early during your last lesson and third, save your sweet voice and fluttering eyelashes for someone who falls for it. Pay attention or I'll start all over from the beginning." He finishes as he goes back to reading the scriptures on the stone slabs.
With a long sigh, Harry drowns out Paul's voice once again. It's been a while since he's visited the grotto. Harry used to visit it daily in hopes of seeing the blue-eyed harpy again, but to his dismay, he never saw him again. Ed and Cara made fun of him for the longest time for his slight obsession with the harpy but Harry didn't care one bit, he just hopes wherever the harpy is, that he’s happy. It's been a little over two years since he last saw the harpy and he’s come down to the sad conclusion that he will never see him again.
Since then all Harry has been doing is going to classes and having the most boring life ever. The merprince is more than grateful to have everything he needs and more, don’t get him wrong but he craves adventure, something "royals" apparently aren't allowed to partake in. He's only ten years old for crying out loud, his only responsibility should be to be a kid. He really needs to have a serious talk with his father in regard to the more free time, he so desperately needs.
"You're free to go, Prince Harry, its obvious nothing is going into that thick head of yours," Paul says with a loud, annoyed exhale as he rubs his temples.
Face immediately brightening, Harry all but launches from his seat and hugs Paul. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Paul!" Harry chants with glee. "This is why you're one of my favorites," Harry continues, dimples completely out for full effect. "I'll be sure to mention to Clodagh how wonderful you are," Harry all but smirks. It’s quite obvious that Paul and Clodagh have been secretly in love with each other ever since Harry can remember. He always tries to casually bring it up to Paul but he just plays it off and says Harry is too young to know about that stuff, much to Harry’s annoyance. He knows about love, he sees it every day with his overly loved up parents. So in all honesty, he's an expert or he should be close to one at least.
Paul's face immediately turns red from embarrassment, mouth agape like a fish which quickly turns into a scowl. “You don’t know what you’re talking about so in case you’d rather stay for another hour I suggest you high tail it out of here, your majesty,” Paul replies in a ruffled tone.
With a smug look on his face Harry starts swimming backwards with his hands behind his head. “I’m just saying Paul, you ought to ask her out soon. She’s always blushing when your name comes up in conversation and I can tell one of the guards has his eyes on her,” he says as he swims through the doorway, only to quickly pop his head back in, “best not let your true love go to waste!” Harry shouts and quickly swims away before Paul demands that he stay for another hour.
As Harry swims through the Palace’s courtyard he tries to find Ed or Cara, they usually hang out around here waiting for Harry but he can’t find them anywhere. Finally giving up, he grumpily sits on a rock next to one of the vendors. “If you’re looking for the ginger and the eyebrows, your majesty, they went for a swim not too long ago. They headed towards the lagoons, I believe.” One of the merchants, selling a variety of seaweed and kelp says. Harry’s face immediately brightens at that. “Thank you so much, sir!” Harry delightfully replies as he swims towards the entrance gates.
Now the only problem was getting passed the guards. Ever since Harry came back really late that one time his dad enforced a rule that Harry could not under any circumstance leave the castle grounds alone. He usually had Lou with him much to his displeasure but he doesn't want her to tag along. She almost always ruins the fun to be completely honest. Harry sits there for a minute trying to come up with a plan, watching as various merpeople and sea creatures go in and out of the giant castle walls. He's about to give up and go find Lou when he spots a lanky yellow-tailed merman with a giant quiff, Grimmy. Harry propels himself towards him so fast he ends up knocking Grimmy onto his back.
"What the hell! Watch where you're going you pri-" he all but shouts before abruptly stopping himself. Noticing he was about ready to curse at a royal he recovers quickly. "I-I mean are you alright Harry?" He stutters. "You should really be careful."
"Sorry, Grimmy but I need a favor and pronto," Harry breathlessly says.
"Okay first thing though, I've told you not to call me Grimmy anymore. It's Nick now and sure what do you need?" Grimmy replies in a monotone voice.
Harry rolls his eyes at that and completely ignores him. "I need you to distract the guards so I can sneak out to go find Ed and Cara," he whispers.
With a scoff, Nick replies, "Nope can do, kid. Your father would have my head if he found out I helped you sneak out. Besides, 'm trying to get in your father's good graces."
Crossing his arms Harry gets close to his face, "You know, I was going to subtly hint at Gemma how lovely of a person you are but now that I think about it, I'm sadly mistaken." Harry replies, smirking as he cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow.
Now, Harry is a great kid, always polite and well behaved for the most part but he's sure not above blackmailing anyone to get his way. Besides, Grimmy has been crushing on Gemma for quite some time and although he's sure he has absolutely no chance with her, he can always make Grimmy do pretty much anything as long as it involves the princess of Nerice. It might seem cruel but in his defense, Grimmy is very arrogant and takes Gemma's side whenever she and Harry get into arguments just because it's Gemma.
"You little sh- if I didn't know any better I'd say you're blackmailing me, your majesty," he sneers back, glowing yellow eyes narrowing at him.
Harry doesn't say anything, just sits there, smiling wide, looking like the perfect merchild that he is, he has his dimples out and everything. Those usually do the trick.
Grimmy rolls his eyes and sighs indignantly, "What do you have in mind?"
Harry cannot believe it actually worked. He idles a bit, catching his breath from the swim he just made away from the gigantic castle walls of Nerice. All Grimmy had to do was make a gigantic scene about how he was one hundred percent sure he saw a deep-sea crater demon trying to get in the castle via the opened coral roof. Now, no one’s actually ever seen a crater demon so how Gemma will go on a date with him after hearing about how crazy Grimmy, or excuse him, Nick seems is beyond him, really. Harry feels a tad bit awful, but he'll make it up to him eventually, right now though, he just wants to get out of the black waters and swim upwards to where the sun shines a bit through. After all, being alone in dark murky waters still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The merprince swims swiftly upwards until sunshine seems to break through the water. Relieved that he doesn’t have to use his night vision anymore, Harry’s eyes slowly start dimming till they completely stop glowing, his eyes now their usual emerald color, instead of their fluorescent green. He’s about to jet through the water but a loud splash behind him stops him dead in his tracks. Alarmed, his head snaps backwards at the sound, he sees something, or rather someone clearly struggling to swim upwards, to no avail. His father warned him to be cautious around land creatures, or completely avoid them if possible. Harry should really listen before he gets hurt or worse, killed but he refuses to let someone die when he could have easily prevented it. Without another second to spare he propels himself upwards towards the struggling creature.
The first thing he notices is the light cyan wings and the humanoid body with bird-like feet, clearly a harpy, a child one at that. It stops moving altogether, just kind of idling there like seaweed. Harry thinks the best thing to do is to grab him and pull him above water as quickly as possible, so air can make it into its struggling lungs. That was his plan until he made eye contact with it for a split second and that’s all it took for a flood of emotions to hit him like a sailfish.
With no hesitation he inhales a huge amount of water through his gills, while pinching the harpy’s, his harpy’s nose, his lips immediately attach to the blue-eyed Harpy’s, as his other arm winds up around his pudgy waist, holding him close. His nose exhales the water and carbon dioxides while his mouth blows out the oxygen the harpy desperately needs. Thank Poseidon for learning concurrent exchange at such a young age. Harry keeps it up until he feels the boy twitch, and with that he swims upwards as quickly as his scaly tail can take him. Still pinching the boy’s nose, this time moving his other hand from the boy’s waist to behind his neck with a firm grip, so he doesn’t move away from his mouth. Like this, he keeps swimming. Green meets blue, as the harpy opens his clouded eyes and the paranoia finally seeps through. The harpy starts struggling against Harry’s hold; it’s obvious the boy is completely terrified, but not strong enough to be able to detach himself from Harry. All Harry can do in that second is swim upwards so he can detach his lips and give the boy some space.
As Harry breaks the surface he quickly pulls his lips away from the harpy’s and let’s go when the winged creature’s arms flail, in a weak attempt to get away. Big mistake, seeing as how he quickly submerges underwater. Harry immediately dips down and grabs him from behind, arms barely able to hold on as the harpy’s his wings are in the way.
As he breaks the surface yet again, all he can hear is muddled and panicked screams.
“You have to stop struggling or else you’ll drown! I’m trying to help you. Let me help you,” Harry franticly shouts, praying to Poseidon the harpy actually listens to him for once.
With no such luck the harpy just struggles more and more, as the shouts turn into flat out wails. His wings keep twitching and fluttering against Harry’s face and torso causing his grip to loosen yet again.
This time Harry grabs him by the front as he hauls him above water.
“Stop struggling unless you want to drown!” Harry screams, pleads, really. Poseidon must have heard his prayer because not a second later does the harpy go completely limp in his arms.
The prince stays still for a second, the only thing moving is his tail below the surface trying to keep himself and the harpy above water. It’s not much of a difficult task, seeing as the boy isn’t all that heavy, especially in water. But all the concurrent oxygen exchange tired him out, not to mention the struggle it’s been to calm the boy down. All he hears is the boy’s harsh breathing, body still sagging against him.
“I’m not going to hurt you; I’m just trying to help you. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Harry whispers, managing to sound somewhat collected, totally opposite to the complete madness going on inside his brain.
The boy doesn’t say anything, much to Harry’s dismay. “Please say something or move, I need to know you’re okay enough to move. I do not wish to hurt you any more than you already may be.” His composed tone faltering towards the end. A long second passes until finally, the harpy boy moves his head towards Harry’s neck. That’s all the sign he needs before he whispers again, “Hold on as tight as possible, I’m going to try to find land for you.” To his relief, the boy manages to hold on to his neck, feathery legs wrapping around his waist, the hold is weak, but one that Harry is thankful for, nonetheless.
He swims with the boy wrapped around him for a little longer until he sees what he was looking for, the grotto. The very one where they first met. Harry hauls the boy along until he comes to a stop in front of the rocky wall. Waves crash behind him, almost knocking him against the hard surface.
“I need you to hold your breath for a couple of seconds, okay? The only way to get inside is to go underwater or to fly above and you’re in no condition to do so,” Harry quickly shouts. The harpy’s hold squeezes Harry impossibly tight. Obviously not too keen on the idea of going underwater again, the boy starts to tremble and soon enough he starts wailing again. This is not good. Harry is utterly exhausted and needs to put the boy down quickly before he can’t hold him up any longer.
“Just please, please hold your breath. It will only be for a couple of seconds. I-I’ll try to swim as fast as possible, please.” The prince desperately pleads. Not waiting for a response, not being able to afford one, Harry quickly pulls them a little higher and yells, “take a big gulp of air now!” before he plunges both of them under.
They are only underwater for about ten seconds when the harpy starts wiggling and panicking in Harry's hold, indicating that the harpy, much to Harry's complete and utter horror is drowning.
Using the last bit of energy Harry can muster he shoots out from underneath the water and breaches the surface.
“No, no, no.” The merboy breathes as he brings the now unconscious harpy towards the rocky shore of the cave.
Trying to desperately remember how Barbara taught Niall about car-cardi- cardiopul- something- resu- resuscitation. Poseidon, it was such a big word that Harry can’t even remember it properly. He quickly lies the pale harpy down and tries to kneel beside him, only to fall face-first into the rocky floor. His tail. His tail is making it nearly impossible to kneel down. Water starts leaking from his eyes, something that has never happened to the prince before. Harry is exhausted, confused and scared, never had he felt like this and the somewhat salty water coming out of his eyes is making things blurry and worse. He wipes them away and takes a quick glance at the boy beside him. Poseidon please help me save him Harry prays and hopes the God has heard his pleas. Using his arms to hoist himself up, he is able to, awkwardly and much to his discomfort drag himself a little to kneel beside the boy. He vaguely remembers Barbara pushing down on Niall's chest and pinching his nose, something about needing to get the water out. Not able to scrape any more information from his scattered brain, he does just that. Harry joins his hands, one on top of the other and presses down hard in the middle of the boy's chest.
"Come on, come on, please wake up!" Harry shouts, voice cracking in the end with fear. He keeps pushing down after every couple of seconds but nothing happens. When that doesn’t seem to work, more water starts leaking from Harry’s eyes much to his horror. Come on Harry try to remember! There must have been something else! Harry can’t remember what to do outside of the water. He vaguely remembers Barbara and Niall starting to argue because Niall wanted Barbara to kiss him. All Barbara did was laugh and scold him about how he wasn’t really drowning so she didn’t need to- that’s it! He needs to blow air into him as he did underwater. He tried to wrack his brain to remember what Barbara had said. With no such luck, he just does what he did earlier underwater. Pinching the harpy's nose while tilting his head back he attaches his mouth to the harpy’s and blows. The prince alternates for about two minutes between pumping his chest and blowing air into his mouth, becoming more distressed as the seconds pass to no avail. Ready to give up, the harpy boy finally wrenches out a bunch of water from his mouth. The boy opens his eyes which frantically starts looking around in every direction, his chest rising and falling way too fast to be considered normal. The boy starts leaking from his eyes just as Harry’s did earlier.
"No, no please don’t panic!” Harry cries, quickly using his hands to wipe the water away from the frantic boy’s eyes. The harpy's eyes immediately snap towards him, his eyes widening as he takes Harry in for a second. "Breathe in and out, in and out," Harry slowly whispers until the boy’s breathing slows a little. Not being able to kneel in that position much longer, Harry slumps down beside the harpy, fatigue, and exhaustion finally catching up to him. He stays beside the winged boy, whispering soothing words until the boy's breathing evens out, and his baby blues close, dark eyelashes fanning along his prominent cheekbones.
There is no sound apart from the waterfall nearby and Harry’s and the harpy’s breathing. He did it; he actually saved the boy from drowning. Harry lies there next to the boy, trying to gather some energy himself.
After about an hour, Harry sits up a bit, propping his left arm out so he can rest his head on his palm, wanting to take in the harpy that has been haunting Harry's dream since he first laid eyes on it, those years ago.
It's obvious the harpy was attacked by something, if the bruises and scratches along his body are anything to go by. Harry can't help but be hit with a wave of sadness and feel a tad freaked out by the déjà vu of it all. This is similar to the state he found the harpy in last time, only difference now, much to his relief, is that he actually let Harry help him.
The boy twitches in his sleep, murmuring something that Harry can't quite make out. The young prince ought to really go and try to get help but he doesn't want to leave the boy alone, where anyone can hurt him even more. The thought makes Harry sick to his stomach. Besides, the only land creatures he knows are Niall and Barbara, who are nowhere in sight. Harry doesn't know why he feels so protective over the harpy all of the sudden, he doesn't dwell too much on it, especially due to the sounds that are coming from the harpy's mouth. Harry can't help but giggle as he takes in the pretty boy beside him and boy is he pretty, much, much prettier up close. The only thing Harry can think of is how his thoughts and dreams clearly didn't do the pretty boy much justice. Moving his eyes along the boy he finally notices something peculiar. The boy’s wings are light blue. Now, Harry is no harpy expert but he’s sure most harpy’s have brownish wings. But these are straight up baby blue, so bizarre yet so, so beautiful, as if this boy isn’t beautiful enough, the merprince can’t help but think. Harry tenderly reaches out to wipe the boy’s damp and dark fringe away from his eyes but a couple drops of water land directly on the boy’s nose. The harpy’s button nose scrunches a bit in such a cute way it nearly makes Harry swoon with fond. Sapphire eyes leisurely come into view and they immediately settle on his face. Embarrassed to be caught creepily staring and about to touch him, he pulls his arm away and giggles out an, “oops.” The harpy just stares, blinks a couple of times, a barely-there smile appears on his lips along with a shy and throaty, “hi.”