Agatha stared blankly into the blue sky above, as she lay on a rock at mermaid lagoon.It had been 3 weeks since Tedros and his crew left Neverland. The pain the Agatha felt when she hit the water never stopped. It wasn't physical pain, like she'd made it out to be in her dream, it was emotional pain.
It hurt more than Arthur's burning hand cuffs.
Sophie gazed at her sister from another rock. Agatha hadn't breathed a word about what had happened when she was taken. She'd barely breathed a word at all. She just sat on the same rock, day after day. She hadn't even explained how she had legs when she was on that plank
Sophie wanted Agatha to open up to her like she used to. What had that prince done to her?
"Agatha," Sophie said. "The coral reef if blooming today."
Agatha said nothing.
"We were all going to go watch." Sophie said, persistent.
Still no answer.
Sophie huffed, and tried to stay smiling and not scream in annoyance. "Would you like to come it's us?"
"No." Agatha said, still not even moving.
Sophie's jaw dropped. "But, Aggie, it only happens once a year."
Agatha's jaw tightened. "I'll watch it next year."
"But you love the coral spawn!"
Agatha's head whipped to her. "I said no, alright?!" That was the most emotion that Agatha had expressed in three weeks, and it was so hateful.
Sophie jolted back in surprise. Agatha slumped back onto the rock and gazed up at the sky, emotionless, once again.
"Aggie." Sophie whispered. "Please talk to me."
Agatha hesitated. "Why did you hit the boat, Sophie?" She said without looking at her.
Sophie's eyes widened. "What--"
"I said 'why did you hit the boat?'" Agatha said, slowly balling her fist.
"I-I don't know..." Sophie said, shyly.
"How do you not know?" Agatha said.
Sophie frowned. "You're mad at my because I hit the boat! Seriously, Agatha, it didn't hurt you--"
"Yes, it did!" Agatha shouted, turning to her with pure angry in her eyes.
Sophie gasped. "Aggie, what did--"
"Forget it!" She said, turning to the water. Agatha looked back over at Sophie before she dived in. "You wouldn't understand."
Just like that, Agatha disappeared under the water.
Sophie sat frozen.
"What did I do?" She yelled. "What did I do wrong?"
======
Agatha gazed at her reflection in her mirror.
Her expression was blank and so emotionless. She hadn't cried since that day 3 weeks ago. She didn't know why, but she assumed that it was that she simply didn't have the strength to cry.
She heard a knock at the door to her underwater bedroom.
"Come in." She said. She prayed that it wasn't Sophie or her father, Stefan.
Kiko opened the door. Agatha smiled, ever so slightly. Kiko was the only one that could make her do that now. Kiko was always so happy and sprightly. She had this bubble of happiness surrounding her, that made it hard for anyone to be sad in.
"Hey, Keeks."
"Hey." She replied. She and everyone else were still walking on eggshells around Agatha, and they didn't even know why, all they knew was that she was sad- actually they couldn't even tell what she was feeling.
Let's just say that if her emotion was a colour, it would be beige.
"So I was about to go and watch the coral spawn, if you wanted to come."
Agatha balled her fist. Again with the coral spawn. She turned towards Kiko about to get angry again, but when she saw Kiko's face, she didn't have that strength to.
Agatha sighed, looking down. "Sorry, Kiko, I'm not in the mood."
She could feel that Kiko wanted to say 'but, Agatha, your always in the mood to watch the coral spawn' but Kiko stayed quiet.
"Okay... If you change your mind..." she trailed off seeing Agatha's face that let her know that she wouldn't.
Kiko sighed and left.
Agatha gazed at her reflection again. The loneliness started to eat at her. She closed her eyes. She knew that she could be with the whole pod right now and still be lonely.
There was only one person in the world that could make that feeling go away.
She'd taken to long, and now she'd lost him.
=====
Tristan wanders the halls starting to feel lost.
He brushed arms with Merlin as he wandered. He spun to the wizard.
"Have you seen the commander?"
Merlin frowned at twirled his beard around his finger. "I believe he's in the arena with the prince."
Tristan smiled and ran off.
Tristan expected to find more than just Tedros and Chaddick in the dusty circle, but they were alone, weapons swinging with near blinding speed. They're striking fast, each clash of steel made Tristan flinch. Sweat dampens their hair, a sign that they'd been at this for a while.
Tristan slowed as he approached. The air felt different. Wrong somehow. Tristan frowns, trying to figure it out.
Tedros ducks and rushes Chaddick, hooking his sword to disarm him. Chaddick slams into the ground, and Tedros follows him down, sword aimed for Chaddick's neck.
Chaddick snatches a dagger to stop the blade in time-- and his other hand braces against Tedros's forearm, holding him back.
Something about this seemed very personal. Tristan felt awkward, as if he'd walked into an argument. Tristan contemplated backing out of the arena.
"Your fight is not with me." Chaddick's voice was low and edged with strain.
Tedros shoved him away, and angrily stomped out of the arena, not even sparing Tristan a glance.
Tristan helped Chaddick off the floor.
"What was that all about?" Tristan asked. "Did you get in an argument?"
Chaddick used a towel to dry the sweat off him. Chaddick gave Tristan a look.
"No." Chaddick sighed. "He's angry and he's been letting that anger out in the arena."
"Why is he-" Tristan didn't need to finish his question. He already knew that Tedros had been angry since their trip to Mermaid Lagoon.
=====
Tedros aggressively threw his armour into its box and flung his boots off his feet.
He dropped hard onto the chair. He rubbed his eyes.
His fight wasn't with Chaddick, he was right. He couldn't tell who he wanted to fight, his father, Lilith, the duke... or Agatha.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her, falling from the ship into the water bellow.
When she fell in, all of the other mermaids had swarmed her, hugging and crying.
Tedros remember Agatha looking up at him and slowly shaking her head. He remembered it so vividly that it was almost haunting.
He heard a knock at the door.
Lilith.
She hadn't stopped harassing him about a wedding he didn't want.
"Come in." He said faking a smile.
"Teddy!" She sang, entering the room. "We have a dancing lesson at-"
"Dancing lesson? For what."
Lilith smiled, holding in annoyance. "For the wedding."
Tedros grimaced. "What wedding."
Lilith pouted. "Our wedding."
Oh, Tedros knew 'what wedding.' "That isn't even happening for sure-"
"Why? Because you're in love a fish?" Lilith yelled. She took a deep breath. "It's strange how quickly gossip travels."
Tedros turned to the window and gazed out at the ocean.
The ocean that Agatha was in right now. Did she miss him as much as he missed her?
There was only one way to find out.