“Alexander, could you come here for a moment?”

At the sound of his mother’s voice, Alexander peeks up from his desk, making a lazy mark on the map in front of him. He stands up slowly, crossing his room with nervous strides. His mother chuckles.

“There’s no need to be nervous, Alexander,” his mother says, taking his hands into her own. Alexander notices her smiling softly, but her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

“I can’t believe you’re already a young man. It feels like just yesterday you were a little boy. We used to play in the garden and I’d give you piggyback rides…”

“Mother…”

His mother sniffles, wiping an unshed tear from her eyes.

“I’m sorry...I don’t know where this is even coming from.”

“You’re...worried about the marriage.”

His mother looks at Alexander in surprise, but her expression melts away softly. She takes a deep breath, giving Alexander’s hands a gentle squeeze.

“I worry that you hate me for it. I arranged it without a word and yet you’ve no complaints…”

“How can I complain?” Alexander wonders. “You’re only doing what’s best for the kingdom.”

“Perhaps, but I’m not doing what’s best for you. Sure, you smile, you’re cordial but your eyes tell a different story. You feel very little for that young lady. I can tell.”

“That doesn’t matter. My feelings can’t get in the way of what needs to happen. This is bigger than me. This is another step towards peace and I have no right to get in the way of that.”

“Alexander…”

“You said it yourself,” Alexander muses. “Things will be different now. Everything will change for the better, even if we don’t see it right away.”

“Yes, but…”

“But?”

“I want you to be happy, Alexander. Not complacent, or forcing yourself, but happy. If this isn't what you want, you can tell me.”

“I...Mother, I couldn’t possibly-”

“I know,” his mother says quickly. “I know…”

-

Alexander can feel the flames licking at his arms as he runs through the castle halls. He can hear the panicked and frightened screams of the castle staff, some running from the flames and others running from the soldiers.

He briefly remembers what his mother had said to him hours ago as he runs, praying that she was unharmed. She said that things would be different now and that a new era was beginning. An era of peace between Genoa and Roselia.

Alexander had believed her. They had both believed in the Empire’s empty promises, and those promises were now burning in the flames terrorizing Genoa.

“Alexander, stop!”

He feels someone grab his arm tightly, stopping Alexander in his tracks. When he turns and looks, he finds that Cleo had tightened her hand around Alexander’s wrist.

“Let me go!”

“Go where?! To your death?!” Cleo yells, pulling Alexander’s arm. “I promised your mother I’d protect you!”

“I can’t leave her here!”

“And I can’t let you die!” Cleo retorts. “You and I have to get out of here!”

“Cleo, you can’t possibly expect me to--”

“Alexander, please, listen to Cleo!”

Alexander freezes at the sound of his mother’s voice, gasping as she staggers towards them. Alexander tears himself out of Cleo’s grasp quickly, barely catching his mother before she falls to her knees.

“Listen to Cleo…” she repeats. “You have to leave me, sweetheart.”

“Mother…”

“They’ll kill you…” she says, cupping Alexander’s face. “They’ll kill you and I can’t let that happen. You have to live so Genoa can still have hope!”

“But--”

“There she is! Grab her!”

The unfamiliar voice takes Alexander by surprise, unable to turn and look before Cleo grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him back with all her might. Alexander tries to pry her off but quickly finds himself at a loss as his mother gets dragged away by a Roselian soldier. He thinks about calling out to her until Cleo’s hand presses itself firmly against his mouth.

Alexander gives her a sharp glare, but he quickly notices that Cleo is looking past him, her eyes wavering with panic. When Alexander looks himself, he feels a wave of fear wash over him.

At the end of the hall stood the Ruler of the Roselian Empire, Emperor Vargus.

He had a wicked look on his face, his eyes seeming to flicker with amusement. Still, Vargus made no sudden movements, simply eyeing Alexander from where he stood.

“You’re still alive,” the Emperor notes, finally taking a step forward. “I thought you’d be an easy target, but I guess I was hoping for too much.”

The Emperor chuckles to himself, taking a few more steps.

“Prince Alexander of Genoa...I thought you’d protest a little more about the arrangement, but I guess that’s how much you care for your kingdom, your people, and perhaps even my daughter. As such, I can appreciate a man like yourself. In the same breath, however, I must point out your naivety. Did you truly believe that peace was on the horizon or did you keep having to convincing yourself that all would be well?”

Alexander shrinks back under the Emperor’s gaze, the words dying in his throat.

He had believed, hadn’t he? Why did it suddenly feel like that wasn’t the case?

Why did it feel like...he had been lying to himself?

“Prince Alexander...I’ll give you one chance. You seem like a smart boy, so I think you’ll make the right choice. You can either run...or die.”

“Run?” Alexander breathes out.

“Yes...run. You can run and I won’t even bother chasing you. Of course, if you ever come back, I will kill you without hesitation.”

“Why...why even give me the choice?”

“Why? Because no matter what you do...Genoa belongs to me.”

Alexander bites his lip, starting to tremble under the Emperor’s gaze.

“Run, little prince,” he hisses. “Run like the coward you are!”

-

Alexander wakes up with a jolt, gasping for air. His eyes dart around the room quickly, taking in his surroundings.

Across from him, he can see a messy shelf, filled to the brim with bottles and vials of various hues. A stack of bloody cloth sits in the corner of the shelf, and only then does the smell invade Alexander’s senses. On a nearby desk, books were strewn around messily, some only a couple pages in while others were near the conclusion. Beneath him, Alexander feels the terribly hard mat that could only be placed in the medical tent due to its tiny size.

Not to mention, no one really made use of the dingy thing.

But the medical tent? Alexander finds himself sighing in relief, but something felt odd. This whole thing felt terribly strange. Alexander remembers drowning. He remembers being surrounded by nothing but the sea, unable to hear, unable to think, unable to breathe.

He couldn’t have imagined it. No, that would’ve been ridiculous. If Alexander had imagined drowning, then that would’ve meant imagining the King of the Glassy Sea and the merman that was with him.

Though, Alexander doesn’t think he could’ve possibly imagined that.

Cleo had seen them too, hadn’t she? The same trident, the same golden eyes, and the tails? She must’ve. Alexander couldn’t be imagining things.

Or perhaps he just wants to make sense of all this.

Starting to feel trapped by the faded sheets, Alexander pulls the cloth off of his body, startled when the entrance of the tent flew open. Cleo steps in quietly, though, at the sight of Alexander, she flinches back.

“You’re...awake,” Cleo breathes out. “T-The doctor said--”

“Tell the doctor that I’m the gift that keeps on giving,” Alexander chuckles, trying to lighten the mood for himself.

“Rather jovial for the man I found at Death’s door.”

“Well, Death must seem to have a thing for me. I continue to elude him, despite the odds. Maybe he likes chasing me.”

Cleo hums, sitting at the edge of the mat.

“We made a betting pool,” Cleo says. “It was supposed to lift our spirits but it got rather depressing as the days went by. I’m sure you’re awakening will cheer them up.”

“Hm. What are they gonna do when we finally leave?”

“Pardon?”

“We...we can’t stay with them. At some point, we’ll have to start coming up with a plan for taking back Genoa. I couldn’t possibly ask them to get involved…” Alexander explains. “It isn’t their burden to carry.”

“You know they won’t go for it,” Cleo says. “They’re too loyal to you and some of them are from Genoa as well. I think they would all jump at the chance to take on the Empire.”

“I hate it when you’re right…”

Alexander huffs, pulling the rest of the sheets off of him. He sits up slowly, swinging his legs over the edge of the mat. Cleo eyes him carefully, not missing the look of remorse on Alexander’s face.

“You know...the fall of Genoa continues to haunt me. Sometimes, I wonder if it was right of me to run. I left countless people behind. People that might’ve needed my help. I ran while others fought for their lives and their freedom. I...really am a coward.”

Cleo bites her lip, thinking about speaking until the flap of the medical tent opens once more. She notices Alexander straighten himself up quickly before looking up herself, taken aback by the sight of the Pirate Queen, Nikita.

Nikita wasn’t one that people saw often. She normally kept to herself and some considered her a myth. Alexander was one of the few who didn’t. He and Cleo were all too familiar with her, considering it was Nikita that took them in when the merchant ship reached the island where many pirates made their home.

Alexander never knew why. In fact, he still doesn’t. He’s considered the idea of pity but dismissed the thought when Alexander realized that Nikita had only saved them because they were able to work. There was a benefit to taking them in. Alexander had also contemplated the idea that Nikita had only taken them in because it would’ve meant that Alexander was forever in her debt.

Serving her was the only way he and the others could possibly repay.

“The boy that Death can’t seem to catch. Lady Luck must really favor you,” Nikita says, her usually monotonous voice seeming to be laced with intrigue. “I must say, when I heard that you had ventured through the Glassy Sea, I couldn’t believe my ears. Even I have my reservations about that place.”

“Well…”

“Don’t bother, Alexander. Your navigator told me the situation. However, she could not tell me how you all survived and quite frankly, I can’t seem to figure it out myself. You should be dead.”

Alexander notices Cleo take a deep breath, looking Nikita in the eyes. The pirate queen looks at Cleo curiously.

“You have an inkling, don’t you?” Nikita says, pressing her hand on Cleo’s shoulder. “You know something that I don’t.”

Cleo gulps.

“I do, but I can’t say whether you’ll believe me or not. You might think I’m lying.”

“Perhaps, but I’ll bite.”

Cleo presses her lips into a thin line, wringing her hands in her lap. A wave of uncertainty had seemed to wash over her, and Alexander was starting to feel nervous.

“The crew wanted to be certain that Alexander was really gone, so they asked me to check the beach after we docked the ship,” Cleo says. “I...I thought they were crazy. I saw him fall into the water with my own two eyes, but I obliged them nonetheless. So, I went back to the shore of the Glassy Sea. The clouds had just started to part and the sun was peeking through the clouds. I won’t lie, I considered turning back around several times, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I saw Alexander lying in the sand. Yet, that wasn’t even the strangest thing!”

“What was the strangest thing?” Alexander wonders.

“Next to you...I think I saw the same merman that was with the king.”

“You...are you certain?”

“I think so. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but they weren’t. He was there, studying you like something otherworldly. I can’t say what his intentions might’ve been, but I think he might have saved you. He might have saved all of us…”

“But what would he have achieved by doing that?”

“I...I don’t…”

“Don’t push yourself, Cleo,” Nikita says, taking a step back. “There are some things we just can’t comprehend. The answer could be really simple or terribly complex. All we know is that a Mer saved your entire crew from being decimated. Regardless of the reason, your entire crew should be thankful…”