Kai watched the calm sea from the very edge of the cliff, arms folded across his chest. It was a beautiful full moon tonight, one of his favorite times when it wasn't too dark to go for a swim at night, because swimming under moonlight was almost magical and it almost always worked to clear his mind. On any other such night, he would have never wasted the opportunity to go swimming, but on this particular night, Kai was afraid. He couldn't recall the last time he'd felt such strong, almost tangible fear and uncertainty. For the first time in all his years of existence, he was afraid to swim. Or rather, he was afraid to enter the sea for fear of what lay under the water, waiting for him. According to his mother, his 'awakening' had somehow exposed his existence to the sea and its occupants, and now, they were coming for him.

He was coming for him.

Go, now, before they come for you. Go!

He recalled the urgency by which the golden merman had dismissed him, how he'd peered into the darkness that was the Black Sea with sheer horror, his handsome face pale. Had he perhaps seen him?

King Marius the Conquerer, his father's killer and, apparently, his greatest enemy. Even his name and title sounded fearsome. The first time he'd heard it out of his mother's lips, his spine had been gripped by the sinister hand of a chill. Goosebumps had erupted across every visible piece of skin and evidence of them could still be seen peeking from the sleeves of his pajama shirt.

He wondered what such a, er, merman was like to have earned the title of 'conquerer'. A warmonger, for certain, and a victorious one at that. Yet his father's country had held strong for a hundred years if his mother's outdated information -that came in the form of messanger advisors every decade or so- was to be trusted, even with his murder presumably some twenty plus years ago. And since his father, the former King, was dead, that made him...

Kai ruffled a hand through his hair. He had no idea what to assume or what to think. To say that he was in way over his head was the understatement of the century. All he knew was that he had to leave his home now, and judging by the tone of his mother when she'd announced their move, it was for good. To keep him safe from an enemy she only knew by name, she'd said. Frankly, Kai fervently wished that they never, ever crossed paths.

An abrupt shiver skittered down his back. He was suddenly consumed by the nagging feeling that he was being watched. Surreptitiously, he scanned the nearby shore, looking for anyone who might have been secretly watching him. Kai was a deeply instinctual person, so when his instincts told him to distrust a stranger, that he was being followed or that he was being watched, he trusted those feelings.

Yet he couldn't see anybody on the shore, unless they were concealing themselves somewhere in the trees. Was he imagining things because of his current... predicament? Probably.

Kai let out a worldweary sigh and raked his hair in frustration again; he desperately needed to clear his head. At his current state of mind, he couldn't think straight and he certainly couldn't put together a plan to keep him and his mother safe from harm's way.

The soothing sound of waves crashing against the bottom of the cliff drifted to his ears. His eyes were instantly drawn to the churning waves and to the foam of white forming at the base, as if by some invisible power. Nothing, absolutely nothing could clear his head the way a good swim could.

Kai breathed in, held it in for a few seconds, and then let it all out.

It was time to conquer his fears.

More than that, he wanted to see if he could breathe underwater now. He understood why he could do it -he was half merman for crying out loud- but could he do it at will now? It seemed that his awakening had not only summoned the golden merman, but it had awakened the merman in him. If he had to be honest with himself, this was the one thing out of all the mess that he did not mind. He briefly pictured a scenario where he challenged the Guinness World Record for holding your breath underwater.

Also, he wanted to see if the golden merman would appear again. He hoped he did. Rather, Kai prayed that he would. He had a feeling that the golden merman had the answer to many of the questions currently plaguing his mind.

He started to undress.

"Kai!"

He was about to take off his pants when his mother startled him and he whirled around to see her standing a few feet away. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard her coming.

"You can't be meaning to do what I think you're about to do?!" she demanded, incredulously. Even at twenty-seven, his mother's reproachful tone still worked wonders on him. He thought to tell her what he was planning, but the sheer terror he saw reflected in her shiny eyes immediately dissuaded him. She looked like she'd have a heart attack right then and there if he even dunked a toe in the sea.

He'd test out his theories another day.

"Come inside. There's a lot of packing to do." she told him and he obeyed out of respect for his mother, taking her outstretched hand and walking with her to the house.

The whole time, he felt eyes burning into his back.