My heart slammed against my ribs like a frantic animal trying desperately to escape its cage. I was terrified. Not only was I about to be presented to a deity, a freaking God, but I was about to do so in the middle of some ceremonial mermaid ball.

I can't even do the YMCA! How am I supposed to blend in at a freaking ball!

While I was wallowing in self pity and some serious regret, I failed to notice the large double doors Cecelia had led us to. Now, I was having a rather hard time breathing as I listened to the bustling noise inside.

"Are you alright?" Cecelia asked when she finally looked at me, "You look as though you've just swallowed a sand dollar."

"I'm fine," I tried to smile, but I doubt it was very convincing.

"You'll be alright," she assured me, "Just keep your back straight, head up, and find someplace to hover. By the food is usually a safe bet."

I nodded a bit in thanks, "What about King Neptune?"

"Be truthful," she advised, "because whether or not he shows it, he knows the truth."

I paled a bit more at that. I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well for me. I hoped Salacia was in there to back me up if I needed it.

"Don't worry. He won't be too hard on you," she winked as she pushed open the doors and stepped into the ballroom.

"Princess Cecelia Avernak of the Avernak Kingdom!" An announcer called out over the crowd. They applauded a bit as Cecelia disappeared into their depths.

"What's your name deary?" The announcer asked me in a whisper. I realized then that I was still standing in the hall, and after taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and whispered my name to him.

"And Lady Elizabeth Proctor!" he bellowed. More applause followed, and when I sank into the mingling sea of colors, I felt instantly better that the spotlight was no longer on me.

It wasn't hard to spot the gods. They sat in giant thrones near the rear of the room. They were enormous. Probably close to fifteen feet tall. When I'd met Salacia, she had only been a little taller than me, but now, she and her husband towered over the ball like buildings.

I guess that explained why all the doors were so big in this place.

Neptune didn't look at all how I expected. In every depiction I'd ever seen of him, he was older and sported a long curly beard. Looking at him now, the only thing they'd gotten right was the trident leaning against his throne.

He was incredibly tanned, and his arms and a bit of his face were covered in scars. His hair was deep black and fell messily around his ears. He looked young too, perhaps somewhere in his twenties or thirties, and I couldn't shake the feeling he looked familiar.

I watched him glance down at his feet, and when I followed his gaze, I found a flash of red standing before him. Cecelia.

I think I felt a bit of bile rise in my throat at the thought of them discussing me.

I turned away and pushed myself through the throng of dancers. My destination was the wall, so that I could at least not have to watch my back. This felt eerily similar to the day we fought those other pirates. I was exposed. Weak. Confused. I was almost certain I was going to have a panic attack.

When I finally reached the stone wall, I felt a bit better. I leaned my back against it and closed my eyes in relief.

Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe there were no gods or mermaids or princesses or frilly dresses. Maybe I was still on the ship, sound asleep, cradled by the rocking of the waves.

When I felt eyes on me, I flicked my eyes up to Neptune, relieved to find he was not the one watching me. Neither was Salacia. Scanning the sea of colorful dresses and suits was useless. No one held still long enough to burn a gaze this intense into my cheek.

My eyes wandered to the edges of the room, and I finally found a pair of lavender eyes staring back at me from the adjacent wall. Once our gazes met, he looked away for a moment before straightening out his dark grey jacket. Then his eyes swiveled back up to me and he smiled.

It was disarming, that smile. The man was utterly beautiful. Pale skin, raven hair that flowed perfectly over his shoulders, gloriously straight white teeth, and those eyes.

Who was I kidding? Everyone in this room was impossibly beautiful.

I forced myself to look away from the man, almost afraid of the intensity of his gaze. I couldn't be that interesting, could I? Even with strained efforts, my eyes seemed to wander back to him every few moments.

"Elizabeth," Cecelia's voice startled me, "He wishes to speak with you now."

"Oh," my heart sank a bit, "Okay."

"Relax," she smiled, "You've done nothing wrong."

I nodded as she took my wrist and pulled me back into the crowd.

Before I could gather my wits, we were standing at the feet of Neptune himself.

"Ah, you must be Elizabeth," he smiled as he placed his goblet on the arm of his throne and stood. As he stepped forward, his body shrank, and by the time he stood before me, he only towered over me by a couple inches, "A pleasure."

He grabbed my hand and gingerly kissed my knuckles, never breaking eye contact. I fought the urge to pull my arm away and find someplace to hide. A freaking god just kissed my hand.

"Your story is quite fascinating, Ms. Proctor."

"Is it?" I asked for lack of anything else to say. He didn't let go of my hand, probably knowing I wanted to run away.

His eyes sparkled as he studied me.

"A dance?"

My eyes widened in panic, "Oh, no, I can't dance."

"Nonsense," he smiled, "There really isn't much to it."

I caught sight of Salacia rolling her eyes as Neptune dragged me out onto the dancefloor.

He stopped suddenly and spun me around to face him. He kept hold of my one hand and placed his other on my waist. My free hand instinctual my went to his shoulder and we began to gently sway.

"How do you like it so far?" he asked. "This century?"

"It's... different," I tried to find the right words.

Neptune chuckled, "Yes, I suppose it is. Wait until you see the human cities. The difference is quite a sight."

"I bet," I admitted.

His eyes roamed my face for a few moments, "You look quite like your father."

"You know my father?" I asked confusedly.

"I keep track of all my subjects, dear Elizabeth. He's a good man. Descendant of the Bernoulli Royals I believe."

"I'm guessing that's another Mer Kingdom?"

"You catch on quick," he smiled.

I furrowed my brow, "Does that mean I'm a descendant of royalty?"

"My dear, everyone is royal if they trace their ancestry back far enough."

"Did he know then? About the whole mermaid thing?"

"Not a clue," he smirked, "though I'm sure you've noticed your family's pull to the ocean."

I nodded, my gaze drifting past his shoulder as I thought. Our affinity for sailing. Dad, Uncle Paul, and I all felt that pull. Mother never did because she was just a normal human.

Neptune's voice pulled me back to reality.

"Some of the girls and I are throwing a little after party in my chambers tonight. You're welcome to join," he winked.

My eyes widened, "Oh, that's quite alright, Your Highness. I wasn't planning on staying long anyway."

"Ah. You wish to return to the Marauder's Phoenix."

"I do," I confirmed his suspicions and repeated the name of the ship in my head a few times.

"I wonder..." he seemed to trail off in thought, "Is it the ship or the Captain you're so adamant to return to?"

"Jay? I- uh," I stuttered. Neptune chuckled again.

"He's a good lad," he smiled, "More and more like his old man every day."

"His father is dead, though."

"No, my dear. I am his father."

I stopped dancing and stared at the god, "What do you mean?"

He waved his hand, "Hera threw a fit a few centuries back that any child of a god born out of wedlock would grow up as a mortal. She got tired of having to deal with all of my brother's demigod children. Jay was supposed to live with his mother, but she died during the birth so I sent him to a faithful pirate captain I felt would raise him well. He's spent his whole life at sea."

"But the story-"

"He's not dim, darling. He knows you've been lying to him. Why would he trust you with his life story?"

I felt somehow betrayed by those words. All along I had thought I was the only one lying. I'd even felt guilty about it. This just felt like a punch in the gut.

"Does he know about you?"

"All he knows is he's an orphan. Raised by a pirate who shared his name."

We were dancing again, but my mind was going numb. Neptune's chuckle drew my attention back to him, though.

"Poor boy thinks he's going crazy. He searches for an artifact he thinks can heal him. Something to stop the voices in his head."

"What artifact?"

"May I cut in?" A silky smooth male voice sounded from behind me. I turned only to meet the lavender gaze of the man from the wall. A new wave of panic overtook me.

Neptune cleared his throat and release his grip on my waist, "Be my guest, Lord Phineas."

Phineas took my hand from Neptune and assumed a similar position. I placed my hand on his shoulder uncertainly.

"You look stunning," he smiled at me, "But I don't believe I caught your name."

I blinked and drew in an unsteady breath, "Elizabeth."

His smile grew, "You can call me Finn."

"Finn," I tested it out, trying to ignore the irony of him being half fish. His eyes sparkled a bit as he twirled me around.

"It sounds so much better when you say it."

I looked up at him confusedly. First he stared at me from across the room and now he's trying to flirt with me? Why does he look so fascinated?

"Tell me about yourself. What's do you like to do?"

I shrugged slightly, "I don't know, I've always liked the sea."

He smirked and glanced around the room, "Darling, everyone in this room likes the sea. You're going to have to dig a little deeper."

I blushed a little, not even sure why, "I like sailing."

He seemed to brighten up at that, "Really? I'm captain of my own ship. Perhaps I can take you sailing some day."

"Perhaps," I wasn't so sure, but even so, I couldn't help the small smile that grew on my lips. He seemed so innocently happy, like a child.

"There you are," I heard Cecelia's voice, but when I turned my head, she was looking at Finn. "Elizabeth, do you mind if I cut in with my cousin?"

"No, not at all," I took a step away from the man but he caught my wrist before I could leave.

"Save me another dance?" he didn't give me a chance to answer as he placed a small kiss on my cheek.

Stunned, I blinked and walked back through crowd of Mers a few moments after he dropped my wrist. I made my way back to the wall with my hand on my cheek.

What did I just get myself into?

----+-----+---- A/N

Second surprise update for all of my patient readers! (You know who you are.) Thank you so much for the support so far! If any of you feel inspired to create fan art for my story, send it to this email (megan.happel@gmail.com) along with your Wattpad username for a chance to be featured in this story.

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