Teleporting Mermen

"Who are they?" Kai demanded with mounting unease as his eyes darted between all the men in his house, two on each floor and one standing by his mother's side. Not men. Mermen, he realized. They were tall with shark-like eyes, and most of them had odd-colored hair. They were all armed, swords strapped either to their waists or backs.

Kai felt the first signs of anger creeping in from the edges, tainting his mood irreconcilably.

"I already told you your mother is being protected."

"Protected? Or imprisoned? There's a difference, you know." Kai shot back, his voice dripping acid. He whirled on Marius, eyes narrowed and forehead creased.

The thought of these mermen watching his mother's every move, just as Kai had been watched, made him sick to his stomach. His imagination was running rampant, fueled by his worst fears.

Did they touch her? Did they hurt her? Did they force her to do things?

He fisted his hands to keep them from reaching for Marius's neck and wringing it like an accordion.

Marius cocked an eyebrow, his blue eyes flaring with interest. "Would you prefer I left your mother vulnerable after you exposed your existence to the merworld?"

"What does that mean?" Kai demanded, the lines in his forehead growing deeper.

"It would not have taken others long to find you after I found you. Your mother was and is at risk of being captured to force your hand. I had to take necessary precautions."

By necessary precautions, Marius meant that he'd spelled his mother to keep her from realizing Kai was gone.

"You said you're keeping her in an illusion to keep from worrying over me." Kai recalled their conversation in the Royal Bath as he'd been made to scrub Marius.

He vividly remembered Marius's words as he'd warned him about the possibility of others coming for his mother: If it wasn't me, it would have been someone a lot less magnanimous. Like your uncle.

When Kai had probed, Marius had dismissed the topic.

"Yes." Marius agreed, watching Kai shrewdly. He didn't say anything, as if to allow Kai to draw up his own conclusions.

"She doesn't see your men?"

"She sees them as guests. She doesn't realize they're mermen."

"How long have these 'guests' been staying with her? She's bound to realize something's wrong when they don't leave."

"Her perception of time is warped."

"Oh, man." Kai didn't like what was being done to his mother anymore than he liked what was being done to him. It wasn't right; at least Kai was aware of it, though he currently couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"It is better this way." Marius said, his voice low. It was Marius's attempt at being soothing.

"She has a job-"

"We had her phone in sick."

"For how long-"

"Your mother is not the only one our magic works on. The spell affects the necessary parties to guarantee its complete effectiveness."

"I... I don't know what that means, but I'm going to trust you didn't get my mother fired."

Marius grinned. "I hear your mother is an exceptional ambassador. Nostraza is always looking for excellent representatives."

"You can forget it." Kai immediately shot that thought down before anything came of it.

Marius's grin widened.

"I'm glad all this is amusing to you." Kai said wryly.

"Thank you."

Kai almost punched him. And then he pushed his anger aside to focus on what was important. "After I meet my mother, you're going to tell me exactly who these invisible enemies of mine are." Marius had hinted at his uncle, King Zoltan, being one of these enemies. Kai wanted to know how much truth there was to his words. "You're also going to tell me how you found me in the first place." Thanks to King Trigon, Kai understood it had something to do with a sea witch. Because of course there was a sea witch. And he was The Little Mermaid, red hair and all.

"Very well." Marius agreed.

How rare of him to agree to anything without first asking something in return. It was definitely suspicious, but he'd let it go for now. He'd find out what Marius was up to sooner rather than later; it was always that way with him.

Kai went to the house. The closer he got to the half-glass structure, the harder his heart beat. He couldn't recall ever being this excited -and petrified- of seeing his own mother.

He opened the door at the fence, the rusted hinges, long abused by the misty sea breeze, creaking from the movement. The front garden was in a state of abandonment, nearly all the plants dead. From the beginning, it had been a near impossible task to maintain his mother's garden being so close to salt water, but they did it, which made it all the more precious. To see their expensive efforts gone to waste put a knot in his throat.

He hastily swallowed it away.

He came up to the front door, put his hand on the handle, and hesitated.

Kai turned to Marius, who'd followed him in.

"I'd like some privacy with my mother." He didn't want his reunion to be overshadowed by six fearsome mermen watching over them like hawks.

"Absolutely not."

Annoyed, Kai said, "I'm not saying to leave us and go. I'm saying for you and your men to wait outside the house."

"Do you know why one of my men remains at your mother's side at all times? It's because a powerful merman can teleport to her side, grab her and teleport out of the house in less than a heartbeat. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Kai understood perfectly, and he was horrified. If this was truly the case, a part of him was starting to appreciate all that Marius had deemed necessary to keep his mother safe. The thought of her being taken by someone magical who bore him ill will nearly drove him mad.

"Why do you think I keep you so close? Or have the chain on you?"

"I thought it was because you're a sadistic bastard."

Marius smirked. "That too."

"So, you guys are going to ruin the moment for me?" Kai said, crestfallen. This was not the reunion he'd longed for and imagined.

Of course they were. Because this was what Marius did; he ruined things for him, imposing his kingly self on Kai's every waking moment.

"I suppose I can have my men withdraw to the outer perimeter. But I stay inside."

It was as good a deal as Marius was likely to offer him. And frankly, after what Marius told him, he much preferred him watching over them for fear of teleporting mermen.

"Okay."

Kai turned back around and opened the door.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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