(Flashback)



A small pebble landed beside Raephier.

He immediately looked across the gathering to where Jas was sitting next to his mum and dad, the King and Queen.

Jas nodded his head to the left in a subtle gesture.

Raephier turned to his own mother who was sitting next to him.

"I'm going to go and chat to some of my friends, I'll be back later," he said, before getting up off the rock to swim away.

"Wait!" his mother said, grabbing hold of his arm before he could go.

Raephier turned to look at his mum and saw the stern look in her eyes.

"No causing any trouble. If I hear you've been off getting up to mischief again, I'll ground you for the rest of the month. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, mum, I'll be good," Raephier replied quickly, itching to get away.

His mum let go of his arm and he gave her a quick smile before swimming away.

Raephier wasn't annoyed at his mum for the warning. It wasn't uncommon for him to get into trouble, especially when he was hanging out with Jas. Like the time they went exploring beyond the boundary of their land, and Raephier got caught up in a discarded fishing net, and his mum and dad had to come and get him out, or the time that he'd nearly been eaten by a shark, or the time when he'd pulled a prank on one of the Council elders by putting an angry crab in his bed, or when he'd crashed into the memorial monument that Horrace had spent a month making in honour of his father who had recently passed away. The list could go on.

But the truth was that he wasn't naturally a mischievous boy. He was a boy who was easily led. Especially when he was being led by someone with beautiful shiny ebony hair and sparkling green eyes. There was just something about Jas that made it impossible for him to say no.

And of course the Prince could never be a trouble maker, oh no, so Raephier was the one who got labelled as the boy who was leading Jas astray.

But the more trouble he got into, the more Jas would smile and seek out his company, so he didn't mind one bit.

Raephier made his way away from the rest of his colony who had gathered for one of the many annual feasts. This particular one was to celebrate the great migration. A time of year where there was a large increase in the shoals of fish passing through the kingdom on their way to shallower waters to breed.

Raephier made his way over to a familiar collection of three large rocks which he and Jas had declared as their very own castle at the age of 6. Since then, it was always the place where they would meet.

After just a couple of minutes of waiting, Raephier felt the familiar rush of water before he was body slammed into the ground.

When he opened his eyes, there were a pair of shining green eyes looking back, already sparkling with mischief.

"Come on Rae!" Jas said, leaping off Raephier and swimming away.

Raephier immediately got up and chased after him. Just like always.

It was only as they got to the edge of their land that Raephier started to get nervous.

"Jas! Jas! Wait! Where are we going?"

Jas just flipped over onto his back and grinned at Reaphier as his tail continued to wave, propelling him forward.

He was so effortlessly cool it made something squeeze in Raephier's chest.

A few moments later, right at the edge of their land, Jas finally came to a stop.

Raephier swum up to him and followed Jas's gaze into the depths of the ocean.

"What are you looking at?" Raephier asked, not seeing anything other than endless grey in front of them.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head and finally turning to look at Raephier. "I've heard something," he said with a glint in his eye.

Raephier groaned. Whenever Jas had heard something it inevitably led to Raephier getting into trouble. Like when he said, 'I've heard there's a shipwreck just beyond that ridge,' or 'I've heard that the visiting Governer's daughter is scared of lobsters.'

"What is it that you've heard this time?" Raephier dared to ask.

"I've heard," Jas said, looking around like this was some kind of big conspiracy, "that the Sea Witches are back."

Reaphier felt a heavy weight settle in his stomach. Mainly for two reasons. Firstly Persula the Sea Witch scared the crap out of him, and if he was going to get in trouble, he would rather it not be with her. And secondly, Jas had a funny kind of obsession with one of her daughters which gave Raephier a sort of weird pain under his ribs.

"And where are they?" Raephier asked.

"I believe about 2 miles, that way," Jas said, pointing out into the bleakness.

"But that's outside of our land!" Raephier argued.

"And when's that ever stopped us before?" Jas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's alright for you!" Raephier said, getting annoyed. "You never get in trouble, but I always do! My mum said she's going to ground me for a month if I get in trouble today."

"Then we better not get in trouble then," Jas said with a grin, then promptly flicked his tail and swam across our boundary line.

"Jas! Come back!" Raephier shouted, but immediately followed behind him.

It wasn't long before the grey nothingness revealed a large rock formation, covered in seaweed.

"Hey it's Jasper!" Raephier heard, and his heart sagged when he recognised the voice.

"Bailey!" Jas said back enthusiastically.

Bailey was a couple of years older than Raephier and Jas, and Jas had always been obsessed with her whenever they were here. Which thankfully for Raephier was only for a few months every year.

Raephier had to concede that she was pretty. With her long, blonde, wavy hair, and petit nose, and warm hazel eyes. But Raephier could never quite get past the eight tentacles that sprouted out from the bottom of her body, instead of the beautiful tail that merpeople had.

"Oh and Raephier too!" Bailey said, with a smile. "Khloe will be pleased!"

Before Raephier had time to react to that, Jas threw his arm around his shoulder, pulling him in close before saying quietly, "See, I knew you'd have fun! You can thank me later."

It was pointless saying it quietly as sea witches could hear everything anyway, but Reaphier wasn't about to complain any time that Jas pulled him close.

Jas immediately swam away, closer to Bailey.

"So how've you been?"

Before Raephier could even get the chance to start to feel like he was third wheeling, a movement from his left caught his attention.

Khloe was peeking out from behind a rock, and beckoning for Raephier to come closer.

Raephier drew in a deep lungful of water before swimming over.

Khloe reached over and grabbed hold of Raephier's arm as soon as he was close enough and pulled him through a gap in the rocks and over to a more sheltered area, where the current was much gentler.

There was also more sunlight here, so Raephier could see Khloe more clearly.

Khloe was Bailey's younger sister, and was the same age as Jas and Raephier. Whenever Jas and Raephier saw them, Jas always immediately gravitated towards Bailey which meant that Raephier and Khloe were left to play together. Raephier hadn't minded this too much when he was younger, but over the last couple of years Khloe had developed a rather worrying habit of constantly touching him. She was always grabbing his arm, or tapping him to get his attention.

One time she even asked if she could paint him! Not draw a picture of him, actually paint on his body!! It was common for mermen to paint their bodies with mud and ground up shells, and Raephier had even done it himself on many occasions, but it was such an intimate thing that only a mated partner would ever be asked to do such a thing!! At the time he'd politely declined, thinking that as a sea witch she must have had no idea of what she was asking of him.

The sunlight reflected off her blonde hair. It was a darker blonde than her sisters, and straight rather than wavy. She was undoubtedly pretty too, but Raephier could never look at her in that way.

Khloe dragged Raephier down so he was resting on a rock beside her.

"I've missed you so much!" she gushed, her hand sliding down from his arm to hold his hand.

He stared at the contact in shock. It was such an intimate act for merpeople to hold hands, yet Khloe didn't even seem to acknowledge it. Raephier realised she was waiting for a response. Probably along the lines of 'I've missed you too,' but he didn't want to lie. So he decided that he could stand the hand holding for a little longer in the hope that she wouldn't be too disappointed.

That was his first mistake.

"It's been ages since we've seen each other, hasn't it?" he said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. In his own head he was thinking how it only felt like yesterday that Jas was making goo goo eyes at Bailey. Honestly, each time they went away, he secretly hoped they would never come back again.

Despite not telling Khloe that he'd missed her, her eyes seemed to light up at his words.

"Mum said we're going to be here for a bit longer this time!"

Raephier bit back a groan.

"Are you happy about that?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure Jas will be happy too."

"I know, I wanted to ask you about that actually," Khloe said.

Raephier felt his shoulders tense.

"Ask me what exactly," he said.

"Well," she said, sliding so close to Raephier that their sides were touching. "Bailey really likes Jasper. I mean, REALLY likes him, and I know that him being the Prince and all is going to make things a bit difficult. What do you think the King and Queen will say when they find out?"

Raephier frowned.

"Find out what?"

"That they're together. Jasper and Bailey,"

Raephier let out a small pained laugh.

"But they're not together."

"Yeah but they will be sooner or later. I know that Bailey wants to be with Jasper, and you can tell by the way that he looks at her that he wants her too."

Raephier suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. Bailey and Jas? Jas and Bailey? It just didn't make sense to him. It couldn't make sense. It was impossible! It had to be impossible.

"Rae?" Khloe said worriedly snapping Raephier out of his thoughts.

He hated when she called him that. Only Jas called him that.

He realised that in his panic he'd moved away from Khloe, putting a good couple of feet between them.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to contain his emotions as best as he could. "I'm just worried that the King and Queen won't like it?"

Khloe seemed to accept his reply as she nodded her head in understanding.

"I was worried about that too. Do the King and Queen have a match for him already?"

It was common for Mer Royalty to look to other Royal families to marry off their children to.

"Not that I know of, but I know they talk of it. Jas hates it when they do. He always says he wants to choose for himself."

Khloe nodded. "Yeah, I'd hate to have anyone tell me who I had to marry. I guess they'll have to run away together then."

"What?!" Raephier shrieked. "He can't do that!"

"Why not?" Khloe asked, genuinely looking confused at Raephier's reaction.

"Because.....because......I don't know! He's got family and friends and a Kingdom to inherit!"

"Yes but does that mean anything if you can't be with the one you love?"

Raephier felt his body give out under him and he sank onto the seabed.

He felt a ripple of water, and then he felt Khloe beside him.

"I'm sorry," she said gently. "I know you probably wanted him to be your King. But you never know, maybe something will happen and he'll get to keep his Kingdom, and choose his own bride. I don't want you to be sad Rae."

Raephier felt Khloe's hand on his arm and turned to look at her.

It wasn't her fault, he knew that, so he tried his best to push down all his negative thoughts and feelings. Maybe he could talk Jas out of it. Maybe he could persuade him that his Kingdom needed him, or that there was someone out there better suited for him than Bailey. Someone like.....

"I feel sorry for her," Khloe said, once again snapping Raephier out of his thoughts.

"Who?" he asked.

"Bailey, of course! Everyone dreams of falling for a Prince, but look where it gets you! No matter what they do, life is not going to be easy for them. I'm so glad that I never fell for a Prince's charms."

Raephier gave Khloe a weak smile. She was right. Raephier had been trying to avoid thinking about it, trying hard not to put a label on his feelings, but right here, right now, it was getting harder and harder to deny.

He'd fallen for the Prince. The unobtainable Prince. And there certainly was nothing easy about that.

While he wallowed in his despair, he'd failed to notice that Khloe was creeping closer and closer to him. Her hand had wandered from his arm up to his shoulder, and the whole of her upper body was now pressed into his side.

It was incredibly intimate, and at any other time, Raephier would have moved away, but right now, the warmth of her body actually gave him a little comfort, so he did nothing.

That was his second mistake.

As Khloe began to rub her hand up and down Raephier's arm she whispered,

"We're so much luckier than they are. At least no one will stop us."

It took Raephier's brain much too long to register those words, and by the time he did and he turned to face her, his breath caught in his throat as he realised that her face was just inches from his, and she was looking at him like he was the most precious thing she'd ever seen.

His body froze, as he realised what was happening. He was alone with Khloe. And their bodies were pressed together. And she was looking at him like she was about to devour him.

In just the blink of an eye she moved forward and connected her lips to his.

He should have pushed her away. He should have told her to stop. He should have done something. Anything! But he didn't.

Mistake number 3.

Although he never responded to the kiss, he was mesmerised with the feeling of her lips against his. He'd always imagined what it would feel like to kiss his mate. Some things were just as he imagined. Like the pressure pushing against his lips, and the closeness. All the physical aspects. But emotionally it was nothing like he expected. There was no rush of emotion, or passion. There was just.....nothing.

And that was the thought that finally snapped his brain into action.

He quickly pushed Khloe off him and swam back.

"W-What was that?!" he asked, rubbing his lips on the back of his hand.

"A declaration," Khloe said, looking slightly shocked. "And you accepted."

"No, no, no, no, no," Raephier said, shaking his head frantically.

But it was true. A kiss was a declaration of love, of mating. And to accept that kiss was to accept the person who gave it as your mate.

"I-I didn't accept it. I was surprised. I-"

"What?!" Khloe said, looking upset. "You can't kiss me for that long, then say you don't accept!"

"But.....but...." Raephier floundered.

"And not only that but you let me touch you, and hold your hand, and lie next to you. If that's not what you wanted, you should have said something!"

Her voice was getting higher and higher, and she looked like she was close to breaking down.

She was right. She was totally right, and Raephier couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. He'd been unintentionally leading her on, and he hated himself for it.

Bailey and Jas suddenly appeared looking concerned.

"Is everything alright?" Bailey asked her sister.

Jas gave Raephier a questioning look, but Raephier was too ashamed to offer any kind of reply.

"I think you'd better go," Bailey said turning to Raephier and Jas.

Raephier didn't need to be told twice, and just nodded once before swimming away.

"Wait?!" Jas shouted at Raephier. "Bailey I-"

Raephier didn't hear what else he said but it couldn't have been more than a couple of words because within seconds Jas was swimming by his side.

"Rae, wait! What happened?"

"Not now," Raephier ground out. "I'll tell you when we get home."

To his credit, Jas didn't ask any more questions, swimming silently by Raepheir's side all the way home.

Once they got home, Raephier led Jas to one of their favourite places to hang out. A small cave on the edge of a reef.

Reaphier slumped down and put his face in his hands.

Jas settled down next to him.

"Come on Rae, talk to me. You can tell me anything, you know that."

Jas pulled at Rae's hand, removing it from his face.

Raephier watched as Jas gave his hand a light squeeze before letting it go.

"You see, that's the problem!" Raephier said sharply, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion. "Any kind of touching is supposed to be an intimate act, done between families and mates. Friends aren't supposed to touch you like that. But you do, and it confused me!"

Jas frowned.

"But I've always kind of seen us like brothers. Why? Does it bother you?"

Raephier tried to ignore the stab in his chest at being called a brother.

"No, well not really, but maybe I should be bothered!"

"Rae," Jas said in a gentle but commanding tone, "just tell me what happened."

Raephier saw Jas reach over to touch him again, but this time he pulled his hand away at the last minute.

Raephier shut his eyes, then recounted the events of that afternoon to Jas. He didn't want to open his eyes when he'd finished. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Jas's face.

But then he heard a sound he wasn't expecting. He heard Jas chuckle, and then that chuckle turned into full on laughter. When Raephier finally opened his eyes, Jas was writhing around on the floor like an eel!

"W-What's so funny?" Raepheir asked. He couldn't find anything amusing about this situation, but he couldn't help the small smile that came from seeing his friend struggling to get his breath back.

Finally Jas's laughter subsided enough for him to pull his body upright.

"We are so screwed!" he said, before he started laughing all over again.

"We?" Raephier asked. He knew he was in trouble, but why Jas? But then he remembered.

"Oh right," he said, lowering his head. He didn't want to think about Jas and Bailey and what them being together might mean for him and Jas.

"Hey, what's that look for?" Jas asked, scooting closer to Raephier.

"Are you in love with Bailey?" Raephier asked, bracing himself for the pain the response might bring.

"No! I turned her down too. So basically we both turned down Pursula's daughters!"

Raephier's eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head.

"You turned her down?!"

"Yes!" Jas said, grabbing onto Raephier's arms and looking him in the eyes to show he was telling the truth.

Raephier felt a weight lift off his shoulders. It was over! Jas wouldn't be running away. He would be staying here, with him.

Raephier couldn't help but mirror Jas's wide grin as he realised he had his partner in crime back.

"Man, you should have seen their faces!" Jas said laughing.

"I know!" Raephier joined in, feeling almost high with the relief that flooded through him. "As if I would ever want to marry a sea witch! Have you seen their tentacles?" He gave a shudder of disgust.

"There's no way my mum and dad would have allowed it," Jas said, "and it's not like I was going to leave my Kingdom. It's mine! I've worked hard for this."

"Yes you have! I knew you wouldn't go, but Khloe seemed so certain!"

"I think Khloe has heard too many fairy tales!" Jas replied.

"I know," Raephier said. "And I'm only 16. 16! That's much too young to be settling down."

"Absolutely. We have a lifetime of being a responsible adult. I'm not going to throw away the last few years I can truly be myself."

Raephier stole a glance across at his friend. He knew that being Prince weighed heavily on his shoulders. And he knew that this was the reason that he was always getting Raephier into trouble. He was just using his teenage years to rebel against his future, taking the opportunity to be reckless and irresponsible. The King and Queen were very uptight and Jas missed out on a lot of normal childhood experiences because he was being groomed to be a leader. From the age of 10 he was expected to attend all the Council's meetings and other royal engagements, that in his own words were "as fun as a jellyfish sting to the balls". But Raephier knew that as soon as the time came, Jas was going to be the perfect ruler. Kind, caring and a true leader.

But until the time came, Raephier was happy to be by his side. Even if that did mean he got into trouble for it.

"Do you ever think about who you'll marry?" Raephier asked aloud, instead of in his head as he'd intended.

Jas tipped his head to one side in thought.

"Not really no. Mum and Dad sometimes try to push me into liking some royal Prince or Princess, but I'm going to push back for as long as I can. I want to find someone myself. I want to know what it feels like to fall in love."

Raephier just nodded, mesmerised by the far off look on Jas's beautiful face.

"Do you ever wonder what love feels like?" Jas asked.

Raephier quickly looked away, suddenly finding a shell on the floor very interesting.

The sound of someone shouting Jas's name from nearby relieved Raephier from having to give an answer.

"Looks like we've got to head back," Jas said, then swum out of the cave towards the sound of the call.

Raephier let out a relieved breath and continued to look at the shiny silver shell in his fingers.

"I don't have to wonder what it's like to fall in love," Raephier said to the small shell, "because I think I fell in love with you Jas, a long time ago."

Raepheir flicked the shell across the cave, then swam back to the gathering.

That was Raephier's last and final mistake.