Kaia Aegaea

## Crown Prince Kaia of Atlantis and Sulani

* Teen/Adult
* Child
* Merfolk form

## Introduction

Eldest son of Lucian Ainsworth and Queen Xenia Irise.

Growing up, he was a very talkative and creative toddler. He loved talking to strangers and loved talking to his parents. He also loves to give hugs when he was a toddler/child.

His trait - angelic. and he rarely gets angry.

## Appearance

Kaia takes on his mother's looks, both his black hair and blue eyes. However, his eyes have an added brownish colour making them hazel blue. His tail is also the most similar to hers, with a lighter sheen, as compared to his brothers who have darker tails.

Teen onwards, Kaia wears an earring, the Aegaea Royal Family symbol on his left ear and metallic armbands on his left arm and hand.

## Description

Kaia is an extremely bright child, he fully developed his verbal skills and loved telling stories about animals. He also loved dancing and listening to Lucian play the piano. He would sit on the floor next to the piano to listen to his dad play.

### Personality

He is a kind hearted person, who is down to earth and very compassionate, self-less and empathetic. He has also shown a willingness to sacrifice for love, like Lucian.

## Plot

***Love at first sight, never forgotten but lost in the wind.***

Kaia had been in love with Elysia since he was a child. It was love at first sight for him. They had met on Kaia's 10th birthday celebration at Corallium palace, as the Dragon-mer tribe was invited to celebrate. Because the Dragon-mer tribe lived far away in another ocean, Elysia and Kaia never met after that. Elysia was at that time 6 at the time, and now no longer remembers meeting Kaia.

It was also on his 10th birthday that the Chief of the Dragon-mer tribe promised Elysia's hand in marriage to Kaia. And Kaia had always promised himself to treasure Elysia. However, when Elysia was 12 years old, she ran away from home, rejecting the arranged marriage. Ironically, she thought that being as far away as half the world away, in another vast ocean, she would never meet her father again, but she ended up in Kaia's home seas.

Kaia did not know that Elysia had ran away from home as the Dragon-mer-chief did not inform the Aegaea royal family. Instead, they had hoped that Elysia would mature in her thinking and return to complete her role.

***Fated pairs are fated to meet***

Kaia and Elysia met again in University where Kaia was her senior (Kaia was 21, and Elysia was 17). Elysia didn't recognise him nor realise who he truly was. However, Kaia recognised her almost immediately (Kaia has this special sixth sense that allows him to recognise people's nature) as Elysia, his fiancee, despite her using a pseudonym, Elly. As they passed by each other along the hallway, going in opposite directions, Kaia's world seemed to slow down, his eyes focusing on Elysia, recognition dawning on him. His first thought was how beautiful she was. Though Elysia walked past him, unaware of his gentle gaze.

However, Kaia only admired her from afar, as he thought that he would meet Elysia on his birthday that would soon to come. Then they can officially begin their relationship.

Unbeknownst to him, his younger brother Skylar, who was unaware of Elysia's status as Kaia's fiancee, and in the same class as Elysia had started to like her too. Elysia and Skylar became quite close friends. At this point, it is unknown whether Elysia has feelings for Skylar.

***He who understands is willing to wait.***

On Kaia's 21st birthday, the Corallium Palace held another grand celebration. The Dragon-mer-tribe was once again invited to attend, with the purpose of officializing Kaia and Elysia's engagement. Elysia was due to move into the Corallium Palace at 18 so that Kaia and Elysia can get to know each other before their marriage. However, during this time, Elysia was still "missing" and the Chief finally decided to admit this to the Royal family.

During the celebration, Kaia who had been excited to meet Elysia, was shocked to hear that Elysia had ran away from home when she was 12 and could not be found. Kaia decided not to expose Elysia, that she was actually living close by. He felt that there would have been a reason for her running away, and asked the Chief in private for the reason. The Chief was reluctant to tell Kaia at first, however, but eventually confessed that Elysia had been against the royal engagement. Kaia thanked the Chief for his honesty and silently left. As he stood alone on the balcony, looking out at the vast ocean, he thought for a moment before deciding to approach Elysia in a different way. He thought that perhaps, if she fell in love with him genuinely, she would not oppose the engagement. Kaia did not want to impose the engagement on her, and was willing to let her go if she did not love him.

***Budding romance that cannot blossom.***

And so, Kaia began to approach Elysia. When Elysia met Kaia, she felt that he was rather familiar, their conversations never boring and always something she enjoyed. Slowly, she found herself having feelings for both Kaia and Skylar. (However, a mermaid can only ever have one true love, one whom they absolutely cannot live without, so it is yet to be seen whom she belongs with). Elysia was also quite a wild child, who had dated a number of men in the university.

As time progresses, the two become closer, Elysia also felt that she liked this man, and often craved to taste his lips and feel his arms around her. But Kaia was proper and did not take any initiative. It was Elysia who first kissed him, despite not having confessed yet. Surprised but delighted, Kaia did not want to spoil the moment, and assumed that Elysia was opening up to him. At this time, they were considered to be dating, and one day Kaia confessed to her, wanting to make the relationship official. Although Elysia confirmed that she returned his feelings, she did not want to commit to a relationship, and she told him that they could leave that question for later. However, he could feel in his heart that she was the one for him, and was willing to sacrifice his all for her happiness. In this sense, he did take after his father Lucian, who had left everything behind for love.

* One night, they made love in Elysia's home, Kaia had been hesitant about it but after Elysia's reassuring (she had done it before with a number of dates but he doesn't know) he decided to give her what she wants. It was this time that the curse almost broke, as Elysia's feelings for Kaia reached its peak. She had never been treated so gently in bed before, Kaia's every move was focused on her, her satisfaction and her feelings. He treasured her like a beautiful pearl, caressed her lovingly and kissed her deeply. Being so intimate with Kaia caused her strong feelings for him, that were sealed, to leak out. After they made love, as Elysia was lying in Kaia's arms, her feelings countered the curse, invoking flashes of her previous memories, and caused her a terrible headache.
* Kaia took care of her that night, sang a Aegean Promise (a mermaid-song) to calm her headache, and she fell asleep. He sat by her side, caressing her temple, occasionally planting light kisses on her forehead. He thought "I'll wait for you, always"
* Kaia left the next morning after Elysia woke up. Elysia had felt surprised that Kaia was still around (as all the other men she brought back usually left after sex). Kaia asked if her head still hurt, and she told him no. Whenever Elysia tries to recall her memory flashes from the night before, the curse would inflict pain on her head. She then told Kaia that he should leave. Kaia left after Elysia confirmed that she was alright, telling her "I love you"
* Kaia was happy that they made love, and assumed that they were now exclusively dating. He could easily say that his heart was so happy it could burst.

***Was there nothing between us?***

One day, Kaia saw Skylar kissing Elysia under a blossoming tree from his classroom window. Hurt pricked his heart and he thought he had seen wrongly, but when he used his far-sight (ability to see things at a distance clearly), he had not been mistaken. His heart sank. Kaia thought that Elysia was finally opening up to him, but realised that Skylar had liked Elysia all this while. Although Skylar did mention that he liked someone in his class (only for his mother to tell him to be careful of giving a human his heart), Skylar didn't want to tell anyone who the mysterious girl was until she became his girlfriend.

***His soul emptied out, was the past but a blissful dream?***

Seeing that his brother was in love with his fiancee, and thinking that she reciprocated his feelings, Kaia felt jealousy taint his heart, feeling disappointed in his misfortune, that perhaps he was wrong for not admitting his defeat when he found out that Elysia had ran away from home. Perhaps he was never fated to be with her from the start. This made Kaia very devastated, thinking that his beloved did not return his feelings, he felt his soul emptied out. At that time, his heart hurt as though a thousand knives had pierced it and he lost consciousness from the pain. His teacher immediately called Rhysand to the infirmary to take Kaia home. When Rhysand gave Skylar a call, he was still with Elysia. Hearing that his elder brother had fainted, and was in dire condition, Skylar rushed to the infirmary. Elysia, feeling foreboding, followed Skylar only to see Kaia in the infirmary, it struck her that they were brothers.

Feeling Elysia's presence nearby, Kaia's pain was momentarily slightly relieved. He opened his eyes weakly, subconsciously reaching out towards her. But Skylar who was in front, and not knowing that Kaia had been looking at Elysia, grabbed his hand and asked in worry "Kaia, how are you feeling". Rhysand who was sitting by Kaia's side said in an urgent tone, "the teacher said he suddenly fainted and was in pain, the doctor doesn't know what's wrong either. I think we have to return (home)". Rhysand looked at Skylar with worried eyes, *perhaps mom and dad would know*. Skylar nodded, and said to Kaia, "Kaia, hang in there alright, we'll get you home soon." Elysia who stood by watching had a rush of multiple feelings: the uncertainty from Skylar's confession earlier (as she had not known what to reply to Skylar's confession), the conflicted feeling she felt when she saw Kaia in such a weak state, wanting to hold him, yet being unable to as she had just kissed his brother, the shocking realization that they were both brothers. She was lost in a daze.

Skylar and Rhysand then took Kaia home to Corallium Palace, leaving Elysia outside the infirmary. It all happened so fast that Skylar hadn't had realise that Elysia followed him there and was waiting.

At home, Queen Xenia upon hearing her son had collapsed at school rushed out to receive Kaia. Upon hearing Rhysand's recount of the incident, Xenia placed her hand on Kaia's heart, her face turned dark, she casted an incantation to temporarily seal off part of Kaia's memories and put him to sleep. She then told Rhysand and Skylar to take Kaia to his room, and not to let anyone disturb him.

Lucian who had been watching anxiously, placed his hand on Xenia's back, patting gently as he asked "Love, what has happened?" She said solemnly, "unrequited love". Hearing this, Lucian understood what she meant. When a merfolk has found his/ her true love, if they did not return those feelings, his heart would not be able to take it, resulting in death. Lucian held Xenia in his arms, consoling her, despite his own uncertainty "Oh love, he'll be alright...I'm sure... *she* will come around..." Xenia's fist clenched tightly, she felt anger at this mysterious woman for doing this to her son yet she was helpless and couldn't do anything about it. A merfolk's curse of true love is a double edged sword, it was genuine and pure yet a killing curse. It was forbidden for a merfolk to fall in love with a human precisely for this reason; if a merfolk fell in love with each other, their love would be true and pure, because their feelings would not change; however, humans are often fickle in their feelings, complex and are unpredictable, most love between a merfolk and human end in in the merfolk's untimely painful death. Yet Xenia could not reprimand him for loving a human, as she herself had done so. Xenia could not have it, Kaia was her first born, his name represented her and Lucian's love, and he was the crown prince of this mer-empire. Kaia had not even lived one tenth of a merfolk's usual lifespan (which is about 400-500 years). She could not let him die like this. Sealing part of his memories would alleviate the pain, and calm his heart, however, it was not a permanent remedy, in fact, there was none. As she did not know how when he fell in love with this girl, and could not look into his memories, Xenia only sealed off Kaia's memories of the morning before his collapse and forbid him from leaving the palace for the time being.

Skylar and Rhysand watched over their brother who lay in bed. They had overheard Lucian and Xenia's conversation below, realizing what had happened to Kaia. Skylar thought about his confession to Elysia this morning and pondered about his feelings. He knew his feelings for Elysia were only just budding, not yet reaching the stage of true love and thought to pull back after seeing what happened to Kaia. Rhysand said "It must have been someone from University, how could we not have picked up that he was in love, and to this extent..." Skylar was quiet for a moment and said "we were too optimistic about love after mom and dad's love" *I was overly optimistic, and so were you Kaia...*

***Evil lurks behind***

Unbeknownst to everyone, Ursula watched from her crystal ball, snickering sinisterly to herself, "The young prince will die, it is only a matter of time hahaha, that girl will never remember him. Ursula had a deep set hatred for the royal family wanting them all to perish from terrible deaths. It is revealed that years ago on Kaia's 10th birthday, Ursula was watching, taking her time to seize the opportunity and she found it. She knew that Kaia was in love with Elysia and young Elysia was fond him as well. Ursula took away Elysia's memories of her encounter with Kaia, sealing her feelings for him, and placing a curse on her heart that she would not fall in love with him; whenever her feelings toward Kaia grows, the curse will stop her from recognizing those feelings. Ursula then thought, "how lucky that his brother is in love with the same girl, such a grand lottery" (it was not planned for Skylar to fall in love with Elysia too". "His own brother practically sealed his fate... knowing that boy, he would rather die than to let his brother die". She then looked at her eels and said "It's such a shame being a good person, isn't it? suffering for his parent's mistakes."

***How long can I hold on for love?***

Although the erasing of his memories temporarily relieved him from his pain, Kaia eventually recovered his memories. He managed to steel himself by pure willpower to prevent him from drowning in despair. The source of his strength was truly his love for Elysia, and his willingness to wholeheartedly place her happiness above his.

Hearing that Xenia forbade him from returning to school, Kaia decided that it was good this way, he would not think about Elysia for a while, not knowing was better than knowing, as knowing would seal his death whilst ignorance would allow him to live a little longer despite the pain he had to endure.

Kaia would often spend his days swimming around in the oceans, going from place to place. Sometimes he found shipwrecks where he would just explore, finding some 18 century rare items, sometimes he saw fading photographs of lovers who had died together in the shipwreck. He often found himself lost in thought of Elysia, as he truly does miss her. One day, he sat on an old bed, from a sunken ship, and thought of that night they made love. She seemed to have been genuinely in love with him, why else would she have given herself to him. But then, he vaguely recalled a classmate of his describe his one-night stands. His heart hurt at that thought — perhaps he was just her one-time fling. But then what were those feelings he felt, what was that gaze she held him in, was it all just his imagination.

Kaia curled up at the thought, hugging his fins tightly as he held back the tears that threatened to flow. He was trembling from the numbing pain he felt in his chest. He couldn't take it, really, he couldn't. Perhaps he really was a fling to her. It wasn't that he hadn't seen her flirt with other men before, nor was it that he never saw her staying accepting an invitation to meet late at night with someone from his cohort. He knew she was rather liberal, but he never thought more of it. It was more of the fact that Kaia didn't want to read anything into it. It would kill him to know, yet, deep down, a realization that was hard to deny pricked his entire being. It was perhaps his wishful thinking that she was opening up to him, what if it was just how she dealt with every other man who sought her affection.

Kaia didn't understand — why Elysia lived the way she lived. when they had met years ago, didn't she treat him with affection too? wasn't she the one who said "you're forever my prince, Kaia" and that "I'll marry you the next time we meet". Alas, it was child's play. He shouldn't have kept it in mind at all. Then what about when they made love and she confessed that, "if you'd have me, I'd be yours" was that not a promise? Memories truly hurt one's soul, it was just too painful to remember. the more Kaia ran his mind through everything they've done throughout this past 6 months, his heart would hurt more, his lips would tremble, the water feeling a lot colder that it made him shiver. He curled up tighter and tighter as though he was hiding in a shell, away from the raging currents in his heart, and away from broken hopes and dreams. When was he going to wake up, he wished he could wake up from this.

Kaia felt a wave of tiredness sweep through him, in the end, he fell asleep from such deep thoughts. All the uncertainty, the memories, trying to find various possible explanations for everything between them, it was too much for him to take. He slept in blanket of darkness, and when he woke, it was past his curfew. He swam back home as fast as he could.

***Will the tenderness remain lost?***

Elysia on the other hand noticed something missing from her life — it wasn't just something, it was someone. The tall figure whose presence she could always feel, she no longer felt it, instead, cold winds swept in his place. The pair of gentle eyes that beheld her as if they beheld the most precious pearl in the ocean, she could no longer find. The light and crisp voice she was used to hearing no longer called her name from the corner of the corridor as he waited for her after class to walk her home. Sometimes, she would make him wait aimlessly as she snuck out from the window with a classmate of hers. *Who asked him to wait everyday anyway, I never promised I'd walk home with him.* Elysia mentally gave herself a slap for the horrible things she used to think of to justify her treatment of Kaia. His form on that day he collapsed came to mind, he looked as though he could disappear any moment. His once gently smiling eyes held such sorrow as though pleading, *Just this once, won't you look at me.* Elysia blinked, shaking her head. She didn't want to think about it, she passed a note to the man in front of her. It read "*tonight at 10, your place."* The man in front knew what she meant.

That night, she went to XX's place. He was her drinking buddy, sometimes they would have sex as well. As they XX was removing her clothes, Elysia couldn't get Kaia's image off her mind. The last person she had had sex with was him after all. The roughness with which XX treated her brought back comparisons to how lovingly Kaia's hands had caressed her. A sudden memory of her childhood flashed, of a young boy with black hair and hazel eyes asked her for a dance, "*would my princess be willing to give me her first dance?"* Those eyes were so much like Kaia's that night he looked at her as they made love. No one had ever looked at her like that. It was always men who looked at her body, focused on their own pleasure, using her for such. But Elysia never minded it that much, as she too was using them for her own pleasure. It was better that way, as she could not afford to fall in love with a human anyway.

But Kaia was different from them all. He looked at her with a genuineness that was rare. A flash of another memory came to her — She had once thought, *perhaps if it is with him, I wouldn't mind falling.* In that instant she recalled that thought, her head ached with a jarring pain. It was a memory she was not supposed to recall — one that the curse had taken away from her. In the end, Elysia left XX's place, before XX could enter her. Her headache was too painful that she had to call it off. She went back home alone.

The walk back was somewhat refreshing. The night wind was cool and calming, the night was dark as black but the moon lit up a path for her. Who was that boy she remembered earlier, she tried to recall, but her head would ache every time she brought it to mind. It was as though something blocked memories of him from her mind.

As she lay in bed that night, she remembered Kaia. his side profile as she watched him sleep that night he was here in her room. He was handsome. There was always an ethereal air about him. The way he walked, the way he tilted his head as he looked at her, or the way he spoke about things that weren't so mundane, his topics always seemed to hide a deeper meaning. "*What would you give for love?" she once asked him, he said "everything"*. Men who said this usually say it just because it was the right thing to say, yet when it came from Kaia, Elysia felt as if those words carried all the weight of it in the world, it was sincere, and it carried determination *— a determination to give* everything *for love.* \*\*

***The Curse***

Elysia asked Skylar about Kaia one day, about why he has not been to school recently. Skylar told her that his brother was ill and was going to stop school. Elysia was upset, though she does not understand her feelings. Elysia's feelings for Kaia grow during this period of longing, however, she still fails to recognize that she loves Kaia due to the curse placed on her. The curse would constantly create doubt so as to diminish her feelings for him. The curse she had on her took away bits and pieces of every memory she had with him.

***Love that knows no bounds, is it enough to break the curse?***

But the curse was struggling to maintain it's hold on her mind. As her longing for Kaia grows, Elysia's true feelings for him began to unravel the effects of the curse. Her memories came back to her in bits and pieces, in dreams or sudden flashes. One stormy night, the heavy pitter patter of rain on her roof brought back a memory of a man who ran in the rain with her on his back. He himself was drenched from head to toe, his only raincoat lent to her to cover herself. She had sprained and injured her ankle from falling into a ditch filled with water as it looked like a shallow puddle. Her blood was dripping from her knees as well. Despite his rather expensive looking shoes turning into a mud covered glop looking thing, and his trousers were splattered with sand and mud, he never once showed any sign of distain over his own unsightliness. Instead, as soon as they got into her home, he washed and dressed her wounds for her. After putting her in bed, he got up to clean the mess he made from walking around the house in his muddy pants. He then asked if she was alright, and was ready to leave. He couldn't really sit on her couch as he was drenched from head to toe after all.

But Elysia had a spare change of men's clothing. A pair of shorts, and a T-shirt. It was a token from a previous lover who gave her a set of his clothes to wear because she puked all over her own before having a rendezvous at his place. She never returned it, and she never saw him after as well.

Elysia told that pitiful looking drenched young man to stay until the rain stopped, and that he could change into the T-shirt and shorts she had kept under her bed. But who knows when the rain would stop and it was already almost nightfall. She couldn't have meant for him to stay up the entire night till the rain stopped and then leave, could she? Her home didn't have an extra bed, so the only place would be the couch, or her own, if he were to stay the night. If she remembered correctly,

When he came out of the shower, he came by her room, his fresh and crisp scent brought a soothing sensation to her mind. He asked if he might borrow her living room for the night as the rain did not show any sign of letting up. Deep inside, both their merfolk instincts knew that the rain wouldn't stop until tomorrow morning. Thus, Elysia nodded. The young man seemed to have stood there for a second longer but then turned to the living room, and sat on the couch. He pulled out his sweater and laid down. It wasn't enough to shield him from the cold that threatened the night, but it will have to do.

In her room, Elysia felt the wind blow strongly, a chill ran down her spine causing her to shiver. *It's going to be cold tonight. I don't have any spare sheets*. As she thought of this, Elysia looked at the blanket that covered her lower half and looked to the empty side of her bed thinking, *perhaps for just one night, I wouldn't mind ... it's to thank him anyways.* With that she got up and limped her way into the living room and said, almost in a whisper, "Kaia, are you awake?" He got up immediately and rushed over to hold her up, saying "Is something the matter Ely?" She said as a matter of factly, to make it so that he wouldn't get the wrong idea, "Come sleep in my room, I don't have extra sheets, and it looks like it will be a very cold night." Kaia was stunned for a moment, and before he could say anything, Elysia had already started limping back into her room. He almost shouted as he said "It wouldn't be proper, for a man to sleep in a woman's bed...I" Elysia waved her hand and said, "just this once, no one but us will know. It would be bad if you froze to death. Just come in for the night. And so, Kaia slept beside her that night, under the same sheets. He wasn't too awkward once he got used to it, but he only took as little space as needed for a man to sleep lying straight. It wasn't his place to do as he wished afterall, and he didn't want to accidently knock into her injured ankle. Once he calmed his quickly beating heart, he wished her good night and closed his eyes.

Elysia stared at his beautiful face for a while, and whilst she stared, she almost longingly reached out to touch his cheeks. She woke up from her dream with a start. Was this a memory or did she dream it? Elysia checked under the bed for the T-shirt and pants, but couldn't find it... could it be that that night really happened? Why was it that she never recalled that memory before? Her head started to ache again. Recently, every time she thought of Kaia, random scattered memories would flash past, or come in dreams, and right after, she a piercing headache would ensue. She didn't know what was going on.

(Her feelings for Kaia are getting stronger the more she thought of him, bringing back memories which also evokes feelings that were buried deep in her heart - the curse was starting to lose it's effect to true love!)

She had never got the chance to reply Skylar as he never brought up the incident of his confession again.

***True Love awakens; memories of the past***

One day, Elysia was swimming in the ocean depths, and swam to her usual shipwreck to collect some free gold (because she ran away from home, so she collects money from sunken shipwrecks that were never lifted). Before she enters the place, she felt that there was someone nearby, and cautious that it could be a human who found the shipwreck, or a predator, she hides herself. When she pokes her head out to look however, her eyes met with the most beautiful merman she had ever seen, Kaia's tail was a unique and beautiful tail, with azure blue top which blended into a royal blue in the second half of his tail. the beautiful gradient was also reflected in his tail-fins, and they glistened under the moonlight. In his mermaid form, his hair was long, almost three quarters of his tail length, but they stayed in place, beautifully flowing behind his back with the current. Kaia was looking around the shipwreck, trying to divert his thoughts away from Elysia and Skylar. Trying to keep his feelings from devouring him.

Seeing Kaia in his mer-form, she realised he was a merfolk, not a human, and she felt a strange affinity toward him. Her memories flashed again, and she felt another wave of pain, causing her to lose her balance and knock over some barrels. Kaia felt disturbance in the currents and swam towards it, and in his curiosity, was surprised to find Elysia clutching her head. He was stunned for a moment, at her beautiful red tail and greenish tinges, but immediately recovered to hold trembling body. He carried her to an old couch and laid her down there, asking "Ely, what's wrong - did something happen?"

Elysia slowly recovered from her headache, realizing that Kaia was the name of her fiance, the merfolk prince that she had met when she was 6. Her curse was broken as all the realization and all her feelings hit her so strongly. She said his name, "Kaia...Kaia... You're..." Kaia looked at her with worried eyes, "I am here, love...are you feeling alright?" Elysia looked at him, realizing that she had exposed herself as a mermaid, coupled with her surprise at finding that Kaia was also a merfolk. She stuttered "you... I..." finally blurting out "you're merfolk?"

Kaia caressed her cheeks, apologizing, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, love, but now you know..." A strange feeling of mixed embarrassment arose as she remembered she had ran away from home rejecting her engagement with him, she had to ask "did you know.. who I was?" Kaia looked down for a moment at her tail and looked into her eyes gently as he said "I always did, I'm sorry for not telling you that as well...I understood that you had your reasons for not wanting this engagement, and you might not accept me if you knew who I was... so I said nothing about it...". Kaia's form hunched a little lower, his tail that was swaying slightly stopped, curled toward himself. It was as though at that moment Kaia had curled into a pitiful ball.

As Elysia looked at Kaia's complex expression - a mix of sadness, loneliness and love - she felt that she had wronged him — the man who had always been by her side, loving her, treating her with care, his love was given wholeheartedly to her, and yet throughout this time he devoted to her, she was playing around with different men. Even she could not understand why she did this. Due to her curse being broken, Elysia felt a surge of affection toward the man in front of her, realizing her feelings for him as true love. She daringly kissed him, catching Kaia by surprise. However, Kaia removed his lips from hers and turned away, saying "I'm sorry...". His hands which were still lovingly caressing hers, stopped as he realised that he had lingered on for too long. Elysia looked up at him and said, "Kaia..." She couldn't say didn't have a clue to why he reacted this way as she knew her own heart. Throughout the time he poured his love on her, she sometimes reacted adversely, sometimes giving him affection, sometimes giving him the cold shoulder, and not to mention she was involved with other people and even his own brother... She thought, *if he knew, he would hate me... no... a merfolk's love... it would kill him..*. .

The awakened feelings in Elysia however, would not allow her to be immobilized by her guilt, instead, giving her courage to call out his name again, "Kaia... I love you" Hearing this, Kaia's eyes enlarged in surprise at her confession, his heart surged with happiness, and his hand reached out to touch her cheek. But recalling Skylar's kiss with Elysia, his hand stopped halfway and withdrew. He was conflicted, his beloved had confessed to him giving him immense happiness but as he recalled that his brother also liked the same girl and she might love him too, he didn't know how to trust her feelings, and felt lost. He said "Skylar, he" and he looked up at her, forcing a smile, "He loves you too. Perhaps you return his feelings, there's no need... I..." Kaia truly did not know what he should or shouldn't say. His heart was conflicted, he had so many things he wanted to tell her — of how he longed for her the past few months, of how he wished for her to come to him telling him she loved him instead. He also worried about his brother, he didn't know how deep Skylar's feelings was for Elysia and whether Elysia too felt the same toward Skylar, he just knew that the pain he felt that day, he could never impose it on his brother. If he could choose, he would choose to bear it alone.

It was all a mess in his mind, *if only I didn't rush to choose this love, when it wasn't secure*. *I'm sorry. if you can still choose, choose him.* Elysia waited in silence for him to finish his sentence, but he only said, his pained expression masked with a gentle smile, "If you're alright, you should go home... It's not safe out here alone, Chief Sirene has been looking for you ever since you left... I won't force this engagement, rest assured, I'll settle it for you" He caressed her one last time, kissing her on her forehead and turned to leave. The pain he felt in his heart was too much to bear, he couldn't hold a forced smile any longer. The tears he furiously held back had started forming in the corner of his eyes.

Elysia who sat there as though she was stoned finally moved, her hand extended, catching Kaia's. She blurted "wait" In a moment of weakness, Kaia turned back, and she said, her words rushed as though she only had this few seconds to express everything she held in her heart before he would wither away, "I... It is I who was wrong, Kaia, I love you. I failed to realize my feelings, I was running from it, I've hurt you, I'm sorry. I... Skylar and I... I... we haven't spoken much since you collapsed that day, I don't love him, I'm not in love with him, I'm in love with you..." then realizing his concern, she said hurriedly "I know you're worried for him, but I...I'm sure there's nothing between us now, after you collapsed, he has never brought it up again... I too."

In a voice almost pleading she said "I love you Kaia, please don't leave..." she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, her tails gently swaying against his. She could feel his smooth scales that covered his tail, holding back the urge to tickle him in this serious moment. Kaia held her gently, his unsure arms become more steady as he held her. Feeling as thought this was all a dream, and he didn't want to let go. The tighter he held her, the more assured he felt that it wasn't just all in his head... he called out her true name for the first time after so long "Elysia" Elysia startled from hearing her name, that hasn't been called since the day she left home, felt her heart warmed from his voice, replied "It's me." She looked up to see his eyes longingly gazing at her full of affection and joy. She tilted her head up to kiss his lips, finally accepting her true feelings.

***Nip it in the bud if you must.***

Ursula who had been watching from her crystal ball became furious, and swam to the shipwreck (she could swim really fast because she had royal blood too). She appeared in front of Kaia and Elysia who were still holding on to each other and furiously cursed "you imbeciles, you dare ruin my plans, I will have to kill you myself" and she aimed her claws at Elysia.

The two of them were taken by surprise, and couldn't react in time. Kaia instinctively pushed Elysia behind him, and at that very moment, he felt Ursula's sharp claws pierce into his abdomen and pull out. His blood turned the water around him red but Kaia held back the pain and hurriedly pulled Elysia along, swimming as fast as he could away from Ursula. Their location was quite far from the Corallium Palace, and Kaia was injured badly. He swam aimlessly, his only goal to get as far as possible from Ursula. Elysia who was being pulled along by Kaia felt for the first time the insane speed at which the mer-royal family could swim. It was said that they could cover the 7 seas in two days. However, Ursula was not far behind, keeping up with Kaia's speed. Elysia who was simply pulled along exclaimed "who is she?" Kaia gritted his teeth and said "I don't know, but from her speed, she must be of royal blood"

Ursula sent a blast of water current toward them, Elysia shouted "Kaia!" but it was too late, Kaia was swimming too fast to change his direction of motion, and instead pulled Elysia toward him, shielding her with his body. He returned the water blast at the witch, but she casted a spell to shield herself from the currents. Kaia quickly took the opportunity to hide Elysia and himself in a narrow waterway in the ground. They swam urgently and quickly, as Kaia was losing a lot of blood, he knew he could not keep his speed advantage any longer and had to hide away. Ursula, realizing she was too close to the royal seas, decided to turn back and leave the chase for another day.

Kaia, sensing that they were somewhat safe in the hollow, finally stopped to rest. He had five ugly holes in the middle of his abdomen, one hole was scarily close to his heart. Elysia helped him rest against a rock. Kaia was looking pale and close to losing consciousness from his blood loss. Elysia's tears flowed upon seeing him in this vulnerable state, she called out to him, "Kaia, you have to hang in there". Not knowing where she was, Elysia felt angry at herself for not knowing the seas despite her being a mermaid, she had spent more time on land to avoid any merfolk finding her, only occasionally swimming down to the shipwreck to obtain money.

She asked Kaia "don't fall asleep yet Kaia... I don't know where we are" Kaia's head rested on her chest, he said weakly, "another 12 miles to the east, there is a guard post... we'll get there and call for help" He tried to get up but felt no strength in his tail and couldn't move. He finally signed and said "I can't swim, you'll have to go alone... if we both stay here, it's only a matter of time before she finds us." Elysia however said "I can't... I don't know these waters, what if I get lost? I can't leave you here alone. but Kaia had already passed out.

Elysia decided to carry him with her. She took a few pieces of kelp to bandage his wound and lifted him over her shoulders, swimming in the direction he had told her to go. Finally, she arrived at the guard post and called out for help. The guards who recognized their Prince immediately sounded an emergency signal. Mer-medics came rushing to receive Kaia and took him into the medical room. The guards then asked Elysia what happened and for her to explain what happened. Kaia was the crown prince after all, the guards could not be be too cautious. When Elysia told the guards that she was Elysia Sirene, the guards did not believe her, thinking she was an imposter. They kept her under arrest just in case she was the one who injured the prince. In the meantime, Skylar and Rhysand came to receive Kaia and take him home, the guards reported to them that a girl had brought Kaia here and she was currently held captive. Rhysand went to see the girl, and vaguely recognized her as the girl who followed Skylar to the infirmary that day when Kaia collapsed. He asked, "what is your name?" Elysia, seeing Rhysand, swam up to him, urgently saying "I'm Elysia Sirene, please let me out, you're got the wrong person, I would never hurt Kaia... we were attacked by a sea witch." When Rhysand heard that name, he thought for a moment "Elysia Sirene?" *Imposter?* before he could express his thoughts, Elysia said "I'm not an imposter! I'm really Elysia, I ran away from home and ended up here... I... I need to see Kaia, is he alright?" Rhysand looked at her quietly, examining her dragon ears, and pointed tail. Elysia was desperate to prove her identity, she said "I'm Ely, from school, I've seen you around. Is Skylar here too? He would recognise me!" Just then Skylar turned a corner to get Rhysand, telling him that they have to go. He saw Elysia and said surprised, "Ely? Is that you?" He looked her up and down and up and down again, and said "you're a mermaid" The surprise was real, he said "why are you here? Were you the one who brought Kaia back?" Elysia replied, anxiously and glad that Skylar recognised her, "yes it's me Ely! It's a long story, we were attached by a sea witch, she pierced her long claws into Kaia.... Kaia, how is he?" Elysia clutched the prison bars, her heart hurting from worry, she prayed in her heart that he would be alright. Skylar said "He is stable now, but he lost a lot of blood and the medic thinks he has been poisoned by black magic. His wound is not healing as quick as it should." Elysia gasped, slightly relieved that Kaia is no longer is mortal danger but still concerned over the black magic part, "oh dear..." Skylar thought for a moment. He put asked, "why were you with Kaia?" Elysia finally said in a resolute voice "my true name is Elysia Sirene, I'm Kaia's fiancee. I love him"

Skylar's eyes widened at her declaration as he was surprised she felt this way for Kaia, it was surprising to see that that girl that he liked for a while back was actually his future sister-in-law. It struck him then that that day they shared the kiss, was the day Kaia collapsed suddenly. They couldn't identify the girl he lost his heart to as he refused to say a word about it but they all thought it was some human girl. The realization came to Skylar that that day, Kaia must have had seen them kiss. He almost caused his brother's death unknowingly. This was truly ironic.

***Till death do us part, but what if death comes too soon?***

When Kaia woke the next day, Elysia was sitting by his bedside, she had fallen asleep holding his hand. His wound had not recovered, the poison from the witches' claws still remained in his blood, and the poison carried with it a curse of death.

But Kaia was happy that Elysia was by his side, he slowly pushed himself up, leaning against the headboard. He placed his hand over her head, caressing her golden-orange hair as he recalled her confession. In this lifetime, he had felt two extremes of emotions, one was anguish so painful to the point of death, and now happiness so immense he could die. He looked at her with loving gaze, thinking *Elysia, my love, I love you...* \*\*\*\*

Kaia's chest tightened, and he coughed harshly. When he lifted his head from his hand, blood stained his palm. *This is not a good sign...* His cough was violent, causing a sharp pain to rise in his chest. Elysia started to wake from the loud coughs. Kaia, not wanting to cause her worry, hid his hand under his blanket, wiping his blood stained palm on his sheets and looked up at her smiling. He held back his cough for a bit, pretending to clear his throat a few times, and said "good morning my love"

Elysia saw that he was up and awake, and immediately jumped onto Kaia, circling her arms around his neck, her head leaned in the crevice of his neck and shoulder, she said "Thank goodness you're alright, Kaia" Kaia took his now cleaned hand with no sign of blood out from under his sheets and held Elysia in an embrace, patting her back as he said "As you can see, I'm alright, no need for worry". He gave her a kiss on her forehead, and she lifted her head to catch his lips in hers.

***Mother's worries***

Xenia knocked on the door startling both Kaia and Elysia. Kaia gave Elysia a final peck before letter her slide off him onto the chair by the bed. He said, "come in"

Seeing Xenia as the door opened, Kaia sat up straighter to greet his mother, the Queen. Xenia said as she hurried to his bedside, "It's alright dear, rest." Elysia sat up from her chair to give way to the Queen, she bowed and addressed Xenia "your majesty" Xenia nodded at her and sat in the chair, holding on to Kaia's hand. She said "How are you feeling?" Kaia smiled and replied "I'm alright, mama". Xenia wouldn't let him lie to reassure her, she knew this son of hers well, whilst the other two would complain to their deaths about their wounds no matter how trivial, Kaia would keep quiet about it and say he is alright no matter how severe. Sometimes she wondered how her this son of hers even came to be as he is. Ever since Kaia was a child, he was always kind and loving, as the only child for two years he got all the attention from his father and mother, but when his brothers were born, he relented the attention, and also gave all his attention to his brothers.

Xenia waved her hand, guiding the water current around Kaia's body to examine him. As Queen of the oceans, she could control the waters to do many things, even healing. However, this poison that she detected was new to her. She couldn't remove it. It stayed in Kaia's bloodstream and would weaken him as time passed. She was worried. Xenia said "the poison is of something i have never encountered. do you recognise who your attacker was?" Kaia shook his head, saying "no I do not. I've never seen her before. She has violet hair and very pale skin, but she swims as fast as one of us (means royals), but her fins and claws are black.

Xenia thought for a moment, concern flashing before her eyes. She said "mhm, you'll

## Titles

1. Birth - present: His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince, Prince Kaia of Atlantis and Sulani

## Relationships

### Genevieve

Kaia is also very close to his sister Genevieve. He is someone she confides in and seeks guidance from very often.

## Traits

1. Socially Gifted
2. Mentally Gifted
3. Creatively Gifted
4. Child of the Ocean
5. Strong Bloodline (Spellcaster)

## Trivia

1. Kaia's name means *the Sea*, in Hawaiian, and in Greek it means, *the earth.* The uniqueness of his name represents how his parents, Lucian and Xenia, are from the Land and the Sea. And it carries the hope that the land and sea can be one in peace. It also represents Lucian's undying love for Xenia, that he would give up his birth right and spellcaster powers to be with her - representing sacrifice and compromise that is required to unite two kingdoms. It is also interesting how his eyes are a blue with brownish hues, a unique combination of his Xenia's blue eyes and Lucian's reddish brown ones.
2. Kaia is a top-notch toddler. He is a quick learner. He build his communication and imagination skills first and then movement, and thinking. Kaia mastered all child skills at 8 child days old.