Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ To Wish Upon The Sea ❯ To Love A Human ( Chapter 14 )

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To Wish Upon the Sea

Chapter 14: To Love a Human

By: Melissa Norvell

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"It's so beautiful," Manami said as she stared in awe at the castle before her.

"One day, it will be yours as well…or at least I'm hoping," Thanatos replied in dead pan. Things hadn't been going his way as far as relations went with his family. Not to mention accepting a human would be a hard task for the frightened naga to learn how to do.

"Where is everyone?" The black-haired girl walked inside and down the giant halls. Everything looked so quiet. There didn't seem to be any other naga around. The girl's periwinkle eyes went to everything that they could. Manami was so excited and she had not seen riches like this for the entire time that she had existed on earth. It was truly breathtaking. "It looks kind of empty."

"They are all inside. They are waiting for you, Prince Thanatos," Marjani explained.

"I guess we have to go inside." A part of the prince wanted to bust down the castle doors and tell them all how he felt, but another part of him hated the explanation process and hated personal meetings even more. It was always so boring with everyone else talking over the same mundane things.

"Why do you look nervous? Should I be nervous too?" Manami asked him in a questioning tone. If there was something that she should worry about, she definitely wanted to know. "Is there something I don't know?"

"I'm not sure how my parents and the other naga will react."

"Do you want me to go ahead and tell them that you have a human with you?" Marjani asked. Perhaps that would ease their souls a little.

"No," Thanatos took a hold of Manami's hand, "I want us to go in together. I want to know how they feel about humans being down here." After he got what he wanted to know, then he would know how to take the rest from that point on out. The prince wanted to see the court's expressions and reactions for himself, so that he could judge them accordingly.

"Alright, I'll go with you," the black-haired girl replied as she gazed into her lover's eyes and clung to his arm.

"Here we go," the prince braced himself for what was about to happen. But before they could even get into the doors, Thelios came slithering up the hall.

"Hey, Thanatos, did you know that Ad-" The younger naga was cut off by a look of shock as he gazed with widened eyes at the girl. "H-Human!"

"Shut up!" His elder brother hissed. "She's safe. I brought her here."

"I thought you hated humans." It was something that Thanatos had always told him from a very young age. Thelios was very confused to even see his brother in the presence of a human, since he proclaimed to hate them so badly and threatened to kill every one of them if he ever got the opportunity to.

"This human is an exception," the black-haired naga explained, "I've known her for a long time."

"Hey there, my name is Prince Thelios, Thanatos' little brother," the blue-skinned naga introduced himself to the girl a little nervously. He had heard so many stories about humans, and even though this girl seemed friendly, he was still a little apprehensive.

Manami bowed, "I'm Manami. I've heard a lot about you." The girl closed her eyes and smiled warmly.

"What have you heard?" Thelios didn't know whether that was a good thing or not, considering his brother like to run his mouth about some things. He also tended to talk about him like he was a brat who always got in the way, so what Manami heard might not necessarily be true. "Thanatos better not be saying stuff behind my back," the boy made a threatening fist at his elder brother.

"Whatever," The black-haired naga rolled his eyes, "where are mother and father?"

"They are talking to Uncle Adonis," the younger male informed.

"King Adonis? What's he doing here?" Thanatos seemed surprised that his uncle would have shown up at a time like this. What did he want, anyway?

"He heard about you and Andromeda and he wanted to come down," Thelios replied.

"Andromeda?" Manami looked to the king. Who was Andromeda and what did Thanatos have to do with her?

"I told you, I don't love her," the green-eyed naga glared.

"Thanatos…" The human's sights turned to those of worry as she glanced at her new lover. There was undoubtedly trouble beneath the sea regarding someone that he was supposed to love. She couldn't help but worry about him and his situation. Deep down, she also wondered what this other girl meant to him.

"I'll explain it later," Thanatos looked as if he were thinking hard on the subject at hand, and even having a little trouble dealing with it.

"Do you love Manami?" Thelios asked.

"Yes, I do."

"So, that's why you've been going to the upper world," the white-haired male teased with a cheesy grin plastered to his blue face.

"Oh shut up," Thanatos rolled his eyes again.

"I knew it! I knew that you loved a human!"

"You're not afraid?" Manami blinked at the boy. When he thought about it, he had grown used to her quite suddenly. Then again, when Thelios tried to think about being afraid, there really was nothing to fear. Anyone who could make someone as brash and cold as Thanatos love them had to be genuine.

"Of you? No, any friend of Thanatos is a friend of mine," Thelios smiled and jerked a thumb to himself.

"I'm glad," the girl's face lit up with happiness.

"Come on! I'll show you my parents," Thelios offered.

"Okay!" Manami agreed and followed him down the hall and through the doors.

"Why do I feel like I'm being sent into a battalion?" Thanatos mumbled to himself and slowly slithered behind them, bringing up the rear as they proceeded through the doors.

As the two walked into the large, elaborate room, they were greeted by the presence of Awiti, Lorka, Marjani, Adonis, and two other older naga. One of them was a large make with a full beard and mustache. He wore a stunning crown made of fine jewels and golden plates around his neck and stomach. A large mane of black, curly hair cascaded from his well-muscled shoulders and tumbled down his back, stopping at mid-back. Hidden within the mass of curly hair were two large, curled horns. His skin was bronze and his tail a magnificent ocean blue. The female naga beside of him had periwinkle skin, blue eyes and long, straight blue hair, dark like a lapis stone. She wore a white wrap around top and her tail was the same color as her hair and eyes. The female naga wore lots of bangle bracelets and a chocker necklace made of gold. Her black horns were straight and pointed into the air much like a gazelles' did. They were so noble and majestic. They must have been Thanatos' parents.

"Um…" Feeling overwhelmed at the abundance of naga, and a little shy, the girl stammered for a few minutes before she could say anything else.

"She likes nagas. Don't worry," Thelios tried to quell whatever hatred and fright was starting to show on the other's faces.

'Manami…' Marjani thought as she looked to the girl with sympathy. Confronting people that may hate your guts took a lot of courage. She admired the girl for that.

"Okay…But who is she?" Lorka asked.

"Son, what's the meaning of this?" The naga with curly hair spoke. His voice was deep and booming, it made Manami a little tense.

"You know humans aren't allowed down here," the periwinkle-skinned female spoke in a soft, kind voice.

"But I didn't bring her here, Thanatos did," Thelios shifted the blame to his brother. There was no way that he was going to take the heat for his brother's mistakes. Thanatos was on his own on this one.

"Thanatos? Why would he do something like that? He hates humans," Adonis spoke up with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't hate that one," Thanatos replied.

"Son…" The blue-haired naga chided.

"What's the meaning of this?" Adonis seemed outraged at the simple statement. Why in the hell would Thanatos defend a human, let alone bring her down to their palace? What was he thinking?

"Hello to you too, Uncle Adonis."

"What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be marrying Andromeda," the white-haired naga asked in an angry tone. This was not the way that he had planned anything to go. Things were going to be even more complicated and a possible war may break out over his refusal.

"I love her. If you're so concerned about Andromeda, then you go and marry her," Thanatos cast his uncle a harsh glare.

"It's the only way to make peace between our clans," Adonis explained. A lot was resting on his simple decision. There was no way that he could possibly refuse now! Not at a time like this! Not when so much rested upon their union.

"Then you marry her," Thanatos crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. He didn't care if not loving Andromeda sent him straight to hell, there was no way that he'd wed a woman that he didn't like.

"Wait a moment you two," the curly-haired naga spoke up as the two arguing men looked to him. "What's your name?" He glanced to the shy looking girl who stood a bit behind them.

"My name is Manami. Who are you?" Manami asked.

"I'm King Xenosidon, Thanatos' father," the king introduced himself.

"I'm King Adonis," Thanatos' uncle then introduced himself.

"My name's Lorka," the short-haired naga replied.

"I'm Awiti," the dark blue naga placed a hand on her chest.

"I am Queen Lazuli. It's nice to meet you," the queen introduced herself and gave Manami a kind smile. She didn't seem like a bad human, and if she loved her son, then she was fine with that. Lazuli trusted Thanatos' judgment.

Awiti looked a little nervous. The only humans that she had met were those who had tried to destroy her kingdom and kill off her people. Humans like her were the reason that she had only one eye. Humans like her were the reason that her parents were killed on that fateful day, and she herself was left orphaned. 'A human…' All the female naga could do was stay in her spot, frozen by her own fears.

Marjani looked to the white-haired naga with sympathy. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I've been her friend for a long time. She's a good human. She won't hurt us." The warrior naga tried to chide the girl.

"Marjani, you knew about this too?" Lorka looked back towards the older female. She had caught wind of what she said to Awiti earlier, and it seemed that Manami had all kinds of connections to the naga around her. Why hadn't she seen or heard of her before? She felt a little left out.

"I knew it all along. I didn't tell anyone because Thanatos didn't want me to. He knew what you'd say about her," Marjani replied.

"Is this true, that you love this human?" His father asked.

Thanatos hugged the girl close to him in a protective manner. "Yes, and I don't know what you all want or care about. I don't love Andromeda. She was something that you forced on me. I'm my own person and I love whom I love."

"This is going to cause another war with the clans," Adonis closed his eyes and turning away from the two.

"I'm afraid that it can't be helped," Xenosidon knew that his son would not go for anything but what he wanted, and as king, he knew that saying no to this would cause him problems with his son and his wife, who seemed to like the human girl.

"You can't make me feel guilty for it," Thanatos told the group.

"Why are you letting him do this?" Adonis looked to the king. "It's forbidden for a naga to love a human. Humans are the enemy."

"I don't think all humans are the enemy. There are good and bad just like us," Marjani reasoned with the white-haired male.

"They hunt us and kill us. They drove us down here. How do you know that she isn't a naga hunter?" Adonis interrogated as he pointed at the girl in accusation.

"Because she risked her life to save me from one."

"Sis is gonna love this," Thelios rubbed his hands together in impish glee. He knew how much Io liked things like this. Anything involving humans made his sister jump for joy. You'd think that she was a human girl, she loved them so much.

It was an obsession that few naga ever understood.

"Where is Princess Io, anyway?" Adonis had not seen her the entire time that he'd been at their kingdom. He at least wanted to say hello to her.

"She wanted to go for a swim," Lazuli replied.

'She probably went to the surface to go human watching. She's just as bad as Thanatos. I wonder how she's going to react when she finds out that Thanatos loves a human?' Thelios thought to himself and sighed. "Things are going to get complicated."

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Beneath the heavy ocean waters, near the surface where the sunlight made everything sparkle in the daylight, Ion swam happily through on her way to do some investigating for human articles that the sea had a tendency to sweep away. She loved hunting for human belongings and often studied them to see what kind of lives the humans led.

She remembered Thelios saying something about her uncle showing up and she could help but wonder why. 'It's weird that Uncle Adonis decided to show up. He must be happy for Thanatos and Andromeda. Is it wrong to feel bad for him? I know that he's supposed to be king some day but he should be able to love anyone he wants. I'm glad that they aren't trying to marry me off.' She thought as the sun's rays bounced off of her skin and caused her hair to shimmer in its light.

Io noticed that there were a few shadows on the ocean's floor below her, and glanced up to see that there were several large pieces of wood floating above her. "What's that? I'm going to go and check it out," she told herself as she swam towards the surface of the water.

As she surfaced, she looked around at the destruction all around her. It looked like a ship had been wrecked. There were barrels, sails, a large mast and several pieces of wood that floated on the surface of the water. "It looks like a wreck. I wonder if anyone is still here or alive for that matter," Io said swam through the destruction.

As she looked around, she caught sight of a man, clinging to a board. He was young, appearing in his early twenties and had pale skin and shoulder-length straight black hair. He wore a black uniform of some sort that consisted of a black, button up coat and black slacks. The naga cautiously swan up to him and took him to the shore.

A few minutes later, the man slowly opened his eyes to see that what looked like a very beautiful woman was staring at him with concern written on her face. His features weakly turned to those of relief and happiness.

"You're okay. I'm so glad," Io held a hand to her chest and hada smile on her face.

"Who…who are you?" The black-haired man asked weakly.

"My name is Io. Who are you?" The naga asked him back.

"My name is…Apostle. My ship wrecked when it hit some rocks near here," the dark-haired man slowly sat up. "I wonder if anyone-" He cut himself off as he glanced down the woman's body to notice that she had a tail instead of feet. An astonished look crossed his face as he blinked a few times in order to check his vision and make sure that it wasn't simply some hallucination caused by trauma from the wreck. "You…You're a naga…"

'Uh-oh…I didn't even think about this guy being a naga hunter. I hope this wasn't a mistake.' Io felt her heart flutter with fear before she spoke nervously. "Yes, I am…"

"You're beautiful."

"Huh?" She blinked as she saw the man's look soften. 'He's not a hunter?' She wondered before a small blush crept to her cheeks. "Oh, thank you…I think you're handsome for a human, too…"

"How come you aren't afraid of me?" Apostle asked. Usually naga took more precaution then this one. They weren't usually so trusting of humans, though he was happy that she had saved his life. It was just odd. "You're kind usually don't get along with us too well."

"I'm not like them. I think humans are very interesting," Io replied with a smile. "Oh, I completely forgot to ask you if you were okay."

"I'm a little water-logged but I'm alright," Apostle was glad that the naga female wasn't afraid of him. Right now, she was his only companion.

"I'm glad."

"What are you doing here? I thought most of the naga were driven into the sea."

"We are," Io seemed a little saddened by that fact. She wished that they still shared the land with the humans again. "I was swimming around when I saw your wrecked ship. I'm glad that I saw you."

"I'm glad that you came to me. I thought I was dead for sure," Apostle was thankful for her help as he let the cool winds of the sea air dry his drenched form.

"What were you doing way out there anyway?" Io wondered aloud.

"I was going around, collecting magical items," Apostle explained. "You see, I am a magician and I need to restock magical items for my spells. The items are rare and I have to travel in order to obtain them. I don't know what I'm going to do now. I am ship wrecked, I lost my items that it took me several years to obtain, I lost my memory and my crew and I have nowhere to stay." The man looked worried about his well being. If he didn't get somewhere to stay and some dry clothes on, he'd be sick, starving and homeless.

"Stay with me," Io offered, not sure of how good of an idea it would be, but at least he would have somewhere to stay.

"What?" The dark-haired man looked a little surprised at her.

"Stay with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'd love to have you stay with me." It would be great fun to have someone new around the castle to talk to. If her parents wouldn't let him stay, then she would sneak him in herself.

"What will the others think of me?" Apostle knew of the naga's fear and hatred towards human kind.

"I don't care what they think. You need a place to stay so you're going to come with me. I saved you and you owe me," the female naga winked playfully. "So this is what I ask."

The long-haired man blushed slightly. "We barely know each other."

"Then we can get to know each other right now," Io smiled. After all, she wanted to go human watching and what better resource on the subject of human life then a human himself. She had hit the jackpot with her latest finding.

"Why do you trust me so much?" It was strange to have someone not even question his motives, let alone someone who made him blush that much. He wasn't usually the type to be rosy-cheeked at every comment but there was something about her beauty that fascinated him. "I'm a human-" The man was soon cut off by the naga's words.

"Silly, I told you already. I like humans," Io waved in dismissal with a slight chuckle.

"Isn't that kind of foolish?" Apostle was stumped by her blatant naivety. She was a little too trusting for a naga.

"If it is, then I guess it just is."

"You really don't care what people think, do you?" The man asked.

"Why should I?" Io shrugged. "It's just an opinion. I do what's best for me and what makes me happy. Isn't that what matters?"

"I suppose it does," Apostle replied a smiled lazily at his new found friend. Even if she was a little strange, he had the feeling that they would get along just fine. Although he wondered what the other naga would think of him when he went to stay with her.

It would also be a prime opportunity to learn things about the naga as well, since he had always found them interesting.

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"What?" Andromeda slammed her fists on a counter nearby. Her long, white hair falling into her face, causing her to look half-insane with anger.

"It's true, I'm afraid," Adonis informed the enraged woman with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back. "He loves a human. He even brought her down and showed her to Queen Lazuli and King Xenosidon like a little prize."

Tears clung to the female naga's eyes, and whether they were from pure anger or heartbreak was uncertain to tell. "I love him! How dare she! I met him first. He was promised to me."

"Then win him back. Take him back from that human," the white-haired male advised.

A sly smirk crossed her face as wicked thoughts traveled through her mind. "Of course…" The naga purred sadistically. "I will. Do you think that I'd let her take him away from me?" She then glanced to the male naga. "Adonis, would you be willing to help me go through with this plan?"

Adonis closed his eyes and frowned. "Anything to stop a war between the clans. I cannot let my people see another war," he would do it for the sake of his kingdom, even though he knew that it meant betraying his family but if he didn't thousands of innocent people in his clan would succumb to death. He could not bear to see that happen.

He hoped that he was making the right choice.

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In Thanatos' room, Manami twirled around and flopped down on his big, comfy bed composed of many pillows and a bouncy cushion of fluff. It was so comfortable, it felt like a cloud. "This is wonderful!" The girl said as she stretched her arms out and stared at the ceiling above. "Everything here is so nice! So comfy!" The black-haired girl then snuggled into the soft bedding material below her body.

"Sorry that my parents and the other naga don't seem all that accepting," Thanatos leaned against the door and frowned.

"It's okay. Everyone needs time to adjust. They probably think that is strange to have a human living with them. They are probably suspicious of me too. Your uncle didn't seem to like me much," the optimistic girl frowned and looked a little sad at that fact. Adonis didn't even seem to give her a chance at all to prove herself to him. She wished that he, most of all would one day see her as a member of their royal family.

"Adonis just as issues. He's really untrusting of human and naga both. I hope that he'll eventually learn to trust me. I want to get to know him," Thanatos didn't know his uncle very well, due to the fact that most of his life, Adonis had been in war, protecting his clan from invasion. He had only seen images and paintings of him, but nothing of flesh and blood until now.

"I do too, especially because I want to start a family with you," Manami looked at him with sincerity. It had always been her dream to start a family. Ever since her father beat her when she was young, she had wanted to have a child and give it the best life that she possibly could. Manami would make sure that her child would never be hit by her or her significant other as long as it was in their care.

"I do as well and now that we're together down here, we can make our dreams come true," Thanatos smiled. "I want nothing more than to have you by my side. Will you be my queen, Manami?"

"Of course I will," Manami jumped up from the poofy bed and ran over to the prince and wrapped her arms around his neck. The girl nearly cried from the joy that she felt in her heart. The poor organ was beating so fast that she thought it might jump through her throat. Thanatos hugged his new fiancé back, happy that after all those years of searching; he finally found the one that truly loved him.

Who knew it would be a human?

'The sea has given me so many precious gifts, and now I surround myself with its presence and for once, I truly feel that I can live with the help of the sea.' Manami thought to herself. "I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Manami. That's why I want you to bear my child," the naga prince smiled kindly at her. He had a certain look about him that Manami hadn't noticed before. It was softer and gentler, almost odd for someone like the hardened prince to show but when she thought about it, the look on his face totally captivated her, like a drunken sensation.

"Are you sure?" She stared back into his forest green eyes with a similar softened expression.

"Yes, I am. I want to start a family with you. Would you bear my child? If you aren't ready, I can understand." After all, they did seem to be rushing things, but he couldn't fight back that feeling. He wanted too much to be with her that he had no control over what came out of his mouth now.

"It will be scary but with you I can go through anything," Manami had never been pregnant, or had a child and the thought scared her a little, but she wouldn't let it get her down. It would be Thanatos' child within her- a product of the love that they shared for each other, and she had a feeling that all of the pain that she would go through in the birthing process would all be more then worth it for the end results.

…To Be Continued…