((Contains scenes of an adult nature.)) _________________________

Just as Cian feared, the remainder of the night had passed quickly, as time did when one was asleep, the moon traversing the sky and trading places with the rising sun, which set the sky on fire in varying shades of red and orange. He woke at first light, warm, golden rays touching his face like a woman's caress. His eyes fluttered open, all the pain and weariness of the last few days no more than a memory. For the first time, he was able to appreciate the beauty of this particular place in the light of day - the lush canopy overhead, the greenery that shielded them from the harsh afternoon sun, the deep blue of the water, fresh and clear enough for drinking, and the cool softness of the mossy ground, filled with plants both familiar and unfamiliar, the soothing sound of the waterfall that had lulled them both to sleep. All this, as beautiful and awe-inspiring as it was, was nothing in comparison to the vision that lay beside him.

He watched her as she lay sleeping, quiet and peaceful as a child and just as innocent, and his heart ached with sadness, knowing that the pirates would tear that innocence from her if they could and hurt her in ways she could not even imagine. He knew this partially from experience, the lash of the whip burning that day in his mind forever - a red haze of memory filled with agony and humiliation - hatred for those who had been the cause of his suffering and eventual loss, one face in particular whom he despised more than all the rest and for him he desired vengence. And yet, if he could, he would give anything to protect the sweet creature at his side, even if it meant sacrificing his own life and his longing for retribution.

All these thoughts went through his head as he quietly watched her sleeping, none of them spoken, feeling no need to share with her the pain of that day or of the events that followed, having no knowledge that her life was linked to his in ways neither could have any way of knowing. Ever so gently, he swept a stray lock of gold from her cheek, leaning over to brush a fond kiss against her forehead, before carefully slipping away from the mossy bed they'd shared in the night. He rubbed his fingers against the stubble of growth at his chin, knowing he must look afright. A glance toward the rush of water, unable to remember the last time he'd felt the luxury of a shower or even a bath. He glanced at his sleeping companion one last time to ensure she was not awake and tugged the bloodied shirt over his head to hang on a nearby branch to finish drying.

Not wanting to chance waking her and disturbing the rest he felt she needed, he moved a short distance away, through a bit of brush, the ground soft and pliant beneath his boots. Sorely tempted by the rush of water, he finished undressing, leaving his britches and boots to dry in the dapple of morning sunlight. He stuck a toe into the water and shivered with cold, but the desire to scrub himself clean was too strong and, taking a deep breath, he plunged headfirst into the cold, blue depths.

Left alone on the warm mossy ground, at first Leilani barely seemed to stir, her sleep deep and peaceful even when Cian slipped from her arms. Indeed, even when she began to stir from slumber, her eyes remained closed, rolling onto her back to stretch her arms high, one knee rising to lay her foot flat against the moss, unconcerned even at the topmost level by the way her almost dry skirt rose to fall at her hip. Had Cian still been next to her, no doubt that innocent, immodest motion would have earned her a hurried wake up. But he wasn't beside her; what met her eyes as she drew herself up from the laziness of that waking doze was his silhouette, pale amid the rushing fall of the waterfall. She blinked in faint confusion, pushing herself to sit up, her gaze catching upon the display of his clothes laid out to dry, and her eyes returned to the sight of him, intrigued by the difference between the tan of his chest and arms and the paleness of everything below the waist.

Unaware of a watchful gaze, Cian surfaced just beneath the waterfall, finding purchase on a rock upon which he could stand while still immersed in the rush of refreshingly cold, clear water. He tilted hs head back, shoving shoulder-length hair away from his face, shivering with cold as the water rushed down over his chest and arms, rising up out of the water just enough so that she caught a glimpse of pale limbs, a slim build that was muscled rather than scrawny.

He turned, deep silvery lines etched into his back, crisscrossing in a pattern that was seemed too chaotic, too violent to be any type of physical adornment, the wounds long since healed but the memory branded forever in his brain. He lifted his head, scrubbing his body with the leaves of a plant he'd learned long ago held cleansing properties, fragrant and soothing. He lifted his arms revealing a thatch of soft, dark growth that marked him more man than boy, his chest smooth as a youth's.

Leilani was entranced, as much by the uninhibited display of his form as by the actions he was taking beneath the water. She'd not seen anyone do anything like that since her father had left the island. Even as she watched, greedy green eyes absorbing the sight of the skin he would ordinarily have been too wary of showing her at all, the thought occurred to the little woman that she should do as Cian did, assuming that it was a human action. Rising onto her feet, more sure in her gait today than she had been fresh from the sea, she struggled out of the wrapping cloth that covered her, leaving the dress beside the drape of his clothing. She edged into the water, the delighted cast of her smile declaring that this was as much play as it was necessity, dipping under the surface to swim toward him. A moment later, she bobbed up at his back, wrapping her arms about Cian in an embrace that was decidedly less than innocent for all her sweetness in giving it.

Lost in the enjoyment of the water's embrace and nearly forgetting there might be eyes nearby to watch him in his naked delight beneath the shower of water, he was startled to suddenly find a pair of arms around his waist, his face flushing with embarrassment at being caught naked. "Lani!" he exclaimed, ducking down, waist deep in water to hide himself from eyes that had more than likely already seen him from every angle. "I thought you were sleeping," he glanced over his shoulder at her, clearly distraught.

Realising too late that she had been wrong, that he was more distressed by her playful hello than pleased, Lani swept back from him, ducking down waist deep to the water in an apologetic echo of his stance. "I'm sorry, I thought -" She didn't let herself finish, shaking her head as guilt flooded her expression for disturbing him. "I'm sorry." Her hands spread, palms facing him, in a soft conciliatory gesture as her head turned away, clearly preparing to slip back to the land once more and leave him in peace.

Conflicted once again, more embarrassed than upset, feeling shy and self-conscious, insecure in his own skin, he nevertheless, turned to face her, reaching out to catch her before she could slip away from his grasp. "Don't....It's all right. I was just....startled. Please....don't go."

Her hand caught in his, she stilled, her own gaze shy as those deep emerald eyes rose to find his face once again, soft with apology for upsetting him. "I didn't mean to startle you," she confessed softly, so beautifully unaware of anything to be embarrassed about. Waist deep, like him, her hair slicked down her back, for the first time Cian was presented with her natural beauty plain to his eyes, if he dared to look. "What were you doing?"

Cian's head shot up, looking in the direction of the shot, startled into sudden sobriety, all desire forgotten in the wake of that shot and the very mortal peril it signaled. But what were they shooting at' There was no time to wait around to find out. "Pirates!" he declared, grabbing hold of her and ducking behind the cascade of water, until he could determine where the shot was coming from and whether or not they had time to make a run for it.

There were no discernible voices to follow the shot, no sign or sound of bodies moving through the undergrowth too close for comfort. Best guess put the pirates at the head of the valley that led down to these falls, and that meant they were at least ten minutes away. Tugged out of sight behind the cascading falls, Leilani huddled close beside Cian, uncertain what she had heard or even what it pertained.

Cian quickly debated their options, deciding it was better to take a chance at flight, than be ambushed defenseless in the water. "Can we get to your mother from here?" he asked, lowering his voice, his tone urgent and worried.

She tore her eyes from the waving forest around them, turning her slightly wild gaze to his face. It took a moment for the wary little woman to absorb his question, but there it was. "Yes," she nodded, squeezing his arm. "We should go back to the beach, or ....no, we can reach the court over land." It didn't occur to her that he might not be happy with what over land entailed, but it was a faster journey, if not one for the faint hearted. She pointed toward their dry clothes, his cutlass. "We should get them."

He considered for a split second and then agreed with a nod of his head, reluctant to return to the beach and the cave that had served as shelter. It made more sense not to backtrack, but to go on, taking refuge deeper in the underbrush where they could cover their own tracks. "Hurry!" he told her, quietly but urgently as he let go of her, ducking his head beneath the water and gliding noiselessly toward the shore where he'd left his clothes and blade.

She slithered into the water behind him, her progress slower with arms and legs through the sweet, fresh water than it would have been with tail through the ocean. But she wasn't far behind him when he made shore, crawling on hands and knees before she straightened, twisting the excess water from the thick fall of her hair as they hurried to where their clothing had been left. There was still no audible sign of the pirates, proving that the shot had been a false alarm of sorts. Without it, the pair might well have been ambushed without ever knowing how much danger they were in before that moment.

He wasn't quite sure why the shot had been fired, whether by mistake or as a signal of some sort, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out. The shot was warning enough that the pirates were too close for comfort, and he was going to heed that warning. He climbed out of the water first, turning to help her, pulling her onto her feet and catching hold of her hand as they scrambled back to shore. Hurriedly and haphazardly, they threw on his clothing starting with his pants, then came boots, and finally the bloodstained shirt that he'd been wearing when she'd saved him from the wreckage.

He was quicker than she could hope to be with his clothing. The chemise always confused her; she always ended up flailing with her arms and head in entirely the wrong places, and unfortunately, her haste did not help her this time. Caught in the fabric as it clung to her wet skin, her panic rose wildly this time, her arms flailing to try and fight her way out of the dress before it suffocated her, feeling keenly the need for speed.

He hopped on one foot as he hastily tried to don his boots, torn between trying to get himself dressed and help her with the chemise. He stomped his foot on the ground to force the boot onto his foot, as he yanked it up his leg, before turning to help her with the chemise. She was going to need more practice before she mastered the skill of dressing and undressing. He tugged on the fabric to right it, just as she was flailing to try and get out of it.

Rescued from her own garment, Leilani's flushed face came swiftly back into view, her hands rising to tug her hair from its entrapment between skin and cloth before reaching to lace her fingers through his. She looked around wildly to orientate herself, sensing his urgency, feeling it bleed into her with each passing moment. "You are ready?" she asked, her lilting voice tight with tension.

"No, the cutlass!" he declared, knowing that without it, they were defenseless - or mostly defenseless. He recalled Leilani defending herself against the pirates somehow, but he wasn't quite clear how she'd managed it just yet, and there was no time to ask now. "Go on, I'll catch up!" he told her. Not waiting for a reply, he hurried through the brush to retrieve the cutlass he'd left laying on the ground, sweeping it into his hands and buckling it around his waist even as he moved to follow her.

Even ordered to go on, Leilani refused to leave him, lingering at the edge of the thicker forest even as the sound of bodies crashing through the undergrowth began to make itself known. She reached for Cian's hand as he moved to follow her. "This way," she said, her voice soft but audibly shaking as she began to pick her way through the undergrowth, pointing ahead to the rise of the valley. "We need to get up there."

He looked to the place she indicated, brows knitting at the rise in the distance. Though they were rested, their stomachs were empty, but there was no time to formulate a better plan. "Lead the way," he told her, reaching out to press a hand against her back as if to urge her onward. "Hurry," he added, hearing the racket the pirates were making as they crashed through the bracken in search of they quarry.

Clumsy at the best of times, Lani made almost as much noise as their pursuers as she struggled to move quickly over the uneven ground, swallowing the inevitable squeaks of pain as her bare feet found stones and sharp wood. Not a sound passed her lips, though, letting him urge her onward and upward as the ground began to slope under them. An incoherent yell made itself known, still some distance behind them - the white of Cian's shirt and her dress had been spotted through the waving foliage, the pirates calling to one another to follow on fast.

Cian winced, knowing Lani's bare feet were taking a beating, but there was nothing that could be done for it right now. His boots would have only flopped on her tiny feet and slowed her down further, and carrying her left him unable to draw the sword. He fell back a pace to cover her back when he heard them rustling through the undergrowth in pursuit, but he could only go as fast as the woman in front of him. He almost wished they'd chanced the beach. If they could get to sea, she, at least, would have a better chance to escape.

"Almost there," she promised in a quiet little wheeze of sound, urging him to follow close as the ground began to level out beneath them. Her hand reached back, flailing for his, needing to hold onto him as she turned to run out from the trees, through the knee deep foliage that covered the open plateau she had led him to.

Ahead of them, the ground dropped away abruptly, opening out into a deep sinkhole. The fall was clearly more than fifty feet, and yet the water that pooled at the bottom seemed barely more than a few feet deep. It didn't stop Leilani from gripping Cian's hand tight and running straight off the edge, plummeting toward the water far below.

They waited in silence as the queen considered her human visitor, her half-blood daughter at his side, both of them surrounded by the reverent, myriad faces of her true daughters. She opened her mouth, calling in that strange clicking, squeaking language they shared, and Leilani stiffened in the water beside Cian. Swallowing with undisguised nerves, the little mermaid squeezed Cian's hand, turning toward him just a little. "Wait here," she told him softly, her eyes pleading with him to do as she said. "Whatever happens, don't react." With a shimmying little flick of her tail, she swam toward where her mother lay perched, anticipating her punishment for violating the court with human blood.

There wasn't much he could say or do, but wait silently as he was told. He didn't understand the conversation that was taking place between them, his gaze drifting to look around at the myriad of faces that surrounded them. He saw no anger in them, though it was hard to tell what they were thinking or feeling. He stifled a shudder at the knowledge that they had killed his companions and might very well kill him, though he had a feeling that was not to be his fate. There was still some question in his mind of Leilani's birth. Had the mermaid queen herself fallen in love with a man once, or had she been forced into submission' He had a feeling the answer to that question might be paramount in the mermaid queen's decision whether or not to trust him. After a moment, he turned his eyes forward again, watching as Leilani and her mother conversed, knowing it was his fate that was being discussed.

Perhaps surprisingly, the queen did not speak to her half-blood daughter in the language her other daughters knew and understood. Instead, the gentle cadence of incoherent words spoken in quietly lilting voices filtered over the water. The queen reached out to touch the split that marred Leilani's shoulder, visible thanks to the open fall of the chemise the young Syreni wore, and her expression darkened. With startling speed, a tentacle lashed out from her crown to slap Leilani hard about the face, a harsh punishment for an injury taken during the rescue of herself. Leilani did not cry out, her own expression crumpling to unshed tears as she obediently pulled herself from the water, curling up at the far end of the ledge, dismissed out of mind by the Queen of Yang Terlupa, who turned her attention to the human still lingering in the water. "Human Cian," she said, her voice now loud enough for him to understand. "Come to me."

Cian started when he saw the queen strike Leilani, clenching his jaw, his face flushing in anger. Why was she angry with her daughter when they'd only been trying to help" Somehow, he managed to contain his anger, shoving it down deep, along with all the anger and rage he'd felt all his life for one presumed injustice or another. This was not the time or place to vent that anger, but the time was coming. With any luck, it would be pirates who bore the brunt of that pent up rage, rather than mermaids. Despite all that, he did as he was told, struggling not to let her see his anger and frustration as he moved forward to hear for himself what the queen had to say.

The queen gazed down at him sternly, reaching down to pluck him from the water and place him with surprising care onto the rocky shelf between herself and her now silent daughter. "You placed the key in danger of discovery, human," she said in a sibillant voice, clearly exercising a language she was not accustomed to using, despite her fluency. "But you rescued me from captivity, and this is good for my children. The key brought you here, to the most secret sanctum we have. Were it not for the love I shared once with one of your kind, you would have been killed before ever reaching this place, no matter the love the key has learned for you. Do I make myself clear?"

There were several things that struck him in the queen's speech that were unclear to him. One, that Leilani had been referred to once again as the key, but that reference implied that she was an important piece to some as yet unknown puzzle. Two, that the queen had once given her heart to a human. And three, that Leilani apparently shared Cian's feelings, though neither had admitted it in so many words to the other. "I understand," he replied, as she set him down between herself and the little mermaid, trying not to look too startled. "But I mean you and your daughters no harm."

"If you did, you would have died long before you ever entered the pirates' cave," the queen told him, her alien eyes dulled by the dry air but acutely sharp with interest as she looked him over. "Why have you come to our island, Human Cian' No man sails with intent unless he has some deeper purpose, and I have my doubts that you came purely to steal the heart of the key."

Cian frowned as the queen came to the heart of the matter, glancing momentarily at Leilani, his heart aching with grief and guilt when he considered the answer to her question, the answer to which was more complicated than it might seem. "There was someone once who was like a father to me. He gave me a map and told me of a treasure, but I was not told what that treasure was. There were others who were willing to kill for such treasure. They killed my friend, but I managed to escape. I memorized the map and destroyed it, so none could find the treasure, but..."

His frown deepened and he paused before continuing, averting his gaze a moment in thought. "They got here before me. I don't know how. They must have seen the map." He turned back to the queen, unable to hide the worry and grief and guilt from his eyes. "They're dangerous men. Bad men who take what they want and care nothing for those they hurt in the process." He looked to Leilani once more, his expression softening. "I came here to fulfill a promise to someone I once cared for, but I found something far more precious than that of any treasure."

The queen listened with an impassive face, seeming not to feel anything in the narrative he gave her, watching as Leilani's eyes lifted to meet the soft gaze of the human who had made such an impact on her heart. And slowly, the queen smiled, though the expression was harsh on her alien face. "So he did keep his word," she mused, seeming surprised and moved in the same moment, her green face softening with memory and the knowledge of a promise that had been kept. "This man who told you of the treasure here, who gave you his map ....what was his name?"

Cian frowned further at her question, not noticing the smile that softened her face. The name of the man who had taught him everything he knew about swords and sailing had been burned into his mind, along with his memory, but he had not spoken that name in many years, and the name caught in his throat, still fresh with grief at his passing. "Harper," he told her. "Captain Frederick Harper of the Ivory Lady." His back stiffened as he mentioned the name of the man who had been such a large influence on his early life, even if only for a short time, the grief he felt at the man's death as painful as if it had only just happened. "He died to protect that treasure, afraid it would fall into the wrong hands," he explained further.

The queen shook her head, a single tentacle unfolding once more to gently caress Cian's cheek with its cold tip. "Thank you, Human Cian," she said in a low tone. "It would seem that Harper kept his word well. Leilani!"

Across the shelf, the little Syreni startled, her head snapping up to meet her mother's stern gaze as her hands drew the skirt of the wet chemise down over her newly split legs. The queen beckoned to her, watching as the girl stumbled over to kneel beside Cian. She took Cian's hand, enfolding his grasp around Leilani's slender fingers.

"You will not find the treasure you seek without the key," the queen told him fiercely. "Harper chose you to take command of the key, to protect the daughter he gave me. Leilani is yours to do with as you wish, at her father's request, it seems."

Cian's brows furrowed, his mouth dropping open in an expression of unexpected shock and astonishment. He shook his head briefly, even as the queen caressed his cheek, finding Leilani beside him suddenly, her fingers linking themselves between his. "I don't understand. Harper was..." He turned to the lovely face beside him, as if looking at her for the first time, searching for any resemblance to the man he'd thought of as a second father. Only now that the truth came to light did he recognize any vague familiarity in the green eyes that looked back at his, in the face of the woman he was slowly but surely falling in love with. "He was your father?"

Sadness blossomed in her gaze as she felt again the raging turmoil of pain that churned so tightly controlled within him, one hand untangling from his to lay her palm over the steady beat of his heart, both of them oblivious to the strangely approving gaze of the queen as she watch their interaction. "No," Lani told him very gently. "It will only take you through space. Time is too fragile for such power to be handed out to the likes of us."

He frowned again as he listened, accepting her answer, despite his grief. The dead would have to remain dead; there was nothing that could be done to bring them back. If he understood correctly, the stone, then, was itself a key - a key that somehow unlocked a door to unexplored worlds and adventures, unlike any he'd experienced before. A flood of excitement rose up inside him, and he took both her hands in his and pressed them against his chest, looking into her eyes, his own filled with hope and anticipation of whatever adventures might lay ahead of them, together. "Come with me," he told her quietly, eyes pleading with her. "I don't want to go alone." And like her father had chosen him, he had chosen her.

Delight could not begin to describe the pleasure that burst through her at his quiet request. All her life, she had been left behind, and she had accepted it as simply part of the way things had to be. But now Cian was asking her to take his adventure with him, without possibly knowing how much that meant to her. "Then you won't go alone," she promised him fervently, her fingers gripping tight to his as she leaned into him, high on her toes against the smooth stone beneath them.

Right there in front of, or perhaps in spite of, her sisters and her mother, he took her in his arms and kissed her, properly and thoroughly, his heart swelling with joy and blossoming love. As mystical and wonderous as the mermaids were, they'd never know the simple joy that could be shared between the loving hearts of a man and a woman.

Curious murmurings abounded among the gathered Syreni, silenced by a single sharp snap from the queen herself. But in that snap was an order, too, one that only one of the mermaids gathered could obey with any confidence. Blissfully unaware of movement among her sisters, Leilani curled warm into Cian's arms, burning anew from somewhere deep inside as he claimed her before the only family she had left to her. As they parted, her lips curved in a wide, exhilarated smile, a cold webbed hand reached out to touch Cian's leg. One of the Syreni bobbed close by, her hand outstretched toward him, offering on the palm of her hand what seemed to be one of her own teeth. Behind her, the other Syreni were plucking long hairs from their heads or, if they had no hair, peeling impossibly thin strips from their hides, gathering together those delicate lengths into the queen's hands.

Lost in the moment, his only thoughts for that of Leilani, Cian's lips slowly and relucantly parted from hers, flushing when he realized he'd boldly demonstrated his affection for her in front of the other mermaids, almost as if needing them to witness the depth and sincerity of his feelings for the one he'd chosen. He felt the touch of one of them against his leg and tilted his head toward her, arching a curious brow as he reached for the offering in her hand. He looked beyond her to the others, perplexed.

"What are they doing?" he questioned, holding onto Leilani with his left hand, while he held the mermaid's offering in the upraised palm of the right.

His little mermaid's eyes opened reluctantly, lowering to the sharp triangular tooth in his hand, to the sister who had given it to him, to the busywork now in the queen's hands, and a smaller, sweeter smile touched her face.

"They're giving you a gift," she said very softly, releasing his hands to pluck several shining golden strands from her own head, one for each sister who gave something into the queen's hands. These, too, went to the queen, whose fingers were a blur as she braided the little offerings into a thong of sorts. That braided piece was given to Leilani, who carefully took her sister's tooth from Cian's hand to tie it securely to the braid. She held it up to him, a necklace made for him that held one very specific property. "This is yours now."

Cian found it odd how, only moments ago, he thought her mother was about to kill him and now she was giving him a gift. He wasn't quite sure what he'd said or done to change things. Perhaps they weren't quite as blind or insensitive as he'd thought. He looked to the necklace, touched by their offering, but unaware of its purpose, if there was any. "Thank you," he said, as he bent his head to accept the gift.

Leilani stepped close, securing the necklace about his throat loose enough to be comfortable without being so loose it might slip free during an awkward moment. Her lips touched his cheek, offering a whisper in warning. "Don't panic." As she stepped back, the queen's tail swept out to knock him into the water, one arm holding Leilani back from following as her sisters crowded in around him, holding him beneath the surface with the same playful cheeriness that colored their half-sister on land.

To tell a man not to panic and then knock him into the water without so much as a warning seemed a bit of a contradiction to him, wondering if this was some sort of way of binding them together. His first instinct was to struggle, to try to reach the surface, but there were too many of them and slight as they looked, they were stronger in water than on land, and together they were too much for him. He dared not draw his sword, or they'd kill him for sure, thinking this some sort of test or initiation rite.

Why would Leilani tell him not to panic" She must know what this was about. If they were giving him a gift, what was the gift they were giving him' And then, just as he was running out of breath, he realized there was only one gift they could give him other than Leilani herself, and that was the gift of breath. If he was wrong, there was a good chance he might drown, but if he was right, then they had given him a rare and valuable gift. Exhaling the last of his breath, air bubbling from his nose and mouth, he forced himself to relax, tentatively taking a small, shallow breath.

Evidently he had passed some sort of test, if the joyful reactions of the mermaids all around him were anything to go by. They flipped and spun away, leaping out of the water in playful enjoyment, declaring his successful trust in them more to the worried little sister kneeling at the edge of the water than to the queen who watched over her. Leilani's eyes were fixed on Cian through the rippling water, hoping he had taken the gift as it had been given, even as her mother spoke.

"No man should have to rely upon any lover for the essentials of life," the queen told her youngest daughter quietly. "As you walk on land, so shall he breathe under the water. As I promised, you will be equals now, until time ends."

He did not hear the queen's words to her daughter, but he did find, to his own amazement, that he could breathe underwater, as if he were like them, as if he were like Leilani, though he possessed no gills. It was magic, pure and simple, the result of some spell, and though Cian would miss Leilani's gifts of breathe, he would now be as much at ease in the water as he was on land, so long as he wore the necklace. After a moment, he rose up from the water, surfacing without having to pause to take a breath. He watched, a smile finally breaking across his features, as the mermaids seemed to dance and splash with joy around him.

He climbed back onto the rock where Leilani waited, shoving his wet hair back from his face as he went to her, reaching for her hand once again, his face brighter, eyes alight with wonder. "I can breathe under water," he told her, suspecting she already knew this.

Trusting the queen not to put her own daughter in danger, he nodded his head, acquiescing with a short, respectful bow. "I am at your service and am grateful for your help."

There was no reply to his respectful words, simply the quiet sound of water closing over many heads as the mermaids followed their mother from the luminescent cave. Leilani watched them go, knowing that her mother had not agreed to anything but having bait of some kind, uncertain whether she could trust the queen not to put Cian in direct danger himself. But that was a worry for later hours. Holding his hand between her own, she squeezed gently. "That was not so very bad, was it?"

"I thought she was going to kill me," he replied, once they'd left, ducking beneath the water as if they'd never been there at all. He turned to face her as he felt her squeeze his hand. "I won't let them hurt you," he promised, not for the first or possibly last time. "You're too precious to me." And it wasn't because she was the key; his feelings went far deeper than that.

"She does not care enough about me or you to truly want you dead," his little companion assured him, smiling under the weight of his promise once again. "She would not have hurt you too much, but ....I will not let you be harmed if I can prevent it." Her arms wrapped about him in a gentle embrace. "Come, see where I spent my first years." Stepping back, she let her hands slide down his arms, lacing her fingers with his to lead him over the smooth worn stone and through the little opening the queen had suggested he take.

His mouth drew downward in a small frown, wondering if they were just pawns here in some game of chess between the mermaids and the pirates. Was either any better than the other" If not for Leilani, he might have wished he'd never come here. "Lani," he ventured, as she led him away from where the queen held court. "I'm sorry about your father."

She paused, stilling at a smooth curve in the tunnel they followed, her hand reaching to touch the layered stone at her side as she swallowed against the natural tide of unconsidered distress. "He left a long time ago," she told Cian softly. "But I am sorry to know he is dead. I used to ....I used to imagine he'd come back for me, one day." She shook her head, setting those childish wishes aside as the cave before them opened out.

It was more of the same - smooth rock carved and worn down to create an easily navigable space where two people could live simply enough. It was lit with natural sunlight from a hole broken through to the seaward cliff face, too small to be noticed from the sea or used to enter from the top of the ridge high above. Upon the far side of the cave was a series of natural alcoves, the largest of which was piled deep with bedding no doubt pilfered from various wrecks and allowed to dry. The space might almost be called luxurious, especially when compared with the simplicity with which Leilani lived on the beach.

"I never knew he had a daughter," Cian continued, as he followed her through the tunnel to the cave beyond. It had been years since Harper's death, and yet, in some ways, it seemed like yesterday. "I don't know why he chose me. He said I reminded him of someone," he told her, as if the telling was needed, not having spoken of this to anyone, not even those he trusted most, that of his family. "He was like a father to me," Cian added, though he'd mentioned it before, wondering if this was the reason Harper had trusted him with his secret.

"He was a good man," Lani murmured softly, even that gentle tone reverberating within the stone walls around them. "He stayed on the island with me until I was ten years old, taught me everything I needed to know." She turned to face Cian, the sunlight shining through from the seaward cliff catching her drying hair in a burst of gold. "He wanted me to go with him, but Mother wouldn't allow it."

"Why'd he leave" Why didn't he stay longer" What took him away?" Cian asked, as she turned to face him, sunlight wrapping her in its embrace, surrounding her in a golden halo of warm light.

She shrugged, innocent still as her arms wrapped about herself, shaking her head with a warm smile. "Men never outstay their welcome on the island," she explained quietly. "Mother's mates don't even stay long enough to meet their daughters, usually. But I couldn't be raised in the sea, and I had to learn how to live on land. So my father stayed until Mother said I had learned enough. She took him to the nearest ship herself." She paused, a small frown touching her face as she added, "I don't think he was given much choice."

Cian's hands moved to his sword belt, fingers unbuckling the clasp that held the sword against his hip, relieving himself of that heavy burden as he set the sword within its scabbard to rest against the smooth rock wall of the cave. He listened to her relay the story, glancing her way once she had finished. "Why are you different from the others" Don't they have human fathers, too?"

"Oh, no." Leilani giggled softly, shaking her head once again as she leaned back against the gentle curve of the cave wall, her hands falling to press behind her comfortably. One bare foot rose from the worn floor to press her sole to the wall. "Mother makes her daughters with all the beings in the ocean. She never has any sons, only daughters. We all resemble our fathers most closely. The lionfish, or the shark, for example ....or the human."

He arched a brow in surprise, having thought they were all made the same way, more or less. "You're the only one with a human father" Did she make you so that you could unlock the treasure or did that come later?" He wasn't quite sure what exactly it was that the queen wanted, but he guessed there was more going on than what she'd alluded to.

"I'm not the first daughter she's made with a human," Lani offered, uncertain quite how he was going to take what she had to tell him. "I don't know how long the treasure has been here, but Mother takes a human to make a daughter when the key grows too old to traverse the way. I think I am the fifth key she has made."

Something seemed to fall into place in his brain, like a puzzle with all the pieces suddenly coming together. "She keeps it safe and out of the hands of those who might abuse it. That's it, isn't it?" he asked, wondering why she'd offer its use to him, of all people. If it was so precious and so dangerous, it should be kept safely guarded at all costs.

Lani shrugged again, not entirely sure herself why things were the way they were, why she had been made in the first place. She pushed off from the wall, moving to sit herself on the edge of the softly furnished alcove, her hands pressed together between her knees. "I think so," she agreed in her lilting voice. "But I think she asks every father of every key to find someone worthy of the treasure, to take the burden from her. She's so very old, Cian, and tied to the island so long as the treasure is here."

"Maybe she has and she just doesn't know it," Cian pointed out, though he got the feeling the mermaids were as alien to him as he was to them, unhuman, unfeeling, not much different from the pirates in that they cared only for their own selfish well-being. He didn't blame them really for killing in order to protect themselves and their way of life. It was the way in which it was done that bothered him, and if not for Lani's intervention, he knew he would have joined them in their watery death. He stifled a shudder at that thought, a chill coursing through him, only partly due to the wet clothing that never seemed to have a chance to dry. "I'm not sure why your father chose me, Lani, but I'm glad he did," he told her softly, linking his fingers to hers, his voice soft with feeling.

"As am I." Her softness resolved into a smile that seemed to light her up from the inside, the warmth of this new feeling her mother said was love spreading through to the very tips of her fingers and toes, deeply aware of each beat of her own heart. She rose onto her toes, only a little unsteady, touching a tentative kiss to his cheek, her lips just barely brushing the very corner of his mouth. "You are special to me now."

Special, Cian echoed in his head. The word was as good as any to describe what he was feeling for her, though he would have chosen to put it a different way. The brief flutter of lips against his cheek, as chaste and innocent as it was, caused his cheeks to flush hotly, warmth spreading through him, despite the damp chill. "You are....special to me, too," he admitted. "When we are finished with the pirates, we should leave this place. Just you and me. Go somewhere where no one knows us, where no one cares who we are, where no one will try to keep us apart."

"Why would anyone want to keep us apart?" Leilani asked, distress suddenly flaring into life deep in her emerald eyes, the gentle grasp of her hands tightening about his. "I don't want that, I don't want to be away from you. It frightens me that you want to fight the black ship - people don't come back from fighting, Father told me, and I want you to come back. I'll die if you don't, I'll die!" Perhaps it was a little too dramatic, but she felt that new fear keenly. He had promised to take her with him when he left, but she was afraid, deathly afraid that he would not live to fulfil that promise. That once they parted ways to enact the plan he had agreed upon with the Syreni, Lani would never see him again.

Startled by the depth and strength of her reaction, her apparent fear for his safety and well-being, he turned to face her fully, lightly squeezing her hands to reassure her, searching her eyes to make her understand. "Lani, I think it's why I'm here, to help. I can't turn my back on your mother and your sisters. I can't leave them to the pirates. Your father chose me for some reason. He gave me the map and made me promise to find the treasure, but the treasure isn't some bauble that takes you to other worlds. The treasure is you. What kind of man would I be if I didn't fulfill the promise I made" If I thought only of myself and left your people to die?"

The turmoil of new emotion churning deep in her heart was clearly the source of her distress, but it was that emotion, that ever deepening fresh young love, that calmed her as he spoke. She absorbed every word, a soft shade of rose blossoming on her skin as he reiterated again that she was the treasure her father had sent Cian to find. "I've never been frightened of losing someone before," she confessed in a throbbing, hesitant whisper. "I've never been truly frightened of anything. I can't turn it off." There was an apology in her eyes for the fear that had found her, as though he would take offense at this aching assurance of the depth of burgeoning feeling he evoked in her.

He took no offense at her fear, quite the opposite, in fact, touched to the core of his being that she cared so deeply for him that she felt such fear, unsure if anyone ever had before. Oh, he knew he'd come close to death before, quite recently, in fact, and he knew there were those who cared for him, loved him, even, but it seemed no one had ever cared for him quite this way before. He pulled her into his embrace, holding her close enough to feel the beating of his heart. He closed his eyes as he wrapped her in his arms, fingers smoothing her hair in an attempt to calm her.

"I'm scared, too," he admitted, perhaps for the first time. "I'm scared of losing you, scared you'll find someone else, scared you won't..." He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, afraid that admitting the fears in his heart might somehow make them come true. Then, there was the fear of mortality, the fear that came with battle, the fear that he might not survive the fight, the fear of failure and defeat. Everything seemed to hinge on his success; failure was not an option. "I lost someone dear to me, not long ago." It was his brother he spoke of now, lost sacrificing his own life so that Cian could live. "Life is short, Lani, too short for worrying over what might or might not be. If you fear life, you'll never really know what it is to live."

The steady beat of his heart against her, the gentle, strong fingers smoothing through her hair, the smell of the salt sea mingling with the scent of his skin, the sense of protection and safety in the encircling grasp of his arms ....all these things, and so many more, brought the little mermaid's heart to swelling tight in her chest, feeling almost as though she might burst with that new feeling she knew now was called love. Her heart ached for the pain of loss in him as he spoke of his brother, her hands moving palm flat against his back, no more feeling the mark of the lash beneath his shirt than she had done when her fingers touched his flesh. Those scars meant nothing to her; they would never mar the beauty of his soul. Slowly her head tipped back, offering up full lips curved in a sweetly hopeful smile. "Teach me to live" I don't want to learn without you."

Wrapped in each other's embrace, left alone, with no one to watch, to intrude, or to stop them, he tilted his head toward hers to capture her lips, his own senses drowning in her presence, his heart on fire with love and desire. His heart ached with love, his body burning with desire, his head reminding him of his own words. There was no time like the present and with danger looming with first light, there was no guarantee they'd have another chance like this one. He kissed her as though it were their first and last kiss, lips lingering against hers, fervently sharing all he was feeling without saying a single word.

For just the finest slice of a moment, Lani didn't react, soft still but unmoving beneath his kiss as heat and longing and love surged through her, searing through her innocence, her hesitation, through every barrier to simply surrendering. If it were possible, she softened further in his arms, releasing a tiny sound almost comparable to a purr into his mouth as her lips parted beneath the fervid linger of his. Her hands clenched, drawing his shirt tight against his back as her eyes fell closed, savouring the willing desire to drown in his consuming kiss.

His lips parted, deepening the kiss, drawing her deeper into his embrace. He swallowed up the tiny sound of pleasure she uttered against his lips, wanting her, needing her more than he'd ever wanted or needed anyone or anything before. Tomorrow might bring the chance of death, but today was for living. He let go of her suddenly only long enough to sweep her up into his arms, lips parting hers to look on her longingly with loving eyes. "Do you trust me?" he asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it with his own ears.

Shocked from her slow slip into him by that abrupt break between them, her gasp echoed through the cave as he scooped her up, her arms quick to fasten themselves about his neck as he looked on her. Hazy desire darkened the soulful green of her eyes as she met his gaze, her parted lips silently begging for more even as he asked the question he already knew the truth of. "Of course I do," she whispered in tender surprise, her palm curling to his cheek as she leaned close, painting his cheek with the heat of her breath. "I would do anything for you."

Her hands softened against him, curled to his neck, the understated bulge of his bicep as the emerald of her eyes rose to his one more time. "Why are you so sure you will?" she asked him in tender whisper, gathering the quiet close around them, inviolate for these precious moments of intimacy. Her lips touched his once, twice ....just the barest of kisses but holding within them a world of longing. "I trust you, Cian, I ..." Her breath warmed his lips as she found herself moaning in soft anticipation of that as yet unknowable fervor. "I want you."

He swept a hand through her hair, sweeping the golden mane behind one slim, ivory shoulder, as graceful and lovely as the sculpted statue of a goddess. "Lani, I..." His throat constricted with emotion, the unspoken words tumbling at last from his lips, trusting her with his feelings, opening his heart to her. "I love you," he whispered at last, unsure if she'd understand the meaning behind the words, though she seemed to understand the feeling. There was only one last barrier that stood between them and that barrier seemed the hardest for him to break, afraid he might disappoint her.

She lit up for him as he whispered those words, her smile bright and sure, confident with the tenderness of her own soul-deep desire to connect with him far beyond the mere physical. No, she might not yet understand how very deep three small words could run, but she knew what she felt. It was a new word to her, love, a new concept beyond anything she had experienced in her lifetime, and yet there was nothing else in the multiverse that could light a soul so fervently afire when touched by another.

Sensing his hesitance, she inched closer, trading breath with him as her emerald gaze burned into the dark promise of his, her hands resuming their slow exploration of him. This time, her touch travelled downward, warming his skin in the wake of caresses that skimmed his sides until finally the slender hook of her thumbs found a place inside the ragged line of his pants.

He felt as though he was melting from the inside out, tension coiling deep inside, a tightening ache deep in his loins. He flinched when he felt her touch graze the edge of his pants, stiffening, muscles tensing, as the heat of desire coiled and tightened, like a spring sound too tight and needing release. "Gods, Lani..." he whispered, gasping in desperate need.

His flinch brought her to a sudden stop, uncertainty flooding her expression as she stilled in the face of his desperate whisper. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked softly, hoping that whatever she had done was easily rectified. "I-I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," he answered, out of breath, his body trembling with desire, his gaze coveting the view before him. "It-it might hurt a little," he warned her, needing her to know that it wasn't all always pleasant. There was pain, but without pain, one could not truly know ecstasy. "I'll try to go slow," he promised, drawing her hands away from his pants, taking them between his. His arousal would be evident soon enough, if they kept on the way they were going.

She swayed toward him, eyes closing as her lips found his in the promise of a kiss that wasn't quite fulfilled, her hands easily enfolded between his palms. "I don't care," she heard herself murmur, and found it to be true. She didn't care if whatever he chose to do hurt her this little bit he seemed so concerned with. She just wanted him to light her up from the inside, to bring her to the conclusion of the hovering pleasure he had already drawn to the surface. "Please don't stop, Cian."

How could he deny her when she asked him in such a way, with such needful desire" He drew a breath to gather his courage. It seemed it required more courage to do this, to draw aside this last barrier between them, than to look into the face of death during battle. Flushing hotly, he pulled away from her, yanking the drawstring at his waist loose, anticipation mingling with apprehension. He fixed his gaze to hers, focusing on her face as he let the last bit of cloth between them slip away, stepping out of his trousers and leaving them where they were. He had stood naked before her once before, but hidden beneath the cover of water.

Kneeling in the midst of the wreck-salvaged luxury that made this stone carved bed, Leilani never once took her eyes from Cian's as he broke from her, as he stripped that last barrier of cloth from between them. And slowly, the yearning smoulder of her gaze drew down from his, over the half-healed gash in his arm; the understated strength of muscle and sinew that formed the firm tanned plane of his chest, the softer yield of his stomach; the long legs she had seen only through a blaze of bubbles as she rose to playfully tease him from the depths of the waterfall's pool.

He felt his face flame with heat, self-conscious of his body, thinking he was nothing much to look at compared to other men, feeling inadequate, completely oblivious of his own beauty that was uniquely his alone. Naked to her, he could no longer hide the scars that crossed his back, the fading remains of the gash against his shoulder, the tanned arms and torso that were in stark contrast to the pale legs, slim but lithely muscled, his arousal evident and plain to see.

And yet he was in a unique position, the only man she had ever seen in such a way, the first to ignite the passion in her tender heart. Cian had an enviable chance to impress himself so firmly upon Lani's heart and mind that no other man could ever even begin to tempt her away from him, and she was his willing accomplice. She cared nothing for the scars he thought marred his flesh, or his own disparaging opinion of himself. To her, he was perfect, and it showed in the glowing adoration in the emerald green eyes that finally lifted to his. Her hands opened, reaching toward him, silently asking to close the distance between them once again.

The blush faded from his cheeks as she looked on him and seemed to accept him, despite his flaws and failures. It was those flaws and failures that made him human, after all. He reached for her hands, silently answering her question by offering himself to her.

Hands that bore no callouses, softened by years of seawater and gentle living, smoothing tenderly into his grasp, fingertips following the heartlines on his palms before curling to him, drawing him toward her, into the inviolate privacy of the carven overhang. Some selfish urge made her reach up to release the ties that held drapes in place, the heavy fabric falling to shut them into their own small slice of paradise. Hesitation touched her movements, uncertainty clouding her gaze just for a moment as she gazed deep into his eyes. "Cian, I ....I don't know what to do."

"You don't need to do anything, Lani," he reassured her as he laid her back onto the cushions, moving over her once again, this time with nothing between them but feelings and flesh. "Try to relax and it will be easier," he told her, parting her legs with one hand as he moved between them, steadily holding her gaze so that she wouldn't grow frightened or nervous. "I'll try to go slow. Tell me if it hurts," he told her softly, trembling once again with nervous anticipation, even as he moved ever closer, so close that she could feel the heat coming off him in waves.

He needn't have worried that she would grow fearful in his embrace. He had asked if she trusted him; in truth, the trust she placed in him went so deep as to be inseparable from any other feeling she had for him. There were no words to describe how much faith his little mermaid had in him. The luscious curves of the body he so coveted and was about to claim as his settled easily into the softness of silk and velvet and rich cotton, her arms lifting to draw him down to her as she felt the first tremor of something new in the gentle heat that radiated from him.

Her parted legs shifted, snug to his hips, then relaxed, uncertain quite how he wanted her as she stared into his eyes, more relaxed than any educated virgin he could have named. Feeling that the silence somehow required something of her, Lani let her smile speak, her fingers curling into the fall of his dark hair at his nape as the words came, unbidden, as natural as breath. "I love you, Cian."

His mouth softened beneath hers, tears spilling over onto his cheeks before he could dash them away with the back of a hand, embarrassed by the unexpected display of emotion, thinking himself weak for such softening. He realized she was taking him literally and didn't understand, but perhaps he could find a way to explain it to her. "I don't want to lose you the way you lost your father."

She blinked in confusion, a flicker of a smile touching her face as she shook her head. "I didn't lose my father, he left me .....Oh." The smile faded once again as comprehension dawned, thanks to his careful search for the right way to explain his fear. "I will not leave you," she promised, the words coming easily, the intention behind them deeply heartfelt. "I am yours. There is nowhere I would rather be than with you."

He knew it was silly to worry about the what if and the what might be. It was better to take things one day at a time, thankful for each day together as long as it would last. "I know. I'm being stupid," he admitted, forcing himself to smile weakly in hopes of reassuring her. "When I was a boy, I used to dream of becoming a hero. Of rescuing a princess and sweeping her off her feet, falling in love, getting married." He wiped a hand across his face to dash away any tears.

She wasn't sure quite how to respond to this. The change in subject was more abrupt than she was used to from Cian, especially when it came with a smile so clearly forced it hurt to look at. She caught his hand, gently wiping away his tears with her own fingers. "My mother is a queen," she pointed out softly, not sure whether this was the right way to go. "And you've lifted me off my feet twice now. What's married" I don't know the word."

The smile deepened and became more sincere, amused at how she took him so literally. He brushed her hair back from her face, his heart swelling just to look on her loveliness and know that she cared for him. "Marriage is something two people do when they love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together. It's a..." He paused to find the right words to explain. "It's a way of bonding, I suppose. Promising to always be there for someone for as long as you live."

Pleased that his smile no longer pained him to give, much less hurt her to see, Leilani's own smile warmed as she relaxed beside him. "Does that mean I have marriage with you now?" she asked him curiously. "I promised just now, and you promised before ..." Miracle of miracles, Cian had finally found something that would make his little mermaid blush and shyly avert her eyes as she spoke. "Before the wonderful."

He smiled, his worries and fears subsiding a little as she settled herself beside him, grateful for this moment of privacy and quiet between them, daring to open his heart to her and tell her things he'd told so few before. "No," he replied, reaching for her hand and linking his fingers with hers. "But I'm not sure it matters." The smile faded a little as he remembered the only other time he'd ever considered marriage. "I asked someone to marry me once, but....It didn't work out. It wasn't meant to be, I guess." Had he gotten married, he wouldn't be here, after all. He wouldn't have met the sweet, innocent girl by his side, and there was no telling what might have become of her and her people if left to the mercy of pirates.

Her fingers slid between his, more delicate than his own, perhaps, but equally as slender, as dextrous in their own way. Her eyes lowered to watch the pulse beating in his throat as he spoke, listening to every word he said not so much because he needed to say them, but because she loved the sound of his voice. Curiosity quirked at her expression, her thoughts wandering to a new place that seemed to have no relation to what he was telling her. "If my father had lived, would you have done the marriage with him?"

He furrowed his brows at her, surprised by her question, and unsure how to explain what he meant when the concept of love and marriage seemed so foreign to her. "With your father" No. I didn't love your father like that. Marriage is a promise, Lani. It's a promise two people make when they are in love and want to be together, when they don't want anyone else but the one they love, when they want to raise a family together and grow old together." He knew he was generalizing, as not all marriages fit that description, but it was the easiest way he could think of to explain. "Marriage is a sacred ritual, usually between a man and a woman."

She nodded, her eyes trained on his as he spoke to her, her thumb gently stroking up and down the length of his. "So ....there are different kinds of love?" she asked, her curiosity not so much sated as piqued in a new direction, a thirst for knowledge awakening in her under the gentle guidance of his unwitting education. "And some love makes a thing called a family and some love doesn't."

"Yes," he replied, his voice softening as he started to relax beside her. "There is the love of family, the love you feel for your mother and father, sisters and brothers. There is the love you feel for your friends, and then there is the love you feel for that one special person who means more to you than any other. That kind of love is more beautiful and special than all the rest. It's when you care about someone else more than anyone or anything else in the world, when you'd give anything for that person to be happy. When you love that person so much that you can't bear to be without them."

Silence pooled around them for a long, long time as Leilani assimilated this information, settling it in her mind with everything else she knew or had been told over the years. When she spoke again, her voice was low, tempered with emotion. "I have that kind of love for you," she said, certain in her bones that she was right. "I loved my father with family love. I do not love my mother, or my sisters. I love you."

He waited patiently while she absorbed what he had told her, knowing all of this was new to her. Though the feelings might not be new, he had given her words to explain and understand her feelings. He smiled, his heart soaring at her sweet declaration of love. He'd yearned to hear those words for so long and to hear them from her and know that she meant them was more than he could have ever hoped for. "I love you," he echoed, his voice soft with emotion, eyes shining with unshed tears of happiness. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I want to be with you always, Lani. I can't bear the thought of being without you."

"Then don't die." She twisted, moving to urge him onto his back, to lean over him, surround him with herself as her hair fell in a thick golden curtain about them both, closing them off from everything but one another. Emerald green eyes awash with tears that sprang from the merest thought of losing him to a dagger or sword burned into his. "I know you feel you have to fight this battle. I know it isn't in you to walk away now and let the pirates and the Syreni fight it out themselves. Just don't die. Please. I couldn't bear it."

Both brow arched up at her as she leaned over him, opening her heart to him, showing him she was just as worried about him as he was about her. If there was another way, he'd walk about from the battle, only for her, only because he loved her, and because she asked it of him, but there was no other way. He had made a promise, not only to her mother but her father, as well, and it wouldn't be right to break that promise. It wouldn't be honorable. "I can't promise that, Lani. I don't know what?s going to happen, but I will promise you that I will do everything I can to stay alive. I don't want to leave you, not now, not ever." His voice turned quiet and deep with emotion.

He returned her kiss, his arms sliding around her, his pulse leaping with renewed excitement, both in answer to her kiss and at the prospect of leaving this place and taking her with him. "I want to be with you always, Lani," he told her hurriedly. Now that they'd decided, he knew time was of the essence, but before they left, he needed to know she felt the same about him. He drew back, taking her hands in his own. "I promise to always love you, to always be yours. There's no one else but you."

The unbroken heart is fearless. The unbroken heart knows what it wants and feels no constraint to hold back. The innocent, loving heart of a woman newly made shares its love with the one that awoke it in abundance. Leilani's hands folded into Cian's as he spoke, her eyes sharing her own promise before the words even touched her lips. "I never want to be away from you," she swore fervently, opening her own heart to him, throwing herself wholly into his care. "I promise I will never leave you. I love you, and ....and I always will."

He sealed his own promise with a kiss, taking her in his arms and drawing her close, a fervent kiss that expressed the depth of his love more profoundly than words, but time was growing short for the opportunity that presented itself, and he knew they'd have to hurry. "Come with me, then," he told her as he broke the kiss, his hands gliding along her bare arms, taking his hands between his once again. "There are so many wonders to show you."

Lani was quick to obey, lifting his hands to her lips to kiss his skin just once more before she began reaching for his clothing, leaning herself far over the edge of the alcove, through the heavy drapes, to retrieve his ragged pants from the floor.

As tired as Cian was, the excitement of this latest adventure renewed his vigor, and he swung his legs off the makeshift bed to the cold, cavern floor, taking his pants from her to tug them on over his legs. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He knew they were taking a risk. There was no telling what the mermaid queen would do if they were caught trying to escape without her leave.

She nodded, hands already fumbling clumsily with the thin chemise to throw it over her head. "I am sure," her voice came to him through the muffle of cloth. "I would rather walk away than lose you to the pettiness of my mother and her pirate enemies." Her feet kicked where they hung off the edge of the bed, the movement of the chemise down over her outstretched arms stilling as the material bunched. A defeated little sigh made itself know from somewhere inside the fabric. She was stuck again.

He pulled his shirt over his head, smirking at her as she got caught in the fabric of her chemise, moving to his feet to help his little mermaid get unstuck. "You really are going to have to learn how to get dressed without getting stuck," he teased, thinking perhaps she should stick to blouses, but he suspected she might have a problem with buttons.

"Only because you think I have to get dressed at all," she complained, displaying a sweet little pout as he freed her from her dress, unable to resist the urge to touch him as soon as her hands were free. "You never really explained why, you know." Wriggling to the edge of the alcove, she dropped onto her feet, letting the skirt swing about her ankles finally. "You should take everything you expect to need," she told him softly. "We're not coming back."

There wasn't much for him to choose from, but the clothes he'd arrived in, which were tattered, bloodied, and worn, the cutlass she'd given him, and the charm that hung about his neck, which he now touched with a small frown, a small pang of guilt at leaving the mermaids behind to fend for themselves. "Will it still work if we leave?" he asked, fingers touching the necklace that had been given him by the mermaid queen.

She turned back to him, smoothing her fingers over his at his throat, easing her palm over the curve of his hip as she leaned in close. "You're wearing a piece of every child of the queen," she explained softly. "It will work for you, no matter where you are, so long as you wear it. It was a gift, and a gift cannot be ungiven."

"I'm unworthy of such a gift, Lani." He frowned at her, feeling guilty for taking such a gift from the mermaids and betraying their trust by turning his back on them and leaving them to their own fate, and yet, he owed them nothing. He had saved the mermaid queen's life, and that alone should be worth more than what they had offered.

"It wasn't for you." Her hand curled into his hair, drawing him down to her as her lips covered his, teasing a slow kiss from him as she felt him wavering. Was he really going to change his mind, march headlong into a battle where there was no guarantee of success? Even if he succeeded, there was no way to be sure that the queen would not kill him. Lani had seen too many men die at her mother's hands not to understand the joy the Syreni felt in the last death throes of any land-dweller. "It was a gift to me, something she promised my father she would give to the one he sent to me. She keeps her promises, Cian, but she is very good at not making them. She never gave you her word."

He lost himself to her lips for a moment, her kiss setting his heart afire, knowing he had little time for wavering. "You're afraid she's going to kill me, whether I help her or not." It was not a question, but a statement, as if only just realizing that their lives were in equal danger from both mermaids and pirates.

"Yes." It was a whispered confession, longing for the ability to trust in the female who had birthed her but denied it through the queen's own actions. "Please, Cian. Don't linger here. You will not be thanked for laying down your life."

How could he deny her when she worried for him so' She was right. There was no guarantee the queen would spare his life, once she no longer needed him, and she'd done nothing to earn his trust or prove to him that she was trustworthy. The only one he truly trusted was standing right in front of him. He considered a moment and then nodded his head. "All right. We'll go," he told her leaning in to brush a kiss against her forehead before breaking away to pull his boots onto his feet and take up his sword.

Relieved that he was not about to change his mind and stay here where he was only alive so long as he was useful, Lani nodded, turning to pad on her bare feet to the entrance of the little cave, peering through the curving tunnel way to the water-filled cavern beyond. She could see no one, hear no one. The way was clear, for now. Only time would tell if it would remain so.

((So ends another massively humungus log with massively humungus thanks to Cian's player for indulging me so shamelessly!))