"Rhina, you shit," Rubyn muttered under his breath when he saw his general get stabbed by no other than an Amethyst Prince. 

He wanted to rescue his close friend but a particular hindrance kept him at bay. It was the second skirmish that week between the two warring kingdoms. He, the sole heir of the Ruby Throne, was to inherit a kingdom that would continue its war against the Amethyst. A centuries old war that he knew no longer the purpose of.

A sharp pain burst across his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. Blood rose in tendrils from a graze on the flesh of his shoulder, the cause of the wound gripped tightly in the hand of his enemy.

Right, he thought, this is why they were fighting. They fought to protect their people from these savages.

Rubyn curled his lip in disgust, looking at the Amethyst soldier. Purple eyed, with silver piercings on his lower plump lip, black hair that was cut to his jaw line with two long locks growing from his temples. 

"Well if it isn't the precious prince of the Ruby," the soldier snarled, his sharp teeth bared.

Rubyn smirked, "Surely you know not to pick a fight with me."

The soldier snorted, "Oh but the temptation is too good. Rumor has that the king will promote a soldier a member of his private counsel should someone bring your head!" he snarled, raising his sword high and swinging it towards his neck. Rubyn blocked it with his own, using his other hand to grab the blade that was strapped to his thigh. It was a coward's move, but when his close friend was getting mauled by a bastard prince, he needed to end the fight fast. He could feel the blade sink into the merman's flesh, leaving the young merman screaming in pain when the weapon had pierced his liver.

Rubyn didn't stay to relish the pain of his opponent but was rather worried of his close friend, a general who had grown up beside him. A brother he never had, a brother who had taken blows in the name of chivalry and honor. 

"You half-breed!" Rubyn snarled, raising his sword to clash against the Amethyst prince's, red eyes meeting dark purple hues. 

Just like every other mer from the Amethyst, the prince had multiple silver piercings across his pale flesh, decorating the webbing of his ear, two studs on his lower lips and a single hoop resting between his nostrils. 

"Andre," Rubyn said, recognizing the savage and yet handsome features of the merman. Dark violet hair grew from the merman's skull, half of it braided close to his skin. 

The Amethyst smirked, his muscles shifting beneath the force of Rubyn's sword, trying to keep the blade from slipping, "Hello there dear old Prince Rubyn," Andre said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, dark eyes flashing.

Rubyn could only grin. He had encountered this particular merman a few winters back, and if memory still served him correctly, this one had alot to learn. He could feel his own muscles tense, preparing him as he pressed his sword further, the metal sliding across, pushing the merman back to avoid the blade.

"Rhina! Are you okay?" Rubyn yelled to Rhina, keeping his eyes on the Prince Andre. He could see Rhina grasp the boulder, the other hand clutching the wound in his side, ribbons of blood pouring through his fingers.

"Yer Royal Highness!" Rhina gasped, his fiery orange red hair in disarray as the water around them continuously moved, "Ye shooldnae be haur. "

Rubyn grinned, "Can't leave my right man man behind can't I? Besides, I think we've made our statement here," he said, motioning towards the fleeing merman that dared to call themselves soldiers. They were mostly young men who were too cocky for war. 

"It's loch every year they keep gettin' yoonger an' yoonger," Rhina said, his accent heavy and blurring his r's, his pitch rising at the end of the sentence. 

Rubyn frowned, "It's unsettling. Could it be that the Amethyst are no longer living as long as they used to?"

"Ur we keep killin' them aff!" Rhina snorted before wincing from the pain on his side. 

Rubyn grabbed hold of his friend, placing one arm over his shoulder, "Come on. Let's get you to the healer."

*******

"Ah bit yer kisses will make me feel better," Rhina murmured, when the healer applied salve inside the wound. Rubyn could only suppress a laugh as the slender healer rolled her eyes, clearly used to the general's constant flirtations. It was known fact throughout the Ruby kingdom that Rhina had eyes for one of the healers, a pretty young mermaid with gentle brown eyes, freckles across her pale cheeks. She was brown haired with traces of red within each strand, several locks of hair covering the front of her chest where kelp kept her breasts in place. A common trait among the Ruby but what had bought her to the castle was her remarkable ability to heal and tend the wounded, a necessity among a nation that was always at war.

"I'll be heading out," Rubyn said, leaving the general to fawn over the little mermaid. He could imagine if the two were to ever get together,  a healer and a general, a man who killed and maiden who healed. A rather odd combination.

Rubyn could only chuckle, shaking his head as he passed the heavily guarded walls of the Ruby Castle.  Soldiers watched from every corner of the thick stone, changing posts every half day. The atmosphere always seemed tense, something he had gotten used to. He glanced out a window, barred to keep from intruders entering, the scene below providing no comfort as he saw soldiers swim by, their faces serious. 

"Your Majesty," he heard a servant say, "Your father calls for you!"

Rubyn could feel his heart accelerate in his chest. He had been avoiding his father ever since his maker had insisted in him searching for a wife. A wife he did not need.

"I will be there soon!" he said, flashing a false smile. He watch the servants stern frown soften and nodded before swimming away. 

Rubyn quickly turned, swimming in the opposite direction. He already had a destination in mind. With the soldiers nodding in acknowledgement as he passed by, leaving with a slight signal from the gatekeeper. 

Everything else turned into a blur as he swam away from the kingdom his father reigned. A kingdom he had grown up in, without a mother and without any siblings. 

Alone in a world that never seemed to end, a world where war was a thing of everyday life.

He didn't stop till he got to his usual spot, a spot surrounded by rocks, corals of a thousand colors swaying with the current. 

"I can't believe it," Rubyn murmured to himself, allowing his body to drift to the ground, his eyes trained on the surface of the ocean as he tried to calm his thoughts, unable to grasp the fact that his father was forcing him to marry. 

He had heard what had happened in the Sapphire kingdom, the poor prince being forced to marry a maiden from gods knows where. At least that's what rumors said. Very few mers rarely entered the Ruby kingdom for fear of being dragged into a war they didn't belong in. 

Forget about it, he thought, letting his mind become enhanced with the sun's rays, catching the glittering colors of the ocean. 

He watched as the sun was blocked by an incoming ship, much to Rubyn's dismay.

Humans, he thought with a curl of his lip, If I ever get my hands on one I will kill them.

 It seemed as if the gods answered him and a single human suddenly appeared under the surface of the ocean.

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A/N: sorry if it seems a bit too fast but I just got a new job so I needed to get this out of my system <3 

And the winner of the one shot was Dimitri and Zeref! I will be doing them soon, hopefully posting them sometime this weekend.