Rubyn let out a roar of frustration, his fist colliding against the pillars that sustained the red tinted crystal roof, a jagged crack barely appearing in the red column.

"How dare he!" Rubyn shouted to the empty room, the echoes of his voice bouncing over the red walls, rattling the dozens of weapons the rested against them.

If he remembered correctly, the next full moon wasn't in two weeks.

14 days, he thought, his eyes drifting over towards his barred window, peering at the kingdom below, 14 days to convince my father this is a mistake.

"Your Royal Highness," someone said from the ither side of the door, followed by a knock.

Rubyn curled his lip in distaste at the familiar tone. He knew that voice, a voice that remained quiet in his father's presence but never seemed to shut up when he was with him.

The door opened,  the merman from earlier slipping through the crack. The red dreadlocks curled behind the merman that dared to invade his privacy. Muscles shifted beneth the pale skin, hazel eyes glinting with mischief.

"Tell me," the man teased, his deep voice taking up a higher tone, "What do you think of daddy's decision?"

Rubyn whirled, his eyes following the creature, "Ra. You put the idea in his head didn't you?"

The merman had the audacity to smile and raise his hands in the air as if to say he was innocent.

"I did nothing. It's all your father's doing," he said, propping himself on Rubyn's bed, his slender body in display.

Rubyn felt distaste for the merman rise as bile from his stomach, "Why? What do you have to gain from an arranged marriage between me and a stranger?"

Ra siad nothing but only smiled, his fangs in full display as his red gold eyes glinted, "I believe it's time for me to take my leave," he said, rising from the cushion.

Rubyn felt his anger control his arm, fingers wrapping tightly around Ra's bicep, the merman's eyes widening in surprise.

"What is it that you want?" Rubyn snarled into the merman's ear, an odd shudder going through Ra's body.

Ra parted his pink lips, his pupils dilated as he spoke in a low husky voice, "I have nothing to gain little prince, but a lot to lose," he spoke softly, fingers reaching out to touch Rubyn's cheek but the prince grimaced at the touch, letting go of the odd merman.

A strange emotion flickered over Ra's pretty features before he left, leaving Rubyn wallowing in misery and confusion.

He only hoped that he would one day love his bride to be.

****

Scarlett touched the red scales that had replaced the soft human skin. It seemed as her legs had been sewn together, bones and muscles molding to create a beautiful ruby red tail that could bend any way she wished, fins soft and silky as the Egyptian cloth.

"What do you think?" Morgan said with a smile on his full lips, his green cat eyes glowing with delight.

Scarlet offered her first genuine smile in years, fingers tracing the red scales of tail, scales that stopped at her waist except for the ones on her sides which stopped just under the swell of her cloth covered breasts.

"It's beautiful," she whispered with awe, her fingers reaching out to touch the delicate fins that grew on the sides of her tail.

Morgan grinned, jagged teeth glinting in the morning light, "Sorry about the pain, but as the saying goes, 'Beauty is pain.'"

Atlantis gave a roll of his eyes, "I'm pretty sure no one says that anymore. Even the humans have become intolerant towards pain, grown men have been known to cry over a paper cut."

Ruby giggled, "In some cases, yes."

Morgan only chuckled, "Alright, enough. We don't Atlantis and I show you what lies beneath you?"

Scarlet felt her heart thud inside her chest, beating like the soft whisper of butterfly wings, "Yes," she whispered.

Morgan grinned, urging for her to follow, dipping beneath the surface of the ocean. Atlantis followed close behind, prompting Scarlet to follow with a single push of her tail.

The ocean swallowed her whole, jusf like the time she had jumped from her husband's yacht. But instead of the weight of drowning, she felt light, almost like a feather being carried by the wind.

"Come on!" Morgan said from beneath her, motioning for her to following further into the darkness of the ocean.  

In her past life she would've hesitated but her trust in the serpent creature urged her forward into the deep blue sea. As she fell into pace with Morgan and Atlantis, she noticed the darkness fade away to light, the soft hue of the light glowing from the bottom of the ocean.

Red and white light filled the ocean floor, jagged red crystals rising in spiral formation from the sand, forming a perfect circle. Fish of all kinds swam over the Ruby city.  Mers clad in red armor swam about, different shades of red hair drifting about, followed by equally red tails.

"You'll fit right in," Atlantis said with a grin, "Red tail and red hair."

Scarlet felt her own lips pull into a smile, "Yeah," she whispered, watching a pair of male mers drift around the city walls with swords glinting in their hands. Red armor coated their torso, spreading out to their bulging arms and their waist. A ring of red stone covered where the fins grew, protecting them from being severed.

"Things must be very bad," she heard Morgan whisper to Atlantis, "When was the last time we saw that type of armor? You know it's taboo to sever the fins of a mer."

Atlantis's lips were set in a grim line, "It seems that Amythyst are capable of such an atrocity."

"What's an Amythyst?" Scarlet murmured, tilting her head to the side.

Morgan let out a soft sigh, tucking a strand of intertwined seaweed behind his hair, "A kingdom of mers like this one but their color is that purple."
"A wild bunch, that's what they are," Atlantis murmured, "Met them once when I was younger, I believe the queen was expecting her seventh child."

Morgan nodded, "Unfortunately she died after giving birth to the seventh son," he sighed, "And for some reason, someone had convinced the king that the Ruby were responsible of her death."

"Sounds awful," Scarlet whispered, her brows furrowed, "How long have the kingdoms been at war?"

Atlantis gave a soft snort, "No one knows. It's been going on far before the time of my great grandfather, and he died centuries ago."

Scarlet parted her lips to speak before a strong and deep voice shattered their small bubble of tranquility.

"Halt! State your name and buisness!"

The mer was large and burly man, a large beard growing from his jaw and covering most of his armored chest. A two headed spear rested on his hand, the sharp edges pointed at them.

"We're here on diplomacy," Atlantis said, his gold eyes glinting through the red strands, "We wish to speak with the prince."

The man snorted, "Where do you hail from?"

"Emerald Kingdom," Atlantis pronounced, his back straight and shoulders pulled back, the same pose that Scarlet used to remember seeing in her husband when he stood infront of an audience.

The man snorted and glanced at the soldiers, "Throw them into the dungeons."

A/N: Once again, sorry for the late post.

And according to the poll of the last chapter, Kai and Ren won! With Atlantis and Morgan being very close. So hopefully I'll be updating our first love birds very soon.