When Aqua woke up, Varian was already awake and talking with her father.

"Look who finally decided to wake up," Frederic said with a light chuckle.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Varian asked with a smile and she nodded.

"Yes, thank you," she murmured as she snuggled closer to him in her tired state, loving the warmth he was giving her.

"Are you planning on coming home tonight or are you staying here?" Her father asked and she hummed softly.

"I'm gonna go home later. I wanna be with you and mom, tonight," she said softly.

"Okay, sweetheart. Just make sure you are home before the sun is down," he said to her and she nodded. "Anyways, I came to check on you and see how you are feeling."

"I-I'm okay... it just hurts..." She looked at Varian's chest, not wanting to cry again.

"I know, sweetie. It's okay though. We're all here for you. You have your mom, me, Varian, Quirin, Cassandra, Maximus," Frederic said softly.

"Cassandra scares me..."

"Cassandra?" Varian looked at her.

"She is a lady in waiting and she has been helping Aquaria as of late," Frederic explained.

"Cool! What's a lady in waiting?" Varian asked Aqua quietly and she shrugged.

"I don't know, but she doesn't seem to wait around. She's always doing stuff. She never has any time to play," Aqua said and Frederic laughed a little.

"A lady in waiting is someone who attends to the queen or princess," he said simply.

"Oh, so like a personal maid," Varian said.

"Kind of, but don't say that to Cassandra. She doesn't like being called a maid," Frederic said with a smile. "So what project have you two been working on lately?"

"Well I made a substance that expands and traps whatever is in it to keep the animals out," Varian said with a bright smile.

"Yeah, he got us both stuck in it," Aqua said with a giggle.

"Heh, I hadn't thought to grab the neutralizing particles before using it..."

"Quirin got us out though," she said and Varian nodded.

"But I'm working on a few things to help Aqua learn more about her ability," he explained to the king who hummed in interest.

"Have you discovered anything yet?" He asked curiously.

"Only a little bit. It appears her ability will keep getting stronger at least until she is fully grown, but as long as she keeps control of it she'll be fine," he said and Aqua smiled.

"We also found out that I can turn myself into water, but I don't wanna do it again... it was scary..." Aqua shuddered at the memory.

"Yeah, no, you are never doing that again until you can control coming back," Varian said, having freaked out when she turned into a puddle of water. He thought he had killed her and had been crying on the ground for hours, not wanting to tell anyone that he had killed the princess, but she formed back from the water after a while. It was terrifying for him.

"I agree," she said as she nodded.

"For now, I just need to keep running tests on her to find out more."

"Are you sure it's the best idea to test on her though?" Frederic was worried about his daughter. He had heard around Old Corona that Varian's projects were dangerous,  but he knew his daughter was happy so he never said anything against it since she had never been hurt by any experiments. He wasn't so sure that he was okay with Varian testing on her though.

"Yeah! It's not dangerous! At least I don't think it is... but if she ever says it hurts I will stop!" Varian assured with a smile and Aqua nodded.

That only comforted the king slightly. "Alright, just make sure that you are both being safe. I don't want to see either of you getting hurt," he said to the two of them.

"I know, dad," Aquaria said as she looked at her dad with a smile.

"What do you wanna do now, Aqua?" Varian looked at his friend and she hummed.

"We could eat some more cookies! Then we can go play tag or-" she gasped and looked at him excitedly. "We can go swimming!"

"Not without supervision and I have to get back to the palace," Frederic said and Aqua pouted.

"But why?" Aqua complained.

"Because what if you drown or get swept out to sea or-"

"But we have guards that can watch us and you know I can't drown. At least I don't think I can," she said as she thought about it. "And plus, Delta wouldn't let us get swept out by the waves. Please, daddy!" She gave him her irresistible puppy dog eyes.

Frederic sighed softly, giving in. "Fine but only if the guards go with you, but do not show the guards your ability."

"Yay!" Aqua got off of Varian and hugged her father.

"But you need your swimwear, darling," Frederic said and she hummed.

"Okay! I'm gonna grab my suit and I'll meet you at the beach!"

"Okay!" Varian nodded before running to his room to get his swim trunks on.

Frederic walked out with Aquaria and they took a horse over the bridge to go back to the palace on the island.

Aqua ran inside once they were home and Arianna smiled when she saw her daughter run by.

"She seems to be in a hurry," Arianna commented as she walked up to her husband and he chuckled lightly.

He wrapped an arm around her, kissing her temple gently.

"She is going to the beach of Old Corona with Varian. I'm going to send some guards with them so they are both safe in the water," he said to her.

"I'm ready!" Aquaria ran out in her swimsuit that she had gotten in Arendelle the year prior on one of her visits.

"You look adorable, sweetie. Now go have fun," Arianna said to the ten-year-old girl, soon to be eleven.

"Bye, momma! Bye, daddy!" She waved and ran off to go back to Old Corona, her guards scrambling to follow her.

💧

After the two had been swimming for a while, Aqua saw Delta under the water, keeping herself hidden from the guards' view.

Aqua giggled and had an idea. "Varian, close your eyes!"

He did so and yelped a little when he was pulled under the water, holding his breath. His cheeks were puffed and his eyes were scrunched shut.

"You look like a dork." Aqua giggled and he realized that he didn't feel any water on him as his feet touched the sandy bottom.

Varian peeked an eye open and then gasped. "Woah! This is so cool!"

They were standing on the ocean floor and the water had been pushed to form an air pocket around them. There was little fish that swam by and Aquaria smiled.

Delta came into the air bubble and Varian smiled. He had seen the Nokk before when he would watch Aqua ride home over the water when she used to sneak out, but he had never seen the spirit this close up.

"Varian, this is Delta." Aqua gently grabbed his hand and put it to the Nokk's muzzle.

Varian was stunned and had so many questions. "H-hi, Delta."

"Don't be nervous. She's not gonna hurt you." Aqua giggled at the look on her friend's face.

"I just... this is... how is this... what is... oh my stars... just wow..."

Delta huffed a little, nuzzling against Varian's hand.

"She likes you," Aqua said as she rubbed Delta's neck.

"Solid water, but it's not frozen..." Varian murmured as he tried to think of how it was scientifically possible.

"Don't overthink it, Var. She's a spirit. It's magic." Aqua giggled as she leaned against the horse.

"Well, I'm not a wizard, Aqua. I'm not a magical being. I don't work with magic. I'm an alchemist," Varian said and Aqua raised an eyebrow.

"But I'm magical and you work with me. Plus you're working to figure out my magic," she pointed out.

"I'm trying to figure out the science behind your magic and of course I work with you. You're my best friend. I would never want anyone else as my lab partner," Varian said with a smile.

"And you're my best friend too, Varian." She hugged him happily and he hugged her back. She let go of him and smiled. "We should probably go back up before the guards start panicking."

"Yeah," he agreed and she grabbed his hand.

"Hold your breath," Aqua said and he did. The water crashed in on them and Aqua made the water lift them to the surface.

"Princess! Where did you go?!" One of the guards asked in a panic as they walked onto the shore.

"We were just swimming underwater. We came up a few times. Didn't you see us?" Varian covered quickly, knowing that Aqua was a bad liar but they were keeping her magic a secret even from the guards.

"No, we didn't, but at least you are both okay," the guard sighed softly in relief. "Now come on, it is getting late. I will take you back to your home, Varian. Princess, the other guards will escort you to the palace."

"Okay! Bye, Varian!" Aqua hugged him and he smiled as he hugged her back.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Varian asked.

"Yep!" Aqua confirmed.

"Then I'll be waiting for you in my laboratory," he said excitedly.

They each went to their respective homes for dinner.

Varian was super excited to show Aqua the secret project he had been working on now that it was finally finished. He was gonna make everyone so proud!

Or so he thought.