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"Rella, sweetheart you awake? I made you breakfast. Is Jessie in there with you?" Amphitrite asked, knocking on Aquarella's door for the second time. Sighing, she knew Rella was probably sleeping but she did need to know if Jessie was in there as his parents were freaking out. "I'm coming in, if you hear me, you better be decent." Amphitrite unlocked the door and instead of her daughter and Jessie, she was faced with pillows under the blanket, made out to be bodies.

"If she thinks I'm stupid enough to fall for this, I feel offended." Amphitrite mumbled, setting the breakfast down on the dresser. Amphitrite immediately began to call Aquarella's bracelet but it didn't even ring so she assumed Rella's bracelet must've been off. "I hate when you do this," She mumbled, calling Jessie but the same thing happened with his.

"Motherfucker."

~ BACK IN WAKANDA ~

Jessie rushed out of his room and immediately ran to Shuri's, banging on the door he got no response. Jessie groaned in frustration and pushed open the door. "Rella, babe we have got a huge problem!" Jessie exclaimed, only letting out a small scream when he seen Rella's naked figure laid on the bed, only covered up half way. He was so thankful that she was laying on her stomach.

But Shuri had woken up hearing the small girlish scream. Jessie turned around immediately, rolling his eyes. "Of course they fucked. That's what happens when you leave Rella in a room with a girl she hates," Jessie mumbled to himself.

"Excuse me?" Shuri raised a brow, pulling her shirt over her body. "Nothing, just talking to myself. Uh, can you please wake her up? I really need to talk to her." Jessie said.

"Sure." Shuri moved Rella's hair from her face and gently tapped her face. "Baby, wake up. Your friend's here." Shuri spoke, her voice deeper as she just woke up, obviously.

Jessie furrowed his brows at the name but figured he'd ask later. "Hmm?" Rella wiped her face, trying to brush the sleepiness off. "Your friend's here. I'm gonna get you some new clothes." Shuri said, scanning Rella's body before tugging the covers over Rella's body completely. Shuri sat up as Aquarella let out a yawn. "Griot, contact Aneka to bring clothing for the body size I scanned." Shuri said.

"Yes, Princess."

Jessie jumped slightly, looking around with wide eyes and Shuri let out a little chuckle. "Jessie, what is it?" Aquarella asked in Aquan, holding the covers over her chest.

"Your mom called me like a million times and so did my parents. They're freaking out, what do we do? We can't just go home like nothing, your mom's probably already sending people to find us." Jessie rambled frantically. "First off, you can turn around, I'm covered. Secondly, Shuri's gonna take care of it, don't worry." Aquarella reassured and Jessie turned around with a sigh of relief.

"Good, good. Now, are we gonna, I don't know, talk about why you were both naked?" Jessie tilted his head, giving Rella a disappointed look. "No. We will not," Rella concluded.

"I'm texting your mum right now. She's coming over here to get you." Shuri mumbled, pulling up the texts on her Kimoyo Beads to show Rella and Jessie.

Shuri Udaku

Just wanted to let you know that Aquarella came over last night with Jessie to apologize and it was really late so I told them to stay the night knowing you wouldn't want Aquarella out that late.

Auntie Tea aka Sea Goddess

I figured since I was sure I didn't text you last night so it must've been Rella as she is the only one who knows how to hack into my stuff.

Shuri Udaku

Technically I can too. But she's gonna get ready and they'll head back soon.

Auntie Tea aka Sea Goddess

No need, tell them to stay there. I'll come pick them up. I'll be about two hours.

Shuri Udaku

Okay, will do. See you then.

Auntie Tea aka Sea Goddess

See you then sweetheart.

Aquarella groaned, "Why does she make everything so complicated?" Jessie patted her shoulder with a sigh. "This can be good. It gives us time to explain the plan to her." Shuri reasoned, making a pretty good point, only Jessie feigned confusion. "I'm sorry, am I missing something? What plan?" Jessie questioned, looking specifically at Rella who laid back down tiredly, having been up all night.

"I'll explain later. Let me sleep." Rella mumbled into the pillow, closing her eyes with a yawn.

"There should be a bathroom in the room you stayed in so you can take a shower, freshin' up a bit. If you like, I can have some clothes brought to you. Unless you prefer whatever those are?" Shuri squinted her eyes trying to figure out if Jessie's pants were attached to him or not. Like looked very much designed like a mermaid tail so it was questionable.

"Usually not a fan of clothes but sure, I'll take some. Wouldn't want to make people uncomfortable with just pants." Jessie shrugged. Shuri nodded, "They should be there soon. We'll see you in about an hour to discuss everything." Jessie nodded and headed out, mumbling a song under his breath as he headed back to his room.

Shuri glanced down at Rella who was already fast asleep, small snores coming from her. There was a knock on the door and Shuri let them in, unlocking the door with her Kimoyo Beads. Aneka walked in, holding a bag of clothing in her hand. "This is definitely a first." Aneka mumbled, looking at the sleeping girl in Shuri's bed.

"No it's not like that. She's Amphitrite's daughter." Shuri said already sensing what Aneka was thinking and definitely didn't need her spreading any misinformation with Ayo or the Dora Milaje. "Oh okay. I'll just leave these here. Do you need anything else, Princess?" Aneka asked, setting the bag on the couch. She couldn't help but wonder why Shuri wasn't as sad as her mother had literally died yesterday. Maybe she was just good at covering it up. But she had a gut feeling, Amphitrite's daughter had something to do with Shuri's improved mood.

"No that's all. Thank you." Shuri said, Aneka gave a nod and walked out, shutting the door carefully behind her.

"I know I'm hot, stop staring at me." Shuri furrowed her brows hearing Rella mumble Aquan in her sleep. Luckily she knew a little bit from Amphitrite. "Rella? You asleep?" Shuri leaned down near Rella's face, looking at her with squinted eyes.

"No. I am not a fish." Shuri chuckled, understanding what that meant. "Yes you are," Shuri mumbled under her breath.

"Fish can't make you scream a different language," Rella said breaking her act. Shuri gaped at her and playfully shoved her. "You were awake!"

"I am not a fish," Rella grumbled.

"Yes you are."

"No, I am not!"

"You live in the ocean, you're a fish." Shuri said, tugging the duvet over Aquarella's face. "Bitch." Shuri rolled her eyes, "That's the first word I learned in Aquan. I know what it means!" Rella huffed and turned around so she faced opposite of Shuri.

"Petty fishstick." Shuri mumbled in Xhosa. Aquarella ignored her, knowing what she said but was too tired to argue. Shuri smiled to herself, glad she got the last word.

An hour later, Jessie found himself roaming the palace, mainly looking for the kitchen. Guards looked at him in confusion, as expected cause he was pale and white. But he was unbothered by their looks, he actually found them quite funny. Yawning, he walked towards the large doors where he seen was labeled kitchen. "Yes!" Jessie cheered triumphantly.

Riri looked up from where she sat eating her bowl of cereal, tilting her head in confusion at the white boy searching the fridge. "Who are you?" Riri spoke up.

Jessie jumped and turned around, not expecting anyone to be up so early besides the guards. Deciding to get a laugh out of the situation, he spoke in Aquan rather than English. "I fup'v tqiel ephmotj, tussz." Jessie shrugged. (Translation: I don't speak English, sorry.)

"Oh, uh right." Riri looked down at her bowl, silently trying to figure out what language he was speaking but she had never heard of it. Jessie grabbed some eggs and salmon, humming a tune under his breath as he began to cook himself some food, also making some extra for Aquarella. "You're very gullible." Jessie chuckled, looking up at her as he washed his hands.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're very gullible. Obviously I speak English or I wouldn't have even responded to you." Jessie chuckled, plating the food. Riri let out a small chuckle, "Right, yeah didn't think of that." She mumbled. "Anyways, who are you?"

"Jessie," he replied.

"Just Jessie?"

"We don't have surnames in Atlantica. Only the Royal family does." Jessie said, walking over to the table she sat at and set the food on the table before sitting down. "Atlantica? So you are a siren?" Riri questioned.

"Yup." He replied simply, not looking for much more conversation. "You gon' eat two plates?" Riri looked him up and down, he was very tall, his muscles were there but also weren't there so she couldn't tell if it genetics or not. "Other plate is for the Princess," Jessie mumbled.

"Princess Shuri?" Riri scrunched her brows not remembering Shuri ever mentioning be friends with a siren or knowing one.

"No. Princess Aquarella." Jessie shrugged, silently wondering why this girl was so nosy.

"You mean the princess that Shuri absolutely hates? The princess that kidnapped us?" Riri asked. Jessie threw his head back with groan, "What is this? One thousand questions 'till sunrise?" He deadpanned.

"Give her a break, I did almost try to kill her." Rella scolded as she walked in, leaning down and pressing a peck to his head. "She talks too much. I'm thinking maybe you should've." Jessie grumbled, stabbing his fork into the salmon. "Be nice." Rella sat down and Riri just looked in between the two, absolutely confused and having no clue what they were saying.

"Did you know they make Ocean Breeze soap? It smells so good." Aquarella said happily, smiling at Jessie who also cracked a smile. "I know, they had it in the shower. But I liked the lavender more." Jessie said. "Ouuuu, lavender smells good too," Rella agreed.

"I'm so confused right now," Riri shook her head still trying to shake off the tiredness. "Shuri said I can't talk to you, sorry." Aquarella shrugged, taking a bite of her food. Jessie raised a brow, "Since when do you actually listen to orders?" Rella rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder, "Shut up."

Shuri walked in, still insanely tired but she had to just shrug it off as today was a big day and they needed to get to work. "Thank you so much for the breakfast, Jessie," Shuri gave a sarcastic smile and settled for an apple. "My pleasure," Jessie gave a thumbs up.

"Come here," Aquarella gestured her over. Shuri sat at the table and Aquarella pushed her plate towards the girl. "Not that hungry," she shrugged. Shuri gave a thankful nod and set the apple for later.

"Right. Uh, Riri, this is Princess Aquarella of Atlantica and her friend Jessie." Shuri explained. Riri nodded, "Yep, I remember you."

Rella pursed her lips awkwardly, messing the button on her jeans. To say she hated the clothing was an understatement. What she absolutely refused to wear was shoes. She hated the way they felt, and so did Jessie. But man, did she hate bras. She didn't even know how to put it on and even after Shuri explained what it was for, she had even more reason to dislike it.

"So, I'm confused, y'all are friends now? I thought you hated each other," Riri spoke and Jessie nodded in agreement with her. "I would also like to know what has changed here," Jessie rested his chin on his palm as he spoke, a smile on his face.

"We're not friends. Hatred still remains. But we both want the similar things currently and that requires us to work together." Aquarella simply replied. Shuri nodded in agreement with the siren. "Hol' up, if you like the princess, and that lady I seen is the Queen of Atlantica. That makes you her daughter. Wait, so you're moms is like the goddess of the sea?" Riri questioned, absolutely starstruck by what she was even saying.

"That's how it works," Jessie shrugged seeing Aquarella's head down as if she was lost in thought. "I'm gonna head to my lab to check on a few things, you guys go to the lower level and I'll meet you there." Shuri said, taking her plate to the sink.

"You leavin' me with two deadly sirens?" Riri gaped. Jessie grinned, nudging Rella who cracked a small chuckle. "You'll be fine. They don't bite." Shuri shrugged.

"Yes they do!"

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Aquarella sat on the table as Jessie looked around the room, touching and inspecting everything in awe. "So does your tail just come on in water or how does that work?" Riri asked, trying to get something out of Rella who had been surprisingly quiet the entire time. "She won't talk to you, it's no use," Jessie mumbled, seeing if the scissors in his hand were sharp enough to cut through his hair.

"Did I do something wrong?" Riri questioned.

"If you did something wrong she would've attempted to kill you, so no. She just zones out a lot. She's got a lot on her plate right now," Jessie explained. The elevator opening caused Jessie to look up and turn around, surprising seeing Shuri and Amphitrite walk out. Amphitrite rushed over to Rella, "Are you okay baby?" Amphitrite pressed a kiss to her forehead and Rella briefly nodded.

"I'm fine mom," Rella mumbled in reply. "What are you wearing? Where's your corset?" Amphitrite asked, looking at Aquarella's outfit in confusion. Rella absolutely loved her corset so it was odd that she didn't have it on. "They're getting cleaned, it's fine. How's Selya? Is she recovering okay?" Rella asked, worried for Selya as she hadn't gotten much updates on her. Selya was one of the few non-horrible people in her life and she would not be able to handle losing her.

"She's doing fine, she's healing, slowly, but she's healing. She'll live." Amphitrite said, part of her upset when Rella didn't hug her back or even give her a smile. She just asked about someone who wasn't even her mother. Rella just gave a small nod and Jessie set his hand on top of hers, letting it go to put an arm over her and she leaned into him.

"I'll stay to hear your plan out, but then we're leaving." Amphitrite stated, both Rella and Shuri nodded in understanding though Rella's was more sarcastic.

"Your mother protected me like I was one of her own. The least that I can do is try to return the favor." Riri spoke up after a few seconds of silence. Shuri crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back subconsciously between Rella's legs. Amphitrite squinted her eyes suspiciously at that but just assumed they had finally begun to get along. (well they certainly got along physically 😍🤞)

Shuri stood up, moving from Rella's legs, "We need to find a way to weaken, Namor."

"Even weakened he's still gon' be a problem." Riri replied, pointing out the obvious.

"The Black Panther has never failed to protect Wakanda," Shuri stated, subconsciously glancing back at Aquarella who slightly nodded.

"I thought the Black Panther was gone." Riri said, speaking what Amphitrite and Jessie were thinking.

"My brother is dead. But it doesn't mean the Black Panther is gone."

"So what do you need my help for?" Amphitrite asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Shuri. "I need your army, Tea. Your army is backup incase anything goes sideways. Tea, you have the most powerful army in the world, I know you can beat them. You just won't, but now you have a reason. I'm not asking you to kill anyone, let alone hurt anyone, but I am asking for your help. I need to be able to depend on you if we need help." Shuri said.

Amphitrite sighed, looking down in thought and that irked Aquarella. The fact that she even had to think about it when it was a simple yes or no question, just annoyed the hell out of Rella. Wakanda wouldn't hesitate to help Atlantica if they needed so she didn't understand what made Amphitrite so hesitant. "It's a yes or no mom," Rella stated, becoming impatient.

Amphitrite raised a brow at her daughter, "I don't think you understand how serious this decision is for me, Rella."

"Oh it's serious now? You're the Goddess of the fucking Sea, mom! You control every inch of the ocean waters! You can help Wakanda. But the question is, do you want to?" Jessie and Riri both awkwardly pursed their lips, feeling like their presence was not much needed at the moment.

"Of course I want to, Rella. But I need to think about my people and their lives. This isn't easy, you wouldn't understand that." Amphitrite replied, not a fan of Rella's attitude at all but then again, she never was. "Of course I wouldn't understand, you never bothered to teach me! So answer the fucking question momma. Yes or no? Cause either way, I am the princess, and they go by my orders too." Riri awkwardly looked at her feet knowing she'd die if she ever spoke to her mother like that.

Amphitrite sighed and looked at Shuri who hadn't spoken a word, but she was on Rella's side. "Okay, yes. I'll help you, just give me the call." Shuri nodded thankfully. "Come on, let's go Rella. We're gonna miss lunch," Amphitrite pulled Rella off the table and headed towards the elevator but Rella stayed put.

"I'm not going, momma." Rella stated, stopping Amphitrite in her steps.

"Excuse me? Yes, you are. I had this day planned for months, this is for your future." Amphitrite said and Aquarella scoffed, already knowing what she meant. "I don't care, I don't even know or like this guy! He's not my future!" Rella argued. Shuri furrowed her brows in confusion and Jessie just shook his head, silently telling her not to say a word.

"Okay, that's okay," Rella sighed in relief, finally feeling like Amphitrite was backing off the marriage thing. Until she spoke again. "We can find someone else for you, baby. There's hundreds of men who would want to be with you. I'm sure we can find you someone else." Amphitrite offered. Aquarella groaned in irritation. "You're not listening to me! I don't want to get married! I don't want a boyfriend or a husband. Can you comprehend that?!"

Amphitrite furrowed her brows, glancing back at Jessie who stood behind Rella, his hand holding hers so she could squeeze it rather than break anything. "Oh I get it. This is about Jessie? I knew it. I knew you both had something going on. I mean come on, the sneaking out, how fast you two got together when you got back home." Amphitrite said.

Jessie and Aquarella both shared equally confused looks. "Oh my fucking gosh, mom this isn't about Jessie! He's my best friend that's it!" Rella exclaimed.

"Then what's this about? Why don't you want me to help you find the perfect guy?" Amphitrite walked towards Rella, feigning confusion.

"Because I don't want the perfect guy! Mom, can't you see it? I have not once in my life showed any interest in boys." Amphitrite furrowed her brows in confusion, not understanding. I mean all the sleeping around was with guys, from what she heard, or rather assumed.
"How could you not see it?"

Jessie squeezed her hand, "You don't need to." He knew more than anyone how terrified she was to come out to Amphitrite. In fear she wouldn't be accepted for who she was.

"I'm lesbian, mom. I like women, only women. Everyone I've ever been with has been a woman." Rella gulped nervously, waiting for her mom's reaction. "Mom, say something. Please." Rella begged, tears threatening to fall.

Amphitrite licked her lips and looked at Shuri, "Take care of her. I'll be in touch." Shuri gave a nod in reply and Tea entered the elevator. Rella let a tear fall as the doors shut, Amphitrite not even taking a glance at her.

Aquarella held a hand over her mouth, suddenly feeling sick. "Is she okay?" Riri asked worryingly.

"Take her to my room. I'll up there shortly." Shuri directed. Jessie picked up Aquarella and carried her to the exit, immediately heading to the palace.

"That was intense," Riri mumbled.

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a.n: my bby rella :'(

idk what to say on this note-

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