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Shuri walked into the cave, raising a brow when she heard Riri let out a small laugh. Soulina took the fruit from Riri's hands and set it back into the bowl, hearing Shuri walk in. "So, what happened?" Riri asked, walking over to Shuri.

Shuri looked at Soulina, not sure she could speak with the daughter of their enemy present. "I'll be right back," Soulina mumbled, walking past Shuri and leaving the room to find Namora. Shuri waited till she knew Soul was gone and began to speak. "He wants to go to war with the surface world. And asked me to help him." Shuri said, glancing down noticing Riri was in some new traditional Talokan clothing. She figured Soul must've made her change, having hated American clothes.

Riri took a breath and sat down on the hammock trying to wrap her head around it all. "I need to think," Shuri said.

"We ain't ever gettin' outta here," Riri breathed out, crossing her arms over her chest. Shuri leaned down, taking a fruit from the bowl Laila was crouched down next to. Shuri slowly stood up, turning her head as she noticed Nakia walk in, a gun in her hands aimed high. "Ay!" One of the female Talokanil warriors looked over, noticing her.

Nakia pointed her gun at the woman, "Drop your spear." Nakia said in Mayan.

"Kill the princess!" The woman went to throw her spear at Shuri but Nakia shot the spear, causing the woman to fall down unconscious as she hit her head.

Then Laila pulled out a knife and held it to Shuri's neck. Nakia pointed her gun at her, trying to see how to shoot her without hurting Shuri.
"Drop the knife!" Nakia spoke.

"You are the reason to kill her," Laila spoke, clearly unsure about herself though.

"Drop it. Or I will kill you." Nakia spoke, not playing around. Laila took shaky breaths, unsure what to do without Soulina's word.

"Shuri," Nakia spoke and Shuri looked at her after having glanced at Riri.

"Move your left arm," Nakia spoke in Xhosa so the woman wouldn't understand.

Shuri did as told and Nakia shot the woman in her abdomen. Shuri kneeled down to the woman in concern. "Are you well?" Nakia asked Shuri and Riri. Riri nodded as Nakia checked on her like a mother would their child.

"Give me your beads!" Shuri demanded at Nakia, hovering over to woman who was slowly dying. "Let's go!" Nakia rushed.

"Give me your beads! I can save her!" Shuri raised her voice.

"Shuri, I don't know who this lady is but we need to listen to her!" Riri rushed out, looking around frantically. She didn't want to be there when Soul returned. She didn't know how Soul would react.

"Listen, I hit her with a sonic boom round, it's lethal from this distance. There's no chance-"

"You don't understand. This will mean war!" Shuri argued back.

"We need to go!" Nakia spoke again, looking around to see if anyone was coming.

Nakia stood up, pushing Riri behind her when she noticed Soulina walk into the cave. Her head tilted, she glanced at the dying Laila and clenched her jaw. Her face went solid and Nakia charged up her gun to a higher blast and shot at Soulina before Soul could even move. "No!" Riri exclaimed, covering her hands over her mouth as Soulina fell against the wall with a small cry.

Nakia grabbed Riri and Shuri and lead them out of the cave. Soulina breathed heavily, looking at Riri in betrayal as she held her stomach. Riri frowned and went to say something but Nakia rushed her out, not letting them stop to say or do anything.

Soulina crawled over to Laila to attempt to help her but it was far too late. Soulina sighed and closed Laila's eyes. "You didn't deserve this. I'm so sorry. You can rest now," Soulina pressed a kiss to Laila's forehead took a shaky breath.

Not seconds later did Namora and Attuma both rush in, worried for the Princess. Namora kneeled down next to Soulina, "Who did this to you?" She asked, looking over Soulina's wound. Attuma clenched his jaw in anger and lifted up Laila, setting her on the bed next to the hammock.

"I don't know," Soulina lied. Namora squinted her eyes, not liking how Soulina was trying to protect them when she didn't owe them anything. "You better tell your father the truth, Lina." Namora stated.

Soulina groaned as Attuma picked her up from the ground. Soul leaned her head on his chest as he carried her to her bedroom. He went to walk out, intended to guard her door but she grabbed his hand. "Stay here," Soul requested. Attuma sighed and sat down on the stool next to the bed. K'uk'ulkan rushed in not a second later, absolutely furious from just having seen Laila's cold body.

Namora followed in after him and stood at the foot of the bed as K'uk'ulkan went to the side. Soulina whimpered as K'uk'ulkan gently moved her hands from the wound. Namor looked at his daughter, tears in his eyes. Soulina raised a hand to his cheek, "Papa, don't cry please." Soul let a tear fall and he gently wiped it off her cheek.

"What happened, my little seashell?" K'uk'ulkan asked, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Soulina glanced at Namora who gave her a strict nod. "The Wakandans. They came to save the princess." Soulina explained, wincing each time she spoke.

K'uk'ulkan's jaw was tightened and Soul frowned, not wanting him to make a decision he will regret. "Papa. Am I gonna die?" Soul cried, tears clouding her vision. Attuma and Namora looked away, both of them holding back tears for the young Princess.

K'uk'ulkan pushed her hair behind her ear and shook his head. "No, no you're not gonna die, Lina. Mama will protect you. Get some rest my little seashell." K'uk'ulkan pressed a kiss to her head. K'uk'ulkan stood up and went to leave but Soul held his hand, preventing him from going.

"Papa, please don't kill her. Please don't." Soulina begged. Attuma and Namora shared a look, both knowing exactly who Soulina was talking about. "Who? Who are talking about, Lina?" He asked, genuinely thinking she was talking about Shuri. Before Soulina could get a word out, she fell unconscious and K'uk'ulkan furrowed his brows in confusion.

He glanced up at Namora and Attuma who were both sharing similar looks. "Who is Soulina speaking of? What do you know that I don't?" Namor questioned.

"I'm sorry, Soulina," Attuma mumbled softly under his breath.

"Soulina has been going to the surface every night for the past few years. To see a girl." Attuma explained. Namora gave him a look that said "r u serious?" for snitching on Soulina when she trusted him with the secret. K'uk'ulkan took a breath, looking at his daughter before gesturing Attuma to follow him. "Watch over her. Let me know if anything changes. And have her wound treated immediately." K'uk'ulkan ordered Namora and she gave a nod.

Namora sat down next to Soulina as the Talokanil nurse treated Soulina's wound. She was surprised it hadn't killed her yet. Especially considering the blast had killed Laila in just a few minutes. But the more the seashell around Soulina's new glowed, the more Namora knew that Monsella was healing her daughter. Just like K'uk'ulkan said she would. "Please save our Princess, Queen Monsella," Namora spoke quietly to herself, her hand placed on Soulina's soft one.

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Soulina woke up with a yawn and her hand immediately went to her stomach. She sighed feeling there was no wound so it must've just been a dream. Soulina rubbed her eyes to get clearer vision but now she really wished she didn't just do that. Her eyes widened as she looked down to where her legs were but this time was with her tail, somehow having it on without being in water. Soul looked around, and let out a happy breath of air, realizing she was in her mother's childhood bedroom. Monsella always told her stories of her childhood and it was perfectly described.

Soulina turned her tail back into legs so she could stand. She turned her head, admiring the bedroom and all of its details. Soulina grinned and turned around but her grin dropped into a look of shock. "Mama?" Soulina covered her mouth, tears threatening to fall.

Monsella smiled softly at daughter. "Wow. You look absolutely beautiful. I'm so proud of you, Soulina." Monsella stood up and held her arms out. Soulina smiled with tears and ran into her mother's arms as if she would dissappear at any second. "Are you real?" Soulina asked, not letting go. Scared that if she let go she may not get another chance to hug her mother again.

"Yes, my little seashell. I'm real. I'm here." Monsella smiled, her own tears threatening to fall as she held her daughter tighter. "How am I seeing you?" Soulina mumbled in question against Monsella's shoulder.

"You remember that seashell necklace I gave you when you turned five?" Monsella asked, pulling away to look at her daughter. Soulina nodded, looking down at her neck but the necklace wasn't on her. "It connects us, so I can protect you. Right now your subconscious is in the ancestral plane of Atlantica until you finish healing. So we have enough time to catch up," Monsella smiled.

Soulina smiled, genuinely happy for the first time in a very long time. Monsella sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Soulina sat down and laid her head on Monsella's shoulder. "So, tell me all about this special girl I've been seeing you with," Monsella smirked playfully.

Soulina chuckled, slighly blushing until she remembered that Riri left her to get shot and die slowly. "I wouldn't exactly say she's special. She left me to die," Soulina muttered.

Monsella scoffed, "We must have two completely different memories then. I remember seeing her try to help you but she was dragged away. That's not her fault, neither of this is her fault. She's still young and still learning, and so are you. She was able to be comfortable around you, Soul. I'd say that's a win."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But we're completely different. She practically freaked out when she seen my tail," Soul frowned. She loved being a mermaid and having a tail but sometimes she wished she was normal. These were the times she wished she wasn't the only mermaid alive. Other sirens or mermaids would be able to relate to her but now that she was the only one left, it really made her feel different.

"Soul, how do you think your father reacted when we first met? He was terrified of me. But he fell in love with me anyways. And that was before he found out I had legs." Soul smiled, remembering how in love K'uk'ulkan was with Monsella. He used to give Monsella a flower every single morning. Soulina never understood why until he explained that he gave Monsella a flower everyday until he mustered up enough courage to finally ask her out. It was always the little things Namor did that warmed Monsella's heart.

Soul yearned for that same love.

Monsella took Soulina's hands in her own and turned to face her daughter. "Soulina, you don't ever need to be afraid of being different. Everyone's different, in their own ways. This girl isn't the only person in the world. Their are tons of other people who'd love you just the way you are, just like your father loves me."

"I know. But mama, there's just something about her. It's different. I'm just scared she won't see me the way I find myself seeing her." Soul said, looking down at the bracelet around her wrist. Riri had dropped it in the river on accident and Soulina had found it. She wanted to return it but she also was scared of what Riri would think of her. Mainly if Riri would see her and never go back to the river again.

"I understand. I felt the same way about this girl I grew up with. We were completely different personality wise. I was obsessed with her meanwhile she barely even glanced my way and if she did, she didn't even acknowledge it. And when we had our first conversation, everything changed. We became best friends, we couldn't be separated. But I was completely in love with her."

"So, what happened? Did she see you the same way?" Soul asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Monsella smiled and shook her head, "No."

Soul frowned, "How does this help me?" Monsella chuckled and Soul smiled slightly.

"Let me finish. When I kissed her, and told her everything, she told me she didn't see me that way. But when I had kissed her, it was nothing like I imagined. It just made me realize that I only loved the idea of us. But my point is, is that I got over her, and I accepted that she wasn't the one. I moved on, got my heart broken, moved on again and eventually met your father. So I'm saying that, she may feel like the one right now, but you won't ever know until you can look at her and see yourself spending your entire life loving her, and not just the idea of it."

Soulina gazed in thought, processing what Monsella was saying. She understood what she meant. But what she felt for Riri was something she didn't think she could ever feel for someone else. It was like, yeah she could get anyone she wanted with just her voice and her looks, but with Riri, she didn't want to. She had Riri flustered with just her words. She had to use her voice to compell Shuri to even feel slightly anything for her, even if it was just a joke, it was true. She didn't have to do that to Riri, and she didn't want to.

Soulina's point was, that even if she was scared Riri wouldn't feel the same, nobody ever made her feel the way Riri did. Not even the boys of Talokan who'd do anything they could to speak to Soulina, even if her father threatened them.

"What if I can never move on from her?" Soul asked. Monsella glanced down, her mind drifting off. Wow, she really loves this girl. Monsella thought.

"Soul, you can always move on. She'll always have a special place in your heart. But, you can't think like this if you're not sure how she feels." Monsella smiled softly and rubbed Soul's back comfortingly. Monsella gently cupped Soulina's face, "You'll always be my special little seashell no matter who you fall in love with. Understood?" She nodded in reply.

Soulina smiled and embraced her mother. "Can you show me around before I go?" Soul mumbled.

Monsella grinned and nodded, "Of course I can, my little seashell."

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a.n: js a lil mama daughter chapter <3

she's in love love with riri and they barely had one conversation I'm crying she's so cute

soul compelling shuri to like her with her voice and looks as a lil joke 😭😋

yes her mama is gay, all my ocs are gay atp

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