Everything To Me - Orm Marius/Ocean Master

Chapter Thirteen - Some Sort of Understanding

"Ah, come on, I didn't drink that much..." When Aurelia awoke, she was majorly hung-over. With her ability to breathe underwater, it was more difficult for her to get drunk, so if she felt this terrible she must have had one hell of a night at the bar last night. 

She groaned, sitting up in bed - or not. This wasn't her bed, or her room.  She was on the deck of a boat - in the middle of the ocean.

Oh, right.

The fight with the pirate and the Atlanteans in Sicily.  No wonder it felt like she had been run over by a cruise line ship.

The stab wounds and cuts on her shoulders had been patched up, and her burnt arms had been wrapped in - seaweed? Well, it had worked, because the burns were definitely soothed. She figured she had a pretty good idea of who to thank for that, but there was no sign of him.

"Everything you are..."

No sign of him, but she could hear him. 

At first, Aurelia thought she was imagining it. But then, she realized, she had definitely heard it - Orm's voice. 

He was singing. And not softly, under his breath, but out loud and clear. 

Wow, he really was a Disney prince.

"Everything you are, is everything I need. You're everything to me..." 

She walked over, entranced, not wanting him to stop.  

He did stop however, when he noticed her. "Oh, hello."

"Hi." Both were silent for a moment.  "That was really nice."

"Oh, thanks." He looked at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck.  Was he blushing? It made her smile. "My mother used to sing that to me as a lullaby before I went to bed. After a tough day of training where my father constantly told me I wasn't good enough, it lifted my spirits. He says a king doesn't sing."

"Well, you should. King or not."

"Thanks."

"So you like music then?"

"Yes.  Do you?"

"Oh yeah. I love all the greats: Queen, Bowie, Elton, Zeppelin, Journey, ABBA, Pink Floyd... I'll play my albums for you sometime. I'm a bit of a collector." She glanced at their surroundings.  By the looks of it, they were on small fishing boat.  "Uh, did you steal a boat?"

"Are the boats at the marina not for public use?"

"No, those belong to people."

"Oh..."

She chuckled and sat down next to him. "Looks like I've turned you into a bit of a wild rebel. You can thank me later."

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay, still a little rough. Thanks for your help."

"Of course. You were in pretty rough shape.  I'm no physician, but I have learned how to address battle wounds." He nodded.  "Those guards were my father's lead commandos.  The one that led them wasn't an Atlantean. I'd never seen him before."

"I have. We fought before, in the past. He and his father were pirates. He blames me for his father's death."

"Well, they picked a dangerous line of trade.  It's not your fault."

"That's not how it feels. Seeing him again reminded me that playing the hero is often not easy. I let him die, the father - I could have saved him but I didn't.  And now I've made an enemy, and he could have hurt you or others, and that would have been my fault."

"Well, he's behind us now.  It's what lies ahead that should concern us. The charted path leads to the Kingdom of the Trench."

"Those the same creatures that killed our mothers?"

"Yeah. They were taken there and sacrificed to them.  It's become a place of death.  I know next to nothing about what's down there, only rumours, and none of them are pleasant."

"We should turn back."

"What?"

"We can still warn the surface, try and prepare them for what's coming-"

"Turn back? Aurelia, you may have dragged me into this against my will, but we've come this far - too far to turn back now."

"Look, I learned from a young age not to show weakness, okay.  I was always the freak who was different, who got picked on and called out.  That really gets to you.  I solve my problems through my anger and my fists. I'm a blood instrument and I'm damn good at it.  But I have done nothing but get my ass kicked this entire journey.  I'm not a leader, and I'm certainly not a queen, and I don't play well with others. I can't let you or anyone else get hurt or die trying to make me something I'm not."

"I learned that from a young age too," Orm said.  "Not to show weakness. Had it drilled into me from the time that I could speak and walk. I have been told my whole life that I'm not good enough, that I'm unworthy.  That gets to you too. I was told it so much I started to believe it myself."

"Sounds like we both need someone to believe in us."

"My mother did, and I believe yours did too."

"Yeah. I miss her but I don't really remember her. I don't know what I'm missing. It's kind of a curse."

"Whereas I have the other side of that curse," he said.  "I remember my mother very well, and miss her so much. But although the memories make me sad, they're good memories, and I am so fortunate to have them."

"Yeah, you're lucky."

"I believe in you.  You think you're unworthy to lead because you are of two different worlds, but that is exactly why you are  worthy, Aurelia. You are the bridge between land and sea, between those two worlds, I can see that now.  Now, the question that remains is, can you? See it?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted.

"Well, I see it. And I know I'm not the only one."

"I'm starting to believe in you too," she told him.

This made him smile a little.  "I'm glad." 

She smiled back - it looked like they had come to some sort of understanding.

 But that smile quickly fell when she saw what lay ahead of them: thick, dark storm clouds brewing in the sky ahead, right in their path.  "Yikes, that doesn't look fun. You sure we're on the right track?"

"Yes.  That means we're getting closer to the Trench. Powerful dark magic is at work there."

"Great... Dark magic, huh?"

"Yup."

"Lovely."

And they were heading right for it. 

(When I learned Patrick Wilson was in Phantom of the Opera I was like, 'Orm HAS TO SING in this story! ;) Patrick's long-haired look from that movie is how I picture Orm with his hair down (may have mentioned that before!)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :) Only a couple of chapters left till the end!)