Arsenius

As dawn crept closer, Prince Arsenius paced in his room. He muttered to himself as his thoughts raced and he tried to reason with his own guilt. Did he truly want to fight his own nephew so he could become Triton?

On the one hand, the Selachs were obviously a threat to the safety of everyone in the tribe and Arsenius knew first hand what kind of damage they could do. Bastian was young, and naive, and he wasn't a warrior. He hadn't seen what Arsenius had seen.

On the other hand, was it right to protect his nephew at the cost of their relationship? If Arsenius was in Bastian's place, he'd be angry and hurt. Angry that his uncle didn't think he could handle the job and hurt that he didn't have his uncle's trust. It was how Arsenius had felt when Augustus had chosen to leave on his peace mission.

Augustus.

The thought of his brother stopped Arsenius' pacing and his shoulders slumped. Sometimes, he swore he could still hear Augustus' warm laughter in the hallways of the now dead palace. Augustus had been like the sunlight, making everything around him brighter. 

Without him, there was a shadow in Arsenius' life that nothing could ever fill. All he had left of Augustus was the child he had left behind - Bastian. Every time Arsenius looked into Bastian's eyes, the same eyes Augustus had, he felt the urge to cry.

Why hadn't Augustus just believed in Arsenius?

Arsenius was the Trident - right hand man to the Triton. Not only had he been the best warrior in all of Nereus, but he had been the only one Augustus could speak to without fear. Their trust in one another had been rooted in their deep, brotherly love.

Augustus had consulted with Arsenius before he'd made every decision, including the one that sent him North to the clan of the Sirens to find a wife. Though Arsenius hadn't approved of the cold merwoman Augustus had brought home, he'd seen why his brother had chosen her: Melodia was strong, and she was cunning. 

Yet, she had as much affection for Augustus as she had for the plankton that floated in the water. To her, Augustus had been nothing but a chance to live more richly than she had been. 

Arsenius snarled into the water, remembering how he had thrown away his pride to speak to Melodia once, to ask for her help. When he'd explained that Augustus planned to go through with that ridiculous peace meeting, he had begged Melodia to do the one thing she could: beseech her husband to stay.

No one would have blamed Augustus if he had stayed to see the hatching of his own egg. 

Melodia had only stared back at Arsenius with her icy blue eyes. "My husband makes his own decisions."

Augustus was dead two days later. 

Arsenius growled. That conniving witch hadn't even been crying when he'd gone to her after. She'd been smiling prettily as she wrote in her little journal. 

Arsenius' world had shattered, and Melodia was smiling. It had broken something inside of him to realize that he was the only one who truly cared for Augustus the merman and not Augustus the Triton.

Really, Arsenius was saving Bastian from that heartache. What would he do if he lost his nephew, the only piece of Augustus left in the world, to those bloodthirsty sharks? His vision turned red as he imagined their wicked teeth tearing into Bastian. 

Never again.

So when the day cycle began, Arsenius stood at the top of the palace of Nereus, his trident at his side and his eyes determined. Atreus stood off to the side, his witness to the holy combat between Triton's heirs. 

Bastian rose slowly from the depths below, his face solemn and empty of emotions. Arsenius felt a slight pang of regret at the shadows in his nephew's eyes. No doubt he had cause a lot of turmoil. He silently vowed to find some way to make it up to him later. 

Behind Bastian rose Melodia, and her shadow Militum. Both of their faces were set in grim determination. Arsenius was sure that if Melodia could have fought on behalf of her son, she would have. Her love for Bastian was her only redeeming quality in his books. 

Arsenius bowed to Bastian as he settled down in front of him. "I greet you, son of Augustus."

Bastian bowed in return, his spine stiff. "I greet you, son of Theodosius."

In unison, they displayed their right wrists to one another. Arsenius' wrist was bare, but Bastian's beared a softly glowing moon. The sign of Selene's favor, and the sigil that branded him the rightful Triton. 

It would disappear from his wrist when Arsenius beat him in fair combat, conferring the goddess' power and blessing onto him. The sigil would also give him access to Neptune's Trident, the greatest weapon in all the seas. Neptune's Trident would give Arsenius what he had hungered for all these years - the power to wipe out all of the Selachs at once. 

Melodia broke the tension in the water. "Arsenius, please," her voice wavered with such sorrow that Arsenius almost pitied her, "reconsider! You don't have to do this."

In response, Arsenius gripped his trident and pointed the tips at Bastian. Melodia's face grew alarmed, as though she hadn't thought it would truly come to this moment. The sun filtered down on the pair, and the ocean glittered prettily around them.

Arsenius struck. Bastian yelled out. The trident cut him in half. 

Bastian dissolved into shadows and Arsenius' eyes widened. Immediately, he rounded on Melodia. "Witch! What have you done?"

Her eyes were as cold as always. She smiled. "You won't ever lay a hand on him, Arsenius. I swear this to the Goddess." Melodia and Militum dissolved into shadows, leaving behind nothing but her soft laughter.

No one noticed the half moon shimmer on Arsenius' right wrist, the sign that the Goddess was displeased with her Triton. He who does not believe in his Goddess shows his unworthiness to the crown. 

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Author's Note:

Sorry again that I'm so late! I tried to make sure you guys knew this chapter would be from Arsenius' POV, and I hope I pulled it off well. I think I might do more chapters from his POV later, to contract Bastian's great ocean adventure and the happenings in Nereus.

Anyhow, we're almost there! Only a little while longer to the Selach homeland! I did want to give you a head's up though that I will be travelling for the next week and a half to visit family. I likely won't update until I get back. 

Still, tell me what you thought! I especially want to know if you thought this was a helpful chapter? I like Arsenius, but I know a lot of you share Melodia's...feelings about him. XD