There was to be a kingdom wide announcement today, one that would be brith broadcast for those who couldn't make it to the kingdom centre and spoken live by the king himself. The Merfolk were the guests of honour of course, this involved them. But before anything started, Aries had slipped away from the group to find Haru. The king was getting ready, buttoning up one of his nicer shirts for this announcement. When he heard the door open and hadn't finished buttoning everything up yet, he jumped. But it was just Aries, and he sighed.

"Geez, knock first!" He said, whacking them with his tie.

"Shhh- you said to keep this a secret" Aries replied.

Taking a box out from their pocket, they handed it to Haru who knew exactly what it'd be. And as he thought, when he opened it he found Aries had kept their promise and delivered a bright red Ruby.

"This is perfect, big enough to be shaped too. Thank you, seriously. Thank you" Haru said.

"Took me a hot minute to pull it out of the rock. Found it in the midnight zone, had to bring a torch and everything. But damn I actually found some really cool stuff down there. The cold was worth it" Aries replied.

Haru has been hard at work with one of the royal jewellers in secret, designing the ring and picking the materials. Now all that was needed was the gem that would go in the centre. Soon enough, he'd be able to present Micha with the beautiful ring. The only people who knew of this plan was of course the jeweller, Aries and the rest of the group had a vague idea after hearing Aries was looking for 'a gem for Haru'.

"Got any theme ideas?" Aries asked.

"Knowing Micha, probably celestial. Although I'm fine with that, it'd be really pretty" Haru replied, finishing up his buttons.

"That'll be sick, you could probably get some decorations from Astra"

"I've been meaning to talk to their leader actually, re-establish contact and all" Haru replied.

Astra was a very surreal realm. It was up in space, on several moons. Very advanced technologically, their inhabitants were what humans saw as 'aliens' and they were known to be innovative and pretty friendly. They knew that people from outside their realm wouldn't be able to breathe the air and withstand the pressure, so they'd engineered certain areas of the realm to be safe for visitors. They were a marvel of technology, and known for absolutely beautiful scenery of planets and galaxies.

That would be the perfect place to find space themed decor for a wedding. I'm fast the ruler would probably gift something once they heard there was a celestial themed wedding happening.

But that was something to talk about later, right now Haru had to focus on this speech. Kicking Aries out of his room so he could continue getting ready, he didn't need to be super fancy today. Just enough to make a speech. So he went for the causal king look with the flouncy shirt and dress pants but left the cloaks and gems behind.

In the theatre of the castle is where the event was happening, where he'd stand on the stage and address the people. Anyone who couldn't make it would be able to watch the live broadcast or read about it in the paper the next day. He made his way down there, hearing the soft chatter of the crowd from backstage.

Micha was keeping watch of everything from behind the sidelines, making sure things went well. He quickly stopped Haru before starting the speech and adjusted the crown on his head, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"You'll do great, you always do" he smiled.

"I love you" Haru replied, returning the cheek kiss.

"I love you too, now go make history"

Haru smiled, thinking about how close he was to being engaged to that adorable demon he loved so much.

Heading onto stage, standing at the podium, the crowd quietened down and the attention turned to their newest king. The Merfolk sat in the front row, along with their families. Haru made sure they got front row seats to this speech for it concerned them and their actions in the rebellion.

"Thank you for attending, and to those who couldn't be here in person, thank you for tuning in anyway. This speech is to discuss a new law that has been put into motion as of today, one I began to write up as soon as I was officially crowned. Now many laws are made in this realm, but not all of them get big speeches like this. But after all the effort that went into making this particular one, and what it stands for, I believe it deserves to be publicly addressed" Haru began.

When laws are made in Izroulia, they go through not just the king but a whole team of royal advisors. This way the people can have w say and if there's any concerns they can be heard out. After all, one person having all the power was a bad idea. Agnemetra was proof of that. She ignored all the rules and past laws and traditions and Izroulia fell into the horrible state it was in.

"This set of laws, the AIPZ act, will outline the rules of conviction and punishment around discrimination and hate crimes. Named in honour of the Merfolk that pulled off the rebellion and are working toward bringing Merfolk as a whole back to Izroulia" Haru continued.

The Merfolk perked up, suddenly realising what the acronym stood for. Aries, Icarus, Pandora, Zagreus. Haru noticed their exited glances at each other and couldn't help but smile.

"These laws are important to me, as not only did I witness how the war affected my best friend as a child, but as a queer dragon hybrid myself I've seen what people can do when driven by hate. The act itself is long, and going over every point would take forever. So I will go over the main points here today. Full versions will we publicly available to all via download and businesses will have a physical copy sent to them"

Haru went on to explain the main points. Those points outlining that any act of discrimination based on species, magic, race, sexuality, gender, age and disability can and will be punished in the court of law. Sentences can be anything from a fine and classes on the topic, or a life sentence or even banishment in the case of something extreme like Agnemetra pulled.

As well as the fact any suspicious activity that suggests a crime will be committed or involvement in hate groups can be reported and royal law enforcement has the right to take action on those activities.

He talked about how Izroulia had progressed from its very first little town to the kingdom it was today, and how it'd always been growing and evolving to fit the peoples needs. How despite bad reigns like that of Agnemetra's, Izroulians always bounce back. Historically Izroulia had been pretty good with these things. They were more worried about just surviving and understanding the magic around them rather than what species you were or who you kissed. They did have their bad groups of people, yes. But for the most part people kept to their own business and didn't act on others.

Every so often someone like Agnemetra came along and would undo years of progress, but every time they'd pick up the pieces and keep moving.

"The final thing I want to address is the return of the missing pod. As I'm sure a lot of you have heard by now, the pod have indeed been found. And slowly but surely they're all moving back into the realm. I trust you will all make them feel welcome back in their home, and life long friendships will be make between everyone here and the Merfolk. None of this would have been possible without the group the act is named after. Aries, Icarus, Pandora and Zagreus are to thank for the return of the pod and Merfolk as a whole. Which is why I invite them to the stage for something in return for their work..." Haru explained.

The group looked at each other confused. They hadn't heard about any little thank you gifts, Haru did a good job keeping this part secret. They did make their way onto the stage however, curious and a little shy in front of so many people. Haru was sneaky, and even though they'd helped set up, they hadn't noticed the four items hiding under the podium.

"For their accomplishments, I, Haruki Ray the 17th king of Izroulia award the rebels, my friends. Aries Nautica, Icarus Perri, Pandora Edge and Zagreus Flyy with the Izroulian medallion of honour" Haru announced.

Aries wanted to give him a friendly whack and tell him "shut the fuck up, you did not". But they held back as they stood before a crowd. Those medallions were only awarded to people who'd done incredible service to the realm. People who found medial breakthroughs, people who invented live saving potions, those who saved lives. Which even though the four had absolutely done something to earn those gifts, they still felt like this was some massive deal they weren't worthy of.

Three of them were born human after all, they still felt like freshly graduated kids.

But alas, they deserved and accepted the honour. Allowing their king and best friend to pin the precious pieces to their clothes over their hearts. Buzzing with the excitement of a clapping crowd and wonderful achievement.

When the speech wrapped up, the human borns were immediately over at their parents sides boasting about how cool they were to have warned such an achievement. And of course, get that proud parent speech and hug.

Aries got their cheeks pinched by Momo a few times before going back to Haru to give him that whack.

"Ow- what the? I award you and this is what I get in return?" He joked.

"You never said you were giving us awards" Aries said.

"It wouldn't be a surprise then"

"Haru I don't deserve this, I'm not a doctor with a life saving medicine"

"You literally saved the whole realm from falling into disaster under Agnemetra and found a whole missing species. Yes you do"

Maybe it was just Aries deep desire to feel normal as if the war never happened, but they didn't feel worthy of such an honour. The others? Sure. They definitely deserved it. They had to be born human and live in that realm all their lives hiding their mer-side.

But Aries just felt like a rowdy kid who didn't do anything that special. Deep down, they knew they did though.

"Accept it Aries, no taksie-backsies" Haru said.

Aries looked over at the rest of the group, all happily chatting to their parents and partners showing off their shiny new prizes for their noble actions.

If they were happy, that all that mattered.

"Fine" they sighed.

"Be proud of yourself Aries" Haru replied.

Haru would be rewarding more than just the Merfolk with shiny things this week. As soon as that gem was shaped, Micha would be getting a very special shiny as well.