Lissa was as quiet as she could be as she swam from her home. She had nothing with her but the beautiful necklace that Jimin had made for her - a tightly woven yet thin cord with the most beautiful pearl pendant that he had carved into the shape of a bee - her given pet name.

She was heading for his home when she was intercepted by four huge siren males with thick, muscular bodies from their necks all the way down to the end of their tails. They each had a tattoo on their left pec; three curved lines surrounded by a perfect circle.

The mark of the Blood King Poseidon.  They were the royal guards sent to pick her up. And they were armed with huge pikes and spears, with long knives attached to a belt around their hips.

They looked startled as they approached her, but quickly recovered.

"Princess Vasilissa of the Moon Tribe," The one at the front spoke, "It is not safe for you to be about at night. You are lucky we have arrived to take you to the Poseidon,"

"Ah, you have the wrong female," Lissa lied quickly, "I-"

"You lie," Another spoke, but not harshly, "Word of your beauty has reached the Poseidon. We know you by your blonde hair and pearl scales,"

Lissa looked down at herself. The iridescent scales that covered her bottom half  and then up her chest to hide her breasts were glinting in the light of the moon. It was true that she was the only 'pearl' siren in her tribe. She hadn't even thought to disguise herself.

"You will come with us now,"

Unable to escape, Lissa had no choice but to allow the guards to flank her and guide her the long distance to the palace.

—-

By the time Thal had woken up, her mother hd already left for work. She had left a note on the kitchen counter promising to explain more to her when she arrived back home, so all Thal could do was finish her work and lounge about on the sofa.

She was just fetching herself a glass of water when the doorbell rang, and after gulping the liquid down, she headed down the hallway to answer it.

"Thal,"

Thal sighed when she saw who was at the door. Jungkook looked good, as usual, but there was something just a little off about him.

His hair was scruffy, but not in his usual deliberate I woke up like this fashion. He had dark circles under his eyes and his clothes were wrinkles and thrown together without thought. He had a bunch of carefully wrapped roses in his hand of varying colours.

Thal took a step back, suddenly afraid for some reason. This was not the perfect Jungkook she knew.

"Sorry for just showing up," Jungkook said, nervously, "I mean, you weren't answering your phone and Hana said you were sick. I was worried- ah, these are for you, I thought-" He cleared his throat as he lifted the bunch of roses, "Please will you accept them? The roses, not my feelings,"

Thal relaxed and reached out, taking the bunch from his hand, "Thank you?"

He smiled weakly, "I was worried. I won't stay long, I can tell you're uncomfortable with me being here," He paused, "I still want you to take me back, Thal, but I won't push it. I was wondering if we could just be friends? I can't stand not having you in my life,"

He stepped away from the door, as if to prove his point, "Just friends?"

After a moment, Thal nodded, "Alright. Friends,"

The smile that broke out on Jungkooks face was so genuine and happy that That was reminded of all the good times she had spent with him. But she wouldn't give in. He wasn't right for her.

"Thanks," He said, turning away and lifting his hand to give a short wave, "I have to go. You can call me whenever, or if you need anything,"

"Okay," Thal gave a little wave back and closed the door behind him. His visit was unexpected, but he had told her he was backing off, so that was a good thing.

However, just as she turned to go and find a vase for the roses, the bell sounded again and she pulled the door open, hoping it wasn't Jungkook with yet another change of heart.

She wasn't met by her ex boyfriend, however. She was met by the tall-dark-and-handsome that her mother had told her to stay away from.

Crossing her arms over her chest while keeping hold of the flowers she took a deep breath.

"What do you want?"