Thal was utterly speechless. In the basement of the tiny boutique was a pool bigger than the olympic pool.

At the end closest to her, it was crystal clear with some kind of sandy dirt on the bottom. At the other end there seemed to be a forest of seaweed.

There were also... fish? Swimming around?

However, before she could say anything, Taehyung began to strip out of his clothes.

"What the fuck?!" She cried, jumping back, "What are you-"

"If I don't take them off, they'll rip and Larissa will get mad at me," Taehyung interrupted her while giving Larissa the side eye.

"Those jeans are expensive," She muttered, "Anyway, don't worry about seeing him naked, when you get into the water, you-"

Larissa was cut off by a loud ding and a screen over the door popped on, showing the image of a man entering the shop upstairs.

"Shit!" Taehyung swore, ripping his shirt and jeans off so he was just in a pair of black boxers, "You have to hide, Princess!"

Larissa was already rushing through the door, "Just stay quiet, nobody knows about my pool," She was gone through the door.

Thal turned back to Taehyung just as he reached to undo her jacket.

Without thinking, she pulled back her elbow and hit him, closed fist, right on his nose. She had never punched anyone before, but she figured by the way he howled and how her knuckles burst into pain that she had done it right.

Taehyung was gripping his nose with one hand as he glared at her, "I waf owbly tryig tuh helpuh," He growled, not coming across very threatening with the way he was talking. And the fact that there was a thick glob of blood inching its way down his hand.

She frowned as the drip went lower, leaving a stain like oil on his tanned skin.

He rolled his eyes, "Dob tell me thad you neber hab a bleeduh before?" He muttered, "Your blood is exacdly like mide. Cab we hide now?"

Thal stepped back, "I'm not going anywhere with you, pervert! This was a mistake, I knew I should have stayed home-"

Taehyung reached out and grabbed her wrist. When he spoke, it was clear that he was already starting to heal up by how he spoke. There was still, however, blood dripping from his nose.

"You have to trust me. You cannot go near that man,"

Thal looked up at the screen and gasped. The man had Larissa by the front of her shirt and was dragging her over the counter.

"We have to help her!" She cried, dashing for the door.

"No!" Taehyung spun her around and pulled her into his body. Pressed up against his chest, Thal could see Taehyung up really close.

His lips were full and pouty and he had serious dark brown eyes. His skin was flawless, and he smelled good. Really good. Like... home.

"Wh- who is he?" She stammered, not pulling away as she strangely felt comforted by it.

Taehyung's eyes never left Thal's, "He is the son of the Poseidon. Prince Yoongi. Your older brother. Believe me, Princess, you do not want to meet him,"

Thal's eyes widened and she looked up at the screen. Larissa was back behind the counter looking both nervous and annoyed and the man stood in front of her, leaning forward slightly.

"My brother,"

Taehyung lifted a hand and gently turned her face back to him, "Please, Thal, trust me,"

He let her go and walked backwards until he reached the edge of the pool, "Watch me,"

—-

Bee was as quiet as she could be as she packed what little she had into a small kelp bag. There were a lot of things that the Poseidon had given her, but she left them behind. All she took was a comb made from a whale bone that her mother had given her as a wedding gift. It had been passed from mother to daughter for generations and she would die before having to present it to her daughter as she paired with the prince.

She had a small set of pearl earrings that her father had made by hand for her, and a few trinkets made from rare materials that the Poseidon had given her - they would probably sell for enough human money to get a place to stay.

Bee didn't want to leave the ocean. It was her home, where she belonged. But, her daughter needed to be born on land. Legend had it that any Siren born above water on the land would never pine or suffer withdrawals for the sea, provided they didn't touch the ocean water.

Bee couldn't move far from the beach, but she would give her life to save her young.

Slowly, the Queen peeked out the window, looking for guards. There was a shift change so she was hoping that the small amount of time would give her enough opportunity to leave. However, just as she pulled herself through the gap, a red tail appeared in front of her.

"Your majesty?"

Bee looked up and the guard immediately looked elsewhere - it was a crime to look upon the Poseidon's "beoveds" face. Bee, however, recognised the young guard. He was from her tribe. A friend of Jimin's!

"Seokjin?" She gasped, making him jerk in surprise, "It's me, Vasilissa!"

Seokjin gulped, "I'm sorry my Queen, I cannot-"

She propelled herself out of the window fully, grabbing onto his shoulders as sobs began to fight free of her control, "He killed him, Seokjin! He killed Jimin! Please, you have to help me leave! You don't know what he's like!"

Bee felt Seokjin's muscles contract, and he shuddered before looking at her panicked face, "Follow me, Bee," He said softly, taking her hand, "But we have to be quick. If we are spotted, I'll be tortured to death,"

—-

AN: Are you guys enjoying this?

Let me know your thoughts/favourite moments/characters ☺️