Chapter 24:
Princess of Distraught

It is Day 5...

He is missing.

No signal or anything indicating he is safe and made it back alright.  My scales cannot take this.  Where is he?  I cannot do anything without suddenly thinking of him and worrying.

He will be alright, Miza said that he would back out if it is too much.

But Miza does not know his reason for doing it, nor does he know what he is doing.  Zen as much as it hard to face, I think...

He do anything for me.

"What?  A-are you sure, Your Grace?" I heard my mother gasped somewhere nearby.  Did something happen?  I was still in my room and left only nigh during the late hours of darkness.

"Yes, we always know when it happens to anyone with any regard to the crown.  We just need to find out where they were last.  And how did it happen." I heard another voice.  It was a messenger from the council.

"Oh my...I...I need to to prepare for this.  Dead.  She..dead.  Wow...I..I really do not know what to say.  What about my former..." My mother seem to be on the verge of crying.

"They shared the same fate, Your Highness.  I am sorry this happened.  We find out what caused this.  It is rare for mermaids to die, but there only few ways they can.

 Murder, attacks, battles, and by humanics.  There is also the desired disease that can kill us as well,  but it is rare and it never happens unless someone had an affair with their relationship.

  I reckon it is probably either attack or humanic murder." I heard Mother crying.  Who died?  A feminine and a masculine, most likely a desired couple...I think.

"Mother," I finally go out of my room that I barely left. "What happened..?"

"Oh Kaisa!  I... I did not see you.  Are you alright?"  She was asking if I am alright and she was the one who was crying?  The irony.

"Umm who died?" Mother just smiled that queen smile of hers and shook it off.  She always quiet to merphans except me, Father, and the pacific royals.  I heard she was raised that way.  To be proper or something.

"Nobody dear, please do not worry about it.  And I need you to be strong for me.. for others." Who was it?  It must of been someone close.  I know they had a friend that lives in the Indiana now.  Could it be someone there?

"Your Majesty!  Your Majesty!  Come quick!  This is bad!" Miza rushed in urgently along with several others.  They all came to Mother with frightning and worried expressions.

"What is it?" She looked at their frightful faces and wondered.  One of them whispered something that made mother gasp answering her question.

"!... Kaisa, stay there." Hm?  Why?  I want to know what happened too.

"What?  But I want to come too!  Please...?" I smiled and pleaded with her.

The Queen sighed, "It is their son...your friend, ..vozen" What?  I gasped.  What?  Nonono.  This cannot be happening!

"What happened?" I demanded, "I need to be there and help!  Is he hurt or he okay right?  Tell me he is alive!  Mother please!  Where is he and how did he get her?  Oh I should of stopped him..."
         I gasped with many dreadful thoughts consuming me, "This is all my fault I...Where is he?  I need to see him!  Let me heal him and I..Please help him.
        He has to be fine..How bad is it and is he hurt where he be unstable or what ...I need...want...help...please!"  I said frantically swimming back in forth.

"Calm down, Kaisa." My mother rested her palm on my shoulder, calming me down some.

"Yeah, maybe she should not go, Your Majesty." I stared at Miza who said this.

What?

"Miza?!  Why?" I thought of all merphans, he would understand.

"That entire paragraph you just said explains everything.  You are too worried." Of course I am worried.  How could I not be?!

"Miza!  I be even more if I do not come!" I firmly put my arms to my side and stared at my butler.

"She has too many feelings involved, Your Majesty." Miza continued to say.

Feelings, yeah so what?

"I can heal him.  Please let me." I begged them well more so Miza.

"Well now that I think about it..." Miza trailed off, "She has done this before.  Even though, she is blinded by it all.  Your Highness, Princess Kaisa.. You can come I guess if that alright with you, Your Majesty."

"Alright, show us." Mother simply said.

"There he is.." I pressed my hands to my mouth and gasped.  My eyes were wide open.  Z-zen..... He got hurt a lot.  He is so stupid.  And urgh!

"He looks terrible!  What exactly happened and..Is he dead?!" Miza suddenly started laughing at me.  I glared at him.

"...And she says she doesn't like him.  Pfffff, hahahah!" He started laughing hysterically.  

I am gonna kill that butler in his sleep.  I thought under my breath

"Miza shut up!  Jeez your so annoying always sticking your head everywhere and look at Zen he is hurt and it all your fault!"

"..My fault?!  He is just unconscious, sweetheart!" I shook my head ignoring his protests.

"Get me an ice flower like snowdrop or something!" He was not moving.  "What are you doing there not moving?  Come on, hurry up!  Go, go, get me those flowers!  Miza!" He then rushed off swimming as fast as he could to get those.

But I was afraid, he was not fast enough.

"What are all you standing there?  Help Miza!  He is not gonna be able to carry all those flowers!" I demanded. He could die if they do not hurry.

"How many he getting?" One had to ask.  Ugh.

"Over fifty!  Now hurry!" I demanded gritting my teeth.  This is all my fault.  I should of stopped him.

"Y-Yes....Y-Your...H-Highness!" Several of them stuttered at once.

"Darling, I think you really need to calm down.  He be alright.  He has to be.  And if he was dead he already be so before we found him." She is saying Zen...is alive?

I swim closer to him letting him lay in my arms and I stare at him.  From his dark navy locks and lapis braids of hair whom for the first time is not tied up by seaweed, but instead is scattered everywhere.

 His silver-black eyes that shined whenever we were together are closed.  Scars and cuts, bruises and wounds, and dried up blood fill up places throughout his skin.  

But on his neck I noticed a thin diamond shaped blue and red gem necklace that laid there.  He never wore something like that before.  Could it be?  It is one of the pendants?  

"Mother is that his pendant?" I asked her after gazing at him.

Mother widened her eyes, "T-that is...." She gasped and nodded her head, "Y-yes I suppose it is his now."  Was it someone else's before?  Maybe his parents?  "Both gems are there..." She whispered before saying nothing else for a very long time.

"What taking them so long?" I muttered.  And then suddenly as soon as the words left my mouth, I heard the voices of the flower masculines!

"Alright princess here you go."  They gave me handfuls and gatherings of flowers.  Slowly, with my palm, I freeze and crystallized them.  As usual, I started applying the flowers along with my cool iciness.  Please be okay..Please be okay...I thought.

"He is awake!" Miza suddenly exclaimed after awhile of me healing him.

Then everyone suddenly started surrounding me asking the prince various questions from 'are you okay' to 'what happened'.

"...Kai....sa" He barely muttered out loud.  "I am dreaming...No I am dead.  My wish finally came true."  Wish? I frowned and glared at him.

"Wish?  What do you mean wish?  Do you know how worried...sick I was?  Huh?  And all you think about is if your dead and how that is your finally wish?  And do you know what you looked like?!  Do you?  You looked terrible and you all hurt and everything!  Just gah! 
           What happened!  How could you even think about doing something like that?  You were hurt and I just knew this would happen and again I have to be the one to help you!  Do you realize what I was going through?  You could of died and then I be sad and miserable and urgh!  What is wrong with you?  You are so stupid and selfish and such a foolish merphan!  
        What where you thinking?  You know I made have healed you some, but I am still mad at you!  I am never ever speaking to you again.  I hate you, you are so annoying and urghhhh!  You are a terrible merphan!
          I waited days and nothing and then you come in hurt and injured full body?  Zen!  I told you to not get hurt and you got hurt and...and..." I started crying as my anger slowly disappeared.

"Yikes... She is mad, no furious." I heard Miza mutter.  "Well Mivozene it was nice knowing you.. Imma head out now I prefer to stay alive.  Since you did not die before I think princess ice over here will kill you before long!" He grinned and I glared at him.

"You were right.." He whispered, "I really am a fool." He laughed in amusement.

My frown slowly turned to concern.

"Zen...I.. I am glad you are here.  You know?" I pressed my lips together.

"Maybe you are right I really am selfish..." He muttered and looked around, "Especially now, you look pretty when your upset." I had to try so hard to compose my expression which was falling to a pale pink. 

"And he says she is her friend..." I heard Miza mutter to the Queen.  My parents definitely know about me liking him.  
       I heard Miza, my parents, and his parents once made some bet about it.  Which was so stupid of them.  But him saying that right now was uncalled for, so I froze water above Miza's head and made it fall.

"Owwwww...Kaisa you-" I laughed at his complaints among many others.

"Oh, there are others here...." Zen realized looking around.  Good thing or he might say something else that would cause Miza's head to spin and drive on four wheels.

"Guys help me with all of the stems from the flowers and let's give the princess more." He and basically everyone, and surprisingly Mother left.

"Well now they left." I smiled softly.  "I am upset, but not as much."

"I wanted to do it for you.  But I made the oceans 0.3% ..no 3% less dangerous!" Zen exclaimed like he was proud of himself.  I shook my head laughing.

But I had to wonder...

Where did these numbers come from?

"It does not really matter.  I planned on staying here anyways." I held my hands on my tail looking down.

"I wanted you to come with me and I could leave my parents and..." Suddenly he looked down and seemed sad.  "Well umm, but never mind that anymore."

He wanted to escape from everything and swim away with me?

I looked down in surprise, "I would of never done that anyways.  My place is here.  I could never leave them.  My mother, father, and...maybe Miza even though he kinda is a fish brain..." Zen chuckles softly.

"Yeah, but I finished off three humanics that tried to hurt me and others!" He grinned, "They were bad like all humanics.  They knew about our existence." He shook his head proudly.

"Not all are bad, M...I mean someone I know said that they are not." I whispered as his head leaned into my chest.

"No, they all are.  I know!" He shouted, "They all are.  They are killers, Isa.  They want to hurt and they hate us.  I got captured!  Listen you cannot tell anyone!  But they...they said we monsters and t...they thought to just experiment on other mermaids and did weird things to them.."
           He sighed, "They died because of it.  They killed them with this pointy needles.  T-they ate them and their insides and..." His voice began to break. "My parents I caused them to..I was so terrible to them and they just..." He trailed off.

Zen.

It was his parents that died.  That is who it was and why my mother was crying about.

"I be here." I told him, "I be here for you.  I am sorry, I should of stopped you." I leaned my head against his shoulder.

"No.." He disagreed, "I should of listened.  But this happened and it my fault.  I hate them.  And I am going to kill them all.  Anyone who a researcher will definitely die by my hands.  I get stronger than I.."

"Zen," I whispered, "please visit." I interrupted him.

"Huh?"

"Since your parents...You wear the crown, but please never stop coming.  Or at least send me voice bubbles." I pleaded my only request.

"Kiss me." W-what?  I did not expect that to be his reply.

"Me?" I realize how stupid it sounded after I said it.

"No Miza.." I always knew he had a thing for Miza.  I chuckled to myself and he rolled his eyes, "Yes you.  Please just kiss me.  I.. just distract me.  Your presence always do, but I need more than just-" Then I kissed him.  

Kiss me later? His words echoed in my head.

I kissed him slowly, but softly distracting him from everything that happened.  His lips that were far warmer than usual felt like heat from above the surface's rays.  
        His already messy hair flew over the sides of his face.  I felt another's presence for a moment, but they left before I could tell who it was.  I looked down and pressed my lips together.

"Umm...I"

"Thank you and stay please?" I nodded.

"Okay." I lowered my head shyly, "Lay on me I do not mind.  Besides your injured." 

"That is the annoying thing about me getting hurt and injured."  Zen started complaining.  He is so cute.  "You have to heal me.  I look so weak and I can never protect you enough."

I laughed, "You protect me enough.  I am not going anywhere, but here.  Besides what do you have to protect me from?" I muttered.

"...The evil ones." Nobody is truly evil though.  To him at this moment humanics are, but Miza told me so much good about them.

How could they all be like that?

Maybe only researchers that want to capture and hurt us do.

"Then Zen, please." I whispered, "Protect me, my prince."

"Your wish is my command." And I chuckled at his reply.

~~~

"Well...well...well!  You two look quite close and snugly this fine evening!" I barely opened my eyes, but I already knew who it was by the sly and smirking sound of his voice.  Miza.

"..Be...quiet." I muttered.  But that was before I realized my position.  Instead of him resting himself on me, he was holding me and I was practically in his arms.

Face please, I beg of you do not change color...Please do not... I hoped, but my wishes and pleading failed me.

I felt my cheeks get heated.

"Anything else you want to tell me besides you probably didn't intentionally look like that?" Miza grinned, "But my, you both look charming.  Especially your prince that you say is your friend. 
         His hair is different, wouldn't you say?" He popped up right behind us and decided it would be alright to admire Zen.

"Zen...erghm...erghm" I struggled to be free.  I also wanted to hit Miza right now.  But fortunately for me, I heard Miza's groaning in the back.

"Owww..Erghhh.  Hit me again like that and I scream again pretty boy." Miza grinned and I felt creepily weirded out, but that means Zen is awake.

"Ergh..." Zen gripped his shoulder, "That actually hurt... Oceans...why?!  That actually hurt..  I just decided to hit a brain-dead fish and then it decided to start acting like it going to kill me?!"
        Zen grit his teeth in pain.  I moved a bit away from him as I watched him complain about his arm.  It was the arm that always is covered with armor.

"Serves you right for hitting me!" Miza pointed his finger at Zen.

"Uhuh.  Isa can you," He turned to me, but I already know what he was going to ask.  And I was not having it. "Hel-"

"No." I simply stated.  His eyes widened.

"No?" He stared at me which I nodded innocently.  "What do you mean no?  I am actually asking you this time instead of all of the other times where you demanded to help me."

"You got extremely hurt.  I am not just going to heal you and make you think you can do whatever because you get healed." I frowned.

"I...I do not...even think like...that." He says gingerly.

"Maybe not, but you could regardless if you think like that or not.  I was upset...still am just not as much.  And this is your punishment."

"Punishment?" Miza choked, "Are you a little too young for-"

I nudged Miza and scowled at what words came out of his mouth.

"Oh come on!  It was for you!" Zen exclaimed,  "Isa...Isa...Isa please!  I am dying.  It hurts.  Please?"
       He swam over to fling himself over me.  "Look at me, my arm.  The arm that usually-"

"Nope!  I am not doing anything." I turn the other direction, "And I am not looking at you."  

Because if I looked at you I knew I would easily forgive you and heal you...

And I would realize how hurt you actually are.

"You make me tell you everything, whenever you plead.  I really do not see, why will it not work for me?" He put his other arm around my shoulder. 
      I thought for a moment and realized he did have a point, but I still shook my head.  That was a different situation, completely.

"Their first fight!  How adorable!" Miza says in the background.  I heard Zen sigh and I shot my butler a fierce glare.

"MIZA SHUT UP!" We both end up saying at the same time.

"Listen Butler," Zen growled, "What do you not get about us being friends?  All those things you say..jokes
       whatever they are, they need to stop!  Trust me, she does not like me..." Zen stared down Miza making a serious expression.

It was silent and they kept staring at each other waiting for someone to lose and be intimidated.  "Red or Blue?" Miza suddenly asked.

"H-huh?" Zen blinked and shook his head to make sure he heard correctly.

"I said red or blue!  Like what color do you like better?  I mean I noticed your necklace..." He trailed off, "Pendant, officials call them.  Apparently royals have them, use them and with them come incredible more enhanced magic!"
         Miza flew his arms threw the air like he was picturing it himself.  "I mean everyone has one, but royals have special ones.  And I noticed you have one now.." He then lower his voice to a softer sound before he continued speaking. 
         "The odd thing about yours is that... it also has a crystal of the Atlantic.  The same one I have and the princess' parents.  It's your fathers, isn't?" 

When Miza asked the last question I feared for what Zen would do.  His parents were gone and he was here, and alone.

Sometimes you never really appreciate the merphans you love and the ones around you until it is too late.  You never realized what you had until you do not have it anymore.  And that is the reason why I believe he is going through a rough time.

"Miza...Miza..Miza!  Just forget it!" I shook my head at Miza, "Come on Zen, we should...go." I looked back at him who was looking down and seemed sad.

"Yeah..." He mumbled tailing me slowly.

After we were distances and currents away, I turned to him.  "Are you sure you be okay?"

"I be fine.  And Isa, can you do me a favor?"

"What is that?"

"Please, do not wait for me.  Do what you want to do, but if you wait for me than you be wasting your time." I nodded.  He hugged me and kissed me one last time before he would leave.

I stared in a daze as he kissed me quicker than he has ever kissed me before.  I could not do anything or kiss back.

"I try." And he swam off along with the despair that followed him.  To myself, I thought of his request and why did he want it.

Please, do not wait for me

Do what you want to do

If you wait for me than you are wasting your time

I shook my head and hope all is well... At least for him.

Except that moment was the moment, I deeply regret everything.  I wished I swam after him and told him the truth I been feeling about him.  I wish I kissed him back and said that I loved him. 

        I wish I just ended up deciding to swim off with him.  Because what happened next was the worse thing I ever dealt with.  But above all it was the last time me and Zen ever......

AN// That one line that Miza said.  I cannot believe I wrote it around June 12 of the 2021 year.  I seriously had to laugh and decide should I keep it in there or not.  I decided to, but I might regret it.  He acting like such a simp.