~~~~~~~

"Today is a very momentous occasion," the king started, looking down to his people from the lowest balcony on the castle. The royal family called for the assembly of the merpeople of Azharei to share their big news. "We are entrusting our most worthy and able guards to go and retrieve our Prince Park Jimin from his hiding place."

The mer cheered, excited that their prince would finally make a return after being gone for 8 years.

He had to return eventually, he is the only son of the king and queen, he has to pass on their legacy and that can only happen when he returns.

"Jeon Jungkook and Kim Taehyung, we thank you for carrying on this dangerous task. I don't know anyone more capable of completing this mission than you two," the king complimented.

The ceremony carried on, the mer sang good luck songs and wished the boys a safe trip. It all led to the ending, when the queen would tap both of their heads with the sword of her father in law for protection. Everyone bowed as the guards straightened up, then they clapped again, to show their support and respect to the teenagers who were bold enough to take on such a task.

After saying goodbye, King Hyungsik escorted the guards off of the balcony and into the corridors of the castle.

"Are you two prepared to leave?"

"Yes sir," Taehyung replied for them both.

"Good. I have arranged for 4 guards to accompany you to the moon pool. The royal mage will also accompany you, in order to change you into humans."

"Cool," Taehyung couldn't help but interrupt. Jungkook glared at him for a second before turning his attention back to the king.

"Very," Hyungsik agreed. "You won't need the mage when you return, you'll turn back into your true form if you touch water, so beware on land."

"Yes sir," Jungkook spoke up this time. Hyungsik could sense the boys unease, after all, Jungkook grew up in the palace so they've spent a lot of time together.

"Taehyung, would you go double check to make sure that you're ready? That you've picked out your sharpest blade or spear?"

"Sure," Tae nodded, understanding the situation. He swam away to the royal dining room in search for food.

"Jungkook, what's wrong? You know you're qualified for this mission."

"Yes, I know but, what if my skills fall short? What if I do something wrong?" He questioned.

"I've never seen you so nervous," Hyungsik pointed out.

"Well, I've never been on land," Jungkook answered. "Sure, I'm great in the field down here, but this is such a big quest and I can't help but feel like something could go wrong by sending inexperienced junior guards to do a royal guards job."

"Jungkook," Hyungsik sighed, dropping his kingly facade to seem more welcoming to the younger. "I didn't only choose you for your skills."

"What?"

"I chose you because Jimin would be comfortable with you and because I know that you wouldn't let anything happen to him." Hyungsik placed his hands on the young man's shoulders and looked Jungkook in the eyes. "I trust you. Jimin trusts you. And you should trust yourself."

Jungkook nodded, now feeling a sense of pride for receiving the king's faith.

"Ok sir, I won't let you down!" He smiled, gaining a smile back from the king before he swam off to his room, now mentally prepared to take on this quest.

~~~

Racing down the street, Jimin felt the wind in his hair and he loved it. The bumps under his feet gave him a thrill. He leaned back to avoid running over a rock but quickly returned to his first position. He looked over to his right and saw Yoongi also zooming down the street with a smile.

Apparantly, Yoongi's love for skateboarding influenced Jimin.

Yoongi led them to a park, skating down many paths, Jimin following, until he came across this nice set up.

Yoongi stopped skating and threw his board into the grass, turning around to see Jimin coming to a stop behind him.

"What's all this?" Jimin asked with a smile.

"This," Yoongi gestured behind him, "is a date."

Jimin smiled wider as Yoongi grabbed his hands and led him to the blanket.

"When you wanted to skate, I didn't imagine this being the final destination," Jimin giggled.

"Well, I'm a man of many surprises," Yoongi laughed, sitting them both down and reaching for the basket he packed snacks into. "Here's another surprise! I can't cook, so I bought a bunch of snacks from the convenience store."

Jimin almost fell over from how relatable that was. "That's okay. I know where your heart is coming from."

Jimin grabs a bag of chips and opens it, eating one for himself and looking over to Yoongi who has his mouth open, waiting for a chip.

"Ahhhhhh," he said, waiting for Jimin to plop a chip in his mouth. The said boy just rolled his eyes and did what Yoongi wanted. The elder boy chewed on the chip as he laid down on the blanket and looked up at the sky.

"Look at that," Yoongi pointed up towards the sky.

"At what?" Jimin questioned, squinting as his eyes were exposed fo the sun.

"The clouds. That one looks like a 4 leaf clover," Yoongi pointed out for Jimin to see. The younger boy laid himself down on the blanket as well to get in a more comfortable position, and to be closer to Yoongi.

"4 leaf clover? Nah, I see a bubblegum machine."

"Pfft, yeah right. You can't tell me that's not a 4 leaf- ohhhh you know what I see it now," Jimin giggled at Yoongi, turning to his side and studying the elder's profile. He lifted his finger and traced Yoongi's jawline.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, causing Yoongi to jump up in concern.

"What? What happened? Are you okay?" He quickly asked.

"Yeah, your jawline cut my finger though," Jimin pouted. Yoongi just shook his head in disbelief before pecking Jimin's pout away.

"You're crazy, y'know that?" Yoongi said with a smile.

Jimin just shrugged before sitting back up and reaching for the chocolate covered strawberries in the basket.

~~~

The moonlight shone through the waters, bending at the surface and cascaded down accordingly.

The light reflected on Jungkook's face as he, and the other guards, swam to get to the cave that would serve as their pathway to land. To Jimin.

Jungkook took in his dark blue surroundings for what he felt was the last time. He didn't know when he would return, he hoped this travel wouldn't take so long but you could never know, especially when the mission is on land, it's basically unpredictable.

The journey to the cave took hours, but when they finally made it, only Jungkook, Taehyung, and the royal mage were allowed in its depths.

"This is where we part ways," the mage spoke, glancing up at the surface. "Come on, don't be shy." The magical being broke the surface with ease, causing the merboys to look at each other as if to ensure that they're really doing this. They held eye contact, nodding at each other with confidence before they both broke the surface together, taking a huge gulp of air as they adjusted.

"Oh please, I know how you guppies are. This can't be the first time you've been above water."

The said guppies didn't answer, they just focused on adjusting to the oxygen, using their noses to breathe instead of their gills.

When Taehyung gathered his bearings, he looked over to Jungkook, noticing how his hair was covering his eyes.

"Ha! You look stupid!" He joked.

"Shut up!"

"Ok. Go pull yourselves over that ledge so I can change you into humans. There are clothes provided over there," the mage pointed.

"Okay," Taehyung spoke as he pulled himself over first. "Ok," he chuckled, "I'm a lot heavier when I'm on land."

Jungkook chuckled before following suit, both boys laying there as the royal mage closed his eyes.

He began to sing.

The same song that Jin sang all those years ago to change him and Jimin.

He lifted his hands and directed them over to Taehyung to Jungkook, who suddenly felt a little numb. The feeling of needles constantly poking them was what they felt as their fins split into 2 and legs formed. The webbing between their hands, the gills on their necks, they were gone, as if they were never there to begin with.

"Cool," Jungkook stated as he looked down, admiring the things he'd never believed that he would ever see up close.

"Ok," Taehyung started with a smile. "Let's go get the prince."

~~~

"Phase 3 has just began," the Boss of the rebel mer began. "Notify the human," she said, turning to a random mer who happened to be standing there.

"Yes, Boss!" The mer traveled off in a hurry, not wanting to disappoint her leader.

The boss smiled to herself as her plan was finally coming together.

"We'll meet soon, Jimin," she said sinisterly with a smirk, twirling a strand of her long blonde hair in her fingertips. "We'll meet soon."

~~~~~~~

1538 words

Ok!

I'm sorry this took so long, the beginning of the 3rd scene was really hard to write lmaooo

I'm a senior now!

And I finally gave some hints for who the Boss is!!!

Incase you missed them

The boss is female and blonde...

Hmmm I wonder who it could be?🤔

And why does she hate the royal family so much?!

All will be revealed soon

Til then

Love you :***

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡