forum Mermaid romance (one-on-one//closed)

Started September 16, 2018 by @ElderGod-Carrots

tune

Carter’s heart broke when he saw Arria like that. “No!” Carter shouted, once again pulling at the grip of the guards, “Just let him go!” He flailed his tail, then tried to bite one of the guard’s wrist in attempt to escape.

The guard growled and took his hand away for a second to make sure he wasn't bitten. Arria let out a soft whimper, "C-Carter… I'm sorry…" Two string rays were guided into the room, positioned by the metal chains. On Yuri's mark, they shocked the metal, causing Arria to scream out.

“NO!” Carter shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. “Just stop, stop, please, just stop!” He continued to struggle against the guards, just trying to get to Arria. He would give anything just to trade places with him, to get his love out of those damn chains. He looked back at the guards, begging, “What is that man paying you? I’ll pay you more, just please.” He didn’t have any money, but he could get more if that’s what it came down to. “Please.”

The guards seemed looked conflicted, and some were still watching Arria with some unreadable expression, "We don't like this, either, kid, but there's no way to go against the prince, not with his power." The nearest one mumbled, loud enough for Carter to hear but not the Yuri. The stingrays stopped for a moment, giving Arria time to take a few breaths before they were shocking him again.

“Arria!” Carter wished he could reach out, wished he could hold at least hold Arria’s hand. Carter’s heart broke with ever second. “No, please,” Carter begged to no-one-in-particular, tears steaming out of his eyes. “Please just stop, Yuri, you’ve had your fun, now please stop.”

Yuri listened this time, stopping the stringrays though they didn’t move away, “Hurts, doesn’t it? To see the person you love in so much pain,” He chuckled, “The fun is only just beginning, Carter. This,” He pointed to Arria who was slipping in and out of consciousness, “This is only a small portion of what’s going to happen.”

“Yuri…” Carter began, but he didn’t have anything to barter with. But he still tried. “What do you want me to do?” Carter sucked in a breath, but kept going, “I- I can go on land. You can’t. But just name anything, and I’ll do it for you. I’ll- I’ll kill someone for you for f*cks sake. Just stop hurting him. Please.”

“That leaves a world of possibilities for me, you know that, right? No matter what you try and do, Arria is going to stay here and every time you mess up or fall out of line, it’ll be worse,” Yuri shrugged, placed his hands behind his back, “Then again you can’t really do much with only one fin and… one foot, I take it?”

“I’m capable enough,” Carter bit out, although Yuri was right. Arria would still get hurt no matter what he did. He felt so hopeless and defeated. There was no way to turn, he had nothing to trade off…. “What do I have to offer to make you let Arria leave?”

Yuri shrugged, “Nothing. Didn’t I tell you he’s mine?” He growled slightly, “You took him away from me and I’m not letting that happen again.”

“I didn’t take him away-“ Carter stopped himself. Yuri would listen to him, no matter what he said. Carter couldn’t stop him. Carter’s shoulders sagged. “So are you just going to torture him until I drown?” He bit out, but his voice was weak. “Are you just going to hurt him until he dies?” Carter looked at Arria, wishing he could just get him out.

Arria lifted his head at the word 'drown,' looking from Carter to Yuri, "Y-Yuri please… please don't let him drown…"
"I'll do what I want now shut up," Yuri snapped, making Arria recoil and look a lot like a kicked puppy. He turned to Carter, "I wasn't going to kill him, I would never."

“Do you honestly think killing him would be worse than what you’re doing?” Carter snarled, tugging at the guards again. He wanted to hold his hand. He wanted to swim up to the love of his life and rip him out of those chains. Carter just wanted to kiss him again, to hold Arria until he was alright.

When Carter pulled at the guards, they seemed to let up, relaxing their grip just a little. If he struggled even more, he would manage to break free. Yuri just shrugged a shoulder, the string rays again attacking Arria, “Maybe. But killing him would be boring.”

Carter paused his struggle, holding his breath. He’d have one chance. And he could not waste it. But every second he waited, the longer Arria would be in pain. So Carter yanked his arms out of the guards’s hand in a quick motion and lunged with his hands reaching out—to grab Yuri by the throat.

The guards weren’t even bothered, they didn’t rush to Yuri’s side to help. The prince didn’t even expect the attack, nor that his own guards wouldn’t help him. Yuri clawed at Carter’s hands, gasped for breath.

Carter bit his lip, trying to keep his hands firm. He squeezed his hands harder, wishing he could close his eyes. He was hardly even breathing, just waiting for Yuri to stop struggling. “I’m sorry,” Carter whispered over and over again. He knew this was terrible. He knew he was no better than Yuri. But he couldn’t let it go on.

After a few minutes, Yuri went limp, breathing halting. The string rays finally stopped now that their prince was dead, Arria limp in the chains but still just breathing. One of the guards swam up to Carter and placed a hand on his shoulder, “It was for the best…” He said.

Carter stared at the dead body, barely feeling the hand on his shoulder. It took him a second, as if the world was moving faster than he was, but he went over to Arria. His hands were shaking when he reached out to tug on the chains. He looked back at the guards, particularly the one who had approached him, “A-Are there keys?”

He nodded, motioning for another one of the guards to unlock the chains. He did as his superior told him, moving to unlock th metal around Arria’s tail and wrists. There were prominent red marks around the three places, a couple of the scales on Arria’s tail missing.

“Thank you. For everything,” Carter told the guards, his voice weak but genuine. He turned back to his love, hands still shaking a little. Carter cautiously put his arms around Arria to carry him, not wanting to scare him. “We’re going home,” He whispered softly, though he didn’t expect Arria to hear.

The guards nodded, “Someone had to do it, I’m just glad it was someone who was defending himself and others,” He offered a small smile, “We’ll deal with everything here, don’t worry about it.”
Arria curled into Carter’s arms, whimpering softly. He didn’t respond, like Carter expected but he seemed to know he was there, holding him.

Carter held Arria closer, relieved that Arria wasn’t completely unresponsive. “Thank you,” Carter repeated again, managing a small, weak smile. “I owe you all. I owe you a lot. If you ever need anything, I’d be honored to help you.” He carefully swam Arria out the way they came, trying to be as gentle as possible.

The guards nodded, moving out the way to give him more room. Herla stayed behind to discuss what was going to happen with Yuri and his other two friends. Arria curled even more into Carter, almost hiding himself in the others arms.

Carter swam quietly out of the castle, careful to avoid merpeople so Arria could have some space. He held Arria tightly, being as gentle as possible as he swam back towards their home. Carter tried not to think about what he did, instead focusing on Arria. Carter rubbed circles into his back, whispering softly as they swam, “We’ll get you patched up, you’ll be okay. We’re almost there.”