Aceal's Journey

Bitter Ending

"Let me get this straight, your mom and dad are royalty?" Ava questioned me.

"Yes, our kingdom is unique, to say the least." I responded.

"How do you expect me to handle this? How am I expected to react?" Ava inquired, as she jumped from the table, before storming out of the restaurant.

In all honesty, I had hoped me being royalty wouldn't change how she felt about me. At Eighteen, I was given free range to explore my other heritage. My usual appearance was replaced by a flawless tan, as my mother’s sea-green eyes stared back at me from the clear glass window. What had I done? Ava and I had been dating for three months. I figured it was time to be honest. My parents had always told me that honesty was the foundation of a good relationship, but maybe I should have avoided telling her I am royalty.

Let me back up a little bit here. A proper introduction should take place first. My name is Aceal. The current heir to the Cerulean Kingdoms throne. My parents fought to take back the kingdom from a corrupt king almost nineteen years ago. My father, the current king, had only just learned that he was a Mer-person, while learning that the birth of his heir, with my mother, the only magical being in our kingdom, outside of my great grandmother, at the time. Would be the one Poseidon was waiting on to restore magic to our people. That would be another bridge to cross when the time came with Ava, if she continued to date me. I wouldn't blame her if she thought I was crazy.

Taking a deep breath, sighing, as I ran my fingers through my jet-black hair. This was still a mystery to my parents as to how I ended up with hair the color of a midnight sky. The ladies, however, fawned over my dark hair, and sea-green eyes. The attention was unwanted, at least by me. Standing up from the table I had shared with Ava, just moments ago under the warm afternoon sun. I wasn't tall by human standards, only standing five foot eleven inches, I was only average height. Walking off in the direction of my hotel, the warm breeze on my skin, as the smell of salt water entranced my nose.

At times like this I missed home, the comfort of my parents, especially my mother and the way she would make the water bubble and dance to cheer me up. Miniature waterspouts chasing each other, as the bubbles would tickle my sides. The memory of being a child flooded my mind, making me laugh out loud, as the passersby looked at me funny.

Opening the door to my hotel room, I crossed to the window perching myself against the frame as I watched the clouds roll in. A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.

"Come in." I called, not turning away from the window.

"How did it go?" Henry asked, he had been my best friend for as long as I could remember.

"Not good, although I guess better than expected. I had expected her to scream and shout at me that I was crazy. Instead, she asked what I expected from her." I replied, turning to look at Henry. I had never seen Kira's human form, but Henry looked like his mother in his Mer-form.

Kira also happened to be my mother’s best friend, who helped her overthrow the corrupt royals. "You know, a human girlfriend won't accept your royal status unless she loves you, or she's after money." Henry stated.

"Our money is worthless on land, what are we going to use shells for up here?" I asked, chuckling.

"Not the shells, you know out of the money your mother made." Henry suggested.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." I said, looking at him weird, the only thing I really knew about my parents were that they met on land. I was never told much about my mother’s time on land, except that she was running from an arranged marriage.

"They never told you?" Henry inquired.

"Never told me what?" I repeated, still confused about the entire topic.

"Maybe you should ask your parents instead of it coming from me. Mom would skin me alive if she knew I told you." Henry replied.

Asking my parents meant making a trip back home. Something I wanted to avoid until my year on land was through. The magic training, my royal studies, while trying to manage a social life didn't mix well. This was the only time I got to be a teenager, and to sound selfish, I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted to enjoy the time away from my studies.

"That requires us going back." I responded.

"So?" Henry questioned, plopping himself on the full-size bed in the middle of the room, "I don't want to sound like a baby, but I miss my parents."

"Do you miss all the training?" I asked, like myself, Henry was born into the new generation that held magical abilities, only select elder’s ad their magic restored according to my mom. Those who showed a willingness to treat humans as equals, is the way she had put it. While in my generation everyone had magic.

"No, of course not! Just seeing my parents would be nice." Henry responded.

"We go back, we forfeit the rest of our year. I'm not ready for that. The only way I'll go back is if Ava calls it off." I reply, jumping as my phone began to ring. Flashing across the screen is Ava's picture and name, pointing to the phone, not even beginning my sentence, before Henry was out the door.

"Hey, are you ok? I went back to see if you were there, and you had left." Ava's voice called through the speaker.

"I'm fine, just came back to my room once you stormed off, didn't think you were coming back anytime soon. The question isn't if I'm ok, it's are you ok with everything I have told you?" I replied, I wasn't ok, but at the moment how I felt didn't matter.

"Honestly, I'm not ok, how would you have expected someone to react to information like that?" Ava inquired.

"I was at least hoping for a chance to explain, or at least for you to sit still and talk with me. I was hoping you wouldn't storm off like you did." I stated truthfully.

"Oh, yeah, you're right, I could have reacted better, than just storming off to collect my thoughts. However, I honestly don't see this working between us." Ava calmly stated, her tone filled with ice.

"Why is that?" was the only response I could muster, Henry would get to see his family sooner than later the way Ava was talking.

"I don't want to be part of your kingdom's drama, much less having every one of your people thinking I am only with you, because your royalty." Ava quietly responded.

"I understand your concerns, but those aren't any issue. No one would care that you're with me, they should mind their own business anyways." I stated, trying to hide the hurt in my voice.

"I still don't feel adequate knowing your royalty. Would I even be enough for you?" Ava questioned.

"You would always be enough for me. There would never be any doubt in my mind." I responded, trying my best to change her mind, knowing I probably wouldn't, "I love you."

"I don't love you thought, the trials we would face as a royal couple, would tear us apart if the love we felt wasn't real. I would rather end things now." Ava responded, the tears she was beginning to shed evident in her trembling voice.

"You say you don't love me, yet your voice and emotions say otherwise. However, I will give you what you want, we can end things now." I replied, not waiting for a response before ending the phone call.

My last week on land, before returning to the sea, how did I want to spend it now that Ava had ended our relationship? The list of things I wanted to do seemed never ending, while the deadline of next Sunday’s return loomed over my head like a black hole. I had already omitted the items that required a lengthy amount of time to complete. The only plans that couldn't be cancelled, was the tour of the city Henry and I planned over a month ago, that was happening first thing in the morning. Henry had stopped by to remind me but didn't get the chance to before Ava called.