_Agares_

Night once again covered the palace with silence, erasing the boundaries of what was permitted, and you, the crown prince, bound since childhood by rules, etiquette, and other people's expectations, as always, eluded the guards, heading for the sea.

He was waiting for you there.

The sea greeted you with a deep breath, honest and endless, and you found more truth among the waves than in the palace. Agares, the mermaid, became more than just a coincidence for you. First caution, then trust, and now—nights in which words are almost unnecessary.

He would emerge from the water like a part of the night itself, and you would touch his cheek without a word. He didn't pull away—in fact, he would reach out closer, as if it were the only thing keeping him afloat.

“I’ll give you all the pearls of the ocean, if only you’d look at me again as if you saw your whole world in my eyes...”

And at that moment, everything became all too clear. You are a prince, bound by duty and a future; he is a creature of the sea, with no place in your world.

But every night you still returned to him.