Watch It, I'm Swimming Here! [anyone]

There it was - Armonia's city center. Arielle swallowed the lump in her throat as she swam through the city's waterways, something the King had made sure was built after the Peace Treaty between Armonia and the water-folk had been signed.

Sometimes it seemed like a rather useless expense since the merfolk hardly strayed into the city, but it sure made things useful on the rare chance they did.

Arielle hadn't been to the city properly in quite a long while. She was here three times a week for classes up at the Academy, but apart from that she avoided the city like a fairy avoided fire.

She looked up at the castle, her eyes cold and hard as memories of everything that happened with Eric came flooding back. The feeling of his lips on hers as he kissed her for the first time, gentle and shy, so unlike his confident self. How he'd begun to murmur 'I lov-' only to be interrupted by their boat upturning. How her heart had broken how on the third day she heard the news that he was getting married. Not to her, but to Vanessa. And the kiss between them - the mermaid had felt like she was dying.

That was the problem with falling in love too young, she had realised much later when the pain had been numbed, you always end up falling for the wrong person. Like an over-confident prince who really couldn't keep his hands to himself. A human prince at that.

He was the prince. I was just a mute girl he'd chanced upon. Really, what chance did I have?

You're not to blame - he really should have been more loyal.

As she swum, she shook her head to clear the musings of her mind. She really didn't want to think about Eric today. All she wanted was a day out, away from her family. They were much too cheerful for her current mood.

She pulled herself out of the water, sitting to rest on the pathway curb. A moment later however she recieved a face full of water as someone knocked her back into the waterway. "Oi, watch it! Try actually look where you're going!" Arielle spat angrily. "Jerk."

Marcus was inside the city today, his legion was not deployed against the enemies of Armonia yet, and that the men deserved rest, Marcus himself was bored, he had never really enjoyed the breaks when there were battles to be fought, though he understood that his troops needed rest between the battles, lest they enter combat tired, his legion was supposed to preform quick and deadly attacks and a tired army will not be able to do that. Marcus then noticed someone push a mermaid back into the waterways, and then he heard the mermaids reaction, Marcus walked behind the person whom pushed the mermaid, and said "Excuse me, but I think you have a apology to make." at the same time the other person turned around and was about to hit Marcus, he then noticed the armour of Marcus and his weapons,and quickly said "Of course, of course."

Arielle had been preparing to hit the impolite stranger with a ball of water, quickly summoning up streams of water that formed into a sphere. Rude and self-important humans, strutting around they own this place. As if they're even that great to begin with...!

She was just about to project the orb at the jerk but a voice stopped her and the orb hovered in the air, inches away from him. She turned to look at the owner of the voice and saw that it was one of the King's soldiers that had stepped in.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," the man mumbled, eyes wide at the prospect of either a cold shower or being beaten up by a soldier if he said anything else. "I didn't see you." With that he turned and scurried away, casting a somewhat worried look over his shoulder back at the pair.

"Thank you," Arielle replied to the soldier, giving him a slight smile. "Though I must admit that I would have enjoyed giving that prick a shower," she admitted, pulling the water ball back and flicking it back into the waterway where it dissipated with a resounding splash.

Marcus looked at Arielle and said "No problem, that person has gotten off light, and yes, it would be rather amusing to see him getting splashed." Marcus then said "I am Marcus Decimus Valerianus, a member of the King's army, so who are you and what brings you into the city if you don't mind me asking, not many mermaids come to the city."

"Arielle Riviera, daughter of King Triton. Nice to meet you, Mr Valerianus," she replied, looking him over as she spoke. "As for what I'm doing here, I needed to get away for a while. This place seemed the furtherest," she added with a slight shrug and wry chuckle. She was about to make a snide remark as to exactly why the merfolk didn't come to the city that often, but decided against it.

"And yourself? I thought the King's men didn't get a day's rest," she commented, a hint of teasing jest in her tone.

"Well good to meet you Ms.Riviera." Marcus said in a respectful tone, he then said in a militaristic tone "I believe you have mistaken my forces with those of the regular army, my troops are what would be classified as shock troops, thus they have to both be well rested and well trained, our duty is too preform quick and deadly attacks."

"At ease, at ease," Arielle chuckled at his militaristic tone, waving her hand. "So what are 'shock troops'? You just hang around until there's an attack and then strike?"

"That would be incorrect, my forces work independently from the main army, our goals are to strike first and strike fast, dealing as much damage as possible and to install fear into the enemy, thus scaring them into surrender." Marcus explained, his tone still highly militaristic.

"interesting," Arielle replied politely, turning onto her back and lazily swimming backwards down the waterway, assuming the soldier would follow her if he wanted to.

She wasn't really sure what to say to him. The female didn't speak military. As far as she was concerned it was all rather dull. Just as long as Armonia stayed protected and her kingdom did too, she couldn't care less about it all.

"Want to go and grab some coffee?" she called out to Marcus as she swam. "To say thanks for the rescue, even though I really was fine," she added with a slight grin.

"I seem to get the exact opposite thing from your voice." Marcus joked as he followed Arielle, when Arielle suggested that they go get coffee, Marcus replied "Coffee could be enjoyable, though it would most definitely not be as enjoyable as on the battlefield."

The redhead chuckled at his teasing accusation. "Well, I'm not the biggest military fan," she retorted with a shrug. "I cannot understand the pleasure that can be derived from a battle or from having the blood of your opponent on your hands."

She turned to him and gave an easy smile. "But my Daddy raised me proper, and proper means being polite. Lest all you humans begin to think of us merfolk as uncultured and rude beings."

They were approaching the Floating Marketplace, where Arielle had seen a cafe ship on her last visit to the city centre. She just couldn't for the life of her remember where it was. "There's a cafe ship somewhere around here... Do you know it? I'm afraid I can't at all remember whereabouts it was..."