I walked through the palace garden, a glass of lemonade was settled in my hands along with Demotis' diary under my dress. The smell of dew from the night's rain made the air feel fresh, and the morning sun shone harshly.

I sighed in content, I absolutely loved Damien's company- especially during the night- but having alone time was definitely essential.

Henry ran off on his new "project". He's been very secretive recently, and I haven't seen him in the past few days since school has been canceled- yet again.

Hazalen and Landon have been hanging out constantly. The two lovebirds haven't made a move on eachother yet, but it was as if they had picked back up where they started. It's not hard to tell how their past relationship might have been, and I wondered if things had been different for them if Henry and I were around at the time.

Jack has been... well, the last time I saw Jack was after the Roswell fiasco. He came to Damien's door unannounced, and somehow I knew it was him by the way he knocked ferociously without a care. Damien shot him an icy glare in his duck boxers, but let Jack ask if I was alright.

Overall, things were looking up- besides the fact that a beautiful Princess from the desert would be back in a few months time, and King Demotis of Descuvi wanted me back on the Descuvian throne.

Fantastic!

I curled up under a tree, sipping my lemonade in content. If I wanted to prevent my enemy (aka my father) from whisking me away, I needed to learn more about him. There was no information on Descuvi in Deltora, so this was the best source possible.

Demotis

4-4-1285

Today was the best day of my life, despite the fact that the love of my life almost died.

Let me explain.

The Sol Season was just starting, and the weather had finally begun to heat up. Lillian came to Descuvi with her kingdom's shipment of ingredients and recipes for our bakeries, which she did almost every month.

"Do you have the xamba?"

"Yes."

"Towels?"

"Yes."

"Picnic basket?"

"Lil, yes!" We walked out of the back of the palace, my vision blocked by everything I was carrying. Since it was so warm in Descuvi- unlike Lillian's kingdom- she wanted to go to the beach.

"Here, let me help," her hand brushed against my skin, taking the towels off my shoulders. I felt my face heat up, and not because of the sun. I sighed, looking beside me to watch her take out her ponytail.

"Let's get a move on Demotis! The sun is only going down from here." She pointed to the waves with an excited smile. She efficiently set up the towels, ready to get in the water.

"Yes, m'lady." I replied, opening the bottle of xamba as she took off her bathing suit cover up.

"We can drink later, Demotis. Don't you want to find a siren with me?" She pulled the bottle away. I stared into her big, blue eyes and realized I needed some more to drink.

"I've already seen one. They are uglier up close." I grabbed the bottle back from her.

"Oh Demotis, loosen up."

"That's what I was trying to do until you took my bottle away."

"Then be serious!"

"I am- I have seen a siren before. You are much prettier than them." If she wanted serious, I would give it to her. She got up, running to the waves, her hair flying wildly in all directions.

"I guess I'll have to find one to see!"

"You do that, lil." I whispered, watching her push through the waves. I laid back, relishing in the sun and privacy of the palace's beach. The sand was so white, leaving the water to be a clear blue.

The sound of the push and pull of the waves lulled me into peace as seagulls flew across the sky. In my homeland, on the beach is where I felt completely at ease. Nothing compared to the sea and the mysterious secrets that came along with it.

I sat back up, half of the bottle already gone. She would be mad at me if I didn't leave some for her. Glancing at the waves, I wanted to call her back to finish it off. I squinted my eyes, wondering where she was.

Don't tell me...

"Lillian!" I sprinted off to the waves, finding her far from the shore. The strong current must've taken her away. "Don't fight it!!"

She was so far away that I didn't know if she could hear me, but I hoped to the gods that she could. If she continued trying to fight the current, she would get exhausted.

I flew through the waves, years of swimming playing through my muscles by heart. I didn't stop for one second, adrenaline racing through my body and panic etching into my mind.

"Lillian!" I saw her fighting the current, her attempts becoming slow. She coughed, trying to scream my name but took in the sea water instead.

I was so close to her.

Until she fell under the waves, pulled by a force.

This wasn't an ordinary pull... this was a siren.

I immediately ducked under, seeing the bubbles from Lillian's drowning body being pulled by a tail. I swam down, grabbing her arm in protest. The wretched siren turned around, wondering how her prey could've resisted.

Once she noticed me, she hissed, bringing her claws out. Her tail flapped anxiously like a cat's, bringing her face to mine. I stared back in complete power, not faltering from her horrendous gaze.

She inched back, retracting her claws.

That's right bitch. I'm the prince, and you're trying to feast on my soon-to-be queen.

My gaze immobilized the siren, her green hair flying around me like silk. Instead of the ugly face she once threw at me, ready to kill me, her face transformed into Lillian's.

A naked version of Lillian.

Trying to play nice now, are you?

Sirens had the ability take on the image of what you truly desired- your ideal image of beauty. This was how they lured sailors into the sea, singing to them in this "form".

She knew I was the prince of these seas, and she wanted to take me to bed for it- so she portrayed herself as the girl she was holding. But I knew her true form, and I wasn't going to fall for it.

I waved my finger in a "no" motion, glaring at her. She whined at me, and I felt the vibrations of her voice through the ocean. She let go of Lillian, trying to grab my arm and kiss me.

Though I wanted nothing more than to kiss Lillian, the green haired siren could never be her.

I pushed her off of me, ready to slap her in the face. She took the message, sending me one last look of desperation, and swam away.

I grabbed Lillian's unconscious body, swimming to the surface. I took a big gulp of air, my heart pumping as I carried Lillian back to the shore.

"Lillian." I laid her on the wet sand, checking her pulse. It was faint, but still present. Red claw marks were etched into her arm and ankle, blood trickling into the small waves around us.

I knew what needed to be done.

I started pumping on her chest, trying to get the water out of her body. I took turns from breathing into her mouth to pump her chest, my body still running on overdrive from the sea.

Come on, lil!

I breathed in one more time, my body about to give out from physical exhaustion. I grasped onto her hair in desperation, pulling her face close to mine.

I felt her body retch under me and I pulled away. She moved on her side, coughing up the sea water she had consumed. I held her hair back the best that I could, wanting to pull her into my arms and hold her close. Instead, I rubbed her back as she fell to her knees, holding her chest. She continued to cough out more sea water, and I had never been so happy to see her throw up in my life.

"Feeling better, lil?" I picked her up, taking her back to the towels. She didn't protest, holding onto me.

"Water," her voice croaked.

"We don't have water, but we have-"

She grabbed the xamba bottle, knocking it back. We sat in silence as I breathed heavily, trying to regain my strength back as she chugged the alcohol.

Probably not good for her right now, but at least it's something.

"You saved me," she stated, her voice more clear than before. I glanced over at her, trying to read the expression on her face. Her big, blue eyes stared back with an emotion I hadn't seen before.

That siren could never portray my lady.

"Yes, I did."

"And you... kissed me."

"Yes, I did." We continued staring at each other, not knowing what to say. Instead, Lillian wanted to show me. She placed the bottle back on the sand and placed a hand on my face, leaning in closer to me.

"Your arm, Lil." It was gleaming red, five lines reaching her elbow.

"I don't care."

I didn't know if it was the alcohol in her dazed system, but I didn't care either that she decided to lean forward. I followed her actions, kissing her. She gasped as I pulled her on my lap, close to me.

"Do you know how worried I was?" I asked her, kissing her again.

She pushed back against the sand," But you saved me, so I'm alright."

"Or how long I've been wanting to do this for?" I grabbed her wet hair, angling her face toward me in one swift motion. My hand ran across her back, sending shivers down her spine.

"Or how long I've been wanting you to make a move!" She growled out, taking my lips again.

Needless to say, we got back to the castle and had a long, aggregating talk about how we felt toward each other. My little lil was being stubborn, mad by the fact that I had never made a move on her. I had, but in my own ways, thinking she never showed any interest in me.

But this was how we both showed eachother love, quarreling per usual. I wouldn't have wanted to understand her feelings for me in any other way than to see her flustered.

The best day of my life.

Sincerely,

Now with the girl of my dreams,

Demotis

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*