[M] The Aquatic Kingdom { holey & lobo }

[lobo]

"Plus, she'll have Rona and I there as well. We wouldn't all go willingly if we didn't trust Jason completely," Luna was quick to add once Jason finished explaining where they would be relocating, and she hoped that the older mermaid would be convinced that it was alright to send her daughter with them. Maren and Rona both nodded in agreement as well, the younger mermaids wanting the woman's approval.

Maren's mother finally nodded now, finally deciding that the human man could be trusted. "I suppose there could be worse places for you to take them..." she murmured, breathing a soft sigh of defeat. Despite not knowing the full situation, the mermaid woman still seemed to know there would be no way to convince her daughter to stay. It was even a bit of a surprise to see her typically shy daughter so comfortable with a man.

Maren smiled at the response, despite the fact that it wasn't the most enthused, and the youngest mermaid left Jason's side to hug her mother. "We won't be far. Plus, we're all happy... and that's the important thing," she murmured, finally receiving a smile from the matron. "I suppose this means you're all leaving now?" Maren's mother asked, looking around the group curiously.

[Holeypaladin]

Luna's reassurances did a whole lot to assure Maren's mother that the young mermaid would be in good company when she came along with him. He imagined it was no secret how well the three got along already, and though he wasn't sure how long the had been friends, they all seemed rather close to each other, and quite comfortable sticking together with their new husband.

"We'll send you an invitation once we've finalized a date for the ceremony..." Jason said to the youngest mermaid's mother. "Maren seems quite excited for it, and I'm sure she'll look even better in her wedding finery than she does right now." He stroked Maren's hair softly before leaning in to give the cute young mermaid a kiss on the cheek.

He slowly nodded at the question that the old mermaid asked. "We wanted to say our farewells before your daughter embarks on a journey to ensure the continued safety of your kingdom. Maren is a hero, as are the princess and Rona, so you should be proud of her... and not just because she's such a fine young lady in every way." He squeezed Maren a bit closer in his arm and gave her a slight smile.

[lobo]

Maren's mother finally smiled in Jason's direction, clearly pleased to hear that there would be a ceremony for her daughter's wedding. "I'm glad to hear that there will be a proper ceremony for these girls. They do deserve it, after all," she murmured, finally relaxed enough to seem much less disappointed by the situation. The compliment made by the knight even had the shy mermaid smiling, with a blush starting to appear on her cheeks. "I am very excited. It's going to be lovely, I'm sure," Maren confirmed, still looking forward to the wedding ceremony.

"I am quite proud of her, and the other two girls as well. Take good care of them," the older mermaid said, much more accepting of the man now that the situation had been cleared up for her. "I wish you all the best... and I look forward to the invitation to the ceremony," she added, smiling at the small group.

Maren, who had stuck by Jason's side, finally left him to give her mother a hug and properly say her farewells. Once that was finished, she swam back to the knight and looped both her arms around one of his. "Is there anything from here that we may need to get? Or should we go try to stop by the palace now before we go?" the youngest mermaid asked, wondering if they would even be allowed back into the palace for Luna to say her own goodbyes.

[Holeypaladin]

Jason was glad to see Maren's mother finally warming up to the idea of allowing her daughter to come with him. It wasn't as if she had much of a choice, but it was better to see her more willing to accept the idea than resistant to it, in this particular case. "They definitely do," he said with a nod, glancing over to Maren to see her adorable blush once again.

"I will," he said with a nod. "I'll see you again once you come to the ceremony, I'm sure." He watched as Maren detached herself from his side long enough to head over to her mother and give her a hug before returning to his side. He allowed her to loop her arms around his, squeezing her hand as well as he thought over the young mermaid's question.

"If there's something important to you that you'd like to bring with us, feel free to collect it while we're here," he said to the mermaid. Rona had collected various jewelry, to sell some and keep the rest, so he figured Maren might want to do something similar. Perhaps she had the mermaid equivalent of a stuffed animal that was precious to her. Glancing over to Luna, he asked the princess, "Do you have any friends among the palace guard that can give us a chance to say goodbye to your mother?" Unlike the parents of Maren and Rona, Luna's mother would likely know the reason for her exile... so Jason doubted she would be very happy to see him.

[lobo]

When given permission to bring a few things along with her, Maren nodded to Jason before leaving his side so that she could go gather what was most precious to her. While she went to do that, Luna considered the knight's question for a moment before nodding her head. "I'm sure there are people willing to let us back inside. So long as we don't hang around for too long, I think it will be fine," the princess assured, though she was a bit nervous about returning to the palace. She didn't want her nerves to keep her from going back to see her mother though, and she knew that there would be guards willing to allow them back inside for a short time.

The youngest mermaid returned from her room within a few moments, bringing back with her a couple of toys that she didn't want to leave behind. Luna then took lead of the small group, waving goodbye to Maren's mother one more time before leaving the mermaid home. She guided them back in the direction from which they had come, staying quite close to Jason as a way of easing some of her nerves.

As they reached the palace gates, the guards watching outside of it were ones which the princess had been close to. Upon her request to say farewell to her mother, the guards agreed to take them back inside the palace. Luna motioned for everyone to follow, letting the guards guide them all back inside in a way that they would never accidentally cross paths with the king. Towards the back end of the palace, the guards allowed the group to enter the queen's room after informing her of the guests.

Luna was the first to swim inside, greeting her own mother quite the same way that the other girls had done. "Mother, this is Jason... the knight that kept me from having to marry the man that father chose..." the princess spoke, motioning to Jason. The queen only had to look him over for a moment before she was swimming forward to embrace him gently. "Thank you... for saving my daughter from a life of misery," the older mermaid said, surprisingly not upset over the actions of her daughter and the knight.

[Holeypaladin]

Watching as Maren went off to collect some things to take with him, Jason gazed at Luna, nodding a bit at her explanation. "That's good to hear..." he remarked. "I feel like it would be rude without at least saying goodbye..." Though he didn't look forward to the tongue lashing he was expecting for getting the young princess into so much trouble, Jason knew that he would have to take responsibility for his actions and make up to the queen as much as possible.

As Maren returned with some of her precious belongings, Jason found it adorable how she had selected toys, of all things. Well, he knew she was the youngest of the mermaids, so it wasn't all that much of a surprise... though he still found it adorable. Giving the young mermaid a tender kiss, he waved goodbye to her mother as well before heading back after Luna, returning to the palace.

Thankfully, getting back into the palace wasn't as big a problem as he had expected, as the guards seemed to get along rather well with the princess. He made sure to follow Luna's lead in order to avoid coming across the king, though he suspected it might still be problematic once he met Luna's mother. However, once he finally did allow Luna to greet her mother, the way the mermaid queen swam up close to him and wrapped her arms around him was... quite surprising, to say the least.

After recovering somewhat from the unexpected words of gratitude from the queen, Jason gave her a smile, and nodded. "I'll make sure to grant her a life of happiness and joy, instead," he assured the queen. It was clear the queen cared very much for her daughter, and Jason was glad to see her appreciation for Jason's stealing her away from an arranged marriage which she herself must have went through at a similar age. "We've come to say goodbye, and to let you know we'll be sending you an invitation to the wedding ceremony."

[lobo]

The princess wasn't as surprised by her mother's actions as Jason clearly had been, since she expected the older mermaid to appreciate what the man had done. Although the situation had seemed bad in the beginning, and being exiled wasn't the most favorable outcome, it was now clear that this was best for the princess and even for the two other mermaids as well. "I have no doubt that you will," the queen responded to Jason's assurance, slowly releasing him from her embrace so that she could get a better look at him. She didn't know much about the knight, but she knew that if her daughter trusted the man, then she could as well.

At the mention of the ceremony, the queen was just as pleased by the news as the younger mermaids had been. "A wedding ceremony?" she repeated, smiling at the small group. "That's very good to hear. I'm glad these girls will get a proper ceremony despite the rather unusual situation," she said, and the other mermaids nodded their agreement to her words. "I bet it's going to be amazing... we will all get to look so beautiful," Maren chirped, still thrilled that they would be able to have a wedding.

The queen chuckled at the youngest mermaid, before looking to Jason again. "I assume you'll be going somewhere on land then?" she asked, figuring that would be much more suitable for the human. "Is there anything from here that I can get for you before you go? I will do anything that I can to help all of you," she added, wanting to provide the last bit of care that she could before the group was all banned from the palace.

[Holeypaladin]

Jason glanced over at the unsurprised look on Luna's face as the queen released him. The fact that Luna had expected her to be so kind to him indicated that the princess was already aware of her mother's disagreement in regards to the whole arrangement... perhaps she had overheard an argument between her parents, at some point. Regardless, he gave the queen a nod, smiling slightly to her. "Your confidence is most reassuring, Majesty," he said to the queen.

He wrapped his arm around to pull Luna a bit closer, kissing her cheek as the queen went on to comment on the wedding ceremony. "It's the least I could do to bring happiness to their lives," he said. "Maren was quite excited to hear of the ceremony, and it helped to reassure her mother and Rona's that I'll make sure everything works out." Stroking Luna's tail a bit, he remarked, "I take it these three have known each other for some time? I'm glad that such close friends won't be torn apart after all."

Kissing Maren softly, he said, "You always look beautiful" to the young mermaid before thinking over the queen's question. "We were thinking of a beach estate so that we can have the best of both worlds. Anything you can think of to help us along our way would be most appreciated, but if not... I'll figure something out. And if there's anything Luna here wants to take with her, now would be a good time to pick it up," he said as he squeezed the princess closer to him.

[lobo]

As Luna was wrapped up in the knight's arms, she leaned into the kiss to her cheek and smiled at the man beside her. The queen was also smiling at Jason, already quite fond of the man despite just having met him. She had not agreed with the original man that the king chose to marry the princess. "I think that's lovely. A wedding ceremony is definitely what these girls need. I hope you enjoy just the same as they will," the queen said, pleased to hear of the news of the ceremony. As he spoke again, the queen couldn't help but chuckle, and Luna nodded her head to give him the answer instead. "I met Rona around the time that I was six, and I've known Maren since she was a baby, since my mother and hers were good friends," she explained, shedding light on just how close the three mermaids were.

When Jason turned his attention to Maren for a moment, the young mermaid instantly blushed at his words after she returned his kiss. "Thank you," she whispered, smiling brightly at the compliment. This interaction only added to the queen's liking of Jason, and she smiled as he responded to her. "That actually sounds wonderful. I think that's a very good plan," the queen said.

Remembering that there was a few items that Luna wanted to take with her, she pressed a quick kiss to Jason's cheek before leaving his side to go gather up those belongings. "Will it be a long journey back to the shore? At the very least, I can tell you a few safe places to stop and rest if needed. Otherwise, I can't think of much else you may need that can't be gathered once you reach shore," the queen began speaking again, trying to come up with some things to provide for the small group.

[Holeypaladin]

Jason was quickly finding the queen to be rather pleasant company indeed. He hadn't the opportunity to know what the king was like before invoking his anger, though he still had the impression that he had the interests of his people at heart, even if it meant having to give away his daughter. Perhaps he'd understand in time that this solution was actually better than the original arrangement, though until then, it was best to avoid getting too close to him.

"I'll do my best to enjoy the ceremony," he said to the queen, though he realized the purpose of the ceremony was not for his own enjoyment, but rather for the enjoyment of the girls and their families. Squeezing Luna and Maren closer to him, he nodded. "So I guess it's safe to say you've been together your whole lives," he said to the girls. "You must be glad that you get to stay together, then." He reached over to stroke Rona's tail a bit as well so that she wouldn't feel left out.

Thinking over the suggestions of the queen, Jason responded, "Actually, now that you mention it... having a few safe places to stop along the way would be a good idea, for sure. Perhaps a location or two where I can take care of your daughter and her friends if they get horny at some point along the way would be a good start," he remarked, figuring she might know of some islands or other dry spots where he could stop to satisfy the mermaids between the palace and the shore line.