Kazimir reached for the Heart before he realised he was moving. He's body swung away from his mother, spinning, arm flying back, fingers out stretched to grab it.

Dago smiled.

"Ica," he said calmly.

Icadora grabbed a stray lock of Kazimir's hair with both hands and pulled with such force she could have torn it from his head if he hadn't tumbled backwards to relieve the pressure on his scalp, letting out a yelp as he hit the floor.

Icadora's hand released him and flew to her mouth in horror.

"Kazimir!" she cried.

"It's alright!" he said quickly, rubbing his head, "I'm alright."

"How nice to see that control again," Dago said lightly as he pulled the necklace from his neck and walked passed, absently swinging it around and around, watching them, smiling as he walked to his queen. He bent down and kissed her cheek when he was near and touched the hollow of her neck. "Now, Elaina, dear, what happened to your necklace?"

"They stole it," Elaina muttered, not moving, rooted to the spot she'd been in since he'd walked into the room.

"My, you poor thing, how awful they are," Dago said kindly, stroking her hair and looking around before spotting the necklace in Icadora's hand. "Give that back to my wife, please."

Icadora's fingers tightened on the necklace even as her arm rose.

"No!" Kazimir cried, sitting bolt upright, scrambling to his feet.

Aeralie was there first, snatching the necklace from her aunt so fast she almost fell over herself, clutching it close to her chest as she fell into Kazimir's arms, staring back at the king who stared at her.

He was quiet for a moment, then pursed his lips.

"My niece, you said?" he finally asked, looking at Icadora. "What's her name?"

"Aeralie," Icadora muttered.

"And what's your power, Aeralie, love?" he asked.

"Control," Aeralie said, slipping the necklace into Kazimir's pocket before turning, her hands behind her back.

"Ah, we share some similarities."

"Not at all. I'm more powerful," Aeralie said simply. "You dominate one person by force; I simply charm whomever I so wish."

Dago gave her a slow, silky grin, eyes glittering with interest. "Show me," he said.

Aeralie narrowed her eyes at him and his grin widened.

"Go on, show me. Show me your control. Make me return Icadora's Heart."

Aeralie stared at him for a moment.

The very fact that he was asking her – daring her – to control him meant... could it mean he wouldn't be affected? How? He was just a human.

Yes, manipulative powers didn't really work between merfolk but he wasn't a merman. He was human who held control over a mermaid.

That didn't give him her immunity did it?

Or was it like Cole?

He was immune because of the simple length of time he'd spent living around first Icadora and then Dalton?

She looked at her aunt. Icadora gave her a hopeless look.

Kazimir squeezed her hand, a plea to just try in that simple gesture.

So she started to sing.

The relief at hearing her voice again, hearing that power and beauty was elating. Like a warm, white light blooming at the very core of her body and spreading outward, an enchanting spell drifting through the air, sliding through the room, rolling like a calm wave against the seashore.

Dago's smile started to fade.

He blinked rapidly, confusion in his face, a startled look to his eyes.

And then his eyes seemed to glaze over.

The confusion left him.

He looked dazed and blank.

"Dear!" Elaina cried, shaking her husband but he just rocked against the movements and stood there, his arms going limp as he stared at nothing.

The music wrapped around him as he turned towards Icadora, his movement slow and ever so slightly disjointed, like a puppet as he took a step towards her.

Then a second step.

Then a third.

He was almost to her.

Then he smiled.

The very arrogance of that smile, the mocking, laughing, amusement in the small curve of the mouth cut Aeralie's voice short, the sound stalling in her throat as she stared.

The enchantment shattered, like a wave rolling back, leaving them behind and Dago looked at her out of the corner of his eye as his grin widened.

"What a pretty voice," he said as he started to laugh, turning his head towards her, "How powerful you must be, to be able to control men with a few simple notes."

"Why?" Aeralie snarled, glaring at her turned away, "Why doesn't it effect you!?"

"Who knows?" the king said with a bored shrug, swinging the heart around again as he walked towards the dais. "Maybe being the father of merman comes with perks? Maybe holding possession over such a powerful mermaid helps? I don't think it really matters."

He turned when he reached his throne and sat down, settling back, resting his left foot on his right knee, draping his arms on the armrests and looking out over the hall.

"I just know that, for all intent and purpose, you lot can't touch me," he said simply.

"I'm sure I'm still physically strong than you," Aeralie growled, balling up her fist.

"Sure, maybe so," Dago said with another shrug, "I won't question you on that. Many of my strongest men could not best a mermaid in strength. I'm not scared of a fight but I know when I'm out of my depth..."

His eyes flicked to Icadora, his grin returned and he looked back at Aeralie.

"But I think your auntie is stronger than you," he said, slowly setting his feet back firmly on the ground and leaning forwards, his smile baring his teeth, "And I will make her tear you limb from limb, gouge out your eyes, rip out your tongue and squeeze that pretty little slender throat of yours so hard your voice box will be crushed and you will never ever sing again. Do you want to fight me, Aeralie?"

Aeralie stepped back, her hand flying to her throat as Kazimir wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away, moving himself between them, hugging her tightly as he stared at his father.

Dago gave her a lovely smile and leant back. "Perhaps not," he said then looked down at his feet as Dalton suddenly let out a groan.

The prince rolled onto his front and shakily pushed up to his hands and knees, rising his head and opening his eyes to squint out at everyone.

They had barely a second to see his irises swirl with a thousand colours like Kazimir's usually did, before he blinked and they settled on his usual blue again.

"Ah, Dal, good morning," Dago said brightly, looking down at his son, "About time you woke up, there's so much to talk about. Have you met your mother?"

Dalton looked out at the hall in dazed confusion, then looked up at his father.

"What?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.

"Your mother," Dago said, as if it was all very simple, waving a hand in the general direction of Icadora. "The woman you've wanted to know about all your life. Over there. That's Icadora. She's your mother – your real mother, mind you. Well birth mother would be more accurate really; she didn't raise you like a mother should. She abandoned you at birth to save herself and her other son. Did I ever tell you you have a twin brother? That boy over there, Kazimir I think – I always thought of him as Dallion – he's your older brother by less than a minute. He grew up with your mother. Lord knows what he's doing here."

Dalton looked lost.

He stared at his father, then at the others, his face stricken with confusion as he looked between them before fixing on Kazimir, his stare asking for help.

"Dalton," Kazimir said quickly, turning towards him.

"Kazimir, what's going on?" he choked out,

"Oh! You know each other already?" Dago said – if he was genuinely surprised, he hid it behind mock surprise, "Well that makes things much easier! You two can play nice together. I suppose you had to learn about yourself at some point. Go on, Icadora; tell him how you left him for dead. That you abandoned one baby so you could keep the other alive."

Icadora looked at stricken as her son as she stared at him, Dalton looking back at her.

"That's not true!" Kazimir and Aeralie shouted at the same time.

"Be quiet, you two," Dago said, his eyes narrowing.

"She didn't abandon you!" Aeralie shouted over him, drowning him out.

"He made my— our mother believe you have been murdered! By him!" Kazimir snapped.

"She didn't know you were still alive!"

Dalton stared at them, then looked at Icadora.

"I didn't know you were still alive," she rushed out.

"Icadora," Dago snapped.

"I abandoned you," Icadora correct, the word sounding like they were torn out of her.

"What is going on?" Dalton cried, stumbling to his feet, gripping the arm of the king's throne to balance, "Who are you people?"

"I just said, that's your mother, that your bother – oh, and that's your cousin," Dago said happily.

"I don't understand, where did you come from?!"

"Beyond the shoreline, below the sea," Kazimir said, his voice soft.

The simply words stole the tension from the room as everyone looked at him.

Dalton looked at him as Kazimir slowly walked forwards.

"You weren't wrong about...you're not mad," he said slowly.

Dalton stared at him. "Brother?" he said, his voice barely a whisper, "he said you were my brother?"

"Your twin, yes."

Dalton narrowed his eyes slightly, mouth opening.

"Were you really shipwreck victims?" he asked.

"No, we weren't. We specifically came to this kingdom."

"Is that why you came here?" Dalton said, leaning away from him, "because... you knew we were..."

"No," Kazimir said quickly, "I only recently found out. As in, last night, I honestly had no idea. We came here... well, it doesn't matter anymore but I swear I did not know. I would have told you if I had known. I swear."

"Who are you?" Dalton said.

"I'm still me; I'm still Kazimir, your friend."

"But you're not. You're someone else. Who are you? What did you do to me? What happened when I held that necklace?"

"Why don't you show him, Icadora?" Dago cut in.

Icadora looked at him in shock.

"Go on, show him the truth."

"Darling," Elaina ventured from the side, her voice quiet, "he's only just learnt about his mother and brother. Maybe... a little time before—"

"Shut up, dear," Dago said pleasantly without looking at her, watching Icadora, "I want him to see this. I think it's important. Go on, show him."

"But I—"

"Show him, Ica, dearest. Now."

"Icadora, you don't have to," Aeralie stressed, rushing to her as Icadora slowly sat down.

Icadora looked at her as Aeralie dropped to her knees beside her and gave her a weak smile.

"I do," she said, her smile starting to tremble, tear forming in her eyes. "Because he has my Heart."

"You have to fight it!" Aeralie cried, gripping her shoulders.

"I can't," Icadora said, "He stole it. He stole my heart. He murdered the man I loved. He... he raped me. He made me think he murdered my baby. Made me abandon my baby. He tore out my heart and shredded it into a thousand little pieces. I don't know how to survive that. You need your heart to survive without your Heart."

She squeezed Aeralie's hands tightly as she looked towards her sons.

"I have loved you," she said, "I have loved both of you, with every tiny fragment of my shattered, bleeding heart. I will always love you. But I am not the same person I was twenty years before. I can't fight this."

"But you are."

Kazimir and Aeralie looked around in surprise when it was Dalton who spoke up, staring at her.

"You're fighting now. You're not showing me whatever it is he wants me to see. You're hiding it, fighting him," Dalton said.

Icadora stared at him, then looked down towards the end of her dress where her feet were hidden.

"Do you want to see?" she asked softly.

Dalton looked at her, then looked at Kazimir. Kazimir could only look at him, with no answer to give.

"I do," he said, his voice careful and apologetic, "I want to know whatever this truth is. I want..." He looked at Kazimir again, "I want to know I'm not... mad?"

The last word was a question, something that couldn't quite hide the clear hope in his voice.

"You're not mad," Kazimir muttered.

"Alright," Icadora said, reaching down to pull off her shoes before she closed her eyes.

Her hair flared out around her like an explosion, growing in length as the streaks of black blurred through it, her eyes and skin shimmered back to their natural colours as her tail, long and beautiful and cumbersome on land, grew from below her hemline, glittering in the sunlight.

Dalton stumbled and Kazimir was by him in a second, catching him as he sank to the ground, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"What a shame that tank was cracked," Dago said absently, looking at the tail, "It survived twenty years, waiting for you to come back, all to be damaged just before you returned. Of all the rotten luck."

~~~~

Next up: Thursday

Art By: music from Ori and the Blind Forest game - Ori, Lost In the Storm (feat. Aeralie Brighton)

Ok, good luck guys, because from here on out, I don't know what I'm doing lol (Not that I ever really did, let's be honest)

Fun fact, the lack of a capitalised 'heart' in the title of this chapter is intentional (though it winds me up to now end lol)