She swam around the room becoming familiar with the layout and work tables. Checking to make sure she knew where the different tools were kept as well as the different types of gold metals and gemstones. She didn't want to being stumbling around too much on her first day. On her first week. This was a good opportunity and she wanted to do her best. To find ways to completely prove she wasn't the worthless person that so many believed her to be. She would just think of this as a challenge and overcome it to the best of her abilities. She wouldn't be dependent on others for happiness. That had never served her well.

Feeling a bit more confident about the large room, she swam back to the warmer waters around the forge. The glowing magma within heated the water in such a way that there was a perpetual current here. She floated before it, her eyes glowing as she stared into those depths. Her hair lifted up on the current. If she had been on land, they would have called her a witch. As it was, she was simply determined and hardening her heart against further diversions from her goal. Her goal to work hard and be worth something.

On his way through the artisan chambers, Alden began feeling a bit different. A strange type of difference that was almost foreign to him, until he paused to realize it was the lack of sadness he felt. In fact, he couldn’t quite feel anything. Even his weariness had seeped away and left him oddly energized. He blinked and continued on, passing doors, usually housing the large bars and blocks of gold and other metals, and nets and containers of gems of every kind, under and above the water. While the workroom contained a good amount, the excess was held otherwise in different rooms.

He knocked on the workroom door several times before pushing it open, finding Diane in front of the magma forge. The combination of shadowy blue and glowering yellow and orange was a rather interesting sight. “Diana.” He said, almost able to be shocked at how... monotonous his voice sounded even to what conscious thought he could identify with. “The ceremony is going to take place soon. The palace masters and their apprentices tend to be present as well. But, seeing as you’re not yet begun, you don’t have to be there. I just thought I’d let you know.” He turned and pulled the door back to him. “Oh...” He paused, the thought striking him suddenly. “And... if you have any problems, worries, issues, or anything, don’t feel like you can’t come to me. I’ve never let anyone down, and I don’t plan on doing so any time soon.”

With that, he left the door slightly open as he turned and went back down the hall. He felt almost like a jellyfish, without weight, pushed along by his tail without much effort. Perhaps next time, he thought silently, a smaller stone would be enough to steady his nerves.

Diana came to the present at the sound of Alden's voice. There was was something different about it. She half turned and looked at him. His face and posture was different as well. She drifted back from the glowing forge so that the lighter colors no longer illuminated her. He was inviting her to the ceremony. Oh she planned to be there. She wanted to see the effect her present she had crafted had on him. Would he like it?

She was about to say she would be there when he added his offer to be there for her. She immediately drew back into shadows. He had a whole kingdom to worry about. An artisan wasn't something that he needed on his plate. He seemed to mean it though. And there really was something off about him. He just wasn't himself and that kinda worried her. She timidly slipped to the partially open door as he moved into the hallway and looked out after him. No, something just wasn't right... was he drugged?

She slipped into the hall and swam along the wall where there were semblance of shadows. Edging up beside him, she swam at his side. She figured she would keep him company until he had to go or do something where she couldn't follow. Also, it was more than just concern for him. She liked his presence. He was, despite their first meeting, a safe zone and she felt a little comfortable being herself around him.

Everything was so incredibly surreal. The sculpted walls, the stone-tile floors, the columns, all had incredibly sharp edges, so perfectly noticeable. It was strange, and he tried to shake it away. Diane had joined him, though, so Alden tried to focus a bit more. That wasn’t a problem, at least. But maybe he would worry others, in his current state. Maybe they would think he had retreated into himself with no intent to keep his focus on what really mattered: The city.

“I’m sorry if I seem a bit off.” He said to Diana at last. “Guai gave me something to calm my nerves and... eh... I think it worked a little too well. He’ll have to do something about that ‘natural remedy’ before he gives it to anyone else, wouldn’t you say?” He chuckled, the sound odd in his ears, having not made that noise in ages. “Er, anyway... Tevin, one of the younger guards, said he noticed you a bit distressed earlier, after you returned. Is it anything you’d like to talk about?” He glanced at her, but didn’t want to pry.

She glanced at him and wondered if he was high. He was definitely about to float away. Whatever Guai had given him, she would take care not to accept it. And also how she appeared in front of others. She didn't want to have anyone thinking she was clingy or unmature. She shrugged off his question. "I am sure he mistook excitement and apprehension of a change in lifestyle as homesickness or jitters," she suggested. She had to be stronger and work harder. That was her goal. She must stay focused on that. No more slinking in shadows. She must appear confident or they would misunderstand her actions just as her sister had.

Swimming up a little higher from the floor and forcing herself, somewhat mentally painfully, to life her head up like everyone else did, she asked, "Perhaps there is a way to counteract the natural remedy. Just a little so that you are not in the the clouds so much." But can still laugh, she thought. She rather had enjoyed the sound of his cheerful voice. It made her heart beat a little faster, but probably because he was the heir and she an artisan. That alone made her want to cringe a little, but remembering lunch brought back some faith that it wasn't so bad. He had been enjoyable to talk to then.

Alden thought about that. Maybe it wasn’t Guai who had misunderstood what he was feeling, but he himself. Perhaps it was excitement that was keeping a cloud of what he probably misinterpreted as worry over his head and clenched around his throat ever since the very thought of his ascension was considered. “Maybe.” He said at last.

As they turned and made it to a higher level, Diana seemed to be swimming a bit higher. He loved seeing that in others. Perhaps they make promises to themselves in secret, or they feel secure suddenly, or want to prove someone wrong, but whatever the case, when Alden had before seen the shy young merfolk in the city suddenly become more social, or at the very least partake in the activities of others with a head held just a bit higher, he always smiled. He smiled then, a bit of a hazy one that made him lose track of where he was and nearly swim into a wall.

Shaking the jarring near-impact away, he smiled, a bit embarrassed then. “M-maybe Guai can shock me out of this.” He agreed. “Before I have to make an appearance.” He blinked hard and shook his head, rearranging his thoughts back to where they had been. “I can’t believe a merman of his magnitude hasn’t tested something like this before even giving it to me.” He added lightly.

She reached out her hands and steadied him by his arm when he almost ran into the wall. He took it in good stride though. She grinned at his remark and shrugged. "Perhaps he had tested it before. Seems like it would make a great joke to me. Where is he right now? Do you know?" Perhaps first things first should be steadying his loopiness. He wasn't going to make it far without someone holding him in place at this rate. Slipping an arm in his, she added her own balance to the mix and wondered if it was possible that others would mistake her as part of his shadow. Naw, she couldn't get away that lucky.

Alden tried to think through the slight haze that had been draped like a weight over his mind. “Where he could be?” He closed his eyes in thought, but only for a moment. As they moved and he couldn’t see where they were going, the world almost tipped upside down. “I’d think he went back to the lookout deck.” He said. “Keeping an eye on some things while most of the guards are on a special assignment.”

He was thankful for someone with a stronger grasp of their conscious function to be at his side. If he had gone on the way he was he didn’t doubt he’d be lost in the lower regions of the palace somewhere. Still, he knew where he was going as they moved along. To him it was like following a trail invisible to others but glowing perfectly to him. “I hope you’re excited to be starting your apprenticeship so swiftly.” He continued, hoping to pass the time. “If this had been any other time, you wouldn’t have gotten the chance. Luckily Loretti was hoping to begin her own lessons in medicine from her father.”

They turned another corner, into a hallway that was narrow and darkly lit.

Diana wasn't so sure she liked this particular hallway. It was rather narrow. However, the shadows were more to her liking. Perhaps it was a way to where Guai was now that Alden knew he needed him. "Alden, I don't recognize this particular route. You know where we are going to do you? If the drug is messing with you to much, we can go back the way we came and I'll take out back up another direction." She started to pull his arm to turn him around.

Alden stopped, but didn’t move. “I know the route.” He said. “It... just takes me awhile to remember it... is all.” He shook his head. “I just like going this way to get away from the others, and the end route is a lot more interesting than the public halls.”

This time he could move without help. Perhaps it was the close quarters of the walls, the rather enclosed feeling that let his mind focus a bit more. Nonetheless, they reached the end of the hall, decorated with hanging jewels and a heavy-looking door, which was pushed open with great ease. Within was a pool of what looked like water much heavier than the ocean’s, much lighter, like a hidden oasis among history and hidden away from everything else in the world beneath the waves. Alden stared at it wistfully for a moment, before turning to Diana. “I don’t know how this place came to be.” He said. “But... I always loved it. And look up there.” He pointed skyward. “When you go up high enough we’ll reach the topmost lookout point. C’mon, the...” He paused for a moment. “Oh, the ceremony isn’t far off.”

With that, he lifted himself into the room and started off, slowly, to wait for Diana.

Diana nodded and sped after him. Looking down as she went over it, she wondered what it was like to swim in there. It must be pretty special since he was in such awe of it. She was herself, though she wished that she could stay a few minutes longer. Following him up, Diana asked, "Do you not like the public eye that much?"

Alden glanced around to Diana. “I… don’t really like it.” He admitted. “It was easy to avoid it before now, because I wasn’t necessarily as important as my parents.” They arrived at a slight shelf before they reached the top of the vertical tunnel. A door stood closed there. “I can’t avoid it now, so I won’t.” He tried opening it, pulling it toward him until he remembered it pushed forward.

Guai was there, staring at where the giant spyglass stood pointed. He glanced around when they arrived, and started to speak until he saw the absolute detachment in Alden’s gaze. “Oh no.” He muttered, stroking his face. “I was worried I’d given you too large a dose.”

“Just do something about it.” Alden said, moving to Guai.

The older man obliged, digging around in his pouch and this time extracting a small clear crystal. “This’ll counteract the effects of the first one.” He said. Alden took it up and swallowed it before Guai could speak again, then moved to the spyglass to watch the submarines and their ship.

Diana felt instant relief when Guai produced something to counteract the relaxant he had given Alden earlier. Drifting after Aldan in the currents wake he left behind, she looked at the telescope with curiosity. It was a magnificent device she was sure, but it was the aesthetic qualities she admired. The craftsmanship involved had to have been done by a master. Hesitantly she moved into a more lighted area and asked, "Are you monitoring the humans from here?"

Feeling more level-headed, but not necessarily high-strung with worry or grief, Alden nodded at Diana’s question. “This way, we don’t have to get especially close to them.” He said. “It won’t run the risk of being spotted. The guards are keeping constant watch at every point of entry around the city, and at various locations above the coral dome.” He turned a knob on the left side of the spyglass, sending its curved glass forward a bit. “We modeled this after the human’s version of a telescope. But it’s more primitive in which it doesn’t have near as many corrosive parts that can over time be damaged by salt water.”

“We’ve been watching these particular submarines for the past week or two.” Guai added. “For the past few days they haven’t been getting any closer, nor have they moved.”

Alden shook his head, taking his eye away from the eyepiece. “As long as they stay away from the crater, it’ll be fine.” He glanced at Guai, checking a waterproof timepiece. “Is it time?” The older merman nodded, and Alden sighed, glancing at Diana. “The cityfolk should be gathering now at the balcony.” He told her. “When we get there, take a place beside Loretti, right?”

She took a deep breathe and nodded. "I think I can manage that part. They will be looking at you the whole time, so why should I be nervous right?" Then she remembered her gift that would be presented to him. The delicate looking but sturdy tail ring that would be presented on a blue pillow. Or she would be nervous after all.

Guai looked at Alden through narrowed eyes. “Are you okay now?”

Alden nodded, and started off, this time toward the community door that could be accessed by anyone. They traveled some distance, going up instead of down, toward the balcony that protruded out to become a large, stage-like platform that everyone could see in the large courtyard, which at times held the entire city, but no more. Alden had lied, perhaps. He felt fine, more in control, but that didn’t stop the nerves from clenching his teeth every time they turned a corner. Even from within the palace walls he could hear the activity going on outside.

Diana felt her stomach start to flutter. Shadowing the two as they led, she clenched her fists. Really? She was going to be going out front in front of everyone? Normally, she was in the shadows in or near the crowd but unseen. This wasn't going to be as easy to pull off. She desperately wished she had practiced being up front more when she had been a youngster in school. Maybe the experience would have helped her a great deal to handle this. She looked at Alden's back. He appeared so strong. She could use a little of his strength. Maybe he wouldn't mind... naw. She had been about to swim up beside him to hold his hand. He might take it wrong. She squeezed her clenched fists at her side and, with her head down, focused on her breathing.

Alden forced himself to keep pace with Guai. Nervously, he ran a hand along the bare plate on his necklace, soon to be home to the final stone that would officially send him to the top of the proverbial pyramid. Now, all he had to do was listen to the others as they told him what to do, then it would all be up to him. He breathed shakily.

Guai was the first to the large double doors. Without a moment’s hesitation he pulled them forward, letting in a dull roar of voices from outside. Alden relaxed, and glanced back to Diana. “Are you... ready for this? Everyone will be able to see the present and most influential of the palace staff from this point.” She didn’t especially have to be with them like Alden. She could leave easily, and nothing would be missed by the majority of the city.

She gulped and forced herself to look up. Nerves. It was just nerves. "I can... can..." She clenched her mouth shut. So much for talking. The memory of her sister's parting words rebounded in her mind. "Your always hiding. You never do anything." She was the apprentice of the palace gold artisan. She had to fulfill that role to the fullest so that she could not be accused of slacking or getting off easy. "I must." If she was only going to be able to say two syllables, might as well make it a sentence. Her trembling form gained a determined glint in the nervous eyes. She met Alden's concerned gaze and a little more strongly said, "I must." She would focus on one fin at a time. She would getting herself beside Loretti and take it from there.

Alden raised a brow, but nodded once. She put a lot of effort into looking confident, but he let it slide. She did seem to hide away a lot. Perhaps she was trying to stand alone and be her own person. That was definitely brave of her, and Alden breathed in sharply. He would do the very same. He moved out, onto a lightly raised pedestal. Before the massive crowd, a large steel block sat. It was generally used for setting stones quickly to be later finished so they weren’t lost. A strong-looking merman was to the left, with a large flat hammer. To the right, one of the palace jewelers, whose eyes were so intent to detail they could identify even the most microscopic crack in a gem, held a small pillow with the final blue gem lying in its middle. Guai stood back this time, allowing Alden and Diana to go forward. Loretti had taken her place beside the jeweler, and beckoned Diana forward.

Alden moved onto the pedestal, allowing himself a sure smile that others said they liked to see in their leaders, which spoke of their steadfast and rock-solid state of mind and leading ability. Alden’s father had taught him that. As Alden undid the clasp that held his necklace together, handing it with a nod to a yellow-tailed mermaid, who laid it carefully upon the steel brick.

Guai finally reappeared, and moved past everyone else. “Before we begin,” he spoke, in a voice loud enough to calm the crowd and boom over the yard, “our own palace gold artisan apprentice would like to present a specially-made gift to Alden.”

The soon-to-be-king’s eyes widened, and he glanced around. He certainly hadn’t expected this.

((I cut it off there in case you wanted to do the presentation..))

((Oh the poor girl, this is going to be a blast to write ^_^))

Diana's eyes widened and she audibly gulped. She hadn't expected to have it explained where the piece came from, but the palace staff could thorough if anything. She felt Loretti beside her shift and then move to accept from a palace servant a blue pillow with a gorgeous ring of thin, twisted metal on it. Taking the pillow, she turned back around. Giving a quick wink at Diana, Loretti then swam around regally and in front of Alden. Swimming slowly up to him, she bowed and held up the blue pillow with the tail ring on it. It resembled a wreath of seaweed with the leaves created and place just so in order to not poke the owner while giving an air of delicacy. She had overseen the process of the components being put together. She knew this was no delicate ring. Even the clasp that opened and closed was sturdy.

Off to the side, she could see Diana's form as stiff and unmoving as a statue. She couldn't hear Diana's thoughts, but could easily guess. Diana floated there waiting. As scary as being, for the moment, by herself as well as having so many eyes on her, she couldn't help but feel a small shred of pride. But most of all, her eyes were fastened steadfastly on Alden's face. It was a gift created by a long, intimate time with the pieces as well as her hopes for a bright future. Would he like it? Would he accept it out of more than mere formality or royal gesture of goodwill? She found herself desperately wanting him to like it. He was coming to represent more than just the heir and soon king to her. He was beginning to matter to her on a more personal level, though she didn't want to face that.

Alden watched carefully as Loretti moved around, circling him once with the newly-acquired blue pillow, and stopped right in front of him. It was as though his heart stopped for a moment when he raised his hands, taking the item and studying it, carefully at first, until he found it was surprisingly strong. It resembled seaweed, rather than looking like a copy, however, it resembled the real thing, as though someone had plucked the green weed from the ocean floor and dipped it in a thin sheath of gold, allowing it to harden that way. But he’d seen enough of the young mermaid’s work to know it wasn’t the case. He couldn’t help but smile, and brought his tail forward to clasp the item securely.

Lightweight and snug, both, it didn’t hinder his movement. That was difficult to do, especially when one had such a long, rather thinly tapered tail. Though it would be expected to call Diana up for a formal thanks, as Loretti returned to her place with a swift nod, Alden considered it to be a bit too much at once. Instead, he raised up a bit, making a note to show the base of his tail. “Before the formal crowning, I would like to give my immediate gratitude to the palace’s new gold artisan apprentice Diana for her gift, which no doubt took hours of work. And I’d like to show the crafters of art, music, architecture, and written word that regardless of how well you think you can do in your immediate craft, you can always do better, always move forward. And, perhaps, come to live and practice here, regardless of your age.”

He glanced at Diana, giving an appreciative nod her way before returning to his place on the raised platform.

Diana felt her heart beating as she watched Alden gently pick up the piece. On the inside was her mark. She was insanely pleased with how she had placed it there. It had been engraved to match the small veins in the seaweed. By the look on his face, he was both astonished and awed. His eyes grew wider and his breathe caught just a little. Inside, she grinned like a child. Loretti swam back to her and winked.

Diana blushed a deep blue hue and looked up at Alden. His tail complimented the piece beautifully. Then he spoke, sure and strong. He was thanking her, specifically, in front of all these people. She clenched her fists to avoid drawing back into the shadows. It would be easy to disappear, but it would also be noticed this time. Inside she started pleading, "Don't call me up there, don't call me up there, please don't call me up there." It was as if he had heard her. As he ended his gratitude with an invitation for others to do their best, she felt her heart easing a bit. Loretti reached over and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Diana squeezed hers back in thanks.

As Alden returned back to his place, he nodded to her. She felt a sort of grin coming to her face of it's own accord. Despite her shyness and trembling, she was also... happy? It was a revelation to her. If this is the power of royalty, then Alden was going to be a wonderful ruler. She looked up at him with trusting eyes and felt pride, a rare emotion for her, seep under her skin. Alden was so stately, sure of himself, and charming. How could she not trust him? Especially when he offered earlier to be her friend.

He had a difficult time readjusting to his place. Diana was such a lovely young woman, why would she spend her life in shadow? The silent question was accompanied by a scornful scoff. He, Alden, had also seeked solace in the shade of the underwater world. What place did he have to question her wishes to be left alone? He shook the thought away as the silver-tailed palace jeweler moved forward with his pillow, lifting the gem and placing it on the very slight indent on the largest plate of gold lying stationary on the block of metal.

The hammer-wielding merman lifted his hammer as the jeweler pulled his hand away, and with a single swift movement, pounded the gem into place. A clear protective coating fell away as the hammer struck, leaving the surface of the gem unscathed and lying generally secure in its golden home.

Alden stared at the thing. It was over. His title was revoked. In its place, king would ring out from this moment, this very instant, on. His heart raced as Guai moved forward, picking the thing up, and with a flourish, fastened it underneath Alden’s mess of white hair. The present audience was roaring their approval, and Alden didn’t want to disappoint. He raised a hand in a wave, gathering more appreciation from them, allowing a small but sure smile shine through the original cover of doubt. Doubt, now, would have to take a back seat. He was a king now. He would have to make his father proud.

She cheered with the rest. Though in a more gracious manner than the wild crowd below, it was heartfelt. He was now King Alden. King Alden. It suited him splendidly. If any of his doubts still remained, then he was hiding them well. She admired him all the more for that. She was not as in control of her emotions and respected his strength. Both emotionally and physically.

The artisans and heads of the departments that had taken place near him moved one at a time in a parade in front of him to pledge their loyalty and devotion. When it was their turn, Loretti led Diana as they swam before Alden. Together, they bowed low before him. She bowed a little lower than necessary to express her affection for him.