Camilia couldn't help but stare as they went. Everything was beautiful, moreso than anything she'd ever seen before. It was beautiful in an ethereal sort of way; by all accounts, it seemed like something that shouldn't even exist. It was beyond anything she'd imagined would be there.

"Wow..." she breathed as they went. It was the first thing she'd said the entire trip. "It's amazing..." She was sufficiently distracted enough that she didn't even notice the new guards at first. When she did, however, she fell silent again and just followed Leith. No sense in doing anything that might make the guards upset.

Leith kept close to Camilia even as they entered the calm, still waters of the city streets. If she began lagging behind, the guards would help her along a bit more forcefully, since they were rather short on human knowledge. They were led through the major road to the palace, and as they passed, Leith could see the faces of others as they began following, a combination of worry, shock, fear, relief... They kept a respectful pace behind the last two guards as Leith and Camilia came up on the palace entrance. When they began over the threshold of the tall, wide double doors, the congregation fell back as though to wait.

In the main hall, which doubled as the throne room, Leith's parents sat on a massive bed that resembled a clam shell. It was modeled after human renditions of merfolk society, but the shell itself was well textured marble, encrusted with tiny jewels that resembled a sunburst. The fabric they sat on was dark red, filled with fine sand. Leith glanced at Camilia. "It's best to keep from making direct eye contact at first." He informed. "My parents have never been... trusting of outsiders. Especially humans." He shook away his own unease. How would they react...?

Camilia nodded and hung back a little. It was only fair that she trust him now when he trusted her before. And besides, it wasn't exactly as if she had much to lose at the moment. She kept her eyes down, although she took quick glances through her peripheral vision at the rest of her surroundings. The room itself was made of light-colored stone, although Camilia really had no idea what it was, and there seemed to be some sort of glowing sconces on the walls to provide light. The effect was oddly unnerving to her, but she wasn't about to comment on it right now.

As they approached, the queen was the first to realize who had arrived. She lifted herself from her seat and pulled her husband with her, and moved forward. For a moment they hovered in front of Leith, as though taking in the sight of him, and at once, his mother put her arms around him with a sobbing smile. "We thought you were dead." His father, Marcius, stated, and followed the action of his mother, Celine.

Leith accepted the motions and returned them gratefully, putting an arm around both his mother and father. "I'm not." He said. "I was taken by humans, put on display in a tank for others to stare at. It was worse than a prison could ever be. I got out because of her..." He glanced backward to where Camilia was, still between two guards. Celine and Marcius went forward, and placed themselves in front of her. They waved the two guards away. "State your name." Marcius said simply.

It made Camilia nervous that she was the relative center of attention so quickly. She'd thought she might have another few minutes before having to 'face the music,' so to speak.

"Camilia," she replied before she could lose what nerve she'd managed to scrounge up in the last thirty seconds or so. She kept her eyes down, though. She already wasn't sure what would happen to her in the next minute or so, no sense in potentially making it worse for herself.

The queen moved forward first, in front of her husband. "Camilia." She repeated quietly. For a moment, she studied the girl with a straight-backed posture, but as she stared into the young human's eyes, her own gaze softened, and her hand came up to her face. "Thank you." She muttered, pulling Camilia forward and into a tight hug. "We thought Leith had been killed. We had given up hope."

"We can't thank you enough, dear." The king pulled his wife away so Camilia could breathe again. "My name is Marcius. My wife, Celine." He indicated the merwoman. "You've done more than you can ever imagine. Perhaps there's something we can do to repay you?"

Leith flitted forward, behind Camilia, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Father, Mother, Camilia risked her freedom to release me from my own prison. Her peers are probably searching for her as we speak, intent on locking her up in a place far worse than I'd been held in. Perhaps there's a way to make it easier for her to remain here, at least for the time being...?"

Marcius nodded slowly. "Of course. That is, if Camilia would like to agree?" He turned his pale blue gaze on her.

"I..." Camilia trailed off. Everything seemed to have happened very quickly in a very small stretch of time, and she certainly hadn't been expecting the welcome that she'd received. She'd been expecting something lukewarm at best; not necessarily pleasant, but not terminal, either. She glanced down at the floor again, not sure what to say. "I couldn't possibly impose..." she finally mumbled. She kept her gaze pinned on her toes, watching intently as she bounced on them slightly so she wouldn't have to look at anyone. Never had she felt more out of place anywhere than she did at that moment.

"You aren't imposing, darling," Celine said gently. "We are offering. It would be the least we could do, in exchange for returning our son to us."

Camilia hesitated. She didn't want to refuse and seem ungrateful for the gesture, but she also wasn't entirely certain she deserved it. After a moment or two, she cautiously nodded.

((Grr, I need to get over this listless lack of motivation! It's stalling RPs and that's never good! I'm sorry for taking so long, again! I'll try to get back into the role of things and I promise it won't happen unless I have an actual reason next time!))


Leith smiled, and his father turned to him. "Would you lead the way, son?" He asked. A quick nod was given in reply, and he went toward Camilia. "Follow along." He said. "There isn't any resistance to swim against in the city, so it's easier to keep up." He started off, twisting around in a way that looked to almost tie his tail in a knot, but didn't; he led the way, as his father requested, up one of the two highly curved marble and gem-encrusted staircases, which were there mainly for show and beauty, and went to the left. The hallways were slightly dark, lit with clear pipes that sent magma through the whole of the palace, keeping the water warm and allowing light to be given to what would have been a very dark area.

They passed many doors, went up another couple staircases, and finally entered a rather large room. It was generally empty, save for what looked like bookcases that didn't house books, and a stone slab draped with thick cloths of dark blue and green. "Lie here." Marcius said to Camilia, patting the top of the slab. Leith and his mother went opposite directions, to a couple bookcases, taking up a few gold-edged jewels about as large as their hand.

Camilia had to admit, she was mildly impressed by the brief display of acrobatics from Leith. She'd forgotten for a moment that the water was far more buoyant than air and allowed for such things. After that fleeting moment of amazement, though, she did as she was bid and followed them. As she followed, she admired the architecture of the castle. Obviously, the staircases were made for show. Even if she didn't already know who lived in the castle, it was obvious: the stairs were too big for a person to comfortably climb. Still, she had to admire their beauty for a moment.

When they got to the large room, she hesitated for a moment. She was so close to second-guessing her decision, but quickly went over to the slab before she could talk herself out of it. She'd come this far, after all. Cautiously, she settled on the slab, but didn't lie back just yet.

Leith and Celine set several of the gold-rimmed gems on the corners of the slab, and as the fourth was placed on the last corner, they began a pale glow. "Hold still." Marcius told the girl. "You'll feel a bit cold from the waist down. Keep still and don't try to move that much."

The glow strengthened, and flew over Camilia's legs, melding to her legs, feet, and raising up to her waist, fading a bit. A light rattling sound echoed through the water and the glow grew to such an extensive shine, it was almost blinding, white near the center of the event. Her legs began extending, knitting quickly, and where her feet were, a wide, flat fin could already be seen. Leith and his parents aided the stones, focusing their own energy into them, adding to the speed in which Camilia was transformed. Her hands no longer harbored webbing, and as the glow faded entirely from existence, it was possible to see what had occurred.

The scales that now covered the single appendage were wide and shining, a pale red-yellow that seemed to change color in varying light intensities. The fins were tipped with orange and white, the end of her tail flat and tapering. Leith smiled widely at the color. "You look like sunlit coral." He commented. "Can you move?" He and Marcius offered a hand to help if necessary.

It was more than just cold. As Camilia laid back on the slab and the light intensified, she felt something cold and hot and aching and soothing and all other manner of sensations radiating from her waist down. It was all she could do to keep from squirming around out of reflex to try to get away from it. It seemed to last for ages, and then the light gradually died down. It was only near the end of the process that she noticed it was easier for her to breathe than it had been before.

As the light died down and finally vanished, she awkwardly sat up. Her legs (or tail now, rather) felt like she'd been wrapped up in a blanket, but it wasn't constrictive at all. Rather than having two limbs with one joint on each, the lower half of her body felt like one big multi-directional joint. It was kind of unnerving. Cautiously, she touched the limb, and blinked when she realized her hands were back to normal. Oddly, the red and yellow scales didn't wash out her skin like the colors tended to; and she was a bit grateful for it. She looked up when she was spoken to, and slowly reached out to take the offered hands.

Leith and Marcius took Camilia's hands and lifted her up. Celine followed their movement. "Move your tail back and forth." Leith said. "Not hard, the swiftness of movement considers speed. It's a bit different than regular marine life. Slowly to go upward. Bend slightly to change direction." He and Marcius let Camilia's hands go as they were several yards above the floor of the room.

"You'll not fall from the water even when you aren't moving your tail." Marcius said. "You'll be suspended in the water because merfolk are very different than humans. Even if you were a human at one time and only take on the look of the rest of us, our laws of physics, which take on the rule of magics both old and modern, don't effect us quite as right. It's why we can lie in one place in the open ocean and not be taken away by currents."

As he spoke, the door to the room opened and a guardsmen looked inside. "My king and queen, your presence is requested by the guard's board. They wish to speak of the schedule changes."

Celine nodded. "Very well, we'll be there in a moment." The guard nodded and left quickly, and she turned back to Camilia. "Leith will stay with you and help you learn. If you need us, let him know and he'll bring you around." She and Marcius left through the door the guardsman had been in.

Camilia did as she was told and carefully moved her new appendage. It was a bit unnerving and more than a little embarrassing, as if she were trying to learn how to walk all over again. When they let go of her fifteen feet above the floor, she flailed a little before she realized she wasn't sinking again. It felt strange to just be hovering there, and the end of her tail kept twitching a bit, belying her unease.

"This is really strange," she murmured to Leith after a moment. "You have no idea how strange it feels." She curled up a bit, as if she still had legs and was pulling her knees up to tuck her arms underneath them. It was a familiar posture; she tended to adopt it quite a bit while swimming, especially if she was clinging to a wall in a pool. There was no wall this time, though, so she just curled up as best she could.

Leith chuckled. "Oh, I know how it feels. Something like... learning how to move, as if you're a baby again but you've retained all your adult memories and abilities. It's the same with me when I walk on land, with human legs. I haven't done so in..." He paused, glancing at the ceiling of the domed room in thought, then looked back to Camilia. "... In about two hundred twenty three years. I'd be a regular mess if I tried walking without help for a while." He laughed at the thought, envisioning himself falling all over on tall, thin legs, crawling as if he didn't know he had them.

"Your tail's much more powerful than your legs were, anyway." He said. "It'll let you swim without tiring out. It'll take a while, but you'll get the hang of it quickly. A gradual up and down movement will propel you, but your upper body has to bend and your arms have to stabilize you, even when they're busy holding something or gesturing." He went back and down to the floor again. "Come down here. Bring up your tail so it's behind you and bend your body down." He opened his arms, as though waiting to catch something heavy above him.

"The movement starts in the shoulders, rather than the waist, right?" Camilia asked to clarify. She was fairly sure she was right, though; that was how she had seen everyone else move, and copying them seemed to be the best thing to do. Cautiously, she followed his instructions, and squeaked in surprise when what seemed like a small movement sent her shooting across the space between them to bump into him. "I definitely need practice..." She wasn't used to the water offering such little resistance; she was used to having to give a lot more effort to swim. "I'm going to need a lot more practice... I guess it's a good thing I'm not going anywhere for a while..." The last part was said almost in a mumble. She wasn't so sure how much she liked effectively being trapped until things topside quieted down again.

Leith caught her when she fled forward at a great speed, quite ready. He'd taught many like her to swim in the past, though under less life-threatening circumstances. Generally it was too far in the past for anyone to remember even the presence of merfolk just offshore, thus plunging them deep into myth. But it was then that merfolk gave favors to humans who helped them, and most humans desperately wanted to become one of them. "You'll be just fine." He said at last. "Eventually you'll be able to go back. I hope it's soon, though. I know how bad it feels when you can't go back home."

He went back, flicking his tail just a bit. "Follow me if you can. If you think you need some extra help, I can enlist the help of a friend of mine." When he went to the door, he opened it. "I'll make it up to you." He added quickly. "Maybe when you're able to go back to the surface, I can come too. Then you can see me struggle with human legs." He laughed a bit at the thought. Even the strongest swimmers tended to be very wobbly on human legs.

Camilia stopped.

"Wait, a friend?" she asked, a bit wary. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought about meeting someone else, especially when she barely had an idea of what she was doing. The thought made her hesitate, and she nibbled slightly on the inside of her lip. "Are you sure it's a good idea?" Of course, she was hesitant about 'new' things anyways: meeting new people, trying new things, going new places. She was one of those people who was terrified of making a mess of things, and was uncommonly insecure.

Leith laughed. "I'm pretty sure you'll feel fine around this particular friend." He assured her. "Come now, I'll help you along." He took her hand reassuringly, leading her, more pulling than anything else, down the hall and through a few others, heading down a couple more stairwells that didn't look fit for the legs of a human with normal height. Finally reaching a glass door, he pushed it aside and pulled Camilia into the open courtyard surrounded by the spires of the palace. He let out a long call, something that was a bit between a dolphin sound and that of a purring cat, letting go of Camilia so she could float on her own.

As he called, something became mobile form a coral patch near the corner to their left. It scuttled along the sand on eight long legs, changing color as it moved very faintly, from light blue to pale pinkish-red, on to light green and purple, as if moving through a color wheel. It was an octopus, which as it approached Leith, seemed to welcome him with a strange chatter that almost escaped one's hearing range. He ran a hand over the slick surface of its head, and turned to Camilia. "This isn't quite a normal animal." He said. "I brought it to life from a mound of organic material, and now it resembles a wild sea creature but is as loyal as a dog. He'll be able to pull you along while you learn to swim on your own. Won't you?" He bent down to face the octopus, which seemed to bounce in place even as it moved around to investigate Camilia, running its tentacles along her new scales and whistling in response.

"I don't make human friends well." Leith admitted. "Well, human or merfolk. Talking to people makes me nervous, something my parents are adamant I get over before I have to ascend to the throne. It'll take a good while, though, so I've got Euphie around to help me. At least talking to her helps my speech." He rejoined Camilia. "She doesn't look down on anyone, and she'll be a good friend if you let her." He patted Camilia reassuringly.

Camilia let him pull her through the halls, and she couldn't help but look around again as he did so. It was still just as magnificent as it was the first time; she doubted she would ever get completely used to it. Her attention was completely grabbed, however, when they got outside and Leith called his friend.

"An... octopus?" she asked cautiously as she watched the creature. She tried really hard not to flinch when it touched her. She hadn't been expecting it to, and she was still getting used to the whole scales thing. She was intrigued by the way it changed colors, however, and hesitantly held out a hand to it. "You know, you could talk to me," she mentioned to Leith even as she kept her eyes on the octopus. "I wouldn't mind. And I was kind-of-sort-of hoping we were friends now?" She glanced at him for a moment before going back to watching the creature. It was almost fun, trying to guess what color it would be next.

Leith tilted his head as the octopus put one of its tentacles around Camilia's outstretched hand and pulled her in a circle. It was simple enough to do so in the lightweight water. "I'd like to say we're friends." Leith said, slightly confused. "I thought that'd been established when you help me get out of the aquarium." He paused. "Of course, I'm... not entirely sure how to make much conversation. I've never had a real friend before, you know." He indicated the creature swirling around them. "Other than Ume, that is. And she can't speak."

Talk? What would he say? It was like a test. Would they share interests, hobbies? How would a merman and a human woman share a hobby, other than storytelling, writing, or singing? Perhaps swimming, but perhaps that was too obvious. Leith ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up and float like a seaweed field above his head. "Maybe I don't have real friends because I don't know what to say most of the time." He admitted. Ume became red, as if flushing a deep tone that indicated embarrassment, but changed back to light green when Leith shot a look at her. "How about... looking around the city?" He offered. "I can tell you about each district, and what merfolk hold in high regard, as well as what we dislike and believe in." It would fill the silence, at least. Perhaps that was what Camilia meant? Leith was terrible at gauging some emotions like that.

Camilia could practically watch the thoughts going through Leith's head. He wasn't all that good about keeping a poker face. When he finally settled on something, she grinned.

"I'd like a look around," she said, nodding. "I think it would be nice." She grinned a bit, a little embarrassed. "I guess I'm kind of curious about the city. I want to see everything." She brightened a bit more. "And you could practice talking to someone, because you'll be talking to me, so it all works out." Win-win, in her book. She watched to see what his answer would be.

Leith beamed. "Sure!" He twisted in the water, as if about to dart off, but froze and again almost tied his tail in a knot. "Er, Ume, come up." He noted, patting the octopus on the head. He gave another small whistle, a bit different than what called Ume to them, and the creature lifted itself up, using six of its legs as makeshift fins, which kept it afloat, and used its remaining two to reach out for Camilia.

"While you learn to better control your swimming ability," Leith stated, "she can help pull you through the water to get a feel for its resistance, drag, and how different currents affect your range of motion. Many merfolk in one place, for example, drags you in more erratic and confusing directions, and you'll have to learn to correct yourself to keep on track and not bump into anyone. Other times you'll be met with a strong one-way current, and sometimes you don't have much choice but to swim right through. It's a lot like wind on the surface, only it can be a lot more dangerous in certain areas." He went up, and arced back over to a gate that looked to lead out into the open water, but with a little concentration one could see outlying homes built of various stone and rock. Leith pushed it open.

Camilia, to her credit, tried really, really hard not too shudder too much when two of the legs of the creature wrapped around her wrists. The sensation against her skin was nothing like she'd ever felt before, and struck her as a cross between something slippery and something soft and it was all together unsettling. She tried very hard not to think about it. It helped once Leith started speaking; she was able to turn her attention to what he was saying, rather than to the appendages around her wrists. And really, the information Leith was giving her was interesting; she had never had to think about such things before. Water currents were bound to be much more intense than air currents, after all.

"I'll make sure to keep it in mind," she finally said.

Leith smiled as Ume pulled Camilia around and to the gate. "You'll only have to worry about strong currents outside the city." He promised. "And for the time being you'll definitely need a guide. Out there, it's pretty easy to get lost once you're out of sight of the buildings." He moved away, and onto a small road paved with what looked like white cobblestone. "This path leads around the palace and into the city itself." He added. "Be sure to keep your tail moving and shoulders squared while you're moving straight, practice for when Ume can't help."

He went around to the far side of the pathway, and Ume brought Camilia out and onto the center, lowering herself onto the ground and walking quickly through the water as if she were moving through air. "Everything's been a bit off since you arrived." Leith admitted. "I'm sure my parents are preparing a revelation speech to bring me back. But while we're free, you can be the leader. Where do you want to go first? Each district is specific in a certain job, and the large squares are usually filled with sights to see. You'll really get a feel for the world you're in now." He tilted his head, and darted ahead a few feet, looking around the twisting corner. This pathway was rarely used, if ever, only occasionally patrolled by a guard to keep loiters or strangers out.

"I didn't mean to make things difficult around here," Camilia said as she did as instructed. She had assumed that him telling her that things were off meant that things had gotten difficult and complicated, and not in a good way. She glanced around a bit when he began telling her about the city a little bit. To be honest, she couldn't decide what she wanted to see first. "What do you think we should go see?" she asked him finally, looking at him. "You know the city best, I would imagine. What should I see first?" She was interested to know what the different parts of the city specialized in, but had no idea where to even start. So Leith was just going to have to man up and pick a place to start and show her the way.