Atlantis

Disclaimer: This little story features smut, tentacles, and a little bit of non-con, not sure I can write much else lol. While it is "non-human", I post it beneath this genre because of the non-con. It was written for a writing challenge in a writing group I am part of. This is how I pronounce their names, not sure if it's actually how they're pronounced nor do I care: *Sidron (Sid-Ron) & Ryla (Rye-La)*

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It was upon my return from my midnight bathroom trip when something started to feel off. A sudden uneasiness nestled between my shoulder blades. My apartment was pitch black, and since I didn't need lights to see where I was going, navigating it had become second nature. The last few whispers of sleep were shaken off as I trekked forward. *It's all in your head, keep calm, you're going to be fine.* The utter silence got to me, it was the lack of noise that made it hard to sleep. Usually, Netflix was playing on my laptop and I realized it must have died when I fell asleep. I walked further, the uneasiness growing stronger. I sank back into bed, and as I began to drift away the bedside lamp flicked on. I was on my feet, adrenaline pumping through my body as I searched for the intruder. But what my eyes fell upon froze me in place. It was Sidron, the youngest Prince of Atlantis.

"It has been far too long, Ryla." There He was, sitting against my window sill, facing me. He was wearing a dark grey, sharkskin suit with a bright orange, guppie scale tie. I glanced at the small aquarium where my Staghorn blade was resting inside. I had the tank atop my nightstand, where it would be within easy reach should I need it. *A lot of good that does me now*.

"How-How did you find me?" I tried to steady myself, but my legs felt like baby jellyfish. I should have listened to my instincts.

"Braylon and Gorok have died in battle," he announced, ignoring my question. His voice was flat, void of emotion, but I knew he was hurting. It was his way of coping with difficult things, he detached himself. I dug my nails into my palms, the pain helping me focus.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I replied sincerely. With his father and brother gone, he would inherit the throne. So then why was he *here*, on land, millions of miles away? The lead feeling in my gut told me it was nothing good. I thought had been so good...so careful. When I arrived inland, I managed to procure a fake ID rather quickly. According to my driver's license, my name was now Annabel Johnson and I was 34 years old. It would have been flattering had time meant the same to us as it did to the humans. Their lives were quite short in comparison. It wasn't as if humans had been a complete mystery to us, even though there *was* a learning curve. I had managed to survive for nearly five years, strange behaviors or mannerisms had been dismissed as eccentricities; I had a decent job as a waitress at a lovely cafe that was a couple of blocks away.

"You left without a single word to anyone."

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, *Prince* Sidron; it was never my intention."

"Don't. Just don't! You know I hate it when you throw my title at me like it's an insult. You left without so much as a goodbye! How can you dare stand there and tell me you never intended to hurt me?" It was always the one thing he could never seem to understand. But he was a Prince, used to getting anything and everything he wanted. I was nothing more than a palace soldier, a pawn to be used in a war I no longer believed in. In fact, it had been one of the reasons I left. That and the severe beating I received at the hands of King Braylon's' men. He had discovered I was spending time alone with his son. They had made sure it was a lesson I wouldn't soon forget.

"How did you find me?" I repeated.

"In order for me to be officially crowned as King, the council says I need a consort, and I have picked *you*."

"A Prince cannot marry a... a soldier." I was going to say peon, but Sidron hated when I referred to myself as lower, despite the fact it was true.

"You're not a soldier anymore, you're a deserter. Also, there is no law expressly forbidding it either. We shall be the first, that is, once I bring you home." I shook my head vehemently.

"That city has ***never*** been my home. My home is here, among the humans."

"For better or worse, the sea is still a part of you Ryla; the magick runs in your blood and that is not something you can so easily escape. You are done playing human... it's time to come home." Although I shook my head, I knew it to be true; I felt the call of the ocean every day, desperately trying to lure me back into its warm embrace. I had to set timers whenever I took showers otherwise, I easily lost track of time soaking beneath the spray. It was a poor substitute at best.

"How did you find me?" I spoke each word through clenched teeth; I hated being ignored.

"We're soulmates, I can find you anywhere, my fairy basslet." I bit the inside of my cheek, he knew how much I liked that strange nickname. It was the first time someone had seen my mixed heritage as something other than unwanted and shameful. I had been his escort on one of his evening rides, King Braylon rarely let him out of sight without a guard or two. I had been honored for the opportunity. Little had I known he had made it all up and effectively used me to escape the palace unsupervised. Sidron had taken me out west towards the reef where we came upon schools of them. He said they had reminded him of me with my magenta colored hair and lavender eyes.

In order to survive the downfall of Atlantis, our King performed a great feat of magick to help us survive. We evolved, adapted; but magick always comes with a price. All Atlantean's life force resonates with a specific sea creature, often taking on characteristics of their animal counterparts. My father, a blue-legged hermit crab. Which due to their aggressive nature, were raised to be soldiers. My mother, a red-legged hermit crab. Her people were natural scavengers, the hunters and gatherers of the Kingdom. It was very rare for our people to stray from their caste, let alone have children. It wasn't unheard of, but nobody had let me forget it.

"I wouldn't be your mate if you were the last cephalopod in the sea." His eyes began to glow a dark blue.

"If the tides don't turn in our favor, there will be no Atlantis to return to. I *need* you to come home." I knew he spoke the truth for it wasn't often Sidron admitted even having weakness let alone admit he needed anyone. It looked as though it wounded his pride to do so.

"Atlantis is no longer my problem," I replied coldly, even though it killed me on the inside to do so.

"That's a shame, I really wanted to do this the easy way..." My level of fear went up several notches, there was no mistaking the underlying threat in his words.

"Whatever is going on in that devious mind of yours, you better rethink it! I am not going back willingly." Sidron flashed a cavalier smile.

"I would expect nothing less from you, but I already know how this is going to end Ryla." He took a step in my direction, and I shook my head watching as he inhaled sharply, his pupils dilating.

"And by the smell of fear permeating the room, you know it too. Would you refuse your soon-to-be King when every molecule is telling you to submit? Why are you fighting it?"

"I serve no King!" The more I defied him, the more the pleasantries seemed to melt away. My stomach dropped as the wet slithering sounds reached my ears. I took a step back, but I already knew it was too late to run. He was too fast, I would be lucky if I made it out the bedroom door. If I had any illusion that he was going to give me mercy they were shattered now.

"Sid, please...don't do this. I like my life here, I'm finally happy."

I watched as over a dozen, long, fawn colored tentacles, with vibrant black and blue rings, slid into sight. The rings pulsated, colors rippling, almost pulling me into their hypnotic trance. I focused on his coral blue eyes, ignoring the gliding limbs as the snaked their way towards me. Oil exuded from their pores, coating him in a glistening sheen. When he was on land, the oils kept his tentacles from drying out. Prince Sidron came from a long line of octopus Kings, their talents and gifts always varied, but Sidron was the first of his line to manifest actual appendages. They were ten times stronger than his humanoid hands and he was able to move them each independently. They were long, the underside covered in tiny little suction cups that were palpitating as they pulled themselves across the room.

"You don't belong among the mortals Ryla, and you know that." Every inch they gained filled me with more dread. He could move faster, but he knew what he was doing by taking his time, the voracious glint in his eyes told me as much. I took a few more steps back, my back resting against the closet door.

"Don't make me hurt you. There is plenty of other fish in the sea, you don't need *me*," I insisted, hand clasping the doorknob. On the top shelf was a longer blade, carved from the Skellington of a Megalodon. It had been the first gift he had ever given me, threatening to accuse me of theft if I refused to accept it. *Always the charming one.*

"Perhaps not, but it is you that I want, and I **always** get what I want." His tentacles spread out and began reaching out for me. I didn't hesitate a moment longer, I threw my closet door open and just as my hand wrapped around the handle of the blade, the first one wrapped its slimy clutches around my ankle. I moved swiftly, bringing the blade down, fulling intending to slice one off, but he moved faster, one wrapped around my wrist, the other my bicep, immediately immobilizing my arm. I reached for the blade with my left hand, but two more wrapped around that arm. The one around my right wrist began to squeeze, tighter and tighter until I was sure it would break, my fingers began to tingle painfully. I cried out, dropping the blade into one of his tentacle's waiting grasp and it handed it to Sidron. He twirled it in his hands, admiring the weight of it. Two wrapped around my knees, a third wrapped around my bare ankle and a final one around my throat. They were slippery but strong. He pointed my own blade at me and no matter how hard I struggled, I wasn't strong enough to break free. I barely even moved with my body being pulled so taught.

I could feel each sucker as if they were millions of little mouths attaching themselves to me, gripping tightly. I shuddered as my body recalled just exactly what all those little mouths could do.

"You can stop struggling, I am not letting you go. I am going to fuck you, I am going to bite you, and then I am going to take you home." The closer he came the further his tentacles wrapped their way around my limbs, encasing them and effectively binding me. Even the one around my throat began to squeeze ever so slightly, not enough to cut off oxygen or blood, but enough to limit my movement.

"You will kill me if you bite me." Sidron shook his head.

"I have anti-venom should I make a miscalculation, but I would never jeopardize your life, Ryla."

"You condemn us both if you take me back there! They will never accept me as your Queen."

"They will have to learn." He brought me closer, letting his extremities do all the work. He stopped when we were only centimeters apart, and I had to close my eyes to avoid being mesmerized by his haunting blue gaze. He leaned in, inhaling deeply, his breath hot against the nape of my neck.

"Gods how I have missed you," he growled. Suddenly he pulled me into a kiss, the taste of the ocean still on his lips. His hands reached up and wiped the tears from my face while he pulled me in deeper. My heart fluttered as though a thousand tadpoles were swimming around inside my chest. I hated to admit it, but I had missed him too. There wasn't a day that didn't go by where he hadn't been on my mind. But staying in Atlantis would have meant his death and that was not something I wanted on my conscious. I was breathless when he pulled away, mind already beginning to fog over with arousal. I could feel every single one of his tentacles as they began to slide their way toward more intimate places. He used my own blade to slice my nightshirt straight down the middle, exposing my naked body as his limbs covered me in their slick oils.

They moved all around, flexing powerfully while touching me tenderly. Teasing, caressing, while he tore my panties away like they were made of parchment paper. His eyes shone with an animalistic intensity. His sharkskin jacket slid to the floor as his extra limbs removed his shirt and pants, his rigid manhood springing to attention. I could feel them slither over my breasts, it was as if they everywhere at once, caressing my thighs, probing my pussy. My face burned with embarrassment as he slowly lowered me down, impaling me onto his full length. A ragged, tortured groan was forced from my lips as my body began to burn with a feverish longing. He pounded me relentlessly, his mouth making its way down from my lips, pausing once he reached my breasts. Gone was my anger, my fear; replaced now with a need so strong it ached.

"Please Sidron..." I could hardly manage a coherent thought let alone sentence. My body jerked and spasmed weakly as I was subjected to his intimate exploration. I could feel myself building closer, but whenever I felt myself teetering on the edge, he'd stop just long enough for the need to dissipate before starting again.

"Please what?" he teased.

My stomach muscles tightened as my breathing came in short, agonized gasps.

"You have to ask me for it Ryla, otherwise I can do this all night."

"P-P-Please..." I wailed as my body writhed lasciviously in response to the teasing, stimulating caress between my legs. He stopped again and I felt as though I would go mad. It was torture and I couldn't take another second of it, so instead, I surrendered.

"Please for the love of the Gods just fuck me already!" I shouted. He grabbed my hips as he repeatedly slammed himself into my sore, abused pussy. My body abruptly stiffened as millions of tiny explosions clouded my vision. For a moment I was consumed with nothing but pure orgasmic bliss, only to be brought back down when he sank his teeth into my shoulder, a sharp stabbing sensation that was followed by a flush of warm tingling that spread through my body, turning my limbs heavy and numb. It was yet another characteristic Sidron shared with his other half, his ability to inject a deadly neurotoxin, the same neurotoxin that was now swimming through my body. If he intended to take me home, then it shouldn't be enough to kill me. As my vision began to fade, he leaned to whisper in my ear.

"I told you, I knew how this was going to end, you can't fight your true nature."