No one's POV:
-

No way.

Impossible.

There was only one way for anyone to go to Stephan's house. From the sea with boat. His house was surrounded by rocks and he was taking his boat to do circle and go to the village or go to work (didn't mention that detail but now ya know). And the weirdest was that Stephan wasn't seeing any boat.

"Aaah hawks. Aggressive but smart creatures. The Byzantine rich people uses trained hawks to hunt little animals." W.D. Gaster said chilly, rubbing Nadine's chin and still looking at Stephan. "Did you know that?" He asked.

"Boss... h-how did you get here?" He asked still shaking. But he tried to smile. "So... what's up?" Boss sighed and chuckled again.

"Lord's mercy got you out of the sea huh? Well, more like a mermaid saved you." He said making Stephan flinch. And he continued. "And not only that. 8 months you're together, aren't you?"

"B-Boss... I don't know for what you're talking about." Stephan managed to keep his voice stable in the end.

"Stephaaan Stephan! Don't you know lying is a bad sin? And I'm not forgiving lies. You better start admitting the truth or you won't like what's going to happen next." Boss threatened calmly. Stephan looked down clenching his teeth and fists. After some seconds he took a deep breath and looked at his Boss calmly but still a little agitated and pale.

"How?" He asked.

"How I learned your secret? Let's just say birds are excellent spies." Boss said looking at his hawk.

"But you can't understand them-" Only then the realisation punched Stephan. He placed his hand at his forehead and his eyesockets widened up. "B-Boss... you're... you're... siren?!" He managed to say. His Boss chuckled and licked ostentatiously one of his sharp front teeth.

"Close enough... I'm demimermaid." Stephan felt even more pale and took another step back. Boss sighed.

"All of my old generations were normal landlubbers. But it happened and my mother was mermaid. The aristocrats knew that, I was illegitimate in their eyes but... what could they say openly since the King was admitting my skills? It didn't matter so much what I was. And I wasn't caring at all to be honest." He replied. Stephan took one more step back.

"Oh come on Stephan, don't look at me like that!" Boss chuckled. "I'm not going to hurt you or your mermaid." Stephan clenched his fists. He was more afraid for CQ, not himself. Would it be better if he was letting him still believe CQ was mermaid from bird's false information?

"What do you want exactly?" He asked clenching his teeth.

"Tell her to come out. I would like to see her. I want to give and say something to both of you." Boss said smiling.

"How do I know you won't hurt her?" Stephan asked and regretted for letting those words slip from his mouth.

"Why would a mermaid hurt another merm-" Boss raised his eyebrows surprised and interested.

"Sh*t."

"Unless..." There his Boss started laughing calmly. He lowered his head and started shaking it left and right. "She's not a mermaid, isn't she?" He asked. Stephan started shaking.

"Only over my dead body you'll hurt her!" He tried to say standing his ground. There Boss started laughing uncontrollably and wheezing. Nadine seemed to 'laugh' too.

"If I wanted to kill you from the time I guessed you were hiding the truth from me and realised she's siren... I would have done so." Boss said in a dark tone and still smiling cunningly. Stephan gulped.

"Enough with the words. You have 2 minutes to get her out or else..." He didn't need to finish his words. Stephan knew already. If only he could convince CQ to get out. Maybe if she hadn't hear the conversation he could pass the part that his Boss was actually demimermaid to not scare her more.

"... Yes sir." He replied and turned his back praying silently. He got in his house and told CQ to come out, his Boss had just come to 'visit' and to not worry. He convinced her and having her behind him and very close, they walked towards where his boss was. But something weird started happening after some seconds.

Once CQ saw more clearly Gaster when she was 10m. distance, abruptly she stopped walking and stayed motionless with widened eyes and shaking. Stephan looked at her surprised. But seeing her pale like a ghost he stopped walking too.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Y-Your boss... Is a mermaid? And you didn't tell me?!!!" She stuttered making Stephan's eyesockets widen up.

"How did you know?!"

"Sirens and mermaids Stephan, at a point of their life they get the ability to feel in seconds if they have opposite them, a siren or a mermaid. Call it part of the instinct if you like." Gaster said looking at CQ smiling. "And that ability seems to pass to the half mermaids like me. Now that she's closer and I'm seeing her, I feel that she's indeed siren, not mermaid."

"Aha, I... see." Stephan murmured and between the 3 (4 if we count the hawk too), silence fell. Gaster was looking at CQ carefully with his hand at his jaw smiling. After a minute, the hawk turned to his boss and seemed to whisper something.

"If she's gorgeous? Aaah but I can tell the same Nadine!" Gaster said loudly and Stephan with CQ looked at each other surprised. Gaster turned again to look at them. "I think you're a very lucky man Stephan. Having by your side a beautiful but so brave and courageous siren. She's not the way I remember them." He said and approached. CQ turned even more pale, held Stephan's hand and gulped. Gaster chuckled again and stopped in front of Stephan.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, I don't bite. And I don't care about the hate, it's obsolete for me. None of my business." He said and crammed his hand in his pocket. "I might be a cruel, rude and tough guy many times to people, but..." He took out his hand from his pocket. "... because I'm in a good mood and because I see what a nice couple you are..." In front of Stephan's and CQ's shocked eyes, Gaster showed 2 golden rings.

"... I give you these."

"B-Boss! Woah! Wait, hold on, I can't take those from you, I cannot accept them!" Stephan said. Boss chuckled.

"Although smuggler you're still refusing to take more than what you get. I'm not having any problem at all. And although sirens and mermaids are considered greedy, those rings are the only things I want to get rid of. To be completely honest, I'm not giving them only because for the 2 reasons I said before. They bring me memories from my old life, which I'm disgusted, years now, everytime I hold them in my hand and look at them. And rather someone else have them instead me." He replied still holding stably the rings in his palm.

"Boss... I... I have no words-"

"And you better not find. If you start thanking, me I'll throw up. And then I'll regret my decision." Gaster said darkly.

"Yes sir." Stephan said smiling.

"Anyways. Have you ever thought about marriage? Have you ever wished to marry?" Boss asked raising an eyebrow smiling, like he knew already the answer. CQ stared at Stephan, waiting to hear. For some seconds Stephan stayed silent looking at her.

"Near 1 month now." He started. "But I wasn't sure. And besides, I didn't know how you'll take it... boss."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that now." Boss interrupted him smiling. "And I think the other boys in fact will be glad. But why don't you ask her now if she wants to marry you too? To be sure." He said. Stephan turned to look at CQ. He rubbed the back of his head and then, held her hands looking at her deeply in the eyes.

"Do you want this too CQ? Do you wish to stay by my side officially and forever?" He asked waiting for an answer. CQ lowered her look for some seconds. When she lifted her head again she was smiling. Stephan felt her hands holding a little tighter his.

"Yes." She answered and smiled. Gaster clapped slowly humming.

"Excellent, congratulations!" Nadine said.

"Settled then!" Boss said, approached and stood in front of them. "May I?" He asked waiting for Stephan's hand, who gave it. Boss wore the ring on his finger. "Take good care of her." He said and turned to CQ waiting for her hand. Waveringly CQ gave it and Gaster wore the second ring to her.

"If the storager falls again into storms you'll save him won't you?" He asked and CQ chuckled nodding. Then Boss turned his back and walked towards the sea. "Now if you excuse me I must go. The boys will wonder where the hell did I go and-"

"Hold on Boss, I don't say, you gave them 1-2 good words, won't you give them a wish also? Be happy? Live for as long as they can together or something?" Nadine whispered. Gaster facepalmed and chuckled. But he hid behind the rock he came out first and dissappeared. For some seconds nothing could be heard. Until Nadine flew high and then:

"Have every happiness in the world! And make sure to have lots of crybabies!" Boss said in a cheerful tone. Stephan and CQ's faces changed completely color.

"See you next time!" He completed and the very next moment the couple heard a loud water splash.

"That's my Boss." Nadine thought leaving a quiet chuckle as she was seeing Boss' red tail waving in the water and swimming away fast.

The other smugglers got surprised and congratulated Stephan when Boss announced the engagement the next day (and after some of the smugglers observed the ring). But when they were hitting him friendly at his back, they were also doing 'manly' questions to joke with him like:

"Is your wife pretty?"

"How long have you been together?"

"How many are you going to have?"

"Did you-

"Guys pleeease..." Stephan was saying, looking away embarrassed and awkwardly. Boss was doing nothing to stop his smugglers from doing those questions. It was in a way Stephan's little 'punishment' for keeping secrets and from him and from the whole team.

Having relationship and family while being smuggler, makes things a little bit more demanding and difficult. But they're not forbidden. In fact they're kinda in a way a motive too for someone to work in the smuggling if they can't maintain but wants in any way to help.

Enough of Stephan's collaborators were paterfamilias and yet they could cope both with smuggling and family responsibilities. It was kinda the same with sailor's situation, if they had to travel to other places far away, they would be in the seas and after a very long time return to their families. The difference is that the one has legal actions and the other illegal.

Nothing was standing between Stephan and CQ now, no obstacles were on their future. And they lived happily (not ever after sadly though) the next years...

Some years later...

"Papa's coming back home!" The tiny energetic skeleton dressed in white said as he was watching the boat approaching the sandy beach and started jumping excited.

"WhErE?!" Another black skeleton a little bit smaller than the first, with blue lines under his cheeks, approached and stood next to him at the opening of the door, taking from his pocket a pair of round glasses and wore them. "MoOoM!" He called excited the very next moment.

"I heard I heard." CQ said coming out from another room holding a 3rd little skeleton with faded grey, almost white irises, comparatively extremely small for it's wide open eyesockets. "Why don't you go greet him then?" She didn't need to say that again. The 2 tiny skeletons got out and started running and jumping to the sand because of their short legs.

"Papa!" They said at the same time as Stephan was jumping off his boat. The white skeleton didn't wait for him to take even 2 steps and jumped.

"Geno! Easy!" Stephan said laughing and preventing to catch him closing him to a hug. He lifted him high and Geno giggled. When Stephan putted him down he looked at the other little skeleton.

"Am I allowed to hold you Error?" He asked with a friendly smile.

"Y-yOu CaN pIcK mE uP. bUt C-cArEfUl." Error murmured waveringly. Stephan approached and lifted him slowly in the air.

"Like this my little boy?"

"WhEeE!" Error did and giggled (w'rai'ter to the background trying not to die from cuteness). Stephan putted him down and the 3 approached the house. CQ was now standing to the opening holding the baby skeleton.

"And if it isn't my lovely CQ with Fresh!" Stephan said cheerfully petting tiny skeleton's head. Fresh just stared at him with his empty look. Stephan chuckled and pecked CQ's lips giving a quick kiss. But even like that:

"DaAaD! eEeW!"

"Yuk!" Geno said covering his face with his hands and giggled. Stephan and CQ laughed too.

*Raisa on the background wheezing because one day those kids are gonna kiss too and MUCH LONGER😂*

This was how life went after the engagement. The couple ended up with 3 children, Geno the oldest, Error 2 years younger and Fresh, 1 year and some days younger than the second sibling. From the time they got Geno first, when Stephan was working, CQ was taking Geno in the sea to get him used to the water.

Very easily Geno loved the water and learned to swim, at first with mom's help, then by himself. His red tail was shining once he was getting in the water. With Error on the other hand it was way more difficult. For a reason he was afraid of the water and crying loudly everytime CQ was taking him near the sea.

(dear lord, i can understand that error, i was aquaphobic too.😔)

But luckily, Geno was the one who helped him win his fear (like a good bro *sniff*). Holding him by his hand, while Error had barely learn walking, he showed him that he didn't have to be afraid of the water. With surprise one day CQ saw Error diving by himself in the water without Geno holding him, just be near him.

After 10 minutes Error returned from the water holding something in his hands. When CQ approached confused and surprised she saw a big colorful shell in Error's hands, empty (something like that:).

"FoR yOu MoMmY! hAppY bIrThDaY!" He said excited and CQ held him in her arms giggling.

"Thank you my little brave boy." She replied and the very next moment Geno get in her hug too giggling.

CQ was watching happily her 2 sons playing in the sea close to the sandy beach. Seeing them jumping outside the water like happy dolphins and their red tails waving in the water she couldn't help but smile. The problem was when more animals, mostly seagulls, were gathering seeing the 2 little sirens outside the house.

While Geno was letting the animals approach him, he was even hugging them, Error was screeching everytime any seagull was rubbing it's head like a house cat at him or crabs, turtles, seals (the list of the sea animals continues...), were just standing close to him. The poor creatures were just friendly.

(animals be like:)

"OMG IT'S PRINCE ERROR, LET'S GET CLOSER!"

(error be like:)

Nadine, Gaster's hawk became a very good friend of Geno's. Not many months after he was borned she started visiting. Although she was being sarcastic most of times she was nice enough. And although she was more sarcastic and rude with Error's behavior, they had something in common.

They didn't like hugs. The first times she visited Geno, if she was standing close to him, the young prince would suddenly wrap his tiny arms around Nadine, closing her to a hug, saying what a pretty, cute and good bird she was and then, she was going to screech like:

https://youtu.be/-HtNaVFpw4Q

Anyways. When Fresh came in CQ's life too, things became very difficult once again. He was as difficult as Error. But while with Error it was difficult to get him in the water at first, with Fresh it was freaking hard to keep him away from it. That small, curious skele-ball was capable to agitate CQ easily.

He wasn't even 6 months old when one day, crawling out of the house like a classic baby and while no one had their eyes on him, he got in the sea for the first time and by himself. Instinct? He was seeing his siblings playing in the water without any problem and wanted to copy?

God, it took 3 hours for CQ to find him eventually, thanks to animals help also, 20km. away from home, sleeping at a rock covered with seaweeds. Unlike his 2 older siblings, his tail was light purple? Pink? Something in between, he had inherit her tail color. Fresh seemed to prefer sea more than the land and swimming.

Probably he was finding it easier and wasn't really trying to walk. For that, while babies need 1 year and less to walk and even start saying words, the only thing Fresh could do, was to just stand upright, giving support by touching with his hands somewhere to not fall.

But despite how her children were, CQ was loving them all dearly and equally. The bonds she created the years they all lived together were strong. And the kids, growing up with happy stories their mom was narrating from the Siren Kingdom (before getting destroyed of course), songs and lullabies were brightening their lifes every single day.

With their parents stories the brothers got to know them a lot better and especially get impressed and excited with their mom's narrations. With their imagination were trying to imagine how that paradise was once, because their mom admitted it, things changed dramatically one day, that's why she left when Error asked her.

She just said this. What? Could she tell to her own kids that the mermaids murdered in cold blood almost all sirens with a big octopus by their side and destroyed the kingdom?! To not mention what measures they used to win and how it affected them later. Maybe when they were getting older she could reveal that page of the story.

If anything bad was happening to her sons she wouldn't forgive herself. And in order to protect them in any and with the best way she could do anything. Even if that was meaning she had to erase something important from them after the attack happened and once again her happiness got ruined.

It all started another nice day. Stephan had returned from work, Geno and Error were playing nicely in the living room and Fresh... indifferent for his brothers games was seeking for the right moment to get out of the house and go again in the sea. But CQ had her eyes on him.

20 more times at least he had managed to escape when she wasn't watching and bring her agony. As if he wasn't caring at all (oh ya don't say!) that CQ was getting worried, not paying attention to her scolds, his mind only there, go back into the sea! And so, she would prefer that wasn't happening for the 21st time!

But that watch didn't last for long. At some point suddenly Error started screeching from pain, he had fell down the floor and glitching hard. He hadn't break anything, just scratched a little his face. Immediately CQ forgot to watch Fresh and ran towards Error. Fresh looked at his mom raising a little his eyebrows for some seconds.

"Wow, thanks Error bro!" He thought and crawled outside the house without wasting anymore of his time. Although 4 years old(!) he was still refusing to walk. As for words, the situation was tragically bad. It needed a minute for him to approach enough the sea and stop where the waves could reach.

And he didn't stop because of hesitation. Because of the unusual thing he was seeing right now.

A human-looking woman with pale white skin, long black hair and dark blue tail was laying on the sand while being a little in the sea too. Her pitch black eyes stared at Fresh coldly, the little skeleton stared back at her too. They stayed silent for long and no one was doing any move. Until the woman started crawling towards him.

Although she was creepy, Fresh didn't move an inch. And even when the woman started showing her sharp teeth while black liquid was running from her mouth and hissing lightly, even when the dark color of her eyes turned to a thin, snake iris leaving the rest of her eyes an endless light grey with disgusting dark blue veins 'decorating' it...

Fresh just kept looking at her, in fact he seemed indifferent about her expression. Although woman's expression was witnessing what her intentions were, Fresh didn't seem to realise it. And even when she stopped threatful one breath away from him, again he didn't move.

Not even when she left a loud aggressive hiss showing even more her sharp teeth and lifted her hand, which had short but pointy claws, to scratch him and deal a deadly blow on him. Fresh there, motionless like a statue, looking at her with his small irises inside the wide open eyesockets.

But before the woman could prevent hit Fresh, something small but fast attacked at her face. For just a fleeing moment Fresh's irises dilated a little seeing that what had attacked was a red-tailed hawk. And not just any.

"YOU FUNKING FLYING CHICKEN, LET GO OF MY FACE!!!" The woman hissed trying to grab Nadine and make her stop scratching her face with the sharp nails of her feet.

The brave bird had come to visit again, it was in her routine. But she saw with her super vision far away what was about to happen and understanding the danger with her instinct, understanding also what the woman was, started flying faster, preventing luckily the woman from hitting Fresh. (Nadine be like:).

https://youtu.be/2D-ZO2rGcSA

She attacked doing vertical dive, with target woman's face. She had managed to do multiple injuries at it. And all of them were bleeding badly. Even with her beak, if she was finding the chance she was trying to peck her face, while screaming loudly like a classic hawk.

"WHO SENDED YOU, YOU FUNKING MERMAID?! WHOOO?!!!" She was also asking, still attacking. With the noise, CQ stood to the opening of the door and seeing what was happening, the color drained from her face. Especially seeing Fresh close. Without second thought she started running towards the fight.

And once she got close, at that moment the mermaid had make it to catch Nadine, break her wing and throw her away, luckily not in the sea. CQ left a hiss with her irises getting thin, jumped and held tightly the mermaid. They both rolled in the sea and started fighting.

The mermaid was in a bad condition, thanks to Nadine she couldn't see from her one eye. But the pain had make her beast and could still attack fast. CQ was aggressive and angry more because she knew that if she was loosing, the mermaid would go for her family. For a minute or more they were fighting.

But at some point from bad luck, the mermaid got faster, went behind CQ, grabbed her tail and bite. CQ hissed from pain but before she could do anything else, with her beastly strength, the mermaid threw her out of the sea. CQ rolled to the sand and again, f*cking again!

The mermaid faster than the wind pinned CQ's wrists down and started making a sound like loud hissing and laughter. CQ tried to push her away with clenched teeth.

"Finally found you! After 7 years! As the First Royal Ocean Prophecy said somewhere:

... With the same rage mermaids had,
desiring siren's reign and they got
for the siren princess they will search
everywhere even to the world's end
But Fate waits for the first son 7 to turn
the one that first prophecy says
from him mermaids reign will end
and the freedom on the seas will come again
But when the day Fate waits for,
reaches it's destiny once and for all
princess life on the land then will end
Persuade then won't go only for her
But for her sons too, princess beware
and prepare to soon wander again...

You thought you could hide forever princess CQ?! Hah! Your time has ran out now! First I'll kill you, then your children one by one! My queen will be sooo satisfied when she hears I did those all by myself!" CQ was listening desperate and looking at mermaids' ivory crazy eyes. Grey saliva was running from her mouth.

She wasn't just crazy, she was rabid and insane. The curse of Soulless Hubrid's spell did that? Possibly. Another sure thing was that she was extremely strong even for her and couldn't resist very much. She didn't want to get desperate and the tears weren't right now going to help her.

The mermaid left another evil insane laughter, she seemed to enjoy CQ's agony and was trying to keep it as much as she could since she had the upper hand (like cats, they will play with their alive food for a little while first before finishing it).

"All hail queen Morganna!" The mermaid screamed triumphantly and opened her mouth ready to give the fatal bite to CQ. An extremely shocked CQ hearing that very familiar name and forgot to keep trying resisting.

TING!

"LEAVE! MOMMY! ALONE!" Someone skirled with a high pitched childish voice and the very next moment mermaids' soul escaped from her chest, turned blue and flew some meters away from CQ rolling to the sand. CQ's already widened eyes opened more and looked behind her.

Geno was standing with his left arm stretched, his little sharp teeth clenched from anger. Something like blue aura was on his hand, definitely he had use magic. His left iris was red and blue. As for his left eyesocket, a melted empty one was now revealed, something he had from his born.

Stephan had say once that this was the result of a disease not often, yet not rare. Babies borned with the one eye weirdly shaped or destroyed, was observed more often to baby monsters, causing them to be blind from one eye. Not completely though, they can see things, but very blurry from it.

And because it's very bad icon, nature took care give ways to cover the blind eye with magic. For Geno it was to be covered with a 'glitched cloud' and only when he wanted, or if he was using magic while being angry, like now, the cloud was dissappearing. It only affects vision but not health.

Luckily, because Geno's health was messed up also, too many bad results from landlubbers side. However the siren side from his mom was here to support him, it seemed to give him quick recover and although he was getting sick often, especially with the cold weather, he was overcoming every sickness fast enough.

"YOU FLIPPING FUNKING-! YOU WANT TO DIE FIRST?!!!" The mermaid screeched, not caring anymore about Fresh even though he was only 3m. away from her and his 'magic' had censor her 2 times. She crawled towards Geno and jumped so fast, the little skeleton didn't expect it, took a step back and fell by bad luck.

"GENO!" CQ screamed terrified seeing the mermaid ready to land on Geno. But second surprise was waiting. From the nowhere, thin blue strings like snakes, approached and wrapped around mermaids arms, tail and neck. Geno and CQ followed with their look the direction the strings were coming from and...

"Error?! How are you doing this?!" Geno gasped surprised. The strings were starting from Error's fingers. He seemed confused too, looking one at his hands and one at the mermaid.

"I- i DoN't KnOw! I jUsT sAw ThE mErMaId ReAdY To HuRt YoU aNd-"

"SNAP THE FUNK UP ALREADY YOU SNOOPID CHILDREN!!!" The mermaid screeched enraged trying to free herself from the blue strings. Error looked at her and from hesitant he became serious and angry.