The Oyster's pearl: Internal conflict

" I've done nothing wrong, I couldn't let them get eaten." Aquarius muttered lowly to himself, struggling against his binds, hoping to get these damn cuffs that keep digging and scratching into his cream-colored skin off only to wince in pain from not only the marks on his wrists, but the recently broken ribs as he waited for the king to return. While he remained in his cage, the merman warily eyed the same two guards that led him inside the palace guarding it from outside with the familiar "X" blocking the latch. The spaces in between the bars were large enough for him to barely wriggle through but again, his current condition preventing him from doing so. " That tyrant..that bastard! How dare he just..eat us without a second glance?! Is that all we are?! FOOD?!" He yelled to himself, his fiery spirit showing its colors loud and proud. 'I'll get out of here..and try to do something about it if it's the last thing I do.' Aquarius thought to himself in seething anger, dainty hands balled into fists that trembled ever so slightly the longer he waited for the other to arrive.

Minutes seemed to feel like hours and here he still was in the same position not too long ago, for now still thinking about how to recover or at least get these cuffs off of  him. Slowly adjusting, or at least attempting to fix his position, Aquarius winced as he felt his back send a sharp pain, making the merman realize he must've had quite the number done on it as well. Sighing, he just returned to his semi-curled, semi-hunched position to cease the pains slightly, deciding to remain silent and forever be silent so long as he stays in this..underwater prugatory. However, in the corner of his sapphire hued eyes, he noticed an all to familiar gargantuan-sized shadow slowly creep in to the edge of the chambers and the guards to stiffen/look more upright if possible before the buff, black one said: " He hasn't moved from his spot as ordered your majesty." He, on the other hand, didn't seem quite aware of the nasty glare being offered behind his back while the same trembling fists held chalk-white knuckles and a slightly visible vein looking ready to pop out on his forehead.

"Good.... leave us be and lock the door!" Noroi ordered as he encircled Aquarius' cage. Once the door was locked and the two were alone now, the king sighed a bit, still angry. "In case you're asking, no... I'm not going to eat you. I had a big meal outside and you'd probably taste terrible anyway." He answered for the merman before he felt the effects of feeling full coming in and he laid down in front of the cage, his full stomach shown.

"From now on, you're going to be my pet and you have to do everything I tell you to do or I kill you on the spot... you understand?" Noroi asked seriously, but it wasn't a question. It was a command. The handsome, friendly king was no more. He was replaced by the very being who could end the merman's life in an instant if he wanted to.

....Nothing was offered to the monarch as he continued to speak, even going as far as threatening his life which almost made the injured male want to burst out laughing if everything didn't hurt. " I..have done nothing wrong, and in this state I am nearly considered useless, barely able to move without slowing down and feeling pain. You call yourself a ruler..? How amusing." He muttered lowly, his position still the same, showing full proof of no resistance whatsoever. Aquarius wondered what exactly he'll have to do for him in the meantime, maybe thinking it's something more like being a songbird, listening to his lifestory, or worse, just remain trapped here till he dies by his hand(or stomach, whichever comes first.)

Giant hands slammed down close to the cage as the Siren snarled. "Do you always have to say such things?! You are going to be my pet whether you like it or not. And to motivate you..." His tail glowed a bit as he waved it over the cage. The wound's on Aquarius seemed to heal slowly.

"Everytime you do what I ask, I'll heal you. If you please me well enough, I'll let you go. If you don't, you know what happens..." Noroi offered, still frowning. Oh, he was just waiting for the merman to talk back to him, he just knew it!

The cage was jostled around as his giant hands made compact on the surface where it laid but Aquarius had to admit, it was nice to feel his ribs slowly fix theirselves, though of course not entirely. But the fact that he's going to be a "pet"?
Oh..that was another story! He preferred to be dead with his reputation than live as literally a lesser being to this monster of a ruler. " And if I refuse? Or attempt to escape?.... sire?" Aquarius asked, sneering at the title with such awful distaste it seemed to leave a bitter taste in his own mouth, suffocating his throat.

"I told you... I would kill you or eat you! Aren't you slow today for someone who just stood up to me?" He questioned rudely with disgust, not wanting to talk to the merman too much.

" Oh I'm sorry, does my nose detect poisonous venom? Oh wait, that's just your breath and ego talking! Now...what in Triton's deceased name am I to do as your "pet", when in reality, I belong to no one..no matter what you claim hm? Just sing to you at night? Because I prefer my vocal cords to br ripped out by a sea-clops than do that to someone who just looks down upon us because he's bigger than everyone else?" Aquarius spat back, narrowing his eyes while looking up at him inbetween the bars. " If you truly hate me, you would end my life here and now, not let me live." The miniscule merman scowled, his fins just gently brushing against the metallic gold floor.

Now the merman was really getting on the Siren's nerves! Noroi leaned towards the cage menacingly. "As my pet, you do exactly what I say. Sing to me, rub my tail, anything I have in mind... today, I don't want to hear your damn voice. I could put myself to sleep!" Taking the cage in his hands, he swam over to his new lush bed, putting the cage near his bed side as he laid upon it, feeling frustrated and tired. "And I'm going to sleep. Night!" Noroi put his head upon a pillow, trying to go to sleep.

"....Why do you need to declare this?! No one cares!" Was the last thing he had to say as soon as Noroi attempts to fall asleep. 'King or not, this guy was no better than scum.' was what Aquarius thought to himself as he felt himself gradually drift to sleep, the rest itself seeming like only minutes when the sun started to rise and shine down on the waters, its rays making the endless amounts of liquid sparkle like diamonds, streaming through the palace windows.