Carter knew he needed to have some kind of answer, so he replied with, “Well… I- I put a bit of alcohol in it, it’s something they have on land to loosen up, I hadn’t meant any ill.” Carter swam back slowly, trying his best to subtly draw Yuri away from the corridor.
Yuri shook his head, "I don't believe you." He swam away from the corridor and towards Carter and away from Arria, "What was it really?" He swam even further away before feeling slightly faint and passing out.
Carter took the moment, darting into the corridor and to where Arria should be located, hoping Arria’s friends could take care of the prince. “Arria?”
"C-Carter?" Arria's voice was barely audible but it floated out and to where Carter was. Arria slowly swam to where he had heard him.
“A-Arria,” Carter breathed, immediately swimming closer and opening up his arms to Arria. He didn’t want to force touch, as much as he wanted to hold him. “Come on, I’m here to take you out of this place,” Carter told him, barely more than a whisper as he started to cry jut a little bit.
Arria let out a sob and swam into Carter's arms, "Oh my god… Carter I thought he'd… what did you do to Yuri?"
Carter immediately tightened his grip around Arria, “Don’t worry, we gave him a memory potion, it’s okay now, you’re safe,” He whispered into Arria’s ear, keeping him close, “We should go before people come looking.” Carter brushed a hand against Arria’s cheek, moving to cup his head.
Arria nodded slowly, “Y-Yeah, let’s go. I don’t want to be here anymore.” He said quietly, sniffling a little bit, “Where are my friends? Are they here somewhere?”
“Yeah, they’re just outside, love,” Carter told him softly, pulling away they’d be able to swim out. He kept his arm wrapped around Arria, being gentle and as comforting as possible. “It’ll be alright. We can go back home, and you’ll never have to deal with him again.”
“B-But he might come after you…” Arria said quietly, wiping away his tears as they swam out. Yuri was gone, meaning the others must have moved him but they were no where in sight.
“That doesn’t matter, besides, I don’t think he would. He’s completely forgotten about you, why would he come after me?” Carter forced a reassuring smile, although was slightly worried about if Yuri would be angry becuase Carter had dosed him the memory wipe. Carter brushed the thought away, reaching up a hand to wipe a tear off Arria’s cheek with the pad of his thumb. He lead the way to the exit, always keeping Arria close in fear of someone spotting them and trying to lock up Arria again. It won’t happen again.
Arria nodded a little in understanding, “That makes sense.” He leaned into Carter with a small sigh. Even though it had only been a few hours that they were a part he’d missed Carter terribly and never wanted to be apart from him again.
Carter found himself curling his arms around Arria protectively as he whispered softly, “I’ll never let that happen to you again.” His eyes did a quick sweep over his sea boy, looking for bruises or othe signs of abuse that came from Yuri.
There were a couple light marks on Arria’s stomach which would probably darken later. There was also a couple scratches on his back but not many, “I know you won’t.” Arria said quietly .
Carter kissed Arria’s forehead softly, pausing their swim home, and just breathed for a second. He wiped furiously at his own tears that were starting to fall, angry at himself mostly because he shouldn’t be the one crying. But seeing those marks… Carter held Arria tightly, whispering, “I am so sorry, Arria.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.” Arria tangled his hands in Carter’s hair, burying his face in the crook of his neck, “I’m with you now, that’s all that matters.”
Carter wrapped both arms around Arria and held him as to eliminate any space between them. Safe, he’s safe now… Carter stayed there, despite knowing they needed to getting to their home, he felt like they both needed this moment.
Arria couldn’t hold it in anymore and started to cry. He closed his eyes and kept the, shut tightly who,e he tried to regain himself, feeling utterly stupid and weak. He was so glad he found Carter.
Carter held onto him tightly, running a hand through Arria’s hair gentle and whispering over and over again, “I love you, you’re safe now, I love you, you’re safe now…” He kissed Arria’s forehead again softly, wanting to be as comforting as possible for the love of his life.
"Why me? Why did this have to happen to me?" Arria sniffled, trying to wipe away his tears but they just kept coming. He hugged Carter tighter, afraid that he might disappear or this was all a dream and he;d be back with the prince again.
“I don’t know, but he won’t remember you anymore. I won’t happen again to you, I promise, I promise, I promise.” Carter told him, keeping him close, “Never again, never again…” Carter glanced around, just double checking no one was coming for them, before softly kissing Arria’s forehead again.
"L-Let's just go home." Arria pulled back a little to wipe his tears away. He let out a small sigh and reached to intertwine his fingers with Carter's.
Carter nodded, not letting go of Arria’s hand even once as they swam home. He’s safe, he’s safe, he’s safe… Carter just was glad Yuri was gone for good now, at least gone from Arria’s life. He didn’t care if there would be any repercussions for giving Yuri the drink.
Arria sighed again as they entered the cave, pushing up onto the rocks with a small wince. When had he hurt his arm? He looked over his body, his bruises had darkened and it looked a lot worse. He groaned and leaned back onto the sand.
Carter pulled himself up next to Arria, worry lacing every feature on his face, “What hurts? Can I do anything? You can use one of my pair of shorts as a pillow,” He hastily said, adding pulling himself to grab a pair of shorts. Carter wished he had some kind of salve for Arria, anything to help with his physical pain.
"Carter, stop," Arria said, placing a hand on Carter's arm gently, "Just… breath for a moment." He breathed in deeply a few times and closed his eyes. Yes he hurt, yes he still wanted to vry but maybe just slowing down for a moment would help.
Carter immediately stopped, sighing and moving to grab onto Arria’s hand gently, “I’m sorry,” He said quietly, “Do you- Do you want to talk about it?” He whispered, not wanting to push him but still wanting to offer. He’s probably gone through so much… Carter hated the bruises on his skin, he hated how much Arria had been hurt.
Arria sighed through his nose, "I… I don't know…" He whispered back. he opened his eyes and looked over at Carter, his eyes glassy, "Why would someone want to do… this." He gestured to his body and the bruises, "Why would you want to hurt someone like that?"
Carter frowned a little, anger towards Yuri endless at this point, but he said quietly, “I don’t know… Some people are evil and power hungry, maybe he is just addicted to getting what he wants to a point where he had to- to hurt you to exercise that power,” Carter reached out to cup the side of Arria’s face, brushing it with his. thumb soothingly.
Arria shuffled closer to Carter and curled into him, "Maybe… I don't want to think about it right now. I'm just glad that you found me quickly…" He said quietly, placing a hand on Carter's chest. He closed his eyes, relaxing now that he was closer to Carter.
