Tanked
Zephic and Salo

It was another few days before they moved me into the regular tank again. I was happy and scared at the same time since I expected to be put back with Synris but that didn’t happen. Instead I was across the weird, currently empty space between cages and placed with Zephic and Salo!

As soon as the divers were away from us, I was met with probably the tightest hug I’ve ever been in. Zephic was especially reluctant to let me go. It was nice and truly I was incredibly happy to see them, but despite my fears, I really wanted to just see Synris again.

“Hey, are you doing alright Ayrice?” Salo was the first to notice how out of it I actually was.

I just shook my head as Salo came and settled beside me. Zephic wasn’t far behind her and soon they were on either side of me, offering comfort.

“What’s wrong then?” Salo asked.

“........I’m pregnant....” I mumbled.

They looked at each other and Salo gave a short nod to Zephic.

“That’s why you’re with us then...... Well, it’s fine, we can take care of you until you have the babe,” Zephic tried to cheer me up.

“But I want to tell Synris. And I want to leave this place. I want to go home!” I whimpered. Home would have me killed but back home none of this would have ever happened. I might even have been freed and allowed to leave if Zephic married Synris.

My outburst resulted in Salo wrapping her arms around me and pulling me to her chest. She held me like that as she ran her fingers through my hair to try and comfort me. It was the most motherly thing anyone had ever done for me. It helped a little.

“I know this isn’t exactly paradise but...Ayrice I think for you at least here is a lot better than home...........it’s going to be fine, things will start looking up again soon...” Salo spoke softly.

“I want Synris........” I sulked.

For better or worse I at least wanted him to know. Of course, I was terrified he’d get upset but he still needed to know... It was obvious it was his baby.

I just wanted to go home. Maybe, given the circumstances, here was better but back home in the ocean I also never would have been in this mess. I wouldn’t have been so confused and lost. Synris would have never decided he liked me, and I might have even found someone else I liked, that shared my views and actually respected my space.

No matter what I told myself though, nothing changed the situation and the fact that Salo was right. For me, here was a lot better than home. If I were home, I would likely still be underweight and alone. If I went home now...well it wasn’t bad that Synris slept with me but mating me and letting me carry his child was certainly taboo. Although I’m certain no consequence would be put on him, I would face certain death for tainting the royal bloodline. Yes, it was better here but at the same time it really wasn’t.

I felt trapped and scared. I didn’t like the humans before and I really didn’t like them now. They were unpredictable and in reality, my life was in their hands. That was a scary thought by itself and now I had to bring a child into it. And I had no doubt the humans wouldn’t leave my babe alone. They’d probably just take them from me and force me to let them be touched and tortured. And Synris still didn’t know...

Synris would realize immediately his mistake with me. I wanted him to know, he at least should know, but I was scared to tell him. As soon as I did, he would become angry, he’d remember that he was really a prince and that I was really his servant and he’d kill the babe, my babe. I didn’t want that. I just wanted Synris but if he found out I was carrying his child....

Salo had transferred me to Zephic while I had been lost in my own thoughts. Now Zephic had no idea how to calm me since I’d started whimpering and was rocking me in desperation. As much as I wanted to stop panicking though I couldn’t. Eventually I tired myself out and was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.

When I woke up Zephic was still holding me, but it wasn’t in a calming way. She was holding me protectively now and I could feel more than hear her growling. Salo wasn’t far from us as she acted protectively as well, slapping her tail against the rocks as she blocked the divers from coming any closer.

I shifted in Zephic’s arms as I realized the divers were only here to feed us. I mumbled to Zephic about being hungry and not having much choice but to let them over if we wanted to eat.

Hesitantly she stopped growling, begrudgingly agreeing I needed food more than ever now, and called Salo back but she made no move to let go of me. Salo stayed between us and the divers as we ate.

When the divers left Salo settled beside us with a huff. Something was on her mind and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

“How badly do you want to see Synris?” She asked suddenly.

I felt Zephic tense a bit while she held me again. They disagreed on where this was going then.

It was true I wanted to see Synris but if he saw me it wouldn’t take long for him to figure out what was going on...and I was terrified of his reaction. He needed to know though...

“I can’t see him.............” I wanted to scream again.

“Do you want to see him?” She insisted.

I nodded slowly. Yes, I wanted to see him.......

“No, Salo it’s too risky!” Zephic had pulled me up to her chest and was holding me tightly. She really disagreed.

“Got a better idea? No, you don’t so hush and let’s at least tell him what the idea is,” Salo shushed Zephic.

Hard to believe Zephic was once bound to be queen, she was a push-over, as I was quickly learning.

“Fine..........” Zephic huffed, relenting unhappily.

“Alright, here’s the deal Ayrice. If you really want to see Synris we have to make it look like you’re unwelcome here. So, in front of the divers we have to make it look like we’re trying to kill you. Then when they take you outta here, you need to act so depressed you can’t even shrug. Then, hopefully, they’ll put you back with Synris......” Salo proposed.

“.............I’ll think about it....” I mumbled after several long minutes of silence.

I did think about it and even slept on it before agreeing. Worst case scenario is I lived the rest of my life in the isolation tank and never got much room to move, but at least I got to see the sky and would be able to tell my babe stories of the ocean before I lost them too.

Zephic gave me one final hug and reminded me that they meant none of what they did before our act started. The divers bought it quickly. Or maybe they just didn’t want to take risks since I was carrying a babe. Either way, I was in isolation again quickly.

I did what Salo told me to and acted like I didn’t have the will to move. It took more out of me not to move when the humans touched me more. However, they put me back with Zephic and Salo and it started over. They tried that three more times before finally putting me back with Synris.

Zephic’s crushing hug had been nothing compared to Synris’.

“I’m so sorry! I wanted you to get better! I’m sorry please I’m so sorry!” He was nearly screaming as he refused to let go of me.

So, he had given me up to the divers thinking I was sick.... It was a touching thought and made sense considering we had no access to anything useful if we wanted to treat ourselves.

“It’s okay… I just want to sleep.......can you hold me for a little bit?” I was hesitant to ask but he was quick to agree. Of course, he was, he loved any kind of physical contact.

He held me and comforted me and gave all kinds of reassurances to me as I fell asleep in his arms. It was the best sleep I had gotten in probably weeks.