Taming of the Tides, an aquaman fanfic

Taming of the Tides

Prologue

The reasoning behind my birth was simple: to succeed where my sister failed in her role as first born to my parents, King Nereus and Queen Clethe of Xebel. In other words, I had no incentive to outperform Mera to garner the approval of my parents. Their attention would always be directed towards her regardless of what I did. If she exceeded their expectations, she was showered with praise and adoration. If she failed to meet their standards, she was given another chance to redeem herself with little to no lecturing. If only I received half the chances Mera was given, I too would be recognized as a true princess in our Kingdom of Xebel instead of the simple titles of "the other child of King Nereus" or "Mera's little sister".

Ashamed of his youngest daughter for failing to match the level of his first born, my father left me to my mother for training as he turned his focus to Mera's upbringing. Mera was, after all, the heir to the kingdom and he had no room for failures in the royal family of Xebel, especially those who had little to no mastery over the art of hydrokinesis, a feat Mera was renowned for and a topic that has never once left the dinner table. My father kept discussions with me very limited while he prioritized his conversations with Mera solely on the progress of her training. I would count it a blessing if he would refer to me during supper or inquire about the progress of my abilities, but I felt he would rather consult with my mother privately instead to diminish the impending disappointment when my mother would present him with little to no progression.

Although she was renowned for her grace and patience as Queen, my mother as an instructor never failed to remind me of my shortcomings. My days were spent lying face down on the training ground from her intense lessons, catching my breath while my mother stood over me, instructing me to get up and repeat whatever tasks I was appointed until she was appeased. My hydrokinesis in comparison to Mera was equivalent to night and day, water and oil. While Mera had near mastery before anyone in her year, I had difficulty bending the water into shapes or concentrating in general. I attributed this due to my inferiority of continuously being compared to Mera; that I was the stain on my family's name as the princess who couldn't control water.

It didn't take too long for Mera's abilities to reach Atlantis and its queen, Atlanna. Because our kingdom was frequently at war, Queen Atlanna graciously bestowed a helping hand to my parents and offered to resume Mera's training as her protégée. At the behest of my sister, or maybe because of her pity for the forgotten daughter, Queen Atlanna sought me out and offered the same act of kindness as she did Mera.

The minute I took Queen Atlanna's hand, I didn't realize I was taking my first step in breaking out of the shell that my parents had moulded around me. She saw potential in me that no one other than my sister believed in. The lack of faith my parents had in me, I found in Queen Atlanna instead.

By taking her hand, I was a step closer to meeting the young prince who would eventually become Ocean Master.

Author's Note: I did it again. I watched a movie, got super inspired, and decided to make a story. I really need to stop doing that :P

Welcome to Taming of the Tides. Thanks so much for clicking on this story! I appreciate the support! If you haven't already, please check out my tumblr because that is where I'm posting information regarding my stories. The link is: atomicgracy . tumblr . com (without the spaces)

The dates in the movie weren't exact and so I decided to tweak them a little. The movie listed Aquaman's birth year as 1985 meaning he would be 33, Orm 31, Mera 29 and Thea 28.

This story will eventually follow the events of the movie, but that won't be until later because I want to devote as much of the story into developing Thea as a character. Please bear with me if updates are sporadic D: I'm working full time AND going to graduate school full time!