Nate sat their quietly on the chair for a moment as he looked over at the book and then over to his grandfather. The book was actually quite a thing to see, not necessarily because of what it held but how it was made. Things like paper on Earth didn't do well when wet and would lose strength and writing and images would also fade faster as a result. That was something that wouldn't last long in an underwater kingdom that he and his friends had found themselves joining, and finding out that he was a part of the royal family besides. And the engineering that went into the book also showed how merpeople's practices were different and adapted to their environment. Nate wasn't sure what the ink was that was used in the writing or the drawings, but the pages looked and felt like they were made from some kind of seaweed or other underwater plant. They felt thicker than paper but also smoother and held a lot of strength to them under water. It was one of the things that he and all his friends had curious questions on.
Though how merpeople made their version of paper wasn't what he'd asked his grandfather about. The elder merman and retired king was happy to talk the family's past and the heritage that he carried. It was something that Nate also had some interest in, largely because of the fact that on Earth he'd grown up going through the foster system, and often with various foster homes, particularly when one was found to be abusive. He eventually made it to one good one by the time he got into high school and they helped him get the summer jobs and scholarships needed to get into college, which lead to his making friends with those that had been on the yacht cruise when they found themselves in the merpeople's world. Finding out he had a family was something anyone who grew up not knowing their family would always be something that people would want, though it also presented its own challenges that also came with it and it was that that brought him to seek and talk with his grandfather first.
"I think you misunderstand me..." Nate began slowly, "perhaps I explained it poorly. I mean it's not that I'd want to change my name that it would only be Nate... or completely rejecting the name my parents gave me."
"You're losing me," his grandfather answered and scratching his head for a moment.
Nate swallowed, "You see, finding I've had blood family and family that are good people is something that any child that's gone through foster care, in either world would want. Because kids will always want to be loved and things like that. But it's probably not everyday that one finds out their family is royalty. I mean... I grew up with the name Nathan Waterson and never even knew about this place or that I was born here."
"We can't change what your uncle did, sadly," his grandfather gave a heavy sigh. That was one of the things that he still felt guilty over, that he should have seen where his younger son had been too heavily influenced by priests and nobles that didn't like the changes that he and his wife had brought to their respective kingdom. His parents, the King Cain, that Nate/Prince Cain was named for, and his wife weren't thrilled about it either, but they accepted the changes made and became somewhat supportive when his wife gave birth to Marius and his younger siblings. But his younger son was influenced by those that didn't like the changes, and he felt he should have recognized it earlier and at least shared some wisdom with that younger son. Spare his older son and his wife the grief that had been with them for years when their first born son was missing and presumed dead with a member of the family being the one to do it.
"And on certain levels... some things weren't that bad," Nate answered, "I won't pretend that everything went perfectly for me growing up, but I did pull through. Got through college... and met Rose... and... and... I don't think there is ANYONE in either world that I'd rather be with. Rose... she's... she's everything to me."
That made Nate's grandfather smile, with his own memories of meeting and falling for Nate/Cain's grandmother and falling in love with her, "Nothing wrong with that."
"Yes, but that's still where some things get entangled with finding out I'm royalty and had a family I never knew and a name I never knew, regardless of its history in the family," Nate answered, "it's all new to me and to my friends. For to all of us... they've only known me as Nate and that then conflicts with those here that have only known of me by Cain and what you or other members of the family have said on the memory of a prince most never knew."
"And that can be a difficult one," his grandfather agreed, "because most here will recognize the name Cain before the name you were known by on the human world. That'd be another thing to consider... that most people are going to remember that Marius and Kaia had a son named Cain, presumed dead when his uncle betrayed his family. Family heritage aside... many may welcome back Prince Cain... but they may also misunderstand a decision to change your name to a name they don't know or have heard of."
Nate nodded in agreement, and that was something that he did often notice. Many of the guards would address him as "Prince Cain," regardless of how uneasy it was at times to recognize that they were addressing him by the name they knew of him having. Princess Amara would refer to him occasionally as "Cain," but much of this seemed to be in more of an official capacity. When in private, as she got to know him and his friends better, she had settled on calling him "brother," which was something that would get away from any confusion in terms of the name/names he would respond to. But there were the times when Rose or one of his friends would call him Nate and the guards that were present would almost do a double-take, and at first Nate didn't fully notice this, but when Rose mentioned it earlier in the morning, he recognized those things and that had him concerned.
"And I can understand that... and it's for that reason that I wouldn't necessarily want to hurt those that know only of me through what my parents have said when speaking of me," Nate answered, "but at the same time... I don't want my friends being thought crazy or disrespectful for using the only name that they've known me by... or the only name that I remember having. And that is what I was looking at changing..."
"You can't change how people feel," his grandfather warned, "there have been some that have tried that sort of thing with magic. It did not end well, it's where sometimes even the court's magicians are worried over at times. For if they have a mental breakdown, they could be dangerous to themselves and others."
"It's not to change how people feel," Nate said raising his hands, "more to allow for two accepted names. Like Cain-Nate or Nate-Cain and people could use either name individually... Nate or Cain, and I'd try to respond to both. Essentially bridge the two worlds I've come from. Rose and my friends wouldn't be thought less of for calling me Nate and those here wouldn't feel it necessary to call me Nate and could stay with Cain. I've talked with Sam and Stacy... and well, apparently Law degrees on Earth had a lot of history as part of it, and they've said that monarchs there have often had names in addition to what they were officially known by. In the 20th Century, Britain had a King most of the world knows as George VI, but apparently his full name was Albert Frederick Arthur George of the House of Windsor."
"So, his royal name was based on his "last" name," Nate's grandfather said slowly.
"And there's a movie that would suggest that among his friends and family he liked to be called "Bertie," a nickname for Albert," Nate commented, "which would show some flexibility in how those things work. And that's what I'm going for. Hold both names... Cain and Nate... and not rejecting either outright. And that way my friends... who have been good to me won't feel pressured into trying to change what they are comfortable with. And I'll try to respond to both..."
"I see," his grandfather said slowly, "well... if you explain it more that way, that would work better. As it would be expected for you to carry on with the royal name you were given. That's one of those things that not even your grandmother and I could change... But I suppose among your friends... particularly those that have come here from the human world with you... that letting them refer to you by how they know you wouldn't be out of the question." He paused and gave a laugh, "there are some pet names that your grandmother has referred to me by that have nothing to do with my name..."
"I'd leave that between you and grandma," Nate answered.
Nate's grandfather only laughed at that.