"…So I really should ask for Auklet instead." Whirlpool was slightly nervous now, but he didn't think Anemone had it in her to kill, and Tsunami was safely behind the moat.
Tsunami yelled "You can't tell them!" Whirlpool didn't respond, musing whether or not he should start fleeing. He noticed Tsunami preparing to strike, but the MudWing stopped her. Suddenly, he saw a glint of metal from behind him. A sharp pain hit his temple, and he felt himself losing his balance. He saw the moat beneath him, and tried to call for help, but unconsciousness claimed him first.
Whirlpool awoke. He wasn't sure if that was entirely a good thing, judging from how much he hurt, but at least he was alive. What happened? he thought. I should be reading a scroll, but I'm underwater, I feel like I got stung by jellyfish everywhere on my body, and something is eating my tail. Wait, something is eating my tail!
He almost screamed, but managed to calm himself enough to not freak out. He looked at the tail-eater. It was a large, grayish-green fish; an electric eel. He shuddered. If I attack them, they'll shock me again—and I might not survive. If I fly out, they also might shock me—I'm not strong enough to move fast. I guess all I can do is wait for them to fall asleep. Hopefully they're not very hungry. It took every drop of willpower to not scream in agony as they literally ate him alive, but he managed it.
About five minutes later they stopped feeding and seemed to go into a kind of stupor. Whirlpool twitched, and then leapt out of the water. His talons grasped the edge of the moat. He groaned, and pulled himself onto the ledge. He lay panting, almost unconscious again from the effort he put into that jump.
Whirlpool looked at the cage where Tsunami had been. He was unsurprised to see it was now empty. Either Anemone used her powers, or maybe after I was shocked the smart NightWing realized that it would briefly be safe. He definitely seemed bright enough, from the meal we had together.
He checked his wings and torso. No major damage beyond electric burns, fast heartbeat, and some cuts. His tail was much worse off. He could see some of the bones, and most of the meat was gone. Luckily, the electric eels had just stripped off the fat and some muscle, not the bones or the nerves. He had some mild trouble breathing, but not much.
He finally did a mental test to check for memory loss or reduced intelligence. What was the motive for the killer in A Tail of Blood? It was a control on the government through the puppets of the killer who were appointed as advisors by the queen. What's the name of element 59? Praseodymium. What's eight to the fifth power? 32768.
Whirlpool considered his options. He muttered to himself, "It seems I'll be fine after I get some medicine, kill Tsunami, and tell Queen Coral and Queen Blister what Anemone can do. Well, maybe I'll let Tsunami live. After all, once I tell the queens how powerful Anemone is Tsunami won't matter anymore. I can just marry Auklet and let the other princesses live, as it seems neither of them really want the throne."
He had never really liked the idea of killing Tsunami, but he accepted it as a necessity to fulfill his dreams. Most dragons might look upon him as a backstabbing sycophantic power-hungry creep, but he had a lot more depth than most thought. Queen Coral was one of the dragons who knew the real him, but he'd asked her to keep it secret. His parents did as well. There had once been one other dragon that had seen him for who he really was, but he couldn't think about her. Not after what had happened.
Alright, pull yourself together, Whirlpool. You're one of the smartest dragons in the world. Don't think about what you lost that day. Just keep planning your next move. He took a deep breath—rather hard with his respiratory system disrupted—and listened and smelled as hard as he could. Something wasn't right. He thought he could smell fire. But that was impossible—right? He walked out of the cave, and almost fell unconscious again.
While he was in the moat, apparently the SkyWings and MudWings had attacked. The palace was burned out, the plant cover ashes. Only a few SkyWing soldiers were left, presumably to make sure no one was alive. Whirlpool had a brilliant idea. Part of him thought, Everyone thinks I'm dead now. This is an opportunity to sell all the SeaWing secrets to their enemies.
Another side of him, the side he'd kept secret most of his life, replied, But that's treason, and would make my entire tribe hate me. Even if Burn won, everyone at home would curse my name forever. Also, how would I become king?
The first side asked, Would I rather be an unknown dead hero who was hated his whole life than rich and powerful? But if I am so against betraying my tribe, maybe there's another option. What if I just go into the ocean, meet Coral, tell her about Anemone's powers, and marry Auklet?
The second part of him said, Am I really comfortable using a one-year-old dragonet as a stepping stone to becoming king? And how do I know Anemone won't kill me on sight?
The first side said, Alright, what if I just leave the Sea Kingdom? I could go to the Talons of Peace; they'd love to hear about Anemone. If they are cooperating with that NightWing that met with Coral, they'd really need Anemone on their side. After that, what if I just go to the NightWings? They could help me, appoint me to the throne, and all without having to kill Tsunami!
The other side of him finished, Fine. The Talons and then the NightWings it is. Just please don't kill anyone unless it's self-defense.
Now that he had finished his internal argument, he knew what he had to do. He muttered to himself, "Maybe someday I'll go tell Coral about Anemone, but not today." He shook out his agonized wings, and took off. He heard the soldiers behind him exclaiming in shock.
"There's another one! After him!" the lead soldier yelled at his troops. Whirlpool briefly panicked, as his fighting skills had been compromised from the eels, but then he reminded himself he wasn't going to fight. He was going to flee, and annoy some SkyWings while he was at it.
He looked behind him. They were closing fast, mouths open, ready to breathe fire. He grinned, and dove straight into the water around the palace. The same soldier screamed, "Think we're scared of a little water? Well, you're wrong!"
Whirlpool smirked to himself and hid in one of the many underwater caves. He could hear the SkyWings struggling to even stay down for more than 5 minutes. He thought, Maybe you should have kept some MudWings here, idiots. Now I'm safe and you look like a fool in front of your troops.
After about half an hour, he exited the cave, and considered the secret exit. He guessed they knew where it was, so that was out of the question. Only one possibility remained: flying out. But the SkyWings would have had some troops there too, as obviously they would want to cover all exits.
If only I had an ally who was completely expendable as a target for them. It figures Tsunami is never around when you want her, and always is when you don't. I think she does that just to annoy me.
Whirlpool thought through the possibilities. He could try to swim at max speed, but he didn't like that plan because of his injuries. The better option seemed to be flying out through the canopy. He calculated that the majority of the troops would be above the palace, as only a few would have to guard the tunnel. Perhaps he could fly out the top, and as soon as he was out, he'd dive underwater. They couldn't touch him there.
Whirlpool took a deep breath through his gills, feeling the cool water rush through the filaments, and leapt out of the water. He heard shouts around the palace, and he flew straight up. His wings screamed in protest, but he kept flying anyway. He risked a glance behind him. The SkyWings were gaining on him.
He turned to fly horizontally toward the mainland. The SkyWings adjusted their flight direction to compensate for this. The closest were only about 10 lengths away. Too bad they can't swim, he thought with a mental chuckle. He clamped his wings shut against his body, and went into a straight dive.
The soldiers cried in disarray; the water could well kill them from this height in a straight fall. Whirlpool was fully aware of this fact. Right before he would slam into the water, he pulled up and then dove into the ocean.
He looked up from beneath the sea. The SkyWings had broken off early, apparently deciding killing another SeaWing wasn't worth dying for. They now circled the area he'd gone under while their leader yelled at them. He turned, and swam into a current that headed for the mainland.
After about an hour of swimming, he had exited the Bay of a Thousand Scales. It was late afternoon, and the sun was setting over the Kingdom of the Sea. He climbed out of the water, and hid on an island with a tiny cave just next to the ocean. He rested on a patch of seaweed, and closed his eyes. He kept playing the events of the day over in his mind.
Today had been a disaster, yes, but not a total one. A few glimmers of hope shined through. I'm alive, and better yet, I faked my death perfectly. Not only did I fall into the moat, Burn's alliance attacked the Summer Palace. The little doubt that I survived should have been dispelled by that attack. On top of that, my position gives me the ability to return and inform Queen Blister of Anemone's power at any time—so if the NightWings betray me, or the Talons are useless, I have a failsafe.
He felt the calm vibrations of the ocean calming his mind, and he felt sleep's warm embrace take him. One thought pulsed through him as constant as an octopus's propulsion. It's not over. I'll get back on the current to a throne. It's not over. I'll get back on the current to a throne…
Whirlpool awoke the next morning feeling as well as could be expected after the previous day. He groaned, opening his eyes slowly. When was the last time I had a meal? Lunch yesterday? I need to find some breakfast soon, or I'll run out of energy. Even fish would be good enough, but I need seaweed too, to make some bandages. Once I get to the mainland the Talons can treat my wounds with more skill.
Whirlpool extended out his sore wings and legs, feeling the tendons and ligaments being stretched. Once he felt adequate, he dove into the ocean. He saw a large fish, and dove towards it. It tried to flee, but even with his injuries, he was still a peak predator.
Whirlpool grabbed its tail and killed it with a swift blow to the head. He swam to the surface and began to eat it. I've come a long way from dining on the finest calamari in the ocean, to eating commoner fish.
Whirlpool angrily muttered to himself, "It figures that after I spend almost a year teaching that awful dragonet how to hone her magic, spending time I'd rather be using for reading scrolls and making new copies, she'd use it against me and try to kill me. That's gratitude in a clamshell."
He looked up at the sky, remembering life at the Deep Palace. How swimming was like flying but better, because you could use your gills. How there were always dragons above you and below you, unlike on the ground. He thought of how the underwater food was so much tastier then the feathers up above. How there was always another mystery, another surprise. How he had explored the deep vents and anomalous lakes far below.
He hadn't been the only explorer at the Royal School of Magic and Science, but the other explorers usually had various quirks. A few of the many oddities the others had were fear of kelp, paranoia, and obsession with small pink rocks. Whirlpool had had few friends, and fewer confidents.
Dragons of his level of intellect were exceptional even among the best schools for simply being too smart. While popular among those older than him for his flattery and intelligence, those his age had found him either painfully shy or very annoying, depending on what subject they were talking about.
Whirlpool glanced toward the mainland, estimating it would take about another day to swim there. "I've got to start talking to myself more to avoid going crazy, but if I do it too much, I'll start saying both sides of a conversation with other dragons. I should also do random mathematical problems and trivia questions to keep my mind sharp."
He stopped to bandage his burnt wingtips and his tail, which hurt the most. "The last thing I need right now is blood loss on top of everything else."
He spared one more glare at the Kingdom of the Sea. It was a complex one, composed of both anger and sadness, but also some other emotions, ones harder to define. There was regret in his eyes, but also some loss and even a strange fear.
This is a place where I've never been. There could be anything out here. Troops keep coming back critically injured, if they come back at all. I'd better hope I can outsmart everyone I meet, or I will be dead soon. At least I've got my looks and charms. If necessary, I could convince the enemy to let me go for my sheer attractiveness.
Whirlpool dove back underwater, catching the current from before. He adjusted his body to maximize the hydrodynamics and almost doubled his speed. Coral outcroppings whipped by in a flash, fish only blurs.
He continued at this pace for a few hours, masterfully evading everyone who wasn't there. Those he most hated he would quickly and efficiently eliminate with his imagination. He immersed himself in his emotions, thinking over who he hated most.
He hated Tsunami, as she had been awful to everyone during her short stay at the palace. He hated Scarlet, for battling Gill to the death, thus preventing there ever being more princesses. He hated Anemone, for using all he had ever taught her to attack and almost kill him. He hated Orca more than anyone else for building the animus statue which had cost him so many potential suitresses.
Whirlpool arrived at the mainland, and stretched his sore muscles. He took a look at the trees, mountains, and grass. It felt so alien. He spent one last sad, sad glance towards the sun setting down over the Kingdom of the Sea. He lay down under a tree, reasonably concealed.
He thought back to all he had done during his short life, from his days in the best school in the kingdom to his ranking in the Council. All I've ever done… it was all for naught if I don't become king. I owe that to her. I promised. I lost my first choice for my life, I won't lose my second. Not as long as my gills yet draw water.