Teaser/World Intro
Beneath the waves, just pass the spray of salt, where the ocean water turns to cornflower blue and the reefs team with tropical life, is a world unlike our own. It is a world of wonder and beautiful mystery – a world of bright, colorful life and magic. It is the world of the merpeople and their sparkling city: Atlantica. Hidden between forests of kelp, the Great Reef where the merpeople called home was a bustling metropolis of sound and music. There, the beauty of ocean flowers and the soft singing of the merpeople were kept safe from the dangers of the Deep. Queen Tritania ruled with a firm hand – her magic trident keeping at bay the natural and supernatural threats alike. Queen Tritania could not quite be said to have been beloved…respected was more accurate. When she patrolled with the Palace Guard, all moved swiftly out of the way. Tribute was always payed exactly and swiftly. And all the laws – from curfews to education, and even mating seasons – were obeyed just as perfectly. The citizens of Atlantica knew that the laws were there for their own safety, and the oldest among them could remember how life was before Tritania rose to power. They did not begrudge their loss of silly freedoms for the true gift of safety. Yet, for those too young to know, at times these rules seemed to weigh heavily – like the shell of a hermit crab that had grown too tight. And no one felt the itch of such restrictions so much as the queen's own children – especially her youngest and only son: Adriel.
Adriel...oh, Adriel was as playful as an octopus, and unfortunately, just as curious as one. Ever since he was a tiny guppy, he had asked questions. His large, green eyes took in everything, and a day didn't go by, it seemed, that he wasn't in trouble for some misadventure or other. By the time he had grown into his gills, Adriel should have already had his name officially recorded as a menace to the safety of Atlantica. His exploring of the Great Reef and the Deep Rift beyond was seen as nothing short of abominable, and if it weren't for the fear of Tritania's merciless judgment to any threat, Commander Sebastia would have told the truth of his endangering misbehavior long ago…
"What Would I Pay?"
Chapter One
Sebastia Reports
His body cut cleanly through the bright, clear ocean. The filtered sunlight gleamed and danced across the shimmering green scales of Adriel's tail, throwing tiny rainbows of light to tangle in the froth of his wake. His arms, young and strong, cradled a woven basket against the thin plane of the prince's adolescent chest, keeping it safe as he banked sharply, rolling into a dive to follow the steep drop of the Reef's edge. The water grew darker and darker the further he swam from the sunny expanse of the Reef. Feeling the change of pressure, the young merman slowed, letting his gills catch up with themselves as they flared wider to draw in the water that was colder. The contents of his basket shuddered. "Shhh," the prince whispered softly. "We're almost there…" Tucking the rampant strands of his red hair behind one ear, the merman drifted slowly along the rocky edges of the archipelago. Although he occasionally glanced out to the wider sea behind him, his focus was on finding a particular cleft in the rocks. Finally, he found the crevasse. He checked quickly behind him and above, but when it was clear that none were there to see, he wiggled his way into the narrow cave. The contents of the basket chirped their upset at being squashed by the thin passage, but Adriel confidently wiggled further and further until abruptly the space widened into a beautiful grotto. Bright mosses glowed happily, casting their phosphorescent light to brighten the once-gloomy space. High above, a narrow chimney opened to just below the ocean's surface so that light poured down like the golden nets Adriel's sisters wove. The young prince grinned and span happily in this, his most treasured space, before hurrying over to his work table. Setting down the basket, he shushed reassuringly at it before scurrying over to collect bottles and tablets from the many shelves he had created in the jagged grotto walls. "I think I've got it this time, Flounder," Adriel said proudly, dumping the armful of items before darting off to grab some more. A flat-faced flounder stirred in the grotto's sand, its gray, speckled face momentarily appearing to blink sleepily at the rushing merman. "So long as I can balance the spark from the eels, then it should be just perfect!"
The prince carefully fetched the cage of electric eels out of a hidden crevasse. Their long bodies glimmered and crackled in the water. Adriel gulped a little and held the cage as far away as he could from himself. Dropping it on the table, he zoomed away, his fright over the crackling creatures forgotten almost immediately as he eagerly prepared for his next experiment. "You know, Flounder, I was just about ready to give up on this idea," he confided. "Using the eel as inspiration for a weapon – Sebastia thinks I'm utterly crazy, but I really think it will work!'' He grinned and pulled out the tablet with the latest designs. "I…think it will help Mother." The prince's smile faded a little and he ran his fingers along the etchings on his tablet. "Yeah.."
For a moment, the prince thought of his mother: the Queen Tritannia. The Warrior Queen of Atlantica – that is what the people called her. She was an implacable ruler and a solider first and foremost. Her reign had brought order and safety to the Reef. She patrolled the borders tirelessly, using the mighty strength of her triton to keep strong the magic to defend the merpeople from the beasts of the deep and the machinations of the SeaWitch. She commanded respect, if not simply fear from her subjects. Adriel loved her. His sisters did to. But…if the truth were to be told, he did not really think of her as his mother any more. That part of her had died when the King did. Now, all she did was for the benefit of the kingdom. Tritannia was the Queen. It was the only life she lived now. And her only care was the safety of the people.
"And so!" Adriel said abruptly, shaking off the gloomy mood as he settled into place at his workbench, "We are doing what we can, aren't we, Flounder? Offering the kingdom our own best self. Even if it might take us awhile to get to the answers, we will!" With a determined nod of this head, Adriel began pulling the squeaking seahorse babies from the basket he had brought and got straight to work building his latest weapon with the hopes that it at least might bring that smile of pride to his mother's features that he had never experienced for himself.
Commander Sebastia was a proud woman. She had been Commander of the Palace Guard for the past fifteen years. Her whole life and passion was the protection of the Royal Family. It was her deepest honor to serve, and she was utterly devoted. Nothing in the Seven Seas could have convinced her to surrender her post…except for one. One small, redheaded, green-tailed, big-eyed malcrient was all that stood in the way of Commander Sebastia and another fifteen successful years in the most respected and dignified post there was short of the monarch. Oh, he had been cute as a guppy. Sweet as a little, skinny shrimp of a boy. But now that darn Adriel – that Darn Adriel! – Oh, he was going to be death of her. "He was in his room this morning," Sebastia muttered to herself as she scuttled along the Palace's polished coral hallways. Her lower claws clicked loudly with her irritation. "And then the prince was with his tutors until this afternoon. Means that guppy can't have gone any farther than the Reef or the Grotto since then. Oh, Adriel! That boy needs his tail nailed to the Palace floor. 'Bout the only thing that would stop him these days. Fool-hearted flounder." The mer-crab came to a halt outside the War Room. Queen Tritannia would be back from patrol and awaiting the weekly report on her offspring. Straightening the decorative epaulettes of her station, Sebastia likewise patted the severe bun at the base of her neck reassuringly. Content with her dignified appearance, the commander nodded firmly to the guards at hand who pushed open the thick doors that blocked the ocean currents and palace noise. Inside the large room was twenty or so mer-people: some soldiers back from patrol and others the sharp-minded strategists that worked day and night planning defenses from the SeaWitch and his minions. They swarmed like scattered plankton, picking at the bones of a falling whale.
Clacking her way into the room, Sebastia tried not to look too hard at the figurative whale: a giant model of the Reef and its surrounding lands. Their whole world was represented there, and each day the Warrior Queen and her squadron would adjust the hundreds of tiny models of the Ocean's most dangerous beasts and creatures – tracking and recording their movements through the Rift to the north and the Deep to the south. Sebastia tried hard to never look too closely at the diorama. She didn't want to know what was lurking in the dark. Life was better on the Reef. That's all she had to know. Ignoring a mer-jelly that was adjusting what looked like a Giant Squid model much too close to the east edge of the Rift, the Commander of the Palace Guard strode forward through the milling crowd of combatants and strategists to where the Queen floated above the diorama, watching the patterns with a keen eye.
It was a shame, Sebastia thought, that the death of her consort and the constant threat of war had aged the merwoman so. Tritannia had once had flowing brown hair that was the envy of most any mermaid: now it was shorn close and already a stark white despite her age. The late King Athenos would hardly have recognized her now. "Ah," Sebastia sighed to herself, "If only the good king were here now. He would bring a laugh to the queen and the court would be bright and full of singing once again."
Her wistful sigh caught the Queen's attention and Tritannia floated down to the mer-crab's level. "Commandor Sebastia," the Queen greeted, her hands clasped formally behind her scaly hips. "You have come to report on my daughters. Please share your news."
Sebastia straightened proudly, the pearls on her epaulettes glittering brightly. "Of course, your majesty. Crown Princess Attina continues to excel in her combat training. Master Swordfish believes she will graduate in the top of her class this coming solstice before joining the Palace Guard." Tritannia nodded. Sebastia continued. "Princess Alana apprentices with the Strategists. She continues in her research to better understand the Octopus's camoflogue. Adella's health improves. She is no longer in contact with the Kelpsen boy and has returned to caring for her seahorse. Your majesty will be happy to know that Aquata and Arista have fulfilled their punishments and are no longer confided to personal quarters. Aquata is now fully engaged in the work of inventorying with Mistress Karp, as per my most humble and excellent suggestion. Arista is back to her school work."
"That is well. Appraise me immediately if she falls behind again. And Adriana?"
Sebastia immediately thought of the youngest girl's latest prank: hiding singing snails in literally every corner of the palace library. "She…is as creative as ever," Sebastia hedged. "She will be an excellent Strategist for you someday, your majesty."
"And Adriel?"
The crab was tongue-tied. Adriana was mischievous, it was true. But the youngest daughter's pranks were only ever harmless. Adriel on the other hand…At very nearly sixteen, the boy was somehow more dangerous than three Giant Squid's put together. Just that week he had released a jellyfish-struck manatee loose in the middle of the great market. It had taken seventeen members of the Palace Guard to calm down the populace and restrain the pain-maddened cow. It had only been a miracle of Sebastia's efforts - and Tritannia's frequent absence – to keep the whole debacle quiet. Adriel swore it was only an accident – that he had been trying to bring the manatee to a doctor for help when the cow had torn free of its lead. Sebastia, personally, had a soft spot for the prince and couldn't help think the best of him...even when he made her life a living waterspout of chaos. "A-Adriel.. Well, your majesty, he – is very, very busy at his studies," she swore with perfect honesty.
The Queen turned away. "Very well. Thank you, Sebastia. And the City? It prospers?" The mer-crab eagerly launched into a colorful reassurance of how the City, as well as the Palace itself functioned under her expert care. The manatee was, of course, mentioned but without any reference to the young prince. After prattling merrily on for several minutes, the mercrab at last paused in her cheery recitation to look thoughtfully at her Queen. "Your majesty? Is all well?"
The Queen looked up suddenly at the inquiry. "Hm? Oh. Yes. Thank you, Sebastia. Your work for the kingdom is ever appreciated. Is there anything else you need to tell me?" There was about half a million things that Sebastia could have told the queen about her children and her people, but the Queen's gaze was already drifting back to the diorama and the ever-constant call of the War.
"Adriel, his birthday is this month," Sebastia reminded gently. "His sisters and I are arranging a concert in his honor. You know how he loves to sing."
"Like his Father," the Queen agreed distractedly. "Very well. Continue on, then, Sebastia. You'll excuse me, we must swim out soon." And with the maternal duty thus complete, Atlantica's queen dismissed Sebastia and let her attention return fully once more to the hive of restless activity and stratagem.
"And his Mother," Sebastia murmured to herself, "Before the War came and changed it all." Shaking her head sadly, the mer-crab scuttled away and back to the kingdom she stewarded over. "Now, to find that Adriel!"
OOC: Thank you so much for the read! I apologize in advance for the break between updates. I don't have a lot of time to write these days, so please be sure to follow and favorite so that you can be notified when I do update. Please review! 3 Thank you all very much.
-RoyalVicTorie