Disclaimer: Based on DC comics' characters and the mythology created in Smallville (i.e. property of the CW network), and created by Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster but the words are mine.

Miniseries Part I

Episode 1.0 – Foundations

AU/SML – It has been a year since the Kryptonians went into seclusion. Their new leader, Cor-El however resurfaced to secure an alliance with the Oceania, the domain of the Ocean Lords. Needless to say he got into trouble when he trusted Cymo, daughter of the King of the Ocean.

Part 7

Previously on Foundations:

"Krek Tan, former apparently vizier to the traitor behind me," The master greeter began. He wanted to enjoy this moment. He wanted the Ocean Lord to feel the ground beneath him open wide ready to swallow him.

"I invite you to be by my side while the traitor faces justice and then you will face it too. I'm afraid your luck ran out as well when you were captured ready to steal from the sacred palace." The master greeter said and then continued. "Ts, ts, no, no, this was not the way to go, dear friend. You could have come to me and I would have granted you amnesty. We all understand the strain and humiliation you must have felt by being forced to serve under this traitor. He had taken advantage of your weakness."

Krek Tan depicted a pitiful picture and everyone bought it. He did not say a word as Gallia was still within sight. He cherished the thought when she would throw the Trident and the Fury into the hands of his master and Seyt. Then the smile will be wiped from that arrogant bastard's face once and for all. So gingerly, he walked and stood by the master greeter's side.

"And the trial of the traitors will now continue." The master greeter announced forcing the attention back to the arena. The Grand Vizier of Atlantis made a signal that Orin will join the fight and the master greeter announced one by one the new contenders. When he mentioned the name of the ruler of Atlantis, the crowd cheered. The end was nigh. A new dawn would begin.

Orin was ready. The time had come for him to claim the crown of the seas. He had taken the Scepter of Atlantis, the symbol of Royalty and the greatest weapon of the seas. He hoped not to use its power on the two before him. Just before the battle was to begin though, the master greeter reappeared on the arena carrying the Dew of the Ocean.

"This surface dweller albeit being one of the traitors has earned once more the right to bear the Dew of the Ocean as he has proven himself worthy of it. He has dispatched the brazen menace known as Princess Cymo of Oceania." The master greeter announced. He then placed the necklace on Seyt. "May your death be swift, Kryptonian." He added quieter so only Cor will hear him.

"Um, half Kryptonian," Cоr corrected him and seeing his confusion added. "And half something else."

"What else?"

"I guess you will have to wait and find out, Kreet Nah." And Cor moved away from him while still observing him. Cor had had a revelation for some time. The crystal, albeit blocking his Kryptonian powers, came from the Old Yllyan Temples. So there was a chance, however small, that his sword would interact with it.

His experience of the year before when he combined Kryptonian, Martian and Yllyan power together has made his sword unique. It still carried the power of the Yllyan core, the Collaris and that gave him the hope that when near the necklace he could amplify his powers. He called the master greeter by the name of the ancient Yllyan temple guardians. If the master greeter was familiar with this, he would show it.

And his supposition was not wrong. The master greeter showed surprise and fear. It made Cor smile. Now they were in for an interesting show because he could use that power to reverse the streams and create quite the chaos and fear.

"Bring it on, fish sticks!" He shouted in the direction of the new contenders.

And now:

Three of the contenders attacked while Orin waited. He wanted to weigh his opponents and they did not disappoint. The Ocean Lord blocked his attacker and quickly jumped behind him locking his arms around his neck. The latter tried to get free but the powerful hands of the former did not allow for such movement.

The surface dweller dodged a few attacks but got hit and then some more. He fell on the ground and the two assaulted him without a second thought. However at some point, he retaliated and repulsed them. Once on his feet, he blocked their attacks with relative ease while still receiving hits but that did not deter him.

The Ocean Lord let go off his opponent who was moving no longer. Orin doubted he had killed him. So far the Ocean Lord had killed no one. He wondered though why he was not attacking the surface dweller. He had every reason to but it looked like he was catching his breath. That exercise was rather exhausting.

The surface was soon victorious and his opponents moved no more. It was time for Orin to join the fight. He weighed during the fights that was the most dangerous among the two but could not make this determination. The Ocean Lord was tired but certainly not weak. The surface dweller had shown superior hand to hand skills which demanded caution and possibly stay out of his hands' range.

But Orin did not have to approach either. He had the Scepter of Atlantis in his hand. He could easily defeat them both but that will not do him any good. He had to show some skill otherwise he would be considered a coward. And that would have been the opposite effect of what had to be achieved.

Cymo, still in disguise, witnessed all that happened from the lounge of the Atlantean clan. She saw the madness in the eyes of the Grand Vizier and the master greeter. She was an inch of announcing her presence when they declared her death but that would have spoiled the surprise. Her father's reaction was somewhat normal given the circumstances.

The sudden appearance of Krek Tan attracted both her father's and Cor's attention but as she noticed they were not looking at him but rather somewhere behind him. She traced their gaze and noticed the servant behind caring two oblong packages (one short and the other slightly bigger and thicker). She wondered what it was and then noticed the smile on Cor and her father.

The master greeter then dismissed the spy and placed again the necklace on Cor. She also noticed the master greeter's good cheer had evaporated on the spot as whatever Cor had said got him spooked. She wondered if he had revealed she was not dead but dismissed it as otherwise the master greeter would have directed the ceremonial guards straight at her.

Still her gaze sought the spy and soon found her. Without giving anyone any explanations she left the lounge and headed her way. She wanted to know what was in the packages that got Cor and her father's interest.

It was curious that as a guard of Atlantis no one looked at her. All simply stood aside and let her pass. It brought a smile to her face and cheered her up. Down on the arena, she noticed Orin had not joined the fight. He stood observing the fight probably deciding whom to attack first.

She reached Gallia and motioned the spy to follow her. Gallia had a puzzled look on her face but obeyed. As they were out of reach for praying, Cymo removed her helmet and Gallia gaped in disbelief.

"Your majesty is alive." Gallia said stunned.

'Yes, but keep it quiet, spy." Cymo said silently. "What is in the packages? It must be something important for my father and Cor to look at them with great interest."

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you, your majesty." Gallia replied cautiously.

"Why are you still here, Spy?" Cymo had found her presence puzzling. She was definitely not here for the fight. "Are you still under contract?" The subtle nod confirmed it. But if she had fulfilled her duties to the master greeter then whose contract was she still observing. "It is not the master greeter. He had already spoken about your payment."

"I will say this." Gallia began. She did not want to break the rules of the guild but she knew Princess Cymo will not give up easily so she decided to give her a clue. "My employer paid a visit to the palace's vault and wanted its contents safely delivered. Now, if you would excuse me."

Cymo stood puzzled. 'What?' She silently exclaimed. And then it hit her – the palace. Krek Tan was caught lurking around the palace. But that was bull. He had already been in the palace and apparently its vault. What could possibly interest him there?

She focused on the packages again. One was long and thick. She approached silently the servant holding them without trying to spook him and took a better look. Something caught her attention and she could hardly believe what stood protruding slightly from it.

What has Krek Tan done? But the answer was obvious. He had broken into the vault and no one had noticed yet. But what he had taken now that was a different question altogether. She had wondered where the master greeter would put it and the answer was rather obvious. That pompous ass would never consider the possibility that someone might actually go for it and succeed in taking it from the vault without raising the alarms.

She wondered about the shorter package. Could it be the other one? Why else would Cor be so intrigued of it? Why would it put a smile on his face? She wondered though what he hoped to achieve. The Scepter of Atlantis can be stopped only by the Trident of her father. Still she had satisfied her curiosity. It was time she returned to her place among the Atlanteans.

Orin attacked first Cor but he blocked and pushed him back. He then decided to have a go at the Ocean Lord but it had the same result. It was not going to be an easy battle. The two did not seem to want to help each other and attack him at the same time. It seemed each was saving his strength.

Orin employed his weapon mostly as a stick rather than the magical powerful side that was the Scepter. Still, each of his opponents, on their turn, blocked each hit with relative ease. Some of his blows did pass but that did not deter either one of them. He needed a change of tactics.

He needed to force them into fighting each other and then he would fight the victor. He tried goading into that but neither showed any interest whatsoever. It puzzled him but to a degree it also confirmed what he already suspected. The surface dweller did not kill the Princess. She was alive and somewhere. He needed to know where. They will have to tell him and for that he would have to use the power of the Scepter.

He knew for a fact that the Kryptonians could not resist the power of his weapon so he directed its power at the surface dweller but he dodged the blast rather swiftly. He would not make this easy for him. Orin tried again and again but it was as though the surface dweller anticipated his moves.

"Are you a telepath too?" Orin exclaimed rather frustratingly.

"If I were, your highness, you would be dead." Cor replied amused by the suggestion.

Orin decided to push him closer to the Ocean Lord, hoping he would do him the favor and put his target in the line of fire. Unfortunately for him, the surface dweller did not move in the Ocean Lord's direction but rather the opposite.

"You can't evade it forever."

"If it was as powerful as described by everyone here it should have hit me already. But apparently, it is still second best or you have no idea how to wield it. I'm inclined to the second part though the first too." Cor replied.

This remark forced Orin to cut shorter the distance between them. He felt anger consuming him. How dared this dweller speak to him in this manner Kryptonian or otherwise? He would pay for his insolence.

Cor noticed the effect his words had on the ruler of Atlantis and made him smile. Orin may be a formidable warrior but he was susceptible to the wrong emotions during a fight. Anger was a powerful tool but it was also a mistake. He had to be frustrated by now with his unsuccessful attempts to hit him with the Scepter's power. But then again he should have remembered that a moving target is far more difficult to hit than a stationary one.

Orin's unsuccessful attempts also had an effect on the masses. It was time again for hand to hand combat. There was no other way. The surface dweller moved a lot and hitting him with a blast did not work.

Orin left the scepter and got to fight him. He was stronger than him but the dweller was very agile and easily evaded his powerful punches while delivered some of his own. Orin did notice though the dweller's punches were not at full strength. It puzzled him as to why this is.

Cor's hits however had a different purpose. He could hit the ruler of Atlantis hard and powerfully but that was not the idea. He did not want to inflict much damage on him. He wanted the opposing forces to feel good about their accomplishments. He wanted them to feel like they were winning. He wanted Orin's guard down until the time he would truly strike. And also he wanted to keep him occupied and away from the Ocean Lord who definitely needed to rest.

Cor also needed to keep his strength without getting too exhausted. He would need his strength when things would get uglier. He had not yet revealed he had powers other than those of a Kryptonian. And he wanted to keep it that away for as long as possible.

His gaze would every now and then venture to the lounge of Atlantis. He felt relieved that Cymo was still there and watching. It was not time yet for her to reveal her presence. That would be a special surprise.

Cor's attention returned to the fight at hand. Orin was strong probably as strong as his cousin Kal-El (with his powers). The water gave great strength to Orin hence the reason Cor evaded his power punches. He also noticed the speeding up of Orin when coming from an opposite direction. He was again probably as fast as a Kryptonian on the surface. That was one of the most difficult skills to evade (as Cor had to predict Orin's choice of attack vector and so far he had been lucky).

In close quarters' combat Cor had the upper hand as his skill was superior to that of Orin but that was not much help now. The strength and power of Orin rivaled those of Ka-El. And Cor was currently trying to break a granite wall with his bare hands. A look from the Ocean Lord told him that he could let himself get hit so he could rest. Cor obliged and made Orin triumph with his last attack.

Orin finally succeeded to punch the surface dweller and he flew backwards and crushed on the ground but then the Ocean Lord attacked and he could not finish his previous attack. Cor got up though he held his hand at the place he had received the punch as it hurt quite a lot (hoping there was nothing broken).

'You would not be as smug if I had my Kryptonian powers, you bloody fish stick.' Cor thought as he took the breather the Ocean Lord provided him. Still Cor did not need those powers. He needed his sword and then he would level the plainfield. He wondered for a moment if his sword could hold back the power of the scepter but dismissed the idea. He probably couldn't.

The Ocean Lord, as Cor noticed, attacked Orin with great ferocity. He had some repressed issues with Atlantis. And although Orin was younger than him it did not look like Orin could take him.

Orin had indeed trouble with the old man. He was much more powerful than he expected and his punches hurt. Orin had thought that he was an experienced warrior but the seasoned Ocean Lord was more than a match for him. Their fight continued long and the two began to show signs of tiredness.

"A breather your highness," Cor suggested and Orin pulled away to catch his breath and regroup his thoughts.

The Ocean Lord reached Cor and sat beside him. "If I followed your crazy plan, I should be kicking the crap out of you."

"Yeah, I guess you should, your majesty." Cor nodded. "But I figured master Orin already suspects I was not completely honest about Cymo. He was suspicious to begin with."

"So how did you convince him then?"

"I didn't. The Grand Vizier did." Cor replied. "Although he did give himself away."

"In what way did Orin do so?"

"Oh, no, not Orin, the Grand Vizier acted in a somewhat rebellious way and revealed his plans."

"He wants the throne of Atlantis?"

"Oh, no his plans are not so provincial, Milord. He wants to rule the seas."

"How would he do so? He will not be the one winning."

"Of course not, master Orin will win and then he would, I don't know, probably kill him and assume the throne."

"Devious little snake,"

"Yes, he is. I imagine he promised something to the master greeter too."

"Speaking of which, when will I get my Trident back?"

"I suppose when Krek Tan has determined when."

"He would suspect foul play?"

"That is my guess too."

"Can the Fury hold the Scepter?"

"No," Cor said. "But it could do other things."

"Such as?" The Ocean Lord was intrigued.

"I guess you will have to wait and see like everyone else, Milord." Cor replied. He did not want to reveal what he intended to do when and if the time comes (as it was a dangerous move, very dangerous). "Break is over. Wish me luck."

"Good luck,"

Cor stood up and headed to Orin. It was time to resume the fight. This time however Cor had the intention of using his telekinetic power to level the battle (no, not to push Orin but to contain his hits and amplify his).

Orin was ready too. He focused his close combat attack on the surface dweller with greater precision and ferocity. However for his greatest surprise his punches were not as effective as before. He did notice the intensity on his opponent's face. He seemed more concentrated and somehow he showed exertion from the effort.

Orin wondered if somehow he had managed to bypass the power of the necklace. He did not understand how his opponent had managed to diffuse the power of his punches or how he had succeeded in amplifying his (as those hits started to hurt him).

Orin also quickly noticed that in close combat his opponent was better than him. He wondered where he got this training. And Cor helped him to figure that out when he whispered a name that frightened Orin (Zod). So he was a pupil of General Zod. That explained a lot some of his tactics.

Orin redoubled his efforts but his punches could be classified as a hit of normal human and that puzzled him a lot (something that Cor used to his advantage and basically beat the crap out of Orin). He tossed him aside like a raggedy doll and then attacked even more fiercely.

The Grand Vizier and the master greeter did not like the direction in which this fight was going. Orin had been their best option to take both of their problems out but the ruler of Atlantis was definitely not up to the challenge. They needed to interfere as the fight was taking longer than anyone could have guessed and also drew close to the end of the battle day and that meant having to continue the fight the next day.

"Perhaps that is not a bad idea." The grand Vizier shared when the master greeter had voiced his concerns.

"How is that?"

"We could use the opportunity to drive the game in our favor with the most ancient of ways to get rid of someone."

"You mean poison." The master greeter exclaimed. "If they die outside of the arena we would have achieved nothing."

"No, my dear friend, it will be a poison just not the one that kills but the one that weakens and blurs the senses."

"If it they fall too easily that would defeat the purpose too."

"Don't worry. I have a poison in mind. It acts slowly. It will do the trick." The Grand Vizier said with a demonic smile.

"They will have to get it before the fight begins."

"I know."

"Alright, time to end the battle for today." The master greeter said.

He entered the Arena with the ceremonial guards. Cor and Orin stopped their fight.

"Today has been a great day for justice." The master greeter began. "All combatants fought with dignity and honor. But this day has drawn to an end." There was booing from the masses. "The last fight has not declared yet any victors but it will continue tomorrow when it resumes and a victor is declared." The masses seemed satisfied that this great, last battle, will continue tomorrow.

"Take those two away," He ordered the ceremonial guards.

"Where do you want them?" The guard asked.

"Place them under guard in the Grand Palace's chamber of contestants."

"Chamber of contestants?" The Ocean Lord exclaimed. "Why do not you just call it what it is?"

The guard seemed also perplexed so Cor came to his aid. "He meant the prison's cells, dearie."

"Right," The guard nodded and gestured them to march before him.

"Master Greeter, Grand Vizier," Cor saluted on the way with a devilish smile. Then out of their sight he turned to the Ocean Lord. "You reckon these two are up to something?"

"That would be my guess." The Ocean Lord replied.

"Like?"

"Probably poison,"

"Why would you think that?"

"I would because in their shoes I would have probably done the same. I believe slow acting poison so when the time comes Master Orin would finally defeat us and that will be it."

"Oh," Cor said. "I'm flattered."

"You should be." The Ocean Lord smiled. "Usually only royalties are killed this way."

"Well, in that case, I do fit the bill."

"You do?" The Ocean Lord looked at him surprised. Cor had never shared his royal heritage with the Ocean Lord.

"It is a long story." Cor replied.

"Well, we seem to have the night."

"Actually, we should try to make contact with her."

"Don't worry about her. She knows how to mingle and hide if necessary. By the way, what disguise has she chosen?"

"Royal female guard,"

"WHAT?"

"Keep your voice down, your majesty."

"I'm sorry I'm just surprised." The Ocean Lord said. "She would usually go for the inner circle."

"She would?" Cor at him incredulously. "She has done that before?"

"Oh, yes, it is part of her education." The Ocean Lord replied casually.

"The world is full of surprises." Cor noted. He would have never guessed the little brat was capable of such acts.

"Now you have to tell me how you two ended up here."

"Well to be honest, I came to you to form an alliance."

"With Oceania? You?"

"More like my people,"

"Kryptonians?"

"Yes,"

"What for?"

"We have some issues with underwater volcanoes."

"How are they involved with that?"

"Well, we have built a city in the lands of the South under the ice, well in the ice. And the volcanoes are giving us a headache. We have tremors all the time. We just built the damn city and now I have to worry about its floors falling on our heads."

The Ocean Lord looked pleasantly surprised of young Cor. He had grown and become a leader. A city, the word resonated with the Ocean Lord, within the ice, it seemed a bold initiative.

The tremors of the southern hemisphere's volcanoes was something known to him. There were some ways to stabilize them without harming nature. He could help them but forming an alliance. They had to offer something of value otherwise he could not afford to antagonize the clans again.

"I see." The Ocean Lord said. "We could help with that but what you are asking may not be possible given current circumstances unless…"

Cor understood his meaning. He needed to know what he would gain from this alliance. The problem was that sharing Kryptonian technology was something he was weary of as it was very advanced and if misused could have disastrous consequences. The other problem was that Oceania had almost everything it needed.

Cor had not thought this alliance idea through well enough. The few things that came to mind involved Yllyan technology. Still, it was worth thinking about it. Perhaps he could find something of value to the merfolk that would not cause much trouble if shared.

"I will come back to you when I have something." Cor replied.

The Ocean Lord smiled though. He guessed correctly that Cor had not given this a good rational thought. As a service for his help or even a paid one, he could help Cor and his people but forging an alliance would take so much more.

Princess Cymo followed the fight with great interest but did not enjoy the untimely interference of the master greeter calling it a day. She had hoped she would not have to live with her disguise. But now there were very few choices. The only positive thing was that the female guard whose place she had taken cannot suddenly appear and blow her cover. But that was the only good news.

Now, she had to figure out how to remain on duty and not take her helmet off otherwise he cover will be definitely blown. There was also a play she could employ by approaching Talon, the next Grand vizier to be but it was dangerous. She actually knew he would turn her in and that will spoil the good surprise she had in mind.

She had to find another way but sadly her disguise did not give her much room. If she could get to Krek Tan then he might have a good idea but that now was way too dangerous and she could not afford it. Or perhaps, she could. She can contact the spy but still if they are caught together that will complicate things unnecessarily.

Well, she will stick to her original plan and remain outside the dwelling guarding it. She just will have to be convincing enough. However, if Orin insists that will be a problem. She did a bit imprudently help Cor in the tent when the Grand Vizier had diverted attention away from his weasel plans and thus she attracted unnecessary attention to herself.

She only hoped that Orin will be tired sufficiently of the fight and will not indulge in any celebrations or otherwise engagements that would require her presence. She also hoped (though slightly feared) that his wife, Mera, will be there and his attention will be fully occupied by her.

Cymo focused her thoughts now on the day that has passed. She escaped prison with Cor's help, then infiltrated brilliantly the Atlantean delegation, put the pompous vizier in his proper place, and witnessed the fight in the arena. The fight in the arena actually scared her a lot. She had seen Cor fight before (though he did fight her sharks and Prince little brat) but she had never seen her father fight for dear life.

When Orin joined the fight she feared the worst. Orin is young, skilled and very powerful but her father surprised her. She would have never been able to guess that he was that strong too (don't get this wrong, she knew her father was strong but his physical appearance never suggested such physical prowess and combat literacy). She still did not understand why he did not want her to see this side of him. Cor seemed to understand why but was clever enough to keep it to close to his chest.

Still, she was relieved when the tide turned against Orin. Cor had somehow succeeded bypassing the power of the necklace. But did he? She wondered what he did to become this powerful without his Kryptonian powers. She had noticed his telekinetic abilities but they could not do that for him (at least she could not conceive of such possibility).

She was thrown out her thoughts when they reached the Royal Atlantean dwelling. Mera greeted them. That was good and not good at the same time. Still Cymo took her leave and headed to her post on the outskirt perimeter of the dwelling. But it was not meant to be as Orin did call her and she had no choice but to obey.

"You defended well Atlantis today," He said as they entered the improvised throne room.

"It is my honor to serve." Cymo replied bowing.

"I invite you to sit by my side tonight at the…" Orin said but was interrupted by Mera (and Cymo was grateful for that).

"Dear,"

"She deserves this honor."

"I understand that, my love, and I agree but you need to rest. Today was an exhausting day and you will need your strength for tomorrow."

"Of course, you are right as always," Orin agreed. "Still, I would like you to remain inside and protect me."

"As you command, your majesty," Cymo said.

"You will guard the Royal Chamber." Mera said. "Follow me!"

"As you command, your highness," Cymo relaxed a bit and followed Mera.

Still they did not reach the Royal chamber though and this got her to raise her guard. She wondered what Mera had in mind. Has she recognized her somehow? Or did she consider her a threat to her husband?

They reached a more secluded place and there Mera stopped and turned to her. "I was informed of your actions today."

Cymo held her breath. This will either be something good or something bad.

"You have protected your future king well." Mera continued. "But I have to ask. What are your expectations?"

"My expectations?" Cymo repeated slowly.

"I will be frank." Mera said. "You stepped up to protect my husband and Atlantis when the Grand Vizier was obviously trying to evade his duties, and we are grateful for that however you have also spoken out of terms.

It is a bold initiative to speak up. This also means that you are ambitious. So I ask again – what are your expectations?"

Cymo finally understood her meaning. Sadly she was walking on a thin ice, very thin. She wondered what to answer or more to the point how far to take it. Was she expecting her to ask for a promotion or was it a trap to test her true ambitions? Will an answer of servicing her future king be enough of an answer or not? Will this be viewed as suspicious or not?

Sadly Cymo was not well acquainted with Mera. She was in uncharted waters with her. Was she the jealous, vindictive type or was she more open minded? Well, any woman that had such a husband would be protective of him and thus jealous. Cymo's options were very limited. She truly did not know the intricacies of Atlantean customs. She could only draw parallel to her own.

"I want to serve Atlantis." Cymo began cautiously while observing closely Mera's reactions so she could determine how far to take it. "With honor and respect,"

Mera smiled. The guard was a typical female guard in service of her king. But her actions spoke of an ambition that she was cautious to express. So she said nothing expecting the guard to voice it on her own.

Cymo was not happy of this development. She had hoped that would be enough. So she took upon herself to reflect on the look of the guard whose place she had taken. Cor overpowered her with relative ease. So she was not the strongest or the most vigilant but her features had pleased her. They were that of an intelligent if somewhat quiet woman.

"And with time and service," Cymo continued. "Earn the right to be the captain of the maidens." Cymo hoped that was the title of the captain of the female guards.

Mera was pleasantly surprised of the subtleness the guard used to make her demand. She was obviously an intelligent woman that knew exactly what she wanted but did not want to use today's development fully as a bargaining chip. Mera was relieved. She was ambitious but did not want to cut corners to achieve it and that elevated her in her eyes. She had made herself known in the most subtle way imaginable under the circumstances.

"Follow me!" Mera commanded.

Cymo bowed and followed hoping this time they would go the Royal chamber and not some other secluded little space. She was relieved when that was the case this time.

"Stand guard,"

"As you command, your highness," Cymo said and took her place. Mera entered the chamber without another word. Cymo could relax now a bit. She could not afford to lower her guard again. Mera was deviously tricky.

Still she had to remember to tell the guard of her luck before this was over. Cymo made plans to study the dwelling better and find a different disguise. She had occupied the light for too long and drew very close to the flame although her position gave her the perfect excuse to be close to the arena. She had some thinking to do and decide the best course of action. For now she was safe.

To be continued…

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