Chapter Fifteen: Act 2

"Welcome, my subjects, to the annual festival of the hunt!" The crowd erupted in cheers, while I just sat, terribly confused and fearing the worst.

'The festival of the what?' I immediately began imagining the worst as thoughts of Rin's drunken fairy tale flooded my mind. I tried to make eye contact with Len, hoping he would provide answers, but as soon as I pivoted my head to face him he grabbed me by the hand and we swam off together. He took me up one of the many coral staircases that filled the stadium and into a sort of indoor hallway where the swelling orchestral cheers of the audience were slightly muted. We were alone in the corridor, give or take a few fish, which made it easy for Len to maneuver throughout the complicated maze of doorways and rooms until he found the one he wanted.

Upon entering the space, my eyes had to adjust to the pitch-blackness. There was literally no light, and as I swished my legs back and fourth in the water, there appeared to be no floor either. Suddenly, without warning, Len plunged right down into the abyss below, dragging me along with him. I tried letting out a scream, but all that emerged through the device I was wearing were bubbles. Finally, after falling for about 4 or so seconds, Len's tail began to pulse rapidly, and we came to a stop at what appeared to be a door with light behind it. Len swam up to it and pushed hard on the door. I could hear him grunt as he pressed on it with the weight of his whole body.

"Do... do you need help?" I asked politely. He barely turned his head to nod, and I quickly paddled over to the door and shoved it with all my might. Reluctantly, it shrieked open, scraping it's metal against the coral floor. Len squeaked through the opening first, then I followed. We ended up in another hallway much like the first one, but this time I couldn't even hear the faintest hint of cheering.

"C'mon," Len whispered, "This way." I nodded, and together we swam down the corridor until we reached a few different sets of doors. At the very end of the line was a set of regal double doors, but we stopped at the entrance before them on the right. "In here," he told me as he headed inside. I paddled in behind him and gasped. Inside it was magnificent. The floors were an array of corals and gemstones, and in the center was a huge canopy bed with silk sheets and linens of gorgeous colors. "W-what is this place?" I asked in awe. Len smiled cheekily at me, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"This is my room," He told me with a giggle.

I looked at him a little annoyed and anxious, "I understand that, but where are we?"

Len just grinned sweetly and tilted his head. "We're in the palace, silly." I took a step (more like a swish) backwards in shock and let out several bubbles as my mouth lay agape.

"Th-the palace? You mean, you're a-" Suddenly, I was interrupted by a heavy knocking sound coming from the door.

"Hello, Len?" The voice was deep and epic sounding, like that of a Greek god. Len suddenly became frantic, quickly swimming over to grab me and hide us both behind the massive bedframe. "Son, are you in here? I wish to talk to you. May I come in?" The knocking had ceased while he was speaking, but soon it started again. I was just about to get up and possibly try to open the door when Len dragged me back down violently by my collar and forced a hand over my mouth. "That's it, Len. I know you're in there. I'm opening the door..." Like the voice had said, the door creaked open gently, and a huge swishing noise followed, presumably created by the larger merloid's tail.

Len flinched, then, without a word of warning, shoved me underneath the bed entirely, using his surprisingly firm grip to keep me at bay. I stayed silent as a large shadow cast itself over the blanket I was hiding behind. It appeared to be that of the tail I had heard just seconds ago. I could also see a white robe reaching it's way to the ground, and that's when I remembered...

I gasped in shock once more, letting out a group of bubbles and then immediately covering my mouth back up with my free hand. 'The announcer at the stadium? Is that him? The king? Len's dad?'

"H-hello Papa. So glad to see you," Len faltered, but cheerily.

I could imagine the robed merloid smiling down at him. "Why hello my dear Len. I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?" His tone had started off nicely, but it soon dipped much lower until it sounded rather accusatory.

"Uh... I've been... I've been exploring..." Len answered shyly, his tail swishing meekly.

The "King" growled, "Len-kun, what have I told you about your 'exploring'?"

Len sighed, and I could sense he felt ashamed and slightly upset. "I shouldn't wander off, Papa, I know. But..."

"But what?" Len's father was getting really angry now. I inched back slightly, feeling a little frightened.

"But... on Moon Island, there's a-"

"I DON'T WANNA HERE IT!" Suddenly, BOOM! The King must have slammed his fist down on something, because a loud crash rang through the water. "HOW MANY TIME'S HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO ON DRY LAND? WE ARE TRYING TO FIND A SUITABLE HUSBAND FOR YOU! WE CAN'T HAVE YOU RUNNING OFF ON YOUR OWN ALL THE TIME, AND ESPECIALLY NOT TO THE NASTY WORLD OF HUMANS! DO I MAKE MY SELF CLEAR, LEN-KUN?"

"Y-yes, father," Len stutters. I can tell by the shadows in front of me that Len's head is now hanging even lower.

"Good. Now, in-between your little excursions, did you seek out a mate of some kind?"

"Well um..." Len began, and I flinched backwards even further while trying to keep quiet. "W-while I was... on land... there was this-" *clunk*. I froze in place immediately. As I had been backing up, I had accidentally hit some sort of wooden box, causing several other small objects that had been stored underneath the furniture to tumble and hit the floor.

'I guess I didn't notice because the water made it take longer to fall,' I thought, most likely in an attempt to keep my mind off my certain death in the next few moments. Suddenly, a large hand reached underneath the bed and began to grab at me blindly. I tried my best to keep as quiet as possible, but it was difficult to do with all the bubbles I was making.

"Papa! Stop! That's my mate!" The hand drew back, and an eerie silence enveloped the room.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing. In this authors note, I have decided to thank people from all across the world by listing the countries of my various readers during the month of December. Shout-outs to everyone from the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, Finland, Qatar, Brazil, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Chile, France, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Singapore, Ireland, Latvia, Romania, Germany, Colombia, Spain, and Hungary. I'm glad that people from so many different places enjoy my writing (or at least, that's what my traffic stats say ^-^'). I'm so happy that I have such an international audience! Anyways, hope you enjoy!

~ Nat ^-^

P.S. Thank you Vavila for your incredibly nice comment on chapter 20. It makes me feel very good to know that my readers are growing attached to my characters like that. As an aspiring writer, it is like reaching a small stepping stone for me. Thanks so much for ALL of EVERYONE'S nice comments. I don't think I can thank you guys enough for how happy and fulfilled you've made me feel over the past few months! You guys are the best!

P.P.S. Sorry if I missed anyone's countries! Tell me in a review what country you're from, and I can give you guys shout-outs in the next chapter!

P.P.P.S. Don't tell the others, but your country is my favorite. You, yes you there. Your country is totally wicked awesome