Several hours later the trio were found seated within the courtyard, a heavy silence weighing between them as they waited for the merwoman to speak first. Their breaths paused as she rose from her seat. "Now that I know of everything, it is time to act. Prince Atem is being held within his personal quarters, yes? I must go see him." Neither moved to stop or lead the way as she entered the palace; they weren't needed and would only get in her way. Through the darkness that was her world, she could see various trails of different colors that corresponded with each individual's magical energy. This trail, the one she was following, smelled of sandalwood and was the color of the amethyst stone she often used to cleanse her own energy. She came to a halt as a wall of impassive violet that tasted of aged wine upon her tongue. So this was the barrier they had spoken of that Solomon had placed to ensure Atem remained inside. A quick incantation caused it to ripple as an opening just big enough for her to pass through showed itself, and she slipped inside unnoticed.
"Who goes?"
Her brows furrowed in concern at the weak voice that called from the farthest corner of the room. The source of the trail she had been following was so heavily tainted with near unbearable sadness, longing, but underneath all of the suffering was a tainted joy that was a single thread of red leading upwards and out of sight. One of the most ancient beliefs was that each was born with an invisible thread of fate that would lead them where fate required. Most of the threads she had come across were tied to various beings or around certain locations but not this one.
"Forgive me for not welcoming you, Lady Ishizu, it has been too long since last we met."
She remained where she was when he remained tucked within the window's opening. The barrier prevented him from going any farther out of the room. "I wish I could say you appear well but we would both know that I am lying. Prince Atem, I am fully aware of how things have progressed up to this point and I must say I am surprised. Though your physical appearance is near identical to that of your father it is your mother's heart that I see beating within your chest."
His heavily shadowed eyes wearily rose from the rocky floor to rest upon the robed merwoman. Lady Ishizu had the tendency to speak little of others, she was the kind of being who was not without emotions but rarely expressed them, so hearing her bring up the subject of the deceased monarchs in the current circumstances was surprising. No, suspicious was the better word choice.
"Your father was powerful, none could dispute that, but it was Lapide who taught him the meaning of gentleness and compassion. I believe now is the time for me to tell you of the human your mother helped a human, if you will listen." She waited for any indication that he would rather not listen but received none. "In the beginning, there was water and land. Within and upon both life was prosperous. During the rare day when the stars were aligned and the moon shadowed the sun, a being was born from the pearl of a clam with scales more brilliant than precious metals or gems. For centuries she lived alone until a human happened to fall beneath the waves. This air breather would surely perish if not rescued so the mermaid was quick to return him to land. Despite their opposite races and impossible circumstances, their hearts grew closer until the day he passed, killed by the very denizens of the sea that she lived amongst. Stricken with grief over the man's death, the result of their love was torn in two and were born as she cursed the stars above, from her being were born the merfolk and the sirens."
Atem listened intently to the tale. He had heard of a similar one when they were children but this one was much darker. And this one mentioned humans. There was a fact within their words that left a sour taste on his tongue but decided to wait until their tale was concluded.
"She soon disappeared from existence centuries after; some say she fell into the deepest of slumbers amongst the sirens who could only dwell in the darkest of waters. A terrible scar was left upon the ocean's occupants when her light vanished. However, there were many who came along who were blessed with her metallic scales, your mother Lapide was the last. At least that was the assumption. She was sickly, not even the most practiced healers could understand why her health was failing, and then a miracle happened." Ishizu raised her head, feeling the gaze of the prince. The trail coming from him was agitated but held hints of an internal struggle. Her lip twitched as it trembled. He was on the verge of sinking into the hypnotics spell she was weaving. "She had been so stricken with illness and your father was journeying across the oceans to find a cure when she went into labor. So great were her labor pains that she soon found herself upon land and she grew fearful of the wellbeing of her child that she began to weep. A human was nearby and was quick to find her just as she was sure her end was near. It was her luck that the human was female, one who was well versed with labor, and though it took several hours she assisted in the birth of you and your brother. The woman swore that she would never speak of what she saw as the now fearful mermaid recoiled, clutching her offspring to her chest, and slipped out into the ocean with not even a thanks."
"What happened next?"
A smile lifted her lips. Victory was within her grasp, just one more little push and then he would be hers. "The human medicine had improved her health and those of her children. So plagued with guilt for not thanking the woman properly all of those years ago, your mother rose to the surface once more in time to spot the human female sitting upon the sand, crying. While she had been assisting with Lapide's delivery, her own child, a daughter, had fallen severely ill. None of the physicians or healers upon land held any hope for the infant. Little did they know that the mermaid had been followed by two curious younglings." The smile fell. "One of them, the eldest twin by four minutes, crawled up onto the sand until he was beside the stricken human woman who clung to her weakening child, and without hesitation plucked one of his own scales from his glittering tail to place it upon the infant's forehead. Lapide knew that this was the moment that she could repay the debt and quickly explained that the scale could be ground into a powder to form a potent medicine. With great hope, she herself plucked one of her own lackluster scales and offered it in place of her son's. I wept for several days when I had heard the news and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't locate the human woman to see if her child had survived thanks to the sacrificed scales." She rose and drifted across the room. "Your mind is racing, I can feel your emotions swirling and attempting to bring what I have just told you into focus." Her hands rose to cup his face as his magical energy flared. "The answer to what happened to your parents might not be contained within the ocean, Prince Atem, but not I or Mahad have the power to bestow you the ability to search upon land. Only one is fabled to have that power."
Amethyst widened then narrowed as the blurred room cleared. His vision had steadily grown hazy and faint traces of magic had nearly clouded his mind but their continued mistake kept him from losing himself. He pulled away, his hand latching onto one of her wrists as a look of anger crossed his features. "Imposter, I knew something was suspicious about the way you told that tale. Ishizu has already told me of the secret my parents held of their relationship with humans, we even witnessed a few of their rare encounters and dealings, but the way you spoke of it was as if you were truly there on the day of our birth." He growled lowly as he used his weight to force the intruder to the ground. "And that is not our mother's name, so who are you?"
"I am everywhere and anything that my master wishes me to be." The woman's features morphed until her true appearance was bare for him to see: a female siren of the eel clan. Her long fingers latched themselves onto his throat as she slipped free of his grasp, her snake-like lower torso tightly wrapping around his tail to prevent him from moving as her other hand pinned his arms to the wall. "You're too weak to fight me off, little prince, submit now and I will tell you where to find the Sea Warlock." She hissed when he writhed, attempting to break her hold, and slammed his body against the rock. Her being wrapped even tighter around his own, earning a grunt of pain as his spine protested when it was bent backwards until her mouth was near his ear. "You want to know of what happened to them, your mother and father, do you not? I am not here to fight but to guide you." A sound from somewhere within the palace, almost like a whistle, caused her head to tilt. "My party and I must depart. Now is the time for you to chose. Either remain here, withering away until you're nothing thanks to the sin that you had no control over," she released him with a toss, causing him to crash against the rock wall. "Or you can come with me to meet the one who can send you above."
His upper lip lifted into a snarl as he straightened, absentmindedly waving a hand to disperse the thin trail of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "Was any of what you spoke of true?"
"All of it." She bent at the waist as his eyes widened, her hand caressing his cheek. "Poor, sweet prince, you truly didn't know?" One of her fingers trailed from his chin, down his sternum, and came to a stop upon the cluster of scales upon his right hip. Agony rippled through his being as she dragged her nail across it. "This very scale…haven't you noticed that it is more sensitive than the others or why it is a lighter shade? And why else would your thread of fate be tied to a human girl when there are several other available, more acceptable females?" Cho'yun hissed softly when his gaze met her own, revealing amethyst that exposed an inner war between longing and reason. "Come with me, Prince Atem, your fate and the answers you seek await you."