Chapter 19: Day 25

As Rainbow recalled, Turtle had once sneaked into Whirlpool's room during the time when they had their council meeting. So she had taken the effort to look up the schedule and found they had one meeting just after lunch. She could go to see Turtle in the morning, then get back to the Summer Palace in time to sneak into Whirlpool's room.

But the morning had not been kind to her. Her fish hunting had gone well, however, Turtle had ignored her and even refusing to touch the fish she had offer to him. She had to content herself to watch from afar while the healers do the job instead.

But no matter. Once she could prove Turtle's innocence, he will be out of his punishment, and everything will be back to normal. She thought.

Right now, she was wandering around the Summer palace. Her talons were mindlessly cleaning the walkway while her eyes kept on looking at the dining hall. The councillors were having their lunch. Soon enough, they will move to a higher floor where they would have their meeting there and that would be her cue to sneak into Whirlpool's room.

A series of short coughs startled her before she turned around to face three other dragons that were facing her. Standing just in front of her was Prince Hammerhead.

"We need to talk." He gestured to one of the cave at the lower side of the cliff wall. "Privately."

The other two dragons quickly surrounded her from the sides. She had no choice but to follow him into the cave. With two behind her and Prince Hammerhead in front of her, she entered into the dark cave below.

It was not the darkness that frighten her. Rather, she felt that the princes were so used to the corridors of the cave. Every turn and corner seem so familiar to them, while she had to constantly look and feel for the route even with her night vision.

It was until they reached into an opening, they had stopped. The room was empty of all things. It probably could just fit ten dragons or so. Prince Hammerhead placed himself at the centre of the room while the other two stood at the entrance watching the corridors. She supposed that she was not getting out of here until he got what he came for.

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Prince Hammerhead said. "Once again, I have heard that you had been ever closer to my little brother Turtle. I thought we were clear that you were supposed to stay away from him. Or at least kept your distance."

"I did only I was told. I was assigned to take care of Turtle for the period of-"

"Yes. I heard that from the first time. But-" He paused and frowned upon her. "Did you just refer to him without his title? So the rumours were true. I'm afraid we'll have to arrange so that you and my little brother have to be separated."

"What rumour?" She asked.

"Don't feint innocent. We all knew why all of you work here as servant. Familiarity breeds affection. Once you get a prince under your talons. A smooth and comfortable life is ahead of you. It is an age-old strategy for commoners like you."

He shook his head in distaste.

"Not that the queen approves of this. But she is also, more or less, helpless to maintain the royal integrity for having these many sons. There are bound to have one or two gets attached to whoever around them. Isn't there a SandWing Prince tried to elope with a servant years ago? Point and fact."

"But he's just a dragonet. You can't possibly suggest that I-" She was disgusted to even think to suggest the word.

"Grooming. Yes. There is no end to greed." He said.

"He was depressed and helpless. I was only there to support him. Besides, making him suffered unnecessary doesn't build character. It only traumatized him. Your stupid punishment does nothing but only to hurt him. And the beatings you sent me. That was cowardly of you."

Rainbow did not finish her sentence before she found herself sprawled on the ground. Her talons clutch the sides of her snout.

A slap.

For everything she had been through, this should a walk in the park. But somehow, the weight of this slap felt heavier than anything she felt before, even compared to the beatings. For all her life, No one had slapped her. Not even her parents had done it before.

"Disagree however you may. But how dare you accused me of something as barbaric and lowly as that. A beating?" He clicked his tongue in distaste. "All the same, you are forbidden to ever come close to Turtle. Other servant shall be appointed to his needs. Do you hear me?"

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Rainbow said.

"Who knows? Apparently, you caused more trouble than you're worth. My business is done here. The council meeting is happening next, and I'm to be expected."

"Wait." She cried. "Prince Turtle needs me. I won't leave him just yet. Not until after the punishment."

"He needs you? Or you need him?" He shook his head. "Be grateful that you even had the chance to work here. You can't imagine how many SeaWing would kill for your position right now. To serve under the royal family. To live near the palace. Be grateful. And be satisfied."

Prince Hammerhead turned around and leave. But quickly found his talon was grabbed and bogged down by her.

"Let me take care of him. Please, I beg you." She said.

"You insolent fool. Does the greed and gold blind your senses. Let go of me in this instant or else-"

Rainbow closed her eyes and braced herself for the talon that lifted high up in the air and prepared to land on her. But it never came.

"Enough of this."

Rainbow opened her eyes to saw someone with grey-green scale grabbed the prince's open talon over his head.

"Uncle?" The prince said.

"I always thought you had always dabbled with underhanded tactics, but this is beneath even for you." The grey-green SeaWing said.

"We tried to warn you, brother." His brother who stood at the door said. "You were too busy to heard us."

"And Uncle Shark just ran past us." The other one said.

Shark. Commander Shark.

"You three had been harassing the servant in the palace for too long. Who do you think will clean the palace once you scare them off?"

"There are plenty more dragons who would like to work here." Prince Hammerhead said.

"Not if you kept scaring them off. Keep doing so and all dragons who eventually found out. So, knock it off. Besides." Shark pointed his talon at the exit. "The council meeting is about to begin. You are expected."

The prince looked at Rainbow, then to his two brothers. The two gave shook their head, urging him not to challenge Shark. Then, the prince lead the two of them out of the cave. Leaving her and Shark in the cave alone.

"Thank you."

"Don't. I'm merely doing it only because my servants had been nagging about it all the time, and it's driving me crazy." Shark said.

Not even a glance at her, he turned and walked towards the exit.

"Wait. A question please."

"Make it quick. As I had already said, the council meeting is about to begin."

"That day when two of the princess egg were crushed. Do you know where Snapper went?"

There was a long pause before he said. "Why did you ask?"

"Because Prince Turtle said that he tried to ask you about it that day, but you didn't answer." She said.

Shark gave her a long look before saying.

"No. I don't know." He replied and left.

And then, all was left in this dim-lighted cave was her.

After leaving the cave, Rainbow stood at the edge of an opposite ledge, just above the level where the council gathered for a meeting. Plenty of SeaWings were swooping in and out of the council floor. Some of them she recognized as the senior servants who worked around here. Others probably are the SeaWing nobles, who were standing around the edge of the floor talking with councillors. No doubt trying to influence them in their favour before the meeting was held.

As for Rainbow, she was waiting for the meeting to begin. If she wasn't mistaken, this was the exact same moment when she last found Turtle sneaking around the Summer Palace. Apparently, he was using the time when there was a council meeting to get into Whirlpool's room. Now, she knew her answer lied in there. The slate currently kept in her satchel around her neck was the proof of it. She just needed to find it.

Soon enough, the nobles and the servants have begun to disperse while the councillors make their way to their respective seats. The meeting was about to begin. She leapt off the ledge and flown herself to the same ledge which Turtle had used to hide himself. With much discreet, she walked into the cave and began searching for Whirlpool's room by its name plate.

She soon found herself in the centre of the room. The layout had been the same as the last time she was here: the table, the old chest box and the looming bookshelves all around her. There was also an hourglass on the table. That reminded her that Turtle had used this to keep track of the time when he was rummaging through the scrolls.

She picked up the hourglass, flicked it upside-down, and began her search.

From the entrance, she began a clockwise search. From bottom to top, she read only the titles of the scrolls. Anything regarding the Queen's female dragonet or any mention of the eggs in the titles. If Whirlpool kept a record of such action in his slate. She wagered there are probably some more records somewhere about these shelves.

A quick search through the scrolls did not lead to any result. She tried to peer into the back of the shelves. Which sometimes had some scrolls tucked in there. But nothing of significant.

Maybe it was in the old chest box? That's probably a good place to hide some suspicious scroll, wouldn't be?

Rainbow took a look at the hourglass. Only halfway through. Did the sand flow slower than usual? Nonetheless, another quarter she would have to leave the room. Lest she had got caught after the council meeting had ended.

A series of faint sound interrupted her search. But it could not be. It was the sounds of slapping against the floor echoed along the corridor. Footsteps.

She quickly tossed scrolls back into the shelves and searched for a hiding spot. There was none except for that chest. It was at that moment that she was totally aware of its size. It probably could have fitted two of her. With no time to spare, she opened the chest, and climbed into it.

Her hearing was her only companion in this dark confined space. Soon, she heard the sound of the door opened and judging by the footstep. There should be only one dragon had entered this room.

Whirlpool?

But it was way too early for him to return from his council meeting. The hourglass had indicated that the meeting had only been halfway through. Had he for some reason left the meeting earlier than his usual?

Those were questions for later. Now, she needed to focus on getting out of here. But with a dragon outside and her in this chest. There was nothing but pray that his stay in this room was a short one.

In the meanwhile, she might as well spent her time getting comfortable in this chest. Her talons went on searching in the dark. She could feel at one side, there was soft and squeezable sponge at one corner. It must be a makeshift seaweed bed. Probably used taking nap here. It would also suggest that he spent a lot of time here. On the other side was something hard and round. She supposed it was some sort of jewellery. A ring, she supposed, as she could fit it into her talon.

Just as she leaned back to examine the ring. The wall gave way, and she fell back through the wall. The world spun around her as she tumbled downward. Until finally the spinning stopped and found herself to be at the end of the slope. She gathered her sense and looked around.

Faint glowing rocks? No, they were corals. Perched on top of the ceiling and on above the shelves. Corals that survived the dry lands and glowed like those in the deep sea. How was it possible? She recognized those coral, but knew none of them capable of surviving the dry land. There was also another desk and two set of shelves at either side of it. At one corner there was a full set of armour piled on the floor. She wondered why he would ever want it for.

This must be Whirlpool's secret room. No wonder Turtle was unable to find anything. It was all hidden here. And if it was hidden, there would be secrets.

There was a scroll left conveniently opened on the table. She spread its roller to one side and began reading it.

…

The King had been busy with the investigation. However, with the Queen 's intending to stay in the hatchery. He wouldn't have much time until he had the whole weight of military responsibilities on him. And soon, he would too be busy to carry on any investigation.

If anything, war is the catalyst for any unpredictable event. Many misfortunes might arise from it. Here, to hope that the commander have some sense in her to do her job. After all, one dragon 's misfortune can be another fortune.

…

The writing ended there. Rainbow did not understand what that last paragraph implied, but it seemed to her that Whirlpool did wish ill fortune for King Gill.

On the side, she grabbed one of the scrolls from the shelves and read it. It seemed to contain journals of his recent work. Some contributed his writing while others were the one topic of magic. It was dated recently. She grabbed a few more scrolls from the same shelf and confirmed that it was arranged in order of written date. Assuming the date meant the day which he recorded it…

She pulled a scroll out of the shelves, which she counted to be two weeks ago, and spread it over the table. There was it, a record of him meeting Turtle. Remarking on Turtle's response to the 'Talons of Power' ceremony announcement. 'Keep an eye.' Was the additional line below all of them. Peculiar.

Then she pulled another scroll off the shelf. This time was the day she met Whirlpool at the royal gathering dinner. The time when he and Piranha had made a huge fuss at the feasting hall. And there was it, her name and a remark attach to it. 'Keep an eye.'

He's keeping an eye on me too. She thought. More reason to figure out how to get out of here.

Now to the bigger fish, which one of the scroll might have record that he's planning to kill off the Queen's princesses? She did not know the date and could not search through all the of scroll in such a short period of time.

Just as she began to despair, there was a scroll stood out among them. A red marking painted on its roller. It was placed at a shelf dated a lot earlier than any scroll she had read. She took it out and began to read it.

…

Orca, she did it. The statue in the hatchery. It shall not only watch over her future as the everlasting queen, but mine as well. Strange that she insist on letting the male dragonet lives … It wouldn't do well if they have their own dragonets and demanding the throne. However, the rules did state that only daughters, not granddaughters, could challenge the throne. Still, if queen Coral had sons, they might sire female dragonet and could potentially threaten her throne. But having the statue there and the queen 's insistence of having royal eggs in the royal hatchery could mitigate the problem until her time is up.

Also, she had finally set her mind to challenge her mother. But her stubbornness! Insisting on fighting her mother fair and square instead of using her animus magic. What a fool! To risk one 's own life, and not just any life! There is no need of any grandiose spell or flying knife. All she need was to made her armour or even her spear to block any incoming attack the queen throws at her and that's it. Slowly and surely, when the queen is out of breath, she could land the final blow, and she would be the queen.

I must convince her. I can 't have her ruin the plan by that worthless pride she held. If by any chance, the queen win…

…

"I believed that's quite enough reading for a day." The voice of a talon that had grabbed on her shoulder said.

Rainbow spun around to saw Whirlpool's snout just above hers and just a talon-length away. She froze, no knowing what to do.

"Come along now." He did not sound angry, but his tone was stern and sure.

When she climbed out of the chest, Whirlpool was already at his desk. In his talon was the hourglass, it still had considerable amount of sand in its upper section of the glass.

"Last time when I noticed there had been sign of search in my room, there was sand on my desk. Just a little, but noticeable. I assumed someone had used an hourglass to keep track of time before they leave. Now, this one served its owner, and rightfully so." He tapped at the hourglass. "Custom-made, hour rate, but different rate of flow. A rate much slower than the one we normally used."

She should have known. The passage of time had felt much slower than the time when she was with Turtle. She should have left when she noticed something was wrong, or even brought her own hourglass. But too late now. She had been hooked, and now for the sinker.

"Tell me. Why are you sneaking around my room? Was it a way to get back at me for insulting the little prince? Or was it the talk I gave to the commander?" he shook his head. "I thought the servants here knew to stay out of the politics of the councils. But perhaps I was wrong."

"I'm not like the others." She replied.

"Hm…"

What should she do? Tell the truth or to lie?

"Drop your satchel on the table." He said in definitive tone. "You're not leaving without a check."

Much as she liked to argue, she couldn't risk angering him. She placed her satchel on the desk and stepped aside. He began to opened it and, one by one, he took the things out from the satchel.

Nothing out of ordinary. There were her snacks, a worn cleaning cloth, some seashell she picked up at the beach during she had taken care of Turtle. And also…

"My slate." Whirlpool took it, flipped it on both sides. "I see you taken good care of it. I had been wondering where did I lose it. Was it the bench where the little prince is sick? Must be."

Then he took a quick glance on the slate before saying.

"Is what tipped you off? Some conspiracy written here ready to topple the current rulers?"

"Then why that hidden room if you're not keeping secrets?" She said.

"Touché. But I do like my privacy. Every dragon need a little time of their own every once a well. But this," He pointed to the slate he was holding. "Is just note for Queen Coral's story. Don't you think that what had happened in the royal hatchery had been such an inspiration to all of us? Of course, I must use such opportunity to impress the Queen. They don't come easily, that's for sure. She agreed to it, but only if I wrote it in such a way the culprit was caught and punished in the end. Naturally, I would."

"But what about the war, the king?" She said.

"You actually believe all of them, do you? Council politics. You know nothing about them, so don't bite what you can't chew."

"But then, Orca… She's an animus dragon?"

That somehow struck something in him. The memories of his menacing eyes rushed back to her as his eyes landed on her.

"Oh, so you read that. It just some work I wrote for some future stories. One that would be published once the Queen could get over her grief over it."

"They don't sound like stories when you wrote your journal to specifically 'watched' for me or Turtle."

He took a few quick steps, right into her face, and he whispered.

"You saw nothing. You read nothing. If any of these comes to light, you, your grandfather and your family shall drown in this very sea. And believe me when I say, even a SeaWing can drown." Then his voice return to his normal condescending tone. "Yes, she was. And what a shame! She was so afraid anyone would figure out her abilities. So afraid that she would have gone mad! It was some stroke of luck that I had discovered her ability and helped manage her magic."

He heaved a sigh before continued.

"But what a shame, I had thought in the face of death, she might have use her magic and won the battle. However, the only thing I happened to hate was her bullheadedness. She died, leaving the Sea Kingdom one less fortune."

"But you made her do it. You force her-"

"I persuaded her. Not by force. There's a great distinction. Ultimately, she had made the decision. Besides, it was her destiny. Her right to rule the Sea Kingdom as the heir of the queen. I merely hasten the progress." He said.

Her destiny? Was that really so? A daughter born into a royal family just to kill her mother? If so, then Rainbow was glad that she's not a princess. But then again, what did she really know? She just some dragon came from the outskirts of the kingdom.

"Then, those eggs? Did you kill the princesses too?" She asked.

"A daring accusation. But sorry to disappoint you, I have never laid my talons on those eggs before. Though I may have some influence over it. But there was someone had more directly involved in that matter."

"If it wasn't you, then who?"

"You asked a lot of question for just a servant." Whirlpool turned and shouted towards the door. "We're done talking here."

The door pushed open and revealing another dragon.

"Hello, Rainbow. Fancy meeting you here." Mako said. "Never thought of you as scurrying in other's room like a rat. But one can never tell."

Mako. She could not believe it. All these time, Mako was with Whirlpool?

"I thought you worked for Prince Hammerhead. Not him." She said.

"Ah yes. The prince. Well, working with him was certainly all fine and good. But with a councillor? That's a sure way to prosper in life. Don't you think? You can have the butler's favour, while I can have mine." Mako smirked.

Rainbow's quizzical look prompted her to continue.

"I had already warned you. But you never listen. Taking care of that useless little prince while getting all the attention from Tidal. So naturally, I had to make a move too."

"So, it was you. You kidnapped and beat me just because I'm doing my job?" Rainbow said.

"I'm not one to throw punches, but it did give me a little satisfaction to see you struggle there. Besides," Mako went to Whirlpool's side. "I have a loyalty to proof. One that would secure my place in the palace."

"And a splendid job keeping an eye on my room. Now, could you help me escort this servant out of my room?" Whirlpool said.

"With pleasure." Mako said.

"Wait! Tell me." Rainbow pointed at Whirlpool. "Why did you want to be the King?"

"Who doesn't? Every male noble SeaWing of this kingdom surely does. Once you married yourself to a princess. You would have a chance for a throne. And the power that comes with it." Whirlpool said. "And why couldn't a male inherit the throne! Shark certainly brought into this idea. My idea. Maybe once I'm a King, we shall make changes for the betterment of the kingdom. No more marrying yourself to princesses. No more favouring the female over the male as if we were just by-products of life. We shall have equal saying. Or, better yet," He gave her a toothy smile. "A King that has a final say."

Mako grabbed her satchel from the table. Tossed it into her chest before, she was grabbed by the shoulder and guided to the exit.

"And now, you will leave that prince alone. And everything will be fine. Got it?" Mako whispered from her back.

"Before you go, I wonder." Whirlpool said in his oily voice. "Did you happened to know there is anything strange events around the little prince. Turtle. Any extraordinary things happened… Like magic?"

Rainbow held her breath for a moment before she finally shook her head against his suspicious stare.

"Just remember. You saw nothing. You had read nothing. And none of this ever happened." Whirlpool said.

The last thing she heard after she crossed the entrance was the hard slammed of the door closed behind her.