Chapter 4
The show had begun and the Amazons were having a magnificent time; it was the best show they had in centuries.
"More! Please more!" They cheered.
"Come, let me thank you for this fine show," the queen smiled, now motioning for the troupe to come forward. As Evander led them forward, his suddenly stopped and his ears perked up.
"Evander? Evander, is everything alright?" Adeline whispered, but he slowly pulled her towards him and his jaw tightened.
"He's coming. Adeline…don't move," Evander said lowly. The Amazon queen was puzzled, but before she could say anything else, she too froze.
"Someone is entering my kingdom," she thundered, now standing from her throne.
"Now now…no need for animosity, my queen~," a deep voice crooned. Everyone froze at the deep and velvet voice that crooned through the room.
"Who is here?! Show yourself!" The queen commanded.
"Now, my queen?" Came the voice. Other voices chuckled in response, showing that the original voice was not alone!
"Yes, now! Show yourself, King Oberon!" The Amazonian Queen growled. Within a second, Oberon appeared as he was sitting on a nearby statue of the queen.
"Quite a likeness to you, my dear; this statue was done in such good taste," he said, now letting a claw circle around the statue's face.
"STOP DESICRATING THE QUEEN'S LIKENESS!" An Amazon guard growled, now holding her spear towards the king. Oberon only snapped his fingers and the guard was grabbed with two of his fairy guards!
"What is the meaning of this?!" The queen said angrily, now grabbing her nearby spear.
"Now, now…I am not here to fight. I simply want the girl," Oberon said, now pointing at Adeline. The queen's eyes hardened; she could sense Adeline's fear and how she was hugging Evander tightly.
"Oberon, you need to leave now. This is not your kingdom and you cannot enter into mine like this," she said.
"I will definitely leave…after I have what I want," he said, now flying at Adeline fast!
"Amazons! Attack! But no killing!" The queen ordered. She didn't want any bloodshed happening in front of the others or on that special day!
Oberon flew down and went straight for Adeline, but Evander blocked him and kept him away from her!
"Adeline, run! You know what to do!" Evander called out, now blocking the large fairy king.
Adeline nodded and ran towards Colossus. In case Oberon ever came, he was supposed to keep her safe and hide her until it was safe to come out.
Oberon and Evander were currently clashing, but Evander could tell that Oberon was not using his full strength. After a second, the fairy king smirked.
"Now, now, why the animosity, Evander?" He chuckled, now dodging a high kick from the ringmaster.
"You are acting strange," Evander replied, now eyeing him carefully.
"Me? What about you? You have been looking and acting strange as well. I have been watching you all in my crystal and you are definitely becoming a stronger version of your old self," Oberon said, now throwing a punch. But Evander noticed that his punch was slow enough for him to clearly move and his kicks and maneuvers were far from lethal or dangerous; Oberon almost appeared…playful?
"Something is not right," Evander said telepathically to Colossus.
"I know. The fairies are not even acting right; look at them!" Colossus responded back. Evander took a second to see the fairies were being distracting rather than actually fighting.
"What is this? This is not a fight," the Amazonian queen commented, now looking at the fairies. But they were flying in a specific pattern; they knew exactly what they were doing.
Meanwhile, Adeline was hiding in some bushes only a foot away from Colossus, who was watching her.
"What is happening here?" She said in concern, not seeing someone closing in behind her. As she turned her head, she almost let out a scream, but something grabbed her mouth and pressed a kiss to her lips. "MMMMMMMMMMMM!"
"Steady, my dear," a deep voice responded to her telepathically. Adeline struggled, but saw a sharp claw come up and scratch the jewel that was on her forehead. She let out a muffled squeal and that caused Colossus to turn around. As he did, he went pale!
"EVANDER!" He screamed.
Evander swirled around and his eyes widened in horror! There were TWO Oberons! He was fighting one and another had just grabbed Adeline!
"No." Evander said gravely. "No, this can't be!"
"Oh, but it is, my young enchanter; the golden night is giving me exactly what I need," Oberon said, now making his eyes glow red! Within a second he opened another portal and he motioned to his fairies to follow.
Adeline then turned and saw that the second Oberon moved to the back and vanished into thin air!
For the next few moments, there was nothing but confusion! Everyone was concerned and trying to get an understanding on what was happening!
"Everyone, come." Evander said, now motioning for the entire team to come forward. As they did, he brought Adeline in the midst and looked at her carefully. "Adeline…what did he do to you?"
"He kissed me and then he touched my jewel," she said, now touching her forehead. Evander gently grabbed her forehead and eyed her jewel carefully. For the next few seconds, everyone was quiet. Evander eyed her jewel, but nothing appeared wrong.
"It appears alright, but if you feel different let me know," he said lowly. The girl nodded and the performers got together, still shaken up.
The Amazonian queen knew that everyone was still shaken up, but she and the others thanked them for the show and offered them to stay one more night. Evander, however, declined due to the next show being in Atlantis. They did have a deadline to keep.
A few hours later…
The performers were preparing to head to Atlantis; there would be a large ship filled with air to come and get them from the surface. However, to ensure that no one was in danger, Evander had them all to drink a special potion that would help them breathe under water.
"Everyone finish packing; we need to leave soon," Evander said, now looking at the entire team. He could tell that everyone was trying to still get over the 'attack' from earlier. His eyes glowed angrily as he thought of what Oberon did.
As Adeline was packing, she couldn't help but feel a shudder. It was as if someone was watching her.
"Why do I feel this way?" She asked herself in the mirror. But as she did, she felt something tickling under her chin. "W-What was that?"
"It's only me, my darling," a voice soothed. Adeline was now scared; she felt Oberon's claws, but he was nowhere!
"EVANDER!" She shouted!
"Adeline?! Adeline, what's going on there?!" Evander's voice called, now coming through the doorway. Adeline shot to him and pointed at her mirror in horror! But as he looked, nothing was there! "Adeline, there is nothing there. Are you alright?"
"N-No Evander! Oberon is here!" she said in fear. Evander's eyes softened and he pulled her to him.
"Adeline, everything is alright; you may still be shaken up from his earlier attack. But nothing was there," Evander said, now running a clawed hand over her head.
"B-But I felt him, Evander," she said in fear.
"It will be alright," he whispered, now leading her from her room. But as they walked out, Adeline once more got a shiver down her spine.
"Something's not right," she said to herself, but she didn't want to tell anything else to Evander or she felt like he would send her back to Earth if she was too scared.
"No…I need to prove I'm not s-s-scared during this time," she said to herself. But as Evander and the others began to talk, she felt scared again! This time it felt like something was gently caressing her waist!
"W-What's happening to me?!" She panicked. What Adeline did not understand is that there was something more than met the eye. Much more.
During the night…
Adeline and the team were slowly boarding the ship that would take them to Atlantis. It was surrounded by Tide and other mermen who greeted them.
Tide and the others smiled warmly, but Adeline pretended as if she didn't see him or the others. Now feeling mischievous, Tide went under the water and let his tail be fully exposed. His tail then playfully splashed her as she walked past.
"Hey!" Adeline said angrily, now leaning over and glaring at him.
"Now now, I only wanted to greet you. You have been avoiding me for the past few days," Tide said.
"B-Because I don't want to talk to you!" Adeline said, now looking angrier. Tide's smile faded and he looked concerned and serious.
"Why are you afraid of us?" He asked calmly.
"I'm not afraid," she growled.
"You are." He said.
"No, I'm not!" She said, now raising her voice.
"You are and you don't need to be performing until you lose that fear," Tide said, now becoming heated.
"What is happening here?" Colossus asked, now coming into view.
"He's telling me what to do that's what!" Adeline snapped, now pointing at Tide. She then turned back to the merman with an icy scowl. "Why don't you just disappear and mind your own business!"
And with that, Adeline stormed off, leaving Colossus concerned. He had never seen her so upset or angry about something. He quickly followed her and found her shedding a few tears by the ship. She was definitely not acting like herself.
"Adeline? Adeline, what happened back there?" Colossus asked.
"Oh Colossus. I'm sorry for being rude, but I have just felt strange. Strange and scared after what Oberon did!" She said, now hanging her head.
"I know; we were all a bit shaken up," the giant admitted, now hugging her to him.
"I know I haven't been myself, but things have just been crazy; I feel just…just…," Adeline started, but stopped as she saw Tide swim up towards her. She looked away in shame, but Colossus motioned for him to come closer to her.
"Adeline? May I please speak to you?" Tide asked softly.
No response.
"Please speak to me. I wish to apologize for scaring you and I want to make amends. You are a close friend of Marina and I do not wish for her to be angry with me for making you upset," Tide explained.
Adeline slowly turned to him and nodded.
"And I'm sorry too Tide. I was rude and I shouldn't have been. We were recently attacked and I haven't been feeling myself so I just...," she paused as he placed a gentle finger to her lips.
"Shhh. You humans speak very quickly under strain. Be calm; it is alright," Tide said with a smile, now seeing Adeline blush. Once he pulled his hand away, he gently took hers and shook it. "Let's start over. I'm Tide."
"And I'm Adeline," she smiled, now shaking his hand happily.
"And I am ready for you and Colossus to finish your routine," Evander said, now coming into view and giving them a knowing look. The three chuckled and followed the serious ringmaster back towards the action.
And once everyone was settled, the mighty Atlantean ship dove under the waves with their visitors with them! Adeline was in awe as the beautiful whales and sea creatures swam beside them. She giggled as Marina, now in her mermaid form, swam with Tide and her other mermaid friends towards her home. But Adeline could see the sadness in her eyes as the banisters began to congratulate Kai Cove and his new bride to be! Marina's smile started to fade, but Tide held her hand as they got closer and closer to the kingdom. And once they arrived, Kai swam in front to welcome the visitors, but froze as he saw Marina.
"Marina? Oh, this is a surprise," Kai said, now appearing somewhat nervous.
"I'm sure it is," she growled, now swimming past him. He quickly swam in front of her and made her stop.
"Hold on, hold on! Don't I get a hello or something?" He asked with a confident smile.
"I should say 'hi' for you dumping me and grabbing another girl while I was gone?! You are the most terrible person I've ever met!" Marina said, now feeling tears form.
"Marina, I wasn't sure if you were ever coming back," Kai said in defense.
"Well it doesn't matter now does it?! Congratulations on your engagement, but I have a show to do," Marina said angrily, now pushing past him. Kai gave a guilty look and Tide swam up to him.
"This is why I told you that you should have waited for her; I told you she would be back," Tide said.
"And how was I supposed to be sure of that?!" Kai snapped.
"Because I told you that she never breaks her word and she has a pure heart; and you just broke it," Tide remarked angrily, now swimming after Marina.
Meanwhile, Adeline and the others tried to pretend that they were not listening, but they knew that this was going to be a hard trip for her.
"I hope we don't spend too much time down here," Adeline said, now gasping as she saw a being with tentacles staring at her. He gave a confident grin and waved one at her.
"Oh that's Octavius, the Octopid prince. He has been invited for the festivities," a fairy said, now pointing at the large being. Adeline's squeak almost got caught in her throat; he was positively terrifying.
"Oh, come now…surely I am not that scary," the Octopid ruler crooned at her.
"It appears so Lord Octavius," the fairy chuckled, now seeing Adeline looking a bit nervous.
"Well we cannot have that, now can we? I will see about this little one later," Octavius said, now standing and slithering away. Adeline let out a sigh of relief, but giggled as the fairy tickled her waist.
"Take it easy. The people of Atlantis will like you," she said with a grin.
"I hope so," Adeline said, now a bit uncertain. But she began giggling again as the fairy began playfully chasing her around to cheer her up. And she began laughing as she soon had a centaur and minotaur chase her to help her feel better too!
A few hours later…
Adeline had briefly gone to the surface to grab some fresh seaweed near the shore. It was for the party that was happening beneath the sea and she was escorted by some mermen guards. But as she walked towards the edge, she heard a low purr come from the bushes. She froze, thinking she was alone.
"W-Who's there?" she asked, now feeling scared. The deep purring continued and soon she noticed a large cat-like creature emerge from the bushes. Now terrified, she turned to run but she felt something wrap around her ankles. She looked down and saw the seaweed grab her!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! H-HELP!" She cried out. But the large cat ran to her and began purring against her to calm her down. It purred and continued to purr and lick against her face. The mermen guards immediately came to the surface to check on her, but noticed the large cat was now making her laugh. "N-Now stop that."
The creature only arched an eyebrow and licked her more on her face and neck, making her giggle more.
"I didn't know the Amazonian island had cats," she said out loud, now petting it. The mermen guards looked at the creature and then at each other.
"Neither did we." One said. "I have not heard of these types of cats on this island."
For the cat was as large as a tiger and had striking green eyes. It had lavender fur with black stripes but one white stripe down its forehead. Adeline fell in love with it right away.
"You're so beautiful," she smiled, now petting it. "But I can't stay. I have to go, but I'll be back."
She hadn't met many creatures in other realms, but this cat seemed special to her. As the guards helped escort Adeline back down under the water, the cat laid down by the sea and smirked. For you see, nothing is what it seems.
guestsurprise's words: Oh dear. There is more to this than meets the eye O.O
To guestsurprise: Hmm. That tiger could be friend or foe or might even be Oberon in disguise. Could that be what he had done to her gem? Make it so that she can't always see him even in disguise? Oh, boy. Mystery upon mystery. I think I speak for everyone when I say we will eagerly await the next chapter. :)
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418