Here we go, Chapter 2! Enjoy!
I forgot these character last week so here they are now.
Toris Laurinaitis of Altheia : Lithuania
Captain Eduard Von Bock : Estonia
Raivis Galante : Latvia
Additional Characters
Princess Erica of Mertoris : 2p! Liechtenstein
King Voss of Mertoris : 2p! Switzerland
Chapter 2 : Stormy Weather
After a month in the company of the Mertorian Royal family, Alfred was back on the ship, heading home. It had been a strange visit, nothing he could really put his finger on as wrong but there was something. Princess Erika was beautiful enough but she was a little odd, from what Alfred could tell whenever he managed to spend any time with her. Her brother, King Voss seemed to not want to leave Erika alone with Alfred and Alfred put it down to being a little overprotective but when he did managed to spend time with Erika, she was …... clingy. She would put her hand on his arm and she had quite a grip, squeezing his arm as if she was convinced someone would try to take him from her, it was almost possessive.
They were perhaps a week away from land-fall back in Altheia and Alfred could not wait to get home, even though the journey home had been less worrying than the journey out as, apart from the odd rough weather, there had been no storms so Alfred was able to take this journey with less fear but he would be glad when it was over as he stood at the railing, looking in the direction that the ship was heading in. Toris joined him, enjoying the breeze blowing off the ocean as he stood beside his prince.
"What did you think of the Mertorian royals?" Alfred suddenly asked. Toris hummed.
"Well, they were friendly," he said, diplomatically. Even he, who had not seen as much of the Royal Family as Alfred, had found how they acted rather eccentric. "Princess Erika seemed attentive to you."
"Tell me about it," Alfred replied, rubbing his arm. He swore that if he bared his arm, he would find fingerprint bruises on it. "She was very clingy, wasn't she?"
"She seemed to like you," Toris commented and, to Alfred, maybe that was the problem. He did not want Princess Erika developing any feelings that he could not return, beyond friendship. "Do you think an arrangement between the two of you can be made, Your Highness?" Alfred rubbed his face before answering.
"I don't know," he replied. "She might want more from me than I can give. If she does, it could make the both of us miserable but if she accepts that I can't feel anything more than friendship then ,,, maybe."
"Perhaps you could explain to her," Toris suggested. Being the prince's valet, he missed nothing, certainly not Alfred's preferences. "Then you could go into a marriage with her under no illusions."
"Perhaps," Alfred replied in a non-committal tone. Any way, all he could do was tell his uncle how the visit went and then it was up to him to decide. Alfred could do nothing but hope for the best.
A few days later …...
The existing Royals of Spades had had a productive visit to the Kingdoms of Hearts for enhancing the diplomatic ties with one of their greatest allies. Arthur found the Hearts Royals very easy to get along with and he particularly got along with Queen Kiku and everything went well. The Spadian pod were travelling back when they all sensed it, the approaching storm as the vibrations rolled through the water from the distance and they were still some way from home.
"We need to find shelter," Matthew stated, looking around for anything likely. Like the Sirens deliberately causing shipwrecks, Mers controlling storms was also a myth. Mers had to ride out storms, just like land-dwellers but it was the water currents that affect the Mers, rolling around like high winds under the water but they could be just dangerous.
"I believe there's a cave in those rocks over there, Your Majesties," one of the soldiers said, pointing to a rocky formation in the distance. "I think it's big enough for all of us."
"Then I think we should stay there for the duration of the storm," Arthur replied. "We won't make it back to any of our settlements before it hits." Yao turned to the soldier.
"Lead the way, aru," he said and the soldier swam toward the rocks with the rest of the pod following.
When the dark clouds appeared on the horizon and the sea began to rise and fall a little more than usual, Toris convinced Alfred to go below deck when he heard talk of a storm before it hit but, as the storm gained in strength, he could not disguise the fact for long as the pitch and roll got worse. Alfred was pale but held it together as the ship seemed to stay in one piece.
Eduard held on to the wheel and strained to keep it turned in the direction he wanted it in as waves of seawater flew over the railings and soaked everyone on deck while sailors ran to secure everything and battened everything down. If everything held, they would get through the storm.
Then a rope holding the mainsail gave way and the high wind caught the loose canvas, putting strain on the other ropes and they gave way one by one, the sail falling loose and flapping in the wind and the main mast began to creak under the strain. Then there was the sound that was hard to hear over the storm, a loud crack and everyone watched in horror as, almost in slow motion, the main mast tilted and fell like a tree, causing the ship to tilt off-balance as the mast hung over the side and into the water. It held for a moment and then the last remaining wood fibres gave way and the mast slid into the water and the ship righted itself. Eduard swore. The ship would be difficult to control once the storm abated but it was not impossible, it would just take them longer to get home.
Then the raging sea took the floating mast and slammed it back into the side of the ship like a battering ram. The boards on the side of the ship gave way, seawater began to flowing in and men began running from the incoming flood, one running for the deck to report to the captain. There was no way to plug the hole or stop the water so the captain gave the only order he could.
"ABANDON SHIP!"
Arthur swarm restlessly near the mouth of the cave as he felt the movement of the sea currents being pushed around by the movement of the sea above them as it was ravaged by the storm. He did not know why but something told him he needed to be out there, as insane as it sounded because a mer would be at risk, almost as much as any ship or land-dweller, even under the ocean but something was telling him that he should get out there!
"Are you all right, Arthur?" Matthew's voice came from behind him and Arthur turned to see his Ace looking at him with concern.
"I'm fine," he replied and looked out of the cave again. "I just feel that …..." He trailed off.
"Feel what?" Arthur shook his head.
"I don't know," he said, honestly. "I feel that I shouldn't be here, that I need to be somewhere out there."
"Are you crazy?" Matthew replied. "That's far too risky! The currents are probably more that you can handle."
"I didn't say I would," Arthur replied. "I'm just saying that's how I feel." Matthew was not reassured, Arthur had been known to act on his feelings before and the waving of the growing seaweed and dislodged sand from the seabed drifting in the water was hardly reassuring but Arthur was unlikely to listen to Matthew if he took it into his head to follow his instinct so he went to get Yao to help him make sure the Queen of Spades stayed put. The feeling of needing to leave got stronger, like if Arthur did not act now, they would regret it and regret it badly.
By the time Matthew returned with Yao, Arthur was gone.
Alfred and Toris had been told that they needed to leave the ship now and were making their way to the top deck, Alfred breathing deeply on Toris's instruction as the prince was on the verge of a panic attack and they climbed out on to the tilting deck and grabbed ropes to pulled themselves up to the railing so they could climb over and down the side of the ship to the lifeboats. Both of them flung a leg over the side and Toris slipped a little down the side, catching another rope and getting rope burns but managed to stop himself but his hands were going to hurt for a while. Alfred moved to follow him when he thought he heard something. He listened hard against the wind and then heard a desperate cry.
"HELP!"
Alfred looked back over the railing and looked around. At first, with the seawater stinging his eyes, he did not see anything but then he saw Eduard's cabin boy, Raivis clinging desperately to one of the hatches and in danger of falling at any time.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Toris shouted back at him. "WE MUST LEAVE NOW! COME ON!" Alfred looked at Toris and then back at the frightened and crying cabin boy who's fingers were threatening to slip at any moment and a three year old face swam before his eyes, a face like his that disappeared in the water.
No one would disappear again if Alfred had anything to do with it.
He swung his leg back onto the ship and held on to the rope again and began to lower himself down, ignoring Toris's cry of 'YOUR HIGHNESS!' as he descended until he was level to Raivis and began to swing toward him. When he swung close enough, he grabbed the edge of the hatch and moved toward the cabin boy.
"GET ON MY BACK!" he shouted over the wind and Raivis grabbed Alfred's shoulder and got his arms around Alfred's neck. Alfred let go of the hatch and he swung back out and began climbing back to the railing and, when he got there, instructed Raivis to climb over the railing and the boy began to climb down the rope on the other side. Alfred began to climb over after him but then the ship lurched over further and Alfred lost his balance. He tried to grab the rope to break his fall but missed and he fell into the water on the other side of the ship from the lifeboat. The last thing he thought as his head impacted against debris in the water, robbing him of consciousness, was he was going to suffer the same fate as his father and brother.
Father, Mattie, I'm coming!
Arthur struggled through the currents, making his way to the surface where his instincts were guiding him and, as he got closer, he saw a land-dweller vessel on the surface but there was something wrong. It was almost resting on its side and Arthur knew that it would not be long before it would be under the water. There was a smaller vessel in the water that seemed to still be floating and Arthur knew the land-dwellers on board would be climbing into it but he could see nothing that he could help with until something broke the surface of the water and sank beneath the waves.
Arthur could see it was a land-dweller but the storm clouds blocked a lot of light and made it difficult to see any details but one thing Arthur could see was that the land-dweller was not moving. Arthur knew that land-dwellers could not survive under the water so if he did not do something, the land-dweller would die.
Arthur fought the rough sea currents to reach the land dweller and he grabbed the prone figure and swan to the surface, their heads breaking the water. Arthur kept the land-dweller's head out of water and he swam away from the ship before it sank and sucked them back under but they really needed to get out of the storm and Arthur knew of a land-dweller settlement not far and swam in that direction. He just hoped he could get there before he tired too much.
By the time Arthur made it to shore, the storm had blown itself out, letting the sun shine again and Arthur managed to drag the land-dweller up on to the sand where he finally got a good look at him. A male with blonde, sun-kissed hair and a face that reminded Arthur of Matthew. He had a toned body and, Arthur guessed, well-formed lower appendages, not having much experience with such things. He had land-dweller coverings over his body, a sandy coloured covering on his legs and a white one over his torso but Arthur could see something black on the land-dweller's chest, just peeking out from under and showing through the wet covering, sticking to his body and Arthur became intrigued. He reached out to take the edge of the covering and lifted it up to see what the mark was. When he saw the spade with the K in the centre, he dropped the covering in shock.
He stared back into the face of the land-dweller, trying to process what he had just discovered. This was the next King of Spades! He had found his King! Arthur put his hand on the land-dweller's chest, looking at the handsome face of the next king but then he frowned. He could feel the land-dweller's heart faltering under his hand, at least as far as he knew the heart was faltering but the breathing was also beginning to struggle and Arthur knew that the next king was dying.
Arthur did not have much time, not just because the land-dweller's time was short but so was his. Arthur could not be out of the water for too long, it was not very comfortable for him as the sun dehydrated his scales and caused them to itch and flake. The wisest decision would be to drag the land-dweller back to the water but Arthur did not even have that time, the land-dweller was moments from death so Arthur opened his mouth and began to sing. A beautiful arrangement of musical notes flowed from Arthur as he sang a song of healing but, as he sang, he debated whether or not he should take the land-dweller back into the sea where he would transform before he died from drowning but he remembered what it was like for Matthew. He had been seven when Matthew was found and had befriended the newly transformed mer but he knew adjustment had been hard for the new Ace and Arthur did not want that for the king.
As he continued to heal the land-dweller, he thought about his options. He knew what the new king looked like now but, if Arthur left the land-dweller, he might not find him again so he decided that he would heal the next king and then explain everything to him, to convince him to return with him to Spades, the kingdom the land-dweller was destined to rule so he continued to sing and heal.
Alfred ached. His head ached, his arms and legs ached, his back ached, everything ached and he could feel something gritty underneath his fingertips, clothes wet and sticking to his body and he could feel water in his ears but as it drained away he began to hear something …... he could not describe it! Wonderful? Miraculous? Heavenly? No words seemed adequate for the melody that flowed into his ears and wove its way into the core of his being. It took a moment but he was finally able to lift his heavy eyelids but what he saw was blurry. He knew someone was above him looking down and they had blonde hair but he could not make out any other features and then he realised that he did not have his glasses and he squinted to make out other details as whoever it was continued to sing. The most he could figure out was that the person was maybe male as it sounded like a male voice, although he could be wrong but he did not think so.
Then the sound of children laughing was heard and the singing stopped. The figure seemed to look away from him, back again and then it moved away, vanishing from his line of blurry sight and he raised a weak hand in protest.
"Please don't go!" he plead, hoarsely but, whoever it was, they were gone.
As Arthur sang, the land-dweller's breathing eased and the heartbeat got stronger as Arthur looked into his future king's face to see the eyelids slide slowly open and he could see the land-dweller's eyes. Blue eyes, the colour of the sky above them. Spadian eyes.
The eyes squinted as if having trouble seeing him as Arthur sang him to full recovery and, once he was recovered, Arthur would explain to the land-dweller his destiny and take him back to the sea with him to transform into the new King of Spades and the royal suit would be complete.
Then he heard sounds, strange sounds of land-dwellers that were coming closer and Arthur stopped singing to look in the direction that the sound was coming from. What should he do? He did not want to lose the future king now that he had found him but he could not be seen by other land-dwellers, it would not end well and he had no time to take the king with him. He could hear them getting closer now and, with a frustrated last look into the land-dweller's blue eyes, he fled, using his arms and the muscles in his tail to manoeuvre himself back to the water and swam to a rock, jutting out of the sea to hide behind and watched as some land-dweller fingerlings came running into sight but they stopped when they saw the future King of Spades prone on the sand. One fingerling (Arthur thought it was a boy) approached the adult land-dweller and knelt beside him and Arthur thought he was seeing if the king was all right, although from this distance, Arthur could not hear what was being said. The boy fingerling called out to one of the others and one ran off while all the other gathered round the king and they seemed to be trying to help him to his feet although he was too weak to get up. After a while, the other fingerling returned with adults, dressed in identical coverings, like how the Spadian royal guard wore similar armbands to show their status, who helped the king up and assisted him in walking up the beach and away from Arthur.
Arthur watched helplessly as his king was taken further and further away from him and he ground his teeth in frustration at his inability to do anything about it as the land-dwellers disappeared from sight, his king with them and he cursed himself for letting him slip through his fingers, wondering how he was going to get his king back.
"Oh, thank the Sea Fates!" he heard Matthew say and Arthur turned to see the Spadian Ace's head bobbing above the water behind him. "We've been searching for you everywhere, Arthur. Why did you go out into the storm like that? You could have been killed!"
"I'm sorry," Arthur apologised. "But I couldn't ignore the feeling that I needed to out here, that it was important."
"And was it?"
"More than you could possible know."
King Alexander sat partaking of refreshment in his study while going over some state affairs and thinking about the possible alliance between Altheia and Mertoris. The Baltic was due back at any time and Alex was worried about the storm that had struck, worried about Alfred's reaction to it. He also wondered how Alfred's trip had gone, if he and Princess Erika had gotten along and what it could mean for both kingdoms.
His musings were interrupted when the door opened and Prince Jason walked in, wearing his riding clothes and Alex was not sure if he was just going or just returning as he sat down by his father. His messy hair was not an indicator as it was messy on a regular basis.
"Hey Dad," he greeted. "Still no sign of the Baltic? I hope everything went okay, that was a pretty bad storm and I know how much Alfred hates storms."
"Hmm," Alex agreed. "Still, the Baltic's a good ship, I'm sure she rode it out safely if she was caught in it." Jason poured himself some wine.
"Here's hoping," he replied. "Although if she was, I doubt you'll get Alfred on another ship. He was antsy about it this time." Alex had to agree with his son about that. His nephew really did not like ships or the ocean and Alex had hoped that this trip would help Alfred get over that. Jason took a sip of his wine.
"Are you really going to make Alfred marry Princess Erika?" he asked. "I know you would like an alliance with Mertoris but it's not vital and you know Alfred's …... you know..." Alfred's sexuality had to be the least best kept secret in the kingdom, everyone knew and Alex sighed.
"An alliance with Mertoris would bring benefits," he admitted. "And it would be just a political marriage."
"Yes," Jason agreed. "But would Princess Erika see it that way?" Alex mused on that. He had heard that she had some strange ideas and she might not take the fact that she might never quite do it for Alfred well but, before he could answer that, there was a knock on the door.
"Enter!" Alex called out and a soldier entered the room and bowed.
"Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty," he said and bowed to Jason. "Your Highness but Prince Alfred has just been found swept up on the beach. He's being taken to his chambers, right now." Alex and Jason got to their feet.
"Found on the beach!" Alex exclaimed. "What about the Baltic?"
"It seems she floundered in the storm, Your Majesty," the soldier replied. "Prince Alfred has no idea what happened to everyone else. He remembers nothing after falling into the water to the moment he woke up on the beach."
"You said he's been taken to his room?" Jason asked and when the soldier nodded, both Alex and Jason left the room and made their way to Alfred's chambers. When they arrived at his door, Alfred had been put into bed and the maid was tucking in the covers.
"Alfred!" Alex exclaimed as he and Jason came toward the bed as the maid curtsied and left. "What happened?" Alfred squinted at his uncle and cousin, he really needed his glasses.
"A storm hit," he replied. "Next thing I knew, the Captain was calling abandon ship and she was tilting in the water. I saved the cabin boy but then the ship jerked and I lost my balance and fell and I must have hit my head on something."
"So you don't know how you came to be on the beach?" Jason asked. Alfred rubbed his eyes.
"I think I do," he replied. "I think someone saved me. When I woke up, there was someone leaning over me and they were …..." Alfred did not know if he should say.
"They were what?" Alex asked. Alfred sighed and braced himself.
"They were singing," he replied. Alex and Jason looked at each other.
"Look, Al," Jason said. "Are you sure that wasn't a dream? I mean ….. singing?"
"I couldn't dream up anything that sounds that beautiful," Alfred replied. "I didn't imagine it, Jase! Someone pulled me out of the sea but I couldn't see them properly, I'd lost my glasses."
"Why didn't they stay?" Alex asked. "If this person did save you, they saved a prince of the realm so why didn't they wait? And what were they doing out at sea in a storm?" Alfred shook his head.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I know someone saved me and I'm going to find them. And Uncle Alex?"
"Yes, Alfred?"
"I'm never setting foot on another ship again!"
"How could you risk yourself like that?" Yao rarely yelled at his queen but this was an exception. "What was so important that you would swim out in the middle of a storm, aru?" The reply from Arthur was so quiet that Yao and Matthew almost missed it.
"I found the King of Spades."
"What would the kingdom do without …..." Yao continued to rage until what Arthur had said sank in. "What, aru?"
"I said I found the King of Spades," Arthur replied. "He's a land-dweller who was on a sinking land-dweller vessel. He fell in the water and I took him back to the surface and took him the nearest land-dweller settlement."
"You stopped him from drowning?" Matthew asked. Arthur nodded.
"I didn't know he was the king until we reached the settlement," Arthur explained. "I healed him but then other land-dwellers came so I had to leave, I had no choice."
"Then he's lost to us for now," Yao commented, sadly. "Until the Sea Fates intervene and bring him back to us, aru." Arthur was not going to accept that.
"We have to try and find him again!" he declared. "We've never been so close before, there has to be a way to find him again."
"Arthur, he's on land," Matthew pointed out. "A place we can't go so there's no way to get to him."
"There has to be a way," Arthur said with determination. "And I will find it."
The lifeboat survived the storm and were found by a fishing boat the next day who brought them into harbour and they were taken to the castle where Toris dreaded telling King Alexander that they had lost Prince Alfred in the storm. He was grieving the loss himself, not expecting to lose his charge and friend to the sea like his father and brother were lost. They were taken to the throne room, to the king who was waiting to find out what happened to the Baltic and Eduard and Toris bowed to King Alex and waited for him to speak.
"Tell me what happened, gentlemen," the King said at last. Eduard cleared his throat.
"Our main mast gave way in the storm, Your Majesty," he replied. "Then the movement of the ocean rammed it in back into our side and pierced the hull. I had no choice but to abandon ship, sire, we were sinking." Alex nodded, understandingly.
"Injuries?" he asked. "Casualties?"
"Light injuries, Your Majesty," Eduard replied. "The most severe a broken leg and a concussion but we had one casualty." His face fell as he said this.
"Your Majesty," Toris said, sorrowfully. "Prince Alfred went back to save someone, a cabin boy. The boy was saved but we lost Prince Alfred in the sea. I swear we tried to find him but he was gone." Alex could see the grief in the valet's eyes and was happy he had good news for him.
"Rest easy, gentlemen," he replied. "Prince Alfred was found alive on the beach. He's currently resting in his chambers." Both men looked happy but perplexed.
"This is good news, Your Majesty," Eduard replied. "But how did he get here so fast? And alone in the water?"
"Alfred said someone saved him," Alex replied. "He insists that someone was with him when he woke on the beach but he had lost his glasses so he couldn't see them very well. He could have been hallucinating from being in the water for so long but I wonder. Could he have drifted back to shore on his own or could someone have helped him?"
"I suppose we'll never know, Your Majesty," Toris said. "But he's alive and that's all that matters. May I take my leave to go and see him, sire?" Alex gave his consent and Toris bowed and left while Alex turned back to Eduard and sighed.
"The Baltic was a good ship," he commented. Eduard nodded, apologetically,
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he replied. "Had the storm not rammed us with our own mast, we would have made it back to port and she could have been repaired but once her hull was breached, she was lost. I would have done everything I could to save her." Alex nodded.
"Ships sink," he replied. "A fact of life and what you've told me tallies with Alfred's report of what happened. You'll be assigned a new ship in due course but the big mystery is how Alfred managed to survive the storm and make it to land! He has no recollection between hitting the water and waking up on the beach so did someone save him and, if they did, why didn't they stay around?"
"And why would someone be out in the storm in the first place?" Eduard mused. "No one in their right mind would be out in it, it was a day before the fishing boat found us."
"Mysterious indeed," King Alex muttered.
Toris practically ran to Alfred's chambers, marvelling at the miracle that the Prince had survived the storm and somehow made it home as he had felt sure he was never going to see his friend and employer again. He knocked on the door and opened it to find Alfred struggling into his clothes with a footman protesting and trying to get him back into bed.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Alfred insisted, trying to put on a shirt that the footman was trying to take off him. "I don't need to rest, I want to go out."
"Your Highness," the footman protested. "You nearly drowned yesterday and the royal physician said you should rest for a few days."
"That quack doesn't know anything," Alfred snorted. "Now give me my shirt!" And he pulled at the material that could only take so much and the stitching gave way.
"Damn!" Alfred swore and went to get another shirt and Toris stepped into the room.
"Your Highness should know better than to treat clothes that way," Toris commented and Alfred turned toward the sound of his voice.
"Toris!" Alfred shouted, happily and he grabbed his valet, spinning him around. "I thought you were dead."
"I was about to say the same, Your Highness," Toris replied. "How did you make it back to shore alive?"
"That's why I wanna to go out," Alfred replied. "Someone saved me and I wanna find them. I'll start with the beach."
"Your Highness," Toris insisted. "If someone did save you, they're long gone now. I doubt they'll still be down by the ocean and how will you even know them?"
"I just have to hear them sing," Alfred replied. "When I woke up, they were singing and no one else can sing the way they can, Toris, it was beautiful!"
"Your Highness," Toris said, trying to reason with Alfred. "Are you sure that wasn't a dream? People don't sing when they are rescuing others. We can look for your mysterious rescuer in a few days and you can rest in the meantime. Please, Your Highness!" Alfred huffed out a breath.
"Okay," he agreed. "But it wasn't a dream, Toris. I was rescued and I'm gonna find them."
The Spadian royal pod reached their home in the Blue Coral Palace in the city of Klondike and settled to discuss what Arthur knew about the new King of Spades which, admittedly was not much apart from appearance. Blonde, blue eyes, well-tone physique which had Arthur blushing and put a twinkle in Matthew's and Yao's eyes as they realised that the Queen was already smitten but they had no idea how to find the missing member of their pod.
"We can try going back to where I left him," Arthur suggested. "He might not be there but it's a place to start."
"He most likely won't be there," Yao replied. "And you risk being seen by land-dwellers. You would have to go on land and there's no way to do that and, even if you could, it's dangerous. Too dangerous to risk our Queen, aru."
"So we just sit and wait?" Arthur asked, grumpily. "That will take too long. We need our king!"
"Yao's right," Matthew said, agreeing with the Spadian Jack. "I know I was young when I came down here but I do remember that it was not always safe for land-dwellers, let alone those unfamiliar with the land up there."
"It's an academic point anyway," Yao replied. "There's no way to go in-land so waiting is the only course open to us, aru." Arthur sighed.
"It's just..." he muttered. "Finally, we find our king and he slips through our fingers!"
"I know," Matthew commiserated. "But, at least we know for sure he's out there now. The Sea Fates will bring him to us, have faith in that!" Arthur sighed again.
"I'm going to rest," he replied. "It's been a long, eventful journey." He left to go to his own room in despondency, moving through the dark hallways, created by the coral. There was no light here but Mers have excellent vision even in the dark and Arthur would know the way with his eyes closed. He swam through a curtain of seaweed into his chambers, laid down on his bed, a flat rock, hollowed out in the centre and filled with sand and began to brood. He had been so close, so close to bringing his king to the kingdom and he began dwelling on the new king himself. Arthur had to admitted that he had been attracted almost from the moment he got a good look at him. He would be a golden king with the eyes the colour of the kingdom he would reign over and Arthur would be by his side as Queen but first they had to find him again.
Arthur went over his options. Wait? ….. but that idea grated on Arthur's nerves now that he had found his future king. Go look for him? …... an on-land search was a difficult thing for a mer, to say nothing of how land-dwellers might react to him if they saw him. What else? …..
The Jokers!
They might have a solution but, if they did, Arthur could not tell Yao or Matthew, they would try to stop him but first, he had to find out if they had a solution so Arthur left his chambers and made his way through the hallways, nodded to the mers that bowed to him as he passed until he came to a seldom used passageway and disappeared down it.
After swimming for a minute or two, Arthur reached the rock that the blue coral had grown on and swam upward to where he could see a tunnel that went through the rock and he followed it. It branched off several times but Arthur had found and explored these tunnels when he was a young fry so he knew them like the back of his hand, including the one that led outside and a few minutes later, he swam through the dense seaweed that covered the exit, into open water and swam in the direction of Conclave.
It took the Spadian royal a while to reach Conclave and call for the Jokers and then he had to wait for the Jokers to appear but, fortunately, he was not kept waiting as Gilbert and Peter swam in an hour after he stepped into the summon circle in the centre of the cavern and sent the calling song.
"What's happening, oh great Queen?!" Gilbert called out as he and Peter swam toward Arthur. "What awesome business have you dragged us here for?"
"Joker Gilbert," Arthur replied. "I found the next King of Spades."
"Awesome!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Where are they?"
"That's the problem," Arthur replied. "He's a land-dweller."
"That sucks," Peter replied.
"We need a way to find him again," Arthur said. "We need to bring the King to Spades."
"Ja, I get that," Gilbert muttered. "Well, I can only think of one way. Someone has to become a land-dweller so they can look for him." Arthur stared at him.
"Is that even possible?" he asked.
"Yes," Peter replied. "We can do it."
"Really?"
"Ja," Gilbert confirmed. "It's ancient Joker magic but it can be done." Arthur had been hoping for some idea but becoming a land-dweller was not what he had expected. Did he dare do it?
"Does it hurt?" he asked but he would put up with some pain if he could find his golden king again.
"Nein," Gilbert replied. "It will feel weird but it won't hurt...You're actually considering it!"
"We have to find him again," Arthur said. "And the only way to do that is to go on land. I don't think there's much of a choice."
"Aren't you going to discuss this with the rest of the royal pod?" Peter asked.
"No," Arthur replied. "They'll try to stop me and I'm the only one who knows what the King of Spades looks like. I think it best we do this before they realise I'm gone."
"You can't go alone," Gilbert said.
"I have no choice," Arthur was adamant. "If the rest of the pod know about this, I won't be able to go at all, they won't allow it but they can be told after I go above. Can you do that for me?" Gilbert and Peter looked at each other. The Queen of Spades could not be without protection above the water and they formed a plan between them and they nodded.
"Awesome!" Gil cheered, clapping his hands together. "We have a plan! Now that's sorted, let's give you some legs, Your Majesty!"
Not much to say! Till next week,
Hasta la Pasta!