Wednesday, Atlantean Royal Academy for Boys

Well, it's been a disaster.

Totally.

Did I say you can write in my journal?
Well, you did it to me, too.

Whatever. Let's continue the narrative.

Anyway, that wasn't supposed to happen today. The assassination, I mean. Well, not an direct assassination. That would be like, too obvious. It's an indirect one.

What happened was, Cal was going to the temple of the sea god to pray for the god's blessings for the throne, or whatever. Like, reinstating of the throne. He was going with an entourage, dressed in gold and purple, with this diamond crown and gold sceptre, and crowds of dancing maidens were rejoicing. It was a festive occasion.

So we went into the temple. It was huge, painted in blue, the sea's colour, and made of very expensive and rare wood. There was this enormous statue of the god (Naked, too, with mermaids, gazing up at him in adoration) made in bronze, silver, gold, and sapphire and turquoise.

Then the priests welcomed us and brought Cal to the sacred antechamber. He could ask the pythoness one question.

"Am I the only one of my family left?" Cal asked.

The pyhtoness was silent for a while. Then, "No, there is still one left."

Cal, apparently satisfied, was about to go off, when Roy came in.

"Well," he began, "is Michael really the Crown Prince of Atlantis, and your son, oh greatly esteemed Poseidon?"

Then there came a whispering, echoing and going louder, "Watch your mouth, mortal! Do not doubt my offspring!"

Roy looked embarrassed. "Well, but Michael's mother is not a pure Atlantis…"

The voice came back, angrier than ever. "Silence! She may not be of my blood, but she is of another godly heritage. Her blood is from the god Marduk!"

Roy, looking as though he was going to burst, literally crawled out of the antechamber. The priests all glared at him, and now Roy knew better than to enter the sacred temple ever again.

And so Cal was now King of Atlantis.

There was a great festival. It was announced a holiday, and everyone was partying. The feast went on for three days and three nights. Of course, Cal only stayed for one day before moving back to the Royal Palace. Well, he meant to.

Cal was eating a piece of chicken. He looked as though it was very delicious. I, being on a diet, just sniffed. Then I smelt something strange. I had a very delicate sense of smell, and there was a pungent odour among the fragrance.

It came from this plate of fish fillet. It looked delicious, but was a horrible orange colour.

Cal, who loved fish fillets, reached out to take one.

I literally broke his arm, tearing it out of his grip, and flinging it as far away as I can. Which was, unfortunately, into Roy's face.

Roy looked a sight. He glared around. "Who did it?" He roared.

Cal was angry too. "Why'd you do that?" He demanded.

"Because," I hissed, "the fillet was poisoned. There's this poisonous herb in Atlantis, it turns things orange. If you eat it, you will die in an hour."

Roy, hearing this, came ominously to me. My father looked scared.

Luckily, Cal said coolly, "Go back to your seat, Roy. It's nothing."

Roy, furious and drunk, reached out as though to break Cal's scrawny neck. "Why you insolent—"

Unfortunately, the word was drowned out by an excite yelping. Mitchell's pet dog, Max, was vacuuming the fillet. But as soon as he finished it, he collapsed onto the floor.

Cal looked at me.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "It's not supposed to work that fast."

Mitchell joined his father and shouted at me. "You bi—"

Pollo stepped up and put his arms out, protecting Cal and me. "There has been an attempt at poisoning the King of Atlantis," he addressed the crowd, "so the RAPF will be escorting HRH Michael back to the Palace now. Come on, Sire." And turning to his second officer, he added, "And investigate this."

Cal just gulped and swallowed. I felt sick. I mean, the dog was turning black already. Mitchell looked heartbroken. His dog was a hunting dog, which means it's very brutal and big. Just like him.

He glanced up and caught my eye. "—tch, you just wait. It's not over yet."

As much as I would love to slap him, I could not do it now. No, some things were more important. Like other attempts on Cal's life.