Arista was infinitely glad when she arrived safely back in Orcanus with her twins in tow. She had since admired how her father had managed to keep seven such cheeky badgers at least somewhat under control, and that alone in view of their mother's early death. Now more than ever she missed Athena, who had been taken from them far too soon. Arista was sure that she would have half the trouble with her two daughters if she could ask her mother for advice. But that wasn't the case, so she had to strike out on her own and prove to herself and everyone else that she could do it all by herself. After all, she had no other choice. She could not and would not ask her mother-in-law for advice. Here in Orcanus, it was not traditionally the mothers' task to take care of the upbringing of their offspring. Arista had also been urged to leave this task to the educators and teachers, but she had vehemently opposed it. She had vowed that Freya and Fenya would always get her full attention and would be allowed to spend every minute with her that she was able to muster. In return, however, this meant that her free time was very short now and then. As the future ruler of Orcanus, much was expected of her that she, as an Atlantean princess, had never even dreamed of. So she often sat up late into the night with Kyria's hand-picked teachers, who were supposed to prepare her in the best possible way for her upcoming task. However, she was happy to pay this price. Even the meticulous hairdressing and make-up, which had always been one of her favourite pastimes, she kept to a minimum if it meant she gained more time for her two princesses.
Their father Finyas was out with his twin brother, as he so often was, making the waters unsafe, as she was informed by his servant. As expected, she had not seen him in person since her return. It was not unusual for them not to see each other for several days. The two princes were still such children's heads that Arista wondered not for the first time what had driven her to get involved with the Orcans. But it was probably his light-hearted nature that had sparked her interest in him. It had always been the boys who did not fit in at all with a well-bred princess who had attracted her the most. Finja's provocative demeanour had probably fitted perfectly into her prey pattern. Arista had always been out for adventure and that's exactly what the hot-tempered and erratic Orcan offered her. Here, too, Arista wondered if she would have behaved as she ultimately did if her mother had still been there to steer her in the right direction.
Not for the first time, she wondered if she regretted it by now. She had to admit to herself that there were moments, even days, when she wished she had acted more conscientiously. In the end, however, she usually came to the conclusion that she didn't really want it any other way. The life that her sisters and friends lived with their model sons-in-law seemed far too boring and monotonous. She would probably never have what her sisters had, but that was all right. At least that's what she told herself. If she remained honest with herself, she was anything but sure about it all. But she had become a master at suppressing and overacting. So much so that she probably even convinced herself that the casual relationship she had with Finyas was exactly what she wanted. After all, he allowed her the very freedom she had always craved in Atlantica. Sure, their marriage was more appearance than reality and yet they were both happy in their own way. Sure, they argued from time to time. But what couple didn't? In any case, she was sure that most of them did not get back together so quickly, and certainly not in such a passionate way as they usually did.
One great advantage she saw over her sisters' marriages was the fact that she did not have to wonder whether her husband was unfaithful to her. This fear was moot in view of the clear awareness of it. There was no point in worrying about it and she couldn't really hold it against him either, after all she wasn't exactly faithful herself. She had never seen herself in such a lasting and serious relationship with the Orcan. It was certain that she would have quickly ended the small but thoroughly refreshing affair, had it not been for the sudden arrival of Freya and Fenya. After her father had revealed the well-kept secret, he had insisted that she had to bear the consequences for her behaviour. In his opinion, a princess did not have to raise children without a husband. Finyas had not been inclined to the whole thing any more than she herself had. But in this matter, neither of their parents gave them a say. The ruling houses of Atlanticas and Orcanus were thus united, even if the princess and prince were anything but pleased with this event. Thus, from the beginning, they had always agreed to give each other the space they needed. Mind you, they had never had this marriage in mind and were only living it for the sake of their parents. So they had quickly agreed on this unconventional way of living together and neither of them was plagued by useless feelings like jealousy.
Since then, however, Arista was not at all surprised that here in Orcanus the women were in charge, when even the two princes showed so little sense of duty, as they were demonstrating again at the moment. They were probably just getting lost again in one of the taverns, which were plentiful here in Orcanus. The sea people of the north liked to drink a lot, so that one could think they had to do something against the surrounding cold, despite their insensitivity to temperature. The two princes were no exception. Finyas could drink just about anyone else he came across, and his brother Ayvars, a few minutes younger, had tasted every brew in the seven seas that he could get his hands on.
So now almost all hope for the continuation of the dynasty rested on her. Kyria, however, did not see too much potential in her daughter-in-law. How was such a dainty little doll supposed to keep a bunch of coarse drunkards under control and, if the worst came to the worst, lead her proud Valkyrians into battle? Despite the intense parleys and daily teaching sessions she was subjected to, Arista had hardly distinguished herself with any suitable talents in her eyes. The relationship with her mother-in-law was really anything but easy. Exactly this fact was also causing Arista a great headache at the moment. How should she talk to her about the current situation in Atlantica? The tense atmosphere between them would definitely not make it an easy task.
As so often, Arista wandered through the mirrored corridors of the ice palace. Orientation has never been her strong point and the unique layout of the Orcanian seat of power did not make it any easier for her. Although she had been living here for some time now, she always managed to get lost in the corridors. Once, she had even managed to swim with full force against one of the slippery ice surfaces in which an opposite passageway was mirrored. Fortunately, she had not been with anyone at the time. She would have had a hard time coping with the laughter. So she had simply straightened her crown without further ado, in the truest sense of the word, and had swum on again. Since then, she took even more care when moving alone through the hall of mirrors, as she mockingly called the palace in her mind.
This time she had managed to find her way from the nursery of her two darlings to the imposing throne room without any major problems. Arista silently congratulated herself for this before taking another deep breath and swimming into the hall and thus into her mother-in-law's field of vision.
The ruler of the Orcans was truly an awe-inspiring, but at the same time extremely charming woman, of extraordinary size and beauty. Her long, almost seemingly white hair was tamed in an elaborately braided hairstyle and fell in the form of a plait over her left shoulder to above her magnificent breastplate. The martial get-up, however, did nothing to detract from her voluptuous femininity. With her whole being, Kyria represented exactly what she was, a powerful and self-confident woman who was not to be messed with. She led her people, and above all her proud army of Valkyrians, with a strong stern hand.
Arista had barely swum into her field of vision before the icy blue eyes took her in their sights.
"You're back, are you? It's about time. You've been neglecting your lessons for far too long," she got thrown at her as a greeting. She just couldn't please this woman and yet Arista persisted and kept on trying. Therefore, the princess forced herself to smile at the ruler. Kyria, however, was not easily fooled and only gave her a contemptuous look. Her eyes bored into Arista, forcing her to make herself look even smaller than she was.
"Your Majesty, before I take up my duties, I have brought important news from Atlantica for you from my father. I beg you to give me some of your valuable time and your ear," Arista asked with her head bowed.
"Speak, what is it that my friend wants me to know?" demanded Kyria. As was often the case, Arista was puzzled to hear the abrupt change in the other's mood that drew a halt every time Triton entered the conversation.
Arista glanced around, but to her relief, she had probably timed her request for an audience well. Apart from the ruler on her throne, flanked by the mighty ice sculptures of two killer whales, only her two highest-ranking guardswomen were in the large, light-flooded hall with them.
"Atlantica is in a delicate situation and requests military support," Arista took advantage of the hour and did not beat about the bush, knowing that the Sovereign's patience was always stretched.
Was that really a hint of horror that had appeared on the other's always so flawless face? Arista was not sure, for in the next moment she found no trace of it in the face framed by a few loosened bright strands. The icy eyes scrutinised her waitingly, giving the princess the feeling that she should now think very carefully about her next words before uttering them.
"Atlantica is threatened by the sea witch Mrogana," she explained briefly.
"What does this have to do with my people. Triton, should deal with such banality herself," the ruler waffled disinterestedly. Arista had feared this, straining to think how she could convince her mother-in-law that her support was very much needed. She was only going to bring up the Ares thing as a last resort, so she had to think of something and quickly.
"Morgana, hasn't just threatened Atlantica. She intends to subjugate all seven seas, once she has my father's trident in her hands. You know what great power it holds," the blonde mermaid tried to alert the other, gladly accepting that she would have to twist the sea witch's actual words a bit to do so. Besides, she was sure that Morgana was up to exactly that in the long run. She would not be the first to long for the powerful artefact.
"Suppose your father actually let her steal it from him. Then she wouldn't be able to use it properly. The trident can only unfold its full power if it is used by a blood-related member of your family. Only the true ruler of Atlantica will see fit to wield this wayward thing. Isn't that so, my dear?" Kyria inquired, demonstrating her extensive knowledge.
Arista saw her skins swimming away. She struggled with herself. She still had arguments up her sleeve, but to use them meant revealing well-kept family secrets in the same breath. Was it really worth it? Did Atlantica need the Orcans' help that badly? She also wondered where Kyria got this knowledge in the first place. It almost sounded to her as if the ruler had already had it in for the trident herself. This only strengthened her decision to keep the current situation of the heir to the throne to herself. Ares would already have enough obstacles in his way, but she would know how to turn them away from him for the time being. However, she had no choice but to convince the ruler that her own kingdom was also threatened and there was only one way to do that.
"Morgana, would very well be able to use it. Just as her sister Ursula was able to channel a large enough portion of power to do widespread damage with it," Arista went on the offensive.
"How can that be?" asked Kyria in amazement, finally actually showing interest in their conversation.
"As you rightly said, only those related to the ruling family in blood can wield the trident and use its power. Few know and my father has tried as best he could to keep it a secret even from my sisters and me, but... Ursula... was his sister. So it stands to reason that most likely Morgana is also a member of our family," Arista revealed her view on one of the greatest secrets the Atlantican ruling house guarded.
"Ursula is supposed to have been Triton's sister? Never! He and your mother introduced me to his sister then. She was a mermaid like you and me. Not at all such a monster as that witch was. You must think I'm a fool!" Kyria was indignant, remembering the great party to which all the heads of the seven seas had been invited to celebrate the reunion of the Atlantean royal family. Triton's long-lost sister, already presumed dead by many, had finally reappeared shortly before his accession to the throne.
"That is not my intention. It is the truth, even if I and my family are not proud of it. My father forced our aunt to conform. She hid her real form from you and after this charade could no longer be maintained, my father banished her from the kingdom," Arista tried to convince the other with her half-knowledge, which unfortunately was only concocted from secretly overheard conversations and her own guesses.
"So it is a family matter then. I see no reason to interfere in this dispute," Kyria clarified.
"By marrying your son to me, you too are part of this family! Besides, Morgana will not stop at any of the seven seas. Help now before it is too late," pleaded Arista.
"Finya's marriage to you, was a mistake based on an even bigger mistake on your part. Don't think you can use that as leverage against my person now," Kyria did not engage in Arista's argument.
One thing was certain, this woman knew exactly how to make herself unpopular. She didn't have a good word to say about the young mermaid. The fact that she dared to call her two greatest treasures a mistake, however, made anger boil up in Arista more than anything else and made her forget all formalities.
"I don't care how badly you talk about me or how little you think of me, but you don't talk about my daughters like that! They are the best thing that could ever happen to me!" she raged.
"Is that so? I had a feeling you might very well regret being so reckless," Kyria continued to tease.
"I regret that my daughters have to call such a fury their grandmother! My mother would never have behaved like that!" cried Arista, fighting back tears.
"You are finally showing your true colours, girl. That I am nothing like your mother I know all too well, you don't need to rub my nose in it too, but look where it got her. She's dead, I'm alive," her mother-in-law mocked.
Arista was stunned. How could this woman be so obnoxious. Why was she allowed to live while her own mother was taken from them so violently. At that very moment, as she was about to argue further with the other, it struck her how much pain and disappointment resonated in the other's words. Had she been jealous of Athena when she was alive? And suddenly the scales fell from her eyes. Kyria and her father! The unusual behaviour of the others whenever it came to Triton. The ruler of the Orcans had been jealous of her mother. She had married Triton and had seven daughters with him, whereas Kyria had only been allowed to marry a merman from her own realm. One of those crude drunkards. To make matters worse, she had given birth to two sons, Finyas and Ayvars, in a society where daughters were worth so much more. How had she been able to overlook this desperation all this time? Suddenly she even felt a little sorry for Kyria. Her realisation, however, offered her the perfect starting position to persuade the ruler to support Atlantica after all, even if she hoped that Triton would not resent her planned little ruse. After all, there was so much at stake here. Surely he would understand.
"Kyria, I am sure my father would be more than happy to have you by his side during this difficult time. I'm sure he would also be especially happy to welcome you to Atlantica in person. He spoke of you so often after Mother's death. As far as that goes, just about every palace inhabitant can testify," Arista stretched the truth in her favour. Triton had spoken of Kyria from time to time, but nowhere near the way his daughter was trying to make the other believe.
"Really? What did he say?" Kyria wanted to know, suddenly seeming to Arista like a little schoolgirl in love.
Arista thought quickly and flattered the other where she could. Soon she was afraid she had gone too far, but Kyria swallowed her every word without hesitation.
"If that's the case, then of course I'll give my old friend a hand. I will personally lead a troop of Valkyrians to Atlantica. You will stay here and try to convince me that you have what it takes to lead no people in the future," Kyria finally announced.
Arista felt queasy when she thought of this trial by fire. However, she had achieved her primary goal, so she accepted the coming disaster.