Anaya held her breath. She did not like this situation at all. Phobos would not get off lightly this time if this continued. What could she do? Tensely she thought, but before she could think of anything, the ray seemed to want to take matters further into its own fins.
"I beg you, do not let Ares be given these ingredients!" he pleaded fervently.
Triton seemed unconvinced but, at least he conceded the point, another person's opinion and turned to the doctor for the time being.
"Is there any remedy on this list that you consider dangerous, doctor?" he asked, handing the medically learned octopus the list that supposedly came from Zion's hand. The latter grasped it with one of his tentacles and let his eyes wander over the individual words. All present waited silently for the doctor's answer.
"The plants listed here are all part of the ancient healing medicine, Your Majesty. However, some of them have not been used for a very long time. Be it because medicine has now achieved greater success with other remedies or because they can cause side effects that we try to avoid. This one I would like to research for the time being to make up my mind about it. But I can certainly see the possibility that a combination of these ingredients could be beneficial to our prince's recovery," the doctor expressed as he continued to study the list with great interest.
"Then do your research and see if we should treat my grandson with it for a better recovery than what they are currently promising us," the ruler ordered.
"No!" cried Phobos and was tempted to swim towards Triton but was held back by the guardsmen's spears and an ungentle jerk on the chain leading to the fin clip. He let out a pained hiss and abandoned his plan.
"Why are you so intent on this?", Triton asked him the question of questions.
Phobos swallowed hard. If he now said what he intended to say, there would be no turning back. Either everything would resolve itself and change for the better or his path would end here and now for him.
Again he asked himself if it was really worth it.
"This document did not come from the pen of the Prince of Lione!" he clarified, finally taking the path that could lead him to his doom.
"Then who is supposed to have written it?" demanded Triton, as was to be expected.
"The sea witch Morgana," Phobos replied in a confident voice, and all assembled reacted as expected at the mention of Ursula's vengeful sister. They snapped their eyes open, so-called the water in sharply and darkened their gazes.
"Morgana?" retorted Triton, who had probably regained his composure the quickest of all.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Phobos assured his counterpart.
"Can you prove it?" the ruler asked, not taking his eyes off Phobos.
The young ray took some time to consider his next words carefully. Any little wrong wording would mean bad things for him. He never wanted to be taken to this cell again. But he feared that if they misunderstood him, misinterpreted his words and continued to distrust him, he would probably not have to look at the bars from the inside for long anyway, if at all, because they would accuse him of attempted murder of the heir to the throne on the spot, and that was punishable by death, as in so many of the kingdoms, even in the otherwise merciful Atlantica.
"I saw her steal the document from the messenger and plant a forgery she had set up on him," Phobos explained.
Anaya cupped her hands over her mouth, she couldn't believe what Phobos was saying and Attina didn't seem to want to believe him either, however her motives were probably entirely different from the little mermaid's.
"So you saw that, did you? And she let you swim back here to Atlantica with this knowledge, did she?" Ares' mother asked critically.
"I... yeah, she... she doesn't know I'm Ares' friend. She thought I was out to become one of her handlers," Phobos answered truthfully, but realised at the same moment that this answer had probably been absolutely the wrong one when it came to Attina.
"How do I know you're not taking us for fools? You might as well be working for her. I've suspected all along that you had something to do with her and this whole game proves it!" the Crown Prince's mother attacked him openly and spoke freely what she thought, "No one here knows where that witch is. She has been hiding since my niece was baptised. So how could you find her? Don't tell me it was a coincidence. No sooner does my husband drive you out of Atlantica than you swim across her path? No, I didn't! It's more likely that you went back to your mistress without having achieved anything, and now she's come up with the next perfidious plan to harm my son! She must have sent you after him back then. You were supposed to gain his trust by saving him from those sharks. What am I saying? I'm sure it was she who made sure that Ares was captured by those pirates. Isn't that right? What do you have to say about that? Can you talk your way out of that too?"
Phobos looked at Ares' mother in horror. He had known that she was not well disposed towards him, but these accusations hit him hard. He had never expected to be met with such great distrust. But what she said could not be dismissed from her point of view. Phobos himself was no longer sure whether the sea witch had not actually had her tentacles in more of these things than he had realised. How could he convince Ares' mother otherwise? She was afraid for her son and she would protect him. At the moment, he seemed to be the biggest threat to her little prince in her eyes, yet Phobos wanted exactly the same thing as her.
"I would never harm Ares," he said quietly, horrified that he was thought to actually have such a plan.
"You're a very good actor, I'll give you that, you wrapped my husband around your fin too, after all," Attina retorted, unimpressed by his statement, which was meant so seriously.
"I swear," Phobos pleaded, noticing tears of helplessness springing to his eyes as he did so.
"What's an oath worth when it comes from a ray like you?" the princess was not persuaded. Before she could speak further, however, she was told to be silent by her father.
Triton had raised one of his large hands in an arresting manner, successfully silencing her.
"Can you in any way refute the accusations made against you?" the ruler asked, and Phobos inwardly thanked him greatly for the compassion that resonated in his voice.
"I have proof to back up my story. However, it should not be able to refute your daughter's accusations. But that doesn't matter, all that matters is that Ares doesn't get this fake medicine. I don't know what Morgana wrote down, but I'm sure it would do him a lot of harm if it were given to him," Phobos replied, hoping that at least the king would recognise his sincerity.
"What proof?" asked Triton, conveying his willingness to cooperate to Phobos.
"I carried the original document with me. When you see the document, you will realise that the other is a doctored copy," the young ray played his only trump card.
"If you are as sincere as you want us to know, why didn't you point it out to the messenger yourself on the way here and return the original to him?" echoed Attina.
"I was afraid we were being followed. I didn't want to put the messenger and the message in danger. The real document is too valuable to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands again," Phobos defended himself, actually getting Attina to stay quiet for now.
"Where is this document now?" the king wanted to know with interest.
"I left it at the place where your guards picked me up," Phobos explained.
"I want one of you two to swim there immediately and look," Triton ordered the two guardsmen.
To Phobos' regret, the more affable of the two guardsmen disengaged from his position after a short bow and made his way back to Kronos' statue.
"While your colleague fetches us the evidence, perhaps you'd like to explain to me why the prisoner has been so battered?", Triton unexpectedly turned to the remaining guardsman. He swallowed hard before he managed to answer his king's question.
"Otherwise, it would not have been possible to ensure that he did not escape from the prison cell, Your Majesty," the guardsman replied and Phobos could see that he was more than uncomfortable. Satisfaction spread through the ray and he decided to take it up a notch.
"I never intended to escape, I wanted to speak to the king," he noted.
"A guard outside the cell, would have had the same effect and would not have been so barbaric. What do you have to say to that?", Triton bypassed Phobos' comment, indicating to him that he was not in demand at the moment and it would be better if he kept his mouth shut for the moment.
"Well, with our current understaffing, that seemed the more sensible option, your majesty," the guardsman squirmed out of the noose that threatened to tighten around his neck.
"This will not happen again. I will not tolerate any sea creature being treated in such a manner. Guilty or not. You will be punished for your wrong decision. I will have the captain informed that you have been demoted. Additional guard shifts and a reduction in your pay seem to me to be an appropriate punishment. This will give you experience in how we treat our prisoners here. You will also see to it that a doctor takes care of it and should anything be needed for the treatment of the wound, you will provide it as quickly as possible. Do I make myself clear?", Triton interposed to his guardsman who was now no more than a lowly sentry.
"Yes, your majesty. I promise nothing like this will happen again. Thank you for giving me another chance and not dismissing me completely from service," the latter pressed out and bowed his head.
Phobos inwardly rejoiced that Triton had done justice. His joy did not last long, however, when he met the angry look the former guardsman gave him, hidden by the strands of hair falling into his face. If this one actually cared about his wound, Phobos probably couldn't prepare himself for any gentle treatment.
"The ray spoke the truth, Your Majesty. I found a scroll with the broken seal of the Lino royal house in the ancestral passage behind the statue of your great-grandfather Kronos," the voice of the returned guardsman made those present refocus on the real reason for their meeting. The latter swam to his king and handed him the new document.
Triton skimmed over this too and then lowered his hand, together with the scroll he had clutched, to his lap. The king now seemed convinced by Phobo's words.
"Father, what if he put the scroll there on purpose? What if it is all part of her plan? What if she failed to exchange the scroll and has now sent her minion here to intercept the message. What if this is his last attempt to pull the wool over our eyes. He could have carried that scroll as reassurance in case he got caught. Or maybe he's just trying to make us think it's been switched. I beg you, don't believe this ray just like that," Attina pleaded with her father.
"That could be all, but I have an unswerving feeling that he is speaking the truth, Attina. We should not be blinded by our prejudices," he countered with the wisdom of a seasoned ruler.
His daughter then paused and regarded Phobos with an uncertain look. Should she really believe the words of this representative of the most dubious kind of sea dwellers, or better continue to insist on her point of view and be the voice of reason in case?
She decided on the second and raised her voice again.
"I cannot believe his words, father. There is something wrong here and I will not take the risk that Ares will suffer! If we don't know who is speaking the truth, we should not take any of this news at face value," she made her point again.
"Prince Zion has done such work to help us and especially Ares. We cannot let this opportunity pass," Triton argued. Father and daughter then engaged in a heated discussion, which the others present followed back and forth with their eyes.
"Stop!", Phobos interfered again after some time, again attracting everyone's attention, "I am also in favour of us giving Ares the medicine, but please take the ingredients from the letter you are holding in your hands just now", Phobos asked.
"How do we know we're not doing exactly what the witch has planned with this? What if these are the ingredients for a poison? I would never be able to forgive myself if I had allowed something to be knowingly administered to my son that would cause him harm afterwards!" retorted Attina.
"Neither could I. Neither, however, if Ares did not recover as he might have done because I saw to it that he did not receive the medicine he needed. I beg you, make this remedy and when it is ready, let me test it for him, Highness. Then you will see whether it is a poison or not," Phobos made a strong case for the ingredients he hoped would have said effect.
Anaya could not believe what Phobos had just suggested. Even if he knew exactly which of the writings had been manipulated by the sea witch, he still couldn't know what effects the remedy would have. Even the doctor was not sure about the effects of all the plants that had been listed. She was suddenly terrified for her friend. Finally, she could no longer stand by and watch. So she took her fin in her hand and hurried back to Ares, while the discussion continued in the throne room. The crown prince absolutely had to know what was happening here. Never would he allow Phobos to expose himself to this risk for him.
"Ares! Ares!", Anaya called for her friend from afar and finally simply dashed between the puzzled looking guards who had taken up position in front of his room.
"Anaya, what happened?", Ares startled instantly as she made a full stop in front of his bed.
"Phobos!" she said out of breath.
"Phobos?" asked Ares not understanding.
"He snuck into the palace. They have captured him. Your mother blames him for being in league with Morgana. He had a scroll with him in which a remedy for your recovery is supposed to be written, but they don't believe him. He wants to prove that he is telling the truth by tasting the supposed medicine for you...", Anaya told him in a nutshell.
"Phobos is here again," Ares whispered, slowly realising.
"Yes, but he's in trouble. You must do something, Ares!" pleaded Anaya.
It took Ares a short time to process all the information, but then he looked at Anaya with determination.
"I will," he said firmly and then turned to the two guards outside his door, "You there, take me to the throne room this instant!"
The two guards, however, only exchanged a bewildered glance between each other in response.
"That is an order! If you do not obey it your dismissal will be the first official act I will perform as soon as I rule Atlantica!" thundered Ares with an authority the two could not resist. Anaya looked back and forth between her friend and the two guards in amazement until one of them made his way to the crown prince and lifted him up to take him to the desired location.
Shortly afterwards, the four of them were on their way to the throne room as fast as possible.
Once there, they just witnessed the end of Phobos' hearing.
"Doctor, be so kind as to take this list of ingredients. Check all the ingredients for their effects and give us an informed opinion as to which composition is the more promising," Triton just asked the octopus, which had still lingered beside him.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," the doctor assured him, bowed and then set to work with the two lists. He was taken aback when the prince and the others swam across him in the corridor, but did not interfere any further, after all, he had more important things to do.
"We will have to continue to hold you until we find out more," Ares told Grandfather Phobos just as the troop hurried past the hall guards.
"I see," the ray did not contradict and was about to be led away again without resistance.
"Take him back to the cell," Triton ordered.
"You will do no such thing!", Ares' angry voice cut through the hall, making all eyes turn to him.
"Ares," the prince's name could be heard from the different directions as if from one mouth.
"You will be Phobos...", Ares began, but then fell silent.
Horrified, he looked at the flipper cuff that had been forcibly put on his friend.
"Who did this! Which one of you dared to do such a thing to my friend?!" he hissed, glaring mercilessly at those present.
"The person responsible has already received his just punishment, Ares, calm down," his grandfather tried to restrain his anger.
"I doubt it," Ares countered and then turned directly to his friend, "who did this to you, Phobos?"
Phobos looked uncertainly at Ares.
"Speak up, come on," he urged him further.
"Ares..." his mother now tried.
"Silence!" the Crown Prince cut her off, "I asked him not you!"
"Him there," the ray replied in response, nodding gingerly to the culprit swimming beside him.
"How can it be that he is still swimming squeaky clean here in front of me when he should have received his just punishment for this offence, Grandfather?" asked Ares with a huff, glaring intensely at the former guardsman who was growing smaller and smaller under his gaze.
"Because here in Atlantica we do not repay like with like, Ares!", Triton now also momentarily lost his composure and lapsed back into his former behaviour. But unlike his youngest daughter Ariel, his grandson was not intimidated by his outburst of anger.
"No, you are worse, you condemn innocent people and torture them! Do we then punish those we should thank and in return pardon those we should forever ostracise?" charged Ares, "Phobos has done nothing wrong. His only crime is to have been born a ray, do you really want to hold that against him? Is this the justice and tolerance of Atlantica that you always talk so much about? Release him now and stop accusing him of things he didn't do. He saved my life and he seems to want to do it again by putting his own at risk, again and again. Where is your gratitude!"
Silence reigned in the hall after Ares finished. Attina did not know whether to be angry or proud of her son and Triton too looked at his grandson with wide eyes. With his young age and his undeniable physical impairment, he had just demonstrated a strength and authority that was more than worthy of his position as heir to the throne.
The current king of Atlantica had no choice but to defer to his heir. He took the trident again and aimed it at the finch. A few seconds later, the shackle sank to the ground.
Phobos could hardly believe it. Again and again he looked back and forth between Triton the Clamp and Ares, until he decided to swim towards his friend and circle him joyfully.
"Thank you, Ares," Phobos said, finally pausing in front of his friend.
"Through thick and thin, Phobos," Ares then just recited and winked at him.