Chapter 15

Arthur had fallen back to Diana's bed chamber, what should have been their bed chamber. The bed was large enough for both of them, and more he thought deviously. Mera had brought up the idea that maybe, as an Amazon, the reason why she and Arthur hadn't bonded was because she had no interest in men. He didn't have the heart to tell his mistress that his fiancée had confessed to falling in love with him just hours before.

The bed was still made, perfect and precise, just as he would have expected from the military woman. It was simple, not adorned with much finery, but classic, with obvious Greco-Roman influences. "Well what did you really expect," he muttered to himself, having the obvious thought.

"Oh, I'm sure the old girl has some surprises left in her closet..." a very familiar voice called from behind a silk screen painted with a scene from Amazon legend, the exodus of the Amazons of Bana-Mighall. "Maybe we should open them up, and see what secrets they hold, my love..." the melodic voice trailed off.

Arthur's heart skipped a beat; not only was he hearing the voice of an angel, but he was assaulted by the scent of her perfume.

The figure stepped out and exposed the source. She looked as beautiful and vibrant as the last time he had seen her, red hair falling down to her waist in long, wavy cascades, in sharp contrast to the green scale mail armour that covered her body, clinging to her seductive curves. She wore her crown, the crown of the Queen of Atlantis.

"Mera..." He was breathless, speechless. Mera was dead; he had seen her body. Diana had returned her lifeless form, without her head, after she had killed her. She was dead. They had a funeral for her, burying the body as they would any Queen. "But you're..."

"Dead?" the woman spoke, her hips and shoulders twisting just as his wife had done, an alluring twitch of her body that made his defenses melt. Her right hand slid up her thigh, over the swell of her hip, pushed out to the side as she unweighted her opposite leg. "Well, I'm afraid to say that reports of my death have been greatly over estimated." She let out a soft coo of a laugh. "We were right, my love. Your wild Amazon prefers the company of women. She has kept me here as a prisoner," as if to show proof, "Mera" held out her wrists, silver shackles, exact replicas of Diana's, wrapped around her forearms. "As her slave... Perhaps you two really did have something in common..." She let out a soft giggle, the private sounds she had shared with him when they were making intimate jokes.

Something felt wrong, but Arthur was having a hard time resisting the allure of the woman he had once loved so deeply. He had yearned for her, and the idea that she really was alive, and in front of him, was intoxicating. "But... Your body?"

"It was a fake; one of the Amazons that I felled infiltrating the Island," she said with a shrug. "I hate it here; I want to come home, darling," she said, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms desperately around his neck. She kissed him hard, and deep; she tasted like Mera, kissed him like Mera, but hungrier, as if starved for real love. Her hands gripped the sides of his face before running through his hair.

He let out a lustful sigh as he pulled away, his hands finding the narrow spot of her waist, resting just above the swell of her hips, her hair just brushing the back of his hands. His right rose up and pushed back a lock of hair, exposing her beautiful green eyes, with a sigh.

"You have to do what you were planning on, you have to go through with it and kill Diana!" she begged, pressing kisses to his lips softly. "She'll never let me leave as long as she is alive. Arthur please..." her voice cracked as she sniffled.

"I..." something felt wrong; something deep within Arthur told her that something was wrong; this wasn't Mera, but... she sounded and looked so much like the real thing. She even felt and tasted like Mera...

"Please, my love," she mewed, twirling a finger through his hair to massage his earlobe as she had done a hundred times; every time she wanted something and Arthur was unwilling to bend to her will. It undid him every time. Knowing that secret, he decided it must be her. "Avenge my years of servitude... I'm your Queen, your one true queen, and she's keeping me as nothing but a sex slave." She pouted, holding his cheeks, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

She pulled back. "Where is your triton?" she asked, her red eyebrows furrowing with an expression of concern. "You didn't give it to Diana did you?" Her eyes went wide with terror.

"She's going to run off with Triton and give your kingdom, our kingdom, to him!" her voice cracked as tears started to form in her eyes. "Look!" She pointed behind him.

He could barely see through the gauze like curtains that fluttered, protecting her inner most sanctum from the outside world, forcing him to move forward to brush it aside. Arthur drew a sharp breath, completely unprepared for what he was about to see.

Diana was completely embraced by Triton, his rival and the man threatening to challenge for the Kingship as well as the right to be called Champion of Poseidon. Diana had come to him, begging for help, claiming that Triton was blackmailing her into a marriage she wanted no part of, but from the look of their passion infused kiss, her body pressed tightly to his, his hands roughly claiming her, in the dress she had worn to their wedding no less, it was all part of a lie.

They had just shared a romantic moment, where he thought they had reconnected, rekindled a love that had died in its infancy, but now he was faced with the reality that he was being played, again, and that Diana, far from being a fellow pawn, was manipulating him. Rage flew through, boiling his blood as he clenched his fists at his side, gripping the handle of the sword she had given him until his knuckles went white.

"She's an evil woman, my Love," the voice of "Mera" spoke, coming up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, her right hand creeping up to rub his chest. "You can stop her though, and Triton, before they get their ways, before they steal your kingdom and enslave you, just as she enslaved me…" her voice petered out as she began to kiss the back of his neck.

"Oh how I missed you…" her voice soft, her left hand, formerly staying at his waist, slid downward, over his hip bone towards his groin.

Something was not right… Something about the whole situation felt wrong; Mera was dead! He had seen her body, he had held her headless corpse. She was dead. Diana hated Triton with a passion; he was a despot, more than either Arthur or Diana had been during the war, in times of peace. He longed for war, while both Arthur and Diana, publically, had campaigned for peace. Why would she so boldly let him possess her like that, knowing that she would be visible to him, unless…

"Something is not right," Arthur finally spoke aloud the words he had been thinking, turning within the grip of "Mera." "Diana might have never loved me, but she certainly has no desire for that monster!" He pushed "Mera" back, readying the sword the Amazon had given him. "And even were she a lesbian, her ideals would never allow her to enslave a woman for sexual servitude, even a sworn enemy's wife!"

He slashed at the vision in front of him, even though it broke his heart that he was attacking the memory of his wife, he knew it was not here. She was dead; he had to keep reminding himself of the fact, but she was indeed dead. Diana had built a shrine to her, a beautiful one that he had negated, in her temple.

The image of Mera, red haired, golden crown and green scale body suit, faded away but the Amazon shackles remained. Replacing the image of his once beloved, dearly departed, wife was that of a purple haired siren. She was almost the same height as Mera had been, but curvier; her breasts barely contained by a silver threaded corset, her hips wrapped in a luxurious purple fabric, seemingly light and endless in its layers. Her hair was purple as well, matching her eyes and the colour of her lips, pulled into a wicked grin as she crooked a finger.

"I may not be Mera, but you will be mine Arthur, Champion of Poseidon," she cackled. She raised her right hand, her long purple nails illuminated now only by the flickering lights of an oil lantern. "Here are your choices, my dear, pretty little boy," she said, her voice dripping with derision and lust. "One, you come with me willingly, we leave your little ex-girlfriend to Triton and you get to live forever, happily ever after with me," she smiled, charmingly, irresistibly. "Or you try to stand your ground, I destroy you, Triton takes everything that ever was yours and ever will be, including your kingdom and Diana's purity and no one will ever know of the great sacrifice you performed."

She was infuriating! Even more so than Diana. He ground his teeth and was ready to strike when the world around him lit up. In the distance he could hear Diana scream; he was right, she was not willingly participating in their scheme. Diana! He thought, desperately. He had judged her harshly, been far too willing to see her flaws, even when she had been honest, open with him about her fears and what she believed was going on.

The sword clattered to the floor, along with the shield and battle axe. Flopping in the midst of the weaponry was a small, gold and green fish where Arthur had been. Circe's most powerful, and useful, trick was to transform people into animals. Not only was it useful, it was quite enjoyable.

"Now now, little king," she cooed to him, taking a goblet of water from Diana's dresser and carefully depositing him in it. "It won't be permanent right off the bat. That little Queen of yours will have five days to rescue you, then you're mine forever, and I'll turn you back into a man, all the man you used to be but without that pesky independence or devotion to Diana and your kingdom, and we can spend eternity getting to know each other…"

A portal opened up, swirling purple and red, flecked with gold. Holding the goblet in one hand, she crouched to pick up Diana's sword. "Can't leave anything obvious for the Queen to find, now can we?" she giggled, speaking to the little fish in the glass. She wanted Diana to think that Arthur had gone willingly, that he had abandoned her for Circe's company, and for that, she would have to take the weapons and shield she had given Arthur, and leave something that made it seem like they had eloped.

After a half moment of thought Circe laughed, oh yes she had a plan. She had placed the sabre on her hip, holding the make shift fishbowl in her hand, she cast a spell. Instantly, the orderly bed chamber of Diana, Queen of the Amazons, was turned into a mess, the obvious impression that a night of passion had taken place. That Arthur had ravaged Circe willingly, and had run off with the witch, while nothing could be further from the truth. The bed covers lay torn asunder, the sheets ripped off and thrown haphazardly. The pillows were dishevelled, and the scent of sex hung in the air.

Satisfied that her ruse would be believed by Diana, who already believed that Arthur had never truly loved her, and that he would always prefer Mera over her, Circe let out another laugh, anxious to see the reaction of the Queen.

"Let's introduce you to your little friends, little fishy…" she cooed to the golden barb in the cup.

"Oh right," she paused, turning to look back where Diana was pushing away from Triton. "I forgot about you for a moment." She laughed, casting her hand up, casting another spell, this time over Diana, the purpose of which was to make the young woman dazed, confused and docile for the time being, lest she get the best of Triton too early in the game. There would be no fun in that.

But, alas, time to get back to her temple; she was getting weary, straining herself by casting so many spells simultaneously. And besides, she had a new toy to play with. She smiled over Arthur in his cup. "Pretty, pretty fishy," she cooed, stepping through her portal.

If fish looks could kill, Arthur would certainly be sending daggers through to the witch. Oh how he loathed Circe right now, not only for the transformation and imprisonment in the body of a fish but for the pain she was intentionally inflicting upon Diana. He was starting to come around, and remember she was not the cold hearted warrior whom he had battled during the war, but as always, she led with her heart on her sleeve, even if her sword was in her hand.

Diana, he thought. I'm so sorry…