The palace was truly a magnificent sight to behold, what with its spiraling towers, and impressive archways; it was an architectural masterpiece. It was a little too open though, all things considered. Despite being built as a tower, there were multiple windows to the outside world for people to swim about freely. An assassin could have easily entered here in the cover of darkness and done his business without a soul noticing him. At least, that's what Absalon thought, before he entered the behemoth structure.
One inside, a shiver traipsed down his back. It was the sort of shiver one usually felt when there was strong magic present. Most ordinary fish would never notice it unless they were born with sensitivity to magic; even many magicians had trouble actually feeling the presence of invisible spells like this. Absalon was no master himself, but he had enough power in him to notice these things, ever since he was an inkling.
Absalon couldn't trace the where it was, or even what it was. All he could feel was a sort of watching eye lingering somewhere both near and far. For all he knew, it could have extended all over the palace, but that didn't seem to be true. By his eye, it didn't seem to stretch out that far, but Absalon could feel that there was more lurking somewhere. The presence didn't seem hostile, or friendly to his being there, just… accepting. Absalon's tentacles began to quake.
Well, now I know why the old conspiracy failed, if this is what Triton had backing up his palace. Sheesh. Absalon gave an audible gulp, and swam on after Jetsam, doing his best to ignore the guardian.
He swam upwards through multiple winding passageways of incredible décor and class that seemed almost unreal to behold at times. The level of craftsmanship in the pillars and wall carvings were no less than the work of a master. The wound all the way up and up, connecting to towers and chambers beyond where he could go, goading him to inspect the vast architectural feats. But Absalon kept his head together, and focused on following Jetsam until at last he was led to the entrance of a grand hallway.
At the entrance, Jetsam halted his speed and turned to speak to Absalon. "The queen is currently conducting a trial for the leader of the rebellion from a few months back. I will announce your presence to her once she is done. All I ask is for you to wait here, good sir."
And with that, Jetsam disappeared into the hallway; leaving Absalon alone to his thoughts.
He was finally there in the Antlantican courts, and what awaited him at that hall would be the one of the most powerful people in the ocean now. She would be someone who had the power to topple nations, and transform merfolk into polyps at a whim. She was the person who turned the oceans on their head in only a few months, and Absalon would finally meet her. In a way, it was his dreams to finally be in a place such as this, and before people of great power.
Something left him uneasy though. It was her methods of ruling.
Absalon's mind traced back to earlier today, and to the image of that sad polyp on the ground, crushed by the weight of a misery few would ever know. The thought of its life being forever changed seemed too cruel. The fact it could not even swim away from Atlantica and hide itself away in some dark place where no one could find it was simply the icing on the cake. It could only avoid the gazes of those who still had their freedom intact; living in jealousy and sadness forever. In a way, that was perhaps the only positive to the scattering of his people, that they could still have each other, and hide their shame away from the prying eyes of the mocking world.
He even wondered how far such punishments would extend, and to whom…
Before he could finish his thoughts, Absalon was distracted by the sudden sounds of angry yelling coming from the passageway. Soon, he noticed a caecilian guard coming out holding a small cage. Inside the cage was an angry looking crab clawing at the bars. All the while he screamed profanities so colorful that they would make the most hardened sailor blush. Behind the two came Jetsam, who split off from the two to join Absalon.
"Who is that," questioned Absalon as the guard carried the crab away.
Jetsam gave a very audible sigh of annoyance, "The former court composer, and the former king's closest friend."
"You're kidding me," Absalon blurted out. "Him?! He looks more like an hors d'oeuvre than a leader of a rebellion."
"You would be surprised. Underneath that deliciously meaty hide lies the brain of a surprisingly smooth talking, musical mastermind. He was instrumental to the madness of that rebellion." Jetsam let loose another sigh.
"Not sure I really see it," Absalon muttered under his breath. "But if that's the case, why didn't the queen just kill him there and then? She has the Trident; you would think she would just turn him into stuffed crab."
Jetsam let out a sigh so loud, that he seemed as if he were in a summer drought. "My mistress' train of thought is in a very complicated place right now, and I don't think even I could answer that."
Finally, after some time, Jetsam collected himself and began to speak to Absalon. "The queen is very eager to see you. She has already reserved a room for you to stay for the night, but would like to give you a formal greeting."
As Jetsam spoke, Absalon could feel his heart begin to race faster and faster. The water around him seemed to almost warm several degrees as the thoughts came rushing forwards. He was going to see the queen. The queen! He would be presented as both a representative of his nation, but as a representative of himself. His very future could linger in the balance, and he still had many uneasy thoughts on his mind about the queen. If Absalon even let one of these feelings slip, who knows what could come about from that? It could be the end of his career; or even the end of him.
No. Absalon had to find some way to stall.
"Well now," quietly hissed Jetsam. "Shall we go?"
Before he could turn towards the entrance, Absalon quickly called out to Jetsam; knowing this would be his last chance to get an idea of what he was even doing. "Wait a minute, Lord Jetsam."
Jetsam turned to face him bearing a questioning glance.
"This is just something I wanted to ask, before I met the queen face to face, but what do you think of her methods? Namely, what do you think of… those things?"
For a moment, Jetsam was silent. He kept his eyes fixated on Absalon for what seemed like ages, giving him a growing sense of unease. Then at last he lowered his head and sighed.
"I know what you speak of. When I first met my mistress, a long time ago, I remember also being horrified of them. Trust me when I say this though; after a time, merfolk who end up like that become mundane."
He raised his head up towards Absalon and blew a few bubbles of air in an exasperated fashion.
"The way they fall into this pattern is almost laughable on their part as they constantly let themselves be conned in ways that seem to defy common-sense. After a point, it becomes less revolting, and more just a chore. My mistress grew to understand these weaknesses and took to exploiting them to the best of her ability; earning herself trophies, as well as knowledge. It was this innate sense of her that won her the crown, as well as control of the kingdom."
Absalon's face remained stern as the eel continued to talk to him.
"In time though, there is only so many times one can be pushed before they must rest themselves. (Even the wise deserve peace from all the questions they are commanded to answer.) And what you see now, is only the aftermath of my mistress' terrifying wrath; to actually have been there would have left anyone quaking. I remember the times she would wander the palace, releasing her anger in bolts of fury upon anything she could find after particularly stressful days. Those were the days when I and my brother were most frightened."
Absalon stiffened as the eel relayed his story in greater detail.
"And yet… to see her now in the state she is in leaves me in nothing short of awe. That she still can perform after having the weight of the world above her is amazing, and leaves one to forget what she does to keep this peace she built. In the end, I fully believe her to be the best person to bear the crown, as someone who has seen both madness and stability. Wherever she goes, I shall loyally follow her."
After that, Jetsam turned away from Absalon and swam towards the entry way. Absalon could only watch silently as he swam away. He didn't know what to really make of the story he had just heard. It failed to really comfort him, and left him more anxious than before. All the same, it was a different sort of anxiety, brought more about by awe than fear.
Absalon took a deep breath, and proceeded to follow Jetsam into the hall.
No chapter tomorrow folks. I'm gonna be busy. We're almost at the end though, so buckle up.