It was a long and winding hallway, with no remarkable features aside from its length. Like the rest of the halls, the floor was slightly inclined upwards, signifying that this was leading upwards to the topmost tower of the palace. Suddenly, an exit revealed itself, and Jetsam and Absalon let the hall and out to-
"Oh my Gods…" Absalon's mouth hung open as he beheld the awful sight.
The hallway had led out into an open field that overlooked the rest of the palace. It was the tallest spire in the kingdom and on this spire laid a garden. It was a garden of polyps, all gathered together in one place, mixed with the occasional normal plant by their side, but overall taking up the majority of space in the garden.
The many different shapes stared out at Absalon with their bulbous and sad eyes as they wriggled in space. The odd thing though, was that no sound came out of them. They had their mouths open but nothing was coming out of them, not even a squeak. Absalon knew that there had to be some magic at work there. The queen had probably put some noise cancelling spell on the creatures so that they didn't cause a ruckus with their crying. That didn't stop Absalon from feeling disturbed.
"Pay no mind to them," remarked Jetsam, swimming past Absalon. "They are all older wretches from before the queen took the throne. She simply relocated them here from the old location."
"So then these are the merfolk who came to her on their own free will?" Absalon's jaw dropped hard as the words left his lips.
Jetsam only nodded and swam forwards, leaving Absalon behind.
Absalon had felt a sense of pity for the polyps down below, but to see this; this mass of damned fishfolk all huddled together in one place was dumbfounded. They all came to the queen for some reason over another, against all the signs; against logic; because they couldn't bother to lift a finger to get it done themselves? He finally gained an understanding as to what Jetsam meant back in the hall.
Absalon put his hands to his sides and proclaimed loudly so that each polyp could hear him, "You people are idiots."
He then swam after Jetsam in a quickened pace, leaving the pitiful creatures behind in their misery.
Soon the two of them came up to a large dome-like area at the far end of the garden, inside Absalon could make our the silhouettes of several people, but chose to focus on what was in front of him. He approached the doorway cautiously; hoping to seem as well mannered as he possible could be. It wasn't long before he finally got inside the throne room.
It was fairly plain, by most throne room standards. There were few decorations strewn about, but otherwise, there was little aside from the great throne in the middle.
Absalon could see several people strewn about this throne room. Beside the throne was an eel who looked similar to Jetsam; (Absalon assumed that was Flotsam). And on the floor of the room were six youthful fish girls who wore no bras, and silently stared. They weren't even staring at Absalon; they seemed to just be staring in his general direction, blankly. There were of varying ages, but all had a level of beauty usually only reserved for nobility.
From what Absalon could guess, these were the daughters of the former king. But why were they just sitting there? They didn't appear to be restrained by anything; so why didn't they even move around? That was a question for later, because at that moment, Absalon shook himself away from the sight to gaze at the throne.
And on that throne was the person who Absalon had spent over a week travelling to reach. The person who he spent nights on the cold ocean floor pondering about. The most powerful Caecilian- no, most powerful mermaid in the ocean at this very moment! Once known as the sea witch, but now hailed as a queen.
Ursula.
Absalon wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly was nothing like this. The first thing that struck him about Queen Ursula was her girth. She was by and far, the largest Caecilian women he had ever seen bar none. The flab of her stomach seemed to burst away from the confines of the clearly smaller throne.
Her tentacles were just as enormous, hanging downwards in an inconspicuously docile state, with only an occasional twist and turn of a tendril. However, Absalon knew better. Even from his position, he could see cracks and indentations lined on the base of the throne, near where the tentacles stayed. There was a power in those that were not to be trifled with.
The third thing that caught his eye were the enormous size of her breasts, but seeing as Absalon didn't feel like going to prison anytime soon, he quickly shifted his gaze.
She wore two silver arm braces decorated with many jewels of various shapes and sizes, and a silver armlet of an eel on her right arm. Above her... well endowed bosoms was a simple gold necklace of a nautilus shell. The thing was the simplest jewel, yet Absalon couldn't help but be a little drawn to it. There was an unnatural feel to the shell, though he could not quite place his finger on it.
In her hair she wore a great crown of gold which was wrapped across her head, and beside the crown was...
Well, that's disturbing.
In her hair was a very small polyp, hanging in there as if it were a flower decoration. This polyp however, was different from the ones Absalon had seen. Its features didn't seem very ragged, and its hair was not as disheveled as the other polyps. Its skin was a lighter hue of green, and its eyes were not misshapen like the rest. Absalon would even fancy saying it looked somewhat cute.
What surprised Absalon most of all though, was that unlike the other polyps which seemed to be trapped in a state of utter despair, this polyp seemed more bored than anything. Its eyes were dull and lifeless in a way similar to how a cynic looks on a bright and sunny day. It barely shot him a glance as he entered the room before puffing its lips and blowing an exasperated sigh.
Then there was Ursula's face. Despite being round and smooth, the closer to her center lines of age could be discerned. She wore fairly intense makeup around her face, yet none of it could really hide the age, yet it didn't appear Ursula made a huge attempt to disguise it. Her lips were colored bright red and parted with a soft smile that seemed genuine enough. As for her eyes, Absalon could see a great many things in them.
Her eyes were in this neutral like position that was very hard to really decipher. From the way they focused squarely on him, he could tell there was an intense appraisal going on. Yet at the same time, her eyes never seemed too far from genuine happiness, while retaining what may have been tiredness or perhaps a look of relaxation. It was hard and soft at the same time, and Absalon knew that this woman had a lot of cunning behind her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Absalon gave deep and courteous bow, "Hail Queen Ursula: rightful ruler of Atlantica and martyr of the Caecilian merfolk."
There was silence in that throne room for what seemed like an eternity. Absalon could feel his tentacles cramp up from holding him up in such an awkward position for so long, but he dared not move. The longer the wait went on, the more nervous he became about his place in the world, and his status as a noble. It seemed almost as if he was being crushed underneath a great boulder with no way to squeeze himself free. His body shivered more and more until the pain started to become unbearable.
Finally, the silence was broken.
"You may rise, Sir Absalon. I've been expecting you."
Absalon's head jumped upwards and his eyes bulged to an enormous size when he heard that comment.
Without thinking, he shouted, "HUH?!"
Absalon lost balance from his position and began to flail his way back up with the help of his tentacles. His mouth sputtered absolute gibberish in a desperate attempt to recoil the words he spoke.
What had caught him so off guard was not the comment itself. It was the queen's voice! When he had first laid eyes on her, he had expected the hoarse voice of an elderly woman with a deep baritone to go with it. The voice he heard though, was that of a young girl's maybe no older than sixteen. Yes, the voice was fairly deep, but definitely not deep or hoarse enough to make sense.
As Absalon attempted to recompose himself, he heard the voice emit a sultry sounding chuckle.
The queen held a hand to her mouth in a vain attempt to cover her laughter, "It seems I've still got it after all this time."
Still she spoke like a sultry teenager; Absalon wasn't imagining it. The sheer abnormality of the situation left Absalon in such a state of disarray that he had difficulty even speaking properly for a good few minutes. Finally, he took the time to clear his throat and accept that what he had heard was real. It was never safe to question royalty on their appearance, except for compliments. (He learned that fact the hard way.)
"Ah, forgive me for my insolence, milady," Absalon spoke slowly so as to cover his stammers. "I didn't mean to jump like that."
Suddenly, the queen's strangely sultry voice rose slightly and she shifted in her seat. "Oh, so I am the reason you jumped then?"
Nuts.
Absalon's thoughts were starting to quicken in pace, but he was good at getting out of messy situations like this. He thought fast to create a reasonable excuse, "Ah, no milady. I was just being foolish for letting myself be caught unawares by where I was coming too, and not being ready. I am simply stunned by your presence."
He didn't mean to add the unnecessary compliment, but it just came out.
The queen turned to her trident and gave it an appraisal before giving another remark, "So I am something to be unaware of eh? It's been several months since I've taken the throne, so I'd say I'm fairly well known in the ocean. You didn't do your homework, I see."
Nuts! Nuts!
Absalon's mind was moving at break-neck speed in order to get out of this mess. His tentacles noticeably quivered beneath him, but he did his best to control it while he thought of something else to save his skin.
"N-No your majesty; I just mean that s-s-s-sometimes, people, people, make mistakes in their juh-judgment!"
The queen's smile from before was gone now, and replaced with a disconcerting frown that lowered as she spoke, "And who is the one making the mistake here? From the sounds of it, it's almost as if you're saying I'm the one in the wrong."
NUTS! NUTS! NUTS!
Absalon was visibly terrified now and couldn't hold back the fear in his eyes that widened with every passing thought. He saw the queen fiddle more actively with her trident at every moment, and felt himself shrink in place as he tried to control himself in the situation. Absalon had been in moments like this before, but never with someone so powerful that they could erase him within a matter of seconds, or worse.
Absalon wracked his head together for something; anything that could save his skin at that moment. He felt his heart beat faster as the thoughts moved faster, but the only thing he could muster to say was, "I-I-I-I'm sorry, milady! P-Please forgive me!"
The whole room went silence for a few minutes after that. The very water seemed to stiffen around Absalon as he begged to himself that things would be alright. He could not take his eyes off the queen's grim face, which seemed as hard as stone in the light of the situation. He could not notice the polyp in her hair that rolled its eyes and gave another sigh; or the mermaids that still stared off blankly into space; or the two eels that snickered slightly to one another. All Absalon could meet was the hard gaze of the most powerful person he ever knew.
Suddenly, the queen's mouth began to quiver slightly, despite her attempts to hold it together. At last the grimace came undone, and the queen burst out into a fit of laughter. Her young voice sang throughout the dome in an almost melodic tone that seemed to travel far beyond the confines of the palace. All the while, Absalon kept the same face of utter terror, only mixed with some slight confusion.
After a minute, the queen stifled her laughter and gained enough control to speak, "I'm sorry Lord Absalon, forgive a girl's fancies. When surrounded so often by flimsy fishfolk who want you dead, it's hard to get a good joke around here. I hope I didn't scare you too much."
Absalon's heart sank, and he wanted to sink with it. If he wasn't still so aware of where he was, he may have collapsed right there and then. He kept silent for a moment and hoped to have time to catch his breath. The queen noted this and stayed silent as well; adopting a more lax posture and wearing a sly smirk.
At last Absalon finally regained the courage to speak again, "Aha. Good joke milady. You really got me with that one!"
It was the best he could come up with at the spur of the moment; a lot had happened to him.
The queen gave him a seemingly innocent looking smile in reaction to his comment, but at this point Absalon wasn't sure how truthful it was.
"So I understand you're here for the meeting tomorrow Sir Absalon? You're early." The queen's expression did not change as she spoke.
Absalon was still recovering from the shock of his near heart attack, but was able to recognize the queen's question. "Yes madam. I thought it appropriate to be punctual in light of the importance of this event."
Ursula shifted in her pose only slightly and began to speak again in a whimsical tone, "I've wondered how many of the few cecaelian regencies took to the news that I had become queen. I don't leave the city very often these days as I'm busy with reconstruction."
"Well now," Absalon sputtered, with his mouth racing faster than his mind. "My lord displayed curiosity as to the extent of your rule, and I know some of the other regents often met with him wondering what course of action would be necessary for the future in regards to trade agreements and such, and whether or not we may find some more ways to benefit. I of course wanted to discuss the full benefits of trade at the meeting though, and… and… and…"
Absalon's mouth slowed down as his mind finally got a chance to catch up, but by that time it was too late. He shut his mouth immediately, knowing that saying anything else was not going to help his desperate case. It was a brilliant trap too, all things considered. He wished he had realized it sooner. Between the presence in the palace; the polyps; and the stories he had heard about the queen, Absalon had let his imagination run away with him, and she took full advantage of it to get him to talk.
Aw nuts…
He stopped speaking altogether at that moment, feeling utterly depleted of energy and unable to even put up a fight.
The queen then gave a fairly innocent sounding giggle, but the sound her teenage voice behind her bulbous and elderly body couldn't help but put Absalon more on edge.
"It's alright dear child," The queen chuckled. "I fully understand what you're here to discuss, and what your lords have in mind. I know many things. I called you here because I desired to see you."
Absalon's eyes rose in slight confusion, but he chose not to say anything.
The queen continued, "I see in your eyes that you're an honest cecaelia with a strong loyalty for our glorious people. It's people like you who interest me the most."
Absalon could only look up, slightly blushing at the thought that the queen had an interest in him. He still kept his tongue locked though; remembering just how she got to him before.
"At this time, I'm looking for people like that. People who have a vested interest in the survivability of our race in the face of this trying time." Her smile seemed to become more understanding as she spoke on.
Now Absalon couldn't even hide his prideful smile as she continued to speak of him, but he absolutely refused to even move a lip out of place.
"We shall see at the meeting tomorrow then, what exactly you have in you. I've had the servants set you up with a room; you'll find a good meal prepared for you there. Flotsam will escort you there."
Absalon felt almost ready to cry when he heard those words. A sense of real relief filled him that he hadn't felt in years and almost seemed unreal.
"One more thing though, before you go, as one cecaelia to another," the queen muttered in her soothing voice.
Absalon stiffened once more in preparation for what he'd hear next. It was his final trial.
"The world is filled with many traps," she spoke. "Get caught in your emotions, and you'll find yourself in one. Be careful."
Where once a voice of beauty was, was now replaced by the deep and provocative baritone of an elderly woman.
Sorry for all the delays everyone. A few wacky things have been happening this week, and I couldn't really focus on the story. I promise you that I will try to have the final chapter by tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then Friday.