Chapter Fifty Six

Return to the Sea

MELODY

"Do you think it'll work?" Tracy asked the question everyone was thinking aloud.

"I hope so." Melody said. Elsa and Janus had just left to go to the alternate world dubbed "Earth Seven". It still felt strange thinking about it. The concept of alternate realities out there, and the ability to travel between them. The entire thing sounded dubious.

Anna stood by the side of her own bedroom, uncharacteristically quiet. Melody turned to her.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah." Anna said. "Just worried, that's all. What if Elsa and Janus run into trouble with the Legion? What if they get stuck there? We can't go to their rescue. Elsa took the device. That's the only way to get to the other worlds."

"We just gotta hope that they'll make it." Tracy shrugged in her trademark nonchalant fashion. "I mean, they're the power couple aren't they? Besides you and Kristoff, of course."

Anna smiled a little.

"Alright. We need to go too." Melody said. She and Tracy had their own part of the plan to execute, and there wasn't any time to waste.

"Right, right." Tracy wiggled her fingers. "Anna, you ready to get back to the others?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." Tracy opened a portal of purple mist, and Anna stepped through it. But before she went through all the way, she hesitated and turned round.

"You guys be careful too." Anna warned, a worrisome look crossing her features. "God knows we're going to need all the help we can get once the four of you come back."

"We will." Melody assured her. "There's nowhere safer right now than Atlantica."

Anna nodded and walked into the Crossing Zone. With the flick of her wrist, Tracy closed the portal behind Anna.

"You sure Atlantica's safe?" Tracy asked.

"Fairly sure." Melody blinked. "I highly doubt the Empire or the Crimson Order are waging war against the kingdoms under the sea."

"Here's hoping." Tracy muttered.

It did raise some reasonable doubt in Melody's mind though. Who knew how far their enemies' influence or power really reached? What if the Crimson Order knew about Atlantica and the sorcery the sea harboured? Melody shook her head. Highly unlikely. Besides, the Crimson Order had enough problems to deal with, now that the League of Sorcerers was officially pardoned.

"Come on." Melody said. "We should go now. Can't afford to waste any more time."

Tracy began to lift a hand to open a Crossing Point, then hesitated. "Got your special locket on?" She asked, as if just remembering. "Don't want to teleport us into the middle of the ocean only to have you drown on me."

"Always." Melody fingered the necklace around her neck. It'd been a part of her since she had been twelve, but she just checked again to be certain. These were strange times.

"Nice." Tracy turned back to her spell, and pulled open a new portal of purple mist. Instead of hovering vertically in the air as it usually did, this one opened up on the floor of Anna's bedroom.

Melody threw her a raised eyebrow and the former sea witch shrugged. They both stepped into the portal and dropped into the Crossing Zone. Another Crossing Point opened up, and the two girls plunged into the middle of the ocean.

One hand was already on her locket and ready. The moment Melody felt the water touching her skin, she willed the locket to come to life. It glowed golden, and the light expanded outwards, engulfing her upper body, spreading to her head and down to her legs. The aura consumed her in a blinding golden light, changing her human form to that of a mermaid. It had been her grandfather's gift to her shortly after her very first adventure at age twelve, which had proven instrumental in a few of her more major adventures and missions in recent years.

The entire process took place within the span of a few seconds, and the golden aura which encompassed her entire being faded far quicker than it had spread. Golden light gone, Melody's legs were now replaced by a salmon pink mermaid tail.

"Took you long enough." Tracy mumbled. She'd seen the transformation enough times for the awe factor to completely wear off, leaving her impatient and unimpressed. Tracy's own magic had also been used to transform her back into her default form of an octopid which was that of a human and octopus hybrid. Her process was far snappier and simpler than Melody's with just the wave of a hand and the transition of purple-black mist.

Melody rolled her eyes, wriggling some life into her tail which she hadn't used in months. In retrospect, she'd begun to use it less and less since most of her adventures and missions had been on land. She missed the ocean and swimming through it like a free spirit without a care in the world, but those days were long behind her. She had responsibilities now.

Looking around, Melody tried to place where the both of them were at present moment. Tracy had wasted no time in teleporting them both right to Atlantica's doorstep - or gates, to be more precise.

The underwater kingdom's borders were secured by tall, large fences and iron gates to strengthen defences. There had been a couple of battles over the years, most recently the one led by Kane more than two years ago. Thinking back, Melody mused that it really did feel like a lifetime ago when things were simpler and even the enemies weren't hiding in the shadows.

A pair of burly Atlantican soldiers guarded each of the few iron gates in a semicircle arc at various points around the kingdom. The gate that stood one hundred yards away from Melody and Tracy was the northeast one, which was the closest to the palace. Apparently, Tracy had spent enough time in Atlantica in the past to know its infrastructure almost as well as Melody did.

Melody and Tracy both swam up to the pair of guards at the northeast gate who recognised the two girls from afar almost instantly. Even if Melody wasn't the Princess, granddaughter of the King, everyone in Atlantica knew how Melody had been the one to warn the Atlanticans against Kane's attack, and had led them all into a victorious battle against the Southern Isles navy most recently.

"Your Royal Highness. My lady." One of the two soldiers greeted them as they saluted. "Welcome back to Atlantica."

"Thanks." Melody said. "We're here to see my grandfather."

"Of course." The second soldier had already begun unlocking the gate, pulling the heavy iron open.

"At ease." Melody nodded in gratitude and swam into the kingdom with Tracy in tow.

"Never missed a step, eh?" Tracy remarked.

Melody couldn't help but grin. She'd come back to this place lesser over the years, but it was still a second home to her. This was where she felt safe and at peace. Perhaps one day after the war was over and the threats to the world had been dealt with, she would come back here to get away from everything, just like she used to do in her earlier years.

But right now, she had things she needed to do. Together with Tracy, they both glided through the marketplace, cutting through Poseidon's Square, and made a beeline straight for the palace entrance.

The Atlantican palace looked as grand as ever, polished golden architecture that made the entire structure look like a gigantic ribcage made out of thick, pure gold. Soldiers guarded the corridors at every twenty paces, armed with spears and shields, crossbows on their hips. They saluted crisply as the two girls drifted past.

Like a reflex, Melody automatically navigated her way through the winding passages of the underwater palace. Muscle memory, she decided. One never forgets their second home even if they've been away most of the time.

Finally, they arrived at the royal court, where the King of the Seven Seas presided over his duties during the day, only to find that he wasn't there. Instead, a long table stood in the centre of the room where the long carpet was usually laid. It seemed that things had changed while Melody had been gone.

A conference was being held now, where middle aged mermen and mermaids were gathered around a table and apparently in the middle of a civilised argument. The sight immediately reminded Melody of the Confederation's constant bickering, and she let out an involuntary groan.

Those at the table looked up when they noticed Melody and Tracy approaching, and straightened when they realised it was the King's granddaughter who had come.

"Your Royal Highness." One of the mermen said, floating forward slowly and bowing.

"What's going on here?" Melody asked, perplexed. "Where's my grandfather."

"Ah." The merman said cryptically.

"Well?" Melody suddenly felt an irrational spike of fear. What if…

"His Majesty has decided not long ago to take a step back from governance and to allow his cabinet more control over the affairs of the kingdom." The merman explained, to Melody's relief.

"So he's slacking off, is he?" Tracy chortled inappropriately.

"Absolutely not." The merman sounded appalled, evidently unaccustomed to her flippant, nonchalant nature. "Our fair king deserves a break after so many years of ruling. He-"

"We know. Don't worry." Melody interrupted him. "But where is he?"

"His Majesty is with his escorts, paying visits to the territories within his domain." The merman had his shoulders squared and jaw set. "We believe that occasional visits to his people that live beyond these waters would further strengthen their allegiance to him. It would also reduce the risks of any possible insurrection or rebellions that might surface for some reason."

"I understand." Melody said. If there was one thing she understood, it was insurrections. "Where exactly is he now?"

The merman had a thoughtful look on his face. "Excuse me, Ma'am." He swam back to the table and spoke in low tones with the others at the table. Sifting through various documents and papers, a specific one was produced and he took it, swimming back to the two girls. Clearing his throat, he began to scan it closely.

"His Majesty began his journey three weeks ago. By this time, he would have just arrived in the Southwest region of his domain."

"Anywhere specifically?" Melody asked. "It'd help us narrow things down."

"Yeah, we don't exactly have time to scour the entire region." Tracy remarked, drawing a curious look from the merman and the rest of the cabinet.

Melody sighed internally. Even after all this time, Tracy still had no sense of royal etiquette or formal behaviour whatsoever. It was both so amusing and frustrating at the same time.

"Ah yes." The merman peered closely at the paper. "A trading post called Eiden."

Eiden. For a brief moment, the name hovered in Melody's mind as if waiting for recognition, and then it clicked. Melody shot a glance at Tracy. She had a peculiar expression on her face.

The merman lingered, observing the silence awkwardly but too uncertain to make a comment. Finally he cleared his throat. "I'll get a map."

###

A Crossing Point opened up on the other side of the sea, and the two girls floated out of the Crossing Zone into waters much murkier and darker than the cheerful, welcoming one in Atlantica.

The trading post called Eiden was frankly one of the more dreadful places within Triton's domain. It was a place located in a part of the sea known by many as the "Dark Sea". According to stories that Elsa had told them, it was the turbulent waters which she had tried to cross in order to get to the other side and had almost drowned in the process. It was also the region where the Arendellian sisters' parents had died and their ship had sunk to the bottom of the sea in the vicinity of Eiden.

That had been one of the focal points of the Warriors' earlier missions, where Melody and Tracy had come to Eiden to find a long forgotten amulet that the Arendellian ship was carrying. That amulet, called a Qa'nneth, had been instrumental in taking down the evil Ingrid Grendstav, former Pilgrim of the League of Sorcerers and Elsa's predecessor.

And perhaps most importantly, Eiden was also the place where Tracy's brother Harry was living with his gang, the East Side Raiders, who were at odds with another merchant's gang. The last time the duo had been in Eiden, Tracy had a rocky reunion with her brother, while Melody got herself entangled in a sticky situation with a powerful merchant and criminal called Orkando. However, things ended well with Orkando thrown in jail and Harry being inspired by his sister to embark on the straight and narrow path.

Even though that chapter of their lives had ended well, both Melody and Tracy weren't exactly keen on coming back to Eiden. Well, if King Triton was here visiting, then they didn't really have much choice. They couldn't afford to wait for his return to Atlantica, which would take at least another two or three weeks, given the cabinet's planned itinerary.

"You alright?" Melody asked. The last time they'd been here, Tracy had been rather uncomfortable and awkward.

"Yeah." Tracy squared her shoulders as they swam towards the trading post. "Can't be worse than last time right? At least I hope this time Harry and I aren't gonna have a rough go at it again."

Melody didn't know how to respond to that. She'd never known what sibling squabbles felt like. Witnessing Anna and Elsa as well as Tracy and Harry were enough for her to draw her own conclusions that she was glad to be an only child.

They both swam into Eiden which had no gates or borders that clearly defined where the small town began and ended. To Melody's surprise, it didn't look as shabby or shady as it had two years ago when they'd first come to find the Qa'nneth. Eiden still looked gloomy, but it was less run down and slightly more populated with all sorts of sea creatures. It wasn't a complete turnaround, but things had definitely improved. The atmosphere was positively different, though there was still a slight air of danger about. Still, it was far better than it used to be.

Locals and travellers alike were out on the streets and in the dense marketplace. Merchants still shouted to be heard over each other, creating a general ruckus and an overall repulsive atmosphere. Frankly, Melody had mixed feelings now about this entire place.

"Tracy!" Someone roared from within the marketplace.

Melody and Tracy both turned to see who had called them, and the crowd within the marketplace cleared a path for a big male octopid.

"Harry!" Tracy grinned.

Melody watched as Tracy's brother swam towards them. It was sometimes easy to forget that these two siblings were the spawn of Melody's very first enemy, who had manipulated a then gullible Melody into handing over control of the seven seas to her. However, she was quite glad that both of Morgana's offspring had evolved into very different individuals who had chosen far better paths.

"Two years." Harry reached the both of them and drew his sister into a tight hug, and Tracy let out a sharp breath as if it'd been squeezed out of her. "Hah. The boys and I have been placing bets for when you'd return to visit. Better than I hoped, I guess."

"Damn it, Harry." Tracy said when he let go of her. "What happened to you?"

Harry snorted and ran a hand through his head of long black hair. Like Tracy, he had tan skin and sharp piercing turquoise eyes as well as blue tentacles which ran in the family. He was tall and once very well muscled, but sometime during the past two years, he had run to fat. However, there was no denying that he wore his gained weight well, giving him the appearance of a wealthy merchant who had been involved in more physical activity when he'd been younger. Which was true enough.

"You've grown fat." Tracy sniggered.

"Ah, well." Harry shrugged and waved a hand at his paunch. "I guess that's what happens when you give up being a gangster and turn respectable or something." He turned to Melody and nodded, extending a chubby hand. "Good seeing you again."

"Good to see you too, Harry." Melody shook his hand. The octopid had almost attacked her in a blind rage the first time she'd come with Tracy. It was nice to see that things were pleasantly different this time round.

"So where's the East Side Raiders?" Tracy asked as they floated in the middle of the busy street with mermen, octopids and other creatures bustling around them.

"We ain't calling ourselves the Raiders anymore. Been a year or so since we stopped." Harry said, pride in his voice. "We're just the East Siders now, though we've expanded our operations to more than just the east of Eiden."

"Operations, huh?" Tracy raised her eyebrows.

Harry spat on the ground. "Naw, nothing strictly illegal. We don't do the extortion racket no more."

"That's nice to hear." Melody said.

"So what've you been up to?" Tracy asked.

"Legit business." Harry said proudly. "After Orkando went to jail, his business and trade collapsed. There was a huge gap left by him, and we East Siders decided to fill it." He flashed a wide grin at the two girls. "We've made it big here in Eiden. You know how we used to own the club down the street?"

Both Melody and Tracy nodded.

"Well now we own two more." Harry swelled, his large frame seeming to grow bigger. "And the finest inn in Eiden. Travellers and tourists come to stay all the time."

"That…that's great." Melody managed. Honestly, she was impressed. Who knew that a former gang lord could turn things around the way he had? Perhaps she'd really underestimated how unpredictably successful the octopid could be.

"Besides that we still do make money on the side." Harry went on. "The other gangs are still in operation here, so we offer our security services to whoever can pay for them. Rich travellers passing through this part of the sea or anyone who can pay to have a little extra security. My East Siders double as innkeepers and bodyguards."

Tracy snorted. "Trust you to come up with something like that."

"Well, don't knock it if it works." Harry shrugged.

"We heard that King Triton is visiting Eiden with his royal entourage," Melody decided that with the pleasantries out of the way, it was time to get down to business. "Are they here now?"

Harry shook his head. "Not yet. The king and his snobby cohort will only be here tomorrow morning. Delays or something like that. He's scheduled to stay at the East Siders' Inn, the best in town." He grinned. "Something, ain't it?"

"Not bad." Tracy punched his arm. "So you aren't completely useless."

He guffawed at the insult. "Damn right." Harry turned and beckoned for them to follow him away from the marketplace. "Come, I'll get you two set up at the inn. The best suite's saved for the king tomorrow, but the second finest suite's vacant."

Leading them down the busy streets of Eiden, Harry seemed to draw a lot of recognition and respect from passersby. Locals most likely, Melody mused internally as she picked up the general atmosphere of hero-worship. The former gang lord had really reinvented himself as possibly one of the most well known men in the town after the downfall of Orkando.

The East Siders' Inn was a three-storey establishment on the other side of the small town. It looked modest and a little run down, but then again, so did most of the other houses and small buildings in Eiden. Come to think of it, perhaps this was one of the only inns in Eiden, so standards weren't exactly very high. For a trading post which had been utterly dreadful before, the inn was still a nice change.

Harry took the two girls into the East Siders' Inn. The interior was a little cramp and small, but it was dim and no doubt cozy. Melody recognised one of Harry's East Siders, a stout merman of medium build who had been one of Harry's enforcers back then. Now, he was dozing behind a reception desk.

"Get up." Harry banged on the desk and the merman jolted awake. He glanced at the trio lazily, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Harry stretched out his hand. "Keys to the other suite."

The merman grumbled indistinctly, reached for a set of keys that hung on the wall beside a couple others, and plonked the keys into Harry's hand. Harry scowled at him, and the merman simply closed his eyes again.

"Second floor, third room on your right." Harry handed Tracy the keys. "I've got some business to handle in the marketplace first. You know, successful merchant and all. I'll come back later to check in with y'all."

"Right." Tracy hefted the keys in her hand. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Melody watched as Harry left the inn, and followed Tracy up the stairs. The suite Harry had assigned them was a regular sized room, with a few standard pieces of furniture, a nicely carved rock as a table, and smooth stone shaped like an arc to function as a bed. Other than that, there wasn't much else to distinguish it as a common room.

Exchanging glances with Tracy, Melody deduced that they'd both come to the same conclusion. Having an inn of this calibre was already better than most by Eiden's standards. The rest of the trading post was in far worse condition. Still, it could've been because the two girls had seen luxury before in actual palaces.

Whatever the reason, both of them were quite content with the accommodations. Melody couldn't begin to imagine the kind of horrors Tracy had endured when she, Elsa and the rest of the League were being hunted by the Blue Wolves. Anything that wasn't a prison cell must be heaven for her. Tracy must have somehow sensed that Melody was thinking along those lines. Or it could have just been coincidence.

"Yeah." Tracy remarked. "It ain't much, but it's much better than whatever crap I've seen in the past few months."

"I can't pretend to know what you and the others have been through." Melody watched as Tracy lowered herself onto the 'bed' and took up a relaxed position. "But I'm glad you've all been exonerated."

"Ex-what?"

"Freed."

"Ah. Yeah," Tracy closed her eyes. "It's good to be a free woman again. No more looking over my shoulder."

Melody winced slightly. "Hate to break it to you, but fight's not over yet. The Crimson Order, remember?"

"Can't do anything about it now, can we?" Tracy said, eyes still shut. "We can only learn about the Order from your granddad, and he ain't here yet. Just-" she patted the empty space beside her. "-lie down. Take the rest of the day off. Save your energy. Tomorrow's another long day."

A small smile crossed Melody's face. Tracy was right. They needed a break. She lay down beside her best friend and let out a long sigh. They'd find out about the Crimson Order. Tomorrow.

Author's Commentary:

Just wanted to provide a little update to all of you. My writing schedule has been pretty badly affected as of late due to many commitments, so the first draft of Book 6 has been progressing far slower than I would've liked. To make matters even worse, my primary laptop died on me, so I lost about close to 20 chapters worth of work :( It's going to take me quite a long time to rewrite those chapters and I'm feeling kinda down that I lost close to two months' worth of my work. Hoping things go better in the near future.