Chapter 12: Split Sea
The next morning, Kai awoke to someone pounding on the front door, rolling out of bed to find Miriam standing there. Breathless, she stared at him, and then suddenly grabbed his wrist. "You need to see this." she spoke, dragging him outside and down the path toward the sea. Walking toward the rocks, Miriam was about to tell him something, before she suddenly pointed across the beach, where Stavros was bringing Lucia down to the shore, the trident clutched in his other hand. Kai watched in complete confusion, wondering what on earth he was doing, before Miriam pulled him down behind the rocks. They watched through the gaps as a group of sailors appeared, in a huge ship that couldn't have come from their island, meaning he was in league with the others. Stavros plunged his trident into the water, a bright blue hue emerging and the ship moving further away, Stavros hiding in a smaller rowboat on the sand and waiting for the opportune moment. Lucia, meanwhile, waited nervously, before tripping and falling, tears stinging her eyes. Ripples began forming further out to sea as a dolphin rose from the depths, as if compelled to come toward the island by the trident. It swam to the shore, before suddenly changing form as it got close enough, becoming a man with brown hair and a long swimsuit, patches of blue entwined with the grey which so clearly represented his animal form. Lucia, shocked, gently rubbed her knee, the man instantly seeing her and moving out of the water to check on her. He bent down, Kai and Miriam both watching nervously to see what he would do, before Kai quietly gasped. Stavros was sneaking out of the boat behind the dolphin-man, trident in hand, and motioning to Lucia. She wasn't injured- she was a distraction. Horrified, Kai was about to call out to the man, when Miriam's hand suddenly covered his mouth. "Don't you dare say anything. Stavros would kill us." she hissed, Kai nervously nodding as she lowered her palm. "What's he even doing? And how did that man…dolphin…whatever…" he trailed off as his gaze turned once more to Stavros. The man gently touched Lucia's knee, before chuckling a little, Lucia also smiling weakly. Holding out a hand for her, he helped the little girl up- before being stabbed through the chest by the trident.
The spirit of the sea fell to his knees. He barely caught himself from collapsing completely with his palms, before Stavros grabbed him by the hair and called for the larger ship to come closer. Lucia stared down at the man- his bright teal eyes were hurt with the betrayal, and, trying not to look at him, she retrieved the ropes from the nearby rowboat her father had used. Breathless, the spirit weakly tried to escape, before Stavros hit him over the head with the end of the trident, causing him to immediately black out.
From afar, Kai's eyes were wide, Miriam looking equally as horrified. "I was originally going to tell you I heard singing from far away, maybe from Itar, but…this is much more important." she whispered, Kai nodding and watching as the sailors tied the spirit to the mast, Lucia being ordered to go home and wait for Stavros. The ship departed, leaving Stavros alone on the sands, the man holding the trident and heading up the path toward the village. "We'd better go home before he suspects something." Kai reasoned, but Miriam shook her head. "We should check Itar. They could be the key to why Stavros is doing this." she whispered, before spying the rowboat. "Do you want to go, or should I?" Kai asked, and Miriam shrugged. "You'd have an easier time getting in, since you know the channels a little better and Fiddle could help you." Miri sighed, Kai nodding reluctantly. He wasn't sure how easy it would be for him to get in, especially in broad daylight, but he would at least try. Gently taking his hand, she squeezed it tight. "Don't die, okay?" she chuckled, Kai giving a slight grin and nodding. "Don't fall into the sea and drown whilst I'm gone, okay?" he answered, Miriam smirking. "No promises." she replied, before letting go of his hand and heading up toward the village, giving a slight wave. Kai ran the other direction, toward the rowboats, and clambered in, sailing toward the city.
Approaching her home, Miriam once more heard the faint songs on the wind, Stavros meeting her eyes from the nearby path and deducing she heard it too. Quietly, he approached her, the two standing in the shadows between buildings. "Miriam. They are going to massacre us. Are you and Kai capable of leading a fleet?" he whispered, Miriam tensing at the mention of his name. "I…I can. Kai…no. Kai would be better…" she trailed off, trying to think of something. She knew Kai would never be able to kill any of the innocent Itarians, but would be forced to do so by Stavros- even she was doubting whether she could, but Kai? It would break him. She sighed. "Kai…could try and reason with them first. And then if that fails…" she mumbled, Stavros having a brilliant idea and explaining it to her.
Meanwhile, Kai reached the channels and got out of his boat, clambering up the slope and toward the raised city, eventually ducking underwater and swimming past the docks. Wondering if he could find a way into the castle, he swam the perimeter of the enormous city, trying to evade being spotted. Eventually, he reached what he believed to be the library, finding some nearby rocks and clambering onto the edge, where the side of the building was practically touching the sea. Using the wall for support, he touched the stones, realizing they were loose. Pushing on them, he prayed nobody but Fiddle was in the library, and, after kicking them for a while, he crawled through the opening, instantly trying to replace them. Standing up, the library was dark, Kai suddenly worried something had happened to Fiddle, when footsteps startled him. Panicked, he left the few remaining stones on the library floor and ran behind some bookshelves, into a shadowy corner, curling up. Silently shaking, he heard the person walk closer, before dropping something which rolled right toward him. A little spyglass. Heart pounding, he listened to the person getting closer, praying to Hermes, and closed his eyes, hands curling into tight fists in fear. Someone touched his hand, suddenly, and he recoiled, eyes snapping open to see…Fiddle.
Instantly, she enveloped him in a tight hug, no longer wearing her cloak but instead some traditional Atlantean clothing, and her brown hair tickling his face a little as she bent down toward him. The two stood up, Fiddle running over to the desk and holding out the Blue Horizons book, before suddenly remembering something. She opened to the second page, newly replaced into the book, with an illustration of Delphis, and pointed at it, before holding out her spyglass. Kai understood. From afar, she'd seen everything, same as him, and knew the danger they were in. She pointed at the text, Kai reading as fast as he could. 'Delphis, dolphin spirit of the sea, can only be controlled by the Trident, or so we believe. When controlled, the one with the Trident has all the powers of the ocean at their disposal, and is able to command him to do anything they wish- he cannot refuse.' Kai's heart stopped. The dolphin-man they'd seen was the fabled spirit of the sea, and he was in trouble. If Stavros had all the powers of the sea at his command, he could easily sink Itar, and Fiddle and the rest of the citizens would eventually die at the bottom of the ocean. Fists curling, he took Fiddle's hand. "We have to stop him." He whispered, Fiddle nodding and passing him the book, showing him where the new pages were. They didn't hold much information, but it told him enough. An idea formed in his mind, Fiddle looking at him with curiosity. Suddenly, the cries of Itarians began to resound, Fiddle tensing up. Frantic, she pulled out a piece of paper and began scribbling. 'I told Allura about Delphis…and now war has been declared. We have to fight…' She wrote, her face fearful, before her eyes widened, remembering Kai still held the pearl. She wrote once more. 'Keep that pearl safe. Without it, Allura can't destroy your island, since it's an enchanted charm. She collected them all before Itar sank and planned to break them all, destroying the islands, but I got one a while ago and she thinks it's lost. Please keep it safe.' She finished, before hearing faint footsteps and panicking. Pulling at the stones, Kai crawled through, before pausing and turning. He raised a hand to caress Fiddle's face. "I love you…stay safe." he whispered, Fiddle nodding and squeezing his hand, before replacing the stones as Kai rowed away, heart hammering in his chest like the war drums of their islands.
Allura, back in the form of a nymph, approached, seeing Fiddle rearranging some books, and stared down at the girl, her face hard. "I need you to help me lead them to war, understood?" the siren asked, Fiddle nodding, involuntarily grimacing. "It won't be easy for any of us to fight against them, especially if they have the sea on their side, but we are mighty. You still have prowess with a bow, correct?" Allura asked, Fiddle nodding once more. The two wandered out of the library and toward the armoury, Fiddle silently beginning a final plea to Hermes for Kai's safety.