The evening streets of Atlantis were teeming with shoals of visitors, the scents of succulent boiling architeuthis—from legitimate hunts this time—, and what seemed like every citizen in Atlantis down to the sea-slugs. Joe had spent the last several days undoing the worst of Ursula's destruction on the inner city. Ezra had spent many years courting favor among the upper echelon, and Joe's assistance to the outer rings was met with surprise, suspicion, and an appreciation that he was entirely unused to.
"It's Joe!" some of the children who he'd known from the outer ring cried when he passed after dislodging a lettuce cart stuck in the entrance to a beloved pub set in the outskirts of the suburbs the palace guards liked to pretend didn't exist.
"Thank you kindly, erm… young man," said the adults lining up for entry. It was rushed, and they probably didn't notice who he was, but it was thanks nonetheless, and not open hostility.
"The hero of the lance!" the crazed prophets from outside Ursula's cavern greeted him most fondly of all. "Perhaps we're not so doomed after all!"
"Or more doomed?" said one of the prophets.
"Could be, depending on prophetic interpretation," said his warty friend. "Either way, it's nice to not feel so crazy. Wonder what we could be right about next?"
"Speak for yourself!" retorted his companion, perfectly content with his crazed reputation.
"Many thanks," said Joe, withholding a weary eyeroll. "But I do have to get going."
"That's right, the celebration!" said crazed prophet.
"Should we go?" asked the other.
"We could predict it! We're getting better at that!"
Joe left the prophets loitering outside of the illegal brine-pushing pub and set off at a speedy pace above the traffic of the shoals. Sebastian had elected to hold a celebration of peace in the inner city square so that the guest list could be extended more publicly, and his policy change had been met with an unprecedented enthusiasm from the subjects. Following a similar route toward the scent of food, there were the traditional mer-folk, with their sleek tails and glistening scales, as well as visitors from the arctic with their long, flowing hair, the red sea with their olive tans and exotic songs, and from the atlantic, a myriad of nixies, kelpies, and sirens. In response to the illustrious change of monarch in the high kingdom, it seemed the celebration had brought in representatives from every kingdom—barring the still-silent Aegeans. There were mer from nearly everywhere between the poles present, including, to Joe's dismay, illegally traveling coral salesmen, which would no doubt present reef cross-contamination problems for either him or Ariel in future. Most likely himself.
As he headed toward the cooking food in the city square, Joe took a calming breath as he passed the mer-guards in their seashell armor. Ariel's advisor, the irritating little crab, had insisted they were there to keep the peace, but a lifetime of watching them turn a hard eye on him and the rest of the inhabitants of the outer ring laid his suspicions deeper than could be undone in a few days or weeks.
Trying unsuccessfully to avoid their notice—or anyone's notice, Joe's stomach drove him to the edge of the square where the center of the evening's festivities were being held. Amongst tables of shimmering pearls of caviar, iridescent fish in every shade of blue danced in choreographed formations. Jellyfish, glowing like floating lanterns, swam above the revelers. At the edges of the reef's metropolis of shops and buildings, sea anemones unfurled their colorful tendrils, creating intricate displays of living fireworks.
The effect was almost enchanting enough to distract the crowding Atlanteans from the citizens of the Depths that had chosen this festival to show up.
Some of the many-toothed denizens he had witnessed in the streets of the Depths were present, as well as their own noble counterparts. Nereids enchanted the children with their storytelling in the center of the square—demanding attention as they usually did. There were a collection of brightly colored cecaelia who garnered nervous glances from the parents of those children. In the middle of it all, there was even a water dragon lurking merrily by the simmering food and helping to keep it hot.
Ever since it had been revealed that the Inkthral Lance was in his possession, he garnered far more stares than was comfortable, and as the first pairs of eyes traced his path into the square, a flow of whispers hissed through the roiling crowd, quieting the happy revelers as far too many faces turned on him.
It was enough to put Joe off his quest for food rather quickly.
He would have darted down the first alley that came into view were it not for the sight of the royal dais, already set with dinner, where a set of royals he didn't recognize sat next to Ariel, who looked just as uncomfortable as he felt when Sebastian announced, his voice magically amplified:
"Welcome to the people of every kingdom and shoal! Welcome to Joe of Atlantis, the Princess Ariel's chosen champion!"
He battled a cloying instinct to hide from this—this…he didn't know what to call the roiling crowds and thronging masses of fish and mer. 'Disconcerting,' came to mind as he ducked through the square, unable to avoid city guards and clanking crowds. Joe rushed to the place set for him next to Ariel, if only to make the attention, jeers—or was it cheers—end faster.
However, if he had hoped to have the first words with Ariel since…he didn't know how long it had been since his fight with Ezra, then Joe was sorely disappointed.
"My my. If it isn't our intriguing little nothing turned into a somethin'," said Doctor Lophius appreciatively, appearing as if from the tablecloths the moment Joe had sat down.
"Lophius," Joe greeted curtly. "Come to collect?"
Ariel was only feet away, but was already so engaged in conversation with one diplomat or other that she hadn't acknowledged him. Her tail twitched almost imperceptibly in agitation, but he noticed all the same. He briefly considered whether Lophius had similar camouflage to his own abilities, but dismissed the idea. The alleged doctor's brown and gray scales covering his tail were simply so ordinary, they melded into the background of wherever he happened to be. In fact, in spite of the spines climbing his shoulders, and faintly glowing baubles above his hypnotic iris-less eyes, Lophius was so difficult to notice that one didn't see him until he decided to move. It was probably how he'd managed to get a seat so close to the kingdom's new ruler without being evicted—a fact he would have to mention to Ariel's security.
"Oh, do take a bite of somethin' on the table," Lophius chortled merrily at the look on Joe's face, seeming to solidify more in the seat next to him. "Before you take a bite out of me."
For once, Joe complied, munching into the slices of herb-grazed roasted architeuthis before him. He would normally have problems eating tentacles, but some enterprising young chef seemed to have taken this into account and served him a succulent slice of fin. Letting the buttery spice melt through him, Joe felt some of the tension leave his middle as his stomach welcomed the first real food he'd had in an embarrassingly long stretch.
"Much better," said Lophius approvingly through his wide, toothy grin. "Now that I have you in the proper mood, I certainly could use an answer to a rather pressing question."
"I'm the most agreeable you'll find me, Lophius, although I still don't know if your cure would have worked. To me, your work is still in question," said Joe.
"Agreeable indeed," said Lophius. "Didn't test the cure? Then…"
Lophius looked back and forth between Joe and Ariel in a way that made Joe wish he hadn't said anything.
"Could it be…?"
"No. I'm all ears, Lophius. What is it?"
"You seem all tentacles to me…"
"Doctor Lophius," Joe said warningly.
The doctor shifted in his seat in a manner that Joe could only call excited, although the way his movement made the light glint off his many spindly barbed teeth was unnerving in a familiar sort of way.
"Ah, now you have the full of it," he said. "Not my fault if you didn't actually try the cure, but if you have half the magic sense I suspect you do…" Lophius looked at Joe as though seeing straight through him, and Joe had the sense to wonder exactly how much magic Lophius could see with his strange enlarged eyes. "Well then, you'll know my cure was the real deal. So to the point. I am looking for a new kingdom to try my craft, if you would. Perhaps upgrade myself back to a palace setting…"
Joe didn't like the look Lophius threw Ariel when he said that.
"The position of palace mage is taken; I'm sure you understand," Joe said flatly.
"As it would be," said Lophius, and to his credit didn't show any sort of disappointment, as if he'd been expecting that answer.
"But your expertise…I'm sure certain parties would want to keep you close," said Joe, thinking of what Ariel might say if he inadvertently sent such a resource to another kingdom. He himself could use the magical assistance with all of the backlash Ursula had left behind. Stray currents she had unleashed were still upending fruit carts and lodging them in highly-sought establishments for the imbibing for Poseidon's sake—although if Joe were being honest, those particular establishments could probably stand to be blocked until the citizens managed to rally themselves enough to swim down the streets straight.
Lophius was waiting for his answer, and Joe already knew he was going to regret his offer.
"There happens to be a recent vacancy in a very spacious cavern—already equipped with several cauldrons, and a fair ingredient storage," Joe said carefully. Something in him never wanted to return to Ursula's cavern again, and even Krill avoided the place when he had a choice.
"Spacious, you say?" Lophius scratched his chin with one long finger. "Lots of cauldrons? Sounds like a brewer's dream."
"It's yours with the caveat that I may need to use the space for my own designs on occasions…and that your mother stays out of the brewery."
Lophius made a show of crossing his heart in solemn oath.
"My experimental cauldrons are your experimental cauldrons," he said gracefully, already clacking his long nails together with a glee that bordered on the maniacal.
Joe gave him directions to the leviathan skeleton that lay on the bottom of the sandy bank at the outer ring to mark the entrance of Ursula's old place, somewhat relieved. Some sea-witch or other was bound to take up residence in it eventually, and at least he had some say in who, and some leverage over the use of it. With a glance at Ariel's position, he found she'd already begun discussions with a new set of royals, her plate entirely untouched. Her mouth probably hadn't yet been given the opportunity to eat, what with all of the greetings and niceties. Suddenly, fixing the odd magical storm, or lost guppy didn't sound like the worser side of things. He sighed, and leaned back in his chair, letting the music of the square, and the rumblings of a thousand and one conversation wash over him, content that none of them belonged to himself.
"Joe of Atlantis."
Heaving a weary sigh, Joe abandoned his escape.
"How can I help yo—" he began, reopening his eyes, but it wasn't another Atlantean seeking his attention, nor was it an unnerving sea-witch. "Ambassador Djeval," he greeted.
Djeval held up a hand, as though to correct him.
"You and I, young man, should have a chat," he said. sinking into the empty seat left by the good doctor.
Joe arched one brow and waited for the ambassador to get to things, hoping he would be more coming than Lophius.
"It took quite some time to put my kingdom back to rest after your last visit. No, I'm not complaining. Had you not been there, it would have been significantly worse."
Several things fell into place, and Joe's second brow rose up to meet the first. "Your kingdom. King Djeval. You're the king of the Depths."
Joe hadn't thought there was anything left in the oceans that could surprise him. The king of the Depths hadn't been seen….well, at least in the time he had lived in Atlantis, and likely longer, as it seemed not a shoal had recognized the monarch during his visit—not even Triton.
"A caretaker king," King Djeval confirmed with a regal nod. "One of many."
Joe had never heard of such a thing. "I don't understand."
"The ruler of the Depths is not chosen by blood, or even democracy—the barnacle vote alone would skew those results—but by Destiny—the hallmarks of which are certainly met by your coming into possession of that lance now. A time of so great a turnover of power in the oceans."
"The barnacles are allowed a vote in the Depths?"
"The number of progressive movements for all sorts of creatures in the Depths are by necessity…extensive. But I digress. Many challenges are coming, and they are coming for you."
It was Joe's turn to hold up a hand.
"Many challenges make up my every day," he said wearily. "If there is something you need, I am confident there are plenty of mages among your citizenship to handle the trouble."
Djeval gave a mirthless chuckle, his bland smile reflecting in the dim overhead lights from the square. "With the witch gone with the prince of the Aegean, a war is coming to the oceans. My spies tell me King Cetus has been growing his armies unchecked for years beyond the suspicion of Triton. Not to mention that unchecked, your guard friend will be a terror worthy of the worst sort of villain. And he is so close to the heart of your princess…"
"Is that a threat?" Joe said darkly, crossing his arms. He wasn't above a fight with a monarch, clearly, but he doubted that the ruler of the carefully hidden kingdom of the Depths would be as predictable or as easily to manipulate as Ezra.
"A warning," said Djeval, giving him an appraising look from his seat. "One that you perhaps do not need."
Joe was growing weary of being appraised. "Then what do you want from me? I'm afraid I'm already stretched thin healing the magical damage in this kingdom."
"Then perhaps you would be amenable to transferring some of my many many many mages to this and other kingdoms. It's high time the magical needs are not placed so heavily on the shoulders of a few."
"You want more mages in place in the event of an attack," said Joe. "How would that benefit you?"
"Besides solving the terrible issue of congested real-estate? I am bound by the vows of my position to honor the will of destiny in regards to the future ruler; you think reigning king over a Kingdom of escapees and criminals is fun? Only this morning that blasted dragon over there knocked over a dye factory. The lower quarter of my kingdom has been dipped in snail entrails and stained purple, and in response, most of the workers have decided to go on strike from dyed clothing altogether, which unfortunately is all of the clothing in the Depths."
Joe gave him a disbelieving look.
"What a way to sell it."
"I won't say it doesn't have its moments."
"You want to relieve me of my duties in Atlantis and have me take your place."
"Give the man a crown," the king said wryly.
"Surely not," said Joe.
"Not so foolish after all," Djeval was impressed. "I like you, you meet most of the parameters of the prophecy, but I've had this kingdom for several decades now. I might be inclined to wonder if you are the next prophesied king, but I'm not about to hand over the kingdom to someone with no training, no experience, no drip. You have the lance, but you haven't yet fulfilled every whit of the prophecy quite yet. You are young, inexperienced, and completely untrained in the way of cecaelian fighting and just as importantly, ruling."
"I'm flattered," Joe said sarcastically. "Although, you are correct, I am not trained in ruling. Surely that sort of training is more important than combat."
Djeval toyed with the cup of brine left untouched by Lophius at the place-setting. "Not in the Depths."
Joe snorted unflatteringly, but so be it. All the more reason for this king to leave him be.
"Are you asking me to take over a kingdom where I will likely be maimed or killed before the end of the first day, either by overenthusiasm for some sort of admiration for a fulfilled prophecy, or by escaped criminals who are simply doing what they love most. I refuse."
Djeval laughed. A real, true, throaty sort of laugh. "You don't have much choice. Better put, I don't have much choice, and that is the real tragedy here. Destiny has a way of getting what it wants. I recommend doing it the pleasant way—the sort with my assistance."
"I'm sure Destiny can be put off for a few decades," Joe declined again.
"I assure you, it cannot," Djeval's gray regality turned from amusement to demanding with one dark look. "Unfortunately, young hero—" the way he said it made it sound like the lowest of insults— "Neither you or I have a choice. There is a war knocking at your door, and you live in a kingdom that is all front-line and no firepower."
Joe scowled, not about to be cowed by any monarch, even if he was supposed to be the stuff of mysteries and legends. "And you in a kingdom that is all firepower and no front-line. You clearly don't have enough staff to keep your magics contained. Not to mention a soddish lack of real-estate."
Djeval shuddered. "Not to mention indeed. The less said about the kingdom's creative space-sharing the better."
Joe knew better than to ask.
"If it pleases you, I will happily give up the lance," said Joe. "A few days with the thing have felt like weeks. I could be off on my merry way without the stares it brings me just fine."
But to his surprise, when he held it out, Djeval looked at it with reprehension. Disdain.
"You could offer me the contents of the Atlantean treasury and I would not accept that thing. I have enough Destiny to deal with as it is. Although perhaps I could reiterate that I, for better or worse, am on your side, Joe of Atlantis."
"You need me," said Joe, understanding.
"And you need me. And the assistance of the depths, particularly if you are to be claimed by them as the hallmarks may indicate. You may want to know…the Depths boast an extensive library—far more so than the one in Atlantis—on magic. The things you need to learn, as well as things that have been long forgotten by the upper kingdoms, as well as things that your princess will come to greatly need throughout her ascension, will be contained in the restricted libraries of the lower palace."
After a lengthy consideration through which the king sat eying the surrounding crowds as if they made him, too, apprehensive, Joe bowed his head in acceptance.
"Then what? You want to take me on on some sort of…apprenticeship?"
"Hah!" Djeval barked. "Apprenticeship to a kingship…I admit I like the sound of that."
"When?" asked Joe.
"Direct…a fine quality," said Djeval, quite un-directly. "I will be watching you with great interest in the coming years—or months as your survival may allow."
"How supportive of you," said Joe. "When?" he repeated. "I have things to attend to."
At that, Djeval heaved a pointed look over Joe's shoulder and smiled. Against his better will, Joe followed his gaze, only to find Ariel's seat empty.
"Calamity might be knocking at our door, but the kingdoms have been brought back together after such a long time of estrangement, and for today, it seems you have someone who needs you."
"And tomorrow?" Joe asked, already searching the square for Ariel. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Tomorrow brings its own troubles," Djeval said with some finality. "Tonight, theres a girl swimming about who would solve ninety percent of the problems we've been facing, and she's had a rather rough week. Go."
Joe gave Djeval the barest of nods and left his seat. Using the lance in his favorite way, he disappeared into the water. Invisible, he rose above the square and darted away, searching for her.