Summary: Arthur and Orm head to the Sunken Citadel and discover the possible location of David Kane.
See the first chapter for acknowledgements and major canon divergences.
And here we are with chapter 12. Thank you everyone for your lovely comments; they make my day and motivate me to keep on writing. Happy reading!
Chapter 12
Arthur sighed as he navigated the ship along mountains of shipwrecks. "A pirate-haven, really? I don't know if you know this, but I am currently not too popular with pirates." During his past two years of kingship he had especially tried to push against illegal and criminal activities in Atlantis, breaking up cage fighting, smuggling operations, and more. This probably meant he couldn't expect a warm welcome.
Orm nodded. "They call it the Sunken Citadel. They scavenged ships from around the world to build it. It is the one place where the scum of the sea and the land mingle. People come here to disappear."
Arthur had to admit the city had craftily been put together. "How come I have never heard of this place before?"
"It is not meant to be common knowledge." Orm seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Arthur, we need to get inside in order to get Kane's location. Fighting or causing trouble will not achieve that. We need to be very careful and diplomatic."
"Understood." He had had received enough practice in diplomatics during his kingship, trying to keep the peace between the land and the sea and stopping the Council's attempts at war.
"They may insist to put shackles on us for security."
Arthur sighed. That was less… fortunate. But he trusted his brother knew best. "Okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Orm, I trust you and I value and respect your opinion. You know more of this place than I do and if you think this is the best way, then we'll do it."
A mixture of surprise and fondness came over Orm's face. "Thank you." Arthur nodded, a warm feeling in his chest.
They arrived at the entrance of some sort of club and were indeed apprehended by some guards who recognized the king of Atlantis. After some well-chosen words from Orm they were handcuffed, put on another ship, and driven inside the club. Topo managed to remain hidden inside their own ship. Arthur looked around curiously, seeing Atlanteans and various other underwater creatures, as well as humans in diving gear. There was a large bar area next to a platform with musicians and a singer. A number of gambling tables were scattered around as well, and a, partly broken, large glass dome served as a roof. The ship led them deeper into the club, bringing them close to the back. Eventually Orm nodded towards a platform with a large fish-like creature seated in a chaise. A number of female creatures surrounded him and handed him food and drinks. "There. That's Kingfish. He is the one who put me into contact with David Kane. He brokers deals with pirates, mercenaries, slavers, you name it."
The ship stopped in front of the platform and Kingfish looked up from his drink. "Well, this is a bit of a surprise, isn't it? Last time I heard, you had gone from Atlantis without a crown and wandered off somewhere… I did not realize you had returned."
"It is a recent development," Orm replied neutrally.
"And now you've decided to come to visit, with your brother no less." Kingfish send a displeased look towards Arthur. "How… nice." If the fish-like creature had eyebrows, they would now have been raised in a questioning manner. "What's the occasion?"
"We need to find David Kane." Arthur was glad they came quickly to the point, with too many niceties or ceremony.
Kingfish sat back in his chaise, took a final swig from his goblet, and threw it away. "Bad news, I'm afraid. David Kane is no longer on the market. Not for sale at any price. He has decided to run solely as an independent operator."
"Do you know where he is now?" Orm asked.
"I might. I might not," Kingfish replied flapping one of his fins. "Memory is such a fickle thing, you know." He then gave them an expectant gaze.
Arthur bit the inside of his lip and tried to keep up his cool and calm demeanor. He did not wish to trade with anyone with that kind of blood on their hands. But stopping David Kane and a global disaster was more important. "What do you wish for?" he asked.
"Well, we have all heard of how fervently you fight piracy and crime in your kingdom. Leaves a lot of uncertainty amongst my fellow-citizens. I want immunity from your policies for the Sunken Citadel." Kingfish's gaze turned smug.
Arthur barely maintained a straight face. He had been willing to make some minor concession to Kingfish and come back here later to roll the place up. Immunity to pirates, especially a group of this size, was not something he was willing to give. It went against all his principles. He turned towards Orm, who was watching him, and gave a barely visible shake of his head. Orm hesitated for a moment, before giving a small nod. Orm understood and accepted that this was something Arthur wouldn't budge on. "I am afraid that won't be possible."
Kingfish's eyes became hard, although the smile remained on his lips. "That's too bad. Traditionally, the kings of Atlantis have turned a blind eye to the Sunken Citadel. Now, I suppose we will have to blind it for you. Guards!"
The ship started drive back, but Arthur and Orm quickly broke their shackles and took out the guards standing closest to them. Whilst Orm took care of a number of other guards coming towards them, Arthur quickly grabbed a helmet attached to an oxygen tank and made his way over to Kingfish. After a brief wresting match, he managed to slip the helmet unto the creature's head and started to release oxygen into it. The confident pose of the fish-like creature evaporated. Instead, he looked panicked and pleaded with Arthur to spare his life. "Talk," the half-Atlantean spoke, his hand on the oxygen valve. Kingfish nodded frantically.
"I don't know where David Kane is for sure, but there have been rumors. There is a dormant volcano in the South Pacific, called "Devil's Deep". It's been barren for years, but travelers say there's a jungle there now. Navigation gets scrambled as soon as you start to get close. And if you get too close, you don't come back. If I was a betting man, and believe me, I am, I'd say that's where Kane is hiding out."
Arthur let out a smile, showing his teeth, before smashing in the helmet, allowing Kingfish to breathe freely again. Somewhere behind him Orm finished taking care of the guards. "We got what we needed. Let's go!" Together the brothers quickly swam through the hole in the dome where they were greeted by Topo, who quickly released ink in order to hide their escape route. Then the trio quickly swam off into safety.
A couple of hours later they stopped swimming and set up camp. Unfortunately they had been forced to escape without the ship, and thus the trip the South Pacific took a bit longer. If they made an early start tomorrow, they could reach Devil's Deep by midday. Orm was preparing himself for sleep when he saw that Arthur was looking a little lost. "Are you alright?"
"I uh…"Arthur scratched his neck. "I don't know how to sleep in open waters."
Orm's brows furrowed in confusion. "But you've slept underwater at Atlantis."
"Yeah, but that's different. There I have blankets to weigh me down to the bed. Which isn't the case here…" Aah. That did make sense for someone who wasn't born in the water, Orm supposed. For him, underwater sleeping was like a second nature, something he could do subconsciously. "Breathe as much water as you can into your lungs. You'll be heavier and a stick more to the bottom of the ocean. Take deep and calm breaths until you're asleep. Your body will instinctively know what to do and continue to breathe like that."
"Yeah, but I am still awake now," Arthur muttered as he followed Orm's instructions, laying down and taking deep breaths. Orm's lip twitched in an attempt to repress a smile. His brother's brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to keep all steps in mind. After a short while Arthur sighed. "I am still afraid I am going to float away or something."
Orm swam over and curled his arm around his brother's bicep. "I'll hold you down until you've fallen asleep and your body has picked up how to do it on its own." Arthur send him a grateful and warm smile. "Thank you. Uh… goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Soon thereafter Arthur fell asleep and managed to subconsciously stay near the seafloor. Orm then let go of him and swam back to. Sleep took him quickly as well.
He was back in his prison cell in the Sahara desert. It was unbearably hot and his body ached. He wanted to sleep, but the door was kicked in and two of the deserter remnants entered. They gave him a small cup of water with only a few drops in it, which Orm greedily and quickly drank, before starting to kick him and hit him. Orm closed his eyes and tried to ride through the pain.
But then the two pairs of small dry hands transformed into one large pair, and in the distance he could hear his father's angry voice boom. Somehow Orm knew this was the first time his father had hit him. It had been right after Atlanna had been sacrificed to the Trench. Orm had been crying and screaming, missing his mother. Orvax had walked in and had tried to beat his sadness and his positive feelings for his mother out of him.
Orm…
Orm raised his hands above his head in order to protect it from the blows raining down on him. He knew this was a dream, but did not know how to wake up.
Orm…
Why couldn't he wake up?! He just wanted to-
"Orm!"
Orm's eyes snapped open. His chest heaved, his body shook, and his throat slightly hurt, as if he had been screaming. He turned his head to see Arthur floating beside him, worry visible in his eyes. Orm briefly squeezed his eyes close. He knew his brother had to wonder about what had happened, but he didn't want to talk about it. He wouldn't be able to even begin to explain. Arthur was generally aware Orvax had been a less than stellar father and had seen what Orm had been through in the Sahara desert, though he didn't know the specifics.
"Nightmare?"
Orm opened his eyes again and nodded. His face must have shown how badly he was affected, because Arthur simply put his arms around him and held him until the shaking had stopped. Only then did he pull back and hesitantly speak up. "I woke up and started floating up again. Could you perhaps… hold me down again, or I could hold unto you? I could also try myself…"
Orm's heart warmed, recognizing the disguised offer of comfort. Arthur sensed he did not wish to discuss it and did not force him to. A small part of him fell in love even more with the half-Atlantean beside him. Not knowing what to say, he simply nodded. The two brothers linked their arms together and closed their eyes. With the help of Arthur's comforting touch, Orm somehow managed to fall into a peaceful dreamless sleep within minutes. No nightmares haunted him for the rest of the night.
Aaand that is it for this chapter, folks. I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter should be posted Next chapter should be posted next Sunday (1-9-2024).
