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Description
Chapter Four

It was amazing how long it took to journey to Kavinel, after going in the wrong direction.  What could have been a two-week journey became almost a full month, thanks to him tiring out several times along the way. He had used up a lot of energy swimming so much the first day, and now his body ached with it.  Wandering around on land had been one thing, but apparently swimming for days without proper rest was quite another, especially if one was built more for land than water.

Nonetheless, he managed to arrive after a fashion, and panic immediately set in.  He did not know what Morivan looked like, let alone how to find him.  It did not help that the city of Kavinel was huge for an underwater city.  Maybe a half mile long and one mile wide, the main palatial residence was a monster devouring the sea floor.  Surrounding it was a vast assortment of highly decorative caves and buildings carved from stones.  Val could not tell at the moment, but underneath the sprawling city top, lay an incredibly complex assortment of tunnels and rooms larger than the upper city, and illuminated by glowing fish and plants.  It was rather stunning looking, making the fact that Kavinel had never been discovered by humans vastly amazing.  Then again, it was covered with colorful corals and plants, and probably looked like a very large and lovely reef to human eyes.  Since mers were widely known for killing humans, interest had probably been lost amidst all the deaths surrounding the area.  All other large mermish cities were usually too deep for human exploration to properly occur, or were built deep into underwater caves.

As he looked at Kavinel, and noted how silent it was, hope sprang up inside him.  It might be possible to sneak in without detection, find Morivan, and be done with what needed to be done.  Unfortunately, seeing the dot on the map that defined Kavinel was a great deal different than knowing the city well enough to go through it without being noticed.  The more he looked at it, the more he felt despair spread inside him.  This was going to be impossible.

After several minutes of thinking, the plan to sneak in was totally disregarded.  There was no way he could do it.  As Keerlay had warned him, bless her oblivious self, the city was under lock and key.  Guards were probably hidden in every nook and cranny, just waiting for an intruder.  Considering his resemblance to his father, as well as his obvious lack of tail, it was death first, questions later. There just had to be another way.  One that did not involve immediate death.

x~x~x~x~x~x

After the burial of her brother’s body, Sulara began to slowly return to the outside world, but only because she was commanded to do so by her father.  It would be necessary to appear as the princess she was when she and her mate Morivan were officially made crown prince and princess.  On the day that the occasion arose, a mere eleven days after the funeral and burial ceremonies, she awoke feeling as if the world wasn’t actually ending.  True, she was sad over her brother’s death, but now the truth of it hit her.

She was to become queen.

The thought…was not displeasing to her.  She did not like that she was only taking the crown thanks to death, but Sulara was mer enough to not protest a good turn of fate.

Morivan had already left for the day, probably to prepare for the noon ceremonies, but she did not mind being alone.  The maid would come in a short while anyways; probably to place the piercing in her ear fins that were an indication of her new station, as well as to help her mark her face and dress.  Sure enough the girl came.  Young, petite, no more than twenty years old, but exceptionally talented with a brush and knife.  Within moments Sulara’s face was covered in golden decorative markings; and her ear fins pierced with looping silver chains that went from the bottom first bone to the top fourth.  Just as swiftly as she had come and done her job, she left.

Sulara looked into the mirror and admired herself.  She was stunning.  Long light green hair fanned out behind her, and her eyes seemed larger and more purple today.  Thanks to the added highlights of gold, her dark green skin shimmered beautifully in the early morning light.  She likened herself to a goddess of beauty.  No, she didn’t compare to any old goddess.  Today she was a goddess, and she would hold her head high and make it obvious to the world.

That thought in mind, Sulara exited the bedroom and swam gracefully down the hall to find her mate, and impress him with how beautiful she was.

She found him in the round meeting hall, speaking with her father, as well as a mer she had never seen before.  He did not smile at her as her father and Morivan when she approached, but she did not mind.  It was obvious from his lack of decoration, as well as appearance, that he was a versall.  She ignored him and smiled up at her mate, who gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Sulara, I’d like you to meet a dear, old friend of mine.”  Morivan said, then gestured to the versall near them.  “This is His Majesty, King Adlavar, Lord of the Versall.  Milord, this is my mate, Princess Sulara.”

She forced a polite smile and a small bow.  Morivan had told her everything she needed to know about the versall people, and then some.  His title may be king, but he certainly didn’t act like one.  He gave a small nod of his head in return.

“Greetings Sulara,”  he responded; his voice quiet, but heavy.  His gaze moved away from her, and onto her father.  “I have been told Morivan is to Mareshe King, Lorchell.  Is this true?”

Sulara bristled at the informality, but did not protest it.  After all, he was still a king, and she only a princess.  Her father nodded.

“Indeed, it is so.  Have you thought about what this will mean for our kingdoms?”

“Yes, and it will not mean much.  We are friends and neighbors now.  It is only natural for us to remain so.”

“A blood bond will greatly strengthen that tie Lorchell.  You should be happy.”

“I am.  Morivan was once my…very close to my family.  I wish him the same happiness my mate and I once shared.”

“Thank you Majesty.”  Morivan said graciously.

“Now now, Morivan.  You will address me by my name, and not my title.  I have no use for flattery.”

“Well put, Adlavar.”  Morivan responded, giving a small smile that almost resembled a smirk.  Adlavar gave him a nod of acknowledgment, as Lorchell waved a hand for his son and daughter for dismissal.

“Sulara, go finish dressing thyself for your crowning.”  He ordered.  “You as well Morivan.  In only one hour we begin.  The centralium is already filling with mers of both mareshe and versall blood.  This event is important to all.”

“As you command sires.”  Morivan said, then bowed his head in respect.  Sulara gave a half bow from the waist, then left with Morivan.  The two kings watched them swim away together, contemplating the pair in silence.  Lorchell was first to speak.

“I wish I had a second son.”  He said, obviously not happy with the turn of events.  “Or that Falinor had mated before his death, so that I could look forward to turning my crown over to his children.”

“Your son’s death was tragic Lorchell, but Morivan is sure to-”

“You do not understand Adlavar.  I do not trust Morivan, nor Sulara.  My daughter is too obsessed with herself to see her people, and Morivan…his past is a dark storm that promises death.”

“I believe he will do well.”

“Your son would have done better.”

Adlavar hissed in a swift breath of shock, and then turned to face Lorchell, his face a contradicting mixture of anger and pain.

“My son -”

“I do not believe that the young prince is still alive Adlavar.  His defection was too swift and ill-planned, and the only mers that witnessed this event were all loyal to Morivan before the end of the war.”

“Morivan has always shown himself to be worthy of our trust Lorchell.  And we all saw the wounds that my son gave him before leaving his people behind.”

“Nonetheless, isn’t it odd that after twenty years no attempt at contact has been made?  The only change has been the amount of soldiers in my people, and the fact that guards patrol the waters night and day.  Before the war this was not so, and even now, I believe it to be a waste of time and energy.  Morivan should not fear the dea-”

“My son is alive, Lorchell.”  Adlavar broke in, black eyes flashing.  “A traitor, but alive.  Your suspicions of Morivan are wasted.  He is an honorable mer, as well as versall.”

Instead of waiting for a response he swam away, leaving Lorchell alone in the room.  The mareshe king sighed sadly.  Between having Morivan at the helm of the mareshe kingdom, and Adlavar’s refusal to see the truth with his own eyes, Lorchell greatly feared for the future of the mareshe, as well as the versall.

Yes, indeed.  It was his single greatest regret that he had not had a second son.

x~x~x~x~x~x

It was almost to easy too get inside of Kavinel.  It had helped that the mer city wasn’t too far off-shore from a small town.  By swimming that extra mile and back, he had managed to find a way to sneak in.

Disguise.

Granted it wasn’t the best of disguises, or even the most ingenious, and it was ill-concocted and put together, but hopefully it would serve to get him as far as the palace.  Thankfully someone had been dumb enough to actually let their laundry hang dry, and they had had the exact type of material he was looking for, as well as safety pins.

The safety pins had actually been in the house, which not only made Val guilty of theft, but also of breaking and entering.  He would return the items though, so he consoled himself by telling himself that he was merely borrowing the items.  From a distance, with the silver blanket wrapped around him, he appeared to be a full-blood mer.  Now all that was left was to avoid coming within twenty feet of a mers range of sight, and to try and keep his lower half hidden.  That part was easier said than done, and when he finally went into the city, he found himself having to duck from sight on several different occasions, just so some mers could pass by him.

He noticed right away that his mother had overly emphasized their size.  The only thing that made mers so much larger than humans was their tail sections.  Their upper bodies were the size of regular human beings, but their tails extended much further than feet ever could.  The average female was definitely the same length as him though; at least the mareshe were.

They were also frighteningly beautiful.  Large eyes nearly swallowed the entire face, but the high cheekbones and full lips balanced out their flat, disproportionate features.  Each movement made by the mareshe was one of grace and flowing beauty, regardless of gender.  The males made him a little nervous though.  The lack of lungs made their upper torso’s small, but the muscle tone and menacing spears more than made up for the irregularity.

The strangest thing of all though was the high level of decoration.  He knew from his mothers stories that the mareshe tended to love color, hence their inhabitation of coralloid  area’s; but all over the city streams of died seaweed decorated homes, streets, statues, and even the mers themselves.  Not a single face or body was devoid of tribal tattoo’s or beaded necklaces.  A few mers even wore distinctly human items like gemstones or cloth items around their tails.  It restricted their movement a little, but not enough to make a single one of them slow enough to match him.

As he neared the palace he overheard several conversations in brief snippets.  After quite a few of them he think he finally understood what was going on.  Today was the official ceremony marking Morivan as crown prince, and his mate Sulara as heirs to the throne of Kavinel.

‘Not if I can help it…’  Val thought to himself, ducking under an alcove to let a group of versall pass by him.  He stared at them in amazement.  They really were larger than the mareshe.  Keerlay had apparently been small for her species, seeing as he estimated her to be approximately seven feet in length.  Her friend he had not paid enough attention to, so Keerlay had been all he had to go on.  Now that he recalled his mother’s words about his father, he was a little amazed she hadn’t died in the process of making him.  The females were at least nine feet each, and the one male he saw was easily twelve.  They were all like small whales, even with the somewhat human sized upper bodies.  Unlike the mareshe, not a single one of them was decorated in any manner.  Like the mareshe, the upper bodies of both genders were quite bare.  It did not seem indecent though.  Both males and females lacked any sort of nipple.

Once they had passed he moved quickly, following them as closely as he dared, until it became impossible due to the sheer number of mers.  The two species were crowding around a large, round building, with Romanesque pillars holding up the roof section.  He swam into a small alleyway and stayed there.  Unlike all his previous hiding spots this one was quite visible to the passing mers.  Several times he was glanced at, but only for a brief second, before they moved on and swam into the building.  He thanked god above for his luck, as well as the fact that his poor excuse for a “tail” appeared to be working.

Nearly an hour later, and after a great deal of waiting and feeling terribly nervous about being caught with all the mers about, the water was empty.  He peeked his head out to make sure that all the mers who had been about where actually gone; then gave a sigh of relief.  He let go of his bag and pulled it in front of him.  The disguise came off, since it hadn’t been particularly easy to swim about him, and the flare gun was pulled out.  It was hardly a subtle plan, but he figured that if he shot from a distance, then maybe he would have enough of a head start to gain distance.  If he could make it to the town where he had borrowed the sheet from, and to the shore of the town, then he could make it home on foot.

Carefully he folded the sheet and placed it into the bag, being sure to make it as compact as possible.  Then he swung it over his shoulders and onto his back, gave it a hard knot to keep it as close and as streamlined to his body as possible.

The gun was loaded, and he gripped it tightly.

‘Dear God, if I don’t survive this…make sure mama isn’t left alone.”  He prayed silently, closing his eyes. ’Also, I am really sorry about this, but it’s the only way I know to let mama return to swimming in the ocean, and father to rest in peace.’ Even though he wasn’t catholic he made the sign of the cross just in case, hoping that maybe it would bring him a little luck.

One deep breath to restore his rapidly failing confidence, and he was off; swimming toward the mermish building as fast as he could.

Description
Chapter Four

It was amazing how long it took to journey to Kavinel, after going in the wrong direction.  What could have been a two-week journey became almost a full month, thanks to him tiring out several times along the way. He had used up a lot of energy swimming so much the first day, and now his body ached with it.  Wandering around on land had been one thing, but apparently swimming for days without proper rest was quite another, especially if one was built more for land than water.

Nonetheless, he managed to arrive after a fashion, and panic immediately set in.  He did not know what Morivan looked like, let alone how to find him.  It did not help that the city of Kavinel was huge for an underwater city.  Maybe a half mile long and one mile wide, the main palatial residence was a monster devouring the sea floor.  Surrounding it was a vast assortment of highly decorative caves and buildings carved from stones.  Val could not tell at the moment, but underneath the sprawling city top, lay an incredibly complex assortment of tunnels and rooms larger than the upper city, and illuminated by glowing fish and plants.  It was rather stunning looking, making the fact that Kavinel had never been discovered by humans vastly amazing.  Then again, it was covered with colorful corals and plants, and probably looked like a very large and lovely reef to human eyes.  Since mers were widely known for killing humans, interest had probably been lost amidst all the deaths surrounding the area.  All other large mermish cities were usually too deep for human exploration to properly occur, or were built deep into underwater caves.

As he looked at Kavinel, and noted how silent it was, hope sprang up inside him.  It might be possible to sneak in without detection, find Morivan, and be done with what needed to be done.  Unfortunately, seeing the dot on the map that defined Kavinel was a great deal different than knowing the city well enough to go through it without being noticed.  The more he looked at it, the more he felt despair spread inside him.  This was going to be impossible.

After several minutes of thinking, the plan to sneak in was totally disregarded.  There was no way he could do it.  As Keerlay had warned him, bless her oblivious self, the city was under lock and key.  Guards were probably hidden in every nook and cranny, just waiting for an intruder.  Considering his resemblance to his father, as well as his obvious lack of tail, it was death first, questions later. There just had to be another way.  One that did not involve immediate death.

x~x~x~x~x~x

After the burial of her brother’s body, Sulara began to slowly return to the outside world, but only because she was commanded to do so by her father.  It would be necessary to appear as the princess she was when she and her mate Morivan were officially made crown prince and princess.  On the day that the occasion arose, a mere eleven days after the funeral and burial ceremonies, she awoke feeling as if the world wasn’t actually ending.  True, she was sad over her brother’s death, but now the truth of it hit her.

She was to become queen.

The thought…was not displeasing to her.  She did not like that she was only taking the crown thanks to death, but Sulara was mer enough to not protest a good turn of fate.

Morivan had already left for the day, probably to prepare for the noon ceremonies, but she did not mind being alone.  The maid would come in a short while anyways; probably to place the piercing in her ear fins that were an indication of her new station, as well as to help her mark her face and dress.  Sure enough the girl came.  Young, petite, no more than twenty years old, but exceptionally talented with a brush and knife.  Within moments Sulara’s face was covered in golden decorative markings; and her ear fins pierced with looping silver chains that went from the bottom first bone to the top fourth.  Just as swiftly as she had come and done her job, she left.

Sulara looked into the mirror and admired herself.  She was stunning.  Long light green hair fanned out behind her, and her eyes seemed larger and more purple today.  Thanks to the added highlights of gold, her dark green skin shimmered beautifully in the early morning light.  She likened herself to a goddess of beauty.  No, she didn’t compare to any old goddess.  Today she was a goddess, and she would hold her head high and make it obvious to the world.

That thought in mind, Sulara exited the bedroom and swam gracefully down the hall to find her mate, and impress him with how beautiful she was.

She found him in the round meeting hall, speaking with her father, as well as a mer she had never seen before.  He did not smile at her as her father and Morivan when she approached, but she did not mind.  It was obvious from his lack of decoration, as well as appearance, that he was a versall.  She ignored him and smiled up at her mate, who gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Sulara, I’d like you to meet a dear, old friend of mine.”  Morivan said, then gestured to the versall near them.  “This is His Majesty, King Adlavar, Lord of the Versall.  Milord, this is my mate, Princess Sulara.”

She forced a polite smile and a small bow.  Morivan had told her everything she needed to know about the versall people, and then some.  His title may be king, but he certainly didn’t act like one.  He gave a small nod of his head in return.

“Greetings Sulara,”  he responded; his voice quiet, but heavy.  His gaze moved away from her, and onto her father.  “I have been told Morivan is to Mareshe King, Lorchell.  Is this true?”

Sulara bristled at the informality, but did not protest it.  After all, he was still a king, and she only a princess.  Her father nodded.

“Indeed, it is so.  Have you thought about what this will mean for our kingdoms?”

“Yes, and it will not mean much.  We are friends and neighbors now.  It is only natural for us to remain so.”

“A blood bond will greatly strengthen that tie Lorchell.  You should be happy.”

“I am.  Morivan was once my…very close to my family.  I wish him the same happiness my mate and I once shared.”

“Thank you Majesty.”  Morivan said graciously.

“Now now, Morivan.  You will address me by my name, and not my title.  I have no use for flattery.”

“Well put, Adlavar.”  Morivan responded, giving a small smile that almost resembled a smirk.  Adlavar gave him a nod of acknowledgment, as Lorchell waved a hand for his son and daughter for dismissal.

“Sulara, go finish dressing thyself for your crowning.”  He ordered.  “You as well Morivan.  In only one hour we begin.  The centralium is already filling with mers of both mareshe and versall blood.  This event is important to all.”

“As you command sires.”  Morivan said, then bowed his head in respect.  Sulara gave a half bow from the waist, then left with Morivan.  The two kings watched them swim away together, contemplating the pair in silence.  Lorchell was first to speak.

“I wish I had a second son.”  He said, obviously not happy with the turn of events.  “Or that Falinor had mated before his death, so that I could look forward to turning my crown over to his children.”

“Your son’s death was tragic Lorchell, but Morivan is sure to-”

“You do not understand Adlavar.  I do not trust Morivan, nor Sulara.  My daughter is too obsessed with herself to see her people, and Morivan…his past is a dark storm that promises death.”

“I believe he will do well.”

“Your son would have done better.”

Adlavar hissed in a swift breath of shock, and then turned to face Lorchell, his face a contradicting mixture of anger and pain.

“My son -”

“I do not believe that the young prince is still alive Adlavar.  His defection was too swift and ill-planned, and the only mers that witnessed this event were all loyal to Morivan before the end of the war.”

“Morivan has always shown himself to be worthy of our trust Lorchell.  And we all saw the wounds that my son gave him before leaving his people behind.”

“Nonetheless, isn’t it odd that after twenty years no attempt at contact has been made?  The only change has been the amount of soldiers in my people, and the fact that guards patrol the waters night and day.  Before the war this was not so, and even now, I believe it to be a waste of time and energy.  Morivan should not fear the dea-”

“My son is alive, Lorchell.”  Adlavar broke in, black eyes flashing.  “A traitor, but alive.  Your suspicions of Morivan are wasted.  He is an honorable mer, as well as versall.”

Instead of waiting for a response he swam away, leaving Lorchell alone in the room.  The mareshe king sighed sadly.  Between having Morivan at the helm of the mareshe kingdom, and Adlavar’s refusal to see the truth with his own eyes, Lorchell greatly feared for the future of the mareshe, as well as the versall.

Yes, indeed.  It was his single greatest regret that he had not had a second son.

x~x~x~x~x~x

It was almost to easy too get inside of Kavinel.  It had helped that the mer city wasn’t too far off-shore from a small town.  By swimming that extra mile and back, he had managed to find a way to sneak in.

Disguise.

Granted it wasn’t the best of disguises, or even the most ingenious, and it was ill-concocted and put together, but hopefully it would serve to get him as far as the palace.  Thankfully someone had been dumb enough to actually let their laundry hang dry, and they had had the exact type of material he was looking for, as well as safety pins.

The safety pins had actually been in the house, which not only made Val guilty of theft, but also of breaking and entering.  He would return the items though, so he consoled himself by telling himself that he was merely borrowing the items.  From a distance, with the silver blanket wrapped around him, he appeared to be a full-blood mer.  Now all that was left was to avoid coming within twenty feet of a mers range of sight, and to try and keep his lower half hidden.  That part was easier said than done, and when he finally went into the city, he found himself having to duck from sight on several different occasions, just so some mers could pass by him.

He noticed right away that his mother had overly emphasized their size.  The only thing that made mers so much larger than humans was their tail sections.  Their upper bodies were the size of regular human beings, but their tails extended much further than feet ever could.  The average female was definitely the same length as him though; at least the mareshe were.

They were also frighteningly beautiful.  Large eyes nearly swallowed the entire face, but the high cheekbones and full lips balanced out their flat, disproportionate features.  Each movement made by the mareshe was one of grace and flowing beauty, regardless of gender.  The males made him a little nervous though.  The lack of lungs made their upper torso’s small, but the muscle tone and menacing spears more than made up for the irregularity.

The strangest thing of all though was the high level of decoration.  He knew from his mothers stories that the mareshe tended to love color, hence their inhabitation of coralloid  area’s; but all over the city streams of died seaweed decorated homes, streets, statues, and even the mers themselves.  Not a single face or body was devoid of tribal tattoo’s or beaded necklaces.  A few mers even wore distinctly human items like gemstones or cloth items around their tails.  It restricted their movement a little, but not enough to make a single one of them slow enough to match him.

As he neared the palace he overheard several conversations in brief snippets.  After quite a few of them he think he finally understood what was going on.  Today was the official ceremony marking Morivan as crown prince, and his mate Sulara as heirs to the throne of Kavinel.

‘Not if I can help it…’  Val thought to himself, ducking under an alcove to let a group of versall pass by him.  He stared at them in amazement.  They really were larger than the mareshe.  Keerlay had apparently been small for her species, seeing as he estimated her to be approximately seven feet in length.  Her friend he had not paid enough attention to, so Keerlay had been all he had to go on.  Now that he recalled his mother’s words about his father, he was a little amazed she hadn’t died in the process of making him.  The females were at least nine feet each, and the one male he saw was easily twelve.  They were all like small whales, even with the somewhat human sized upper bodies.  Unlike the mareshe, not a single one of them was decorated in any manner.  Like the mareshe, the upper bodies of both genders were quite bare.  It did not seem indecent though.  Both males and females lacked any sort of nipple.

Once they had passed he moved quickly, following them as closely as he dared, until it became impossible due to the sheer number of mers.  The two species were crowding around a large, round building, with Romanesque pillars holding up the roof section.  He swam into a small alleyway and stayed there.  Unlike all his previous hiding spots this one was quite visible to the passing mers.  Several times he was glanced at, but only for a brief second, before they moved on and swam into the building.  He thanked god above for his luck, as well as the fact that his poor excuse for a “tail” appeared to be working.

Nearly an hour later, and after a great deal of waiting and feeling terribly nervous about being caught with all the mers about, the water was empty.  He peeked his head out to make sure that all the mers who had been about where actually gone; then gave a sigh of relief.  He let go of his bag and pulled it in front of him.  The disguise came off, since it hadn’t been particularly easy to swim about him, and the flare gun was pulled out.  It was hardly a subtle plan, but he figured that if he shot from a distance, then maybe he would have enough of a head start to gain distance.  If he could make it to the town where he had borrowed the sheet from, and to the shore of the town, then he could make it home on foot.

Carefully he folded the sheet and placed it into the bag, being sure to make it as compact as possible.  Then he swung it over his shoulders and onto his back, gave it a hard knot to keep it as close and as streamlined to his body as possible.

The gun was loaded, and he gripped it tightly.

‘Dear God, if I don’t survive this…make sure mama isn’t left alone.”  He prayed silently, closing his eyes. ’Also, I am really sorry about this, but it’s the only way I know to let mama return to swimming in the ocean, and father to rest in peace.’ Even though he wasn’t catholic he made the sign of the cross just in case, hoping that maybe it would bring him a little luck.

One deep breath to restore his rapidly failing confidence, and he was off; swimming toward the mermish building as fast as he could.