Dark Waters

Chapter 12

EDITED

(Queen Arabella's POV)

As I finish checking off all of the Domestic children that have arrived to spend the week, I go through the list looking for any names I might have missed. There is only one name that has not been crossed off of my list. Avalon Tailor.

I go to her file and find the name of her guardian for the week under the sea. Her grandmother Stacy. I see that Stacy has successfully brought in her grandson, so why not her granddaughter? She will be punished for wasting my time, it isn't that difficult a task to retrieve the child and bring them here. 

As I walk out of the building designated to Domestic check-ins, my guards surround me. We walk back to the sea, and run into the waves. As I swim deeper I see a tail, the body it belongs to above water. I swim up, and am greeted by a very familiar song being sung. I surface behind the mermaid singing, and listen. She sings it a little off key, but it should work well enough.

As they finish singing, I applaud them. Not because I enjoyed the song, but because they didn't notice a royal was in their presence. Startled by the sudden sound, they turn around quickly. I take in the fact that I am now face to face with the one and only Stacy Tides.

Ah, the irony. 

"Your highness!" She bows. "I didn't realize you were there." She sounds scared, like she knows she messed up. 

"Stacy," I say in an evil sounding tone. "Where exactly is your granddaughter? I'm assuming that the enchantment song was meant for miss Avalon, yes?" She looks terrified. 

"Yes, it was for her. She ran away last night and hasn't returned. This is the second time I have tried the song, but she hasn't come yet. I believe her to have two human girls keeping her there."

I can't deny that I'm puzzled. The power of this song is immense, and to have it sung twice? Even if she was locked somewhere the power of two enchantments would have her here by now. It would temporarily increase her strength, and she would have no choice but to make her way to the one who sang it. 

"Have her powers increased recently without your knowledge?" I ask, beginning to worry slightly. 

"Her mother didn't mention anything. However, they might have increased without her telling anyone."

Just then, I see something. A girl's head pops up right behind Stacy and I internally breathe a sigh of relief. 

"Well the enchantment worked. Avalon, you're late." Stacy turns her head around, and glares at her granddaughter. 

"It took you long enough."

Avalon looks furious. "Let. Me. Go." She growls at the both of us. 

"My work is done, Stacy. I wish you the best of luck with the girl." With that, I slide beneath the ocean and return to my beloved city. 

(Avalon's POV)

"Let. Me. Go." I growl angrily. The queen doesn't acknowledge my presence any longer than she has to, and dives under water. Her tail flips up, revealing it's color. It's an unique shade of gold, that sparkles brilliantly. In all honesty, it's absolutely breathtaking.

Momentarily stunned, I sit there, lost in thought. That is, until I remember that I was just kidnapped by my grandmother. Seeing as she is also lost in thought for the time being, and I'm not being held down, I figure this is my chance for escape.

I don't know the speed of my grandmother, so simply swimming away won't do me much good. However, I could freeze the water around her, and harden it. That should stop her for a while. 

I lift my hand, and hold my arm in a parallel position to my body. I then roll my wrist in circles, with my hand shaped in the necessary formation. The water around her begins to freeze, thankfully without her noticing. I completely freeze it, and prepare to harden it.

I hold my arm parallel going upward with my side, and make a fist. I then roll my wrist backwards, then forwards, releasing the fist as it goes forward. The water around her hardens and I grin in triumph. She opens her eyes and freaks out, as she realizes what I've done.

I don't stay long enough to see how she reacts. No, I need to get as far away from her as possible. I may not be able to leave the ocean until she lets me, but there's plenty of ocean to hide in. 

Hell, the oceans are connected. I could hide in a different ocean if I really wanted to. 

As I'm swimming away as fast as possible, I let my mind wander. I change direction a few times so that it'll be harder for her to trace me, hoping to delay her finding me. There's no doubt that she escaped considering every object has a melting point, but I don't know how long it would take for her to melt it. 

She's probably expecting that I'll stay near the shore, seeing as that is what I'm comfortable with, but I'm not that stupid. I change my direction from swimming forward to swimming downward, swimming until I can't see anything but the fish that have adapted to live in how deep the water is. 

Right about now it would be great to have night vision, but that's too much to ask for. I swim aimlessly in the dark until suddenly I see something. 

I can tell that it isn't anything alive, and it looks like it's made of metal. I knew that I had been nearing the floor of the ocean, but this looks strange. Unnatural, almost. Not like anything I've ever seen before, that's for sure. 

I continue swimming towards it and as I get closer it only grows in size. It's in the distance to my right as I touch down on the isolated sand. I decide to keep swimming closer towards the metal looking substance, curious as to why and how it is reflecting light so brilliantly at the bottom of the ocean when there isn't any light to reflect in the first place. 

Much closer now than I had been, I can clearly see what the metal I have been following is, which isn't at all what I expected to find. 

In front of me lies a city - a city of merfolk. A city that has a huge castle, seemingly made of gold. Only that isn't what catches my eye the most. What surprises and intrigues me the most is the appearance of the merfolk I've laid my eyes upon. 

In front of me are dark merfolk. And no, I'm not talking about the color of their skin or their morals. It's their tails, that range from the darkest versions of cold colors, all the way to deep browns and blacks. Their hair colors are all darker colors as well, but that isn't what has me scared. 

What has me scared is how their eyes are colors unknown to humans and the merfolk I'm used to seeing. Purples, reds, black. The fact that their nails have been grown out, bearing an incredible resemblance to claws. And then there's my witnessing from afar one merman sharpening his nails on a stone on the ocean floor. Or perhaps it's the fact that a group of them swimming towards me, with fangs replacing their canine teeth. 

I'm too stunned by their appearance to move. They approach me, and I feel like fleeing. But every bone in my body has other plans and it's as if I'm paralyzed, no longer in control of my body. 

When they reach me, they halt. The creepiest looking one of the bunch cocks his head to the left and opens his mouth to speak, showing me his fangs in the process. 

"What are you doing here, Northern water mermaid? Why have you ventured so far from your clan?"

I continue to stare at them in shock, dumbfounded. 

"I--I don't have a clan. I'm a Domestic." I manage to say, but not without stuttering. He looks confused. 

"You're a Domestic? Then you're even farther from home than I thought!" He looks back at his friends, laughing menacingly. "She's a Domestic!" He yells, and they all cheer. 

What the...?

"Does your family know where you are, young Domestic?" He asks, looking intrigued. 

"No...My grandmother kidnapped me and I swam off." He looks quite pleased with my answer. 

"Then nobody shall find you." He smiles deviously. He looks at his friends once more, before shouting "Tonight, we feast! Grab her."

Their group cheers and comes towards me, fangs proudly showing on each.