Sea Queen

Chapter Twenty

Algae covered everything, a thick layer of furry green. I saw glints of gold and silver underneath the torch light, shining through.

As I got closer to the middle of the room, the top of the cave began to radiate a blue light. I couldn't see where the light originated from, as everything was covered in green.

Seb swam in after me, slowly coming up behind me and then stayed at my side.

There were what I guessed to be tables, with objects piled up on them. I swam over and peeled off the algae on one of the objects that I guessed from the shape to be a scroll, like those in the library of the Mer City.

I opened it with a bit of trouble as the handles had rusted, but they split with some effort.  The ink had faded slightly but it was still legible.  It was written in very old fashioned curly writing.

To the next vessel of Acia,  here I have attempted to document my experiences with both my influence over the seas and my choices and mistakes so that you may and many after you may learn from them.

"This is awesome! Thank you Seb." I turned and hugged him.

For the next hour or so me and Seb attempted to discover most of what was underneath the carpet of green. We found lots of scrolls, some of them written by previous vessels, and lots of jewellery as well as lots of random items like a pocketwatch and even bits of clothing, almost perfectly preserved in large metal chests.

There was a jewelled silver necklace which caught my eye. It was was a small swallow made out of one carved piece of emerald. It was odd to see something that belonged to the earth in a place that belonged to the ocean.

"Is that a bird?" Seb asked, seeing me hold it up. I nodded.  "here."

He took the necklace and fastened it around my neck as I held my hair out of the way. I felt his breath tickle my hairline and his fingers brushing my neck, and shivered slightly.  I turned around, but neither of us stepped away so our faces were only inches away.

He looked at the necklace and then back up at me, into my eyes. Then at my lips, moving closer. I could swear my heart was beating at a thousand beats a minute. My hand moved up to his cheek, and pulled him towards me slightly.

I felt his lips brush mine. I kissed him back, more passionately this time. I needed him, and he responded like he needed me just as much. His hands moved to my waist, pulling me closer against him, and pushing me against the tables so that a few of the objects fell off.

I took off his shirt, and the kisses got more passionate, his lips moving quickly against mine, with an occasional soft touch of his tongue. He put his hands in my hair, and mine went to his chest.

After a couple of minutes he pulled back, to my dismay.

Both of us were breathing pretty heavily, struggling to get back to normal.  He ran a hand through his own hair, adjusting it to how it had been before. My own hair was now a mess. Sapphie had done it in a french Plait, and it was falling in strands over my face now. I took it out and let my hair down.

"That was... Pretty amazing." I said.

"Agreed." He grinned. "But we should probably head back now."

Still rather flustered, we got to the city a while later, after a lazy swim back.

I headed back to my room, but was stopped by a very out of breath merman with the King's uniform. A messenger of some kind.

"The King asked that you go to the Throne Hall immediately, your grace." I nodded, thanked him and quickly made my way down to the throne room. It was filled with people, rushing around and pointing at maps. People who looked panicked. Something wasn't right.