Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 5 The Mermaid's Return

"What is the meaning of this?!" One siren complained. "We see no threats here!" Another siren said. Paula landed in front of the three already standing on the beach. "It's you two. Why was the horn used? There must be a good reason." She said to them. Seeing her mother the way she was instantly reminded Ella of why she hated Khenari so much, not that she needed it. She hesitated before finally swallowing her pride to tell the sirens. "I figured something out about the magic I've been using. I believe it can be used on more than just plants." Ella said. "Go on." A siren gestured to her as more and more surrounded them on the beach. "I can use my magic to enhance a plant's features like its smell, size, color, or more like its vitality. But plants are living things like you and me. I can use the same process on Khenari and make her lifespan longer, just like she wanted." Ella told them, hoping her magic would work on a goddess. "I see... Are you sure you're up to it then?" Paula asked her. "Well Khenari did trust Ella with the task and asked her to trap her within that tree. If she was willing to do that then this wouldn't hurt right?" Vincent said to the sirens. "We just wanted to make sure you were ready. I guess it's natural for you to act this way since you may not have that long of a lifespan when compared to us. Use your magic then. Show us." A siren looked over at the tree and the others got out of their way so that Ella could do what she came here for.

They approached the tree and the first thing that Ella had to do was to get rid of the bark and wood that surrounded Khenari. She held up both of her hands and they glowed a vibrant emerald green. She closed her eyes to concentrate and her magic to mess with the qualities of the tree began. She started off with making it less resistant to salt water, followed by how it responds to what type of soil it was in. Finally, she affected the decomposing rate to get the tree to peel away and decay. Leaves were falling off, branches breaking, bark peeling. Soon enough the tree became a hollow husk and a hand was seen reaching out and Khenari climbed out like a moth from its cocoon. Except this moth was more like a shark. Khenari looked around, yawning and showing her sharpened teeth. She finally set her eyes on Ella. "I assume this means you figured it out girl?" Khenari asked her.

"Yeah... just let me do my thing." Ella didn't want to waste her time explaining what she wanted to do anymore, especially in front of Khenari. She made her hands glow once again and the magic began to work on the goddess, having Ella's actions speak for itself. Just as she had originally thought, expanding the goddess's lifespan was tasking. Ella couldn't help but break out in a sweat and kneel, making her knees collapse and dig deep into the sand. "Woah there." Vincent held on to her shoulders as if that would somehow make everything better. The truth was there was nothing anyone could do except her. "I got this." Ella tried to convince her dad. After a few moments Khenari started to feel something. "Oh I see now. Yes... this is good progress. Achieved in such a short time span as well." Khenari gave Ella a slow clap. This was the closest anyone was probably ever going to get to impressing Khenari. But Ella was finished and couldn't take it anymore. Her hands stopped glowing and if it weren't for her own father keeping her steady, Ella would have dug her face deep into the sand as well.

"Expanding my lifespan by one year isn't too much but not bad either. It's a start." Khenari inspected her sharpened nails as if she just had a spa day, not caring as much about the state Ella was in. "Easy there. Breathe." Vincent ignored Khenari's statement as well, trying to make sure Ella was alright. But Ella knew fully well that there was more for them to do. Ella looked up and opened her eyes to gaze upon Khenari's ugly personality and face. "Khenari. We need your aide." Ella was blunt and straight to the point again. "With what exactly? I suppose I can reward you for your progress so far. I need you to be motivated if you want to work on that magic of yours after all. Speak your mind." Khenari told her. "We need help infiltrating the Kingdom of Wood to save a friend. She's important to all of us here." Ella said. "Hmmm." Khenari tried to give it some thought. "I can't afford to lose a precious gem like you when you're the one helping me live longer. But my aid will ensure your survival. How useful is this friend of yours?" Khenari asked Ella. "Seriously?! Yvonne isn't just-" Ella almost lost her cool with Khenari before Duke had to jump in and save the negotiation.

"Yvonne is super useful! She's one of the best inventors I know. She might even be better than me in fact!" Duke exaggerated his tone to sound more convincing. "Your friend is an inventor?" Khenari questioned him. "Yes! Just think about how much this kingdom will be able to improve with her handy work. I promise you'll be astonished!" What Duke was saying may have sounded unfair to Yvonne but Ella and Vincent knew he had to do anything he could to get her back. "Understood then. Several of my sirens should be sufficient I suppose." When the goddess snapped her fingers, three sirens lined up and suggested for Ella, Vincent, and Duke to climb on their backs. One of the sirens happened to be Paula herself. "I guess I'll let Vancott know of my return. Don't disappoint me. Farewell mortals." The goddess suddenly vanished and a splash of water took her place as if she had suddenly liquified. But they all knew that the goddess was just returning to her own plain. Ella got on her mother's back while Vincent and Duke got on the other sirens, having them easily carry their weight without any struggle. Without any warning the sirens flapped their wings and took off. Several other sirens decided to follow closely behind.

With the speed they were going at, Vincent was sure they would be able to get to the Kingdom of Wood much faster and more discreetly than being on a regular ship. What he was more worried about was Ella and Paula at that moment however. He looked over to his daughter to make sure she was holding on to her mother as tightly as possible. Vincent was at least relieved enough that Khenari and the sirens viewed Ella important enough to keep alive as he wouldn't want anything to happen to her during their trip. Seeing both Ella and Paula together as they were, brought back a few memories to him. "Uh... Hey." Vincent tried to get Paula's attention. When she saw that he was trying to talk to her, she flew closer. "Yes?" She asked. "So you know that you are supposed to be my wife and Lilac and Ella's mother right?" He asked her. "I believe so. You stated as much the last time we encountered each other." Paula told him. "Right, ok. I know you don't remember us because of Khenari. But I think I can jog your memory by talking about the time we had as a family. Is that alright?" Vincent asked her. Ella stopped looking ahead of her and immediately turned to Vincent. "Dad, no. If she remembers, it'll be on her own. You heard about what happened between Yvonne and Cinder." Ella warned him.

Vincent sighed. "Ella, look. I hardly see how her forgetting us is any better. Please understand that I just want to be able to have a real conversation with her again." Vincent said. "I believe Khenari made us forget our memories so that we'll be more obedient. Even if we weren't, she has ways of making us fall in line. Cinder was the siren that started to fall out of line and was more susceptible to regaining her memories." Paula said. Ella was unnerved about everything they were doing so far because of what her own mother was saying. Like there was no real chance of saving her. "I'm not convinced about making myself deviate from her rule but let's just say if I do and remember everything, I might imagine that to be painful, knowing that my immortal body will outlive my loved ones." What Paula said made both Ella and Vincent understand that this is exactly what happened with Cinder. Cinder had understood that she had died and needed to stay dead as a natural part of life, even if it was painful for Yvonne. "I wonder how far your magic will bring you though, like if you can make my immortal life a natural one through the use of manipulating the cells that help us live." Paula spoke to Ella.

Ella thought about what she said for a moment. She didn't want false hope but even if she held onto that wish, would it be fair to Yvonne that she would be able to save her mother and not for Yvonne to save Cinder? Only time could tell as she was just beginning to look into all this untapped potential. "I remember when you and Lilac were much younger. We had just moved into Silverlite Village to start our business." Vincent started to talk about their time together as a family in a way that meant much more than just jogging Paula's memory. He at the very least wanted to spend their moments together as a normal family for once despite all that was going on.