Under The Sea

Chapter Twenty-one

              The heat of the night was caused by the warm body of Aran, who slept soundly beside me. His breathing was rhythmic and deep like the palpitations of my heart, which was the only sound that echoed in my ears at the moment. I lay awake, staring blankly at the obscure ceiling, not feeling, not wanting, just thinking.

              My life had gone from a smooth rolling coaster to a crazy off-the-rails, upended one in a matter of days. Days. It had started off as a quick trip to a library, a trip that used to hold so much meaning to me. A trip that—I figured—would help me find myself. Would help me find someone, even if they were fictional, that I could connect to. Maybe a fellow princess that was experiencing the same self-doubt as I was. But now those books are forgotten, the doubts I held then; minuscule to the ones I hold now. The stress and the pressure that weighed down on my shoulders then seemed petty to me now.

           Now it was a game of life or death. My people were dying, or worse, and my kingdom was becoming corrupt. My family was betrayed by the ones that we trusted the most. And now my father was dead. I couldn't even imagine the pain my mother was experiencing, she loved him so, so, much. 

           In a war this big, I felt minute. I felt like a weak, defenseless princess that knew nothing  of how to govern a kingdom, nonetheless save a kingdom. But I had to know these things and I had to do these things, because ocean knows what could happen if I didn't.

             Every damn day I forced myself not to feel guilty. I forced the clawing guilt down into a cage deep in my heart, but each day  it would grow stronger. It was like a lion scratching and beating against the cage, trying to break free so that it could calm the insatiable need to rip my heart to shreds. Because that's what guilt did. It nestled deep in your heart and slowing started to nibble at your insides. Eventually the nibbles would become bites, and the bites would become too large to patch up. I couldn't let it do that to me though. I had to be strong, for my kingdom, for my parents, for myself.

          I could never have stopped the sword of pain death had thrust into my heart, but I could stop myself from wallowing in my own self-pity by coming up with a plan. A plan that I would make sure was successful.

                                                    * * * * *

              "We need a plan." I splayed my fingers across the table and leaned on the palms of my hands. I felt a headache in the back of my head, but quickly ignored it. The brightness of the kitchen was not helping my sleep-deprived hangover. Jacin and Aran sat across from me, ears open and listening. I knew that the first thing out of Jacin's mouth would be what not to do, so before any words could escape his mouth I spoke first. "Tell me anything you know about what's happening in Atlandria."

             Jacin calculated what he was going to say before explaining  the logistics of the answer to my question. "Hastings has basically established a dictatorship and has placed himself as the leading figure. He hasn't changed much so far. By now he's probably gone to all the corners of the kingdom to make his speech," seeing the confused expression on my face, Jacin explained further, "in his speech, Hastings basically declares himself the king and explains that your father has been eliminated. Hastings believes that the way king Chandler ruled was far too lenient, the people knew no discipline and had no respect, which he says explains the riots that would occur here and there. Anyone that still supports your father, he either kills or enslaves, depending on their age. He enslaves children and adults but the elderly. . ." he shakes his head sadly.

                   I jolted back at his words. He's enslaving his own people, children. He's killing, murdering.

                Jacin leans in closer, as if he were telling me a secret, "but I think there is something more," his eyes jump to Aran, who has been watching me the entire time, and I answer his hidden question, by nodding my head.