Intertwining Destinies

Chapter 22

The siren house stood situated among the deeper wooded banks of the River Leith, and was glamoured to appear as a crumbling abandoned mill to avoid attracting human attention. As a precautionary measure, the area was ensconced in siren enchantment which drove any unwary humans to drown themselves in the cold waters. On certain occasions, those unfortunates might be taken as light meals by some of the many visitors to the establishment.

The royal page found his way inside, and clapped his ears closed to avoid exposure to the seductive music which seemed to be emanating from all sides. Having visited the place on numerous occasions, he followed the long corridor which sloped steeply downwards. At the end of it, he reached an enormous hall with a glass domed ceiling. The walls opposite the entrance were made completely of glass and through them, he could see into the dark green expanse of the river's depths. There were frequent flashes of silver as fishes swam by. An impressive gold fountain in the shape of a demon water horse occupied the middle of the hall. Streams of water gushed from the open mouth of the kelpie and collected in the pool surrounding it. A number of beautiful green-haired mer-women perched on the edge of the fountain pool, splashing their gleaming tails and watching him with interest as he passed.

He proceeded into a separate gallery where he knew the inner chambers to be located. A series of closed doors guarded the elite clients' privacy. The brownie timidly made his approach to a particular door adorned with shells and seaweed. Slipping off his cap to mop his sweating forehead, he knocked. In the absence of an answer, he decided to wait awhile before trying again. Fresh in his mind was the incident of being pounced upon by two ferocious mer-women whom he had once disturbed with their favourite patron, Lord Sreng. Hitching up his courage once more, he raised his tiny fist for a second knock. But before he could, the door was opened inward and a woman carelessly draped in a thin white coverlet stepped out. She seemed to be looking about for the source of the interruption; and only after the outside mer-women had alerted her, did she direct her attention down at the small brownie. He immediately sprang into his formal pose and declared, "I come directly at the command of His Majesty, King Bres to deliver a message to Lord Sreng!"

The woman listened with a glint of amusement, then opened the door wider and gestured for him to go inside. He was met with the sight of Lord Sreng stretched naked amidst a jumbled mass of cushions and blankets, with his hands clasped behind his head. Two more green headed females stirred to emerge on his either side. The royal page blushed furiously, kept his eyes glued to the carpet and said, "His Majesty commands your presence at the earliest, My Lord!"

Sreng stretched himself luxuriously and replied, "Tell His Majesty, I will come."

"Yes, My Lord." And the royal page was gone with a pop.

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King Bres shifted restlessly in his seat, listening to his Lord Uncle's rationale for scrapping the brilliant plan that he had concocted to move against the Bethmooran twins. He longed to throw a tantrum in his uncle's face, but there was something familiarly dangerous about him at the moment. He maintained an impersonal, hard demeanour that an unwitting observer would take for calm. However, Bres could feel the cold rage emanating from his uncle, something he had not seen happen in a thousand years. It was perhaps this that made Bres all the more anxious about the current situation.

"We must have all three crown pieces in our possession before we can kill the princess. I agree that it's easier to capture her rather than Nuada, but she guards only one of the pieces. Killing her would mean killing the prince; and there's no point to it unless we have all three pieces in our hands. He has been too obsessed with the crown himself, to give it up so easily. Besides, he will know where we have hidden the princess; that cursed connection of theirs! No! This is not the time to be concerned with the twins. We need to address the matter of the new pawn that has entered into the field. This 'forest child'! Who is she?! Is it the same woman who controlled the forest elemental which the prince let loose within the human city? We need to find her and learn of her powers. Powers that seem more potent than what I command," Alpheus finished, raising his stony electric blue eyes.