Crown

Naejot skoriot se kasta iēdar dīnagon-To Where The Blue Waves Sway

Ea and Tah Min followed Ri-is to the geyser plains. They walked to the water's edge and were greeted by a few mermaids. The women bobbed excitedly in the waters.

"Oh! It's the other two princes!" One chimed.

"The second Prince is much more handsome than I imagined!"

Her sister floated excitedly, trying to reach out to Ea.

"The third is so adorable! I could just eat him up!"

Her gaze was carnal and went unnoticed by the two boys, but didn't slip past Tah Min, who eyed them carefully.

"Wait...they wouldn't harm them, these mermaids are followers of the mermaid deity that entrusted her throne here to the Queen. They wouldn't betray that trust...still...they don't seem to be opposed to violent pranks..." She let her self get swept away in thought. She didn't know where she got that idea from, she just knew that with each word that drifted from the mermaid's lips, an underlying, sinister motive was present. Whether they would act upon it or not was something Tah Min hoped they chose not to.

"We need your help," Ea announced.

The girls swam cheerfully. "Of course! Ask us anything, but it won't come for free!"

Ea raised an eyebrow. "Fair enough. What is it you want?"

The girls giggled playfully. "We're always graced by Prince Zur-Sin's presence, but we want to play with the others too! If we help you, you have to promise to come back and keep us company! We promise to keep you entertained!"

Ea, ever the naive one when it came to women, shrugged and nodded. "Alright. Sounds simple enough."

Tah Min made a face but no one payed enough attention to notice. The mermaids sang with joy.

"Alright!! We'll help you! What do you need?"

Ri-is pointed to the portal beneath the water. "We need to use your portal to travel to Craobh Fuaran. Our friend has been kidnapped."

The mermaids nodded, their plotful gaze turning into one of concern.

"That's awful! Come. We'll take you to it."

Each mermaid grabbed one of them by the hand and began to pull them into the water. For the most part, they were able to safely walk down the path until their heads were the only thing above the water. The mermaid guiding Ea stopped pulling and cupped his face in her hands. With a sweet giggle and no warning what so ever, she planted her lips on his. His eyes widened and his face flushed a bright shade of red. Tah Min gasped, a pang of jealousy pierced her heart like a bullet. The mermaid slowly pulled away from Ea with a satisfied smile.

"There. I've placed an enchantment on you. Now you can breathe underwater." With that, she pulled him under the water. He submerged without a problem. Ri-is received his kiss without so much as batting an eyelash. It perplexed Tah Min as she expected him to be just as innocent as Ea, if not more given his childish demeanour. However, that seemed to be far from the case, in fact, his eyes looked utterly dead as the beautiful mermaid closed the distance between them. The emptiness in his features came as a surprise to her, so much so that she wasn't even aware of when she received her own kiss and was pulled underwater as she was so deep in thought.

When they reached the portal, the mermaid guiding Ea let go of him and swam to the front of the portal. She placed her hand on it and a wave of magical energy rippled through the portal. She whispered a chant, calling the water sprites of Craobh Fuaran. When she did, the clear waters of Craobh Fuaran was reflected on the other side of the portal. The mermaid turned around.