(Princess Ashti)
My eyebrows meet when the glint of the sun flashing my face crossing through the window. That woke me from my sweet sleep. I stretch my arms and hum like a little child. Wait... a window?
We sleep outside this room then I woke up and we're here!
I'm sure he used another magic. He's beside me shaking a crystal ball with snow and toy inside. A different kind of toy.
"How's your spirit?" he asked.
"I'm wide awake." The soft fur blanket is gone. He pierced the bed with a single needle and it disappears like a balloon. My back fell, it woke me even more!
"Let's leave now," then he walked away.
"You don't even plan on apologizing?!"
※ ※ ※ ORC ※ ※ ※
The chief gave us foods good for the whole travel. It almost occupies the whole table. Haris covered those by white curtain and as the curtain fall, the foods are gone. Only the table was left. This curtain can hide something magically. We left the village together with the twins. They won't join us in our journey, they'll just lead the way.
At the very end of the forest is a beach. It says in the book I used to read for education, beach has millions of sands, shells on the seashore and clear water. I was so delighted seeing this place personally for the first time!
The twins joined the wave of the water. It seems so fun so I want to join! But Haris pulled me, a killer joy!
"I would like to inform you that we're here not to swim." I pout.
"Why can't we just enjoy this place before we leave?! You know, it's fun!"
"It's more fun without war." I pause. He's so serious this time. I have no choice so I just comply with his words. He said we're here to embark. We're gonna pass the sea. I hope the goodness of weather stays with us.
"So we're gonna row a boat..."
"Not we, only you."
"What—?"
"You see I need to conserve energy so you should be the one to row."
"Why not you should stop breathing to preserve energy from turning oxygen to carbon dioxide...!"
"I will, if you can carry my dead body all around the places." This boy is mocking me! Still I dare. I tie my hair and get in to the boat.
"Before you leave, we forgot to lecture something," said Princkle. I pay my attention carefully.
"Get to know each other. If you know each other's weaknesses, both of you can be strong together. You should be friends first before you became one." I nod with doubt. How am I supposed to know him well if he can't even show me his face?!
They push the boat together and it moved very fast. I hold on the side of the boat, for an instant, we left the seashore far. They wave widely for farewell, I did the same. I'm gonna miss these two. I start the rowing, I have Sdeing's strength so we move faster than normal.
Haris is painting on a white plywood leaned on his lap. One information about him, he can do arts. I've reached my limit. I stop rowing to rest. I look behind to see how far I've gone, and I can no longer see the land. Only the sea around. So this is how it feels to be in the middle of the sea.
I feel dizzy with the waves. I want to stay on land. I touch the water and want to sprinkle it to me. I even taste it. As the book says, it's salty.
"If you're thirsty, waters from the sea is not good for drinking—"
"I'm just tasting the sea."
"Well as you can see it's not a food. If you're hungry—"
"Okay, fine!" He draw a strawberries on the plywood, not that good but I still understand the image. He slam the wood and strawberries fell. The plywood is as clean as white again. He ate one of those and lend me also. It's sweet as chocolate.
We're moving fast without even rowing. I'm starting to hunch something.
"We're here," he said.
"Here? Where?" I don't even see an island. And for worst, a huge Whirlpool is pulling us.
"Haris! We need to row back!"
"Idiot. Just stay there and be quiet."
"How am I supposed to keep calm?!" I can see the very middle of the whirl. Haris throw a strawberry there, after seconds it explodes. A strong explosion like that turned this boat upside down. I learned how to use sword and fight but not to swim!
The wave from explosion underwater is uncontrollable. I can't move according to my will. But when I open my eyes, I saw houses, roads, buildings and even a castle. A kingdom underwater?! Haris pulled me upward. I breath as deep as I can on the surface while holding from Haris' shoulder behind.
"You don't know how to swim?"
"Sorry..." something grab my leg and drag me down. It's not a shark or any scary sea creature, I can't see the figure because of the water colliding my face. But, it's a human too. Good thing we're chained, I'm not the only victim here. When we reached the very bottom of the sea, I saw a man wearing silver clothe and fine gold accessories. He's wearing a crown and holding a trident and glaring at me.
Is he a king?! And under the sea?! We're surrounded by other knights. And unfortunately, Haris is out of consciousness already. I want to pinch his nose with intense for leaving me the shame of this situation. I can't explain, like I could speak under water! He stamped his trident once and my vision was darken, more like, I lose conscious too.
※ ※ ※ ORC ※ ※ ※
Then I woke up in a place where we're surrounded by water. Just like the water is giving space for us to breathe. My hands are tied behind me and Haris leaning at my back. Still sleeping. I push him and he woke up. He even yawns like everything is nothing.
"Haris, why are you always sleeping in wrong situation?!"
"It's nature..."
"Ugh! Whatever! Where are we?"
"Inside the prison of course."
"I mean, this whole place..."
"Oh, this is Shining-pearl Kingdom. A kingdom under the sea."
"Wow. So there are mermans and mermaids here?"
"No, they have legs too. The only difference is they have gills and scales. They communicate in different way and I have no intention to know."
"Wow. How about the king? Is he scary?"
"No. He's like you, an idiot."
"Hey! What if he heard you?!"
"Of course he have ears."
"You're still the same, Haris." And that's how the King entered. I knew it, they know this stupid masked guy! "You still don't respect people higher than you," he added. He's the king I saw before. Just like Haris said, he has gills and scales, scales that almost cover his face. He has long tied hair.
"Tell me, what is your purpose here?"
"Just passing by..." he answered.
"Uhmm, we're actually going home now but we encountered that whirlpool so we have no choice but to destroy it and your knights drag us down and that's how we end up here," I explained while stammering.
"You're going home with that chain?" he means that curse chain?
"It's none with your business..." he answered again.
"Well to avoid separation... that's our strategy." I explained with courteousness. Haris doesn't even respect a King. Perhaps he can't even respect a princess like me! The King stamp his trident ones and we're untied. I want to ask if he can unchain us too.
"Your name?" he asked me.
"I'm Ashti."
He wants us to follow him. He said he'll take us back to the surface. As we walk onward, the water is moving away from us. Like walking in a huge aquarium. I guess we're inside the castle judging from the beautiful hallway and chandelier. Small fishes are free to swim around. I glimpse on the window and saw the town afar for a short moment.
I don't expect traveling could even take me under water, but while I'm here, I want to settle a tour. On the main hall where the throne is, there are countless blinding treasures that surrounds the throne. I was born rich but my jaw drops just by seeing these rare golds.
The King came outside our limit and talk with someone. I look closely to witness how they communicate. I can't hear his voice but he's moving his mouth.
"They use telepathy," Haris said. "They can hear their voices inside their mind." How weird. I'm glad I was born with fair and soft skin than a scales.
A young men approach with cheerfulness.
"Hi, my name is Aishmalen. 2nd prince of this kingdom. And you must be Ashti and Haris! Welcome back! But for now, under the direction of my brother, you two should leave."
He's so charming and warm. He also has scales but it doesn't cover his whole body unlike the King. He'll lead us the way back to the surface.
"Uhmm Aishmalen? Have you guys encountered wild sea creatures here?"
"Of course! They serve as our pets. They follow our commands. Just like these small fishes. Their duty is to watch and inform us if something happened on every corner of the castle. And if someone committed a crime, the government will feed the criminals to sharks. That's why no one dared to break the rules."
Here on the doorway of the castle door, I can view the whole kingdom. So wide! They almost occupy the whole sea. Their garden, instead of trees and flowers, they have corals and well planted seaweeds. Simply passing through their garden is memorable and fun!
"Take this." I fetch a pearl given for me.
"Souvenir," he said. I thank him. He also shows me a giant oyster with pearl on it. And there were lots of them here.
"Is it fun living here?"
"Hmm... just like the other kingdoms. But we have unique races and things. Floating around also is fun! You can't do it on lands, right? So I'll just say, it's fun living here!"
He took us here in front of the sunken pirate ship. I was marveled for seeing two huge whales and I can hear the sound they make. Aishmalen is talking with them, and while waiting I look around. The sand under water is soft just by seeing it. I saw turtles, a mother and children. I found also a huge crab coming closer to me.
I shiver but it's fun meeting this species.
"Guys, I have one request. Hold your breath for a second." We follow what he said. The two whales are lifting the ship. Also, the space for us to breathe is now occupied by water, we're totally floating. A hammerhead lifted us up to the ship. When I set foot on the ship, I can feel it moving.
I finally breathe deeply when we reach the surface. Waters from the ship are slowly sliding down back to the sea. The ship is aged. It's full of moss and ruined parts. Must be repaired. I stand near the beak on the deck to see how the kingdom looks like at this view.
Aishmalen stood beside me to hush. The sea water is slowly calming from the wave until it stops. The water is extremely clear. That's how I can see the whole kingdom from here. It's so glamorous! Just like seeing a whole kingdom from the sky.
"This is one of the best tourist spot. Or a kingdom selected mostly by tourist. I'm glad we still have that." Aishmalen gave me a glance.
"It's just a coincidence." I was amused. At first, they deal with us like a prisoner, and now as a guest.
"Today's weather is shady. Shall we go inside?" Haris said. I look at the sky and yes, clouds are about to cry. I didn't notice that since my focus is below not above.
"Speaking of, I'll give something inside." We follow Aishmalen like a tour guide. "This ship is old. So be careful with your steps." He took us in a room hidden below. It's a small room with mirror, bed, and treasures.
"Pirates are thieves in our kingdom. Sometimes they succeed. But mostly they failed."
"Wait, is this ship moving?" asked Haris.
"Yes, but since it's old we can't drive it manually. My pets are moving this ship," he mean those whales. I wish I can be friends with them too. I untie my hair and use the golden comb to fix my tangled hair. I finally see my face after one day at the mirror. Haris lay on the bed and Aishmalen left to guard the outside.
It's so disgusting how my hair became this mess.
"Don't you know how to tie a hair?"
"I do know that. I just can't manage to keep it organized."
"Because your maids do that for you." I sigh hard with disappointment. "Let me fix it." I raise an eyebrow at him. He? Can he fix hair? He raise an eyebrow at me too. Well I guess trusting each other is a first step.
I sit on the floor, him behind me. He is sitting on the bed. I just sit here, relaxing myself. When he's done combing, he braid my hair until to the very end and use the tie.
"Do you like doing that?" I asked.
"I just miss doing this. Glad I can still do it." I look at the mirror when he's done. And he did it well. I'm more comfortable like this with a long hair.
"Say, with whom do you miss doing this?" he lay again.
"With my mother."
"Oh. That's sweet." My mother has a long hair too but I don't tie it.
"It's not raining yet, let's go outside!" I said. We don't have perfect view here. I even force him to stand from laying. If I was his mother, I'll pinch his thigh. But I can do that either. Outside, the sky is still dark. I look for Aishmalen but a sudden jump of fountain beside the ship caught my attention.
I was too excited to see and rush there and I step on a damaged wood floor. My feet sink and hold on Haris tight. I'm grateful he got my arm and lift me again to my balance.
"This ship is older than my father. So be careful around." I heard Aishmalen spoke at the top terrace of the ship. He's leaning his arms on the barrier.
"Wow! You look cute with that hairstyle!" he added.
"Ah... thank you."
"It's a whale," he said. I scowl. He pointed the direction where the fountain before came from. I came and see, right, it's the blowhole of the whale.
"Look," Haris point something near the whale. Those are dolphins jumping all over again. It is so entertaining!
"Something's coming," said Aishmalen. And the rain came down. Every drop is gentle. I hope it's not a typhoon.
"We should get inside," I said. Haris use his umbrella and share it with me. "No. We need to deal with something." He's facing forward, glaring.
"What is it?"
"Green Panda."