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CHAPTER 1
"Zale."
"Yes, Father?" the prince answered, turning his head to the side to behold his father.
The king had noticed his wife's absence a short while ago, but no matter where his eyes searched, he couldn't seem to find her through the crowd.
Zale's eyes followed his father's line of sight, wondering what had worried him. But before the king could reply, their conversation was interrupted by approaching guests.
The festivities were in full blast. It was the kingdom's millenary and a celebration was held in the palace for this momentous day.
Every mermaid and merman gathered in the magnificent hall adorned beautiful ornaments, that further enhanced their delicate features as the smiles never left their faces.
Several bodies swayed from side to side, dancing to the music reverberating all around.
Amidst all that, two mermen were seen swimming through the path leading to the magnificent doors of the hall. They swam with unwavering resolve, adorning ardent looks on their faces. In their hands were tributes that were to be offered.
Not too long after, they stopped in front of the cyan-green doors which pulled open to welcome them.
Just like the various designs met on their way, the big hall was not in lack. Adding to its charm were statues of the different rulers, gently arranged on either side of the hall.
Immediately they arrived, both of them bowed their heads, lowering their backs in reverence to the king and prince.
His sharp piercing blue eyes glowed with mirth as he gazed down at the two mermen before him.
Without uttering a word, he moved a bit closer, his sparkling aqua-blue fins dancing behind him as his wavy white hair flowed down to his waist with a golden crown on his head.
"Your majesty, King Storm," the green-haired merman called out sharply, still keeping his bow. "We bring greetings from Silacia. The High duke sends his congratulations and regrets his inability to grace the occasion due to his ill health."
After saying this, both mermen lifted their heads and opened the golden treasure box for him to see.
A grateful smile formed on the face of the king, spilling into his eyes as he gave his thanks.
"Thank you for this gift, Lord Dillan and Lord Irwin. His gift is truly appreciated. However, how is his health?"
"He is on the long road of slow recovery, Your Majesty," Irwin responded, lifting his head as he did so.
"We bless the great sea god."
Giving a nod, he waved to his guards to take the treasure box away as several other guests arrived bearing gifts and presenting them before him while everyone else engaged themselves in the celebration, dancing and making merry.
*******
~Moments Earlier~
Diving into the underwater kingdom, a man was seen swimming through the buildings in the kingdom as he neared the festive atmosphere.
Rather than moving into the hall, he took a different turn, heading for another building at the far back.
In no time, he came upon a radiant building, glowing with red and blue lights separating it from the rest.
His eyes narrowed at it, taking in his surroundings first before making his way in.
Unlike what he had expected, the guards in this part of the kingdom were few, making it an easy escape once he caused his distraction.
With no other problems, he swam straight into the building till he came upon the sacred room.
'It is just as the old witch said it would be. Divine.' The man noted inwardly while casting a glance around.
Several jewels lay at either side of the room but amidst all that, a certain pearl shone with radiance.
Like a spellbound servant, his eyes remained glued to the pearl as he moved closer to where the pearl was above a glowing big sea shell at the centre of the room.
'Finally, you would be mine and all riches shall come to me.'
His lips parted, revealing a set of brown teeth while his eyes sparkled, watching the divine beauty before him.
'Mine.'
******
In the same vein, the celebrations continued with no one aware of what was happening.
All but one felt the strange presence. Her long lashes fluttered as her eyes snapped open the next second.
Like a shock wave sent through her brain, Queen Aella squinted at the crowd present. She could feel goosebumps creeping up on her skin with every passing second.
'Hmm, should I call a guard to… No. I do not need to disturb the celebration. I would check it out myself.'
With her thoughts put in place, Queen Aella slipped out of the hall without anyone noticing her and headed straight for the shrine.
The closer she got to the building, the more she felt her chest tighten when she found no guard at the entrance.
Her brows creased further as she checked her surroundings. Her eyes were laced with worry.
"The soul pearl," she muttered in fright.
Throwing all thoughts behind her, she swam as fast as her fins could take her into the building.
******
Picking up the soul pearl, a satisfied smile worked to his eyes as he glanced around again.
'Hmm, there are so many things to take here, I may just have to do some more lifting.' He voiced out in his mind while grinning.
Suddenly his forehead furrowed and he lowered his gaze to his hand.
To his surprise, a green-like substance appeared on his left hand, reeling out a certain fear in him.
'The witch was right. By this, I have barely forty minutes to leave the water before the potion starts to lose effect. Damn it! I have no time left. And those guards won't be distracted forever.'
No sooner had he said those words in his mind, than he was graced with the presence of the queen.
The moment she got there she was lucky enough to see that her instincts were not wrong.
Her brows furrowed deeply, as she made her way into the room.
Before uttering any words, Aella's gaze swept up to the centre of the room.
'It's gone.'
Immediately she whipped her head back at the obvious criminal.
"How dare you?" Aella enunciated with anger laced in her tone and eyes. "Where is the soul pearl?!"
Shocked by the recent turn of events, the man tried to swim away when Aella moved swiftly, blocking his path.
"Going somewhere?" She asked, squinting at him.
Her eyes bore her hatred and she did not bother hiding it.
She was the priestess of the soul pearl, guardian of its rights. She could not let it be wielded by any mermaid or merman, not to speak of a tainted human.
"Give it back," she called out with audacity, her chest rising as she got ready for a fight.
"No."
"I am not asking."
"And I am not listening. Get out of the way and I would not hurt you."
"Not on my watch."
Ignoring whatever danger he may impose, Queen Aella dove right in, trying to snatch the soul pearl back from him.
Unknown to her, he had his sinister plans and the second she got close enough, he pulled out a dagger from his back pocket and stabbed her chest.
Everything had happened quickly, leaving a shocked Aella as the blood immediately pooled out of her body, mixing with the water.
Seeing as she refused to let go of his hand, he twisted the dagger slowly and pushed it deeper into her chest, earning a sharp cry from her.
With her eyes half closed, she gazed down at her chest only to see dark green lines spreading on her skin from where the dagger had stabbed her.
Immediately, Aella moved her fins sideways, using them to slap him and pushed his body far from hers.
Due to how weak she became from the wound, the power of her attack yielded little effect.
"Aaahh!" she cried out and pulled the dagger out of her chest quickly.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man's voice rang out close to her as the corners of his lips curled into a smirk.
"The moment I stabbed you with the poisonous dagger, you were done for."
*******
Meanwhile, as the festivities went on, the King's eyes scanned through the crowd in search of his queen.
Having not found her, he peeled his gaze back to his son, and asked with worry laced in his tone, "Have you seen your mother, Zale?"
"No." Zale frowned. "The last I saw her, she—
His words fell short when he saw two guards rush in with grim looks on their faces.
The second they laid eyes on him and the king, they hurried over. However, whatever news Zale expected them to bring, wasn't the one their lips spilt.
"Your Majesty!"
"Yes," King Storm uttered quickly, ignoring what news they had to deliver. "By any chance have you seen the queen?"
As if on cue, both of them exchanged a glance before returning their attention to the father and son pair.
"Yes."
The second those words fell out of their lips, the king pushed for more answers.
"Where is she?"
He could not explain it but for some reason, he could feel his heart beat faster against his chest.
Not wanting to cause an uproar, both guards wondered if they could just dish out the news like that, considering there was a celebration going on.
"Come on, what's with the delay? Tell me," King Storm urged impatiently.
"Forgive us, Your Majesty, but…" The first guard gulped, unable to finish his sentence.
"The queen is dead," the second guard let out.