Zedon quickly entered a vacant room nearby with his sea shell clutched in his hand.
He opened his fist to reveal the beautiful white sea shell. He then closed his eyes and concentrated on the face of his Chief Advisor. The sea shell glowed and a ray of blue emanated from it to form a big rectangular screen in front. Daniel's face appeared on it.
"Zedon! Where have you been?" His face showed surprise and then he noticed the two legs. His mouth opened in shock.
"Are you in the land of the humans?" He questioned disbelievingly. "Let me know if we are under attack or threat or anything. Do not hide anything from me." He continued. The people of Aquata were not allowed to go on land. Only and only the King could go but only under exceptional circumstances like a war-like situation or something similar to that.
Zedon chuckled, "You've lately developed an annoying habit, Daniel. You overthink a lot."
"I'm not the one standing on two legs in the land of humans," Daniel replied instantly.
"Don't worry. I am here on an important errand. I may stay away for a few days. Take care of the kingdom and inform my Queens." He instructed in one breath as if giving out one of his routine instructions.
"Inform your Queens!" Daniel was shocked, his eyes dilated, "The Queens of Aquata are famous for their whims, fancies, and hot temperament! They will go berserk at this news. Give me a death sentence instead!" He spoke dramatically.
Zedon laughed, "That is why I have chosen my second in command for this sensitive task." He winked.
"You will not see me alive after this." He shook his head in despair.
"You will survive." Zedon gave a sideways smile. He closed his eyes and the screen was gone, the sea shell went back to normal. He placed it back in his pocket.
Meanwhile, in the land of Aquata, Ariana was out in the garden. She held the cool, round-shaped crystal glass in both her hands. She quietly placed it on the ground. She then sat down, her fish tail resting on the grass.
She brought her hands over the crystal ball, closed her eyes, and murmured a few incantations.
Her crystal ball started glowing. Smokes of blue, and green color filled the ball. As she patiently waited for the smoke to settle, slowly a scene unfolded.
It was a battlefield. There was chaos everywhere. The soldiers were fighting with shields and swords. Some were lying injured on the ground. Some were being stabbed in the chest by their enemies.
Amidst the crowd and the sea of soldiers, a familiar face showed up. The man's face was contorted in pain and his eyes were tightly shut. Blood was oozing out of his chest.
He couldn't bare the pain any longer and fell.
"Zedon" Ariana whispered in surprise.
"Look who do we have here? Queen Ariana!" a sharp feminine voice reached her. Queen Brietta had a cunning smile playing on her lips. Denise, her maid was standing close by.
The scene vanished from the crystal ball. Ariana got up quickly.
"Queen Brietta! What are you doing here?" she asked in a flat tone.
"I should be asking you this Ariana. What are you doing here out in the garden? My maid saw you earlier as well. I hope you remember my instructions well?" Brietta raised her eyebrows in a warning.
"Of course, I do Brietta" Ariana retorted. "You're the Chief Queen, how can your commands be disobeyed?" She continued.
"Then why are you here with your crystal ball? You do remember that I made it clear on your wedding day that you'd need my permission to perform magic from now on. Even Zedon couldn't protest. After all, I am the Chief Queen and every wife of Zedon's has to obey my command." Brietta spoke with an air of authority as Denise snickered.
"My dear Queen!" Ariana narrowed her eyes, her fishtail swaying slowly, "I am not here to perform any magic. My crystal ball foretells certain events. Our garden is positioned at a certain angle that supports future visions. So I had to bring my crystal ball outside."
"What events?" Brietta asked suspiciously.
"I can't say for sure but I think Zedon will soon have to prepare for a war," Ariana spoke ominously.
"Show it to me," Brietta demanded.
Ariana frowned a little and then waved her hands over the crystal ball. The ball lit up and after a few seconds, the battle scene reappeared.
In the same chaos, the cries of injured men reached their ears. Brietta swam towards the crystal ball. With each heartwrenching scene, her mouth opened in surprise, but when she saw Zedon's face, her eyes dilated in shock. There was a look of complete horror on her face.
Ariana looked tense. She bit her lower lip nervously. As Zedon fell injured, the scene disappeared. The crystal ball went back to being lifeless.
"What does that mean?" Brietta hissed menacingly, demanding answers from a tensed-looking Ariana. She expected this to be some evil ploy of Ariana, trying to disillusion her. "Your dirty mind games won't work. Zedon is a powerful merman. He can't be easily defeated in some worthless battle." She continued in a sharp tone, her eyes pointed directly at the brown-haired queen.
"Do you think I will joke around with something as important as this?" Ariana shot back.
"We need to do something. Can't you find out why or what is this all about?" She questioned hopefully.
"Are we missing something here?" Queen Annelise arrived along with Queen Julia by her side.
"I heard something like a "battle," Julia spoke with a questioning look in her eyes.
"Nothing to worry about," Brietta spoke sharply, her black eyes gleaming at Annelise, her least favorite of the Queens.
"Then why are you and Ariana out here?" Annelise questioned with her raised eyebrows.
"We were discussing the full moon activities." Ariana chimed in, "All the gifts were amazing. We were talking about how Mother Mermaid would have been much pleased."
Julia and Annelise were still giving doubtful looks. They weren't convinced that it was indeed that Ariana and Brietta were talking about the full moon day.
"If you say so," Annelise replied coldly.
"What brings you two here?" Brietta asked.
"We were here to pluck the flowers of petunia. They are needed in a recipe of mine. I brought along Queen Annelise to show her." Julia replied.
"Very Well," Brietta spoke.
Daniel, who was watching the Queens from the corridors of the palace, thought to convey the news one by one to the Queens. He could not take the risk of talking to them all at once. There was a high chance that he'd be cornered by all of them together!
He thought to start with Queen Bella, the neglected one, as she was known in the palace in hushed whispers. Zedon took no interest in her and she hardly had a say in any political matter. She wouldn't be much bothered by Zedon's absence.
He sent for his messenger. A young merman arrived and bowed.
"The King has sent a message for Queen Bella. He will be away for a few days and till that time I will be looking after the kingdom as his second in command. He is safe and sound and there is no need to worry about him." Daniel spoke and the messenger nodded his head and left.
He reached the Queens' Palace. The area was guarded by mermaids. The message was delivered to one of the mermaid guards and the messenger left.
"May I enter, Your Excellency?" The mermaid guard spoke once she reached the entrance of Queen Bella's room.
Bella was reading a book. She had taken to reading as she spent a lot of time indoors.
"Yes," She replied.
The mermaid guard entered, bowed, and spoke, "Chief Advisor Daniel's messenger has come. He has stated that King Zedon will be away for a few days. In his absence, the Chief Advisor will take care of the kingdom. The King is safe and sound and there is no need to worry." She finished.
Bella just gave a slight nod and the mermaid guard bowed and left. She went back to reading her book. For a neglected queen, it didn't matter where or with whom Zedon was. As long as there was peace in the kingdom Bella was fine.
Meanwhile, Daniel was lost in thought. Queen Bella was informed and he was sure that she wouldn't bother much about this little piece of news. It was the others he was more worried about.
Next, he thought that he would tell Queen Julia, the kindest of Zedon's wives. At least he won't get a backlash or a sharp reaction from her. He thought to give her the news in person. That would be better, he thought. With this thought in mind, he sent for his messenger.