Chapter Eleven
Katie was surprised that she wasn’t gasping for air. How is it possible that eating some seaweed would give her the ability to breathe under water? The thought amazed her. She swam down deeper and tried to swim faster to keep up with Chadwick and Niela.
A school of brightly colored fish swam beside her, moving in a unit, as if they were a single being. Katie smiled and followed Niela deeper to the ocean floor. A few dolphins swam around Katie curiously, but swam off when Niela spoke words that calmed their curiosity. As they swam on, Katie admired the many different kinds of seaweed and coral. The coral was bright red with some yellow. She noticed that the coral and seaweed were home to many strange creatures she had never seen before. She wished she could spend more time exploring this place, but knew she had a job to do. So reluctantly, she swam on, becoming less chilled the farther she went.
She was surprised that she could hear every sound as if she were on the surface. “Hurry Katie, please take hold of my hand, there is a current ahead that is very strong.” Chadwick said, holding out his hand to Katie. Katie reached out and grabbed his hand as they swam toward the current, following Niela as close as they could.
“Alright you two, get ready, here it comes!” Niela said, suddenly maneuvering into the current. Chadwick and Katie followed as fast as they could; the pressure of the water moved them forward at an incredible pace.
“Chadwick, don’t let go! I’m having a hard time hanging on!” Katie yelled as the current moved them forward. Niela stayed at a swift pace, flowing beautifully with the current. Katie and Chadwick felt like they were tumbling over and over, while trying desperately to stay in a straight line. Katie felt Chadwick’s hand slipping. He looked down at her in desperation. He tried to move his other hand down to grab onto hers, but it was too late. His hand slipped, leaving Katie behind him.
“Chadwick!” Katie yelled, watching him trying to swim against the current to get to her. She knew if she was going to save this world, she needed to be a little braver, and to do things on her own. She then calmed herself down, and swam as fast as she could. Since she was moving with the current, she caught up to Chadwick quicker then she expected to. She grabbed onto his arm and they continued to follow Niela.
Niela soon signaled them to jump out of the current and down to a tunnel. “Okay, on the count of three, we’re going to jump. Get ready; one, two, three, jump!” Chadwick said, never letting go of Katie’s arm. The force of leaving the current and moving into calm water, made them go flying past the tunnel. They both looked at each other and laughed.
“That was actually fun.” Katie said still laughing. “Well, we better follow Niela; we are running out of time. Simona and Varek may be waiting for us.” Chadwick said, motioning to the tunnel. Katie became a little uneasy. The thought of going in a tunnel or even a cave underwater made her feel a little scared. What if the seaweed wore off and she ran out of air? She shook the thought off, thinking of how Simona and Varek were depending on her. She swam down to the tunnel and entered it. It was warmer in the tunnel; however, it seemed to get darker and darker the further in they went. “Niela, Chadwick? I can’t see anything, where are you?” Katie said, trying to feel for a wall to follow.
“Oh, I forgot, land dwellers can’t see in the dark. Here, try this.” Niela put a small fish in her hand. “Go ahead; pet its head, it will light up for you. You won’t need it for long though, we’re almost there.” Puzzled, Katie stroked the fish on the head and to her surprise, it lit up like a glow stick.
“Wow! That’s amazing,” Katie said, trying to hold the fish as gently as she could.
“Yes, yes, it’s wonderful, now follow me, we’re nearly there.” Niela said swimming a bit faster than she had been. Katie and Chadwick did their best to keep up. Soon they found the end of the tunnel. It was lit by many of the same fish that Katie held. She let the fish go and it joined the others that lined the tunnels’ end.
Katie stopped swimming and stared in amazement at the city below. All the buildings seemed to be lit by golden light. A grand palace stood in the middle of the city like a giant in the middle of a field.
“Welcome to Derya! Follow me; I’ll bring you to the Queen. She will show you where the Stone of Evandor is.” Katie nodded and began swimming again.
Katie found it interesting that the city wasn’t that different from the one she had left. There wasn’t a street to walk on, but there were stores and houses that surrounded the castle. The mermaids and mermen stopped what they were doing and watched the visitors pass, with amazement. “Niela, I haven’t seen any children. Are they all in school right now?” Katie asked, now swimming next to her.
“We only have one child in all of Derya. Very few of us are able to reproduce and when we do, it is a great honor and responsibility. Just like the fairies, I am told. We were very lucky that the Queen was one of those that can have children. However, she hasn’t had a child in a very long time. The newest child was born only a year ago. Since this was the first child in over fifty years, the mother and baby were welcome to live in the palace and get all the treatments that the royals get. Come; the Queen is just behind these doors.”
Two large doors stood in front of them. They were lined in gold and the main part of the door was made of opal; it glistened from the city lights. The doors were opened by two guards that stood on either side of the door. They both wore nothing but a metal breastplate over their chests. They each held a long spear in their right hand and a shield in their left hand.
They entered a grand room with blue marble floors. At the end of the room sat the Queen. She sat in a large chair that was raised several feet from the ground. Behind her chair, a large window was covered with dark seaweed that acted as a curtain. Her long black hair flowed around her with bright blue streaks throughout it. Her tail was very unique among the mermaids Katie had seen, since she had been to Atheness. Her fin resembled that of a beautiful beta fish. She looked down at Katie and Chadwick with a stern face, and then she looked over at Niela.
“Why have you brought two land dwellers down to my kingdom? You know this is forbidden.”
“I’m sorry, my Queen, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter. Prince Varek and Princess Simona are in danger. They have been turned into Unicus’, and Queen Zendra is planning to take over all of Atheness. She has one of the keys.” Niela said, bowing.
“I see, but that doesn’t explain why you brought a human and one of Adrianna’s men here.”
“This is Katie. Queen Adrianna picked her from the world of men to defeat Queen Zendra. She needs a piece of the stone of Evandor to help restore Princess Simona and Prince Varek to their true form. Will you not help them?” Niela asked hopefully. The Queen pursed her lips and stared down at them. After several minutes, she began to speak again.
“I have the utmost respect for Queen Adrianna. I trust her judgment in people, no matter how odd it seems.” She looked down at Katie. “I will show you the stone and once you get your piece, you must leave here, for you still have a long journey to endure.”
“Yes, your Majesty and thank you.” Katie said, taking an awkward bow. She felt she would never get used to doing normal things in the water. Her body wanted to float up to the surface. She had to tie a few rocks around her waist to keep herself from treading water and to stay in the same place.
“Fine, follow me. The stone lies just outside of my grand city.” The Queen stood up and swam down to the three visitors. She glanced at Katie with quizzical eyes and then moved on past them. The three looked at each other and then began following the Queen. Everyone they passed on the street obediently stopped what they were doing and bowed to the Queen as she passed. She made no notice of them. Katie realized that even though she was rude, she was still highly respected amongst her people. If only her world were like that. Her people had freedom of choice; what they did and even what they can say. If only they showed their leader a little more respect. Even if her president had made a few bad choices in the past, that was no reason to constantly say horrible things about him all the time. If people did that to their Queen, who knows what would become of them; she didn’t want to even ask.
Outside the city, sat a large black boulder that stood thirty feet tall. Many soldiers guarded the rock from all directions. They all bowed as the Queen neared. The Queen handed Katie a small hand pick and motioned her to the rock. “Take only what you need,” the Queen warned.
Katie took out one of the vials the butterfly Queen had given her. She had it tied around her waist, since she no longer had pockets when she put on the dress, and she left her back pack on the surface. She took the pick and lightly tapped the rock. To her amazement just the right amount she needed fell off the rock and into the small bottle. Katie grinned at Chadwick. He smiled and bowed.
“Alright, you have what you came for, take great care of it. Niela will take you back to the surface. If your battle leads to the sea, we will be ready to help you. Be warned; Prince Varek is like a son to us. Take care that he doesn’t get hurt. Good luck, Katie.” The Queen said with almost a smile crossing her face. Katie bowed another awkward bow.
“I thank you, your Highness, for everything.” Katie turned and followed Chadwick and Niela into the tunnel once again. This time, she made sure to grab Chadwick’s hand so as to not lose him. “So, you think that Chait, Varek, and Simona faired okay, trying to find help, while we’ve been away?”
“Oh, I’m sure they are fine. Varek is one very determined man, and Simona is a very brave woman. But… Chait, I don’t know. You know him a lot better than I do. But in Varek’s care, I’m sure he will be fine.”
“Yeah, you’re right; I have just become quite fond of that cat and you, too. I know you have only come to protect me, but I do think of you as a friend, now. Not just my body guard. Am I out of place to say that?” Katie asked, holding the vial tightly in her hand, while undoing the rock belt around her waist. She let it fall to the cave floor with a loud clunk.
“No Katie, I think of you as a friend, too. You have a good heart and a sense of humor. Most people I have to guard are stuck up and bland. It is refreshing to find someone like you in this land. You know, Katie…” He stopped short when he and Katie both realized their air was running short. Niela saw this too and grabbed their hands, pushing them out of the cave with all her might and leading them to the surface.
Katie looked up to see that the surface wasn’t much further, but her lungs felt like they were going to collapse. She knew she had to stay calm; however, it was hard to do under the circumstances. Just when she felt like she was going to pass out, her head came out of the water and she was able to breathe fresh air again. Relief consumed her. Katie felt utterly exhausted. She looked around and saw that the shore was a lot further than it had been when they left it.
“My lungs are a lot stronger than yours, Katie. I’ll be able to make it back to shore. Can I carry you back?” Chadwick asked Katie, flying out of the water and shaking off some of the water from his hair. Katie realized as awkward as it would be, she was too tired to argue, so she nodded a yes. He picked her up and held her in his arms. They said their goodbyes to Niela, and flew back to the shore. Katie put her head on his chest and thought of James as she closed her eyes.
When they got to the shore, Chadwick put her down on the soft sand. He sat next to her to rest a while. Katie shivered and closed her arms tightly around herself. She was wet, but at least she got the second item. Chadwick walked back over to Katie and placed her backpack next to her. She placed the vial containing some of the stone into her bag with the rest. Suddenly, they heard a call for help. It became louder and louder and they saw a Unicus running up the beach.
“Katie, Chadwick, help! It’s Varek and Chait; she took them, help me!” It was Princess Simona.
“What happened? Was it Queen Zendra? Where are they?” Katie said in a panic as Chadwick stood up ready for battle.
“No, it was a Siren. She took them. We don’t have much time, get on my back, we’ll think of a plan on the way.” Katie and Chadwick got on her back. Chadwick didn’t know how far away it was and he was too exhausted to fly any further. Princess Simona jumped into the sky and flew off into the clouds.