~CLOSED FOR REPAIRS~ Holding Back the Tide (Roland/Leander)

The Fall of Hydropolis (1)

The city was in chaos.

Evan and his closest friends had arrived just in time to bring all of the citizens out of the collapsing city. Disembarking off the ship, King Evan was now starting to direct people.

"Alright!" he directed over all of the chaos. "Tani, I need you to go into the deeper part of town to alert citizens to come down here. Batu, scout around and alert the fishermen and the divers that are out on the ocean. Leander, down to the throne room, get all of the guards and the Queen. Bracken, you stay here with me and get everyone onto the ship. Is that clear?!"

Leander wasn't staying to find out if everyone else was clear. He knew his job. Not wanting to waste a single second, he turned on his heel and ran straight for Kardia Square, where the Hydroportal stood unguarded. His legs and feet pounded on the stone pathways one after the other, the wind whipping through his hair, adrenaline pumping through his veins. A certain level of despair and longing lay deep somewhere in his heart; he'd spent three centuries in this kingdom by the queen's side, feeling the gentle sea breeze, watching the sunset on the glittering waters of the sea. He didn't want it all to disappear, he didn't want to lose it. He wished there was something he could do... but that was all at the back of his mind.

Right now, all that mattered was getting everyone out of the throne room before it was too late.

Within seconds, or so it felt, he was down into the throne room at the bottom of the sea. The guards were all seemingly calm and collected - as was Nerea - and all were highly alert at Leander's sudden appearance.

"This kingdom is about to be razed to the ground!" he called out to everyone. "King Evan stands in Ankura Harbor, he's willing to take you all to Evermore, but only if you run down there as quickly as your feet can carry you!"

Almost immediately, everyone in the room ran past him up to the surface. All that was left was...

"You are truly an asset to Evermore and the people of this world, Leander," Queen Nerea said calmly, standing up and walking slowly toward him. "You'll do well to remember that. You take direction, you take input, and you rarely hesitate to offer ideas. You were just as valuable to this kingdom as you are to Evan now."

"Nerea--"

"Go, Leander," she said stubbornly. "Time is running short for Hydropolis. Linger any longer, and you'll be lost. I won't allow that any more than anyone else would."

Leander wanted desperately to argue, to take her with him to Hydropolis, but he knew that once she'd made up her mind she never went back on it. The look in her eyes said it all. He turned and made his way back to the ship, lost in thought.

Looking around the city, it was just about empty. Very few remained, scrambling to collect vain possessions or rounding up their children, but mostly everybody was on the ship.

Mostly.

"Where's...?" Evan began to ask. But Leander was wrapped up in his thoughts. All of this was going to be lost in a matter of seconds. He held his hands firmly on the rail of the ship, looking out at the kingdom, silently wishing and willing for Nerea to have followed him, to appear on the docks before they left, but he knew she wouldn't.

"She's not coming."

"What?!" Evan exclaimed at Leander's sudden, almost careless confession. "Why not?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine. If we have everyone, we should go."

"B-but... alright," the young king relented, before running across the ship to the helm. It was clear to not only Leander but to everyone there, that Evan knew just how torn he was going to be at this decision.

The ship began to move, but he would not have noticed if not for the fact that his kingdom, the place he'd spent his whole life, was starting to drift away. Slowly, surely, finally, the kingdom grew smaller and smaller in his vision. The low rumbling that Leander had ignored thus far grew louder, stronger; ripples formed in the water.

Leander couldn't bear to watch, but couldn't tear his eyes from the scene.

Within seconds, every structure he could see was gone, replaced by ashes, smoke, and rubble. He bowed his head. He wanted to cry but found that the shock he felt prevented anything from breaking through. He wanted to scream. To cry. To collapse into a heap. To throw himself off the ship. But he simply stood there, eyes down to the water below. His legs felt weak, but stand he did.

He could hear light footsteps behind him. And then a voice.

"Leander?" the voice said. Clearly a child, but not one he knew by voice. "What are we going to do now?"

He turned to face the child, a young mermaid he was yet unfamiliar with. For the first time in years, he had no answer. The only thing he knew for the past three centuries was to follow Nerea's nearly toxic command, to be the Archon of Hydropolis. But that was gone.

How could this happen?