The Little Merman

Chapter Four: "Unlike The Rest"

Triton took a few of his guards to the border where the Sea Witch had last been seen. Scanning the horizon, he looked for any sign of moment from the cluster of reef mounds. Waving for his guards to stay back, Triton tightened his grip on his trident and crept forward. Staying in sight of his guards, he called out to the maze of reef mounds. "I know you are here. Come out. Let's talk." The soothing dark voice seemed to come from all over as the Sea Witch purred back. "My, little brother. How you've grown." Triton tensed, staying observant as he said aloud. "Why have you returned? Have you forgotten I banished you?!" The voice cackled softly to itself, then in a much darker tone answered coolly. "Oh, Triton. You honestly didn't think that banishing me would keep me away forever, did you?" Triton saw movement on his left and whirled around to point his trident in that direction. From around the reef mound in front of him, the Sea Witch's voice cooed out with hidden malice. "Just like a spoiled brat... You think just because you say something that people will obey."

Triton swam slowly around the reef but found nothing. Moving back to the other side, he stated aloud. "I defeated you once. What makes you think now will be any different?" The Sea Witch's voice took on a self-confident tone upon answering. "Because I've had nothing but time to plan and get stronger. While you've sat upon that throne growing weaker under the burdens of the kingdom." Trident shook his head, uttering out as calmly as he could. "You are wrong. The burdens have made me stronger. Not weaker." The Sea Witch huffed, and Triton froze as long black tentacles slithered out from behind a reef within his sight. Creeping across the sandy floor, the Sea Witch casually moved out into the light. Triton straightened himself up as he looked. His older brother Ursel had changed a lot. Ursel had the lower half of a large black octopus with striking bright blue rings. While his upper body was human looking with silvery skin and shoulder length white hair with silver heights. Uriel's dark eyes were shadowed with purple sea slug blood make-up and his lips were a bloodred from smearing shellfish toxins on his lips.

From one of Ursel's human looking ears, hung a poison purple cone shell. Ursel's upper body was all lean muscle, but Ursel was not known for his strength. Ursel preferred to outwit his enemies over physical confrontations. Triton's eyes lowered to the golden Nautilus shell around Ursel's neck, growling out with disgust. "You have no right to be wearing that." Ursel raised an eyebrow, chuckling out dryly. "It wasn't my first choice. But since dear old dad, thought you were... manlier. Well, I felt it was a given really. After all, I am the oldest. Something should go to me." Triton shook his head, mumbling out bitterly. "How can you live with yourself after everything you've done? You killed your sisters! You've betrayed everyone! What makes you think that anyone will follow you!" Ursel's eyes narrowed on him, before sneering out in a light tone. "Dad betrayed ME! I did everything he ever asked but YOU were his favorite. A scrawny spoiled BRAT! I don't expect the kingdom to follow me... I'm going to MAKE THEM KNEEL BEFORE ME! Starting with YOU!"

One of Ursel's tentacles rose to hand himself an inky black trident that he'd kept hidden. Grabbing the inky trident, the false trident pulsed with a green light and made the Nautilus shell glow with a divine golden light. Triton hefted his own trident, causing it to glow with the same golden light but his trident pulsed with a white light. Pointing the tridents at each other, Triton yelled out to Ursel. "Your fake trident will only explode like the last one! Nothing can match dad's trident!" A wicked smile spread over Ursel's face to reveal his sharp teeth as he told him confidently. "If at first you don't succeed, try again!"

Back in the kingdom, Nate swam as fast as he could back to his grotto. Far behind him, Mark yelled out. "Nate! Slow down!" Nate ignored him, rushing into the sanctuary of his grotto. Snatching his bag off the floor, he swam up to a strange soft net that he had once found a skeleton laying on inside a vessel. He'd tied the strange net close to the top of his rounded grotto. The shelves that lined his grotto walls had all kinds of trinkets that he had collected from the ships over the years. The floor of his grotto was even lined in containers from the vessels that had lots of shiny golden round flat pieces. Some even had bright rocks that glinted when light touched them. These things made him happy. Draping himself across the strange net, he swayed his tail to rock the strange net as he sniffled and began to look through his bag. He felt so alone. Mark slowly swam through the thick hanging vines of the grotto, panting as he looked for him. Seeing him up above him, Mark used the sturdy coral shelves to pull himself up to him.