Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Seventeen

The streets were bustling with the midday crowd, levitating vehicles moving past the group as they ambled through the underwater city, soaking in the soft sunlight that accompanied the beautiful landscape surrounding them.

The Royal twins led the way while she strode beside the petite blonde who walked between her and Rolan.

She sighed. Kaenisa had not expected Zaic to bring them out here when he had grabbed her hand like that.

And she had definitely not expected her heart to skip a beat when she had looked into his lilac eyes, twinkling like wind chimes in the sea breeze. But it had.

And that bothered her more than the Prince himself.

But it didn't change the fact that it was a beautiful afternoon and Kaenisa wasn't about to let her boy problems get in the way of enjoying it or admiring the fabulously engineered buildings, co-existing with nature in perfect synergy.

They walked by what could only be described as the hybrid of the largest tree she had ever seen merged with Crystallium, steel, and iron. The trunk was as thick as a normal building back home would be, leaning to the right.

Yet somehow, its vast canopy remained intact, brushing against the equally tall steel structure that originated from where the tree had started to bend as if it were an extension of the trunk itself.

"We are here," Zaira announced, forcing Kaenisa to tear her gaze away from the marvelous piece of architecture and focus it onto the two iron gates in front of them, flung wide open.

They reminded her of the recreational parks near her house, which she had once been so fond of visiting.

A lifetime ago.

Kaenisa had assumed that it was some kind of a park that they were entering, but never in a million years had she expected to be greeted with acres and acres of green surrounding them as far as eyes could see.

The land sloped inwards towards the heart of the place.

It was impossible to decide where to look when the whole place was lined with kinds of trees she had never seen before, glowing aureate flowers and petals like white leaves, hanging down from its trunk like water from a fountain.

Some of them had neon green tendrils wrapped around the trunk, leaves shimmering with the most vivid hues of every imaginable colour.

Large patches of land made entirely into flower beds, sported brilliant shades of sapphire, crimson, violet, and orange.

Kaenisa couldn't help but notice how the boundary wall had an array of carvings, dents, designs, and words etched into it. The kind that wasn't pre-engineered. This place obviously had a history.

"Welcome to 'The Althron Central Park'." Zaic said, a broad grin stretching across his lips, pride gleaming in his eyes.

"It was named after our late uncle and Former King, Althron Dymira Aethier, who sacrificed himself to save the City from a certain cataclysmic end in the Old War," Zaira explained.

"What is the Old War?" Sarina interjected.

"Do you really want a history lesson right now?" Kaenisa frowned.

When the Platinum Blonde failed to answer, she continued, "That's what I thought."

As they walked further in, Kaenisa noticed just how crowded it was, mostly near the depression, which she learned was a lake called Kaimira.

From her vantage point, it glimmered a brilliant turquoise, rippling with a calmness that soothed her soul.

It was only then that she looked around her, at the families sitting on picnic blankets, rather advanced, inflatable ones, but laughing nonetheless.