Under The Sea

Chapter Twenty - Mother

Everything in Axel's life was perfect, or at least as perfect as it could be. He hadn't gotten into a fight with his father in forever. His relationship with his sister was stronger than ever, and even Finn noted how different he had been acting. It was as if something clicked inside him.

And something had: Samuel.

The first thing they teach every cub is to fear the humans. They're dangerous, they're killers, they're monsters. They couldn't be more wrong.

Their entire opinion of humans seemed corrupt, void of all positive aspects of their kind. Axel learned what they had done, the atrocities they committed, but he struggled to reconcile that fact against Samuel. His entire body seemed to reject the idea that he might be capable of such heinous acts.

Samuel single-handedly erased every piece of knowledge Axel held of humans - every opinion, every thought, every fact. All wiped away in an instant. Samuel was caring, tender, kind, respectful. The opposite of everything they were taught to believe about humans. How were they so wrong about it all?

The frustration and confusion chewed at his thoughts as he lay in his hammock. Yet, despite it all, Axel still believed that his life was as perfect as it can be. He would leave changing the world for another time. He just wanted to enjoy the pure bliss he couldn't get over at the moment.

But, all moment's end, and as the anniversary of his mother's death came around, Axel's perfect world seemed to come to a screeching halt. The entire Kingdom mourned the loss of the Queen every year, as if it were a requirement. Axel recognized, however, that they did it out of love and respect rather than obligation.

His mother had led their people out of an era of poverty left by her own mother, who had struggled to keep the Kingdom afloat after uniting the three tribes. She had always said that his grandmother had done her best, but it all just became too much for her to handle as she aged. She always made sure we appreciated what a great ruler and skilled negotiator she had been to unite the tribes and commended her for knowing when her time as regent had ended.

Yet, deep down, Axel had always blamed her for his mother's death. She had passed on the scepter and then disappeared when the Kingdom needed her the most, when his mother had needed her the most. Had she stayed, maybe Axel wouldn't be reluctant to leave his bedroom that morning, dreading every interaction he would have that day.

It was as if they had become tradition. Attend the council meeting where the Chiefs would offer their condolences, then stand for a moment of silence in her honor with his sister and father, followed by an even more awkward lunch with just the three of them, and then forced to chariot around in her honor before he could escape to his bedroom to be alone.

Axel couldn't do it all again, not this year, not when he refused to be sad about it. Because he had the one thing everyone wished they had: a way to speak to his mother.

He wouldn't be traipsed around in his mother's memory this year. He wanted to hear her voice, to see her. As they led him down the passage to the council meeting, he excused himself to use the restroom, and once he was out of view, bolted out of the palace and to the Northern peaks.

Arriving in his cave, he wasted no time in locating the small chest hidden amongst the treasures, retrieving the crown resting within. He held it in his hands, his memories of his mother wearing the piece flooding his mind as he ran his fingers lightly over the material. With a deep, steadying breath, he brought the crown to his head, closing his eyes as he set it in place.

"You can open your eyes now, guppy."

Axel's eyes shot open at the sound of his mother's voice, his eyes glued to her figure before him. She locked eyes with him and Axel felt as if he was staring in a mirror as he lost himself in the blue swirls of her irises.