Under The Sea

Chapter Thirty-Seven - A New Day

The days following the battle seemed to drag on as the Kingdom of Latistan recovered from the events. The citizens had lost everything to Phaedra's greed and malice, and the fear and terror lingered long after her death. But the merpeople were not the only ones affected by the events of that fated day.

Samuel struggled to move past his actions on that day, the way he had allowed his emotions to overcome his entire being and control his actions. The way he had slaughtered countless sirens and the way he had felt nothing at lunging his sword through Phaedra's heart.

How could he do that?

Samuel knew deep down that his actions were justified. He had done it all for the good of the people. He had killed Phaedra to save Axel's life. Even knowing this wasn't enough to stop the nightmares that visited him every evening since that day. The revolving door of merpeople seeking to meet him and thank him for killing the sea witch, oblivious to the guilt and pain he had been enduring, only made everything worse.

Everyone except Axel. Axel, who Samuel was sure was going through just as many emotions and stages as he was. Axel, who watched his aunt be killed right before his eyes as she tried to kill him. Samuel wished he could be his rock, the person he could lean on, but how could he be there for Axel, when he was unsure of his own state of being.

When he left Latistan, Axel had encouraged him to get away. Samuel needed time to process and had duties to attend to, and Axel had to stay behind and bury his father with Clara. Samuel had pushed it off as much as he could, but he had to return to Meridian and make preparations.

The council was receptive to revelations surrounding the merpeople. Reed and Arias marveled at the prospect of meeting real-life merpeople. Yet, before anything else could occur, his mother called for him to meet her in the gardens.

"Mother," Samuel spoke as he approached her beside the bush of carnations she treasured.

"Your father planted this bush for me the day that we wed," she spoke, reaching out to pull a flower. "He said it would survive as a symbol of our love long after we were both gone."

"I never knew that father..."

"At the council meeting, when you and Axel walked in," she turned to him with a smile. "He had a carnation tucked behind his ear, and I..."

"Mother, are you okay?" Samuel moved to hold her, seeing tears stem from her eyes.

"It was as if your father was back with us..." she sighed between soft sobs, reaching up to caress Samuel's cheek. "He would be so honored to be your father if he were alive today."

"Mother, why are you telling me this?" Samuel's body went tense as he thought back to her health, having believed her to have passed her illness.

"Because, my son, you are in love." She smiles up at him. "The kind of love that one does not find easily. The kind of love that makes you a better person... a better leader... and a better ruler."

"But-"

"I have stepped down as acting regent of Meridian, Samuel," she recovers, wiping at her cheeks. "I want to live out the rest of my days enjoying the beauty of the world. And you are ready to ascend to the throne as your father had always hoped."

"Mother, I'm not ready..."

"You are," she insists, handing him the carnation. "The only question is will you be brave enough to have the person you love at your side while you do it."

🐚 🐚 🐚

Their conversation lingered on Samuel's mind in the days that followed, even as the Kingdom and the palace made preparations for his coronation. The weight of her words weighed on his shoulders as he faced the reality of what he would be inheriting. As the day arrived, they filled the Kingdom with fanfare and festivities as they crowned Samuel the new regent. Despite tradition, his mother had insisted on bestowing the crown on him, and Samuel could not have asked for anyone else to have done it.