Making a Splash

Kingdom in Peril

Lily, Marie, Cleo, and Liz swam together through Aquaria as they made their way to the palace. Mersharks were still lurking all over the place, but they managed to be careful and stay hidden as they made their way through the city.

When they finally got near the castle, they looked and saw the gates wide open. There were no mersharks guarding the entrance, likely doubting anyone would be foolish enough to try and storm the place with so many predators lurking inside and the trident in the hands of Grimlur. A lucky break for the four mermaids.

Liz took the lead as they swam inside, checking to make sure the coast was clear. Once she was sure the area was safe, the others followed her in.

"Ok so what's the plan?" Lily asked.

"We need to find some way to get the trident back. Until we do that, we have no chance at stopping Grimlur." Liz explained. "My guess is we'll find him in the throne room. It's at the far end of the first floor."

"So we need to sneak over there without being noticed." Marie realized. "A group of four like this could easily be spotted if we move together. Should we split up for now?"

"That would probably be best." Liz nodded. "Cleo and I will go right. Lily and Marie, you two take the left."

The four friends nodded and went their separate ways after wishing each other good luck. With how much the odds were stacked against them, they were going to need it.

There was less than forty-five minutes to go for Grimlur's deadline he had given the merpeople of Aquaria. No doubt there were a few right now considering surrendering themselves to him. Lily, Marie, and Cleo knew how Grimlur operated. He would probably let any young and pretty mermaids live as his slaves. But the rest would be food for the mersharks.

It was only a small comfort, but they at least knew that the children were safe. Emma and the Nursery attendants were leading them out of Aquaria at this very moment. It saddened Lily and the others to not have Emma with them right now. But they couldn't deny that Emma had every right to be scared right now. They could only hope they would make it through this and see her face again.

As Liz and Cleo swam through the halls of the palace, the princess worried for the safety of her friends. It was true that moving in groups of two like this lowered the chances of them being spotted by mersharks. But at the same time, she was the only one familiar with the layout of the palace. She had no doubt that they could find their way to the throne room based on her explanation as it was a simple enough route. But the question of if they would make it was still very much lingering in her mind.

As they came to a corner, Liz and Cleo peeked their heads out and saw multiple mersharks lurking about. And it didn't look like they were going anywhere anytime soon.

"Great. Now what?" Cleo groaned.

"We might be able to go around them by going through the second floor." Liz suggested.

"And what if there's others there too? We don't have much time left."

"I know!" Liz said in a raised whisper. "But what other choice do we have?"

The situation was growing more dire by the second. And Liz knew full well that the chances of there being more mersharks blocking their way on the other floors was higher than not. However, Cleo spoke up with an idea.

"I'll distract them. You go on ahead while I draw their attention."

Liz looked at Cleo with widened eyes. "Are you insane?! That's not just reckless, that's suicide!"

"I'll be fine. It's more important that one of us makes it to the throne room than neither of us."

"But-"