Lost In Underland

9: Amber and Prince Arnold

Hours after Amber's disappearance, the stormy weather was already back to normal. Isis and Rhea were standing at their front porch looking around in their night dress.

"Why isn't she back?" Rhea asked. "It's midnight."

"Amber!" Isis called out into the still of the night and her voice echoed, followed by a forlorn silence.

"What if something bad happened to her?" Rhea asked. "It was stormy and besides, she said she saw a mermaid, remember?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Isis chided. "No one has seen one in quite a long time and no one is believed even if they claim to have seen one. The last person that claimed to see one was Amber's father and he was not believed."

"So mermaids have been seen?" Rhea asked, surprised.

"Folktales tell that this kingdom used to worship one who disappeared because of the wickedness of many people. There are also tales of them giving wealth to good people but I think that's just stupid tales. Let's go back inside. When she's tired of staying out, she'll return."

Rhea followed Isis back inside the house, slamming the door behind her.

By morning, Isis and Rhea, still in their nightdresses were looking around at the dock.

"Maybe she returned home," Rhea suggested and Isis pointed at Amber's canoe which was anchored to the dock.

"I'm not sure," Isis told her. "Her canoe is still here. This is strange."

"Are you worried mother?" Rhea asked and Isis rounded on her so fast the girl was momentarily startled, her lower lip trembling with the threat of an outburst of tears.

"Common sense," Isis yelled, "should tell you that someone in your care should not mysteriously go missing."

Rhea began to cry and Isis immediately softened up.

"Sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to yell at you. Don't be a crybaby. It reminds me of the wretched Amber."

Right away, Rhea stopped to cry and wiped the tears off her face. She didn't want to be compared to Amber who she believed was far beneath her.

"So what do we do now?" she asked her mother.

"Don't worry," Isis replied. "For now, let's just attend the meeting announced earlier this morning. You and Arnold can seize the opportunity to spend time together again."

Rhea beamed at the mention of Arnold and Isis laughed, tweaking her cheeks lovingly.

A few hours later, the king's palace was filled with villagers. The palace was the exact castle in the portrait inside Isis's living room. The villagers were gathered at the palace grounds, a large open space and they were chatting with each other so that the crowd was not quieted yet.

Before the people there was an elevated ground where a throne was set, sitting the royals. The king, a handsome man in his fifties had his beautiful queen in her forties seated beside him with a maid and maidservant standing right behind them.

The Town crier, a large man was standing by the royals who were all looking melancholy, and right beside the queen was an empty royal seat that was always occupied by Arnold but for the first time in a long time, it was unoccupied.

In the crowd, Matron and her family were present together. Isis and Rhea were standing together at the front of the crowd with Cressida standing close behind them. As if to re-establish the bad blood between them, they exchanged unfriendly stares before turning their faces away from each other.

Meanwhile, Miriam was pushing forward through the crowd and came to stand beside Isis who immediately noticed her presence with a curt nod. Notwithstanding, Miriam was smiling at Isis even as the woman started fanning herself with her hands as though in unbearable heat.