The Siren Queen

Chapter Fourteen

            The Wild bowhead whale dropped Nerissa off less than a nautical mile from the palace of the Siren Queen. This is it, thought the Crown Princess of Pacifica, her head breaking the surface and resting her arms on a small, floating iceberg. Her heartbeat quickening, she then briefly prayed under her breath that Amphitrite, the Goddess of the Sea, would watch over and protect her as she finally attempted to carry out the hazardous mission to rescue Lord Zale from the Siren.

The Northern Lights erupted in a vibrant display of color, far above Nerissa. Ethereal ribbons of emerald green and cerulean blue cast an otherworldly glow over the icy sea. For a moment, she was so captivated by the mesmerizing spectacle, that her apprehension began to fade away.

Seemingly out of the clear blue, the Siren Queen's Army of Ice Mermaids appeared and started to attack Nerissa. The Ice Mermaids were ten moving, mermaid-shaped sculptures carved entirely out of shimmering ice. Their translucent bodies were polished smooth by the Arctic currents. Long icicles sprouted from their heads instead of flowing hair, and where hands should be, deadly spikes of ice jutted out.

They surged toward Nerissa in a synchronized wave, their icy forms flashing through the cold water with unnatural speed. She knew that she was greatly outnumbered, but she took a deep breath as she reached for her dagger.

Crown Princess Nerissa tried her best to defend herself, but attempting to chip away at ice with a little dagger was very much a fool's errand. The Ice Mermaids, relentless and silent, had her completely surrounded. She assumed that all hope was lost for her, when all ten of them simultaneously probed her soft, delicate skin with their spiky, icicle-like fingers.

The Goddess of the Sea must have heard Nerissa's prayers, as a Pacific walrus, its lengthy tusks gleaming like ivory spears in the glow of the Northern Lights, suddenly emerged from beneath the surface of the Northern Ocean. The Wild creature, with a deafening roar, charged toward the Ice Mermaids. Never thought I would get the chance to save a real damsel in distress, the walrus messaged Nerissa telepathically.

The walrus's greatest weapon was its substantial body mass. Using its bulk, the big, cinnamon brown mammal sent most of the Ice Mermaids tumbling like fragile coral dislodged by a raging storm. With a final earsplitting roar, it slammed its large body into the few remaining Ice Mermaids. Their crystalline forms shattered, sending shards of broken ice glittering through the frigid water.

A powerful wave of relief washed over Nerissa. She was filled with awe as the friendly walrus quickly dismantled the attack of the Ice Mermaids. "Thank you. You just saved my life" she said to the creature before swimming onward.

The Siren Queen's imposing palace was unlike any building Nerissa had ever laid her blue-green eyes on before. Made of glassy pale blue and white ice, half of it was submerged, with icy turrets and towers rising above the water line. It did not appear to have windows or doors of any kind.

Nerissa slowly chipped away at the bottom of one of the palace's ice walls with her dagger. While it was a laborious process that took hours and caused the muscles in her arms to ache, she eventually managed to create a small opening, just barely big enough for her slender frame to swim through. Remembering what Hannah had told her about Sirens, she plugged her ears with pieces of kelp prior to nervously entering the palace.