Colors of the Sea - The forgotten World

Chapter 3: Switched Sides

TW: Cursing, Mentions of War

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Dream swallowed hardly as his eyes skimmed the map in front of him. The area the sirens had chosen was vast and empty, so nobody would accidentally walk in on a full blown battle.

The king on the other end of the table was smirking coldly. Somehow, the area looked... familiar? Wait, is that...?

Dream's hands started shaking and the other sirens in the meeting room seemed to get nervous aswell when the realization hit them.

"Your majesty...", one said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Are you sure... about this?" "Why wouldn't I be?", the king responded and Dream knew he meant it. This was intentional.

The place the first battle was going to take place in was a historical area. A battle between the sirens and the merfolk had taken place there centuries ago, a battle in which the merfolk had lost countless soldiers, including their king and his first born daughter, in less time than it takes for the sun to set.

The biggest victory for the sirens that had ever taken place, but also the biggest bloodbath in all of documented history between the two kingdoms.

"Can't you atleast show some respect?"

"What did you just say?" I said that out loud?

Dream looked up to JSchlatt, who was staring at him from the other end of the room. "This is war, Clay. There is no such thing as respect in war." "What? Respect is the number one requirement for peace!"

Schlatt's eyes narrowed. Dream knew that what he was doing was basicially challenging the king. He was talking back and even told him he was wrong in front of some of his most important supporters.

The king's voice was dangerously low as he answered: "This is war, Clay. Not peace." "But hasn't history taught us the first thing to think about when... a war starts", he continued, silently cursing himself for not being brave enough to say what he had wanted to say, when you start a war, "is peace, right? You need to think of the future. A war can't go on forever."

"It won't." JSchlatt had put his hands on the table, hovering above it while glaring at Dream. His voice was a husky hiss. "It'll go on until the entire mermaid kingdom is ours. Not a day longer, I promise."

Dream felt the blood in his veins cool down and his heart rate go up as he stared at his father in shock. He wasn't... being serious, right? "But..."

"Peace is not an option, Clay. Get that shit inside your head. The only way this will end is by completely wiping the mermaid kingdom off the map. Am I clear?!"

He couldn't move. Not a single muscle. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out and so he closed it again, looking like a fish out of the water gasping for air.

Muffled laughter could be heard from various attendants of the meeting. "How naive", one mumbled, not even trying to conceal their amusement. "Has he really just realized that now?"

Dream felt like he was going to pass out. The room was spinning, the other sirens' voices were faint. He couldn't breathe.

He had known before, of course, deep inside he had always known. But hearing the king actually say it out loud just made it feel so... real.

George. He had to warn George.

The sirens were in his best interest, they were his people, but... this... it was too much.

He fled. He didn't know where, he didn't know how, he just swam. Away from this suffocating room, away from this haunting reality.

Nobody called after him. Nobody tried to stop him.

But as his tears mixed with the ocean's water, he knew he had switched sides.