Maame Water: The Legend Of The Fish Queen

Bloodbath

The Fish-Queen's beautiful voice washed over the King with such force that it brought him to his knees, tears in his eyes. When he looked at his sister, he did not see the Fish-Queen. He saw the little girl who'd once balked at killing a fly. The little girl who took the fall every time they had dueled in front of Father so Father would be proud of his heir. The girl who had introduced him to Elder Neequaye's niece, now the love of his life. The girl who had looked at him with big sorrowful eyes when her husband had left her on that fateful night and had smiled at him warmly when he comforted her with his embrace.

Her dark eyes are scarlet and deviod of emotion now, a voice said at the back of his mind. And her smiles are cold enough to freeze the hottest fires.

The King gasped as another wave of her song knocked the breath from lungs.
So beautiful, he thought as he dropped his sword. So very beautiful.

Everywhere around him his warriors felll to their knees as the dead fish-women rose, their mortal wounds healed, and joined their voices to their Queen's.
Immortality means nothing to you?

The King looked on in a trance as his men responded to the song. Some of his men took their swords and fought one another, while others simply drove the blades of their swords into their own bellies. Some of his men were cut down by the fish-women who seemed stronger and faster than they had been mere minutes ago. A few of his men followed the fish-women into the depths of the lagoon, where they drowned in their love.

No, the King thought as he watched his men die one by one. I should stop this, but the song... her voice is so beautiful...

The King looked on tearfully as the cave floor grew slick with his men's blood though he finally closed his eyes when the last man fell.

Only then did his sister stop singing.

When the spell was broken, the King sat quietly on the ground looking at the men his sister had murdered.

"You killed them. All of them," he croaked, grabbing his sword. "How could you?"

"Their blood is on your hands brother," the Fish-Queen answered silently.

"I gave you the chance to retreat and in your arrogance, you refused. Your pride is what led these men to their deaths."

"MURDERER," the King screamed, rushing at his sister.
The Fish-Queen easily sidestepped the King's thrust, caught his free hand and pierced his sword hand with her dagger. The King screamed as he dropped his sword, the point dagger sticking out of his wrist.

"You insolent fool!" the Fish-Queen hissed as she tore the dagger out of his wrist. "Will you never learn?"

Time slowed as the Fish-Queen struck the King's chest creating a jagged red mark from King's left breast to his right rib with her black-and-crimson dagger and kicked him on his wound so that the King stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

"AAAAH!" the King screamed again as pain shot up his arm when his sister rammed her leg into his injured wrist.

I am finished, the King thought, bringing his left hand to his chest. It is a mortal wound... yet it feels skin-deep. Mortal wounds tend to be deeper...

The King sat up, and leaned his back on the cave wall when the Fish-Queen released his hand. The wound on his chest burned when he moved but when he saw that it was only a superficial wound, he looked up at his sister, speechless.

She could have killed me; she had me beaten and she could have killed. Why, then, am I still alive?

As if in answer, the Fish-Queen crouched near her brother, reached out and brushed her hands on her brother's cheek.

"Brother," she whispered softly. "My only brother. All you have done, you have done for justice. How can I kill you brother, when I have done all of this for justice too? All I did, I did for her, all the killing..."

My sister, my sweet, loving sister. What have you become?

The Fish-Queen closed her eyes and sighed and when she opened them, her scarlet irises seemed to glow even brighter.

"I will give you one last chance, for until now, you have been nothing but good to me. Go back to your kingdom, brother. Go home to your subjects, go home to your wife and to your son. Your heir needs you."

The King furrowed his brows. "How... how do you kno-,"

The Fish-Queen smiled. "My powers have grown brother. I can see the mind of your medicine man. The Queen has birthed a strong baby boy and she needs you by her side."

The King clutched his throbbing wrist and frowned.
If she can see the medicine man's mind...

"Yes, brother," the Fish-Queen affirmed. "I can also read yours."

Finally the King understood.

"I urgh...," he grunted in pain. "I never really stood a chance did I?"

The Fish-Queen shook her head slowly. "My sisters and I are powerful and most importantly, we're immortal. No ordinary man can defeat us."

The Fish-Queen stood up and looked around her at the massacre.

"I shall grant you leave for three days to retrieve your dead; do not worry, the drowned ones shall be returned to you. My sisters and I shall swim in the sea for three days and when we return, we do not expect to find rotting corpses in our abode. Is that clear, brother?"

The King nodded.

What else could he do but nod? He had lost everything, Kabu, his men, his pride and most importantly, his little sister.

He subjects would scorn him when he returned to the kingdom and related his story to his elders.

They would call him weak for he had been defeated by his little sister and her school of fishes. They would call him the 'King Who Knelt To Fish'.

The Fish-Queen reached down and kissed her brother's forehead.

"Despair not, brother for you have an heir," she said. "Take care of the Queen, and give this kiss to your son in my stead. I love you, brother."

I love you too my dear sister. Please come home with me. Leave this school of fish and return with me. I will pardon you as you have pardoned me... please.

The Fish-Queen started to walk away but then she stopped and turned.

"Oh and brother, this time I spared because of the blood that we share and because of the affection I feel for the Queen, my best friend's cousin, but if you trespass upon my cave again," she said coldly, scarlet eyes glowing. "I will not stop my sisters from feasting on the blood of a king."

The King expected as much and nodded meekly before saying. "I would ask a question, if it please you."
To ascertain whether I have lost you for good.

The Fish-Queen lips twitched into a smile. "Anything for my big brother."

The King grimaced in pain as he spoke. "Wh-what happened to the first fish-woman, Silver Eyes? The one who... urgh... started this madness."

The Fish-Queen cocked her head, a confused look etched on her innocent-looking face. "Why I killed her of course." She said, her voice echoing like thunderclaps.

"She should never have murdered my husband."

I have lost you, my sweet little sister; I have lost you forever.
***

Ooooh so the King has finally accepted that his sister can never been redeemed (about time) so he's now going to get serious and do everything he can to defeat the Fish-Queen and protect his kingdom! But how will he do it when his brute strength was useless in the face of her immeasurable power? He has no other choice but to seek the Oracle who advices him to......
Find out on the next update lol!
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