The Angel of Death

Chapter Seven

The Fish Prince quietly watched as the majestic vale glided across the water. Its sleek black skin shimmered in the dim light of the ocean as its long tail whipped back and forth to propel itself. The vale's streamlined body allowed it to glide swiftly and effortlessly, with its long snout seemingly cutting through the water. It had a close resemblance to a dolphin, the Prince noted, with the same sleek body, long snout and two-finned tail. The vale, however, was significantly rarer and much more sought after by hunters and collectors alike for its beautiful black coat. With the vale's piercing blue eyes and streamlined figure, the Prince could not help but gaze at it in wonder and amazement. In front of him was a rare, beautiful sea creature that many others could only dream to behold, let alone catch. After several moments of taking in the creature's beauty and elegance, he went into action. Slowly and silently, the Prince approached the vale, ever so careful in his movements. The vale was far from a delicate creature, but the slightest shift in movement could alert it to trouble and cause it to swim away, and considering the speed with which it swam....the Prince was not a bad swimmer. In fact, he was the best in the entire kingdom of Tritanis, but the vale was a completely different story. From what he observed, it could reach speeds of over 156 miles per hour with ease. On a good day, the Prince could reach 125 miles per hour. So he slowly swam up to the vale, painstakingly making every effort to mask his movements. On the vale's part, it was completely oblivious to the Prince, darting this way and that to catch its own prey. An hour passed, the vale swimming gracefully and unknowingly while the Fish Prince crept closer with the same grace but with clear intent. Finally, the Prince got near enough to throw his spear, Perseus. The spear was tailor made for the Prince, closely following the style and design of his father's spear, the King Triton's Pegasus. It was made as a gift for the Prince on his 180th birthday, a celebration of his becoming a real ichthyan. He practiced it often and well enough to know that he needed only one shot to kill the vale. With deadly aim, he reared his arm back and prepared to launch his spear at the vale.

Suddenly, a loud, piercing voice shattered the silence.

"AARON TRITON CELEMUS. WHAT IN ATLANTIS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Unfortunately, the Prince knew that voice all too well. As the vale darted away at the first sign of danger, Aaron's mother, Queen Harmonia of Tritanis, angrily swam up to the Prince. She wore a look of undisguised fury and wrath on her otherwise kindly face. The Queen was slim and beautiful despite just having passed her 416th birthday. She had long black hair that was pulled up into a bun, although a few stray strands covered her face. Signs of age marred the Queen's face, with a hint of wrinkles starting to show. Her warm brown eyes burned in anger at the Prince as her scarlet ichthyan tail swished back and forth to keep her afloat. Reflected in the Prince's own face was his own look of anger.

"IT GOT AWAY!" he roared.

"Bloody good that it did, you numbskull. What did you think you were doing, trying to impale one of Tritanis's sacred creatures?" The Prince's father, King Triton coldly answered, closely following behind his wife. The King radiated an aura of cool, calm confidence that was apparent in his demeanor. His face betrayed no sign of emotion, with the exception of his blue eyes that pierced through the Prince with cold, icy anger. He had folded his arms across his chest, a look of disappointment written all over his muscular body. The scales of his deep blue tail glowed in the light, keeping him afloat with slow, powerful strokes.

"I was not going to impale it, I was simply going to-" the Prince tried to reason.

"YOU HAD YOUR ARM RAISED WITH YOUR SPEAR IN HAND. I have seen you play with your spear enough times to know that that is how you prepare to throw it!" Queen Harmonia shouted. "Is your brain made of seaweed? Do not lead me to believe that I have raised you to be such a simple ichthyan."