The Twins from the Sea

Chapter XXII

Ophelia and Moana woke with a start to a harsh rapping on their door. Ophelia sat up quickly, filled with not only the horrible feeling of being harshly woken up, but an odd and unexplainable terror. She looked over to see her sister slowly gliding towards the door. Whoever was outside was still fervently knocking, and they started to shake the door's silver handle. 

"Open up, please!" shouted a muffled but familiar voice through the door. Moana looked back at her sister fearfully before opening the door. There stood a very exasperated-looking Aikaterine, with bags underneath her usually bright eyes, which were bloodshot and fearful. 

"Aikaterine!" Moana said, surprised. "Please, come-" 

"No! There is no time. We must go, now!" Aikaterine said, grabbing Moana's wrist. Ophelia raced towards the door behind her sister, and grabbed something off the back of one of the chairs. She heard the heavy door slam behind her. Moana pulled her hand free of Aikaterine's death grip and without slowing her pace, looked at the paranoid Siren beside her. 

"Aikaterine, please! Tell us what's going on," she pleaded. Aikaterine didn't look at her. 

"I cannot explain now. I promise, it will become clear with time. Please, just hurry!" she said, speeding up, her dark green tail flicking behind her. Moana easily kept pace with her, but Ophelia fell behind only slightly. She pushed forward as fast as she could as they raced out the palace doors, when Aikaterine quickly came to a halt, and Ophelia nearly crashed into her. When she looked up, she saw her sister, with a horrified and frightened expression on her face. She looked further and saw what Moana was looking at. 

Before them, a line of Sirens in full battle armor formed a wall, completely surrounding and barricading the castle and grounds. They held shields and other tall weapons like tridents or spears. Ophelia was struck with a sudden recognition. They were in a phalanx formation- an Ancient Greek military technique, which was hugely successful. 

Beyond the Siren phalanx came the real terror. Quickly approaching was a massive army of terrifying monsters. Enormous creatures with tentacles, giant-sized cyclops Sirens with equally giant weapons, dozens of battle-scarred, mean-looking sharks and other carnivorous fish. The monster army looked as if it greatly outnumbered the Siren army, and Ophelia was sick with fear. If this barricade was all the Siren army had, this would be a bloodbath. Some of those monsters looked as if they could easily step over the Siren army's wall, even with their spears raised. Ophelia feared for the lives of these courageous soldiers and felt a surge of appreciation for their bravery. Suddenly a voice rang out from behind them. 

"Field soldiers! Advance!" shouted a booming voice. Ophelia and Moana whirled around, and out surged an enormous battallion of Sirens from behind the castle. Some rode dolphins sidesaddle, like they were horses. Aikaterine held Ophelia and Moana's hands and stood her ground. Moana's eyes went wide with panic and tugged on Aikaterine's hand. 

"We have to move! They're gonna trample us!" Moana said, her usually confident voice trembling and shaky. 

"Just wait," Aikaterine said. 

As the soldiers pulsed forward and approached the three, the crowd parted around them. Through their helmets, Ophelia saw the soldiers, men and women alike, look at them and smile. Ophelia gasped, and started speaking to every person she could. 

"Thank you for your service! Thank you so much! Your bravery is appreciated!" she screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. The soldiers nodded at her and smiled. The three girls standing amongst the soldiers were almost pushed back by the silent but powerful current of the thousands of multicolored and armor-studded tails flicking powerfully through the water. Ophelia and Moana turned back around and saw the phalanx soldiers lifting their shields as the field soldiers laced through them. When the last of them had penetrated the wall, in unison, the phalanx reformed. A glimmer of sunshine shone down from the surface of the ocean, and it shone down on the Siren army, filling everyone a strong hope. The field soldiers stopped, forming a half-moon around the phalanx. One soldier stepped forward and shouted in such a strong voice, it seemed to shake the ground beneath them. 

"Today we fight! We fight for the Queen! We fight for the King! We fight," he paused, "for Jade Bay!" And with a resounding cry, the brave Siren army advanced on their daunting opponents. 

Moana stepped forward and turned around with an enfuriated look on her face.

"I can't just stand here! I have to do something! People are going to die! I... Please!" she cried,  with a wild passion in her eyes.

"It's not safe. We must keep you two away! We have to go inside the palace now!" Aikaterine said as the first line of the army collided with the monsters in a fierce battle.

"No!" Moana objected. "How can you expect us to do any 'saving' if we're locked inside?"

"Aikaterine is right, Moana," Ophelia said, gently placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Now is not our time."

"Well then when will be? And what can we do now, locked in the castle? Nothing helpful or productive, I'm sure," Moana said angrily. Ophelia smiled.

"That's where you're wrong, dear sister," she said, looking and sounding wise beyond her years. "We can do something very productive."

"What, then?" Moana asked after a time of silence.

"Research."

"Research?!"  Moana exclaimed, trembling with rage. "What, in the name of God, is there to research?"

Ophelia puffed her chest out and looked sternly at her sister. "I know what I'm doing," she said, then turned to Aikaterine, a curious expression on her face.

"Aikaterine, do I have your permission to make use of your Royal Library?" Ophelia asked. Aikaterine looked taken aback.

"Well," she said, sounding flustered, "Many of the books were destroyed with the palace, but we've still got a sufficient amount. I can take you there now."

Ophelia shook her head, and reached into a bag strung around her shoulder, which neither of them had noticed before. She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen made of coral and filled with squid ink. "I need to observe a few things first."

Ophelia swam forward a bit and peered over the heads of the phalanx soldiers. "If I could only get a bit closer," she said, swimming up higher until she was almost directly above their heads. Aikaterine let out a gasp and started to frantically chase after her. She grasped her hand and yanked her back the way she had came.

"Hey! I need to see-" Ophelia objected, pulling her hand away from Aikaterine. She interrupted her, sounding furious.

"You'll do no such thing! I cannot risk your lives! You're the only hope we've got here, and-"

"If you expect us to do anything useful to you lot, you'll be wise to let us do what we need," Ophelia said, an unmatchable stern tone in her voice. Aikaterine backed away warily and crossed her arms.

"Please just hurry," Aikaterine said, and Ophelia gave her a thankful nod. As she swam up high, she called down to the two on the sea floor.

"Just a few minutes! That's all I need, just for a few sketches and-" Ophelia's last few words were drowned out in battle cries. Ophelia furiously scribbled on the parchment, filling up almost the whole pad, before quickly swimming down to them and towards the castle.

"Come on, then!" she cried, an excited glint in her eye. "We have so much to do."