Under The Surface

Chapter 2

"Where have you been? The king has been looking for you," Eridan's guard, Equius, chastised him as soon as he was close enough for words to be exchanged.

"You mean you were lookin' for me because Father can never be bothered to leave the palace," Eridan sighed.

"His Majesty is a busy man and has entrusted me to keep you safe. How can I do that if you keep swimming off and not telling me where you're going?" Equius rumbled in his deep voice. The guard was still just a teenager but his father had been in charge of palace security for many sweeps. Eridan remained silent as he swam with the shark-tailed teen toward the enormous underwater palace that was just ahead.

As the two boys got closer to the imposing castle built mostly of stone other sea dwellers bowed their heads out of respect for the young prince. Eridan acknowledged the subjects of his kingdom before swimming inside. "I think I can go see my father on my own, Eq," the child informed his guard stubbornly.

"As you wish," Equius conceded with a slight bow. Eridan swam off to the strategy block where his father spent a large portion of his time keeping tabs on his kingdom's military as well as what was happening with the other kingdoms in different seas. The young sea dweller entered the block silently and found the king scowling at the map pinned to the wall that charted the whereabouts of the four other kingdoms. The two long, thin scars that ran diagonally across his face looked more gnarled with his grimace.

"You wanted to see me Father?" Eridan spoke up tentatively. The king turned his attention to his son.

"Come here lad, I wanna show you somethin'," King Dualscar gestured for the child to come closer. Eridan swam up beside his father who continued glaring at the map before finally pointing to a particular pinpoint. "There's somethin' brewin' in the South Sea. I just know it," Dualscar said slowly.

"With the Serkets?" Eridan asked apprehensively. He felt slightly intimidated being in his father's presence.

"Aye," Dualscar confirmed turning away from the map to face the child. "They're always up to somethin'. You can't trust a Serket, remember that boy," he said bitterly. "I'm goin' to have to figure somethin' out. Gotta be prepared for when they try to take the kingdom. Ain't no ifs about it. They will try."

"The Serkets are goin' to attack us?" Eridan asked feeling fear grip at his blood pusher.

"They're goin' to do somethin'," Dualscar growled. "That's why I want you to be prepared, my boy." The king swam casually over to his desk as he spoke. "I believe you're old enough now to begin learnin' what it takes to be a soldier. I'm goin' to put you through the trainin' necessary to be able to help defend our kingdom." Eridan inhaled sharply as his father looked him straight in the eye with a calculating glint. "Understand?"

"Yes, sir," the young sea dweller responded.

"Good," Dualscar flipped a page on his desk to look it over. "You will begin tomorrow. That is all, lad," he said dismissively. Eridan exited the block feeling uneasy. He made it to his personal chambers of the palace where he curled up on his pile of kelp. He wished he had someone he could talk to about the things his father said but there weren't any other sea dwellers his age in the palace. He was just a job to Equius so that was out of the question and the teenager spent most of his time talking to his friend, Nepeta, anyways. The closest thing Eridan had to a friend was the human he had met earlier that day, Sollux. Eridan smiled at the thought and fell asleep hoping that he would be able to see Sollux again.