The Twins from the Sea

Chapter XXIV

Moana and Ophelia burst from the doors of the government hall, the rest of the congregation trailing in their wake. The excited fire had returned to Moana's eyes, and her energy was contagious.

For the rest of the meeting, they had discussed their plans and techniques for finding the army's controlling orb, and the book that the twins discovered the information in had been taken in for further investigation. Efforts were being made to contact the author. Scouts, in the meantime, had been sent in from the battlefield bearing good news. The Siren army had held off the monsters and drove them into temporary retreat. The Siren Army had only suffered minimal casualties. The troops were brought back in to rest and refuel, and the phalanx soldiers had been switched out.

The plan was, when he battle restarted, was to take a prisoner. Ophelia expressed her concerns about its treatment; no torturing of any kind was to be tolerated. Once the prisoner was taken in, the Sirens were to offer it safety, food, shelter and pardon in exchange for information. She realized the chances of the prisoner giving the information might be low. But, she hoped that kindness, something probably rare in an evil monster army, might be tempting.

A team had been assigned to continue research on the monsters, and Ophelia and Moana were on standby, should any advancements be made. As for right now, they were headed to the dining hall where most of the soldiers were gathered, to interview those who had come in close combat with some of the mosters. Moana, Ophelia, Fiona and Queen Coral entered the room and a hush quickly fell over the army as they stood respectfully. Ophelia looked proud but Moana blushed. The Queen nodded respectfully and they sat, but remained quiet. Someone who Moana guessed was a general swam forward and bowed to the four of them.

"Your Majesty. Your Highnesses. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" he said, a happy gleam in his eyes.

"We believe to have made a large breakthrough regarding the enemy we are facing, thanks to our young princesses here," the Queen said, smiling at Ophelia and Moana. The general nodded at them appreciatively, and their pride surged. "We have come to request some assistance from some soldiers who came in close combat with our ememy. We hope you can recommend some a soldier or two to interview?"

"Certainly. Allow me just a few moments... Can I offer you something to eat or drink?" finished the general, and quickly sped off after all four shook their heads. Conversation began to pick up again among the soldiers.

They all sat down at an empty table close to the front of the room. Fiona and Coral conversed for a while, but Ophelia and Moana were too distracted to make small talk. Moana was fascinated by the army, and the way they all seemed to be so happy. They were playing card games, drinking and laughing with each other. It didn't seem at all like they were in the middle of battle with quite the daunting opponent. But, when she thought again, they do have a reason to be happy; they have been able to hold them off for now without many casualties.

The general returned several minutes later followed by two young-looking soldiers, looking a bit weary but bright-eyed. The general left and the soldiers stood at the table before the queen gestured to chairs facing them. They sat down, an eager look in their eyes.

"How can we assist you, your highnesses?" said the orange-skinned soldier across from them. "I am Alastair, and this is my good friend Raleigh."

Queen Coral nodded her head and repeated what she said to the general. They nodded eagerly.

"Of course. Alastair was almost eaten by one of the big cyclops monsters!" Raleigh said. Looking at him now, Ophelia realized that he couldn't be any older than she was. He still spoke with the excitement of a child.

"I'm fine. It was nothing. I finished him off easy! All I had to do was strangle him with the necklace he was wearing," Alastair said nonchalantly. Ophelia's ears perked up.

"Necklace? What kind of necklace?" she said, leaning forward in her seat and taking out her notebook.

"Well, it was a sturdy string, made of some kind of seaweed braided together. And there was a crystal at the end," said Alastair.

"All of them were wearing those, actually. The strings were all different but they all had those crystals," Raleigh said, seeming proud of himself for providing information. Ophelia, Moana, Coral and Fiona exchanged excited looks.

"You've been a wonderful help. Thank you very much," the queen said, shaking the soldier's hands.

"We are honored that we could be of service," said Alastair. Ophelia and Moana shook their hands and walked out of the hall, and into the palace.

"This is great!" Moana said, teeming with excitement. Her sister nodded in agreement. "Now we don't have to rely on the prisoner's loyalty to his cause. We take the necklace! That's what must connect all of them, right?"

Fiona nodded. "Now all that's left to do it wait for the battle to resume."

"What if the necklace leads us to the lair?" Moana said, grabbing her sister's arm.

"It's a possibility. But Poseidon's not dumb. The location of the orb isn't going to be so easy to get a hold of," Ophelia pointed out. Moana frowned, but agreed. They walked a while longer in silence, then retired to their rooms to rest.

•••

It wasn't until three days later that the battle resumed again. They struck unexpectedly in the middle of the night. The orders were given to the generals that a prisoner was to be taken into custody. Ophelia, Moana, Fiona and Coral decided to wait in a safe place until the prisoner was ready. The four sat in Ophelia and Moana's room early the morning after the battle resumed, eating their breakfasts in silence. Moana's terrible anxiety had returned and it was evident to her family.

"Moana, calm down, love. Everything will be fine," Fiona said, grabbing her hands from across the wooden table. She was quiet for a few moments.

"I don't know how you can say that when there are people down there dying. And we're up here eating waffles," she said, looking at the floor. Fiona sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Queen Coral looked away.

"Moana, you have to understand that the best thing we can be doing right now is waiting. Once they have the prisoner then we will be helping more than we ever could trying to go out there. Besides, I like you better alive than dead," Ophelia said, looking her sister right in the eye. Moana looked down and pushed her food around with the fork.

"I guess so," she said. As if on a cue, a sharp knock sounded at the door, and Moana sat up in her chair. Queen Coral rushed over. She opened it and a soldier stood, looking alert in the doorway. He made a quick bow to the queen.

"Your Majesty. Your Highnesses," he said, his words coming out jumbled and excited. "The prisoner has been taken. He's in the dungeon."

"We have a dungeon?" Moana whispered to Fiona, who chuckled softly.

"Right this way, if you will," said the soldier, hurrying down the hallway, with the four Sirens following behind him.