War of the Ocean

Chapter 4

The ocean current was the only thing that moved. It gently pushed the loose tendrils from Arelena's hair into her face. Raising a pale hand, she tucked the strands behind an ear. She waited by her brother in the open water, waiting. What would he do once Soren arrived? And what would she do? Would she try stopping her brother or let him destroy the other merman? It wouldn't be much longer until she found out, for she could already make out a shadow approaching them from the blue.

As the shadow grew closer, she glanced at her brother nervously. At a glance, he appeared calm. It was only when she looked closer, her eyes studying the storm in his and the way his knuckles turned white as they gripped his trident. He had a hurricane inside, waiting to be unleashed. Very soon, it would have its chance.

Once Soren had come close enough for me to make out his features, she realised he hadn't changed since the day he had been exiled. The ends of his white hair still brushed against the top of his shoulders, his blue tail and pale skin was still crisscrossed with thin, silvery scars. But there was one difference she could see when she looked even closer. His silver eyes did not sparkle with life and happiness anymore, instead they were darker and filled with anger. On the outside, this was the same Soren she remembered. But inside, he was completely different.

He stopped swimming forward, mere tail lengths from the royal siblings. For a moment the three of them were still, staring.

All of a sudden, Tristien sprang into action, dashing for his old friend with his trident, just as he had that little yellow fish. Soren dodged, moving off his path and diving underneath the King before rocketing up and whirling around, ready for the next attack. They went at it again and again, Tristien charging but never once getting close enough to the other merman. She could tell that her brother was blinded by rage, restricting his battle skills. He continued to charge like an angry bull shark until at last Soren dodged yet another attack, but grabbed at the trident while the King went past. For a minute the two of them freeze, staring at one another. Both have one hand on the trident but neither attempt to snatch it away.

'Why have you returned, Soren?' He asked, his voice devoid of emotion. 'You were exiled to the Dark Waters for eternity, why would you come back?'

The white-haired merman did not reply at first. He stared the Mer King in the eye instead, something no other dared to do. Perhaps he truly did have a death wish. 'I have returned, Tristien, because the Mer need me,' he said. 'You are not fit to be king. In fact, you never were and although I was once blinded by our friendship, I see that now. So, old friend, I have returned to end your reign.'

Surprisingly, the king bowed his head. To Arelena, he almost appeared to be submitting to Soren.

'Of course. I cannot be king of the Mer,' his words caused her eyes to widen in shock as they drank in the scene. Could the almighty King Tristien be admitting to his wrongs?

'I will rule the entire ocean!' He roared, breaking the moment of silence as he ripped his trident from the other merman's grasp. He struck his head so suddenly that there was no time to react. Soren's pale eyelids closed and his white hair floated about his face like seaweed as he drifted downwards, towards the sandy ocean floor a hundred metres below.

She had to clasp her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. Her body stilled for a second—even her tail—almost causing her to sink. Had her brother just killed his old friend? He had certainly just killed all her hope of freedom, but had he really killed yet another Mer? But she could still see the gentle rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he was still alive. The knowledge sent relief coursing through her, there was still a chance of freedom. She fought the urge to dive after Soren and drag him away to safety as she had that human. But there was no place in any ocean that was safe from Tristien.