War of the Ocean

Chapter 30

Gone, gone, gone. They were all gone and now Arelena felt an emptiness inside her. The real Tristien had been gone for so long she had managed to forget about the hole in her heart he had left but now all trace for him and Kaiser had disappeared, she was overwhelmed with the emptiness. Before, she had been able to deal with it but not now that so many people had left her. Arelena was all alone, drowning in the ocean she lived in. But it was not the ocean she knew, at least not anymore, not when it was filled with so much blood she felt as though there was no end to the sea of red.

A giant hand came to rest on her bare shoulder, a calming gesture but one that would not work on her today; she had lost too much in the struggle to regain her kingdom. She had lost everything except for her kingdom because she had won that battle and now, it was hers again. The fact that Tristien had removed her title from her no longer matter, she was the only member of the royal family still alive and now that he was gone, his rule no longer counted.

'Arelena,' Soren's gentle voice came from behind her and she turned her head to look at him. 'Come, let him go. His body must be returned to the land, where he belongs.'

Not a word of the battle they had just won, not a whisper of Tristien's death but merely a reminder that Kaiser was human even in death and must be returned to his kind although he had died in the water. Looking back down at his cold, dead face she bowed her head. Soren was right, he was a prince and deserved to be buried by his people rather than left to sink down to the bottom of the ocean where the likes of Tristien lie too. She could not let her precious prince lie by her wicked brother for eternity, he deserved far better than that. With Kaiser still in her arms, she turned and swam past Soren, back towards the human ships.

The men on board the ship she approached stared down at her, holding their breath. They were afraid, unsure of what she would do. But when she lifted their prince's body up to them like an offering, her intent was clear. She meant no harm, only to return what belonged to them. Without a final goodbye, she let them take his heavy, lifeless body from her and watched as they laid him down on the deck. No tears escaped her eyes this time, she was so filled with despair that she couldn't even cry. Or perhaps it was because he had brought out the human emotions and actions in her and now that he was gone, she couldn't even cry. It did not matter the reason, Kaiser was gone either way and it was all her fault. He had been right there, she could have protected him, should have protected him. And now he was never coming back.

Arelena swam back towards Soren, stopping just before him to turn to the Mer who simply watched on, waiting for her to address then. 'My people,' she began, her broken voice echoing out over the waves and filling the silence. 'You are now free of my brother's reign and your lives will now return to the way they were while my parents still lived. It may take some time but we will rebuild everything we once had, together.' She was unsure of where she was pulling this confidence from but again, it did not matter. Nothing did anymore.

'But before we can begin, I need some of you to escort these human ships back to land. We owe them that much,' she said. The Mer murmured their agreement and began to move again, surrounding the ships which were beginning to depart, sailing back to heir kingdom. She was about to duck beneath the waves once more when she noticed that Soren was still by her side. Normally, she wouldn't have minded but now she just needed to be alone, to be given space to mourn. 'Go with them, Soren,' she told him. 'Leave me, please. I need time.' So he did, turning away from her and diving into the ocean, reappearing a few seconds later by the ships amongst the other Mer. Even as he began to grow smaller and smaller in her vision she could still his eyes watching her until at last he vanished over the horizon. Alone, Arelena began to sink beneath the waves, heading back to the palace; her palace. How strange it felt to be the one who the palace now belonged to. Now that her brother was dead, the whole place was hers.

The city around the palace was quiet as she swam over it, until the young Mer began to swim out of hiding to stare up at her. In their eyes she could see their questions burning in their eyes; they had so, so many questions. What had happened up above? Were their parents still alive? Who ruled the Mer now? There were thousands more and perhaps she should be the one to listen to them all and answer. But Arelena did not have all the answers they were looking for, nor did she have the heart to answer the questions that she could. She would let them wonder for now, until the Mer returned. She swam on through the city–her city–until she reached the palace.

Entering the courtyard she had awaited her fate in not very long ago, she stared down at a body lying in the centre. The merman's black tail stuck out at an odd angle while his limbs sprawled out everywhere. His dark hair moved gently in the current and as she got closer, she could see his sapphire eyes staring into space. Tristien. So this had been her brother's fate, to lie in the courtyard in which she had ordered the execution of so many. His crown had fallen off and rolled to the side, lying on the sand by his trident which he had probably dropped during his battle with Soren. Creeping closer, Arelena passed his body and knelt by his crown and trident. They had always belonged to the ruler of the ocean and now that the duty fell to her, they were hers too. But she did not want a murder weapon or a crown forged by blood, even though they had once been her father's. Picking them up, she turned each over in her hands as she examined them.

No, she decided, I cannot make these my own.

Dropping them, she rose once more. She would make her own crown and completely abandon the idea of the trident. Although it had been a symbol of leadership for centuries, Tristien had turned it to a symbol of death and blood in just a few years and that could never be undone. So she would make her own crown, her own name. She would be her own ruler, take the laws of the ocean and make them more fair, more just; she would recreate her kingdom. For Kaiser.

Finally a chapter I didn't write just before updating. Hope you enjoyed, there's one more chapter and an epilogue before this book is complete :)