By the time they had reached only the outskirts of Erres, Asriyah was already shaken and out of breath. She was a new mermaid after all and so using her tail this much when she didnt know how to use it properly was bound to tire her out. Before the mer-se could drag her any further, she pulled on her arm to halt her. "I cant come with you..." she gasped. "...when I dont even know who you are." It was going to take her some time to get used to her angel-like voice. In fact, it was going to take her alot of time to get used to this whole thing. The re-birth, supposedly.
"I'm Joules. I'm the mesomaya of this kingdom. Now we have to go. Time is running out and everybody will be so delighted when I tell them you're here!"
Asriyah held on to her arm firmly. She was not going to budge until she got some answers from this 'mesomaya'. Whatever that was. "What's a mesomaya?" she demanded. Asriyahs natural defence in situations like these was her bad temper that was most often mistaken for rudeness.
"I look after the townspeople!" she said anxiously. "Now let's go!"
"I'm not going anywhere" she said assertively. Asriyah loosened her grip a little and continued to stare at Joules with wide eyes. "Why am I here?"
Joules looked everywhere but her. "This is really not my place to tell you."
"Well than I refuse to leave here with you! I'm not going until I get some answers."
Joules let out an exaggerated cry. "You need to trust me! I'm not dangerous! You're more in danger out here by yourself than you are with me! I can take you somewhere safe!"
Asriyah narrowed her eyes at her. "What's that supposed to mean? Who am I in danger to?"
Joules let out a defeated sigh. "I'm not the person who you should be talking to. But I will tell you this- someone's after you. And if you dont come with me now the sea is going to be in more danger than it has ever been before. And you'll never see your family again."
Her family. Asriyah was so busy thinking about why the hell she was here that she never once thought about how her family must feel. 'They think I'm dead' she thought. "Do my family know where I am?"
"I DONT KNOW!" she cried. "I honestly don't know Asriyah. Please come with me and I promise you will find out everything from the right people. But if you stay out here you will get killed."
Asriyah stared at her. They were at the top of the coral reef, overlooking the huge kingdom beneath them and it's extravagent towers. "Fine" she whispered quietly. "I'll come with you. But you have to promise me that I can leave whenever I feel like it. Because I dont want to be kept a prisoner."
Joules hesitated before agreeing to the promise. What could be so important that she needed to get Asriyah to Erres? And quickly....
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The town was eerily quiet and completely deserted. Not a life in sight. Joules had lead Asriyah through the twist and turns of every road and path there was in the kingdom, until they reached a huge castle that towered over them like a giant looming over a kitten. Joules gently took Asriyahs hand and tightened her grip ever so slightly on it. They swam over the bridge that lead to the tall wooden doors that was the entrance of the castle. Her free hand had knocked on it very quietly, and immediately the doors began to open. Slowly, what was to be revealed was a grand room with a dozen staircases leading to different rooms in the palace. A giant, crystal chandelier hung above them, and the floor was an oxblood red velvet. Gold paint had brought out the extravagantly patterned walls and massive portraits of mermaids and mermen hung in honour and style on the walls. Down the grand staircase came a scrawny, duck-footed man. He had legs. How could he walk in water? He was so skinny his gills were poking out the sides of his neck like two massive balls with slits in them. His face was stern and structured, and his eyes were a deep black colour that bore into the souls of anyone that dare look at him innappropiately. He wore a black velvet suit and his shoes were very long and thin. Although he was scrawny and slightly duck-footed, his posture and appearance made him someone not to be messed with. His skin was ghostly white, like everyone elses around here, and looked at Joules with concentration. "The king is upstairs" he said, his voice deep and calm. "But you have to leave the girl with me."
