The Trifecta (Contest Entry)

Part One (Fantasy)

Vi felt most at home out here, near the edge of the Kingdom. It was just her and the ocean, and it helped to clear her mind. Even in her emotion-driven state, Vi couldn't exactly call the conversation she'd just had with her mother 'a fight'. The truth was, her mother probably hadn't even realised how much it hurt to be compared to the other girls her age, especially with the Grouping Ceremony fast approaching.

Vi had excused herself- too abruptly, she knew- and swam off on her own, as fast as she could. She couldn't bear to stay in their home for a minute longer, listening to her mother go on about 'perfect Silv', and how she would surely have no trouble finding a partner, and "have you heard, Viana, she's being considered by the Prince?"

Vi had not heard, but she found it to be no surprise.

Her short hair billowed about her as she swam, tail lashing with more force than needed to push herself through the water. Silv had long hair, fine and beautiful, and she sang like a creature from the old legends. Her family were treasure gatherers, and had gifted her a smooth chain to adorn her tail fins with. She swam about the Kingdom with that valuable chain clinking against the rocks, brushing up fine clouds of silt in her wake- everyone seemed to love her. Even the Prince, apparently.

Vi doubted anyone was considering her. There were far more females than males in her age group, and it was a lingering fear in her mind that when the Grouping Ceremony finally came, she'd be left alone. The ceremony was quickly approaching- once the vents became dormant again, it would be held. The sulphurous plumes lessened day by day, while Silv shone brighter than even the Prince, and Vi remained the same- small-tailed and dull-scaled, afraid for what her future would bring.

She grumbled to herself as she wove her way between the rocks. Anyone passing by would surely hear her, but no one came here, anyway... not since the arrival of the Tower.

The boxy metal structure loomed in the darkness ahead of her. People kept well out of its way, for safety, though it had never done them any harm. But it was different, something unlike anything the Deep Kingdom had seen before. Even stranger were the things that crept out of it, patrolling the nearby ocean as if searching for something. They too were made of metal, but moved not by the currents or by the force of any creature. They moved as if they were alive.

Vi had not seen any for herself, but the idea both fascinated and frightened her- it was the stuff of myth. She wasn't the only one- when one of those creatures had approached their territory and claimed the Sceptre for its own, the guards had been unwilling to act. In awe or fear, they'd backed away to a safe distance until the creature was long gone, taking their treasure with it.

The old tales went that there was a world far above the Deep Kingdom, beyond where any person could travel without facing the painful death that came when one ventured too far from their waters. This was the Kingdom of Life, where great beasts made of metal swam and lived their lives in peace and prosperity.
When these beasts died, they sunk slowly down to the Deep, where they were treated with great respect. Some treasures still carried the spirits of what they had once been- they moved without touch, or hummed and sang in unfamiliar voices, their vibrations in the water a foreign parody of speech.

Vi's father thought that the Sceptre was being reclaimed, that the Tower was an emissary from above.

But, observing the Tower from where she rested against the stone, it was hard to imagine it as being of their distant benefactors. It was unnatural, a sharp, regular structure perched upon the seabed. If it weren't there, the nourishing smoke from the vent would flow outwards, reaching a far larger area than it did now. There were less creatures surviving here than before, due to the disruption of their food supply.... The Kingdom of Life, as she knew it, understood the world well enough to not do anything that would disrupt nature. And the sound it made... a high whine, irritating her senses like a rock lodged between her scales. It didn't at all sound like the singing machines she'd occasionally had the privilege to listen to. It all gave her a bad feeling...

She was sure that Silv had listened to those singing machines far more than she had, and could make a better comparison... But she wouldn't have dared to come out here.

Vi was already closer to the Tower than most people would ever be willing to get. What if she looked even closer? To discover the structure' secrets, and perhaps... just perhaps... to find the lost Sceptre and return it to the Deep. These unlikely thoughts stoked her imagination like an earthquake to a vent, the idea alluring her immensely.

The Sceptre was one of their oldest treasures... it was a piece of their history, a relic held by countless kings and queens- and now it was gone. No one had yet attempted to retrieve it.

Vi was young, and foolish.

She didn't pause to consider that if a group of adults hadn't yet approached the structure, there was likely to be a good reason why. She heard the strange vibrations emanating from the structure, a high, meaningless hum; and now she felt only the warm glow of hope. If she were able to reclaim the Sceptre and bring it back safely to the Kingdom... surely then she would be someone worth noticing. Someone like Silv, deserving of a perfect future.
With a fierce lash of her crimson tail, she propelled herself over the rocks and towards the unknown.