The Quest

Chapter 11

~Di~
She coughed strangely, with a hiss of bubbles coming out of her mouth. Then Di remembered she was well underwater and had just released a rather large explosion on a mermaid castle. Shit. She rarely cursed, but when she did she was in big trouble.

Di lifted her head and squinted through the salty water to see where exactly she landed. She wasn't far from the castle, and mostly unharmed. Her right shoulder ached where it seemed a chunk of rock from the castle bouldered onto her. She opened her eyes wider and carefully began to lift herself up. A cry went through her at the soreness in her shoulder, so she bit her lip and sat up.

Di saw she was at the end of the castle grounds, with Quo next to her and Matis a few feet off. The black sand path was strewn about, making the sand look gray because of the natural white sand that was beneath it. Quo sat up and shook his head, acknowledging the gash above his right eye.

"My beautiful face!" He looked accusatory at Di. "I suppose I'll have a sexy scar now, thanks to your rather large explosion."

Di frowned. That was much bigger than anticipated. She looked at her right hand and, yes, it was clutching the trident.

Something cast a shadow above them. A swarm of mermaids, all with spears and gilded armor. In front must have been their leader, because she had a coral crown cresting her forehead and she was the only one with hair freely flowing. She's a warrior queen. Flowing hair and all. Di wanted to sigh but held it in fear of the queen coming straight for her.

"Di! Quo!" Matis slumped over from his spot, limping slightly. "Where are the others?"

"Oh fuck 'em!" Quo shouted, pointing at the crowd above them. "They must have left us behind to be trampled."

The queen shouted something indiscernible, but it seemed to call for silence as her soldiers straightened up. She swam at the trio, faster than anything Di had seen since diving down. If Di could sweat in water, she would have just then. She, Matis, and Quo had barely enough time to lean into each other before the queen went right to Di's face. Her face was beautiful. Tanned skin, with gorgeous green eyes and her red hair flowing, she looked like Di's mother.

How dare she? Di gritted her teeth at the queen. All sirens took forms of the most beautiful forms to their chosen hostiles, but this was a low blow for Di. She knew speaking first would mean instant death for them, so in spite of her slow, seething anger she kept her mouth shut.

"Half-blood!" The queen hissed, putting her hand under Di's chin to lift her face directly up. "You've stolen my hostages and my trophies and tore down my dining hall. You must answer for your crimes against your sisters."

"Am I to await a trial then?" Di raised an eyebrow. Her hand clutched the trident even harder. She tried to look around the queen and see if the shipmen were anywhere nearby. "I doubt those men got away on their own."

The queen smirked so similarly to how her mother used to, Di had to muster as much of her inner peace as possible to stay calm. Stay rational. Stay calm. You can beat them. She focused on the queen again.

"The one true god said you would arrive soon," the queen replied. She raised a hand, making her soldiers dispatch. Two took Matis and Quo from her sides.

"Not again!" Quo huffed, his hair flopping in the water.

"No!" Matis shouted, reaching for his wife. They further restrained him and forced him to stand and watch the queen pull Di to her feet by her chin. She struggled as her shoulder slacked, but stood up all the same. Now there was no one else except her, the queen, and the four behind the queen.