Two Kingdoms, One story: LGBTQ+

Under The Sea

So today was like no other day.

I woke up from my slumber, got dressed. Went into the royal dining room, ate breakfast, it was very delicious. Then I made my way out to the city.

Nervia Glevensium is a beautiful underwater city. It makes up half of the kingdom. It has been the capital of the kingdom since the kingdom was created. It is one of our oldest cities. Has many beautiful sights to see. With spiraling towers of coral and anemones, with all sorts of different colors.

Anyways, I made my way towards the city. Where I saw fellow merfolks bustling around, either out running errands or just swimming by and greeting others. I swam around, looking at some stands, looking at the items that they were selling.

Some had the usual. Fruits, vegetables, little knick-knacks from the land from above. But one caught my eye. It was a little tent, it had an eye on the front, and a little sign on the side of it. I read the sign, which read "Nobuyuki Little Corner of Wonders". I decided to go inside.

I went through the tent's flaps. Inside was dark and it smelt of lavender. The only light source there, was a small crystal orb in the center, emitting small yellow light from within.

I couldn't see anyone inside the small tent. But after a couple of seconds, my eyes adjusted to the lighting, and there I could see a little fray man. He looked ancient like he has seen all in his past years.

He gestured towards a seat in front of the orb.

I went and sat down. He looked at me with his wise gray eyes. He pointed towards the royal crest, and I nodded, clearly hinting that I was royalty. He then started to chant some ancient language that I didn't know of and started to wave his arms around the crystal orb.

Different scenes started to appear around us. One was about the war against the merfolks and the humans. I saw my father and all of my brothers and the king of the land meeting at the barrier that separates us. I see swords slashing and clashing. But then I saw two figures coming towards each other, and holding hands. Then a big red heart appeared in between the figures, shining all across the Earth and the people that habit it. Looks like a peace treaty, but I couldn't tell who were the two figures. Then everything went dark and silent.

I sat there. Trying to comprehend the scene that unfolds before me. I went to pay the old man, but he simply pushed my hand back and shook his head. I stepped outside to the crowd swimming about. I then started to emerge with the crowd.

That's when someone grabbed me by my shoulders. I quickly turned around and found that it was one of the royal guards, which I noticed was Dorotheos.

Dorotheos bowed down to me and said "Good afternoon your highness. I must accompany you to the castle. Your father has requested of you." I said my acknowledgment and headed straight to the castle.

Once we arrived at the castle. I noticed that the staff were giving us weird glances. I thought to myself. How odd. We then continued our way towards the west wing of the palace.
There we stop at large double marble doors. Dorotheos knocked on the door once, then twice, then atlas's we heard a response on the third knock.

Dorotheos gestured me in. As I went inside, Dorotheos shut the door quietly behind me, and I stood there before my father. I quietly waited to be seated. When my father gestured to one of the lavish plush seats, I sat down and looked at the interior inside his office.

Granted I've been here countless times, but it always somehow amazes me. I saw two armchairs that were placed in front of the marble fireplace. Above it was a giant portrait of my mother, who died from an illness when I was just a youngling. Since then, my father couldn't bear to rid my mother's things. Next to the portrait were also some portraits of me and my brothers.

Next, I found several corals and anemones growing along on the walls and in pots. But what stood out to me most was a little wooden rocking chair, that was old and rickety from past ages. It was my mother's favorite chair. There she nursed us when we were babies. It had all of our names etched into the wood. I couldn't blame my father to get rid of something, that was priceless.

Then my eyes finally settled to where my father was looking out the window that overlooked the beautiful royal garden. That was one of the many places that my mother was quite fond of. I heard him sigh and then looked back at me. He had that look of concern etched across his face.

He then said to me "My son."Yes, father?" I answered "Do you know the reason why I have called for you?" No father. I do not.". There was a moment of silence for a couple of minutes. Then he said "You know how we are at war with the two-leggeds?", I nodded "Well we're running short of soldiers. I fear that we may lose this battle and lose everything that we ever came to love". I couldn't tell where my father was going at this, but I stood silent. "I can tell the land above is also running out of resources and soldiers" Soon we'll have nothing of this world, and we'll both slowly die with it.

"That's why I need you to go up there, and walk the land. In search of peace.". That's when it suddenly hit me. My father is sending me to dangerous grounds, towards the enemy. In hope of desperate peace across the land.

Credits for artwork: Kittybonbonsweets (Me)