Jake and the Neversea Mermen {1}

Chapter 8

I woke up back in my own bed at the palace, to find Izzy again sitting beside me. When she saw I was awake, she began to cry. I sat up and gave her a hug.                                                     “ It's alright,” I said, “I’m fine, there's nothing to cry about.”             
“ I know,” she said through her tears, “it's just…” she paused, “wait here while I fetch Father and Cubby. Don't move an inch.”                                                     “Alright,” I said, puzzled.

She came back about a minute later with Cubby and the King in tow.                                              
“Jake!” Cubby cried, coming forwards and giving me a hug. I hugged him back, just like before.                                           “Jake,” the King said, seriously, “ you must stop doing these sorts of things. I need to talk to you about something.”                      
He gestured for Izzy and Cubby to go. Before she left, Izzy hugged me again.                                                         “Thank you,” she said and I had no idea what she was thanking me for. The King closed the door behind her and sat down besides me, like before.
                                  
“ Jake,” he said “ I’m going to tell you a story. I will explain things afterwards, if you have any questions. Just listen.” “Alright,” I agreed.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “ there was a king and queen. The queen gave birth to their first child, a son, and heir to the throne. But the son was born without a tail, but with legs. The King and Queen loved their son, but we're worried for his safety. A year later, the queen gave birth to their second child, a daughter, but the queen died soon afterwards due to complications. The King, grieving for his wife, made a decision to send his children away somewhere till they were old enough. He sent them to live on land, giving his daughter, who had a tail, legs. He put a spell on both of them though, before they left, that would bring them back on their ninth birthday. On his son’s ninth birthday, he waited and waited, but the son did not come back. On his daughter’s ninth birthday, he waited, and this time, his daughter came.” He paused.
“Go on,” I said, interested to see where this was going and why he was telling me.
                                             
He continued, “ The daughter asked her father if her friends could come and live with them. Her father agreed and, that night, they came. Three days later, the one boy and a tail, and the other didn't. He stayed for a few days, to please his friends, but he felt unhappy, and went to live back on land. Weeks passed. One day, a horrible man threatened the princess and her friend. The other boy came to their rescue and, in doing so, got a tail. Because of this, the King became suspicious. On the boy’s birthday, he asked him to put on a crown that belonged to his son, the lost prince, without telling him that it did. The crown was enchanted, so that only the prince and his relatives could touch it. If anyone else touched it, they would be electrocuted. The King was taking a risk, but he was sure by then that, that boy, was his son. When the crown touched the boy’s head there was a flash of light. When it had stopped, the boy looked no different. His daughter, however, had fallen to the ground, in pain. The boy took her to the doctor and by the time the King and the other boy got there, the boy was on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Some of the boy’s tears fell onto the princess and, as they did so, sounded like a piano. The King knew that sound. It was the sound of what was known as ‘healing tears’ and he had not heard them since his father, the previous King, had died. The boy suddenly fell to the floor, unconscious yet again,” he finished.

There was silence for a long while, while I took in what he had said. That was no story, it was true, and I knew what it meant, I just couldn't believe or understand it. I was his son , the lost Prince and I was also, it now appeared, Izzy's brother. The King or rather my father, smiled at me, seeing that I understood what he had said. I smiled back at him and hugged him. He hugged me back. “You know what this means, don't you?” he asked, still smiling, “ It means you have a different tail.” I was surprised, I hadn't even thought of that. I looked down at it. It was identical to his. Green from top to middle and blue from thereon downwards with the crown symbols on each fin. I was still in complete shock and unable to find my voice.
“The next thing is, if you can take this in at the moment,” my father said, “ is that you are older than Izzy and will, therefore, be king, one day, of Atlantis. This also means you will have powers.”                                         “ Powers?” I asked, confused.                                       “Yes, powers,” he said, “The current king and queen and their heirs have powers that are used to protect their kingdoms.”  I felt quite faint, from all these life-changing facts thrust upon me in the last few minutes.                                                             “Now,” he said, “ I think you should go and see your sister.”