Chapter 30 - Unexpected Guests

Chapter 30

Unexpected Guests

Back in Samudra, Meredith was hunting alongside with her Samudran friends. She threw the spear at a lionfish and caught it struggling to get out from being impaled by the sharp arrowhead of the spear.

"Excellent catch, Mere! This will be a fine addition to your trophy corridor!" A merman stated with joy.

"Thank you, but I feel this one should be skinned. Take the meat to trade off if you like, the spines and the bones is what I want." Meredith instructed.

"As you wish, Your Highness," The mer bowed and headed back to the castle of Samudra with the slain lionfish.

Gosh, it's been so long since I've heard from sis and Amelia. I didn't realize how much I would miss them. No, I did this for the people of Samudra. Without me intervening, there wouldn't be law to begin with. It's nothing like America's laws, but it's something to keep the peace – at least to try to resolve without a fight to the death for a cry for justice. It sure wasn't easy to persuade the people that I am their destined ruler for this kingdom. I better head back or Ernest will not let me hear the end of it.

After she stopped thinking to herself, Meredith headed back to her home. Her home was made of from ruins that came from the surface into a palace where the entrance has a long column fence leading to a huge metal gated door that could only be winded up from the inside. Unlike the Aula, Meredith has a fighting arena if there were ever a fight to the death request or solely for practice.

The interior wasn't as luxurious as the Aula as Meredith only sought a fortress that would intimidate her adversaries. Inside one room would be her trophy corridor where Meredith would display her hunting accomplishments of supposedly dangerous beasts within the waters of Samudra herself. She also managed to build up a dungeon that would be able to harbor the toughest criminals that would be out there – thankfully she didn't have any prisoners as of yet.

When she arrived, she was greeted by one of her guards she recruited. "Hunting grounds in your favor, Your Grace?" A strong burley merman asked. "Very. Anything while I was away?" Meredith asked. "Everything as was when you left it, Your Grace," The merman reported.

"Excellent, thank you, Marius." Meredith thanked her trusted guard Marius. She met him while she was fighting off a gang. Then out of the blue, Marius came out to her aid stating 'he was sick of how the gangs are treating the mer here and had enough putting up with them.' Ever since that day, she recruited Marius to be one of her personal guards around the castle.

"Your Highness, forgive my interruptions, but a group of people claim to be from Arab. They even claim their princess is requesting your presence!" A guard exclaimed. "How many are there?" Meredith asked. "Ten, Your Grace," the guard answered.

"Send them in the main hall, I'll meet them there." Meredith sighed hoping she wouldn't have to do official business. "Shall I round the guards for backup?" Marius asked. "That won't be necessary, if it were to be an assassination attempt, they would have sent more with them." Meredith responded dismissing the idea of backup.

Meredith took her place at her throne in the main hall waiting for their entrance. "May I present, the royal vizier and international consultant of Arab." The guard declared as they entered with their guards.

"Your Royal Highness, I come to you bearing gifts courtesy of Her Royal Highness Amira Cyra, next in line for the throne." The vizier bowed displaying the gifts. The gifts included precious treasures such as golden and brass wristbands, precious gemstones, and other jewelry.

"The thought of this is gratified, however, I like to get down to business as to why you've come your way to stand in my presence in Samudran waters." Meredith stated not wasting any more breath to speak.

"The Princess of Alearabia requests your presence at her home for an important political matter that would affect the future of both our kingdoms." The vizier responded.

"And why did she not make her presence here if this was so urgent of her to discuss matters with me?" Meredith questioned. "Her father, Cyrano, is very cautious of where his children travel to. After all, she is set to take his place when he passes along in another world. Samudra is known for a reputation of being perilous."

"And which I am alleviating without abandoning the customs and traditions of the Samudran realm!" Meredith retorted harshly. "Forgive me for offending you, Your Grace, I mean no disrespect for your efforts to restore your kingdom under your rule." The vizier thought quick on his feet to calm the tension.

"What my colleague is trying to say, Your Grace, is that your presence would be such an honor to our king and his successor. They've heard tales on how you've fought off your offenders with just your bare strength. The strength in which is such a treasure to Samudrans whom cannot fight or defend on their own. I humbly ask of you and your members of your council to consider treating them to come be in their presence to further discuss of what could benefit for both of our kingdoms and possibly the other seas." The ambassador pleaded.

Meredith thought it over looking at Marius if she should go along with them. "What is your name?" Meredith asked. "Jabal, Your Grace," Jabal stumbled to speak.

"Jabal, it seems you have your kingdom's great interest in potentially evolving the seas for the better. Whilst your vizier dared insult my kingdom and insulted my capabilities on how to run a kingdom – let alone a dangerous one," Meredith said glaring the vizier. "However, I will agree to meet up with your royal house."

"What time will you want to depart for...?"

"Is now too soon or are you too weary from your travels here?" Meredith asked. "Not at all, our kingdom is only four hours from yours, Your Grace," Jabal explained. "Then let's swim over there, shall we?" Meredith said swimming towards the exit as the foreigners looked at her confused.

"What is it?" Meredith asked. "We didn't swim here, Your Highness, we rode in a currus." The vizier replied. "A what?" Meredith questioned.

"A currus is transport box in which is hauled by a large animal which in our case, the dugongs steer the currus." Jabal explained. "I don't know, I'm too use to swimming the currents by tail." Meredith said becoming skeptical about the idea of riding in one.

"Would you please give the currus a chance? I'm sure it would give you some fair idea on travelling such longer distances." Jabal pleaded. Meredith paused to think for a moment. She then swam forward to the entrance of the currus. "Excellent, now, all you do is swim inside the box here and take a seat anywhere." Jabal lead the way inside. "Cozy, right?"

Meredith sat down on the cushions of the currus and was astonished on the texture of what she was sitting on. "What is this I'm sitting on?" "The backs of jellyfish." The vizier answered. Meredith immediately got up thinking she was hurting them. "No, no, no, no, it's alright, they aren't in pain. These jellyfish are dead, they've been dead for quite some time. We've only collected jelly remains and stuff them with soft debris to keep it soft as if it were alive." Jabal explained. "That's intriguing," Meredith said with disgust on her mind as she sat on jellyfish carcass.

"We don't kill the jellyfish; we just gather the remains of what we see. It's a common practice all over the waters for common household chairs and seating. In our case, curri." The vizier stated. Meredith stared blankly at them as if they drank sour milk in front of her.

After getting settled into the currus, they went off on their way to the Arabian palace where Princess Cyra would meet them in such a haste beckoning. Hours later on the journey, they arrived to a glorious sand palace that was made for royalty. Meredith gazed at how the sand was staying in shape and formation to be used as a home. The currus halted at the entryway and they were introduced to by palace guards that would escort them inside the palace. They were then greeted by the princess herself, Cyra.

Cyra was a mermaid of slim figure. Her tone is of a darker tan but smooth like the sandy banks. Her eyes were dark brown along with her dark long pinned up hair. Her tail meshed in with her skin tone into a rosy pink tail. She wore garments that shimmer and jewelry that contended with Cleopatra. A beautiful woman to be seen as a gem indeed.

"Shaasak Meredith of Samudra, reincarnate of the Prince Lachlan of Great Strengths, it is an honor to meet and be in your presence in my humble home. I hope the currus journey was to your liking, from conch, I heard it was your very first." Cyra greeted. "It was, but how did..." Meredith trailed off looking at the men. "We contacted the palace while you were asleep, your Grace." Jabal bowed.

"It was. A very insightful look at transportation I must say. I may not be an absolute fan of it, however, I'm sure the other royal houses would love to hear about and invest in such current passage." Meredith spoke firmly.

"Yes, that is actually why I summoned you here to talk about the royal houses that appeared around the time you've emerged. If you would follow me, we can discuss in a quainter atmosphere where we can begin discussing diplomatic solutions that would benefit the seven seas." Cyra suggested in which Meredith silently agreed.

They went into the council room where they were met with other members of the royal house as well. "These are my brothers, Cyriacus, and Cyrille." Cyra introduced the princes.

"An honor, Your Highnesses," Meredith bowed forward. "I must say, you all have resembling names in your household, may I ask why?" Meredith asked. The princes grimaced but Cyra held a hand to desist in the act. "Actually, that is why we're here to discuss about. Long ago, our great ancestor, one of the princes, would inherit the Arabian Sea as his kingdom. However, he was not to inherit it alone. You see, he was betrothed – to Cirra." Meredith's eyes widened at this statement as if she could not believe this were to be true, but she did not interrupt her. "They were very much in love. The king and queen who ruled the seas thought the match would be an excellent opportunity to form an alliance with Arabian and Atlantica. But the alliance did not matter to Cirra nor Naji for their love and affection to another was genuine. Naji would make many gifts out of sand as a token for his compassion for her. He even compressed the sand enough with the help of magma to make her a glass ring to seal the engagement. Everything was well – until later on.

Rumors flied around that the Coronum Reginae herself had fallen ill thinking that she may be dying. The last time Naji saw Cirra alive was when she broke off the engagement saying that she did not love him anymore. He pleaded and begged to reconsider but Cirra was having none of it. This left the prince broken hearted and filled with rage. He planned on snatching her away, but by the time he was about to make his move – it was too late. News broke out that Cirra was slain by her own brother and that she was driven into madness during her final days alive. He wanted to kill Lachlan, but he later found out that Lachlan was dead from succumbing to his wounds while battling Cirra. He also found out that remaining royal family was executed by their own people for letting this happen.

His heart hardened over time. As time went on, he married another but had no love for her. When she bore his children, he would name them after his love. This hurt the queen of Arabian greatly and overtime found that she could never win his love. He was still in love with the woman that broke his heart. The wretched, cold, princess of Atlantica which plagued us by bearing her name because our ancestor was sickly obsessed over her!" Cyra's tone began to grow cold. "That is why, we should rid of this reincarnate of Cirra before she hurts another just like my ancestor. My father showed no love to my mother! He would mumble in his sleep calling her name out and it makes me sick!" Cyra said slamming the table and her brothers came to comfort her.

"Whoa, hold on, why are you asking me to kill her? You are talking about killing my cousin!" Meredith shouted in shock. "You are the only one that can kill her, and in turn only the reincarnate of Ember can kill you and he or she is nowhere to be found."

"The hell with the whole killing thing. Is that your answer for peace is more killing?! Lachlan never believed in killing anything or anyone unless it was justified!" Meredith rebuked. "And in this, it is justified for you to prevent history repeating itself." Cyra spoke calmly. "Amelia is not Cirra, I am not Lachlan, and you are not Naji! We may possess their powers, but that is the only thing we have in common!" Meredith scolded Cyra. "You do not understand, Meredith. My father cannot pass on peacefully because... he's the direct reincarnation of Naji himself." Cyra mentioned. "Wait, how can he be if you possess his powers as well?" Meredith asked quizzically.

"I'm indirect. My powers were attributed through heredity throughout the family line. Our royal law states that only the heir who possesses the powers of Naji may succeed the throne after their predecessors. My brothers did not inherit that power which I possess. My father's mind and thoughts are filled with sadness and sorrow since he was born. His obsession became worse as he got older. The doctors are saying, he's slowly dying of a broken heart of a woman he's never met before. You must help free my father from this burden he's lived for so long and free us from the curse my family has been plagued upon from this." Cyra pleaded.

Meredith pondered for a bit before she spoke up. "Alright, but I have one condition and you must do as I say or the deal is off, understand?!" Meredith said with a firm tone. "Anything," Cyra said with joy in her eyes.

"There will be no assassination attempts to be made on Amelia nor any of her house. You must adhere these rules or otherwise there will be serious consequences. Amelia has a dangerous power yes, but I'm not going to risk toying with what she is capable of. I will only subdue her if she goes too far. You must understand that she has a kingdom to look after. And if you jeopardize the future of Atlantica, you will have war on your hands with troops full of angry Atlantican citizens, and a court that will trial you for treason to the crown. Do I make myself clear?" Meredith said with seriousness in her voice.

"Understood, anyone who tries to harm Her Royal Highness will be tried for attempted assassination and sentenced to prison immediately." Cyra responded.

"I will write to her at once if you have squid ink and parchment ready for me," Meredith said grimacing.

"Writing will only prolong the inevitable. We must travel to Atlantica if that is where this Amelia is at," Cyra declared with determination.

"I'll go fetch her – alone." Meredith said. "But Shaasak..." Marius interrupted in worry. "I'll be fine, Marius, unless if you want to escort me, then that is alright with me. But I alone will fetch Amelia." Meredith stated with confidence.

"How will we know you will not betray us?!" One of the viziers questioned her loyalty. "Enough! If this is what it takes to bring Amelia to Alearabia, then so be it. I will not question nor will I allow anyone enquiring her ways." Cyra silenced her viziers. They all nodded apologetically.

"I'll start the journey tomorrow; I do request a night's rest after this last-minute trip that has sprung upon me." Meredith stated. "Of course, Shaasak Meredith, whatever you need that will aid your recovery of Amelia. Jurab, show Meredith and her personal guard to where they will be sleeping for the evening and prepare them supper." Cyra commanded. Jurab nodded and quietly escorted them to where they will be sleeping for the evening.

Meredith and Marius stayed that evening enjoying the delicacies of what the kingdom provided. The next morning, they would be swimming off to bring Amelia back with them. "The best way to go is through the Red Sea, through the canals, into the Mediterranea, and then you'll find your way back into Atlantica." Cyra mentioned the directions.

"Wait, you mean all this time I didn't have to swim all the way around Africa?!" Meredith said irritated. "That's the way you came?" Cyra questioned her. "Nevermind, through the Red, into the canal, through Mediterranea, and back into Atlantica, got it. Ernest is going to kill me once he finds out there was an easier way to get to Samudra." Meredith recalled where Cyra said to go.

"Is there anything else you need before we see you off, Your Highness?" Cyra asked in concern. "No, I think we're all set. We'll be going now." Meredith said as she went towards the exit of the castle. "May the currents ride out favorably in your journey!" Cyra called out as to wish luck for the journey.

They went on their way and crossed into the Red Sea's parameters within miles outside of Alearabia's royal palace. The sea was darker in color like Atlantica except it had more coral like surfaces filled with colorful fish. "I don't get it, why do they call it the Red Sea? It's not even remotely red at all," Meredith said aloud.

"Swim down, Your Highness! Ships are coursing through!" Marius warned Meredith as he pulled her down lower to the sea bed. "Dang, where did that come from?" Meredith asked. "Not sure, but we better keep low while swimming as much as we can just to be safe." Marius advised. Meredith nodded in agreeance with her personal guard.

After swimming some time, they spotted some tiger sharks coming their way not wavering. "Looks like it's breakfast for these guys," Marius stated. "Do you think we should swim above the reef a bit?" Meredith asked. "Don't have much a choice in the matter unless if the sharks want to fight us." Marius commented about the situation. "Who knows, maybe a hunter grabbed a tooth from them and they could back off from us." Meredith thought. "I won't take any chances. Lot of these sharks don't mind their business after losing a tooth, but some of them are pretty smart and know their place." Marius said with determination. "Reef it is then," Meredith muttered.

They swam over trying to avoid any confrontation with the sharks coming their way. The reasoning behind this was because they did not want to waste any more time than they needed to in order to retrieve Amelia and bring her to Princess Cyra of Alearabia. Luckily, the sharks were too focused on getting easier prey than chasing the two down.

Hours coming into high tide, they made it to the canal that would lead them into Mediterranea. The sea was not like the Red nor was it like Samudra. It was bright blue with beautifully colored fish, and many mer swimming around the area. "I've heard Mediterannea is the hottest spot to go on vacation." Marius commented. "I can see why," Meredith agreed as she saw the built-up buildings with places to eat and have fun at.

"Let's get out of here while we still can," Meredith instructed Marius. They swam as fast as they could to get out of the beached paradise surrounded by fun driven mer. While barely managing to get by without being interfered with their core mission, Marius and Meredith finally made it to the canal where it opens up to Atlantica.

"I know where we're at now, The Aula shouldn't be too far now," Meredith stated with relief knowing she was almost there. "How long of a swim do we have now, Shaasak?" Marius questioned. "Not very long, we have no more than an hour's swim ahead of us now." Meredith answered.

To Meredith, she was familiar with the warmth and the environment surrounding her. However, it felt different. She noticed that there were more structured buildings, guards policing the area, and mer just going around like as if it were normal.

They made it to the gates of the Aula but they were stopped by some guards. "Halt! State your name and your business here!" The guard blocked her.

"Meredith, ruler of Samudra, and I have business to see Coronum Reginae Amelia of Atlantica for pressing matters." Meredith declared.

"I was not made aware of any business dealings for today. You will need to come back at a later time." The guard scoffed as he tried pushing her away but Marius stopped him.

"It would be ill of you to lay a hand on her Highness, regular." Marius sneered at him. "And who are you?" The guard asked but not caring. "Her Royal Highness of Samudra's personal guard. I will not ask again, unhand Shaasak, or there will be repercussions." Marius glared down at the guard.

"You dare threaten an officer at his station? I shall see to it that you have you beheaded for this!" The guard shouted as he was offended from his threat. "It would be hard to do so if I cleared your head from your body myself." Marius growled.

"Back off, Samudran creature! Back up needed at the front gate!" The guard cried for help.

"Now what is all the fuss about now, Wyatt?" A familiar voice shouted. "These two are attempting to invade the Aula with brutal force! I alone cannot subdue two Samudrans let alone five guards at the pass!" Wyatt complained. "Stand down, Wyatt, she's nothing more than a personal friend to the Coronum Reginae herself. Your grace, my apologies on such rude introductions. I'm afraid my captain is not familiar with the other royalties outside of Atlantica." Rimulus apologized.

"That is alright, Rimulus, he did cause a great distress to my guard as well, see to that he is educated on who is who in the future." Meredith said in a stern yet calm tone.

"Lower the gate, Wyatt, I will take this matter in my own hands." Rimulus commanded him. "Yes, sir," Wyatt quivered but still obeyed Rimulus' commands to lower the gate.

"Come, you must be exhausted from your voyage here." Rimulus invited the two inside the fortress. While walking into the grand hallways, Meredith spoke up. "My, how things have changed since I last left it."

"Indeed, we've came a long way to bring back order to Atlantica, which there was not a whole lot of chaos anyway, but it's made the people feel more secure about living here." Rimulus stated.

"I see, Rimulus, I need to see Amelia. It's rather urgent, I actually need her for something." Meredith beseeched Rimulus.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your timing is just a little off." Rimulus apologized. "What do you mean? Where is she? Is she alright?" Meredith asked in concern. "She's fine, she's actually not here. She's helping your sister with her kingdom in Arktis." Rimulus bowed in shame.