Chapter 4: The Underwater Kingdom:

We swam for nearly an hour before we reached a huge, glass

globe. The kids told me that the mermaid city, Glistening Reef, was

just beyond the walls of the globe. We had to go past several

security guards (they were buff mermen), but we entered the city

several minutes later. Let me just say. It. Was. Breathtaking.

The entire city was surrounded by enormous pillars made

entirely of glowing crystals, which bathed the smaller buildings in

a warm glow. The houses and buildings were constructed with

brightly colored rocks, and each house had a small orb of light on

the front door. Tiny, fluorescent particles of dust floated around in

the water, filling the entire city with rainbow glitter. In the center

of the city was a gigantic castle. The people in the city were, of

course, mermaids, with shiny tails of different colors. All the

mermaids appeared to have brightly colored hair; red, pink, blue,

neon green, and more. The whole scene reminded me of a fairytale.

"We'll have to go and get you registered at the palace first, all

newcomers have to do that. But you'll be on your own after that."

Miles told me, a small frown on his lips. Erin looked like he wanted

to argue with him, but he decided against it and stayed quiet. I

couldn't really say anything to them, I mean, I was a fully grown

adult. Miles told the kids to go back to their parents while he led me

to the castle.

A small crowd was gathered there for some reason. As we got

closer, we saw some of the people looking down somberly, while

others were bowing down to a beautiful mermaid in long, golden

robes, who had a delicate tiara on her head. Miles informed me that

she was the ruler of the mermaids, Queen Izana. Her husband, King

Marcus, I found out, had passed away 17 years ago when their

daughter, Princess Calliope, vanished from her crib.Someone had kidnapped her on her 1st birthday, but they neither

asked for ransom, nor contacted the royals with any other demand.

The kidnappers disappeared for ever, and with them, the princess.

Considering the fact that everyone was gathered for her birthday

celebrations, and that she disappeared when she was 1 year old, I

guess she would've turned 18 that year. What a shame.

* * * * *

Miles took me to the marketplace to get some food before I went

to the palace. The entrance to the castle was pretty crowded, and I

hadn't eaten in God-knows how long, so getting food felt like a

better option.

The whole market was lined with various food stalls, some

of which I found mildly disturbing. Take the fried squid stall

for instance. Now don't get me wrong -I like fried

calamari as much as the next guy- but when its being

served to you by a squid?! No thank you! That's like

deep-frying your own kids, and then selling them on

skewers. Disturbing!

When I mentioned this to Miles, he just turned away

awkwardly before mumbling, "You get used to it, I guess."

The economy's got to be really bad if cooking your own kids

is considered normal, I thought, slightly amused despite the

absurdity of the situation. The rest of the visit was relatively

uneventful. We ate some crab-cakes (not served by crabs) and a

couple of seaweed rolls. Afterwards, we returned to the castle.

The streets had cleared up considerably, so it barely took us any

time to reach the front gates. Miles dropped me off and left, saying

he had to get dressed for the celebrations. I was a little sad to see

him go, but I knew it couldn't be helped. Besides, I would see himat the feast anyways. I waved at him once, before turning around to

enter the gates.