Seirra: Chapter Nineteen

Marina’s anguished gasp brought my father and me into immediate action. We ran toward the king’s bed, trying to find out if he really was dead, and if he was, if we could still possibly revive him.

Upon closer inspection, we found the king’s chest rising in short, obviously painful breaths. His face was too pale, his skin was too old and wrinkly, and he looked twenty years older than he really was, but he was still alive. It wasn’t visible from the door but our loud sighs of relief had brought Marina out of her frozen agony. She slowly moved forward and crossed the room to where her father was lying.

The look on her face began to change into an inscrutable expression and for a moment, I wondered if she really felt any sadness a while ago.

“His Magnificence is still alive, Princess. We are lucky,” my father announced. “Nevertheless, he’s terribly weak. We need to put a stop on his determination to keep feeding the Trident with his own power.” Kalus averted his eyes and stared at the wall. “It comes with great consequences for Aquania, however.”

Marina gazed at her father for all of three seconds before she lifted her head and pinned me with her eyes. It was then that I realized that she was merely assuming an impassive facade to hide whatever she was feeling inside. I recalled all those moments that her expression would soften and I thought she wasn’t as spiteful and selfish as she pretended to be. She must have grown up feeling like she couldn’t trust anybody but herself.

“I don’t want him dead,” she averred, her chin lifted high. “I’ll take the Trident.”

“But Princess—”

Marina’s statement rendered my father speechless so I hastened to continue his explanation. “The King must bestow upon you the possession of the Trident before you can use it, Princess. You can’t just take it from your father.”

She sighed then announced in a regal manner: “In that case, move over. I have lots of questions for him and he can’t answer that when he’s dead. Let me heal him—or at least try to.”

My father and I were both surprised at her seemingly confident manner; as if she had supreme healing abilities as compared to normal Aquanians.

Kalus was the first to voice out his concern. “King Tideus’s condition is not as simple as a virus, my lady. His weakness lies in grave loss of power. You can’t just ‘heal’ him.”

“I am aware of that, sir,” she replied. “And I think there’s nothing wrong if I try and heal him, is there?”

We had no suitable answer for that since there really was nothing wrong with it. When we kept silent for five seconds, Marina lifted a brow and began to move closer to her father. I stepped aside to give Marina her own space and my father walked back a step from the bed. She was not satisfied and motioned for us to move to the other side. We did as she asked then watched her closely as she took a deep breath.

Her magic began to emanate from the tips of her fingers and she began to hum a tune that was both soothing and stimulating at the same time. Strands of green and blue light poured from her hands as she gracefully waved them over King Tideus’s body.

I saw a glimpse of my father’s amazed expression and I couldn’t help but feel the same. For some reason, it felt as if Marina was healing everybody in the room with her voice.

“She has taken after the abilities of the late queen, dear Neptune. As expected from a direct descendant of Queen Tethya,” Kalus whispered. “Ever since your aunt died and the queen was banished, there has never been anyone who could summon such tremendous amount of power just for healing. This is truly remarkable, son.”

I called the previous Celari leader and his wife my aunt and uncle, but they were very distant relatives. The Celari clan, being related to royals by the marriage of its leaders to a prince or princess, was the second most revered family in Aquania. Let’s just say that if our clan would ever stage a coup d’état, we could overthrow the royal family by mere virtue of numbers. There were only a few royals left—seven, to be exact (Marina and King Tideus; their distant cousin, Erma and her husband, Lukos; their son, Aries, his wife, Rhea, and their son and my friend, Erwann)—and despite their superior abilities, our clan of hundreds of powerful merpeople could pulverize them in an instant.

We were, however, a clan committed to protect the royal family. We swore by the blood we carry that every decision we make would be for Aquania and her royal leaders. It was by that oath that I persevered to find Princess Marina and brought her home.

Marina’s wordless song slowly came to an end. The first thing my eyes noticed was the lack of exhaustion in the princess’s face. Healing took up too much of our strength to the point that it was almost impossible to stand after doing so. It required much more if the healing needed a song to go with it. Marina, however, was still regally upright, observing the immediate changes in her father’s appearance.

Color was back in the king’s face, his skin was no longer as wrinkled and he looked a lot more his age. After a few more seconds, his eyes began to twitch and his lids slowly fluttered open. All three of us took a deep breath as King Tideus tried to recall where he was. He immediately recognized my father but when he found me, his eyes widened in surprise, finally aware that my time on land had come to an end.

I nodded at him in greeting then genuflected together with my father.

“It’s good to finally see you with an ounce of health, Your Highness,” Kalus told the king with a bow.

“I feel a lot better, Kalus. Thank you,” King Tideus said in his old, throaty voice, a soft smile forming in his lips. “I see you are back, Seirra.”

“Indeed, lord sir,” I agreed as I imitated my father and bowed to the king. “And I bring good news.”

I lifted my head to smile at King Tideus then waved my hand towards the other side of his bed. He followed the direction I pointed and came face to face with the daughter he had never seen before. It took him a bit longer than a millisecond to recognize her but when he did, his eyes came to life; surprise, longing, delight, regret and happiness turned his jade-colored eyes more vibrant than I had ever seen them. It made me think that the king must be feeling a sense of completeness now that he had finally taken a glimpse of his daughter.

“My child,” King Tideus’s whispered as he raised his hand to reach for Marina.

Marina’s reaction was a bit more controlled as I saw her stare at her father’s hand, fighting an internal battle whether to take it or not. Her hands clenched at her sides, evidently confused with her conflicting emotions.

Finally, she lifted one of her hands and took the king’s outstretched one. The moment their skins touched, the king got overcame with happiness and he burst into sobs, happiness obviously overruling all the other emotions he was currently feeling. Tears started to form at the corners of Marina’s eyes and she took a deep breath to keep them from falling.

“I need you to answer several questions for me,” she said in a voice that belied the tears she had almost shed.

Sadness tinged the king’s eyes but he nodded in compliance to his daughter’s request. “As you wish, darling.”

It was our cue to leave so my father and I excused ourselves then quietly left the bedchamber. I could only wish that Marina wouldn’t try to force the king to answer her, and cause him to be more depressed than he was previously. She had the tendency to speak before she thinks, especially when she was angry. But then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the woman could bring the king back to life just so she could be satisfied with his answers.

“I believe it’s time that I notify Erma and Lukos of the princess’s arrival. Also, preparations for the Ceremony of Kys must commence immediately,” my father informed me, his tone business as usual.

“Of course, father,” I replied.

He didn’t ask me what I was going to do nor did he bother to give me any kind of instruction. It was typical of him as he expected me to think independently and know what I needed to do. I got out of the palace grounds and was swimming towards our house when Doris intercepted me.

“I need to talk to you, dear boy,” she said.

I heard a sense of urgency in her frail but clear voice so I nodded. She led me towards her own coral home and even offered me some weeds to munch on. I refused and went on to ask why she wanted to talk to me.

“You see, son,” she began, taking a deep breath. “When I touched you earlier, I felt like there was something amiss about the way your memories were collected.” She turned her gaze on me and I was stunned by the impact of her knowing eyes. “You have found our lost princess but you have kept your heart for someone else, am I correct?”

I swallowed the guilt I immediately felt the moment she said ‘but’. I was, however, a slave to her omniscience and I found myself lowering my guilty eyes.

“I know my duties to Aquania, Doris. And whatever happened on land was meant for doom right from the start,” I told her, my voice filled with longing and regret.

She gasped at what I just said and I wished I had made an excuse not to talk with the wise, old woman. Doris could make the proudest man kneel in front of her with just one of her knowing questions.

It wasn’t too much of a shock to her, however and she came over to lift my chin and hold my hand.

She stared straight into my eyes as she asked, “Would you like to know what happened to her after you left?”

I stared back at her, astonished at her offer. It had never occurred to me that I could see Margaret again even after I went back to Aquania.

“What are you talking about, Doris?”

“In your heart, you wish to catch another glimpse of her. I can see it in your eyes, Seirra.”

“But—”

“Just give me a yes or a no, son.”

Her face floated through my mind and I helplessly nodded. Nobody ever told me that one could observe humans from here but here was Doris giving me a chance to see Margaret again.

She gave me a small smile and led me to a pedestal that held a basin of black-colored liquid. She motioned for me to dip my hands into the water and the moment I did, she began singing a tune very similar to church chants on land. On her first high note, I felt a sudden pang on my neck and before I knew it, flashes of my memories on land exploded in my brain. They slowed after about three seconds then faded into a very familiar picture: the entrance to the Books and Covers.

Time flowed faster on land than it did once one had crossed the threshold to Aquania. It was now morning in Grasveld Aisles. I looked through the glass window and saw the huge flip calendar displayed by the cashier. It was four days after Marina and I had left. At that moment, I heard the bell that served as a chime to warn Amanda of a leaving or entering customer.

This time, it was someone leaving.

The first thing I saw was the hand that held the door handle. For some reason, before I even lifted my eyes, I knew it was her. I felt my heart start beating faster in anticipation as I slowly raised my gaze into her smiling face. She obviously could not see me but the moment I laid my eyes on hers, it seemed as if she felt the impact our eye contact. She twitched her face in confusion but after a heartbeat, shrugged the feeling off. It was a fleeting moment but it felt as if I hadn’t seen her in years. I wanted to touch her and tell her we could be together.

But magic could only do so much for a heart filled with longing. And a touch was far too much to demand.

I watched her as she made her way to Grassfield High, acting happily normal—a total contrast to how one whose heart was broken should act. Something twisted in my heart and I realized that there was no way she would feel depressed.

She had already forgotten about me.

Nothing changed in her school except for the fact that everyone she passed by would always have a smile of greeting or a cheerful “Congratulations!” on their lips. A grin broke out across my face as I realized the one reason Margaret would be congratulated: she passed the auditions to the performing arts school.

She had finally achieved something she had always wanted. In my mind, I cheered for her, happy that I was a part of her achievement even though she couldn’t possibly remember it. As she continued her way through the hallways, I began to notice the slight changes in her appearance—or maybe not so slight.

Her normally unkempt red hair seemed to be perfectly arranged into a half chignon, giving her a more mature and feminine look. She was also wearing a dress. Margaret never wore dresses on a normal school day. It baffled the hell out of me until my stare reached her lips: she glossed them over with a pinkish shade of lipstick. Why would the simple, practical, sarcastic Margaret wear make-up on a school day?

I was still wondering about it when she broke into an excited stride and rushed over to someone I hadn’t met before. He had jet black hair and probably around five-foot eight in height. He had a strong, angular face softened by his light blue eyes. His skin was lighter in color than mine but not necessarily white. He carried an air of modesty and seemed like the friendly but introvert type. He was dressed in a semi-formal polo and slacks.

“Robert!” she called. Her voice was like a song to my ears but the name she called was somehow like a knife to my heart.

“Hey, Marge,” he beamed. “How’s the girl with the melodious voice of a mermaid?”

Her smile widened into a proud, happy grin. “Oh, still feeling like I’m on cloud nine,” she replied in a mischievous tone. “Honestly though, I’m still nervous about everything. I mean, I’m going to the Lancaster School of Performing Arts! That’s the most prestigious school in this country!” she exclaimed giddily.

“Yeah, I know what you feel. It’s the Montgomery for me, remember?” he retorted playfully.

Margaret snorted before she said, “Hmph. All you’re going to do there is paint or draw.”

Robert gave her a smirk and told her in a serious tone, “You should go there instead.”

“I’m no painter, Robert. You know that,” she answered with a roll of her eyes.

“But those drawings I saw—”

“So how are my precious Grassfield scholars doing this morning?” a middle-aged man wearing a gray suit interrupted.

I saw both Margaret and Robert bow their heads to greet the older man who was apparently the school director. “Good morning, sir,” they said in unison.

“I hope you’re both ready for the ceremony. This is a momentous event since we very seldom get scholarships in Montgomery and Lancaster,” the school director told them.

They both smiled respectfully as they murmured their yeses. The older man nodded in approval and whisked them into the auditorium.

The moment the double doors closed, I was back in Doris’s home.