Seirra: Chapter Twenty-Two

“No!” Marina wept as she frantically tried to collect the disappearing bubbles in an attempt to bring Doris back to life. “I’ll heal her! I can heal her! Don’t disappear, dammit!”

I was rooted to the spot—stunned by the things I just saw—that I was grateful that Erwann was with us to calm Marina.

“Princess! Princess!” I heard Erwann say as he gathered Marina into his arms to comfort her. “She’s dead, Princess. There’s nothing we can do.”

It was irrational for Marina to be so aggrieved by Doris’s death but I guess the princess just wasn’t the type who dealt with loss so easily. Erwann was slowly making progress in calming the princess but their voices had gone mute to me as another fact registered in my mind: the Hydrus seal. It was tattooed on the killer’s sword-wielding arm and visible only to Celaris. It was our clan’s mark, imprinted to distinguish ourselves during war and to avoid getting fooled by morphs or shape shifters. No magic could ever fake it.

It was one of our best defensive strategies.

And currently our only lead to giving justice to Doris’s death.

I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated.

First, the kiss would not work. Then Doris died. And now the culprit just might be a member of my family.

Great. Perfect.

Just then, Erwann’s voice penetrated through my haze. “Seirra, we need to report this to your father immediately. I’m certain the culprit’s Aquanian.”

“How can you be so sure?” Marina asked as she picked up the chain which was all that was left of Doris. She was still upset but it seemed that she knew it was time to think of what we should do next.

Erwann turned to her to answer her question. “One of the most common spying techniques of any sea kingdom is the use of morphs. We can’t just enter enemy camps without disguising ourselves. Not because we know each and every single merman or mermaid but because the citizens of each kingdom have a distinct characteristic not found in others. Nor can it be easily copied. In our case, we’re the only ones with green eyes.”

“You saw the murderer’s eyes?” the princess exclaimed in disbelief.

“Our eyes tend to glint in the dark. As a soldier, we’re trained to take note of these things,” I informed her absentmindedly.

“My eyes are glow-in-the-dark. You creatures are so weird,” she said as she shook her head.

“They don’t glow. They glint,” Erwann replied with a snort. “And Princess, you happen to be one of us.”

“Hmph.” She crossed her arms in annoyance then promptly went back to the matter at hand. “You said our eyes can’t be easily copied. Which means, it’s still possible that the killer wasn’t Aquanian.”

“Unless the former Oracle turned out to be a bigger threat to the enemies, I see no reason why they would waste too much magic for absolute morphosis,” Erwann countered thoughtfully.

“We can’t tell my father we saw the culprit,” I announced, addressing Erwann’s earlier concern. It earned me two pairs of incredulous eyes.

“What? Doris just got murdered and you want us not to say anything about the killer? Are you dumb?” came Marina’s angry outburst. “And you call yourself the Celari leader?”

I fixed her my stern gaze which had once brought an older soldier to his knees. It made her cringe.

“The one who killed Doris is Aquanian,” I told them in a stiff, harsh voice. “Worse, he’s a Celari.”

Their collective gasps were enough evidence that I had shocked them with the new information.

“The Hydrus seal?” Erwann inquired.

“Yes.” Then to Marina, “Only fellow Celaris see it.”

She nodded in understanding then swam towards the shelves. A second later, she began fiddling with the chain. The way things were going were obviously too distressing for her.

“All the more reason to tell your father,” Erwann insisted.

I shook my head and stared meaningfully at my most trusted friend.

“You want to investigate on your own.” His businesslike tone implied that he now knew what I was thinking. “You think someone influential is behind this and once Sire Kalus finds out, it’ll be more difficult to know the truth.”

It was exactly as he said. Somehow, I began to recall the attempts to take the Crystal Key of Saol from Margaret, not caring whether a human was killed or not. A lot of things had gone haywire since the day I stepped on Grasveld Aisles, and I knew this wasn’t anything an ordinary merman could do.

“There’s a huge chance someone my father trusted could be behind this. I don’t know the motivation but even your grandparents may know about this. Or King Tideus.” I watched Erwann blink furiously as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. “Even my father could be an accomplice.” I took a deep breath. It was getting harder to be objective about this. “Besides, no one would suspect if I began wandering into meetings or scroll chambers. Everybody will think I’m just trying to acquaint myself to the business of being the Celari leader.”

He nodded in understanding. I saw in his eyes that he still doubted the rationality of my decision but Erwann trusted me. I knew he would cover my back just as I would do to him.

“What do you suggest we do? If our enemy is someone powerful, how do you think we could defeat him?”

“We have to find out first why they had Doris killed. That should lead us somewhere.”

Marina’s sudden gasp brought our heads snapping towards her. The gold chain was now attached to a small eyehook connected to what must have been a hidden trapdoor just above the shelves. Six scrolls were now floating around the princess.

“Th-the chain fit the hook perfectly,” Marina croaked. “I-it sort of drifted towards the hook.”

Erwann and I looked at each other, definitely thinking the same thing. The princess just stumbled upon the reason why Doris got killed.

“Let’s gather those scrolls,” I told them immediately. “We might find answers from them.” Once we had all six, I made Erwann close the small door again. “Take the chain too. Best not to let the investigators know about it.”

“I think we’ve been gone too long. They might come looking for us,” Marina said, her voice worried. It was getting late.

“I should go now and report Doris’s death. But you can’t bring those to the castle. Your father will notice,” came Erwann’s warning.

I nodded. “First, we need to find a place to hide these.”

“I know!”

I turned towards Marina, silently urging her to elaborate.

“This morning when I saw Doris, she showed me this small cave not too far from here. She told me she goes there if she doesn’t want anyone disturbing her.” Her face lifted up with excitement. “Maybe we can hide the scrolls there!”

“Are you sure no one knows about that place?” I asked doubtfully.

“Yes. She said the place was once a scroll chamber but was now abandoned.”

“Okay. The two of us will go there while Erwann reports Doris’s death.”

*****

Last night went on with no further incidents. Marina and I got back to the castle through the secret passages, and found an increased number of soldiers and guards as they found out about the death of the former Oracle. The news had not reached the citizens yet but it was doubtful that it would not happen anytime soon.

We made up a story, telling the elders we were wandering around the castle after we made Erwann ask Doris about the Ceremony of Kys. It sufficed as an excuse which saved us from further questions about why Erwann, our assigned guard, was not with us and why we left the drawing room. They obviously had more serious things to worry about.

Early the next morning, an investigation about Doris’s death had commenced. Both Erwann and I retold the story, with no mention of the chain, the trapdoor and the scrolls. They allowed us to leave afterwards but not until the elders granted us permission to leave the castle grounds. When Erwann and I gave them our oaths that the princess would be guarded appropriately, they agreed.

Soon, all three of us found ourselves in the cave with Marina arriving way before Erwann and me. We were all curious as to what we would find out in Doris’s scrolls.

They turned out to be Doris’s journals—of some kind.

The words written on the seaweeds were almost unintelligible so we decided to focus on one scroll first.

“It looks like she’s describing a kind of enchantment needed for observation or something,” Erwann muttered.

“Oh my god!” Marina exclaimed. She read further for a while then continued, “This is how she was able to show us what’s happening to Margaret!” She looked intently at me, amazed at our discovery. “Would you like me to try doing it?”

“We don’t have time for that, Marina. Our enemies and the veil are our priorities,” I told her in a firm, no-nonsense tone.

“I’ll try,” she stubbornly declared, pulling me over as she looked around for a dented rock that could fit my hands. When she found one, she used her powers to contain water in it then began reading the instructions one by one.

A drop of her blood and a strand of her hair would make the water black. To turn the water into an enchanted medium, she needed to dip her hands in and stir it using magic from her fingers. Lastly, she needed to lean over it and allow the charmed water to hear her singing voice. Once it glows, she must kiss the surface to complete the spell.

It seemed very simple to me and I wondered why no one else was known to use it. When I took too long to place my hands on the water, Marina impatiently caught my attention, raised an eyebrow then nodded towards her makeshift medium.

I was apprehensive but I did as she asked.

“There was no way we’d know how she sang the chant that was mentioned here,” Erwann asked Marina, pointing towards one of the instructions.

“Don’t worry, I heard the song this morning,” she cheerfully replied. Then to me, “Ready?”

I nodded. There really was no way I could convince the princess that I did not want to see Margaret. Not when she knew exactly that I did.

She began singing and I braced myself for that familiar prick in the neck. I got a shove instead. And there were no flashes of memories, either. Different-colored lights exploded around me and I felt myself falling faster and faster until I got knocked out of my breath.

I had to blink and when I opened my eyes, I was in Grassfield High, walking behind Margaret and a guy who could only be Robert.

“I don’t know, Robert. I don’t know what to do anymore,” Margaret whispered miserably as she lifted her hands to her face. She looked even more depressed in her black, lacy blouse and dark jeans.

Robert raised his arm and wrapped it around Margaret’s shoulders. “It’s alright. Things will turn out fine.”

My heart felt like it was being ripped open and I felt my hands balling into fists, itching to land a blow on this guy’s face. I couldn’t do it, though and I only had to be thankful there was someone who could comfort Margaret at a time like this.

They reached what seemed to be a classroom for the arts and crafts. It was currently vacated and as soon as Margaret was seated, Robert left her side to lock the door.

Panic thundered through me, expecting the worst to happen. I didn’t see this Robert to be a threat to Margaret’s safety and I cursed myself for being so gullible. I swear, if he tried to take advantage of Margaret, come hell and high water, I’ll murder him.

I was still fuming with anger when he spoke calmly, “I’m sorry about your grandfather.”

It wasn’t what I had expected and had my physical body been there, I was sure I would be frozen, shocked by what I just heard.

“It was nobody’s fault,” Marge replied. “He died in peace. I just wished he didn’t expect me to find that guy so much.”

“He told you that he entrusted you to that unknown guy, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Grampa told me that he’d come looking for me too.”

I saw Margaret shiver. For some unknown reason, I was certain the ‘unknown guy’ was me. I remember my last conversation with Grampa. It almost made me think that he knew he was dying. My instincts were right. And now Margaret was left alone again, expecting me to come looking for her.

Why in Hades can’t I be with her?!

“But Margaret, the guy your Grampa wanted you to find, he’s a merman, isn’t he? How is that even possible?” Robert asked, confusion marking his face.

“Exactly. I initially thought that it was because he was getting delusional before dying but he looked so certain.” I saw Margaret fervently shaking her head. “It was like he knows a merman exists.”

Robert was quiet for a moment and then, “What if they do? What if mermen and mermaids exist? You dream of them too. I saw your drawings.”

Dream? Drawings? Could Margaret have been dreaming about me and Marina? And if her dreams were so vivid that she could draw us, then that meant she did not forget us entirely. I shook my head mentally. That was not possible. Humans could not wish to remember us. Besides, our agreement was her voice. It was clear right from the beginning.

What exactly was happening?

“Those were just dreams, Robert. They couldn’t possibly be true,” she countered.

“But your drawings were so clear. You said so yourself. You’ve never met either of those sea creatures yet you can draw them right down to the smallest details. What if they’re real?” he insisted, giving Margaret a soft shake.

“I don’t know, Robert. Sometimes, my dreams feel so real that I could almost believe it. But they’re myths. They can’t be real.”

She looked so depressed and bewildered that even Robert took pity on her. He gave her a hug and as he rubbed her back, he uttered, “Shh. That’s alright. Don’t push yourself. For now, you still have your grandfather’s funeral to think about.”

Then something invisible had shoved me again, and sent spiraling across a sea of colors until all that was left were bubbles and rocks. My reflexes reacted faster than my brain as my arms moved back to prevent my body from taking the force of being thrown by Marina’s magic towards the wall of the cave.

I blinked several times before I could finally look at something without seeing double. I gulped a breath of air before I blurted out, “We know you have supreme magical abilities, Marina.” I roamed my eyes until I could fix them on hers. She looked exhausted so I softened my voice. “But you really need to learn how to control them.”

“Sorry,” she replied apologetically.

I knew it wasn’t really her fault and I gave her a nod as I wobbled to where she was.

“So, what happened?” she asked expectantly.

“I saw her.” Marina began to smile until I told her the other news. “Grampa died.”

Her eyes widened and she unconsciously lifted her hand to her mouth in shock. “Someone else died? What’s going on?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

We were silent for about a minute then I told Marina the last of my news. “Margaret also dreams about us, Marina. She remembers our faces but she doesn’t believe we’re real. Grampa also told her to find me—which she thinks is impossible.”

“She’s supposed to forget, isn’t she?” The princess ran a hand on her confused face. “And why would Grampa tell her to find you?”

“He entrusted her to me during our last conversation.” She looked like she was ready to mock Grampa’s train of thought but remembered that the old man had just died so she kept her mouth shut. “The fact is, there was no way Margaret could find me.”

“True,” Erwann finally spoke from behind me. He was reading another of Doris’s scrolls. “That Margaret can’t find you.” He lifted his head then stared at me, “You’ll have to find her, Seirra.”

Both Marina and I swam over to where he was and he pointed a certain passage written near the bottom of the scroll. It looked like a recent addition to the notes as the words were crammed too close with each other. Doris wrote:

Young Seirra came back with the Princess of Aquania. But alas! The Celari leader must find his princess. He must find the princess of his heart.