Ocean Song Beneath the Waves
*UPDATED* Chapter 19: Kingdom of the Ram

Weren’t that many interested people between this update and the last, so there’ll be no updates for today.

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"Lord Calder, we had not been expecting you to visit,” a guard says in surprise as he and his partner look upon the trio curiously. “Is aught amiss?” Calder simply smiles with a pleasant expression as he waves his hand dismissively.

“No, no. I have come to check on the Stone of Aries,” he informs lightly as the two nod their heads but their gazes quickly shift to the strangers behind him.

“And what of these two? I have not seen their faces before,” says the other guard with a suspicious look in his eyes.

“Worry not gentleman. These two are currently under my protection from a worrisome threat that I am sure you are aware of?” Calder asks offhandedly as he crosses his arms over his chest.

The guards then stand up straighter as they give firm nods in affirmation of Calder’s inquiry. “Well aware are we that Proteus has broken free from his prison. If he desires something from these young ones then it only makes sense that they are under your protection. Please excuse us for our behavior.” The guards bow respectfully but Calder doesn’t seem to care in the least as the veil opens just enough for them to slip through and he does so with them following without a single regard for the men stationed at the entrance behind them.

“So why did you choose to bring us with you?” Serena asks after they have gotten far enough away from the militaristic guards.

Calder looks over his shoulder at her with a mysterious smile as they swim along through the streets of Nerisia.

Serena marvels at the sheer beauty of the kingdom as the buildings are made from polished rock and jewels with each building being likened to that of smaller versions of a grand palace. The people swam about with carefree expressions as children swam about the streets and in between all that stand in their paths.

However, something that Serena notices is the consistency of the color of their tails. Each person’s tail is of a varying shade of red with dark hair and skin. She replaces herself comparing them to those of Africa who share similar qualities but that may also be in due part to Nerisia being near the continent itself. However that explains little as to how she found herself here as she turns her thoughts back to how it is they came to be here.

Serena had been swimming in the gardens with Prince Oceanus, following up on her promise to get to know him in order to understand him when Calder appeared with her brother in tow. Naturally, the prince was curious as to why Calder would want to bring the humans with him to Nerisia but the only explanation he gave was that of them needing to be near him so he can better protect them from Proteus. Though this was indeed true for Nerisia is on the other side of the world and Aquaria sits within the Pacific Ocean while Nerisia rests in the Indian Ocean. None of them even had a chance to fully question Calder before he suddenly opened up a portal and teleported them outside of Nerisia’s veil.

It takes her a moment to realize that Calder is speaking to her when Rodion decides to jab her in her side to bring her back to the present causing her to throw a glare his way before tuning back into Calder’s explanation.

“—safer for you two to remain with me because I am unable to protect you when you are so far away and Cascata dwells within the Northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore this arrangement only makes sense.”

Serena has no idea how his explanation even began but she decides not to ask considering Calder seems like the sort to replace displeasure in those who don’t listen when they’re being spoken to.

“So where are we going now?” Rodion asks after a whole trip of silence and observation.

Calder faces forward once more as they swim up to the palace gates and are allowed through upon verifying Calder’s identity. “First we must meet with the King of Nerisia. I cannot simply go to the resting place of Aries without informing the King.”

Rodion’s face remains placid as they pass through the extravagant corridors that hold a consistent theme of red, black, and gold décor. “Is there a specific reason that everything here is red?” He asks after they pass another corridor with the same red décor.

“This is the Diamond Palace and red is the color of Aries. Like every other kingdom, the Kingdom of the Ram’s palace is designed to match the color of its guardian.”

Serena briefly takes a moment to imagine what the other palaces could possibly look like before moving on to the next topic that’s on her mind. “So when do we meet the King?” She’s quite sure that audiences with royalty don’t usually happen upon arrival since they must have prior engagements to attend to but then again, she doesn’t know much about this world either so she cannot really be sure as to how things may work down here.

Calder simply smirks as a pair of doors open before them.

She didn’t even realize that they had stopped before the doors until they opened to reveal the beautiful throne room bathed in reds and gold.

“Now,” is his simple reply as they enter the room and stop before the throne. Calder is the first to bow causing Serena and Rodion to glance at one another before mimicking his actions.

“Ah, Calder. It is uncommon for you to leave Aquaria,” says the man upon the throne with a languid manner of speaking and a deep tone in his voice. “Though I am certain that this visit must be related to Proteus’s escape from his prison?” It doesn’t even sound like a question with the way he says it and Serena replaces herself intrigued by his bold way of speaking but she doesn’t voice such thoughts as she peeks up at him from beneath her bangs.

He sits upon his throne with an air of confidence that seems to outshine the Aquarian Prince’s. His accent, like the other Nerisians, is reminiscent to that of the African people on the surface and he exudes an air of being a natural-born warrior.

Calder smiles as his eyes slide shut but for a brief moment as he answers the King. “You are well-informed King Bahari. So you must know why I have come here.”

King Bahari’s languid manner of sitting quickly changes as the air around him suddenly turns serious. A grim expression appears upon his face as his dark eyes glance over at a nearby servant with a meaningful look before turning back to Calder whilst the servant quickly left the room.

“The Stone of Aries. I knew that you would eventually come to examine the stone when I first heard that Proteus had broken free.” As he says this, the servant returns with two mermen in tow.

The older one looks to be about Prince Oceanus’s physical age while the other looks to be just a bit younger than herself. Both held themselves the same way as the King possessing an air of confidence all their own with a certain boldness to their expressions.

“You remember my sons,” he says as his eyes finally land upon Serena and Rodion. “But for the sake of your friends I shall run through introductions. I am King Bahari and these are my sons, Crown Prince Kito and Prince Azizi.”

Each son nods his head respectively upon being introduced while Serena and Rodion now.

“And allow me to introduce you to my companions, Serena and her elder brother, Rodion,” Calder says pleasantly with a kind smile before it drops into a grim frown. “They are humans from the surface that have been affected by the Ocean’s Curse,” he says darkly as whatever air of pleasantness that remained in the room dispersed to give way to a tense and foreboding silence.

“So Proteus looks to increase his power as he did all those years ago...” King Bahari sighs as he rubs at his temple. “But you wish to see the Stone of Aries yes? My sons shall accompany you. I must attend to matters of security if we are to protect Nerisia from the coming threat.” Calder nods his head in understanding as he turns to the princes...

So many stories and yet many of them came from the mouths of the mentally insane that should be locked up in a mental ward. How’s anyone supposed to replace answers with all these bizarre stories? Caspian groans in irritation as he gains an understanding as to why the police gave up investigating the disappearances. Some of the stories he heard were pretty...disturbing to the ears with a plethora of graphic details and visuals.

One such story being from some guy telling him about what might have just been a shark attack. He had been going on and on about how he had been swimming with his wife one morning. It had just been them on the beach and she suddenly disappeared beneath the waves.

He called and searched but never came across anything. Then days later when he went back he was sitting on the beach staring off into the distance when he noticed a red trail running through the water followed by something floating in the middle of it.

Upon closer inspection he found a woman’s leg with most of the flesh and muscle ripped off of the knee with naught but the bone remaining.

Caspian shutters at the graphical image that appears in his mind upon recalling the story he was told. He feels envious of his brothers who were not present when he listened to it because they were elsewhere gathering their own information.

Zale decided to poke around on the streets while Arion decided to check old cases in the police station and records in the library. Normally one wouldn’t be able to gain access to such things but apparently Arion has a friend who’s the son of the police chief so he was able to snag the keys.

Caspian, meanwhile, got pinned with checking the beach and the contacts Arion threw his way. Somehow he just knows that he drew the short straw on this one. He knew that he’d be in for some strange stories but no one said anything about stories that sound like he stuff straight out of a horror film.

However, if this be the only way to replace their father and siblings then so be it, he’ll listen to the goriest stories ever if it’ll help him replace them.

Beep! Beep!

He’s snapped to attention as his phone’s ringtone goes off. He stops beneath a streetlight as he fishes his phone out of his pocket and checks the caller ID. Upon seeing the name he pushes the answer button and brings the phone to his ear.

“...Hello?” he says tentatively as a suspicious expression crosses his features at the silence.

What he isn’t expecting is the creepy voice on the other end of the line.

“You wish to replace your family, yes?” The voice is sinister and causes a shudder to run up and down Caspian’s spine the longer he remains on the phone with this strange person.

It doesn’t help that this person also knows what it is they’re doing.

“Why do you ask?” The hesitance from earlier is gone as it’s been replaced by a suspicious feeling towards this stranger and a mistrust of whatever words may come out of their mouth next. “And how do you even know that we’re looking for our family?” he adds as he narrows his eyes and stare out into the darkness beyond the streetlight.

The voice sounds amused and seems to almost chuckle as they reply back to him.

“How I know is of little concern,” they say nonchalantly as their tone grows even darker. “As for why I ask... Well, I know where they are and with my help you may just be able to save them.”