Ocean Song Beneath the Waves
Chapter 26: Home Again

Bonus chapter! Got enough interested people to release an extra chapter. So thanks for the interest and enjoy!

“That’s all we get?! Only four hours!” She flinches as her brother’s voices booms through her ears like thunder. It is safe to assume that he is less than pleased with the time limit put upon their little excursion. “And I have to be babysat by G.I. Joe over here?!” She sighs as her gaze briefly flickers to the merman with brown hair standing off to the side with a stoic look upon his face. He had appeared before her as she opened the door to her bedroom this morning and thoroughly explained what would happen today. Not once, in the entire thirty minutes she’s had him at her side, has he worn any other facial expression except the one look of stoicism.

“I am sorry Rodion, but unless you want to suddenly sprout a tail five miles from the sea then we are going to have to stick with the four hour time limit,” she says with a shrug as Rodion releases a string of curses before turning back to their silent guard.

“So who is he?” He asks blandly as Serena turns to him as well.

The addressed merman is quick to respond with, “My name is Pelagios, an elite member of Prince Oceanus’s security detail.”

Rodion rolls his eyes sarcastically as he replies with a tone dripping in sarcasm, “That makes me feel safer.”

“Hush Rodion! Let us go before you utter anything else rude.” Her tone is chastising, but effective to an effect as it dissuades her brother from saying anything else lest he upset his younger sister.

It’s then that Pelagios seems to decide to speak. “If I may, if you intend to go to the surface then I would suggest we travel by way of the currents.” The siblings stare at him blankly.

“Currents?” Serena questions blankly as the two await Pelagios’s response.

“Yes, currents. They allows us to travel long distances in a timely fashion without requiring the use of magic gateways primarily used by Lord Calder and Lady Marina.”

“And there just happens to be a current nearby?” Rodion asks sardonically, but Pelagios doesn’t seem to care for his mocking tone and simply nods with a blank look in his grey gaze.

“Where was this current when I was swimming across the ocean for days on end,” mutters Serena as she briefly remembers the time she spent traveling away from Avalon’s shores.

“If you have no other obligations that require your attention then I recommend we be on our way if we are to return before dark.” And with that said, the three make their way out of the Garnet Palace and towards a different area of the palace that the siblings have never been to before.

“Um, Pelagios? Why are we heading away from the exit?” Serena asks in confusion as they stop before what appears to be a lavish stable.

“It would be faster to go by Hippocampus rather than on fin,” says the stoic warrior as he goes about selecting three of the wonderous beasts. Serena stares at each of them in wonder. They very much resemble the horses on land except they have fish tails with fins in place of hind legs and their manes consist of majestic fins that stand proudly upon their necks and heads. Another obvious difference is that the Hippocampi seem to be of a varying range of colors. The one she currently stares at is of a lovely deep blue shade with its body resembling that of a beautiful jewel. This particular beast possesses more fins than the others and appears grander overall. So much so that Serena raises her hand to stroke its muzzle.

“Move no closer!” Her head quickly snaps in the direction of the voice as her hand shoots back to her side. What she replaces is a rugged looking young merman carrying what looks to be a large bale of kelp. “No one is allowed to touch the Prince’s mount so freely. You would best remember that this steed is of a more noble sort than you.” His offhand comment stung a bit, but she doesn’t let it effect her overly much. Though her brother is a different story.

“And what is that supposed to mean?!”

The stable hand glares at Rodion as he continues about his business. “Exactly as it sounds. You two come from no such noble blood as far as I am concerned and it is my job to care for these creatures. It is my greatest honor to care for the Hippocampi belonging to the royal family and I will be damned if I just let anyone touch these most noble of Hippocampi!”

Serena has to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she quickly comes to the conclusion that this man is either a fanatic or just way too obsessed with his job. Luckily for her, before anything else could come from Rodion’s mouth, Pelagios returns with both hands placed on the necks of a pair of strong looking Hippocampi. The third one is brought along by a man that seems to be the stablemaster who looks over to the one they had been dealing with.

“That be enough out of you Bay! Please forgive him, the lad knows not how to treat his betters quite yet,” says the stablemaster apologetically. The stable hand, Bay, remains silent as he leaves to attend to whatever else his job requires him to do.

Pelagios stares after the young man in silence before turning to the stable hand. “For the most part my charges seem to bear no offense, however I would ask that you prevent this from happening again. Others may not be so lenient towards such behavior from a lowborn.” The stable master nods his head with a thankful smile on his face before bringing the Hippocampus closer.

“For the lady,” he says pleasantly as Serena’s gaze runs over the sheer beauty of this mythical beast. It’s nothing like the Prince’s Hippocampus, but it’s still beautiful in its own right. The Hippocampus stares at her with intelligence in its large eyes of dark blue while Serena runs her eyes along the intricate colors of black and green that covers the creature’s smooth body. “This is Scylla, the oldest of Aquaria’s Hippocampi. The mare is possessed of a gentle nature and should serve you well,” says the stable master as he gestures the mare closer to her.

Serena, however, is quite hesitant to actually climb onto Scylla as she stands, wracking her brain for some memory that would allow her to remember how to ride a horse. She hasn’t ridden one since she was a little kid and even back then she had to ride with Caspian because she was too young to ride on her own. Her expression briefly clouds over at the thought of her beloved elder brother. Nothing more has been discovered about them in regards to their disappearance and Calder claims that he no longer senses their presence, but what could that mean?

She jumps as a hand is placed on her shoulder which inclined her to turn to see that it’s only her brother, of course. His gaze is tender as he offers her a kind smile while saying, “Stop worrying. You will be just fine.”

This causes her to smile in return with a nod of her head as she feels her body relax some. Rodion may not be as kind and wise as their eldest brother, but he definitely was the most caring out of the four, more so than he’s willing to admit.

She takes a quick deep breath in and out before climbing onto the waiting mare, who stands perfectly still as she awaits her passenger to settle on her back. Once she’s settled Scylla slowly moves closer to the two other Hippocampi that have been mounted by Pelagios and Rodion, who is currently grumbling about how weird it is riding a horse with a tail instead of legs.

“If the two of you are ready, then let us be off.” And with that said, the three Hippocampi take off from the palace grounds. Serena hurriedly grabs a hold of Scylla’s neck out of the shock from moving so fast. Even under water when merpeople could swim significantly faster than land creatures, horses, or rather Hippocampi, were still the superior beings in terms of long distance travel and with such speed! Everything passes by in a blur, making it difficult for Serena to see the city at all. The only thing she is able to see is a myriad of colors and the distorted forms of people as they dart about. Her ears are overwhelmed by the water rushing through them with the only other sound coming from the Hippocampus as she tears through the water like a torpedo.

Before she can even register the fact that they had left the veil, they are already shooting off into the currents and being carried off towards the shores of Avalon, California...

“Now all you must do is climb up onto the peer there and think of legs replacing your tail.” Serena and Rodion stare at Pelagios blankly as they briefly glance at the pier they swim under. The Hippocampi swam off somewhere with the only guarantee of their return being Pelagios’s reassurances that they’ll come when called.

“There should be a selection of clothes to choose from around this time of year on the boat nearby.” Pelagios pauses as he turns his head to glance at something in the distance before turning back to them and gesturing towards the peer. “Ladies first.”

Rodion’s about to volunteer himself instead when Serena suddenly takes it upon herself to swim up to the surface before he can say or do anything. She quickly glances around to make sure it’s empty before diving back down and leaping up onto the peer not even moments later.

“Okay then...” She mutters as she makes a quick wish for legs and when she turns her gaze to her tail, she replaces the scales receding into flesh as her tail separates into a pair of limbs. Her surprise and elation last only briefly before she realizes that she’s sitting with nothing on. Even the damn shell bra she wore had disappeared with her tail. She quickly jumps up, but nearly falls from not having had legs for months.

She makes her way to the boat as quickly as she can and digs around in the drawers for a set of underwear. After slipping those on, she rummages around some more and produces a purple t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She quickly slips on the articles of clothing as she hears a body hitting the surface of the peer. She’s quick to grab a pair of sandals and runs off the other side of the boat to avoid seeing something she shouldn’t.

Her next order of business consists of slipping on the sandals and quietly waiting for her brother and baby-sitter. Though after being left alone for a few moments she finally allows herself to take in the familiar view of the shore she’s missed so much. Rows of houses line along the road in the distance with hers’ being the closest to the beach. She also notices the lifeguard off in the distance sitting upon his perch as he keeps an eye on the kids playing about in the water with their parents not too far, constantly watching. The sound of the waves brushing the shore soothes her as she takes notice of the seagulls crying out from above. All of this is what she considers home and the realization of it all causes a wave of relief to wash over her.

She can just imagine her other three brothers running up to her with grins on their faces while Caspian tries his best to frown in preparation to scold her for coming here again. She can almost hear Arion’s laughter as he warns their older brother to lighten up while Zale dotes on her as though she were still his cute baby sister. Meanwhile, Rodion would come up to her and ruffle her hair with a comment about how troublesome she is. Finally, her father would come walking away from the bit of shore where the land meets the sea. He would greet them all and hug her so tightly.

Such thoughts causes her eyes to water as she stares at the scene before her with a blank expression. The visions fade and leave nothing but the scenery in its place. People she doesn’t know take the place of the family she remembered and they are all just going about their day as usual.

She’s snapped out of her reverie at the sound of footsteps coming from behind her. She turns her head and a small smile comes across her lips as the hand gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Rodion smiles as he says, “I’m sure they’re just fine, Rena. So no need to look so out of it!”

Serena nods her head with a smile as she turns to face her brother fully whilst saying, “Yeah, I am good now. So, what do you need to do first?”

Rodion grins as he looks towards the direction she had been staring in a few moments before. “Lets go home then...”