“Are you asking me to admit weakness and doubt?”
He chuckled. “Not at all, my queen. But, if you don’t confide in me, I cannot lift you up to a place of confidence.”
She grinned, and water filtered through the gills in the sides of her neck. As her breath bubbled out around them, she said, “Yes, I am nervous. They will let us in; I do not worry about that. It may take convincing, but it will happen. I am, however, concerned about tipping off Queen Tethys about my plan to challenge her. I’ve known her for all my cycles, and she is too perceptive. Do you remember Council when she imprisoned the King of the Muldjewangk merfolk for a simple question, not even one where she was undermined?”
“We were so young. Are you sure you remember that question correctly?”
Calista nodded. “I remember everything about every Council. Every member, every word spoke, every disapproving look from Queen Tethys. I had to study to learn my place in the kingdom and how I would rule Arelia.”
“So you said when you first convinced me to sneak you to our hiding spot to listen in. I thought it was because you wanted to spend time with me.” His lips landed on her cheek.
“That is what I let you believe. Even then, I was preparing to rule.”
“Rule by deceiving your future sub-mate,” he said, laughing again.
“I did not know then you would serve as my sub-mate.”
“I did,” Jergen said. “I always knew. I think you did, too.”
She bowed her head and hid her smile.
“What is it that you will do differently than Queen Tethys?”
“Our kingdom is in chaos,” she said, relieving herself from his hold. “Merfolk and humans are destroying each other with abandon and without accountability. The war between us has reached a peak. There must be a better way.” She shook her head at her own words. “There is a better way. I just have to rule to implement it.”
“And, I know you will.”
“But, we also must restore Arelia. My mother allowed our region to suffer far too much for it to be easily redeemed. The only sure way to do that is for me to take her place in Caethas.”
“Which you will do.”
She smiled and kissed him, lips closed, hiding her sharp teeth in order not to hurt him. While in human-esque form, their teeth and eyes returned to normal. In their full merform, they could easily gnash another to death between their teeth and flukes. And, when merfolk battled each other, it was the most gruesome of all killings.
“We must continue our travels to Council,” Jergen said. “We wouldn’t want to be late. Especially if we’re expecting any kind of resistance.”
“They would be remiss to resist.” Calista kicked her fluke and left the cave with Jergen at her back. She signaled to her guard to return to her side, and they resumed their journey.
C alista stopped swimming near the entrance to Caethas. Jergen and her guard halted at her command, and she floated back a bit to take in the beauty of their capital. Under a massive dome, stone made up the city buildings, starting with housing and rising higher and higher until, in the middle, stood Council. In that building, in the center of Caethas, the queen over all merfolk, currently Queen Tethys, lived and ruled.
Every sixty cycles, the queens and kings from every merfolk region – twelve in all, including Caethas – met at Council to discuss the future of their kind. It is where Calista’s education had begun to prepare her for rule. Everyone assumed that her reign would only be over Arelia, but Calista always had planned to rule the Kingdom of Merfolk.
They entered the airlock at the front of Caethas. Calista had always loved the airlock as a kid, the way the whoosh of water would tickle and make her laugh, but she had not been back to Council in many cycles – since the last one she attended with her father. Her mother never returned to their seats after her sub-mate’s death, and thus lost them for the remainder of her life. No one would expect Calista and her sub-mate to attend, which made for the perfect surprise and would culminate in her challenge of Queen Tethys’s throne on Silent Night.
The door behind them swung shut, and the head of her guard, Kaspar, sealed the outer hatch. He pulled a lever near the inner hatch, and water rushed out of airlock. As the water left and air entered, the merfolk were left in full merform on the sand below them. Their bodies shifted quickly into their human-esque forms, and they rose to their feet.
The inner hatch opened, and they stepped inside a large vestibule, the only entryway to Caethas. Mermen who attended the airlock with two members of the Queen’s Guard handed them white undergarments meant to be worn under their official robes of their region. After Calista and Jergen dressed, they strolled down the long hallway leading to the edge of the city.
Caethas was an ancient city, believed to be there from the beginning of time, when merfolk first came into existence. No one knew exactly when that was or how they came to be. They knew they came at some point after the humans, but nothing more. Records were not kept, stories and legends were not passed down. They just were, and so was Caethas.
They reached the area where carriages awaited the arriving Council members. When the Master Attendant to Queen Tethys, as determined by his gold and blue robes, looked up, confusion cinched his forehead.
“I am Sachiel, Master Attendant to Queen Tethys. Caethas is not open for visitors from other regions, as it is the cycle of Council.”
“I am aware, good Sachiel,” Calista said. “I am Queen Calista of the Arelia Region of Merfolk. I am here to represent our region at Council with King Jergen, my sub-mate. May I have my proper robes and make use of Arelia’s carriage so I might attend?”
“Arelia?” He exchanged a look with the lower attendants to his left. “Do we have robes for Arelia?”
The attendants did not respond, confusion apparent in their eyes.
“Sachiel,” Calista said, “the robes of Arelia have not been used for many cycles; however, they were not to be destroyed, either. The laws of Caethas are that if seats are abandoned, the robes are to be maintained in good order for the future Queen and King.”
Sachiel bowed his head. “I am aware of the binding laws of Caethas. The queen was not expecting Arelia to return.”
“But, she has heard of my mother’s passing, correct?”
“I don’t… I am not…” Sachiel regained his composure before continuing. “I believe you will find your robes in excellent order.” He turned to the two attendants. “Raen, Oshurus, please retrieve the queen and king’s robes for the Region of Arelia.” As they scurried into the preparation building, Sachiel addressed Calista once more. “I apologize for my lack of decorum, Queen Calista. I assure you, this will not happen again.”
She dipped her head once in acceptance. “I assure you, it will not.”
“Thank you, Queen Calista, for your kind mercy on my position.”
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