Soren swam the halls of the glistening golden city he called home; Saenora. Light filtered through the currents to shine on the gigantic city, bathing it in shimmering radiance. It was a very large city, housing most of what was left of their dwindling populace, it was made up of three circular hubs, the center circle housing the main castle, where the royals, and those who served them, lived. In the middle ring, lived the different castes; merchants, craftsmen, artists, and the like. The outer ring is where the soldiers and general population lived.
In the ten agonizing years since the death of their beloved Queen-to-be, Nerita, the city had slowly crumbled, it's people dwindling to near extinction. The Nora's, of which Soren was a part of, was a subsect of the greater Merpeople race. They were imbued with the ability to walk on land, as humans would, and the ability to breathe above water, unlike the other sects of merpeople.
Nerita's death threw the city, and their people into chaos. Udinia, a younger sister of Nerita, was accused of murdering her sister in order to gain the throne. Despite her protestations and pleas of innocence, she had been banished, never to be seen. With two members of the royal family gone, it was left to the eldest brother, Leith, to guard the throne until the youngest of the sisters, who was only five at the time of her sisters death, was able to be crowned Queen.
Now, at twenty-five years, Soren was a part of an elite group of mermen and women who protected the royal family, the secret service of Saenora. In the last few years, whispers of the once beloved princesses return to take the throne have grown. Shadows flickered in the night, terrifying the people of Seanora, forcing some to flee the city for fear of the exiled princesses wrath. Soren had been an attendant of the young Princess Mira for several years now, having entered into his current position soon after his sixteenth birthday, a little over a year after Nerita's murder. Mira was proving to be a very capable and intelligent woman, thought still far too young to take the crown and lead her people into a new age of harmony and bountiful happiness.
As Mira's own sixteenth birthday approached, the rumors of the exiled princess were growing more frequent; people of the city going missing, strange lights glowing off in the distance, and other terrifying happenings. Soren, having been assigned to the princess, was unable to scout the city to discover the source of the rumors. Instead, he sought out the brilliant mind of Emraldia, the castles resident smarty-pants, or so Soren liked to tease her. As was custom, Mira's birthday ball was fast approaching, and as the rumors still abounded, casting shadows of fear on the people and dampering any joyful spirit that would have otherwise been. It was up to Soren and his trusted friends within the castle to protect the remaining royal family and assure this party went off without a hitch.
As Soren neared Emraldia's wing of the castle, he ran a webbed hand through his shaggy teal hair, pushing some of it behind a pointed ear. His matching ultramarine eyes captured every floating speck of dust within sight, always on high alert for any trouble.
He swam into her entry-room, using his knuckles to tap loudly on the open archway, hoping not to startle her.
"Emraldia?" He called out, his masculine voice echoing around the semi-empty room. "Are you here? We need to discuss the security measures for Princess Mira's ball."

She had spent the better half of her day locked up in her high ceiling, multipurpose but fairly spacious and empty room, lost in her own thoughts. " Solve this. Solve this..." She repeated over and over and over, swimming from one end of the room to another; fingers intertwined and twisting into each other. " Solve this.. . . .. Sssolve this." She was growing weary of her personal task when there was so much more she could be working on then a silly riddle over decades old from a part of the world's history very few people knew very little about. But instead contemplating the darkening shadows of the people of the kingdom and with rumors of an uprising of Princess Mira's banished elder sister, Emraldia, Emra; was indeed over indulging in a little bit selfishness.

With as the dancing golden rays that natural light from a world yet to be explored, slowly faded from morn to mid day and started to drift onward to evening. To the ball that was the buzz of gossip, of hope for the people as a new Queen coming meant a new faith in their dwindling existence. A new Queen to balance and tie together the different races of the merpeople in the most diverse and largest kingdom.

Lost in thought once again, lingering in a corner hovered over a table with an odd assortment apocrathy of jars that housed many odd things to an untrained eye. Some called it sorcery, witchery, ways of the old little knowledge in the science that was once called alchemy with ancient mer-studies. So obsessed in her own musings, bouncing between the items in front of her and the riddle that plagued her day, she didn't hear the knock nor the first summonings of her name. Only to do exactly what the man had all intentions of not doing.

Startled, a pale hand knocking over one of her more empty jars sending it drifting away from its proper home as she spun around in a whirl of sandy-white hair, bright coral eyes large as she took sight of the person who abruptly pulled her from her thoughts. " Oh... It's just you." A slender hand hovered over the breast the kept her heart from leaping out of her chest. " S-soren. . Yes. The ball. Security - Don't spook me like that." She heaved a calming sigh, a small river of bubbles escaping the three grills under her jaw-line. " I was thinking about that too. Yes." She turned back to her table.

Soren watched in amusement as his startled friend spun around, knocking a jar off her desk. He swam forward slightly and caught it, replacing it back onto the table. "In my defence, I did call your name, Emra."

Moving back to the topic at hand, Soren turned his attention away from the many jars full of things he didn't even want to know, to Emra and her ideas about security at the ball.

"We have a little under a week until the ball, and I need to know you and your people have some ideas. My scouts and warriors can only bring so much muscle to the table, we need your brains," With a quick flick of his azure tail, he floated over the table to land gently on the opposite side from Emra.

"Do any of these jars do anything?" He picked up the jar she had unceremoniously hit earlier to study its contents. It appeared to be an iridescent green paste, with flecks of pearl-like spheres mixed in.

Not missing a beat in either his actions and words nor her own. Slender hands placing a dash of this and a pinch of that in a little earthy bowl until a dark purple smoke suddenly erupted from it. " No. No. No." She sighed, head shaking at herself still half listening to him as he explained that he needed the skills of her own people to aid in the protection of the Princess 'Coming of Age' ball.

" Yes. Yes. I've solved that. Not my riddle but that." She nodded to him as he suddenly placed himself on her work bench, bright eyes narrowing slightly as a finger shot up to wag at his curious notions. Gently reaching out to take once fallen jar from his grasp. " Yes. They do. They all do. Everything does in our world." Her eyes shot back and forth from him to her work back to him, her sporadic thoughts clearly displayed across her pale features. " I say station my people's most talented listeners at all entry ways. The lot of them can hear and sense things a good distance."

She jumped between topics with a quick flick of a tail as she turned from her table, making her way towards another table only sparing an over the shoulder glance back at him to see if he would follow. " Also. With a listener place one of the lessers with them, unless it is a high traffic area. . . " She trailed off as she reached a shelf with a bunch of scrolls, shifting threw them until she found a map of the great hall where the ball would be held and placing it down on the table right next to it. " Let me show you what i mean." - Because lets face it she could be a hard woman to follow and she certainly knew it. " One here. Here and. . ." She pointed at each spot, not fully aware if he was close enough to see or not.

Soren watched over Emra's shoulder as she explained her strategy to him via the blueprints of the ballroom. He listened intently, memorizing every detail she gave him, even as sporadic as it was. His mind returned to her earlier comment, as it finally grabbed his attention.

"Your riddle?" He asked, genuinely interested. "What sort of riddle do you have other than trying to keep our young princess safe?" It was clear that Soren was more of a physical sort, instead of a philosophical one.

He returned to the floor under the slight glare of Emra, though he continued to pick up jars and examine their contents.

She watched her male companion from the corner of her eye as he questioned her. Though she was not entirely sure if his tone was meant to sound doubtful in her faith in protecting the soon-to-be queen, or if he was indeed curious about the riddle she had discovered only days ago. - One thing was sure, she had a hard time reading people. Always the one over thinking everything.

" Mmm.. I like to think about the things the beings we were born from entertained themselves with." Her tone was slightly crisp and matter of fact. " I have memorized one, that i believe is about the Royals." A possible key to history, missing link between the two worlds. " However. I do not neglect my duties." She paused as she continued to watch him mess with her things with slight irritation, was it not bad enough she worked like a mess?

"I didn't mean to offend," Soren hastily added as he caught the irritable tone in her voice. "I was simply curious as to what had you so puzzled," he set the jar back onto the table and made a care to watch his tone.

"About the royals? Our royals, or just royals in general?" He mentally berated himself for finding no other word in his vocabulary for 'royal'. "I would never assume that you of all merpeople would shirk duty," He ran a hand through his hair once more, sighing to himself. Soren was not a people person, preferring to hide away in the training grounds or do his rounds about the castle, keeping a keen eye on everything, and everyone, but never getting too close to actually be observed. This was the most interaction he had on any given day, save for sending reports to the Prince Regent, but those were almost always done in writing.

"I of course shall use your suggestions, and post Listeners at each doorway. Do you think it would also be prudent to hide Seekers amongst the guests?" Soren wasn't particularly fond of any sort of party, and while he wasn't expecting trouble at this one, he could never be too careful when it came to the young Princess.

It was a natural thing, and a fairly common thing for her to misread the context of her peers. Not that she was anti-sociable, though a bit high strung with socializing; her thinking was just at times too quick to actually read the person's intentions, tending to take things a little to literal.

" No no." A wave of a thin pale hand as she dismissed her rush of emotions, however not his apology, instantly jumping into a reply to his question about the riddle. " As you know. Our races came from the mix of a land-walker and a Royal. The lesser's that of a sea-creatures and our Royals. But this riddle is based off of the Original Royals. Back before their blood was deluded by our forefathers, however their race saved at the same time."

" Yes. Yes. If we have some that are free and around." She instantly agreed, pale strands of hair flowing wildly around her as she quickly nodded. " They tend to not like crowds due to their gifts. So three should do, more if they're up to it." She added. "We should be fine with those, I doubt either of us has over looked anything."

"You know far more than I do in those matters, I shall leave you at your task," Soren said, nodding sagely, "I will see if I can find some Seekers about. See you at the party, Emra," he added with a wink he was sure would fluster Emraldia. While Soren himself usually enjoyed the company of other mermen, instead of mermaids, he did ever so much enjoy teasing Emra into a fit of blushing.

Soren returned to his chamber, his office of sorts, and began writing a missive to the Prince Regent:

My Prince,
I have made all of the required changes to our beloved Princess Mira's Name Day Celebration, everything is as it should be.
Your faithful servant,
Soren

He then wrote a second missive, in triplicate, to the Seekers he had in mind. After finishing, he called in a messenger boy who was never far from his office. "Lithal, deliver these missives. Three go to the Seekers Guild, and the fourth is for our prince. See that they arrive timely."

Lithal nodded, and quickly swam away, his purple tail flashing wildly as he swam as fast as he could. It was rumored that Lithal was Soren's favorite, and there were several ideas as to why that would be, but in Soren's mind, Lithal was simply the most ambitious and efficient. Those qualities are some of the few that Soren held most dear.

After having sent off the notes, Soren looked at the clock on his wall. A few days. That's all the time he had to prepare. He sure hoped it was enough.


----


Soren awoke the morning of the grand ball feeling nervous. An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach for days now, and was growing worse by the hour. After Lithal had taken care of the missives, returning promptly with replies from all four recipients, Soren had begun the tasks of organizing the decorations. Now, with the ball merely hours away, he was feeling restless.

"May I help you, Master Soren?" Lithal's small voice startled Soren out of his daydreaming as he stared out one of the many windows of his office.

"What? Oh, thank you Lithal. No, I don't require assistance, but you may swim and ask the others if there is still decorating or cleaning to be done," Soren replied, running his hands along his face in the nervous manner of his.

Lithal's face dropped, his chin almost touching his chest in disappointment. He disliked decorating, and cleaning even less, but Soren told him to, and he would do anything for him.

As Lithal swam off, Soren watched his purple tail flick back and forth, an imposing sadness settled on his chest. Heaving a great sigh, Soren flitted over to what could be called a bathroom, and began his attempt at gussying up. After failing significantly at taming his shaggy teal hair, he heaved yet another sigh and left the chambers, deciding to take up his post at a lookout spot above where the guests will enter into the ballroom.

As he entered the great ballroom itself, his heart skipped a beat. Floor to ceiling, it was bathed in shimmering golden light, their magical fire flickering beautifully in the saffron orbs that lined the walls. Hung from the ceiling was a tremendous chandelier, with the same orbs and fire that lined the walls, hanging from suspended opalescent pearl strings. The floor, beautiful white marble in its own right, was polished to a high shine; one could almost see their face in it!

The guests themselves had begun to arrive, adorned in a vast array of fine silken fabrics, flowing around them in the light current that swirled around the ballroom. Their multitude of brightly colored tails swishing to and fro, directing their movements in a very subtle manner, almost hypnotized Soren. So many beautiful merpeople, all together, here, to celebrate their beloved princess. It filled Soren's heart to bursting to see his hard work, and the work of so many others, fall into place. It was sure to be a night to remember.

Several hours passed, and Soren stood vigilant still at his post, watching as the guests, who has all mostly arrived by now, danced in time with one another, making for a spectacular display of wealth and merriment. Suddenly, the knot in Soren's stomach returned, just as a cold rush of water hit his back as he watched the dancers. He turned to gaze back out over the roadway. On the horizon, a great black plume was reaching it's inky fingers towards the city, and with it, Soren's sense of foreboding increased a hundred fold.

He watched in terrified fascination for a moment, that is, until he saw what was concealed within the cloud-like formation. A hundred, no, a thousand different carts with ferocious looking beasts pulling the wagons, with equally disturbing hosts within. They looked vaguely like merfolk, but there was something wrong about them, twisted. Evil.

One cart was out in front of the rest, a lone woman held the reigns to three of the beastly creatures in a single fist, her other hand stretched out, palm open towards the city. Soren watched in horror as more of the inky cloud spread quickly towards them. As it reached a building, it enveloped it, rendering the coral dead and broken with nary a sound.

Soren jumped back in fear as his heart raced. He had to warn the others, for the forward scouts must be dead, and the Listeners had failed. He turned to the guests, shouting at them to run, but his voice could not be heard over the loud melody the orchestra played. Frustrated, Soren leapt from his post, furiously swimming.

Nearly running into Emra, he grabbed her shoulders, "RUN. NOW. I'll save the princess, tell everyone to-"

His sentence was cut off as the inky blackness filled the ball room, instantly dousing the flames that lit the room. Screaming filled the air where there once was music, then soon after the sounds of swords slicing through flesh, and the terrified howls of pain as the guests life left their bodies.

"EMRA! RUN!" He shoved her away, and nearly out a nearby window as he swam towards the ballroom towards what was left of the royal family.

Navigating through the ink was troublesome, it made it hard to breathe, and each breath he took filled his lungs with some unknown liquid that he couldn't absorb. Finally, he managed to find the Princess, whose white Koi tail he could see easily. He grabbed her arm, but before he could urge her to run, the ink dissipated, revealing the slaughter that now littered the ballroom floor, the blood of the merfolk floating just above their bodies caused Soren to gag, his stomach threatening to give back his dinner.

"Why, what a glittering array of guests you have here, my dear brother and sister," Udinia swept an arm around her, indicating the now dead and dying merfolk. "Nobility, the gentry, oh, and what's this?" She saw Soren trying to drag Mira away and thrust out her hand, the ink flashing forward and grabbing Mira and Soren, pulling them back to the dais where the prince stood holding his side where blood seeped through his fingers. "Even the rabble. I was very much distressed as to not receive an invitation."

"You were not wanted," Soren placed himself between the prince and princess and Udinia, meeting her cold, hard gaze with one of his own.

"Not wanted? Oh dear, now this is a predicament," Udinia indicated the hordes of creatures behind her, just outside the ballroom gates, "I have brought a little present for you, dear, sweet, sister," Udinia flicked her black koi tail forward, propelling her backwards. "This birthday of yours shall also be your day of death!"

As Udinia shot more ink towards them, and her minions surged forward into the ballroom, Soren threw himself over Mira, holding her close to him as he swam away, not knowing that the prince leapt forward, putting himself in the inks way, allowing the pair to get away.

"FOOLS!" Udinia shouted after Soren and Mira, once she saw that only the prince had been devoured by her inky cloud of death. "Do not let them escape! Slay them all! I shall have what is rightfully mine!"

Her wild, angry cackle is the last thing Soren heard as he swam towards his office, knowing they could escape through one of the windows and out into the open sea, where hopefully Emra would be waiting for them at one of their secret caves. He flung open his door, feeling it stop early suddenly, he looked to see what was blocking the door, and immediately wished he hadn't. His favorite apprentice, Lithal, was laying on the ground, his tail nearly cut in two, the wonderful purple hue now a dead and dirty lavender. His eyes stared blankly ahead, no more than black pupils now.

"Soren? What is it?" Mira asked, her young voice light and airy, though thick with fear as she whispered.

"Stay there, your highness," Soren wiped away tears that sprung to his eyes as he closed Lithal's. As he made to move him, he noticed a scrap paper clutched in his hand.

"Udinia is here!" Read the note, in Lithal's wonderfully childish writing.

"He...he was trying to warn us..." More tears fell as Soren covered the child's body with a blanket before pulling the princess into the room quickly.

"We must go now. Out the window." Soren didn't like being so familiar with the princess, or so curt, but he hoped that she would forgive him.

Soren tossed a blanket around Mira's shoulders, trying to hide her tail as best he could, before pulling her to his chest again and leaping from the window. They landed in some kelp just before one of Udinia's creatures swam by, searching presumably for them.

"We need to get to the caves, your highness," Soren whispered, pointing in an easterly direction. "Anyone else who may have survived will be there."

The princess nodded, but instead of swimming on her own, clutched tighter to Soren, and he could see the fear etched into her face as she trembled, crying, against him. He tired not to sigh at his fortune. Why was he the one holding onto the princess? If anything, it should be the... with a flash, like a punch to the gut, Soren remembered the princes's sacrifice for them, and his resolve strengthened. He would save the princess, even if he ended up losing his life in the process.

Her day could be described as a blur if she were anyone but herself. Busy and rather tiring with the demands of this and that. Solving minor complications, explaining procedures to the lessers. At least she didn't have the daunting task of setting up for the festivities. Between her own plain tastes and 'odd' sense of humor, that she had been told about once or twice. No poor Soren had the pleasure of those while her brain was being picked for minor details about everything and everything.

For a hectic day even she had to say it was too much to even spare a thought about her latest historical find, a minor riddle that humored the land-walkers at one point in time. No. It wasn't till the hustle and bustle of the filled great hall with chatter, fine music and all around joy. - She had even been coaxed out of hiding to join in a few dances.

Soft coral-pink lips curling in a genuinely pleased smile as she shifted about a man of her kind that had been trying to court her for years now. Exchanging in playful banter, him teasing her about being to tense. Or when you're wide-eyed with curiosity. " But completely adorable when you bat your lashes as someone as you explain something in your crisp 'matter-of-fact' tone." He stated as he twirled her around, his own smile cock-eyed and charming.

She was just about to inquire what he exactly mean, tomato-red hues looking up at him with the exact curiosity he had just explained. Though, before he could answer she was shoved out of his reach and toward a window by non-other then Soren, who quickly followed his movements with the demand to run. Still wide-eyed and shocked, not quite the one to quickly react with such physical contact; she was fully ushered out by her silvery-colored couter.

" Wh-wha. . ." Mind moving faster than the rest of her, she allowed herself to be carried by Seirus as she regained herself. Gaze falling upon the vast army of hideous looking creatures and the looming black inky-looking substance. It might have taken her a moment to regain her senses but she had managed, though to her companion senses weren't at all what she was thinking.

" I must... I need a sample!" She cried as she pulled from his protective grasp toward the ominous cloud. After all a sea-snail could gather that the velvety looking mist was not there to bring nothing good to the party.
"Emraldia!" She heard him exclaim as she shot towards the cloud, pulling a tiny flask from one of the decorations in her hair; she was after all a 'witch' (or so the lessers called her) and tended to carry such objects on her at all times. " Its not safe!" He tried to coax, hot on her bubbles; though she would not stop till she had a sample, or untill one of those horrifing creaters spotted her like one just did.

Now it was a race. Seirus pulling her back toward the direction he had originally been taking her, toward one the safe heavens they both had been briefed on multiple of times. - Seirus being one of Soren's men, a high rank among the army of people under the royals commands.- Her heart pounding against her rib cage as he chimed calming words that didn't seem to work, her mind aching for the loss of that sample, while her heart ached for the outcome of this surly to be tragic event. The only thing she could do was allow her comrade lead her to safety while her mind raced for reasons and outcomes.

Soren gently shoved the princess into the cavern, following her after she had squeezed through the small crack. He had to wriggle himself a bit, and regretted not always keeping up with his exercising regime. Once inside, he allowed his eyes to adjust, taking in the small group before him. When they were noticed, the group surged forward, wrapping the young princess in their embrace, completely ignoring Soren.

In the back of the cavern, Soren picked out a bobbing white head of hair. "Emraldia!" He whispered in thanksgiving as he made his way over to her. Grabbing her, he hugged her quickly, relishing the red color that sprung to her cheeks. Noticing Seirun next to her, Soren held his hand out for a handshake, glad that Seirun of all his merpeople made it out alive as well.

"I'm so glad you two go out. I brought Princess Mira with me, but...the prince..." Tears sprang to his eyes as he remembered the prince floating dead by Udinia's hand. "I'm so sorry. To everyone. For everything. I don't understand how this happened."