EXILIUM REX

Chapter 24

Angelo del Mundo's Rohypnol-Induced Hallucination In Fable Mode (Part 4)

IV. Perla

“Who is Perla?” This is Queen Kanaken’s initial inquiry to General Palikpik-Tainga.

Inside Councilor Pabebe’s large guest room, the good General waits for the father-and-son mermales, Amaing Batumbuhangin and Gasang, to leave the said room before he continues his story to his erstwhile co-conspirators.

But as the door closes, Councilor Pabebe quickly swims towards it to lock it. What the soldier merman has been saying about the conversation between Tamuneneng and Tata Limnangmata inside the garage has been discontinued. As well as to who Perla is.

It is because old Councilor Lumot suddenly lets out a loud roar of laughter. He is holding a cup of dark wine that amazingly does not leave the cup to float and mix with the saltwater of the sea.

“Hahahaha! Hahaha… Ugh, ugh, ugh…”

Councilor Lumot strains his throat seemingly because of excess mirth.

That is when the four others with him inside the guest room also let out a big roar of laughter of their own. All of them have their own cups, too. Councilor Pabebe initiates an impromptu toast and everyone else follows suit.

“Long life for the new Kingdom of Ayisa!”

“Long life!”

The five of them simultaneously drink the dark wine from their respective cups. Councilor Pabebe finishes his cup first with an accompanying burp.

“Ay, thank you po! Thank you po! Thank you po! We are very fortunate, indeed! For many years, we have racked our brains to find a way on how we can push through with our plan against our inutile King of the Ayisan Sea. And less than a week before our unified ambition vanishes for good, we have been struck by a sudden stroke of luck! Ha! What, in the sea-devil’s name, did enter the poor creature’s mind to just leave? Thank you po, Merciful Amansinaya and Lord Bathalon!”

Councilor Lumot interposes.

“That’s why I was in a fit of laughter before, pardner! E, this is merely a joke, but could it be that the only reason our fingerling king chose to “catch and release” himself is because of our two visitors? Just look at the faces of these two who we’re trying to desperately pair up with the Sea King!”

Queen Kanimo rises from her seat and throws an empty cup to the old Councilor.

“Hoy, I don’t think I like your sense of humor! You’re rude! What do you think of us? Ha, Councilor Lumot, lest you forget how important I am to our grand scheme to have the whole of Ayisa all to ourselves!”

A familiar mixture of courtly jest with a trace of excessive alcoholic consumption is suggested by the clam Councilor’s tone of voice.

“I’m just kidding, Reyna Kanimo, the five of us are already close, aren’t we? Well, for me, all of us present in this room have important roles to play in our mission. Did you already forget my drama before inside the dome? My mere mention of the word Deep Sea Bottom Trawl made them running about like tadpoles and fingerlings! Hahahaha! Ugh, ugh, ugh!”

Councilor Pabebe raises his upper shell and everyone turns quiet. It is clear that he is the one who stands as the leader of the group.

“Pardner Lumot’s correct, each and every one of us has an important role to play to fulfill our plan of having the kingdom of Ayisa for ourselves. You, pardner Lumot, when you let the entire Council feel the fear of being under a state of Deep Sea Bottom Trawl, so much so that our co-Councilors will surely approve our own proposal to the vacancy of the throne – hook, line, and sinker. You, Queen Kanimo, your role is also as important because your Ocean will be the one to swallow up our kingdom and make the two waters of Ayisa and Pasipingako as one, when we have passed the proposed bill, as soon as possible, of course. While you, Queen Kanaken, you will serve as the balancer in Pasipingako’s colonization of our waters, so that the equilibrium of the world’s sea level remains, and so that our neighboring bodies of water will not notice this and form their own self-interests against Ayisa. And as for you, General Palikpik-Tainga, in truth, a sharp and nasty fishbone has suddenly been pulled out from the skin of your chest.”

Ever since his story has been interrupted moments ago, the good General has chosen to be relatively quiet, and now that he has the opportunity to speak again, he now carefully weighs every word that comes out of his mouth.

“My friends, perhaps, in your collective point of view a nasty fishbone has been pulled out from my skin, since it is I whom you have assigned to find a clean way to place the throne of Ayisa in vacancy, so that our unified ambitions as mentioned by Councilor Pabebe shall quickly follow suit. But, how can this be, if I am not the one responsible for the disappearance of the Sea King, in the first place? Now, whether he left on his own volition or something unfortunate has happened to him or he merely chose to use some vacation time without proper permission, any of these does not mean we are already out of the red. Until and unless Friday arrives and the Council has formally declared the throne of Ayisa vacant, I, for one, am not yet quite in the mood to get comfortable about how our plan is flowing along.”

Now it is Queen Kanaken’s turn to let her voice be heard.

“The General is certainly right! We don’t even know yet where your fingerling of a king presently is. How can we be sure he will not return as hastily as he disappeared? For all we know he might still be here in the palace just waiting, biding his time, and watching our every move.”

The General tries to soothe Queen Kanaken’s own (as well as everyone else’s) insecurities.

“My distinguished Councilors, my noble Queens, as the General of the Armed Mermen of Ayisa, rest assured that the palace is on a full lock down and completely secured, and safe from any coup d’etat attempts or any other threat by anyone and at anytime!”

With sparkling eyes, Queen Kanaken replies to General Palikpik-Tainga’s verbal assurance.

“That is what I extremely like about you, General, you’re always ready. You’re like a boy scout, as the humans say. A, General, can I ask you a personal question? Are you still single? Available? Or already – complicated?”

The muscle-bound General quickly stands erect from his seat and stares long and hard at the Queen of the Atlungtian Ocean. A few moments more, then, suddenly, he exclaims.

“The human! Perla! Perla is rumored to have witnessed the Sea King’s disappearance!”

The others with the General slightly shake their heads (and shells). Queen Kanaken repeats the question she has initially asked beforehand to the leader of the mermen.

“General, who is Perla?”

After blowing a bubble, General Palikpik-Tainga begins to tell the story of Perla.

“Perla is the human guardian of the lighthouse on the Reef of Freedom. The Reef of Freedom is the only island which has formed in the middle of the western part of Ayisa. Perla is unlike the other humans: alone on the Reef, no other creature to talk to except the plovers, the edible-nest swiftlets, and the crocodiles of the island. She can always be seen guarding the lighthouse, waiting, watching, and…”

The soldier hesitates for a moment, but as quickly continues on with the rest of the story.

“There is a story about Perla being supposedly hexed. Cursed.”

“What curse?” The two bachelorette Queens simultaneously ask.

It is Councilor Pabebe who responds to the question.

“Sus! Curses, curses! It’s merely a folk tale peddled by the humans, so that those of their kind who are not from Ayisa are completely discouraged to even set foot on the Reef of Freedom. As the tale goes, if and when Perla finds the man who will be her heart’s true love, the Reef of Freedom will c***k open and break right in the middle; and from the c***k shall come out the treasures of treasures worth triple than the accumulated wealth of the entire Ayisan kingdom. Ha! Not only of the waters!”

Queen Kanimo wonders.

“Triple all of Ayisa’s wealth combined? Aba! Looks like we’re pursuing the wrong set of objectives. Based on Councilor Pabebe’s account of Perla’s story, the Necklace of the Mysterious Pearl of the Sea is no more a piece of worthless rock as compared to the wealth buried underneath the Reef of Freedom!”

Everyone inside Councilor Pabebe’s guest room gets into a roaring fit of laughter. Except General Palikpik-Tainga who remains in his seat seriously thinking and sipping the dark wine inside his cup. Suddenly, the chief warrior’s eyes glisten for one moment and the good General begins to sneer like a wild crocodile waiting for a helpless prey.

“Long life for Ayisa-Pasipingako!”

“Long life!”